On the resources available to players in regard to mental health
“I think mental health is at the forefront of what we do here. It’s why we approach coaching and teaching the way that we do. We’re instructors. For young people, I think it’s finding balance in what they do as a student-athlete. From the pressures of playing college football at the highest level, to academics, to the social life that inevitability 18 to 22-year-olds are going to have, along with finding out who they are and how they’re growing, these are issues that come up in daily life for our players. They still have real lives. That’s issues back home, family members that may have serious issues, deaths in the family. There are all of these things that these young people are learning how to balance, juggle all of these balls and grow into the men that they’re ultimately going to be. Coaches are a resource, but we also have professionals that help our student-athletes as well.”
On how the offensive line has improved throughout the season
“Before the season, it was a group that you didn’t want any injuries at. You didn’t want any injuries at any position, but it was a thin unit. Guys have continued to grow and mature as football players inside of what we’re doing. We’ve had a bunch of different rotations up front, from Coop (Cooper Mays) being gone, Jerome (Carvin) sliding, to Cade (Mays) being gone and multiple guys playing at guard. Kingston (Harris) was in there early and then him being banged up. With all of those things, the next guy up has kind of been the mantra inside of our building. I’ve said it before, the strength of one position group can never be one guy. Everybody’s got to continue to fight and prepare themselves. There have been a lot of positives, some things that they’ve had to continue to grow in. We’re still going to do that in the last third of the season. It’s a group that has continued to grow in their practice habits. They’ve had a better understanding of what we’re doing. Technique wise, they’re continuing to grow. That’s why, in a lot of ways, they’ve continued to get better through the course of the season.”
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