Here is everything Iowa State tight ends coach Alex Golesh had to say to reporters following the Cyclones' morning practice session today in Ames:
On depth of TE position group beyond Chase Allen:
Sam Harms has gotten a lot bigger. He’s over 240 now, which we tried like crazy to get him to a year ago. Really hard working, tough kid. Didn’t get the production we wanted a year ago, obviously, out of that spot. So that’s been the biggest point of emphasis. But really excited about him. Dylan Soehner’s come a long way and, through two days, looks like he is going to be able to help us in a big way I would think. Sam Seonbuchner the last five games last year gave us something we didn’t have. Part of that probably my fault, kind of overlooking it a little bit and probably searching a little bit. But really excited about Sam and what he can do. And then Charlie Kolar I’ve only seen practice one day so far but he’s got a lot of promise. So I think probably in the next two weeks we’ll just kind of figure out how it sets itself up and rotates as we put the offense into multiple packages; see how those guys can fut what we do.
On Kolar being physically ready coming in as a freshman:
Yeah, I mean he’s 247 pounds. Came in at about 240. That’s probably physically more ready than guys we had come in last year. Really, really sharp kid, so he’s got the mental side of it. Will just be a matter if he can get used to the physical side of playing that position.
Over/under passes last year, six, seven?
(said jokingly) I’m not answering that. We’ll catch them as they come. And we were over last year, by the way.
On Allen’s traits that make it exciting to get him on the field:
I’m excited to just keep seeing him grow. I think we’ve put so much pressure on the kid that’s never taken a snap. I think he’s such an intrinsically motivated kid that I think he feels a lot of that pressure on himself. I’m just excited to see him grow in the offense and see what he can do. And honestly he’s competing every day for snaps. We’re going to need four or five guys to play. Whoever rolls out first I think will depend on the package. But Chase specifically I think has so much pressure on himself to do the very best he can. I think we’ll know more in the next couple of weeks. As far as traits, really, really hard working kid, can catch the ball. Is as physical at the point of attack as he can be with his frame. Obviously his best years are ahead of him. It will be interesting to see how he grows. He’s a physical kid that can help us set an edge.
On Allen handling the external pressures and hype:
I think we’ll find out. I think it’s probably a little bit too much hype for someone that hasn’t played yet. Comes with recruiting and in comes with people in this state that care. Which is awesome; you’d rather have it that way than the other way. But I think he can handle it. I think he’s just got to set realistic expectations and then I’ve got to push him beyond those. But I think to put a number on it or to say this is what we hope to get out of Chase, I think is unfair to him. As the season goes and he and Jacob (Park) develop a relationship, I think the ceiling is sky high. We’ve got to develop him. That’s one thing we take a lot of pride in our program is we develop these guys. He’s got to continue to develop physically. The mental side is there.
On the hype growing because Allen is still a mystery:
Yeah, probably, I would think so. And the fact that he was in the hospital three times creates a neat story to write about. I think my job is to continue to create realistic expectations for him to be as good as he can be. Ultimately it’s to optimize what he can be. It’s good to have high expectations and it’s our job to manifest those into reality. The one thing we are is honest with those kids. If you have a bad day, I feel just as good with Sam Harms or Dylan Soenher and keeping him grounded and constantly being honest and evaluate. He’s his harshest critic, though. I mean Chase knows, he’s smart in being able to watch it and know, he I didn’t perform like I should. Sometimes we set up ourselves and the young guy to fail. So just trying to stay grounded with him.
On quarterback having confidence to throw to the tight ends:
I think it’s everything. The way it sets up in our offense, he’s got to have the ability to have a big target. We’ve recruited big targets all over the place and so I think it’s an extension of the receiver corps. He’s got to feel that you’ve got a big target, whether it’s in the scoring zone or in the open field. You can throw the ball anywhere on their body. That’s why we recruited these taller, rangier guys, to be able to give a huge catch radius. You think scoring zone is when that really, really comes to fruition, but I think even just in the open field. The quarterback doesn’t necessarily have to hit it right on the dime. Give them a good ball that we can then go get. But I think confidence with the quarterback is everything. I tell the guys every morning that every ball you get, you better catch. [If you drop it] that’s one less ball you’re going to get, that’s less confidence you’re going to have with the quarterback. Not to put added pressure on them, but to understand that if Jacob doesn’t feel comfortable throwing to you guys, he isn’t going to throw it.
On Allen’s intelligence and football IQ:
Well he’s a two-semester 4.0 kid. He’s a kid that can comprehend the offense and learn quickly on the run. I think the hardest thing that’s probably a little but underrated, same thing with playing receiver and quarterback, is being able to recognize things on the run. I think that just comes with practice and obviously seeing yourself on film, making mistakes and getting better. But he’s a really intelligent kid. That whole group is really, we have three, four engineers in there now. It’s an intelligent group. I’ve got to try to not screw that up.
On the body type ISU is looking for in recruiting tight ends:
I think what we’ve recruited in these two classes, we want those 6-6, 6-7 guys that give you a catch radius and can set edges just with length, like an offensive tackle would. I think you’d like a variety of guys. Like Sam Seonbuchner brings a totally different dynamic, more of a fullback-type body. You’ve got to have a little bit of bulk to be able to line up (at fullback). There’s going to come a point where we have to be able to line up and run the ball. And that’s where body types like that are good. But in our every down offense, you’d like guys that are rangier.
On how much Allen would have played last year if not for injury and illness:
I don’t know. Probably more than he did. I think Chase would have been in the rotation a year ago if he was healthy. But he also weighed 225 pounds and that position is a physical position. You can run around and catch balls, but you’ve still got to be able to line up and block defensive ends and block linebackers. I think he would have been a rotational guy.
On having the tight ends be additional chess pieces to play with:
At our previous place, we used the heck out of those guys. We used them mostly as scoring zone type threats. I think they can be really, really big. Again going back to the quarterback relationship, having a big body target - like Allen Lazard and like Hakeem Butler, Matt Eaton – it’s just an extension of those guys. That’s priceless, especially in this league where people play with nickel and dime guys. You can find mismatches. That goes back to our recruiting of trying to recruit bigger guys to create mismatches in this conference.
On Soehner’s physical attributes:
He’s right around the low 270s and runs really well. He’s kind of like, kind of a freak of nature a little bit. Guys like that shouldn’t run like that. He’s got really soft hands. He had shoulder surgery last year so he’s just coming off of that. I think we’re all really, really excited to put pads on him. The last two days for him have been awesome, he’s gotten way better. I’m excited to put pads on him tomorrow and challenge him, can you do this? If he can, he’s got a really great future.
On depth of TE position group beyond Chase Allen:
Sam Harms has gotten a lot bigger. He’s over 240 now, which we tried like crazy to get him to a year ago. Really hard working, tough kid. Didn’t get the production we wanted a year ago, obviously, out of that spot. So that’s been the biggest point of emphasis. But really excited about him. Dylan Soehner’s come a long way and, through two days, looks like he is going to be able to help us in a big way I would think. Sam Seonbuchner the last five games last year gave us something we didn’t have. Part of that probably my fault, kind of overlooking it a little bit and probably searching a little bit. But really excited about Sam and what he can do. And then Charlie Kolar I’ve only seen practice one day so far but he’s got a lot of promise. So I think probably in the next two weeks we’ll just kind of figure out how it sets itself up and rotates as we put the offense into multiple packages; see how those guys can fut what we do.
On Kolar being physically ready coming in as a freshman:
Yeah, I mean he’s 247 pounds. Came in at about 240. That’s probably physically more ready than guys we had come in last year. Really, really sharp kid, so he’s got the mental side of it. Will just be a matter if he can get used to the physical side of playing that position.
Over/under passes last year, six, seven?
(said jokingly) I’m not answering that. We’ll catch them as they come. And we were over last year, by the way.
On Allen’s traits that make it exciting to get him on the field:
I’m excited to just keep seeing him grow. I think we’ve put so much pressure on the kid that’s never taken a snap. I think he’s such an intrinsically motivated kid that I think he feels a lot of that pressure on himself. I’m just excited to see him grow in the offense and see what he can do. And honestly he’s competing every day for snaps. We’re going to need four or five guys to play. Whoever rolls out first I think will depend on the package. But Chase specifically I think has so much pressure on himself to do the very best he can. I think we’ll know more in the next couple of weeks. As far as traits, really, really hard working kid, can catch the ball. Is as physical at the point of attack as he can be with his frame. Obviously his best years are ahead of him. It will be interesting to see how he grows. He’s a physical kid that can help us set an edge.
On Allen handling the external pressures and hype:
I think we’ll find out. I think it’s probably a little bit too much hype for someone that hasn’t played yet. Comes with recruiting and in comes with people in this state that care. Which is awesome; you’d rather have it that way than the other way. But I think he can handle it. I think he’s just got to set realistic expectations and then I’ve got to push him beyond those. But I think to put a number on it or to say this is what we hope to get out of Chase, I think is unfair to him. As the season goes and he and Jacob (Park) develop a relationship, I think the ceiling is sky high. We’ve got to develop him. That’s one thing we take a lot of pride in our program is we develop these guys. He’s got to continue to develop physically. The mental side is there.
On the hype growing because Allen is still a mystery:
Yeah, probably, I would think so. And the fact that he was in the hospital three times creates a neat story to write about. I think my job is to continue to create realistic expectations for him to be as good as he can be. Ultimately it’s to optimize what he can be. It’s good to have high expectations and it’s our job to manifest those into reality. The one thing we are is honest with those kids. If you have a bad day, I feel just as good with Sam Harms or Dylan Soenher and keeping him grounded and constantly being honest and evaluate. He’s his harshest critic, though. I mean Chase knows, he’s smart in being able to watch it and know, he I didn’t perform like I should. Sometimes we set up ourselves and the young guy to fail. So just trying to stay grounded with him.
On quarterback having confidence to throw to the tight ends:
I think it’s everything. The way it sets up in our offense, he’s got to have the ability to have a big target. We’ve recruited big targets all over the place and so I think it’s an extension of the receiver corps. He’s got to feel that you’ve got a big target, whether it’s in the scoring zone or in the open field. You can throw the ball anywhere on their body. That’s why we recruited these taller, rangier guys, to be able to give a huge catch radius. You think scoring zone is when that really, really comes to fruition, but I think even just in the open field. The quarterback doesn’t necessarily have to hit it right on the dime. Give them a good ball that we can then go get. But I think confidence with the quarterback is everything. I tell the guys every morning that every ball you get, you better catch. [If you drop it] that’s one less ball you’re going to get, that’s less confidence you’re going to have with the quarterback. Not to put added pressure on them, but to understand that if Jacob doesn’t feel comfortable throwing to you guys, he isn’t going to throw it.
On Allen’s intelligence and football IQ:
Well he’s a two-semester 4.0 kid. He’s a kid that can comprehend the offense and learn quickly on the run. I think the hardest thing that’s probably a little but underrated, same thing with playing receiver and quarterback, is being able to recognize things on the run. I think that just comes with practice and obviously seeing yourself on film, making mistakes and getting better. But he’s a really intelligent kid. That whole group is really, we have three, four engineers in there now. It’s an intelligent group. I’ve got to try to not screw that up.
On the body type ISU is looking for in recruiting tight ends:
I think what we’ve recruited in these two classes, we want those 6-6, 6-7 guys that give you a catch radius and can set edges just with length, like an offensive tackle would. I think you’d like a variety of guys. Like Sam Seonbuchner brings a totally different dynamic, more of a fullback-type body. You’ve got to have a little bit of bulk to be able to line up (at fullback). There’s going to come a point where we have to be able to line up and run the ball. And that’s where body types like that are good. But in our every down offense, you’d like guys that are rangier.
On how much Allen would have played last year if not for injury and illness:
I don’t know. Probably more than he did. I think Chase would have been in the rotation a year ago if he was healthy. But he also weighed 225 pounds and that position is a physical position. You can run around and catch balls, but you’ve still got to be able to line up and block defensive ends and block linebackers. I think he would have been a rotational guy.
On having the tight ends be additional chess pieces to play with:
At our previous place, we used the heck out of those guys. We used them mostly as scoring zone type threats. I think they can be really, really big. Again going back to the quarterback relationship, having a big body target - like Allen Lazard and like Hakeem Butler, Matt Eaton – it’s just an extension of those guys. That’s priceless, especially in this league where people play with nickel and dime guys. You can find mismatches. That goes back to our recruiting of trying to recruit bigger guys to create mismatches in this conference.
On Soehner’s physical attributes:
He’s right around the low 270s and runs really well. He’s kind of like, kind of a freak of nature a little bit. Guys like that shouldn’t run like that. He’s got really soft hands. He had shoulder surgery last year so he’s just coming off of that. I think we’re all really, really excited to put pads on him. The last two days for him have been awesome, he’s gotten way better. I’m excited to put pads on him tomorrow and challenge him, can you do this? If he can, he’s got a really great future.
