Practice was energetic today with a little more contact than I'm used to seeing out of this team. Willie Fritz said he liked what he seen Tuesday and Wednesday.
Quinlan Carroll missed the Cincy game because of an unspecified injury. He practiced today, though not getting full reps, and should be available to play against ECU. He was watching from the sideline in the last 10 minutes while they had Luke Jackson as the stand-up end/linebacker with the first unit next to Robert Kennedy, Sean Wilson and Ade Aruna. The second-team defensive line was Patrick Johnson, Braynon Edwards and De'Andre Williams.
Cameron Sample did not practice and I did not see him. Although Fritz refused to rule him out for Saturday, it seems highly unlikely. His issue may be concussion-related--Fritz rarely gives out specific injury info-but that would explain him not even being at practice.
Jabril Clewis injured his right knee on the very last play of practice today, right in front of me. I have no idea how significant it will turn out to be. He was on the ground for a couple of minutes while trainers looked at him before he limped to a training table with their assistance. I did not see anything unusual about the knee. He was involved in a collision, went down and everybody appeared to think he was fine at first, but he did not get up until the team had met at the center of field and sang 'Happy birthday." to someone before breaking for the end of practice.
Rae Juan Marbley was not there again today. He will play against ECU Saturday barring any complications from a positive family situation.
I talked to Kennedy and defensive coordinator Jack Curtis today. Here are the transcripts:
KENNEDY
How good does it feel to be back out there after your knee injury?
"It is very relieving. As long as I've been injured and going through that little struggle, I feel like I finally got to take my collar off."
How have you gotten back into game shape so quickly.?You played a lot more snaps than anticipated against Cincinnati with Sample's injury.
"I kind of expected it. I've always prepared to come back and play my starting position, so getting in game shape has always been a focus since week 1 of the season and before that, too. I've always had that mindset."
When you got hurt in the spring, did you know how significant the injury was right away?
"I got hurt in the weight room in a freak accident power cleaning. To be honest, when it happened, I didn't understand the significance of the injury, but I knew right then I was going to be positive about the whole situation. I didn't go into it with a negative mindset. I'm a very curious guy, so I was curious about what the whole process would be like."
How did it happen?
"I was power cleaning with the weight and on the way up my knee buckled in and kind of just snapped down. It was a (torn) ACL and meniscus."
Were you confident you would be back this year?
"Oh yes. The hardest part in the whole process was the first three games when we played Oklahoma and watching that game and feeling like I could play and not being cleared to yet. The whole mental struggle was probably the hardest part, that and the few days after surgery were very painful."
You were cleared to play against Tulsa and then had a hamstring setback. What happened, and how frustrating was that?
"It was the Thursday before the Tulsa game. I pulled my hamstring on a punt trying to cover it. One of the coaches ran on the field and I didn't see it until the last second. I looked and tried to sidestep him. I guess my agility really isn't that good because I pulled my hamstring right after it. If I wasn't frustrated before, I was definitely frustrated then."
You have a five-game season. How much are you pouring into it?
"I've got to give it my all because I have a lot of time to make up. I'm going to give it my all for my brothers, making sure I see them off. This class graduating this year, we all came in together. It's a personal deal. I have to send them off right."
What do you add to the defense?
"I feel like I add a lot of energy. Guys are more confident to have me in there a little bit."
When Sample went down, you played the rest of the way pretty much. Did you feel tired?
"I felt pretty good. I felt tired maybe once or twice in the game, but that was more like getting into a game feel, not like fatigue or physical tiredness. I was understanding I'm back in the game 100 percent this time."
What has to happen for this team to turn it around?
"We have to stay physical, stay tough and make sure we're going out here and having fun doing what we do. As long as everyone is along with the fight, we can't really fall back on defense."
Was there one play where you felt like you were back?
"To be honest it was in the Memphis game where I made the TFL (tackle for loss). That was the play where I knew I was back and going. The guard went down and I blitzed the B gap and made the play."
You've always had a combination of strength and speed. Do you feel like you're well rounded?
"Oh yes. That speed and power and being able to combine the two has always been my strong suit."
CURTIS
Robert Kennedy had five tackles against Cincinnati. Is it impressive that he has been able to get back in the flow so quickly after coming off a his knee injury?
"Yeah, it's impressive that he could play as many snaps as he did, really his first ball game truly back. Rob is a real powerful guy. He's physically stronger than most people. He whips a lot of folks up front. We missed him an incredible amount this year, but we're glad to have him back. Hopefully Cam (Sample) will be back and we'll be hitting on all cylinders on the defensive line besides (not having) Eldrick (Washington)."
Kennedy was a linebacker in high school who became a weight room demon and got a lot bigger here. What makes him so effective?
"I can see why he played linebacker in high school because he is fast. He's probably in the high 4.6 range in the 40. Last year he played around 260 to 265. He's put on a lot of weight. I imagine he's 280, 285 now. That was a little bit of concern for us, but he seems to be able to handle it. I don't know if his speed has suffered or not. He's just getting back, so it's hard to tell until he plays in more games, but with that additional weight he's even gotten stronger than he was before. That's probably his biggest attribute. When he comes off the ball, he's just a brute in there. He's really hard to handle. His strengths is so impressive."
Where does he help you the most?
"He's capable of creating some havoc because he is strong and getting to the backfield. He's had a couple of tackles for some losses now. There is a play or two where he makes a mistake, and some of that is knocking the rust off. He really has gotten thrown right back into team and hadn't had all the individual work that you need, so some of that showed, but he creates negative plays, and that's we've missed a little bit since Tanzel (Smart) left. He was in that backfield so much."
The defense has not had a sack for four straight games, sometimes struggling to generate pressure and sometimes failing to get the QB down when the opportunity is there. What can you do there?
"That is a concern. You've got to able at times to put the pressure on. A couple of those games it's tough when you're behind and they're running the ball, but at the same time we've had opportunities and missed on them, letting the guy break contain. We're constantly preaching where's the pressure coming from and where we need to be, and when we are in that situation, we've got to make the play."
Rod Teamer said the coaches are making calls, and he blames himself for not getting them communicated properly to everyone in the secondary. What's going on there?
"One of them was costly. The touchdown was the only one that cost us a touchdown. There were a couple of other calls that might have been five or 10 yards here and there that if we would have run the call correctly, it would have been probably a better result. We talk about constantly getting lined up correctly and reacting, but you've got to get the calls and know what you're doing, get that communicated through the defense and have 11 guys on the same page. Unfortunately last week there were a couple of times that hurt us. When you lose a close game, those are magnified. When you win the game, you say, we've got to get a little bit better and can't let this happen. When you lose it, it just brings so much light to it. I don't know that we had any more miscommunications than in a normal game, but I wish we had that one (the touchdown given up) back. We put the spotlight on it because it was such a close game."
East Carolina seems to have found something with Gardner Minshew at QB against Houston, getting 33 first downs. What concerns you about that offense?
"They can throw the ball extremely well. They did not really attempt to run, and I don't know if that surprised Houston they were throwing it so much, but give them credit. They did a nice job. At times I thought Houston was soft in the coverage and allowed the completions. They were doing a lot of that RPO (run-pass option) stuff and making plays. They are very talented at wide receiver. That's the strength of the team. They have a lot of speed and three or four guys that are going to be in NFL camps."
How different are the two QBs?
"Not a whole lot. (Sirk) will run the ball just a little bit more. I don't think (Minshew) will be a runner when he's in there. They are doing a nice job. They are really talented at receiver."
Quinlan Carroll missed the Cincy game because of an unspecified injury. He practiced today, though not getting full reps, and should be available to play against ECU. He was watching from the sideline in the last 10 minutes while they had Luke Jackson as the stand-up end/linebacker with the first unit next to Robert Kennedy, Sean Wilson and Ade Aruna. The second-team defensive line was Patrick Johnson, Braynon Edwards and De'Andre Williams.
Cameron Sample did not practice and I did not see him. Although Fritz refused to rule him out for Saturday, it seems highly unlikely. His issue may be concussion-related--Fritz rarely gives out specific injury info-but that would explain him not even being at practice.
Jabril Clewis injured his right knee on the very last play of practice today, right in front of me. I have no idea how significant it will turn out to be. He was on the ground for a couple of minutes while trainers looked at him before he limped to a training table with their assistance. I did not see anything unusual about the knee. He was involved in a collision, went down and everybody appeared to think he was fine at first, but he did not get up until the team had met at the center of field and sang 'Happy birthday." to someone before breaking for the end of practice.
Rae Juan Marbley was not there again today. He will play against ECU Saturday barring any complications from a positive family situation.
I talked to Kennedy and defensive coordinator Jack Curtis today. Here are the transcripts:
KENNEDY
How good does it feel to be back out there after your knee injury?
"It is very relieving. As long as I've been injured and going through that little struggle, I feel like I finally got to take my collar off."
How have you gotten back into game shape so quickly.?You played a lot more snaps than anticipated against Cincinnati with Sample's injury.
"I kind of expected it. I've always prepared to come back and play my starting position, so getting in game shape has always been a focus since week 1 of the season and before that, too. I've always had that mindset."
When you got hurt in the spring, did you know how significant the injury was right away?
"I got hurt in the weight room in a freak accident power cleaning. To be honest, when it happened, I didn't understand the significance of the injury, but I knew right then I was going to be positive about the whole situation. I didn't go into it with a negative mindset. I'm a very curious guy, so I was curious about what the whole process would be like."
How did it happen?
"I was power cleaning with the weight and on the way up my knee buckled in and kind of just snapped down. It was a (torn) ACL and meniscus."
Were you confident you would be back this year?
"Oh yes. The hardest part in the whole process was the first three games when we played Oklahoma and watching that game and feeling like I could play and not being cleared to yet. The whole mental struggle was probably the hardest part, that and the few days after surgery were very painful."
You were cleared to play against Tulsa and then had a hamstring setback. What happened, and how frustrating was that?
"It was the Thursday before the Tulsa game. I pulled my hamstring on a punt trying to cover it. One of the coaches ran on the field and I didn't see it until the last second. I looked and tried to sidestep him. I guess my agility really isn't that good because I pulled my hamstring right after it. If I wasn't frustrated before, I was definitely frustrated then."
You have a five-game season. How much are you pouring into it?
"I've got to give it my all because I have a lot of time to make up. I'm going to give it my all for my brothers, making sure I see them off. This class graduating this year, we all came in together. It's a personal deal. I have to send them off right."
What do you add to the defense?
"I feel like I add a lot of energy. Guys are more confident to have me in there a little bit."
When Sample went down, you played the rest of the way pretty much. Did you feel tired?
"I felt pretty good. I felt tired maybe once or twice in the game, but that was more like getting into a game feel, not like fatigue or physical tiredness. I was understanding I'm back in the game 100 percent this time."
What has to happen for this team to turn it around?
"We have to stay physical, stay tough and make sure we're going out here and having fun doing what we do. As long as everyone is along with the fight, we can't really fall back on defense."
Was there one play where you felt like you were back?
"To be honest it was in the Memphis game where I made the TFL (tackle for loss). That was the play where I knew I was back and going. The guard went down and I blitzed the B gap and made the play."
You've always had a combination of strength and speed. Do you feel like you're well rounded?
"Oh yes. That speed and power and being able to combine the two has always been my strong suit."
CURTIS
Robert Kennedy had five tackles against Cincinnati. Is it impressive that he has been able to get back in the flow so quickly after coming off a his knee injury?
"Yeah, it's impressive that he could play as many snaps as he did, really his first ball game truly back. Rob is a real powerful guy. He's physically stronger than most people. He whips a lot of folks up front. We missed him an incredible amount this year, but we're glad to have him back. Hopefully Cam (Sample) will be back and we'll be hitting on all cylinders on the defensive line besides (not having) Eldrick (Washington)."
Kennedy was a linebacker in high school who became a weight room demon and got a lot bigger here. What makes him so effective?
"I can see why he played linebacker in high school because he is fast. He's probably in the high 4.6 range in the 40. Last year he played around 260 to 265. He's put on a lot of weight. I imagine he's 280, 285 now. That was a little bit of concern for us, but he seems to be able to handle it. I don't know if his speed has suffered or not. He's just getting back, so it's hard to tell until he plays in more games, but with that additional weight he's even gotten stronger than he was before. That's probably his biggest attribute. When he comes off the ball, he's just a brute in there. He's really hard to handle. His strengths is so impressive."
Where does he help you the most?
"He's capable of creating some havoc because he is strong and getting to the backfield. He's had a couple of tackles for some losses now. There is a play or two where he makes a mistake, and some of that is knocking the rust off. He really has gotten thrown right back into team and hadn't had all the individual work that you need, so some of that showed, but he creates negative plays, and that's we've missed a little bit since Tanzel (Smart) left. He was in that backfield so much."
The defense has not had a sack for four straight games, sometimes struggling to generate pressure and sometimes failing to get the QB down when the opportunity is there. What can you do there?
"That is a concern. You've got to able at times to put the pressure on. A couple of those games it's tough when you're behind and they're running the ball, but at the same time we've had opportunities and missed on them, letting the guy break contain. We're constantly preaching where's the pressure coming from and where we need to be, and when we are in that situation, we've got to make the play."
Rod Teamer said the coaches are making calls, and he blames himself for not getting them communicated properly to everyone in the secondary. What's going on there?
"One of them was costly. The touchdown was the only one that cost us a touchdown. There were a couple of other calls that might have been five or 10 yards here and there that if we would have run the call correctly, it would have been probably a better result. We talk about constantly getting lined up correctly and reacting, but you've got to get the calls and know what you're doing, get that communicated through the defense and have 11 guys on the same page. Unfortunately last week there were a couple of times that hurt us. When you lose a close game, those are magnified. When you win the game, you say, we've got to get a little bit better and can't let this happen. When you lose it, it just brings so much light to it. I don't know that we had any more miscommunications than in a normal game, but I wish we had that one (the touchdown given up) back. We put the spotlight on it because it was such a close game."
East Carolina seems to have found something with Gardner Minshew at QB against Houston, getting 33 first downs. What concerns you about that offense?
"They can throw the ball extremely well. They did not really attempt to run, and I don't know if that surprised Houston they were throwing it so much, but give them credit. They did a nice job. At times I thought Houston was soft in the coverage and allowed the completions. They were doing a lot of that RPO (run-pass option) stuff and making plays. They are very talented at wide receiver. That's the strength of the team. They have a lot of speed and three or four guys that are going to be in NFL camps."
How different are the two QBs?
"Not a whole lot. (Sirk) will run the ball just a little bit more. I don't think (Minshew) will be a runner when he's in there. They are doing a nice job. They are really talented at receiver."