By Gabe Bock

On the performance of his backup quarterbacks in the scrimmage…

“I saw a lot of plays, so we’re giving them plenty of turns with different lines and different situations. You guys know me, I don’t say much even after games until we watch the video.  The second line is different from the first line; the second defense is different from the first defense. What I’m looking for is the ability to communicate what we’re trying to do, ability to communicate with guys on the field, move the football, and communicate that way.

"Obviously, they’ve all improved in their mechanics and how they’re doing things, so I’ve just got to look at the film and see where it is. I don’t think any of them were particularly poor. I think it’s just the degree of how they’re doing things and how they’re going to continue to get better.”

On narrowing down the quarterback competition…

“I don’t ever do that. I’ve never walked off the field and said, “You know…” I’ve never done that.”

“There’s so many of them out there, I don’t even know. Like I said, we got to watch the video. We played them all. I think every guy out of the 105 played today, so that was the key, to get them on video. We got a bunch of plays, 70-something plays without the kicking plays, so we were giving them an opportunity, particularly these young guys in the D line, the front, and then the secondary and those receivers got a bunch of snaps, and those were the guys that we really wanted to pay attention to today.”

On if he was pleased with how Kenny Hill performed…

“I was pleased with all of those guys. Like I said, the mechanics of the position are as important to me, meaning the communication from the sideline to him, because we don’t huddle, the ability to get us in the right play based on that, the ability to communicate with the other ten guys, and the ability to move the ball. So, I think mechanically and operationally they all did well, including Kenny.

"I think the evaluation comes off of, ‘Now, let me look at the video.’ Progression-wise, are we doing the right things? Are we getting to a play that is favorable for us? Not necessarily the best play or the right play, but getting us out of bad situations. That’s the hardest things for young guys. You know, the more you play, the better off you are, so we’ll see.”

On if it’s accurate to say that Johnny was as usual today…

“He was disappointed a little bit; you could see it. But, at the end, he was trying to make every play. That’s about how he does things all the time. We continue to discuss different things and going through progressions. He blames me. He says the reason he doesn’t run around at practice is because I blow the whistle. That’s probably true, but that’s part of it.

"We’ll continue to practice all of those guys. He’s a competitor, and he wants to be perfect. And because of that, I don’t think he’s ever really leaving the football field that happy. We’re practicing, we’re getting better, and I think the people around, particularly in that first unit, are getting better. I think our protection was excellent with the 1’s. When you’re talking about protection, you’re talking about Trey Williams now turning into an every-down back. The reason everybody says ‘Well, why didn’t he play against LSU?’ He wasn’t ready.

"There’s a lot of different schemes and blitzes that we saw from some elite teams that he was not ready to play as an every-down back and he’s shown us through fall camp that his game has changed and he can play every down and do that. There’s no question that he’s gotten better and Tra Carson. We put a lot of pressure on those two guys because we know what Ben can do. I was pleased.

"That’s part of the protection that nobody talks about along with our receivers knowing when to break off routes and do things. I thought they operated not great, but I think the first group, regardless of who the quarterback was, that we’re heading in the right direction with two weeks to go. We got to get the backup guys to come along with us. Some of them showed good flashes, and some of them still got a ways to go.”

On how much closer they are as an organization to making a decision on Johnny playing…

“Probably no different than it was the first time we talked about it.”

On if today was a representation of how Malcome Kennedy has been performing during fall camp…

“Yeah, he’s probably one of the most improved players on the team. He has come light years since last summer. I think nobody knew who he was the first six games of the year, and he continued to get better. Obviously the catch at Alabama was big for him, and continued to develop that confidence down the stretch, and he became a big leader for us this summer, and I think you can see that he has playing, and the confidence that his quarterbacks have in him.”

On the kicking game today…

“Spotty. We got new guys back there. He (Josh Lambo) made all of his extra points. What was he, 50-percent on field goals? Some of them were a little bit long. There was a little more wind today. Surprised to see a north wind, which makes it cooler here. You can count on one hand how many times I’ve been in this stadium and there’s been a north wind, so that was a little bit different. It was a cross deal too. Extra points were good. I think he’s got good distance; he’s still working on it. That’s a part that we continue to work with.

"Obviously, I thought (Drew) Kaser punted the ball excellently today. We’re working on coverage because of how long he’s punting the ball. I never thought I’d … I’m not complaining, so you get what you get, but that’s why we’re working on coverage today, because he has shown a strong leg. He was punting with the wind today, but even with that, all four of those punts – we ask him to be consistent and he was pretty consistent today, whether it was straight on or we rolled him. Hopefully, we don’t have to use him that much, but if we do and when we do, we can get that consistency out of him and we can cover like we did today.”

On the seriousness of Deshazor’s hand injury…

“He’s got a broken thumb.”

On if he will miss any games because of it…

“He’s got a broken thumb. You ought to be surprised I even said that.”

On Tyrell Taylor being in the backfield consistently…

“I don’t know. I saw it against the 2’s. I didn’t see it against the 1’s.”

On the play of Laquivionte Gonzalez…

“I don’t know who caught him. It was probably a safety that was already back there. He was probably twenty-five yards deep already. He wouldn’t have caught him if it was even.”

On how this scrimmage sets them up for the next two weeks…

“It’s a little bit different for us this year because school doesn’t start for another week, which is a great deal with a young team. We actually have two more days of two-a-days. We’ll go two on Monday and two on Wednesday. Usually, since the rule has changed, we’ve usually only had three total. We’ve had three already. Some guys looked a little tired today. We don’t practice on Sunday, and we’ll come back and we’ll get those couple of days, and then we’ll start working on preparation for Rice probably Thursday.”

On the crowd…

“That’s good. I appreciate everybody coming. I didn’t know. Everybody said, ‘Well, there’s going to be a bunch of people here.’ You get so wrapped up in what you’re doing. I appreciate everybody coming. Next week, we got fan appreciation, and we’re starting to close things down. It may be that this has been the only open practice too. That might have something to do with it also.”

On when there would be another one…

“Rice at noon. (Laughter)”