Matt Wells
- Wells saying Saturday's Spring Game is a good opportunity for younger guys to step up. They have returning guys who they have high expectations for but these chances are big for the younger players
- SaRodorick Thompson got hurt on a freak play, almost "non contact". Seth Collins had to get his knee cleaned up.
- Tyler Shough knows the offense, he knows what's going in each day. He's "drinking from a firehose" and Wells says he still has room for improvement. June and July will help him a lot going through player-led practices.
- The kickers made three 50+ yard field goals combined on Saturday. The kickers are both at 88-89% on field goals this spring. Wells seems very happy with the kickers, Garibay and Wolff. "This will be a competition that goes through the end of training camp"
- "It's a balance, it's the hardest thing we do in spring. Bodies can only handle so much. We monitor that, but when we go 'thud' that's full contact." - Wells on practicing full contact vs not during spring.
- "J.J. Sparkman had some really good moments today. He's a big body, strong hands. Bright future, he'll be a guy in that room that will play a certain amount of reps. He's a big target for those quarterbacks."
- Wells says Jacob Morgenstern was unavailable at practice today. He says it was nothing serious.
- Keith Patterson hurt his knee skiing and then he tweaked it the other day. Says he's getting older than he thinks. Wells' daughter comes to practice a lot and she's worried about him. Wells joking that Patterson will be starting off the injury report every week now.
Nelson Mbanasor and Adrian Frye
- Mbanasor: "it's really nice to be back out there. It's a renewed love for football, I really missed that last season. Being back right now is a special thing, hopefully I can continue to stay healthy."
- Frye: "we got Marquis Waters from Duke, we got Rayshad coming UCLA and Malik from North Carolina State. They all bring different knowledge of the game and picking up things from everyone is a good thing. Waters' memory is ridiculous. Their work ethic is great too. I just like how they came into the program and they act like they're one of us."
- Frye: "mentally I was shell-shocked with the position move to safety, I was trying to adapt to something I wasn't used to and I didn't play like myself. I just didn't play as well as I was supposed to. Now it's time to get back to playing how I can."
- Mbanasor: "It's year 3 in the system. Tony Bradford took a big step last year, he's our leader. We have no excuse to not get the job done this season."
On who is giving them the most competition...
Mbanasor: "TJ Storment from TCU. I go against him every day and it's 50/50. He's a old guy so he knows what he's doing. He's been really good for me."
Frye: "Erik Ezukanma. He's hands down an All-Big 12 receiver. Being able to learn from Antoine Wesley and TJ Vasher when he was younger, and now he's blooming into the receiver he can be."
On what they're working on...
Mbanasor: "We just gotta get better every day. Keep stacking good days."
Frye: "The biggest thing to work on is consistency."
Biggest area of improvement since they arrived...
Mbanasor: "I'd say the effort and discipline. You can't take one day off in this program or you will get ridiculed by your teammates."
Frye: "I agree with that. It's effort. You can't lollygag on the field. That mindset is the biggest thing we've changed."
McLane Mannix
- on how Shough has fit into the offense: "I think he's fit in really well. He's a natural leader and he's got a really good arm."
- on the biggest thing for him: "Staying healthy. I was injured last season so that's the biggest thing for me."
- Mannix says that Loic Fouonji and JJ Sparkman have impressed him in the wide receiver room
- Mannix says that the new offense has a lot more routes, double moves and go routes for slot receivers compared to last season
- Him, Myles Price and Dalton Rigdon are all really good friends but on the field there's good competition
- "There's a pretty big chip on our shoulders. We have really good players on this team. I think we're gonna shock a lot of people next fall."
- "It was a really easy decision for me to come back. I didn't get to play last year so once we got that option I knew I was going to come back."
- Wells saying Saturday's Spring Game is a good opportunity for younger guys to step up. They have returning guys who they have high expectations for but these chances are big for the younger players
- SaRodorick Thompson got hurt on a freak play, almost "non contact". Seth Collins had to get his knee cleaned up.
- Tyler Shough knows the offense, he knows what's going in each day. He's "drinking from a firehose" and Wells says he still has room for improvement. June and July will help him a lot going through player-led practices.
- The kickers made three 50+ yard field goals combined on Saturday. The kickers are both at 88-89% on field goals this spring. Wells seems very happy with the kickers, Garibay and Wolff. "This will be a competition that goes through the end of training camp"
- "It's a balance, it's the hardest thing we do in spring. Bodies can only handle so much. We monitor that, but when we go 'thud' that's full contact." - Wells on practicing full contact vs not during spring.
- "J.J. Sparkman had some really good moments today. He's a big body, strong hands. Bright future, he'll be a guy in that room that will play a certain amount of reps. He's a big target for those quarterbacks."
- Wells says Jacob Morgenstern was unavailable at practice today. He says it was nothing serious.
- Keith Patterson hurt his knee skiing and then he tweaked it the other day. Says he's getting older than he thinks. Wells' daughter comes to practice a lot and she's worried about him. Wells joking that Patterson will be starting off the injury report every week now.
Nelson Mbanasor and Adrian Frye
- Mbanasor: "it's really nice to be back out there. It's a renewed love for football, I really missed that last season. Being back right now is a special thing, hopefully I can continue to stay healthy."
- Frye: "we got Marquis Waters from Duke, we got Rayshad coming UCLA and Malik from North Carolina State. They all bring different knowledge of the game and picking up things from everyone is a good thing. Waters' memory is ridiculous. Their work ethic is great too. I just like how they came into the program and they act like they're one of us."
- Frye: "mentally I was shell-shocked with the position move to safety, I was trying to adapt to something I wasn't used to and I didn't play like myself. I just didn't play as well as I was supposed to. Now it's time to get back to playing how I can."
- Mbanasor: "It's year 3 in the system. Tony Bradford took a big step last year, he's our leader. We have no excuse to not get the job done this season."
On who is giving them the most competition...
Mbanasor: "TJ Storment from TCU. I go against him every day and it's 50/50. He's a old guy so he knows what he's doing. He's been really good for me."
Frye: "Erik Ezukanma. He's hands down an All-Big 12 receiver. Being able to learn from Antoine Wesley and TJ Vasher when he was younger, and now he's blooming into the receiver he can be."
On what they're working on...
Mbanasor: "We just gotta get better every day. Keep stacking good days."
Frye: "The biggest thing to work on is consistency."
Biggest area of improvement since they arrived...
Mbanasor: "I'd say the effort and discipline. You can't take one day off in this program or you will get ridiculed by your teammates."
Frye: "I agree with that. It's effort. You can't lollygag on the field. That mindset is the biggest thing we've changed."
McLane Mannix
- on how Shough has fit into the offense: "I think he's fit in really well. He's a natural leader and he's got a really good arm."
- on the biggest thing for him: "Staying healthy. I was injured last season so that's the biggest thing for me."
- Mannix says that Loic Fouonji and JJ Sparkman have impressed him in the wide receiver room
- Mannix says that the new offense has a lot more routes, double moves and go routes for slot receivers compared to last season
- Him, Myles Price and Dalton Rigdon are all really good friends but on the field there's good competition
- "There's a pretty big chip on our shoulders. We have really good players on this team. I think we're gonna shock a lot of people next fall."
- "It was a really easy decision for me to come back. I didn't get to play last year so once we got that option I knew I was going to come back."
