It was DeMarco Murray's turn to speak with the media Wednesday night as the week of assistant coach interviews continue after each practice. The first-year coach is certainly media trained so he isn't one to give up a ton, but he did shed some light on his group and how things are progressing with the running back unit with a little over a week to go until the first game of the season.
Here's a rundown of the notable topics he addressed Wednesday night when chatting with the media.
* He's been around since early in the year so it feels like he's been around longer than he has, so it can be easy to forget that Murray has yet to actually coach a game up to this point. That will change next Saturday but right now the first-year coach is happy to have a group of coaches around him who are helping to guide him in the right direction.
"It's great, I got a great coaching staff here and they're very easy to work with. I'm excited to come to work every single day. Lots of fun that we have but also getting down to business game planning and things of that nature. Coach [Noel] Mazzone does a great job of leading the offense, obviously, going against the defense. Coach [Marcel] Yates brings different kinds of looks. It's just a great staff and they made it easier for me. The terminology is different from the past eight years of my career and then coming here to college I hadn't been here for a while. They make it very easy and simple for me to translate and go from there.
"It's a blast to come to work every single day."
* Murray said he wasn't sure what to expect in terms of the types of players Arizona would have at the running back position when it comes to attitude and personality. That unknown was one of his biggest concerns, but he has been happy to have the group he has that is led by JJ Taylor.
* The new UA coach has had the chance to recruit Dallas, Las Vegas and Tucson for the Wildcats so far and while he has yet to sign his first batch of prospects he has been able to get to know a number of recruits and players up to this point. He said it has been a "privilege" to meet those recruits and build relationships whether or not they end up at UA.
He has also heard plenty of questions about his playing career from recruits and players since getting on campus and starting his coaching career. He says he is "an open book" when it comes to talking about his playing days with the recruits and players so he doesn't mind the questions.
* The health of JJ Taylor is something that will be a hot topic all year long as the Wildcats will have no choice but to rely on him to have the best season they can. He is not someone who goes away from punishment at the running back position and while he has worked on the best ways to stay healthy there are going to be games that are a bit more punishing than others. Building depth around Taylor has been a big deal this year and recovery is something Murray is stressing to his entire group heading into the season.
"I just preach recovery. I mean, I think that's the biggest thing. You know, your body is your temple. That's what you use, obviously, on a daily basis. We have a great staff here and coach Sumlin is all about recovery. And the way that we position practice, the way that he positions practice and the way that we work throughout the course of the week, gives these guys time to recover. And that's the biggest thing. Obviously, you're gonna get carries, you're gonna get banged up, you're going to get hit. And the biggest thing is recovery.
"What are you doing during pre-practice? What are you doing post-practice to make sure that you're available 24/7. That's the biggest thing for us. We get in the cold tub and those things before practice to make sure that we're getting warmed up, we're getting loose and as practice stops, it increases the more reps they get, the more involved they get."
* Murray was asked a few specific questions about JJ Taylor's expected workload and how he plans to use his group of running backs this season and he used his experience as an NFL player to keep things mostly under wraps. He said "it's hard to say" about an exact number of touches he wants for Taylor. He also said that he trusts all his backs to get into a game if they have to at this stage.
"Like I said, we feel good about our stable of backs, and we want to obviously put the best players out there."
* When asked about specific players Murray opened up a little bit more and he was asked about freshman running back Michael Wiley, who has been one of the more talked-about players in camp. The UA coach had some more praise for the newcomer from Houston but also noted there's more work to be done.
It wouldn't be a media session with a running backs coach if Nathan Tilford didn't come up and Murray, who pointed out that Tilford has been doing a good job so far, highlighted some of the things about the redshirt sophomore that he likes.
"Nate is obviously a really good talent. Size is unbelievable, but I think his confidence is finally starting to show. He's getting the reps and he's understanding the offense. I think last year a new offense and things happened fast. The staff kind of got hired late. So he's done a great job at working hard every day and not making the same mistakes as well as the other guys. So he's done a really good job in spring and fall camp."
* As Arizona continues to dive into the preparations for the opener against Hawaii the media is starting to get a better idea of what the Warriors bring to the table this year. Earlier this week we heard from Demetrice Martin on what to expect from the Hawaii offense and Wednesday night Murray gave some insight into the defensive side of the ball.
"Oh, they're really good, obviously talented group of guys. Eight or nine returning starters coming back. So, we're going to have our hands full, and we're excited about the challenge. They're coached well. They play hard to the whistle. Obviously, great size on the on the defensive line and linebacker corps. So we're excited about the opportunity to play those guys."
Here's a rundown of the notable topics he addressed Wednesday night when chatting with the media.
* He's been around since early in the year so it feels like he's been around longer than he has, so it can be easy to forget that Murray has yet to actually coach a game up to this point. That will change next Saturday but right now the first-year coach is happy to have a group of coaches around him who are helping to guide him in the right direction.
"It's great, I got a great coaching staff here and they're very easy to work with. I'm excited to come to work every single day. Lots of fun that we have but also getting down to business game planning and things of that nature. Coach [Noel] Mazzone does a great job of leading the offense, obviously, going against the defense. Coach [Marcel] Yates brings different kinds of looks. It's just a great staff and they made it easier for me. The terminology is different from the past eight years of my career and then coming here to college I hadn't been here for a while. They make it very easy and simple for me to translate and go from there.
"It's a blast to come to work every single day."
* Murray said he wasn't sure what to expect in terms of the types of players Arizona would have at the running back position when it comes to attitude and personality. That unknown was one of his biggest concerns, but he has been happy to have the group he has that is led by JJ Taylor.
* The new UA coach has had the chance to recruit Dallas, Las Vegas and Tucson for the Wildcats so far and while he has yet to sign his first batch of prospects he has been able to get to know a number of recruits and players up to this point. He said it has been a "privilege" to meet those recruits and build relationships whether or not they end up at UA.
He has also heard plenty of questions about his playing career from recruits and players since getting on campus and starting his coaching career. He says he is "an open book" when it comes to talking about his playing days with the recruits and players so he doesn't mind the questions.
* The health of JJ Taylor is something that will be a hot topic all year long as the Wildcats will have no choice but to rely on him to have the best season they can. He is not someone who goes away from punishment at the running back position and while he has worked on the best ways to stay healthy there are going to be games that are a bit more punishing than others. Building depth around Taylor has been a big deal this year and recovery is something Murray is stressing to his entire group heading into the season.
"I just preach recovery. I mean, I think that's the biggest thing. You know, your body is your temple. That's what you use, obviously, on a daily basis. We have a great staff here and coach Sumlin is all about recovery. And the way that we position practice, the way that he positions practice and the way that we work throughout the course of the week, gives these guys time to recover. And that's the biggest thing. Obviously, you're gonna get carries, you're gonna get banged up, you're going to get hit. And the biggest thing is recovery.
"What are you doing during pre-practice? What are you doing post-practice to make sure that you're available 24/7. That's the biggest thing for us. We get in the cold tub and those things before practice to make sure that we're getting warmed up, we're getting loose and as practice stops, it increases the more reps they get, the more involved they get."
* Murray was asked a few specific questions about JJ Taylor's expected workload and how he plans to use his group of running backs this season and he used his experience as an NFL player to keep things mostly under wraps. He said "it's hard to say" about an exact number of touches he wants for Taylor. He also said that he trusts all his backs to get into a game if they have to at this stage.
"Like I said, we feel good about our stable of backs, and we want to obviously put the best players out there."
* When asked about specific players Murray opened up a little bit more and he was asked about freshman running back Michael Wiley, who has been one of the more talked-about players in camp. The UA coach had some more praise for the newcomer from Houston but also noted there's more work to be done.
It wouldn't be a media session with a running backs coach if Nathan Tilford didn't come up and Murray, who pointed out that Tilford has been doing a good job so far, highlighted some of the things about the redshirt sophomore that he likes.
"Nate is obviously a really good talent. Size is unbelievable, but I think his confidence is finally starting to show. He's getting the reps and he's understanding the offense. I think last year a new offense and things happened fast. The staff kind of got hired late. So he's done a great job at working hard every day and not making the same mistakes as well as the other guys. So he's done a really good job in spring and fall camp."
* As Arizona continues to dive into the preparations for the opener against Hawaii the media is starting to get a better idea of what the Warriors bring to the table this year. Earlier this week we heard from Demetrice Martin on what to expect from the Hawaii offense and Wednesday night Murray gave some insight into the defensive side of the ball.
"Oh, they're really good, obviously talented group of guys. Eight or nine returning starters coming back. So, we're going to have our hands full, and we're excited about the challenge. They're coached well. They play hard to the whistle. Obviously, great size on the on the defensive line and linebacker corps. So we're excited about the opportunity to play those guys."
