Eric Studesville – September 8, 2022
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Thursday, September 8, 2022
Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville
(I was going to ask you about RB Chase Edmonds specifically. Just from observing now in close for five months, what most excites you about his skillset?) – “Well, the first thing that excites me is his ability to prepare. He’s intensely focused, intensely competitive. And that’s the thing you love first because that gives us a chance. As far as his skillset on the field, I think he’s a complete back. He can run it. He’s shown speed in the open. He’s shown the ability to make guys miss, get on the edge of them. He’s caught the ball well when we give him those opportunities in practice. We just want to keep building on that. I can’t wait to watch him when the lights are on for real.”
(I guess running back roles have changed in the NFL over the years. Can you give us your thoughts on a workhorse back versus multiple backs? And without giving away strategy, how is that going to manifest itself in your group this year?) – “I think every team evaluates what they have on their team. A workhorse back or backs by committee, whatever that is, I think all of us approach a game plan with what gives us the best chance to win. If that’s one back, then ride that guy. If it’s multiple backs, then let’s figure out how to use those skillsets of those guys. So has it changed? I think it’s week to week. Our room is obviously the shortest career length of any position in the NFL, so you’ve got to have multiple guys because the numbers say that for them to stay healthy is difficult. So we love the fact that we have a lot of players that we are going to count on that we think can contribute in a lot of different ways of giving us a chance to win. But every team has to evaluate that on their own.”
(None of them are particularly larger backs. What will you do in short-yardage situations?) – “I think there’s going to be situations that are not just short-yardage and goal line. It’s second-and-1, there’s other plays – I mean, they’re going to have to be complete backs and do it all. To isolate and say, ’well, this guy can’t do this or can’t do that,’ we’re going to do our best to put them in positions to be successful. If third-and-1 means we can run it, then we will. If we need to throw it – we’re going to do whatever we need to do to convert and move the sticks in those situations. And it’s not just because we got this guy back there who looks like this that that’s what you’re going to do because that gives a defense an advantage too, if you’re heavy, heavy one certain way.”
(Earlier, Head Coach Mike McDaniel had alluded to the work that RB Salvon Ahmed and RB Myles Gaskin put in this offseason, when you guys kept signing backs and getting more guys into that room. He complimented the way that they just approached the professional aspect of the game. Just being around those guys for the last couple of years, how would you evaluate the way those guys worked, especially this offseason?) – “I think it’s a credit to both of those two guys. The fact is, they’re very close. They were roommates in college. Their relationship is very brotherly and that’s truthful in how they deal with each other. But there’s another intense competitive situation between the two of those guys, where they’re always trying to beat the other one and outdo the other one. And they work together. They’re unselfish. They just put their head down and grind and it makes – the fact that I’ve been here with them and watching them do that makes you really proud that this is what you’re looking for. You want guys that are going to commit to your program, do everything they can to give themselves a chance, and then every day, they’re busting their tail to try to find a way to get better, to contribute, to compete, to be part of what we’re all excited about going forward.”
(I wanted to ask you about FB Alec Ingold and his role in this offense. And also how it feels to be a pioneer introducing the fullback position in the NFL.) – “Pioneer? (laughter) Pioneers implies first, don’t they? And there’s been a lot of good fullbacks in this league over the years. (laughter) We’re excited to have Alec here. We’re excited to have Alec. We love what he brings to this team as far as leadership, as far as the fullback position and toughness to it. We’re anxious to see him out there and watch him be a part of this and what we’re doing.”
(Was there a moment you had this offseason RB Raheem Mostert, where you said – obviously he was coming off the knee injury – where you said that’s the speed that we recognize from his vintage 49ers days?) – “I think you’ve seen flashes of it in practice and doing things. As he continues to get more confidence on it, I think certainly the third preseason game where we got him in there and let him go and he busts out a 27- or 29-yard run there early in that first series showed a flash of what it is. I think we’re just – so much of this is we’re ready to unleash all this and see what it looks like in real time. And we’re excited to see that and watch these guys perform and go out and do that. But we think that they’re approaching what their abilities are, their health, all of those things and a couple of those guys in that room.”
(Is the emphasis on the run game different under Head Coach Mike McDaniel than maybe previous regimes or teams?) – “I don’t think so. Again, I think it depends on what you’re doing, what your opponent is doing and what you think gives you the best chance to win. I mean certainly we put a strong emphasis on the run game. Mike does. They ran the ball well in San Francisco and he’s brought a lot of that philosophy here. But we’re going to do whatever we have to do to try to win football games. And the emphasis on the run game, if that’s going, then we’ll probably stay with that. And if it’s not going, then we’ll figure out what we have to do some other kind of way to win. I mean, that’s what this is.”
