Photo by: AJ Henderson - Georgia Southern Athletics
DeBesse Checks In at the Midway Point of Spring Ball
3/28/2018 12:30:00 PM | Football
Offensive coordinator gives his thoughts on his side of the ball
The Georgia Southern football squad has hit the midway point of its spring football session and has its sights set on April 14's Spring Game in Paulson Stadium. GSEagles.com had a chance to catch up with new offensive coordinator Bob DeBesse to get his thoughts on how his offense is progressing, who's standing out and what he'd like to see before the Eagles wrap up the 15-game session.
Q: What has the first half of spring focused on?
BD: I think more than anything else, we've been focused on developing the habits we're going to need to be the offense that we want to be. And by that, I mean we're constantly emphasizing being precise, being disciplined and being consistent. Everything we do from a drill standpoint and a team standpoint, it has to be developing the right mindset that every drill and rep counts. When you're installing a new offense, I think those things are critically important.
Q: What percentage of your scheme is in now and what's your goal by the end of spring?
BD: I don't have a goal and the reason I say that is I'm really not as concerned about scheme as I am who the players are. Traditionally when you come out of spring ball, you try to identify 18 players who you know you can count on. It's never 22 players coming out of spring ball. Those 18 guys are the core of our unit that we can build on heading into the fall. So for me, it's less about the scheme as it is identifying who those players are. Quite frankly, our install has been slow, and maybe a little slower than I anticipated, but that's OK and I have no problem with that.
Q; What returning player has impressed you the most early on?
BD: One guy who I want to single out is Ellis Richardson. He's done a very nice job and has been a pleasant surprise. Ellis came into spring with a purpose and it's obvious he came in with a purpose. I've been really impressed with him and hopefully we have some other guys who can get to his level here in the back half of spring. But once again, it's the spring and I'm okay with that. I'm not okay ending the spring like that, but I'm okay with where we are right now.
Q: What player fans may not be as familiar with has impressed you early on?
BD: A couple of our slot guys have really showed flashes early on. George Johnson Jr. and Wesley Kennedy III have come up with some big plays in competitive situations, and Speedy [Matt LaRoche] has shown his big-play potential. We need to see more flash and more explosiveness from that position and on the offense and we still have time in the last few weeks before we break.
Q: What's your philosophy in regards to your offensive scheme?
BD: The things that I pride myself on in our offense are playing smart and playing clean. If we can play smart and we can play clean, we can get the play started. And if we can get the play started, we'll be hard to defend. We can't beat ourself and we're constantly trying to get the guys to understand that. We have some explosiveness with this group, but we have to do the little things to see the big results.
Q: What do you want to see between now and Aug. 3 when the Eagles open preseason camp?
BD: I would like to see a few more guys solidify their spot in the 'Circle of Trust' through being more consistent and being more concise. With this offense, it's different. It calls on guys who are in this system to be special, selfless and disciplined - not that other schemes don't call on guys to do that - but there is a little bit more freelancing with some other offensive schemes. There's not a lot of freelancing with this offense. You have to be precise. You have to be selfless. So we need guys to step and show they can be counted on as we move into summer workouts and begin preparations for camp.
Q: What has the first half of spring focused on?
BD: I think more than anything else, we've been focused on developing the habits we're going to need to be the offense that we want to be. And by that, I mean we're constantly emphasizing being precise, being disciplined and being consistent. Everything we do from a drill standpoint and a team standpoint, it has to be developing the right mindset that every drill and rep counts. When you're installing a new offense, I think those things are critically important.
Q: What percentage of your scheme is in now and what's your goal by the end of spring?
BD: I don't have a goal and the reason I say that is I'm really not as concerned about scheme as I am who the players are. Traditionally when you come out of spring ball, you try to identify 18 players who you know you can count on. It's never 22 players coming out of spring ball. Those 18 guys are the core of our unit that we can build on heading into the fall. So for me, it's less about the scheme as it is identifying who those players are. Quite frankly, our install has been slow, and maybe a little slower than I anticipated, but that's OK and I have no problem with that.
Q; What returning player has impressed you the most early on?
BD: One guy who I want to single out is Ellis Richardson. He's done a very nice job and has been a pleasant surprise. Ellis came into spring with a purpose and it's obvious he came in with a purpose. I've been really impressed with him and hopefully we have some other guys who can get to his level here in the back half of spring. But once again, it's the spring and I'm okay with that. I'm not okay ending the spring like that, but I'm okay with where we are right now.
Q: What player fans may not be as familiar with has impressed you early on?
BD: A couple of our slot guys have really showed flashes early on. George Johnson Jr. and Wesley Kennedy III have come up with some big plays in competitive situations, and Speedy [Matt LaRoche] has shown his big-play potential. We need to see more flash and more explosiveness from that position and on the offense and we still have time in the last few weeks before we break.
Q: What's your philosophy in regards to your offensive scheme?
BD: The things that I pride myself on in our offense are playing smart and playing clean. If we can play smart and we can play clean, we can get the play started. And if we can get the play started, we'll be hard to defend. We can't beat ourself and we're constantly trying to get the guys to understand that. We have some explosiveness with this group, but we have to do the little things to see the big results.
Q: What do you want to see between now and Aug. 3 when the Eagles open preseason camp?
BD: I would like to see a few more guys solidify their spot in the 'Circle of Trust' through being more consistent and being more concise. With this offense, it's different. It calls on guys who are in this system to be special, selfless and disciplined - not that other schemes don't call on guys to do that - but there is a little bit more freelancing with some other offensive schemes. There's not a lot of freelancing with this offense. You have to be precise. You have to be selfless. So we need guys to step and show they can be counted on as we move into summer workouts and begin preparations for camp.
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