The first-team OL earned some rest in the second scrimmage, while the backups and younger players got more time on the field. Did you need to see more from the younger guys?
Atkins: I believe we have some younger guys that have been showing and earned the right to get those reps. It's not just the rest, it’s more of an opportunity. So we had all of those guys, we had a good scrimmage in Jacksonville, everybody participated. So I wanted to give some opportunity to those young guys to, you know, if you're the guy we’re going out there with, what is it going to look like? They earned the opportunity to go out there and compete and show what it would look like if they were starters.
On that note, how did those offensive linemen handle the operation of a scrimmage?
Atkins: I think the operation was solid but it can be a lot better as far as the details when you get into the situation of football. Whether it be changing from going to a third-and-long from a third-and-medium, going to a fourth-and-short to a third-and-short, two totally different scenarios for the offensive. So I want to see improvement here. But overall, I was pleased with how they were operating and the DND (down and distance) to red zones and things. But I think in those critical situations that communication has to be better, which is why you're given those opportunities because they're not afforded those opportunities a lot … That challenge is a part of their development, but also we got to improve on it.
Coach Norvell praised Andre’ Otto again, saying he had a big week. What did you see from him in the scrimmage and did he get more reps as one of the younger guys?
Atkins: Otto’s biggest character trait is willpower. He is going to will himself to be a good player. He's going to know it. He’s going to challenge himself. He's going to push himself to the edge. I know coach (Norvell) talked about guys that were pushing themselves to almost full body cramp in Jacksonville. He was one of those guys that knew his body was failing. He just kept pushing, going to celebrate with teammates. The thing that is going to help him is his versatility and how much he learned in a short period of time. He’s played tackle, guard and now he's operating at center. He got some 1 guard reps. I love his mentality and approach to it. And one of the biggest compliments you can get is from the defensive line. I was walking into the cafeteria the other day and those guys were saying, the defensive line starters were saying, ‘Otto is going to be a good player.’ I think anytime those guys are complimenting a young O-linemen like that is a big, big badge of honor.
You guys have a good idea of what you have with Maurice Smith at center. Who are some of the other guys who have performed well at center in camp?
Atkins: Yeah, Richie Leonard, he took quite a bit of center reps today. And he did a really good job. We’ve given him series here. I thought he did a wonderful job. (Jacob) Rizy probably had his best scrimmage as a center today. I thought he was more consistent, leadership and things of that nature. And of course Otto. Otto can jump in there and play. He went with the 1s a little bit too today and showcased his ability. And we always have Darius (Washington) who can jump in there, who has actually played in games. I have no concern about that position just because of the depth we have built with the guys we have on the roster and starters that have already played the position.
How did DJ Uiagalelei handle today and in general what do you think of his development through 14 practices?
Atkins: DJ was giving it all, man. There was nothing held. There was no spoon-feeding. We put the whole playbook on him. What I loved about it is how he’s been able to settle and then make it his own. Where he’s not learning the Florida State offense. He’s learning the offense is changing into his offense. Where, ‘I like doing this.’ You kind of put your personal stamp on it. I like that development because of what he's comfortable with, how he’s now changing the plays, changing the cadences, understanding where to go to, building the relationship with the receivers. It's been fun to watch because it's just been a steady climb or progression. And sometimes we get caught up in the result of it. But we’re looking at the into decision making, what did you see pre-snap? Did you like this? Why did you change this? And those conversations have improved so much and I'm excited to see as he continues to grow and kind of take the offense with two hands.
We all talk about transfers as a newer guy but is he at a point now where he knows everything and he can direct things the way you would expect a veteran quarterback to do?
Atkins: He’s improving. I think, yes, he definitely can do that where you can put him out there and he can line guys up. But also there's a process of your understanding and then going to tell the younger guys what to do. So I think that his understanding has gotten there, and he's helping those other young receivers. I think that will continue to progress if we build toward game planning certain type of game plans, where it's not all. But I have no concern about his full knowledge of not only his position, but the other positions as well.
Throughout camp, which wide receivers have stood out to you, do you have a decent idea of what the rotation is going to be at this point?
Atkins: I’ve really enjoyed watching Jalen Brown emerge, Elijah Moore. Those guys have progressed more than I was even anticipating or gave them credit for. To see those guys, like I saw Jalen Brown make a couple guys miss today and Elijah Moore had a couple catches. Those younger guys have been really impressive. And I just want to give a shout out to the tight ends. (Brian) Courtney and Kyle (Morlock), they really did a good job this camp of showing their contested-catch ability, understanding the offense, running some of the option stuff that we're doing. So I've enjoyed watching those guys progress, but overall the receiver group, we got a steady group of veterans that we know of, but it was really challenging the Jalen Browns, the Maliks, the Cam Frier, just challenging them to act as if you’re the starter and you’re going to be the guy. Today I saw Ja’Khi, he had some big plays today. Jalen Brown did. I was excited to see that group as far showcasing playmaking ability and not just what's there in the offense.
For a variety of reasons the run game was so great in 2022. And then last year it felt like it wasn’t quite to that standard. Do you take it personally and how much better do you feel about running it when people know you’re going to run it?
Atkins: That’s the telltale sign of a good team, that you just line up and run the ball whenever you want to. There’s a reality piece of it, that you got to be strategic, angles, leverage, all that has to kind of tie into it. But, yes, the goal is always to be a football team that can line up and run the ball against whatever look, any situation at all. And that's what kind of gives you those games where you can close out in the fourth quarter. What I was proud about last year that we didn’t do a great job in 2022 was we were able to finish games with the run game. When you go back and watch, when you’re down in games, can we finish games in the fourth quarter by utilizing the run game to close games? I was proud of that from ’23. I thought that improved from ‘22 to ‘23. I thought in ’22 we had more rushing yardage and production probably on paper but I was glad that the run game was able to close out. And also we had good guys on the edges that we wanted to make sure they got the ball a little bit more than they did the year before. So I think the challenge is making sure that we can win obvious situations. That's the telltale sign because you can trick a team with run game. You can call a run on third-and-17 and get 16 yards. You got to punt the ball, but the rushing stats go up. So I think the goal is everybody in the stadium knows you’re passing the ball, can you protect? Everybody in the stadium knows you’re running the ball, can you run the ball? Those what are the telltale signs of now you’re going from being a good offensive line or a good offense to an elite style where you can be one of the top two, top three O-lines in the country. That's kind of mentality going in with as much experience as we have.
A guy like Kyle Morlock, is that the prototypical leap you want to see a guy make from year 1 to year 2. And Amaree Williams took a big jump from scrimmage 1 to scrimmage 2. How impressed have you been with him?
Atkins: It’s just overall rep count. As many reps, that’s why you do things like today and give those opportunities to be able to go showcase their ability and showcase their learning. So I think just the reps put in, you should see the progress, you should see the leaps. And also Kyle has a lot of game reps under his belt, it’s not just practice reps. But it's also them finding themselves in the offense because when you first come you’re just learning it. You’re just learning it, you’re doing what it is said. Then as you get the rep count, you start getting the details, maybe I can push this a little bit more vertical, maybe I can sit this a little short. Hey, they just brought the nickel, I can get my eyes around quicker because he’ll be looking for me. It’s really just turning the offense, instead of just routes and patters to more fitting what’s necessary in the actual play, which comes with reps and experience and continuity of the guy that you working with. So I'm expecting those leaps as they get those rep counts. Amare is a little bit different because he's still learning it. He is just raw ability and his competitive nature, which is showcasing his ability. But as he continues to get those reps, continues to progress you will see him take ownership of, ‘Alright, now let me get those small details that take you from just a good offensive (player) of ok, I did the right thing to I adjusted and made the plays that were necessary for the success.
You mentioned the defensive linemen complimenting Otto. Do you find yourself watching film appreciating the defense and what you’re going up against and how much fun it will be to watch them on Saturdays?
Atkins: Absolutely. One of my favorite people to talk to is Shyheim Brown. He's an active guy on defense. Watching him play and watching him develop has been fun. I always give him a little smoke just because I’m like, ‘We ain’t changing much, you know what’s coming.’ He has a pretty good idea of what the cadence is, what the route is going to be, who we are talking to, the signals and the conversation. So I give him a hard time. What I like is their steady progression of competition to where everything is contested. Even when it’s blocked up, you still got to fight to get three or four yards. That's what you want to be. If we were out there just killing them then we would be bad on defense. If they were killing us? So you want some back and forth there, competition where everything is fit up, now who can go finish the drive and go make plays that are contested because that’s what makes us better. We create an environment where our hardest competition is within the team, where you are out there. Our practice should be harder than the games is what we're trying to create here. I love our defense. I’ve been with Adam since Chattanooga in 2012. So I'm used to seeing those guys flying around, hitting. This is what the standard is, it’s been there.
You have so many types of running backs. Do you have an idea of how many you could use reasonably throughout a game?
Atkins: We don’t say really how many. Some of it is situational. There’s no cap on it. We’ve been in games, we have had five guys touch the football. It's more of just what the situation calls for. Who is running the hardest, plus we have multiple backs. We have guys that can line up at different positions and line up at receiver and catch routes out of the backfield, catch screams and protect. So it's a little bit situational but I wouldn't say we don't have an ideal number of this is the amount of running backs we want to rotate throughout the game. But I would say the average is probably about three is what we get to. And then that fourth one being situational. Just probably how it averages it out. But there’s no plan of saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to play this many backs.’ If we got good backs that can go, we’ll rotate them all. There’s no dropoff.
