Coach Toledo's Comments Following Wednesday's Practice
Aug 13, 2008 | Football
Aug. 13, 2008
Overall thoughts on Wednesday's drills
"It was pretty good. Our tempo needs to pick up in team. We're dragging behind in signaling and there's going to be a 40-second clock (this year). We've got to move a little faster in team. The tempo (overall) is pretty good. They're not tackling, obviously. We tell them to stay off the ground so that they don't get hurt, but go fast and be physical."
On if he plans on going full pads in both halves of tomorrow's scheduled two-a-day practice
"Yes. That's a hard day. We'll do 18 periods in the morning with no kicking game involved. In the afternoon, we'll have 24 periods with the kicking game. We'll shorten some of our periods, like the team period. Instead of being 20 minutes and four periods, it'll be 15 minutes and three periods. We're just putting things in, learning every day, and trying to find out who our players are. Other than that, it'll be just another practice. It'll be a double-session in pads. We're installing, as they say. We're installing defenses and plays every day."
On how he felt about his freshman class after day one of full-pad practice
"They were pretty good. I was watching some of them quite a bit and I was pleased with some of the guys. I like the three offensive linemen. I like (Kasey) Stelly, the fullback. I think the running backs are doing a good job. (Chris) Asumnu looks like he's got a chance. (Casey) Blum's got a good motor. (Darryl) Farley in those alley drills, got in some good hits. I'm pleased with the freshmen. This is a good group of freshmen and I'm really excited about them."
On if true freshmen are often skittish on the first day of full-contact drills
"Yes, but they didn't. I really believe that having been here this summer, being together, and starting practice on a good note, I just think they felt more comfortable. If this was just their fifth or sixth practice, then they probably would have been more skittish."
On getting Kadeem Taylor cleared through the NCAA Clearinghouse
"We're getting him picked up right now. We're supposed to arrive at six. That's one of the things we wanted. We wanted to create some depth in our defensive line, and he's one of the guys we recruited to give us some depth. He's a little behind, but he'll catch up and hopefully be able to contribute."
On losing Dominique Dade
"That was a big blow. He knew he had to do some things in summer school and he didn't quite get it done. He fell a little short, and that's a blow. He had a chance to possibly start at a corner, definitely help in the nickel situation and possibly return punts. That's a big blow to us."
On who he looks to in order to fill the void left by Dade
"The problem is Phillip Davis has a hamstring pull. He's got to move up. And of course (Alex) Lauricella - we're counting on him even more so as a true freshman, but he's been hurt, too. Both of them return punts as well. Those two guys need to step up. We don't have a lot of depth at that position right now."
On if he planned on redshirting Kadeem Taylor
"We don't know. I don't ever tell they're going to redshirt. I tell them to come in ready to play. When the season is over, that's when I tell them, `Hey guess what. You just redshirted.'"
On what he did with the team on Wednesday
"Every day, we expose them to situations. Obviously we did the alley drill which was a physical drill to see how physical we are. But then, once we got into team, we did third down and what I call possession downs - third and three-to-six. And then it was long yardage - third and seven-plus. We just try to get them acclimated to situations so they just don't go out there and play every snap like it's the same thing or like it's always first-and-10. We're trying to show them that the game is based on situations. Then we did some red zone."
On the performance by Joe Kemp in Wednesday's practice
"Joe does some good things. Joe's got a lot of physical ability. Joe's only problem is experience and time. He just needs more time and he makes some mistakes that you just can't make to win right now. He's got to continue to improve on his mental part of the game. Physically, he does some good things."
