Opening Statement
Appreciate everybody coming out. Got a great turnout, so very, very appreciative of you guys coming out and supporting Penn State Football and following our program.
We keep knocking away at projects throughout the program. If you guys haven't been into the stadium, one of the things I'm really excited about is we ripped up -- it turned into a big project -- but we ripped up all that turf around the field that needs to be there for TV and things like that.
It was kind of the old school turf, like your grandma had on her back porch, and that was problematic at times where guys would need to try to stop coming off the field after running a route and would slip on it, and it was hard.
So we were able to get all that up, and just another thing where we are kind of improving the program very specifically from a player safety and health perspective that we take very, very serious.
Another one you guys will see at practice today are the Guardian Caps that we got for everybody. It's an outer layer that goes over the top of their helmet that we've added, as well, this year. We've done the ProTech helmets forever. You guys have seen them and they are the ones that are the extra layer on the outside of the helmet that looks just like our helmets.
So I'm really pleased with all these projects that we keep knocking out that I think are very important for our program moving forward, and most importantly to take care of our players and make sure that they are healthy and safe and happy in their development. So I feel really good about that.
Got a couple announcements that I'm not sure if you are aware, but Jemal Griffin who has been with me since day one, been a friend. Jemal was a head high school coach at Woodlawn High School in Maryland when I was at the University of Maryland and came on and has been with me ever since. Done a great job as Chief of Staff for us.
Jemal has been fortunate to be able to get a job and is going to be leaving to go to St. Thomas University in Minnesota as a senior associate athletic director. This was a goal and objective of his to get into administration and couldn't be happier for him and his family and Kevin Threlkel has been promoted into his position.
Our big kind of philosophy this year, our mantra this year that we are going to talk about all the time is "championship habits." Just big believers in the habits that our guys have on and off the field that are really going to allow them to be successful in both areas, as well. So it's all of it. It's all of the little things, all the details. It's how we practice. It's how we meet. It's how we prepare. It's how we are in the community. It's how we are in class sitting in the front row taking notes early, all those things.
So that's going to be something you're probably going to hear all year long is our championship habits mantra that we are going to keep hammering home.
Some objectives in the different phases. On offense we want to make sure we establish a championship two-deep at all positions. That's critical, in our conference and this level of football, you have to develop depth. That's going to be important for us to do. We got started yesterday. I thought it was a good first day, but obviously we still have a lot of work to do.
Two guys I want to give some love to that probably aren't getting a whole lot of it, and should, and are deserving, [Nick] Bowers. Bowers is a guy that had a bunch of injuries throughout his career and has battled through them and his family has been unbelievable and he's been unbelievable. I think he's going to have a huge year for us. He's also a guy that's a senior, and again, has had a lot of adversity and has battled through it and has just been a fantastic teammate. He's been a fantastic student here and in the community, and I think he's going to have a huge year for us this year. I wanted to bring him up.
I also wanted to bring up [Steven] Gonzalez. He had a decision to make at the end of last year. I think he made the right decision and came back. Really excited about his experience and development. Excited about what he's going to do in camp from a leadership perspective, and I think he's going to have a big year for us as well.
On defense, continue to be aggressive with our opponents on the other side of the line of scrimmage in terms of tackles for loss, and sacks, but also, we've got to minimize some of the explosive plays and obviously be more consistent against the run. That's going to be a big focus for us this year.
A couple guys I want to mention, as well. Shane Simmons, a similar background as Bowers. Has battled a bunch of injuries the last couple years. Every year we go into the season saying it's going to be his breakout year, and he's as healthy as he's been since we recruited him. You're going to see him. He looks beautiful. He's 260 pounds. Moving extremely well.
So really, really excited. I think that's going to be a name that you guys see in practice and it's going to be a name that I think is going to have a chance to have an exciting year for us.
The other guy not getting talked enough about is Shaka Toney, a guy within our program, has got so much respect, is so explosive. He's great for our offense, tackles with his get-off and his speed. Tested really well this off-season. Think he's going to have a huge year for us.
And then John Reid is the other one. John is a guy, obviously coming back off injury yesterday at practice. Not only did he look as good as he did pre-injury but better from an experience, from a maturity, from an understanding of our defense and our culture.
Then obviously on special teams, continue to establish our CTG, the "change the game" culture, that Coach [Joe] Lorig has brought to us and excited about how good we can be on special teams.
Last year we were depending on two true freshmen to have significant roles in specialist positions. Obviously we're in a much different position this year, and you know, I think Joe and those guys are going to have a huge impact.
Looking forward to it. Excited about it. Obviously we've got a lot of work to do ahead of us. Again, I want to thank you guys for all coming out and supporting us. I also want to thank the administration, Sandy Barbour and President [Eric] Barron, and then Scott Sidwell, who is new with us and doing a great job, as well.
I think we are really starting to kind of hit our stride in terms of understanding what everybody expects, standards, how we work together, how efficient we are, and that's been a real positive, so pleased with that.
Q: Could you take us through the logistics of how you pick a starting place kicker, and could you address who is in that and how important that role is, given some of the struggles you may have had last year?
JF: What we will typically do, it's probably no different than any other position. So we have our individual periods and things like that. We bring them over to the stadium. I think it's important that they get to kick in the stadium, as well, during practice. So we do those things.
But just like every other position, we chart and grade everything. So we chart and grade everything. That allows us to -- you know, we have a gut feeling of what we think, but then we can go back and actually check the data. At this level, everybody in our organization, everybody in our program, can do it. It's the level of consistency. It's, you know, who is the guy that's going to do it the most consistent to give our team the best position to be successful. There may be a guy that can hit a 60-yarder but obviously the value is the guy that can hit 40 yards and in at a very, very high rate.
Kickoff, obviously, with a lot of the new rules and things like that -- we were able to get a transfer in Mr. [Jordan] Stout from Virginia Tech. He was fourth in the country last year in kickoffs, so we got some experience there. At the end of the day, these guys will kick and we will track all of them. We typically end practice with a competitive period in front of their peers. A lot of times we'll do it for running to put some pressure on those guys, and obviously under those conditions, as well, it's magnified.
So game-winning field goals, kickoffs, punts, same type of thing with specific hang time, specific distances that we're looking for, and at the end of the day, you're looking for who is going to be the most consistent in practice and ultimately, you hope that translates to most consistent in games.
Q: What are the positives and negatives of having such a young football team?
JF: So obviously, the positives are you've got a bunch of guys that are hungry and are excited and that have something to really prove and got a chip on their shoulder. I don't think there's any doubt about that. Obviously the negatives, are you lack experience, and experience counts and experience matters. There's no doubt about it.
Experience playing major college football, experience playing in Beaver Stadium, experience playing in all these different venues that we are going to go to on the road, that is a factor. There's no doubt about it. But that's our job. Our job is to help these guys gain as much experience and as much confidence as we possibly can, and also create depth.
So that's the other area, probably will show up on special teams. You know, a lot of times, those guys that you're looking for from a depth perspective on offense and defense, they may have significant roles on special teams, and it's impacted our depth there. There's no doubt about it. I think there's arguments that you can make in both directions. Obviously for us, we're focused on all the positives, but we have an awareness, obviously, of the challenges that come with it.
Q: What are your overall thoughts on the secondary going into camp and is depth a concern at that position?
JF: I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't feel that way for a number of reasons that I'll cover.
The first thing I'll say is it has a chance to be a strength. We went into this feeling really good about the corner position. I also am s big believer that it's the earliest place on the defensive side of the ball to make an impact as a young player. I think you look at the corners we've been able to recruit and develop, I think those guys are going to be able to come in here and compete right away.
I like our depth, our length, our talent at the corner position. We went into spring ball feeling like we had some question marks at safety, but then after spring, we felt like we were probably a little bit further along there than we thought, and then obviously we got some guys that have joined our program in the summer that are going to help add to that, as well. So I think we are going into this thing with a lot of confidence. In our secondary, GT [Garrett Taylor] has had a great summer. He looks unbelievable. He's as lean and explosive and as fast as he's been and he obviously has tremendous experience.
And obviously that other position with Lamont Wade, [Jaquan] Brisker, [Jonathan] Sutherland, a number of guys that have played and also we think have a chance to make an impact for us. We feel good. Obviously we still have got a lot of work to do and we have to gain experience with those guys and get them really confident and comfortable with our schemes and what to expect. But I know [safeties] Coach [Tim] Banks and I know [corner backs] Coach [Terry] Smith feel good.
Q. Going back to the youth, does that result in young leadership?
JF: Yeah, it impacts that. There are guys that are thrust into leadership roles that probably under typical situations would not be; KJ Hamler is a guy like that, for example. He's kind of the old guy at the position in some ways right now.
So yeah, I think you're always putting a priority on developing leadership through your entire roster, when you have a big team like football with 125 guys too -- that goes back to our philosophy of having not just two seniors as captains, because you want to make sure that you're having an impact, and being able to relate across your roster from freshmen all the way through seniors, offense, defense and special teams and all of it.
There's guys that are definitely thrust into roles that under -- and I don't even know if I want to say normal because there's a new normal now in college football with a lot of the rules. But it's probably going to be, you know, at least similar for the next couple years until we change the rules again.
Q: [Yetur] Gross-Matos is obviously expected to have a pretty big season for you guys. What have you seen from him so far and is there any certain that maybe his time away from the team might hinder his development at all?
JF: Yeah, obviously you want as much time with guys as you possibly can. But he's a mature guy. He's had a great summer. From what I see, he looked great yesterday. I know he's appreciative of being back.
I think he's going to have a really big year for us. As the year went on last year, really started to kind of separate himself I think into one of the more elite defensive ends in college football. He's a lean -- I think he told me yesterday, he's 255 pounds. He's been as big as 265. I could see him playing 260 this year. We're very pleased with him. Very pleased with him and his development and his appreciation for being at Penn State and his appreciation for being a part of our football program and his attitude and approach.
He's always been a guy that always got a smile on his face. I think you guys probably read a bunch of different stories about his background. I think because of that background, he probably has a different sense of appreciation than maybe the rest of us, but we are expecting big things out of him.
Q: How is Ricky Rahne different from how he was last year? Did you want him to go outside of the program in the off-season and gather new information and ideas?
JF: Yeah, we always try to do that. We try to go outside, but we also do it inside. We bring a lot of people in. We have two NFL coaches with us right now. We had an NFL coach with us yesterday. Friends that I have, friends that Ricky has, guys that I've worked with, you know, that have opportunity to be able to visit with us. We went and visited other programs, as well.
But I think there's no doubt, year two, as a play caller, obviously makes a difference. I think every assistant coach feels like they know what it takes to be a coordinator. Every coordinator, assistant coach feels like they know what it takes to be a head coach until you sit in those chairs and those seats and have that type of responsibility, it's different.
I think in year two, you know, Ricky learned a lot over the last 12 months. As you know, I got tremendous amount of belief and faith in Ricky. We've been together for I think 11 years and I've watched him develop, and I know how talented he is. I think everybody in our program, within our walls, is extremely excited about the steps that we can take offensively.
Q: Compared to when you started out as an assistant, which is a while ago, assistants have so much opportunity to move up and climb the ladder and get exponentially more money. Have you changed your philosophy on what you can do. Even Nick Saban can't hang on to guys because they are constantly job hopping and they have the incentive to do so. Is there anything you've tried to do in the last few years to mitigate that in any way and just hang on to guys?
JF: Well, yeah. I think that's discussions that me and [Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics] Sandy [Barbour] and [Deputy Director of Athletics] Scott [Sidwell] are having all the time. I think it's conversations that I have with my staff all the time. I think the guys on my staff that are older, experienced coaches, seasoned, I'd call them, that have been around; I think sometimes as a young coach, that growth and that opportunity is important, but also, you have to be careful because sometimes you're at a place like Penn State and you may take it for granted, and then the rest of your career, you're trying to get back to a place like Penn State.
And we've all made those mistakes. Especially when you're working with good people and you're working at a good place that really cares. You're working with a great group of young men that we get to work with. So it's just balance. You know, it's discussions. I'm very transparent with recruiting. I talk to recruits about college football and the nature of it. They are committing to me; they are committing to the university; they are committing to the program and our players, and I want our coaches to stay at Penn State as long as we possibly can.
To me, there's a difference. If guys are leaving for clear promotions, then it's a no-brainer and it should be a decision that everybody is excited about and everybody embraces, and our players see it and are happy for them and we're happy for them, the administration.
What we have to work hard at is we don't have the lateral moves. They are the ones that I think are challenging. A guy that's an assistant coach and is going to be a play calling coordinator; we want that; I want that for them and their family if that's their objective. Guys that are leaving to be head coach, we want that for them.
We have to create an environment here as much as we possibly can, that guys are happy here, they feel appreciated, and that we have an awareness -- my biggest thing is that we are having an awareness of what the market is. You know, what the market is like nationally, what the market is like in the teams that we would consider peer institutions and things like that. And we don't have to lead the pack, but we need to be in that conversation, if that makes sense.
Q: I'm curious, how do you envision KJ Hamler's role potentially being a little bit different this year. We saw you moved him around in the spring. How do you expect him to take on an expanded role in that group?
JF: Obviously the first thing is, you know, him having the ability to be great at the slot position.
Also, having the flexibility -- Mac Hippenhammer is back obviously being with Coach [Rob] Cooper and the baseball program. Had a great year. He's just one of those guys, he's a natural football player. It makes sense to him. The game makes sense to him, very similar to baseball, as well. I could see us in some situations where we want to get Mac on the field, so that may be 10-personnel, or we want to get Mac on the field and we want to move KJ outside. It could be for a specific match-up that game. It could be things that we are trying to get done and trying to get the ball in his hands where now he becomes the first option in the quarterback's progression.
That's where we're a little bit different, my old West Coast offense background. It was about personnel and matchups and getting people into specific spots. You know, when I was offensive coordinator at K-State, Jordy Nelson who played for me, who had a great NFL career and one year, Jordy had I think 122 catches for 1,600 yards and we just moved him around. Where our offense is about speed and lining up and getting the defensive lineup so we can get the best call in.
So it's a little bit different philosophy from that standpoint, but from week-to-week, it could be a situation or specific play where we do want to move him outside or in the slot. And then obviously we think he can be, you know, a tremendous punt returner and tremendous kick returner, as well. So now you're in a situation where he's getting enough touches per game both at wide receiver, both at kick return, both at punt return, as well, for him to make an impact.
Q: Micah Parsons played a significant role last year in your defense and looks like he will play a bigger role possibly this year. What do you see in him?
JF: I think about how much production he had last year and he never played linebacker before in his life. So how much more confident -- that's one of the things I talked to the team about the other day. I said, listen, I have so much belief in you guys and in our organization and our university and our team, and I have that belief because I see how you guys go about your business every single day, both on and off the field, how you are in the community, how you are in community service. You know, went down to [the Hershey] Children's Hospital. I'm so proud of our guys of how they conducted themselves and carried themselves.
I also know when I go around the room, Micah Parsons, how much better are you right now than you were at this time last year. Jahan Dotson, he was telling me in the weight room the other day he went back and watched his first couple weeks of practice and it was embarrassing watching himself on film and here is a guy that played for us as a true freshman. I could go on and on, naming guys, how much better they are and we relied on a bunch of inexperienced guys.
I agree with you guys, we are a young team, but we relied on a bunch of inexperienced players last year and they are all a year older. So that's one of the reasons I'm so confident is I know what they have done. I mean, Chris Stoll I think is a great story. You're going to see today, that guy has dramatically changed his body. He's more athletic. Our body fats have plummeted. [Assistant AD for Nutrition Services] Kayla [Martin] and her staff have done a fantastic job for us in those areas.
That was a big part of my meetings at the end of the year. I meet with every single player and go over their academics, some social things, I go over football, I go over every single things and one of the big things with each guy was setting goals of body fat. Des Holmes came running into my office because he dropped his body fat like dramatically. And as you can imagine, when you do that, your athleticism increases. And I know our guys are confident right now.
So you know, there's a lot of really good things going on from a lot of different perspectives, but I'm proud. I'm proud of them.
Q: There was a report yesterday that indicated Beaver Stadium might host a high school game or games this fall? What are your thoughts on that?
JF: Yeah, so obviously, our No. 1 focus is on Penn State and our football program and our athletic department and our university. So we are not going to do anything that would cause challenges or issues there.
But obviously when we can be great partners in our community and when we can be great partners in our state, and provide a great experience, you know, in this community and for the State of Pennsylvania, and something that's going to promote athletics and something that's going to promote college football and high school football in our state, you know, we want to try to do it. I don't think it's going to be something you see very often but there's going to be some times where it does make sense. I do think there's been some discussions that me and Scott [Sidwell] have had. We'd love to get to the point at some point that maybe we're able to host state championship games here.
I think there's a lot of reasons why that makes sense. We're in the center part of the state. I think it would be exciting for kids to have the opportunity to do that, and you see that in other states, as well. So there's some opportunities there and we're going to look at them.
Again, I don't think you'll see us doing a whole lot of this, but there's going to be some times where it makes sense and we want to be a great partner.
Q: Quarterback question. Three years with Trace McSorley. Can you talk about [Sean] Clifford, [Will] Levis, what goes into you being comfortable with naming a starting quarterback and how that is all going to evolve between now and Idaho?
JF: Really, exactly how we have always done. It first of all, I want to thank Trace McSorley and his family for the type of teammate he was, the type of player he was, type of student he was. He was the model, he really was, in a lot of different ways. I actually just talked to David Culley yesterday who is a good friend of mine who is with the Ravens, and 'how do you guys think Trace is doing?' He's still doing the things that we watched, we were fortunate to be a part of for three years. He's making great decisions. He's making plays and he's putting the offense in position to be successful. So couldn't be more proud of him.
I also think it's been very valuable, obviously, for Clifford and Levis, specifically, to watch that guy and how he prepared for the last couple years. The type of teammate he was, the type of competitor he was, all of it. So you know, for us, every single position, we are going to compete like crazy and give everybody opportunities to try to increase their role or to try to win a job, whatever that may be or whatever that may look like. And we'll make the decision at the time that it's most appropriate for our team, but then also most appropriate for that guy, as well, because there's also leadership components that come with that position.
The good thing is both of them are approaching it the right way. They are both approaching it as if they are the starter and they are both approaching it from a leadership perspective and both are very talented. We are excited about that.
When we will name a quarterback, I can't tell you. We will do it when it's obvious to everybody. Sometimes you get in tough situations, when it's not obvious, it's a close call. That's when we get together as a staff and make that decision and move forward. But I don't know the timeline of that. Obviously the earlier, the better, for everyone involved. But we have also been impressed with Ta'Quon [Roberson] and Michael Johnson, as well. Obviously we're going to need at least one of those guys to step up and prepare as if they are the starter, as well, and be ready to play this year. Hopefully you're in a situation where you can redshirt but we'll see how that plays out.
Then I do want to mention a guy named [Michael] Shuster, who you guys probably haven't gotten a chance to get to know a whole lot, but he has been fantastic. He is a great leader in the quarterback room. He's like having another coach. He's great with the young guys. He's great when it comes to game planning. He's a culture driver.
He's a guy that's going to go on and be very, very successful. He's already been offered a job after he graduates, but you know -- we try to talk about that a lot, about, you know, there's obviously the starting quarterback and everybody understands the significance of that position, and the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator, starting defensive end or middle linebacker or head coach or whatever it may be, and we all have different roles, but every role in the entire organization is significant and its impactful and it's going to have a profound, you know, profound impact on our team this year. We cannot win without the scout team corner coming to practice every single day and bringing something to the team. And that guy Saturday night, you know, after we win, should be just as proud as anybody else because they know everybody played a huge role in that, and that's a lot of people that are in this room today, as well. That's our support staff. That's the administration. That's all of us.
So Shuster is a guy I wanted to mention, as well, because he's been a fantastic teammate and member of our program and our organization. But as soon as we know, we'll make the announcement to you guys, as well, because I know you need that information to do your jobs, too. I also think it maybe sells papers that you guys can kind of tease it out there for a while, act like you have the answer and then don't and make people open the page. So whatever you guys need, we'll give it to you.
Q: How was your summer? Did you do anything interesting or different or way from football?
JF: To the second part of your question first, me and [running backs coach] Ja'Juan Seider and [wide receivers coach] Gerad Parker, we do kind of our little old man work out every day where we do like eight curls and eight military press, and then we do a walk around campus and it's pretty kind of, you know, quiet and nice little sleepy college town for the most part in the summer, and we walk around and it's good.
We get to talk, get some exercise, but as you can see, as the summer goes on, it starts -- you can feel the change. You can feel the students coming back in and the people coming back in and obviously Gerad coming from Duke, him and his family, they are enjoying it. I'm just trying to explain to them, you know, you are going to notice a difference each week and the electricity and the excitement starts to build in this town. So that's great.
But stuff this summer, not a whole lot. Just you know, a bunch of family time. A bunch of family time. When we were able to get away, we did our camps and clinics and things we always do, but we were able to get away with my wife and kids and extended friends and families, and we have gotten to the point now where we are maybe a little bit weird like this, but a lot of the coaches and the staff, we vacation together.
You know, they come and hang out, where I think a lot of places, the last person you want to see is the guy you work for. I think that says a lot about our culture. You know, as much time as we spend together, we really try to create a family atmosphere. I just left the office and Coach Parker has like 16 children and they are all up in the office running around. We had dinner the other night, all the staff's wives, families, were there for dinner, which was great.
But for me, it was just family time. I don't spend enough time with my wife and kids year round; I think you guys have heard me say it before, I have a significant amount of coach guilt and then it goes to the summertime and they have been begging for me all year long and then they go from not having me enough, to having a full dose of James Franklin, and like after the first three hours, they are like, can't you go back to work, we've had about enough of your butt.
But I will tell you this. I did get my -- like we probably all have, I got my rear-end chewed the first night because I had not got off my phone, I had not got off e-mail and text messages, and I did what we all do. I blamed Sandy [Barbour]. I said, "Oh, yeah, Sandy sends me too many messages."
But I got my butt ripped that first night and that was probably the best thing for me because I was probably better this summer than I had ever been. I would wake up early before Fumi and the kids got up, try to respond all my e-mails and text massages. As you guys know, you've got 125 guys, there's always something going on. So try to get up in the morning, do that, and then try to put my phone on the side of the bed and then go out and do what whatever we were going to do for the day and come back at night and respond to whatever messages I had.
I probably had more quality family time this summer and I think that's something we are probably all trying to do in our profession is find balance. I would not necessarily say that I have year round balance but trying to do it when it's right, and when it's possible, it needs to be a priority.
I can't talk out of both sides of my mouth. I can't tell our players that they need to be present and when they are in meetings to be in meetings and maximize that meeting; and when you're in practice -- when you're in class, be in class and maximize that moment and I don't do it with my family. An opportunity to look in the mirror and get better and make sure that I'm living what I preach.
Q: You've lost one of the greatest leaders this program has had. You mentioned KJ [Hamler] as a leader. Where else is the leadership coming from, and do you think it will be an issue finding that leadership and filling that void?
JF: Yeah, I think that's going to be a big part of our camp is like always, you're finding your true identity. You have an idea of what you think you're going to be going into camp and then you're trying to figure out what you're going to be able to hang your hat on and how quickly can you get to that during camp or is that within your first three games or whatever it may be. Part of that identity is who are your culture drivers in your program and who are the guys you can go to that you know are reinforcing those messages all the time, whether it's in the locker room when you're not around or whether it's Saturday night or whatever it may be, or after adversity. Because we all know, it's easy when things are going well. It's when the tough times hit.
So you know, I think on offense, obviously Michal Menet has played a lot of football for us. Really smart guy. Level-headed. Got a really good relationship with him and his parents, which I think is always a big part of that, to be able to work through some of those tough times, as well and have great discussions. But I think he's going to be a guy. Obviously [Steven] Gonzalez being a senior, I think one of the only seniors that we have, a few, him and [Nick] Bowers and [Dan] Chisena and [Weston] Carr. But I think Gonzalez is going to be one for us, too. And then [Will] Fries. Fries has played a lot of football for us.
So we are going to need those guys to have a significant role from an upperclassman perspective. Bowers falls into that category, and I think you're going to have some guys that are young, like Freiermuth who played a lot of football last year and had success and is more comfortable. I was watching Saquon [Barkley] the other night. They were doing an interview about him and his leadership has obviously, it's improved. His role on the team from a leadership perspective, he's got a stronger voice, he's got a louder voice right now in their organization in I think year two. I think Freiermuth is like that. I think KJ is like that, a guy that's had success. It probably doesn't have to be this way, but typically, those guys that have a great impact also are guys that have been successful on the field.
I think a guy like [Michael] Shuster could have a significant role from a leadership standpoint for us, but sometimes guys are not willing to do it if they are not the starter and I don't know if that's necessarily true. Some guys like Shuster has earned everybody's respect by the type of teammate he's been.
So you know, there's a number of guys from that perspective. Obviously the quarterbacks, just it's part of that position. It's going to happen. But this is going to be something that we are going to have to develop. On defense, Shaka Toney has got a strong voice with our team. He's very well respected, not only for what he does on the field, but really, Shaka, from what our players say, Shaka is one of the great friends and teammates on the team for everybody. He's the guy that they all seem to go to with issues or concerns or things or advice. He's obviously got a strong voice.
Jan Johnson, Cam Brown, those guys are going to need to step up, John Reid. There's a number of guys. I hate to do this sometimes because you miss people out and I go to practice this afternoon and someone's mad at me. Garrett Taylor obviously has played a lot of football and has earned everybody's respect by how he's gone about his business, and then on special teams, Blake [Gillikin]. We just have to keep developing them. I'm not a big believer as you guys know, on the two captains deal, on a 125-team, so it's captains and that's part of it, but it's so much more than that. To think two guys are going to lead a whole team, you need leaders by position. You need leaders by offense. You need leaders by defense, special teams. You need coaches to approach it that way, assistant coaches to be head coach at their position to manage things, as well. It's all of it. It is paramount to what we are trying to do and where we want to go.
