On how he evaluates the entire passing battery (offensive line, quarterbacks, wide receivers, etc.)

Work in progress. Gotta get better. Gotta continue to strive to get better. Starts with me and how I organize practice and things we can do to help them. And we'll continue to do that to get better. But Orji did some really good things and improved. Went through some progressions, which was good to see. Gotta continue improving in that aspect. And then, you know, we gotta get open for them, too. And we gotta protect, so it's a whole part thing. It's a team thing.

On whether he's altered practice plans from the start of the year until now

I think we've always done that. We've always had kinks, adjustments, and things depending on the team. From team to team, every team's different. So there's been a couple things we've done as a team. Talking to the leadership council, our captain, and what we've done. But it's been good. I made adjustments before USC, and I feel like it's helped us. And we're going to continue to do that.

On why the team has struggled in the second half

Yeah, I mean, the biggest piece is we haven't finished the way we wanted to. And it's not a speech. It's not something in the locker room. We just have to execute at a higher level for us, and that's what we gotta do. So we'll continue to harp on that and stress on that.

On whether he would like to see Alex Orji involved in the run game more than JJ McCarthy was

Yeah, I mean, JJ wasn't health. It was just, didn't want to run him. You know, when you have a quarterback, just because you have a running quarterback doesn't mean you want to get him hit. So there'll be some things we'll do to adjust, but we'll talk about that as a staff.

On what makes a good road team

Yeah, you gotta pack your defense first, obviously your run game. And you gotta be sound and be disciplined in everything you do. Obviously, the first time that we're on the road, noise. It's going to be a great environment. I think our players are excited to get on the road. It eliminates distractions, eliminates all the outside stuff, and you're kind of in your cocoon with your group. And, you know, I've seen a lot of guys come by the office and tell them, yeah, we're ready to get on the road. I'm ready to take this show on the road. So I think packing your defense, having a good run game, and being balanced is going to be the main thing.

On Washington being a good team

Yeah, I think so. I think they're a really good football team. Obviously, it starts with the quarterback on offense. He does a really good job distributing the ball. I don't think he's throwing a pick. And they've got a lot of yards. The running back's really good, too. Sound running back can make a miss, can run over you. And on defense, you know, sound defense, you know, they're going to challenge you. You're going to play a lot of man coverage, a lot of cover one. So, you know, expect a heavy boxer. We've got to do some good things on the outside to go win.

On what a week of practice looks like leading up to the first road game

Just like this one's going to look like. You know, we're going to – the boys are – they've been in this morning. They were in yesterday. So, I expect a really good week of practice.

On the challenges and disadvantages of taking over a national championship program

Yeah, I mean, first of all, blessed to be at this great place. So, I think there's a high expectation regardless if we won the national championship or not. When you're at Michigan, you want to win every game. When you're at Michigan, you want to represent this place in a fashion like none other. So, for me, regardless if we won it or not, and obviously we did, there's a standard that I want to keep that I want us to keep on and off the field. So, the challenges don't really seem as challenges. They're just seen as opportunities for us to go grasp and continue on a legacy that we need to.

On what Brandyn Hillman has done this season

I mean, pound for pound off the field, one of the most athletic players was a high school quarterback. It started really in the summertime and in fall camp. He just matches athleticism with his potential and really learned the playbook, learned those things to put himself in position to be really good. He has prototypical sizes of safety. He's got great speeds. He's got great length. He just knows football. I said something to the staff at training camp. I was like, this dude is always around the football. Even if he was wrong, he was around the football, and he figured out where the football is. He's just continued to get better and better and better and earn more reps. At first it was later in the game, and now it's first quarter, not mop-up time. So he's going to have a big role as we go through.

On how he evaluates the baby step growth of Orji

Yeah, I mean, the interception, if it's a little to the right, it's not a thing. Colston will tell you he's got to help him, but we also probably need to progress on, and we have Donovan on the sideline. So those things are football. That's going to happen. But he made some steps in the right direction, progressing all the way to a backside dig was huge, which we haven't done here in a long time. So it was good for him to do that and make a nice across throw to the field, to Kendrick, and do some things around the pocket. So he's making the steps needed, and we'll continue to push him.

On whether anything will change in practice with the time change and long travel

No, just our Friday schedule. We'll leave earlier and make sure we get there in time so the guys are resting.

On Myles Hinton, Will Johnson and Josaiah Stewart's status

Yeah, they're all working through something. Myles working through something, came out of the game, probably could have went back in, but held them out. And Josiah and Will look like they'll be in good shape for this week.

On the challenges of a team going up-tempo and combating it on defense

Yeah, I think, one, getting the call, which I think we did, but we've got to get a line and get set fast. That was the biggest thing. Get lined up. You talk to defense coordinators around the country. If you get lined up, you've got a chance. So we've just got to get lined up and get our cleats in the ground, and that will help us with all those things.

On whether he is focused on not subbing when teams go up-tempo

No. I mean, you just want to give those guys a breather. And those guys are giving, you know, Ike and Trey Pierce and T.J. Gabb was the start of this game but played really well. And Dom Nichols had some snaps. So Cam Brant's played really well. So those guys are really giving us quality reps to keep the other guys fresh.

On how different this Washington team is to last year

Yeah, I mean, every team is different. But, yeah, they are different. Obviously, you start with the quarterback. Michael Penix was, as he lead, I mean, the first-round draft quarterback. So it's different. But they're still a good football team. They still can beat you through the air and on the ground and beat you with sound defense. So especially going to their place, it's going to be a challenge for us, and we're excited to go take it on.

On how he would describe Jedd Fisch

Yeah, really good coach. I don't know him personally as much. I know he's been here, but he's a West Coast guy, very intelligent coach, very good offensive line. So we've got to do a great job with our game plan.

On whether he's seeing all 11 players on offense making plays and how he combats it

Yeah, I mean, for us as a group, as a unit, whether it's offense, whether it's defense, we've got to play 11 as one. We can't have the one guy be wrong. On defense, you can do that because one guy can make a play. On offense, you can't. So we've got to continue to not simplify but make everything collective so that those guys can get a hold on what we're doing and be really good at it. And we're definitely taking steps in the forward to do that.

On whether he feels like it's week three of the season with Orji going into his third start

Yeah, I mean, I think the best thing for guys is experience, especially at the quarterback spot. So those guys get experience, they get better. They take steps forward. So I look forward for him to take a step forward this week.

On Makari Paige's status

Yeah, he'll be good. I think he's just working through something, and he'll be in good shape to go.

On whether big changes need to be made to simplify the passing concepts

Yeah, I mean, I don't think it's a wholesale full change on concepts. I think doing a good job of scheming things and getting people open in different various ranges. So we've got to continue to do that with everybody, and we've got to make the right reads.

On whether it being a national championship rematch means anything to the team

Not at all. No, just it's the next game. And I know we played them last year in the national championship, but it's two different teams. So we've got to go win this game. That's it.

On balancing getting a win but not seeing the results on the field in film

Yeah, I mean, the biggest thing, like I'll tell the team today, like joy, happy to win, but not satisfied. You know, not satisfied with how we won and the things we can do, and you're going to nitpick every little piece. But I just got a chance to talk to Coach Jay Harbaugh, who was here visiting because they play Seattle. They play Detroit tonight. So and just talking about like winning, you know, winning is huge in college football. It's hard to win. So when you win, you should have some joy about winning, but it doesn't mean you can be satisfied about it. So, yeah, I'm happy we won. I'm happy the players got a win. Happy the team got a win. But, you know, obviously not satisfied for how we did it. But, yeah, happy we got the win.

On where he wants to see the wide receivers improve

Yeah, I think there's two pieces. There's route detail. So in every little route, there's a depth. There's a release that you've got to take. So we've got to do a better job than that. But also, as a collective, we've got to make sure we put all those guys in position to run the best routes that they run. And that will help them. And I think we're going to be doing that this week.

On how much the team is utilizing the iPads on the sidelines and how helpful they are

Yeah, we are using them. We're using them. As soon as the offense comes off, they get them. As soon as the defense comes off, they get them. I'll peek at it more at halftime because I'm trying to look at both sides. So it's more so the coordinators and the players looking at them. But, yeah, they're definitely looking at them, and I think they are helping.

On whether you can coach running back vision like Kalel Mullings has

I mean, I've been blessed to be around some good running backs, and he's got – I mean, his vision is really good. I can't tell you for sure how you – you can do individual drills to coach different reactions to different things, but I think pure vision of what you have is just God-given. And he has it, and he has an innate ability to will himself into yards. We were talking about it. I mean, there was some block one and he got four. So, you know, there's a guy in the backfield, he makes a miss, and he gets first down. He runs over a safety in the hole. So, like, he's unbelievable, and I'm glad he's on our team.

On how close he thinks the offense can get to being balanced

Yeah, I think we can get the balance, and we'll just continue to work at it.

On what he saw from the two-running back package in Saturday's game

Yeah, we'll continue to use it. I think there's – obviously Donovan has a skill set that we're going to use, and I felt it just put some eye candy, put some things on the defense. I have to think about a lot of things with both those guys on the field. So, definitely keep evolving that. There's plays that we've ran in the past, plays that we have, that we've practiced, that we've never used, and we'll start to pull those out as the season goes starting this week.

On any injuries that are considered long-term (Ja'Den McBurrows, Jaden Mangham, Wesley Walker)

Yeah, McBurrows will be out. Mangham, he's working through something off the field. He could possibly come back. Yeah, (Walker is) working through something, but he's not long-term, no.

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