Dave Aranda (first half)
I thought spring was good for us. I think from the very beginning of winter when the guys came back, I’ve mentioned this before, the staff there’s new pieces there. The guys coming in really from the first meeting, if you give us half your heart, we can show you half our power. If you give us all your heart, we can change your life. I you look at that, Baylor University, Baylor athletics, our football team, with the whole approach that football is way important but there’s so many things that are equally so. Just attacking them all in all phases on and off the field with the classroom, I’m way proud of this group. This is a way young group, their GPA is way up, looking at competing there and finishing really strong. Look at the practices, they go by so fast. Last year there would be things that would be just so long. Now it goes by like that. It’s a really good feeling. I thought today there were a lot of things and good stuff that we’ve seen and I hope your guys were able to see. There are some building blocks that are further up than others and some we’ve got some work to do. But with our approach we can do it.
(What did you see from the QBs today and throughout the spring and when do you expect to make that decision) With Blake, I saw a real calm today and a command, and was way centered on something good happening and something bad happening, and I didn’t see him fazed at all. I saw him step up in the pocket with pressure and didn’t see happy feet and things. I saw some good throws from the hash to the opposite sideline. I was really pleased with him.
And then Sawyer has kind of been becoming all the way through from the beginning, getting of a play in the read mixed up with an Air Raid play, and reading it from the right where you’re used to reading it from the left. Just all those things from the beginning to where he is now, we had a 40-second clock there, so his command and getting guys lined up are really good, and he’ll only continue to get better.
It was cool to see RJ, he had some magic tricks out there with the pressure he was getting, and he is way cool, calm and collected under some pressure too.
The idea is to kind of huddle up with the offensive guys. I think we’re ready to make a choice, but I want to make sure they’re ready, so we’ll be able to do that when we get back in the room.
(1st part of ‘Does Sawyer give you the possibility of more than what Blake brought when you named him starter last year?’)
No, I appreciate that. I think the choice last year was to try to throw the ball downfield more. And just be more explosive in the pass game. I think anytime that there’s tight ends and running game … and what we’re trying to do on defense is get tight, get close, get edges. They’ve got seven, we want eight in the box and all that. And so, it opens up potential big plays. And so, that was the thought last year.
I look at I look at Sawyer, I look at his ability to run, he’s got a moxie and kind of a spirit that’s contagious. And I think his growth and his learning is just going to continue to take off just because of his want-to with everything. But then, I look at Blake and I look at the season that was last year and how disappointing it was. To walk around and carry that can be heavy. And then, to put in work and to make changes and to really kind of confront the things that were holding you back, and to do it in a way to not bring attention to yourself but really just to focus on the specifics of the thing is a way cool thing to see. You see a dude just kind of grow up, really mature. So, that’s happening right now for Blake, and we’re excited for him. I thought you could see just the coolness and just the whole thing today, and I think that’s tied into that. So, I think we’re blessed with the two we’ve got. Like I said, RJ’s got some spunk in him, too, man. That dude’s got some playmaking ability in there. So, we’re blessed.
(will you release it when you name a QB) I appreciate the question. Yeah, I don’t know. I have to imagine we probably, with all of the intention to it, we probably need to huddle up and have a good way of doing that. And I’m sure that we will.
(was the scoring system fun for the players) I think it is. I appreciate that. This is the first time for me ever going offense versus defense. I’ve always been a part of just teams. And I think the advantage of doing this is just the competitiveness of it. The two points for big plays on offense, there was some bantering going on throughout the week of how, ‘Dave, they’re getting points for these things, we’re just getting points for touchdowns.’ Right away, I think as a defensive coach, when that plea is being bargained, you know you’re going to deal with double moves and just all these other things. But I think it just makes it more competitive, makes it more fun. And then, the offensive guys are getting on me because some of the sacks were maybe questionable. We’re trying to keep it competitive. So, it’s all part of it.
(on Coach Powledge and the defense flying around) It’s cool for me to walk around in the walk-throughs and see an attention to detail and a focus. There’s an energy that you feel, it’s a contagious one when there’s a fit drill going on in front of you and hands are in the right spot, the correct foot is up, eyes are in the right spot, and there’s just all this detail to it. And then you look behind you, and the guys that are not in the drill, they are kind of fitted up in the same way from what’s happening up front. So, that’s the stance really on defense. So, to have that, I think, is just going to translate into positive things on the field. I think there’s a lot of guys that are locked-in that way, so it’s cool to see.
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