Eric Studesville – September 2, 2020
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Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville
(As you guys studied RB Salvon Ahmed in the draft, what did you think about him when you looked at running backs in the draft and what has he shown you the first few days?) – “In the draft, I thought that he did a nice job up in Washington. I think it was very similar to what Myles (Gaskin) did when he was up in Washington. He ran the ball (well). He uses speed out in space. He made a lot of plays up there. He’s just an exciting young player.”
(I know RB Malcolm Perry has been doing a lot with the receivers but obviously he could be used in your room as well. How do you kind of use a player like that who may not be with you full-time but may see some snaps out of the backfield at some point?) – “We’re always trying to create and come up with new things like that and you have a player who’s got a unique skillset. Obviously his productivity at Navy was unbelievable last year and we’re just bouncing ideas off right now; but we don’t know what to do with it right now. We’re still trying to figure out what the running backs can do before we can do anything, and he’s got a big job ahead of him learning all the special teams stuff and the wide receiver stuff, which is new for him, too. So the possibilities are out there, but we haven’t spent a lot of time with that at all yet.”
(Speaking of possibilities, how much are you campaigning to get your hands on LB Elandon Roberts in the backfield?) – “(laughter) It’s a nice possibility of having him be able to go both ways and come over there. Obviously he’s done that and done it successfully at New England, but at the same point in time, we’re really happy with I think some of the things that Chandler (Cox) has shown and done so far in camp, too; so the chance of having both guys there and two people that can do similar-type job descriptions if we need it is a nice issue to have.”
(I wanted to ask you about carving out specific roles for your tailbacks. I know everybody has this vision of RB Jordan Howard as a power back and RB Matt Breida as a guy in space, but obviously that telegraphs things when you put them on the field. How do you do that – go about carving out roles without telegraphing what you intend to do?) – “I think they carve out the roles. They’re going to determine what they can and can’t do. I think the thing that I try to do with them is to expose them and show what they can do in all of the different runs. Don’t just isolate one guy to say, ‘hey, he just runs all the toss plays’ or all the outside plays or this or that. They all have to be able to do it and you expose them to the whole variety – our whole menu of plays – and then they kind of determine, ‘hey, I’m a little bit better at this one than the other ones’ or this is what their strengths look like. I think that’s kind of how we develop and create those roles, but I think the main thing is that you can’t – it’s easy to fall into a trap of just making them do one thing and saying, ‘hey, he’s good at this’ because you’re a broken shoelace or a chin strap away from a guy that you’ve now pigeonholed into being able to do one thing to really handcuffing your offense to what you need to do. So I try to expose them to everything. We’re going to emphasize what they do best, but at the end of the day, if we’re calling something and it’s working and those kinds of things, then they’ve all got to be able to do it.”
(I know you mentioned it’s kind of right now just getting the basics taken care of, but I am curious because last year you guys ran plenty of direct-snap Wildcat type of stuff and a lot of times it was RB Kalen Ballage in that package. I’m just curious, generally speaking, what is it to you that makes a good back when it comes to taking direct snaps out of that Wildcat package?) – “The ability to get the play started is a huge plus. That guy – like the quarterback – he’s touching the ball every play. I think that’s something that Kalen (Ballage) obviously had a background in that before he came here and did that in college and did it successfully. He had what, eight touchdowns in one game doing all that stuff? I’ve had different guys over the years do that, but it takes time to develop that skill. It’s not something that they just inherently do, so it takes time to develop that and to do all of that. Some guys are better at it than others.”
(I know you haven’t had any preseason games to actually see the live action of it, but I guess how comfortable do you feel with your backfield now to maybe this time last year?) – “I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know that I can remember what I felt like last year. I’m so focused on what we’re doing right now. I like this room. I do. I like these five guys that we’re working with and I think they’ve all done a good job of coming and working, competing, trying to showcase what they can do, trying to determine – just like we talked about a moment ago – what their role and function is going to be on this team. They’re competitive. They’re serious. They want to be good. They’re hungry. They’re able to be pushed and I think – I just like the whole room, the dynamic that’s going on with all of them. So every year I’m excited. I feel the same way every year though at the end of the day because I think we’re going to – we do exactly what we think puts them in the best position to be successful and we’re going to try to continue to do that. And I like where we are right now. If there’s anything that I don’t feel comfortable about, then I need to get on that here in the next week and make sure we get it set before next week because we’re running out of time.”
(Oftentimes last season, a running back would get the ball and they would be met immediately by some defenders. I think maybe RB Kalen Ballage got an unfair shake for the 1.8 yards per carry average because of that. What are some things that kind of went wrong with Kalen’s time here, especially with last season?) – “I think that’s unfair for me to go back and look at all that right now. I’m really – I love that kid. He did everything I asked him to do and I just think right now going forward, I’m so focused on trying to get this group of guys ready to play in two weeks that I’ve looked at so little of last year recently and gone back over it. I’m really focused on what we need to do to move forward. I’m focused on moving forward.”
(Has the fact that RB Patrick Laird been slowed by the shoulder in the last week, has that been hurtful in your evaluation of him or do you pretty much know what you have with him?) – “It’s obviously decreased his reps and things, and he’s done a great job to this point in time; but injuries are part of what we do. That’s part of this, so that’s an opportunity for somebody else to step up, get some more reps, demonstrate what they can do; and that motivates Patrick (Laird) to get back on the field, too, and he’s done a great job with that. It’s part of our game. Losing time is part of our game, but that’s what we have to overcome. That’s constantly what we’re adjusting and moving pieces to do at every position, not just mine. And we are evaluating, but we’re evaluating how they handle adversity, how he handles this little setback that he’s gotten into right now and it’s always part of the evaluation process of everything that happens to these guys during this time that we’re trying to pick the team.”
