Moderator: Coach Wright will be along at 3:45 pm this afternoon to discuss his experiences at MSU since being hired as offensive coordinator prior to spring drills. You may leave questions any time before then and he will answer them when he arrives.
3:45 [Comment From DaveDave: ] How do Kempt and McGhee compare to quarterbacks that you have had in the past?
BW: Every kid is different, but these two compare to a great four-year starter I had at Youngstown in terms of preparation, work ethic, knowledge of the game, playmaking ability. He took us to the final four.
3:47 [Comment From DaveDave: ] How has the installation of your offense gone so far and what do the team need to work on going into next season?
BW: The installation of the offense has been smooth. The players picked up everything. It's been tougher on me because I went with the old terminology, so it's been a learning process for me. They've been very eager to learn and take the new concepts and make them good. I think we need to work on consistency in our execution. I'd like to see us become a little more physical as an offense, become stronger this summer.
3:45 [Comment From DaveDave: ] How do Kempt and McGhee compare to quarterbacks that you have had in the past?
BW: Every kid is different, but these two compare to a great four-year starter I had at Youngstown in terms of preparation, work ethic, knowledge of the game, playmaking ability. He took us to the final four.
3:47 [Comment From DaveDave: ] How has the installation of your offense gone so far and what do the team need to work on going into next season?
BW: The installation of the offense has been smooth. The players picked up everything. It's been tougher on me because I went with the old terminology, so it's been a learning process for me. They've been very eager to learn and take the new concepts and make them good. I think we need to work on consistency in our execution. I'd like to see us become a little more physical as an offense, become stronger this summer.
3:49 [Comment From old manold man: ] Do you anticipate the addition of a 4th QB to the roster before the start of fall camp? If so, are you focusing more on transfers?
BW: We're always looking to improve our talent on offense. If we were to add a fourth, it would be a transfer.
3:53 [Comment From old manold man: ] Do you anticipate a “running back by committee” situation this fall? If not, who do you see being the feature back?
BW: Right now I see it as a group of guys. Cody Kirk has had the best spring, but I don't know if we'll have a featured back.
3:53 [Comment From old manold man: ] I've noticed that Von Bergen likes to drop Big Ben's name when discussing his recruiting acumen, have the assistant coaches been giving him a hard time over that situation?
BW: Every coach likes to throw around the names of the great players they've recruited and coached. We haven't talked much about it.
3:55 [Comment From DaveDave: ] What have been the biggest(pleasant) suprises and disappointments since you have started coaching this team?
BW: I don't know if it's a surprise, but the biggest positive has been the attitude and work ethic of the players. They want to be coached, they want to learn, they want to get better. The biggest disappointment has been not having everybody in camp because of injuries this spring.
3:55 [Comment From old manold man: ] What are our biggest strengths and challenges at this point of the year?
BW: The biggest challenge is getting healthy. The biggest strength is game experience. A majority of the positions on offense have players that have played in games.
3:56 [Comment From old manold man: ] What are your initial thoughts of the Big Sky Conference?
BW: The Big Sky is one of the top conferences in FCS. Fast, talented, high-powered offenses. You have to score a lot of points to compete in this league.
3:57 [Comment From SteveSteve: ] Welcome to the Bobcat Family. Talk a little about the Oline. What are their strengths/weaknesses this spring? How is Fitzpatrick's development at LT?
BW: The biggest weakness has just been health. The strength has been the starting unit in general. They all have starting experience, they understand the concepts that we're running. We need to develop depth, and get healthy. Fitzpatrick will become a good, young player.
4:02 [Comment From BobBob: ] Who do you see as the kick and punt returners?
BW: We have some guys with skill in that area, DeSean and Everett and Julius Lloyd. Most of the evaluation in that area will be done during fall camp.
4:03 [Comment From BobBob: ] How would you compare the Cats team speed to your old YSU teams?
BW: I think the majority of this team is faster. I think our inside people are faster, the front seven, the O-line, the tight ends. The skilled guys are about the same.
4:09 [Comment From SteveSteve: ] What's the ideal Oline guy for your system? Big, strong roadgrader? Or Smaller, quicker more athletic?
BW: Quick, strong, athletic roadgrader! (Haha)
Thursday April 22, 2010 4:10
4:11 [Comment From TylerTyler: ] Due to the injuries in the backfield, what questions will you be looking to answer over the summer in regards to the running game?
BW: We'll continue to evaluate who we can use in the run game in terms of our personnel. There will still be questions schematically what we can do given the personnel we go into the fall with.
4:12 [Comment From TylerTyler: ] Now that you have had some time to evaluate the talent, what are the major assets of the receiving corps?
BW: Their route-running is good, they have good ball-catching skills, and I like the depth when we have them all. There is some versatility at that position, too, being able to move guys around, inside and outside. We hope to cause matchup problems by moving guys around.
4:14 [Comment From TylerTyler: ] How much does the play calling change when you have McGee in vs when you have Kempt in?
BW: So far this spring it hasn't changed at all. Cody Kempt may be a guy that you give some more options to, more audibles, a little more freedom at the line of scrimmage.
BW: Alright, thanks for the great questions. I'll see you out there Saturday! Go Blue! Go Cats!
Moderator: That's it for today. Thanks to everyone for the questions, and we'll see you at the Stadium on Saturday for the Sonny Holland Classic!
