⚡ CFB Dashboard

AMES – Iowa State football completed its third practice of spring football on Tuesday and its first practice in pads. This is the first year under head coach Jimmy Rogers, who is supported by defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit and offensive coordinator Tyler Roehl. Bobbit met with local media on Wednesday to discuss his defensive unit. Below is a full transcript of the press conference.   On how things are going in the program, on his defense Yeah, things are definitely starting to feel normal. I think the camaraderie within the staff has been great. Obviously, on the defensive side of the ball, we've been together for a while. Obviously, you've had a couple new pieces with Coach (Ross) Watson and some of the assistant coaches by position, but things are coming together really well on our side of the ball, for sure. In terms of how we're getting along with the offense, it's not good, I'm just kidding. No, things are good. Getting along well. Love the culture that they're instilling on that side of the ball, and the effort and the mentality they have. It's been a fun few practices so far. I was going to put the pads on yesterday, but things are definitely feeling normal. I think everyone's feeling pretty settled, and it's been fun so far. On practicing with the offense Yeah, we've been doing a lot of team. I feel like we've been doing team. It feels like the last two months in some of these walkthroughs and stuff, but it's been really competitive, both sides of the ball. There's not just 11 guys on each side running the ball. There's like four or five coaches also running to the ball on each side, and so that's been fun. Love to see the spirit and energy that both sides have from a coaching standpoint, and really pushing the guys to be at their best and have great effort. Coaching the details. Coach (Jimmy) Rogers is big into coaching between plays, and get your butt off the field so you can give him the space. So we're running on and off, trying to coach as much as possible. On the dynamic of coaching the defense with transfers who understand it and players who are learning the scheme for the first time Yeah, no, it's been really good. I think guys have been really open, the guys that were able to come with us and understand how we operate and what we do. Not only us as coaches bringing guys in and showing them, it's huge that there's players that are able to do that. I think the biggest thing from a team perspective, but also on the defensive side of the ball, giving the guys opportunities to talk to each other and lead. We're unit meeting as a defense a few times a week, and in those unit meetings, it's not just X's and O's. It is a lot of the culture building and camaraderie piece and guys getting to know one another each day. We have guys come up and talk in front of the group, and usually I'm each day strategically picking someone that was already here, someone that came with us from Wazu, and then someone who is from somewhere else. Just having guys continue to get to know each other and that allows the bond to come together. We've done a lot of things the last couple months from a culture building, from a whole team perspective, with Kris Kracht and Coach Rogers. It's made it seem like if you're at practice or you're anywhere around the building that these guys have been with each other for a year or two and that you wouldn't notice that it's been only a couple months, which has been fun. On the fun of spring practices No, it's been awesome. It's definitely fun, and it's been a great challenge, I think, as a coach. When you look at it, having a new roster, reinstalling everything like everyone's a freshman, getting coaches on the same page, that is the fun because of the challenge of trying to get everyone to the level of which we want to be and coaching at that standard and playing at that standard. So it's been a ton of fun, and as you can tell by my voice, it's a little hoarse just in terms of screaming and yelling and trying to be loud and getting in on the action to coach the guys up and get back out. So my voice is struggling a little bit, but it's been fun. On using Washington State transfers to teach the defense Yeah, I talked a little bit about the culture piece, but from a schematic standpoint, they're usually the ones getting some of the first reps, and so the guys can watch that. Some of the teach tape that we're using actually is from Washington State, and so they're watching those guys do it where there's something to that, right? And then you watch the guy who's sitting next to you do it on a day from a different school. You feel more comfortable asking him the questions. 'Hey, why did you do that?' Or 'What was the mistake there? I don't get it.' Whatever it is, right? So, it's a huge advantage having guys that have already done it. Those guys can lean on them and watch those reps be done, whether that's indie or team or in a meeting. Whatever it is, whatever a coach expects, those guys can lead the way and catch guys up, and we're all working on patching. On how returning players help build the culture Yeah, I think it's awesome. I think specifically just talking about the defense and us as coaches, we have zero ego. So we talk about doing this together, and so we have what we do, what we've done. But I always ask the guys that have been here in a different scheme, wherever they came from, 'Hey, what have you guys done?' Or 'How are you taught this so I know how you were taught?' 'That makes sense why you're doing that because you've been taught that for three years.' All right, 'Well, here's how we can adjust, and here's how I can make it same as for you in teaching.' And so I think there's that aspect of it. But I think what's been really cool, at least in the linebacker room for sure, we've got some guys that were here like Carson Willich. He's asking a ton of questions and really good intellectual curiosity, I would call it, where he's always taking one step farther, and that makes the group better. That makes me better as a coach. And sometimes they'll catch you off guard with some of the things they ask, like 'Where did that come from?' But it's good. They're thinking, which is fun. On balancing competition and learning the defense Yeah, there's no doubt. And so it's been an evaluation since they got here. So is there like a set depth chart? No, but when you talk about who's going out there with the first group, there is a little bit of a depth chart, and the guys see that, and that's based off the evaluation since we got here and they got back from winter break or whoever, when they came in as a transfer, of how they're doing in walkthroughs, how they've been in meetings, what they're showing up, if they're doing things right, and being on time with the things. If they're one of the guys that's on the list, they're probably not going out there first, even if they are the most talented, because right now we gotta learn and everything's an evaluation. Are you accountable? And so you're trying to balance it all, but we're definitely evaluating everything, and that's a play into who's going out there first and who's getting the most reps, and that's day-to-day. I think right now from all positions defensively, I know we're intermixing guys and having him get reps with him. It's not like you two are the ones until you're not. I'm continuing to mix guys up and working with each other, because you never know. You want them all to be able to communicate together, who works well together, make it a fair competition and fair evaluation in terms of maybe someone ends up taking reps finally with someone who's a great communicator and can help him get aligned and that person starts playing better, and they get more reps and actually learn better. So it's good to mix it up for now, and then as things go, I think I would see it being that way through spring ball for the most part. Maybe on a scrimmage day, it would set up a little bit more depth chart-wise, but by the time you get to fall, that's when I would say evaluations aren't done, but you have a pretty good idea of what your depth chart would be. On who some of the standouts players have been Yeah, I would say starting up front, Bryson Lamb and Isaac Terrell. Bobby, they call him. Bobby Boucher. But those two stand out up front, and a little bit of that comes from some of the questions that we've had of the carryover. Naturally, you would think those guys, with the talented players that they are, but also the mental carryover of running this defense, they've been standing out in a big positive way. I would say Caden Crawford up front as well. From USD has been what we would hope for, and he needs to just keep doing what he's doing and keep taking it day by day and being at his best. Going down the list at linebacker, I've been really happy with Malcolm Jones and Willie Breland, they're at SAM/nickel, and they've been taking a lot of reps just based off of the amount of bodies we have at that position, and they're working their tails off, and they're trying to have 100% pursuit every down to the ball, but they're running a lot. But I've been proud with those guys at linebacker. Tristan Exline, who we brought in from UTPB, is doing a lot these last couple days as the mental side of the game is really starting to click for him. You can see some of the things he saw on film, which we were really excited about him triggering, playing faster. The physicality piece yesterday was awesome to see out of him. And then at linebacker, I would say maybe the most consistent one right now is Carson Willich. He's been eager since day one when we got here asking questions, being in the building, watching film, all the things, and he's executing at a really high level. So that's been awesome to see out of him because usually when you put in the work and the time and all the things, it's cool to see it actually happen out there. You're excited for that. And then at the back end, Braden Awls is doing some really good things. His athleticism and natural. He's played a lot of football, and so you can see that out there. It's fun to now see it in spring ball, just his instincts and being in the right place. And yesterday, seeing his physicality, that was really cool to see, along with the whole safety group had a really good day yesterday, but Xavier Martinez, guys coming in, and Duhron (Goodman) and (Micah) Harper. So that group. And then at corner, got some length. I feel really good about that position and the depth that we've had. It's more depth than we've ever had, wherever I've been, at the corner position. And so David Coffey got some really good coverage ability in that whole group. And then the next aspect of what we're going to ask our corners to do is fit and run. So you also need to be physical, and I would say the natural question at times is people ask, 'Well, is the corner physical or not?' He's been showing up with some great physicality, along with some other guys. So those are some guys that just come to mind, as I'd say it, but there's a lot of pieces in here that I could go through in detail and say why they're progressing or having a really good winter and spring so far. On Willich Yeah, in my opinion, it does. I think this scheme does fit him a little bit more in allowing him to play with a little bit more freedom. Since I've been coaching, our WILL linebacker position that he's playing in this defense is set up to have a lot of success and be able to make a lot of plays or be in positions to make those plays. You also have to be very physical. So when you look at what traits and ability does he have to bring to the table, one is his physicality in setting edges or attacking the ball and spilling or bouncing a puller. He does that with some intent and some violence, which is awesome. He's been a great communicator since we've been here. So he's helping guys get aligned. He hasn't had too many mental errors at all or missed assignments because he's studying and he's communicating and getting guys on the right page. But then also with how we play our defense, our linebackers, in comparison to what he's been playing in previously, are allowed to scrape more and play at depth more and trigger on things and maybe, not as much hole-pluggers as they maybe were last year or previously within that scheme. I think he's going to have a lot of opportunities to make plays and it definitely fits him. He's very well-rounded within his ability and it's been fun. His issue is he's been injured a lot of his career at different times, and so he's healthy right now and we'll try to keep him that way. On a sense of urgency for players Yeah, no doubt. And we experienced that a little bit last year for sure, but just talking about here now, there's definitely some urgency out there. There's no one that is a, 'Hey, you're the starter.' That's at any position, offense or defense. It is known that everyone's competing and we're going to be competing until week one to be the guy, and that's ever-changing. And so it is fun to see that competition, but there's also that chip on the shoulder from a six-year senior that transferred in, I think Max (Baloun) was a seventh-year senior, or the true freshman that enrolled early. No one has like, 'Well, this is my spot.' No one has that ego or mentality. It's like everyone's fighting for it with joy and no sinking their heads or holding their heads down because they didn't get a rep right now. Earn your reps. And so guys are learning that they need to earn their reps and execute. Whether you get 10 reps or 20 reps, make the most of your reps and you'll earn more. On how big of a scheme change Iowa State is making Yeah, definitely a big change. Big change. It's a big change to go from a three-down to a four-down in general. When you talk about the box structure and how you fit runs and, you know, coverages are the same in a lot of ways. It just makes it look different no matter what scheme you're in. But from a front standpoint and how we play our front at times, which is different than other four-down teams, mixing it up, it changes it up quite a bit. And so, you know, again, I really believe in our scheme and what it allows that position to do and have a lot of success. And, you know, Carson's a great example of, he's like, 'Man, I really love this defense.' He loves the freedom that he has and he likes the responsibility that he has in being out of the box, in the box, different paths, blitzing, all the things. So, it's definitely different and excited for those guys to be able to showcase and keep learning and hopefully be a big part of our success on defense. On the challenge of learning a new system as a defensive lineman, like Zaimir Hawk is being asked to do Yeah, it's definitely a challenge. Yeah, no matter how smart you are with this or you can learn the playbook like that, just doing the reps, it's way different. You know, he was zero nose. And then a lot of times you're just getting vertical off the rock. Now he's got to read things. We're popping with pullers. He can be stuck, like he could be a shade. He could be a 2i. He could be a three. Like they're going to do it all. Like our d-linemen really across the board, depending on what we do and what we eventually get to, are asked to really be able to play any defensive position across the board, all four. They're not playing safety, sorry. I wouldn't ask that out of him. So yes, it is a learning curve for sure. And so, I mean, from where he was at a couple weeks ago or a month ago in walkthroughs to where he was at yesterday, huge difference. And it just takes reps. It just takes reps. And I'd love to shout out him, as you asked about him too. It's just his leadership and him speaking and opening up in those unit meetings and being someone that's trying to be a leader on this defense. It's been cool to see.