Jim Grobe
It certainly helps the younger players who see there isn't as much depth and say 'Hey I've got a shot.' That gives walk-on players some encouragement that they may be able to work their way into a scholarship. For the scholarship young kids I think they're thinking I might be able to get on the field right away.
Typically, there would be more freshmen we wouldn't think about putting on the field. But we have to be smart. We can't waste a year of eligibility. That's going to be our biggest problem. We get into about another week we have to make some hard decisions. Maybe we go into the season and have to elevate guys. Hopefully the guys we put on the field in the first games will be guys we count on all season.
I really like the attitude of this football team. I like the togetherness of this team. The coaches have told me from an offensive and defensive perspective those two groups are probably closer together. We've taken pretty good care of each other. We've got such a good work ethic. It's fun to watch some of the kids stay out on their own after practice. I have a good feeling about this football team. We're going to play some really good teams this year.
This football team has a lot of pride and a great work ethic, and I think they like each other.
It helps us right now just to be in practice. It's been a relief to finally start doing some football stuff. We've been dealing with the issues for two months so once we hit the practice field I thought that was good. We're starting to get to the point where we need to play a game because we're tired of running into each other. It will get worse as we go forward. It's been great to get on the practice field. It's given our guys some mental relief.
The key for us now is to get through this summer camp healthy. When we get to games we'll be focused on other teams.
(Could Bravvion Roy and Micheal Johnson play this year?) I think so. Both of them have been very impressive. Bravvion is so big and physical, he's a good pass rusher and run player. He just doesn't always know where to be. The problem with our young kids right now is they don't have a lot of stamina. We've got to feel like we can put them on the field for more than just a handful of plays at a time.
There could be some drives where we need them to stay out there. That's our big concern with the young guys, if we can teach them to have a little bit of endurance, be tough. Typically young guys are ready to stay on the shelf a while. I think these guys want to play, we've just got to make sure they're ready to play.
(Byron Bonds, knee injury) I'm not even sure if we're expecting him back. If he came back that would be great. For us right now if we got him back it would be fantastic. I think the way we're looking at it is we have to prepare to go without him. If he came back after three or four games or midseason and we needed him that would be great. But I feel really good about our front right now. I think we're in good shape.
We've got an aggressive group of guys in that defensive front. Bravvion and Micheal might be inside guys for us. There's no question our defensive ends are talented pass rush type of guys. Phil Bennett started at the end of last season and during spring practice using some three-man front stuff. We'd like to be able to play four when we have someone who is running at us and be able to play three when we need more coverages.
Right now I think there's a real good chance we could go into the season two-deep up front.
(Ends) Jamie Jacobs and Greg Roberts have looked really good and K.J. is off the charts good. He's somebody that will be really special for us against the run and rushing the passer. Xavier Jones is going to be really good, he's been a little dinged. That gives us four, and they're all good pass rushers. Maybe a couple of younger guys could step into the mix. With Ira Lewis and Ty (Hunt) is another guy who could play end or go inside with Micheal and Bravvion. Numbers wise as long as we stay healthy we'll be fine up front.
(Can Grayland Arnold play as freshman?) Absolutely. He's got great, great talent. He's a really heady guy. He gets it. He's dedicated to playing great fundamentals, and that's always a key. A lot of young guys don't take that seriously but he does.. He does a couple of things really well. First of all he can run and he plays good fundamental football, and that's what you need on the corner. We'll find out how good a tackler and how physical he is.
(Scrimmage) A lot is expected of our offense right now. That's something we hang our hat on. We didn't have a very good day offensively. We had some guys out who either didn't play because our trainer wanted to keep them out a little longer on the sideline. Shock was graduating on Saturday which is a good thing, so we didn't have him out there.
The defense has really come on the last four or five practices. In the scrimmage on Saturday, I thought the defense kind of won the day. We had a lot of give and take between the offense and defense, and that's a good thing. But Saturday we missed some reads offensively. There were some times we probably made some mental mistakes that hurt us a lot. I thought overall the defense had a little more energy and came with a little more of a mission.
(Johnny Jefferson) He'll be out for a while. First of all he got his foot stepped on, and that's the biggest issue. He's got some sore ribs, he was in a car wreck the other day. That may be an issue but I get the feeling from Mike Sims he feels it's more the foot right now than anything else. The great news is we've got four good running backs and a couple of walk-on kids who have really been good for us as far as practice wise. When you have four, and one gets banged up a little bit, you don't want to have any serious injuries, bu if he has to miss a few snaps the others can pick it up. So it's a good situation right now.
(Will Johnny play first game?) That will be totally up to our trainers and doctors. Everybody handles pain differently. The thing we're always looking for as coaches is we don't want to put a kid on the field that can hurt himself worse. But if the trainers and doctors feel like he can handle the pain and can go, we're pretty apt to try to push him to get back on the field. With the running back the problem is if your wheels are banged up -- a big part of his ability is he's a physical runner and he's got great balance, but a big part of him being successful is his foot speed.
(Shock) He's looked solid. He looked solid in our summer workouts and has really gotten to the point where he just wants to get in shape. He's a guy who stays out extra on his own. He knows he may have to carry the football a few times. As fast paced as we go if we continue to be successful offensively, there will be a lot of snaps, so it's good we have a lot of depth at running back. But I sense a guy that's on a mission.
(What impression has Seth made on you) First and foremost, (he’s a) great leader. He’s a guy that does it all right, on and off the field. He has great respect from his teammates. He’s an unselfish guy, and that’s key for a quarterback. But he’s got ability, and he’s got the ability to throw it and run it. I think he’s missed a lot of time. He missed some games at the end of last year, missed some spring practices, and we haven’t been in summer practice very long. So, there are a lot of things that I think he’ll improve on, especially mentally – reading defenses and getting us in the right play and those kind of things. But I don’t see anything in Seth right now that I don’t like, other than I think he can be better.
(When you first met him) When I first met him, we were just in summer workouts, so you don’t have footballs, you’re not running any offensive plays. But what was impressive to me was his work ethic. I’ve seen some talented quarterbacks that feel like they just need to show up on Saturday and be good. And from Day 1, you could tell Seth had something other than ability, he had a work ethic and an attitude that you know will be good for the football team.
(Having KD Cannon back for practice) It was nice. Anytime you have a kid coming back off an injury, you’re a little nervous, a little uneasy. I was glad that he practiced today and I think it was good for him. We’re in pretty good shape as far as being a little less than three weeks away. That gives you plenty of time to gradually work your way back in. I think Tate Wallis, our receivers coach, will be careful with him. We got Pooh Stricklin back on the field today. It’s good to see Lynx Hawthorne back. We’ve had to be careful with him. He had some knee tendonitis and had not been full speed. We gave him a few days to rest, so there’s some guys out there that are pretty talented. And if we can keep them all healthy, I think that receiver corps could be good.
(Did the OL make a step today, after struggling in Saturday’s scrimmage) I think the thing that happened to us a little bit Saturday was the offensive line guys have been taking too many reps. When we go with the first and second units, even with our second team we’ve got some good receivers and running backs with that second unit, including Zach Smith the backup quarterback. And with that in mind, you really don’t want those guys out there against the 1 defense or the 2 defense without a good offensive line. Some of the younger offensive linemen may turn out to be OK, but right now we’ve got about seven guys that we feel really comfortable with. So, those seven guys are taking really all the snaps for the 1s and the 2s. And I think after all the hot days that we had outside, I think Saturday we just had some dead legs in the offensive line. So today you could tell they were a little bit fresher and crisper and blocking a little bit better. The defense made a ton of plays today, but the offense had their share, too.
(On how important it was to have Kaz here) There’s no question. In the summertime, he’s the head coach. That’s the way it is in the summer. Coaches have to take a break, and when I got here, they had already planned their vacations and I wanted all of our assistants to get out of here and go take a break. And when they’re gone, he’s got to be the guy. He and his staff do a great job conditioning our team. In the weight room and on the field, he’s a huge part of our success, because as much as you like to do the X’s and O’s stuff, the ability of your guys to play four quarters is key. And that’s pretty much his responsibility.
(Those players needed someone in the transition to keep things in line) Absolutely, that was a huge concern for me. If I came in here with the idea that I wanted to take care of the players, your No. 1 concern has to be to keep things as consistent and stable as you possibly can. And after watching the summer workout with Kaz and his assistants running it, there was no doubt in my mind that we had the right guy running the summer program with the kids.
(The kids ready to get back on the field) I think we’re there. I think right now our guys are focused on football. We’ve just got to make sure we stay focused on football. One of the keys for us . . . I mentioned the other day, I’ve been coaching 40 years, I’ve absolutely never been on a football team – and that was with 11 years at the Air Force Academy – that we didn’t have any individual issues during the year with players and behavior issues. Going forward, we want to put all those issues behind us right now and go play football. So, it’s really important that our kids do a good job of taking care of business off the field. I think that’s going to be real key for us, because right now we’re in a good mindset, we’re focused on playing football. We’re going to have to change gears a little bit on the 22nd, because we start class, so we’re going to have to be focused on the classroom and football. But as far as the kids are concerned, I think they feel really good right now about where we are and going forward and they’re looking forward to playing the first game.
(Is there an excitement around the town) The good thing is I’m pretty under the radar right now. Probably if they hear me talk, they’ll think, ‘Hey, there’s a hillbilly over there.’ They might figure it out. That’s been a little bit different, because a lot of people don’t know me yet. But the ones that have, have all been very gracious and they’ve come up and been very supportive. I think all of Baylor Nation is excited to get going in football, not just our football team.
(Trying to help guys out during practice and scrimmage) Only the things that I might see that after 40 years of coaching that have helped us at other programs. That’s not a lot of rocket science. The things that we do here, obviously, have been very successful. And for me to come in and try to change a bunch of things, I don’t want to do that that. Things that I would like to be able to help with is maybe something here or there that I’ve seen offensively or defensively or in the kicking game. Things like clock management and go for it, don’t go for it, all those kind of game day decision, I think I’ll be involved in.
My deal with the kicking game is not a reflection of anything that’s been done in the past. My thing with the kicking game is when I watched summer workouts I saw how many athletic, fast kids we’ve got. You’ve got to have a good kicker and a good punter and you’ve got to have a good snapper and holder and all those kind of things. But if your kickers and punters and snappers and holders are all solid, we’ve got enough foot speed that we ought to be really good on special teams.
If you win by three or four touchdowns, that gets overlooked. But when you play teams where it goes right to the wire, kicking game becomes huge. Things that I’m stressing are things like turnover margin and penalties and trying to win the penalty battle each week.
I told the offense if you go 500 yards and score 40 points, if you have 100 yards in penalties, you only had 400 yards offense. So it’s a good day, but it could have been better. Defensively, the same way. We used to say 300 yards, but anymore if you hold somebody under 400 yards it’s a pretty good deal. But you go out and have a good day defensively, and you have 100 yards in penalties, just add it to your total yards. Those will be the kind of team things that I’ll try to focus on more than the actual X’s and O’s stuff.
(Seth got an offer from Wake, remember that) I don’t, I never remember the guys we don’t get. But Seth actually told me that we had talked to him a little bit about playing some linebacker, if the quarterback thing didn’t work out. So, what we’re going to do next week is we’re going to play him at linebacker a little bit. I haven’t told KB about that, we’ll wait till next week.
And even if he can’t (play linebacker), maybe he can cover some kickoffs. The bad news is Seth would want to do it.
(What’s it been like for you as a coach) It’s been fun, it’s just been a blessing. The first two months were no fun at all, had no fun dealing with all those issues. Just getting out here with the guys, that was my favorite time was in the mornings when they were working out in the summer. And just being with them and being around the coaches and watching the excitement that the coaches have right now working with the players; all those kind of things that you’re in it for. Most times, people don’t like pressure. But coaches like pressure and it’s kind of been fun to get back with the players and know that you’ve got a game coming up and that you’ve got to plan to get ready for a game. I’ve just been blessed to be around a great group of kids and a great group of coaches.
It certainly helps the younger players who see there isn't as much depth and say 'Hey I've got a shot.' That gives walk-on players some encouragement that they may be able to work their way into a scholarship. For the scholarship young kids I think they're thinking I might be able to get on the field right away.
Typically, there would be more freshmen we wouldn't think about putting on the field. But we have to be smart. We can't waste a year of eligibility. That's going to be our biggest problem. We get into about another week we have to make some hard decisions. Maybe we go into the season and have to elevate guys. Hopefully the guys we put on the field in the first games will be guys we count on all season.
I really like the attitude of this football team. I like the togetherness of this team. The coaches have told me from an offensive and defensive perspective those two groups are probably closer together. We've taken pretty good care of each other. We've got such a good work ethic. It's fun to watch some of the kids stay out on their own after practice. I have a good feeling about this football team. We're going to play some really good teams this year.
This football team has a lot of pride and a great work ethic, and I think they like each other.
It helps us right now just to be in practice. It's been a relief to finally start doing some football stuff. We've been dealing with the issues for two months so once we hit the practice field I thought that was good. We're starting to get to the point where we need to play a game because we're tired of running into each other. It will get worse as we go forward. It's been great to get on the practice field. It's given our guys some mental relief.
The key for us now is to get through this summer camp healthy. When we get to games we'll be focused on other teams.
(Could Bravvion Roy and Micheal Johnson play this year?) I think so. Both of them have been very impressive. Bravvion is so big and physical, he's a good pass rusher and run player. He just doesn't always know where to be. The problem with our young kids right now is they don't have a lot of stamina. We've got to feel like we can put them on the field for more than just a handful of plays at a time.
There could be some drives where we need them to stay out there. That's our big concern with the young guys, if we can teach them to have a little bit of endurance, be tough. Typically young guys are ready to stay on the shelf a while. I think these guys want to play, we've just got to make sure they're ready to play.
(Byron Bonds, knee injury) I'm not even sure if we're expecting him back. If he came back that would be great. For us right now if we got him back it would be fantastic. I think the way we're looking at it is we have to prepare to go without him. If he came back after three or four games or midseason and we needed him that would be great. But I feel really good about our front right now. I think we're in good shape.
We've got an aggressive group of guys in that defensive front. Bravvion and Micheal might be inside guys for us. There's no question our defensive ends are talented pass rush type of guys. Phil Bennett started at the end of last season and during spring practice using some three-man front stuff. We'd like to be able to play four when we have someone who is running at us and be able to play three when we need more coverages.
Right now I think there's a real good chance we could go into the season two-deep up front.
(Ends) Jamie Jacobs and Greg Roberts have looked really good and K.J. is off the charts good. He's somebody that will be really special for us against the run and rushing the passer. Xavier Jones is going to be really good, he's been a little dinged. That gives us four, and they're all good pass rushers. Maybe a couple of younger guys could step into the mix. With Ira Lewis and Ty (Hunt) is another guy who could play end or go inside with Micheal and Bravvion. Numbers wise as long as we stay healthy we'll be fine up front.
(Can Grayland Arnold play as freshman?) Absolutely. He's got great, great talent. He's a really heady guy. He gets it. He's dedicated to playing great fundamentals, and that's always a key. A lot of young guys don't take that seriously but he does.. He does a couple of things really well. First of all he can run and he plays good fundamental football, and that's what you need on the corner. We'll find out how good a tackler and how physical he is.
(Scrimmage) A lot is expected of our offense right now. That's something we hang our hat on. We didn't have a very good day offensively. We had some guys out who either didn't play because our trainer wanted to keep them out a little longer on the sideline. Shock was graduating on Saturday which is a good thing, so we didn't have him out there.
The defense has really come on the last four or five practices. In the scrimmage on Saturday, I thought the defense kind of won the day. We had a lot of give and take between the offense and defense, and that's a good thing. But Saturday we missed some reads offensively. There were some times we probably made some mental mistakes that hurt us a lot. I thought overall the defense had a little more energy and came with a little more of a mission.
(Johnny Jefferson) He'll be out for a while. First of all he got his foot stepped on, and that's the biggest issue. He's got some sore ribs, he was in a car wreck the other day. That may be an issue but I get the feeling from Mike Sims he feels it's more the foot right now than anything else. The great news is we've got four good running backs and a couple of walk-on kids who have really been good for us as far as practice wise. When you have four, and one gets banged up a little bit, you don't want to have any serious injuries, bu if he has to miss a few snaps the others can pick it up. So it's a good situation right now.
(Will Johnny play first game?) That will be totally up to our trainers and doctors. Everybody handles pain differently. The thing we're always looking for as coaches is we don't want to put a kid on the field that can hurt himself worse. But if the trainers and doctors feel like he can handle the pain and can go, we're pretty apt to try to push him to get back on the field. With the running back the problem is if your wheels are banged up -- a big part of his ability is he's a physical runner and he's got great balance, but a big part of him being successful is his foot speed.
(Shock) He's looked solid. He looked solid in our summer workouts and has really gotten to the point where he just wants to get in shape. He's a guy who stays out extra on his own. He knows he may have to carry the football a few times. As fast paced as we go if we continue to be successful offensively, there will be a lot of snaps, so it's good we have a lot of depth at running back. But I sense a guy that's on a mission.
(What impression has Seth made on you) First and foremost, (he’s a) great leader. He’s a guy that does it all right, on and off the field. He has great respect from his teammates. He’s an unselfish guy, and that’s key for a quarterback. But he’s got ability, and he’s got the ability to throw it and run it. I think he’s missed a lot of time. He missed some games at the end of last year, missed some spring practices, and we haven’t been in summer practice very long. So, there are a lot of things that I think he’ll improve on, especially mentally – reading defenses and getting us in the right play and those kind of things. But I don’t see anything in Seth right now that I don’t like, other than I think he can be better.
(When you first met him) When I first met him, we were just in summer workouts, so you don’t have footballs, you’re not running any offensive plays. But what was impressive to me was his work ethic. I’ve seen some talented quarterbacks that feel like they just need to show up on Saturday and be good. And from Day 1, you could tell Seth had something other than ability, he had a work ethic and an attitude that you know will be good for the football team.
(Having KD Cannon back for practice) It was nice. Anytime you have a kid coming back off an injury, you’re a little nervous, a little uneasy. I was glad that he practiced today and I think it was good for him. We’re in pretty good shape as far as being a little less than three weeks away. That gives you plenty of time to gradually work your way back in. I think Tate Wallis, our receivers coach, will be careful with him. We got Pooh Stricklin back on the field today. It’s good to see Lynx Hawthorne back. We’ve had to be careful with him. He had some knee tendonitis and had not been full speed. We gave him a few days to rest, so there’s some guys out there that are pretty talented. And if we can keep them all healthy, I think that receiver corps could be good.
(Did the OL make a step today, after struggling in Saturday’s scrimmage) I think the thing that happened to us a little bit Saturday was the offensive line guys have been taking too many reps. When we go with the first and second units, even with our second team we’ve got some good receivers and running backs with that second unit, including Zach Smith the backup quarterback. And with that in mind, you really don’t want those guys out there against the 1 defense or the 2 defense without a good offensive line. Some of the younger offensive linemen may turn out to be OK, but right now we’ve got about seven guys that we feel really comfortable with. So, those seven guys are taking really all the snaps for the 1s and the 2s. And I think after all the hot days that we had outside, I think Saturday we just had some dead legs in the offensive line. So today you could tell they were a little bit fresher and crisper and blocking a little bit better. The defense made a ton of plays today, but the offense had their share, too.
(On how important it was to have Kaz here) There’s no question. In the summertime, he’s the head coach. That’s the way it is in the summer. Coaches have to take a break, and when I got here, they had already planned their vacations and I wanted all of our assistants to get out of here and go take a break. And when they’re gone, he’s got to be the guy. He and his staff do a great job conditioning our team. In the weight room and on the field, he’s a huge part of our success, because as much as you like to do the X’s and O’s stuff, the ability of your guys to play four quarters is key. And that’s pretty much his responsibility.
(Those players needed someone in the transition to keep things in line) Absolutely, that was a huge concern for me. If I came in here with the idea that I wanted to take care of the players, your No. 1 concern has to be to keep things as consistent and stable as you possibly can. And after watching the summer workout with Kaz and his assistants running it, there was no doubt in my mind that we had the right guy running the summer program with the kids.
(The kids ready to get back on the field) I think we’re there. I think right now our guys are focused on football. We’ve just got to make sure we stay focused on football. One of the keys for us . . . I mentioned the other day, I’ve been coaching 40 years, I’ve absolutely never been on a football team – and that was with 11 years at the Air Force Academy – that we didn’t have any individual issues during the year with players and behavior issues. Going forward, we want to put all those issues behind us right now and go play football. So, it’s really important that our kids do a good job of taking care of business off the field. I think that’s going to be real key for us, because right now we’re in a good mindset, we’re focused on playing football. We’re going to have to change gears a little bit on the 22nd, because we start class, so we’re going to have to be focused on the classroom and football. But as far as the kids are concerned, I think they feel really good right now about where we are and going forward and they’re looking forward to playing the first game.
(Is there an excitement around the town) The good thing is I’m pretty under the radar right now. Probably if they hear me talk, they’ll think, ‘Hey, there’s a hillbilly over there.’ They might figure it out. That’s been a little bit different, because a lot of people don’t know me yet. But the ones that have, have all been very gracious and they’ve come up and been very supportive. I think all of Baylor Nation is excited to get going in football, not just our football team.
(Trying to help guys out during practice and scrimmage) Only the things that I might see that after 40 years of coaching that have helped us at other programs. That’s not a lot of rocket science. The things that we do here, obviously, have been very successful. And for me to come in and try to change a bunch of things, I don’t want to do that that. Things that I would like to be able to help with is maybe something here or there that I’ve seen offensively or defensively or in the kicking game. Things like clock management and go for it, don’t go for it, all those kind of game day decision, I think I’ll be involved in.
My deal with the kicking game is not a reflection of anything that’s been done in the past. My thing with the kicking game is when I watched summer workouts I saw how many athletic, fast kids we’ve got. You’ve got to have a good kicker and a good punter and you’ve got to have a good snapper and holder and all those kind of things. But if your kickers and punters and snappers and holders are all solid, we’ve got enough foot speed that we ought to be really good on special teams.
If you win by three or four touchdowns, that gets overlooked. But when you play teams where it goes right to the wire, kicking game becomes huge. Things that I’m stressing are things like turnover margin and penalties and trying to win the penalty battle each week.
I told the offense if you go 500 yards and score 40 points, if you have 100 yards in penalties, you only had 400 yards offense. So it’s a good day, but it could have been better. Defensively, the same way. We used to say 300 yards, but anymore if you hold somebody under 400 yards it’s a pretty good deal. But you go out and have a good day defensively, and you have 100 yards in penalties, just add it to your total yards. Those will be the kind of team things that I’ll try to focus on more than the actual X’s and O’s stuff.
(Seth got an offer from Wake, remember that) I don’t, I never remember the guys we don’t get. But Seth actually told me that we had talked to him a little bit about playing some linebacker, if the quarterback thing didn’t work out. So, what we’re going to do next week is we’re going to play him at linebacker a little bit. I haven’t told KB about that, we’ll wait till next week.
And even if he can’t (play linebacker), maybe he can cover some kickoffs. The bad news is Seth would want to do it.
(What’s it been like for you as a coach) It’s been fun, it’s just been a blessing. The first two months were no fun at all, had no fun dealing with all those issues. Just getting out here with the guys, that was my favorite time was in the mornings when they were working out in the summer. And just being with them and being around the coaches and watching the excitement that the coaches have right now working with the players; all those kind of things that you’re in it for. Most times, people don’t like pressure. But coaches like pressure and it’s kind of been fun to get back with the players and know that you’ve got a game coming up and that you’ve got to plan to get ready for a game. I’ve just been blessed to be around a great group of kids and a great group of coaches.
