Q&A: Eliot on younger players coming along, senior leadership on defense
D.J. ELIOT
On his thoughts on practice this week: “Practice, I’ve been impressed with some of our younger players that have been practicing a lot this week and getting better. Today was an energetic practice, which you’ve gotta have on Wednesday — a full padded practice headed into the end of the week. I think our players are concentrating on one day at a time, one rep at a time. I’m pleased about that. We still have a ways to go, we still have a lot of things to get better at, but the effort and focus at practice this week has been good, and plan on finishing the week out strong and concentrating on getting every player better than they can and getting depth and all that.”
On who the young players are that he’s talking about: “I’ve seen some good things this week from Jordan Griffin. I’ve seen some good things this week from Jordan Bonner. T.J. Carter continues to get better. Those are guys that have had talent, and we’ve been practicing quite a bit and been able to get them in a game when we can. But I think they’re continuing to grow, continuing to get better, and I think those guys are going to play well toward the end of this year. I’m looking forward to it.”
On if he can tell if they’ll be close to full strength on Saturday: “We’re hopeful. Everybody’s been doing something in practice and we’re hopeful that we’ll be full strength.”
On if he has to dumb down schemes when playing younger players: “We’re not working — oh, you mean because of injuries, I thought you were talking about the younger players — they’ve been practicing all year. We try to make sure whatever scheme we have called that everybody can execute. We may cut a few things back, but fortunately by this time of the year, everybody that’s with the defensive group has been getting practice reps within our scheme, so they’re pretty well caught up.”
On what seniors have meant to this group: “I tell you what, I think Courtney Miggins, he leads by example and what a guy that’s grown from last year to this year, a guy that played maybe 20 snaps a game and now he’s 60-plus snaps a game. He had a great offseason, he’s had a great attitude, works extremely hard. J.D. has been unselfish at times. Marcus McWilson has been unselfish. Blake McClain, all those guys, we’ve needed the last four years and they’ve continued to play hard and done what they can to help the team win.”
On evolution of J.D. Harmon: “I think J.D. has grown up a lot. The first year we were here, he sat out and he was frustrated, we were frustrated. Over the last three years, I’ve really seen him grow up and mature and I’m proud of him for that.”
On Mark Stoops saying he wished he had redshirted Marcus McWilson because he’s playing so well now: “I think Marcus has a lot of ability. He’s big, strong and fast. He came in in August that first year, so he missed the whole summer. Played right when he got here and didn’t have a lot of time to ease into things. I think that’s what Coach Stoops is referring too, that he’s now developed into a good player and if we had another year with him it’d be nice. But we’re pleased with the way he’s played this year, and I’m excited to watch him finish.”
On if they’ve added any extra security to playbook with Wake Forest accusing Louisville of hacking: “Oh, with Louisville. I was like, ‘What happened? I got my playbook?’ (Laughter). I leave the IT guys up to that. (Laughter). I’m sure we have a very secure line. I’m confident in them.”
On if he expects to get Darius West back in the spring: “Yes, yes. Hope so. He’ll be good for us too. He’s had a good rehab. He’s stayed positive. He’s worked hard. Darius has worked very hard, and I look to get him back as soon as we can.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 6:32 PM with the headline "Q&A: Eliot on younger players coming along, senior leadership on defense."