Today’s Sports Huddle with Tracy Claeys was conducted at WCCO’s broadcast studio at the Minnesota State Fair.
Coach Claeys was on earlier than normal. I turned the program at about 10:15 and he was already talking. So I may have missed a comment or two. Hopefully SON can fill in what I missed.
1) First question I heard was by Sid. He wanted to know who would be starting today on the offensive line, if a game were played today:
The starting lineup would be: Left Tackle, Garrison Wright; Left Guard, Connor Mayes; Center, Tyler Moore; Right Guard, Vincent Calhoun; Right Tackle, Jonah Pirsig.
As to possible impact players this year, he mentioned JUCO players Wright and Calhoun. He also mentioned another JUCO transfer, Donnell Greene. Greene was not available this past spring because he was finishing up his academic work. Nevertheless, he’s been making progress in camp as he learns the system. Claeys said Greene gives the offensive line “depth.”
He finished the question talking about Jonah Pirsig. Pirsig, according to Claeys, is having a great camp, maybe his best ever. Claeys said Pirsig has size, athleticism and speed for a big guy – 6’9” and 325 pounds.
2) Dave Mona asked about evaluation and projection of freshen quarterbacks:
“Hardest thing to do, projection . . . figure where they are (knowledge of the game and being prepared to see the field).”
He added that could be said about many freshmen players: In high school, the players are in slots where they can give their team the best shot at winning.
3) Sid asked about Mitch Leidner’s backup, Conor Rhoda:
“Conor Rhoda played at Cretin . . . great student of the game.” Because of the change in coaching and philosophy, the quarterbacks have “more on their plate.” Nevertheless, Claeys sounded positive and confident when discussing the quarterbacks’ adjustment to the changes being made.
4) Sid asked for an appraisal of freshman quarterback, Seth Green:
Tracy Claeys was, once again, very positive in his response: Seth Green – extremely gifted, can run (important in the new system), athletic.” He quickly added, Seth Green is going to be redshirted this year. However, “injuries can happen that” alter plans.
5) Dave Mona asked about the new the coaching staff:
Claeys answered, “I have a switch (on his headset) . . . I’ll be listening to all the coaches,” especially during timeouts. He said, offensive coordinator/quarterback coach Jay Johnson has always coached on the sideline and that’s where he will be during the games.
He also mentioned Adam Weber, an offensive grad assistant in his comments. He sounded impressed when discussing Weber and his contributions to the coaching staff and team.
6) Sid asked about the changes on offensive side of the line:
Claeys replied, he wants the opposition to “defend the whole field.” When discussing the changes in offense, he cited Drew Wolitarsky, Rashad Still and Tyler Johnson, as well as the running backs and the roles they will have in the passing game.
7) Sid specifically asked about the wide receivers:
Claeys sounded upbeat when in his comments he cited Rashad Still, Drew Wolitarsky, Tyler Johnson, Hunter Register, tight ends Nate Wozniak and Colton Beebe. (He didn’t mention Brandon Lingen’s name, which I took as merely an oversight.)
He ended the question by talking about coaching drills that Jay Johnson implemented, which emphasize catching fundamentals.
8) Dave Mona asked about linebacker coach Mike Sherels appearance on the practice field yesterday:
Claeys said Sherels is making a nice recovery from surgery; however, he hastened to add it will take time before he is fully recovered and back coaching on a regular basis. Sherels, since his release from the hospital, has been sitting in on some of the coaches meetings, but yesterday was the first time he was on the practice field.
9) Dave Mona’s next question was related to defensive backs not being highly rated coming out of high school but experiencing success on the field:
Claeys said they first look at the player’s athletic ability. He acknowledged they need to increase the size of the defensive backs when they first arrive on campus, and it’s the coaching staff’s responsibility to develop the players, which they’ve been successful in doing. He reiterated that athletic ability is the biggest thing they look for when recruiting defensive backs.
10) A fan in the audience asked a two-part question: a go-to-guy at the wide receiver like KJ Maye was last year, and the expectations of 9 wins this year:
Claeys replied, “Hard to fix a number on games.” He added, the important point is to compete for the Big 10 in November.
As to a go-to-player, Claeys said they want to distribute the ball around and not be fixated on single player, which they did last year with KJ Maye and that was a problem at times, because the opposition would focus their defense on stopping Mayes.
11) A fan asked about pre-season prognostications in the various sporting magazines that are on the newsstands:
Claeys quickly responded by saying he doesn’t read or listen to what’s being said before the start of the first game, “It’s where you’re at” when the season ends.
12) Sid asked about this year’s secondary in comparison to last year:
“It’ll be as good,” Claeys said. However, he quickly added that some of the new players will have growing pains but they’ll learn quickly, especially after having seen the field in the first couple games . . . “talent is there!”
“Linebackers – most talented group we have.” He also sounded pleased with the “depth at defensive tackle.”
12) Sid asked for an appraisal of Oregon State:
“They’ll be a lot better than last year . . . they played a tough schedule.” Claeys said he expects OSU will be tough in league play this year. He also gave props to Beaver coach Gary Andersen.
13) Dave Mona asked about Ryan Santoso’s move to punter and the kicking game:
Redshirt sophomore Emmit Carpenter will handle the kick-offs, pats, and field goals. Claeys sounded positive when discussing the all-important kicking game.
14) Dave Mona asked about possessing our deferring at a coin toss:
Claeys was emphatic about receiving first. He expects and wants to have an extra possession at half-time. However, weather conditions can dictate decisions about deferring to the second half.
Go Gophers!!
Coach Claeys was on earlier than normal. I turned the program at about 10:15 and he was already talking. So I may have missed a comment or two. Hopefully SON can fill in what I missed.
1) First question I heard was by Sid. He wanted to know who would be starting today on the offensive line, if a game were played today:
The starting lineup would be: Left Tackle, Garrison Wright; Left Guard, Connor Mayes; Center, Tyler Moore; Right Guard, Vincent Calhoun; Right Tackle, Jonah Pirsig.
As to possible impact players this year, he mentioned JUCO players Wright and Calhoun. He also mentioned another JUCO transfer, Donnell Greene. Greene was not available this past spring because he was finishing up his academic work. Nevertheless, he’s been making progress in camp as he learns the system. Claeys said Greene gives the offensive line “depth.”
He finished the question talking about Jonah Pirsig. Pirsig, according to Claeys, is having a great camp, maybe his best ever. Claeys said Pirsig has size, athleticism and speed for a big guy – 6’9” and 325 pounds.
2) Dave Mona asked about evaluation and projection of freshen quarterbacks:
“Hardest thing to do, projection . . . figure where they are (knowledge of the game and being prepared to see the field).”
He added that could be said about many freshmen players: In high school, the players are in slots where they can give their team the best shot at winning.
3) Sid asked about Mitch Leidner’s backup, Conor Rhoda:
“Conor Rhoda played at Cretin . . . great student of the game.” Because of the change in coaching and philosophy, the quarterbacks have “more on their plate.” Nevertheless, Claeys sounded positive and confident when discussing the quarterbacks’ adjustment to the changes being made.
4) Sid asked for an appraisal of freshman quarterback, Seth Green:
Tracy Claeys was, once again, very positive in his response: Seth Green – extremely gifted, can run (important in the new system), athletic.” He quickly added, Seth Green is going to be redshirted this year. However, “injuries can happen that” alter plans.
5) Dave Mona asked about the new the coaching staff:
Claeys answered, “I have a switch (on his headset) . . . I’ll be listening to all the coaches,” especially during timeouts. He said, offensive coordinator/quarterback coach Jay Johnson has always coached on the sideline and that’s where he will be during the games.
He also mentioned Adam Weber, an offensive grad assistant in his comments. He sounded impressed when discussing Weber and his contributions to the coaching staff and team.
6) Sid asked about the changes on offensive side of the line:
Claeys replied, he wants the opposition to “defend the whole field.” When discussing the changes in offense, he cited Drew Wolitarsky, Rashad Still and Tyler Johnson, as well as the running backs and the roles they will have in the passing game.
7) Sid specifically asked about the wide receivers:
Claeys sounded upbeat when in his comments he cited Rashad Still, Drew Wolitarsky, Tyler Johnson, Hunter Register, tight ends Nate Wozniak and Colton Beebe. (He didn’t mention Brandon Lingen’s name, which I took as merely an oversight.)
He ended the question by talking about coaching drills that Jay Johnson implemented, which emphasize catching fundamentals.
8) Dave Mona asked about linebacker coach Mike Sherels appearance on the practice field yesterday:
Claeys said Sherels is making a nice recovery from surgery; however, he hastened to add it will take time before he is fully recovered and back coaching on a regular basis. Sherels, since his release from the hospital, has been sitting in on some of the coaches meetings, but yesterday was the first time he was on the practice field.
9) Dave Mona’s next question was related to defensive backs not being highly rated coming out of high school but experiencing success on the field:
Claeys said they first look at the player’s athletic ability. He acknowledged they need to increase the size of the defensive backs when they first arrive on campus, and it’s the coaching staff’s responsibility to develop the players, which they’ve been successful in doing. He reiterated that athletic ability is the biggest thing they look for when recruiting defensive backs.
10) A fan in the audience asked a two-part question: a go-to-guy at the wide receiver like KJ Maye was last year, and the expectations of 9 wins this year:
Claeys replied, “Hard to fix a number on games.” He added, the important point is to compete for the Big 10 in November.
As to a go-to-player, Claeys said they want to distribute the ball around and not be fixated on single player, which they did last year with KJ Maye and that was a problem at times, because the opposition would focus their defense on stopping Mayes.
11) A fan asked about pre-season prognostications in the various sporting magazines that are on the newsstands:
Claeys quickly responded by saying he doesn’t read or listen to what’s being said before the start of the first game, “It’s where you’re at” when the season ends.
12) Sid asked about this year’s secondary in comparison to last year:
“It’ll be as good,” Claeys said. However, he quickly added that some of the new players will have growing pains but they’ll learn quickly, especially after having seen the field in the first couple games . . . “talent is there!”
“Linebackers – most talented group we have.” He also sounded pleased with the “depth at defensive tackle.”
12) Sid asked for an appraisal of Oregon State:
“They’ll be a lot better than last year . . . they played a tough schedule.” Claeys said he expects OSU will be tough in league play this year. He also gave props to Beaver coach Gary Andersen.
13) Dave Mona asked about Ryan Santoso’s move to punter and the kicking game:
Redshirt sophomore Emmit Carpenter will handle the kick-offs, pats, and field goals. Claeys sounded positive when discussing the all-important kicking game.
14) Dave Mona asked about possessing our deferring at a coin toss:
Claeys was emphatic about receiving first. He expects and wants to have an extra possession at half-time. However, weather conditions can dictate decisions about deferring to the second half.
Go Gophers!!
