April 4, 2008

Media in Attendance: Bill Wagner (Annapolis Capital)

Wagner: I notice you are doing some different things with conditioning. In the past the team just ran sprints, but now you are facing different ways, lying on the ground and jumping up, why the change?

Niumatalolo: A lot of it is from Coach Brass. We are doing some stuff that is football related and not just straight ahead sprints. We are doing things that you do in a game like shuffle your feet, get off the ground, stuff that might carry over to a game.

Wagner: Brass has been here five years and never did that, why now?

Niumatalolo: Coach Johnson is a creature of habit and doing straight sprints is what he has always done. We are still doing conditioning, but we wanted to have some football carryover. Sprinting isn't bad; we are just trying to incorporate a few more things.

Wagner: Who has impressed you so far? Maybe not an established guy, but a guy that the fans might not know.

Niumatalolo: Craig Schaefer. He has been by far the biggest surprise. He has done a phenomenal job.

Wagner: What do you like about him?

Niumatalolo: We are looking for guys that can come off the edge and get some pressure on the quarterback and he's done a good job with that. He seems more confident. Last year he was a young guy trying to learn the schemes, now he is more confident in what he's doing and he's been flying around.

Wagner: Did Schaefer play at all last year?

Niumatalolo: He was one of our better special teams player, but he didn't play much on defense.

Wagner: He is a big boy for an outside linebacker, at least bigger than what you've had.

Niumatalolo: He has everything that we are looking for. He is a big kid that can run. He plays hard. He's had a great spring so far.

Wagner: Is there anybody else you can think of? How about the offensive line? You have some openings there, has anybody showed you anything?

Niumatalolo: They have a long ways to go.

Wagner: You know what you have in Gaskins and you know what you have in McGinn, but after that you are looking for guys.

Niumatalolo: No, Ricky Moore is doing a good job at center.

Wagner: Is he adapting pretty well?

Niumatalolo: Yes. I'm excited about him. He has a definite chance. Now, is he ready to go right now? No. But by the Towson game, whether he is at center or tackle, I feel really good about him. He's made a lot of progress.

Wagner: You lost your top two guys at center and normally you would have a young guy that you are developing ready to step in, but obviously you didn't have anybody since you had to move Ricky from tackle and Lark from nose guard.

Niumatalolo: Patrick Snow and Matt Cook are two young guys at center, but it is hard for a plebe lineman on offense or defense to come in and play. It is hard to play as a freshman lineman. They are starting to get bigger. Right now we are just trying to find the best eight guys to play those five positions up front.

Wagner: Has anybody gotten injured since spring practice started?

Niumatalolo: Nothing serious.

Wagner: Is Saturday going to be a full-scale scrimmage?

Niumatalolo: Yes.

Wagner: What are you looking for?

Niumatalolo: Speed of the game. We have a lot of young guys that haven't stepped on the field yet and we want to see them play at the speed we expect them to play. We preach that. It's the only way we have a chance to compete. We have to play harder than anybody else. We are looking for guys that play like a bunch of maniacs out there.