by Bill Seals
On the resurgence of Allen Lazard in recent games:
“Our program will officially turn here when our best players are the guys who are the hardest workers, most detailed and bring everybody with them. Allen battled the midway part of the season through some injuries, tough injuries and injuries where it’s keeping him out of practice. Yet Allen still shows up on game day and plays really hard. Then all of a sudden, we get a chance for him to catch his breath and he gets healthy, and you’re starting to see the byproduct of some of these games in critical situations he’s making those plays.
“If you really came to practice and watched the last two-to-three weeks of practice, Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday, Allen is as locked in as anybody on our football team. What’s what I want for Allen, because in my humble opinion, he has a chance to be one of the best players in college football. My job is to work to get him there and I think Allen wants that. He’s really started to dial in.”
On his love of the preparation that goes into the days between games:
“I’ve always been a guy that absolutely loves practice. Sometimes, to a fault. I could probably be out there for four hours if you let me be. I love to watch guys get better and I do know the value of going every day and perfecting your craft. That’s where we still have to make up ground, is in that ability to perfect your craft. Doing it when nobody is watching. You talk about the inches, that’s when you win those inches. You win those in January, February and March. When nobody else is watching and around, that’s when you win the game. To me, those are things that I love teaching and showing. I do love scheme and all those things, but I love practice, fundamentals and detail. It’s really rewarding when you’re trying to build, because you see greater growth in that. You see the growth that’s occurring in the eight, nine, ten-month process that we’ve been here.”
On what he does in the offseason if a running back comes to him asking for more carries:
“You’re always honest and it’s really simple. We’re a big believer in you earn everything that you get. The one thing everybody would say about us is we’re honest. You earn that through practice, reps and games. The videotape never lies. As a coach, whether you’re a freshman or senior, whatever it is, there always has to be competition. That’s how you become the best and earn the right to be the best. Nothing is ever given in this game. You have to earn the right to do everything. That’s something we’re learning as a team in general – what’s the process to earn the right to be a starter, to get the football, be a starter on defense or to cover this guy or that guy.
“Sometimes we get skewed in this whole thing. ‘Well I was a starter last year and should be a starter this year’. That’s not fair, because if somebody talented comes in and has an opportunity to play. If that guy doesn’t play and now all of a sudden you don’t get better, well then we’re not helping anybody. We’re always up front and always honest, sometimes to a fault. We try to show videotape evidence and then do everything in our power to encourage our guys to continue to get better. It’s not just telling them, but showing them how they can get better and continue to grow.
“On the running back situation, I still see it as a huge positive. We have three guys that are doing things that are really positive. You can look at video clips of all of our guys that there are some positive things that they’ve done in eight or nine games. You look at the same thing at quarterback. That’s a tough situation because there are some really good things. Those are things that you love competition. I love competition and wish we had more of it on our team. If we did I think we’d be a better football team.
“Every year I’m going to go out and continue to recruit the best players I can to create competition within our program. At some point in our program, Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday practice will be harder than what happens on Saturday in the game. Right now that’s not the case, but pretty soon it will be.”
On what each of the running backs brings to the table that could separate themselves from one another:
“They all three have really unique skill sets. Mike has proven that he’s an excellent runner with the ball in his hands. He has proven that. He can really run with the ball in his hands. David’s kind of the guy that’s a little bit of the jack of all trades. He can run it, catch it, block and do everything. Kene is kind of the home-run hitter. You can see it in his kickoff return style of what he does. Let’s not forget Mitchell Harger. Maybe the guy that made the biggest play in the game on Thursday night is the block he’s got on 3rd-and-10 when Jacob steps up and makes the throw. That’s a huge positive when you’ve got guys that have different skill sets and can do different things. We’re in a situation that have guys there that can do uniquely some different things. It’s better than having just one guy and you live with the good and the bad of the one guy does.”
On the lawsuit that assistant coach Alex Golesh was named in last week:
“Any of that information is not new information to my knowledge. When we hired Coach Golesh, all those situations had been vetted by the University of Illinois, their entire staff and team doctors. It was a thorough investigation. To me, none of this is new information. We had detailed everything before we hired Coach Golesh and the situation that went on there. We wanted to make sure that we were doing the right thing and everybody was clear there. Our information back from the University of Illinois was that they wouldn’t have kept him on staff and he would not have been retained there if he had been involved in any investigation or any issues there. That’s what I know.”
On the resurgence of Allen Lazard in recent games:
“Our program will officially turn here when our best players are the guys who are the hardest workers, most detailed and bring everybody with them. Allen battled the midway part of the season through some injuries, tough injuries and injuries where it’s keeping him out of practice. Yet Allen still shows up on game day and plays really hard. Then all of a sudden, we get a chance for him to catch his breath and he gets healthy, and you’re starting to see the byproduct of some of these games in critical situations he’s making those plays.
“If you really came to practice and watched the last two-to-three weeks of practice, Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday, Allen is as locked in as anybody on our football team. What’s what I want for Allen, because in my humble opinion, he has a chance to be one of the best players in college football. My job is to work to get him there and I think Allen wants that. He’s really started to dial in.”
On his love of the preparation that goes into the days between games:
“I’ve always been a guy that absolutely loves practice. Sometimes, to a fault. I could probably be out there for four hours if you let me be. I love to watch guys get better and I do know the value of going every day and perfecting your craft. That’s where we still have to make up ground, is in that ability to perfect your craft. Doing it when nobody is watching. You talk about the inches, that’s when you win those inches. You win those in January, February and March. When nobody else is watching and around, that’s when you win the game. To me, those are things that I love teaching and showing. I do love scheme and all those things, but I love practice, fundamentals and detail. It’s really rewarding when you’re trying to build, because you see greater growth in that. You see the growth that’s occurring in the eight, nine, ten-month process that we’ve been here.”
On what he does in the offseason if a running back comes to him asking for more carries:
“You’re always honest and it’s really simple. We’re a big believer in you earn everything that you get. The one thing everybody would say about us is we’re honest. You earn that through practice, reps and games. The videotape never lies. As a coach, whether you’re a freshman or senior, whatever it is, there always has to be competition. That’s how you become the best and earn the right to be the best. Nothing is ever given in this game. You have to earn the right to do everything. That’s something we’re learning as a team in general – what’s the process to earn the right to be a starter, to get the football, be a starter on defense or to cover this guy or that guy.
“Sometimes we get skewed in this whole thing. ‘Well I was a starter last year and should be a starter this year’. That’s not fair, because if somebody talented comes in and has an opportunity to play. If that guy doesn’t play and now all of a sudden you don’t get better, well then we’re not helping anybody. We’re always up front and always honest, sometimes to a fault. We try to show videotape evidence and then do everything in our power to encourage our guys to continue to get better. It’s not just telling them, but showing them how they can get better and continue to grow.
“On the running back situation, I still see it as a huge positive. We have three guys that are doing things that are really positive. You can look at video clips of all of our guys that there are some positive things that they’ve done in eight or nine games. You look at the same thing at quarterback. That’s a tough situation because there are some really good things. Those are things that you love competition. I love competition and wish we had more of it on our team. If we did I think we’d be a better football team.
“Every year I’m going to go out and continue to recruit the best players I can to create competition within our program. At some point in our program, Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday practice will be harder than what happens on Saturday in the game. Right now that’s not the case, but pretty soon it will be.”
On what each of the running backs brings to the table that could separate themselves from one another:
“They all three have really unique skill sets. Mike has proven that he’s an excellent runner with the ball in his hands. He has proven that. He can really run with the ball in his hands. David’s kind of the guy that’s a little bit of the jack of all trades. He can run it, catch it, block and do everything. Kene is kind of the home-run hitter. You can see it in his kickoff return style of what he does. Let’s not forget Mitchell Harger. Maybe the guy that made the biggest play in the game on Thursday night is the block he’s got on 3rd-and-10 when Jacob steps up and makes the throw. That’s a huge positive when you’ve got guys that have different skill sets and can do different things. We’re in a situation that have guys there that can do uniquely some different things. It’s better than having just one guy and you live with the good and the bad of the one guy does.”
On the lawsuit that assistant coach Alex Golesh was named in last week:
“Any of that information is not new information to my knowledge. When we hired Coach Golesh, all those situations had been vetted by the University of Illinois, their entire staff and team doctors. It was a thorough investigation. To me, none of this is new information. We had detailed everything before we hired Coach Golesh and the situation that went on there. We wanted to make sure that we were doing the right thing and everybody was clear there. Our information back from the University of Illinois was that they wouldn’t have kept him on staff and he would not have been retained there if he had been involved in any investigation or any issues there. That’s what I know.”
