Today, Fitz held his annual sit down with select media in an on-the-record and off-the-record conversation that went for almost two hours. I just went back and listened to my recording and took some notes. This is basically what we covered and what Fitz said during the first half of the on-the-record portion. I'll post more later when I get a chance.
Quarterbacks: Really pleased, especially the strength gains. We’ll walk out with Sully and Ryan fighting for that No. 1 job. Sully earned it. He's got command of the offense, good bloodlines. Knew he was close last year. Saw some flashes. Has all the arm strength and athleticism you want. It’s gonna be fun to watch him develop.
Why QB struggles: Quarterback struggles are around the country. Many schools are struggling. We’ve been as good as anybody over time. When it’s consistent, we compete for championships and win bowl games. When it’s not, we’ve been inconsistent. They get a lot of credit and a lot of the blame that they shouldn’t get. He suggested going back to look at the 2018 recruiting class nationally and where everyone ended up. “COVID stunk.” It hampered evaluations and guys made decisions without visiting. Quarterback dads are another issue. It’s a whole other dynamic. No better indicator of QB is after he throws a pick.
The new transfers: We’re going to be a high school recruiting program. That will never change. We will fine tune roster with transfers. Fill holes for the upcoming team – depth, lack of competitive depth, etc. We needed to add competitive depth upfront. Needed to add an older DB into the mix (Lewis). They’ve been awesome. Locker room has embraced them. They all came in ready to go. Very pleased with everyone. They’re going to help us. Role is TBD.
One thing pleased about spring: “We’re a much stronger team up front on both sides of the ball. We can talk about quarterbacks all we want, that was our biggest issue last year.” That’s what I’ve been most pleased about. He's also really happy with their young talent, across the board. A lot of young guys who will compete for starting or two-deep roles.
Benefit of playing young guys last year: You hope they put the work in. They realized that you've gotta be willing to sacrifice and grind. They had the “aha” moment last year and put the work in. Next phase is equally or more important.
Still looking to add through the portal? We're always looking every day to see if there’s a fit for us.
NIL: “I’m jealous. I would have made a lot of money in the mid-‘90s.” (Big laugh.) I think it’s awesome. It can be a job: not Instagram, but autograph sessions, etc. Guys have to manage it. Tax ramifications. We have to educate them. Sat in AFCA board meetings. Tried to pre-empt and educate where it would go. There was a naivete about NIL – only about autographs, posts. That’s not what it is. “We’re on a rocket ship to inducement for recruiting.” That’s there now. No guardrails around it. Instead of making 40-50 year decision, they’re looking to get paid now. That’s still against the rules…but we’d be naïve to think that’s not happening.
Year 2 under JON after rough first year: “We carried over 90% of what we did (before). But it’s always better in Year 2.” Adding Ryan Smith to staff helps a lot. Feel good that the D staff is solidified to where he wants it. Had a great spring. There were some terminology changes this spring. “I feel really good about that side. I feel really good about the competitive depth, especially on the back end. Same thing at LB. We might be a little young, but I feel like that group has got real good competitive depth. Up front, with the transfers, I think we added competitive depth where we needed to.”
Receivers stepping up to fill Robinson’s role: Malik would be first. Doing a good job leading the room. Was impressed by Kirtz in the fall; got back out there toward the end of spring. Anyone in the program will tell you Ray Niro (LV: my guy!). He’s been primarily a ST player, but he had a really good spring. Same thing with Jacob Gill. Dennis, Bacon, GHP, Kennedy. All those guys got a ton of reps. That whole room is gonna play a lot of ball.
Running backs: Hull had outstanding season. Led B1G in receiving for running backs. Tyus had a good year, learned a lot. Clair is awesome. We needed a veteran last year, especially after Porter went down. “Getting Cam will be a big piece to the puzzle for the team.”
Running game to take pressure off passing game: We want to have balance, play to guys’ strengths. “It’s crazy. We made more explosive plays last year than we did in I don’t know how long. We just didn’t finish drives. Turned the ball over. Missed field goals. Left so many points on the board, that changes momentum in games.” Need to be more consistent, finish drives with points.
Regaining consistency as a program: “We expect to be consistent. We expect to compete for the West. When we don’t, those years are failures.” Offensively, gotta score more points. Consistency. Execution. Taking care of the ball. “Look at our two down years, turnovers tell the story. Without a doubt.” Last piece is having balance. “Defensively, we didn’t fit gaps early. We were much better after the bye week. We made some slight changes in personnel. We made some personnel changes.” We’ve been a pretty good tackling defense in my 17 years. We did not take the ball away like we typically do. Gotta do better on 50/50 balls down the field. Kick the ball better. Gotta convert – red-zone field goals we have to make.
More to come....
Quarterbacks: Really pleased, especially the strength gains. We’ll walk out with Sully and Ryan fighting for that No. 1 job. Sully earned it. He's got command of the offense, good bloodlines. Knew he was close last year. Saw some flashes. Has all the arm strength and athleticism you want. It’s gonna be fun to watch him develop.
Why QB struggles: Quarterback struggles are around the country. Many schools are struggling. We’ve been as good as anybody over time. When it’s consistent, we compete for championships and win bowl games. When it’s not, we’ve been inconsistent. They get a lot of credit and a lot of the blame that they shouldn’t get. He suggested going back to look at the 2018 recruiting class nationally and where everyone ended up. “COVID stunk.” It hampered evaluations and guys made decisions without visiting. Quarterback dads are another issue. It’s a whole other dynamic. No better indicator of QB is after he throws a pick.
The new transfers: We’re going to be a high school recruiting program. That will never change. We will fine tune roster with transfers. Fill holes for the upcoming team – depth, lack of competitive depth, etc. We needed to add competitive depth upfront. Needed to add an older DB into the mix (Lewis). They’ve been awesome. Locker room has embraced them. They all came in ready to go. Very pleased with everyone. They’re going to help us. Role is TBD.
One thing pleased about spring: “We’re a much stronger team up front on both sides of the ball. We can talk about quarterbacks all we want, that was our biggest issue last year.” That’s what I’ve been most pleased about. He's also really happy with their young talent, across the board. A lot of young guys who will compete for starting or two-deep roles.
Benefit of playing young guys last year: You hope they put the work in. They realized that you've gotta be willing to sacrifice and grind. They had the “aha” moment last year and put the work in. Next phase is equally or more important.
Still looking to add through the portal? We're always looking every day to see if there’s a fit for us.
NIL: “I’m jealous. I would have made a lot of money in the mid-‘90s.” (Big laugh.) I think it’s awesome. It can be a job: not Instagram, but autograph sessions, etc. Guys have to manage it. Tax ramifications. We have to educate them. Sat in AFCA board meetings. Tried to pre-empt and educate where it would go. There was a naivete about NIL – only about autographs, posts. That’s not what it is. “We’re on a rocket ship to inducement for recruiting.” That’s there now. No guardrails around it. Instead of making 40-50 year decision, they’re looking to get paid now. That’s still against the rules…but we’d be naïve to think that’s not happening.
Year 2 under JON after rough first year: “We carried over 90% of what we did (before). But it’s always better in Year 2.” Adding Ryan Smith to staff helps a lot. Feel good that the D staff is solidified to where he wants it. Had a great spring. There were some terminology changes this spring. “I feel really good about that side. I feel really good about the competitive depth, especially on the back end. Same thing at LB. We might be a little young, but I feel like that group has got real good competitive depth. Up front, with the transfers, I think we added competitive depth where we needed to.”
Receivers stepping up to fill Robinson’s role: Malik would be first. Doing a good job leading the room. Was impressed by Kirtz in the fall; got back out there toward the end of spring. Anyone in the program will tell you Ray Niro (LV: my guy!). He’s been primarily a ST player, but he had a really good spring. Same thing with Jacob Gill. Dennis, Bacon, GHP, Kennedy. All those guys got a ton of reps. That whole room is gonna play a lot of ball.
Running backs: Hull had outstanding season. Led B1G in receiving for running backs. Tyus had a good year, learned a lot. Clair is awesome. We needed a veteran last year, especially after Porter went down. “Getting Cam will be a big piece to the puzzle for the team.”
Running game to take pressure off passing game: We want to have balance, play to guys’ strengths. “It’s crazy. We made more explosive plays last year than we did in I don’t know how long. We just didn’t finish drives. Turned the ball over. Missed field goals. Left so many points on the board, that changes momentum in games.” Need to be more consistent, finish drives with points.
Regaining consistency as a program: “We expect to be consistent. We expect to compete for the West. When we don’t, those years are failures.” Offensively, gotta score more points. Consistency. Execution. Taking care of the ball. “Look at our two down years, turnovers tell the story. Without a doubt.” Last piece is having balance. “Defensively, we didn’t fit gaps early. We were much better after the bye week. We made some slight changes in personnel. We made some personnel changes.” We’ve been a pretty good tackling defense in my 17 years. We did not take the ball away like we typically do. Gotta do better on 50/50 balls down the field. Kick the ball better. Gotta convert – red-zone field goals we have to make.
More to come....
