Q. How different has the leadup to this season been for with the new kickoff rules? Talk a little bit about how sense it might be?
HEATH FARWELL: It's way different. It's been a different off-season obviously going on the road and working out kickers and doing that stuff. Obviously doing all the backgrounds on those and then of course the draft. Then of course we get the kickoff new rules, changes my whole off-season.
It's been a great challenge. Been really fun. So many of the special teams coaches are former players and made a good living, like myself, on special teams and covering those kicks.
So the fact that we can bring the play back, we're super excited. It's going to be a lot of fun to see how it fits and how it works. I'm learning every day, though. That's part of it.
So there is a huge off-season, you know, has been set aside just for those two phases. It's way different. We're still using the same techniques and that's what I'm telling our players. We're still using the same techniques; however, you still have a completely different blocking schemes, way defensive angles and different situations of how do you get to those blocks when they're only five yards from each other.
So I'm learning every day. We do a kickoff or kickoff return period. The very next day, okay, guys, here is some new stuff I got to do. This is what I learned. I have players come to me, great players that have great information, they say, coach, this is a little tougher to get to. What do you think about this? Great. Love it.
But we're exploring everything. My assistant, Luke Thompson and I have looked into it a ton, and even a couple weeks ago we had former Jaguars special teams coach Joe DeCamillis, who's a mentor of mine and brilliant guy. Had him come down and vet it and look at it.
He liked a lot of it, and also give us some good ideas. Try this, and what do you think about this. I'm trying everything I can to give these guys as much information, learn as much as I can, so come training camp we're ready to go.
Q. Will you toy with the idea of using a nonkicker?
HEATH FARWELL: I have a bunch of guys that have already nominated themselves, starting with Andre Cisco. He's already campaigning, stretching his leg out.
So, yes, I thought about it. We will explore it. Right now we've been so focused on learning the scheme, the details of it. Obviously with the kicker competition I've been solely working on that.
We will look into it. Right now we have not put anybody in there but a kicker.
Q. How many XFL games have you watched before this became a thought process?
HEATH FARWELL: Probably like everybody else, you turned it on when I was home in the past years and watched it briefly. Obviously this is more detailed. Obviously most of us, all of us special teams coaches, watch every clip of the XFL and try to learn from it.
You can learn some stuff and some is different. Our rule is quite different in some aspects.
So I've learned a ton but there is a lot more to learn from it.
Q. When you were watching it did you go, I don't like that at all?
HEATH FARWELL: It was different. I think that's the big thing. You have to embrace it's different. Like I said, I covered these kicks and my traditional -- what I think a kickoff looks like normal fans probably would. You have to put that aside.
The reality is this play is gonna go away. Guys like myself wouldn't have played as long as I did if I didn't have those two phases that are so valuable and important to the game.
We're embracing it. It's different. Let's embrace the difference about it and let's get more opportunity. This is a cool play that, again, once we learn it, our guys are loving it. Really Dewey is so excited about the new kickoff rule because he understands there is going to be that much more opportunities to make tackles.
Q. Do you think what you guys do and how you're coaching will change as the season goes as guys gather more info?
HEATH FARWELL: Absolutely. I think we've learned a lot this spring. We'll learn more in training camp, maybe some in pre-season, depending on how much people show.
Week one everybody is going to show their cards, and this is a copycat league. We're all going to look at each other like every other phase. Nothing new. I like that, I don't like that, or maybe this is just -- add this to ours. We like ours, but this is a wrinkle I like.
Like we do every week, we'll watch each other. No different. Because of the unknown, yea, we're going to learn a ton from week one to week two of the season.
Q. Special teams coaches are a little bit of a fraternity. Have you seeing more of that or less of that now? Are you sharing ideas with this or being secretive?
HEATH FARWELL: It's a small fraternity and we all of our own friends and groups, and I think there are little pockets here of what have you seen, what have you learned, any information we could share. Yes, definitely that is going on.
We're all trying to help each other. At the end of the day we want a good product, we want this play to be successful, and we want it to be fun. We want it to be a play that fans, the people that are watching, it's a cool play. How can we make it as clean as we can.
Q. You mentioned it's been a different off-season because of the new kickoff rule; also because of traveling around the country to identify the kicker. I know Doug has empowered you and I'm sure you have in other off-seasons to go out and find a kicker. Why was that one different? Was it very much a we're going to be drafting a kicker and please find that next young up and comer?
HEATH FARWELL: Every off-season I typically go on the road for a handful of schools and take a look at a position. Sometimes it's a returner, sometimes it's a kicker. I looked last season as well.
Just depending how it fits, do we see that guy that we really target, really like, not only on the field, his talent but what's it like when you meet him, you take him to dinner and get a good feeling for their personality.
Does he mesh with you? It fit right. We love Cam. When I worked him out we loved him. The dinner I had with him was fantastic. I just sensed that he was very competitive. I really liked what he was doing.
And so I thought he was a really cool guy to bring in here. We like the value in the sixth round and it worked out. It's a great opportunity. Obviously Riley has made some big kicks for us so we have a great competition with two really good kickers.
Yeah, it's normal as any position or any coordinator goes on the road, takes a look at a position, and there is a bunch of years I've done that and didn't draft one. So it's very normal. We really liked Cam and thought it was a good opportunity to add to the program, add to the competitive position of kicker, and let's see what it looks like come pre-season games and training camp.
Q. (Regarding Keilan Robinson.)
HEATH FARWELL: Keilan Robinson was a guy that was my No. 1 running back that I watched. I loved him right away. You saw what he does as a returner. I saw him playing other phases. He has the ability to play multiple phases for us, whether it's gunner, corner on punt return, which he did some in college.
He's an elite returner, a kick returner, and he has actually been out there doing punt returns as well. He is a talented player with very good speed, tough, physical, does all the things we liked.
And then of course I think he does a good job on offense. The offensive guys were on board. They liked him as well, catching the ball in the backfield doing some of the stuff he does.
Q. Thought about Duvernay?
HEATH FARWELL: Really good. Obviously we didn't bring back Ags, which Ags was an elite player for us. Loved Ags. He was really good. He is different than Duvernay. Both all pros, elite players. Duvernay is elite speed. It shows up. One of the first weeks he was here he was running 23 miles an hour. Elite speed that really shows up. So we're excited to have him.
He's a talented player from the Ravens. I watched him for years, and of course he's always been good. So to be able to add him and then with the two returners back there on kick return, you're going to need some other guys.
Tank has done a really good job as well.
We have a good group, nucleus of good returners we're going to need this year.
Q. When all is said and done about rules, if somebody has a kicker just blowing out of the end zone every time, do you just do that?
HEATH FARWELL: It's a possibility. I think there is so much unknown. Are you going to bomb it out the back of the end zone or normal hang kicks to the goal line and force the return? Are you going to get some of the knuckle ball missile kicks to put out ball in the ground so the kickoff team can cover?
We don't know what we're going to get. We practiced all of these and looked at them ourself on our kickoff group. Can we do these? What's going to work? What are we going to see? We don't know. We'll see.
Q. Are you concerned at all that preparation for the new rule is taking time from other aspects of special teams now and in training camp?
HEATH FARWELL: Definitely takes a big portion of it. We have a good nucleus of core guys, let's say, on our punt team. Dewey is there. We have a really good group. Caleb Johnson as well as Gotsis has played wing for us for years.
I think we have a good group. Yes, it takes from some of the other aspects of the game, but I think it's going to be super important to make sure we know exactly what we're doing going into this so we don't get surprised come week one on kickoff and kickoff return.
Q. Everybody has the same thing. Everybody has to devote X number of time to this new situation, right?
HEATH FARWELL: Right. Traditionally you have the majority of your time going to punt, and just because you're worried about a blocked punt, and that's so important to a special teams group, and we're still are doing that. I would punt is just as emphasized as those other two.
Obviously somebody has to -- you have to pull back on something. That's the nature of how I allocate our time not only in meetings, but practice time.
Q. In terms of coverage, I know you were pretty high on some of the young DBs brought in last year, from Antonio to Christian. What have you seen from that group of second-year guys as well as the next group with Tre and Jarrian?
HEATH FARWELL: Yeah, Antonio is a fantastic player. Loved him when we got him here. He was a really good gunner and four phase guys for us last year. If he's not playing defense, see how this plays out. He is going to be a four phase guy. I would love to have him play for us. I think he is probably too good of a player.
I'm concerned I'm not going to see him much this year because I know how good he is. Christian Braswell had a really good spring. Obviously we didn't see our ton of him because of injuries lasts year, but I thought he's had one of the more impressive off-seasons. So I really like what he's doing.
I'm looking forward to see what it looks like come training camp, real life reps, full speed reps, full contact. Again, he's done fantastic.
Some of the young guys, Jarrian Jones has been really good. That's been a great addition. He was a guy that we targeted obviously not only on defense, but for us. I thought he was a really good gunner and he's been really, really good.
So these guys have been -- like I said, I like where our group is at with those young DBs, especially with that gunner position.
Q. Why was it so important to bring DT back?
HEATH FARWELL: I love DT. Not only a great player, makes really good plays for us. His energy in the room, he's a team guy, the guys love him. It's infectious. You need those glue guys. Just every day he brings a smile to the room, to the meetings, to the field. He encourages guys. Just a leader in his own way.
So to bring DT back he's a great player but even a better guy. So I love having him around.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports