Opening statement…
“First of all, we’re just excited to start practice today. We had our team meeting last night, and you can just really feel the excitement of our players. I’m very proud of our players and our staff and the way they’ve handled themselves through this whole time off. During the spring, operating with our players off back home, and our coaches working through Zoom. And then once they got back on campus, the way they handled themselves through all the ups and downs of the summer to get to this point. There’s a lot of excitement around our building. Everybody is ready to get started.
“We will practice this week Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. We’ll take off Friday and we’ll scrimmage on Saturday. Next week, we’ll start getting in a routine. We’ll have a five-week routine. We’re going to practice Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, off Friday and then scrimmage on Saturday. That’s going to be our routine for five weeks, which I think is really good. We will be doing more 11 on 11. We will be doing more scrimmage reps than we’ve ever done before in fall camp with not being able to go through spring, evaluating our players. We need to see what the guys can do right now, who needs more work. We need to create depth. That’s really going to be factor – not just for us but everybody around college football is creating depth. You’ll hear me talking a whole lot about 3-deep when usually you’re talking about 2-deep. It’s just a new day as far as that’s concerned, but at the same time, it’s a great opportunity for our young guys. I really believe the team with the most depth could have a big advantage, and that’s really what we’ve been talking to with our players.”
On COVID testing…
“We brought our guys back June 4. We’ve tested our players 863 times, which is a little bit more than seven times per players. We’ve had 33 positives over the course of the summer. We tested our staff over five times apiece. We’ve had one coach test positive. That was earlier in the summer. We’re using to the gold standard test, the test that they actually stick it way up your nose and the saliva, and so I really appreciate our administration with the amount of testing they’ve allowed us to do and with the best testing out there available for us with that. We did test our team last week. We got some very good news. We had zero positives. We tested our team and staff. So that gives us a lot of confidence going into fall camp today and getting started.
“We will have four players that will not start with us. They’re still going through their protocols, but they will be back with us by the end of the week. Oscar Chapman, our Australian punter, he arrived in the States on Saturday and he is going through the acclimation period right now. We expect him to get with us in the next week-and-half. I think overall you can just really see the excitement of our players and our coaches, too. It’s been a long time coming. We’re excited to get out there with our players today and start practice.”
On the importance of depth, especially on the OL…
“You’re exactly right. Normally, on the offensive line for example, if you’ve got three tackles, three guards and two centers, you’re feeling pretty good. It’s completely different now. We’ve got to get our 3s ready. With that strategically, the way we’re going to set up practice these next five weeks – offer more reps. We’re going to get creative, and there are going to be times where we’re going to have two separate deals going just to evaluate our players. Let our guys get more reps than they normally would so we can evaluate them and get them ready to play. And at the same time, you’ve got to be thinking about the coaches, too. If you have a coach go down, you’ve got to have two play-callers, you’ve got to have an assistant for an assistant. We’ll be thinking about all those things in fall camp and just getting us prepared. It’s all going to be about being flexible. The teams that can overcome adversity and be flexible, I think they’re going to have a big advantage.”
On how the last five months has changed his approach…
“Yeah. It’s been a definite learning experience for everyone. The communication just between our coach to coach, our player to coach – we’ve got really good relationships. I think it’s really brought us closer together. It has been interesting. It’s finally good to go out there and actually start practice. That’s what players love to do. That’s what coaches love to do. That’s really why there’s a lot of excitement because we’re finally up to this point. That’s what I told our team yesterday at the first of the meeting. I told them, ‘Guys, think back to the last five months and everything that we’ve done. We’re finally here. We’re finally getting ready to start football.’ There was a lot of smiles on their faces when we talked about that.”
On players opting out, aside from Chandler Wooten and Traivon Leonard…
“Not up to this point. They’re the only two. We definitely honor that. We respect that. That was their decisions. If somebody else does, we’ll feel the same way. But I have not been approached by anybody at this time.”
On letting players have a voice…
“Our players having a voice like a lot of them have up to this point, being unified as one, that’s really what we plan on doing. That’s been our approach. We’ve got some great leadership, and our administration supports that also.”
On seeing Big 10/Pac-12 postponing football…
“The thing about it, we’ve been talking for probably five to six weeks about just controlling what we can control and not getting caught up with the ups and downs and everything that’s going on outside. That’s the way we take it – day by day and week by week. We’re just concerned about us. As of right now, we’re getting ready for the season and that’s our mindset. We can’t get distracted. Our guys have done a good job of that. Control what we can control. We’re getting ready to play, and that’s our mindset.”
On not yet knowing the schedule…
“This a year about adjusting. The teams that adjust are going to have an advantage. It is what it is. We’re going to figure out who we play the very first game later today, and our coaches will start working extremely hard as far as that goes – behind the scenes, on off days – to get prepared. Usually you go into the season and you’ve got the first three opponents broken down. We’ll be playing catch-up really fast along with everybody in our conference the next few weeks.”
On adjusting with no fall camp, no two-a-days…
“I think it’s a challenge for everybody. I just told our staff, we’re going to be very creative, unconventional, unique. Of course, I’ve had the opportunity to be a high school coach at three different levels and a head coach at two different levels, so I think that’s right down my alley as far as being unique and being able to adjust. We feel really good about our plan, the way that we’re going to go about it – as far as evaluating our guys, developing depth, not just for players but our coaches. I think that’s a real thing that we have to be prepared for. And so we’re setting up practice different than we’ve ever done. I’m excited about it. I think our players are. The goal is to get more information in a faster period of time than we normally do. This isn’t a time for tradition. I really believe the teams that can be flexible, they’ll have a chance to separate themselves.”
On the left tackle position…
“That’s two of them right there (Austin Troxell, Kilian Zierer) and then Alec Jackson. I’m going to be honest with you. We have an idea of the first five that are going out there. That has zero to do with who we think is starting. We’ve got multiple guys, 10-12, that I really feel like are truly fighting for a starting spot up front. I know Coach Bicknell and Coach Morris are very open-minded. I’ve tried not to give them any kind of preconceived thoughts in the past about this and that. Let’s let whoever is ready to play, play. The big factor is developing depth. The old days of three tackles, three guards and two centers, that’s a day in the past as far as we’re concerned. But that gives other people real opportunities, and my experience is when you give people real opportunities, you get a few that really seize the moment. So that’s really been our message to our players up front.”
On status of Troxell and Zierer…
“I think they’re real close. I know Trox, he’s ready to go. Kilian, talking to him the other day, he thought he was getting really close to 100 percent, too, and has been cleared medically, so that’s good.”
On staying the course in terms of masks, protocols on campus…
“The thing about our team is they’ve done a lot this summer. They’ve done a lot of sacrificing. We’ve learned through the process. There was a time in mid-summer where we had quite a few of those 33 positives. Our team just came together and started being accountable to each other. But when we’re outside this building – we’ve done a really good job inside the building – but when we go outside this building, we’ve got to be responsible. We’ve been preaching to our guys about masks, social distancing. Your circle has got to be very small with who you’re with. Our guys have done a super job with that. I think because of the sacrifice that they’ve done to get here, these guys want to play. To students, you’re in it with us and we need your help. Wear your mask, social distance, be responsible. We knew this was going to be a telling time right now with all the students coming back to campus. What we told our guys is let’s control us. Most of our classes are going to be online for our players. We’re just doing everything we can to really stay self-isolated to protect our players, and we have a good chance of playing the season.”
On appreciating the sport more after time away…
“I think that’s a great question. Definitely appreciate what we have, appreciate being able to coach the players we have and being around the players. That’s what’s fun for coaches is to coach the players on the field, put a plan together, have a dream together and try to achieve that dream and that plan. That’s what we love to do. The appreciation level is very high. You go through adversity, which we all have done, and you get to this point, you have a way of looking back and appreciating things even more than you used to.”
On Caylin Newton…
“The thing about Caylin, you’ve got to look at his career before he got here at Howard and what he did. He was a record-setting quarterback at Howard and leading that team. I think they had the biggest upset in the history of college football when they went to UNLV, so he’s got a lot of winner in him. And like you said, we’ve known each other a long time. So when he decided to be a grad transfer, I just tried to encourage him to come here., be a part and help us win. He has a lot of intangibles. He’s a really smart guy, he’s been a quarterback. He’s a leader, I think he’s going to have a chance to help us in a lot of different ways – not just at wide receiver but some other ways too.”
On engaging with the players about their concerns…
“What we’ve tried to do is be honest and transparent and open with our players, with their parents. Open communication, and that’s the way we went about it. And I’d like to think that our players would say that. Like I said, we’ve got great relationships with our players. I think that’s very important.”
On how time without football changed you…
“One thing when we first started, I guess right after spring break when everything was shut down, I really challenged our staff and I challenged our players to really reflect and look at themselves. I know for me personally, and for 30 years, it was the very first time that my world even slowed down. It was extremely good for me to kind of reflect through the course of my whole career and really what helped me get here and what the characteristics were and just appreciation of all the players that I’ve coached and all the all the coaches I’ve coached with that have helped me along this journey. It was really good for me to reflect. I just want to, first of all, be a better person. Now that we’ve had this time. And then secondly, a better coach and a better leader. And so it was really good for me, very inspiring, eye-opening in some ways. And another thing too, sometimes you kind of get back to who you are at your core, and what’s important to you and really what’s not, and that was really the way I looked at it. I’m extremely excited to get back out there with our players after this time.
On Roger McCreary…
“Roger McCreary is a guy that we knew first of all was a good person and we knew he could run. He’s really done a good job of each year getting better. We’re going to ask a lot of him this year. We’ve really asked him to even take that next step of raising his game to the next level.”
On Grant Loy…
“Grant is a guy that Coach Morris and the staff at Arkansas started recruiting, had a relationship with, and we just felt like we needed some experience at the quarterback position. And then he’s got the flexibility to do some other things as far as H-back or even help on special teams. He’s off to a really good start, and I know his teammates have been very impressed with him since he’s been here.”
On Mark-Anthony Richards…
“The thing that I’m excited about with Mark, I really feel like he’s healthier. Last year he had the tough injury and never was able to show what he could do. I know he’s really looking forward to camp and being healthy.”
On the schedule and the idea of playing the Iron Bowl early…
“I think you’ve got to have an open mind and you’ve got to be flexible. It is what it is. No matter who you play the first game or whatever, we can’t control that. Control what you can control. There are 10 SEC games, I do know that. Me personally, I think that gives us an advantage. That’s what I told our team. You look at the schedule that we’ve played since we’ve been here in 2013, I would put it up against anyone. The thing I can tell you is adding two extra games won’t be a shock to our system. I think we’ve had the toughest schedule since 2013. So we’re looking at that as an advantage. Some teams that have not had this tough a schedule, I think it’s going to be a little bit more challenging for them. Just the grind. Because I don’t think everybody really understands the grind of our league unless you’re in it. Just week in and week out. You could even look at some of the teams you might not think are the best, they’re still a handful. You look at 2013, we were picked dead last in the whole SEC and we won the SEC. So just the grind and everything that goes with it, I really feel like we could have an advantage because of the schedule in that some of the teams that hadn’t had as tough a schedule, I think they might have their hands full.”
On the opportunity for newcomers to play…
“100 percent. I think realistically, as coaches we have to have our mindset that we may be playing our No. 3 guy at a certain position. That’s just the way it is. What we’ve got to do is we have five-and-a-half weeks to get those guys prepared to do that. How do you get prepared? You get prepared through reps. Like I said, it’s more unconventional than it’s ever been. We’ve got to get those guys as good as they possibly can be. That should be real exciting for all of our guys that they have a real chance to help. And they have to have the mindset that it’s next man up. I’m ready to go. If I got thrown in Week 1 and I was the No. 3 guy on the depth chart, or even starting, there’s no telling the different scenarios that we’re going to face throughout the year with all the challenges we’re going to have.”
On the quarterback room…
“I think as far as numbers, this probably is the deepest. But as far as experience, I’d say we’ve probably had some other years that we had more experience and quality depth coming back. But the good thing is we’ve got five-and-a-half weeks before we play to get those guys the reps they need, and then Chad is just going to have to figure out past Bo what other guys can do at this point, what they can’t, and that’s what he’s good at, especially being a former high school coach. I know he’s looking forward to evaluating those guys and seeing what they can do.”
On walkthroughs/summer OTAs…
“A walkthrough is a walkthrough. I think you can get lined up, you can coach somebody up, you can talk about all the ‘what ifs,’ but there’s nothing like the real thing. I think our guys in the next two days, even with helmet only, will probably learn more the than they did the whole time during walkthrough. I’m glad that we had the walkthrough, I think every coach would say that. At least you get a chance to be out there with your players. It’s a new system, even though there are a lot of similarities and new terminology and the nuances that are different, it was good for them in the walkthroughs.”
On Chris Davis talking to team…
“We had Nosa Eguae speak to our team this past week, Sammie Coates, he spoke to our team. Wes Byrum. I just really wanted to get some former guys off the 2010, 2013 teams, and just talk about the characteristics of those teams that were able to win a championship here at Auburn, because we’re different. We’re different than other schools. I really wanted our players to hear from those guys about what they felt like was important to have success. And we’ve got a group of players that are hungry, and they were they were attentive, they were listening, they were asking him specific questions, and trying to get any wisdom from him as they could. It was really encouraging. Those guys did a super job. Chris talked our team last night, and just did a great job and our players are very excited about it.”