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Oklahoma Sooners OC Ben Arbuckle Alabama Game Week Press Conference · Sooner or Later Sports

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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's huge for their confidence. But you know,
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  Speaker 1: every single one of those guys, those those young guys,
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  Speaker 1: they've been bought in since beginning, they take coaching really well.
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  Speaker 1: They bring it every single day at practice. They have
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  Speaker 1: a different just kind of youthful energy at practice at
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  Speaker 1: all times. And so everything that that that they have
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  Speaker 1: done in games, it's just a culmination of how quickly
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  Speaker 1: they're able to learn, retain knowledge, and then learn from
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  Speaker 1: their young mistakes, whether it's through springball, fall camp, earlier
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  Speaker 1: on in the season. Just their ability to adapt to
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  Speaker 1: what college football is. But they they're talented kids, they're
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  Speaker 1: great kids, they're smart kids. Coach Beating both done an
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  Speaker 1: awesome job just preparing those guys, getting them ready to play,
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  Speaker 1: and you know, got to keep on developing and get
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  Speaker 1: better and get ready for this week. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, Michael Carter was a guy that we didn't
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  Speaker 2: see maybe a ton of row in the season, but
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  Speaker 2: has gotten some opportunity the last couple of weeks.
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  Speaker 1: What have you seen from him and kind of his
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  Speaker 1: development as a season of John Blocker, He's my favorite
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  Speaker 1: thing about j Mike as a receiver. He's probably our
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  Speaker 1: most willing blocker as a receiver, and that says a
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  Speaker 1: lot to me as a coach. I think whenever you're
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  Speaker 1: a receiver and you love blocking, you take such pride
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  Speaker 1: in it. I think that shows truly who you are
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  Speaker 1: as a person and as a young man. And he's
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  Speaker 1: just consistent as they come. He's done a great job
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  Speaker 1: of learning, you know, because he came in the spring,
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  Speaker 1: was kind of just a little bit behind as far
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  Speaker 1: as what the whole entire offense was. So he's done
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  Speaker 1: a great job of consistently and continuously learning the offense
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  Speaker 1: to be able to get in there and be able
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  Speaker 1: to contribute. And but he's always ready whenever his numbers called,
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  Speaker 1: and it's no different against Tennessee. Came in, he played
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  Speaker 1: really well, executed, did his job and really proud of
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  Speaker 1: j Mike.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Then obviously John he looked, you know, a lot like
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  Speaker 1: himself earlier in the season against too, he did some
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  Speaker 1: things to probably build on. How do you feel like
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  Speaker 1: he kind of progressed throughout.
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  Speaker 3: The my week?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I thought he. I thought he did
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  Speaker 1: some really good things in the Tennessee game, and then
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  Speaker 1: going into the bye week, a lot like our entire
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  Speaker 1: team I thought our young men had a great mindset
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  Speaker 1: going into the bye week. There was no taking a
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  Speaker 1: break and let's just get these practices over with so
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  Speaker 1: we can get to our three day vacation. That that
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  Speaker 1: wasn't a thing at all, and John was no different.
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  Speaker 1: These kids attacked the work every single day. I think
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  Speaker 1: we were able to make some improvements on on just
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  Speaker 1: little things that we need to get better at for
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  Speaker 1: in order to go win the games, you know, do
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  Speaker 1: what winning requires, and we were able to peel a
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  Speaker 1: little bit of that back. And John was no different.
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  Speaker 1: He attacked the work, he attacked his footwork, his communication,
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  Speaker 1: his consistency. Really about the same way that he's done
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  Speaker 1: it all year though. He's a process driven kid and
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  Speaker 1: he's stuck to the process, a great leader throughout the
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  Speaker 1: bye week, and so just excited to watch him get
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  Speaker 1: to play football. So then I wanted to.
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  Speaker 4: Ask you another one about John. Obviously he's gone on
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  Speaker 4: the road in one games, big games before, but post surgery,
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  Speaker 4: that Tennessee game was was a first, you know, to
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  Speaker 4: go and to I know he wanted South Carolina to
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  Speaker 4: be a top ranked team on the road. How important
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  Speaker 4: did you feel like that was? I mean, he doesn't
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  Speaker 4: seem to lack of confidence, but just to actually get
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  Speaker 4: that w on the road in that situation.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I think the South Carolina game did
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  Speaker 1: help us. I think because that wasn't an easy place
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  Speaker 1: to go and they were a talented team, and we
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  Speaker 1: were able to play really efficient football, and he played
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  Speaker 1: really efficient football. So I think that that prepared him
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  Speaker 1: for another road sec test and you know, really did
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  Speaker 1: a lot of the same things. Was was clean for
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  Speaker 1: the majority of the game with his eyes and his
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  Speaker 1: ball placement, his foot Warrior's still a few things that
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  Speaker 1: you'd like to be a little bit better, but he
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  Speaker 1: played really efficient football and except for a few things here,
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  Speaker 1: they're really played winning football the entirety of the day.
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  Speaker 1: So I think just being able to, uh, you know,
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  Speaker 1: one go to South Carolina, do that, go to Tennessee
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  Speaker 1: and do that. You know, I think it just builds
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  Speaker 1: at least, you know, I think for for John just
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  Speaker 1: builds a little bit of confidence that hey, if I
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  Speaker 1: go do my job and I go execute, I can
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  Speaker 1: put us in a position to win the football game.
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  Speaker 1: And at the end of the day, that's the that's
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  Speaker 1: the most important thing to figure out a way at
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  Speaker 1: the end to go win the game. And uh, but
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  Speaker 1: I think those two prior games really helping the confidence
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  Speaker 1: of that and I think it's important for the development
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  Speaker 1: of him and this team as a whole.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, Tye Simpson on the other side, obviously you're not
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  Speaker 4: watching him for scouting purposes, but I'm sure you're aware
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  Speaker 4: of his style. What's impressed you about him?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I'm I pretty much watch him every
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  Speaker 1: week and crossover film game planning other teams. He's he's
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  Speaker 1: he's impressive. He's impressive passer. I think he does an
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  Speaker 1: unbelievable job in the pocket, keeping his eyes down, feel
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  Speaker 1: and delivering the ball where it needs to go. You know,
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  Speaker 1: I've just been impressed watching him as a first year starter,
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  Speaker 1: in the calmness and the maturity that he shows. I
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  Speaker 1: think he's a really good football player, you know, And
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  Speaker 1: I actually know his dad. I know his dad's a
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  Speaker 1: really good human, really good ball coach, and so, I
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  Speaker 1: mean from everything I know, he's a great kid, comes
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  Speaker 1: from a great family, and I've just been impressed with
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  Speaker 1: his maturity and his confidence whenever he steps out there.
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  Speaker 5: In the ten days since Tennessee, have you guys analyzed
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  Speaker 5: your protocols or talked about how you can avoid what
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  Speaker 5: happened there with the interception when you wanted to run
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  Speaker 5: the ball but the ball got thrown instead and disaster happened.
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  Speaker 5: He changed anything or discussed what you can do to
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  Speaker 5: did not let that happen again.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, at the end of the day, that was my fault.
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  Speaker 1: I mean I called a run play there. They had
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  Speaker 1: eight humans in the box for bringing you know, pretty
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  Speaker 1: much pretty much had nine humans in the box bringing
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  Speaker 1: cover zero. I I gave the option to throw the
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  Speaker 1: ball right there. I mean, it's nobody else's fault but mine,
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  Speaker 1: you know. And I got to be better in that moment,
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  Speaker 1: in that situation. And uh I know that, and you
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  Speaker 1: know it's a good, good learning moment right there. But
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  Speaker 1: that one was on me.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Then I know you've.
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  Speaker 3: Kind of overlapped with Kaylin and Brian Grubb that when
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  Speaker 3: you guys book in Washington.
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  Speaker 1: That the first year there.
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  Speaker 5: Just I guess, what's your.
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  Speaker 2: Relationship, if any, with those guys, and what's it gonna be.
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  Speaker 3: Like going on't on the same option.
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  Speaker 1: Sidelines then again, Uh yeah, Coach to Boor and Coach Grubb,
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  Speaker 1: I think I've shaken their hand once, you know, I don't.
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  Speaker 1: I don't really have much of a like a personal
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  Speaker 1: relationship with them or anything like that. I respect the
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  Speaker 1: crap out of them. I think if you look at
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  Speaker 1: their their their resume, their coaching career, what they've been
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  Speaker 1: able to do in winning at a high level for
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  Speaker 1: a long time, I think that's really impressive, and that
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  Speaker 1: sustained success over time is the mark of an unbelievable coach,
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  Speaker 1: which both of them are. But I don't know them,
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  Speaker 1: you know, any which way. But I have a lot
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  Speaker 1: of respect for them what they do. I was able
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  Speaker 1: to coach against them in the Apple Cup and was
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  Speaker 1: that twenty twenty three, and they did an incredible job
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  Speaker 1: that year. So they're they're really they're intelligent ball coaches
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  Speaker 1: and put their their teams in position to win a lot.
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  Speaker 1: So defensive line, I know.
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  Speaker 3: You've always have a lot you want to accomplished with
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  Speaker 3: a by lead, but the first bye week seemed like
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  Speaker 3: it was as much about health and and just getting
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  Speaker 3: everybody brand backed up. How different or not was this
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  Speaker 3: by week when you've got some younger pieces that you're
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  Speaker 3: you're trying to build that chemistry and kind of keep
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  Speaker 3: pushing that momentum forward from a really good.
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  Speaker 2: Show in Knoxville.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you just have to have to demand a lot
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  Speaker 1: at practice. You know. Again, like I said, the bye week,
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  Speaker 1: it's really easy for it to go one of two ways.
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  Speaker 1: It can go one way where the kids are like, ah, man,
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  Speaker 1: it's the bye week. I'm gonna, you know, get through it,
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  Speaker 1: enjoy my vacation, and come back ready to work after that.
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  Speaker 1: Or it can go the other way where it's, hey,
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  Speaker 1: we're attacking everything we do today, and I think the
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  Speaker 1: culture and our locker room and our building and from
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  Speaker 1: our head football coach, it almost forces that number two,
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  Speaker 1: which is the best. And it's no different with coach
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  Speaker 1: beatingbone that offensive line. I thought we were able to
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  Speaker 1: do a lot of really good things to build off
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  Speaker 1: of what we've been able to do really the last
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  Speaker 1: month in that room. But at the same time, those
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  Speaker 1: are still some young kids in there, so being able
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  Speaker 1: to get them reps at things that they need to
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  Speaker 1: see from the past or you know, trying to predict
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  Speaker 1: the future of what they might see. Just being able
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  Speaker 1: to get them looks at that stuff to keep on
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  Speaker 1: building experience was huge. But like I said, those kids
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  Speaker 1: really came and attacked the work and got after it.
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  Speaker 1: So I'm proud of them and just excited to go
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  Speaker 1: play another ball game. Yeah, very niche question.
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  Speaker 4: But on Game D is you always have a.
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  Speaker 1: Red and blue pen? What? What was the story behind that?
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  Speaker 5: What?
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  Speaker 1: Why do you do that? How to start? Yeah? I didn't,
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  Speaker 1: I don't. I mean I didn't know it was really
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  Speaker 1: going to be like a thing thing, But people have
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  Speaker 1: asked me about that a lot. I don't know. I Uh,
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  Speaker 1: the red pin, I I cross off a plate, don't
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  Speaker 1: run that play again, whether it's maybe a one hitter,
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  Speaker 1: like oh well, a it hit, there's no way it'll
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  Speaker 1: they'll fall for that again, or that was stupid, like
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  Speaker 1: don't run that. Uh? And then the blue pen circle
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  Speaker 1: it okay, Hey, maybe come back to this one or
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  Speaker 1: my blue pen. I write notes, Hey, maybe this isn't
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  Speaker 1: in the game plan, but what but what they've been
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  Speaker 1: showing us, Hey, let's get to this right here. And
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  Speaker 1: I put it on my necklace because I don't want
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  Speaker 1: to be digging around in my pockets the whole time.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: I can just grab and go. But I guess it
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  Speaker 1: kind of turned into a thing where I'm the red
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  Speaker 1: pin bluepen guy. So I just started doing it on
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  Speaker 1: my own. I mean the red pin bluepen came from mentor, Like,
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  Speaker 1: why he does what he does on his game sheets,
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  Speaker 1: but put it on my necklace. Yeah, I just conveniences. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: the G two, it's the best best penn and ball.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Uh.
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  Speaker 2: But he hasn't become a big receiving target yet.
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  Speaker 1: But what is Caden Helms meant to get in the
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  Speaker 1: running game going in the last Oh? I mean, he
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  Speaker 1: he's an older guy, you know. I know he's battled
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  Speaker 1: through some injuries and stuff, but he's an older guy.
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  Speaker 1: He's practiced a lot of football, so he comes with
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  Speaker 1: the great maturity about him to what practice is, and
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  Speaker 1: he brings it every day in practice. I mean, he
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  Speaker 1: he's he's constantly being physical, going as hard as he can,
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  Speaker 1: straining through the echo of the whistle. And that stuff
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  Speaker 1: translates to game day and that stuff helps the run game.
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  Speaker 1: You know, way back when, like a month and a
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: half ago, two months ago, whenever I was getting asked
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  Speaker 1: about the run game, and I said, it's not just
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  Speaker 1: the old line, it's everybody. I mean, that's a prime
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  Speaker 1: example of how it's everybody. Caden Helms and Carson Kent
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  Speaker 1: and Jaron Cannick. They're all the same way. But we
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: had to get better at it. And I had to
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: get better at those three things that I just mentioned,
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  Speaker 1: straining through the whistle, being physical, being violent, and doing
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  Speaker 1: that at practice and taking into the game. And Cayden
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: exemplifies that. He's come in since his hand got better,
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  Speaker 1: been a willing practice guy out there really been almost
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  Speaker 1: a standard of what you need to be at practice,
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  Speaker 1: and I think it's translated to game game day really well.
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  Speaker 1: And I'm really proud of him. I'm just proud of
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  Speaker 1: the football that he's playing and the amount of football
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  Speaker 1: he's getting to play because I know that means a
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  Speaker 1: lot to him, just because he's been hurt a lot
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  Speaker 1: throughout his career. So it's just really fun to see
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  Speaker 1: for him.
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  Speaker 2: Then, you guys have been in tough road environments before,
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  Speaker 2: at Tennessee, at South Carolina, another one this weekend, But
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  Speaker 2: just overall, what stands out about Alabama specifically what they
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  Speaker 2: do defensively?
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  Speaker 1: Oh man, they are a talented defensive bunch. I mean
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  Speaker 1: you turn on the film and and their speed and
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: physicality and length all over the field and and they
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: do an unbelievable job of trying to make your quarterback
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  Speaker 1: feel chaos, and you know, it's it's an impressive defensive
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: scheme that they run. Coach Walmack does a great job.
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  Speaker 1: He's done a great job for a really really long time.
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  Speaker 1: But just the way that he, you know, puts his
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: players in position to be successful. How how it's a
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: constant chess match, you know, between the offense and the
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: defense specifically, you know, whenever he's calling the plays for
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: the defense, how it's a great chess match of you know,
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: he's trying to get into the right call as as
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: as the other teams are trying to get into the
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: right call. But he does a great job of putting
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: them in position to be successful and and use their
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: athletic abilities that that will allow them to play free
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: and fast and confident. So that's what sends out to me.
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  Speaker 1: They're really talented, uh, really long, really athletic, really physical.
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: Cause a lot of a lot of chaos and uh,
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: but that all starts from the coach putting them in
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  Speaker 1: a position to where they can all use their athletic ability.
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  Speaker 2: So a lot of chaos, you guys have been able
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: to run the ball pretty well in some of these
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: tough road environments. Just how much does that maybe build
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: confidence going into an.
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  Speaker 1: Atmosphere like this that I mean, sure, yeah, it builds
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  Speaker 1: builds some confidence. And I still think we have so
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: much that we have to get better at. But it
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: goes back to you know what I've said a lot,
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: whenever you're able to run the football, everything seems to
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  Speaker 1: just become not easier. But you stay on schedule more
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: and you're able to be more efficient, but you know
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: it still ain't good enough. We we we got to
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: get better. We gotta. We have to keep on demanding
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: it from our kids, demanding the strain at practice because
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: it will pay off during games. And we just we
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: have to keep on improving in that area because it
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: helps everyone else. It helps the offense out, helps the
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: defense out, helps the special teams out, helps everyone out.
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: So we just got to keep on getting better at it. Then,
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: going back to.
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  Speaker 4: The first bye week, you know, you guys were dealing
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: with John's injury and getting Michael in.
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: How big was it for John this.
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: Week to be healthy and you know, get a full
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: by week to you know, kind of calm down.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: And get back into this floor. Yeah, I think it's big.
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: You know. That first bye week, I mean just kind
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: of a lot of stuff was up, you know, up
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: in the air here and there, and uh, but I
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: thought I thought our kids handled that really well. But
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: this bye week, it's nice to uh, you know, just
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: be a little bit a little bit healthier at certain
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: certain positions and a little bit more you know, setting
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: stone in a lot of things. We're able to attack
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: this bye week a lot differently than we were the
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: last one. Uh. But again, it just comes down to
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: the kids and how they they came to work. The
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: young men, how they came to work. They they they
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: attacked it. They were they were really locked and locked
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  Speaker 1: in during meetings, and then they took it out to
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: practice and had a great practice. So, you know, I'm
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: just proud of how they came to work because that
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: sets the tone for a bye week and can set
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  Speaker 1: the tone for the rest of the season. I'm just
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: really proud of how they came to work. Appreciate y'all.
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: Boomer