[Fuller/MGoBlog]

Jake Rudock

You’ve been able to practice and all that?

“Yeah, I’ve been able to practice. Yeah, I expect to play complete. That’s all that really matters, right?”

Was there any point afterward- even that day, because you didn’t come back in the game obviously- where you thought it might keep you out of this game?

“No. I mean, I know this process. We have a few weeks to get healthy so I wasn’t really concerned about that. I’d figure out a way, whatever it is.”

You played with Bosa in high school, right?

“Yeah.”

Did you guys have any words after that?

“Yeah, we talked. Talked to him after the game. Texted him a little bit, see how it was going and stuff.”

What was the injury?

“You guys don’t know that yet?”

No, nobody told us.

“Am I allowed to release anything? I’m deferring to you.”

[looks at SID]

As long as you’re health now it doesn’t matter, right?

“Exactly! See, who cares!? Who cares? It’s over now.”

How long were you limited? Were you healthy and back throwing a couple days later?

“I mean, we could take our time so we took our time. There’s no point to force anything with having a few weeks to get ready.”

[After THE JUMP: more Rudock, Kyle Kalis and Jourdan Lewis]

So when did you throw?

“Gosh…we’re like two and a half weeks removed…uh, I don’t know, probably a week later or something or a little more than that.”

Any discomfort?

“What?”

No discomfort throwing?

“Sure.” 

Oh, that’s right, it’s your left arm. It doesn’t even matter.

“I mean, everything matters. [laughs] It was the left arm, which is definitely a good thing. Obviously it’s a little easier to rehab a non-throwing arm than a throwing arm.”

Thoughts about a shot at a 10-win season?

“Oh, it’s huge. That’s all we’re focused on right now is getting that tenth win understaning how difficult that is to do in college football and how good that’ll be for this program and this university, so that’s all we’re focused on right now.”

What’s a bowl practice like under coach Harbaugh?

“Like practice, just normal practices. Just trying to prepare as best we can and try and get a little bit better each and every day. That’s something he’s always preaching, and it’s bowl practice so you have time to really work and put our nose to the grindstone, so we’re just working on that.”

Are you doing everything right now? Are you limited?

“Yeah, I’m doing everything.”

When you step back and look at the run you guys had with the passing game late in the year, what do you think was the biggest reason for success? Do you see something now that you’re removed from it a little bit?

“I think it was just a matter of time. Also really just understanding what our coaches are calling, understanding why they’re calling certain plays and the certain looks that go with certain pass plays. I think it attributes also to our receivers going out there, running great routes, and making great plays and the offensive line, their pass protection was very good all year, but especially down the stretch.”

Were Harbaugh and Fisch giving you more latitude near the end too to make decisions? He said at one point they were giving you a couple plays you could choose from.

“Yeah, they had done that this season and there’s a growing thing with understanding how much you put on a guy, and I think they had a healthy amount they could put on me and how much is too much, and I think they understand that. If it’s too much I’m free to tell them to cut back a little bit.”

Have you had a chance to look at Florida at all yet?

“Yeah. Oh yeah.”

What are your thoughts on their defense?

“Great defense. Very penetrating up front. Their secondary- I mean, they’re really good, let’s put it that way. They get in and out of breaks really well. They do a great job of covering. They have speed all around, and that’s what you’d expect from one of those teams.”

Two guys will probably be NFL cornerbacks some day. Does that change the way you go into a game looking to attack them or are you careful about where you put the ball?

“Yeah, you have to respect what they can do. There’s no doubt about that. You understand that timing has to be perfect, because they’re going to break on the ball well. Their entire secondary does a great job breaking on the ball, so you’ve just got to put it where it needs to be and if it’s late don’t throw it because they’re going to go out there and make plays on it.”

With that said about their passing defense, do you feel you showed a little bit of mobility later in the year? How much of your mobility do you rely on in a game like this where it might be difficult to pass?

“You rely on it as much as you can. Whenever you get an opening and the pass isn’t open because they do a great job of smothering it you can use your legs, but at the same time understanding when it’s best to try to get a yard or two or maybe more after that but they’re also going to cover it well but their front seven does a great job too so it’s understanding the balance and not just trying to force everything with your feet or force everything with your arm.”

Chemistry-wise with the receivers, with the bowl practice schedule do you feel you can build anything more with them or do you feel like that’s already been established in the regular season?

“I think you’re always working, that’s the thing. You’re never there, as the saying goes. We’ve just got to continue to build our chemistry and keep working on it, and understand that we have a good foundation but if you don’t keep working on it it goes away so being able to continue to work on it is definitely helpful.”

Do you thin Jehu’s success at the end of the year was a chemistry thing or was that him making developments through the course of the season?

“I think a little bit of everything. He’s been working so hard just on and off the field in the film room and all that, so I think it’s a little bit of us getting a better feel for each other but also his work ethic and us working together.”

What kind of position have you left the team’s quarterback position as far as being an example-

“There’s a lot of positions. You’re going to have to narrow it down for me.”

What kind of- I guess the status of the quarterback position. It was a little bit shaky before you got here. Do you feel like you brought some stability to that, something for the next guys to work on? Something to follow?

“Hopefully. Any time you have an older guy who’s leaving hopefully that older guy can bring along the younger guys and help teach them things, and they’re teaching me, too. I think that’s one of the things that gets overlooked. I’ve learned a ton from those guys and hopefully I can teach them a thing here or there and just help make Michigan better.”

What would you like them to take away from playing with you, the younger quarterbacks?

“I mean, there’s so many little things. Just how you kind of approach the game sometimes, and everybody approaches it differently, just seeing things differently. Even just how you are on the sideline, how you are with your other teammates, it’s important. So hopefully parts of me rub off just as parts of them rubbed off on me.”

You live with John [O’Korn], right?

“Yeah.”

How is he as a roommate and personality-wise? We haven’t met him yet.

“You haven’t met John, huh? Have fun with that. He’s a great guy, no, we get along great. We get along fine. There’s no…harsh things, I guess. But, uh, it’s like anybody you live with: there’s times you want to choke him out, but it’s very few and far between with us, which is a good thing. No, he’s a great guy.”

When you were growing up did you imagine playing football in Florida and being a Miami kid that you’d end your career there? Are you going to have a lot of people, more people than you’d normally have at a game and stuff?

“Uh, we’ll see. Most of my extended family’s from Pennsylvania, so yeah, we’ll have a bunch of family and friends going up to it. It’s kind of funny, this is the same stadium I played my last high school game in, so it’ll be the last stadium I play my final college game in, so that’s pretty cool.”

How’d that game go?

“29-7, state championship. We won.”

You remember your stats from that?

“Nope. It was a W. That’s the stat.”

That’s all that matters?

“Yeah.”

Have you figured out what you’re going to do after the bowl in terms of getting ready for the draft?

“No idea. I’m just focused on Florida right now and trying to get a little bit better every week. We’ll see. It’s always great to have options, but we’re not really worried about that right now.”

Have any of the all-star games contacted you?

“Yeah, we’re discussing that, trying to figure it out. But also I’m not worried about it, but it’s something that unfortunately also kind of happens at this time. We’ll see what happens with that.”

Will you still apply to medical schools?

“I have yet to take the MCAT, so they probably won’t take me, unfortunately.”

So you have to have that-

“Yeah, it’s pretty important. It’s a pretty important piece. No, I had the plan of taking a year off from school. A lot of pre-med students do that. My brother did that. So I’ll take a year off and prepare for the MCAT and do applications, which are pretty long so that’ll be fun.”

So you plan on taking a year?

“Yeah, I’ve planned on taking a year off.”

This was not considered a year off?

“Yeah, I was planning on taking a year off, catching my breath, and see if someone wants to take a chance on me and [inaudible].”

What will you do in the year off?

“Prepare for the MCAT and do my applications and interviews. So many things go into that process. You have the application, an interview, sometimes a second interview. [inaudble].”

Do you still have any connections with anyone on the Iowa team? Did you reach out to anyone after this season?

“Yeah.”

Was that something just a ‘congratulations’ kind of thing?

“Yeah, I was really proud of those guys. It’s unbelievable what they were able to do this year. These are guys I was with for four years of my life and [inaudible] friends [inaudible]. Wow, that sounded really cliché. But no, I mean, obviously just got in touch to see they’re feeling and tell them how proud I was of them.”

[Sorry there were so many inaudible parts. I was standing a few feet away but he just talks really, really softly.]

[Fuller]

Kyle Kalis

Run game struggled the last couple weeks. Your evaluation of what you have to do to get back on track against Florida?

“I think we’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing. Bowl practice is always a great time to get back to fundamentals. It’s like you get three more bye weeks, so it’s a lot of practice and it’s three weeks you get to go into a game and just be that much more prepared for it. Past couple weeks there were some things we wish could have gone our way. Sometimes we weren’t playing 11 man football. I’ve said that before, and I’m fully confident that by the time the bowl game comes around we’ll be ready.”

Is there a general feeling that you guys are rejuvenated having that time off to prepare for the bowl? 

“Yeah, I think anytime you get any time off it’s nice just to clear your head and then before you know it you get back into the thick of things, especially with the few weeks coming up. We almost have a week done now, and it’s gone good so far. We’ve already gotten a lot better just from the few practices we’ve had so far, and the film sessions we’ve got to have with our coaches individually. So yeah, it’s always nice to get a little time off before you come back.”

Jake was just telling us that the Florida defensive line is really good at getting penetration. What have you seen from them on film that you are focusing on?

“Yeah, their front four and linebackers are really good players. Explosive; they move quick, they have quick-twitch muscle fibers. They move fast. Smart. Explosive. Their linebackers hit hard. Their D-linemen, if you let them they get penetration. It’s nothing we can’t handle [or] stuff we haven’t handled before. We look forward to it. Should be a good game.”

What kind of progress have you guys seen out of Jake as far as mobility is concerned? He showed a few times he has wheels. What have you seen from fall camp until now?

“I think with Jake just every game as time went on he got more and more confident and more and more confident in the scheme which allowed him to know where everybody was and allowed himself to run. He’s focused on finding the situation that’s right. I think that’s the biggest thing was just getting game experience under coach Harbaugh’s system. I think that played a huge role for him.”

Do you think it helps the defense to have gone against a Doug Nussmeier offense in practice over and over this last year?

“Yeah, I think maybe a little bit that might help, but we’re focusing on the team they have this year. It’ll be fun to get down there and see coach Nussmeier again. Should be fun.”

I asked Jake this question, but the stability he’ll leave at the quarterback position. He came in and it was shaky before he got here and he left something for other guys to follow. How often have you guys talked about that and what do you think about that?

“Uh, I haven’t really talked about it much with anybody, but I can imagine that if anyone is talking about it we have a bunch of guys. We’ve got a bunch of guys and who knows if there’s even going to be more guys coming in. I have no idea. It’s up to coach Harbaugh and we’ll see what he’s going to do, but one thing I know about coach Harbaugh it he’s going to get whoever is playing quarterback ready and whoever is the quarterback is always going to put us in the best position to win.”

But Jake did a good job of setting an example?

“Yeah, for sure, for sure. He definitely set the bar high.”

What’s your evaluation of how the offensive line played overall this season?

“We played good, I think. I think we played really well as a unit. We all had our really good games. We all graded out high for the most part. I don’t know what the stat is, but I think our sacks was pretty good. We ran the ball well for the exception of a couple games but that’s going to happen. I’m happy. I’m happy with how we performed. Ecstatic that I got to play under coach Drevno and coach Harbaugh. It’s been an awesome experience so far and I look forward to the rest of it.”

What’s the next step for the offensive line?

“You can never take a step back, I think. Really what we want to do is become an offensive line that’s feared and you don’t want to play against us on Saturday. I think we still have a little bit of a way to go to there, but we are on the right track and we’re going to get there. We’re going to be fine.”

How do you become that type of offensive line?

“The way? The thing coach Drev always preaches and talks about is you have to practice 110% every single play or you’re going to get worse. He stays on our butt all the time, keeping us up and pushing us and making sure we don’t take any plays off and that’s how you do it, you make sure you don’t take any plays off.”

In the beginning of they year you said you were learning things you never knew before. Is that a continuous thing through the whole year where week nine or week ten you’re still learning new stuff?

“Yeah. I think the point with coach Drevno is every week going forward we always learn something new, and that’s attributing to the success he had in his career. He’s been able to bring that success and teach us some things we didn’t know before.”

Bowl practice is a time to rotate young guys in. Have you seen some of that?

“For sure. There’s been guys getting in there and getting better like Nolan [Ulizio], Grant Newsome, he’s played a little bit this year, and then…oh man, he’s going to kill me…Jon! Jon Runyan! Yeah, all those young guys have been in there and getting some reps, so it’s been nice.”

[Upchurch]

Jourdan Lewis

[I jumped in after a question had been asked, but I think you can figure out what it was]

“I said it on Twitter. I keep restating it, but I’m coming back.”

Why?

“To get my education. I haven’t graduated yet.”

Did it ever cross your mind?

“No, I was always going to stay four years.”

Did you talk to anybody, reach out to anybody for advice on that decision?

“It was my decision. I always thought I wanted my degree. No matter what happened that was always the plan whether I was one of the top guys in the draft or not.”

Why is education a priority?

“Because football’s not going to last forever and my education will so I thought that was the best move for me. Honestly, I just thought why not? It’s a free education, might as well finish it up.”

Was there somebody that put that idea in your head or was it just you?

“No, that was just me.”

When Jake [Butt] made the decision last week to also come back, does that speak to what you guys think you can do next season?

“Um, yeah, [and] also to the type of guy he is. He’s always been a standup guy and he wants his education first, too, and that’s very serious to him, and he sees what we could do next season. We had an amazing season this season, but just take it to that next level.”

You guys talked all year about wanting to create more turnovers and how that was a big focus and you guys finished with the same number as last year. Have you guys talked at all about what you need to do to get over that hump?

“Play more aggressive. That’s basically what it is. You know, just having that on your mind at all times, just trying to get the ball back. It’s not just, ‘Oh, we’ve got to get the ball back’ and that’s just the key. We’ve got the play like that every single play.”

Is that something you feel you didn’t do a good enough job of this year?

“Yeah. We weren’t in the positives in turnover margin, so obviously there’s always room for improvement. We wish that number would be better right now, so we’ve just got to play more aggressive. Coach put an emphasis on that in practice, try and get the ball back and strip the ball.”

Thoughts on receivers you’ll face in the bowl game?

“They’re great. They’re elite skill positions. They can run, they’re really athletic. So, we just started watching film on those guys, but they’re really good.”

Seemed like there was a lot of support when coach Durkin left for Maryland. What was it like when he told you and how do you find a way to be happy for someone when you know you’re also going to be losing them as a coach?

“We’re always happy for the other guy’s success. Coach Harbaugh says and preaches it’s always next guy up, whether it’s a coach or it’s a player. It’s always next guy up so we can’t really dwell on that, but I’m happy for coach Durkin and the position that he’s in. He’s the head coach at Maryland, which is a really big thing. That’s one of his dreams is he wanted to be a head coach, so we can’t be anything but happy for him.”

What’s it been like with Mattison running meetings again?

“It’s the same. Like Coach said, it’s next guy up. It’s pretty much been the same. Just trying to adjust to coach [Mattison] being our defensive coordinator, but it’s the same gameplan, it’s the same defense. Be aggressive, getting turnovers—it’s the same emphasis.”

You tweeted five or six weeks ago that you were coming back and it was big, but that was the point. Why then? Were you getting pressure?

“Yeah, it was more pressure than ever at that point. People were asking me left and right are you going to stay or are you going to go, and I felt it was time to let people know.”

Was it classmates or agents or…?

“Yeah, everything. Everything involved, agents, everything, I just wanted everybody to know what my decision would be.”

Did it cool off then?

“Yeah, it’s…naaaah, it didn’t. [laughs] But I don’t know, now it’s just more like ‘Are you sure? Are you sure?’ making sure my mind’s made up, but I can tell you I’m 100% coming back.”

Will you bother to apply just to see what the NFL thinks, just to get a gauge where you think you might go?

“I mean, it would be nice to know but it’s always- I’m going to be coming back no matter what happens.”

Are you going to take out an insurance policy or anything like that?

“We haven’t gotten that far yet. I don’t know. We’re still in the season right now, so we’re just preparing for Florida right now so I haven’t even thought about it or anything like that.”

Why is getting your education so important and finishing that degree?

“Because, like I said, football is not going to last forever. I have other things to plan for myself along the road. It’s just the best move for me.”

What are your plans, your future aspirations?

“I want to be in advertisement, so basically marketing, stuff like that.”

What have the past couple weeks since the end of the season and preparing for Florida, what have those been like for you as a team?

“Just the same old thing. We have to prepare at our highest level for Florida. They’re a great team and they have great skills. It’s just a great team down there, so we have to prepare like we prepare for every other game.”

I guess there is probably a noticeable difference in attitude in the past year- circumstances are different. What kind of growth have you seen as a team in the past 12 months?

“We’re more aggressive than last year. There’s an emphasis on being aggressive and we’re just playing good defense right now. There’s always room for improvement, but you can see the difference from last year.”

You’re not going to be on the field the same time as him, but when you go against other corners on the other sideline, a guy like Vernon Hargreaves, people like that, does that get you excited about playing against guys like that in a competitive spirit type of way?

“You know, you always want to do better than your opponent so it’s always a good thing when you’re playing against a great competitor like Vernon, but honestly, we’re just worried about the receivers we’ve got to face because those guys, we’re going to be on the field with them. We’ve just got to prepare for that great skill up there.”

You and Desmond King, you know each other, right?

“Yeah, we played little league together.”

What’s it been like to see him getting all this attention?

“It’s amazing. He was like a three-star recruit. Nobody really thought of him like that. It’s just a really good feeling to see one of my good friends getting that notoriety that he really deserves, because he played great in high school and now he’s getting the notice nationally now. It just feels good for me knowing that I grew up with a guy like that.”

What are your impressions of star rankings for recruits? You mentioned he was a three star?

“Yeah, I’m not really fine with that because he was never a three star. It’s all about who you know and if you get exposure. That star stuff, man, it doesn’t really phase me so much. It’s more like if I see you in person and I see that you can play, it’s more something like that.”

You guys work out together still in the offseason or anything like that?

“We did, but once we got older we started breaking our own ways but he’s always been a baller, honestly. Ever since we were little he had a knack for getting the ball.”

You guys ever talk about- you said you played little league together, two of the best defensive backs in college football grew up together- looking back on that is it kind of a surprise?

“It’s really [a surprise]. Just coming from such a—you know, we just came from…we didn’t success like that. It’s a great feeling to see somebody I know excelling like he is.”

What’s the ride been like for you? You’re among those considered the best defensive backs in the game. What’s that ride been like for you?

“I don’t really notice it. I just keep working. It’s great to get all these awards and accolades, but honestly we’re striving for more. We’re just trying to get this tenth win. There’s always something else out there.”

When you get an award do they send you a certificate or a plaque? Are they stacking up?

“No, no. People just tell me on social media and stuff like that and Dave [Ablauf] tells me or Chad [Sheppard].”

And it just goes in and out? Do you care?

“Yeah. I mean, it’s great to know that you were an All-American. They have such a great and storied history at Michigan, but it’s just always something else to do. There’s always other work to do.”