Monday is always press conference day during the regular season. There is a new site this year. Since the opening of Bright House, err Spectrum Stadium, all press conferences were conducted in a small room adjacent to the stadium locker room. That room is no longer available due to the stadium improvements, so we are now in a conference room inside the leadership center.
At the beginning, Frost commented about the new venue. I think he preferred the old setup where he got to sit down instead of standing at a podium.
It ran about 18 minutes long. Frost's demeanor and tone changed when talking about Butch Davis - he played for him with the Browns in 2001. Just kept it very brief. Frost acknowledged that Tyler Hudanick may not be ready on Thursday. On health, he said they're as healthy as they could be, no major injuries during camp (Hudanick is still trying to rebound from an injury suffered last season).
No backup quarterback (Vedral or Mack) has been named, but they'll make a decision before Thursday. They will look to get the backup reps when available. He really glowed about WR Gabe Davis and the defense in general.
Anyway, on to the transcript.
On how this opener feels different than last year:
"We're just farther along this year. The players are more comfortable with scheme. I think they do a better job communicating. They understand what we want better. They were quicker to pick up the game plan this year because they're understanding of what we're trying to get done on both sides of the football. I think we're a little bit deeper which has helped us practice better. I think the mentaility and the togetherness of the team has improved from a year ago. I'm looking forward to seeing these guys play."
On preparing for FIU and a new coaching staff:
"To be honest with you, we're taking a lot of guesses. These guys are new coaches. Their coaches are coming from different places on the offensive and defensive side, so we're doing the best we can to piece together what we think they're going to be running. That being said, our players are going to have to be able to adjust in the middle of the game. They could come out and run something completely different from what we're expecting. Usually our schemes on offense and defense should account for any new look we're going to get, but we might have to make some adjustments in the first and second quarter. Our guys have to be on their toes."
On any connection with Butch Davis:
"Butch was my head coach when I played for the Cleveland Browns in 2001."
On what he remembers from that experience:
"I was there for about 13 weeks and then went up to Green Bay from there. I thought it was a very tightly-run organization. I didn't get to know Butch very well while I was there, but I got to play under him. He's had a great career and I'm sure he'll have this guys ready."
On whether they look at previous stops of Butch Davis or other coaches to get an idea of what they might do:
"Defensively, we're looking at North Carolina. We're looking at Tulsa from back when their coordinator was there. We're looking at Memphis from when their coordinator was there. I know offensively they're looking at a bunch of different things too. That's why I say our guys are going to have be ready for any kind of look they see. Our defense gives us a lot of looks so that should prepare our offense and the same goes the other way. There's not much we haven't seen. We just have to make the adjustments and execute."
On whether OL Tyler Hudanick will be ready to play in the first game:
"Tyler is coming along. He's really close. If he's not going to be ready, he's going to be real close. I've been pleased with him the last week or two as far as his progress. We're trying to bring him along. He made a big difference on our offensive line when he was in last year. We look forward to him being 100 percent."
On today's practice:
"Today's practice was a Wednesday practice for us. We started our week really on Saturday with what would have been a Monday practice. Yesterday was a Tuesday for us. Today is a Wednesday. Really at this point in the week, as far as a Thursday game is concerned, our practice, our hard work is done. From here on out, it's a matter of getting everything dialed in mentally and making sure we're good on our assignments and all the little details. Our guys are going to have some mental sweats from here until game day to make sure they know their assignments and know the game plan inside and out. I think our guys are prepped and ready. We've had a couple good days."
On the offensive skill depth:
"We're going to be young again at some positions. Receiver, I think we've had a lot of freshmen that have come in and done a good job. I think those guys are going to play. We have Tre'Quan (Smith) coming back and Cam Stewart and (Dredrick) Snelson coming back, so we have some guys with some experience, but there's going to be some young guys we lean on too. It's a credit to them for coming in and learning it and picking up, and being competitive with the older guys. Most of the other positions I think we'll be a lot more veteran. We have two running backs in Taj (McGowan) and Ham (Jawon Hamilton) that have played and know what they're doing. We have a quarterback with experience. We have tight ends that have all played. As far as the skill positions are concerned, we feel we have some really good depth. We just have to keep bringing some young guys along."
On the backup quarterback situation with Noah Vedral and Darriel Mack:
"I think both true freshmen have done a good job coming in and competing. They're both going to be really good players. They've shown us things in camp that lead us to believe that down the road we're going to have two really good quarterbacks in those two kids, Noah and Darriel. The tough part for us is one of them has to be backup in week one. So we're going to have to make a decision on which one of those guys to put in the game. It's important for us to get one of those guys reps if they're going to be our backup for the entire season, so we can start getting them ready, getting them some meaningful snaps in case they have to go in when it matters in a game. We'll have to make that decision pretty soon. Both guys are deserving and both guys are capable of running the offense if something happens."
On whether he would try to get one of those QBs in the game on Thursday:
"If we're behind, if we're ahead or something bad happened, we'd put one of them in. We're going to have to make that decision here soon going into this first game as to which guy we're going to play and which one we're going to redshirt. We may end up having to play both of them. I think both of them are capable. We have a big decision to make before Thursday."
On the wide receivers after Tre'Quan, and Gabe Davis and Manny Greene:
"Obviously Tre'Quan has done a great job in this camp. I think he's improved from last year. I'm looking forward to watching him play. Dredrick Snelson has done a good job changing who he is. He's lost some weight, he's leaner, looks like he's running faster. Doing a better job. Cam Stewart obviously played last year and has done a good job in camp. Gabe Davis is a special kid. He came in and right away as a freshman was one of our hardest-working players. He gives everything he has in practice. He cares. He's done an unbelievable job in camp getting himself into the mix. Manny Greene had the benefit of a spring ball this offseason which helped him a lot. He has some juice. He can run. Has done some good things. Needs to work on being more consistent. Marlon Williams has done some really good things too. He'll play a role definitely before the season is over. Then Otis Anderson has been really good for us too. He had a spring practice as well. He's done a great job. He's learning the running back and wide receiver spots. He gives us another guy we can move around and get the ball to."
On the team's health:
"When they changed camp and took two-a-days away from us, everybody had to come up with a new strategy on how to work their training camp. Trying to get the practices in and keep their team fresh. We decided to give guys some days off in the middle of camp. It's been a little less intense camp. A little less of a grind because we're not going day after day after day. But it's worked out from the standpoint, that knock on wood we're healthier than we have been coming out of a camp that I can remember coaching. We have all guys up and ready to go. All hands on deck right now. I think our team is fresh and ready to get started."
On whether there's something extra special about opening week:
"I think our guys are just excited to play. We've been hitting each other for a month. We started camp early because of the rule change, so we were still in summer school when we started. There's been a lot of practices. I love the fact we're playing on a weeknight. I'm looking forward to seeing our campus show up, students show up. It's a Thursday night. I expect a huge part of the campus to be in our stadium and loud and rocking and rolling. I think our players will feed off that. It's going to be an exciting night Thursday."
On teams perhaps double teaming Shaquem Griffin:
"Shaquem has earned every bit of attention that he's going to get. He has earned it, not just with his play this year but in his practice this year. He's stepped his game up even more. That being said, I hope they double team him and give him a lot of attention because we've some other guys that can beat you on that defensive front. He's the leader on that side. He's done a great job of being a catalyst for us and being a motivator for us. You can't put too much attention on him with some of the other guys we have on the field. I'm looking forward to seeing that unit play."
On the improvement of McKenzie Milton:
"McKenzie has done a lot of work. Getting him that experience is going to help us this year. We kind of threw him into the fire last year and I think he was an example of maybe our whole offense last year. We were young. We were a little inexperienced. We were close in a lot places and a lot of plays. We need to execute better. I think McKenzie has improved his mechanics. He's been a lot more consistent in practice. There were a lot of plays last year that he made. There were also some easy ones his misfired on or made a wrong read. If he can be consistent with the ball and get the ball to the people when they're open and get the ball in the right spot, his playmaking ability will do the rest."
On his confidence level in the defense:
"I think a lot of the guys that were backups last year that have had to step into bigger roles this year have really improved themselves as players. Chequan Burkett and Pat Jasinski are great examples. They look like different guys out there this year and I think they're ready to carry the load. Tre (Neal) and Gibby (Kyle Gibson) in the back end have done an unbelievable job. They look ready to play. We've gotten some new guys that are going to add depth and be playmakers for us too. Those two positions are an example. Outside 'backer is an example. Titus Davis has worked really hard and has had a great camp. Dedrion Bacote has had a great camp. It kind of goes on and on on defense. I think we're not just playing well, but there's a lot of guys playing well. I think our depth is going to be a big factor for us this year."
On whether Frost watched any football games this past Saturday:
"We were working on Saturday, it was a work day, but we got a chance to watch a little bit of ball."
On whether he watched the USF-San Jose State game:
"We watched the San Jose-USF game, yep. I thought San Jose came out early on and did some really good things, then USF's talent kind of took over. You watch game ones and it's kind of hard to judge where everybody is, off game one. Coaches always talk about the most improvement that takes place between week one and week two. It's way too early to make a judgment, but I watched the game on TV and I've already watched the coach's cut of it."
On not getting out to a slow start like USF did:
"You can prepare your team as well as you think you can, as well as you possibly can for game one, but you never really know where you are until the first kickoff happens. I think our guys are ready. We're prepared. I know we're a lot more ready than we were a year ago. But you find out a lot when the ball gets kicked off."
On Frost's excitement level for the season:
"For a football coach, you love football and the games are the best part. Preparing for the games is the most important, but the games are the most fun. We've been looking forward to this since the end of last year. I think our players gave everything they had in the offseason. The biggest thing I have to say about being excited is I love this team. This is a lot tighter-knit group. A lot of guys who do everything you ask them to do. A lot of guys who love the game and they show it on the practice field. A bunch of guys who care about each other. That makes it a fun group to coach."
On what his message will be to the players in the locker room before the game:
"I don't believe that much in rah-rah speeches. If I have guys that need a rah-rah speech to get excited to play football then I have the wrong guys. There's not going to be much talking being done before the game. Our guys are going to be prepared and ready, then it's just a matter of going out and executing. I don't think I'm going to have to do much to motivate them. They're anxious to play a football game."
On Jordan Akins stating that he wants to go undefeated this season:
"We have a challenging schedule this year. We're looking at this first game and this first game only. But I want players that think they're going to win every game. We're going to focus on this one and nothing beyond that. I want our players this year to expect to win. I think going out Thursday they're going to expect to play well and come out on top. The team coming in is probably going to expect the same thing. I know our guys are gaining confidence through their success and improvement on the field. We'll see when the ball gets kicked off and the plays start happening, but we're a lot better football team."
On playing regular games against the likes of FIU and FAU:
"Last year we played FIU and had a bunch of fans down there. It was an easy trip for our people to make. We have a lot of kids from South Florida, so I think getting to play in front of your home folks is always special. I think they're good series when we can play those people. Both programs are a challenge. They both have a lot of talent. I'm sure FIU will come in with a lot of South Florida kids and some Central Florida kids who are anxious to play in their home state as well. It's a special deal and it's a great opener for us."
On whether there are any new uniforms this year or for Thursday:
"We have a couple new things that we're going to roll out this year. But for the most part, the guys liked our look last year. We're going to keep building off that. We're not going to be able to change completely our style every year. Or every game. To be honest with you, that's the last thing on my mind. I want our players to play well. Hopefully I could put them in overalls and coveralls and they would play well. Guys love to look good. I think Nike and our university has done a good job of putting them in things that make them feel good and want to go out and play well in."
On his expectation in the first game from McKenzie:
"We have a good game plan for him. He's going to be really familiar with it. We want to see him be efficient. We want to see the offensive line give him a bunch of time to operate. If we do those two things, I think he'll have a good game. I'm really looking forward to seeing him be efficient and be accurate. He made some really good throws last year, like I said, and there were some others that his mechanics broke down or his protection broke down, and we missed on some easy things that should have extended drives. Those are the plays, when it's easy, that we have to make and he's been making them all in camp. If that carries over to the game, he's going to have a good day."
On the new student sections being in both end zones:
"Listen, I love having everybody at the game but the more students we can get in there, the better we'll be. Having students on both sides will help us regardless of which direction we're going as an offense or a defense. I want our students to want to come. That's what college football is all about. It's student-athletes that are going to class with the rest of the student body, then going out and performing on Saturdays. Having students from our campus show up and have spirit and cheer them on. If we can fill the whole stadium with students, I'd love it."
On the state of the offensive line:
"The offensive line has come a long way. You're never quite where you want to be at any position, but I think we have a bunch of guys that are working hard and have made a bunch of improvement. Our two tackles, Aaron and Wyatt, are doing a great job in this camp. Jordan Johnson has come a long way since we moved him to center. We have more depth there too. A lot more guys that have played and we feel comfortable putting into a game. They've had a tough go of it, honestly, in this camp, trying to block our front seven. That's a challenge every day. They win their share, but those guys on defense are coming. I think those guys are looking forward to hitting somebody in a different color jersey."
On the guard spots:
"We've had a lot of guys step up. Chavis Dickey has really improved himself from a year ago. Jake Brown has come along this fall camp and done a lot of good things. Sam Jackson has done some good things. Luke Palmer has done some good things. Tate Hernly is there for us. There's a lot of guys I think we can play. We'll keep evaluating that week by week, but as a unit I think we've made some pretty big strides up front."
