March 31, 2009
Q. You have been out here for a week now, are you starting to get a sense of the players that are going to make the best of the opportunity this spring and those that maybe need to step up more?
A. I think so. Saturday we had a good practice and we were able to see a lot of different guys. We are starting to evaluate guys and forming an opinion on people.
Q. Is there anybody in particular that has stood out so far?
A. I thought some of the young quarterbacks, Mike Stukel and Kriss Proctor, did a good job. I am excited about our young linebackers, especially Caleb King and Max Blue. I thought they did some good things. I thought Fran Archibald did some good things at nose guard. Jerry Hauburger flew around pretty good. I also thought we had some veterans play well, but we kind of know what they do.
Q. Speaking of your younger quarterbacks you moved one of them over to the defensive backfield, Brian Blick. Can you tell me what went into that decision?
A. It was a numbers game. We are kind of low at that position and at quarterback, unlike other positions, you can't rotate guys. You only play one guy at a time and we have three other quarterbacks right now in the same class as Brian. We knew we were going to move somebody. It was between Brian and Kameron. There is a possibility that we could move Stukel or Proctor to slot back so we decided to keep Kameron at quarterback.
Q. When you make a position move like that is it based on need or is it because that player fits that position best?
A. Both. We needed to move a quarterback based on numbers and we have some injuries at defensive back so we wanted to give Brian a shot to see what he can do at safety.
Q. Mario Washington and Mike Schupp are two guys that have stood out to me so far in practice. Can you talk about the presence they bring to the wide receiver position and how they are going to go about replacing Tyree Barnes?
A. I am really excited about those two guys. Mario had a good practice on Saturday. He has been really aggressive going after the ball and making some big plays. He just has to become more consistent. Schupp is a very consistent player. He is a steady player.
