Foster talks young group of RB's
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport.com
@hawkeyereport
OPENING STATEMENT
I want to thank everyone for being here today.
It’s definitely an important time of the year. We get a chance to get back on the field and get to work with each individual player. Spring is more about fundamentals and details and getting a chance to correct some things you didn’t get to correct during the season.
With that said, I will open it up for any questions.
Q: You are working with only four running backs. How challenging is that for you to get them ready as far as them getting hit?
FOSTER: We do a good job of managing that as far as the practice schedule. We do some thud contact or tagging off contact and I think Coach Ferentz and the rest of the staff do a good job of putting together a good game plan going into practice.
We have smart players and they understand the game. It’s our job as coaches to teach these young guys to play the game and how to practice.
One of the main points going into camp was to teach these guys was how to practice. Has it been challenging?
A little, but not bad. I think these guys understand their role on the team. We maximize our reps as much as possible and try not to beat them up too much. We are smart with our plays and managing them out of the backfield.
Q: What have you seen from your top two guys, Young and Kelly-Martin?
FOSTER: I think both of those guys give great effort and their attitudes are phenomenal. They come in every day ready to go to work.
Those are two guys who lead by example. They take it from film to the drills and back to the room. That is what we talk about in our meetings. Take what you learn in film study and drills on the field to the executing it in reps on the field.
Those two guys have been very consistent. They have helped the younger guys come along as well. Toren has been a leader in the room and I definitely lean on him a lot to make sure he manages the room as a player. I try to give those guys some accountability and I try to make sure Toren takes on that role.
Q: He’s relatively young himself. How does he take that on?
FOSTER: He’s is, but as crazy as it sounds, Toren is way ahead of his years. He is a very mature young man who accepts accountability, leads by example, and is very vocal. I think those are the things he prides himself on and we see in him.
Toren not only sets the example on the field, but in the weight room, and outside of football in the classroom. I think those guys look at Toren as the big brother type leader because he does have experience.
Q: Do you have any idea what you have right now in Bryan and Harrell?
FOSTER: Kyshaun took a step forward this past weekend. He showed some flashes of some things that he can do. Now he has to continue to develop in that role. That is one of the things I challenged him with this morning in a meeting. I told him that now the challenge is to stack days on top of days.
The challenge for each one of the players is to daily go out here and see how you can steadily improve. I challenged him, can you improve on this past Saturday’s practice? Can you repeat what you just did and continue to get better?
He has some work to do on some typical things, but there are certainly things that we can coach up and fix. He certainly has ability.
Q: Who would you say is your best pass catcher out of the backfield?
FOSTER: Right now, Toren, so far.
Toren has caught the ball pretty well out of the backfield. Ivory has caught a few, but he has dropped a few that he should have caught out of the backfield. Toren has been the most consistent catching the ball.
Q: Do you see that as an essential part of the role of being running back?
FOSTER: Yes. We are talking about being a complete back. When you are a complete back requires a back to be able to protect the quarterback, run between the tackles, and catch the ball out of the backfield. I think those are the traits of a complete back.
Guys that do miss a ball or two, I will say after practice they are willing to grab a quarterback and say, hey I dropped this pass, can we work on this route a couple of times afterwards. I look forward to seeing them continue to do that. I expect it as a coach, but sometimes you want to sit back and see if they are willing to do what they need to do to develop their skillset.
Q: What challenges do the styles of Toren and Ivory present to you as a new coach for this position group?
FOSTER: Not many challenges.
I think they are very different backs. If you look at Toren, he is more of a downhill back. He is more direct with power and his vision is really good. With Ivory, he is very elusive. He has some suddenness and quickness between the tackles. He’s able to make guys miss in tight spaces. With Toren, if you are in his way, he may run over you. I think those guys are both still coming into their own. I think of the four backs in the room, they combined for about 380 yards and maybe 60 carries and those two are the only ones who have any game experience.
I think that’s why spring is so important. They have to maximize each rep two. Believe me, Ivory and Toren have some areas that they need to improve on too.
Q: Today, Toren talked about being patient and having to wait for the hole to develop. How much of that is coaching and how much of that is just reps?
FOSTER: It’s a little bit of both. I think it’s reps. I think it come with him trusting his eyes. I stress eye discipline to them all the time. They have to understand their reads and their field keys. From a teaching standpoint, when we are breaking down film, I slow it down a little bit so they can see what’s going on. In the backfield, a lot of things are moving and your eyes get distracted on things that may not be there. I try to get them and train them to discipline their eyes and trust their keys, so we don’t have mistakes in practice or in games. That comes with watching the film, taking them through a drill, and then reps in practice as well.
Q: Coach Ferentz has said Samson Evans will probably start out at running back. What do you know about him and Henry Geil, the other running back coming in this year?
FOSTER: I had an opportunity to talk with Henry a little bit and I am definitely looking forward to those guys coming in and adding some depth. They both have very talented skill sets. They are definitely going to have to come in and earn their reps and everything. I look forward to the fall and seeing what they can add. As an incoming freshman, it’s hard. You take a high school kid and put him in a college environment and the pace of the game changes drastically for those guys. For a guy like Kyshaun, he is still a freshman and he’s trying to feel his way through. He’s finally starting to understand the game and slow down for him. I look forward to having those guys come in and be willing to learn. Henry said he’s fired up about it and I really enjoy talking to him and look forward to getting to know Samson. I am looking forward to having those guys come in and compete. I told the guys in the room last week, it’s your job to keep your job because we have guys coming in to compete and take your spot.
Q: How engaged in things is Toks right now?
FOSTER: Very little. I have seen him around a few times. Toks is still going through his rehab. He’s not involved as heavily as the rest of them are.
Q: Last fall, Ivory had one fumble and he went to the bench and didn’t play for a few games. With only a few backs, it’s probably hard to hold that out there. How do you keep these guys in line with playing time and motivate them when there are only four this spring?
FOSTER: You get creative. (laugh) Most of the time you don’t beat them up too bad, but you make sure he understands the magnitude of it and that we don’t plan on turning over the ball. I always say to the guys, you just make sure you give the ball to the ref after the play. That makes sure they protect the ball.
To your point, you have to be smart about it and if that not the case you teach it. Football is about learning, especially in this part of the game and season. It’s about teaching them that the situation is crucial. I think we teach them this is why we shouldn’t turn over the football. I may pull him for a couple of reps and get another guy in there and then get him back in there. You want to build confidence as well.
It’s like a muscle memory. You want them to foget about it and move on because it is one play. Of course it’s important and when I talk about ball security, I want that thing high and tight. At the same time, I want him to understand, go back out there and play with confidence and just keep moving and forget about it.
Q: The fullbacks are no longer in the running back room?
FOSTER: No, they are not. I am just coaching the running backs.
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport.com
@hawkeyereport
OPENING STATEMENT
I want to thank everyone for being here today.
It’s definitely an important time of the year. We get a chance to get back on the field and get to work with each individual player. Spring is more about fundamentals and details and getting a chance to correct some things you didn’t get to correct during the season.
With that said, I will open it up for any questions.
Q: You are working with only four running backs. How challenging is that for you to get them ready as far as them getting hit?
FOSTER: We do a good job of managing that as far as the practice schedule. We do some thud contact or tagging off contact and I think Coach Ferentz and the rest of the staff do a good job of putting together a good game plan going into practice.
We have smart players and they understand the game. It’s our job as coaches to teach these young guys to play the game and how to practice.
One of the main points going into camp was to teach these guys was how to practice. Has it been challenging?
A little, but not bad. I think these guys understand their role on the team. We maximize our reps as much as possible and try not to beat them up too much. We are smart with our plays and managing them out of the backfield.
Q: What have you seen from your top two guys, Young and Kelly-Martin?
FOSTER: I think both of those guys give great effort and their attitudes are phenomenal. They come in every day ready to go to work.
Those are two guys who lead by example. They take it from film to the drills and back to the room. That is what we talk about in our meetings. Take what you learn in film study and drills on the field to the executing it in reps on the field.
Those two guys have been very consistent. They have helped the younger guys come along as well. Toren has been a leader in the room and I definitely lean on him a lot to make sure he manages the room as a player. I try to give those guys some accountability and I try to make sure Toren takes on that role.
Q: He’s relatively young himself. How does he take that on?
FOSTER: He’s is, but as crazy as it sounds, Toren is way ahead of his years. He is a very mature young man who accepts accountability, leads by example, and is very vocal. I think those are the things he prides himself on and we see in him.
Toren not only sets the example on the field, but in the weight room, and outside of football in the classroom. I think those guys look at Toren as the big brother type leader because he does have experience.
Q: Do you have any idea what you have right now in Bryan and Harrell?
FOSTER: Kyshaun took a step forward this past weekend. He showed some flashes of some things that he can do. Now he has to continue to develop in that role. That is one of the things I challenged him with this morning in a meeting. I told him that now the challenge is to stack days on top of days.
The challenge for each one of the players is to daily go out here and see how you can steadily improve. I challenged him, can you improve on this past Saturday’s practice? Can you repeat what you just did and continue to get better?
He has some work to do on some typical things, but there are certainly things that we can coach up and fix. He certainly has ability.
Q: Who would you say is your best pass catcher out of the backfield?
FOSTER: Right now, Toren, so far.
Toren has caught the ball pretty well out of the backfield. Ivory has caught a few, but he has dropped a few that he should have caught out of the backfield. Toren has been the most consistent catching the ball.
Q: Do you see that as an essential part of the role of being running back?
FOSTER: Yes. We are talking about being a complete back. When you are a complete back requires a back to be able to protect the quarterback, run between the tackles, and catch the ball out of the backfield. I think those are the traits of a complete back.
Guys that do miss a ball or two, I will say after practice they are willing to grab a quarterback and say, hey I dropped this pass, can we work on this route a couple of times afterwards. I look forward to seeing them continue to do that. I expect it as a coach, but sometimes you want to sit back and see if they are willing to do what they need to do to develop their skillset.
Q: What challenges do the styles of Toren and Ivory present to you as a new coach for this position group?
FOSTER: Not many challenges.
I think they are very different backs. If you look at Toren, he is more of a downhill back. He is more direct with power and his vision is really good. With Ivory, he is very elusive. He has some suddenness and quickness between the tackles. He’s able to make guys miss in tight spaces. With Toren, if you are in his way, he may run over you. I think those guys are both still coming into their own. I think of the four backs in the room, they combined for about 380 yards and maybe 60 carries and those two are the only ones who have any game experience.
I think that’s why spring is so important. They have to maximize each rep two. Believe me, Ivory and Toren have some areas that they need to improve on too.
Q: Today, Toren talked about being patient and having to wait for the hole to develop. How much of that is coaching and how much of that is just reps?
FOSTER: It’s a little bit of both. I think it’s reps. I think it come with him trusting his eyes. I stress eye discipline to them all the time. They have to understand their reads and their field keys. From a teaching standpoint, when we are breaking down film, I slow it down a little bit so they can see what’s going on. In the backfield, a lot of things are moving and your eyes get distracted on things that may not be there. I try to get them and train them to discipline their eyes and trust their keys, so we don’t have mistakes in practice or in games. That comes with watching the film, taking them through a drill, and then reps in practice as well.
Q: Coach Ferentz has said Samson Evans will probably start out at running back. What do you know about him and Henry Geil, the other running back coming in this year?
FOSTER: I had an opportunity to talk with Henry a little bit and I am definitely looking forward to those guys coming in and adding some depth. They both have very talented skill sets. They are definitely going to have to come in and earn their reps and everything. I look forward to the fall and seeing what they can add. As an incoming freshman, it’s hard. You take a high school kid and put him in a college environment and the pace of the game changes drastically for those guys. For a guy like Kyshaun, he is still a freshman and he’s trying to feel his way through. He’s finally starting to understand the game and slow down for him. I look forward to having those guys come in and be willing to learn. Henry said he’s fired up about it and I really enjoy talking to him and look forward to getting to know Samson. I am looking forward to having those guys come in and compete. I told the guys in the room last week, it’s your job to keep your job because we have guys coming in to compete and take your spot.
Q: How engaged in things is Toks right now?
FOSTER: Very little. I have seen him around a few times. Toks is still going through his rehab. He’s not involved as heavily as the rest of them are.
Q: Last fall, Ivory had one fumble and he went to the bench and didn’t play for a few games. With only a few backs, it’s probably hard to hold that out there. How do you keep these guys in line with playing time and motivate them when there are only four this spring?
FOSTER: You get creative. (laugh) Most of the time you don’t beat them up too bad, but you make sure he understands the magnitude of it and that we don’t plan on turning over the ball. I always say to the guys, you just make sure you give the ball to the ref after the play. That makes sure they protect the ball.
To your point, you have to be smart about it and if that not the case you teach it. Football is about learning, especially in this part of the game and season. It’s about teaching them that the situation is crucial. I think we teach them this is why we shouldn’t turn over the football. I may pull him for a couple of reps and get another guy in there and then get him back in there. You want to build confidence as well.
It’s like a muscle memory. You want them to foget about it and move on because it is one play. Of course it’s important and when I talk about ball security, I want that thing high and tight. At the same time, I want him to understand, go back out there and play with confidence and just keep moving and forget about it.
Q: The fullbacks are no longer in the running back room?
FOSTER: No, they are not. I am just coaching the running backs.
