Spring Practice Presser 3-29-18: Jay Harbaugh Comment Count

Adam Schnepp

36963920382_48d2652d97_z

[Bryan Fuller]

[Ed. A- Thank you once again to 247’s Isaiah Hole for getting me video so I can still transcribe even when doctors’ appointments keep me from being there]

“Alright, what’s up?”

Four practices in. How would you characterize the start of spring practice?

“Lot of energy. Improving on the execution from where we started to where we’re trying to get to. Every practice has been better, but I think the guys are really taking to it well and really competing with the defense at a high level.”

What have you seen from Karan [Higdon] and Chris [Evans] specifically?

“Doing a great job. Just exactly what you’d expect from them. They’re taking all the parts of their game that needed detail or polish and they’re doing that. Every day it’s one less mistake and really turning in a great spring thus far.”

Could you elaborate on some of those parts of their game?

“The rare double question. Protection-wise, they’re both improving. Route detail in terms of the top routes, details that typically running backs don’t get to just because they don’t have the time. Those guys are exceptional athletes and as we work them in empty packages and coming out of the backfield, they can handle a lot of detail in their technique like a receiver would, so continuing to hone those skills has been nice to see.”

You mentioned that they’ve gotten better at pass protection. How have they evolved since you took over the position in pass protection?

“They’re both super tough. Just getting them to play with the technique that we’re looking for and it’s really, from right now to like if you compared it to last spring it’s significantly better, and even these four practices have been incrementally better.”

[After THE JUMP: the punctilious pursuit of pass protection perfect, Ben Mason two-way murderball comin’, and an offense as a living organism]

How’s O’Maury [Samuels] coming along?

“Really nicely. He’s a really conscientious kid. He tries to do everything exactly right. If he doesn’t it right, he’ll figure out what exactly went wrong, how do I fix it, and then does a great job fixing it the next time out, so he’s fun to work with, and he’s really, really fast.”

Jim said you’re sharing Ben a little bit with the defense now, Ben Mason?

“Yeah, Ben can do everything, so giving him an opportunity to smash more people is always a good idea.”

But how does it work in practice? Do you lose him for a little bit or is it not much of a…?

“It’s just a give and take. Like sometimes meetings can go either way. Practice, we have a lot of time on the field. We don’t meet as much as some other teams. We prefer to practice a little bit more, so there’s kind of extra reps to be had in terms of who’s getting work over there. It’s just a little bit here and there in terms of him learning and adapting to both sides.”

Where do you see Kareem Walker fitting in this year? This has to be his breakout year in a way.

“Yeah, so, he’s coming along. I think thus far I would say we’ve all been pretty happy with his performance this spring. He’s competing, he’s doing the best he can, and that’s pretty much all we’re looking for is each guy’s individual best. If you can reach that as an individual then you’re going to get better and collectively as a group we’re going to get pretty good.”

He’s gone through some ups and downs here his first two years. What do you think he’s gained from that and learned from it and built from it?

“You’d have to ask him that, but the ups and downs thing, pretty much everybody has those. You guys I’m sure do as reporters.”

What are these ups and downs you speak of?

[laughs] “That’s part of the struggle of whatever dream a person is chasing. There’s always going to be setbacks and there’s going to be bad days and sometimes there’s bad weeks or bad months, but he’s a resilient guy and I’ve been pleased with the way he’s approached the spring so far.”

What’s the depth like at that fullback spot?

“Ben and Wangler are the two top guys, then after that Matt Brown is doing a very nice job. After that it’s a bunch of guys who are competing their tails off and are capable of playing. No one’s really emerged from that group yet, though.”

Jim’s talked about a rejuvenation. You mentioned earlier the start of practice and everything else. Have you seen a difference in him maybe on the field, off the field in terms of the way he coaches or leads this program?

“Of coach Harbaugh? Uh…I don’t know. Probably not. I mean, he’s pretty juiced up consistently for the last, like, almost thirty years that I’ve known him, so I don’t know if there’s a big difference. Let me think about it, but he’s remarkably consistent in his approach, which is something that I think has helped him have the success that he’s had.”

What about you personally? Biggest difference for you first year as a running backs coach going into your second year as a running backs coach?

“Uh…hoo. It’s probably just the level of familiarity with each individual player. You’re not feeling each other out and figuring out what’s the expectation or how is this guy going to react, so maybe there’s a little bit of a head start in that regard because we have a level of trust and understanding between myself and the players, and so you’ll probably get off to a better start that way. I probably wouldn’t be the best person to ask about that. You’d probably have to ask somebody else.”

With the new strength coach, a lot of the defensive guys were saying they’re bigger and faster. How has he changed—do you want the running backs leaner? How has he worked with them?

“They’ve done a great job working with them. They all seem like they’re more explosive. They’re all a little bit heavier. Not that much. They’re pretty chiseled guys so they don’t have a ton of room to keep packing on weight. I think the best indicator would probably be just talking to them and watching them. They say they feel great and then they look super fast and very strong, so those are good signs.”

Jim had talked about kind of self-scouting and changing the offense a bit. Has there been some scheme work that you guys have already been doing or is it more focused right now on just improving individual skills and things of that nature?

“That’s a great question. It’s been a little bit of both. You focus on the technique and the fundamentals and you try and envelop that in whatever scheme tweaks you’re going to have. So, you want to do the things now that you’re going to do in the season, the things that you think are going to help you beat Notre Dame and Western Michigan and Wisconsin and Penn State, Ohio State, et cetera. So you’ve got to build those things into what we’re doing now, but you never lose sight of the technique and fundamentals, so it’s always kind of two sides to it. Does that makes sense?”

I don’t expect you to tell us specifically what—

“No, there’s no chance I would.”

—the scheme changes are going to be, but is that being worked in though that you have these sort of ideas or is it still growing?

“It’s always growing. It’s kind of a living organism. An offense is always going to evolve because your players, they get better, sometimes, unfortunately, they get injured, so what you have to work with is always changing, and because of that certain things at one time might seem better than other things, and then as time goes on you might want to get involved in a different scheme or say, ‘Hey, we can’t run this anymore without this guy,’ so that happens and you’re always going to be evolving, be flexible.”

You mentioned earlier how Karan and Chris had improved in part by their pass protection. What’s the toughest part for a back to learn about pass protection and what makes them good at it?

“That’s a really good question. I would say the toughest part…I don’t know that there’s a toughest part, like a blanket toughest part because each individual has such a different background that something that one guy might struggle with might be leverage on contact, they might struggle with their pad level, but that be because they happen to be stiff in the hips and stiff in the ankles so they don’t bend their knees as well, whereas another guy, that might not be an issue every because they bend really, really well.

“So, each guy kind of has his own cross to bear in terms of pass-pro because they’re overcoming a specific personal type of weakness. Some guys it’s mental, some guys it’s pad level, some guys it’s spatial awareness, some guys it’s focus, some guys struggle to punch, so it’s always different for each guy. Some guys unfortunately have three or four different things they struggle with, so you’re always trying to chase down those weaknesses and turn them into strengths and get to the point where you don’t have any holes in your game.”

With a few new offensive coaches, how does that change your offensive meetings and was it easy to get along with these guys, with—

“Super easy. Sorry to interrupt. Yeah, super easy to get a long with them. Great guys. Awesome guys who have tons of experience. They’re really fun to be around. They bring great energy, and in terms of the meetings, I don’t think much has been different in terms of how they’re structured or anything like that.

“I think that they’re tremendous coaches, so as we evolve on offense and get to what we’re going to be this fall, they’ve brought a ton of knowledge and they’ve been really valuable in terms of having a nice outsider’s opinion of, ‘Hey, I like how you guys did this but let’s tweak and run it this way’ or change this about that pass concept. So, it’s really nice to have an outsider opinion who’s unbiased and kind of the third-part point of view.”

Are you still doing four-hour practices?

“Not quite, but pretty close. And there’s a walkthrough and meeting element on the field as well, so lot of great reps for the young guys to develop.”

[SID: Last question because we’ve got Karan here.]

“Just give it to Karan. He’s go—

I was going to ask him this anyways, too. What do you think has helped prepare you the most for your second year as running backs coach?

“Why do you guys love these questions so much?”

I like asking these questions. It’s the offseason.

“The most—I mean, I don’t know what the answer to that is. I know that coaching guys like Karan and Chris and Ben and O’Maury and Kareem and Kurt and all those guys, they want to be really, really great.

“As a coach, that’s like—that makes your job so much more fun and more interesting and it challenges you because they’re always looking for more; they always want more coaching points, they always want more stuff to study, they’re always looking for drills, they’re always looking to be a sponge and consume more, so I think just going into the second year it’s been fun to have more time with those guys and I’m just trying to do my best to serve them and help them get where they want to go.”

You’re expecting? Well, your wife is.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re expecting a child. We’ll know the—”

I was going to say otherwise you look pretty good.

[reporters laugh, Jay pats his stomach]

“Yeah. I’m not expecting.”

Well, it’s a team effort.

“It is. We’re super excited about it.”

This is Jim’s first grandchild?

“Yes.”

I wonder what he’ll be called. Like gr—

“Grandpa?”

I mean, I don’t know. He called his dad ‘Coach Harbaugh’ a little while ago.

“Oh, I see what you’re saying. Colloquial names. I don’t know. Well, thanks guys. Have a good day.”

Comments

A2toGVSU

March 30th, 2018 at 9:33 AM ^

"the things that you think are going to help you beat Notre Dame and Western Michigan and Wisconsin and Penn State, Ohio State, et cetera"

I cannot stop laughing.

trueblueintexas

March 30th, 2018 at 10:58 AM ^

What are these ups and downs you speak of?

[laughs] “That’s part of the struggle of whatever dream a person is chasing. There’s always going to be setbacks and there’s going to be bad days and sometimes there’s bad weeks or bad months, but he’s a resilient guy and I’ve been pleased with the way he’s approached the spring so far.”

 

You have to give Jay a lot of credit for this answer. The reporters are trying to build a story around Walker struggling and he responds with this.

Mongo

March 30th, 2018 at 4:56 PM ^

Ugh he can be PC and call it bad "pad level" but I would say it was lack of contact courage. Just not willing to step up to that free-running LB with the "right pad level" ... that is code for take him on head-up in his chest. There were too many half-hearted ole' whiffs.