Hello HOB. I'm in Pittsburgh the next few days covering the NCAA Tournament, but we'll still get you your UK spring football practice fix here on the HOB. On Thursday, new OC Bush Hamdan and DC Brad White spoke with the media about what they saw on Day 2...
UK OC BUSH HAMDAN Q&A:
* Excited about the culture here. Guys that really want to go to work and learn.
* To be the best in this league, you have to build depth. Likes the competition in the WR room.
* Using a mixture of tempo, players are still getting a feel for it, the wrinkles they have to change tempos.
* Have a leader in Vandagriff, "the personality piece." Teammates understand how much prep he puts in. A guy who wants to be great. Some good throws the first two days. Well-coached at UGA. A lot of similarities to the system they'll be running.
* Mic in helmet will help with communication with the QB, but all the other guys still have to be locked in on signals and picking it up from the QB to make it work.
* On TEs' role in the offense... First job he had was as a TE coach, and he thinks that's the one position you can really do some things if you find a guy who's good at both the run and pass game. Deep room. "Excited about ways to get them the ball."
* A lot of interchangeable parts and flexibility on the OL. Certainly 6 or 7 that they already feel strongly about. Now is the time to move some guys around and see if they can handle multiple spots to get the best mix on the field.
*****
UK DC BRAD WHITE Q&A:
* On JJ Weaver... Goal is to have him put it all together where it's not just a game or two but an entire season. You can see from first couple of practices that he's doing what he needs to do, but White wants to "push him past his limits." Doesn't want him to get comfortable and satisfied.
* Excited to add Jamon Dumas-Johnson to the mix at ILB. Brings a guy with a ton of experience. A really strong football mentality. He's rough, rugged, tough, short-area explosion. Thinks he'll work great with D'Eryk Jackson. Also likes Daveren Rayner's progress as well at ILB.
* Message to the unit this spring is you have to be ready for your time to step up. Saw that last year when some guys went gown. Have to be ready. Pointed to Maxwell Hairston as a guy who had some tough experiences early in his career, then came back ready for last season and his moment. It's hard to be ready for that moment if you're not always preparing for it.
* Ahead of schedule after 2 days? You would hope so. Have some veterans that make it easy, but also there are some young guys they're really trying to bring along and build confidence with, so you have to find that balance between coaching them all up. Think she may have tried to throw too much at his guys last spring. Going to pound stuff in more methodically this spring.
* Excited for the guys at Pro Day tomorrow. A lot of guys with an opportunity to show the NFL scouts what they can do.
* Defensively, they've had a bunch of continuity for a few years. Guys know what expectations are from their position coaches and the coordinator.
* A couple of fun, competitive days with the offense so far. Two good days for both sides of the ball. "But it's only 2 practice in and there's 13 left."
* Doesn't want to get into too much of the new offensive scheme, but White says it's "a challenging offense," puts you through a lot of iterations and stretches your rules." Great for your old guys because they don't get bored, hard for your young guys because it's new and challenging. "High upside."
UK OC BUSH HAMDAN Q&A:
* Excited about the culture here. Guys that really want to go to work and learn.
* To be the best in this league, you have to build depth. Likes the competition in the WR room.
* Using a mixture of tempo, players are still getting a feel for it, the wrinkles they have to change tempos.
* Have a leader in Vandagriff, "the personality piece." Teammates understand how much prep he puts in. A guy who wants to be great. Some good throws the first two days. Well-coached at UGA. A lot of similarities to the system they'll be running.
* Mic in helmet will help with communication with the QB, but all the other guys still have to be locked in on signals and picking it up from the QB to make it work.
* On TEs' role in the offense... First job he had was as a TE coach, and he thinks that's the one position you can really do some things if you find a guy who's good at both the run and pass game. Deep room. "Excited about ways to get them the ball."
* A lot of interchangeable parts and flexibility on the OL. Certainly 6 or 7 that they already feel strongly about. Now is the time to move some guys around and see if they can handle multiple spots to get the best mix on the field.
*****
UK DC BRAD WHITE Q&A:
* On JJ Weaver... Goal is to have him put it all together where it's not just a game or two but an entire season. You can see from first couple of practices that he's doing what he needs to do, but White wants to "push him past his limits." Doesn't want him to get comfortable and satisfied.
* Excited to add Jamon Dumas-Johnson to the mix at ILB. Brings a guy with a ton of experience. A really strong football mentality. He's rough, rugged, tough, short-area explosion. Thinks he'll work great with D'Eryk Jackson. Also likes Daveren Rayner's progress as well at ILB.
* Message to the unit this spring is you have to be ready for your time to step up. Saw that last year when some guys went gown. Have to be ready. Pointed to Maxwell Hairston as a guy who had some tough experiences early in his career, then came back ready for last season and his moment. It's hard to be ready for that moment if you're not always preparing for it.
* Ahead of schedule after 2 days? You would hope so. Have some veterans that make it easy, but also there are some young guys they're really trying to bring along and build confidence with, so you have to find that balance between coaching them all up. Think she may have tried to throw too much at his guys last spring. Going to pound stuff in more methodically this spring.
* Excited for the guys at Pro Day tomorrow. A lot of guys with an opportunity to show the NFL scouts what they can do.
* Defensively, they've had a bunch of continuity for a few years. Guys know what expectations are from their position coaches and the coordinator.
* A couple of fun, competitive days with the offense so far. Two good days for both sides of the ball. "But it's only 2 practice in and there's 13 left."
* Doesn't want to get into too much of the new offensive scheme, but White says it's "a challenging offense," puts you through a lot of iterations and stretches your rules." Great for your old guys because they don't get bored, hard for your young guys because it's new and challenging. "High upside."
