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Eric Studesville – October 1, 2019 Download PDF version

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville

(With RB Kalen Ballage, do you have any sense of what might be going on with him, because obviously, we know he’s better than what he’s shown? Do you think at this point it’s a confidence thing, is it a technique thing? What’s the issue in terms of Kalen’s lack of performance to the level I know everybody thinks he can perform?) – “I think there’s a lot of things in there. He’s dependent on other people too to perform and produce. He’s got to do a better job, all of them have got to do a better job in all the little areas and details that we talk about all of the time. But our room is unique in that we’re dependent on a lot of other people to do things, too. I’m not taking responsibility off of him by any stretch. He’s an intensely competitive, focused, prepared player and I have great confidence in him.”

(I don’t think we saw RB Kalen Ballage again after the dropped pass on offense. Obviously, you went to RB Mark Walton. What was the thinking in that decision collectively as a coaching staff?) – “We do a lot of different things like that. We have different personnel groups that we put people in. It was just at that point and time in the game we move forward with – Kenyan (Drake) was playing well at the time, running the ball effectively, so we stayed with that. Mark went in. We wanted to look at Mark in the game to get him in to see what  –  because we don’t know – we feel like we have three really good backs, but how do you look at all of them? So you have to – someone has got to sit out for – two of them have to sit out for one of the other ones to play.”

(Things you want to learn about RB Mark Walton, or things that have intrigued you that you want to learn more about? Is it running style? I think one thing we know he can do is he can catch the ball out of the backfield well. We saw that going back to OTAs. What things do you want to see?) – “I just think seeing (him) play in a game and see the game adjustments and what he does in the game, because I don’t know him like that in a game. We just got him in the offseason, so I’m still learning him and what we’re finding out is that he takes advantage of opportunities. He’s gone in and played well the times he’s gone in.”

(Do you think RB Kalen Ballage will get another chance?) – “Absolutely. We haven’t written any of them off. I feel like we have three talented running backs that can all give us a chance to win and be productive. I just believe that. I think they’re all three different in their own ways but I’m not disappointed in any of them or down on any of them. I think we have to do more. We’ve got to take the responsibility to do more and not wait on something. We’ve got to find ways to make a difference. I challenge them with that and I believe that’s one of the things that because they are three talented backs, that they can do that. We have to find a way to affect the game in a positive way more. Some kind of way we have to do that.”

(I know you obviously think highly of RB Patrick Laird and RB Myles Gaskin to have them on the roster. Has there been any serious talk of inserting them for carries or is the feeling right now there’s a distance between the top three and those two?) – “I think the three that we have on game day give us the best chance right now.”

(With RB Kenyan Drake, are you pleased with how he was doing? He was running hard Sunday.) – “I thought he ran the ball really effectively. I thought he played well, probably the best game, certainly this year, with the things that he did and what we were asking him to do. Again, I think the three of those guys are all talented guys. It’s just figuring out how each of them can do more to put us in position to be more successful and ultimately win games.”

(One last thing on RB Kalen Ballage, have you or Head Coach Brian Flores tried tough love, encouragement with him to try to get more out of a player who you know is capable of more? And I know you said others are responsible too, it’s not only him by any means. But what sort of approach have you tried?) – “I think it depends on the day and what’s needed. We coach based on what’s needed. It’s like raising kids, right? (laughter) Some days you’ve got to love them; some days you got to fuss at them. It’s okay.”

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