C-Mac
04-29-2005, 02:56 PM
Q&A with DICK VERMEIL
Apr 29, 2005, 2:34:35 PM
Q: Your first impressions of the rookies?
DICK VERMEIL: “I think they had fun. It was only an hour and 15 minutes (practice). When you have to tell them to back off the intensity you know they’re having fun. They get excited and the tempo gets going faster than you’d like it to, so you have to slow them down. Overall, they did a good job.”
Q: What’s your sense about Jason White? I know you invited him to camp.
VERMEIL: “There’s so much pressure and evaluation going on for a young man like him. He’s just one of the 42 kids that are here working out and learning. The quarterbacks go to throw the ball and the receivers go in the wrong direction and that makes it a little tough on the quarterbacks. I thought he did fine.”
Q: What about Kilian, the other quarterback from (Tulsa) Oklahoma you drafted?
VERMEIL: “It’s their first morning. They’ll be a lot better by Sunday. We’re not spending that much time on the field. They get four hours in the meeting room and an hour and 15 minutes on the field. But they’ll get an introduction and we’ll get a chance to evaluate and send them in the right direction.”
Q: As advertised, Boomer Grigsby seems to bring a lot of energy out there.
VERMEIL: “Yeah, you can see that he’s energetic and athletic and what’s very apparent to is Derrick Johnson’s athleticism. See how he moves so gracefully and chases things down. You can see all those skills.”
Q: Is this kind of like Christmas morning when you open up your toys?
VERMEIL: “Not really. Like I told them, they went for an hour and 15 minutes and the first morning of training camp they could be in pads for two and half hours and then come back in the afternoon and do the same thing again. It’s a big difference. There’ll be more players too. But this gives them an introduction.”
Q: Do you sit and evaluate and watch tape after Sunday and maybe bring guys back for training camp?
VERMEIL: “Sure. Ronnie Cruz came out of this program and was on our practice squad. Richard Smith suited up for the Denver Broncos game last year. He came out of a try-out. I’m sure there will be a few kids who we will end up signing out of this group, but it’s really too early after one practice to start guessing who it will be.”
Q: Are there more guys than usual at rookie camp this year?
VERMEIL: “There’s a few more than last year, but this is just the second time we’ve done (a rookie camp). We kept the rookies with the veterans in the past. We decided to bring them along a little bit slower so when the veterans come in for camp they’re caught up a little bit.”
Q: What is it you’re looking for in a player: how he moves, how he…..?
VERMEIL: “The first thing we want to see is the kids we drafted. The second thing we want to see is the kids we’ve already signed as college free agents. Then, the other thing we want to do is see how the kids we haven’t signed move and learn and can react in non-contact type drills.”
Q: This is important for them, right? Would you expect them to maybe a bit nervous?
VERMEIL: “Sure. There were some kids who you can tell were very nervous. They ran out of gas before they even get going, and they’re in good shape. They’re exhausted. Nervous energy.”
Q: Does Jason White find himself behind the eight-ball so to speak with only two quarterback here and he’s the one who was invited and not drafted?
VERMEIL: “We brought him in to given him a workout, expose him to the National Football League. If we don’t sign him it exposes him to the rest of the National Football League. Everybody in the National Football League has seen Jason White play a lot of football, a lot of football. He won the Heisman Trophy because he was a great college football player on a great football team. So, he deserves the right to come into a training camp and work, and also evaluate himself.”
Q: Do you expect to take three or four quarterbacks to training camp?
VERMEIL: “Four.”
Apr 29, 2005, 2:34:35 PM
Q: Your first impressions of the rookies?
DICK VERMEIL: “I think they had fun. It was only an hour and 15 minutes (practice). When you have to tell them to back off the intensity you know they’re having fun. They get excited and the tempo gets going faster than you’d like it to, so you have to slow them down. Overall, they did a good job.”
Q: What’s your sense about Jason White? I know you invited him to camp.
VERMEIL: “There’s so much pressure and evaluation going on for a young man like him. He’s just one of the 42 kids that are here working out and learning. The quarterbacks go to throw the ball and the receivers go in the wrong direction and that makes it a little tough on the quarterbacks. I thought he did fine.”
Q: What about Kilian, the other quarterback from (Tulsa) Oklahoma you drafted?
VERMEIL: “It’s their first morning. They’ll be a lot better by Sunday. We’re not spending that much time on the field. They get four hours in the meeting room and an hour and 15 minutes on the field. But they’ll get an introduction and we’ll get a chance to evaluate and send them in the right direction.”
Q: As advertised, Boomer Grigsby seems to bring a lot of energy out there.
VERMEIL: “Yeah, you can see that he’s energetic and athletic and what’s very apparent to is Derrick Johnson’s athleticism. See how he moves so gracefully and chases things down. You can see all those skills.”
Q: Is this kind of like Christmas morning when you open up your toys?
VERMEIL: “Not really. Like I told them, they went for an hour and 15 minutes and the first morning of training camp they could be in pads for two and half hours and then come back in the afternoon and do the same thing again. It’s a big difference. There’ll be more players too. But this gives them an introduction.”
Q: Do you sit and evaluate and watch tape after Sunday and maybe bring guys back for training camp?
VERMEIL: “Sure. Ronnie Cruz came out of this program and was on our practice squad. Richard Smith suited up for the Denver Broncos game last year. He came out of a try-out. I’m sure there will be a few kids who we will end up signing out of this group, but it’s really too early after one practice to start guessing who it will be.”
Q: Are there more guys than usual at rookie camp this year?
VERMEIL: “There’s a few more than last year, but this is just the second time we’ve done (a rookie camp). We kept the rookies with the veterans in the past. We decided to bring them along a little bit slower so when the veterans come in for camp they’re caught up a little bit.”
Q: What is it you’re looking for in a player: how he moves, how he…..?
VERMEIL: “The first thing we want to see is the kids we drafted. The second thing we want to see is the kids we’ve already signed as college free agents. Then, the other thing we want to do is see how the kids we haven’t signed move and learn and can react in non-contact type drills.”
Q: This is important for them, right? Would you expect them to maybe a bit nervous?
VERMEIL: “Sure. There were some kids who you can tell were very nervous. They ran out of gas before they even get going, and they’re in good shape. They’re exhausted. Nervous energy.”
Q: Does Jason White find himself behind the eight-ball so to speak with only two quarterback here and he’s the one who was invited and not drafted?
VERMEIL: “We brought him in to given him a workout, expose him to the National Football League. If we don’t sign him it exposes him to the rest of the National Football League. Everybody in the National Football League has seen Jason White play a lot of football, a lot of football. He won the Heisman Trophy because he was a great college football player on a great football team. So, he deserves the right to come into a training camp and work, and also evaluate himself.”
Q: Do you expect to take three or four quarterbacks to training camp?
VERMEIL: “Four.”