UW Football Weekly Press Conference: Week One (Weber State)

yeah can what's up guys for both of you guys outside of a WI today um what or not today on Saturday what do you what are your guys' goals for your units respectively I'll take this first yeah you go ahead I'll start off with this one uh yeah we want our guys play really hard uh we want to have a physical style physical brand and we'd like to put that on display um we'd obviously like to uh execute very well at a high level um and uh see our guys all have some success um early on but uh it's a very good opponent uh they're they're built to stop the run and um so uh we got a challenge out of us Echo everything he said well said thanks Steve how are your college eyes changed in the last 15 practices in fall and what they were in the spring you say that one more time what was the start how how have your college eyes adjusted or changed in the last say month and a half the ball Camp um yeah I mean I'm definitely you know football is football um was a little different uh different view um coming to college but um football footb is football and um I don't know I had to think pretty hard about that question so I guess I'm I'm used to it now Steve is it just the level of competition that we got a depth chart yesterday and it showed three of the five secondary spots are kind of this guy or this guy like they're all they're all up in competition still um is that kind of surprise you a little bit that you're so late with uh these guys still playing for a starting position uh no I mean to me it's a good problem to have right you can't decide which one which one should be in there both of them could be in there um guys can move around guys can play um you know dep chars you know it's just depth chart there's a lot more to it um than that I mean it means something I'm not saying that but like you know a lot of guys are going to play in the game I'm sure on both sides of the ball for sure um and so you know who's ever out there on the on the first play um that doesn't mean that you know other guys won't won't get in there and rotate how much does it help your just on that note how much does help your defensive line rotation have Jon Park back in the mix as well yeah the the more good players that we can play have playing the game is is what we're looking for Steve how much has your process changed in terms of you know what kind of knowledge base do you need to create whether it's weer state or the Miami Dolphins how much has your process maybe changed in going to this week and and just how much do you dive in to what the play caller is that you're going to be facing yeah yeah I mean uh uh I think every process is different every opponent's different every coach is different um you know going against BC every day in Camp and in the spring um kept me up at night sometimes thinking about you know like those battles like it's just the competitive nature and and how you go about your business um but no you don't want to you don't want to overthink some of the stuff um you know it's it's Tuesday of game week just like next week we'll a Tuesday of game week and then just like after that after that um we've been going against each other for so long and great battles too guys yeah great battles um but like we've been going against each other for so long and then now it's time to get ready for the game and so we haven't been thinking about the game recently we've just been going against each other and so now it's time to get ready for the game so it's not like I'm not going to speak for BC but I've been preparing for this game and this specific opponent for however many months I've just been getting the guys ready to go and compete with what what's on that day or what that week had going now it's flipping a little bit but um we'll still get some OD competitive work we'll we'll do different stuff but uh I mean the process is just kind of happens organically I guess yeah we've we've got through the development of battling each other and now we've uh obviously turned our attention to Weber State um they're a really good opponent and uh and so we've had to make some adjustments they do some things that we're not going to see from these guys and vice versa um and offense and defense as well but uh this is a uh this is a great challenge for us so we're excited to get going Brandon in uh rebuilding this uh offensive line five five new starters since last year you've got all kind of Veteran guys from some somewhere or place or another with the exception of swanie folo could you talk a little bit about him he's the one young guy that just got into the lineup yeah Swan's had a great spring and development um and getting bigger faster stronger um he's probably up about I don't know probably 30 pounds since we got here strength and uh strength and nutrition have done a fantastic job with him uh getting him to the point where he's at right now so um he's uh he's ready to play college football he uh you know getting those 15 spring practice was huge for him you know played I think maybe 14 of 15 he was out there um you know getting great reps in and then so then he had all summer to work out and then he had a fantastic uh Camp so we're really excited about him what he's uh uh the steps he's made in his development how heavy is he right now today oh yeah he's like probably in the 320s hey big kid you guys seen him big sry no unless you haven't seen Swan then I'll go get him last week so unless when I talked to De over the summer after he committed to you guys he said that he wanted to challenge himself how do you feel he embraced that challenge and kind of pass that chall yeah D'Angelo's been awesome uh he's uh he's taken a fantastic leadership role and kind of uh he's always wanted to be here this has been the school he he grew up rooting for um and so when he got this opportunity he was really excited about obviously uh he has uh he's done a great job in the leadership role just being an older guy you know helping the young guys along um you know he's got some uh he's got some great leadership traits in that aspect um and then he's played a bunch of football so he's he's seen a lot and he's got some great background um to help us uh get this thing off the ground running where have you seen the most grow and Enoch from mahigh since he he's come in um he's been fantastic um he's a heck of a ball player um I think we're uh lucky to have him um he's been a fantastic addition to the room but also just been a great teammate to everybody um he's got an infectious uh attitude um and the guys want to play with him want to play next to him um want to be around him great kid and uh he's he's going to be a really talented uh player I I don't see this as his last year playing Steve with with as much as your dad has been out of practice and stuff um I'm curious when you guys communicate just on a regular basis how much of it is about Washington and Washington's defense and so what sort of insights does he maybe share with you about what what he's seen out here or what he saw practice or whatever it might be yeah I mean I think B BC can speak on this also like the guy's my dad so like we don't just talk about football we have a life um and we talk about Father and Son things he's also a football coach just like me I've coached with him but like we do do other things believe it or not and he's a mentor to me um on and off the field but the thing that I appreciate most about my dad and BC's s similar situation is like he calls to check in on me as a person and if football comes up it comes up um I can call him about stuff in life or I can call him about stuff in football which just like other people who have experience uh who are older than me I can call people about life call people about football um but there is more to our relationship surprisingly than just football yeah that that could be a real thing uh coach belich when he talks to me we don't have that same blind but when coach Carol talks to me um uh yeah a lot of lot of Life stuff just uh you know future he's got a bunch of grandkids he likes to hang out with and um uh yeah he's got other endeavors so but he needs he needs help now because you know this this is he's used to having a job now he's got something else going on so he's you know he needs some advice here and there so I hope him too nailed it yeah what's the one biggest question mark you guys have going into this game for both your units yeah I think this is just uh you know getting to getting to go against another opponent that's really the only thing we haven't done we've been uh like coach mentioned we've been battling each other for a long time um these guys are ready to go play physical they're ready to go play uh fast they're ready to go fly around um it'll just be you know taking all the coaching points and then applying them to uh a different opponent we only will have seen one time and it's when they first roll the ball out there so um but past that um you know we got to play our game we got to do our stuff um and we got to do uh do right longer so could both of you maybe just give a a quick Glimpse at what you see on tape from Weaver State maybe a couple players you're keeping an eye on that have popped off the tape for you sure uh yeah up front they're uh they're really uh really Stout uh Wilson and Thompson are are both guys that have uh come back and uh probably had opportunities to go elsewhere but stuck around the program um so they're really solid up front get a really good front uh seven um and then they'll put the safety in the box and play with eight guys down there so um yeah they'll be they'll be pretty s up front they fly around uh they're physical um they can uh they can play sh up the field they do a lot of movements too so we got to be ready for everything yeah think um for them offensively uh you know with the quarterback who played at the end of the year um and coming into the year as a starter um most offenses it starts with a quarterback um they got skill Play Return they got some guys up front um but I think you just got to focus on uh what we do um our technique um we've gone gone against a lot of good players we should have some confidence in being able to do that so when we line up against some good players on Saturday they should feel confident doing that but um there's a lot of moving Parts going into the first game of the season and how their guys are going to be us use what they're going to do um try not to overthink that stuff uh quarterback's quarterback backs receivers all that stuff um there's going to be some of them in the game um whether you know them or not just just trust your Technique trust what you've been doing we've seen different styles of players against our offense at all positions up front quarterback receivers um so um trust your Technique follow your rules and um go execute Steve you've really focused on a lot of Versatility your players something you've talked about a lot in during the game it looked like your your lines were almost kind of in hockey shifts sometimes has that kind of been a Hallmark of what you try to do is that something that Washington fans are going to see a lot on Saturday uh I I think it's all just you know relative to who's available at the game and and and what the rotations are um injuries happen and you know guy could shoe could fall off like anything could happen you know within the series within the game so um the guys who are going to be in the rotations the guys who are going to play those guys will play um but all position groups are different um depending on who's who's available what the guys can handle what the packages are um I wouldn't I wouldn't rubber stamp any of that stuff um but getting the guys in getting them rolling up front specifically is um keeping those guys fresh because they don't do that on the offensive line so get some fresh bodies in there and um get ready to roll I know between you two guys you have like four Big Sky transfers that came in you have one and you have three has this come up at all in conversation they all of them played Weaver State before multiple times I think uh has their backgrounds or anything like that come up this week because they're going to play against their old League uh I don't think it's going to be too much of a factor I know uh We've mentioned it and we've just mentioned the regard we have for the that conference and um you know we don't take anybody lightly so uh I know we're really excited that uh some of our guys are you know getting opportunity to play a lot for the first time um and showcase their talents so um this is a great week to do so how do you manage setting that starting five having them play together Co but also getting that second unit because have to imagine on some level you want to see how those other guys in the 2D rotate in and kind of play in a game situation yeah we'll see how the game goes um there's there's possibility where there'll be some rotation um we'll see how that plays out right now but um you know uh that'll be kind of determined on game time so see how it goes sorry obviously you guys brought brought Landon along here um throughout Camp just curious how how close he is to maybe being able to play a full game or part of a game or just sort of where you guys are at with him um he's fully cleared um and we'll we'll just kind of we'll see how it goes in the game so um I would uh I would bet he's going to be in there at some point in time um and we'll see where he's at um it'll kind of at the uh yeah we'll just kind of see how the the football guyss treat it and he's doing great though he's done everything right he's been a fantastic uh teammate um he's done his rehab has been uh Elite um and and the training staff um that's helped him get there have been fantastic as well too so really excited uh that he's getting really close to being um where he feels he's most comfortable anything else for these guys all right cool thank you very much coach appreciate apprciate see you in the week e e e Alonso we saw your captains you guys are two of them released last night but yeah both starting inside linebackers as captains so could you talk a little bit about that no this is great opportunity man being able to have me and cars guys have been here for a while being able to be that standard for guys guys uh guys for our players to look up to and just set that standard it's it's a blessing and you know it's a honor at the same time you know his dad was a captain here too you said what his dad was a captain here 30 years ago I did not know that that's big for cars you know what I'm saying so that's like I said it's just an opportunity and something to be honorable about and grateful for will how do you look back at Paul Camp obviously you won the starting quarterback job and kind of talk about how much deont help helped you in that regard to cuz Jed said he was kind of nipping at your heels throughout PA Camp did you sense that and did that help your play to ultimately win the job no I mean I definitely kind of knew that he was a really really good player I mean you could see that throughout Spring ball the way he the way he throws the ball the way he gets out of the pocket and makes plays so uh you know I said it before fall Camp you know competition is good for everybody it's healthy for uh the team and uh every position especially quarterback so uh you know he's a really good player he have a big future ahead of him well outside of uh getting a win on Saturday what are some of your goals uh for the game personally uh probably just like playing up to our standards and offense and you know just as a team you know it's not really about what the other team does for me it's really about just how we want to play uh play in and play out uh and just playing up to our standards and offense what would you say some of those standards are I mean just little things you know I mean obviously as offense we want to be explosive uh take care of the ball control the line of scrimmage just things like that you know so I think if we do those things and you know just worry about one play at a time then we'll be we'll be good will you've got a pretty much a veteran line even though it's an all new line for this place but there's one young guy up front falo could you talk a little bit about him because he he's kind of made the Breakthrough amongst the younger guys he came in with Hatchet and you know five different linemen yesterday uh last year but he's the one starter right now yeah I think he's doing a great job especially since Spring ball you know he was a new guy new fa in in there kind of got thrown in the fire a little bit uh Spring ball but the the strides he's made from then until now are just tremendous and I think the biggest thing for him is just being in the game being in a game likee environment uh getting those first kind of drives under his belt and just getting comfortable out there and I think you'll see him you know to continue to grow over the over the season so question for both of you guys how do you approach the first game of the year you've both played a lot of college football what's that approach like for week one um week one's very unque cuz you never really know especially with this with this team we're facing we're really going off the film last year but they can really go out there and run anything so at the end of the day it falls back on our training and and our fundamentals and I feel like if we stick to that then we'll be all right on the defensive side yeah kind of the same thing offensively I mean you're going off of a team that you know had different players last year some guys returning some guys have left uh but you're you're going off film from last year as well so it's kind of like I said earlier I mean first game you really don't know what to expect um but you know it's all up to us just playing how we want to play playing up to our standard as a team yeah Pon I was curious you know based on the last year as a foundation and the culture you guys created how was coach fish and his staff able to build that kind of back up and then earn your trust along with the other guys that stayed all the way until kind of building up towards this week knowing that this was going to be the first game of the season just keeping it relationship based something that's always been the focal point of this program since I got here and preaching that to coach fish and his staff and they're willing to go along with that and build on that so throughout the offseason players doing our due diligence on and off the field building those relationships but also the staff you know coming in as well and and doing what they have to do whether it's um giving us money to go out to the movies or go create these fun things outside outside of the facility and build that that coder between the team coach fish is all about that and so I feel that's what's been the biggest part in US connecting with with the staff as well because they've been all all in on that so you were here in 2021 when uh Montana kind of came in here and upset you guys what lessons did you learn from that FCS matchup that maybe you've tried to impart to some of the newk guys year yeah I didn't play that year um due to an injury but you know seeing seeing that happen obviously like will said we have a standard there's a standard here that we always play to want and want to be be a part of and so really is just F focusing on what we have to do as a team we're focusing on our fundamentals and our and our coaching points and I feel like we can't really focus on the outside side noise and so we do that will'll be all right for both of you guys who's one you know freshman freshman somebody that's come in throughout fall camp and really impressed you uh I mean I've obviously been around demand a lot because you know we play the same position he's extremely impressive but uh two other guys are Adam Mohamad and then aldri uh Harris you know I thought those guys have done a really really good job offensively you know they've rotated in there with the ones they've gotten some reps in with the ones when you know Denzel might need a break or you know Jonah might need a break or whatever it may be but you know to see two guys that I guess should be technically in high school and Spring ball you know playing up to that level it's really really exciting and uh yeah really exciting for years to come for this program I'll say someone on my side of the ball uh he's a linebacker Kamari house um being able to bring him up as a young buck showing him the way showing him how the culture is he's really been doing his thing on the field and showing that he can he has a motor and also take coach as well so feel like that's a good player that I've been keeping my eye on especially since he's in my room so yeah you're both at the national championship game and so much has occurred since then like are are you excited to finally have this thing actually be about the next game uh it feels like there's been so much else that you've been talking about since then or been asked about since yeah that feels feels like a long time ago but uh I the thing that I'm kind of most excited for is just you know to start this New Journey you know it's obviously I was there at the game when they played Michigan obviously wasn't dressed out or anything like that but I was on the sidelines so I got to you know see it and experience that uh which was really cool but you know since then it's kind of been you know my mission as the quarterback as the leader you know just for this team and this program this new program this new team to kind of run their own race you know if that makes sense you know we're we're not last year's team you know we're not not you know Arizona's team from last year you know it's it's a bunch of different guys from a bunch of different places but we all play for the University of Washington now so that's been the coolest thing to me and that's been the biggest thing that I've been trying to preach to the team is that you know the 2024 season is what we make of it so you know let's run our own race and let's uh let's let's aim high so yeah to add on to that point uh I was on that team last year I played in the championship and went through that whole process coaching change and whatnot but once coach fishing them got here brought in our guys especially really in the summer when we had that when we had that group to finally go into our offseason training like like will said this this is 2024 udl football can't worry about the future can't worry about the past all we can do is focus on now and that's really what we've been doing really just working in the lab building our armor up and building our Brotherhood up and so now that we have a chance in a couple days to Showcase that I think our team's just excited and we're ready to see all the hard work that we've put in finally going into play and we're just excited for each other that said your hoodie it's is that morus Peters quote yeah it is that that you it sounds like it looks like maybe you kind of got that little extra chip because of that too I think we ain't done yet that's for sure what it is and um this is what this team's all about there's a lot of noise that's been going on about our team but I think the one biggest thing for our team that I'm very proud of is just being able to focus on what we have to do and just our standards and our mentality just trying to build that up you know we have new guys like well said a bunch of new guys from Arizona a bunch of new transfers a lot of guys coming back and that was probably one of the biggest things that we've learned is being able to bring that together and you know have that chip as a team and build our own identity paint our own picture and that's what we're going to continue on doing well most people would look at not having one starter back on offense is overall the general negative is there a kind of sober lining to that that you got 11 new guys that don't need to ad to somebody else's culture that was already established or somebody else's system and all 11 guys can come in at the same time together and and build this thing up are you just what do you mean about just as far as the offense goes you got 11 new guys out there from last year yeah I mean it's I mean it's kind of like our whole team it's kind of just like a whole new team but especially on offense you know it's you know a transfer here you know a transfer there a guy that was injured here a guy that was injured there so um you know it's been challenging but I think the strides that we've made uh since the start of fall Camp till now have been just tremendous for us um I think it's really big for our confidence for some of those guys that haven't been playing as much uh but you know I think the biggest thing for us is we need to get into a game we need to feel like what it's what it's like going up against a real opponent uh and then we just have to continue to get better each week you know we this should be the worst we're ever going to be today you know we should be getting better every single day um so that's that's just the main thing we need to be uh in a game we need live reps and we need to just uh be in a competitive environment uh come come game day and things like that so Alonso um they gave us dep charts yesterday and it looked like 19 out of the 22 guys were fairly well set but there were three secondary jobs that are wide open and these guys all have heavy credentials with pry and Jackson and uh brousard is an all Big Sky guy and and uh fish told us that uh he might put three cornerbacks out on the field at once or three saf at once have you been kind of entertained by that competition right behind you you know CU it's still in doubt and and they could you know three corners could be out in the field at the same time yeah no all those guys that you mentioned EJ e and then who's the other one dad daddy is Dixon those are all guys that I can see that anybody out there it's either way I'm confident and what we're going to do and those guys compete so I haven't been really focused on too much on that convers ation or what's happening there but I know at the end of the day whoever's out there and whoever's on the sideline is going to have that same energy in supporting their teammates and when it's their time to to have the opportunity they're going to expertise on it so well jetfish said that um you know with you and D'Angelo that's a lot of experience right through the middle of the offense um how have you seen D'Angelo's experience kind of translate on the field and what's your relationship like with him yeah you can definitely tell that he's played a lot of ball just you know talking with him about like a press sure or you know if he saw this where where was the nose lined up on this play just little stuff like that being able to talk with him and uh I think that's really good when you have that quarterback Center communication especially because you know he's making calls I'm making calls we have to be on the same page so uh for the center to have you know I don't know how many games he's played or whatever but he's had a lot of experience and I've played played some games in my career too so uh for us to have some experience there I think it'll be really Key Well is there any comparable experience that you can draw back on that coming into the season like did you ever have a turnover like this either in high school or in college I mean I I know it's drastic or even anything similar to it yeah I me I think you know as as uh as much as last year was not very fun for me playing football you know with you know coach leech passing away that's probably like the most that's probably the closest thing to this you know it's you know you think you're going into a great year your senior year at Mississippi State and then you know something happens like that and Coach leech passes away and then everything else just kind of happens uh the next year and then you know when I got here it was kind of like I mean nobody passed away or anything like that but you know the coach left right when I got here so it was kind of just a weird thing but you know I kind of felt like the same the same way about it as when that happened at Mississippi State you know uh but you know I tell people all the time like uh it's crazy how the Lord works and you know I'm blessed to be here you know blessed to be with guys like zo and you know you know just blessed to be in the locker room so I'm thankful I'm here I love coach fish and I'm excited for this year going back to the center quarterback exchange thing I just wonder whoever you were going to play with was going to be new to you uh what sort of things did you do to to kind of get that down was there some extra work how many snaps a day all all that sort of detail no a lot of work you know a lot of work I think this is the hardest I've ever worked in my career offseason wise like offseason training and then like Spring ball combination of su summer reps things like that cuz I guess DLo got here in the summer summer yeah DLo got here in the summer so just like getting snaps with him on our own like player end practices in the summer all that stuff was huge for us and I think you know we're a completely different team than we were you know when the staff got here so you know it's a it's a combination of everything you know just being a Brotherhood hanging out with each other on and off the field but then also you know getting our work in and uh you know being real dedicated in that area hey Will how would you describe this defense here that you've gone against now throughout the spring and in the camp uh pretty complex you know as a as a quarterback sitting back there a lot of movement a lot of you know I don't want to give away our secrets or anything like that yeah but it's it's a really good scheme you know I've been really impressed but I think it's just made me a better player you know to be able to go against that every single day uh I think it's made me a better player you know the game's definitely slowed down for me since Spring ball um and you know to be able to you know see the different the different things we do defensively I think it'll only help me come this fall well when it comes to the offensive line how quickly this fall did you come to realize that what you were seeing then was so much different than what you saw like at the end spring for I mean I think just even having like the bodies you know there were some times in Spring ball I think we had like seven or eight guys practicing so just like having the bodies having the depth being able to really like practice and you know really like get better was the biggest thing for me in Fall camp like you know we get Landon and guard back we get DLo a transfer you know some of the Freshman are here now so just to just to have that whole group out there and you know moving around and having real practice and getting better together was the biggest thing so pretty soon to answer your question will J Coleman had a tweet the other day that was pretty emphatic zero watch list so he's obviously you know I know you guys try to say you don't look at that stuff the preseason stuff but uh it looked like it kind of offended him that he didn't show up on somebody's preseason list as one of the top 30 or 40 running backs in the country do you get a feeling that maybe uh he he's a prideful guy that's insulted by that yeah mean I don't I don't know I don't have Instagram or Twitter honestly I try to stay off of that during the season you know kind of keep the main thing the main thing uh but I I think Jonah's a great running back but you know if it's any advice I could give him and any advice I could give to my teammates is just like don't listen to the noise cuz like it doesn't matter like nothing nothing that anybody says on Twitter nothing that you say on Twitter is going to help you win a game on Saturday so it doesn't matter like that and if we can get to that point as a team we like we don't care what other people say about us we just go out there and play for each other and play for the W I think we're going to be in a good spot as a team how much family I know Z zo you're you and d'angel are probably going to have over two dozen people but how how many family are you guys going to have at this game a lot that's all I can say a lot he's been begging me for tickets all week still waiting on uh family yeah um I don't know I know my grandparents you know my dad coaches High School football so he'll coaching the game on Friday and then flow out early Saturday morning uh and then my mom's my brother plays uh offensive line at Southern Miss so so my mom and dad kind of have to split up every other week and I don't know it depends on the schedule and where he's playing and things like that but my mom's going to Lexington this week so I think it's just my dad my sister my uncle and my grandparents this week so it's a long way from home dots on an 8m game used to playing in the packs well but dots on an 8m game 8m game yeah um the times of time show up we're going to do our handle our business can't really control that get to sleep in a little bit Yeah well do you ever think about what it's going to be like to to come out of the tunnel Saturday night have you ever I mean have you stopped to think about what that's going to be like or have any of these guys kind of told you what to expect uh I mean I'm just kind of asked them like about the fans and the atmosphere and things like that what it's like on game day you know I'm excited you know I'm excited to see I've played in some pretty cool atmospheres um but you know I try and keep the main thing the main thing come come Saturday night and you know you know my focus will be you know just all in on the game plan all in on my doing my job uh playing and play out so that's kind of my focus you know I'm excited to run out of the tunnel with my brothers and uh just excited to play all good appreciate y'all appreciate it