all right good morning everyone thank you for joining our call with Drew Aller as always please raise your hand and I will unmute you we'll start with Rich carcella thanks Paul good morning Drew how are you today I'm doing good how you doing I'm good thanks through uh several of your teammates were asked yesterday about um your leadership your maturity and all of them the three of them said that you've asserted yourself as a leader and I was just wondering was that a concerted effort of viewers going into Camp yeah yeah and that was something I really wanted to take a step forward uh like coming out of spring uh during some of the exit interviews I had with uh like Danny coach Franklin and um coach Kay um because in the spring I felt like I was starting to make progress in that but not as much as I really wanted to um and then really the summer is a great opportunity because none of the coaches are around so really Oran izing everything with Coach Losi getting on the same page with him on when we can do stuff when we can't do stuff how much we should be doing um and that that was really good experience for me this year I think that really just helped me going into fall Camp just asserting myself a little bit more and honestly like I I talk to Danny throughout Camp just be myself like um obviously I'm I'm more vocal now than I was before but it's it's not anything that I'm not preaching about that I'm not doing myself like I'm going to do what or I'm going to tell everybody what to do but I'm going to make sure I'm holding myself to that high standard too as well so I mean we have really really good balance on offensive leadership so you know I'm really excited about that John saber hey Drew how are you good how you doing I'm doing good thanks so with you guys opening against the same opponent obviously as last year it's kind of this a little bit of a full circle moment for you how are you a different quarterback now than you were this time last year when you were making your first start against West Virginia yeah I think number one is just experience um like obviously going into last year I had a little bit of experience uh nothing like starting a full season though um really that experience is like unmeasurable in my opinion uh because I I've been through a lot of things uh last year um and really throughout spring and fall camp and I think I've done a great job of you know learning from it what I did good what I didn't do so good and how to improve upon it and I I think I'm I'm playing some of like more comfortable now than I ever have been uh just with Coach K and Danny I think we're really in a good spot as an offense right now um now we just have to continue practicing today we got a third Downs going in today um and they're I know from what I previewed this morning they're pretty good third down defense and they mix it up a lot of looks so it's just about you know perfecting perfecting it out there today on our practice and then tomorrow you know just uh revising it and polishing things up and then you know hit the ground running Tyler Don hey Drew thanks for your time this morning um we've heard some good things about Liam Clifford the way he performed during preseason camp James has mentioned him along with Harrison Wallace as guys that have been leading that position I'm curious what you have noted from Liam here in 2024 that has kind of taken him to another level and in terms of what he means to this offense and what he could produce come game days I think uh number one when I think of those two guys but specifically Liam is consistency uh they they've been very consistent throughout not only are you still there all have all right you guys hear me all right uh yeah um I guess I was so Le Liams has been very consistent it's been uh you know just how consistent he's been and how he's prepared for you know practices and installs uh he's plays every position out on the field for us and um you know he he's just year like he's fat he's fast he's bigger and stronger um and he looks really good he's he's super Twitchy and I don't think he gets enough credit for that and um you know he's making a lot of tough catches and obviously we're going against one of the best secondaries in the country every day out there in practice so they're making it tough on not only me but the receivers to come down and make those contested catches and I think I've seen a lot of growth um not only from Liam but the whole receiving Corp in that aspect Daniel G thanks for the time today Drew um along the same lines with with the leadership question what did it mean to you to be named a team captain and how do you view that responsibility both now and then going throughout the season yeah I mean it's definitely an honor um it's something like you know that I really worked for um and I'm not I know not only me feels that way but the rest of the captains feel that way as well um and I I think it's a great group to be a part of and now it's our job as captains of the team to you know get everybody in line whether it's you know telling the coaches how the players are feeling what we think we can do better as a team or you know you know making sure all the players are on the same page as the coaching staff so I think it's just you know a revolving door that's always going to be involving um we have to make sure that we're not letting anything slip especially in the season like all the little things talk on offense playe crashes happen because a bunch of little things adding up into one big thing so we got to make sure we're on top of all the little details uh you know away from the field and on the field during practice so you know those things don't catch up to us on game days Andre Snider hey Drew thanks for doing this today um I wanted to kind of I know I asked you this last year early on I'm curious if it changed at all uh what's it like kind of navigating campus now um obviously everybody has opinions everybody has thoughts uh what's it like and what was the challenge last year I know obviously like at one point your phone number got leaked that kind of thing how have you navigated that part of being the quarterback here yeah uh my answer is definitely a lot different than last year just because uh I don't think you really know what it like until you go through it like I was literally just talking to coach Franklin the other day about it um I logged off Twitter specifically like I just have uh you know my agents kind of run that for me if I ever had to post anything or anything like that um I I kind of deal with it that way now and I remember coach Franklin like kind of you know telling me to probably do that last year and I was probably a little bit late to that and I don't think you really realize what it's like going through that until you actually go through that but um as far as campus I mean it it is what it is like we all get recognized so it's definitely cool like we have a great fan base um everybody's super respectful when they come up to me and you know it's super fun kind of getting to interact with some people that you know maybe I never have before um and some people just kind of know me from class honestly like some people will come up to me and tell me yeah you were in my one class uh like spring semester and it's kind of it's kind of cool having those interactions with people um yeah I mean I wouldn't change anything about it but as far as social media yeah I definitely have a different opinion on that right now than I did last year at this time for sure johy gicle hey Drew thanks for your time much appreciated um you know you were a part of a a pretty stacked 2022 recruiting class uh you if you could take me back when you guys were recruits you know did you guys talk about competing for you know those bigger goals big then title cfp um and how would you describe the camaraderie in that class now as you guys are now entering your Junior Seasons yeah I mean I think uh you know we've always been a super tight group I would say um even when we were recruits like I think we were had a very close connection with one one another uh when we were all committed and trying to get other other guys to commit and I think that was a really cool experience to kind of go through that um as far as goals like obviously we came here to win um win games like that's always our ultimate goal uh but I think for all of us going into our Junior years now like we we have a lot more perspective on you know what that takes and what we have to do away from the field and like in in the off season to really you know put ourselves in the best position to accomplish those goals and um you know I think we're in a really good spot right now we just need to continue growing as a team growing leadership and you know just keep building off the the positive things we've done in Camp and then learn from the the some of the mistakes we made in Camp and I think you know when we take that mindset you a lot of thing good things can happen for us Neil rudil hey Drew I'm wondering did you guys did you watch much of the U Florida state Georgia Tech game last weekend kind of the first big game and uh what did you learn from you know watching them with technology I'm just kind of curious if you could walk us through how that's working for you guys yeah um I definitely I I watched that game just because I'm a you know I love watching football um and obviously that was the first game last weekend uh great game and it was it was cool to watch that type of game and in week zero uh but as far as technology like we've had a really good dry run like three or four times already in the stadium on our scrimmage days of you know going over iPad mechanics uh like what that's going to look like on the sidelines and um I we we've been practicing the the headset communication since Spring ball uh so that was a really good jump on that that um and then when we do have our scrimmage days I know coach Franklin I think mentioned this before we have the the guys that you know run that uh play clock cut off come into practice so like we get real reps at that so it's not the first time happening in a game so we have we've had situations come up like that where you know we got to Pivot and you know just get a quick quick check off and that we've had those great conversations and we wouldn't have have had those if we didn't have that like practice in that moment but I mean I think it's it's going to be a great benefit because I I had it in high school obviously I didn't have the the headset Communication in high school but my my high school had the iPads so I was kind of used to that already um it was just getting back in the swing of things and then getting on the same page with Danny about what the operation is going to look like on the sideline what we're going to talk through um and it's really not on the sidelines is really not critiquing and coaching it's more of like making adjustments on the plays and that's the biggest adjustment you're we're going to have to make as a team like you can't just be watching your yourself make a highlight over and over or you know uh getting mad at yourself or making a simple mistake you have to really be able to flush that and move on to the next series whenever that opportunity comes Seth angle adrew uh thanks for doing this I want to go back to last year's West Virginia game um you come out in the pack Bieber Stadium you know first game as a starter um is there a moment from that game that maybe sticks with you to this day whether that's that's good or bad uh I mean I think just the warm-ups really uh is really what sticks out to me um obviously we know how much of a crowd we get at games and it's you can't really replicate it um you know our fan base is extremely passionate so really just seeing all the packed seats like before like an hour four kickoff was really special um and something I I definitely won't forret and obviously you know hearing your name announced as a starter for the first time is definitely something special so I'd say those two things um but like warm-ups was just really cool to go through that like the energies at alltime high just because your your first game of the season at home so it was a really cool experience to go through for sure time for one more question Rich carcel Drew how important are Nick and fat in this offense and what do you expect from them this season I mean I think they're just two of the best players not only on our team but around the country um and they're super special uh you know players and individuals away from the field um and I think they're going to play you know a huge role just because of how much they can really do and like their skill skill set has really grown over the summer um and you know I think they're doing a really good job of you know just being honest with the like coach cider and what they like and don't like and I think we're putting them in good positions for them to have one-on-one matchups um and you know make plays in space as when we can get those guys in space that's that's going to be a good thing for us just because of how you know explosive they are as athletes um so they're going to play a huge role and uh I mean as far as like they're just going to be a like big part of our team and you know they're they're two of the bright spots on our team specifically on offense like everybody you know gravitates towards them with their personalities even though you know not a lot of people really see it um they they do have they're really fun to be around and obviously they're like super uh like great they're great together and they're great mentors for those those young running backs like that room is really deep obviously everybody knows Nick Nick and fat but that that whole room has a lot of potential in it and it's going to be exciting to see that this year [Music]