here's his response:
"He's improved a lot in that. Obviously, that's a big man pulling and he's done pretty well. There was a play in the game on Saturday where we ask him to pull and the defensive end shot seven yards into the backfield. I don't know if we have anyone on our team that could get that guy blocked. That wasn't the reaction that we thought we would get from that defensive end, but we got them a few plays later. You play to what they're doing.
"As far as his pulling, he's improved with that a lot. As I always tell Mike, his deal is footwork and using his hands. When he has great footwork and is using his hands, he could be dominant. That's where we're trying to get him to grow, that's where we're on him every day about his footwork. If he uses his first two steps are good, when that body gets moving in the right direction, look out. When he uses his hands legally, look out. Those are the two things that could make him a dominant player. That's what we coach him on.
"Mike's grown a lot, his pass protection has really gotten better. Everybody inside the program has noticed that when he goes one-on-one with our best defensive guys, he's solid. It's been good there. Mike's one of those guys who's improved a lot because of how he practices."
"He's improved a lot in that. Obviously, that's a big man pulling and he's done pretty well. There was a play in the game on Saturday where we ask him to pull and the defensive end shot seven yards into the backfield. I don't know if we have anyone on our team that could get that guy blocked. That wasn't the reaction that we thought we would get from that defensive end, but we got them a few plays later. You play to what they're doing.
"As far as his pulling, he's improved with that a lot. As I always tell Mike, his deal is footwork and using his hands. When he has great footwork and is using his hands, he could be dominant. That's where we're trying to get him to grow, that's where we're on him every day about his footwork. If he uses his first two steps are good, when that body gets moving in the right direction, look out. When he uses his hands legally, look out. Those are the two things that could make him a dominant player. That's what we coach him on.
"Mike's grown a lot, his pass protection has really gotten better. Everybody inside the program has noticed that when he goes one-on-one with our best defensive guys, he's solid. It's been good there. Mike's one of those guys who's improved a lot because of how he practices."
Last edited:
