Confidence is peaking in Coral Gables, and QB Cam Ward is a big reason why. He met with reporters after the first spring practice to discuss a variety of topics:
On the first day: It was good. Energy was good. We didn't have a great first day. We had a good enough first day. We had a lot of guys out there not full speed. But that's something that we can get better as we get used to the heat. The new guys coming in are still acclimating to the heat. But it was a decent first day, not where we want to be as an offense.
We weren't explosive as often today as we needed to be. We just didn't play our brand of football the whole time. We had spurts of it here and there, but we got to be consistent. That's the biggest thing for us.
I watch the little stuff. What we lacked today is the little details. We didn't emphasize it enough to the show on the field. Effort is a big thing in our offense and football in general. If you don't have effort, you won't win a lot of games. So that's really the only thing we’ve got to clean up and come back tomorrow with the same mindset to get better. And we will have a better day for sure.
On Sam Brown and Damien Martinez: They had a real good day. Sam Brown can fly down the field. If y'all got a chance to see one-on-ones, that boy can fly. Damien, the way he sees his holes, gets in and out of cuts. Blitz protection has gotten way better since he's been here. So having those two additions, it's not going to do nothing but help us. They were two great late additions, and I'm glad they're part of the team because they're going to do some damage for us this year.
We [Ward and Brown] got a lot of time to work this summer when he got here. We have great chemistry right now. I'll probably say the only thing that me and Sam have to work on is just he needs to see me late. That’s with checks. That's with last minute stuff, because we do a lot of last-minute stuff at the line of scrimmage. That’s the only thing me and him really need to dive into and work on. But he's a great route runner. He wins versus man coverage. He's great versus zone. He knows windows. So that's all you really can ask for in a receiver.
On JoJo Trader: He got a lot of reps with me today with the 1s and I think he had a great day. He really knows the offense more than he did coming in. The more reps that he gets with the 1s and 2s, it's only going to help him. He's going against the 1s cornerbacks on our team, the 2s cornerbacks. He's making plays versus those guys. JoJo's elite, and he's going to make a lot of plays this year. All I’ve got to do is put the ball in his vicinity, and he's going to make the play.
On the trenches: The most important position on the team is the O-line. They are the team. The O-line and D-line are the team. If we're not good in the trenches, we won't be a good football team. Cooper, JRiv, Matt, Cici [Mauigoa], and Zach, those five guys, they attack every day with the same mindset, they're the first ones here, they're the last one to leave, they're always watching tape with each other. They're working with the running backs on blitz protection. They're working with me. Zach's helped me out a lot. They’re going to do a lot of stuff for us this year that the outside world won't know. But the only thing that really matters is that the building knows.
On his off-platform throwing: I've worked on it throughout my career, over time. It's going to help us on offense. It's going to help with the scramble drill. We've gotten way better at scramble drill from when I first got here to now. The scramble drill is all about the receivers. We teach it to an extent. At the end of the day, we've got to have a feel for scramble drill. We've got to have a feel for space on the field. As long as myself, the other quarterbacks, and receivers are on the same page, then scramble drill will work out.
On the first day: It was good. Energy was good. We didn't have a great first day. We had a good enough first day. We had a lot of guys out there not full speed. But that's something that we can get better as we get used to the heat. The new guys coming in are still acclimating to the heat. But it was a decent first day, not where we want to be as an offense.
We weren't explosive as often today as we needed to be. We just didn't play our brand of football the whole time. We had spurts of it here and there, but we got to be consistent. That's the biggest thing for us.
I watch the little stuff. What we lacked today is the little details. We didn't emphasize it enough to the show on the field. Effort is a big thing in our offense and football in general. If you don't have effort, you won't win a lot of games. So that's really the only thing we’ve got to clean up and come back tomorrow with the same mindset to get better. And we will have a better day for sure.
On Sam Brown and Damien Martinez: They had a real good day. Sam Brown can fly down the field. If y'all got a chance to see one-on-ones, that boy can fly. Damien, the way he sees his holes, gets in and out of cuts. Blitz protection has gotten way better since he's been here. So having those two additions, it's not going to do nothing but help us. They were two great late additions, and I'm glad they're part of the team because they're going to do some damage for us this year.
We [Ward and Brown] got a lot of time to work this summer when he got here. We have great chemistry right now. I'll probably say the only thing that me and Sam have to work on is just he needs to see me late. That’s with checks. That's with last minute stuff, because we do a lot of last-minute stuff at the line of scrimmage. That’s the only thing me and him really need to dive into and work on. But he's a great route runner. He wins versus man coverage. He's great versus zone. He knows windows. So that's all you really can ask for in a receiver.
On JoJo Trader: He got a lot of reps with me today with the 1s and I think he had a great day. He really knows the offense more than he did coming in. The more reps that he gets with the 1s and 2s, it's only going to help him. He's going against the 1s cornerbacks on our team, the 2s cornerbacks. He's making plays versus those guys. JoJo's elite, and he's going to make a lot of plays this year. All I’ve got to do is put the ball in his vicinity, and he's going to make the play.
On the trenches: The most important position on the team is the O-line. They are the team. The O-line and D-line are the team. If we're not good in the trenches, we won't be a good football team. Cooper, JRiv, Matt, Cici [Mauigoa], and Zach, those five guys, they attack every day with the same mindset, they're the first ones here, they're the last one to leave, they're always watching tape with each other. They're working with the running backs on blitz protection. They're working with me. Zach's helped me out a lot. They’re going to do a lot of stuff for us this year that the outside world won't know. But the only thing that really matters is that the building knows.
On his off-platform throwing: I've worked on it throughout my career, over time. It's going to help us on offense. It's going to help with the scramble drill. We've gotten way better at scramble drill from when I first got here to now. The scramble drill is all about the receivers. We teach it to an extent. At the end of the day, we've got to have a feel for scramble drill. We've got to have a feel for space on the field. As long as myself, the other quarterbacks, and receivers are on the same page, then scramble drill will work out.
