Oregon State Coordinators Mike Macintyre and Mitch Dahlen Speak Following Day 2 of Fall Camp

If the first day of fall practice for Oregon State football was all about setting a tone for what the program was going to be under head coach Jamarcus Shepherd, day two was about showing how far the players had already come. Both Defensive Coordinator Mike Macintyre and Offensive Coordinator Mitch Dahlen addressed the media to talk about the steps the team had already made.

Macintyre spoke to the media first, and was particularly impressed with the physicality the team was already showing, even if they wouldn't be wearing pads until later in fall camp. Here's a selection of his remarks from earlier today.

On adding size to the secondary

"Coach (Jeff) Eaton has done a great job at that, and Sierra (Atkinson, team dietitian) our nutritionist they've done a super job with those guys getting mass to them. Actually Xander (Chisolm) came in in June and gained nearly 14 pounds. Now he hadn't really gained anything but it's all muscle. We had some other guys that had lost some weight who had needed to. I thought Coach Eaton and Sierra did a great job this summer."

On how players have responded in the first few days of camp

"Theyr'e hungry to be coachable. What you notice is they're coming to ask you questions, even after a play is over that type of thing. Usually they know they did something wrong they're trying to hide from a coach, when they're coming to find you and seek you out if you didn't see it if you were watching something else, to me that shows great maturity and that shows you that they're truly bought in on that type of thing. So to just say "Coach didn't see me mess up I'm alright" we're not getting that which I think is a great cultural aspect."

On the experience at linebacker

"We have some good linebackers, we have some good depth there and good experience there. I would say our D-Line, inside, and our linebackers are the most experienced part of our football team. Which is good, to have that strength up the middle, for the run and different things. The eye discipline that those linebackers have to have for pullers and shifts and reading if a guy is lightening and knowing what's going to happen if it's pass or run by the D-Lineman, those are big keys that give you the ability to anticipate plays if you've played a lot."

Offensive Coordinator Mitch Dahlen then addressed the media, and echoed some of the thoughts Macintyre had expressed on the team's attitude and conditioning they team had already show early in camp. Here's a few highlights from his remarks.

On how the Offensive Line has bulked up since last season

"That group, again it goes back to Sierra and the job she does. Coach Eaton and our strength staff is phenomenal. Where you put your time and energy, that's where your energy goes. We're putting it in the weight room, we're putting it in nutrition,. those guys are getting faster. I wanted to point out Nate Elu, he's gotten faster all summer. That was something we challenged him on is just his foot quickness, and he took it to heart. Tyler Voltin has lost some weight and those guys are just understanding that your body is your resume at that position."

On what he wants the team identity to be

"I want people to turn on our film and I want them to be shocked at how hard we play. Effort alone, the scheme can be on the side but I want them to be shocked at how hard we play. It's effort and urgency. It's an urgency to get it done now we don't have time to wait. We have 16 practices of fall camp before we move into the next phase of situational football. Then it's the violent nature. We play a violent sport. For me with that group violence will be celebrated, it'll be pointed out in unit meetings, because that's our sport. You've got pads on for a reason."

On what he's seen from the wide receiver and tight end groups.

"It's been great. We're fast. Again I go back to Coach Eaton. We've got a bunch of guys who run 22 miles per hour. We don't really do 40 time anymore, we do the GPS stuff, so we've some 22 mile an hour guys which is helpful. That's speeding in a school zone by two miles an hour, so the more guys we've got speeding in a school zone the better. Then it's going to be production. Bubba (Aeryn Hampton), through the first two days has done a great job. Jesse Legree's continually done a good job."

"Eddie Freauff, seeing him out there again is good. He just looks the part. The physical element he brings, he's going to be hard to cover one on one. You're going to need to put a safety over the top. Obviously I'm biased, he's a central Oregonian, so I had to plug Eddie in there. You put a bunch of good speed in the receivers with a bunch of reliable tight ends that are big. You got some little guys that are burners and some big guys that are reliable and I feel pretty good at where we're in terms of talent.

The full interviews are well worth checking out if you have the time. Macintyre and Dahlen are both clearly excited about where the team is headed, and that excitement is infectious. Check back tomorrow for media day coverage and more news from Oregon State fall camp.

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