Dan Lanning on Samples' Hire: "We're really excited about him"
On Tuesday Dan Lanning met with media following the first practice of this week. One of the biggest questions was about the addition of new running backs coach Ra’Shaad Samples. Lanning talked about the hire and why Samples was the right fit.
There were plenty of other questions for Lanning. You can watch the video at the bottom or read some of the top comments below.
Opening Comment:
“Really pleased with the enthusiasm and effort at practice today. We were able to work in some situational stuff. Goal line and red zone work. Our guys are playing with a lot of energy. We gotta clean up the execution and continue to bring these guys along. The benefit of the numbers we have right now in the Spring is allowing us to get a lot of guys working on development.”
On Ra’Shaad Samples:
“You always lean on relationships. There’s several guys on our staff that knew Ra’Shaad. Will’s worked with him. Drew’s worked with him. We spent a lot of time trying to find the right guy. And there’s a lot of great candidates. People that wanted to be here. For us he’s seen as a young up-and-comer. He’s got some experience as a player and into the NFL. We’re really excited about him.”
On Samples’ Recruiting Ability:
“Ultimately for us we’re going to recruit across the nation. So we have to have guys that are good at relationships, not necessarily just good in certain areas. Ra’Shaad is certainly a guy that’s good in Texas but he’s good at relationships. It’s going to pay off in recruiting and it’s going to pay off with the development of the guys we have here.”
On Samples Getting Caught Up:
“He’s gonna learn as quick as he can. On the flight up he’s learning installs on the plane. He’s gonna have a lot of late nights and early mornings getting caught up. But I know he embraces that. We’ll get him caught up as fast as he can.”
On Dillon Gabriel:
“Just continuing to grow. When you put real pads on you’re playing real football and all of a sudden there’s a d-lineman with his hands up, you’re not just throwing on air or a pocket breaks down and you got to scramble. Dillon’s done a great job of playing real football, taking care of the ball, understanding where the ball goes.
A guy that cares about people. Who else can he impact? Who else can he influence? Whether it’s spending time away from football, I think you continue to see his maturity.”
Team’s Response to Dillon Gabriel:
“Very well. We got a mature team. There’s certainly young players on it but they understand what the standard is and the culture that’s been set. They’re focused on competing for themselves. Each guy’s got to go out there and do his job. Not spend time worrying about someone else.”
On Jurrion Dickey:
“He’s light years ahead of where he was when he arrived but he’s got a long ways to go for him to be the player I know he can be. I’ve seen a ton of flash plays. I’m looking for more consistency with Jurrion. He has got exceptional talent and he’s got the want to. This guy wants to be great.”
