Brian Flores – May 11, 2019
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Saturday, May 11, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(What can you tell us about RB Mark Walton and his tryout this weekend? What went into that decision to bring him here?) – “He’s here on a tryout. Obviously he’s a talented player. We wanted to definitely take a look at him and see if he was a fit for us on the field (and) off the field. I think he’s done a good job really in the one day that he’s been here. So we’ll see how it goes.”
(How much did you guys discuss or talk about RB Mark Walton’s background or his past and the things he’s been involved in this summer before making that decision to bring him here?) – “It was discussed. Obviously (General Manager) Chris (Grier), myself (Vice President of Football Administration) Brandon (Shore and) our staff, definitely it was something that we discussed. But again, it’s a tryout. That’s kind of part of the process is getting to know him and getting to see him both on and off the field.”
(How many running backs do you feel like you need to carry into training camp?) – “That number is fluid. You need enough obviously to practice with and then obviously to get through the preseason games. There’s not a specific number but five (or) six backs, somewhere in there is probably a good number.”
(How would you describe your personal opinion and philosophy on giving people more chances?) – “I’d say I think … I think people deserve a second chance. I believe that. I think that’s the case. I don’t want to judge people based on one incident (or) two incidents. I think it’s a case-by-case situation for a player and just for people in general. That’s kind of my stance.”
(Yesterday, RB Chandler Cox was working out with the tight ends for at least part of the time that we saw. Is that because that’s more of his skillset or why was that?) – “I think he’s a versatile player. I think he’s somebody that can move around in the backfield and in some tight end positions. You can split him out a little bit. He’s going to work with the tight ends, he’s going to work with the backs, he’s going to move around. He’s somebody that’s got that ability. He’s going to work in the kicking game as well. He’s thrown the football. He’s a former quarterback. We’ll see what he can do there.”
(WR Preston Williams from Colorado State, he looks the part but what strengths did you guys identify of his?) – “He’s a talented player. He’s got good size, good speed (and) he catches the ball well. (He’s been) smart in the one day that he’s been here. He’s got a long way to go like all of the rest of the rookies; but he’s off to a good start and we’ll see how he develops.”
(It’s only one day but when you look at the tape of practice yesterday, did anybody go ‘WOW! LOOK AT THAT GUY!’) – “No. (laughter) That didn’t happen.”
(QB Malik Rosier is a guy obviously that fans down here are well familiar with from his UM days. Have you had a chance to form any opinions on him?) – “I think he’s an assertive … I like his assertiveness at the quarterback position. He clearly has some leadership ability. He can get these guys in and out of the huddle, makes his ‘Mike’ points (and) gets everybody lined up. I thought that was good. Again, he’s here on a tryout basis as well. I thought he had a good day yesterday. We’ll see how it goes today but I think he’s off to a good start, as well.”
(A lot of times when you talk to second-year players they’ll say that it makes a huge difference being in the offseason program as opposed to training for the Combine and running 40s.) – “I would agree.”
(How do you see that manifest itself out there? Are they quicker, more familiar? How do you see that?) – “I think there’s, obviously, some continuity built being in meetings, being in the weight room and getting out there from a conditioning standpoint. They’re better suited to go out there and perform rather than some rookies that are coming in and everyone’s training a little bit differently. They have no idea what – from a playbook standpoint – what they’re going to get. When you combine learning the playbook with your conditioning, with your strength training and put it all together, it’s all laid out, it’s all in a uniformed structure, and there’s a process there. It all works better together. Yes, I think that second year when they’re in here and they’re in the offseason program, there’s a process and a structure (for) the way things are done. I think you get a better player and you get better performance.”
(With T Isaiah Prince, he’s a guy who kind of looks like a basketball player with how tal and how long he is. When you’re out there on an island at right tackle, does that height and length benefit you or can it be used against you?) – “I always think of things defensively, so yes it can benefit you, for sure. When you’ve got a guy that long with that much size, it’s hard to get around a guy like that. Yes, I think that definitely benefits him. Again, he’s another guy who definitely needs development. He’s a guy who we’re looking forward to working with at a few different positions. He’s a smart kid. He’s talented. There’s no doubt there. We’re interested to see how he can help us and what he can do.”
(When you look at all the undrafted guys that you signed, about how many would you estimate you guys thought might’ve been drafted?) – “We were fortunate we were able to sign a few guys we felt really good about. The draft, how that works, you just never know at the end what teams are really looking for. (There were) a couple there that we felt like had potential to get drafted late. We were fortunate enough there to, at the end when they did go undrafted, we signed a couple of those guys and we feel good about this rookie free agent class as well as the guys we drafted. Once they get here, whether you’re drafted, undrafted, AAF, it doesn’t really matter. Everyone is going to have an opportunity to compete for a position, whether it’s offense, defense or in the kicking game. The guys that come out of that competition will be the guys who are playing in the fall.”
(You have five defensive tackles in this rookie camp right now, obviously with DT Christian Wilkins. Do you feel like there’s a hole to be filled there at that position outside of bringing in Christian and drafting him? DT Kendrick Norton is a former Miami Hurricane. What do you like about his game?) – “You asked if there’s a hole there, and I talked about it yesterday, I’m trying to create competition, really, at all positions. To me, there’s a hole everywhere. I think we need to try to get the best players at each position. We’ll try to bring in as many guys as we can. There’s a limit obviously to 90 that we can sign. That’s the case there. As far as Kendrick, we like what he’s brought to the table so far. He’s got size, he’s got good power, he’s smart. He’s got some versatility also. We like what we’ve seen from him.”
(Do you distinguish and differentiate nose tackles from defensive tackles or are they all just lumped in?) – “There’s a little bit of distinction, I would say. It’s based on the player’s skillset. Nose tackle, d-tackle, penetrator, big end, defensive end – there’s a few different distinctions. But it’s up to the player. We may feel one way that he can only do this. If he goes out there and shows us something different, then he can do a couple of things.”
(So you break them up into five different groups?) – “I can keep going. We can go to 15 if you really want to. (laughter)”
(We have time.) – “I’m not going to give you everything in my bag. I’m never going to give you that. (laughter) You can just trust me on that. I’ll give you a little bit.”
(What about the secondary? Do we have a rover?) – “A rover? That’s a few different things. (laughter)”
(I have an offensive line question for you. When you say you want to play the best five guys on the offensive line – I think you’ve said you’re a best-five guy. Why are you better playing the best five? For example, T Laremy Tunsil played guard his rookie year, so you’re better off playing a tackle at guard than a left guard, somebody who came up playing left guard? Better football player makes a better unit, that’s what it is?) – “I would like to think that. I hear what you’re saying. I appreciate the question. There are some cases where you don’t want to take a guy completely out of position just to get the best five. That’s not the best five. That’s not the best unit. So, I appreciate the question. That’s why we talk so much about versatility and getting these guys to learn multiple spots so we can put our best five guys out there. There are times when a guy can only play right tackle and that’s it. If you try to move him somewhere else, he can’t get into a left-handed stance. That happens. That guy is pigeonholed. I think we all understand that, and we’ve become pigeonholed as an offense (or) as a defense when we’re talking about d-tackles, nose tackles, d-ends – guys who can only play one position. There’s only 46 guys that dress. So if we’re not versatile, injuries occur in this league and guys get tired – hopefully not our team because we want to be conditioned; but eventually, guys will get tired – you have to be able to shift guys around and that’s where versatility comes into play. I understand the question, and we want our best five guys from an offensive line standpoint. (It’s the) same on the defensive line. Really, (it’s the) same on both offense and defense. We want our best 11 guys out there. If we’re locked into ‘You can only do this,’ then if that works, then it works. If it doesn’t and we can get the best five guys out there, we’ll try to do that.”
