SMU OC Casey Woods scouts Nevada, addresses QB competition between Preston Stone, Kevin Jennings

what were your impressions of the the scrimmage this past weekend um it was uh it was a good scrimmage uh honestly to get done what we needed to get done finishing up the camp here um I think that we took um you know we we've had a really really physical Camp which has been good so we took a little bit different approach I thought to the scrimmage um as far as we wanted to get done out of a little bit more um organized forcing situations and and getting some of those things done but I thought our I thought we got of it what we wanted to I thought we got out there and we competed um there was an you know 8 to 10 players that you kind of want to see under the lights one more time and um had an opportunity to do that and get some good evaluations on some young guys that are right on the border of making a bus or right on the border of making a team or right on the border of making a decision between second or third uh guy on the depth chart and and I thought there was some good solidification some good movement that that came from that week anyone who really made a move in your opinion um you know I thought it was really good to see Adam Moore you know uh feeling more and more confident about um him being able to be in the game and be an every down type of player you know it's good that we've got we got guys ahead of them that are still um really talented right professional type guys that that can that are going to set the tone for our tight end room but he's a guy that's developed he's come a long way um he's kind of learned our offense and invested in you know in in what this place is and this is you know this Dallas is kind of like a foreign country to him so coming in here and being a part of this is it's been fun to watch him develop and I'm excited to excited to watch him you know have some opportunities this this fall Casey a lot of coaches talk about how the No Limits to onfield coaches make it so the younger guys get a lot better but how does it make you as a coordinator better to have no limits on that well that's a uh that's a great question um I you you have all the help that you need from those standpoints right I I think that there was a lot of logistics that you had to operate before in the past and hey this this is what coaching is this is what coaching isn't so you can encourage but you can't direct and you can clap but you can't Pat or whatever you know so it's without having to do that you relieve some of the rest restraints there it also opens up meeting times that I think are really good right we we got to get in there invest as a staff and on our game plan and what it is that we're doing now I got a young coach and and Parker's uh was a ga anyway but but you get other guys um that can go take meeting time and you know that that ordinarily they couldn't have done right they couldn't have an instructional meeting with somebody before now they can go take that off your plate and they can just being involved in the coaching activities um uh gives them great reps right that's my advice to them is is two things never miss a rep and and try to save them all right at this point in their career they need to they need to be invested in Saving every member of our team and making every member of our team better and and there's hard decisions that get made at the top above them but but but in their role right we're trying to get everybody to class and we're trying to make sure everybody's got a great attitude we're trying to make sure when we go to Scouts that it's our all right you got to invest this way or another and and giving those guys the opportunity and they're young and they're energetic and they're you know believe in what it is that's going on just like we all did at one point you know coming into this thing and so it's it's fun to watch them get reps it's it's a great um it proba the most it kind of gives us less work a little bit because we don't have to get you know evaluate everything every move that we make um to stay compliant with with what all is going on um and then you know the other part of that is kind of feeling out um what it's going to take to operate an execute from a coaching standpoint you know what I mean that's you I I certainly think you can have too many people right uh giving instruction and that's another thing for these young coaches it's U um yeah it's your young coach your opportunity to make a rep but that doesn't necessarily mean that hey you you feel free to give your opinion on how it is that we ought to make this coaching point but once we make this coaching point we're both saying the same thing so it's they're not getting five different instructions on one on one way to execute and so you know finding a good balance I think moving forward um with how the staff's going to look um this gives us a great opportunity to evaluate exactly how many people it's going to take and and it's really cool to see those young guys get out there I I I remember you know I'd worked for four years in in one of those kind of entry level roles trying to bust into this thing and so it's cool to see those guys um have energy and and and get an opportunity what goes into balancing that physicality where you don't want rning back to be surprised when you can get that first tackle week one yeah you know um coach Lashley said this and I thought this was really um profound um I I've I've had my butt whipped in the past because we weren't physical enough I've never had my butt kicked because this one great player got hurt and it was you know what I mean and not that that can't happen and you we you can't be dumb tough you'll hear him talk about that a lot there's no reason for us to take our best most seasoned players put them in a position um to get injured in something that's routine play that they can already make so that so that's not what we're looking to do but but I think straining the toughness you can go I I I've been I've been part of teams where I've got my ass kicked because we weren't Tough Enough and so we we we will make sure that that's not the case moving into a league where they're tougher and that they are more physical and I think that um there's balance and there's conversation and you got to you know go back and forth and I think done a great job taking the pulse of the team and we've got an older team with good leaders and they understand what it is that we're trying to get out of here and and some of our best leaders like Justin Osborne showing up to practice every day and wearing all his pads when it's a non-pad drill and sprinting F that's great it's a great example for everybody it's a great example for you know what we want this team to achieve and and he's a guy that's kind of set the tone for that you know amongst others so when you came out of spring I'm sure there were things you wanted to see during Camp what were those and what has made giving you more confidence or just just in your group specific uh the tight end group is what you're or the offense um so offensively we knew that we needed to build depth in our um in our offensive line and it was probably the wildest Bunch that we had and we got great talent most most Talent we've had since I've been here most athletic we've been since I've been here um but just Wilder you know and and getting that group to jail because they just got to operate with such um dependence on one another you know to be able to get uh to get that executed so so we knew we had to come out of that with more depth I think that we went and one we recruited it and got some guys here on campus that could help us compete and and two that's given us layers of depth and there's still some guys that we brought in that aren't ready to play but they did provide us um opportunity to really push those first guys to get together and start to Jael them we've been able to move around some guys um to really consistently build that you know I think that we've got um experience in the receiver room so building up some of those young guys and giving them an opportunity like jamarian Carol Randy Reese some of those guys to show up um for the first time in the tight end room I mentioned Adam Moore you know Matthew hibner was an an awesome addition to what it is that we're trying to get do done now we feel like we got really co-starters at that position and then Adam building up to that um you know our running backs have have been uh you know unfortunate about Kamar and all that but we're but we're really building in um everybody else that we got we got brashard Smith coming along and and and learning really a position that he's not played since Peewee ball and so having an opportunity over the course of uh spring and summer to build him in a position to uh to go out and execute as uh you know building depth was probably the biggest thing that we wanted to get done to answer your original question and I think that we've done that I think we've answered some questions about young guys that are building their way up and and and we're you know we're taking evaluations on a team that was recruited to play in the American and and now you know who it is who is it that can play in the Atlantic coast and and um and making sure that we're ready moving you know recruiting never stops right recruiting never stop so having an evaluation of what that 25 team looks like and making sure that we're still doing the right things to build that team while still also trying to win games can you get a sense of that in the first couple weeks or does it really take a few weeks to see what guys hey these guys can compete at an e yeah no I think and I think that our by weeks kind of fall uh in that's going to help us this year the way that they fall right that that fourth week that I it's every three weeks right basically so I think that um you'll have great opportunities at especially those first two by weeks to evaluate your team then that last bye now you got to evaluate okay who may move on who's you know what what guys are leaving for sure what underclassmen have an opportunity to go to the NFL is there any you know portal concerns things like that there's a constant evaluation that takes place and you know coach lash's got a great exercise for us that we do do that we've um that we'll do a couple times during the course of the Season that we've got to go uh that you know that first bye and we got to go in there as a staff and we got to say all right when we kick off the season versus whoever we kick off with in 25 right we're we're going to take the field against this team who is it that's going to start for us you know and I think that we got to draw them up and if there's a if there's somebody missing right if we don't have a starting left guard or and I really the two deep really the two deep right if we don't have a starting left guard or we don't have a and those are arbitrary guesses right but and then or a backup slot receiver okay that's that's what you got to answer through more experienced players probably and then and then you got to have the conversations about guys that um you know we've got the best class SMU ever signed you know at least since they've been keeping rankings of that building right now and so we you know we got to evaluate those guys that um who do we think can come in contribute as freshman and and they're all part of that um part of that kind of that grid that you're that you're making and and to build that too deep headed into the first game of 25 I know we're here to answer questions about 24 but we're getting out there man you know back to back to 24 you've got Preston and Kevin uh who've been competing who both played in games won big games contributed how do you guys handle them this season and and just trying to keep both happy and maybe it's a it's a it's a challenge and an excitement at the same time the best thing that we got um with them right now is is their their professional approach and attitude they they've they've taken great relief off of us and great relief off of themselves by being so supportive of each other you know and I think that both of them want to win both of them are capable of winning both of them are going to contribute and help us win this season you know and I think that as we get to that who's jogging out there to take the first snap and all you know I mean those those decisions will come and and and our team's got to embrace that and and lift it up and and I think we've got a mature team that's able to do that I think we got 25 seniors you know so it's it's guys that have been through these experiences and um and there's not there's not an unknown that exists you know it's a lot of times when you're watching um quarterbacks compete in those situations that maybe it's maybe it nobody's ever started before and we got to all right we're taking a risk on somebody I it's it's a little bit low risk who we send out there first you know what I mean we got two guys that can win in this league two guys that have proven to be able to win and so um it it they're fun guys to coach our team loves them they surround them I and the nature of the Beast they're both going to have to play and help us win this year so um really excited you know once we get to that point then obviously I know coach Lashley will handle that but um but it it it's we've barely missed a beat this fall Camp they've been supportive of each other we can rotate them in and out day by day and uh and and it's there's not huge shifts in the offense I think we can execute what it is that we want to do both of them are operating within the system the way we want them to and both of them have natural playmaking ability you know so it's um the the the biggest challenge I think for them is Right Kevin Jennings can't try to be Preston Preston can't try to be Kevin like they got to be their own versions of themselves and and go do that don't don't try to make plays that you wouldn't ordinarily make go go make the plays that you would make let him make the plays he's going to make and then um and then let us evaluate and and put us in the right position to to win and and score points do you think y made the decision yet about who's going to take that first SN no I don't think so I mean I think there's ongoing conversation as there has been since January right so it's I I think that we've got a good mindset about hey we want to evaluate this thing all the way to the end and and let those guys um compete and and separate themselves in the places where they they could or couldn't I don't think that there's a enormous when you take a picture of snapshot of our offense you send whoever you send out there I don't think that you feel um strongly one way or the other about oh gosh we can't execute this part of our offense or this is going to give us trouble or anything like that I think it's going to be um it's a it's a good it's a good problem to have but it's a challenge you know that and and um we're ready for it and that's why you know they put us in these positions and and fortunately we've got uh two Proven Winners that are really good strong men and they believe in themselves they believe in this team and and we're we're going to execute at a high level any either way any initial Impressions on Nevada Nevada's defense or what they think yeah any how that's pronounced say it don't need fans coming after me oh it's I there's a town in Iowa called nadaa I think so I I'm pretty sure it's not that one pretty sure it's not that one but um I you know I got great respect for uh coach choke he's been a winter everywhere he's been um I don't I it ain't going to take him long to get good you know and I know that in in this portal world that we live in I think maybe Dave Randa had a quote about this or something that was like I how do you how do you even know who to evaluate who's on their you we got like their roster and we got kind of their beat riter says this guy may play you know but like we're going to drag out there and have you know it's they've got okay I know that guy's a good player I know that guy's a good player we can probably fit in where they're going to end up so from a Personnel standpoint you got to believe that in in the era that we're playing in in college football that you're going to have experienced enough tackling hitters you know what I mean it's they're not going to go out there and put somebody that can't play out there because they're forced to it's they're going to have somebody's going to have experience in playing football so you know that they're going to be sound enough from that standpoint uh schematically he's he's been a a success for a lot of years you know he's reunited with this defensive coordinator that he was with at Montana State so um seeing those guys execute when they were at Montana State man they had it rolling so and then certainly he's been around winning down there with Sark and those guys these past couple years so um I think it I it's going to be a really good challenge for us you know we we coach has talked about raising it all all off season right we got nine months of trying to raise it and and we're have an opportunity to go up there and into a different kind of environment than our kids are used to playing in and um and and see where we're at see how far we have raised it so that'll be great challenge look forward to uh getting up there and seeing what we're all about do you have an update on tomorrow that you can get I can't no probably spoke too soon on that but no I cannot coach will answer those questions when we when we get around to that so he posted on Instagram so there you go but