Spring football is over. Real football is still far, far away.
To help bridge the gap, weβre checking in on Arizonaβs competition in the Pac-12. Over the next few weeks, weβll run some of the best comments from the leagueβs coaches after their recent participation in a conference call to wrap up spring ball.
Todayβs Q&A is with Oregon coach Mark Helfrich, whose team is undergoing transitions on defense and at quarterback. Still to come this week: Oregon Stateβs Gary Andersen and Stanfordβs David Shaw.
Hereβs Helfrich:
(on the influence of new defensive coordinator Brady Hoke and the pros and cons of him being a former head coach)
βItβs been great. Heβs been everything (we) expected in terms of (being) demanding and at the same time a playersβ coach. Disciplinarian. A guy that immediately shows he cares about the guys and cares about them as people. And then at the same time, can really be demanding on the field. Thatβs been a great balance.
βFrom my standpoint, thereβs way more pros than cons. Thereβs things that heβs been through that you can learn from or take advice on, whether thatβs off the field, game-management things, recruiting. Both he and David Yost, the other new member of our staff, have added a bunch just in terms of making us validate why we do things, and if change is needed, tweaking it slightly. I anticipate that being nothing but a blessing.β
(on the high standard in the Oregon quarterback room)
βI think thatβs a burden and also a beauty of the deal β trying to push them as much as possible. Theyβre all very conscientious guys in terms of wanting to do well and prepare well and compete. They also know thereβs an extremely high standard here and expectation here of how that position is supposed to play. And then at the same time, utilize your resources. Utilize Royce Freeman, Tony Brooks-James, Kani Benoit, Darren Carrington, Charles Nelson, Kirk Merritt. These guys that are proven commodities. Be a point guard when you need to, be a playmaker when you need to. And just learn at as quick of a rate as possible.
βWeβre going to push them, and weβre going to try to play better than we ever have at that position. But that might look different than Marcus (Mariota) breaking an 80-yard run. That just might be making a perfectly placed ball to Darren Carrington and letting him do the rest.β
(on having all the QB candidates available in spring as opposed to last year with Vernon Adamsβ delayed arrival)
βItβs obviously the preferred method, having those guys in. Weβre going to make it work however it falls from a production standpoint. We donβt have any choice.
βI think last year it was a different vibe. At the same time, Jeff Lockie and Taylor Alie did a good job of working through it and battling through it. Internally, we didnβt talk about the unknown or talk about what might happen. I know there was a ton of chatter on the outside that they managed and got through.
βNow weβve got three guys that really are competing for the job (Travis Jonsen, Dakota Prukop and Terry Wilson) and a couple guys that arenβt at this point (Lockie and Alie), which is also difficult. But those guys, Jeff and Taylor, have managed that really, really well. Itβs just a matter of distributing the reps with the long term in mind and knowing that weβre not going to decide who the starting quarterback is this spring. Thatβs not gonna happen.
βYou can definitely tell (Prukop has) played more football than these other guys at this point. Certainly at the collegiate level. Heβs got a natural charisma about him. But I also think Travis has that. Terry has that.
βItβs kind of a weird blend. Travis hasnβt practiced really ever here, but heβs been in the classroom listening to everything and observing everything. He just hasnβt done it. And Terry has been here for (just a handful of) weeks and is operating in some ways at a very high level and in some ways doesnβt know where the bathroom is. So those things all collide at some point. Dakotaβs doing some good things. And heβs doing some things that weβll improve upon leading into fall camp.β
Part 1:Β Arizona State coach Todd Graham
Part 2:Β Cal coach Sonny Dykes
Part 3: Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre