Miami Hurricanes offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson spoke with the media earlier today at the midway point of fall practice.
You can watch the video below, along with the transcript we’ve provided.
Thoughts on the receiver room:
Just hard-working guys, and a lot of them are making a lot of good plays and doing a lot of good things. What sticks out is the competitive nature of that group. We have a lot more people who are rotating in. I feel better about a lot of those guys. What I think you can look forward to is a lot more people playing in games. We're deeper there than we've been. Deep in a way where I feel very comfortable with looking out there and seeing a whole lot of different people. So I'm excited about that.
Thoughts on the young wide receivers
I think they're doing a great job. I'm not gonna sit here and talk about where people stand. I've been impressed with those guys. As much impressed with their mentality as anything, it's a very low drama group that supports each other, and they work hard, and the one thing that I like to see is they're more excited when somebody else makes a play. I think you'll see a lot of guys rotate in there, and when it's their opportunity, they'll make the play. And having competition and having a lot of guys take reps with the first couple groups creates an atmosphere where, "Hey, when it's my time, I better take advantage of it." And it has been that way. So I'm excited about that group.
On how Carson Beck has looked in the offense
It shows that he's played a lot of football. Now, I don't know exactly how many games he's played in, but he's played in a ton. Not going through spring when you're waiting to see when camp starts, because you go through an injury and you come back, you don't go through spring. So when you get out there, when it's truly 11 or 11, not the player-led stuff that we do in the summer, you're very curious and how that's gonna go right, the rapport between him with the receivers, and it didn't miss a beat.
His arm, I mean look-- he can throw the football at an elite level. His mentality of the game is different because of how much he's played and how much he's been around the game and how much he's seen. The way he goes about things is very professional and he takes ownership of the details of playing quarterback in the sense of like protections, mike points, and changing stuff. It's been good to have him. It's growing together to be honest with you and seeing exactly what he likes to do and how he his brain works, because that's the biggest part of it. When you get guys like that, you're trying to figure out, okay, "What do they love to do, and what's the atmosphere they love to play in, and let's try to mold everything around it so we can create an offense that fits his skill set."
What's Beck's response to a mistake that he makes
He's hard on himself. He is. He's a perfectionist in a way that when he does something that he knows he could do better, I don't have to say anything to him. He's probably harder on himself than anything because he'll beat himself up over a throwing mist or whatever. But that's his way. The more I get to know him, that's just his way of motivating himself and his way of auto-correcting himself. Everybody's got a different process. But he is a perfectionist, and whenever he doesn't execute the way he thinks he can execute, he will be harder on himself. But he snaps out of it pretty quickly. That's a very quick conversation he has with himself, and he gets over it, and he plays the next play.
Thoughts on the explosive development on the offensive side
I think it's good. I think we have a lot of guys that can stretch the field, and I do feel good about our ability to attack down the field. Our defense does a good job of minimizing explosive plays, I will say that. And so a lot of our explosive plays are stuff that gets caught underneath, and guys make plays. But we do have a receiver room full of guys that you give them the ball in space and they can make a guy miss. And so that's exciting to see.
How would you utilize the tight ends in the offense?
All those guys can do what we ask them to do. So it's not as much of, "I got to figure out these few sets of plays that you're good at." Those guys are good at executing the blocking schemes that we ask them to execute. And, more importantly, they're good in space. The issue you have with tight end is when it's the opposite, where they're good at blocking, but they're not very good in space. Then you have to really think about what you do with them.
With these guys, they're really good in space, and they can execute the blocking stuff. So I don't even think about the play I'm calling with them out there. They can execute it, and they're good route runners. Much like we did last year, you're going to see a lot of the same stuff as far as where they line up. They can line up anywhere. They can line up in alignment with the tackle; they can line up at receiver at multiple positions. So feel comfortable with those guys.
Thoughts on RB ChaMar Brown
That was the selling point with him, is his mentality and bringing that physical nature to the group. He's used to playing in a place that has a championship culture, that does things a certain way, and that's exactly the culture we have. So it wasn't a big stretch for him to come in here and abide by the culture that's been set by coach Cristobal. He's a very steady guy. He is very steady with everything he does. He doesn't talk a lot, but he's he's very coachable and he's built in a way that is very hard to tackle which is good. I don't know if you've been around him. But he's built in a way where you better get your pads low because he's hard to bring down.
Thoughts on Jordan Lyle
The same thing I've been seeing with him all along. He's a talented dude that's going to have a great career here, and he's going to play a lot of football, and he's got a good grasp of the offense. The thing about running backs and incorporating them into offenses is more so with protections, and he has a really strong grasp of that. His instincts and ability with the ball in his hand are what they are. He has a high ability to make people miss when they flash in front of him. Maybe somebody comes free, he can make something out of nothing.
Thoughts on WR Malachi Toney in the slot
He's very calm, and he has a skill set that fits that position. If it's zone coverage, you've got to feel space and feel who's guarding you. In man coverage, it's all about the leverage of man versus the route you're running. I know everybody talks about Malachi a lot. Those other two guys are making a lot of plays there, too. Ray Ray's playing well. Tony Johnson's playing well, too. Competition is key.
And I think that's part of the reason why people are elevating their game. We have guys behind them that if you have a bad day, then you might not be going out there as much with that first group as you've been going out there. So that's the biggest motivating factor in our job. I can't motivate somebody more than a guy behind them with equal talent can motivate them. And that's just been the way for 100 years.
What's been the biggest growth of Anez Cooper?
Probably just leadership, he's always been a really good player, physical player. He's an outspoken guy in our room, and I appreciate the leadership position that he has niched out for himself, and I do think that he's gonna have that for a long time. But he is the guy that when he talks, everybody listens. He's earned that role because of the way he's played the game as long as he's played the game. And so, I appreciate his voice at times.
You can watch the video below, along with the transcript we’ve provided.
Thoughts on the receiver room:
Just hard-working guys, and a lot of them are making a lot of good plays and doing a lot of good things. What sticks out is the competitive nature of that group. We have a lot more people who are rotating in. I feel better about a lot of those guys. What I think you can look forward to is a lot more people playing in games. We're deeper there than we've been. Deep in a way where I feel very comfortable with looking out there and seeing a whole lot of different people. So I'm excited about that.
Thoughts on the young wide receivers
I think they're doing a great job. I'm not gonna sit here and talk about where people stand. I've been impressed with those guys. As much impressed with their mentality as anything, it's a very low drama group that supports each other, and they work hard, and the one thing that I like to see is they're more excited when somebody else makes a play. I think you'll see a lot of guys rotate in there, and when it's their opportunity, they'll make the play. And having competition and having a lot of guys take reps with the first couple groups creates an atmosphere where, "Hey, when it's my time, I better take advantage of it." And it has been that way. So I'm excited about that group.
On how Carson Beck has looked in the offense
It shows that he's played a lot of football. Now, I don't know exactly how many games he's played in, but he's played in a ton. Not going through spring when you're waiting to see when camp starts, because you go through an injury and you come back, you don't go through spring. So when you get out there, when it's truly 11 or 11, not the player-led stuff that we do in the summer, you're very curious and how that's gonna go right, the rapport between him with the receivers, and it didn't miss a beat.
His arm, I mean look-- he can throw the football at an elite level. His mentality of the game is different because of how much he's played and how much he's been around the game and how much he's seen. The way he goes about things is very professional and he takes ownership of the details of playing quarterback in the sense of like protections, mike points, and changing stuff. It's been good to have him. It's growing together to be honest with you and seeing exactly what he likes to do and how he his brain works, because that's the biggest part of it. When you get guys like that, you're trying to figure out, okay, "What do they love to do, and what's the atmosphere they love to play in, and let's try to mold everything around it so we can create an offense that fits his skill set."
What's Beck's response to a mistake that he makes
He's hard on himself. He is. He's a perfectionist in a way that when he does something that he knows he could do better, I don't have to say anything to him. He's probably harder on himself than anything because he'll beat himself up over a throwing mist or whatever. But that's his way. The more I get to know him, that's just his way of motivating himself and his way of auto-correcting himself. Everybody's got a different process. But he is a perfectionist, and whenever he doesn't execute the way he thinks he can execute, he will be harder on himself. But he snaps out of it pretty quickly. That's a very quick conversation he has with himself, and he gets over it, and he plays the next play.
Thoughts on the explosive development on the offensive side
I think it's good. I think we have a lot of guys that can stretch the field, and I do feel good about our ability to attack down the field. Our defense does a good job of minimizing explosive plays, I will say that. And so a lot of our explosive plays are stuff that gets caught underneath, and guys make plays. But we do have a receiver room full of guys that you give them the ball in space and they can make a guy miss. And so that's exciting to see.
How would you utilize the tight ends in the offense?
All those guys can do what we ask them to do. So it's not as much of, "I got to figure out these few sets of plays that you're good at." Those guys are good at executing the blocking schemes that we ask them to execute. And, more importantly, they're good in space. The issue you have with tight end is when it's the opposite, where they're good at blocking, but they're not very good in space. Then you have to really think about what you do with them.
With these guys, they're really good in space, and they can execute the blocking stuff. So I don't even think about the play I'm calling with them out there. They can execute it, and they're good route runners. Much like we did last year, you're going to see a lot of the same stuff as far as where they line up. They can line up anywhere. They can line up in alignment with the tackle; they can line up at receiver at multiple positions. So feel comfortable with those guys.
Thoughts on RB ChaMar Brown
That was the selling point with him, is his mentality and bringing that physical nature to the group. He's used to playing in a place that has a championship culture, that does things a certain way, and that's exactly the culture we have. So it wasn't a big stretch for him to come in here and abide by the culture that's been set by coach Cristobal. He's a very steady guy. He is very steady with everything he does. He doesn't talk a lot, but he's he's very coachable and he's built in a way that is very hard to tackle which is good. I don't know if you've been around him. But he's built in a way where you better get your pads low because he's hard to bring down.
Thoughts on Jordan Lyle
The same thing I've been seeing with him all along. He's a talented dude that's going to have a great career here, and he's going to play a lot of football, and he's got a good grasp of the offense. The thing about running backs and incorporating them into offenses is more so with protections, and he has a really strong grasp of that. His instincts and ability with the ball in his hand are what they are. He has a high ability to make people miss when they flash in front of him. Maybe somebody comes free, he can make something out of nothing.
Thoughts on WR Malachi Toney in the slot
He's very calm, and he has a skill set that fits that position. If it's zone coverage, you've got to feel space and feel who's guarding you. In man coverage, it's all about the leverage of man versus the route you're running. I know everybody talks about Malachi a lot. Those other two guys are making a lot of plays there, too. Ray Ray's playing well. Tony Johnson's playing well, too. Competition is key.
And I think that's part of the reason why people are elevating their game. We have guys behind them that if you have a bad day, then you might not be going out there as much with that first group as you've been going out there. So that's the biggest motivating factor in our job. I can't motivate somebody more than a guy behind them with equal talent can motivate them. And that's just been the way for 100 years.
What's been the biggest growth of Anez Cooper?
Probably just leadership, he's always been a really good player, physical player. He's an outspoken guy in our room, and I appreciate the leadership position that he has niched out for himself, and I do think that he's gonna have that for a long time. But he is the guy that when he talks, everybody listens. He's earned that role because of the way he's played the game as long as he's played the game. And so, I appreciate his voice at times.
