Aaron Carrara
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Following the conclusion of Day 1 at fall camp, Steve Sarkisian met with the media on Friday night to share his thoughts and answer questions.
In his opening statement, Sarkisian emphasized how much better the practices flow when you have the whole team there. He mentioned he was able to see drastic improvement in a lot of areas, but mentioned the biggest challenge on the day was cramping. Sark says they will monitor that moving forward but says guys need to stay hydrated and he did say that he felt the cramping wasn't related to physical conditioning.
Outside of the cramping, it was a much cleaner day than the first practice of spring football according to Sarkisian.
- When asked which players have "transformed their bodies" since the new staff took over, Sark mentioned WR Josh Moore, DB Jerrin Thompson, TE Jared Wiley and LB Demarvion Overshown.
- On Ja'Tavion Sanders, Sarkisian says that this was really the first time the staff has been able to be on the field with him. Sanders was working one-on-one with Jeff Banks toward the end of practice and this was by design. "There were some intricate things that we need to work on with him individually to get him up to speed." Gunnar Helm and Juan Davis were also putting in work at TE but Sark mentioned again that Sanders was working on fundamentals so that he could do more intricate things in the future.
- On which newcomers and transfers impressed today, Sarkisian said he was impressed with DL Ovie Oghoufo, saying he looked both athletic and physical. He mentioned Alabama transfer RB Keilan Robinson as showing athleticism and getting the ball in space. Xavier Worthy stood out out, as did DT Byron Murphy.
- On if the staff is looking to change/swap things from a position standpoint, Sarkisian said they are primarily trying to find the right combination with their safeties and nickel and into the corner position. They are working rotations and seeing which guys work best together at those spots.
- Sark was asked about rotating players and if he will rotate players just to rotate them, like the previous staff did, Sarkisian answered by saying he feels like he has a responsibility to his team to put themselves in the best position to play. He mentions earning the right to play but also acknowledges that there are multiple talented players at multiple positions on the team. Ultimately, he says the best players will ultimately play but he is not too stubborn to rotate players when needed.
- On Derek Kerstetter's progress and where he is at after coming off the injury in the Alamo Bowl, Sarkisian leads with stating how impressed his is with Kerstetter's leadership. Says he doesn't think there are any limitations to Derek's game but he will go back and watch tape to confirm.
- The OL is about finding the right combination of your best five, according to Sarkisian and Coach Flood. And once you find those five you find the right spots on the line for them. Then identifying your next best 3-4 linemen is important because depth on the line is so important. While nothing is set yet, Sark says they will learn a lot more about the OL in the upcoming days.
- Sarkisian says he is looking for improvement from his QBs and what they learned in the spring. He said both Thompson and Card both did that today and there was a "better feel" from both players. They split time with the first and second teams and this was the best "practice" for both since Sark and staff have been on campus.
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