The start of the 2017 season is just a few weeks away for the Knights. Offensive coordinator Troy Walters talked with the media on Thursday about what he has seen from the team so far.
Q: When it comes to energy and enthusiasm, what’s been the problem with keeping consistency?
A: Sometimes it’s the nature of the guys you have. We have a lot of quiet guys on offense and a lot of young guys. Sometimes younger guys don’t want to step up and be vocal. We need everybody to bring energy, passion and excitement because it’s contagious. If one guy brings it, then the next guy, then the next guy… soon this whole offense is playing with emotion, excitement and passion. That’s what it’s going to take to be successful.
Q: What’s the transition period like from fall camp into the start of the season?
A: Most of fall camp, we threw a lot at [the players]. We threw the whole playbook at them. Now, as we get closer to the game, we’re going to focus on FIU. We’re going to take a quarter of the playbook, a half of the playbook and they don’t have to worry about everything. And, they have more responsibilities. They have school, class and other obligations, so they have to be focused. When it’s football time, they have to be locked in and dialed into football. When it’s school, they’ve got to be students. It’s a transition for the guys, and we’re going to make it easy for them.
Q: What are you seeing out of the offensive line and where they are right now?
A: They keep getting better. It’s a process. They’re going to come together and keep working as a unit. We want to establish the line of scrimmage and be physical. We want to be the most dominant unit out there, so those guys are coming together. It all starts up front. We’re excited about the guys we have and we’re looking forward to FIU.
Q: How is the competition looking at the wide receiver position?
A: It’s still wide open. We’re going to play with a lot of guys. We’re going to be young at the receiver position. [We] know, Tre’Quan [Smith] and Cam [Stewart] can play, [Dredrick] Snelson played a little bit last year. We’re going to be young, which is exciting because I think everybody knows they have a role. Everybody knows their number is going to be called and it’s going to be receiver by committee. We’ve got to get the young guys up to speed and let them know about the detail. There’s a fine line between being successful and not. They’re realizing that, and I can’t wait to see what they can do against FIU.
Q: What are you seeing from freshman running back Cordarrian Richardson?
A: He had probably his best day [on Wednesday]. He’s a load and he can run. Not only is he 240 but he’s a 10.5 100-meter. He’s getting better every day and that’s exciting because he brings another element that we don’t have at running back: power. [He’s] a big back that can run and you know it’s going to take more than one tackler to bring him down.
