USU Head Football Coach Blake Anderson Press Conference - July 28, 2022

you know honestly it seems like yesterday we were in La finishing up a bowl game and a championship weekend and it it just it really flew by great season tons of fun but reality sits in real quick fall Camp 22 is here and huge challenge ahead of us um a lot of new faces lost a lot of productivity that have gone on to do other things several still still playing and hopefully able to make rosters but uh there's um you know tremendous challenge when you consider the productivity that graduated the new faces and the shoes that they have to fill fact that the schedule's a good bit tougher you you trade you know Washington state for Alabama uh you trade New Mexico state for Yukon with a new coach and probably a brand new roster a BYU Road Road game as opposed to playing at home and even Weber State uh over North Dakota I think Weber State's one of the best you know onea teams in the country so everything just gets tougher and a in a conference that's going to see you coming there's going to be uh there's going to be much higher expectation sense of awareness of what we bring to the table and how competitive we can be it's just a it's a huge challenge I think our guys have um had a really really good summer and prepared well we gave them the last week to get away kind of refresh their minds and their bodies before jumping into fall Camp uh and uh just the energy in the building already with guys rolling in has been has been nothing but positive but the expectations are through the roof both fan base and within the building and and we'll uh we'll get to work and and see hopefully what we can we can create over the next month before we we get the opportunity to play Yukon here at home so there's some there's some py features on both sides of the ball that that fall Camp needs to answer for us and we're going to we're going to take the same approach we took a year ago be to be be the best we can be every day one degree better every day control what we can control high work level high intensity level be in the best shape we possibly can be and and hope that um you know in the fourth quarter we're right where we need to be to to compete and find a way to win games late so we'll uh we'll stick to our formula and and our approach and I think these kids know that it is it is if we'll do that well that it gives us a chance to be successful every week so what questions do you have be happy to answer coach can I ask you you've been in this a long time is that another way of saying I'm old no but I'm older than you I know that's good I'm good but what I'm saying is it seems like the philosophy of what we see in practice now is even different you don't hit and Tackle Asma is that fair to say from where it used to be to where it is nowadays yeah well and I think just and you wouldn't have to look back all that far for there to be more contact the game has they're with us longer we have them year round back before the days when they would go home uh fall Camp was more about getting them in shape now fall Camp is about maintaining the shape they're already in and fine-tuning we have eliminated a lot of the a lot of the contact in practice we only tackle to the ground a handful of times some of that is by by rule by NCAA Rule and regulations in terms of best practices some of it is we've gotten smarter about about how we can teach and we can stay on our feet more and still get a lot out of it we want these guys to be healthy you know game 10 11 12 13 not just healthy one two and three and so we've had to be smarter about how we approach things so yeah it's safe to say that we have we have gotten better at practicing up on our feet without as many collisions taking the head out of a lot of that taking tackling to the ground out of a lot of that but that also puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the coaches and the players to be able to teach fundamentals and technique in that environment and tackling to the ground I mean ultimately the best way to do that is to go out and do that and you just can't physically do that all the time so we've U we found a a pattern that works for us and and I think a lot of people have very similar approaches and the other thing you just said a few minutes ago you think fall Camp has a couple of key areas to answer maybe you don't want to answer that totally but can you can you expound that no I think I think they're pretty obvious when you consider you know offensively we've got two interior spots both guard spots are wide open likely that maybe even a young guy that hasn't played a whole lot or at all is going to have to step in one of those spots I think that's going to be critical to the success your Center your tackles are all intact all have played even even the backup center and the backup tackles have played and started games so you feel better but those two guard spots have to materialize in a way that we can run the ball better than we did a year ago we were adequate but not explosive we've got to be better especially in situations where everybody in the stadium including you guys and us we all know we're going to run it we got to be better in those areas and those two interior spots have a big factor in that um you know finding that number two that number three three running back we know Calvin is the guy and and likely will continue to be the guy we can stay healthy who's going to who's going to take load off his back who's going to step in as the two the three what's that room going to look like as it solidifies I think that's a big question and we we we need to do um we need to find that fairly quickly I think so that we can get up and running the wide receiver room lost a ton of productivity now you got at watch spring realized we brought in some veteran players that can impact that room in a big big way but we haven't played a game yet and so can they go out and do that on a weekly basis at the level that that group last year did um I love what they've brought in the spring but I just feel like there's so much respect that has be given to the game itself against an opponent on a weekly basis and and that's still a remain to be seen kind of conversation and then I think on offense DT's presence his energy level his leadership that he brought to the practice field every day if you get paying attention they have noticed it in Tampa Bay he is he has an infectious energy and work ethic about him and it's going to show on offense um defensively Justin rice and Nick hener and Marcus Moore their productivity their leadership on a daily basis football IQ that they brought to the table we have get again brought in some veteran transfer type players that can do that but they've got to go do it in game settings um that's that's asking a lot and we saw those guys step up in the spring and against us every day did some really really good things but how they going to look when Yukon rolls in how they going to look in Tuscaloosa how they going to look you know on the road for a conference game to me those are those are all very critical steps that have to have to show themselves fairly fairly early coach Anderson um we saw in the spring game that Anthony Spitzer it looked to be pretty serious what's his status how is he Rec how's his recovery going and if if he is out who are the guys that you're counting on to really battle for that you know that's going to be a little bit of a position by committee early so Switzer did tear his ACL in that in that game and had surgery immediate following uh Spring ball he um he is well on track ping ahead of schedule physically I would love to think we'll get him back at the end of the season for four games that's a little bit you know that's a little bit um being optimistic and and if we did lose him for the entire season obviously he's going to benefit from in in the long run uh I think there's probably another key position of need that probably should have been in that defensive list how do we fix that is it with a linebacker is it with a safety uh is one are one of the young guys going to step up and step in uh we did bring in uh a transfer over the summer and we're hoping that that that will solidify but he's not cleared yet to practice so I mean to me that is that's a position that on a daily basis you may see a different guy and hopefully by a scrimmage two it has settled in solidified and we've kind of Taken figured out what the approach is it going to be at 425 with a safety playing the position is it going to be a more a little bit more of a 4-3 field with more of a linebacker playing that position are we going to sub Personnel based off the people that we're playing until we have an every down player that position is is way up in the air coach you've talked about bringing in veterans this year you brought them in last year too I know in Arkansas State you didn't really use the transfer portal so I'm curious how do you feel about the portal today with the experience you had last year with this team and the guys you brought maybe you did before well the transfer portal wasn't it wasn't the same Dynamic that it is now at arxl State we we did bring in transfers but it it tended to be um a little bit different and and obviously we we had a lot of junior college players as well the immediate eligibility within transfer portal I thought we did a great job a year ago at at bringing in guys that factored in on the field and if you go back and look it was a great blend of transfer players with the current roster and it gelled really really well staff did a good job identifying the right guys I think we've done the same thing in the off season uh with key players in in the areas of of the most need um we mentioned DT the wide receiver room defensive end where hen hener is gone um middle linebacker where we lose Justin rice you know three technique we we did the best we could at using the free agency market the transfer portal to bring in guys that we thought could step in in some capacity now the question is can a guy come in and play at the same level can he exceed the level of who graduated or is it going to take collectively collectively maybe the entire room um and I and I can see that being the case in some places it the transfer portal is here it's not going anywhere it's probably going to get even a little bit more different and maybe even a little bit more accessible for the players I think there's a very there's a likelihood it's going to go from one time transfer to anytime transfer I think those are things we see maybe coming in the very near future so whether you like it or don't I I just feel like as a head coach whether you agree with it don't agree with it it is the landscape of college ball you best figure out a way to maneuver it and manage it the best you can we're never going to go all transfer portal we're going to blend it with the high school and junior college ranks I think we've done that two years in a row we'll continue to do that now how heavy you go or how light you go I think is dictated off what you're going to lose off your roster and do you really see young guys having bridg that Gap ready to step into those roles or not and so to me it's going to be a year-to-year conversation do we have a young guy that's been on the roster for years that's ready to take that role if that's the case we would stay out of the portal we would we would utilize what we have on campus if we see there's a gap then probably we're going to hit the portal of the junior college ranks to try to be immediately competitive until maybe one of the younger players does develop and so I think that is a day-to-day year-to-year conversation and you may have a a feeling of it in January and coming out of Spring ball have a completely different feeling or in switcher case an injury may occur and so I think how people maneuver that is important to their success on a yearly basis and then there's a character component and an and an um you an environment component and that not only physically do they have to be able to fit what you need but they culturally they have to be able to come in and add positive to your culture as well and and that may be the missing piece that that is hard to see but has a really really big impact coach can I ask you along the lines of that have you seen would Arkansas State Utah State their rosters now have players that were in Alabama miam Miami USC Texas all these things have you seen Talent better on the roster at Utah State and Arkansas State than you saw before with what you even saw last year were they more talented players because they went to bigger schools uh not necessarily I I think um I think I think we've first yeah but I think some of those same guys have ended up on the roster in the past just through waivers or or or red shirt years and you I think back to seven years at Arkansas State I had guys from OU and Miami and Alabama on MAR roster now the transition is a little bit more seamless and maybe a little bit more immediate uh maybe the numbers a little bit higher but we've developed some some of the best players I've had of guys we graduated out of high school recruited out of high school developed out of high school and gone on to you know do a phenomenal job so it's it's been each each base each each case is an individual uh so it's not overall it's not it's not I mean obviously there's some really talented guys available in the portal but I think you'll also pay attention a lot of those guys are just going power five to power five they're looking for more playing time or better nil deal or different culture whatever so it's not just that we're all loading up our rosters with power five players we're we're going out and finding other group of five players power five players Junior C players really all the above and and F finding what fits our our need uh we've had some really talented teams in the past so I think it would be it would be probably naive on my part to just assume that all of a sudden we've got more talent because I think we do a great job of developing guys too and some very under recruited players coming out of high school have a chance to develop and exceed all those guys me I take a kid like Omar bis that played white out for us at Arkansas State that's still in the NFL that you know honestly was completely unheard of coming out of high school just a couple offers and and now is playing at the next level JD mckisic on year seven or eight in the NFL with the Washington Redskins and had one or two offers out of high school so I think there's a lot of those guys too that that get overlooked that didn't need the portal didn't start at a power five just need time to develop and Devin Tomkins is one of those guys you know Derek Wright is in Camp nobody knew who he was till a year ago so I I think I think it's a very good blend of all the above the transfer Port just allows you to affect your roster immediately as opposed to having waiting you know maybe waiting three years for some of those guys to devel maybe in a Dereck R's case maybe four or five years till he develops were you aware of Levi Williams when he was a high school player and just bar just barely um we did recruit Texas at Arkansas State we did evaluate him we had already filled that spot so really we didn't get actively involved in the recruiting process uh we really didn't get to know about him here until we get late in the season and knew he was on the roster against us so um you know we weren't we weren't in the market to be involved in recruiting him out of high school like like we might have been had we already been here for a few years how's he done since he's there done a great job uh he's he competed really well for the number two spot in the spring I don't think he did enough to surpass what Cooper is able to do Cooper I think showed us all in the bowl game he's more than capable and he only got better in the spring so he's going to make it extremely hard on Levi to pass him up but what he did do is add some stability to the room that we've got a very competitive number two spot and and he is going to uh make that only harder on whoever you know whoever ultimately ends up winning that spot we also brought in a couple High School guys that have already over the summer shown real quickly we've we've got um Chase to tagalo from out of out of um Salt Lake City and Bishop Davenport out of Houston both those guys have all the skill level to be very good players so I I think it's going to be a lot of fun you know see how that thing develops in the future and hopefully none of those guys have to play hope hopefully Logan Bonner stays healthy and lights it up but we know how ball we know how it is me you know helmet gets knocked off a concussion an injury somebody's going to have to step in and play we need to be able to win when they do so coach you talked about we've been talking a lot about transfers but you also mentioned development Yeah by and large most of this roster is players that are developing in the program what underclassman which underclassman do you see have you seen from the spring what would they've done in the summer that looked like they're going to be able to take that next step for you this year yeah so I mean a couple of young guys that that stand out um offensively Kyle Van Lan in the slot position n Davis in the slot position both those guys have a chance to step in and and really I mean some big shoes to fill with Brandon and DT graduating uh on the outside we're really pushing AO Tia wanting him to step up you know Brock and sturs are both at the tight end spot or guys are already on the roster that are developing that have a chance to do that we mentioned maybe one of the biggest keys of what happens those two interior spots on the offensive line and two young guys that battled that are battling uh Aaliyah Melo and U way and lahu both those guys are are trying to make it really hard for those veteran guys on the roster to to keep their job so I think you got those kind of things happening all over the offensive side of the ball defensively um I would tell you uh that there's a handful you know AJ Carter has moved outside at corner um trying to think off the top of my head who um that safety name is slipping my mind right now who is my safety from here in the dang Valley um Ike Larson Ike Larson sorry Ike if you're listening uh I think Ike has a chance to make make a big step there cessie up front on the defensive line Paul Fitzgerald and and enoa Meo the twin brother uh at the defensive end spot so there's a lot of those and probably a ton that I've just you know slipped my mind right now you put me on spot but it's good that you do I think there's a ton of those possibilities on the roster and and honestly some that that we haven't really even kind of identified the the jump you can make from one season to the next we've seen could be huge and and and those things played themselves out on the field last year in guys like DT and guys like Derek right um that really had had virtually no Pro you know very little if if at all productivity the year before to obviously massive Seasons uh you know last year and and and so we're if we can find one or two of those kind of stories this season it's going to make us make us a lot better Kevin you think well he's a super smart guy number one he does everything you ask him to do uh he's in the starting huddle for a reason if he can stay healthy you know who knows how good he can be you throw him and MJ taisi in there who's a transfer from Washington and and we honestly need him to be you lose Justin rice who was like having a coach on the field he was telling everybody where the ball was going before it went you know kind of broke kind of broke pattern a lot of times and stepped out just out of feel and Instinct and made big plays so we need AJ to step up we need MJ to do the same and solidify that uh that position which was a key position for us last year defensively it's going to be key in one way or the other this year hopefully in a positive way coach you can't answer this question unless he's actually signed so okay so you you had a verbal commitment from a junior college offensive lineman earlier this week has he signed uh has not signed yet we are so we are expecting to add a couple bodies today and if all the if all the dominoes fall in the right direction we've got two o linemen that we expect to add to the ranks today or within the next couple days that will solidify that room we're just we're trying to get as much depth up there as much size as we can and we've really have not stopped recruiting all summer coach can I ask you about the schedule obviously it's the Hawaii game being on the road there was the option of 13 games with the two bu and it's been pre-established taking the two bu what are your thoughts of having two off days and then also starting week zero compared to start well I don't understand week to zero I mean it's week one for us I don't know I mean that's beyond me we we play we play the first game Yukon it just happens to be a week earlier than some other folks uh yeah I think the open week the extra open week just with the pounding of the Season benefits us as opposed to playing another game it it's a tough schedule uh as I mentioned before just some of the trades the onea doua trade I think is an upgrade in Talent Weber's phenomenal football team going from New Mexico state to Yukon I know Yukon doesn't have a great record but new head coach they hit the portal extremely hard physically they're going to be a bigger more physical football team than we played in New Mexico state and I mean you're going to play the number one team in the country and Alabama if not number one number two somewhere in at that point really no different and then having to go on the road to BYU so it's it's tougher the trip to Hawai is a challenge in itself and then really the the recovery to get back here get rested play the next week maybe even bigger than that um it's it's it's going to be a big challenge I told guys it's going to be way harder than it was a year ago so we'll see what they're willing to do and what we're capable of doing but the schedule is not favorable in that sense now you do have Air Force coming here at home which is obviously one of the best teams in the league but we got we got some tough trips too and we're going to finish it Boise and it'll be it'll be early morning cold probably and hopefully that I'm just hoping by the time we get there that game really matters I really do I hope we've done enough that that game is critical and it'll take care of itself at that point but it's it's a tough schedule it's a tough challenge coach adding on to that you you guys played really well away last year in some of those hostile environments but some even you know tougher scarier ones this season um how are you guys going to take that you know us against the world mentality in there do you think you'll see that same success on the road well the up us against the world mentality is front and center when you realize that nobody respects this football team going in it's it's a little bit more maybe then a year ago but not a lot now these guys have been picked preseason for much of anything couple watch lists picked a finish middle of the pack in the league and so I think they just realize it's what you earn it's not you earn respect it's not given and and that's fine I I we like kind of being in that environment we'll have more eyes on us than we did a year ago this time but but I I don't think it's drastically different uh we're going to have to go out and proove ourselves the the success we had on the road there's a lot of guys that were on that travel Squad that understand the way we approach things we're not going to change our approach we're going to control what we can control you know really focus on being in great shape focus on rest nutrition how we practice as you kind of alluded to earlier and try to you know hope that formula continues to work for us you know we had some really tough home games some tough opponents and and did not U didn't have as good a home record as we did on the road but if we hadn't gone 8 and0 on the road we're not you know we don't finish 11 and three so um I think these guys probably carry some confidence about that what we do and how we do travels well and that it really doesn't matter where we play but it's a it's a it's a different team this team's got to prove themselves uh we don't get any points for last year have aason we did yeah just we just felt like um we needed some some more opportunity in that that that room to maybe play by committee a little bit and uh Wilmore comes in with having been on some power five rosters and I think people in the state are somewhat familiar with him at one point he was he was listed as a starting tailback at Utah at least for a game or two um some staff changes and different things Dynamics at places that he were that he was at just made him available to us and we felt like he could challenge other guys in the room don't know where he's going to fit didn't promise him anything but an opportunity but we did feel like it was a need to to bring in another guy that has played at this level and could maybe add a role however big however small um injury is always a concern too losing Noah like we did to the transfer portal you know I think it was a right move so we bring in a high school player in Briggs we bring in a transfer player in Wilmore and there'll be a couple other bodies in the room that that have an opportunity to compete but on the surface of those two guys we feel like could impact the room you know the quickest do you have any thoughts on the lastek new stting sure they want to meet with a commissioner I believe about a union unionized right yeah a chapter the association yeah I'm not sure that it surprises me that that we're in this territory a little bit with all this happened with nio and the transfer and kind of looking back to what happened at Northwestern with there were their athletes a year or two ago but don't know all the Dynamics to it interesting to see how that's going to progress I'm glad they're dealing with it and we're not at this point but uh not completely surprised that some of these kind of conversations are coming up considering what has happened so much there's been a been a lot of changes in the last 24 to 48 months in college football and probably more to come so that is probably a natural progression in some way but I don't have I don't have an opinion on it other than that it doesn't surprise me coach you already highlighted a few players on your defense but who do you see your some of your defensive leaders this year you graduated a few but there are some guys who were impact players last year were still back for you but yeah I mean I think the leadership role is is kind of remains to be seen we saw some guys AJ bong ban in the spring by Ron with his energy every day uh you know H has been a he he went to the media day for a reason he's kind of the he's kind of the father of the that group um MJ TFI even though he's new coming in from Washington was a very stable body uh Hunter Reynolds is has been a very vocal very consistent but I I makes to see as we get a little further in if there's maybe some other guys that solidify some roles that Daniel gak he by the end of spring was starting a defensive end and his energy level was very similar to what we got out of Nick a year ago and he didn't necessarily have to be vocal but he brought he elevated everybody else around him by kind of how hard he played and how hard he worked so he could have an impactful um kind of role not just the productivity but just his uh presence and and there may be a couple guys that that do the same gin Hall has a chance to do that do we get Dom Tatum back on the field you know he's coming off injury and and has a chance to step right back in and he was a phenomenal leader for us before um so it that is that is going to kind of just determine you know what that defense looks like and there's some big shoes to fill there's no doubt and Justin rice and Nick heners are both Jack Bond was a great leader in the back end but we've I think we've got some guys that can can do that and maybe in a different way and then just kind of a followup just you've had some defensive players move positions and just how's that transitioning and you anticipate there might be other players here in Ball Camp that get new roles from they were before kind of in Reverse I I do think there could be some shuffling around the nickel position is is one that we have to kind of solidify and there's a lot of different ways to attack that problem so there could be be some maneuvering there you know really the primary move was AJ moving from the safety position out the corner and I think we realized real quickly in Spring that that was a good fit for him the length that he brings he's got the twitch to play out there uh so so I expect him to have a big role uh Jamie Nance you just the last few days of spring we were able to see enough that we felt like we've got him in the right spot by moving him the Corner anxious to see how he how he responds in competitive work every day yeah um but there there could still be some other shuffling around depending on you know kind of how the next couple weeks goes but but just none off the top of my head that that we're already anticipating having to having to make coach what are the expectations physically for the team reporting to PA camp now like what have they been doing with with Coach Jackson has it been aerobic stuff has it been just building muscle like what are you hoping to see well we needed to get bigger and stronger so we focus on that in the offseason we made some games coach Jackson was was really pleased with just guys bodies are changing a little bit it's year or two into it with the full off season last year was a little bit of abbreviated offseason just trying to get acclimated to what we're doing uh but mainly we want to have we want to have the ability to play physical ball in this league what you have to do we're not going to be bigger than anybody but we got to be able to match that physicality uh up in the trenches especially and the way we play we've got to have we've got to have gas in our tank Lake I thought they did a great great job this summer it was a week shorter based off the calendar than it was a year ago but we were able to hit the same benchmarks that we hit a year ago with one week less which to me is a good indicator that we're on the right track going into fall camp now we got to get in football shape we're in great running shape we're in great lifting shape and now we got to get in great football shape and that's what the next month is about and his input is just as critical as the coordinators on on being able to do that um but we we attack the problem of physically being able to hold up up front where in areas last year where we got pushed around a little bit at times and still being maintaining speed and the ability to run late in the games which is where we won games last year so that's a balance and it's not always one that's easy to obtain coach you were nominated as a part of the afca good works team can you just I know you talked about nause and Spades but can you talk about your relationship with the community especially after one year how the community kind of fell in love with you and you and BR your family had the same feeling for them yeah I'm not sure that I have been out in the community quite as much um as I had hoped to be obviously life happens and we've kind of we've kind of pulled back over the last four months just to really concentrate on trying to heal from losing my son but what I've noticed is the community reached out to us in kind uh knowing that we were going through a lot so many people in the community have reached out to us to comfort us and and um I I've said this and I mean it there's just no way better way to explain that the valley and the people in the valley and the fan base have exceeded every expectation of of what I had coming in of of how they would support us love on us um in good times and in bad it's not all been perfect obviously you win 11 games there's a lot of a lot of positive a lot of fun things but there were times that were disappointments there have been hurdles that we've had to cross and none bigger than losing casing like we did in February and um yeah we feel very connected to the valley people in it and uh appreciate you know the support both on but off the field maybe even more can I ask just on behalf of the community how are you and Britney and the family doing we are making it the best we can to be honest with you I'm glad to be getting back into football and around the guys every day but uh we're broken and and we're going to be that way for a while and we have to learn how to do life that way and uh the support has been amazing we appreciate everybody's respect and support for what we're going through but um I'm a different person than I was in February and I have to learn to do my job and be the person God wants me to be in the face of adversity and it's been the toughest four months of my life and I'm hoping and praying that as the season progresses that I can share our story share our witness and our faith in Christ in the midst of the toughest time uh in a way that uh helps other people and also hope that I can be what these guys and the staff and our fans need me to be every day so uh I would just encourage people to continue to pray for us and lift us up where you can and understand them man we're coming to battle every day going to give him the best we got