Samford is Moving On From 2025, It’s a New Era of Samford Football
The newest era of Samford football is here. We were on site for Samford’s local media getting to interview head coach John Grass along with eight players, newcomers and returners alike.
Q: Last season obviously did not go the way they wanted to here, is that something you talk about, you have some returning players, how do you move on from that?
John Grass “We just look forward, you can ask the players. We’ve talked very very little about last season. We have a windshield mentality and you don’t look in the rearview mirror. We’ve moved forward. We’ve done a really good job of living in the present and getting better every day. That’s where development happens. Love the mentality of this team, the effort’s great, our attitude, I can’t ask for it to be any better. Then our toughness, we’re developing that every day.”
Q: Is there a specific position group that you’ve seen to have the most growth from the spring to now?
John Grass: “Man, that's hard to tell. You look at our before and after (in the weight room) astonishing. When you look at these developmental pictures, you look at the pictures of guys, a front shot, and a back shot in January. We took them before we started fall camps. So really in six to seven months of development, they've all just physically changed so much. But if I had to pick one group, I would say that has grown the most and made the most improvement, I'd say it's upfront in our OL. Our offensive line has really improved probably the most, because they were a weak link. That first two weeks of spring, I was talking about, they were a weak link. And so and they knew that. I mean, I think they embraced that and kind of the flip, you know, the light switch flip and it kind of changed and they’re a physical unit, they've gotten better. And that's where it starts, at both sides of the ball up front. So, if you want groups to improve, it would be that group. But I say the most improved group is that O-line group.”
Q: Over the summer you mentioned you have a three-man competition in the quarterback room. Is that still the case? Then what have you seen from that room so far in camp?
Grass: “Yeah, and they got a young buck, they got a freshman pushing them now. Will Shield's gonna be a heck of a player, man. That sucker is a, he is a player, man. He's got the mojo, and he's chasing those guys. And I usually, you don’t say that about a freshman coming in but man, you do the grades every day, man. He's up here at the top every day. And so future looks bright for that room you know, just with him in it. And those older guys, we really, the constant theme has been, those guys can go win games for us. You know, so it's still a three-man race. That'll be clear cut, you know, before we play. But like I said, very comfortable with anyone of those 3 going in right now in a game and moving the football and producing on offense and I would even throw Shields in that deal. I wouldn't be scared to throw him out there. I mean, he's a freshman but boy he makes plays and is a good player.”
Q: Your tight end coach Andrew Zow is also listed as the Chief of Offense. What does that entail and does that include playcalling or will you handle that?
Grass: It'll be collaborative on offense. I'll still have my hand in calling plays. But I got a really good staff over there, Coach Zow is my older guy on the offensive side. It’s hard to believe that Andrew Zow is the older guy in the room, right? Everybody remembers him. It's like yesterday playing at Alabama, but, you know, he's the veteran guy over there. He kind of the glue over there, kind of holds them together, keeps them going with a lot of really dynamic, young, innovative minds that's been around some good ball. So we got a great offensive staff. And they say, but he's the old guy. It's kind of like the head coach of the offense, if you would say. So he's done a good job with that and kind of mentoring the younger guys and kind of bringing them along. So it's just a pleasure having him on staff.”
Q: Also on your staff you have two very young coaches in WR coach Drew Swinney and nickels coach Tyler Venables. What was it about those two guys that you wanted them on your staff?
Grass: “Just watched Drew, my 1st year at Clemson is a player and watched how he was as a player and had got the opportunity to see that. You see who Drew really is and the way he does his job every day. And then got to work with him the past 3 years, you know, on offense, and just goes back to the same quality as we talked about, you know, what I look for in the coach, he checks every box. You know, he's a great person. He loves the game. He's very knowledgeable, very smart, innovative guy. And, of course, he's grew up around it man. I love coaches’ sons. They make good, really good football players and they make really good coaches. It's just kind of bred into them. So, I got my youngest in my house, probably destined to be a coach. He may say he might not be a coach but he probably will be, you know? So you just kind of got it in his DNA to be able to be a coach. And he's a great one. He's one of those I think will be a head coach one day. Very very organized, great people skills, got all the knowledge in the world and he loves it. So, and then Tyler Venables, got to watch him as a player, and just watch, the way he analyzed the game. You'll be sitting there on the sidelines sometimes. I hear him talk and analyze the game by what call we were in, what the offense was going to do. He’s screaming out the offensive play before they run the play, you know? And so he was kind of like a coach player, you know, when he was playing the Clemson. Handled his role very very well, you know, because he was a starter at times and then had some injuries.”
“He wasn't a starter, but he's always the same. He was always the same leader. So see him handle, you know, those things, even when it wasn't going his way as a player, told me, hey, he's going to be a great coach one day. And he listen loves ball, man and they said his DNA as well. And that's been fun to kind of watch them grow. You never know. I mean, you give a guy the 1st room, how they're gonna handle it. All those guys, you know, but man, they've exceeded even my expectations for them for sure, done a great job.”
Q: As a running back room, is there something that you guys focus on as a group everyday leading into practice?
RB Domonique Thomas: “Yeah, we have a motto in the running back room. We call it LOB. I Love Our Brothers, and then it really just be a selfless group and just really, we all want each other to succeed, so that's really good.”
Q: For you specifically is there anything that you feel you’ve improved on from last year to this year?
OL Noah Watts: “I've definitely gotten better at a lot of things. Just being a leader on the offensive line, as the center, just holding these guys to a higher standard, and just pushing each other. But also, we've gotten a lot better in the run game, a lot better in pass pro. So, yeah. Then last year is not the DNA.”
Q: What has been your mindset personally or is there anything specifically that you’ve been working on to prepare for the season?
OL Kaleb May: “Just my pass pro, you know what I'm saying? Getting down on the line, faster, understanding, processing it faster. Really, things like that. But other than that, I feel like I'm fine. We're fine. Just really just being a leader for the younger guys, trying to get them where we're trying to go, trying to push them to get to where we're trying to be. So that's good for me.”
Q: Working with a new OL coach this year in Brandon Thomas, what has it been like working with him?
OL Kaleb Pearley: “Oh, I mean yeah it's always gonna be an adjustment, you know, a new O-line coach comes to the room, teaching new techniques, different types of things that he's teaching us. But I mean, I feel like we all adapt to what we all bought into the scheme and how we're going to run things. And like we really like, he pushed us. I mean, he every day he demanded like a high standard and he held us at a high standard. And, you know, we're thankful for that because it's better.”
Q: What was it about the new staff coming in that made you want to stick around and play here after the coaching change?
DE Jackson Bussey: “Well, I feel like when they first got here, it was very... How are you as a person more than how are you as a football player? I feel like Coach Grass has done a very good job of just showing everybody how to be a man first and then a football player second.”
Q: Is there a certain mentality that you guys have been taking as a defensive line throughout camp?
DE John Scott: “Like, um, DNA (Do Nothing Average), of course, everyone said it, but I think just, like, attention to detail, how we do things instead of, and just ending up in the right spot, I think we're focusing more on how we get to the right spot and how that how that affects the back end and what everyone else is looking at. So I think it's just how we do things has been the biggest change I would say.”
Q: What excites you most about this defense transitioning from last year to this year with this new staff?
DT Hank Weber: “I'm excited. I'm excited for game days, and just, for y'all, just see what the work that we put in. I feel like y'all are just gonna see a lot of effort and a lot of guys just flying to the ball.”
Q: Has the weight room been where you transformed the most? Then what’s it like with Coach Venables in there, take me to what a weight training session is like?
Weber: “Honestly as a whole, I’ve never felt more strong and fit so that’s a blessing. He (Venables) demands excellence, demands our best. He’s a bit of a madman for sure. We all love him for it.”
Q: What is the most exciting thing about this defense and the work you’ve put in?
LB Spencer Conn: “I feel like we're all one heartbeat. We’re physical, we pursue the ball, and we tackle well. You know, I mean, those are the three most important things, the defense, in my opinion. I think we're gonna be, like, really, really, really good this year, and we're gonna make a lot of plays, have a lot of turnovers, hopefully.”
Q: Obviously transferring in from Murray State, what has the transition been like for you on the field and where do you feel you’ve improved the most?
Conn: “On the field, I want to improve on, uh, just, like, reacting more, being more instinctive. Uh, playing a little faster. Now I've got a year under my belt, to be able to go and make some plays that I probably didn’t make last year that I should have been able to.”
Samford takes the field for the first time under John Grass on Saturday, August 29 against North Alabama. Kickoff is slated for a 6:00 start in Huntsville.
