Josh Grizzard – August 8, 2020
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Saturday, August 8, 2020
Wide Receivers Coach Josh Grizzard
(Obviously you had two guys opt out, in terms of the veterans that left that room. Where are you going to get some veteran leadership from that unit?) – “It’s a good room. These guys that I’ve been around – it’s always moving. We’ve just been having walkthroughs right now, so that’s going to be built through time together. It’s still early. We’ve still got a decent amount of time before the season starts, so those things pretty much progress organically as it goes on.”
(When you look at WR DeVante Parker and WR Preston Williams and obviously what they were able to do together in their eight games last year, how do you think they can build off that – as a duo, coming into this year?) – “It’s a new year. We start over at square one, especially in a new offense. We’re excited for those guys but whatever happened last year is last year. It’s about getting on the same page and meshing and again, going through these walkthroughs and getting accustomed to new verbiage and depths and things like that. We’re excited about it but whatever happened then is then and we’re looking forward to this season.”
(Being an assistant here in the room and having an established relationship and bond with some of the guys, how does that kind of help you understand how to coach each of them and communicate with each of them?) – “It’s good. Being around some of these guys for three or four years, there’s a level of knowledge of what they’re like and what they’re like on day-to-day basis. Then you’re able to just compare things on ‘this is a similar route’ or whatever it might be. It’s been nice. Like I said, I really enjoy being around these guys. They all work. From day to day, it’s a group that brings energy. It’s been fun to be around and I look forward to continuing that as we get more time with these guys.”
(Being around WR DeVante Parker for as long as you have, what do you think was the difference in his elevation of performance last year?) – “We were just happy that he had a good year. I’m happy for DeVante because he worked so hard. I think what happened in the years prior to that were irrelevant to an extent. We were just happy to see the success that he had. I know he was healthy. I’m just excited for him. He’s in a great spot right now. I’m just looking forward to getting out there and seeing these things once we get away from the walkthrough phase and start doing more Phase II and more competitive-type things.”
(I wanted to ask you about the skillsets of two young guys. What did you like about WR Kirk Merritt – you and the front office, what skills stood out? And WR Gary Jennings, do you have any sense of what you have there after only having him healthy for a bit over a week last year?) – “Like you said, Gary was only with us for a short amount of time, so I didn’t get a great look at him last year. Now we’re just back at square one with these guys. It’s a new offense. Again, it’s only been walkthroughs and things of that nature, so it’s ever-evolving in terms of how we see these guys, best fits. Then with Kirk, it’s just going through the process of watching college tape and getting a feel for what his skillset was and the things he had done at the college level that might be able to translate to what we do. To get into the scheme of it or what he does is still a little premature because we haven’t seen these guys do much outside of walk-around. Really for the first two or three months, it was only seeing them through a lens of a camera. It’s just nice to be in person a little bit here.”
(Obviously you lost WR Albert Wilson and WR Allen Hurns to an extent, but what do you ask for maybe that slot-receiver position from guys who may not traditionally be used to playing that position, given your losses?) – “These things change week to week. In terms of the scheme and what you ask from that guy, it could change Week 1 versus Week 3. As we all know, it’s a very year-to-year league. It’s a week-to-week league at the very minimum and right now, it’s hour-to-hour and day-to-day. To say what one week we’re looking for out of a guy, it could change the next. These guys have to be able to adapt, just like we do as coaches, to put them in the best position possible to make plays. That thing can look completely different Week 1 versus Week 3. The ability to adjust is big.”
(I wanted to ask you about – you have some size in that unit. How do you take advantage of that? It seems like Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey’s offense has typically benefitted from a receiver with some size to him.) – “Again with the scheme, it’s going to be very multiple. It’s going to be a balanced attack. It’s going to – from week to week, what do we need to do put these guys in position to make plays and take advantage of the opponent, as well as what we do? It can change. We’re excited about those guys but again, it will be a week-to-week. What do we need to do to win this one game? And then we’ll focus on the next opponent after that.”
