Everything Michigan TE Steve Casula said during his fall camp press conference

On Marlin Klein’s praise of him as a coach

Yeah, so first of all, I should mention, Marlin gave me way too much credit. I really appreciate what he had to say, and it meant a lot, but Marlin has been the biggest driving force in his development as a player here. The training staff, strength staff, nutrition, all that. Marlin is the one who deserves all the credit. I read what he said, my wife sent it to me, the article, and she loved it. My wife loves Marlin, who doesn’t? And I read it and I thought about it. I think I had the honor of coaching at Ferris State for Tony Annese, and the first thing I learned there was that the root meaning of the word educate was to lead or to pull out, to lead someone. And the second thing you learn when you coach at Ferris State is you have to meet every player at their individual emotional and educational level. And basically, long story short, what I’m saying is Marlin was at a space in his life and his time here, his career, where he needed to be pushed and coached hard. And Coach Moore has a famous saying here that he says all the time, you coach them hard, but you love them harder. We needed Marlin to grow and develop into the player that he is and has become, and it’s really more of the credit to him. But, yeah, there was some moments of hard coaching, constructive criticism, sometimes communicated loudly, but I saw that he said that, and I appreciate him saying that, but he deserves all the credit for where he’s at, not me.

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On who the TE2 right now would be

You know, it’s unique. I really believe this, that we’ve got six guys that can go and play for us, and they’re not all the same. They all kind of have unique skill sets, and there’s certain years where maybe it’s these three guys do this, these two do that, this one does that. It’s kind of different. I think Max is certainly the most specialized of the group. There’s Marlin, of course, and I really trust Zack Marshall. I really do. I trust Jalen Hoffman to help us win games. Hogan Hansen, of course, has already done that. And I say this with great pride and joy. It is no longer if for Deakon Tonielli, it’s when. You know, he has put together his best fall camp. So I really believe. And then Brady Prescorn is someone that has a really bright future here. But if we were playing tomorrow, we’ve got five or six guys that can go play in the game for us. And then it’s our responsibility to still be thoughtful about that. Don’t play so many so you don’t get in rhythm. But part of what makes us, us, is having a really deep room. But to answer your question, it totally depends. Like I’m not trying to dodge it at all. It totally depends what we’re asking that person to do. And it’s unique. It’s fun to kind of try and piece it all together. But they’ve really got unique skill sets, not necessarily on purpose or by design, kind of more of a matter of circumstance. But I guess to answer your question, I really, really trust five or six guys to go play for us. I really do.

On Hogan Hansen’s health status

Hogan’s out there every day. Looks really, really good. He’s someone that’s going to play a ton for us this season. I think when you look at what he put together during like fall prep and spring ball, he really has some impressive tools in all facets of the game. He’s moving around great. He just looks older and more comfortable and is playing with like a ton of twitch in the past game. Like when he goes out there and runs a route right now, it pops. Like really noticeable, impressive, great catch radius. So really excited kind of where he’s at.

On whether Hansen is full-go currently

He’s out there each and every day. And like I’ve said this before, unless you’re dealing with a season-ending injury or some kind of head injury, you practice every day here. So he’s getting to practice for sure.

On strides the OL has made

All the credit in the world goes to Grant Newsome, to Gio, to Crip, to really Grant and our veteran players. Energy and swag, like having fun, playing. And not that they didn’t have that a year ago, but I think when you look back to 23, there was a lot of big personalities and a lot of guys that had played for a long time. So I think sometimes it’s natural for there to be a vacuum, so to speak. But it’s the personality has taken life or has come to life rather, and they’re playing physical and playing good and having fun. They have that, and that’s the vibe you want from them. Not like they’re very serious, don’t misunderstand me, but like kind of that edge to them. So it’s been fun to see.

On what he’s seen from Anthony Simpson

Simp plays incredibly hard, like incredible effort. But his greatest skill set to me is like ball in hand and like the way he runs. We always joke he almost runs kind of angry. You know, he’s not a little guy by any means, but he plays bigger than his size. He has really come on here in the last seven days or so. So I love Anthony, very happy that he’s here. I get to see him every day. He and I have a close relationship, and he’s going to help us, certainly. To say, does he look different? Yeah, older. You know, like certain things, like his games evolved. Probably he’s faster than when I coached him in 2023. He’s done well. He’s taken to Coach Bell and Soup’s coaching and our program in general.

On when he realized Jalen Hoffman could be more than a fullback

No, that’s a great question. So Coach Moore told me when I got here and, like, even last fall, like, yes, we all understand he’s Max’s backup, so to speak. But Coach Moore was really the first one that said, hey, there’s more to his game. Like, there is, and not that I didn’t see it. And then Coach Lindsey kind of being a set of fresh eyes for bowl prep, you know, we do these what we refer to as opportunity scrimmages, or you guys have heard about them before. And he just kept noticing them and kept referencing them and kept referencing them. So we went into the spring with a plan to kind of see, like, okay, we get it. We got it. God forbid something happens to Maxie. We’ve got Jalen to fill that role. But let’s let him just go play tight end. And he just took to it. He really has. And we’ve been more mindful and thoughtful about that this fall camp as well. So kind of to echo what I said to Tony, like, it’s no longer a just this guy backs this guy up, this guy backs that guy up. Jalen, his great ball skills, really, really, really good spatial awareness and athleticism as a route runner. He’s having a good camp. He’s pleased where he’s at. Trust him. Really trust him to play.

On Brady Prieskorn’s health status

Same, kind of the same boat as Hogan. Anybody that’s not out for the season or doesn’t have concussions out there each and every day, we get the most out of them that we’re able to.

On the best blocker and redzone threat in his group

Sure. So the best blocker, I’m going to answer in two parts. On the ball, I believe Marlin Klein is the best on-the-ball blocker as a tight end in college football, and that’s credit to him. Off the ball, it’s Max. I feel the same way about him. Best in the country at it. Hands, ball skills, Deakon Tonielli and Hogan Hansen are both exceptional. That’s no discredit to anybody else. Red zone threat, those guys would be in that mix, and Zack Marshall kind of has a sneaky way of finding himself open near the goal line. Just has good feel, good understanding of the field. It’s wider than it is longer. He just kind of knows where to be. So that group. And then not to include them all, Jalen falls in, too. He’d probably be third best in the run game. He’s got good hands, and he shows up in the red zone, too. But that’s how I would say it. Best blockers are Max and Marlin. The best natural ball skills, Hogan and Deakon, and then Z’s got great feel down by the goal line.

On whether tight end usage has changed with Chip Lindsey’s system

Yeah, I think any time an offense evolves or grows, changes or what have you, it’s been fun to install new plays, do new things, be tasked with new jobs and responsibilities. I think specifically the usage, I don’t believe, will change. Our roster is our roster. I think there’s probably this impression that when there’s turnover at a job like that, that along with it comes brand new players and a brand new roster. And maybe in some circumstances in college football that happens today, but that hasn’t happened here. He’s really committed to using a tight end. If you look at statistically each of the last two seasons, they had over 70 catches as a position group, and they fell almost directly in line with the production our tight end group had in both 23 and 24. He had two really good ones at UNC that he did a heck of a job getting the ball to. Now we have more than most people. But, no, I don’t believe the usage will change in terms of how much we play. However, yeah, as there’s growth and evolution to an offense, I think being asked to do new things, which has been fun to be a part of.

On whether his title addition changes his responsibilities within the offense

Yeah, I think my biggest responsibility, and I’ve said this before, the first thing I need to do is still continue to coach the tight ends as best as I can and keep that in mind. I think as we set forth on this season, along with Coach Lindsey, it will kind of serve as the bridge between the run and the pass and working to make it all look the same and familiarity with the system. I’ve coached spread football a lot, too, so just kind of by circumstance, a lot of, like, things that he’s called plays, maybe not here at Michigan, I’ve been exposed to, whether I was at Ferris or UMass or wherever else, of, like, yeah, running that pass concept or, hey, seeing this run play that way. So what I would say about Coach Lindsey, incredibly smart, so much fun to be around. Like, I could sit with him, and we’re great friends. We have become great friends very quickly. He’s inclusive. He empowers people. He’s great to work with and work for, really believe in him. It’s been a blast.

On which TE in the room is the closest to Colston Loveland

In terms of, like, straight athleticism, if you watch them do a drill back-to-back, probably Deakon moves the most similar to him. Hogan is that way, too. In terms of that, like, super-efficient mover, kind of like, yeah, a guy that big isn’t supposed to be able to, like, you know, with that long arms or that weight, all that stuff, supposed to be able to move like that. Those two move the most similar to Cole. They’re the most similar to Cole in build, in size, stuff like that.

On whether the NCAA punishments have had any impact on the team

I can tell you to reiterate what B.J. said. Our kids here are really resilient, as is our staff. What Coach Moore has built here is incredibly sturdy and strong, and I think we can face anything.

On what he’s seen from Bryce Underwood and how the passing game has evolved

Bryce keeps his cool. Smooth operator. Just makes football look clean, efficient. He’s wonderfully gifted, but works really hard at it. He’s kind of got a calming presence about him, which he’s 17, which you really don’t know what to expect at 17 years old. But smooth operator, and he’s got all the tools to make all the throws. How has the passing game evolved? It’s been a major focus on being very detail-oriented at what we do in an explosive place. We need chunk plays in the pass game, and that’s what Coach Lindsey has been really successful at doing that. In the past year, we’ve been very successful at doing it, but those have been the focal points, kind of detail execution of the same plays over and over again, and then finding ways to hit big ones.

On whether explosive plays are a result of new or different personnel

I think it’s impossible to say just because of A, B, or C, D happened. I think just through the commitment to identifying that’s an area that we need to grow, and it’s all 11 people. It’s not just the quarterback. It’s not just this or that wide out. It’s how we protect. It’s how we use the tailback in the passing game. All of those things tied together, I think, are kind of what leads you to that answer, because if I could answer that, I’d have a million-dollar question. Is it about the plays or the players? I would always defer to saying it’s the players. I think it’s a great question, but I think it’s both.

On avoiding tendencies within the offense

I think you and I have talked about this before. We have to be super thoughtful about that. Any good, successful offense is going to have tendencies, and you hope that that’s just a sign that you’re good at something and that you’re putting your players in the right position, that like, yeah, it’s this down and distance. We do keep running this play, but the play has answers. We don’t run it into bad looks, and this is our best player at doing this, but that is something that we talk about and are mindful about all the time. The biggest example was Max. What are we doing when Max is in the game? And really it’s about first and second down when you’re in the field. When you’re getting ready for a game and you look at the opponent or you look at yourself, everyone’s going to basically put first and second down in one bucket. They’re going to put third down in a different set of buckets, and the red zone’s the red zone. So we have to be always mindful that we keep people off balance relative to run or pass, particularly here because we do play. Like a lot of folks only play one tight end, so you don’t have to worry about it. I’ve coached seasons where we played one tight end. You don’t worry about it. Well, here we do mix and match because we are specialized, so we invest a lot of time and thought into that to try to prevent from having glaring tendencies.

On balancing the offense with a dual-threat quarterback

Yeah, I think the most important part when you’re playing with an athlete under center or behind center is to me the biggest value is the bad plays they prevent from happening. Being able to extend plays and get rid of the ball, being able to break the pocket and throw it to a check down, that’s first and foremost. If you look at our history and track record here, we’ve had success running the quarterback in big moments and big games. That’s always going to be something that we lean to in big moments for sure. But I think our quarterback room is as athletic as it’s been. There’s some good athletes in there. What I’ve been impressed about is they’ve extended plays, scrambling to create completions. It’s been an area that I think doesn’t get often talked about or the sacks, the pressures they keep you out of. I think those are some of the most important moments when you’re having an athletic quarterback room.

On Mikey Keene

Mikey? Unbelievable understanding, command, and control of the offense and the system. It’s really been great to have him here because as we’ve installed this play or that play, here’s Mikey doing it at Central Florida. He just in a really cool, collected fashion can explain to all of us, like, hey, I think on this route maybe he could have done this or, hey, we’re going to see this versus this coverage. We’re going to see the play this way. He’s great. I don’t know what Mikey Keene’s plans are when football is over one day. He can be a football coach. He definitely has that aura and vibe about him, so he’s awesome. Mikey’s a great kid.