On whether he recruited Jaishawn Barham out of high school

We did recruit him out of high school. He was obviously on our radar the last time I was here. Obviously high level kid, even coming out of high school, decided to stay home. But, you know, glad he's here. Even reached out to him in the portal before he came here. And then I came right behind him. So I told him I was 0 for 2 in recruiting him. So happy we're back together right now.

On Texas' offense

Big plays. You know, big plays. Obviously they have a high level quarterback in yours. And, you know, with Coach Sarkesian, the thing he's going to make you do, he's going to make you play, you know, from sideline to sideline. And, you know, he's always going to try to scheme up and try to take the home run shots. Obviously they had great skill there at the wideout position. And even does a great job with the running backs, getting them, you know, out in space. Obviously he had the Robinson kid a couple years ago who was dynamic in space. And I see the same thing with the running backs. I know they've had some injuries there. But the blue kid who's starting for them, I mean, is electric in the open field, runs hard. So they're going to make you play sideline to sideline. And, you know, going to really test you as far as the defense and trying to stretch the field, you know, vertically also.

On whether he feels like the defense has to carry the burden for the offense in the early stages

No, no, I don't see that. I think obviously there's a standard here in how we play defense. And I think the thing that's made this play special that I feel like, you know, is just a carryover from this year is we play with blinders on. You know, we kind of don't worry about what's going on the rest of the game, you know, as far as offense or special teams. We just know, you know, the standards that's been set on defense. And when we get out there, you know, try to live up to it.

On the biggest thing for LBs to not get caught with pre-snap motions

Always, you'll hear most linebacker coaches say it's always their eyes. You can't let, you know, everybody says eye candy. You can't let that, you know, take you away from being able to complete your assignment. With every play, you know, we have a specific responsibility, and we've got to make sure our eyes are in the right place. And they do a really good job. You know, like I said, Coach Sark has been, you know, offensive, you know, coordinator and head coach and heavily involved with a lot of explosive offenses. So they're going to do a lot to test that, but we have to be disciplined in our, you know, in where our eyes are and being able to complete our assignments.

On how much he'll able to learn about his unit facing Texas

I think you guys all hear the phrase, I think most coaches say it, you think as a team. But, you know, as units also, you see the biggest improvement from week one to week two. So I think the week two opponent, no matter who it is, you expect to see some improvements. Obviously, this could be a bigger challenge because of the team, you know, and the offense that it is. But we expect some of the things that we didn't do well, that they would get corrected now that we've had a live, you know, game, a real game. You know, we don't get the preseason games like the NFL, you know, that they're able to work out a lot of the issues that they have in the preseason. So, you know, week one, you're always working out kinks. So we expect some of the minor things that we didn't do well against Fresno to be better at versus Texas. But obviously, Texas presents, you know, a different type of game than Fresno with no disrespect to Fresno, because I thought they did a great job versus us. But obviously, Texas puts a little bit more stress on you with some of the things that they do and the players that they have.

On things he's confident his group can take the next step with

I think one of the big things that I thought we we probably had to improve on, and this is us as coaches and the players, is rotations. You know, as far as what guys are going to be in and what times of the game. I think some of our guys, when we rotate in practice, you know, they get into a comfort level. And then when the play count gets to 30, 40, you know, they have to get their their selves into football shape and playing a little longer than maybe they did, you know, last season. So I think that's going to be a big adjustment. But as far as just scheme wise and just football wise, it's going to be getting off blocks one on one. I thought we did a decent job in that regard, obviously, versus the run. And then, you know, obviously I disciplined in some of the past coverages that we had. Some of the underneath coverages from from us in particular as a linebacker, we're going to have to get a lot better at.

On how good Jaishawn Barham can be

One of you know, I've been doing this for a long time. I think he's got a skill set that could be one of the best I've been around. Obviously, he's still a work in progress, still young. You know, he's still learning. He has a great skill set as a pass rusher. You know, not doesn't know how strong he is, you know, you know, physically, you know, gifted. But it's going to be the little things that's going to take him to the levels that I think we all expect him to do. It's, you know, how he studies film, how he, you know, is able to break down an opponent in his mind and use some of the natural skills that he has as a blitzer pass rusher and as a run defender. And the last part is obviously, you know, being, you know, above adequate and pass coverage to make sure he can affect the game in that way. But as far as this physical talent, he's probably one of the best I've been around.

On how unique it is to be on the other side coaching against his former program

Oh, it's it's unique. I've been blessed to, you know, be a part of two, you know, tradition-rich programs that, you know, obviously are staples in college football. So obviously it means a lot to me just because, you know, I was there still know a lot of people there still got a group text with some of the players that I coached at Texas that I'm not answering this week. So but it's it's I think when you get to iconic programs like this, it's always going to be special and not just for fans, but especially for the coaches.

On Barham's skillset matching what he's asking the LBs to do

Um, we're obviously the one thing that we always want to be is aggressive. Even when we're not blitzing, we want to kind of, you know, exert our will on people per se. And he does that. He's an intimidating figure, not just walking around. He doesn't say much, but sometimes that's the best intimidation you can have is just walking into a room with a stone face. And I think he's got that down. But as far as what we would ask him to do, obviously, is play physical versus the run. That's always number one. And he has a unique skill set there. When he hits people, they go backwards. And that's as simple as that sounds. Not everybody has that. And we just have to keep building from there. And he's got a toughness to him that he brings. I think the defense feeds off of. And he's a he's a playmaker. You know, when we do things with them, whether it be in the run game or the pass game, he seems to always be around the football.

On the effectiveness of in-helmet communication

I thought it was, you know, if I was grading it, I would say it's in the 90 percent. This was our first time, too. It kind of goes back to that week one versus week two. You know, some of the corrections that we can make. I think it's as a program and whole, we're going to be better because I think Ernest did a really good job. But we have the benefit of also signaling. So if there was any issues, we were able to get those fixed. But I think the second week, now that we've got it done in the game, even with the iPads on the sideline, it's going to be so much smoother because we got we kind of got the trial run out of it, out of the way.

On where Jimmy Rolder has grown the most

Yeah, I mean, that's the that's a skill in itself is health. You know, you you you can't really become the player that you want to be if you're not able to practice as long as as with playing. And I think he's done a great job of taking care of himself. A lot of his injuries in the past have been unfortunate. You know, knock on wood, he's been healthy for the most part, you know, this fall camp. And it's really played his way into, you know, being like that third starter that we always you know, most groups hope to have. And we have a lot of confidence in him. And I think he's just going to get better and better as the year goes on.

On whether he wished he had Kalel as a LB

He must have told you to ask that question. Now, we actually talked about that yesterday. As a matter of fact, in passing and practice, we thought I actually was with Coach Harbaugh and we did a home visit with him. One of my first stops when I was here the last time. So I was like, we got a chance to break bread in his house and talk linebacker play. And I come back and he's a full time running back. Obviously, great kid comes from a great family. He's playing at a high level at running back and we're team guys. Obviously, when you see that, you're like, man, that skill set would be great at linebacker. But I think he's where he belongs.

On why LB to RB works

Why does that work? I think it works both ways. I think to play linebacker, it's really finding the open hole that the running back is going to get to. So there's so many, you know, so many things that carry over because the running back is doing the same thing. He's trying to find the open window. They say run the daylight. And the linebackers going to be should be there because he should see it the same way just on the other side.

On how much easier it is for players to aggressive when they're versatile

Man, I think I always say our linebackers is what a blessing to have the front that we have, you know, not just the edges who do a great job and really kind of set the tempo for what we do on defense. But, you know, blessed to have the interior guys that we have clears up a lot. And there's not as many guys that are coming down to block them. So not just with the blitz aspect, but just the run game aspect. Man, they do a great job, I say, setting the table for us. And now we just have to be able to do our job. But our edges being able to drop in this package just enhances, you know, what we can do on defense. But really for linebackers with their ability to drop, we have to be able to match it with consistency as blitzers because we're replacing them. We don't want to drop them and have a fall off in our production as blitzers. So that really helps us as far as linebackers to really concentrate and do, you know, special things as blitzers, too. Because if you're not blitzing, you're not productive. That thing's going to change very fast. We'll be the ones dropping and they'll be the ones rushing.

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