Q: Jimmy, you’ve spent the last eight months moving your family, building the roster. How nice is it to finally put on the pads in practice?
Jimmy Rogers: No pads today, but it was a good day. It was just good to be back into the swing of things. Had a good summer. Guys are healthy. Today we were just in shells and helmets. So, worked some red zone, worked some goal line, the freshman got acclimated to the pace in which we practice at, and it was a good day.
Q: What do you most want to see this team
accomplish in the next month before games start?
Jimmy Rogers: Competitive maturity. There’s a lot of things, but competitive maturity, continue to advance the technique, which we’re asking for down in down out, situational awareness, you know, we’ll start working the clock more next week and working true segments of a game type setting just to get them acclimated and speed up the clock for the quarterback. At some point, we’ll pump crowd noise into into this camp so that makes it hard to hear for both sides of the ball. For the most part they have the scheme down. It’s just with all the nuances and all the new people just getting on the same page and creating clarity so that they can play with confidence.
Q: How much of being a head coach is looking back at what worked heading into each season, but also maybe more important, what didn’t work? What are things you want to tweak? And was there anything you came into this fall camp hey, I want to do this a little bit different?
Jimmy Rogers: I would say from the sports science thing here at Iowa State, the amount of knowledge and intel that we get on the players body, I’ve never had access to what we have access to here. Then having a strength staff that’s really well equipped to be able to handle the numbers and handle the player load and that has been new and so we’ve kind of changed the way we install. Like today was red zone and goal line. I’ve never started with red zone and goal line. It’s really to, decrease the amount of soft tissue injuries and creating the the players from having to long and be at full capacity, full speed just with the anxiety of fall camp and trying to go go go.
The coaches are the same, but we didn’t put them in position to get hurt or risk those things because they never got to full capacity where they were getting to full capacities through transitions, which is more like a sprint than anything, but it’s obviously not competing for a deep ball or so. There’s going to be some bumps, bruises, there’s going to be guys that have some injuries through camp. That’s part of it when you’re trying to create something that’s really competitive. We’re going to do our best to limit those things. I would say that maybe more than anything is how we’ve segmented practice and how we’ve thought out ahead as far as the amount of player load and the length of practice. I’ve been under one system for a long time and so it’s hard for me to look at a practice script and on day one and be like this is all we’re doing. I have to fight myself on that.
Q: You said at the open tha everybody’s healthy. Can you give an update on like Max Baloun and Ryver Peppers?
Jimmy Rogers: He [Max] was out there today. Ryver started late in the summer with transitioning into Indie. Got some indie work in today. We’re going to keep him just progressing. Um I’m hoping he gets cleared. Those aren’t my decisions. Max Baloun is out there today. Went through the whole practice. Looks great. Felt great. Obviously the season ending ones with Allah and Awls, they’re still out, but other than that, everybody else was rolling.
Q: Tight end and safety. Those two positions seem like they’re maybe a little up in the air as far as kind of who’s going to grab those starting positions. Can you kind of run through that and what needs to be settled here in camp?
Jimmy Rogers: I mean we rotate a lot on offense as far as personnel. There’s a lot of people that are getting reps. Christian Greenlaw, Vince Benetti, AJ Petersen in in in more of a fullback role. Easton Miller is kind of the jack of all trades. He’s got the body of a fullback but is in a running back position. Some of the other tight ends, Luke Galer stood out. Drake DeBaun is a true freshman that you know, looks the part, still got to grow a ton. There’s some older players in there I’m missing. I’m drawing blanks on everybody, but we rotate a lot.
up front. We rotate a lot at the defensive line position.
So, at safety, some of the guys that have stood out and are continuing to grow are obviously Micah Harper and Drew Surges Xavier Martinez, and Brody [Miller]. Those guys know the system. Damarius Russell. Those guys have taken leaps and strides as far as where they were at last year when they came in as true freshman and maybe had the upper hand in hearing things again, but, with the addition on defense and the staff, some of the things we’ve tweaked, some of the things aren’t all the same. That is the part of growing as a football team, growing as a coach is that you don’t get stale and this is the way I used to always do things. I don’t think that way. I always think about how can we solve these problems and we got a great staff that works together and is collaborative in thought and trying to put together the best product that we can on the field.
Q: You talked about the amount of information you’re digesting and number of decisions you have to make. What’s your process for prioritizing that information and decision making both like what’s important to you? What’s important to communicate to the team? What’s important to try to get done in practice? What’s your process for that?
Jimmy Rogers: There’s a lot of dynamics to every single part. I always put myself in the player’s shoes and nothing matters unless they believe in it. You have to have a player type mindset of what will they take on and then there’s the things that they don’t like that to do. I know that they need to do it. I’ve said it before they are going to have to suffer through hard times to become the team that they want to be. This isn’t for everybody. You have to be tough when you come here and you got to be willing to push through some things that are extremely challenging and almost more mentally draining than they are physically because we’ve been hammering the scheme into their head. Then there’s the physical aspect that comes into how we want to play, expect to play, and are demanding in which they will play. They have to be able to handle that load. There’s a lot that goes to it though.
Q: You look at the next month, I guess, what is the the biggest challenge or hurdles that you see as a group for these guys to be ready week one?
Jimmy Rogers: I would say from a staff perspective is putting them more in situational things that the game of football, you can have an answer, but the game is always changing inside of it with the clock and what down it is. Putting our our staff and our players in real type game situations to where they have to think and process and not just think about what their assignment is. That’s part of it. But like how you play something is different based off of how much time is left on the clock and um what down and distance it is and and playing smart. That is growing from a intellectual standpoint as far as a football player. Those things are pivotal and then there’s the sense of competitive maturity.
This roster will start to separate in depth. How do those players that came because we have so many new, how will they handle that? When they maybe don’t get exactly what they wanted it when they initially signed. There’s the emotional aspect of things and I would say for the most part this team has grown really close. We have a common bond. The players that were here that the players that we brought in, have meshed. I think if you were in a social setting, you wouldn’t know the difference at all.
That’s a credit to them and what they do outside of these walls and the relationships in which the coaches have formed and set the platform for our players to form with one another. But yeah, there’s going to be some some hurt feelings. There always is. It’s how they handle it. Will they be a professional? You know, if I asked that team who wants to play in the NFL, they would all raise their hand. You get to that level, it’s so cutthroat that everybody’s fighting for a position. But you got to be a pro about your approach to earn your opportunity. You have to be ready when it comes. It may come the game three, but if I have the poor me’s and I set myself back mentally and I don’t play with the right effort, you’re never going to be an option to think about game three, game five, game seven, game eight.
We’ve pushed the freshman. The five for five thing. I mean, the best player is going to play. If we can get a guy ready to play, he will take somebody’s spot. Doesn’t matter if you’re a senior or freshman, they have to play. That was the truth that was told to them in recruiting. Obviously, there’s a there’s a growth in which a freshman has to take, but some of our bodies that we have at the freshman level are surely capable. They need to grow in strength and the actual intellectual part of the game. The more we work with them, maybe they’re not there game one, but maybe they can be an answer in some capacity on our football team, the later the season goes because it’s a long season.
Q: What is the the balancing act? Because I would imagine you want some of that cutthroat competition, right? You also need the unity of one team, one goal.
Jimmy Rogers: Constantly bring it to their attention and you constantly bring it back to the number one thing which is the team and the unity of the team which is a connection through egoless belief and that belief is built on trust, purpose and accountability. They came here, they hear the same message. Very redundant on my end, but I think with so many people, you’re trying to establish a culture. You told them the truth. It’s their job to go prove their own truth. It’s our job to always consistently see them as a new version of themselves as they continuously grow and not harp on what they used to be because that’s the goal is that nobody stays stagnant in their growth.
But it’s the coach’s job to always be open and say this guy’s taking the right steps.
That comes from an honest evaluation. I think at times players think that just because they’ve done things right maybe one time like ‘hey, I did it right today.’ All of a sudden now why why don’t I get it is the consistent of stacking days that really separate yourself. That’s in your thoughts that’s in your work ethic. It’s in your preparation. It’s how you go about your day-to-day. It’s honestly what separates everybody in life in their own profession, not just football.
Q: As you guys are still looking to learn more about, you know, what your competitive depth is at various positions, how will players go about separating themselves over the next 28 practices?
Jimmy Rogers: They’ll compete. They’re going to compete for a spot. Mental errors, physical strain, ability to make the play. There’s a lot of guys that can play well, you know, with no helmet and shoulder pads on. They can get to the right spot. Can they make the play? It comes down to playing those guys that, you know, will say the right things, line in the right spot, read the right thing, react fast, strike people and play with relentless effort.
Q: You mentioned at the Big 12 media days that Jaylen has a pretty good runway to becoming your starting quarterback, but behind him, I know Zane had a good spring that it sounds like Connor ended strongly. Where’s your backup quarterback position at right now?
Jimmy Rogers: It’s still working right now. Nothing is set. We got so many days to the end of this. These guys need to compete constantly and need to feel like nothing is set in stone. Goes back to what I just said. If I think about what they were when I we first met them, I’m not honoring the evaluation of what they’re becoming every single day. Jaylen has the reps and he’s started the camp with the ones, but how we practice, they get so many reps because we double rep.
There’s opportunities everywhere to showcase their skill set. At times it’s putting those type of players with maybe the higher end group that understand things conceptually that they’re not put in a bad position because the players around them are inexperienced or don’t know where to align or don’t know how to execute on their end because it just the quarterback leads things, but it’s on all of us every single player to know what they’re supposed to do when they’re supposed to get do it and attack it full speed with confidence.
Q: What is your overall pulse on where his team stands in regards to personnel, understanding concepts at this point going into fall camp versus where you were last year at Washington State?
Jimmy Rogers: Light years ahead. Light years ahead. Light years ahead. Depth is being created every day just by the way we practice and being able to double rep and trying to push our freshman to get to the point of an experienced player mentally and then giving him physically those reps to go out next to go out and execute those things. We have 126 players on the roster. Two of those guys technically can’t participate. My goal is to try to get every one of these kids close to ready as possible. If they’re not ready, they’re not ready. I don’t know where they’re going to be at game three, game five, game seven, like I just said. I think it’s about giving people opportunities to separate themselves.
We’re talented at the freshman position at wide receiver. Those kids have real speed. My goal is to try to get them mentally ready to go and see what they can do later on. Maybe they’re not at the point of an Evan Boyd who played significant snaps at Michigan State or Jordyn Bailey who played snaps at TCU, but maybe they can catch him in growth. Dom has played a ton of football. There’s a lot of guys that have played a lot of football. It’s our goals to get the freshman ready to chase them. It is about elevating the ceiling of the of the program by, really lifting the floor off. That floor happens to be the guys that don’t have a ton of reps. So that’s the focus as of right now through camp. As we gear into maybe week three, the group will naturally just separate themselves and you’ll have a better understanding of maybe who is going to be rolling with the ones or twos. There’s going to be a lot of guys, although they’re not potentially starting based off the reps that they get, the experience that they have and our trust in how they’ve worked to this point that put themselves in a position to play this season. I think that’s extremely important, keeping a full team engaged.
Q: Jamie said on the podcast and voted for Iowa State to reach the Big 12 Championship game. I’m curious, you know, what was your thought process and how have you seen that confidence trickle down to your players and executing the things you want them to carry?
Jimmy Rogers: Well, let me ask you this. I’ll ask you the question. What would you think if I didn’t vote on this? You’d wonder why I’m the head coach at Iowa State. I was brought in to win, very self-aware. They didn’t hire me to come here and not be competitive. I wasn’t hired for my disposition. I was hired to create a program that competes and wins. That’s the goal. We’re not signing up for second place. So, I know that’s a bold statement and it’ll be printed everywhere, but the reality is this.
The players have to believe in what you say and you have to act on how you believe. I believe that we can win. So, they need to feel that. They need to experience that. They need to see it every single day in order to become it. When do you start believing that you can do it? When you get there and lose? That you’re shocked that you got to a place that you’ve harped on all year or when you fall short and you only win five games. I don’t believe in that. I don’t really buy into every year is a new year. Every team is a new team. There’s new personnel. There’s new emotions that come with everything.
Football’s an emotional game. You have to manage that. the competitive maturity every single year and you have to push their player your players to get out of their own comfort zone because that’s where complacency falls. So, that’s my goal right now is they are extremely excited about day one of practice. Every team in the country is and every team says the same thing. Who are they going to be the third and fourth week of camp is what separates the great ones.
Q: What position groups do you think need most work?
Jimmy Rogers: From just a rep standpoint? There’s a lot that goes into the tight end group. There’s a lot that goes into the safety position from a mental standpoint and how our defense is extremely multiple.We’re young at the D-Line spot, the interior part of our D-Line. I would probably say those those groups, there’s a lot of snaps that have been taken at the quarterback position. There’s a lot of snaps that have been, the running back position, although there’s some experience there. They’ve played in college football games.
That’s what I would say. You can see how excited they are after practice, too.
Q: Can you give us a couple of guys that have jumped off the page?
Jimmy Rogers: In day one? Not really. Dom had a nice catch today. Evan Boyd had a nice catch today. Ty Claiborne had an unbelievable catch today. There’s a couple sacks today. Nobody notices the O-Line unless they do something wrong. It was day one. We were not in pads and everything’s tagged. So things separate when you run at people full speed.
Q: Regarding the freshman, when you go back to the spring and there’s not exactly a set depth chart at any spot, is it almost easier for the freshman in this program compared to other programs or other years to crack that depth chart when there isn’t exactly any set roles yet?
Jimmy Rogers: Maybe at a different program that doesn’t believe in getting freshman ready. If you can get the best players to play, that’s the goal. I don’t ever really think, ‘hey, I have this guy. Let’s just allow this freshman to skate by this year.’
I just don’t believe in it because I don’t know what’s going to happen to this veteran player that we were counting on and this kid has to be ready. So, that’s kind of our thought process to to push them all along. As the camp goes on, natural wear and tear will happen. We’ll have to tone back on some of the guys that have a lot of tread on their tire.
Those guys will continue to be able to advance where they’re at and intellectual knowledge of the game. Most of the time, unfortunately, you can make practice as much as you possibly can like a game. There’s nothing like a game. There’s nothing like the nerves. There’s nothing like the you could try to rep all these special situations.
They have to know it and go execute it in a short amount of time. The coaches have to do the same thing as well.
So, we’ll work those things through through practice to try to prepare ourselves to be the best team that we can be. If there’s young guys out there, there’s going to be some common error that shows up. hopefully just doesn’t come from a a place of anxiety or technique errors or things that they can control. I would rather it fall on me than falling on things that maybe they lack confidence at. Even though that they repped it 3,000 times.
