Samuel said Doug Emilen has picked up things and he went into the detail about evaluation process recruiting him.
I mean, I still remember recruiting him way back when I was in other spots. I mean, coming from American Heritage, I mean, he's one of those kids that's just tough. Loves football. Once he gets it, he's going to run aggressive, run angry. So he's a football player. I mean, he likes football.
It just makes it a lot easier because I can call his high school coaches. I've already talked to some of them. So I got an idea, a feel. But, like I said, I already knew what his highlight film looked like. I felt really comfortable being able to talk to him, knowing what type of personality he would have coming in. We did our homework and, like I said, he's showing that he can do what we need him to get done.
One player who I just recently heard is starting to show signs of stepping up is Tanaka Scott. Samuel said he has shown a lot of improvement:
He's just a big physical, imposing guy, and he's getting better, his football IQ's growing. He's making more plays. He's always played aggressive. When he starts to really use that body and start to play basketball, to some extent, on the football field with it, he's going to continue to grow and should continue to get better and should make some plays.
(on his development) To put a percentage on it? It's a big percentage. He's wanted to get better. From where he was in the spring, I mean, stumbling through it, newborn calf type of deal. And now he's running. I won't say thoroughbred, but he's out there running around and putting himself in a position to make plays consistently. That's what you want out of guys that come out of the spring, come back in the camp with some confidence, definitive in their answers and how they want to make plays, how they want to position himself to make plays. And he's doing that now. So sometimes now it is just kind of, all right, I'm going to take the reins off of and let you run wild a little bit, but he's not there yet.
Samuel talked about a lot of the positive things going on in fall, and also went over his concern he has for the group:
I mean, we're just young. I've experienced this in 2012. I had a lot of issues to deal with a bunch of young wide receiver squads. I think I'm experienced in trying to make sure that those guys understand, stay focused, execute the details, follow through, but be hungry to make the play. I just got to get them, the more and more they get comfortable making the plays, understanding the situation, and just play within our offense, they'll be fine. They'll grow.
But right now I’ve got to learn, like I said, sometimes you don't want to jump them too hard when I'm trying to build up the confidence. But there're other times when I'm going to need to get on them, because I want them to understand the, severity of a drop. So you got to make the fine line between the two, and then, like I said, but build them up in the back end.
One thing I have been talking about a lot is someone stepping up to replace Kwamie Lassiter. I asked Samuel how important it is to find a go-to receiver:
I've been in several situations where you can do it by committee. You just have to have guys that are hungry to go make a play. And if and when you're in an offense that's simple enough that these guys can just react and go get it, you can do it by committee. You can take a guy that has special skill sets to do certain things and use those things. But when you don't, when there's not that situation, then that's when it really becomes a guy that's...Kwamie, I mean, he did just about everything from what I see on film, and it looks like all the other guys were just green and growing and coming up. So I just think for me right now, every kid is a potential play maker.
The guys that are making the most plays, percentage wise high, those guys are make are going to get more opportunities. And as long as guys understand that in the meeting room, we are going to play the guys that when that percentage is high, as far as making plays, 50/50 balls, and whatever, the little things, and they're doing those things, those guys are going to play. And I think we'll have a lot of guys that are willing to do whatever it takes to get that percentage high, making plays.
Back in the spring Samuel said he wanted guys who play with a chip on their shoulder. He talked about if he is seeing that:
I feel like this entire team does. When you see that, when you see guys that understand that I may have not been recruited highly, when I'm in a situation where I'm trying to earn playing time, they're hungry. They want to win. Like I said, I've had a lot of success with guys that have that look in their eyes. So I do see these guys having that same mentality.
I mean, I still remember recruiting him way back when I was in other spots. I mean, coming from American Heritage, I mean, he's one of those kids that's just tough. Loves football. Once he gets it, he's going to run aggressive, run angry. So he's a football player. I mean, he likes football.
It just makes it a lot easier because I can call his high school coaches. I've already talked to some of them. So I got an idea, a feel. But, like I said, I already knew what his highlight film looked like. I felt really comfortable being able to talk to him, knowing what type of personality he would have coming in. We did our homework and, like I said, he's showing that he can do what we need him to get done.
One player who I just recently heard is starting to show signs of stepping up is Tanaka Scott. Samuel said he has shown a lot of improvement:
He's just a big physical, imposing guy, and he's getting better, his football IQ's growing. He's making more plays. He's always played aggressive. When he starts to really use that body and start to play basketball, to some extent, on the football field with it, he's going to continue to grow and should continue to get better and should make some plays.
(on his development) To put a percentage on it? It's a big percentage. He's wanted to get better. From where he was in the spring, I mean, stumbling through it, newborn calf type of deal. And now he's running. I won't say thoroughbred, but he's out there running around and putting himself in a position to make plays consistently. That's what you want out of guys that come out of the spring, come back in the camp with some confidence, definitive in their answers and how they want to make plays, how they want to position himself to make plays. And he's doing that now. So sometimes now it is just kind of, all right, I'm going to take the reins off of and let you run wild a little bit, but he's not there yet.
Samuel talked about a lot of the positive things going on in fall, and also went over his concern he has for the group:
I mean, we're just young. I've experienced this in 2012. I had a lot of issues to deal with a bunch of young wide receiver squads. I think I'm experienced in trying to make sure that those guys understand, stay focused, execute the details, follow through, but be hungry to make the play. I just got to get them, the more and more they get comfortable making the plays, understanding the situation, and just play within our offense, they'll be fine. They'll grow.
But right now I’ve got to learn, like I said, sometimes you don't want to jump them too hard when I'm trying to build up the confidence. But there're other times when I'm going to need to get on them, because I want them to understand the, severity of a drop. So you got to make the fine line between the two, and then, like I said, but build them up in the back end.
One thing I have been talking about a lot is someone stepping up to replace Kwamie Lassiter. I asked Samuel how important it is to find a go-to receiver:
I've been in several situations where you can do it by committee. You just have to have guys that are hungry to go make a play. And if and when you're in an offense that's simple enough that these guys can just react and go get it, you can do it by committee. You can take a guy that has special skill sets to do certain things and use those things. But when you don't, when there's not that situation, then that's when it really becomes a guy that's...Kwamie, I mean, he did just about everything from what I see on film, and it looks like all the other guys were just green and growing and coming up. So I just think for me right now, every kid is a potential play maker.
The guys that are making the most plays, percentage wise high, those guys are make are going to get more opportunities. And as long as guys understand that in the meeting room, we are going to play the guys that when that percentage is high, as far as making plays, 50/50 balls, and whatever, the little things, and they're doing those things, those guys are going to play. And I think we'll have a lot of guys that are willing to do whatever it takes to get that percentage high, making plays.
Back in the spring Samuel said he wanted guys who play with a chip on their shoulder. He talked about if he is seeing that:
I feel like this entire team does. When you see that, when you see guys that understand that I may have not been recruited highly, when I'm in a situation where I'm trying to earn playing time, they're hungry. They want to win. Like I said, I've had a lot of success with guys that have that look in their eyes. So I do see these guys having that same mentality.
