JMU Football Weekly Press Conference - Trent Hendrick & Cole Potts - Aug. 27, 2024

talk a little bit about the the progress that you guys have made as you guys get set for uh for the season opener are you excited about this yeah definitely um I just check my email over there with pots and seeing that the uh students already sold out the tickets for next week's home game so you know the whole Community is ready the team is ready we just count the days off talk about the progress of this defense and just where you guys are at right now um compared to where you were especially in the spring because obviously it's changed quite a bit but do you feel like you guys um are where you need to be right now uh we definitely made huge leaps since the spring you know even since the winter just working hard over the summer day in day out you know really trying to get the scheme together but uh you know you start really starting to see the defense really come together right now and seeing all 11 guys being able to do their job and really make big plays definitely need more preparation preparation is up until the till the kickoff and then once the kickoff happens it's all about adjustment so always room for improvement but feeling good about it so far obviously you've played a lot the last couple years but does this year feel different just kind of being being one of the guys yeah I mean it definitely feels different in a good way you know it's more pressure on me it's more pressure on everybody on the defense really to keep the standard up um but you know I'm ready you know I love it and I'm ready to have a good season this year man I'm excited oh okay cool cool cool cool you know just talk about this scheme a little bit for you guys and just um how has it been a challenge to learn this defense as opposed to what it was um last year I mean it's different it's my first new scheme like my first time learning like a second scheme with a new coach and stuff so I mean it's been different for me but you know it's good though it's an NFL style defense and um you know it has moving pieces like I said you know different people playing different positions and um but it it'll confuse offenses for sure Tren I remember I asked you a couple weeks ago media day just about you kind of stepping up as a leader but what's what do you think like this coaching staff instilled to kind of just allow you to be a little bit more vocal this year um it's not really so much what the coaching staff has done it's really just what the PE with the players I mean it's a player-led team you know it's all about the players at the end of the day and you know I just had to uh the guys trust me and the guys feel comfortable with me so they pushed me forward and I just stepped into it I just ask coach this this is the first season of Boy eligibility he know not an asri around the games anymore just how eager are you and the guys to finally start a journey that could end up with the sunbell championship I mean we ready like I said we're getting more and more excited as the day go on you know you've just been working out and practicing on and off every single day since the winter them long hard workouts cold outside it's raining you know you get to ask yourself you know what am I doing this for why are we doing this workout but everything is for a reason and um It All Leads up into the game days those Saturdays are the best and how exactly does game prep go for week one it's kind of hard to cover all the bases because there's so much unexpected about that team but how do you feel like you have done so far in terms of Charlotte and what do you expect to see out of them yeah I mean you said it man um they got a whole lot of transfers I think like 70 plus um so you know you're trying to prepare for what you think they might run but you know football is all about adjustment so you know you can prepare for what you want to prepare for up until the kickoff then once kickoff comes it's all about adjusting to what they really give you especially with week one you don't really have any film on them I know the prep for Charlotte coach saying has been going on for a little bit now do you feel like um just the extra time I guess going into a week one opponent you guys feel more prepared than maybe um other weeks or I guess how's that helped how's that helped you all yeah definitely we treated last week like um like this week I think we had a Thursday practice and coach was talking about this is how Monday is going to feel and then um the practice after that this is how Tuesday Wednesday is going to feel so we we got to head start with that got excuse me got ahead start with the film you know being able to scout them earlier it's always a blessing to have that that week off or um feels like a bye-week but we just didn't have the week Zero game but you know all all those extra days definitely add up man I mean you you don't even understand how much an extra day can mean for just your preparation and then the ability to rest your body too throughout the rest of the week so you don't have to carry that same load that you you usually would have to you know coach was talking a little bit um obviously Charlotte is kind of in a unique case they have a lot of new players on the roster it's week one you know we don't really know exactly what to expect from them on the field but just kind of what have you seen in your film studying what are you kind of expecting out of charlot this week I'm just looking at their personnel and their coaching style you know a whole lot of 12p a whole lot of tight ends usage with the Titans whole lot of motions on regular Downs first and second down and then you know we've been studying their uh Red Zone and goal line game you know just seeing what their Tendencies are and how we can match that up but uh you know the film is the film it's more so about what we got going on like I said they you know they got 70 transfers so it's definitely going to be something different that we're going to have to adjust to come time the game comes but you know I like what we see on film so far asked coach tesy about their quarterback Max Brown what what have you seen from him is there anybody that he reminds you of from what you've seen on film from him playing last year um I know got to keep your eyes on him back in a run game during certain stuff definitely um in the Red Zone nearing the goal line you know he can he can definitely make a play with his feet uh but you know we just been been studying it's all about us like I said you know he gonna come out he going to do him they're going to make plays but we just got to make plays and respond too Tren as you guys have built this Brotherhood that you have now we've talked a lot about that um do you feel like that'll be huge for all these ingame adjustments that you'll have to make when when again they're going to run some things that you've never seen before you're going have to talk about on the film on the field or the or on the sideline looking at the the tablets do you feel like that will help you guys be able to adjust quicker yeah man football is the greatest team sport and um this game is kind of funky because you know it's almost like uh uh transfer Bowl you know we got 60 plus transfers they got 70 plus transfers uh and chesne talked about it this morning about how proud he is about how the guys really got together and you know really made ourselves a true team over these past couple of months and he said that's gonna be uh an even bigger factor in the game than what we think you know as far as who's going to be able to uh stay the closest together throughout the whole whole game do you feel are you excited about that part of it to to be next to these brothers that you have built over the it's really since January um so many new teammates that you guys have so many great bonds with is that excited to finally go to battle with them yeah man it's it's always exciting going going battle with the guys you know like I said you just you go out to practice you do all the workouts together way room Blood Sweat tears in the offseason grueling off season and um just to be able to go out there and do it on Saturday man it's like that's that's that big reward that you all have been waiting on ready to put all the work that you've been doing in the offseason on display that about this oh absolutely it's been a long year long offseason I'm just ready to get back to Saturday and have a game finally for once kind of follow up on that just with what I talked about with Trent just so many new guys on this te team building that b um it's just even though you've been here a long time and and you've played a lot of games here is this just different because of a new coaching staff new players and just kind of a new energy around here honestly no it's still game week it's still game day Saturday so that's the same thing when it comes to football it's still we got a game Saturday everyone get your heads right and get ready to play build the energy and do what you got to do get prepared you know a lot of people have talked about and seen the the leadership role that you've taken now um has that been fun fun to kind of make this your team a little bit yeah I love it I love going out to practice every single day hyping everyone up running around being loud it's something I never really got to do in the past but enjo I enjoy it makes practice a lot of fun brings energy I love it did you just feel kind of like this team needed it from you this year yeah and coaches love it and I love it so just why not do it it's awesome how about the progress of the offense and and just in general the offense it seems like you guys have made a ton of progress since since day one of of fall Camp would you agree with that yeah absolutely our chemistry as an offense our communication our schemes knowing the Playbook the new playbook that we have that came in from this new staff we've just been growing it every single day getting our bread and butter plays down getting the new plays in and we' just been working every single day to like Perfect all of them and the chemistry with the offensive line obviously with with having those three interior guys you guys have all been here for a long time um has that been have you seen that show up quite a bit in Camp even though it's a new playbook yeah absolutely no matter what front the defense is throwing at us if it's our own defense when we're going to good on good or the scout team giving us something Charlotte has like we know how to do like how to perform in that situation like what to do like our double teams everything like that like our chemistry has been very very well and it keeps growing talk just a little bit about Charlotte like when you all flip on the tape what what do you what do you see from them I see some big guys up front no doubt about that they got some big powerful people there are a lot of bull rush guys stuff like that your ends are pretty fast tall linky guys and then their secondary is very fast Speedy guys so they're very athletic team overall no doubt about that and they play super hard kind of just piggybacking off at Dave's point just you kind of being more of like a leader I feel like it kind of started almost at the end of last year because I know during the bowl game coach Robo was talking about how you were kind of stepping up as a leader and what kind of like continued that where you just felt like you needed to be that presence for this team well this is my fifth year I'm a Duke I'm a dieh hard Duke I will be forever and I want people to know that and I want my team to know the standard that it is be when it comes to being a Duke like you got to live up to the expectations of our fans we're we're not a low standard team we're not a 500 team we're a championship team and I want everyone to know that and I want everyone to practice like that play like that and just live the standard of what we are it's been a little while since Jamie's gone on the road to open the season um is any different as far as like just mentality preparation or just trying to get into like a a rhythm before game honestly no there is no difference in that I would say it going to away the first game on the road it's I guess you could say it's a little different for us because we usually open up with one of the smaller schools every single year but going away playing Charlotte I think I I enjoy that more because we got we got something on our table that we need to go and we need to set the tone fast because we got to make a statement fast like we're going to a hostile environment we got to set the tone now we we can't wait you mentioned in your opening statement kind of just the relief of finally playing a game just with everything going on this offseason just kind of feel a little bit longer for you yeah absolutely this offseason's been long just with everything like all the transition we've had and everything I remember after the bow game everything happened and now it's finally here and I'm just I'm happy and I'm excited that it's finally here and the time has come where we can do what we've been training to do a lot like you guys Charlotte has quite a few trans and new faces too so what's that preparation like when you're going in and facing a team where there's not a ton of film of them as a collective unit we got to look at their schemes based off last year like you got we got 12 games of film from last year you can't take that for heart and say that's what they're going to do but you can look at their scheme and also with it being week one we got to focus on ourselves personally and figure out what we need to do to get better just to make sure whatever they throw at us when it comes the first series a game that we're ready we've practiced it and get every situ that we possibly can picky backing off uh what you said about you know this program is a championship team what have been some of the characteristics I know 58 new guys coming in what have been some of the things you've seen throughout camp that makes you believe that this team could be able to follow through on that energy commitment Relentless everyone's just got to go out there every single day they got to do their job they know their job they got to after practice you got to get in the books you got to get in the film and this is a the standard is there is nothing below being great like AB everything we do has to be great no matter what it is on the field or off the field Live how you play and I know we keep harping on it you know they have so many new guys but especially on the defensive line do you feel like you have an advantage on the trenches uh I would say we do because of our chemistry with the interior three and then we got Pat and Jesse on the edge and other people taon toner everyone else like our chemistry is very very well so no matter what D line they throw at us we're ready we got it we got the chemistry we're going to go out there and we're going to do our thing so much of the talk has been about how this team all new pieces would adjust on the field but how has it been in the locker room outside of practice just getting to know the guys you know as friends and teammates yeah well we play Playstation every single day we got five hours we got a break in between classes or whatever it is we're sitting in the locker room playing PlayStation hanging out with each other all day we got the sofas down there we're just chilling it's fun get to know each other build the brother NCAA right now and then UFC I'd say