Michael Barrow on Day 4
*On what’s different about Jimmy Gaines this year and the other middle guys
“I mean he is just putting it all together, I mean he put it all together last year, started off a little bit slow in the beginning with overcoming something, but once he got going man he’s a valuable player for us. He is the guy that is the captain/ quarterback of our defense in the sense that he makes all the calls, makes all the adjustments, coach on the field. He is just putting it all together, senior year putting it all together. A hard worker, tough, you know working on the things I gave him to work on or we gave him to work on, So he is doing well. Raphael Kirby, he’s put on a lot of weight, both of those guys, helped with Kirby’s freshman year, kind of getting baptized into everything and now getting more comfortable, getting a whole lot more confident, being physical and asserting himself. So, those guys are doing great.”
*On how much Leadership Gaines took upon himself as well as learned from the coaches
“Jimmy’s always been a leader and I mean always since day one here. He is very mature for his age, got one of the old Ray Charles old souls you know. Very mature, very responsible , hard work and his parents did a great job raising him and he is very respectful, a lot of these kids now a days, you have to deal with entitlement, a lot of spoiled this and that; Jimmy man, he is old school, he is a guy that loves the game and appreciates it. He is gonna do what you tell him to do and put in the extra time, so he is a guy that’s always leading and guys follow him. Now, heading into his senior year, a lot of guys go to him with questions and stuff. So, that’s real good that Jimmy is one of our foundations and leaders of this team.”
*On how tough it is to deal with kids who are very mature but aren’t quite ready physically or mentally?
“No, not really. I dealed with like Sean Spence, he was very mature, but only 200 pounds when he came in, acted like he’s been here for years when he is only 200 pounds. So, most places physically they say ‘he wouldn’t make a play’, well he started for us as a freshman. Then Denzel Perryman, same thing he was underweight, Glenn Cook same thing underweight but mature. So, to me if your mature, you’re smart, you got intangibles, you can in our scheme, the NFL type scheme, you can have success. Coach D does a good job of putting these guys in a position where they can be successful. Lets find out what they can do, so if a kid matures, he is gonna put in the time, he is gonna study, prepare, he is gonna do the little things-the detail work thats gonna get him that edge as oppose to not just relying on his brute strength, like Sampson. He is smart, savvy and find a way to get on the field and be productive.”
*On what makes Alex Figueroa different like Denzel Perryman, Sean Spence and others who played as freshman.
“He’s got just what I said before,very mature guy he can handle his business well. Handling your business, working on your game, detailing your work and he is a guy that has that mindset. His parents did a great job raising him and he understands that that hard work pays off. So, he is gonna put in the time and he is tough, he is physical. I mean he is like a grown man out there,so he is gonna do well.”
*On how he has challenged Figueroa to get better for this season
“It’s just not him, it’s with all our linebackers just to make sure they know the defense. You know I always talk about the term “Lets Eat”, Effort- Attitude or Attitude-Assignment-Technique. Just make sure those things are in order, that every time you step on the field, you are giving a hundred percent effort, for every time you have a positive attitude, you know your assignment and every time you're working on your skill and technique because talent is never enough, but make sure you work on your technique and fine tune those things. So, with him being a young guy a lot of times in certain places, no disrespect to any high school coaches, but a lot of guys don’t have the technique, so they got to learn it. Obviously, the assignments is like learning a new language, its like not being able to speak spanish and now you got to learn how to speak spanish. So, it takes time. I give all the freshman, what I like to call a coupon. I don’t care if you make a mistake, but just show me why I wanted to recruit you, just do what you do. Because one of the things I learned with a great athlete, if you make him over think, he is not gonna play fast, so I take that pressure off of him so he doesn’t have to act like he needs to be perfect, because I tell him ‘you're not going to be perfect, you didn’t learn how to speak in a day or learn how to walk in a day, it’s a process, but when you're not in there you better be paying attention, you better be in the meetings, you better be taking notes, you better get with the older guys. When you’re on the field, the only thing, I’m gonna get on you about is your effort and if your being soft out there. If you don’t know what to do just get to the ball’. So doing that when I first got here, helped me a lot because it took the pressure off these guys and it made them feel comfortable, like I ain’t gotta worry about making mistakes, I can be free and just get to the ball. Then eventually when they put in the time, they’re eventually gonna learn it. So I’m holding them accountable to what they know and thats the big thing.
*On who Figueroa reminds him of any previous Miami linebackers.
“I don’t know, it’s to early for comparisons, he just plays hard though, he’s tough.
*On what’s different about Jimmy Gaines this year and the other middle guys
“I mean he is just putting it all together, I mean he put it all together last year, started off a little bit slow in the beginning with overcoming something, but once he got going man he’s a valuable player for us. He is the guy that is the captain/ quarterback of our defense in the sense that he makes all the calls, makes all the adjustments, coach on the field. He is just putting it all together, senior year putting it all together. A hard worker, tough, you know working on the things I gave him to work on or we gave him to work on, So he is doing well. Raphael Kirby, he’s put on a lot of weight, both of those guys, helped with Kirby’s freshman year, kind of getting baptized into everything and now getting more comfortable, getting a whole lot more confident, being physical and asserting himself. So, those guys are doing great.”
*On how much Leadership Gaines took upon himself as well as learned from the coaches
“Jimmy’s always been a leader and I mean always since day one here. He is very mature for his age, got one of the old Ray Charles old souls you know. Very mature, very responsible , hard work and his parents did a great job raising him and he is very respectful, a lot of these kids now a days, you have to deal with entitlement, a lot of spoiled this and that; Jimmy man, he is old school, he is a guy that loves the game and appreciates it. He is gonna do what you tell him to do and put in the extra time, so he is a guy that’s always leading and guys follow him. Now, heading into his senior year, a lot of guys go to him with questions and stuff. So, that’s real good that Jimmy is one of our foundations and leaders of this team.”
*On how tough it is to deal with kids who are very mature but aren’t quite ready physically or mentally?
“No, not really. I dealed with like Sean Spence, he was very mature, but only 200 pounds when he came in, acted like he’s been here for years when he is only 200 pounds. So, most places physically they say ‘he wouldn’t make a play’, well he started for us as a freshman. Then Denzel Perryman, same thing he was underweight, Glenn Cook same thing underweight but mature. So, to me if your mature, you’re smart, you got intangibles, you can in our scheme, the NFL type scheme, you can have success. Coach D does a good job of putting these guys in a position where they can be successful. Lets find out what they can do, so if a kid matures, he is gonna put in the time, he is gonna study, prepare, he is gonna do the little things-the detail work thats gonna get him that edge as oppose to not just relying on his brute strength, like Sampson. He is smart, savvy and find a way to get on the field and be productive.”
*On what makes Alex Figueroa different like Denzel Perryman, Sean Spence and others who played as freshman.
“He’s got just what I said before,very mature guy he can handle his business well. Handling your business, working on your game, detailing your work and he is a guy that has that mindset. His parents did a great job raising him and he understands that that hard work pays off. So, he is gonna put in the time and he is tough, he is physical. I mean he is like a grown man out there,so he is gonna do well.”
*On how he has challenged Figueroa to get better for this season
“It’s just not him, it’s with all our linebackers just to make sure they know the defense. You know I always talk about the term “Lets Eat”, Effort- Attitude or Attitude-Assignment-Technique. Just make sure those things are in order, that every time you step on the field, you are giving a hundred percent effort, for every time you have a positive attitude, you know your assignment and every time you're working on your skill and technique because talent is never enough, but make sure you work on your technique and fine tune those things. So, with him being a young guy a lot of times in certain places, no disrespect to any high school coaches, but a lot of guys don’t have the technique, so they got to learn it. Obviously, the assignments is like learning a new language, its like not being able to speak spanish and now you got to learn how to speak spanish. So, it takes time. I give all the freshman, what I like to call a coupon. I don’t care if you make a mistake, but just show me why I wanted to recruit you, just do what you do. Because one of the things I learned with a great athlete, if you make him over think, he is not gonna play fast, so I take that pressure off of him so he doesn’t have to act like he needs to be perfect, because I tell him ‘you're not going to be perfect, you didn’t learn how to speak in a day or learn how to walk in a day, it’s a process, but when you're not in there you better be paying attention, you better be in the meetings, you better be taking notes, you better get with the older guys. When you’re on the field, the only thing, I’m gonna get on you about is your effort and if your being soft out there. If you don’t know what to do just get to the ball’. So doing that when I first got here, helped me a lot because it took the pressure off these guys and it made them feel comfortable, like I ain’t gotta worry about making mistakes, I can be free and just get to the ball. Then eventually when they put in the time, they’re eventually gonna learn it. So I’m holding them accountable to what they know and thats the big thing.
*On who Figueroa reminds him of any previous Miami linebackers.
“I don’t know, it’s to early for comparisons, he just plays hard though, he’s tough.
