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Auburn CB Coach DeMarcus Van Dyke - Post-Transfer Portal · The Auburn Undercover Podcast

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  What about scrap?
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  >> What do you What do you see in him? I
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  know I mean obviously you had a lift or
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  whatever, but is he just still a raw
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  athlete moving the corner? Do you feel
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  like where do you feel like he's at?
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  Where is his season? Tell me about
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  >> Man, he has a tremendous ceiling, man.
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  You know, he's obviously he raw
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  position. You know, in high school he
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  played quarterback, some linebacker,
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  some DB and last year at me and at
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  another thing he played receiver. But
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  his ceiling is through the roof, man.
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  Got good ball skills, very fast,
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  physical. Um it's going to be a process
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  for him pretty much get him in the fold
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  at quarterback but when it clicks man he
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  going to be pretty much a draft pick I
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  think in my opinion.
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  >> What's your approach to someone like him
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  that in this day and age where you're
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  like all right here's your potential
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  that you got to stay you got to stick it
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  out. How do you sort of approach guys
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  like that? You can't get too far ahead
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  of yourself. You don't want to have
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  conversations now that you have down the
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  road. But a guy like that that has a
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  ceiling that you're like you're going to
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  need a little bit of time. So don't you
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  come in don't be impatient or whatever.
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  How do you sort of deal with Mike?
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  >> Man, I think it all it all starts in
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  recruiting, you know, with uh when I
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  recruit and scrap at South Florida, I
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  kind of like look man, this is my plan
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  for you. Will it be a day one thing? No,
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  but it pretty much be a three, four, a
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  three or four year thing for him. And
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  he's pretty much when he got in the
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  portal, we had the same talk. I said,
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  "Look, day one thing. It's not going to
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  be a day one thing for you. Day, year
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  three, year four is a process." And
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  pretty much he's pretty much bought in.
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  You know, every day he grabbed me for
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  five minutes. Hey coach, let's go over
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  this. I have to practice it five minutes
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  a day, man. This coach, this what I got
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  to do to get better. and he pretty much
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  been receptive to everything we told
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  been telling him as far as like the tech
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  got we got to work on and I'm in I'm
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  very excited about his future know this
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  last two workouts we had he been pretty
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  much every day
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  >> I know it's uh probably too way too
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  early to be worrying about you know
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  who's boundary who's going who's a
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  nickel things like that how many guys do
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  you do you want to have that you can put
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  out there do you expect to be able to
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  play back at the corner
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  >> man with me man um obviously at one time
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  you play the two corners
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  But I I I usually rotate four guys that
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  corner, you know, because, you know, we
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  this pretty much the day and age, you
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  can't play just two guys whole game.
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  They get tired. So, even back in my days
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  at uh Miami, I always rotated for a
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  corner. So, I'm looking for the the best
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  that compete um and go from there.
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  >> What do you see in Blake would be when
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  you watch what he was watch like where
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  his ceiling's at? Obviously, that's a
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  guy that Durkin was high on as well, but
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  what do you see now? Man, Blake is a guy
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  that do it all. He can play inside,
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  outside, and he's a guy that pretty we
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  going to pretty much lean on a lot this
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  year and pretty much get us out of games
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  and help us win games because he got
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  that play some nickel, you know, some
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  field corner, some boundary corner. And
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  pretty much just meeting a kid, man, he
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  brings a energy that, you know, you want
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  very confident. Um, and the playbook,
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  man, he knows it inside and out. And for
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  a young guy, you pretty much that's very
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  promising. So, I'm excited for him now.
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  I'm very excited.
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  How long does it take for you to figure
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  out kind of where your group is at? I
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  mean, is it is it by the end of spring
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  you have an idea? Is it all the way in
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  next fall? Like what I guess maybe going
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  into the spring and thinking about the
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  spring, where do you want to be with
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  this? You got a bunch of transfers. You
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  got some some guys coming back that
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  you're not as familiar with. What do you
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  want to know?
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  >> Oh, I just want to know, man, are these
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  guys compete? You know, and it's pretty
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  much just watching these guys film from
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  last year, you know, Andre Jordan film,
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  Shamar film, Gavin Fam. I know these
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  guys competing. you know, now I got
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  pretty much all these personalities from
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  different different places in one room
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  and pretty much them guys, hey, this
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  part of one mission, be the best group
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  in the country. Um, and so far they got
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  these guys have been doing that. All
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  these guys pretty much been locked in,
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  you know, all these guys like brothers
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  and I'm excited to see how this thing
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  shake out in spring. I think for the the
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  spring thing, I want to figure out, you
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  know, who going to be the top four for
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  me. You know what I'm saying? And right
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  now, I told the guys, man, day one, I'm
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  rolling the ball out there and the the
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  top four shake out steps out.
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  I know you probably asked about a bit,
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  but getting Andre Jordan, uh, you know,
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  he was a guy that his numbers like
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  really really good in the Big 10. What
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  does he bring to the table for you?
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  >> Man, he brings uh, one, he brings a
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  brings a competitive attitude, you know,
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  to the to the team, you know, that we
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  that we want. Um, a lot of snaps, you
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  know, he played against the best at
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  Indiana, Ohio State, you Um, those were
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  the two games I watched, you know, I was
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  like, man, this my guy, you know, this
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  guy I need, you know, as far as playing
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  against Jeremiah Smith, you know, those
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  guys Indiana, we pretty much didn't
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  shout it for nothing. Um, and just
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  having him, you know, gives me like,
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  okay, man, like I know I got a guy that
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  got that play with experience. So, we
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  play this that's done with the schedule.
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  He's not going to show me for nothing.
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  talk about like the decision to go get
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  strain. It's just like the guy played
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  came in was going to be a wide receiver
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  and put him in the corner here and just
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  like what stands out about him, you
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  know, not often you get a transfer and
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  they're like, "All right, we're
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  switching him to another side of the
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  ball." Now I think the biggest thing for
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  me that stood out for Strat was man his
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  intentions like he's a kid that out of
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  high school ran four threes um 40 like
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  30 inch ver good balls being very
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  physical and you pretty much want to
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  mold all those tools together to become
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  a NFL quarterback and pretty much that's
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  my whole thing my sell point to him in
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  recruiting look like you're not a
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  finished product yet but you have the
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  tools to become one and he's bought into
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  the system he bought into like our
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  vision for him and I'm excited man like
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  you see the kid you walk around man you
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  look like a NFL quarterback about 6'2
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  20 lb running 43.
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  >> Now you got to put all those tools
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  together to become.
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  >> Correct me if I'm wrong, but y'all had a
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  relationship with him before he went to
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  Notre Dame.
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  >> Yeah, he was committed to it at South
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  Florida. You know, I thought having me a
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  diamond rep and then he started balling
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  and everybody started to call him and
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  and Notre Dame rightfully so, man. Um
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  didn't work out there and then um he got
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  in a port, gave me a call, let's try
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  this thing out, man, you know. So great
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  family, great coach, a high school coach
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  and um great kid.
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  >> During spring practice, What's the
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  priority or two at your position? What
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  do you want to leave spring practice
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  getting better at and what what things?
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  >> I think the biggest thing I want to get
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  better at, man, in the spring practice
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  is attacking the ball at the high point,
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  man. Making plays on the ball. You know
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  what I'm saying? I think that's what
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  wins games, man. Like I my motto is they
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  throw, we catch it. I want that's one of
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  them. And then two, man, be be the most
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  competitive group in the field, you
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  know? So those are the two things I'm
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  hopping on right now, you know, doing
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  meetings, man. Like getting the ball and
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  they throw it and being the most
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  competitive one. with the wide open
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  offenses that that you're going to face.
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  You're going to play a bunch of DBs in a
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  game, but do you can you have a a depth
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  chart, so to speak, done by spring
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  practice? Is that ongoing throughout
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  preseason camp?
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  >> I think you I think you I have an idea
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  at the end of spring who will be the
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  starters, but you really want to have a
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  a true set depth until, excuse me, after
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  fall camp. So, it's going to be a I have
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  an idea to see, okay, man, this guy
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  probably be here, be there, but I won't
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  have a official answer until fall camp.
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  knowing that you haven't had a chance to
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  actually have a spring practice yet.
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  You've been around these guys a little
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  bit. What are first impressions of your
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  of your
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  >> Man, these guys are huge. They're
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  they're huge and they can they can fly,
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  you know. Um just watching Shamar knock
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  just out there just running around, man.
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  He's a kid that's like 6'2,
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  really fast. Um very aggressive. You
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  look at guys like Rashan Pleasant, you
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  know, Andre Jordan, like these guys are
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  6'1, 6'2 and they can go. Um, that's
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  something that stand out to me, you
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  know, because I was a tall guy. I wasn't
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  as big as those guys, but those but the
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  same tall and fast. And I'm excited, you
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  know, for the spring ball to see how
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  these guys out there compete.
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  >> Demarcus, where when you're out there
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  recruiting, what are you looking for in
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  the quarterback?
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  >> Man, I think the the biggest thing for
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  me I'm looking for in the quarterback
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  when I'm recruiting. I'm looking for
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  guys, man, that play both sides of the
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  field. I mean, multiple sides of the the
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  ball, offense and defense, uh, guys
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  that's competitors, you know, um, when
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  the game's alignment, they are
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  embracing, hey, man, coach, put me in
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  the game. I want to cover that guy. Um
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  also man is good human beings you know
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  that's that's thing that's a trait that
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  I always look for including man because
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  I don't want to deal with high
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  maintenance guys I want to deal with low
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  maintenance guys because I want to coach
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  ball I don't want to chase you around
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  class things like that I want to make
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  sure you be you a football player you
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  want to be great
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  >> how would you kind of describe yourself
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  as a recruiter out there
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  >> um I try to put myself in these kids
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  shoes sometimes man you know um always
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  just just the running the run the
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  running joke I tell kids man like I know
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  you guys want to talk to a 37 year old
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  every you know say you got you got your
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  girlfriend you got your friends you got
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  everything you know so I try to find my
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  spots to you know hit them and make sure
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  I'm I'm talking about real stuff not
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  just pretty much just checking the box
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  hey good morning like I want to make
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  sure when I talk to you man it's it's
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  something valid you know go tech man how
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  your family doing cuz I always say man
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  like these kids are 17 years old 18
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  years old they got their own thing going
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  on you know but once I find a day or two
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  to talk to them man we going to hit we
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  going to talk 15 10 15 20 minutes and we
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  about some real stuff and pretty much I
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  can pretty much build relationship
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  outside the ball
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  >> do you feel like being a younger coach,
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  you can relate to them a little bit
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  more.
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  >> Yeah, I think so. And I think just for
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  my background kind of helped me out
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  sometimes. Like I say, man, like I was I
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  was once recruited at high school, you
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  know, um wasn't highly recruited, but
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  you know, I had some some schools offer
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  me scholarships. So, I know how it feel
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  to talk to a coach and sometimes you
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  want to be feel be bothered. So, I kind
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  of like, you know, look look man, like
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  I've been in your shoes, man. I was once
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  a freshman ACC. I played the freshman.
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  So, I know everybody you trying to
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  reach, I've done it. So just following
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  my boot plan, I help you out.
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  >> Gotcha.