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Morgan Scalley Weekly Press Conference - Week 3 @ Iowa State · The Sean O'Connell Show

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Pleased with the outcome, obviously. Defensively, stellar job. Anytime you
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: get a shutout, no matter who it is, it's to
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: be commended. The rush defense was solid. The sudden change
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: moments for the defense, for them to be able to
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: capitalize when they were put in bad situations. for whatever reason,
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: they did a really nice job doing a good job
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: at red zone defense all season long for that matter.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: I thought, looking back at the film, Rabbit Evans probably
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: had one of his better games as a Ute. Very twitchy.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: You can tell that he's kind of pre-injury back to
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Rabbit Evans mode, making a ton of plays his first
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: career interception. The linebacker crew in general, we knew that
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: we had depth there, but they just continued to show
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: up from Trey Reynolds and his double-digit tackles to Cyrus Polu, Tui,
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  Speaker 1: Elijah Ellis, what he's providing in both defense and special teams,
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  Speaker 1: and obviously John O'Hall. So really good job by that group.
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  Speaker 1: And then the D-line, although they're not necessarily showing up
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: in the sack category last weekend, they are hitting the quarterback.
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  Speaker 1: They're forcing the quarterback out of the pocket. They're doing
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  Speaker 1: a lot of good things. So very pleased with the D-line.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Bobo Chenault continues to show up as a guy that
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: is really good in man coverage, pleased with the progress
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: he's made. On the offensive side of the ball, really
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: good start to the game. And then, like I said,
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: in the second half, a little bit disjointed, and there's
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: reasons for that. The burden of execution is always on
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: the offense. You could have four guys wide open, and
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: they've got to catch the ball. So whether it was penalties,
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: drop balls, whether it was miss IDs in the run
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: fits or perimeter blocking showed up as something that needs improvement.
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: The good thing is there was a lot of good
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: stuff on film. Offensive line doing a really good job
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: of getting push at the line of scrimmage, and that's
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  Speaker 1: a pretty good defense that they went up against. Utah
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: State is... run around the right way, they play with
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  Speaker 1: great technique, and there's a reason that they caused Washington
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: fits and caused us a little bit of fits there.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: So credit to that defense, Coach Howland and Coach Mendenhall,
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: that crew, they did a really good job. But pleased
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  Speaker 1: with obviously Braden Pagan, I thought Bray showed up in
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  Speaker 1: a big way, just how dynamic he is, hits the
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  Speaker 1: hole well, the added weight, his help with breaking tackles,
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: and then If you go back and watch that film,
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: Wayshon Parker is all over that film in terms of blocking,
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: running downfield. He is really a complete back and so
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: happy for him and what he's doing. Special teams-wise, Dylan
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: Curtis continues to show up and 54-yarder, gaining a ton
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  Speaker 1: of confidence. So excited for him. Orion, another great punt. Obviously,
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: the special teams guffaw is on me. in terms of
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: clarifying when we want to take those chances on a punt.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: But I think the other thing I'm very pleased about
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: is we're in the top ten in the country right
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: now in penalty yards per game. So just playing clean
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: football has been something that we harp on with our guys.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: And really the intolerable penalties, the stuff that delays the game,
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: the false starts, all that stuff, I think three of
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: those penalties or delay a game on our end, but
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: I think we're playing clean football. With that, we've got
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: Iowa State for our first road game, our first Big
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: 12 game this season. Coach Rogers, know him, and he
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: does a heck of a job coming from Washington State.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: They've got really a brand new crew. I think they
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: lost 90% of their production on the offensive side of
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: the ball. You see some of the defenders that he
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: brought with him from Washington State. They play hard. Played
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: Iowa at Iowa and a very close game, lost by
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: a field goal. So they're very stout, very tough on
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  Speaker 1: the defensive side of the ball. They run the heck
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  Speaker 1: out of the football on the offense with a dynamic
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  Speaker 1: quarterback as well. This is going to be a really
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  Speaker 1: good test for our guys. It's probably going to be
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  Speaker 1: in inclement weather. It's going to be probably raining and
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  Speaker 1: on grass, so We've got to bring our big boy
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  Speaker 1: cleats and make sure we're not sliding around. With that, Justin.
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  Speaker 2: Yes.
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  Speaker 1: Once again, you went for two after an early touchdown.
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  Speaker 1: What was the thought process behind that? Well, the thought
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  Speaker 1: of going for two is.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: First of all, we want to make people pay that
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: aren't necessarily disciplined in how to align to these different
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: formations that we show. Part of it too is forcing
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: teams to have to prepare for something that is, you know,
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: you don't spend a whole lot of time aligning to
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: stuff like that. And so, you know, getting that on film,
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  Speaker 1: it also gives you an extra advantage early if you
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  Speaker 1: get it. We felt like we had it and unfortunately
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: it wasn't there. But I'm an aggressive guy by nature,
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  Speaker 1: and I like taking advantage of stuff that I see.
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  Speaker 1: It didn't work. Some will work, some won't. But we're
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: not going to ever do anything without repping it and
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: being prepared. But you're going to see more of it.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: Let's just put it that way.
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  Speaker 2: Okay.
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  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: You would see Harrison in the hospital afterwards.
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  Speaker 1: Did you have a relationship with him from recruiting when
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: he was in high school? Did you go up there
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  Speaker 1: and what was the interaction? Harrison, I'd known him through recruiting.
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  Speaker 1: His mom and I went to high school together. I
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: just wanted to make sure that things were okay and
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  Speaker 1: went and visited with the family for a little bit.
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  Speaker 1: Harrison and his position coach were there. They were very
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  Speaker 1: inviting and I'm just in conversations with his coaches. He
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  Speaker 1: was still there last night. I think he's going to
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: be here today. Depending on how the rehab goes, they'll
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: be either home tonight or tomorrow. Heartbreaking. He was in
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: good spirits joking around, but you never want to see
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: that happen to anybody.
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  Speaker 3: What are a couple things you've really like from your
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: team and a couple of things you feel like you
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  Speaker 3: need to improve on ahead of conference play?
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  Speaker 1: I like the efficiency from the quarterbacks. I like the
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: improvement in defensive run game. I'm very pleased with the effort,
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: the culture showing up on the field, guys blocking downfield.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: We need to improve offensively. I'd say perimeter blocking, wide receivers,
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: tight ends in space. I'm pleased with the how clean
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: we're playing in terms of penalties. But yeah, I mean, again,
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: I still believe we'll continue to find out who we
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: are as a, as a team, the more we go
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: through this schedule, but I love the effort and the
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: attention to detail from our guys. There's always stuff to,
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: to clean up. But yeah, I'd say, you know, probably
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  Speaker 1: on offense, it's the perimeter blocking and then defense, Um,
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: we're tackling really well right now, particularly in, in space,
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: those one-on-one tackles in space where you were very, very efficient. Um,
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: you know, third down defense is, has been pretty good and, uh,
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: we just need to continue to get aligned correctly. They were,
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: we're giving up stuff. It's really us just not aligning
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: and assigning properly. It's not necessarily something that they're doing
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: against us, but, um, Yeah, so far, I'm pleased with
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: what I see, but obviously there's things to work on.
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: After re-watching the game, it seemed like Utah State brought.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: A lot of extra defenders against the run as well,
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  Speaker 1: or maybe they just triggered fast, pretty fast. How do
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: you make, what sort of adjustments do you make, and
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: how do you coach that up over the quarter? Oh,
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: it was a mix of stuff. I mean, a slanner
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  Speaker 1: here that got him a.
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  Speaker 1: Missed opportunity when you see pressure coming, throwing into pressure.
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  Speaker 1: So there's maybe some decisions from the quarterback position that
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: could have helped with that. When you get guys running
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  Speaker 1: to the ball, their plays are going to be made.
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: They do a really good job running the ball. And
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  Speaker 1: part of that is making them pay with double moves,
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  Speaker 1: taking advantage of, use that. relentless effort against them, I
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  Speaker 1: guess is my point. Um, but also with that, you know,
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  Speaker 1: there's a lot of, you know, running and not breaking
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  Speaker 1: down and throwing. And so when you see, like, for example,
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  Speaker 1: on Bray's long touchdown, it's exactly what happened. You break
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  Speaker 1: a tackle or two and, and all of a sudden
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  Speaker 1: a ton of green grass. So, um, That was another
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  Speaker 1: fun one to watch. You watch Braden Pagan block downfield.
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  Speaker 1: You watch Bird Ficklin sprinting downfield. I think it was
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: Benny sprinting downfield as well, just looking to block for
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  Speaker 1: their guys, and that's what's fun. I want to ask
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: you a question about Burge.
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  Speaker 3: He's largely under-recruited in high school, came from Muskogee, Texas state.
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  Speaker 1: I think he was committed to, you guys were his
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  Speaker 1: first power for offer.
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  Speaker 3: What do you remember just taking it back a year
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  Speaker 3: or two ago about his recruitment?
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  Speaker 1: Were you surprised at all that he didn't have any
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  Speaker 1: power for offers?
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  Speaker 3: Just looking back on it and walk me through that process.
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to be brutally honest with you. I don't
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: know anything about his recruitment. I didn't have anything to
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: do with it. I'm so blessed to have him, though.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: I recruited him last year. How about that? To stay
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: because of what I had seen. Jason and that crew
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: believed in him and what they saw out of him. Obviously,
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: when I was the defensive coordinator, I was mainly focused
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: on the defensive guys. You look at both him and Devin, not...
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  Speaker 1: Usually when you get quarterbacks on the run, they're not
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: as efficient throwing the football. Those two are very efficient
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  Speaker 1: throwing the football on the run. Some of their best stuff.
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  Speaker 1: You saw another one, Tamana, this past Saturday on the sideline.
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  Speaker 1: So the fact that he can run and catch and
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  Speaker 1: he's a legit quarterback, but he wants to be involved.
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  Speaker 1: You know, that's the great thing about it. It's not
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: like we're a, dude, come on, help us out. No,
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: he wants to be involved in all this different stuff
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: that he's doing, and we just got to be smart
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: with how we include him. Going back to fall camp,
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: you talked about the decrease in injuries.
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  Speaker 3: How has that fared through the first time?
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: Oh, knock on wood. As soon as you start talking
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: about injuries, that stuff pops up. But, no, a lot
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: of it is– The way we train, the sports science,
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: the player loads, and managing that from a day-to-day basis,
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: the care that our training staff, Chris Luxemont and his staff,
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: and there are always meetings every day with our sports
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: scientists and Anna Cruz, and then you've got Steve Saunders
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: that are in on those meetings. They do a great
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: job of making sure that we're very aware of where
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: guys are at player load-wise and who we need to
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: back off and who we need to, you know, because
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: some guys don't get enough work. And so, you know,
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: we have to do more with those guys throughout the week.
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: But I've got a really good staff.
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: Devin said on Saturday that the game seems to be
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: slowing down a little bit for him, especially in the
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: passing game. It seems like it's obviously improving there. How
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: much of that is the weapons that he has? How
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: much of that is him taking those steps? What has
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: Devin done to be able to get him to that
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  Speaker 2: point where.
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  Speaker 1: He is now? Well, he's done a lot of work
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: on his own with Coach Gunderson and Coach McGibbon on
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: studying this offense and being able to recognize defense. The
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: other thing, too, that helps us out is because of
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: the different threats that we have, right? You know, you
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: get one wide receiver that's a dude or you get
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: one running back that's a dude. you can really work
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: your game plan around taking those guys out. But when
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: you have multiple threats, it makes it a lot easier.
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: Offensive line's doing a really good job in protection, too.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: That's another thing I failed to mention in the recap
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: of the game. The protection from the offensive line has
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: been really good this season. I think you're probably like
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: that kind of football player. He's been here over the years,
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: played behind some really good linebackers.
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: What's it like having.
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: Him stick with it and kind of having the performances
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: he's having now? Yeah, Trey Reynolds, I mentioned this, I think,
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: to the television crew that was doing the game in
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: our meeting, our production meeting. Those are the guys that
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: you cheer for. You want them so bad to have
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: success because they don't quit. They don't give up. They
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: keep working. They keep developing. And they stay committed to
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: the process. And He's playing at such a high level
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: right now. The tackles in space, the ability to get
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: to the quarterback, what we call contact courage, taking on
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: linemen as they climb to the second level. He's really
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: good with his hat in hands. Plus, he's a great leader.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: He's an unbelievable kid and happy for him. It was
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: a good day for the Reynolds family. I didn't know
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: that Tate had led Clemson to So Reynolds' family was
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: all smiles on Saturday. I know you can't do anything
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: about it, but would you have preferred a little bit
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: better competition in the non-conference? Oh, with the transfer portal,
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: you don't know what competition you're going to get. And
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: you look at my whole deal is you get who
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: you get. Utah State, look at what they did to Washington.
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: on the road and so you know I trust our
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: administration and you know my job is to prepare this
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: football team for whoever comes their way and you know
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: competition is what the competition is I thought you were
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: going to sing too the way you were holding that
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: microphone the way you were holding that microphone and you
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: looked ready To perform, no. You're still rotating guys along
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: the offensive line. Alderman started, then we see Hobart come in,
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: then Olsen. Is that something you're.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: Going to do with your starters, and what have you
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: seen from the guards in particular offensively so far this year?
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think we're going to settle in here in
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: the next couple weeks on who those guys are. This
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: is Keith Olsen's really first opportunity to get some live reps,
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: and he's Right now, those went well. It's fully healthy.
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: Love what Roger's brought to the table. And Toa, obviously,
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: has been a guy for us. So we're going to
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: dial in here in the next couple weeks to who
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: that five's going to be. But until then, we're going
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: to keep rotating those guys.