More on Michael Barrett, could he move inside?
“Here’s the thing, and Nick, you’ve gotta understand this one a little bit: some guys can play inside linebacker but they can’t play VIPER. Most guys can play VIPER can move to the inside linebacker position, and he’s one of those guys. But his ability to run, he’s been in the backup VIPER role for us, so it’s not like he’s alien to the position. And there’s another young man, Anthony Solomon who was light in his loafers a year ago, meaning he was 195-pounds. He’s now 215. And we know how fast he is and how quick he is. So he’s another guy that will give him competition.
“Right now, we’re trying to get our best players on the field. That’s always the initial thing: get your best 11-12 on the field. We think the best thing for our defense and for Michael Barrett – because they’re both important pieces for us – is for him to play VIPER.”
How DJ Turner and Andre Seldon fit into the current picture
“Andre certainly is in position to do that (play nickel). DJ, if you can play corner, you can play nickel. Both of those guys have outstanding ability. I’m just very glad I’m gonna get the opportunity to coach both of those guys. Like you said, we lost spring, and I thought that was tough on DJ in particular, because he had kind of an injury-plagued fall, which held him back. But he’s another guy though, Sam, when you watch him run around and do things. Just the way he carried himself in the winter workouts, he’s come out of the freshman slump. I believe some guys go through that, especially when they get hurt. And I think he went through that. And I think we’re gonna see a guy that’s ready to compete for playing time and very anxious to see where he goes.
“With Andre, that’s one of the reasons that we signed him, because of his ability to play nickel. Obviously, we feel very strongly that he’ll be able to make a run at that position. Because that position there is not a position that requires crazy amounts of mental process. It’s really, the physical challenge is the most important piece and we think he’s up to that. Anxious to see him get on the field. I’m certainly not putting any pressure on him, but I’m excited about him. I will say he did very well academically for his first go-round here, and that’s always a good sign, because it shows the guy is making the proper adjustments to college life.”
How Makari Paige and Cornell Wheeler can contribute as freshmen
“Again, I hate putting the expectations too heavy on those guys because I think that’s unfair until they get here. You see how they’re learning the system now. (West Bloomfield’s) Coach Grice runs some of our stuff, and those guys are gonna be used to the terminology. So that’s an advantage for them. Obviously, those two guys are highly-recruited guys for us. Guys that I’m excited about getting the opportunity to coach. Again, I was able to see them in winter workouts run around and do things. Those two guys are keepers, that’s what I can tell you, Stoney, they’re definitely keepers and guys to keep your eye on moving forward.”
How much the pandemic has changed recruiting
“Obviously you’ve got regular phone calls, then you’ve got the merge phone call, the three-way, then you’ve got the FaceTime, then you got the Zooms. Then you’ve got the FaceTime you can utilize film in that usage. All of these, when I started 6-7 weeks ago, I had no idea! But I’m a virtual expert now. And it’s been helpful.
“I think this: if you look at our numbers in terms of the amount of verbal commitments, and I don’t know what that means, but we’re way ahead of last year’s pace because we’ve been able to spend more time, in essence, on the recruiting trail via the virtual world. And certainly know the guys and their families really well. In some respects, you’ve lost the ability to go on campuses across the country and meet coaches and spend time on their campuses and meet the recruits, but in other respects, I think we know the guys a lot better than we knew them in a normal scenario. It may have been a difficult process when it started, but looking back on things, I don’t know if I’d change much in terms of going about your business on the recruiting trail.”