If we get the transcript like we did in 2021, it will go here.
Quick notables:
>RB Sqwirl Williams (knee) is ready for the opener
>There were 12 players who ran over 20 mph in Saturday's scrimmage. He's never seen that in his career.
>Aranda noted Taye McWilliams and Qualan Jones had several good runs during the scrimmage.
*****
Transcript
Opening Statement
Excited to get to game week. I think this camp has been very good for us, a fair amount of growth in the camp. You could see guys starting the camp looking for belief and looking for something to hold on to and something to build upon. Felt like throughout the camp, the foundation to all of it became stronger and more fortified and feel a ton of growth throughout the camp.
But, excited for this week. Look at Albany and see a defense that’s veteran in the back end and up front, plays technique, tries to leverage on the run game. And then you look at offensively, you see a running back that’s new, that’s going to be something to deal with. You look at a tight end that’s a mismatch. And then, I think quarterback-wise, you’re probably going to see more than one. We think all are very talented, so it gives us an opportunity to come out and really be challenged to be at our best. I think winning at every level takes so much. It’s just very difficult to do. And I think for a lot of young people, for them to be at their best, for them to give the effort and the detail that’s needed to give us a chance to win, that’s going to be a very strong test for them. So, excited to be in that quest with them.
(As far as team growth, any areas you’re hoping to see come forth in this game) Yeah, I think two areas. One would be just leadership. In the past, in the summer particularly, there might be one way an old guy on the team says something. There might be one way a young guy on the team says something. There might be one way a skilled player says something. There might be another way a lineman says something. There are other areas that all that gets into, but they’re all saying the same thing. And I think they’re all, at times, kind of talking to their own particular little crowd. So, I think maybe to broaden that group and to maybe be connected to others outside of maybe your unit and/or locker room neighbors, I think builds team. And I think that was really addressed throughout the end of summer and into fall camp, and I feel like we’re in a good spot. But, there hasn’t been a bunch of storm weather, thunder and lightning and all that. And that’s when you really kind of get to see how this house was built. So, we’ll see with the leadership part. I’m hoping that all the work that was done previous is for our best now. And then, for our young people, it’s how they respond. So, I think so much of it is, when you first start out . . . I can remember for me, too, when I first started out coaching is, you want to prove yourself. You want to show that you belong and all this. And it’s such a natural thing. But, when you’re older, you look at that and you just go ‘Man, there’s going to be failure, its not going to go 100% right.’ So, how do you respond in the moment? How do you rise from this particular fall? So, those are the things you’re looking for. And I hope this week staff-wise and this week young person-wise, that we can really attach to that how we rise. I think that’s going to say a lot about kind of who we are.
(They added grad transfer Todd Sibley from Pitt. Is the game plan to try to shut down the run game?) Yeah, in a lot of different areas, their run-game percentage, you look at last year, it was 75% or higher. So, running the ball is a huge part of what they do. That sets the table for play-action pass and other things. They use the tight ends, three-man surfaces, wings, four-man surfaces. I think those are all things that we’ve been accustomed to, you could say, throughout spring and fall camp. So, there’s some knowledge of all that. But I think being the first game of the season, being that there’ll be some guys that will be playing or asserting themselves in a role where they haven’t asserted themselves before, I think all of those things are things. And then, in terms of what is new, which we’re counting on stuff being new from Albany’s side, and what has to be adjusted and how that’s communicated and how quickly that’s adjusted, all of those things are really kind of the task within the task, for sure, in defending them.
(What do you want to get out of this first game other than a win) Identity. We talked about this in the staff meeting earlier today: identity, competitive maturity and energy. We talked about identity, there’s a jazz musician who said, ‘Jazz is simple, but simple ain’t easy.’ It would be great to really be good at the ‘simple ain’t easy’ part. I think there’s a fair amount of teams that maybe struggle with that part. For us to really make an impact in that area would be ideal. And then, the competitive maturity part, so how do we handle . . . the first half to go down. I think we can define suffering as anytime that you’re not in control. What’s great about football is that a fair amount of us will not be in control of outcomes, of this call or that result and all these things. So, how we handle that will have a lot to do with where our competitive maturity is. A lot to be desired from a year ago, first game. And then, energy-wise, I think for sure there’s going to be strong energy to start the game. But, depending on where the game is . . . we’re struggling to get in it, we’re ahead of it, regardless of where it is, we want to really continue to build energy, so that our sideline is winning the battle of sidelines, and that our team is out there performing and getting better as the game goes.
Q: How are Craig Williams and Al Walcott coming along?
A: Craig had about a week there when he was off the field. He came back from a scare with his knee. He’s been great. There is a calmness and a real strong maturity with him that attracts a lot of the guys to him. They see how he handles all the ups and downs of that particular day or week of football. I think he’s one to look out for. I’m excited about his progression right now.
Al brings a tremendous amount of energy, and I think his leadership and communication on the football field has really been an asset to us. With some of the losses from last year to this, those were two areas that were directly hit. I think Al in his own way and his own style kind of brings it back to the forefront for us.
Q: How have your nerves in the first game changed from your first year to this year?
A: After every game, you have a brand new team. I think as you go into it further, really after every day you have a brand new team. We don’t want to be in this category, but for a lot of folks, a day like today is as good as it gets because the wins and losses come, which now forces me versus you, now I have to prove this, I have to win for this. It becomes what was once connected and awfully hopeful, what was once looked at as a journey for self growth and connection, is now looked at as hey we need to win. If you ain’t winning, get to the back. That can happen fast, so in just seeing the energy of the team and where that is, and I think in coaches think there’s a fair amount of control that coaches can have over X’s and O’s, and it’s quite common that if something didn’t work out, well player this and player that. So just really getting into those things prior to it becoming a thing is probably the difference I see now as opposed to before.
Q: Has the team felt the extra attention, and how has the team handled that?
A: I have not felt it. Anytime we’re in a meeting or out on the practice field, it’s been way intentional. We had a mock game on Saturday, and a fair amount of it was hey this how pregame works or this is how the Bear Walk works, this is your locker, this is how the tight ends go out, the D-line goes out, this is the stretching we do, this is what the position coach does in pregame. If you’re on defense and the offense is out, this is how it’s going to work. We’re going to talk to you and make sure you hydrate and all that stuff.
There was also a scrimmage. We had 12 guys over 20 miles per hour on Saturday, and that has never happened since I’ve been here. We made that point to try to get that. Some of it can feel like you’re taking a museum tour, like this is this, look at that. Then to kind of flip the switch and go fast, and play green and all, all that is way cool, man. It’s been like that, I guess. But even if you’re here at the Banc or in between the locker room, there has been a focus. I certainly see it and am aware of it, and I’m sure they are too. But I think there has been a good focus and a good connection with the team to not get outside the lines with it.
Q: How deep do you go with the running backs in first game?
A: I think the No. 1 thing for us is to put our identity out and to play with some great competitive maturity and to have really strong energy. In doing those things, we hope that we get the results that we want. So whatever it takes for that would be the ideal. Anything after that, any opportunity we can have to get guys work when that’s deserved work is always strong. But we’re really not thinking that way going into this. We’re thinking this is a brand new team and we have ideals, we have values we would love for this team to identify with. But this team hasn’t done anything yet, so we’re going to be tested on Saturday and we’ll see what that is.
Q: How have you seen the running game develop since the first scrimmage?
A: I thought in the second scrimmage there was a positive from Taye. Then Qualan too, there were a couple runs where he put his shoulder down and finished and fell forward. There has been improvement. That position room I would still say has probably been the most improved from where they were at the start of the fall to the first game of the season. I’m excited about that progression.
Q: Have you seen Blake Shapen and Gavin Holmes progress as vocal leaders?
A: What’s cool about all that is when a guy’s ready he’s ready. There’s just something about the rhyme and the flow of the year or the season. You get in the spring and I feel guys feel the need to assert themselves a little bit. You get in the summer and it’s pretty strong, and then you get into fall camp. It’s almost like any time they’re away from you and they come back, it’s like it kind of crystalizes for them. They need to not see your face or hear you for a while. I feel like when they came back from a break for fall, they had a week off, it was that way for those two in particular. It’s been really good. There have been times when practices haven’t been to what they should be, and Blake calls out people. Receiver-wise, the detail and level of focus that we need to have wasn’t there, and Gavin talked. For someone that’s not a talker to become a talker, you have to be careful with that because you want it to be authentic, you want it to be real. You want to get them to feel that hey man, whether you’re a talker or not, you’re a huge part of this team and people look up to you. They feel both feet are on the ground and there’s love for them no matter what. That voice kind of comes, so it’s cool for those two and I’m excited for the leadership they can bring.
Last edited by a moderator:
