Coach uh what are your early early Impressions from from Bay Alabama you know obviously it’s been uh great to come back uh to the SEC and be uh closer to home a lot of relationships um that I’ve had uh from my playing days my dad being a high school football coach in
Georgia um really proud to be here and be a part of uh this organization and and this team this coaching staff kind of draws coaches from all across the country how much does it help to have that SEC experience and that experience in Georgia you know just just starting
Day one recruiting um being able to go into places that I’ve been um have pre-existing relationships I think that that’s the number one thing to start just day one um and then two just to be able to be in this footprint um the type of players that you can recruit here um
And uh what you can sell to those families and and those players of what Alabama is and what it it’s going to continue to be Co what’s the message being preached in that outside linebacker room right now you know day one I walked in and all over the walls
Are some of the great players that have been here and uh there’s some been some great players the past 3 years uh that I’ve recruited and I know well um Dallas and I know will and so that was the standard except telling them that the
Expectation is to live up to that and uh obviously with Dallas going to the NFL there’s going to be room for guys to step up um that’s the number one message is we can we plan to continue to carry that torch and so U motivating them challenging them them pushing each other
Uh one thing about this group is that they do coach each other and uh that was exciting to see from day one Speaking of guys stepping up coach you can look at quandarius Roberts and the KE code how have they been in that room as guys as
Leaders trying to get everybody else to step up around them yeah those are two guys that I had actually recruited while I was at the University of Florida and uh to comeing day one we already had a relationship um and so those guys have been vocal if it was offseason workouts
Fourth quarter program um to day one in the meeting um and then especially after practice those two guys they they definitely come together and communicate what the expectation is and uh they’re pushing the group and I’m proud of it how is that relationship the pre-existing relationship how does that
Help the transition coming in and and really teaching a new defense to these guys you know I I think at the end of the day um them knowing my heart um you know order to to coach someone they need to know that you are for them and so to
Know that uh from day one it was exciting to just walk in the meeting room I I got there around 11:00 uh coming in from Texas and uh by the end of the day we’re out here uh with the guys going through drills so there’s a fil familiarity um but they also know
That there’s a standard at Alabama you may have already touched on this why why Alabama and you say you already know them even SEC background but why did why Alabama in this first half uh I just I think that in the country there’s not a
Place that you can go walk into a home a brand that you can walk into a home and be able to say that we can develop your son to be to reach his full potential and along the way we’re going to win championships that’s the expectation
Here that’s what the standard is and so a lot of the families that I had recruit known previously recruiting um they knew who I I was and being at Alabama able to obviously sell that big picture and the long-term vision and also just with the early signing day I know people are
Trying to get it in June just as a recruiter what is your opinion on that you know uh at the end of the day I think every kid is different um every kid is at a different stage obviously there’s kids that grow up in this state
And near here that have always had a dream of playing in Alabama um my my view is that uh I want those kids to be able to finish out their High School career and be the type of player that their team team and their coaches are expecting to be and in their community
And then uh this is that I know from personal experience playing in college that it’s most important to be where your feet are before you take that next step coach could you talk about some of the younger guys Pierre Jan some of those young guys absolutely I’m I’m
Excited about those young guys I think with a new defense brings the opportunity to learn from the ground up everybody’s learning new obviously the older guys in the room have that physical presence reps uh game experience but the young guys I can maybe get a little bit faster Along by just
Focusing on the basics and uh taking it step by step those two U obviously coming and pushing them and you know uh uh Jon being a little bit older and already red shirted you want to go play how how can you find a role to cut out
Special teams and then uh roll on defense he has an ability it’s going to be just taking those steps that maybe the older guys have already taken uh and with uh Jon I’m really excited that you know he’d already been here for a couple weeks since I got here um he’s young
He’s excited he car years he sits right next to me in my position meeting room and uh he wants to be great that’s why he came here and uh want to see him take those steps that any young player takes to learn one how to function in in the
Building and how to go about the day-to-day requirements and then to be able to meet that on the field as well in terms of what Dallas and Chris Braswell did last year how does the role of this position group this year in this defense compared to what last year was I
Think one we’re still recruiting the same type of person um maybe how we’re aligning them may change at times based on the scheme and all those things but I when I walked in I said the standard is still the standard and we want those type of players here at Alabama um I
Think the little tweaks that we’ll have will just allow our guys to show maybe more than of what they can do and I’m excited for him to have that opportunity situationally can you see maybe having two guys kind of book ending out there absolutely you know I I I talk about
Third down is if you if you win on first and second down you earn the right to rush the passer in my room we’re looking for those same type of guys that Alabama has had for years to continue to go do that athletically for keano just what
Impresses you most you know I I know when I was at uh Florida I had recruited him to possibly be an inside guy he has the skill set to play at the line of scrimmage and off the ball those are the type of guys that we’re looking for that
Can do both that have the physical presence in the Run game as well as the pass rush ability he has that six practices in looking judging from where you guys have been it just seems an outside a lot of players buying in what you guys are teaching how have you seen
That barometer change you know it’s it’s been exciting I I think one you know anytime there’s a change there’s you know you came to Alabama for your individual reasons and uh in those that decision making along the way but when you start to spend time with somebody I
Believe you can know their heart you can know what they’re about and can they bring value that’s something my dad as a high school coach always told me is always seeking to add value I think that having a little bit of a preex existing relationship for me but the staff going
Through these days in the fourth quarter program in the wait room in the meeting room you have buy him because now you’re doing life together and I think that our guys are seeing that and I think that that it’s paying dividends as six practices in you just go based on the
Way that this roster was built there’s a lot of players with the body type that you coach now what is that like and is it a is it a fun thing or is it kind of like a hard to get all those guys in a roll right well in the day it’s you’re
Trying to get the cream of the crop you’re trying to one I think our guys um love to compete but they also there’s a there’s a connectivity here that a lot of other teams don’t have I think there’s a Brotherhood um this football is fraternity here um and I see that
They push each other but as coaches there’s going to be situations where we can have more guys on the field I think they understand that and it’s exciting because then we get to go hunt together do you said hunt what do you think about the uh did you use the terminology wolf
Or whatever like that take a while to learn well well no because I actually uh coach walck’s dad hired me as a graduate assistant at Old Miss to coach this exact position and uh so um you know that relationship with the wocks has always been there and U I’ve become a
Better Coach by being around both of them I always wanted the opportunity to work for coach and uh so there wasn’t a lot coming in and I literally got a call on Monday and I was here Tuesday by 11: and a lot of the things that we did
Walking out that practice had a lot of recall so it was exciting to be able to step right back into that how familiarity did you have with Kay before this and just what did you learn from you know I I I didn’t have any any but
Kane I know uh Kane when we got on the phone you know just we’re we’re people and and especially like in anything building relationships how much I feel for coach and his family was easy to connect with with Coach dor and um that’s that’s what you know when you
Come in and those relationships really matter um and he just talked about what Alabama has always been and and his vision and and wanting to be a part of that uh is just a once in lifetime opportunity yeah Pier is a guy that we didn’t get to see much last year but
What what does he offer and how exciting of a prospect is he you know he’s got a great get off he’s got uh great pass rush ability what I’ve been talking to him about is with a great ability how can we continue to expand what we know
And you know he spent a year learning to a different defense and so now he’s having to relearn some things uh in some different terms I’m trying to be a translator um especially being around uh similar systems and working for coaches under uh coach sa and so a lot of that
Is just trying to get him to grasp that and I see day by day he’s getting better and then we get new install and we find new things that we can are challenges for us but I’m proud of what he’s doing he’s had a great uh great motivation to
Get it right and I believe he will you talked about the depth of that position not so much maybe with Jon but is there certain guys where maybe you give them a look inside or like to kind of like spread things out is is that happen a
Lot in the spring or well in the spring obviously have a base install who we plan to be um by what we need to know by the into the uh going in the summer and so um as coach wck expands that I Envision that we’ll have the guys that
Can get after the quarterback we find a way to get him on the field
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