Offensive lineman Jordan McFadden spoke to the media on Monday ahead of Saturday’s game against Louisiana Tech.
McFadden reflected on the improvement of the offensive line from Week One to Week Two. Although the season is still in the early stages, he thinks the offensive line has done well making the necessary adjustments, both in practice and during the games.
“I’m super excited,” he said. “I think everyone around the country wants us to be this finished product in Game Two of the season, but I think we’ve made great strides as an offense. Obviously, we still have a lot of work to do, but I am super confident and encouraged in what we’re doing so far.”
Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei found his form late in the opener against Georgia Tech, and that confidence seemed to carry into the win against Furman. McFadden feels this shift in Uiagalelei’s confidence has also impacted the entire offense.
“He’s super confident and comfortable, and you can tell he has his swagger back,” he said. “As a quarterback, confidence is huge. Just to see the confidence he is playing with and how much more he’s leading verbally, it’s so encouraging to be around.”
McFadden, who is a redshirt senior, knows there are always little areas of improvement, but the cohesion of the offensive line is really starting to mesh as the season gears up.
“As a whole, there’s definitely things we need to work on,” he said. “The run game, technique things, but we have a freshman right tackle (Blake Miller). And no matter where you are playing the game of football, coming in and playing as a true freshman is not easy at all. He’s working his tail off to get better.”
With the next game against Louisiana Tech, McFadden is aware of the upsets that happened around the country in Week Two. And he believes that it’s critical to treat each game and opponent with equal respect and preparation.
“We’ve got to approach the game just as it was anyone else,” he said. “Obviously around the world, teams are getting beat and upsets are happening, and I don’t want us to be one of those teams either. So I’m not approaching this week any different than how did against Georgia Tech or Furman or whoever else we play.”
Being a redshirt senior also means McFadden views this season as a pivotal point where his focus is on how he can train to maximize his potential on the field. A lot of his focus has been on taking that next step.
“Just finishing people,” he said. “That’s kind of been the extra focus for me whether it has been spring ball, camp or the season. Just finishing is probably the biggest thing for me.”
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