Football begins second week of spring practice

March 29, 2010

By Tyler Wooten
www.SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Saluki football head coach Dale Lennon met with the media prior to Monday's practice at McAndrew Stadium.

Q: "Can you describe the progress you feel that you have made in the first week of practice?"
"So far, so good. We've had three practices and two were non-padded, and we've had one full-padded practice. Now, this week is where we're really looking to see the improvement. We're going to have three practices on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and on Saturday, we'll have a scrimmage. That's where we're going to be doing a major part of our evaluation. Hopefully, we see some progress at that point, and we're looking at individual performances, too, to see which players are stepping it up."

Q: "Are there any guys in particular that have stood out in your mind that you weren't expecting to?"
"Well, it's too early to have one or two guys jump out. With the spring ball, you have to do it consistently, and that's what we're looking at, is the day-by-day progression of the players. The guys that consistently perform at high levels will naturally elevate their status on the team. And right now, it's just too early to put anybody over someone else."

Q: "Has anybody stepped up to be a vocal leader yet?"
"The vocal part is something I don't get too caught up in. I do ask for a lot of chatter, I want guys communicating with each other, and we do do a lot of talking on the field. Even with that, it's a little too early to give any labels on personalities of players."

Q: "How do you feel about the offense adjusting to things? You talked about more motions and shifts last week."
"So far, I'm really happy with the progress of the offense. We've got a lot in and there's a lot of new terminology that the players are picking up on, and their comfort level seems to be there now. I know the gears are burning and they're going through a mental process, but they've really done a good job of keeping their focus, and our number of mental errors hasn't been at the level I thought it was going to be, so I'm very pleased with our offensive progress."

Q: "Can you sense the excitement level since you're finally getting back into pads?"
"We sense the fact that we have a younger team. Last year, we had a very experienced team with the seniors and juniors, and now this year, we have replaced that class with a lot of young players, and it's their turn to step up and play. You do have that youthful enthusiasm that comes with that, and that's been fun to be a part of."

Q: "Can you talk about guys like Shariff (Harris) and T.J. (Shine)--who are two transfers--and the challenges of coming into a program when you've been somewhere else and getting used to the system?"
"It's not easy being a transfer. You have to adjust to a new environment, new personalities, new football team, new concepts, new coaches--and both T.J. and Shariff have done a really good job of being patient. They've been very cooperative and have adjusted to everything that we've asked them to do, and now they're at a point where everything feels comfortable to them, and now they can just concentrate on playing. They've really done a good job this off-season just getting used to the environment."

Q: "Does the fact that they have had experience somewhere else make the transition a little bit easier?"
"For each individual, it's a little bit different, but I think with both Shariff and T.J. their maturity level is at a point where they know what to expect, and they had pretty good expectations coming in. They were stepping into a good program and were going to have to earn their way onto the field, and that's the right attitude to have."

Q: "Do you feel the two players will contribute this season?"
"Well again, that's what we're seeing here in spring ball, and if they continue to perform on a high basis practice after practice, then they're going to earn that level."

Q: "Do you feel that Harris has playmaking ability?"
"Again, we haven't done anything live, so when you talk about playmaking, that is a key component. Once you start going live and see how they perform when the bullets are flying, that's the key."

Q: "With Joe Allaria coming back, what do you like about your receiving group this year?"
"Joe is definitely one of our leaders on the team and he's picking up where he left off last year. I think a lot of our new offensive schemes will benefit him, and I think we can utilize him even more than we did last year. Joe is a playmaker and we have to find ways to get him the ball?"

Q: "Do you consider him a burner?"
"His speed is deceiving. When you see him out there practicing, he doesn't look like a burner, but then you put a 40 clock to him, he's one of the faster guys on the team. He can definitely get to the endzone in a hurry."

Q: "John Lantz was redshirted--how close were you to playing him last year?"
"We didn't need to, we had good receivers, and he was definitely in consideration. We knew that he was a player of high quality that had the potential to play early on, but with the team we had returning, there was no need to pull the shirt at that time."

Q: "Last week you talked about identity--do you feel that you're starting to establish that?"
"We're young--that's something we're figuring out here as we go. But I think what you try to establish when you have a young team is a role for everyone and that team attitude. We want a very confident group--just because you're young doesn't mean you can't be confident."

Q: "Is it too early to see if John Lantz will be a contributor for the team?"
"Right now, the expectations on John are that he has the potential to contribute, and until we go through all the practices, the sooner we can tell."

Q: "Coach, can you talk about your linebackers? You lost a couple big ones last year--who do you have coming back and who has surprised you and is stepping up?"
"Again, I don't like using the word 'surprised' because it means you don't think they're very good. But, I feel good about our linebackers. If you look at the returning experience we have, Stephen Franklin tested very well on the junior pro day and there are already pro scouts looking at him. Connor James had a phenomenal off-season, so I know he's ready to step up his level of play. Those are two inside backers that I think are definitely ready to step in now and play. And at outside backer, we have Robert Spann who played a lot for us last year--he's more of a physical type of outside backer. Travis Littles and Jason DiManche are both playing very well. The talent level is good at linebacker, but we lost some good players there, and it's these guys' turn to step in there."

Q: "How will your defense change this year?"
"Not at all. I'll be very short with that one. We do what we do -- we like to zone blitz, we have players that fit well within that scheme, and with the players we have returning, there is no need to change anything we're doing."