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Texas offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich addressed the media on Wednesday. Here are the highlights of his press conference:
--- Yurcich is pleased with the attitude and effort from his guys in practice. He likes the attention to detail and enthusiasm from the team.
However, he is concerned about first game jitters from the players. He wants to make sure they get the signals in and play assignment sound football.
--- Yurcich on Jake Smith and Jordan Whittington: “Jake and Jordan are very competitive guys. They both change direction extremely well. That inside receiver position suits them very well for all the things that we'll ask them to do. They understand the game. They can do different types of things. They're multiple. I think those two guys are well suited for this offense, whether it be an RPO game or intermediate pass game, but also the speed to go vertical as well. Those guys are more than capable, and they're fun group to coach.”
--- Yurcich on his desire to keep quarterback Sam Ehlinger in a similar environment after his arrival: “It's been touch and feel with Sam. You have to be very careful. He's had a lot of success and you don't want to rest. Anytime that he's been uncomfortable, I've been very cautious to go down that road. You get a good sense in meetings of what that looks like and what that feels like. There's a lot of conversations with Sam. There's a lot of two-way communication going on. If he likes the concept and feels good with the concept, I'll get a good feel for that, and we'll talk and we'll communicate. That's important for us to continue that communication. At the same time, there's some sound concepts that we'll get to that have already existed within this offense that I would incorporate in our offense, regardless of circumstance. There's a lot of carryover between what I was in and what had existed here from a past game standpoint.”
--- When asked about his comfort level with the offense, Yurcich said is very settled with his unit.
--- Yurcich wants to see maximum production from his players against UTEP on Saturday. He said they are chasing the perfect game where there are no turnovers or punts. Yurcich admitted the expectation is unrealistic, but that is the goal.
--- Yurcich on the Longhorn running backs: “There's no doubt that this is a talented backfield and it's going to be a backfield by committee. When one young man emerges, obviously, we have to be smart and we have to continue to utilize our personnel strengths. It'd be silly not to. The best players play. At the same time, this is going to be a long season, and it's going to take all three tailbacks that we have right now that are going to be playing significant time to get us to a championship. So, to pigeon hole yourself right now and to say that we're going to do exactly this or exactly that probably isn't the best thing to do. I think it's smart to get all three guys ready and to share as many reps as we possibly can, and when we see one guy emerged and it becomes blatantly clear, I think you'll see it start to tilt in a direction.”
--- In addition, Yurcich described Bijan Robinson as a running back that has shown signs of physical toughness as a freshman.
--- I asked Yurcich if he is responsible for personnel decisions on game day, and this was his response: “I'd never come in and pound the table and just say, hey, this is this is this and this is that. There's a time to make those hard decisions, and I'll give my strong opinions. Obviously, coach Herman is involved in those discussions as well. Ultimately, he'll have the final say. I think as a staff, I think you have an understanding of the strengths and the weaknesses of each of our personnel groupings and each individual. You try to have those discussions as you get closer to game week or game day. You try to formulate a consensus, and it's very important that you listen to the position coach because they know the player as good as anybody. So, it's discussions, and it's all about communicating. I'll always give my opinions and some more strong than others when I feel the emphasis, but you do want input, and you want everybody on board.”
--- Yurcich intends to call plays from the press box this season. According to Yurcich, he has called plays from the field and the press box during his career. He likes the viewpoint from the press box, plus it allows him to not to get caught up with the sideline emotions. However, the advantage of being on the field is having a face-to-face conversation with his quarterback. Yurcich said running backs coach Stan Drayton, receivers coach Andre Coleman, offensive line coach Herb Hand and Herman will be on the sidelines, and he trusts they can communicate and “rally the troops” whenever that needs to occur.
--- Yurcich described tight end Cade Brewer as extremely intelligent. In fact, Yurcich said it does not take many reps for Brewer to learn a new concept. Jared Wiley plays well with his hand in the ground, Malcolm Epps is a flex guy, while Brayden Liebrock has both attributes, according to Yurcich.
--- Yurcich’s response when asked about Brennan Eagles’ confidence level and areas the receiver can improve: “It's growing. His level of confidence is growing. We've got to get Brennan playing as fast as he possibly can, however fast he is, whatever he runs in the 40. If he runs a 4.4, we’ve got to make sure that he's running a 4.4 when we snap the ball. So, mental processing. Making sure that he's quickly reacting and not hesitant. Just trying to make sure that he knows where he's going when he lines up and how to adjust based on coverage. So, repetition after repetition after repetition, and that's the name of the game right there. That is key.”
