Rhoads Q&A Part I; Practice No. 6 Complete

04.02.2009 | Football

By: cyclones.com

Is your first spring practice more important than it will be in future years?

“Yes. From the first day of your first workout, all the way through every spring workout you are laying a foundation for your philosophy in what you're teaching technically and what you're teaching schematically. And if you don't gradually build that foundation, then it's never going to be strong as you continue in the future. So every opportunity we have right now to teach and instruct and build the program from the ground up right now is very important and a big part of that is spring football.”

Practice Six Multimedia

Courtney Messingham Interview
Blocking and Tackling
Special Teams

Defensive Back Drills
Defensive Line Drills
Kickers

How have your days been structured so far?

“Most of the staff is in here before 7 a.m. and a lot of them are here past 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., which is exciting because we're getting a lot done. We're catching up with the evaluation process of current high school juniors. We are coaching coaches as (offensive coordinator) (Tom) Herman and (defensive coordinator) (Wally) Burnham install offensive and defensive packages. Instruction time with our players has begun, and we went with our off-season program. Strength and conditioning takes place year-round also, but the off-season program involves more mental toughness training in the form of conditioning and change of direction work. To me, the higher up you take your team in mental toughness training, the faster you progress towards a championship.”

Are you confident you have the personnel to run your offense effectively in the Big 12?

Very confident, based on three things: The evaluation of what we've seen on film. The evaluation of what we've seen in the off-season program and then, the depth returning at almost every position offensively, first and foremost at quarterback.

Does that offense begin with starting quarterback Austen Arnaud?

“I talked to (Austen) directly early. After looking at some video, I thought he had started every snap (last season) -- at least I thought somebody had told me that. Then I talked to someone else and they said, ?Oh no, he was alternating with the (former ISU quarterback Phillip Bates). His improvement last season when you consider that is striking.”

What are you impressions of Austen?

“The quarterback has to be a leader. Austen was the first player that I spoke with, and not necessarily because I sought him out to be the first player. He has the intangible things that a quarterback needs, he's got an outgoing personality, he communicates well and he's around when his teammates are looking for him. He is happy to meet with you and learn. Those things are important to the position. I love his physical stature. I like height in a quarterback; I like size in a quarterback. He has more than talent. Austen has the ability to run a called play as well as an ad-lib and be productive in a scramble situation. He is effective enough with his feet. He's a strong thrower. Austen does not have any velocity issues. He makes every throw that we'll need him to make and I think he's an accurate thrower, which will get nothing but better as (offensive coordinator) Tom (Herman) coaches him and Austen has more exposure to the offense.”

Is redshirt freshman quarterback Jerome Tiller ready to challenge?

“Jerome is more of a natural threat, a more natural dual threat than Austen. He is definitely athletic. If he was your guy there'd be more plays designed around him with his number being called. If you were just looking as a throwing quarterback, you'd say there's some work that needs to be done. But if you look at his history, he's been productive. There's still something about Jerome. I've said this all along while evaluating and recruiting, there's something to be said about how Jerome plays the game. Even if he has issues to work on technically, he's remained productive. To become even more productive at this level those flaws are going to have to be addressed and knowing Jerome, he's fast at work already accomplishing those goals.”

The offensive line has a large number of returning starters...

“The offensive line has always been the hardest working unit or darn close to it on every football team. The very first workout we saw here, that group wasn't that way. It made me very nervous. From the second workout on they have by far been the hardest working and closest group on the field. So as my initial fears calmed, I started looking at their movement, their physical abilities and their huge size. Ultimately, I think (the offensive line) has got a chance to be the strongest position group on our football team. One of the best parts about that size is we're whittling it down right now. We have to be a leaner, more athletic football team. That includes our offensive line because we're going to be fast-paced. Our run game will be both north and south and perimeter based and (the offensive line) is going to have to move to make it go. I think those kids are working awfully hard, their bodies are changing and the fact that depth exists allows you to stay fresh late in the second quarter, late in the fourth quarter and late in the season.”

Does anyone stand out on the offensive line to you?

“Kelechi Osemele has really caught our eye. We're asking people to do everything right now and Kelechi Osemele is coming awfully dang close to doing everything right and that's just fun to observe.”

At running back, you have a wide variety of styles...

“Speaking as a defensive coordinator, I'm excited that we have three different types of backs. Alexander (Robinson) brings a smaller, shiftier style of running. He's intelligent and understands the whole package. He's going to run where he's supposed to run and get everything that he's supposed to get and still has the ability to make people miss. Jeremiah Schwartz is more of a north-south guy. He will drop the shoulder and pound you and wear you out. If we've got a lead and we want to keep the clock going and wear a team out, we give the ball to Jeremiah Schwartz. Bo Williams is a combination of both. Bo, I believe if we put a clock on him, would be the fastest of the three. No question he does have the break away, won't catch him speed. He has the side step to make you miss, but is physically big enough that he can drop the shoulder and make an impact also. Bo is in a position where he has not played in a college game. So even though he's an upper classman, he's got to learn what it takes to play at the Division I level. Jeremiah, coming off a redshirt, will be a little green as well. The veteran leadership of A-Rob will be valuable to the group. Different styles present different issues when it comes to tackling and shifting through that throughout a ball game and it can be hard for a defense. We have three very different backs that will cause problems for opposing defenses.”

What do you think about the returnees at wide receiver?

“A lot of catches are returning and it is a physically good-looking group. Height is something you can't coach, and height is something that can be hard to defend as a defensive player even if you are of equal height. I always like the comparison and I've certainly made it myself that if a receiver has me by four inches, six inches but I can vertically jump like crazy to get up with him I negate that. Well, not if the receiver keeps you on his rear hand or keeps you on his back and reaches out those long stretched arms, you can't negate it. So that height, the number of times we're going to put the ball in the air in a high percentage fashion is a great asset, a great physical attribute to have with our receivers. The ball is going to get spread around by the nature of the offense. The fact that so many guys have caught it and can catch it provides us with many more weapons and avenues for our offense to be productive.

You also have depth at tight end...

Collin (Franklin) may be the biggest athlete on our football team. He has height, size and can bend and run. You go out and try to recruit a Collin Franklin every single year. When the tight ends walk through the door, that's a group that looks like naturally the way tight ends should look. Derrick Catlett and Collin give us a nice one-two punch with Collin bringing more athleticism, Derek bringing a little bit more physical style of play yet has the ability to create in the open field and get open. Then the progression of our young kids, Carter Bykowski and Kurt Hammerschmidt, will really allow us to evolve as an offense with what I want to do with two tight ends on the field, which creates problems for the defense.

You've got proven experience in special teams. Punter Mike Brandtner, placekicker Grant Mahoney and return man Leonard Johnson are coming off strong seasons...

“I think if Leonard Johnson asks me one more time if he can be a punt returner too, I'll scream. But it's exciting that a guy wants to do something so much that he is a squeaky wheel. If someone really wants to do something, they must think they can do it well. I think we've got a number of kids that can return kicks, Leonard being certainly one of them.

“One of the main things you're looking for in a kicking game is consistency. And I think Grant (Mahoney) and Michael (Brandtner) were just that last season. Grant was 100 percent on extra points. Now what we want to do with Grant is further develop his field- goal percentage as well as his strength for distance. Having an upper classman like Mike at punter and with experience at placekicker, you have steady nerves at those positions. The prior exposure to the weather conditions that you can get at Jack Trice Stadium as well as other venues in the Big 12 is a plus when it comes to the kicking game.”