JOHN SCHNEIDER: I just want to thank everybody. All the hard work, all the months that go into this process, and all of a sudden just bam, it comes to an end right there.
We're really excited about everybody we've added, especially today. Last night we had a couple upsets and we were able to kind of flip it and kind of get our minds right for today and add some awesome, awesome guys, competitors, the type of people and competitors that we've been looking for to continue to build this thing.
Yeah, just really proud of all the personnel guys, coaches, all the medical people, everybody in the video department, player development, Mo in soup, George in security. I mean, there's just so many people that worked their tails off with this thing. Yeah, so we'll take a couple weeks off here and then we'll start the process again. So, yeah, with that, we'll open it up.
PETE CARROLL: Can I just say, it's just an observation from how we walk out of this thing, it feels like we've continued from where we left off last year in the draft effort, just the kinds of people, the opportunities that the guys are going to be faced with when they come here and they see their chances. It's going to feel like last year in some regards. So it's our job to do a good job to knit that together and make sure that that happens so we maintain the momentum and the movement.
But we loved last year's class and we're fired up about this year's class and it just feels like it's -- we've added onto it, and I'm really proud of the work that all the guys did and where we are right now. And you have met a lot of these players and you can tell that they're the kind of guys that we love and it feels like an extension of some really good stuff. So we got to prove that, but it's there for us to do. So it's really exciting.
Q. Is it a coincidence that every guy that we talked to mentioned either having a chip on their shoulder or something to prove or is there something more to this class? I know it's a characteristic here, but is there something more to this class or was that just a coincidence?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: That's what our board looks like. You're on our board for a reason. Some people are not. We have a grade that is a good football player, but he's not necessarily our type of person or our type of competitor, and that's a specific category. So that's not on our front board. We have a medical board where, unfortunately, we can't have some guys. And then we have our free agent board.
So I think it's a reflection of what our front board looks like and all the effort that goes into understanding that a person is, all a scout's hard work, the coaches' hard work with all the Zooms, and I think you got to earn your way onto that board.
Q. The chip on the shoulder aspect, was that part of the decision to get the fifth pick overall?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Fifth pick overall? Well, if it was two weeks ago, yes. Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. You've been gone for a couple days?
No, I mean, yeah, chip on the shoulder, for sure. Like I said the other night, he stayed in school and worked to improve his craft.
PETE CARROLL: It's more than that.
Q. He said you were looking for a player at the end of last season. He said you were looking for players with more juice, you were looking for more juice always. How do you define that?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: On the field, whatever the film says, and then when you're in these interviews and we study hours and hours of these interviews that everybody -- that we do at the combine, at the All-Star Games, with all the Zooms that the coaches do.
So you're constantly studying probably just as much film. I mean, we all study the film and would be like, okay, that's the kind of player he is and all that, but who the person is at their core is really what's important.
Q. (No microphone.)
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Sure.
Q. Electrical energy?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Yeah, you can see it. Yeah.
Q. You talked yesterday about not forcing picks -- (no microphone.)
JOHN SCHNEIDER: We had an opportunity to go back a couple times and we hung in there and just stayed with the board and we had guys come to us.
Q. Cameron Young and Mike Morris, what do you like about those guys?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Oh, man. Cam first. He's, like we talked about last night, a grown man. This guy is -- his back's almost as wide as Coach Hurtt's, and he's super strong at the point of attack. He just plays with just natural God-given strength, and he competes and was really excited we got him.
He said, Why did y'all wait for me for so long? Or something like that.
And then Mike had an interesting spring because he tried losing weight to test better and he had a high ankle sprain and he's just kind of figuring out, like, you know what? I'm a big person. I'm a defensive end. So as of today, he was 295 and, yeah. So we got a cool video this morning and he's sitting on the scale because we're like, come on. He's a big guy. He's long and he plays hard.
PETE CARROLL: The four guys we hit -- I can see it now, you're looking at the guys coming back-to-back-to-back, the big guys. They all have a similar makeup about 'em in the mentality. This is a very strong, very physical, aggressive bunch of guys, and it fits on both sides of the football, and it complements what happened on the top end of the draft too.
So it's -- there's a commonality. It should be obvious and it's really what we're looking for.
Q. Position-wise where do you see the two defensive linemen fitting in?
PETE CARROLL: Well Cam's a nose tackle. He's a real nose tackle. He plays under center. He plays inside. He's an inside guy all the way.
Mike is going to be a defensive end for us. He'll play on the guard and play on the tackle, but he's going to have his hand on the ground for the most part. And a little bit of transition for that. He played there quite a bit, but we're going to play him there a lot. So that's a -- that's a little bit of an adjustment for him.
Q. Young's a little bit smaller than some of the other nose tackles that you guys have had. Is that maybe a suggestion that there could be a little different emphasis on technique with being a little bit smaller?
PETE CARROLL: That's because those other guys were enormous. With Allen and Monet, those guys were 340 and all that, and up. But he's -- this is as stout a player as there is in the college football this year. He's physical and tough. He's over 300 pounds and he plays like it and he plays really tough football for us. So we'll get the same kind of play. It's not any reflection of anything. It's just this is the guy this year that fits the bill.
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Yeah. He puts his hands on people and they don't move. He has heavy hands.
Q. You've been talking about the defensive front for awhile now and seeing the importance of having a lot of guys up there. Obviously spent some money in free agency, drafted some guys right now, but you've been open also to maybe bringing back some veterans. What do you feel like the room is right now and if there's anything that you might see?
PETE CARROLL: Today was really important for us and of course the free agency moves that we made to get J Reed back and to get Dre in, those were hugely pointed and directed at trying to adjust our room and make it a little more competitive and hopefully more productive. We're just always adding.
Today to hit the nose tackle with Cam is a really big deal. We really needed a spot right there. We're not done. We got work to do and we'll continue to work at it. We never stop. We got our eyes on some guys. We're talking to some people to continue to make it as competitive as possible.
Q. What stood out about Anthony?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Oh, wow. Square, power, again, heavy hands. You can see him finishing people. He's from Michigan, Baton Rouge. He had a rough go where he grew up in Michigan and has overcome a lot, would go back and see his mom. His mom was struggling for a little while back home. So he's overcome a lot of things in his life.
We had him in on a visit. He had a great visit here with our coaching staff and our player development people and Stu and everybody in the kitchen. He had a great time.
I'm doing that for Stu because he likes it when we say that.
But, yeah, the game I saw him play live he had to go to tackle. He found out that morning a player was suspended, so he moves out there and goes and plays tackle and he played well. So he's a big man, he can compete to start, and he can get you out of a game at tackle.
Q. What were the objectives as a guard for you guys?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: First, tackle second.
PETE CARROLL: We'll start there.
Q. (No microphone.)
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Yeah, great background. Virginia to Michigan. Comes in there. He's named captain the first year. Again, another grown man, incredibly smart, knows the game, natural-born leader, awesome week at the Senior Bowl. You can't move him. He's just super stout, really good person, and top-level competitor.
Q. (Question about Jerrick Reed.)
JOHN SCHNEIDER: He's one of our favorites.
PETE CARROLL: He's fun to watch. He's all over the place. He's got a real knack about going for it and playing fast and aggressive and willing to make the plays. So there's a common theme again. This is a guy that we thought was really, really active and a lot of versatility and will be a special teams guy as well. It's going to be a very competitive position for us now.
But he's going to bring the kind of juice that we're talking about, the energy that we love. So it should be a really good add. There's no style to him, the way he plays. We'll fit his style into our stuff so that he can be at his best.
JOHN SCHNEIDER: When he came in for his visit, we couldn't wait to talk to him because he plays the game like -- what movie is it? Elf. He goes, He's an angry little elf, you know?
No, he plays mean. I'm like, Are you okay, man? Are you all right? And he's super serious. He's looking at me like -- and I'm like, Seriously, are you okay? Because you play the game like you're mad at somebody, you know. And he does. But he had a great time here, a great visit. Ton of energy.
Ryan Florence did a great, great job. This guy was very, very much under the radar up until, what, maybe like a month ago we started taking some trips. But yeah, Ryan did a great job with the background and a favorite of his for a long time. We were hoping to keep it like real, real low, but then he started taking trips, so we drafted him.
Q. When we talked to Kenny, he seemed surprised he fell kind of where he did. Were you guys surprised he was still there in the second round?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Yeah, very much. SEC running back, yeah. Catches the ball out of the back field. Obviously a very talented guy who's been highly productive in the SEC. So, yeah.
Q. (No microphone.)
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Yeah, 40th time I think he would tell you like he didn't have an amazing spring in terms of, yeah, you know, his combine workout or -- well, I'll let him talk on that.
Q. He said he already was talking to his agent about free agent stuff when you guys called him. Was he very emotional?
PETE CARROLL: He was very emotional with us. Was he with you too?
Q. Oh, yeah.
PETE CARROLL: Yeah. Yeah, it was obvious that it.
JOHN SCHNEIDER: He came in there and played right away, so think about it. The people he was playing with, you know, big-time program, highly talented guy. He comes in and plays right away.
PETE CARROLL: You have that chip showing and be ready to prove it.
Q. He had the chip, but he also kind of talked to us about he valued the opportunity he had. Can you talk more about that?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: At Georgia or here?
Q. Both.
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, I would say that it's emotional because of the expectations and they don't always get met and than after awhile, it's just is it ever going to happen, and then once it does, he broke up, I mean, immediately when Jon talked to him and then when I talked to him. It's just part of how important this is to our guys and how much it means to them, and then to have to suffer through -- in the sense to suffer through the long rounds and the picks and all that. By the time it gets there, it's kind of hard to contain sometimes.
We have seen some pretty famous picks we've had over the years, it's been emotional for them. But that shows you who they are and what they're all about and it's why we like these guys and why we're so attracted to 'em.
JOHN SCHNEIDER: He's already getting calls at that point in the draft for probably a good, I don't know, hour, hour and a half. He's getting calls from people like, Hey, if you're not drafted, you know, like you would fit. And there were people that were recruiting him, I guess. So, yeah, I could see where he was like, okay, still that fact of still being drafted is a big deal, I could see that.
Q. Pete, you alluded to this class fitting in with last year's and all that. How do you feel like the entire roster is right now when you look at this?
PETE CARROLL: This is going to be a really, really competitive camp, this camp this year now. There's enough athleticism in the young end of the roster with a ton of speed, a ton of aggressive mentality, a physical group that's going to make it really, really competitive and it's going to be a great way for us to start this season.
You get off here, the rooks will get here in a couple weeks before they can show. But we'll kick it off, really set it up and then the kickoff time to come into camp and I would expect that this is the kind of atmosphere that is conducive to really going for it. We ain't going to hold nothing back. Everybody tried to make us into a rebuild a year ago or whatever that was all about and that isn't the way we think and we're thinking as we start this thing off and pull these guys with us, that we're really going for it. From Geno and dig see and Jamal and Bobby and the guys on both sides of the football, Will Dissly and even the young guys, Kenny and DK and of course Tyler, those guys are -- they have their expectations set and they're going to embrace these guys as they come in as they did last year.
We've already talked to the guys that were rookies this past season about getting ready. They're coming in, they're going to fight for your job, they're going to give you their best shot, and we're going to give them an opportunity to show where they fit. As you get ready to compete and not give up your job, you also have to embrace these guys because they're going to be part of it. So all of that is already in flow, and so it's going to be a really exciting year coming up.
Q. Can you pick a trait or two to describe this class as a whole?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: I would a say tough. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to speak over you.
PETE CARROLL: No, I think it's toughness and physicality. I think this is a really -- from top to bottom it's a group that's going to really demonstrate that. We're fired up about that.
JOHN SCHNEIDER: On our tags, we have different insignia on there to represent different things, and I would say just about every one of these guys has a hammer on there, which means a scout has to say, this guy's a legitimate tough guy. So when you look at their tag, all these guys have a hammer on it.
Q. Nine of the 10 are from power conferences. Is there anything to that aspect of it and maybe playing better competition?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Well probably, yeah. Probably.
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, probably.
Q. You kind of implied that just like last year, you'll have some guys with more direct paths of contributing right away. Is that like -- I won't say by design, but is that like part of the kind of reset from last year is giving these guys a chance to compete?
PETE CARROLL: It just kind of falls that way, and I think that we were able to hit the picks in the areas where we really needed help as well. We did not draft by need. We drafted for the guys that we wanted. But they're going to have really good opportunities.
I mean, it's my job to make this a competitive opportunity for each one of these guys so they can show where they fit and show who they are. So that's why we play young guys, that's why we've always done that, and we want to see if they can fit in and develop them early in their opportunities to see if they can become regulars and really solidify our roster.
So that's going to happen again. We're going to see Devin and Jackson and Derek. Those guys are going to be out there and showing and fighting for their spots. That only makes everybody else fight too. So that's all the competitive mentality we're bringing.
Q. For Jerrick, would that be a nickel?
PETE CARROLL: He can play nickel. He can play safety and nickel. We're excited to see how he fits into that.
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Just don't tell him where to play. Let him decide. He might tear your head off.
Q. You only have two quarterbacks on the roster at the moment. Is it important to have another guy or two there at some point?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Yeah, we'll continue to keep working that. We're trying to sign guys in rookie free agency right now and also, we'll have some guys coming in for rookie mini camp. But we'll continue to watch other teams' rosters and waivers and all that kind of stuff and we'll continue to work that process.
Q. As high as you had picked and as many as you had in the first two rounds, what did not taking a quarterback say about that position for you?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Well, I mean, like we said last night, when you were not right there, you can't -- I mean, there's three quarterbacks that went right ahead of us and you can't just push it because of like a narrative. It has to feel right for everybody, the whole team, the locker room, coaches.
PETE CARROLL: I think too it's -- we do like our guys. We do like where we are and we need to add another one, for sure, and that will likely happen. But we're fired up about Geno coming back for us and we're fired up about Drew being back. I think the opportunity for Drew is a really good one, again, to grow with our program and become part of it. We think that's a really strength of ours, and so we need to prove that, but we think we're going to be in good shape there.
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Looking back on it, I think it's a really good example of clear communication in any industry. We got done with the end of the season, we were extremely honest with Geno, Drew. Geno had a phenomenal season and we all get that. Drew had a great season as well the way he handled everything. Things didn't go his way during training camp. Everybody knows that.
So to be able to work the free agency process the way we did with that clear communication, to go into the draft where we let them know, hey, look, we have never drafted this high. There's a chance we could take a quarterback and we got to be ready if that player comes to us. They knew that, they still signed back with us, and we embraced them, they embraced us.
So I think it's a great example of like the impeccable communication and honesty and, yeah, I'm proud of everybody, the way everybody handled it, their agents, the coaches, everybody in personnel, everybody. It's been great.
Q. With Locke, you said after the season that he and Dave Canales worked every day on every game plan in practice. Have you ever had a backup quarterback do that?
PETE CARROLL: I don't know. They were diligent about it. David was really working to develop Drew all the way throughout, figuring that it may be any day now and all that kind of stuff. That's just something that Greg will do as well. We're not going to miss that now. But that's -- I don't know how special that is because we've always thought that that's what's necessary because they don't always get the turns and they don't get all the game plan reps and stuff like that. That's where he tries to make that up. So we'll continue to do that.
Q. Were you fearing you were going to lose him to Tampa?
PETE CARROLL: Sure, yeah. They would love him. Its just a statement about him coming back to us and staying with us that we're very happy about that.
Q. With Jerrick, I know different players, but Quandre is also undersized, versatile, kind of feisty guy --
PETE CARROLL: Don't tell him that.
Q. Seeing Quandre do what he's done for so long, does that maybe give you more confidence in a guy like Jerrick that doesn't check all the boxes but --
PETE CARROLL: Absolutely. Yeah. There's no -- he's very, very similar in this stage of his career and all that. Kind of drafted in similar spot, close to it, and I think it might have been a sixth round, right?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: That and from KJ's hometown.
PETE CARROLL: There you go.
Q. With Jackson, I know it was awhile ago now that you drafted him, but how did you feel --
PETE CARROLL: Last week.
Q. How did you feel his skill set as a guy who can really move the chains complement what else you had in your receiver corps?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: No, it's perfect. Yeah, you just said it. Tyler is so talented creating separation and still getting down the field, setting people up down the field, and we have a huge power player in DK, and Jackson's a -- he's one of the -- he's an excellent route runner and he's excellent change of direction, phenomenal hands. They had a couple receivers that transferred that were darn good players when he was a freshman. So that's pretty telling at a university like that, that puts out a great program.
Q. What stands out about Kenny's pass catching, his ability there, and what's made him successful in that area?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Just real easy hands, just a quick plucker, gets his head around real quick and it's easy for him, doesn't have to break stride, great body control, really cool feet. What was the guy with the long neck I was telling you about? The running back.
PETE CARROLL: Harold something.
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Kansas City. McNair? No.
PETE CARROLL: Harold something.
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Yeah, he was a running back from LSU.
Just like this really sleek, kind of like great feet, and get skinny and just inside and, yeah, he's -- and he plays on teams and he's -- he's a football player. Had a great program obviously.
Q. Is there something about the way they teach it at Michigan or the schemes that they run up front that help Michigan guys translate directly to the pros?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Absolutely. Yeah, no question. And they're playing, you know? They're still playing big-time. Aaron Hineline refers to it as big-boy football. You know, they're playing big-boy football.
PETE CARROLL: Coach Harbaugh has always been that way with his style and they're separating from other teams in that regard.
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Harvey Williams. Sorry.
PETE CARROLL: Harvey Williams. Harvey Williams.
Q. Does playing there, does that scheme --
PETE CARROLL: Do you want to talk about Harvey now?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Yeah, that's, that's -- sorry.
Q. Does playing there in that scheme and the big boy football make Olu equipped to push Evan right away?
PETE CARROLL: I don't think there's any doubt that he's going to come in and battle now. He's legit. He's played all the schemes that we have seen that we do. The blocking principles and the expectations of the styles of play. Not all the schools in college football are like that. Michigan separates themself in that regard. It gives us a really good preparation spot for us and so we can see guys as we like to see them. So we have kind of finding our way to their program, so it's I think it's a good compliment.
Q. Do you want Al Woods back?
PETE CARROLL: I love Al Woods.
Q. Is that a viable option right now?
PETE CARROLL: We'll see what happens.
Q. (No microphone.)
PETE CARROLL: Same thing.
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Same thing.
PETE CARROLL: He's one of our guys, so we would love to see those guys come back.
Q. This was regarded as a really good tight end group. Was that tough to pass on all the guys in this class?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: To a certain extent, yeah, we had a couple guys identified that Pat really liked and our whole staff liked that were real good fits, good special teams players. Kind of like the quarterbacks. Just didn't fit at the correct time. It could be by design to a certain extent the way we build our board. We build it, we grade for our team not the National Football League. And what our team looks like, we have a really strong group and we believe in all those guys. If a player were to come to that position it wouldn't have been a reflection on any one of the guys that we have in that room right now.
Q. Same thing kind of for the inside backer class as well?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: Exactly.
Q. With your cap situation do you have to make some moves or some contract tweaks to fit your class under contract?
JOHN SCHNEIDER: No, we're okay right now. Yeah.
Q. Long snapper? You guys been in contact --
JOHN SCHNEIDER: We don't need one. (Laughing.) Pete's going to do it this year.
PETE CARROLL: We don't plan to kick much. We're going for it. (Laughing.)
JOHN SCHNEIDER: We'll figure it out.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports