Football: Bill O'Brien Media Availability (Aug. 3, 2024)

um first day what' you like what you not like um I I like the effort I think these guys have had a good summer they've put a lot of work in I'm very proud of that I think it was a little sloppy today always like that on the first day I thought defense a little bit ahead of the offense right now but uh you know a decent start decent decent start just some thoughts in the past six months just from when you got here in how you felt where you want to get to yeah I think these guys have done a great job of buying in um I'm I'm really proud of the fact that they've bought into every facet of what we're trying to do um everything from academics to uh you know the weight room conditioning um the community involvement that they are I I I'm just really proud of these guys um and now it's time to you know really start coming together as a team and and uh getting ready for the season but to this point it's been really good now this is the start of practice before this you had training can you talk a little bit about Craig fitgerald and the work he did with the players this summer yeah he did an unbelievable job he's the best strength coach in the country without a shadow of a doubt he does an unbelievable job of connecting with the kids he has a great idea of what takes to get stronger what it takes to get faster be able to change direction better and to be in better condition he's got a great staff underneath him he's got four guys that are unbelievable underneath them um we're in the process of of really improving our Nutrition Center too which that's going to start to take shape over the next six months to a year so I think we're on the right track but having Craig here Craig Fitzgerald is a huge huge Plus for Boston College so if you guys are the bikes out there lo Taylor and a boot just precautionary for those guys or yeah he did he had a little foot issue um early in training camp but you know he's getting better he's on track for maybe another week or so and then he'll be back out there but yeah just some of those guys coming off injury in the fall surgeries things like that Tim Hayes ACL in the spring um some other guys so yeah I think I think we're doing okay but you know we're rehabbing those guys to get back so like a lot of dep or receiver just some thoughts on that position group so far yeah definitely a lot of depth I mean there's there's a bunch of guys there that can play I mean I think the big thing is we got to we got to really try to make plays down field you know that's going to be the big thing in training camp we got to start connecting down the field we did a couple times today but not enough so um yeah we we got a long way to go there but there are definitely some really good players there Bryce steel is back uh tell me what he means to your program and what it's like having him back yeah I mean to to have a guy like Bryce steel who's overcome cancer to get back to where he is right now is amazing you know I've dealt with that before in my career uh David quizenberry at the Texans John mey at Alabama you know when he went to Houston and it's just incredible it shows uh the mental strength um the the fortitude that he has the support that he has around him um we're very proud of Bryce and we're so happy that he's on our team is it hard to not expect too much from him early on I mean setting full goal yeah no he's out there I mean he's um he's been cleared as far as athletic uh participation and you know we we're not going to throw him in there for 50 reps a day you know we're going to ramp him up but uh yeah he's he's ready to go you mentioned that Tommy was one of the most approved players on the team can you describe his offseason working what he's done to get to where he is now yeah I mean he put a lot in he he came in early he was here every day early working with uh coach dibs and Coach La um you know out before practice then he would go back in get something to eat and then come out before practice like just mental reps the studying the his his ability to run the offense has improved like tenfold since he's been here now we just got to keep improving every day off the field you guys have had a huge spring and summer recruiting what if you like to B you guys have done there yeah I think look I think recruiting is a daily effort so we recruit every single day so and we're hoping that that you know as we recruit and we get better at understanding BC and the guys that we're recruiting and the families that we're recruiting that you know we're bringing the right people in here and so far I believe we are you know I feel really good about the guys that have committed to us I can't tell you the names and things like that you probably already know them but you know we're doing good in the class of 25 we're doing really good in the class of 26 this is a great University that plays uh really high level football so it's there's a lot to sell here and uh in a in an unbelievable City a campus a beautiful campus in this great world renowned city so we have a lot to sell here and uh you know I think our guys recruit every single day that's the key new group of true freshmen are on campus how do you kind of get them adjusted to the college speed and everything that you've got going on for your yeah good question a lot of those guys came in June so they've been here for the summer so that kind of helps them get acclimated just being in the summer workouts cuz you know we did seven on seven and team things during the summer which was really good in addition to lifting and running so so they kind of have an idea and then now it's just about getting them on that field that's why we do two Fields so they they can get the Reps that you know get them caught up to what you're talking about getting caught up to the speed and and understanding what what the expectations are so yeah I'm I'm really happy with the Freshman Class they're they've jumped in and they're working real hard this is open-ended but what's your vision for the program you know look people ask me that all the time my vision is to go out there every day and get better uh every every game we go into we're going into every game to win you know I don't know like I understand the question a lot of people have asked me that question but like what other vision is there oh we have a vision to go five and six like that's not really a vision no we have a vision to be very good to be the best of the best and to recruit great kids that fit with BC and to embrace what Boston College is all about that's how we're going to win feel really good about our team right now our vision is to go out every single day and to get better and better and then when the games start we'll go out there and we'll show up we'll be at every single game and hopefully we can play good enough football to win a lot of games that's our for the program along those same lines you see predictions and and all that stuff botom of the ACC do you use any of that as motivation or do you not need to yeah hell yeah kidding me what is it 17 teams in the ACC what are we 17th 14th 14th yeah so yeah no I look it is what it is it's what people think I can't control what people think all we can control is what we're doing but I mean yeah I understand nobody thinks we're going to be that good we got a lot of good teams in the conference not not taking anything away from our competition we got some of the better teams in the country in our conference I get it but we got a good football team here and uh we're working hard to really get to the point where you know we're going to be ready for the season Amari Jackson looks like he'd be all ACC kind of guy yeah Amari is a good player um he's he's worked very hard he's had a great off season um he's got a lot of good traits for a corner he can play man he's good in the zone he's got good ball skills he's he's a smart guy he's getting better at communication yeah I think he's got a chance to be really good all right thanks guys