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Press Pass | Grant Udinski & Brian Thomas Jr. Discuss Passing Game Chemistry at Camp · Press Pass

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Expectations are there for that, you know, is it gonna
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: be tackled to the ground mock game for your thoughts.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we're gonna take care of us.
• 0:07
  Speaker 3: It's like a practice for us in terms of the
• 0:09
  Speaker 3: way the guys are approaching it. But it'll be good
• 0:10
  Speaker 3: to get the experience for the guys kind of going
• 0:12
  Speaker 3: through the pregame routine more so than anything in terms
• 0:14
  Speaker 3: of the mock game element of it. Kind of the
• 0:17
  Speaker 3: flow of it is mock game ish, but there are
• 0:19
  Speaker 3: guys that the turnaround is a little quick for you guys,
• 0:21
  Speaker 3: So we're trying to simulate the timing pace of a
• 0:23
  Speaker 3: game between series getting corrections. But every once in a while,
• 0:26
  Speaker 3: I'll be out there with the series, we punt and
• 0:29
  Speaker 3: then he's back out there again. So you can't simulate
• 0:31
  Speaker 3: it perfectly, but we try to make it as close
• 0:33
  Speaker 3: as we can for the guys to kind of get
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: that feeling of a game, the timing of a game,
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: the rhythm of the pregame warm up, that routine, so
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: that way the first time they go out there for preseason,
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: it's not something completely new.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Live peries like live tackle.
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: Well, I think right now that Liam's got the we'll
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: probably be able to talk to you guys on some
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: of that schedule stuff, but right now the plan is
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: to take the tempos just like we've done that practice, and.
• 0:54
  Speaker 4: With Travis Kinder, he's gonna Liam Tutters is gonna be
• 0:57
  Speaker 4: on both sides. What do you need to see offensively
• 1:00
  Speaker 4: from him going into Condor tomorrow.
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: Well, I think what we want to see is just
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: that continued improvement. I don't think that there's anything specific
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: that we would say we need to see tomorrow.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: We have time to continue to.
• 1:13
  Speaker 5: Work and progress.
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: Excuse me, Hopefully you guys can still hear me, but
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: I think I'll just leave it like that. I think
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: it's just a continued progression of schematic understanding, the technique,
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: the chemistry with Trevor and the rest of the guys
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: that we want to see on that makingamore.
• 1:31
  Speaker 4: And then you today you spent time one on one
• 1:35
  Speaker 4: with them during the special team seriod. Just how beneficial
• 1:37
  Speaker 4: are those, you know, extra minutes. We've talked about the
• 1:40
  Speaker 4: scheduling a lot, but just those extra minutes that you
• 1:42
  Speaker 4: can get with them.
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: On yours We're trying to maximize the use of all
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: the time.
• 1:46
  Speaker 6: For sure.
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: The one on one time is great because it gives
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: you an opportunity to see what he knows, how he
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: sees things, how he feels about things. So the way
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: the schedule has been built to get those opportunities been phenomenal,
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: and it's impressive to see him switch back and forth.
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: It's not easy to do to go from here in
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: defensive play calls, practicing defensive techniques and drills, taking defensive
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: reps and team and then turn around and be able
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: to spit out his job and his responsibility on a
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: long offensive third down play call.
• 2:13
  Speaker 5: It seems like the Armies had a couple of explosive
• 2:15
  Speaker 5: plays the last few days. What can you say just
• 2:17
  Speaker 5: about the way he's transitioning so far.
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: I think that's kind of what you saw a little
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: bit from him last year.
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: He has that ability, you know. I think the improvement
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: in some of the stuff that he's shown in the
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: run game and even with the different routes that we've
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: asked him to run, will only hopefully expand his ability.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: To create explosives. But last year, whether.
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: It was running go balls or vertical routes or with
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: the ball in hand on screens in different plays, I
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: think that's something that's in his wheelhouse.
• 2:42
  Speaker 7: You've got a lot of playmakers on offense. Brian Thomas Junior,
• 2:44
  Speaker 7: Travis Hunter, Tang you got Travis. How do you balance,
• 2:48
  Speaker 7: you know, getting all those guys enough touches, you know,
• 2:52
  Speaker 7: to kind of keep them happy at first?
• 2:54
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a great question. I think it's important to allow.
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: The scheme and the kind of defense and the looks
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: and the different concepts get the guys the ball when
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: it's appropriate where we're not trying to force them touches.
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: But it's something that we're certainly conscious of in the
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: way we plan a practice or a period or even
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  Speaker 3: a routes on air session to try to get each
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: guy an opportunity to.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: Touch the ball because we have those skill guys.
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: So it's a good problem to have, but it just
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: takes a conscious effort to kind of be intentional with
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: the way we plan a practice or a game plan.
• 3:22
  Speaker 7: And you have Travis and Bryan on both sides of
• 3:26
  Speaker 7: the ball, bull bustles the ball, that of player receiver
• 3:28
  Speaker 7: that went, how much pressure does that put on the defense?
• 3:32
  Speaker 5: Yeah?
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  Speaker 3: I think depending on the defense and the structure and
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: the down and distance will determine how much pressure it
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: puts on them because ultimately they're the ones that have
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: a decision to make on how they want to handle BT,
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: how they want to handle Travis. And as you guys know,
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: the more resources you allocate over there, you're taken away
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: from somewhere, so you're limited in something. So hopefully by
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: having those two guys together on the same field where
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: it's the same side or opposite from each other, we
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: force a little bit of the issue much more.
• 3:55
  Speaker 5: Bit more, we are able to evaluate the running game.
• 3:57
  Speaker 5: Now that you know pads are on, it's a little
• 3:59
  Speaker 5: more closer to the real.
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it certainly helps a bunch being able to see
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: the guys really come off the ball and be able
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: to strike and use their hands with that full speed
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: and strain and finish. I think we were able to
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: evaluate a little bit of it with the footwork and
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: the communication and targeting some of that, but the full
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: pads helped tremendously to really see guys not only what
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: they can do, but to see how they're processing some
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: of the coaching points and really the targets, aiming points,
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: all those things that you preach an individual drill that's
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: tough to sometimes show up in the less competitive, non
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: padded periods.
• 4:31
  Speaker 6: What stands out about that running back room so far
• 4:34
  Speaker 6: through a week and a half.
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  Speaker 3: I would say the thing that really stands out about
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: the guys is their effort and embrace how much they've
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: embraced the opportunity to improve.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: I think all of those guys.
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: Kind of had different areas that they've wanted to improve
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: individually or collectively even as a group. And the way
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: they've approached the protection scheme, the run game that's a
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: little bit different than some of the things they've done.
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: They've really embraced that and kind of approached it with
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: a growth mindset. So been awesome to see the young
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: guys step in and kind of have that and even
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: the older guys kind of fit right in with that
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: and set the tone with that type of growth mindset
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: to approach it where they're trying to buy into the
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: best of their ability.
• 5:11
  Speaker 5: It seems like when the jackson is taking advantageers on
• 5:14
  Speaker 5: this opportunities, where have you seen from him so far?
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: Are Yeah, he's taking advantage of his opportunities. I mean,
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: you kind of set it right there in the question.
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: I think all the guys have really especially with some
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: of the injuries, and at back you're always going to
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: get some rotation because a guy's running seventy yards down
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: the field and the heat finishing the run, so you
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: got to have the next guy up.
• 5:33
  Speaker 6: And ready to roll.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: So it's really been his understanding of what we're asking
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: to do and his understanding of the scheme. And then
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: I'll be excited to see when we go full pads
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: with live tackling when we're against an opponent, to see,
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: you know, what shows up after contact for him.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: What kind of group have you seen from ETN Since
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: you were talking about growth with the running.
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: Backs, Yeah, like I said earlier, kind of his approach
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: to the way he studied the protection system, his approach
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: in the past game and the run game and racing
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: kind of the new Some of the new concepts or
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: different concepts that we're running, some of them might be
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: familiar from stuff he's done, whether it's in college or
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: with previous staffs, but his growth kind of week to week,
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  Speaker 3: day to day, almost with an understanding of versus certain
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: fronts and certain structures where this run scheme is trying
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: to attack, where the landmarks are we're trying to attack.
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: You see that progression day over day, and that's what's
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: exciting about his growth, what.
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  Speaker 1: Makes him so compelling to use as a pass catching back.
• 6:27
  Speaker 6: You know what is about him?
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Well, it's really comes down to ability.
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  Speaker 3: You know, he's a guy who has some natural ability
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: to do a lot of that stuff, whether he's lined
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: up in the backfield or whether he's lined up flexed
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: out and empty in the slot all the way out wide.
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: That versatility gives him a lot of options to get
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: the ball in different situations, get the ball.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: In space, which is where he's you know, he's suited best.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Hey, gus Low's begat metchachs or breaks a successful screen game.
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: Is there any like major does or do nots that
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: comes to mind?
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: Well, there's probably there's a lot of variables for make
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: or break in the screen game. I think ultimately, what
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: we're trying to work on is getting the guys to
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: have a understanding of the rules and the concept and
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: the screen game will always be gray. So once they
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: have that firm understanding of the rules, what we're trying
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: to attack, where we're trying to attack, the timing with
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: what we're trying to attack on defense, then they can
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: understand the decisions within those rules, and how sometimes you
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: might have to not necessarily break the rules but bend
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: them a little bit in order to have that feel
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: for a defender triggered this way, or he fit a
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: different way, or this guy fit off the outside and
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: the receiver next to me took my guy. Now I
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: got to go on and get the next guy. So
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: there are little things like that that come with the feel. First,
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: you kind of have to develop that understanding of the rules,
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: and then once they develop that understanding, then you can
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: kind of practice it, get the feel down for it,
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: and that ultimately, in my opinion, will kind of create
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: that fruitful screen game for all areas of the screen
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: where it's receivers, backs, tight ends appreciate.
• 7:53
  Speaker 6: Right, Thanks guys.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: You know how does that sort of motivate you moving forward?
• 7:59
  Speaker 8: I mean I was saying a lot to me, just
• 8:00
  Speaker 8: being able to make that my friend and my rookie
• 8:02
  Speaker 8: year coming in, just me wanting to come out here
• 8:05
  Speaker 8: and show what I can do. I would say that
• 8:07
  Speaker 8: means a lot to me, and I mean I feel
• 8:09
  Speaker 8: like I could have been better. So that's what that's
• 8:11
  Speaker 8: what's that what motivates me to come out next year
• 8:13
  Speaker 8: and do even better.
• 8:16
  Speaker 7: How'd you kind of like, just so I'm making that
• 8:18
  Speaker 7: top one hundred and now kind of I don't say
• 8:20
  Speaker 7: you have no target on your back, but like defense
• 8:22
  Speaker 7: is now knowing how good you are, Like, how do
• 8:24
  Speaker 7: you make that adjustment year two to make sure you
• 8:26
  Speaker 7: produce the thing where you did a year one.
• 8:27
  Speaker 8: I wouldn't say as having a target on my back.
• 8:31
  Speaker 8: I would just say, I mean, I I just gotta
• 8:33
  Speaker 8: come out and prepare the right way, come out and
• 8:34
  Speaker 8: be ready for whatever defense throws at us, and just
• 8:38
  Speaker 8: come out and play team ball and just get the job.
• 8:40
  Speaker 8: Then that's my biggest thing, is getting the job done,
• 8:42
  Speaker 8: getting wins.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: What have you added maybe to your preparation now that
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: you had went through a whole season and you're now
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: going to your second season, what what have you maybe
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: added knowing what you have to face come regular season?
• 8:55
  Speaker 8: Really just just getting more into the playbook, knowing the
• 8:58
  Speaker 8: ins and outs of it, just knowing like why we
• 9:01
  Speaker 8: run certain things with certain coverages, and what are we
• 9:03
  Speaker 8: trying to do with certain routes and stuff like that.
• 9:05
  Speaker 8: So I would say just being in the film room,
• 9:07
  Speaker 8: being in the playbook, I would say that's probably my
• 9:09
  Speaker 8: biggest thing I I've added to my game.
• 9:12
  Speaker 6: How much work UNI have?
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: Shit, do you feel like there's a higher ceiling for you?
• 9:17
  Speaker 6: Yeah, I definitely feel like I can Uh, I can
• 9:19
  Speaker 6: do more. I feel like there's more in a tank
• 9:21
  Speaker 6: for me.
• 9:21
  Speaker 8: So each and every day, Uh, each and every game,
• 9:24
  Speaker 8: We're gonna come out there and show show everything I
• 9:26
  Speaker 8: could do, Show what I can do, try to be
• 9:28
  Speaker 8: better than I was last year.
• 9:30
  Speaker 4: That would have been I know you had half a
• 9:31
  Speaker 4: season to play with 'em, but now you have a
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: full off season with Trevor and kind of just continue
• 9:35
  Speaker 4: in that relationship.
• 9:37
  Speaker 8: Like you said, we still continuing to grow our relationship. Uh,
• 9:40
  Speaker 8: just coming out here each and every day, just continuously
• 9:43
  Speaker 8: putting in work and just trying to be the best
• 9:45
  Speaker 8: that we can be.
• 9:45
  Speaker 6: Just taking a step forward each and every day just
• 9:48
  Speaker 6: to get better.
• 9:49
  Speaker 5: I have you guys that receive it, like Yafie Travis
• 9:51
  Speaker 5: to help push you and compete in practice. How much
• 9:53
  Speaker 5: has that kind of help to youse work?
• 9:54
  Speaker 6: It helps a lot.
• 9:55
  Speaker 8: It helps uh with like competition, that practice helps them,
• 9:59
  Speaker 8: Like we a m all motiv motivate each other, So
• 10:02
  Speaker 8: it helps a lot.
• 10:02
  Speaker 6: Just being able to have them out here. Uh, each
• 10:05
  Speaker 6: and every day for sure, when.
• 10:07
  Speaker 4: You're going up again, you guys just be fencing, you're
• 10:09
  Speaker 4: lined up against Tyson. Just how much better does that
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: make you? Kind of happen to see that every day?
• 10:14
  Speaker 6: It makes makes me a lot.
• 10:15
  Speaker 8: Better best, Like it's the best going against best, just
• 10:18
  Speaker 8: having Tyson, Jordan h Uh Jarring any one of those Busser,
• 10:23
  Speaker 8: all of them, anyone of the last. So like we
• 10:24
  Speaker 8: all push each other just to come out and be
• 10:26
  Speaker 8: better each and every day. We all gonna compete and
• 10:28
  Speaker 8: get the best out of each other.
• 10:31
  Speaker 7: Uh, you in the league have really did a weekly
• 10:32
  Speaker 7: seasons from neighbors from LSU. Yup, you guys talk about
• 10:37
  Speaker 7: that at all, like you know, like a little friendly
• 10:39
  Speaker 7: competition at all.
• 10:40
  Speaker 8: Uh Yeah, when we're around each other, we we messing
• 10:43
  Speaker 8: with each other about it. But I mean with us,
• 10:45
  Speaker 8: it's all work, our competition. We just come out each
• 10:48
  Speaker 8: and every day compete at the highest level. When we
• 10:51
  Speaker 8: were together at LSU practicing and we competing at the
• 10:54
  Speaker 8: highest level, whether it's seeing like seeing who win the
• 10:57
  Speaker 8: most one on one just like little things like that,
• 10:59
  Speaker 8: we always find a way to compete and whether me
• 11:02
  Speaker 8: being ranked sixty one and he sixty seven. Just little
• 11:05
  Speaker 8: things like that. So we're gonna compete and always that's
• 11:09
  Speaker 8: that's what's what we do.
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: Where do you think.
• 11:11
  Speaker 4: Profits has grown the most since he's got here. You've
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: got to spend a lot of time with him.
• 11:16
  Speaker 8: Where I think he's grown the most just uh, probably
• 11:20
  Speaker 8: learning the playbook wise, is being able to go out
• 11:23
  Speaker 8: there and execute the plays and being knowing the ends.
• 11:25
  Speaker 8: And I was by just being in this playbook, learning
• 11:27
  Speaker 8: the playbook, knowing what you have, not having to his
• 11:31
  Speaker 8: second guess itself or think thinks twice about what he got.
• 11:34
  Speaker 6: So I would say that's probably the biggest thing.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: Obviously, without giving too much detail, how does this often
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: sort of suit you? How does it maximize your abilities?
• 11:45
  Speaker 8: I would say it's like just having a lot of
• 11:48
  Speaker 8: different routes, being able to run different things, being able
• 11:50
  Speaker 8: to run the full route tree, doing like little things,
• 11:52
  Speaker 8: whether it's playing inside outside, and just being able to
• 11:55
  Speaker 8: expand my routre. Just being able to continuously expand it
• 11:58
  Speaker 8: and run different routes. I say that's probably the biggest
• 12:01
  Speaker 8: thing for me. And having guys like Travis and Dianmi Parker,
• 12:04
  Speaker 8: all those guys on the other side.
• 12:06
  Speaker 6: Just uh, it just helps out a lot too, Is
• 12:09
  Speaker 6: it true? That's at all?
• 12:10
  Speaker 4: And you have to thay like today where Travis isn't
• 12:12
  Speaker 4: with offense, like does anything change or how's that kind
• 12:15
  Speaker 4: of Uh?
• 12:17
  Speaker 8: I wouldn't say anything changes. It's just I mean, it's
• 12:20
  Speaker 8: just next man up for us. Like Parker know, he
• 12:22
  Speaker 8: gotta come in when Travis is on defense and give
• 12:25
  Speaker 8: it his all. We know we don't have in our room.
• 12:27
  Speaker 8: We wanna come in with no drop offs. We wanna
• 12:30
  Speaker 8: uh everybody to be able to execute the same way.
• 12:32
  Speaker 8: So I mean that's the biggest thing, just no drop offs.
• 12:34
  Speaker 8: When Travis go out or if I go out, somebody
• 12:36
  Speaker 8: else gotta step in and come, uh come, come ready
• 12:39
  Speaker 8: to go.
• 12:40
  Speaker 4: So yeah, And then kind of in that same since
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: I know you're going into your second year, but who
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: are some of the younger players who you've kind of
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: seen kind of grow.
• 12:48
  Speaker 6: A little bit since they've been here.
• 12:50
  Speaker 8: All of them really, whether it's Travis or all the
• 12:53
  Speaker 8: other uh, all the other rookies, they all come out
• 12:55
  Speaker 8: each and every day, push each other just to be
• 12:58
  Speaker 8: the best that they can be. They all work hard
• 12:59
  Speaker 8: and uh uh so I would say all of 'em,
• 13:02
  Speaker 8: all of 'em come out here, growing, and it's getting
• 13:04
  Speaker 8: better each and every day.