About the transition to Miami: It went really smoothly. Finding a house was probably the hardest thing I had to do. Other than that, the transition here with the staff and players went really well. I had a lot of help with the building.
About the Canes’ RB tradition: I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a part of me that was really excited. I grew up watching Clinton, Willis and all those guys. I was in middle school when they played. I know what it means to be a position coach here for that position. It was exciting. The guys in the room are trying to carry on that legacy. They know what it is, they see the pictures on the wall.
We don’t necessarily always talk about it, but the standards in the room of what it should look like are really, really high. I want to make sure that we honor the people who came before us through the way we play, the way we train, the way we go about our day-to-day lives.
About Damien Martinez: What’s great about Damien? I asked him in the recruiting process, “What’s the one thing you need to improve?” And he said, “I need to improve my fundamentals in the pass pro. I’m willing to do that, but I need to continue to get better at it.”
The fact that he already has that mindset makes that part a little easier. It’s really hard with the young guys because in high school they run the ball 30-40 times a game. They don’t ask them to block unless they have a really dominant quarterback. Then they come here and realize that running the football is how they got here, but if they want to be good in college and have a chance to go to the next level, they have to protect the quarterback. With Damien, that was clear from the start.
About Elijah Lofton: We do a great job as a team because everyone knows every position. Coach Woodiel and I work well with Elija when needed and have a training plan for him. I also find time to tackle him on my own.
There are so many guys with position flexibility, and the way Coach Dawson and Coach Cristobal promote that, we all know what’s going on. If I need to have one of my guys play a position, I know what those guys are doing. I send them to the expert to work out the finer points, but you can at least give them a basic understanding.
About Chris Johnson: Everything is easier in high school. When you’re the fastest guy on the field, you just run around everybody. When you get to college, everyone is fast, even Chris, who is 10’2. You have to learn to vary your speed and use it when you need to use it. Once you can teach them what to really pay attention to, they can slow down mentally but still play fast and use their speed when it’s appropriate. But it takes time to get that far. It’s a little bit of a transition.
About Ajay Allen: I expect him to be a big contributor. He was on his way there last year but got hurt a couple times. He recovered over the course of the spring and has become a little more professional now. He’s a very instinctive player and has a high football IQ for the running back position. He knows what’s going on and sees the field very well. I expect him to have an incredible year for us.
About Jordan Lyle: He has the right mindset. He wants to be trained, he wants to learn. So your job as a coach is to keep encouraging him. He was part of a successful program. He knows what that looks like. He also knows that he wants more.
About Chris Wheatley-Humphrey: He’s an example of a guy who always ran in high school. Passing is his biggest thing. He’s gotten better. He’s grown as a runner. It’s about being more consistent at the other things to get where he wants to go.
In pass protection as a smaller runner like Johnson or Wheatley-Humphrey: It’s the will. We’ve worked on it a lot since we’ve been here. That’s where it starts. And then the fundamentals, since they’re both at a disadvantage in terms of size. So it’s the willingness to do it that they have and then the fundamentals.
