Sept. 29, 2016
Where are you at with the production of these tight ends? Are you pleased with how they are progressing or is it about where you thought they would be?
Rahne: I think it's a process when you doing something new. We have been able to get them a little bit more involved then maybe they have been in the past could of years and Mike [Gesicki] has done a nice job making some plays. As a coach and a player, you're never satisfied and there are some times where you could have run a route a little better or done something a little different at the line of scrimmage that would have helped us get open and given us a chance to make another play.
At this point, I've been happy with what they have been doing and more importantly, I've been happy with how they have responded in practice in trying to get better each and every week.
What has the difference been Mike [Gesicki] this year because he has always been someone who seems like he has the physical talent but he has really pulled it all together this year?
Rahne: I think it's just a mindset and playing with a lot of confidence. He'd always been confident in his athletic ability and things like that and he has always worked really hard. Now he's able to go out there and know that I've earned this and I've earned my opportunity to go out there and make plays and when the ball is coming my way, I've earned the right to be open.
I think it's just a lot of confidence that he has, not only in himself but in the hard work that he has put in. I think that right now that's the main difference.
Have you had a chance to look at Minnesota's passing game and what are you expecting there?
Rahne: I've looked at their defense, obviously. I haven't much on the other side but defensively, they present some good challenges. They mix in man coverage with off zone and they are able to mix those up pretty well. You don't really know which ones they are going to be in from play to play. Their coaches are over there making sure that their guys are in the positions that they are supposed to be in. They are a very fundamentally sound team.
You have to make sure that you are able to get to the spots that you need to get to or else they are going to be able to cover some things up. As a general rule, they are going to try and make their zone play a little bit different and make you throw in front and then come up and tackle you so you have to be able to get the ball in space and have our guys catch it on the run or catch it in a good spot and be able to take it up the field and get extra yardage. As always, you have to win versus man coverage, whether that's getting guys open with route schemes or whether it's having guys get open with technique and things like that. You have to mix that up, it can't always be team oriented, you have to do some technique things that we've been working out.
I'm curious about John Holland - when you had him on the field, how did you feel about him when he was on the field and how is he progressing?
Rahne: I think John is doing a nice job. I've been pleased when he has gone into the game both on special teams and on offense. He has not had a whole lot of opportunities yet, but one thing he has done is that he has prepared well in practice and things like that. He is getting reps in practice and he is doing a nice job there. I have been pleased with his progress, it's funny because he is still young and you always these kids to perform right how and nobody wants them to more than me and them. But he's still a young kid and I'm really happy with where he is at right now and I've even more excited about where he is going to be in the future because of the progress that he has made over the last two or three months.
We've heard so much from James Franklin and his teammates about how steady Trace McSorley is and obviously the pride that he takes in playing the quarterback position. From your time with him, could you illuminate that for us either with a story or a behind the scenes example to what he has been able to do in his position that demonstrates that pride?
Rahne: I've known him for a long time, I've been recruiting him since he was a junior in high school. I've known him for a long time and really, he doesn't change. He hasn't changed since he was a junior in high school and sort of those things in terms a coach and mentality and things like that. He is calm and his team could have won by 40 like they usually did in high school or his team could have lost one of the rare games, which they didn't - but you could sense the competitive fire but there wasn't any sort of panic in his voice.
He prepared last year as the backup to Christian [Hackenberg] and he was ready to go. You could ask him a question at any time and he was going to know the answer on the coverages and things like that. I could talk to him at halftime and ask him what he thought he was seeing and he could give me an answer. I know he and Christian bounced stuff off each other and Christian had a lot of respect for him and valued his opinion.
I think that one of the things you can see is that he is a very competitive kid and very well respected by his teammates. I think that is how you can measure a leader, in things like that because just because you're the quarterback it doesn't automatically make you a leader. You have to earn that and Trace's approach over the last two years has been that.
I know he is out for the year but I'm wondering about Nick Bowers and what kinds of things can you do to keep him involved?
Rahne: He still comes to meetings and I still ask him questions in meetings. I'm not going to let him slip, I still give him a weekly test every week as if he was playing in the game. He does a nice job on that, but obviously he is not going to be able to do some of the physical things like that but I'm still going to ask him things, he still takes notes and does all those sorts of things. I've talked about how he can't let this be a wasted year and anything he can pick up mentally and store away is something that's going to help him in the future and grab a silver lining for something that none of us wanted. Nick wants to play football. It's probably the thing he wants most in the world so It's a difficult time on him, but it's one of those things where it's being an adult and things don't always go your way but you have to make the most of a bad situation.
We didn't get much of a chance to see Nick can you give us a scouting report and what type of player is he? How is he handling this stuff kind of psychologically?
Rahne: I think it's tough for any of us, when you work really hard for something and then it gets taken away from you before you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor, so to speak. He is big physical kid who brings some pop in the run game and things like that. He is a much better receiver than I think people might imagine. That's probably where he excels the most. He can run routes has good speed, good hands. He is very good when he has the ball in his hands in terms of breaking tackles and things like that. Nick's going to have a bright future here, he is going to come back from this thing. Nobody is putting in more time and effort than that kid into making sure that he comes back right and I'm excited to see what he is going to give us here in the future. It's been a hard time on him, but he's also a kid you can always find smiling and still a happy guy. Guys on the team love him and they are there to support him every step of the way and I think that's also important.
Being that it is your first season being as tight ends coach, how is it that you are liking it and the best part of the job?
Rahne: I coached tight ends for two years at Kansas State and to be real honest, I love it. I loved it when I was there and I like it now. When Coach Moorhead got the job, I kind of brought it up that I not only could, but that I wanted to do it. like tight ends, you're able to be in every aspect of the game. The run game, the pass protection, the routes - you're able to coach physicality and get excited. When you're coaching quarterbacks sometimes you have to be a little bit more muted in terms of the motion and things like that. I played the game with a lot of passion and I prefer to coach it that way too. I'm able to do that a little bit more at tight end. I'm enjoying it. It's something that the tight ends probably get sick of, but I'm able to coach every little first step, hand placement and all those types of things and so I'm having a great time. I like it a lot.
You mentioned the importance of always defeating man coverage and I know it was a difficulty last week for a variety of reasons with a good Michigan defense. When you made those corrections on Sunday, what was the biggest point of emphasis going through that process after the game?
Rahne: It's like anything else, if you get outside of your technique and you do things kind of outside of what you would normally do because you're trying to man coverage because you want to win so bad that maybe you're feet or your hands aren't where they are supposed to be. You're a little bit higher than you should be and things like that. You're not getting the depth on the route instead of threading them vertically. All those things kind of add up and when you look back at it, that's what it was. It was a step here or a step there. It was a missed swat with your hand as you cleared him. It wasn't backing the guy when you did clear him or It was breaking the route off at 10 when it should have gone to 12. Little things like that. In a game when you're playing a good opponent like Michigan and like all of the teams in the Big Ten, you have to make sure you do all of those things right and that's really the difference. That's what we have focused on in coaching this week in practice, it's doing all those little things from the stance all the way to the finish.
I know that you and Christian [Hackenberg] were close, have you had any contact with him in the last few months to see how things were going?
Rhane: I have talked to him a few times. When my wife and I went to Fire Island to see one of my friends this summer we stopped by and had lunch with him in New Jersey. He seemed good, obviously not playing all that much and those sort of things, but he kind of understood and I think he is doing good with it mentally and those sort of things. He is approaching things like a pro and during the season, all my people I I know and love, I fall out of contact with a little bit and he's kind of the same way but we still stay in contact and things like that. Short and sweet, but I know he is enjoying it, learning a lot and really enjoying his time there.