Shannon Dawson has produced Top 10 offenses in two of the past three years, and he is aiming for another this season. He met with reporters to discuss the group's progress:
On what he’s learned about the offense during the spring:
“I think we’ve got some young guys that are extremely talented. We need to work on consistency. We’ll have one period where we look really good, and we’ll have one where we don’t. And I think that just comes with reps because we do have some new pieces out there. But very excited about the overall energy people bring. The leadership has been really good. People getting on to people, correcting, taking coaching is huge. So, really, a unique group. I know they’re young, but they’re excited to show what they can do.”
On what he’s learned about quarterback Carson Beck this spring:
“Well, a couple things. I mean, his football IQ is really high. He’s played a lot of football and so when you talk to him about plays or the regurgitation of plays and in the meeting room, you can tell he’s played a lot of football. And also, that his personality comes out over time. He’s a guy that once you spend a lot of time around him and get to know him, he’s a fun guy to be around. His personality comes out not necessarily at first, but as time goes, and you can see it now – like his rapport with the group and his interactions, I like watching people ingrained in the group like that. I think it’s very interesting to me – and so, he’s done a really good job of building relationships with people in a fast way because it has to happen.”
On how the other quarterbacks have progressed in the spring:
“Emory [Williams], Judd [Anderson] and Luke [Nickel] have taken all the reps in the spring, and you know, it was spotty at the beginning a little bit. Emory’s been consistent. He’s taken a lot of reps. I mean, he’s played a lot of football in this offense and so, he’s been pretty consistent obviously every day. The other two guys, you can see the learning curve from the beginning of spring till now. Like, their last three practices have been really, really on point. And there’s been some time in between then that was hit or miss, and so, I’ve been pleased with those guys over the past week and a half, two weeks, to be honest with you. And their sense of urgency has gotten really high and we’re doing a good job of putting the ball in play and understanding where the trouble is on specific plays and staying out of negative plays, which is the key when you’re a young quarterback, being able to decipher trouble spots in certain concepts.”
On Emory's bounceback from the Pop Tart Bowl:
"Emory has a strong mentality. He didn't play overly great in the bowl, but he didn't play that bad, either. He missed a couple throws he could make. Ultimately, his mentality is that he has high confidence in himself."
On Luke Nickel:
"You can see that over time, reps matter. Luke has the ability to throw the football at an elite level. That helps the learning curve, having high ability. Overall, when you first get somewhere as a quarterback, it's like learning a new language. When you learn a new language, it doesn't necessarily come instinctively when your rattling off things in the huddle and you have to communicate nonverbally and verbally. As time goes on, you can see how those instincts start clicking. The play starts moving smoother in terms of communication. Communication is the hardest part to get over as a young quarterback, to learn the flow of the offense as far as verbiage goes. Not only calling the play, but you might have to signal a different play. You might need to signal a different route to a receiver. Doing all that within a 15-second window after you break the huddle, that's the process. So the last week and a half with that has been really smooth with him.
On getting the ball to Elija Lofton:
"With him, I don't even think about the plays to get him the ball. Obviously, I have a couple ways. But with him, the quarterback typically finds the better players. That's just the way it happens in our offense. So the ball finds him pretty routinely. Quarterbacks look for him. He's a guy who makes plays every day. You put him in the backfield, and he ran a 30-yard touchdown. The kid is a very unusual kid. He can do a lot of things. His capacity is really high. We're lucky to have him, and we're going to utilize him in every way possible."
On JoJo Trader taking a step this spring:
"With him, it's about taking ownership with 'this is my time.' When a young kid like him comes in, you've got older kids. Now, he's taking ownership of that role. You see a different level of ownership with him on a daily basis. When it's your time, it's your time. There's a big difference between a backup and a role guy and being The Dude. Just his overall sense of who he is on this team and confidence is probably the biggest difference."
On the boundary receivers who can play this year besides JoJo Trader and CJ Daniels:
"We have a long way to go before we play in a game. Ny [Carr] has been here a while, he made a couple plays today. Josh Moore has been pretty consistent throughout camp. Daylyn Upshaw has been consistent. Hopefully when we get to that point where we have to play with the lights on, you have 4-5 guys who can play out there."
On receivers Nathaniel “Ray Ray” Joseph and Malachi Toney:
“I think they’re more similar than they are different. You know, you look at them and they kind of look alike and they move around alike. Ray Ray’s just been here a long time. He’s been here two years and taking reps and all the rest now. … I feel comfortable with both of those guys, really.”
On the tight end room:
“We have the ability to go a number of personnel groupings. We can get in 12, 13, really get in any set we want to get into. not that we would do that all the time, but we have the ability to do that.
It’s a fairly deep position. [Elija] Lofton’s been here for a little bit now. It’s hard to think about him as an older guy, but he kind of is because he’s taken a lot of reps. And much like the receiver room, we’ve got some talented young guys that show spurts but then the consistency pops up every now and again. Experience is the only thing that matters when it comes to consistent play. You’re not going to be a consistently good player until you’ve taken so many reps where it just comes natural to you. The way the summer’s organized now, it’s easier to get young guys ready to play because you do more football. Used to be it was harder because you did less football.”
On what he’s learned about the offense during the spring:
“I think we’ve got some young guys that are extremely talented. We need to work on consistency. We’ll have one period where we look really good, and we’ll have one where we don’t. And I think that just comes with reps because we do have some new pieces out there. But very excited about the overall energy people bring. The leadership has been really good. People getting on to people, correcting, taking coaching is huge. So, really, a unique group. I know they’re young, but they’re excited to show what they can do.”
On what he’s learned about quarterback Carson Beck this spring:
“Well, a couple things. I mean, his football IQ is really high. He’s played a lot of football and so when you talk to him about plays or the regurgitation of plays and in the meeting room, you can tell he’s played a lot of football. And also, that his personality comes out over time. He’s a guy that once you spend a lot of time around him and get to know him, he’s a fun guy to be around. His personality comes out not necessarily at first, but as time goes, and you can see it now – like his rapport with the group and his interactions, I like watching people ingrained in the group like that. I think it’s very interesting to me – and so, he’s done a really good job of building relationships with people in a fast way because it has to happen.”
On how the other quarterbacks have progressed in the spring:
“Emory [Williams], Judd [Anderson] and Luke [Nickel] have taken all the reps in the spring, and you know, it was spotty at the beginning a little bit. Emory’s been consistent. He’s taken a lot of reps. I mean, he’s played a lot of football in this offense and so, he’s been pretty consistent obviously every day. The other two guys, you can see the learning curve from the beginning of spring till now. Like, their last three practices have been really, really on point. And there’s been some time in between then that was hit or miss, and so, I’ve been pleased with those guys over the past week and a half, two weeks, to be honest with you. And their sense of urgency has gotten really high and we’re doing a good job of putting the ball in play and understanding where the trouble is on specific plays and staying out of negative plays, which is the key when you’re a young quarterback, being able to decipher trouble spots in certain concepts.”
On Emory's bounceback from the Pop Tart Bowl:
"Emory has a strong mentality. He didn't play overly great in the bowl, but he didn't play that bad, either. He missed a couple throws he could make. Ultimately, his mentality is that he has high confidence in himself."
On Luke Nickel:
"You can see that over time, reps matter. Luke has the ability to throw the football at an elite level. That helps the learning curve, having high ability. Overall, when you first get somewhere as a quarterback, it's like learning a new language. When you learn a new language, it doesn't necessarily come instinctively when your rattling off things in the huddle and you have to communicate nonverbally and verbally. As time goes on, you can see how those instincts start clicking. The play starts moving smoother in terms of communication. Communication is the hardest part to get over as a young quarterback, to learn the flow of the offense as far as verbiage goes. Not only calling the play, but you might have to signal a different play. You might need to signal a different route to a receiver. Doing all that within a 15-second window after you break the huddle, that's the process. So the last week and a half with that has been really smooth with him.
On getting the ball to Elija Lofton:
"With him, I don't even think about the plays to get him the ball. Obviously, I have a couple ways. But with him, the quarterback typically finds the better players. That's just the way it happens in our offense. So the ball finds him pretty routinely. Quarterbacks look for him. He's a guy who makes plays every day. You put him in the backfield, and he ran a 30-yard touchdown. The kid is a very unusual kid. He can do a lot of things. His capacity is really high. We're lucky to have him, and we're going to utilize him in every way possible."
On JoJo Trader taking a step this spring:
"With him, it's about taking ownership with 'this is my time.' When a young kid like him comes in, you've got older kids. Now, he's taking ownership of that role. You see a different level of ownership with him on a daily basis. When it's your time, it's your time. There's a big difference between a backup and a role guy and being The Dude. Just his overall sense of who he is on this team and confidence is probably the biggest difference."
On the boundary receivers who can play this year besides JoJo Trader and CJ Daniels:
"We have a long way to go before we play in a game. Ny [Carr] has been here a while, he made a couple plays today. Josh Moore has been pretty consistent throughout camp. Daylyn Upshaw has been consistent. Hopefully when we get to that point where we have to play with the lights on, you have 4-5 guys who can play out there."
On receivers Nathaniel “Ray Ray” Joseph and Malachi Toney:
“I think they’re more similar than they are different. You know, you look at them and they kind of look alike and they move around alike. Ray Ray’s just been here a long time. He’s been here two years and taking reps and all the rest now. … I feel comfortable with both of those guys, really.”
On the tight end room:
“We have the ability to go a number of personnel groupings. We can get in 12, 13, really get in any set we want to get into. not that we would do that all the time, but we have the ability to do that.
It’s a fairly deep position. [Elija] Lofton’s been here for a little bit now. It’s hard to think about him as an older guy, but he kind of is because he’s taken a lot of reps. And much like the receiver room, we’ve got some talented young guys that show spurts but then the consistency pops up every now and again. Experience is the only thing that matters when it comes to consistent play. You’re not going to be a consistently good player until you’ve taken so many reps where it just comes natural to you. The way the summer’s organized now, it’s easier to get young guys ready to play because you do more football. Used to be it was harder because you did less football.”
