Here's what Arizona State defensive coordinator told reporters during the team's spring media day:
Opening Statement:
“We’re excited to be back. The recruiting part is wrapping up, it’s not over yet, we’re still battling a little bit this weekend for a couple of guys which is fun. We’re excited to get the spring ball rolling … this is kind of what I prefer. And for a young football team this is going to be just huge. They’ve done a good job in the weight room so far, they got back Jan. 7 and (sports performance) coach (Joe) Connolly has done a tremendous job with those guys, we’ve got a lot of interested players that are ready to go. They’re actually going to run for a little bit, the offense just got done lifting, defense is going to lift again so we’re going in the direction of starting one of my favorite times of the year.”
On how success in the season helps recruiting efforts:
“I think it helps tremendously. Winning cures all and everything. And we did not, in my opinion, meet our expectations of what we thought we were capable of doing. Some people out there thought that we did better. We were picked last (in the Pac-12 South in the preseason media poll), we were picked to win anywhere between two and four games. I thought that was not a good choice. We won seven, we should have won more. Now we have a very young football team that wore down at the end of the year and it’s very evident on film … that’s why I think this part of our program and building our culture and building who we want to be is a huge development.”
On if there are more questions on the defensive line than secondary heading into spring ball:
“The guys that are going to start, especially the first three up front, between (senior) George Lea, (junior) Shannon Forman and (sophomore Jermayne) Lole and even sophomore D.J. Davidson, who we won’t have for the spring to a degree, those guys have proven that they can play at an elite level in the Pac-12. So we don’t have questions there. The questions that we will have are (redshirt freshman) Michael Matus, we’ll see his first real action with these guys. And then (senior) Jalen Bates started out strong, kind of wore down a bit; he has worked his tail off so i’m really excited to see what he can do. And the same with (senior) Darius Slade … they’re chomping at the bit which is good because they’ve taken a challenge to it. They want to see their roles increased, and so instead of complaining about it and blaming somebody else, they’re taking accountability and trying to make themselves better. They can push, and so the greatest thing we have right now is we’ve got competition at a lot of spots, especially in the secondary. Now that competition will increase once we get to fall … We’re not really short on bodies because once we build our program like we’re going, and you have 20-22 seniors in your program and those guys leave, those are the numbers that we will see every year in spring ball. When you have two-deep, three-deep, 20 seniors and you don’t get to replace those guys until the fall, you get to beat the tar out of the ones that are here. And that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
On having the same personnel return for spring ball and how that changes his installs:
“The emphasis on this spring will be very similar to last year. I talked about it when I first got here: effort and running to the football. The guys that were here for the entire year that I’ve been here that went through spring ball and played the entire season, they have a better understanding of what they’re getting themselves into starting Tuesday. The young guys that played -- the five true freshman that played and those guys -- they have no idea. Our model will be very similar to last year because those guys wore down, they didn’t play very hard at the end of the year. And part of that is they got worn out and part of that is coaching … There was such a drop off in ability between some of those guys that were playing and the guys behind them that I lived with some poor effort. Well, that ain’t happening anymore. And they’ve got to understand that either the guys behind them have to step up or the guys in front of them need to play harder. That is the model of this spring. Now the other challenge that we’re going to have which is kind of exciting, we have four quarterbacks that have zero experience … To give them what we do every single day would not be fair because they’re going to see some stuff normally that they wouldn’t see during the season during spring ball, which will make them better for it. And to give them an opportunity to be successful, we have to dial back a little bit. And when I say dial it back a little bit it may be some of the exotic looks we’re going to get. Now, (offensive coordinator and quarterbacks) coach (Rob) Likens might want us to run a four-man rush every time, that ain’t happening, but we’ll give them a lot of that. We’ll give them the opportunity so that those guys have the chance to be successful. The difference in speed between high school and college football, especially Division I, there’s no comparison … so those guys have to get adjusted … I’ve got all kinds of new ideas for those guys so it will never get boring, at least for me it won’t ever get boring. That will be the model of spring heading into 2019.
On Jamar Cain being hired as ASU’s new defensive line coach:
Jamar Cain, our new defensive line coach - we lost coach (Shaun) Nua - so Jamar stepped in and he’s already on the road. I kind of made fun of him, he went from one shirt to another over the weekend. … I’ve know Jamar for a long time. The only problem I have with Jamar is he played at New Mexico State. That was our bitter rival at New Mexico so it almost cost him working with us, but I was able to look past it. He’s done a phenomenal job in his career. If you go back and study where he’s been and what he’s done it’s a very similar path to where I came from. He was at North Dakota State, they’ve won national championships, you have to do a really good job evaluating and recruiting to get good players that could compete at a high level. In his time there, they beat Kansas State and Iowa. That shouldn’t happen. The advantages that we have over some of those schools, and North Dakota State lacks against teams like Kansas State and Iowa, those (wins over those programs) don’t happen unless you have really good players and they’re coached the right way. [Jamar] went over to Fresno State and they made an unbelievable turnaround in the two years Coach (Jeff) Tedford been there. I mean unbelievable going from 1-11 to winning 12 games two years later and [Jamar] being a big part of that staff. … His track record speaks for itself and the best part of [Jamar being our new defensive line coach] was, I took him around last week to visit all our defensive linemen that we have committed and as we walked into the room, they jumped out and said ‘Hey Coach Cain’ before I even had to introduce them. He’s put himself out there that Fresno State might not have been able to obtain but he’s taken a swing and we’re going to continue to do that with our recruiting.
On sophomore linebacker Merlin Robertson:
“We missed him in the bowl game. He’s back here working his tail off in the weight room with everyone else. I meet with that young man all the time. … We are expecting big things from him. Big things are more than just playing on the field, he has to be a leader off the field and he has to be a leader amongst his teammates. I think the best thing that those true freshmen did on defense is they did a nice job in the classroom. When you get into playing big-time football and now you’re a student too, a lot of times for those young guys it becomes overwhelming. Our academic staff did a great job, (strength) coach (Joe) Connolly and so we’re a step ahead of the game. … They’ve given themselves a big chance to be successful (next year) and Merlin’s a big leader in that.”
On the depth behind the linebacker corps:
“(Sophomore linebacker) Kyle Soelle, he doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves from myself nor people out there. He doesn’t always look flashy, he’s not as athletic and he’s not as big as the [rest of the group] but he’s productive. When you’re productive that’s all that matters. … He knows what to do all the time. He’s one of the guys who’s been here since last spring so he gets [in terms of effort]. And then he makes plays. He makes unathletic plays that are unbelievable. … Between him and (senior linebacker) Khaylan Kearse-Thomas, those two have proven they can play up to our expectations. Khaylan needs to get a little better at playing on the line of scrimmage as well as off because he’s going to have to do both this year. Then the young development of (freshman linebacker) Reggie Hughes, we won’t have (redshirt freshman) Stanley Lambert this spring. [Lambert] will have a lot to do to make up for the time he’s going to miss. Reggie Hughes we’ll see how he develops and then depending on what we get into fall camp with, we’ll see whether we have more defensive backs than we do linebackers at times or that we think can play at a high competitive level or whether we get a couple of those guys that come in. There’s a walk-on that’s been on a mission in (freshman linebacker) Case Hatch is going to be in spring ball. There’s a lot of positive energy about him. In my 20 years, it usually takes kids a little while to get back into shape after their mission… this young man looks better than anybody I’ve ever seen coming off a mission so I’m really excited for him and give him a lot of credit for being able to maintain that during his mission. Like I said, we’ll look for our best 22 players at the end of spring ball, I have an idea of who they are going into spring ball and then we’ll design how to make sure we have enough depth at those spots. We played five to six (linebackers) last year and barring injury we’ll have the same five to six we played last year and they’ll be a year better for it.”
On how he will spread out reps to help the development depth on his defense:
“With 26 guys we have on the defensive side of the ball, that won’t be an issue at all. Especially the way we practice around here, we go very fast. There will be 7-on-7 periods they rotate in every play and they chase balls whether they’re complete, incomplete. It doesn’t matter, they better be going full-speed. Those guys are going to get a ton of reps. They’re going to get more reps than they are actually prepared for condition-wise … Those guys are going to be worn out. I’m telling you this is like Christmas to me. I’m excited.”
On Baylor transfer cornerback Timarcus Davis’ role on defense after winning Defensive Scout Team Player of Year in 2018:
“Timarcus is a very twitchy, very athletic, physical football player. You’ll see it through spring ball. He is the prototypical [defensive back] that we want. He will throw his body up in there. Now he needs to gain a little bit of weight still in the weight room. We busted his tail during all of fall season. The Scout Team Player of the Year was well-earned. Going up against those guys, the wideouts, giving them fits … He’s got the tangibles to compete at a very high level. The great thing that they’re starting to understand and the establishment of our culture here is nobody is safe. Meaning (returning starting cornerbacks) Chase Lucas and Kobe Williams, they know they’re not just penciled in as starters because they’ve been the starters the last two years. If Timarcus comes in here and whoops their tails during spring and fall, then all of a sudden Timarcus is going to be at the top of the depth chart. So he’s going to start behind Chase (at boundary corner). Chase knows that there’s competition and the best thing about that is Chase has responded to it.”
On the team’s plan for tackling during the spring:
“On Tuesday (during the first practice of the spring), we’re going to be tackling live all the way to the ground in just helmets. We’ve got a former rugby coach who is going to be out there with us that we’ve been meeting with to do some tackling (drills) so we can do that stuff without pads on, just to get those guys better at body position. That’s the most important thing. There’s two things to being a good tackler: One, you have to have total disregard and not care about your body, which most of our guys do; the ones that turn their backs don’t and we’re working on that. As we get going through spring ball, you’re going to see a lot of tackling without pads, with pads. The other part of that deal is running to the football. If you miss a tackle but you’ve got four or five guys there – and we had a lot of success with that last year, we didn’t give up a ton of big plays after the catch because of that. Now we got beat on a couple of deep balls late in the season that we need to fix. If we want to be dominating – and that’s our plan around here, we want to dominate the other side of the football – those guys need to continue with that same mindset. And that’s the direction we’re heading.”
On his expectations for the future of the program:
“Arizona State is a destination job. Arizona State can compete for the [College Football Playoff] on an annual basis once the culture is set and we continue to recruit the right kids. We’re going to get the best ones that we get out of Arizona, we’re going to get the ones we want out of Arizona, and we’re not taking the ones that anybody tells us, we’re not taking the ones that are supposed to be good on paper. We’re taking the best players. Now, we’re going to swing at all of them, just as we did this year … As we continue to win and build this thing up, you have to do a good job with the evaluating now because we’re going to be based out of California and Arizona. If you go back, the tradition, the 1987 Rose Bowl champions that beat Michigan and then the 1996 team that was 30 seconds away from winning the national title, both those teams had great quarterbacks. Both those teams were California- and Arizona-laden, and both of them were physical, tough, dominant teams. They mirrored what coach (Frank) Kush was able to do all the way back in the ‘70s … The two Rose Bowl appearances in that time, that’s what we aspire to compete for every year … With the direction and the excitement and the enthusiasm and the interest that we have from the players in the weight room and our strength coaches, there’s going to be a lot of happy people around here as we continue to build this thing. I’ve been doing this long enough to know you shouldn’t say things and lay out expectations that are unattainable. Well, I will never say something that I don’t think we can attain as long as I’m here. That’s the direction we’re headed.”
On being promoted to assistant head coach and if his ultimate goal is to be a head coach:
“Coach Edwards has been just awesome to me, the administration has been fantastic. When you are successful and you have people who see good things happening, you get opportunities. I am very honored that coach Edwards and the administration were the ones getting me to go that direction. Aspirations of being a head coach, when you warrant stuff, people offer it to you. I don’t believe in the whole supply and demand of coaching. I don’t believe, just because somebody offered you something more that you deserve more. I think you deserve more because it’s based on merit. You get what you get because you earn it. And head coach, sometimes the best part of being a head coach is that paycheck, no doubt. Because you lose a lot of ability to do things because of all the other responsibilities you got to deal with. The stuff that goes through coach Edwards’ desk. He’s been awesome to me, everything that he gets through that he has to deal with he’s like: ‘Hey, one of these days you’re gonna have to deal with stuff this is how we’re doing it. This is what we’re going through.’ And I think that’s invaluable experience that he’s afforded me the opportunity to do that. Like I said, Arizona State is a destination job. It’s not a place that you come to looking to go somewhere better. It’s a place that you come to to build to be a national contender and an opportunity to win the Pac-12 every year and I love Arizona. I want to be here and so I’m not driven by other things that some coaches are driven by. I ultimately want to win. That’s all I care about is winning. I hate losing more than I enjoy winning which is not necessarily a good thing but it is who I am, my wife is the one who has to deal with that and that’s okay. The time that we’ve had the last year for my family in Tempe, my kids and building this football program, it’s a very special place and I have a vision of making this place something really really unique. So, aspirations of being a head coach? If that opportunity is given to me someday, then I just have a desire to win and compete, you get rewarded based on merit that’s what I believe.
We do have four different quarterbacks and they all have different styles. The best thing about all four of guys is all four of them have just unbelievable arms. They’ve got great arm talent that is God given and it’s coach Likens job to get that talent to perfect use. It gives us an opportunity on defense to prepare for four different styles of quarterback so as we get going through the spring and we see how coach Likens calls the offense it gives us an opportunity and it’s really good for our play caller and it gives some of our coaches on defense an opportunity to call plays in situations. It gives those guys an opportunity to get a different feel against a different quarterback. So it’s almost like preparing for a different team during spring which gives us a lot of flexibility. You guys will notice that there will be those four quarterbacks, they all will be given the same plays. Some plays they’ll be good at and some plays the other guy will be good at. So, we’ll have to figure out, if one of those guys is a really good zone read guy then make sure he doesn’t keep the football, we’ll do some stuff based on that so if we face a Tyler Huntley from Utah or (Jason) Shelley who ended up being their backup quarterback we’ve got a plan to go against that. If one of them is more like JT Daniels from USC and can throw it and pick you apart, we didn’t get the opportunity to play this year then we can put some kind of a package together so we can defend him that way. I think the best part of it is, now it used to be that if a quarterback didn’t make it at the quarterback spot they were such a good athlete they wanted to play, now most of those guys want to play quarterback. That’s what they’ve done since they were little kids. So they find the best opportunity for them to play quarterback. If any of those guys want to come over and play defense or some other position we will gladly take them because they’re all three, really even (junior quarterback) Dillon (Sterling-Cole), Dillon is four years into it and he’s a quarterback at heart but Dillon could be a fullback, H-bac, linebacker, his body. Give Dillon a lot of credit and don’t count him out of this race because the young man has busted his tail. He looks good. He’s lost about 20 pounds, which he probably needed to. The young man just looks phenomenal and he’s done a great job of being a leader in the locker room with these offseason workouts and going into the spring. He’s gonna be getting his opportunity because he’s earned it, obviously he has the ability. But one of those four guys, and most likely two of them will be, will establish themselves, We’ll have a better idea going into the fall who the competition is going to be between. And then during fall camp those guys, one of those guys will establish themselves. And if we got a couple of them coach Likens will have a challenge figuring out who’s going to get to play and I don’t have to worry about that. All I have to worry about is don’t give up points and stop yards. That’s why we do this. This has been a different cycle this year, usually I’m used to starting spring ball in the middle of February, I’ve never started the week of signing day which I’m super excited about. Being on the road recruiting, we’ve been in Georgia, San Francisco, LA, been all over the place...It’s been great. Having this cycle start in February and then the two seven week cycles that we have in the weight room, that is so important to the culture of our team, so important for the development of our team. Were gonna be tremendously better because of it. And it gives us a chance to compete next year and start off the right way.
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