Day 1 of Auburn football camp is in the books! Here is what offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau had to say in Thursday’s press conference:
ON THE O-LINE:
“It’ll be good, it’s gonna be exciting. Probably one of the most important pieces of the offense and the direction we’re going is obviously the guys up front. And the great thing about it is, yes – we had a lot of those guys out during Spring with some minor things, and we wanted to keep them fresh and make sure they were ready for the season. But the positive is, all those guys behind them, all those backups, what you call the 2’s or 3’s – they got invaluable reps they might never have got. So getting the starters healthy, the backups some experience, and putting that group together collectively when they all come back. They’ll be a stronger group for us up front, especially as the season goes on.”
ON THE RECEIVERS:
“There’s a lot of new faces and a lot of turnover at that position. Over the last year there are five new guys. To me that’s exciting, an opportunity for these guys to get on the field early. Because if you have the athletic ability, you can run, learn the plays, and you can catch the football, that’s gonna put you in a position whereby you can contribute. I’m pleased with the guys that came back from last year, know them well. And the kids we brought in, recruiting them and knowing their lives, their mental makeup – i’m excited. The three freshmen, the transfers, and those coming back – it’s a talented group. We’ll have to be smart through camp and try and get the right blend, build the chemistry, get them in the right spots. It’s going to be a competitive group that’s for sure.”
ON THE JOB PROMOTION:
“The job has been crazy. I will say that. But doing this for 23, 24 years, you kind of just go with the flow. It’s kind of the business nowadays. I know some of the things that happened this year, but you just jump in and get going. You gotta be ready for when moments like this come. And living here in the south, obviously being a west coast guy, I absolutely love it down here. No question. It took a little while to adjust, but now I’m into it I get the people, I get the vibe. Obviously College Football is extremely important down here. Auburn is a really cool place to live. The biggest adjustment was saying ‘hello’. They don’t do that in LA, they just walk right past you. Here, people actually talk to you.”
ON THE QUARTERBACK BATTLE:
“It’s a good problem to have. You got three, four guys that have real ability, and a couple of guys with real experience. So you have a good collection. It’s gonna be fun watching these guys compete through camp. And i’ve told them over the last couple of weeks that this competition begins on practice number one. You walk on that field, you’re competing. Because camp is shorter, just a week and a half. We don’t have time to waste. So we’re going immediately. Obviously you’d like to lean on a three-year starter, but that’s not the case here. But we have some talented kids who can play the position.”
“The difference will be knowledge of the offense. Every coach will tell you what to do and how to do it. The difference is knowing WHY you do it. Why the defenders do what they do. The guys are picking that up, learning why they’re trying to affect the safety, why they’re going somewhere with the ball. That’s the progression from a good player to a great player. From a great player to an elite player.”
ON LANDEN KING:
“The great thing about Landon is, last year he was a bit of a ‘tweener. We used him at tight end, flirted with him at receiver, I used him a little bit. He was kind of in limbo, not really knowing his role. Now that he’s made that decision, crossed that bridge and said ‘i’m doing this receiver thing’, we can use him in a variety of ways. We can create mismatches because he is so tall, he’s so athletic. We have got to be able to move him around. If we’re in a game and the defense puts a nickel on the slot receiver, we’ll use him. His size, speed and hands will give us that advantage. We’ll put him in a position to be successful.”
ON THE COACHING STAFF:
“It’s really good. We’ve grown a lot, got a lot closer. Especially on offense, with Ike (Hilliard) the only new guy. Everyone else is the same, still there. Ike has so much experience he’s stepped right in and picked it up immediately. The professional vibe we installed year 1 has been maintained. And we’re moving forward with everyone on board.”
ON JOHN SAMUEL SCHENKER:
“You love Schenk’s ability to run routes. An outstanding athlete, obviously a great baseball player too. He can run, give linebackers headaches. And he’s so smart too – a professional mentality because he is older. His body type is more of a H tight end so he can move, but he can also get in there and block too. He’s very versatile, and another person we want to use in the right spots.”
ON KOY MOORE:
“It was a position of need. And the portal provided that for us. He has that SEC experience, being in a program (LSU) like he was at. He didn’t necessarily play a lot, have big numbers. But it’s more about how to prepare and knowing what it takes at this level. He has that edge already. Koy is already above the curve in that regard because he’s already done it. So now it’s about learning the offense, learning the scheme. He provides that experience we need.”
ON SHEDRICK JACKSON:
“It’s his second year going through it, so he’s knowing it more. The big thing for Shed is he’s really changed his body. Check him out at practice tomorrow – he’s really kinda slimmed down. He’s in great shape, looks really good. We run tough conditioning tests and it’s almost effortless for him. He’s worked hard, done a lot of training in the offseason to get his body where it needs to be to be successful. He’s already mentally there, definitely smart enough. Let’s put that combination together and see what he can do on Saturdays.”
ON COMMITTING TO THE RUN GAME:
“Obviously you install the scheme, but essentially it’s about dedicating yourself to staying the course. A lot of people say they’re gonna do it, play tough. But you gotta stay true to it. Pick a lane on what you wanna do offensively, and for us, we wanna hang our hat on the run game. We’ve got some very talented running backs and i’m excited about them. They can set the tone, and hopefully see the defense sell out and offer opportunities for our passing game to take advantage of. We spend a lot of time on our run game and I;m excited to see the progress.”
ON TAR’VARISH DAWSON:
“He might be the most improved young player on our entire offense. Last year he was always fun, had a great smile. But some point after midseason, he was kinda getting down. Turns out he thought he was going to come in here and start right out. But once we had the conversation, told him the opportunities will come when he gets bigger, stronger, faster, more experienced, BOOM! The next day, smile back on his face. Ever since he found that focus, he’s been getting better and better and better. He grew the most in Spring, had a great Summer. He’s taking a much better mental approach. When he first got here he relied on his athleticism to beat people. Now he studies harder, prepares better. It’s going to be fun watching him go from strength to strength.”
