ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q: What areas of improvement are you looking for in Matt Araiza?
TOUB: “That’s a good question. We’re looking for him (Matt Araiza) – he’s got a bomb of a leg; he can hit the ball long. We need more hang time on his punts, more vertical power and then we need more accuracy in the pooch area, which is getting balls inside the 20. That’s what he’s really emphasizing during this offseason.”
Q: How does the change in the kickoff return rule change what you’re looking for in a return guy?
TOUB: “It’s going to change – it’s not going to change the style of the guy, but it’s going to change how many reps we get because everybody’s going to kick it into the target zone now. You can’t afford to kick a touchback (and) give up the ball to the 35 (yard line) automatically. The average last year throughout the whole season I think was 29.5 yards getting the ball out that far, so it was kind of a wash to kick a touchback, you’re not giving up anything. Now, that extra five yards, that’s going to make all the difference in the world. It’s good for special teams now. Kickoff team, you have to kick it in there (the target zone) every time. Kick return, you’re going to get returns every time. I think it’s going to be 85 percent returns – to 90 percent so it’s going to be a lot more fun for the fans, better for special teams coaches and players and jobs so it’s all good.”
Q: Do you need more speed back there?
TOUB: “You have to make sure that you have guys that are good at it (returning kicks). I mean, the speed is always something that you’re – you’re always looking for that dynamic guy that can field it with speed. Brashard (Smith) brings that to the table, the new rookie we got. I like him back there – (Jalen) Royals has talent and then Nohl (Williams), he’s done it too in college, so we have a lot of guys, with the young guys to work with.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
OPENING STATEMENT: “I don’t really have anything, (I’m) just happy to be back on the field and practicing and doing this (media). I hope everybody was safe yesterday with the little scare with the tornado. That was a little new although we used to get them when I was there but anyway, I’ll open it up and we’ll roll.”
Q: What are your first impressions of Nohl Williams?
SPAGNUOLO: “Nohl (Williams) had a tough day today. (It’s) just a couple things that stick out but what I really like about him is (that) he’s a student of football. You know, coming from Cal – that Cal (team) had really good players on that team, they had a lot of them. I thought for the most part when we Zoom called or interviewed guys, I thought they were really sharp football-wise, so it begins there with all the things we do. We’ll find out a little bit more about him when we get pads on, and we can go live but he’s done a pretty solid job for us right now.”
Q: Can you share your initial reaction to the other draft picks?
SPAGNUOLO: “When all four (Omarr Norman-Lott, Ashton Gillotte, Nohl Williams and Jeffrey Bassa) of those guys kind of came in – and I was happy to get all four of them. I thought they were all similar and that they – when we evaluated them and talked with them, they all have football – (they) get it. They all love the game of football. I really like – I think Ashton (Gillotte) is a really good knee bender, I think Omarr’s (Norman-Lott) got a lot of power to him, Jeff (Bassa) is a change of direction guy and really smart. In the rookie – I don’t know if you guys noticed (but) in the rookie minicamp we put him (Jeff Bassa) at mike linebacker. We knew he was going to be outside, but he learns the whole defense. I thought he did a great job at that then we’ve talked about Nohl (Williams) so I’m hoping all those guys can help us. We’ll see.”
Q: Do you feel like Omarr Norman-Lott can end up contributing a lot this season?
SPAGNUOLO: “That’s the hope. Yeah, that’s the hope. There isn’t anything that has happened right now that would lead me to say that he would be able to do something for us.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
Q: What have you seen from Rashee Rice so far?
NAGY: “He’s (Rashee Rice) looked good. He’s come back strong; he’s been working hard to get to this point. It reminds me of last year where he was going into this part of the year where – the second year he just looks like – even with Xavier (Worthy) right now, you can tell he knows where he’s going so those guys are looking sharp.”
Q: What can be the difference this year to make the deep ball a reality again?
NAGY: “Well, we talk about talk is cheap, right? You can’t talk about it; you have to be able to do it. I think it’s a mentality of every day in practice trying to make sure you stress not only the importance of talking about it but then doing it in practice. There were times that we were but I think it’s our job as coaches to emphasis it more and then let these guys go out there. Then their mindset too is just cutting it loose every now and then. Not everyone is going to be perfect and incomplete, but it’s equity.”
Q: How have the things that you’ve worked on with Patrick Mahomes in the offseason changed since his rookie year?