Spring football is over. Real football is still far, far away.
To help bridge the gap, weโre checking in on Arizonaโs competition in the Pac-12. Over the next few weeks, weโll run some of the best comments from the leagueโs coaches after their recent participation in a conference call to wrap up spring ball.
Todayโs Q&A is with Stanford coach David Shaw, who, like many others in the league, is sorting through a quarterback competition. Next week will be L.A. Week as we feature UCLAโs Jim Mora and USCโs Clay Helton. But first, hereโs Shaw:
(on what QB candidates Keller Chryst and Ryan Burns need to do to win the job)
โThe biggest thing is operating the machine. It starts first and foremost with getting in and out of the huddle as fast as possible so we can have more time at the line of scrimmage. Utilizing the snap count. Redirecting the protections. Handling the audible system. Getting the ball snapped before the 40-second clock runs out. Then making great decisions. Itโs a lot.
โBoth guys have done well. But at the same time, both guys need to ramp it up. We need to get quicker. Weโre going to be pretty hard on them in training camp as far as operating faster. We need to go (at) a game tempo during practice to make sure those guys can operate like that when the lights come on.
โWeโll see who starts. But if it stays neck and neck all the way through without a clear winner โ even if itโs just a slight edge by somebody โ Iโd anticipate possibly both guys playing early in the year just to continue the evaluation process into the season.โ
(on rebuilding the offensive line and how much shuffling is required to finalize that)
โProbably not a lot of shuffling, but weโre not done by any stretch. Coming out of spring, I thought Jesse Burkett really played extremely well at center. I thought there would be quite a few more mistakes playing with the first offense and putting everything on his shoulders. He was very, very impressive throughout the entire spring.
โ(Another) guy who makes us feel very good about where we are right now is David Bright. He could play left tackle or right tackle, either way if necessary โ or guard if necessary. Casey Tucker spending most of the spring at left tackle gives us a lot of comfort also. He also could play left tackle or right tackle.
โWeโve still got a battle going on at guard. A.T. Hall, I thought, had a really good spring. He has shown heโs about ready to play as well. Brandon Fanaika was solid all spring. Those roles will start to solidify themselves throughout training camp.
โItโs just nice to know weโve got a good group that we think we can get 5-6 (regulars) out of, and then weโll see with our freshmen coming in if those guys can contribute in our short-yardage and goal-line packages.โ
(on the team loosening up and having fun last season and whether thatโs carried over)
โNot as of yet. I hope we get there again. Right now the teamโs mindset is about not taking anything for granted. Really knowing we have a lot of spots weโre competing for. Knowing weโve got high expectations.
โThe spring wasnโt really that loose. It was really, really good. It was very physical. It was very intense.
โI think we have to earn the right to be loose. I think that team last year, about midseason, started to play at a really high level and started to enjoy themselves, and you saw us play with emotion and energy and passion โ but still play physical and tough and hardnosed. I donโt think thatโs something that can just kind of happen. The team has to earn the right to be that way.
โIt has to happen organically. It canโt be forced. And it canโt be frivolous. We canโt have a lot of fun if weโre not playing well. We canโt be loose if we are making mistakes.โ
Part 1:ย Arizona State coach Todd Graham
Part 2:ย Cal coach Sonny Dykes
Part 3:ย Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre
Part 4:ย Oregon coach Mark Helfrich
Part 5: Oregon State coach Gary Andersen
