FOOTBALL | Jeff Lebby - Fall Practice Media Session

Intro but anybody in particular going to catch your attention on either side no I mean I will I'll have to go back and watch the tape the the big plays and the explosive plays are ones that that obviously stand out to you some missed opportunities at times and then had had some you know opportunities defensively to get off the field too at times so um you know that that's what you want that's what you like is is we've got to learn lessons today uh you know not when we get into the season that that's what today was for when we talk to you on Scrimmage Wednesday you talked about W to clean things up pre- snap did you feel like the scrimmage from that standpoint was pretty clean yeah at times we've still got a ways to go um we we do we we've got to do a great job of of man being disciplined and making sure that non-playing penalties have no part in our game and so until that part is perfect because to me that is a a choice and just um playing with great focus and understanding of of how we need to play and how we got to operate but until that piece is truly perfect um that you know it won't be good enough you briefly touched on it a little earlier but defensively is anyone starting to kind of separate themselves at a position that you know there's uh where there's any battle for a starting job that you can kind of share I know obviously things can change a few weeks from now but anyone really emerging in any position that you can share yeah again I think as you look at it and we've we've been rolling so many guys to get so many reps um cuz we are trying like heck to create great depth um so so there are guys that are practicing better than the others those guys got to practice better just like the best players on our football team they got to practice better every single day you know that's the expectation that's uh that's what we need our entire football team to to understand so won't Point anybody out you know the the message will continue to be man we've we've got to be able to go play with 22 guys on each side of the ball that not to go play with but to go win with and that's that's where we got to get coach how close are you maybe settle Offensive Line in the two deep and are there any you know specific position battles that are maybe kind of hotly contested upper grabs right now yeah we we really won't set the two deep until we get uh game week um just again because there's a ton of opportunity between now and then we've got a lot of guys on campus that got here in June most of our football team was here in the spring but there's guys that got here in June that need those reps they need work we've got to know exactly what we have so that we're put the right guys on the bus every single trip whether that's at home or going on the road making sure from a team standpoint we got the right guys that are going to be able to go execute and play clean so all those things matter we've talked with a couple guys on the offensive line this week and they they keep saying that you know about how everyone the transfers and the guys who who were here before they they felt like they've known each other all along you how do you feel like they performed today and how do you feel like that group is sort of just you know coming along and messing with with one another this fall yeah I I think the group is is really taken great strides since we ended Spring ball and um maybe the group that's made the most Improvement um between the end of spring and fall camp and has continued to get better so appreciate man their Spirit their work ethic their toughness and and their camaraderie you know they are they're a tight group for a bunch of guys that haven't known each other for a long time and you'd never know it uh Cody's done an incredible job with that room and that group creating that and uh that's that's been huge for us how's the uh punting competition coming what have you seen from those guys yeah it's it's it's wide open still we we've got a chance to have a couple of different guys depending on situational U you know what what we're trying to get done are we trying to go pin a ball inside the 10 you know where we backed up putting the ball out of our own end so it's got a chance to be you know a couple of different guys and really the kicking and the punting competition is um is wide open and been a great race and and we won't we won't settle on that until week of Brandon Jennings is a guy Brandon Jennings that got off to a pretty solid start at Maryland with his college career and then and had a couple went to a different School couple different schools and then ended up in juo last year just from our observations he looked like he's changed his body since last year looks a lot Slimmer a lot more burst what have you seen from him yeah he's a guy that's gotten better every single day he's settling in he's got some understanding of the expectation he's got some understanding of of the defense and how he needs to play as he's playing inside our scheme um I'm excited about Brandon that dude loves football he's got great physicality and he is he's a big physical athletic guy so hoping that he can continue to Trend the direction he's trending right now get better every single day because that's one that's got a chance to help us we talk all the time about these players and and their chemistry in their cohesion what about you with with with your quarterback do you feel like you have that chemistry that you need to have with Blake shaen absolutely no there's there's no guess work in that there's that is a definite coach you talk about reps and how important they are how about a guy like Isaac Smith who missed a little bit of time last year because an injury how how much important it was it bouncing from Spring to now getting those reps you're talking about no it's it's huge for Isaac and for every single one of our guys you know understanding how we're going to play defense understanding the scheme understanding the expectation um you know and and knowing that hey man just do your job every single snap and it is truly as simple as that where do I fit inside the scheme go do my job protect the stress and uh and Isaac's continued to to get better and better in that role what has um Albert ree brought to Albert Reid the table and what have you thought of uh of him so far yeah I mean consistency steady tough attitude energy effort I mean you just name an an intangible and he's got it like that's that's the kind of guy that you want to go coach every single day he's got great position flexibility um and a guy that I do man I love the coach and and he done a great job for us so far coach a lot of our players are Tempo talking about the they've kind of gotten used to the tempo and conditioning Tempo kind of all together kind of what do you expect from them and how close are they to hitting that bar yeah offensively we got we got a long way to go we got to get a heck of a lot better you know understanding how to play with firm feet understanding the the cleanliness of how we have to play just because you play Fast doesn't mean uh it's sloppy the the detail and the execution is where it ends at at the end of the day we have to play with great details we have to execute and then Tempo you can use as an edge but you can't use tempo of an edge if you can't execute and play with details so um again we we've got a ways to go I got a ton of confidence that we're going to be able to get there you know but again it's not just about the first 11 you know the the next 11 are just as important playing in the league we play in are your scrimmages game like in nature or are you more situational they they're game like and then the situations that we need will get so you're getting a little bit of both but you know today there was uh with the ones we've got six to seven open field drives and then we've got you know different situational things whether it be coming out two minute short yardage goal line uh you know finding a way to get some of the situational ball that you got to get the guys you added on the on the Defensive Line defensive line like Pac and and kbj how are they coming along yeah they're doing a good job and again we've got guys that are practicing the right way we need more constantly and and that's the expectation you know our guys up front in the defensive line we've got to be able to roll guys and play multiple guys the last thing you want is to get off the field and the guys played 55 60 snaps in a ball game that that does not bold well for Success again especially in our league in our league so we got to have guys uh be able to play and everybody being at the same level while we're out there you talked about Isaac Smith a little earlier ago what do you kind of anticipate his role being in this defense what are your expectations for him and how important is he going to be for this defense this year yeah he he's going to be a huge part of it and again that that's a guy that obviously he's a safety for us and going to be able to move around and do some different things but uh a guy that has got some some leadership skills a guy that plays the game the way you want it to be played and he will he'll be a big part of it