- Joined
- Feb 22, 2018
- Messages
- 307
Venzell Boulware, Redshirt Junior, OL
The weather, the people, the culture and the history is just some of what makes Miami different than any other place in the country. Needless to say there will certainly be an adjustment period for transfer OL Venzel Boulware coming from Knoxville, Tennessee. However, it’s not hard to get on board with all the fruits that Miami has to offer. In a short time, Boulware has worked his way into the two deep depth chart and has a legitimate chance to positively impact our offensive line this year. Boulware was asked about what caused him to make Miami his new home.
“Appealing to me is just the opportunity to come here. You know, just contribute immediately, because they had that whole left side kind of graduate,” said Boulware. “And I knew [head] coach [Mark] Richt from high school and kind of when the recruiting process started I got to know [offensive line] coach [Stacy] Searels a little bit, and he was a pretty cool guy.”
It’s tough to come in from another school and learn a new system in just a couple weeks before the season. 10 days into camp, how is Boulware picking up the new offense?
“Well, coach Searels and [quality control analyst/offense] coach [Greg] Nosal did a great job of kind of preparing me with the playbook and everything. So learning the playbook was a pretty easy adjustment to make.”
Fall camp is a grind, and 10 days in, it’s at the point where many players can hit a mental and physical wall. What keeps Boulware going through the dog days of fall camp?
“Well, obviously working with the staff, trying to take care of our body. Making sure we eat and hydrate for sure and they are on that a lot, hydrating and just getting into the training room. And helping us take care of our bodies.”
Corey Gaynor, Sophomore, OL
Boulware’s fellow O-lineman Corey Gaynor is looking to build on a solid freshman year where he saw action from time to time. He caught up with media after practice to talk about his personal grind through fall camp.
“Day 10. You already know camp is a grind. But you have to have a ‘why.’ And each person has an individual ‘why;’ why they wake up, why they work, why they practice, why they’re here,” said Gaynor. “We have a team ‘why,’ which is obviously to be the greatest team we can be. We are just coming out here and competing every single day.”
Well what’s Gaynor’s why?
“My ‘why’ is my family. I love to make my dad proud all the time. That’s about it.”
George Brown recently underwent surgery and will hopefully soon be on the road to a speedy recovery. Gaynor touched on the loss of Brown and how the rest of the second team o-line unit looks moving forward.
“Obviously losing [redshirt junior offensive lineman] George [Brown, Jr.] is a tough break. That’s obviously depth there. And then on the two’s we shuffle around. But we are working well. The goal is to find the five best starters, and then the second five behind them. And I feel like that is our job every day, to work, to become a starter, while pushing the older guys as well.”
The best way for a player to improve their game is to go against the top competition. As they say, iron sharpens iron, and that seems to be the case on Greentree these days. Gaynor was asked about going against our starting defensive tackles.
“They’re great, they’re great. [Junior] Pat Bethel, [redshirt-senior] Gerald Willis. Those guys, they are great, and only makes us as an offensive line better when we block them.”
As for his personal progression, this is what Gaynor had to say.
“My strength. My knowledge of the game is improving, but it still needs to get better. Playing center, you need to know everything. And everything is still there from last year, just improving.”
Romeo Finley, Junior, DB
Welcome to the Striker Zone, if you will. The media caught up with a duo of strikers after yesterday’s practice. Romeo Finley and Derrick Smith helped educate the masses on the role of striker and their personal evolution through camp.
Romeo Finley has seemed to find a home with the striker position. His physical nature and athletic tools lend well to the role that is expected from a striker. Finley has been getting a lot of reps with the first defense this camp.
“We’re all working. We all work at 1s. We all have that 1 mentality. We’ll see what happens when we get to Dallas.”
What is it that Finley likes about playing striker?
“In high school, I was an in the box safety, so coming back down in the box, get to guard slots every day and getting in the run game. I like that a lot.”
The casual football fan may not know what is expected of a striker. Finley highlighted parts of the job description for the hybrid DB/LB position.
“Some plays we get to come down and play man. I get to go against the two best slots in the country every day, so that’s helping me out with my man game,” said Finley. “Then when we’re not in zone, I’m playing run game, getting in and fitting right.”
What was Finley’s initial reaction when he found out about the opportunity to play the striker position?
“When coach told me, I was like, ‘this is what I’m accustomed to being in the box’. So when he told me I was going to play this, I liked it. First day out, I felt comfortable and I’m just trying to get better every day.”
Derrick Smith, Sophomore, DB
Derrick Smith is another guy who loves contact, but also has the athletic ability to run with wide receivers. This lends himself perfectly to the striker position. Here’s his description of the position:
“Basically a striker is someone who can cover the slot, but also can fit in the run and be like a linebacker.”
Striker is a position that allows a player to wear several different hats. For a guy like Smith, it can maximize his physical tools. When asked if he liked the striker position, this is what he said.
“I love it. You can do everything at once. They’re using me to my full abilities, so I like that.”
Smith is also a more than viable option at outside LB. How’s the competition going for Smith at LB?
“I’m very competitive and I like competition so wherever they put me at on the field, I’m just going to go out there and work.”
-Practice #10 in the books and about 3 weeks from game day in Dallas.
The weather, the people, the culture and the history is just some of what makes Miami different than any other place in the country. Needless to say there will certainly be an adjustment period for transfer OL Venzel Boulware coming from Knoxville, Tennessee. However, it’s not hard to get on board with all the fruits that Miami has to offer. In a short time, Boulware has worked his way into the two deep depth chart and has a legitimate chance to positively impact our offensive line this year. Boulware was asked about what caused him to make Miami his new home.
“Appealing to me is just the opportunity to come here. You know, just contribute immediately, because they had that whole left side kind of graduate,” said Boulware. “And I knew [head] coach [Mark] Richt from high school and kind of when the recruiting process started I got to know [offensive line] coach [Stacy] Searels a little bit, and he was a pretty cool guy.”
It’s tough to come in from another school and learn a new system in just a couple weeks before the season. 10 days into camp, how is Boulware picking up the new offense?
“Well, coach Searels and [quality control analyst/offense] coach [Greg] Nosal did a great job of kind of preparing me with the playbook and everything. So learning the playbook was a pretty easy adjustment to make.”
Fall camp is a grind, and 10 days in, it’s at the point where many players can hit a mental and physical wall. What keeps Boulware going through the dog days of fall camp?
“Well, obviously working with the staff, trying to take care of our body. Making sure we eat and hydrate for sure and they are on that a lot, hydrating and just getting into the training room. And helping us take care of our bodies.”
Corey Gaynor, Sophomore, OL
Boulware’s fellow O-lineman Corey Gaynor is looking to build on a solid freshman year where he saw action from time to time. He caught up with media after practice to talk about his personal grind through fall camp.
“Day 10. You already know camp is a grind. But you have to have a ‘why.’ And each person has an individual ‘why;’ why they wake up, why they work, why they practice, why they’re here,” said Gaynor. “We have a team ‘why,’ which is obviously to be the greatest team we can be. We are just coming out here and competing every single day.”
Well what’s Gaynor’s why?
“My ‘why’ is my family. I love to make my dad proud all the time. That’s about it.”
George Brown recently underwent surgery and will hopefully soon be on the road to a speedy recovery. Gaynor touched on the loss of Brown and how the rest of the second team o-line unit looks moving forward.
“Obviously losing [redshirt junior offensive lineman] George [Brown, Jr.] is a tough break. That’s obviously depth there. And then on the two’s we shuffle around. But we are working well. The goal is to find the five best starters, and then the second five behind them. And I feel like that is our job every day, to work, to become a starter, while pushing the older guys as well.”
The best way for a player to improve their game is to go against the top competition. As they say, iron sharpens iron, and that seems to be the case on Greentree these days. Gaynor was asked about going against our starting defensive tackles.
“They’re great, they’re great. [Junior] Pat Bethel, [redshirt-senior] Gerald Willis. Those guys, they are great, and only makes us as an offensive line better when we block them.”
As for his personal progression, this is what Gaynor had to say.
“My strength. My knowledge of the game is improving, but it still needs to get better. Playing center, you need to know everything. And everything is still there from last year, just improving.”
Romeo Finley, Junior, DB
Welcome to the Striker Zone, if you will. The media caught up with a duo of strikers after yesterday’s practice. Romeo Finley and Derrick Smith helped educate the masses on the role of striker and their personal evolution through camp.
Romeo Finley has seemed to find a home with the striker position. His physical nature and athletic tools lend well to the role that is expected from a striker. Finley has been getting a lot of reps with the first defense this camp.
“We’re all working. We all work at 1s. We all have that 1 mentality. We’ll see what happens when we get to Dallas.”
What is it that Finley likes about playing striker?
“In high school, I was an in the box safety, so coming back down in the box, get to guard slots every day and getting in the run game. I like that a lot.”
The casual football fan may not know what is expected of a striker. Finley highlighted parts of the job description for the hybrid DB/LB position.
“Some plays we get to come down and play man. I get to go against the two best slots in the country every day, so that’s helping me out with my man game,” said Finley. “Then when we’re not in zone, I’m playing run game, getting in and fitting right.”
What was Finley’s initial reaction when he found out about the opportunity to play the striker position?
“When coach told me, I was like, ‘this is what I’m accustomed to being in the box’. So when he told me I was going to play this, I liked it. First day out, I felt comfortable and I’m just trying to get better every day.”
Derrick Smith, Sophomore, DB
Derrick Smith is another guy who loves contact, but also has the athletic ability to run with wide receivers. This lends himself perfectly to the striker position. Here’s his description of the position:
“Basically a striker is someone who can cover the slot, but also can fit in the run and be like a linebacker.”
Striker is a position that allows a player to wear several different hats. For a guy like Smith, it can maximize his physical tools. When asked if he liked the striker position, this is what he said.
“I love it. You can do everything at once. They’re using me to my full abilities, so I like that.”
Smith is also a more than viable option at outside LB. How’s the competition going for Smith at LB?
“I’m very competitive and I like competition so wherever they put me at on the field, I’m just going to go out there and work.”
-Practice #10 in the books and about 3 weeks from game day in Dallas.
