2013 WKU FOOTBALL SPRING PRACTICE 10
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013
HOUCHENS INDUSTRIES-L.T. SMITH STADIUM
LAMAR THOMAS, WILLIE MCNEAL, AUSTIN AIKENS
WKU wide receivers coach Lamar Thomas
(on the wide receivers)
“We have a long way to go. I think [the receivers] made a giant step today. I thought they did an outstanding job today. It is a learning process. We came here and it is a whole different offense for them. A lot of these guys, last year, they blocked a lot. They ran the ball a lot, and now you have a passing offense. I think they are looking forward to the challenge. I think today they stepped up to the plate. It has been extremely fast for them. This is a pro-style offense. This is close to what they will see at the next level. Everything is going really fast for them, and I think from the beginning it was a little hard for them, but I think they are getting it now. I told them that I was really proud of the step that they took today.”
(on the main emphasis so far this spring)
“A little bit of everything. We are building a foundation. It is like building a house. We practice the stance at start. We practice the small things that maybe you would see in little league or high school, because we want to build that foundation to build this beautiful house that we think that we are going to build here. I am very proud of them. I have challenged them. I have challenged them as men, because I tell them every day that my goal is to make them a better man. Through my experiences – whether good or bad – I am here to teach. At the end of the day, of course I want to see them score touchdowns, but I want to see them graduate and be a good person, and in a couple of years they can say, ‘Hey, Coach Thomas taught me a lot about life.’ That is important to me.”
(on the different skills of the receivers)
“We are still figuring it out. We are still trying to figure out what we are as a group. I think each and every one of those guys are different, and we are evaluating them. I tell them that every day. Every day is an evaluation process and we are putting them in certain positions. We are not trying to out-scheme our defense. We want to see who can make the plays when the opportunity arises.”
(on players that have stood out in the spring)
“We are still working through the rotations. Willie [McNeal] has made some good plays this spring, and at times he has been good, and other times he has been a little inconsistent. But he is learning. Austin [Aikens], Boe Brand, those guys are learning. Sometimes when you are learning so much you become inconsistent because you become a little afraid that maybe I am in the wrong spot. Everything is going fast for them, but once the game slows down, they are going to be fine. That is what we are trying to do right now, is that we are going to teach them, they will learn, and the game will slow down and they will be able to start making all of those plays that we know that they are capable of making.”
WKU wide receiver Willie McNeal
(on if the learning process of the offense has been difficult)
“Yes, it has. But at the same time Coach [Thomas] told us that is how it is going to be. You just have to keep working and keep grinding. It isn’t anything that we didn’t expect. He already told us from the get-go that it was going to be like this.”
(on if he was excited knowing the type offense that will be run in 2013)
“As a receiver, I’m really happy. I was ready for the first day of practice because I knew that we were going to throw the ball.”
(on what he has seen from some of the younger receivers)
“Everybody is grinding and everybody knows that this is an open field. It is a clean sheet. Everybody is trying to get that starting spot.”
WKU wide receiver Austin Aikens
(on adjusting to the new offense)
“It is a slow process. I am adjusting to it. It is a lot different from last year with a lot bigger playbook and a different coach who has been to the next level, and now he is coaching us. It has been different, but it has been a continuing process.”
(on the excitement knowing that the offense will throw it more)
“It is really exciting because last year wasn’t really a passing offense. This year we are going to be slinging the ball left and right, so it is pretty exciting.”
(on the practices for the receivers)
“It was a struggle in the beginning, but I think as we kept going and going over the plays, it is kind of clicking now that we had a better practice today. Even though we had a better practice, we still have to keep hitting the playbooks so we know what we have to do as receivers so we can hit on all cylinders.”
(on learning from wide receivers coach Lamar Thomas)
“We can learn a lot from [Coach Thomas]. He is wise, and every time he gets up to speak we have to make sure that we listen to him, because he has been there. He knows what is expected and everything that we have to do, so every time he goes up there to speak we have to make sure we listen so we know what to do.”
