BAYLOR FOOTBALL: Dave Aranda Weekly Press Conference Transcript (9/7/20)

[Bryan, Taylor]

Baylor head coach Dave Aranda Weekly Press Conference
September 7, 2020

On Louisiana Tech…
For as long as I’ve known about La. Tech and have watched them and prepared for them at times, it’s been their efficiency on offense and their athletic skill on defense.

So on offense, there have been different quarterbacks, there have been different receivers, and they’ve all been able to throw and catch and convert first downs and put points on the board. Quarterbacks knowing where to put the ball, when to put the ball there. Just the efficiency of their offense has been impressive.

You can watch it from last year, there’s different quarterbacks playing, and there’s a competition now. I feel a lot of respect for Coach (Skip) Holtz and what he’s been able to do in terms of being a teacher. They’ve got great talent. Knowing where to go with the ball, the timing of it. You watch receivers make contested catches year-in and year-out. They did it vs. us at LSU a couple of years ago. It’s impressive to see.

If think defensively, just the skill that they have. They’re going to be a 4-3 attacking front. They’re going to get up the field in their pass rush. I think they’ve got guys that can play press. There’s definitely skill there that jumps off the screen when you watch them on tape.
On Xavier Newman-Johnson availability…
He will. We’ll get him back the next game. He’s with us right now and is preparing, and we’re looking forward to having X back for the next one. It’s an off-the-field issue with him.

On acclimatization to first head coaching job…
I’m comfortable. What this job has allowed for is to get to know the person over the player and to get to know the person over the coach. Generally it’s the other way around. If anything, 2020 has allowed us to get the order right and spend time getting to know our people. I’ve always said that it’s character skills ingrained in the process that’s really going to drive winning. So this has allowed to really do it the right way. Typically you’re right off the bat with spring ball and you’re kind of catching up with getting to know your people in the summertime, and this has been the opposite of that. So I appreciate that, I appreciate our people allowing themselves to get opened up and share. All of it has been really good. I wouldn’t want to trade spots with anybody.

On pregame butterflies…
I don’t think so. I go back to the first time I was coordinating at Hawaii to the first time I was coordinating at Wisconsin to my first game at LSU. I haven’t had any yet. You get so locked into your preparation and task at hand that some of that stuff doesn’t hit you as much. At least that’s been the history. I imagine this is going to be like that.

On only having one non-conference game…
That’s a good question. I would think about that question also in relation to not having spring football, and not having a limited summer. While I feel we’ve made some progress in getting to know our people, we’re still learning our players. I would look at this game as putting the game into our players’ hands and identifying our best players. Putting them in a position to be successful, putting them in a position to make the plays we need them to make, and finding out about some other players in terms of can we handle this, can we do that.

There’s going to be mistakes that are going to be made, but let them be player mistakes where guys are going for it. Maybe they’re falling short and maybe they’re learning on Sunday how technically we can do this better as opposed to from hey we had this check, but they checked this play. So we checked the check and now there’s this other thing. So staying away from that and putting the game into the players’ hands.

I think this first one is especially made for something like that to learn our players and what type of team we have.

On experience with LA Tech from LSU…
It does. Being around summer camps with some of their coaches that I have a lot of respect for. I have a lot of respect for Coach Holtz. There was a play when I was watching film yesterday with the defense. It was third-and-five and it was three by one, and in RPOs they ran a stretch play to the running back. The back was far away from the trips. The quarterback read the backs some, pulled up and threw to the X. The team they were playing had great coverage on the X receiver, and the ball was right where it needed to be. The receiver made a contested catch, first-and-10. I think typically if I hadn’t been through the experience of having played La. Tech, if I hadn’t been with these coaches and talking shop with them, and eating a sandwich in between a camp, if I hadn’t been through that, you can think hey that’s a great play and let’s see what happens next. I think that play right there is La. Tech’s offense. That’s what they do. They go attack a weakness of the coverage, the receiver makes a contested catch, and they convert. We stopped the film and talked about that and how we need to combat that and play that better and all of it. So a lot of respect for them.

On lessons learned from TCU postponement…
We do. Really throughout the summertime of nationwide of different teams and their struggles, and to always be growing and learning that way. You get to the point to where the masks are supposed to be up, and maybe the masks are down. Put your masks on and keep them up. Socially distance on the sidelines. Hey, make sure we’re six feet apart. All those things. I think it’s human nature to get into a space where you’re comfortable, and hey this is kind of normal now, I’m good. Hey, let’s relax a little bit. But we’re just not in position to relax. I think we’ll continue to stress doing things right. I think the accountability that comes in the time we’re in couldn’t be higher.

On Jake Burton…
I think it’s a lot of credit to Jake [Burton]. As soon as he could be around and visiting with us, he was. I remember specifically I was getting my second cup of coffee, and I see Jake trying to find where Wickline’s office is. I take him over there and he’s meeting there at 6 a.m., and that was about every morning or it has been. That translates into on the field, we’re in a practice, and the defense lines up with a certain look, and O-line-wise we need to make a call to fan out of protection. Jake makes it and is taking control like he’s been here the whole time. I was standing in the back with the rest of the offense as we’re watching that, and guys are going ‘How does he know to say that? He’s already running it. Who told him that?’ So it’s a credit to him, it’s a credit to Coach Wickline. When you watch Jake play, he’s able to illustrate that he’s been coached, he’s been trained, and there’s a maturity about him. I’m really excited about the prospects for our O-line.

On Ashton Logan…
I’m really excited about him. I think Ashton [Logan] brings a great football IQ and great toughness. So I enjoy that about him. There’ are gap schemes and counters and powers that are run to him and he just gives you a hard edge. I think his improvement as a pass rusher, I give credit to Coach Joey McGuire. Joey has worked really hard with Ashton, and Ashton’s worked equally as hard. His improvement as a pass rusher is very evident, and when we do drop him into coverage, he’s done that before. There’s a feeling of comfortability with us that we can rush him or drop him, and we bring the pressure from the star position with Terrel Bernard or a safety position where we’re dropping that jack. So I think his emergence has been a product of his work and Coach McGuire’s. It’s good to see. I’m looking forward to see him play on Saturday.

On Jairon McVea…
He’s playing both. We’re looking at opportunities to get [Jalen] Pitre and [Jairon] McVea on the field at the same time. They’re two of our better players, so I think it’s a good problem to have right now. Pitre gives us a great edge in the running game, gives us great zone eyes. He can play man, he’s a great blitzer. McVea is going to give us great man-to-man cover skills, so their tool box is a little bit different. The ability to mix and match those guys to play to their strengths is where we’re at right now. Like I say, it’s a good problem to have. I think both of those guys will play quite a bit.

On extra year of eligibility effect…
I think everyone has an opportunity right now. The ability to get the best out of your players and give them the opportunity. The other part with that, all of these are good questions, I go back to the previous question, I see that as half the scenario. The other part, which you’re bringing up, is there could be a situation where we’re down that many guys and we need guys to show up and play, so we need everybody.

Throughout the week, making sure that everybody gets reps. Not only your first- and your second-stringers, but the guys that are behind that. Typically, in the past for us, they’re the guys that are helping give us a look. But now, we’re making sure that there’s a base collection of plays that they know, that they can perform and they can execute on any given Sunday, Wednesday, Friday test, where now all of a sudden they’re called into duty. So, I think that type of work and our ability to get hands-on coached and developing gives them a great opportunity to succeed. I think the opportunity that our freshmen have had to this point and what they’ve put on tape is a testament to our coaches, a testament to the leadership of the team, because they’re seeing guys sacrifice, they’re seeing guys come in for extra time, they’re seeing guys kind of go about it the right way. So, it’s a positive for me to see. I expect a lot of those guys to play.
On physicality from fall camp…
I think when you sit back and you watch some of the games that have been played already, one of the things that immediately jumps to mind is that question. Not having talked to any of those coaches, but trying to put myself in their shoes, the dilemma is: how much are we in shape? Hey, there’s testing, this guy we haven’t seen in two weeks, how much do we push? If these guys are out and we push these guys, and they get hurt, then do we have a team? Who’s left, number-wise. So, there’s a fair amount to juggle in that respect. And I think that plays out as kind of the basis of your question, on some of the games that have come up to this point. Our thought with some of that is to really get specific in terms of the Tuesday, particularly, but Wednesday as well practices, we’ve really tried to hone on being physical and staying up and not being on the ground.

There’s a bit of a work in progress there, but the more that we can do that and fire off the ball and have great technique and have a base and strike and drive. The one weakness I see with some of the games to this point is people getting off blocks. I think just the simple fact of a team that can run the ball is an advantage over another team, because they’re going to struggle on getting separation, gap control, locking out, peeking, shedding off a block. I haven’t seen a lot of teams do that to this point. So, I think the work that goes into that – let’s do that on the Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and let’s stay off the ground. And then throughout the week, getting work in your walk-throughs and in your spiders and your shells, we’re working on hand placement and peeking and shedding. So, defeating the block first, then our eyes popping out and finding the ball-carrier. So, I think those fundamentals, you’re probably talking those things further into this game than you probably ever have, where typically that’s a spring and fall camp. At this point, you’re kind of talking about, ‘Well, if this formation shows up, we’re thinking this and we might to get to that,’ where here you’re thinking, ‘Let’s line up, get our cleats in the grass, let’s strike, let’s set a new line of scrimmage and let’s play fundamental football and let’s let them try to beat us as opposed to us going out and trying to do this or that.
On preparing for evolving roster this season…
Correct, very much so. That goes back to just everyone is on the ready. Further, and we talked about this some last week. Offensively, generally we’re in 11 personnel with one back and one tight end with the three receivers. That’s our basic personnel group. Well, there’s a certain set of plays that we run from that personnel group. Well, now we want to run that out of not only 11 personnel, but 21 personnel – two backs, one tight end; we want to run that from 12 personnel – one back, two tight ends; we want to run that from 20 personnel – two backs, no tight ends. So, out of all those personnel groups, and then whatever the depth is. So, that could be a freshman, that could be a walk-on that’s really achieving and maximizing his ability. So, you’re looking at all of those things. So, it’s not about the quality of the plays and the schematics, it’s about the quality of how you’re doing stuff. And I think that’s been the focus is let’s get to fundamentals and let’s get to standards of how we do stuff and invest there.
On stability of depth chart at this point…
Just looking at it from a big-picture view, competition is always ongoing. So, you always look at that and you’re always looking to build competition, you’re looking to build depth. As certain players emerge, it opens up other avenues. At the school I was at (LSU), John Robinson was volunteering to help out. I remember growing up watching the Rams and Eric Dickerson, Jim Everett, Henry Ellard, and John Robinson was the coach. He’s retired now and he lives in Baton Rouge. So, he would sit next to me in the team meetings all the time. We would sit down and talk, he would talk about his development thoughts of how he trained players and the limited time he had. So, I look at that right now in terms of the NFL-style squad of Hey, if there are limited numbers and we’ve got to be able to get a linebacker trained as a nickel or we’ve got to get a receiver trained as a flex tight end, and then let’s cross-train and get that done to make this work.

The other thing I remember with John Robinson he brought up Fritz Shurmur was his (defensive) coordinator. And he talked about they were down on d-linemen, to a certain degree, and they played I think they called it the ‘Eagle’ defense. And there was a linebacker as a 3-technique. And these are all things that we’ve talked about in terms of let’s get our best players on the field. Like, [Jalen] Pitre and [Jairon] McVea and a couple other guys, we’ve got a fair amount of guys that are of that sort that are really, really good players. Christian Morgan, Terrel Bernard is a little bigger than that, but in that same type of mold. So, finding a way if we’re down on interior people, we get those types of people on the field. In the process, you’re creating something new, but you’re doing what’s right for your players and right for your team.  I think that’s ongoing, but it is the question of the day, for sure.
On Gavin Holmes…
His heart. I think he’s inspiration. I think his care factor is very, very high. In the time since I’ve been here, he’s someone that if the quarterback is looking that way, he’s not only going to get open, but if it’s being contested he’s going to make that catch. And he’s going to get up and do it again. Just that type of grit and toughness, I think that comes with facing adversity year after year. I think that’s something that’s born in a fire, and he has it.
On advice he has received for first game…
No. There’s a certain group of coaches that I talk to, and I guess they’d be mentors to me. I try to keep in touch with them, and as things come up I’ll run stuff by them and see what they think. Paul Chryst would be one, Gary Andersen would be one, guys I respect and I know their heart and what type of type of guys they are. So, I’ll talk with those guys and kind of go through things and get ideas in all of it. We’ve got great coaches on this staff, the staff that we have here. So, talking with Larry Fedora, Ron Roberts, Joey McGuire, Shawn Bell, guys who have been head coaches before, getting thoughts there. I think it’s very much open that way. I’d like to continue to be that, and I appreciate it.
On importance of single-digit tradition…
It was important to them. I think it was maybe the second day that I was on the job, it was brought to me, and you could see the passion with which they talked about it, because it was earned. And that was probably my biggest takeaway from all of it was that it was something that was earned, it was voted on by the players and it was a sign of respect. I think it’s a real positive. You talk about guys that represent what the culture is, and you couldn’t ask for a greater group of guys. So, I’m happy to keep that going.
On John Lovett’s leadership…
He’s a leader. He doesn’t talk much. When he talks, people listen. He’s got something to say. There’s an edge about him. So, I think that edge keeps other guys on edge, which is a positive. He’s a really, really hard worker. So, in whatever he’s doing, he goes all out, so there is no break on John Lovett. I think there’s a great respect that the players have for him. When John is on the field with them, they feel like this is going to happen. We’re going to do this, John’s here, John’s got this. I think anytime you have those things, you want to reward that.
On significance of awarding walk-ons scholarships…
They’re doing things the right way. I just felt like their work ethic, the care factor, they’re team-oriented guys. Anytime that you can reward someone that puts their heart out on the line, they open themselves up and go all out for everyone to see, you want to able to do that. So, Garret [McGuire], Zeke [Brown], Thor [Rodoni], they’ve done so much and they’ll continue, I know they will. They’re great leaders for us.
On Thor Rodoni…
Thor [Rodoni] is motivational, to me. I think there’s a great spirit in Thor. I think football is just the start for him. I can see him when he gets outside of this just doing great things, because I think he inspires people to be their best, with just how he treats people and how he handles situations. You watch Thor, and he can walk up on anyone on the team, and they know who he is and they’re joking with him and they’re finding something to talk about. I think that’s such an awesome skill. I think he’s essential with us, but his best days are ahead of him.


___________________________________
Taylor Bryan | Assistant AD for Football External
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-709-4411 | O: 254-710-3538

[cid:image001.png at 01D5070F.1E7C3CA0]<http://baylorbears.com/>


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20200907/8839348b/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 11690 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20200907/8839348b/attachment-0001.png>