Hello HOB. Good Thursday morning to you. I’m on my way over to campus for today’s football report. As usual on Thursdays, we’ll be talking to defensive coordinator Brad White and select coaches and players from that side of the ball. Today’s workout is scheduled to wrap up around 11:45 ET. Stay tuned for the latest news and notes…
DC BRAD WHITE Q&A:
* White says Zion Childress at nickel has been nice, he can get into the box a little more, a great feel for the action. He loves that, getting his nose dirty, tackling. Allows us to be multiple and flexible.
* Alex Afari will be a guy they used in some specific personnel settings, mix things up Another guy that gives them flexibility. Has really bought into it, like Zion. Proud of those guys for embracing it.
* Early big games in SEC haven’t changed their approach too much. Used to it from playing an important early SEC game a few times in the past, several times recently against Florida. Same mentality. Most important thing is you’re playing SoMiss on Aug. 31. That's what we're building towards.
* On DL Keshawn Silver… No unknowns with him now. Full workload on him now. Knows what is expected of him, and he’s having a really good camp.
* On LB Pop Dumas-Johnson… Getting more and more comfortable in the system. They’ve used an additional helmet comm system with him to get him up to speed in live action. Can only have one of those on game days but you can have several in practice. Allows White to make immediate adjustments and teach in the moment. Really responding. The game comes slow to him. He plays fast, but it's like the game is moving slow for him. Exactly the guy they recruited, what they saw on tape. Explosive. Can really find the football, and when he gets to the ballcarrier, there's typically a pretty loud thud.
* Jackson will likely be wearing the helmet comm system during games, but they'll decide that moving forward.
* On playing against different style QBs in practice... Good mix and balance, especially with Coach Hamdan's scheme. He mixes a lot of styles. Two main QBs will run the ball quite a bit more than what we saw last year. Good for our defense. Puts a lot of stress on you, stresses your rules. The more of that you feel in practice, the more the rules sink in.
* On physicality since full pads came on… Overall good. Occasionally have to re-establish the standard, but that’s every team. Heat has tested them. They’ve pushed thru it. This is as good a group as they've had in checking themselves on the standard, elevating the bar.
* On four different OCs since he's been here... Each one of them is a really good OC in his own right, different views on the game, which is good for a DC. Gives you different perspective on all the opponents you may be playing. It reminds you that all OCs don't think a certain way. "Keeps me on my toes."
*****
CB COACH CHRIS COLLINS:
* DJ Waller, they had a prior relationship with in the recruiting process. Always liked that length he offered. Getting to know him better and learn how to coach him now.
* On the CBs being so tall and long... That's a Coach Stoops standard. He wants those taller, long guys. It's able to affect catches, guys can tackle better with that length. Now it's a matter of getting them more sticky in coverage. There's a learning curve with guys that size. You go against a lot of smaller, quicker guys. Have to know how you can control those routes against them.
* On the freshmen... It's a lot on them. College football so different than HS football. But he likes how they're working and studying the game. It can be a bit overwhelming when they get into 11v11 situations. Trying to limit how much they're feeding them so that they can just go out and play with their God-given gifts.
* Jantzen Dunn has a good understanding of how this process takes time, takes patience, and he's starting to see the rewards of that extra work he's been putting in.
* On JQ Hardaway's growth... Similar to Jantzen, it takes time. Learning curve. That maturation process is starting to show up.
* I thank God for depth everyday (Laughs) Something they struggled with late last season.
* The WRs are giving them a big-time challenge every day in practice. One of the things that helped Max emerge as a star last year. You're facing big-time guys every day in practice. Iron sharpens iron.
* DJ Waller has raised the competition bar in the CB room. Guys understand they have to come in here and compete every single day, every single rep.
*****
LB POP DUMAS-JOHNSON, CB JQ HARDAWAY & LB ALEX AFARI:
DC BRAD WHITE Q&A:
* White says Zion Childress at nickel has been nice, he can get into the box a little more, a great feel for the action. He loves that, getting his nose dirty, tackling. Allows us to be multiple and flexible.
* Alex Afari will be a guy they used in some specific personnel settings, mix things up Another guy that gives them flexibility. Has really bought into it, like Zion. Proud of those guys for embracing it.
* Early big games in SEC haven’t changed their approach too much. Used to it from playing an important early SEC game a few times in the past, several times recently against Florida. Same mentality. Most important thing is you’re playing SoMiss on Aug. 31. That's what we're building towards.
* On DL Keshawn Silver… No unknowns with him now. Full workload on him now. Knows what is expected of him, and he’s having a really good camp.
* On LB Pop Dumas-Johnson… Getting more and more comfortable in the system. They’ve used an additional helmet comm system with him to get him up to speed in live action. Can only have one of those on game days but you can have several in practice. Allows White to make immediate adjustments and teach in the moment. Really responding. The game comes slow to him. He plays fast, but it's like the game is moving slow for him. Exactly the guy they recruited, what they saw on tape. Explosive. Can really find the football, and when he gets to the ballcarrier, there's typically a pretty loud thud.
* Jackson will likely be wearing the helmet comm system during games, but they'll decide that moving forward.
* On playing against different style QBs in practice... Good mix and balance, especially with Coach Hamdan's scheme. He mixes a lot of styles. Two main QBs will run the ball quite a bit more than what we saw last year. Good for our defense. Puts a lot of stress on you, stresses your rules. The more of that you feel in practice, the more the rules sink in.
* On physicality since full pads came on… Overall good. Occasionally have to re-establish the standard, but that’s every team. Heat has tested them. They’ve pushed thru it. This is as good a group as they've had in checking themselves on the standard, elevating the bar.
* On four different OCs since he's been here... Each one of them is a really good OC in his own right, different views on the game, which is good for a DC. Gives you different perspective on all the opponents you may be playing. It reminds you that all OCs don't think a certain way. "Keeps me on my toes."
*****
CB COACH CHRIS COLLINS:
* DJ Waller, they had a prior relationship with in the recruiting process. Always liked that length he offered. Getting to know him better and learn how to coach him now.
* On the CBs being so tall and long... That's a Coach Stoops standard. He wants those taller, long guys. It's able to affect catches, guys can tackle better with that length. Now it's a matter of getting them more sticky in coverage. There's a learning curve with guys that size. You go against a lot of smaller, quicker guys. Have to know how you can control those routes against them.
* On the freshmen... It's a lot on them. College football so different than HS football. But he likes how they're working and studying the game. It can be a bit overwhelming when they get into 11v11 situations. Trying to limit how much they're feeding them so that they can just go out and play with their God-given gifts.
* Jantzen Dunn has a good understanding of how this process takes time, takes patience, and he's starting to see the rewards of that extra work he's been putting in.
* On JQ Hardaway's growth... Similar to Jantzen, it takes time. Learning curve. That maturation process is starting to show up.
* I thank God for depth everyday (Laughs) Something they struggled with late last season.
* The WRs are giving them a big-time challenge every day in practice. One of the things that helped Max emerge as a star last year. You're facing big-time guys every day in practice. Iron sharpens iron.
* DJ Waller has raised the competition bar in the CB room. Guys understand they have to come in here and compete every single day, every single rep.
*****
LB POP DUMAS-JOHNSON, CB JQ HARDAWAY & LB ALEX AFARI:
