Here are some notes from the On The Record portion of Fitz's lunch today...
Schedule: Three weeks, off for finals and spring break, then on for two weeks
Spring game: I’d love to have a spring game. We just don’t have the bodies to be able to do that.
Thorson: Everything is going according to plan. Out of brace and crutches. Follow-up with surgeon today. Three QBs: Want all of the three QBs to walk out of spring ball with chance to be starter at Purdue.
New guys on coaching staff: Been great for them. Great guys. Goal to get younger with staff? Couldn’t get any older. (Good line.) Just trying to get into right fit.
Whose IN/OUT for spring ball:
Hall OUT
Vault IN
Skowronek LIMITED
Pace OUT
McGee OUT
Bullock Limited
Campbell IN (great news)
Personalities of QBs:
TJ: From football family. If he was three inches taller, he’d have a scholarship. High IQ. Great teammate.
Aidan: Big, talented arm. Been around football his whole life. Grown up on scout field these last two years.
Andrew: Youngest but also talented as the other two. Different path, getting injured in high school. Saw what we needed to see.
All three are uber competitive. Will split the reps in three, like we always do.
Running backs: New coach means new opportunity. Not looking backwards, looking forward. John Moten wasn’t happy with his role last year. Jesse Brown did great job in kicking game, ran with attitude. Isaiah is here early. Fun to see. Every position is fluid with reps. (Auston Anderson got hurt before bowl game.)
Most improvement last year: Hartage, Hall, Fisher, J Thompson, Gaziano. The OL as a whole improved exponentially, especially Blake Hance. Got tackle solidified, more consistent. Flynn and Bennett had good seasons. Kuhbander had solid first campaign.
Where he’s looking for improvement; Like to see OL pick up where they left off and not take a step back. DL continue to be consistent. Looking for Oxley, Carnifax and Wyatt to step up.
What makes Fisher so good: Size/speed combination to start with. High football IQ. Working really hard. Where improvement: Strength, footwork, leadership.
Hartage: Close to Sherrick, in terms of talent. Matt Harris and Keith Watkins before they got hurt.
Still doesn’t like the targeting call on Paddy in the bowl game.
Safety: Negative is a positive with Jared being out. Most veteran guy. Travis Whillock has a very bright future, same with JR Pace. Impressed with Bryce Jackson. Austin Hiller too. McDonald is a long guy. Been really impressed by him. Joe Bergin has played a lot in kick game.
Last year: Youngest team I’ve coached.
Avoiding complacency: Built a consistent winner but that’s not good enough. Guys understand that. They know why we won 10 games. We won a lot of close games. It’s also how fortunate you are in staying healthy. We’ve been fortunate to being healthy as a team. Leaders to do that? Hartage. DL: Jordan and Gaz and Wyatt. LB: Nate and Paddy and Gallagher. OL: JB, Tommy and Blake. QB: TBD. RB: TBD. Superbacks: TBD. WR: Vault and Flynn and Skowronek. RCB does a good job too.
Schedule: Better for Lou’s guys on his message board. (Shout out to you!) We’ll have conversations on camp. But that’s after spring. We’ll focus on playing a Big Ten road game in the opener. That’s unique.
Schedule, facility, etc., and their mark on the brand of NU football: It’s a great opportunity, but it only matters if we win those games. That’s why you wanna come here as a recruit. To play those games and win. We’ve had more NFL scouts than we’ve ever had. I don’t think our program’s been any stronger, but that’s all billboards and programs. Tomorrow, I’ll be screaming at guys to get aligned. I don’t focus on stuff that doesn’t matter. I’m focused on making the team better.
Basketball team: As a fan first, I’m disappointed for the seniors. I’m so thankful for what they’ve done. It’s hard when you don’t live up to expectations. As a coach, I’ll spend time with Chris about what he learned and what he’d do differently. My experience: individually complacent. It’s a society problem, not a NU problem.
Opener on Thursday: I’m all for it. We’re not in school, so we’ve always talked about the possibility of playing an off-day opener. (But Option 1 is Saturday at 11.)
Killing Friday night games: Coaches, ADs, high school associations came together. We were asked for our opinion and we gave it.
Schedule: Three weeks, off for finals and spring break, then on for two weeks
Spring game: I’d love to have a spring game. We just don’t have the bodies to be able to do that.
Thorson: Everything is going according to plan. Out of brace and crutches. Follow-up with surgeon today. Three QBs: Want all of the three QBs to walk out of spring ball with chance to be starter at Purdue.
New guys on coaching staff: Been great for them. Great guys. Goal to get younger with staff? Couldn’t get any older. (Good line.) Just trying to get into right fit.
Whose IN/OUT for spring ball:
Hall OUT
Vault IN
Skowronek LIMITED
Pace OUT
McGee OUT
Bullock Limited
Campbell IN (great news)
Personalities of QBs:
TJ: From football family. If he was three inches taller, he’d have a scholarship. High IQ. Great teammate.
Aidan: Big, talented arm. Been around football his whole life. Grown up on scout field these last two years.
Andrew: Youngest but also talented as the other two. Different path, getting injured in high school. Saw what we needed to see.
All three are uber competitive. Will split the reps in three, like we always do.
Running backs: New coach means new opportunity. Not looking backwards, looking forward. John Moten wasn’t happy with his role last year. Jesse Brown did great job in kicking game, ran with attitude. Isaiah is here early. Fun to see. Every position is fluid with reps. (Auston Anderson got hurt before bowl game.)
Most improvement last year: Hartage, Hall, Fisher, J Thompson, Gaziano. The OL as a whole improved exponentially, especially Blake Hance. Got tackle solidified, more consistent. Flynn and Bennett had good seasons. Kuhbander had solid first campaign.
Where he’s looking for improvement; Like to see OL pick up where they left off and not take a step back. DL continue to be consistent. Looking for Oxley, Carnifax and Wyatt to step up.
What makes Fisher so good: Size/speed combination to start with. High football IQ. Working really hard. Where improvement: Strength, footwork, leadership.
Hartage: Close to Sherrick, in terms of talent. Matt Harris and Keith Watkins before they got hurt.
Still doesn’t like the targeting call on Paddy in the bowl game.
Safety: Negative is a positive with Jared being out. Most veteran guy. Travis Whillock has a very bright future, same with JR Pace. Impressed with Bryce Jackson. Austin Hiller too. McDonald is a long guy. Been really impressed by him. Joe Bergin has played a lot in kick game.
Last year: Youngest team I’ve coached.
Avoiding complacency: Built a consistent winner but that’s not good enough. Guys understand that. They know why we won 10 games. We won a lot of close games. It’s also how fortunate you are in staying healthy. We’ve been fortunate to being healthy as a team. Leaders to do that? Hartage. DL: Jordan and Gaz and Wyatt. LB: Nate and Paddy and Gallagher. OL: JB, Tommy and Blake. QB: TBD. RB: TBD. Superbacks: TBD. WR: Vault and Flynn and Skowronek. RCB does a good job too.
Schedule: Better for Lou’s guys on his message board. (Shout out to you!) We’ll have conversations on camp. But that’s after spring. We’ll focus on playing a Big Ten road game in the opener. That’s unique.
Schedule, facility, etc., and their mark on the brand of NU football: It’s a great opportunity, but it only matters if we win those games. That’s why you wanna come here as a recruit. To play those games and win. We’ve had more NFL scouts than we’ve ever had. I don’t think our program’s been any stronger, but that’s all billboards and programs. Tomorrow, I’ll be screaming at guys to get aligned. I don’t focus on stuff that doesn’t matter. I’m focused on making the team better.
Basketball team: As a fan first, I’m disappointed for the seniors. I’m so thankful for what they’ve done. It’s hard when you don’t live up to expectations. As a coach, I’ll spend time with Chris about what he learned and what he’d do differently. My experience: individually complacent. It’s a society problem, not a NU problem.
Opener on Thursday: I’m all for it. We’re not in school, so we’ve always talked about the possibility of playing an off-day opener. (But Option 1 is Saturday at 11.)
Killing Friday night games: Coaches, ADs, high school associations came together. We were asked for our opinion and we gave it.
