Rising Report ep 3 - Sean O'Connell's Weekly Conversation with Utah's QB1

good day the running thing uh was funny because we had you on last week I was like you're got to be careful but not too careful cuz you're you right and that's kind of how it happened in the game yeah and everyone in the in the in the stands was all get down get down we were talking about in The Press Box Kyle Whittingham made a comment after the game like ah a little more than I thought but then he went back and watch the film and said ah actually that was okay yeah I think there was one hit that I took if you if you watch it back I thought I had a little crease to hit and and the guy just came out of nowhere so you can't really expect that just when you when you think you got a block but it yeah besides that I don't really take no good shots it was just a good day out there yeah it was a good day uh running and passing for you um you did get hit like on the first play of the game yeah I never feel like getting hit as a quarterback is a good thing but after all the time way and whatever uncertainty that still lingered based on that you take a hit dust yourself off you get right back up was that an important moment in any way um definitely definitely always kind of feels good to get that first hit out of the way um yeah kind of kind of gets you fired up and just makes you want to go that much harder so just going through that the first play not not something I expected I thought I was going to have a a nice good throw up up the middle to Dorian but um it is what it is is and and I think we did a good job answering and just responding after that and just ended up being being a good situation that it happened on the first play I always felt in competition and again never was a great football player like you but in fights obviously you want to win and there's like that joy that Elation that excitement about winning but the big ingredient there is also relief did it feel that way at all for you playing this game that you were relieved in addition to being excited and happy um not necessarily relieved um kind of you never know what to expect in a football game it can it can go a number of different ways so you just kind of got to expect the unexpected and and kind of roll with it so yeah I was just happy with the result um wish I could have finished out the the second quarter but it was it was it was a solid day and yeah I can't can't really complain about anything you connected with Brandt your guy on touchdowns not once not twice three times in this game it was talked about all during the broadcast has been talked about for years that connection that chemistry and to see it manifest itself into three scores in the first game of the season for fans for all of us was like all right they didn't skip a beat is that how it felt yeah absolutely um we we we've been working with each other since 2019 and and just trying to trying to really get better and make sure all the the timing is I think we have some of the best rapport with each other on the team for sure just playing for so many years together and and yeah when you have a guy like that they just have so much chemistry with it just is is really easy to get him the ball and and he's a he's a bad man with that football in his hand so you just got to kind of get him the ball and and he'll usually handle the rest there were a couple throws where it was like cam rising's choice you could have hit him you could have hit Caleb you could have hit whoever for the touchdown to me that indicates well maybe that you're overmatching your opponent but also that that's great play calling that's coach lud knowing exactly what he's up against and giving you options oh yeah coach coach Le does a good job he he he spends a lot of time just making sure that we're going to have the best possible plays in there and and it's going to be a nice good read for the for the for the quarterback so my job's just nice and easy I just got to go through my progressions and and o line usually usually makes sure that they're picking up any pressures and stuff like that all I'll flip the protection if it needs to but for the most part we didn't really have to and and yeah I think that's that's why we have so so much success because coach lad does put us in those those good positions like that we've been asking and speculating all offseason long like hey this is the deepest room in terms of weapons at your disposal the wide receivers the tight ends even some of those running backs we saw dejon Stanley go off in this game and one of the questions we had was how do you keep everybody happy I know there were times in this game where you went back to the sideline and somebody was like Hey I was open you can hit me on that one how do you manage that in game there's always guys that are that are talking about that stuff um it's it's never ideal in those a lot of those situations sometimes our progression starts opposite of that or they may not even be in the progression just because the way the way the play say set up but it's uh something you kind of we have the iPads now so you get to really really go watch it and kind of confirm everything now so that's definitely going to help with those situations and and kind of maybe potentially open up some of those receivers and when they do say that they're open how was it having helmet communication first time obviously brand new rule in college football probably brought about by the whole sign stealing thing now you get communication directly into your helmet how was that it was good it was it was actually pretty pretty awesome just having coach L um being able to to call plays off The Wristband and stuff and and just just give us a a a whole new list of plays on top of the the 150 on The Wristband so it's um it's it's always a good deal when you can have Coach telling you little reminders making sure you're you're telling the the guys and stuff like that I I try to usually go through practice and remember all the tips and reminders that that I think are important to the play just so I can tell the x or the Z or or or the or the tight end whatever whatever I need to just to make sure that they're they're they're keyed in on that and yeah I think just having having that reminder of of the reminder to to let everybody know is definitely beneficial and just opening up the Playbook does it make the game easier in any way because you don't have to like do the whole memorization of the sign and remember who's got the dummy sign and who's got the real sign it does remove like one wrinkle but how significant is that wrinkle I think yeah like you said it eliminates the signal um that you have to kind of get um usually you're you're seeing the the C the live caller just just signal something for The Wristband or even signal a play so it just makes it that much easier kind of eliminates the middleman and just just having that open communication and and we we got some signals to make sure that that coach LED is if my my headset isn't working or anything that we can go back to that but yeah it's definitely good not having the middleman there did you uh did you ever get it wrong did you ever like misread a signal or ever uh yeah I have actually yeah yeah that what happens when when that when that occurs I'm sure it's rare in that situation we actually called a time out and then we actually decided to run the play and and it was a touchdown right there wait run the right play or the wrong play it was the I guess the wrong play but I I assumed it was the right play yeah that's awesome cam Rising starting quarterback for your Utah UT here for the rising report on the Shan oconnell show so the new technology also you mentioned those iPads you you are on the sideline you have that little tablet and it's it's video right it's not just Ste shots in the NFL my understanding is that it's it's photos but you guys can actually watch video in real time yeah it feels like you're you're able to watch the film that on those those drives and it just makes it that much easier because you get to confirm coverages and stuff and and see if there's a mess up by the defense or something that that looks off and and it probably was something else that they were trying to get to so you just get to get to adust more and and and kind of have a better beat on what they're doing and then that feel kind of just carries on throughout the game a Thursday night game was great for all of us we get a couple days early the starts to the Utah season you guys get a couple extra day rest how do you manage the Friday and the Saturday are you watching games at home are you taking a mental break how do you do it yeah watching games um spending time with my family they were out here just trying to enjoy their company and stuff like that and then and just it's a it's a good time to get a a little little break from football and just kind of relax before before the the season really truly gets going in a in a regular sense of every Saturday so when you're when you have that rare open Saturday on a game week and you get to sit down and watch some games are you watching with the intent of I'm G to scout future opponents I'm just going to watch like I'm GNA watch uscl LSU cuz that's one of the biggest games of the week like how do you choose how to use that time um I I'll hang out with some of my friends and stuff like that or or spend time with my girlfriend usually take it easy but yeah usually I like to to watch those big games just to see see anybody I know see see them going out there and balling and stuff like that it's it just makes it uh that much more enjoyable watching football when you when you when you got something invested in it like that and and yeah I just I love football it's fun to watch it's fun when you kind of get to take a step back of having to read the def and and analyze overanalyze some things but you get to just really focus on football and and what really made you fall in love with it and just seeing some some big time plays by some players back to the game against Southern Utah then we'll flip things forward and talk a little bit about Baylor who's the matchup coming this week uh we knew BR keithy was star Talent capable right dejon Stanley is someone we had hopes for and we talked with Kyle Whittingham and others throughout camp and they said yeah there's going to be a package he's not necessarily an every down back type of guy if there was a breakout star in this game he's the guy what was your communication like with him during game after and and his performance which obviously was very important to the success every time we I I talk to dud he I said go get the ball he's he's when when that ball's in the air he's he's one of the fastest guys I've thrown the ball to and and yeah when you just put it out there he he usually can run by the next guy and and just just find a way to to to get get a big gain and a lot of those throws that I had to him were were actually pretty easy there was a a good disruption by the by the Y and the and the Z and anytime you have that it's just going to be easy especially when you got a A Speed Demon like that that that can just go out there and has a has a different gear than everyone are the wide open throws harder to hit than when you got to fit the ball into a window is it like that that situation where it's too easy cuz on the receiving end you'll see guys have it an easier time catching the contested Ball but then they're running by themselves and they take the eye off the ball too fast or whatever as the quarterback is one harder than the other I used to think that it was hard but then I kind of just got in the process and mindset of of it's it's just like routes on air in those standpoints you just got to give him a catchable ball and let him Advance the ball and and when you do that it's it's pretty easy and it just kind of takes a lot of the stress off of those throws cam Rising for a few more minutes here on the Shan O Connell show big win over Southern Utah defense pitches a shut out that's great for you on the offensive side of the ball but obviously you know even when the twos and the threes are going in uh the fact that everyone pulls on the same rope stays focused and puts that goose egg up but what was the conversation like after the game in that regard um it was great I mean anytime you can pitch a shut out on defense it's it's going to be a good day at the office and I think the whole whole defense just did a good job staying engaged um it's hard when you when you go out at halftime or in the third quarter to to to stay locked in but I I think they were engaged and making sure that those young guys were were out there doing the right things and and that's the reason we ended up having having that goose egg right there so yeah shout out to them let's let's keep that ball rolling if there was a sincere negative out of this game it's Ken and Johnson going down on the non- cont out for the season incredibly unfortunate and look you've been in the situation where you know you got a Miss significant time what' you say to Kenan um I just I I told him I love him um that that I I'll be here for him whatever he needs and everything like that and it's uh not an ideal situation especially going into your last year but I I do have a lot of confidence in him I think he's a guy that approaches the game the right way and and I know he'll he'll be back and and and healthy when when when his time comes so yeah just just don't don't get too lost in the in the big picture and just focus on the here and now that that was kind of my advice the cornerback room Morgan scall says will'll be fine cam Calhoun comes back are you confident that you have the depth at that position no won't be a significant drop off yeah I think having cam come back will definitely help us out um but I do think KJ was definitely a great player and and we're definitely going to miss him a lot but but yeah I do think we have some other guys that can come in and play and and do it at a high level we just got to make sure that they're they're locked in and and doing everything they possibly can so that there is no drop off okay last thing on Southern Utah before we move to Baylor even in a win like that coaches say it players say it there's things you can work on even when it's 49 to nothing what are those things what what what are the maybe top three things that you're like okay that got that we got to clean up um we had a little little snafu with with some of our plays and and ended up uh jumping off sides and and in times that in situations that we shouldn't have and we just got to make sure that those don't happen th those those procedural things that they're just never easy and kind of just put you behind the eightball and and that's why we got to we got to make sure we're just locked in this week and and and keeping it tighter because this is a good opponent and we we get in those bad situations it just makes it that much harder um I think just cleaning up protections a little bit nothing nothing too crazy just making sure we're locked in and and and sliding the right way and and and doing everything like that but and then on top of that just um third thing for me I think I just can be cleaner um just just throwing the ball in in some better spots for some guys and just making it easy for them did you grade out where you wanted to grade out in the building yes not not outside the building I thought that was a little was a little lower than I thought I was going to be okay yeah interesting yeah what what do you mean outside the building a little lower like PFF and stuff oh really you pay attention to that closely no I just saw it sometimes you're scrolling through Twitter you'll end up just seeing it yeah PFF is interesting I mean look it's a value ad especially for us in the broadcasting world it's another talking point things like that I I've sat down with PFF guys I mean this is years ago now and it's like how do you know you're getting these grades right you don't know every assignment on every play and look they they do hard work they they make sure that they've got football guys going through and studying the film and all that stuff but it's an interesting it's an interesting measurement because they're acting like they're the coaches and obviously they don't have that knowledge the inside knowledge of the coaches yeah it's it's definitely a weird thing um I know we've had situations where guys have scored like over a 90 in in our room and in our in our facility and stuff like that and ended up having lower scores that and it's uh not an ideal situation but you just got to kind of tune it out and just really worry about what's going on in house you what's your do you know what your overall rating is on the new NCAA football game I it's a 89 that's respectable did that bother you that it's on not in the 90s not really okay do did you play that game do you play any of those games I've played it not a while but right before fall camp and stuff but yeah kind of have put it down since then all right yeah I guess that makes sense all right moving on to Baylor it is a non-conference game against a conference opponent because of the quirks of realignment and scheduling and things like that but uh a significant uptick in the level of competition than what you saw against Southern Utah on film where is Baylor most dangerous I think I think it's their experience they got a lot of guys that have played a lot of football I think nine nine returning starters from from last year on defense and when you got a team like that and and a coach like coach Randa that that's going to make sure they're in the right positions and stuff and they're going to be pretty in tune with that so we just got to be ready to go and make sure we're doing everything we possibly can to to try and confuse them a little bit and make it hard for them and and their responsibilities and stuff but it's not going to be an easy task you just got to be ready to go Caleb loner former Baylor Bear obviously not Baylor football player but I asked him we had him on the show if there's any extra juice in this game uh has that been a point of conversation for you all at practice I have not really talked to him about that that's not my my focus um we always give him a hard time and say whenever he catches one of those jump balls or anything did you know he played basketball Baylor but speaking of that the running Utes released their roster they put it out on Twitter yeah Caleb loner's on that roster wow did you know that was a thing I did not know I mean I know I knew it was there was definitely talks about it but I mean hey if they want a guy from football to come out there if Caleb doesn't do it I'll go out there can you can you hoop are you decent I can play yeah yeah what what position would be your best point point guard for sure yeah facilitator all right I guess that makes sense for a quarterback uh I don't know how much you've watched of dcoin Finn the Baylor quarterback he's been in he's been in school for six years very experienced very productive at Toledo I know you're not going against him you're beating the defense he's trying to beat your defense but you know quarterbacks duel it out a little bit what do you think about I think he's a phenomenal person I got to spend some time with him at the Manning Passing Academy and and got a tremendous amount of respect for him um you can you can hear the guys just talk about how fast he is and how how he is with the ball in his hands when he's running it's um it's always hard going up against a guy that that's that fast and and can can get out of the pocket and and make throws like that so I got a a lot of respect for him and and looking forward to seeing him and playing him Alex Smith was in the building we talked about this last week he was in the building they unveiled the name the Ring of Honor the inductee did you get a chance to to discuss anything with him I got to talk to him actually before the game um actually left my room key in the in the in my room so I had to go go to the front desk and he was just down there with his family um yeah it was awesome to see him right right before he got inducted it was uh it's it's always always good to hear from him he just just gives you a lot more confidence just just one of those guys that that that loves the youths and and and always is there for for for his guys and stuff like that so yeah it's it's a good time with Alex anytime I see him are you aware that you passed him in the record books with him in the building I am yeah they told me that right after the game it was pretty special hopefully I can I can get my name in there one day you know we talked with him about you he's obviously a big fan of yours and for obvious reason you're doing great things at his school and play in the same position and that you guys do play the game in a similar fashion certainly so I thought that was kind of a cool poetic moment you know you you Leap Frog him in the record books and he doesn't come to a lot of games he's busy with family and for for him to be in house when that happen pretty cool yeah special moment any final thoughts on this matchup with Baylor um no just excited to get out there let's get this ball rolling um excited to play some better talent and and have a have a more competitive game it's going to be a fun one your coverage right here on espn700 Bill Riley on the call with Scott Mitchell Stenson Sylvester cam Rising will be on the field we'll talk with him after the game that's your Rising report for the Baylor week cam thanks for being here again appreciate you son