Rich Rodriguez press conference summary 7-31
West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez addressed the media following the second day of fall camp and WVSports.com provides a summary of what was said.
–Rodriguez didn’t believe his team took good steps today and thought they were soft at times. Need to get better tomorrow.
–Pads when you’re tackling and blocking help with final determinations but there is still a lot you can do in shorts from an assignment and technique standpoint. It should be easier to run full speed in shorts and that’s what got him riled up at times today. He addressed that with the team and there isn’t a whole lot of experience in that group so it’s the coaches’ job to be leaders.
–The summer helped a little bit but there’s quite a few new guys when it comes to grasping the schemes. He needs to watch the film from today.
–Tempo exposes issues sooner. He wants players to be comfortable being uncomfortable. You’re going to get tired going at a fast tempo all the time but that’s the world they have to live in. Every year they’ve started he’s probably had the same lecture. No matter what you do in the summer, it doesn’t prepare you for how their practices are run.
–Rodriguez said the encouraging part is that the group is very conscientious. He is disappointed they didn’t build on yesterday but not discouraged that it can’t happen.
–When they’re practicing, they want the coaches to be a leader. During games and in the locker room when the coaches are around, they want great leadership but practice that’s their job. They do have a lot of guys who go hard all the time. And they use those players as an example.
–There’s a lot of things you want to get into a routine but you don’t want to get into a rut. There are certain drills you can do all the time that are important but you don’t want to get into a rut. They aren’t even close to getting to a game plan.
–Rodriguez is not worried about a team leader, he wants players to do their job to their best of their abilities and be a team example guy.
–Rodriguez again mentions that the transfer portal is still open and he has a couple spots left and a good recruiting staff.
–Rodriguez would probably agree that players aren’t as tough generally as they used to be but he doesn’t blame anybody but everything is designed to make it easier for people even as a society. The people in this state work hard and the guys here have it good. Coaches and players live in a fantasy world with food, medical help, financial help and even an ice cream machine.
–The next time we have the same practice as they had today, will they do it better? He thinks his players want to be good and he has to remind himself that it’s natural to gravitate to average or below average. You have to learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable. You have to work a little harder and be tougher mentally. Maybe it’s not always the best to make it easy for somebody but maybe making it harder can help reward them in the end.
–Rodriguez admitted that he’s probably like this the second day of practice, always but he tries not to be. He got hired to coach and to take those guys where they can’t take themselves. He was hired to take this staff, this program and these players where they can’t take themselves. That’s why he gets paid good money.
–Tight ends, they are fairly athletic and have a pretty good group there.
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