HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on – heat during practice)
"It went well. I mean obviously you can certainly feel it out there, but it was manageable. We had a period when we really focused on assignments and those kinds of things and we worked technique, hip placement, so on and so forth. It was good work."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on – what he's looking for at the night practice)
"For us it's a regular work day. We have to go out with the intention of getting better. We have to find out as much as we can about some of the younger guys on the team, but really we just have to hone in on our skills. We're doing a little bit of two-minute work so we're working some different situations this evening and we hope to get really sharp in those areas, but this will be the first night so we're just looking for that incremental improvement day by day."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on – thoughts on big crowds)
"It's been great. It's been outstanding. I know our players certainly appreciate it and it's a great outpouring from the folks in this community and surrounding area, so we've really enjoyed it."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on – impact of training in heat)
"Well it doesn't have a tremendous impact on us because we have the opportunity to practice in it. If we did not, if it was cool all the time, then all the sudden we go to a ball game where there's a lot of heat and humidity, like our first game of the year, it would certainly be a disadvantage, but fortunately we're getting some of that humid weather and it's just what we need."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on – Tony Ugoh playing guard)
"He's coming along. Even, obviously, looking back on last year he was really making strides and in the spring as well. He's a flexible guy in terms of his ability, he can play both guard and tackle, so we're really trying to find a home for him and exactly where he's going to fit in in the grand scheme of things. He's doing very well."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on – finding a "home" position for Ugoh)
"I think the competition is pretty keen, and I think he's up to it. Obviously he could help us if he starts to perform and play as well as he's capable."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on – putting an emphasis on stopping offensive run plays)
"Those are a few of them. Those areas are very important. In terms of defense, if you can stop the team from
running the ball consistently your chances of getting them off the field are enhanced a bit, and offensively we
need to be able to add a little bit more balance to our offensive system in terms of just running the ball a little
bit better."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on – the importance of having a strong player at defensive tackle)
"Well Antonio (Johnson) and Daniel Muir have done a tremendous job for us and they are a very key part of our defense. They certainly helped us show up at the middle last year and we anticipate they're going to play even better this year. They are an important piece of the puzzle."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –a player who can play different positions)
"I'm not quite certain whose going to take over that role. That's kind of what our preseason is about. We get an opportunity to kind of look at a number of different guys in a number of spots, but we have a lot of candidates. So, we feel good about that, but we're really not certain at this point."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –Eric Foster adding stability)
"He has. Even in previous years he's played both inside and outside for us. He plays a lot on special teams. He does a lot of things extremely well, but he would be one of those guys who could be a possibility."
