Latest / Guy Football Focus with Guy Haberman / 49ers Big Picture OTA Reactions + GUEST Texas Tech Def Coord SHIEL WOOD talks Rookie Romello Height

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49ers Big Picture OTA Reactions + GUEST Texas Tech Def Coord SHIEL WOOD talks Rookie Romello Height · Guy Football Focus with Guy Haberman

0:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Hey guys, guy here coming up on the show today, some reactions from OTAs and a guest.
0:07
[SPEAKER_00]: The defensive coordinator from Texas Tech, one of the best in the country.
0:10
[SPEAKER_00]: He was nearly, he was up for the award for the best assistance in the country.
0:13
[SPEAKER_00]: The bro's awards named Sheel Wood.
0:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Defensive coordinator of Texas Tech, they had a great year last year.
0:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Had a bunch of guys drafted and a bunch of guys first team all big 12 among them are a mellow height, who then honors drafted in the third round and who it feels like the
0:28
[SPEAKER_00]: want to be able to rely on immediately this year on defense.
0:33
[SPEAKER_00]: And so that's coming up.
0:34
[SPEAKER_00]: That's what we'll talk to him about.
0:36
[SPEAKER_00]: First, some thoughts now that OTAs the Niners off season is concluded.
0:41
[SPEAKER_00]: Things I'm thinking about coming out of 49ers OTAs number one, Brock pretty has a special environment around him.
0:47
[SPEAKER_00]: He starts this year 26 years old, 26, 27, 28, 29.
0:49
[SPEAKER_00]: This is that pre-mo time.
0:56
[SPEAKER_00]: This is when you make a multi-year leap.
0:58
[SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, it's not just uptake a big leap this year.
1:02
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just, this is the time where you start putting it all together.
1:06
[SPEAKER_00]: You've got the experience and your athletic prime.
1:10
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think what Brock has around him, especially, can they protect a little better?
1:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Can they be consistent across the offensive line?
1:19
[SPEAKER_00]: can left guard be better, can it be one person, can right guard Dominic Pune, take a step.
1:25
[SPEAKER_00]: To me, that's a thing this year, is like Pune had so much momentum, and it kind of tapered off at the end of his rookie year, and last year was good, right?
1:34
[SPEAKER_00]: You didn't have to, you weren't replacing him, but could he step into that?
1:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Could he be your second or third best offensive lineman like clear cut could he be a maybe ranking offensive lineman's not the way to do it, but tier right tier one is trend tier two is clearly McKibitz the way they talk about a brundle can puny be clearly there and for the whole year.
1:57
[SPEAKER_00]: Anyway, you run the ball a little more efficiently and you look at some of the like yards.
2:03
[SPEAKER_00]: that the Niners got relative to what was expected, they were below zero.
2:08
[SPEAKER_00]: So they actually were not efficient running the football.
2:11
[SPEAKER_00]: It's why I say, Christians here, I thought watching the whole thing every single snap of it was special because he just worked his ass off to get what he got, even though it wasn't always efficient.
2:23
[SPEAKER_00]: But if they can do, and they can just be a little better there.
2:26
[SPEAKER_00]: The environment around Perti is special.
2:28
[SPEAKER_00]: You lead play caller, I think,
2:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you'd be a little more solid on defense this year with drag green log back with another conversation.
2:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Enough skill guys to warrant high expectations, provide that kiddo is back early in the year.
2:44
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if it'll be Australia, but early in the year, Evans, healthy Pierce all.
2:53
[SPEAKER_00]: McAfrey, right?
2:54
[SPEAKER_00]: Use check still productive piece to your offense.
3:01
[SPEAKER_00]: And the intangible, and I was thinking about this talking to Mick Lombardi a couple of days ago, the four times really impressive quarterback coach.
3:10
[SPEAKER_00]: is, you know, the role of a backup quarterback.
3:13
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not, if you watch a sideline, you can't really do it on television, but for those of you that go to the game, if you watch the sideline, the backup quarterback is not on the sideline, just like every time the starter comes off, telling them all this to me.
3:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Did you see this?
3:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Did you see that?
3:26
[SPEAKER_00]: What I would do if I were you?
3:28
[SPEAKER_00]: That's not what happens.
3:29
[SPEAKER_00]: The backup quarterback's real value beyond being available to play is, you know, Monday through Saturday.
3:36
[SPEAKER_00]: That's where the backup can really be a second brain in meetings, walk through, practice, remember this, remember that, try this, try that, um, they're working on their own thing, but it's not game day where the backup quarterback is really the support.
3:51
[SPEAKER_00]: It's having the right energy in the room and they just have such a good quarterback room because they've got this weird dynamic, weird in a good way.
4:01
[SPEAKER_00]: of a guy who's good enough to start his proven at Mac Jones, but also is comfortable being in this role right now.
4:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Can talk Brock's language, Brock respects his experience, but Brock is also clearly the starting quarterback.
4:15
[SPEAKER_00]: It's really unique and I think it makes for a very special positive environment for growth.
4:23
[SPEAKER_00]: Good soil, good water.
4:26
[SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, perdi is an age where it's time to really.
4:30
[SPEAKER_00]: I always think of it like from a television broadcasting standpoint, which some of you know, I do that.
4:35
[SPEAKER_00]: I always call it booth vibes.
4:37
[SPEAKER_00]: And there's a role in television called the stage manager.
4:40
[SPEAKER_00]: And their job is to, sometimes they hand you the promos.
4:45
[SPEAKER_00]: They go, hey, here, read this next.
4:46
[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes it's on a digital screen.
4:49
[SPEAKER_00]: They make sure there's, you know, the tie is straight.
4:51
[SPEAKER_00]: They make sure the cord is behind your back when you go on camera.
4:54
[SPEAKER_00]: They make sure there's enough water.
4:56
[SPEAKER_00]: They just, basically they're a fixer.
4:58
[SPEAKER_00]: And I remember meeting somebody a couple of years ago at a, it was like a media vent, like a bunch of broadcast entities were there.
5:09
[SPEAKER_00]: And there was a person at the bar with a group of people and we were talking.
5:13
[SPEAKER_00]: And I didn't know what this person did on the crew.
5:15
[SPEAKER_00]: I said, are you a stage manager?
5:17
[SPEAKER_00]: They said, yeah, I said, yeah, I can tell because you have great booth vibes.
5:21
[SPEAKER_00]: And those are critical.
5:22
[SPEAKER_00]: You can't bring the energy down.
5:23
[SPEAKER_00]: You can't be complaining.
5:24
[SPEAKER_00]: You just, you've got to be a supportive, positive influence.
5:28
[SPEAKER_00]: I actually think the quarterback coach is also a big part of that.
5:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Like the quarterback coach is a job.
5:36
[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't ask him to make about this, but I do want to ask Michael and Marty about this.
5:40
[SPEAKER_00]: But from what I observe when I talk to quarterback coaches, on game day, their job is not to be the guy ripping you.
5:47
[SPEAKER_00]: The job is not to be the one telling the quarterback.
5:49
[SPEAKER_00]: Why didn't you see that?
5:51
[SPEAKER_00]: The job is to be the guy that's like, when the Titans like I was open.
5:54
[SPEAKER_00]: And the quarterback's like, no, you were it.
5:56
[SPEAKER_00]: And the QB coach is like, forget him.
5:58
[SPEAKER_00]: He doesn't understand what you're going through.
6:01
[SPEAKER_00]: And when the OCs on the phone is like, what are you looking at?
6:05
[SPEAKER_00]: QB and the heck I get into it?
6:07
[SPEAKER_00]: quarterback coaches judge like you good man.
6:09
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's kind of during the week part of the backup job because imagine that just aren't many people like can understand what it is that are starting quarterback goes through.
6:17
[SPEAKER_00]: So all of that to say, I think the environment is so rich.
6:22
[SPEAKER_00]: here for Brock Perti this year, that it really does set up for him to take another step.
6:28
[SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, I think you hope that here is a 26, 27, 28, 29, like you look back.
6:35
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, this was a guy who who continued to develop into his prime, which is what he is, what he should be entering right now.
6:44
[SPEAKER_00]: you know, I thought I if you haven't read Trent will the the article that Tim Kyle County wrote about Trent Williams in the SF standard.
6:51
[SPEAKER_00]: I recommend it because I was in the room when Trent Williams did his press conference on Wednesday and I think Tim's article
6:59
[SPEAKER_00]: You know sometimes press conferences are weird, like you sometimes you don't get a lot out of them or sometimes they can be really nuanced.
7:05
[SPEAKER_00]: I always think watching somebody speak in person is very different than watching them talk in a clip for 30 seconds.
7:11
[SPEAKER_00]: I remember feeling that way about Dream on Green the first time I went to a Warriors practice years ago.
7:14
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like you see all these clips.
7:15
[SPEAKER_00]: And then you watch him talk at length for 15 minutes.
7:19
[SPEAKER_00]: And it was just a very different experience.
7:22
[SPEAKER_00]: And some nice people can see him smarter or you're like, what does this guy talking about?
7:27
[SPEAKER_00]: But then you watch, you're like, oh, they're actually used to know what, so it's just, it's a really unique thing.
7:31
[SPEAKER_00]: And I thought Tim really captured the essence of that Trent Williams.
7:39
[SPEAKER_00]: It felt, I didn't realize it really till I read Tim's article, but it felt like a very significant
7:47
[SPEAKER_00]: press conference.
7:48
[SPEAKER_00]: If significant as they could be in June, because it was a guy that was totally open, confident, relaxed, inspired, ready, sincerely believes in his team.
8:02
[SPEAKER_00]: He's a special player.
8:03
[SPEAKER_00]: He's a special guy in the locker room.
8:06
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, all of the com, what I felt from him was was a guy
8:12
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, then I just did not come back from losing the Super Bowl two years ago, inspired by being close.
8:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes it's being close, can inspire you, sometimes it can break you.
8:19
[SPEAKER_00]: And last year they were inspired, I think, by the fact that they kept looking at their brothers.
8:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Guys were falling, but guys were stepping up.
8:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Like that's an inspiring thing.
8:29
[SPEAKER_00]: And I thought Trent conveyed that.
8:35
[SPEAKER_00]: And when I felt watching him talk this time, it was funny because he even made a comment like, you know, no, you know, everyone's here, including me, like he knows when we talk about players not being there.
8:44
[SPEAKER_00]: He's, you know, the number one example in years past him or boasts us sometimes.
8:52
[SPEAKER_00]: And in a way, acknowledges like, yeah, this is, it's better this way when everybody's here.
8:58
[SPEAKER_00]: And you could almost feel like I think you're so used to somebody, they're being some contract dispute in the off season that maybe bleeds in the training camp and just injury after injury after injury, everyone's just always waiting for the other shoot a drop.
9:15
[SPEAKER_00]: And for a moment, you got a
9:17
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like when you go on a vacation and you don't look at your phone for a couple of days, like, oh my God, I forgot.
9:24
[SPEAKER_00]: There's another way to live.
9:26
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's almost like, that's the energy I got from him, not that he had forgotten, but got a marginal world where the Niners aren't constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop from an injury standpoint.
9:38
[SPEAKER_00]: And if their regular season could be branded that, you cannot withstand it.
9:48
[SPEAKER_00]: There's just been pretty uneventful in a good way.
9:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Boy, what a feeling that would be.
9:54
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
9:55
[SPEAKER_00]: So the Rams get Miles Garrett, the Seahawks are the defending champs, and have the Niners number feels like.
10:08
[SPEAKER_00]: But I don't think there's any question before the Niners are capable of winning a championship.
10:13
[SPEAKER_00]: Doesn't mean you're going to favor it.
10:15
[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't mean you're going to finish first or second place in your own division.
10:22
[SPEAKER_00]: But I do think they're capable of it.
10:24
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think Trent Williams thinks they're capable of it.
10:27
[SPEAKER_00]: And it was interesting that he was very direct when I said you're going to play two more years.
10:30
[SPEAKER_00]: He said two more years.
10:31
[SPEAKER_00]: This year and the next, which, you know, who knows.
10:37
[SPEAKER_00]: They've got a nut, like when you think about, if there's a line, teams above that line are championship contenders.
10:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Doesn't mean there aren't three teams that maybe have a better chance on paper, but the niders to me, when you just think about their talent, their coaching, are above that line.
10:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Now there's all kinds of challenges.
10:55
[SPEAKER_00]: But a couple of specific things, Jacob Cowling, he's like the K-lon black of receivers from OTA.
11:02
[SPEAKER_00]: He's got a lot of attention.
11:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Look good.
11:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Popped.
11:06
[SPEAKER_00]: He has juice.
11:09
[SPEAKER_00]: The John's dribbling, you know, made a couple of big catches that got attention in the practice on Wednesday, including the left, down the left sideline, against the Amodore Lenore, was a great throw that took them outside shoulder to the sideline, and it was perfect.
11:24
[SPEAKER_00]: And Jordan Watkins, you know, these are, these are guys at different places, you're three for Cowan, you're two for Watkins, rookie you're for dribbling.
11:34
[SPEAKER_00]: But there's plenty of opportunity, you know, Christian Kirk doesn't have the, he's not in a scholarship, so to speak, but he's a guy that's been on the field in the NFL, which none of these three guys can really say.
11:49
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think you have to remember that Jacob County looked good in camp before.
11:53
[SPEAKER_00]: The Jordan Walkins has looked good in camp before.
11:55
[SPEAKER_00]: Jordan had that great catch in the first.
11:59
[SPEAKER_00]: Preseason game against the Denver Broncos last year, and then injuries.
12:04
[SPEAKER_00]: But if you get two of these three guys, one of them has to be stripling.
12:08
[SPEAKER_00]: If you get all three to contribute, or be available.
12:11
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I do think if they're available, you would get a contribution from Watkins, and you'd get contributions from Sterling.
12:18
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, I don't know if you'd get, I don't know what you'd get from Cowing, but I want to see it, you get some speed.
12:24
[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, I mentioned Kale on Black on the last show, promising, Jordan James, promising, this is what he is.
12:33
[SPEAKER_00]: I thought McAfee that it was interesting because he did not, and you can see why it's so hard to say, we're going to give Christian less snaps.
12:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Then the game start and Christians like, oh, well, I'm not, I mean, how many, we could probably check the film, how many times it's Christian tapped his helmets and give me out.
12:56
[SPEAKER_00]: But why would I come out?
12:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Christians did not seem on board with, yeah, this year we're going to take it easy.
13:03
[SPEAKER_00]: And actually, not only did you not see him on board with it, he talked like it was a stupid idea.
13:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Like he talked like it was a conversation for people who don't understand how football works.
13:15
[SPEAKER_00]: That was the impression.
13:17
[SPEAKER_00]: He talked like it was unrealistic to manage a game that way.
13:20
[SPEAKER_00]: I think I could be wrong.
13:21
[SPEAKER_00]: I think the analogy or the comparison he used was, like you don't just put a three point shooter on the floor sometime.
13:29
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't remember exactly how he said it.
13:30
[SPEAKER_00]: But he basically said like this is not how you manage
13:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, obviously like, you know, players do come out, but in basketball, you play both ways.
13:42
[SPEAKER_00]: So you need that rest in football, you know, I think he would say like, I get my rest.
13:46
[SPEAKER_00]: The defense is on the field.
13:48
[SPEAKER_00]: So I, I rest.
13:50
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, but why would you take me off the field?
13:53
[SPEAKER_00]: What I'm the best at everything.
13:56
[SPEAKER_00]: And I, well, did you see what I just did last year?
13:58
[SPEAKER_00]: It really is a compelling argument if you're him.
14:01
[SPEAKER_00]: Did you see what I just did last year?
14:03
[SPEAKER_00]: I was fine, everyone else goes, yeah, but time.
14:07
[SPEAKER_00]: And he goes, well, time's got to prove it to me first.
14:12
[SPEAKER_00]: I think I, another takeaway from OTAs, I think I was, no, I know.
14:20
[SPEAKER_00]: that coming into this office, he's in post-trigger in the last sign.
14:24
[SPEAKER_00]: I've been pretty skeptical about how impactful that will be.
14:30
[SPEAKER_00]: If you wanted to be optimistic, you could say he just turned 29 in May.
14:35
[SPEAKER_00]: And yes, Achilles injuries are devastating, but you're going to be better in your two after an Achilles injury than in your one.
14:45
[SPEAKER_00]: And now he's back to a comfortable place.
14:47
[SPEAKER_00]: So all reasons why he should have a better year.
14:50
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, you can injure other things and he has.
14:53
[SPEAKER_00]: But, you know, those would be two things that trend that tell you, maybe he'll be better this year.
14:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Will he be back to Old Dre?
15:01
[SPEAKER_00]: Hard to predict that.
15:02
[SPEAKER_00]: But, again, 20x, that's not 33.
15:04
[SPEAKER_00]: It's 29.
15:07
[SPEAKER_00]: Does he need to be back to Old Dre?
15:08
[SPEAKER_00]: The answer to that is no.
15:09
[SPEAKER_00]: He doesn't need to be Old Dre.
15:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Green line just needs to be better than the alternative.
15:15
[SPEAKER_00]: But I don't think I quite recognized initially when they got him, that the intent is no, we're getting him, not to like, what see what he's still got.
15:29
[SPEAKER_00]: We're getting him to put him next to Fred Warren and be like, those are the dudes.
15:32
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's, feels like it's an inspiring thing to the team.
15:37
[SPEAKER_00]: Now,
15:40
[SPEAKER_00]: You're still in more than that.
15:42
[SPEAKER_00]: I still think the safety position.
15:43
[SPEAKER_00]: It's gotten a lot of attention rightfully so I saw Matt Barrow suggested that maybe Ash and Davis who they just signed could start we'll see but I am open to the idea that if they are immediately better with Drake Greenland provided that he's healthy even if he's not what he was pre- Crazy Super Bowl injury
16:06
[SPEAKER_00]: So those are some of my thoughts.
16:09
[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously there's a lot of like, needy gritty stuff to get into from OTAs.
16:13
[SPEAKER_00]: That's, you know, I think the big picture in the NFC is really interesting.
16:17
[SPEAKER_00]: And they, without a doubt, fit right in.
16:20
[SPEAKER_00]: The other thing I want to say before I forget, is one of the check why I did forget, and now I remembered.
16:29
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a big challenge for this team.
16:31
[SPEAKER_00]: And I do think maybe, hopefully, you get into camp and you get momentum, but are they gonna have the right mindset?
16:38
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think it's probably for the ramps too.
16:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Are you gonna have the right mindset week one?
16:41
[SPEAKER_00]: Are you gonna be pissed off that you're in Australia and took a long flight?
16:45
[SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, kiddo is the guy who's gonna force the positive who has gotten this far because in part because of like,
16:59
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, but that's the case for all these guys.
17:02
[SPEAKER_00]: Trent Williams, too, is like nobody wants to go do this.
17:05
[SPEAKER_00]: So the Trent was very honest about it.
17:07
[SPEAKER_00]: George said, I'm going to look at the bright side, but I do think there's an element that like are these guys and maybe both teams will feel the same way and it'll be a wash, but it's kind of like a bowl game.
17:22
[SPEAKER_00]: There was a time.
17:24
[SPEAKER_00]: And you may, I'm old enough to remember.
17:27
[SPEAKER_00]: That's a little Bill Walton joke.
17:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Are you old enough to remember Steph Curry?
17:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Like if Steph Curry was on the bench for like eight minutes, you believe I, are you old enough to remember Steph Curry as a way to get him back in the game?
17:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, bowl games are like two categories.
17:44
[SPEAKER_00]: the CFP playoffs and then all the other ones, which like nobody seems to want to be at.
17:47
[SPEAKER_00]: But there was a time where you'd get like Boise State, Oklahoma, which tried to be a good game.
17:52
[SPEAKER_00]: So this is a bad example.
17:53
[SPEAKER_00]: But the question on the bowl game was always who wanted to be there who didn't.
17:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Usually the lesser team, the lesser league, the smaller engine wanted to be there and the bigger team didn't.
18:05
[SPEAKER_00]: If it was a lower level game.
18:07
[SPEAKER_00]: And so which of the festival was not a lower level bowl game?
18:10
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's not the example that will
18:12
[SPEAKER_00]: in Johnson game.
18:13
[SPEAKER_00]: But that's kind of how I think about this, not a ramp game.
18:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, there's one of them want to be there more.
18:21
[SPEAKER_00]: That might be the team that wins.
18:22
[SPEAKER_00]: The team that could convince themselves, this is the start of something special.
18:27
[SPEAKER_00]: We believe in ourselves.
18:28
[SPEAKER_00]: What are we're going to travel together?
18:30
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to bond together for a week in Australia, or whenever I don't, I don't think, Sean McFast said one of the ramps get there, but we know
18:38
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's going to be a big test.
18:39
[SPEAKER_00]: Can you take the right attitude?
18:41
[SPEAKER_00]: And the right attitude, speaking from experience, it is easy to have the right attitude and a bounce in your step when you get on the plane.
18:49
[SPEAKER_00]: Then our 12, you're like, oh, there's six more on this flight, which is an interesting thing that Mike Evans asked George Kittle about the Niners and George told him, well, we get lay flats, seats on the plane.
19:02
[SPEAKER_00]: And that Michael's like, okay.
19:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Mike didn't, Mike didn't have to be going to Australia, but he wants the lay flat right fully.
19:09
[SPEAKER_00]: I understand, I can identify with that being attractive to Mike, haven't so anyway.
19:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, now it's time to hear from Sheel Wood, the defensive coordinator for Texas Tech, but I'm not going to do any more introing because big intro coming.
19:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Here we go.
19:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Today on the show, we have one of the best football coaches in the sport, Texas Tech defensive coordinator, Sheel Wood, the reason I asked to talk to coach was because the Niners drafted Ramello height in the third round, coming off the best year of his career.
19:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Texas Tech had the best year in its school history last year.
19:43
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure coach of correct me if that's wrong, but it sure looked like it.
19:47
[SPEAKER_00]: 12 wins under head coach Joy McGuire, who is also one of the best in the sport number three scoring defense in the country.
19:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Only Ohio State and Indiana had a better scoring defense by points per game at 11.8.
19:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Coach Wood was a finalist for the Braille's award, which goes to the country's top assistant coach.
20:04
[SPEAKER_00]: His defense had the big 12 defensive player the year, and linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who was drafted 43rd overall at Alphan's Niners will see him week two.
20:11
[SPEAKER_00]: Had the defensive lineman of the year and David Bailey was drafted second overall by the Jets.
20:16
[SPEAKER_00]: It had three other all big 12 first team defensive honorees, including the 49th overall pick defensive tackle Lee Hunter who went to the Panthers.
20:24
[SPEAKER_00]: And of course, for mellow height, who was pick 70.
20:27
[SPEAKER_00]: I coach appreciate the time.
20:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome.
20:30
[SPEAKER_00]: And it was fun to watch the Red Raiders last year.
20:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, thank you, glad to be here.
20:34
[SPEAKER_00]: What did you think of Ramelo height getting drafted, uh, pic 70 by the 49ers?
20:40
[SPEAKER_01]: So excited for a mellow and so excited for the San Francisco 49ers, I think they've got a guy that's going to come in and roll his sleeves up and go to work every day to be the very best that he can be he's got a great football character And just a passion for the game he loves football.
20:57
[SPEAKER_01]: I think he's a guy that in my estimation has a tremendous
21:01
[SPEAKER_01]: Skill set to rest the pastor off the edge.
21:04
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got one of the best get-offs and Explosive in the first two steps that I've ever seen or ever been around and certainly was a guy for us that Retab it on the opponents that we were able to play in terms of putting pressure on the quarterback and that's the name of the game International football.
21:19
[SPEAKER_01]: You got to stop the run and do all the things that it takes to
21:22
[SPEAKER_01]: I think, you know, execute and win at a high level in national football league, but being able to put pressure on the quarterback and stop the past and that league is at a premium and I think Romelo has all the tools to translate to that level and be really disruptive.
21:38
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm excited for him.
21:40
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm excited for the opportunity that he has and looking forward to following his career in the Bay Area.
21:46
[SPEAKER_00]: As NFL teams are coming around and obviously they're talking, you've got so many guys really incredible, right?
21:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Some offensive players too, but your defense, about half of your defense got drafted.
21:56
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, what were the questions you got?
21:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Did you have a sense that there'd be a fit?
22:00
[SPEAKER_00]: The Niners went through a coordinator change with where he Morris coming in.
22:05
[SPEAKER_00]: But did you get any inkling leading up to the draft that the Niners would be a fit for him or that they were particularly interested in him?
22:12
[SPEAKER_01]: I didn't necessarily, you know, I certainly wasn't involved in the discussions with, with, with scouts, maybe even some front office personnel at times.
22:21
[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of that.
22:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Typically, I think the tends to happen through our player personnel department, our general manager, or maybe our strength staff as well.
22:29
[SPEAKER_01]: So, and then, you know, you get so many clubs and we had, we had so many players who were playing on a high level, including Ramello, that we had so much,
22:40
[SPEAKER_01]: interest from all 32 NFL franchises coming through here and it's kind of hard from a coach's standpoint to know how, you know, what the interest level.
22:51
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, they were interested in the value weight and all of our guys so they were prepared.
22:55
[SPEAKER_01]: If the opportunity came about and it made sense for them obviously to have a chance to draft one of our guys So don't know that really had a a great feel for that, but what I did have a great feel for was that I thought Ramello would we go fairly fairly early in the draft third round is not surprised me at all and and I thought that Whichever franchise decided to select him would would end up getting a guy that was really well prepared to come in and and go to work
23:22
[SPEAKER_00]: How about Ramello, he's opposite David Bailey last year.
23:26
[SPEAKER_00]: And now he's going to be opposite at Nick Bosa as a rookie.
23:30
[SPEAKER_00]: And obviously, they got some really, they drafted very high Mike Hill Williams last year coming off injury.
23:36
[SPEAKER_00]: They got also Digi Zua from the Cowboys.
23:38
[SPEAKER_00]: They got good players, but what is that combo?
23:41
[SPEAKER_00]: We start with Miami also, right?
23:43
[SPEAKER_00]: You look at the top pressures in the country last year.
23:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Bailey and Hight and Mesodore and Bane, like those four guys were four of the top six and pressures last year.
23:52
[SPEAKER_00]: So some incredible combos.
23:54
[SPEAKER_00]: What does a combo allow you as a defensive coordinator to do?
23:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, when you've got two guys that can play off to each other on the end of the line of scrimmage and try to meet in the middle at the quarterback, it's just a table for a lot of great stuff.
24:11
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you look at our defense last year, I looked at some statistics.
24:16
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, we were probably one of the defenses in the country that blitzed.
24:22
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, the least amount of anybody and one of the reasons for that was just how we were built.
24:27
[SPEAKER_01]: We were able at the end of the day when the team's dropping back to throw it, you want to be able to affect the quarterback.
24:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Whether you're getting sacks, you're getting pressures, you're getting hurries.
24:38
[SPEAKER_01]: you're just getting him off his spot to where he's not comfortable to sit back there and go through his progression cleanly, step up in the pocket, top pocket, and deliver the ball on time, in rhythm.
24:48
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, you know, that's ultimately what I think you want to be able to do from a pressure standpoint.
24:55
[SPEAKER_01]: And we were able to do that rushing for guys on a consistent basis with Ramello and David.
25:00
[SPEAKER_01]: And so when you have guys like that, when you've got a Bosa and a Ramello
25:07
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, for the 49ers, I think that it just as a coordinator and as a coaching staff and as a defensive unit, it just gives you ability to make decisions on what can be best to help you get the stops on the consistent basis that you need and when you can rush for and affect the quarterback, I mean, you got seven guys and coverage, you can mix up your coverage structures.
25:29
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's what we were able to do we did that on first second and third down and and you know, we also got.
25:36
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, teams, you know, needing to help their offensive tackles on the edge with the skills that we had coming off the edge.
25:44
[SPEAKER_01]: So when you're getting the chips, when you get in the nudges from a tight end, from a running back, a lot of times, especially on third down, you end up in situations where early in the play, maybe you've got seven guys in coverage, maybe they only have three guys out in the route immediately.
25:59
[SPEAKER_01]: And then maybe after a chip after a nudge, you know, you get a tight end or a back release and out later in the play.
26:06
[SPEAKER_01]: that just helps recover and helps your ability to win and convert on conversion downs defensively and so those were the things that we found that were very advantageous for us.
26:17
[SPEAKER_01]: That's kind of the reason that we decided to set up our defense the way that we did and you know in the national football league all those things translate as well.
26:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Watching you guys, it felt like I remember a couple years ago.
26:30
[SPEAKER_00]: The Eagles had a defense that was like, can you have too many defensive linemen?
26:34
[SPEAKER_00]: And the Eagles like no.
26:35
[SPEAKER_00]: And now the Rams obviously traded for Miles Garrett.
26:37
[SPEAKER_00]: And you can't have it off.
26:38
[SPEAKER_00]: And Seattle won the Super Bowl last year.
26:41
[SPEAKER_00]: They were a problem for the Niners.
26:42
[SPEAKER_00]: They did such a great job of it.
26:44
[SPEAKER_00]: Everyone talked about the fact that they were like kind of interchangeable and nickel, but they got pressure with four.
26:50
[SPEAKER_00]: And so it just created so many problems.
26:52
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's something that the manor fans are probably familiar with.
26:57
[SPEAKER_00]: The PFF said that Ramello dropped into coverage 46 times, but was only targeted once.
27:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Which, is that, does that feel right to you?
27:07
[SPEAKER_00]: Like that he was the ball and he came his way once on a pass attempt.
27:10
[SPEAKER_00]: That can't, it seems crazy, but maybe it's right.
27:14
[SPEAKER_01]: But I think that's probably accurate.
27:18
[SPEAKER_01]: The only thing that I really recall was
27:22
[SPEAKER_01]: a pass that BYU threw when we played them at home where he was dropping into the flat to the the short side of the field and he got in the throne lane and they had to get off the throw and move the pocket and it was successful play force.
27:38
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, with having a mellow and David for us, you know, the term simulated pressure gets thrown around a lot.
27:46
[SPEAKER_01]: you know, both in the NFL and in college, basically where you're adding in, you know, still rushing for people, but you're adding in a second level rusher and maybe taking one of your defensive ends and dropping them into coverage.
27:59
[SPEAKER_01]: So just a way to kind of try to take advantage of protection, surprise the front a little bit, but still play with seven guys in coverage.
28:07
[SPEAKER_01]: So when you look at those statistics that you may have found on PFF,
28:11
[SPEAKER_01]: with Ramello dropping in the coverage, you know, we were not a team that wanted to simulate pressure very much because every time we took a guy like Ramello or a guy like David Bailey and dropped in him into coverage, you know, from my standpoint, we're taking one of the best past pressures in college football.
28:28
[SPEAKER_01]: and not allowing him to do the very best that he can do in terms of impact in the game for us.
28:32
[SPEAKER_01]: So I didn't I think both of those guys have remellers got a great ability from athletic skills that stand point to do those things, but not something that that I want to do.
28:43
[SPEAKER_01]: I want him going forward to the quarterback as opposed to
28:46
[SPEAKER_01]: taking one of the best pass分ters and putting them in coverage.
28:48
[SPEAKER_01]: So when we did drop him and we did that a little bit more.
28:53
[SPEAKER_01]: I usually, and I don't know how the PFS statistics looked when you were looking at these things, but I tried to do it when it was a run.
29:01
[SPEAKER_01]: And maybe drop him off the ball to where he could fit a different gap.
29:06
[SPEAKER_01]: And if I thought they were going to be throwing the football, I didn't want to drop him in the coverage.
29:11
[SPEAKER_01]: I wanted to have him going forward and try to cook it to quarterback.
29:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, you know, the, the George Kittle spoke yesterday after an honest practice in one thing he said was he really liked he likes, you know, the way a scout might look and go 25 year old six year player.
29:26
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know how much room does he have, but like what Kittle said is as a teammate, he loves it because guys come in ready from a maturity standpoint in terms of being a teammate and they come in with, he said a little more urgency, right, because you're, you're instead of being 22, maybe you're 25 and like how many years of my prime, whatever.
29:44
[SPEAKER_00]: For you, what have you seen as players have gotten older because they remain in college longer.
29:49
[SPEAKER_00]: So they're older as they come to the NFL.
29:51
[SPEAKER_00]: And the money allows them to do that or as part of the reason they're able to do that.
29:56
[SPEAKER_00]: How does that change the type of player that's coming in to the league, especially in the first few rounds of the draft for maybe you're used to get in guys who aren't staying four years and I know you got a guy who's a fifth or even in the case of Remelo a six year guy.
30:12
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, you know, everybody develops at a different pace and everybody matures at a different pace.
30:20
[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, as well as I do when you're 18 to 22 years old, you're still learning what it's like to be out on your own, to be a grown man, to make your own decisions,
30:33
[SPEAKER_01]: be the one responsible for finding out what a great routine is for you that's going to help you be successful and whatever endeavor you're undertaking.
30:40
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I think that at the end of the day what you're seeing right now in college athletics is guys like you said that sometimes for different reasons are at an institution longer.
30:52
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think what it ultimately does is it just gives guys a
30:58
[SPEAKER_01]: to be able to find their path and grow into, ultimately, you know, who the good Lord wants them to be.
31:05
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, you know, we're a part of that as a coaching staff and helping develop those guys and and you mentioned the word and, and I grew with the, I think the urgency part of it when
31:15
[SPEAKER_01]: When you are a guy that's kind of going through a maturation process in college and it's always been this way whether it was, you know, you're a true senior and you're 22 years old or sometimes now guys maybe are going in their last year eligibility and they might be 23 24 so forth whatever case may be.
31:32
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, it's just a situation where the urgency of understanding when you're in that last your eligibility, it means more to, hey, this is my last opportunity.
31:42
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, when you're younger, when you're freshman, you're sophomore, I got time, that's just human nature.
31:47
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I do it, I think that the urgency is created in any of those scenarios when it's your last year in college, but again, also I definitely understand how guys that are maybe transitioning from the last year in college with that urgency into the NFL and maybe they're
32:03
[SPEAKER_01]: 22 or 23, but they're 24 or 25 or 26, is they're making that transition.
32:07
[SPEAKER_01]: It starts to just foster that sense of urgency even more.
32:11
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that Ramello, one of the reasons that he came in, it has success that he did with us, was he did have a great sense of urgency.
32:18
[SPEAKER_01]: It really, I think he was just said the point his lifeguard, he understood, hey, I've got a tremendous opportunity in front of me that can impact my future sitting where I'm at today, but also as a transition,
32:30
[SPEAKER_01]: into the National Football League and I want to take full advantage of that.
32:33
[SPEAKER_01]: He certainly did, and I think that's, you know, going to only benefit the 49ers moving forward.
32:39
[SPEAKER_00]: It must have felt great for him.
32:40
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, you know, six years, you think, well, if you play six years, you must, you know, we had, we had back-to-back years with Dylan Gabriel and Bonnex, who set records for,
32:50
[SPEAKER_00]: I think Bo said it and then Dylan Gabriel broke it for most career starts.
32:54
[SPEAKER_00]: But that's not Ramello, right?
32:56
[SPEAKER_00]: He played 12 games combined in his first three years.
32:59
[SPEAKER_00]: So only became like a every game player in the last in the last three years.
33:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Which makes you think like maybe he is kind of...
33:07
[SPEAKER_00]: hitting is stride from a developmental standpoint.
33:09
[SPEAKER_00]: What would you say if you gave or metal like here's your to do list between the end of last year and the beginning of his rookie year from a coaching standpoint?
33:19
[SPEAKER_00]: What are the things that you think he can improve on or that he can, yeah, things he can still get better at?
33:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, gosh.
33:28
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got a great skill set to rush the passers.
33:30
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got speed to power and really a dip rip is a great primary move for him.
33:37
[SPEAKER_01]: And he's got several counters that he goes to that.
33:39
[SPEAKER_01]: I think he feels confident.
33:41
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I think for him, really when he came to us, I think it was his first opportunity to be in every down defensive end.
33:51
[SPEAKER_01]: you know, and who was primarily part of the front and you know, vast majority of time playing the edge in the run game and rushing to pass her off the edge.
34:03
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I think that for him just to continue to focus on
34:10
[SPEAKER_01]: uh... the physicality of the point of attack in the run game uh... for a guy that might be viewed as a little bit undersized plan that position uh... but again the skill set and athleticism the rest of the pastor is what i think excites everybody about him and the thing about remote to is he is a absolutely he is one of the most physical players that i've ever been around he has no uh...
34:32
[SPEAKER_01]: regard for his own personal health and well-being.
34:34
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he is a bull and ball of boots or knives in terms of just wanting to go attack the run attack, you know, the past protection.
34:44
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I think for him just the continuing development in terms of being a guy that every down,
34:51
[SPEAKER_01]: can be a great run defender as a goddess, maybe a little bit smaller than some of those guys.
34:57
[SPEAKER_01]: But boy, how do you if you want to drop back and throw the football on for a second down?
35:00
[SPEAKER_01]: To have him out there to transition, you know, the past rush is a huge, huge benefit.
35:07
[SPEAKER_00]: What's the Dipperip?
35:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Just being able to get up underneath the office of tackles, pads and work a kind of a hot low rip off the edge and corner the edge to get to the quarterback.
35:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Speed of power and pure speed off the edge is what Romelo really excels at and those things then set up all the other moves that he's kind of developed and can go to and the counters back inside with the spin versus an over-center a guy that's over playing his
35:39
[SPEAKER_01]: You know those those are things that he already does it really high level.
35:42
[SPEAKER_01]: He'll continue to improve And again one of the things that from a pastor standpoint for him being at every down player and being a guy that was not dropping in the cover There's a lot.
35:50
[SPEAKER_01]: He got to continue to work those techniques and and and also just have more opportunities to affect the game from a pastor standpoint and your experience get off is it is it mostly natural is it just
36:06
[SPEAKER_00]: based on your fast twitch muscles or is there something else to it?
36:11
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, you know, obviously the skill set to be explosive and have that athleticism is something that that guys are gifted with and they develop with strength and conditioning, you know, the
36:23
[SPEAKER_01]: the ability to maximize their explosion and potential from that standpoint.
36:27
[SPEAKER_01]: But there's also a lot of technique.
36:29
[SPEAKER_01]: If you look at a Ramello, I think he gets into a great stance off the edge.
36:32
[SPEAKER_01]: It all starts with your stance.
36:33
[SPEAKER_01]: You want to be like a cold spring or snake, the skin rate is to strike.
36:37
[SPEAKER_01]: I think if you look at a Ramello, he does a great job consistently being in a great stance.
36:42
[SPEAKER_01]: And for all those guys up front,
36:44
[SPEAKER_01]: that play, you know, inside between, you know, the garden center garden tack over the guys at off the edge, a great stance from a technique standpoint is something that really sets the table for them.
36:55
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, when you're trying to rush the pastor, you're talking about just fractions of a second that make the difference between
37:01
[SPEAKER_01]: getting home for a sack or getting home to pressure quarterback, you know, there's, there is a tremendous sense of urgency.
37:08
[SPEAKER_01]: There's no time to waste.
37:09
[SPEAKER_01]: And so the stance is a huge deal.
37:12
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I think his efficiency coming out of that stance on his first step.
37:15
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's something that he's really worked hard on.
37:18
[SPEAKER_01]: He doesn't have a whole lot of wasted motion of fall step.
37:20
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he is maximizing.
37:23
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like, you know, if you're running 100 meter dash in the Olympics, you know, every little,
37:28
[SPEAKER_01]: thing that you have in terms of your pad level coming off or have the box or in his case coming off the ball, you know, the Ford lane, the efficiency coming out of the box, we're getting off the line of scrims to all those things to add up consistently over time to give you the best chance to impact the quarterback before he's able to get rid of the football.
37:46
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I think those are things from a technique and fundamental standpoint that remote does it really high level.
37:51
[SPEAKER_01]: He loves the game.
37:52
[SPEAKER_01]: he loves the work.
37:53
[SPEAKER_01]: It's all about the work for him and he's put in that work to develop his skillset to take advantage of some great natural talent that he has.
38:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Again, the strengthening addition and component of it is something that he's worked really hard at to do that as well.
38:06
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to ask you quickly just about kind of a bigger picture in the sport.
38:12
[SPEAKER_00]: The last two years for the five finalists, I've mentioned you were a finalist for the Braille's World Award last year, in this past season, were defensive coordinators.
38:21
[SPEAKER_00]: And I remember probably like five years ago, Nick Sabin made a comment, you know, there were those years where the SEC would have two or three defenses, Alabama would lead the way Georgia, that would give up like nine or 11 points per game.
38:34
[SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, the feeling at that time was like, well, those days might be done.
38:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Two of the last five, or each of the last two years, four of the five finalists for the broils, as I said, were defensive coordinators.
38:46
[SPEAKER_00]: The list last year was fantastic.
38:48
[SPEAKER_00]: It was you.
38:49
[SPEAKER_00]: It was Bryant Haines from Indiana, who won it.
38:52
[SPEAKER_00]: It was Corey Heather Min, who was an old, you know, Rutgers and then Minnesota and Miami's defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia at Ohio State, is
39:02
[SPEAKER_00]: Forgive me for, like, the ignorant way to ask this question, but as defense back, maybe it never left, what's your, as a, as a former receiver, what's your perspective on that?
39:11
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't think defense ever left.
39:13
[SPEAKER_01]: I think what you see in, in, uh, football in general where this college or NFL, you know, things kind of come in cycles.
39:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and, you know, from a defensive standpoint, you know, teams are always looking for a way to evolve.
39:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Coaches are always looking for a way to
39:32
[SPEAKER_01]: attack an opponent, uh, to put stress on an opponent, to take advantage of the skill sets of the personnel that we have, and so the best cooks are always looking to find answers of those things, and, um, you know, from an offensive perspective.
39:44
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, when things evolve slightly, you know, you can look at the evolution of the RPO the run pass option and how that impacted college football for a number of years as teams started to move to that.
39:58
[SPEAKER_01]: And now that's split into the NFL over the last handful years, you know, you look at more NFL offenses.
40:05
[SPEAKER_01]: you know, I remember years ago, people talking about, you know, there's the college style of offense and it doesn't translate to the highest level to national football league.
40:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, I think that's kind of been proven to be incorrect because you see a lot of quarterbacks now the dual threat guys.
40:21
[SPEAKER_01]: They're incorporating RPO's zone reads quarterback run game at times and maybe not to the level and extent that you see in college football, but yeah, I think there's
40:29
[SPEAKER_01]: been some translation and impact that you see in both ways, you know, schemes and coaches and things are going on in FL that translate to college and vice versa.
40:40
[SPEAKER_01]: But I think from office to standpoint when when an office evolves and you look at like,
40:45
[SPEAKER_01]: that have been in the RPOs and different ways that teams are trying to stress your ability to stop the run and then the routes that can come off of low-hat run actions, you know, for a period of time there, defense coordinators and defense is in general.
40:59
[SPEAKER_01]: I think we're playing catch-up on some of that, you know.
41:01
[SPEAKER_01]: And so over time, you start trying to evolve your schemes defensively to react to maybe some of the changes that you're seeing on offense.
41:09
[SPEAKER_01]: And so things are somewhat cyclical.
41:13
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that teams over the last handful of years maybe have started to catch back up a little bit to some of the evolution that you saw on the offensive side of the football.
41:23
[SPEAKER_01]: And maybe there's a part of it, or a component of it that then has led to some defense of coordinators in the last handful of years, having more recognition for doing some things at a high level or maybe statistically some of the,
41:37
[SPEAKER_01]: that point totals in terms of defensive points allowed as has come back down a little bit.
41:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Those would be some of my thoughts on that.
41:46
[SPEAKER_01]: But I know this, there's a lot of really good coaches out there on both sides at ball and the college and NFL level.
41:52
[SPEAKER_01]: I think you're seeing also a lot more
41:58
[SPEAKER_01]: maybe college and NFL coaches that are train transitioning from one to the other.
42:05
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, used to be more, I think, a little bit.
42:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Then NFL kind of had us on that work of coaches.
42:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, college had us on that work of coaches.
42:12
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think you're seeing guys now, they're transitioning from one league to the other.
42:17
[SPEAKER_01]: And so there's kind of some crossover there as well.
42:20
[SPEAKER_00]: Coach, really appreciate you making time in the perspective on Ramello.
42:24
[SPEAKER_00]: I remember calling his game a couple years ago at SC, but I didn't see him up close.
42:28
[SPEAKER_00]: I saw him up close at night or his practice the last few weeks.
42:30
[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't realize watching him quite how long his arms are, how cut he is at six, three, obviously.
42:37
[SPEAKER_00]: As you mentioned, maybe there's some thought that he can add some weight, but he looks the part.
42:41
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, there's no question about it.
42:42
[SPEAKER_00]: And the production was there last year, along with everybody else on your defense.
42:46
[SPEAKER_00]: So congratulations again, and appreciate you making time.
42:49
[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely, thank you for having me.