OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, good week of practice up to this point, they have one more tomorrow and these are Phase 3 practices. Next week, we’ll start our official mandatory OTAs. We have a couple – three days of those, so we’ll go from there, but it’s been a good turnout, the guys are working hard. (I) appreciate the improvement that they’re making, especially the young guys. They’re pushing through these things, so it’s a good lead up for them as they get ready for camp coming up here.”
Q: Chargers day today?
REID: “Raider day, yeah. Chargers yesterday.”
Q: What tells you Kingsley Suamataia is going to be a more productive player in his new spot than he was his rookie year?
REID: “First of all, he (Kingsley Suamataia) has experience and then he looks more comfortable there. He seems to be picking it up well. Not that we’re going full speed contact, but he has an opportunity to go against Chris (Jones) and that’ll surely help him for the season.”
Q: What type of veteran leadership does Gardner Minshew provide for the team?
REID: “He’s (Gardner Minshew) been there – he’s started, so he’s got that. He’s got the confidence of the guys around him. Patrick (Mahomes) knows he’s been in there and done it, so they can bounce things off of each other. It’s always good to have peers that have played, and you can talk to them about it a little bit. I think on gameday he’ll be great with Patrick, just with what he’s seeing from the sideline and what Pat’s seeing when he’s in there.”
Q: How impressed are you with the attendance for voluntary camp?
REID: “Yeah, really everybody – for the most part has been here at some point. Some guys have business things they have to run out and do, but for the most part, guys have been here participating, which I’ve been impressed with. I appreciate it.”
Q: How’s Josh Simmons been progressing?
REID: “He’s (Josh Simmons) doing a nice job. We weren’t sure quite how much we were going to be able to get out of him, but he looks strong. He’s been jumping in and taking the team reps now – which he was just doing the individual stuff before, and you can definitely see the talent. He’s got to keep learning and learn the stuff that (Offensive Line Coach) Andy’s (Heck) teaching him fundamentally and technique-wise, but he sure has a good attitude about it.”
Q: What have you learned about Brashard Smith since he’s been here?
REID: “I like what he (Brashard Smith) does. He’s got good speed and (he’s a) good route runner. That part of his game – for running backs and linebackers, these are kind of tough camps, so we’ll just see how things go once we get to (training) camp but with what we’ve asked him to do, he’s done a good job with it.”
Q: Did Kingsley Suamataia handle last season how you hoped he would?
REID: “It looked like he (Kingsley Suamataia) learned as he went. It was rough, obviously, early and expectations are high. You come into a championship caliber team, and you’re thrown in there at left tackle, it’s not always the easiest thing for a young guy. I think it was a great experience when you – I think it’ll tell itself out as he goes forward.”
Q: What are you looking for with the young guys? Are you more interested in what you see on the practice field or around the building?
REID: “I have to tell you; you probably evaluate all that. You have kind of an eagle eye on them and make sure they’re handling themselves the right way and still giving them the little room to grow in there on their own, but you definitely keep a close eye on them.”
Q: Have you had to tell Josh Simmons to slow down?
REID: “We’ve done that. We’ve done that with him (Josh Simmons) and he’s asked for more and we’ve kind of kept backing him up here and easing him into it. You can tell that he rehabbed – (he) did a nice job with it. Obviously, the people that did the surgery did a nice job with it, so he looks like he – and he’s in good shape. He’s here quite a bit. He’s one of those guys that you have to kind of kick out of the building.”
Q: Is it your expectation that Trey Smith will be participating in mandatory minicamp next week?
REID: “We’ll see. I don’t know that to be honest with you. These things are – we’ll see where it goes.”
Q: What are you looking for when you focus on different position groups during practice?
REID: “Listen, if I can give the guys something, just from experience, I try to do that. These guys are great. They’re the best in the world at what they’re doing but if you can give them a little nugget – the great players that I’ve been around, they want that so if I see something, I’ll share it with them. Their coaches do a great job with them but if I see something, I’m going to try to tell them.”
Q: How important is it for you guys to stay innovative and unpredictable?
REID: “I think every coach would probably tell you that, but I think it’s important that you keep growing. There are some lessons (that) you can learn out of that, and I told you before (that) I thought the attitude that they had coming out of that (Super Bowl LIX loss), I look for that. ‘Are you going to take responsibility?’ These guys took responsibility for it. That gives you an opportunity to improve – coaches and players. If you come in and you start pointing the finger at each other, you can’t grow but these guys have done that, and they have had a great attitude this offseason.”
Q: What do you remember about meeting Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo for the first time at UTEP?
REID: “He (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) was real close with that staff and I was kind of the new kid on that staff. They’d already been there a year by the time I got there but everybody respected him, we all knew he was a good coach. Some of the guys, like I said, had worked with him, so over the years I got to know him because of that. That same staff went to Missouri, so Spags was always around visiting, coming down to learn stuff and then to see his friends at the same time.”
Q: Can you talk a little bit about former Assistant Special Teams Coach Andy Hill?
REID: “Yeah, so (former Assistant Special Teams Coach) Andy (Hill) retired to golf and fish – and hunt but he did a great job when he was here. He is Mr. Missouri, he knows everybody (laughs). I’m not just saying that, he knows everybody. He’s got a great attitude, and he has a great relationship with (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Dave) Toub – and the other coaches but he was very close with Dave. We’ll miss him. (Assistant Special Teams coach) Porter’s (Ellett) moved over to that, who’s a good, young football coach so he’ll do a nice job but again, it was good to have Andy here for the years he was here. He was very well liked.”
Q: What kind of potential do you see in Jalen Royals? Do you see him involved in his rookie year?