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Auburn OC Joel Gordon - Post-Transfer Portal Window · The Auburn Undercover Podcast

• 0:00
  Justin Fergus and the Auburn Observer.
• 0:02
  Uh Joel, Alex was in here just a moment
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  ago. Talk about how big the running game
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  is in y'all's offense and just you guys
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  went out and got several, you know, top
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  running backs out of the portal. What
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  was the importance of getting that kind
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  of depth and utilizing it on on game
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  days?
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  >> Yeah, I think it all starts with uh
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  Jeremiah Cobb. You know,
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  he was here, he's played here. um he was
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  really productive a year ago and behind
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  him there's not a ton of uh just
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  experience and and proven you know
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  production. So you got to have depth at
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  that position. you know, regardless of
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  what offense that you play in and the
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  way that we play. Um, with the tempo,
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  there's got to be guys that are ready to
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  be fresh, you know, at all times. And
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  it's it's what we start by, you know,
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  that that's where our offense starts is
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  running the rock and being physical. And
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  those guys are, you know, inherently
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  going to get banged up and nicked up,
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  you know, as the year goes on. and you
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  got to have guys that are ready to go in
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  there and play. But, uh, just building
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  building some support around Jeremiah
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  will be huge, you know, moving forward.
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  You know, he's he's proven that he can
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  play at a really high level and he's
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  going to have to do that and improve,
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  you know, and get better for us as we
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  move forward. But to add some of the
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  guys in that room, there's a bunch of
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  them right now and it'll be fun to get
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  into February and get into spring
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  practice and kind of see got to get some
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  of those guys healthy. you know, some of
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  those guys are coming. The season wasn't
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  too long ago, and you know, it's uh
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  that's a that's a huge
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  like that's who we are. Our identity is
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  going to be to line up and be able to
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  run the football, that's where
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  everything starts. So, getting those
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  guys in, learning the system, and
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  getting them out there on the field
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  February, spring, summer, fall camp, you
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  know, before the season. This offense is
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  a lot different, you know, from from
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  what most of them are coming from. So,
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  we got to get these guys healthy. Got to
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  get them comfortable and get them ready
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  to go. But that's a that's a room where
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  we got to have depth. Jason, Peter, and
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  then Bill Jason undercover. Just talk
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  the how important it is to have not only
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  three of you guys coming on the
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  offensive side, but but goish as well.
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  that group of guys and then bringing in
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  players from USF to be able to kind of
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  hit the ground running and and get this
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  thing started on the right foot.
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  >> Yeah. I mean, it's it's hard to even
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  like quantify how how much further
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  ahead, you know, that we'll be. It's a
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  game changer. Um to have coaches like
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  the first time when when we got to South
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  Florida, obviously there was man,
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  everything was everything was brand new.
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  It was a brand new coaching staff. Um,
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  where I was coming from, I didn't know
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  anybody, you know, but Coach Gooish. And
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  we spent, man, that was a that was a
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  really important winter time and spring
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  for me personally, but it was brand new
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  to the players. It was brand new to the
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  coaches. And to walk through the door
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  right now and to have players and
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  coaches that have just been doing it
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  together for the last three years, um,
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  is huge. So the amount of time that
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  we're able to spend doing other things
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  instead of teaching everybody how this
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  thing works um way way ahead of schedule
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  compared to three years ago.
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  >> Peter Peter.com I guess kind of
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  following up on that coach was talking
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  about play calling earlier described it
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  as kind of collective with with you and
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  the offensive staff. I guess when you
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  have the relationship that you have with
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  him and some of the other guys how much
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  easier is that? How how does that kind
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  of work from your perspective?
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  >> Yeah, I mean we got a we we've got an
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  awesome staff and you know that's that's
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  one thing I'm really fired up about. You
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  know, the guys that came with us, Cody
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  Burns, um we've only had a chance to
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  work together since this time last year.
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  Um so that was really the new piece, you
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  know, on our staff a year ago. But man,
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  he's been awesome. he was in this
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  offense before, so that transition's
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  kind of been, you know, seamless. Um,
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  Tyler Houdanic, you know, man, he he's
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  he's been in this thing probably longer
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  than anybody, and he played in a similar
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  offense and has been coaching in it
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  really his entire career. He's been
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  incredible for me to learn from. They're
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  all really good coaches. And then the
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  two guys that we hired um when we got
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  here,
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  they've been in this league. uh coach
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  Porter's been in this program.
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  So to say that I'm man really excited
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  that we were able to bring the guys, you
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  know, that we did with us and we got a
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  ton of guys off the field that were all
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  coming from South Florida as well, which
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  those guys are all all going to be
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  critical to our success and player
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  development, teaching, how this offense
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  works, practice, game planning, all of
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  that. But when you when you have a
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  really good group of people that like
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  working together and that starts with
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  the head coach, he spends a lot of time
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  with us, you know, and spent a ton of
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  time three years ago teaching everybody
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  in that room how this thing works. And
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  he's been really successful in that role
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  as a coordinator. Um, it's fun. you
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  know, we have a great time, but in terms
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  of, you know, collaborating and play
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  calling and and doing all that, man,
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  when when there's times uh where we need
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  to collaborate and figure out what the
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  best thing to do is, I think we got a
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  great relationship, you know, across the
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  board. So, we're blessed. We get we got
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  really good people, you know, that are
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  coaching the guys here.
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  >> Bill Cameron with the drive on ESPN 1067
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  had to go out and get a complete new
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  offensive line. really only only three
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  guys that were here returning. Just your
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  your thoughts on the ability to to bring
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  those guys in. Obviously, I would guess
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  led by Colton Cole from from USF.
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  >> Yeah, you know, that was uh man, what a
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  what a task, you know, when you don't
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  have anybody you walk in walk into a
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  program and not one guy um there were
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  some there were some good players, you
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  know, on the offensive line a year ago.
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  Um not one of those guys is going to
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  have a chance to be coming back. Kale,
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  you know, played some for a young for a
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  young guy, which was pretty incredible.
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  But you got to rebuild a a whole room.
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  Um,
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  essentially,
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  to come in here in in January and come
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  to a new school, learn a new offense,
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  meet new coaches, and start over, you
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  know, kind kind of starting from
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  scratch. To be able to bring the guys
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  from South Florida will be huge. Um,
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  Cole Best really, you know, what what he
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  did for us in the last year and a half
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  at South Florida was you you can't put a
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  a a you know, you you can't even tell
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  anybody how important that guy was to
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  just the the culture, not just on
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  offense, but the culture of that
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  football team, specifically on offense,
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  what he did with the leadership, with
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  the offensive line, and then how he
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  played on the field. we became a
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  different team when when he took over,
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  you know, at center. So to have him and
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  then you bring Skinner with him, those
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  guys and what they've got to do a great
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  job of and all the guys from South
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  Florida, um they've got to do a great
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  job of leading, you know, because they
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  know what it looks like. They know what
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  the schedule is. They know what the
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  lifting is going to be. They know how we
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  practice. And these guys got to be great
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  leaders for us. But to say that we've
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  got those two guys to be able to, you
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  know, be in front of an offensive line
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  group that's really everybody else is
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  kind of starting from from zero, man,
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  it's it's huge. Like you're you you
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  can't quantify how important that is,
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  but man, we're going to be well ahead of
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  where we would be if they weren't here
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  for sure.
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  >> Let's go. Nathan, Brian, Jerry, Joe,
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  Nathan King, offering undercover. We've
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  heard coach go talk a few times about
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  Byron Brown and what he brings as a
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  player, but for you having been his
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  position coach for a few years and
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  having had a close relationship with
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  him. What's what's your outlook on what
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  has made him so successful over the
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  years and how excited are you to be able
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  to coach him another year here at Har?
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  >> Yeah. Yeah. The way the way that it's
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  all worked out is, you know, not no one
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  would have ever guessed that this was
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  going to be in the cards. So, uh it's a
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  really special, you know, opportunity
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  for myself, for him to be together, you
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  know, for one more year. But he's just a
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  uh when you guys get a chance to meet
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  him, he's a great human being, you know,
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  number one. And from the time we got to
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  Tampa, he was already there. He played a
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  little bit right on the tail end of that
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  that true freshman year that he had. And
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  uh you know he was he was young you know
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  he's young for his for as great as it is
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  and there was a lot of maturing and
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  growing to do in a lot of lot of ways on
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  the field off the field um just growing
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  as a leader. But what what he's been
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  from day one is he's been the same guy
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  every single day. his process in terms
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  of what what he brings to the building
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  as a worker, whether it's the weight
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  room, whether it's meeting about
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  football, whether it's on the field,
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  whatever it is, he's infectious, you
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  know, and the coaches, the coaches feel
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  that energy, the players feel that
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  energy. And I think what happened over
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  the course of time um in the last three
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  years and he got hurt you know the
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  second year we were there and that was a
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  uh man that was a that was a big blow
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  you know to the program not just that
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  the quarterback is not he's not out
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  there playing anymore just people feed
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  off of him you know and I think where he
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  started his career when we weren't there
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  and then man we didn't think he was
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  going to be the starting quarterback
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  when we started fall camp that first
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  year And the guy that was supposed to be
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  the guy, man, he was coming off an
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  injury, wasn't ready to ready to go yet.
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  And Byron had earned the opportunity to
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  be the two at that point. And he was the
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  next guy in. And all he did was take it
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  and run. You know, he didn't he didn't
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  look back at all. There was never a
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  doubt in our mind if it was going to be
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  anybody else. And he just got so much
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  better and so much more confident on the
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  field as we went. But that very first
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  game when we realized
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  it was real football. Like we hadn't
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  seen this guy get tackled. We hadn't
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  seen him play in a real football game.
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  He's tough as nails, you know, and he's
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  full of grit. He's a great competitor.
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  And I think that just man, Byron Brown
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  just kind of inspired that football
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  program to rally around him and he's
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  going to do the same thing here. So,
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  we're fired up, you know, to to be, you
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  know, together at another place and and
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  to be able to do it right here, man.
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  It's it's I don't think you could write
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  it up any better.
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  >> Go Brian Jerry and then Mike to wrap us
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  up.
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  >> Joe on three sports.com. I just wanted
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  to ask you about Alex told us that he
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  had a really high hit rate when it came
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  to calling touchdown plays. Is that
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  true? Was he exaggerating a little bit?
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  >> No, he he was telling the truth. He was
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  uh he was over 90% I think you know this
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  year. So uh he was he was right on time.
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  There was some there were some timely
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  timely calls that uh we'll take him. You
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  know
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  >> just to follow up I do like the process
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  that y'all have in play. He said that
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  you know during a drive it be pretty
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  quick and you be the one but between
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  drives there's a lot of give and take.
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  How do you like
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  >> Yeah. I think that that's where man I I
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  don't know. Uh, I've never really been
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  on a staff.
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  you know, when I was at Iowa State,
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  which is, you know, my only other
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  experience at this level of football,
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  there's always been a lot of uh
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  conversation, as much as there can be in
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  between drives, um, whenever you have
• 12:24
  the time to talk about what's going on,
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  like there's a lot of smart people, you
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  know, on these coaching staffs, offense,
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  defense, on every team around the
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  country. the way that we've always done
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  it where where I've been. And we're
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  going to we're going to be able to try
• 12:39
  to get to what we think is the best
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  thing, you know, to start out a drive
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  and then yeah, once we get going, it's
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  going to go really fast and that's going
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  to that's going to be on my shoulders.
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  But, uh, I'm also going to listen when I
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  feel like I need to do that. You know,
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  if I'm if I'm going to be convicted
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  about, hey, we got to do this, that, or
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  the other, then we're going to do it.
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  And that that is what it is. But, you
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  know, if there's any kind of situation
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  that comes up in a game where, man, KB's
• 13:07
  got a thought, Hood's got a thought, A
• 13:08
  H's got a thought, man, I'm going to
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  listen and we're going to try to put our
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  kids in the best situation to go be
• 13:14
  successful. So,
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  um, that's the only way that I know and
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  and it's worked out pretty good for us
• 13:20
  so far. Sure.
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  >> Coach Jerry number third.com. When you
• 13:25
  look at the wide receivers you guys
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  brought in from USF, you know, how do
• 13:28
  you see them contributing to the offense
• 13:30
  this fall? And then your conversation
• 13:31
  with them now, what's kind of like their
• 13:32
  goals for the season?
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  >> Um, man, I I see them being ready to uh
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  number one, as soon as they get the
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  opportunity to go out there and
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  practice, I see these guys as having to
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  be leaders, number one. um and being
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  able to be an example for everybody else
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  cuz what we do is man there there's a
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  lot of people that that that do similar
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  things but how how it's done um for us
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  there's a lot of detail and there's a
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  lot of time that that that has been
• 14:04
  invested in the guys that are here with
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  us from South Florida. So the first
• 14:09
  expectation is these guys go out here
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  and you know all these guys man I can't
• 14:14
  say enough just seeing them in the
• 14:16
  weight room a little bit like these guys
• 14:19
  are working really hard but man man
• 14:21
  these guys that know how this offense
• 14:22
  works are going to have to lead lead and
• 14:25
  compete and if those are the guys that
• 14:27
  wind up being the guys on Saturday in
• 14:29
  the fall man we expect them to go
• 14:31
  produce you know just like they did a
• 14:33
  year ago for us and you know a lot of
• 14:35
  those guys were young you know we we
• 14:37
  played
• 14:38
  true freshman all over the place.
• 14:40
  There's two guys that played in the very
• 14:42
  first game against Boise and that's a
• 14:45
  little bit, at least in my experience at
• 14:48
  this level, a little bit unheard of. You
• 14:50
  know, you're you're a little hesitant to
• 14:52
  throw one of those guys out there unless
• 14:54
  you really really trust them. And there
• 14:55
  hasn't been that many guys um in my
• 14:58
  experience that that's been the case
• 14:59
  with, but we played two of them in the
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  very first game. Um
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  and there were some freshman things that
• 15:07
  happened, you know, um to be expected,
• 15:10
  but then the very next week, you know,
• 15:13
  um one of them's got seven or eight
• 15:14
  catches, you know, against Florida, you
• 15:16
  know, as a true freshman on a pretty big
• 15:17
  stage. So, I think that's a credit to
• 15:20
  coach Burns. Like, these guys came in
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  the door and they're pretty intelligent
• 15:26
  dudes. They learn fast and when when it
• 15:29
  got to the season, um, we trust them,
• 15:34
  you know, they they they put they put it
• 15:37
  on video in practice in fall camp,
• 15:39
  spring ball. Some of those guys were
• 15:41
  with us in that first spring and man,
• 15:43
  they were the best guys. So, whoever
• 15:46
  that winds up being for us, man, we're
• 15:47
  going to expect them to go be as as good
• 15:50
  as they can be and to be one of the best
• 15:52
  offenses in the country.
• 15:56
  Michael for Auburn. Uh, coach, you've
• 15:59
  been talking about Jeremiah Cob and his
• 16:01
  importance in the run game here, but
• 16:04
  Byron Brown carried the ball 175 times
• 16:07
  last year. How do you plan to balance
• 16:09
  his role in the run game moving forward
• 16:11
  in the
• 16:12
  >> Yeah, that's uh that's I think one of
• 16:15
  the the most fun parts of of my job and
• 16:18
  and us as an offensive staff is figuring
• 16:21
  out
• 16:23
  what we're going to look like. you know,
• 16:25
  it's uh we pretty much have a brand new
• 16:27
  team, you know what I mean? Um, so
• 16:31
  that's that's the task
• 16:34
  at hand for us is to figure out,
• 16:38
  man, where we make adjustments, you
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  know, from what we've done um the last
• 16:42
  three years at the last place to what we
• 16:45
  look like now. And I don't have that
• 16:47
  answer exactly right now, but Byron
• 16:51
  Brown, whatever offense, you know, he's
• 16:54
  in, you'd be silly not to use him in all
• 16:57
  the tools that he has. Um,
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  he's easily the best running quarterback
• 17:02
  that I've ever seen. Um, it's really
• 17:05
  natural for him and a lot of those runs
• 17:08
  aren't
• 17:10
  all the time like guaranteed that it's
• 17:13
  going to be designed for him. you know,
• 17:14
  a lot of the things that we do in our
• 17:16
  offense, man, if you take away this
• 17:19
  option and this option, all of a sudden,
• 17:21
  he's got the ball. And that's part of
• 17:23
  everyday offense for us. Um, and what he
• 17:26
  can do on his feet, you know, scrambling
• 17:28
  and and extending plays that way, man,
• 17:31
  we're going to use those tools, you
• 17:32
  know, however we can, but at the at the
• 17:34
  end of the day, we got to keep them
• 17:35
  healthy, you know, to the best of our
• 17:37
  ability and use them timely um and not
• 17:41
  get them worn down. But, uh, he's been
• 17:45
  one of the best running backs that we've
• 17:47
  had at South Florida, if that makes
• 17:50
  sense. Um, however you want to slice it,
• 17:53
  he's been one of the most talented guys
• 17:54
  we've we've had. So, from one week to
• 17:58
  the next, what that looked like, man,
• 17:59
  might be completely different. So,
• 18:02
  we'll we'll figure that out as we go.
• 18:04
  But I think that's uh that's part of the
• 18:06
  fun for us now is to kind of be able to
• 18:09
  actually get into football and figure
• 18:10
  out, man, we're going to be playing in
• 18:13
  this conference. Um figure out what that
• 18:15
  looks like and figure out what this
• 18:17
  running back room kind of, you know,
• 18:19
  looks like as we get through spring
• 18:20
  practice and we got a long way to go to
• 18:22
  figure all those things out. But
• 18:25
  we're going to we're going to use him in
• 18:27
  a run game. You know, I can I can assure
• 18:29
  you that, you know, he's he's a weapon.
• 18:32
  >> Thank you, coach. They walk them.