Some quick hitters
Marcus Freeman met with journalists Thursday to provide some updates coming off a bye week following the team’s 51-14 rivalry win against the Navy Midshipmen and ahead of the matchup against the Florida State Seminoles. The coach talked practice and dropped names.
Bye Bye Bye
On how he and Director of Football Performance Loren Landow worked to keep the team at maximum performance beyond the bye week and through November, Freeman said, “We meet weekly as a sports performance team. So, that includes, obviously, Coach Landow, Rob Hunt, our head athletic trainer, Matt Leiszler, our team doctor, [Associate Athletics Director for Sports Performance] John Wagle. We look at all the analytics behind it and we say, okay, let’s come up with what we perceive as the load, the necessary load they need for each week. As you look at the bye week, there was a load that we wanted to make sure that we accomplished with our practices from Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to really propel us forward for these last four games. And as we look at each of these last four games… Florida State week, Virginia, Army then USC, how do we see the four-games span maximizing what we’re asking our guys to do? It isn’t like we changed drastically what we did than the first bye week, but there’s again, certain loads and numbers that we want to hit in practice. We’re also getting the work that we need to get done schematically. It’s going to be different, just so you know… week 12 to week one. That’s the flow of the season and what you’re asking your guys to do.”
FSU DL
On the Seminoles’ defensive line, Freeman said, “I think their defense is extremely talented. It’s led by their D line. The’ve got four plus guys that really can cause a lot of disruption. It may be… one of the top D lines we’ve seen all year. And we will see. So, our guys have their work cut out for them. They do a good job at mixing up some movement and pressure, but also doing some straight rush that can cause some issues if if you don’t, one, be able to identify what you think they’re going to do pre-snap, but, two, got to get your cleats in the ground and be firm. I think their corners are another big point of emphasis for them. They’ve got two really good corners that have played well all year. And I think their defense is doing a really good job.”
Talking Watts
On the growth of safety Xavier Watts, Freeman said, “He’s a guy that is just continuing to improve at his skillset. Already has all the talent in the world, now he’s improving at his skillset as a safety in terms of tracking the ball, in terms of making tackles and those type of things. The thing I love about X the most is that he’s really improved at his vocal communication. He’s a leader. He is a problem solver. He gets guys lined up. You see him all the time making checks, making calls. And that’s the area that I think he’s made the biggest jump at is really being a problem solver on the field. When he’s out there with [safety] Adon [Shuler]; Adon’s a young guy, and even sometimes with the backers, he’s able to really get everybody on the same page.”
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