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Quick Hits: Frank Reich Talks Minicamp, Install, Draft + More

Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich met with the media on Tuesday.
Quick Hits: Frank Reich Talks Minicamp, Install, Draft + More
Quick Hits: Frank Reich Talks Minicamp, Install, Draft + More

In this story:

What he wants to accomplish during minicamp

"Several things. A big part of it is working on fundamentals and technique. You can't emphasize that enough. That's a huge emphasis for our team. We got to build the habits now. Build the fundamentals and technique now. It's a foundation, right? It's a new coaching staff. So some of the technique and fundamentals are all the same but it doesn't matter. We all kind of need to keep going over the basics. Because when you get on the field you can't think about that stuff you got to play loose and free. We've got to establish those habits now."

Installing the defense

"It's a big transition, particularly for a couple of guys. Like Yetur [Gross-Matos], him moving to outside linebacker. I think EJ and his staff are doing a great job of cutting it piece by piece, so that if I'm a player I can kind of hear it broken down piece by piece and then we kind of put it all together. My experience with this is there's always an element of excitement to learning a new system."

If Scott Fitterer has asked him who he wants at No. 1

"He did. He actually came in my office yesterday at some point and asked the question. It's kind of like a proposal of sorts. And I said yes. There is consensus and we're excited."

"We all went into the thing with ideas, inclinations. But there's ebbs and flows to the process. I wouldn't say there's any drastic change of mind but there's ebbs and flows of how much you like a guy. And that's why you have to resist the temptation to make your mind up too early. I thought we did a good job of not falling into that trap. Just take it for what it is, day by day. Go on these visits, watch the tape, go through the process, continue to evaluate and walk it through."

When he knew who they were taking No. 1

"I think we all had inclinations early on but I think the conviction built gradually."

Formulating a plan for the picks after the first round

"A lot of time. And again, I just take my hat off to Scott [Fitterer] and his staff and how that process has gone. We've had several draft meetings with the coaches and more recently had them in there with Scott kind of running the meetings and getting the coaches' final opinion. The scouts have already done 90% of the work but the coaches come in and we give our evaluation, we melt it together with what the scouts have done, we start wrapping our arm around that 39th pick and that 93rd pick and about all the scenarios - up, down, stay there. What if he's there? What if he's not there? How does this guy fit into the system? They've been dynamic discussions and I think we're prepared for those scenarios."

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Schuyler Callihan
SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

Schuyler Callihan is the publisher of West Virginia On SI and has been a trusted source covering the Mountaineers since 2016. He is the host of Between The Eers, The Walk Thru Game Day Show, and In the Gun Podcast. The Wheeling, WV native moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2020 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and Carolina Panthers.