Head Coach Bill Stewart Quotes 8.13.08 (The Sports Addict Network)

On Friday’s “dry run’:We’re going to take off Friday, which we certainly appreciate ouradministration letting us do, and we’re going to take a trip toWashington, Pa. What we do is stay in a hotel and have a dry run. Wetake the video staff, the managers, the team, all the coaches andmanagers and we go through an on-the-road type of situation for futureroad games. What we’ll do is go up there, but before, we’ll learnhow to get on the bus and where people are supposed to sit because thereis an offensive bus, a defensive bus and a special team’s bus with thecoaches. They need to know how to act because when we go on a road tripwith West Virginia University, it’s a business trip; it isn’t apleasure seeking joy ride. We go to get ready for our football game andit’s really cool that our administration let’s us do that. We willdo that Friday night, learn how to check into a hotel, make sure theroommates are compatible, and then we will eat, have team meetings, etc.We’ll then get up the next morning, do our pre-game and then come tothe stadium. It’s a dry run and it will teach them what we expect onthe road. They won’t act right if you don’t teach them so we startfrom the ground-floor. Plus, on Friday, they have a little “funtime’ and all coaches are fair game. We have a routine for thefreshmen, we keep it clean and we have fun. We have seniors talk andthey bust on each other and then have a gong show. On today’s practice:Today’s practice was again pretty intense with full pads. I waspleased with the hitting today because we’re really popping out there.There were two pro scouts out at practice today and they usually willcome up to me and ask, “how is this guy, how is that guy’, but thefirst thing they said to me today was “wow, your guys know how topractice.’ I thanked them and told them that was nice to hear. Thatwas cool and I’ll share that with the team tonight because you neverknow who is watching you. There was a lot of banging today and we had the officials here again.We started off with our victory drill, three-on-three with the ballrunning, and there was a lot of good blocking and tackling. They wereall hustling to the ball and that is a great way to start practice. Then we worked on field goals and Pat McAfee was in the zone. He had anice punt and a pretty good kick off. We went fairly full speed with theofficials and I told them I wanted them to call everything they see.There weren’t many penalties so that was good. It got hot out today which was fantastic. Yesterday afternoon we ran them hard and we ran them hard again today.We did some up-downs and if the guys can’t echo the calls when we tellthem to echo the calls, when we ask them, then they will do exercises toadhere to that. So, they got after it again today. They are all being good lads and trying hard. We had an intensescrimmage where we got in over 60 plays really quickly and we did prettywell. That was fun. With the officials, there was an off-side called onthe defense and that happens. There was a fumble and we didn’t likethat, however, there were some nice plays. I thought Noel rantremendously well and Pat (White) was on his game. He was hot and hadsome nice plays which were nice to see. There were some really nicethings today and there were also some not-so-good things that we saw butthat’s what you need in camp. We ran them hard. We took the punt team out to do some extra work andran them, and then took the rest of the guys out and ran them. Gassersare what we call them when they run over and back across the field.After that they got on the ground and did some abs work. We strainedthem pretty well today and I was pleased at what the coaches did; gotafter them pretty good and put intensity in the air. We’ll go double sessions again tomorrow with a light practice in themorning. We’ll do some situational drills, two minute drills, blitzdrills and we’ll do a bit of kicking. Then tomorrow afternoon, we’llgo out there and bang again. We’ll hit and keep on hitting. We gassed them Monday, Tuesday, and today and we hit in full pads.Tomorrow we’ll do another two-a-day, our last one. We’re making surethey are going to play Mountaineer football and thus far, they have.We’re very pleased with their effort. How good we’ll be, Idon’t know, but it seems like we’re making minimal mistakes andflying around doing good things. On Jock Sanders:Jock Sanders is having a tremendous camp and I’m proud of that littleguy. On the defense:Defensively, I saw Mortty Ivy make some big hits and I saw Pat Lazear,Zac Cooper, and Scooter Berry. They are all starting to catch our eye alot. These guys are pass rushing and they are competing very hard. On Brandon Hogan:The hit of the scrimmage was No. 22, Brandon Hogan. He came up on ascreen and I’ll tell you what-it was lights out. It was a big time hitand that was good to see. That got both sides fired up on both sides ofthe ball. On Noel Devine:He’s doing tremendously well; he’s never taken a play off. He justpractices so hard. He has been an absolute role model and has helped ouryoung backs. If you’re a freshman and are just yourself, the olderguys are going to help you. If you strut around like a freshman and actlike you’re the best thing since sliced bread, they will let you goout there on your own. I’m very pleased at how Noel has taken on hisrole as an upper classmen. No. 7 scored today and there were some bigplays on defense. On injuries:We get dinged up. They are bumped, bruised, there is an elbow here, ashoulder there, an ankle there, but it’s called football and ithappens-you have to press on and go. On Will Johnson:I was so glad to see Will Johnson out there today. We didn’t let himscrimmage or hit but he got some reps in and that was good to see. If wekeep Will healthy, then he should have a big year. He is going to be aguy that can catch the ball in the backfield, he can block and he canplay tight end. He’s 230 pounds and the young man has so many naturalabilities. On the freshmen:Ryan Clarke and Tyler Urban are all doing a great job and we will nothesitate to play a freshman. Tyler Urban might be a bit more of a tightend while (Ryan) Clarke might be a bit more of a fullback. All three ofthem do a great job. Will (Johnson) is more versatile because he hasbeen here a here and he’s learned the system. On Najae Goode:Najae Goode dislocated his finger but you can’t keep him out. He is aman who is roaming the sideline just waiting to hit people and that wasnice to see. He had a couple nice plays. On JT Thomas:He has a slight sprain in his foot. He could probably go on Saturdaybut I don’t know if we’ll let him go. He got rolled on in a drilland that’s going to happen. He could play if we needed him to play butagain, we have two weeks to get ready for the season. Believe me,we’re not babying him and muscle beach is not a fun place. That’snot a punishment but we want them to work so they don’t lose theirconditioning. On the increased role of the tight end in this offense:It’s a combination of both of, like what Owen (Schmitt) could do.That being said, we’re looking for a guy who can be a fullback/tightend who can get up there and do some things for us. He needs to be ableto do fullback, slot, go in motions and block. On whether Josh Jenkins will redshirt:We’ll know more on Saturday about Josh Jenkins and a lot of freshmen.He’s doing well. He’s in there fighting and doing a good job.

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