Spartan Football Update: Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator Chris Kapilovic Media Teleconference Transcript

Spartan Football Update: Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator/ Chris Kapilovic Media Teleconference Transcript

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State offensive line coach/run game coordinator Chris Kapilovic answered questions from reporters on a media teleconference on Wednesday afternoon. Kapilovic shared his philosophy on offensive line play, his initial thoughts on the Spartan offensive line, and his relationship with head coach Mel Tucker.

The complete transcript from the call is below:

Michigan State Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator Chris Kapilovic

On his recruiting and where they are recruiting...
We are kind of broke up into certain areas. We kind of have certain areas that are considered like our home state obviously, the bordering states and probably things within a six hour drive. Every one of us on staff will have a piece of Michigan and then I'll have an area in Phoenix and then I'm also going to be doing offensive line nationally. First and foremost, taking care of my area of Michigan and recruiting the offensive line will be the primary focus, with Phoenix mixed in there.

On what parts of Michigan he's recruiting...
Well, it's basically northeast of Detroit, if that helps you. Along the water there all the way up to the border of Canada and on down. Kind of the northeast section, northeast of Detroit, kind of up to the border if that helps you.

On what he sees from the offensive lineman so far and where they are physically...
Just kind of the thing you learn from the guys early on is being in meetings and kind of their focus and they've been tremendous. They've been really locked in to everything we are doing, hungry to learn and conscientious of doing things the right way. That's been really big for me to have that. We kind of have a mix in that room, there's some older guys and then there's some young guys. I think there is some leadership in some of the older guys which has been good. The little bit I have seen of them on the field working and in the weight room, there's definitely a great work ethic there, which is obviously another huge plus. We need to take that, build from that, and even take it to a greater level. I like what I've seen so far. I like how these guys are hungry to be great.

On where he sees Kevin Jarvis right now...
As far as Kevin Jarvis, he's been one of those guys. I can tell the guys kind of look up to him and he seems to be pretty healthy and he's definitely invested in learning the new offense and the things I want them to do.

On if he is a five-man rotation type or if has rotations for the offensive line...
There has been a bunch of injuries. In a perfect world, you'd like to be able to play more than the five. I think cohesion with that unit is critical, more than any unit on the field. So, you'd like to keep your five healthy, obviously. But, there's nothing better than competition. If I could say that I had eight guys I could count on, I could have a third tackle, third guard and even possibly another center that could get reps, that would be great. I think the biggest thing is, is there a drop off. I think if you've got, say your starting right guard or your backup right guard are pretty even, then I want to be able to play both of them. I think if there is a drop off, or significant drop off from the starter to the backup, then the only time they are going to get on the field is either through the injury or because the game is such that it's out of hand. I think they understand that if they compete well and they are in the position to compete with the guy ahead of them and they will get on the field, that makes them work that much harder in practice and off the field. Long answer to your question, if we feel we have guys that we have the ability to rotate in and the play won't drop off, I would definitely rather do that.

On his title of run game coordinator and how that works...
Yeah, I think the title, it's probably like most offensive line coaches. We're going to be leaned on heavily to develop the run game. (Offensive coordinator) Jay (Johnson) is well-versed in the run game, which is great because it's someone I can bounce ideas if there is something that you want to do off of somebody. In the game planning part of that, that's where...I'm going to take the lead there with Jay (Johnson), obviously the overall, on top of all of it. You get into game day, Jay (Johnson) is going to be the play caller. Basically, what I try to do is interact maybe between series, maybe some things I'm saying that we need to change or some things that we need to call that we didn't call and get that in his head. The only time I really get involved actually during the series is if there is a stop in play or there's a check. Other than that, he'll handle the play-calling for me, I'll just be there to kind of recommend what we need to do or any adjustments we need to make.

On after watching film on the team, how far away he thinks they are from being an elite running team at the Big Ten level...
I have watched some film of them. You watch a little bit just kind to get an idea of what some of these guys have done and who they are. The flip side to that is, you like to come to your own conclusions from your working with them on the field. Obviously, unfortunately, we didn't have the opportunity for spring practices to this point. So, that's going to be a little tougher and maybe whatever we get done in the summer. So it's kind of a mix, you kind of get an idea of what they are capable of and maybe you see something that you might be able to help them with. But you really like to come to your own conclusion from working with them on the field. One of the blessings that comes with injuries is you have several people that have played before, so that's a plus. Without the cohesion, they haven't had five guys work together it doesn't seem like all year from just this past season. If we can find a way to stay healthy, that will just help in its own right. It's very difficult to be a great offensive line when you are constantly changing pieces and having to bring in new guys. That's obviously a huge focus from the weight room, to the training room, to practice, to keep getting these guys healthy so we can get the cohesiveness. But I do think I see some talent there, there's some size, there's some guys who have athletic ability. I believe we have the potential to be a good offensive line, it's just hard for me to answer that question thoroughly until I get a chance to be with them on the field.

On if he thinks some of the injuries impacted the run game over the last two years...
It definitely has a big impact. I've been doing this a long time and it's not by mistake when you have the five guys who start the season can play together the whole year that you have more success. That's why it's vital to develop some depth where if you lose one piece, you can plug a guy in and we don't fall off. I don't know how many guys played tackle for them last year, then you had changes... I've seen three different guys playing center and it's... again, with the offensive line, with five guys having to be in sync. When you are constantly changing that, it makes it very difficult. It definitely had an impact.

On his initial impression of the left tackle position and Kevin Jarvis...
Again, getting on the field would help me a lot to answer that question better. Kevin (Jarvis) has got some great size and length to him. We may start out with him in the interior to start out, but I do like to have guys that you can cross train that are able to play multiple positions. You don't want to be in a position where your starting left tackle goes down and you've got to put in another guy who maybe isn't as good as your left guard that's out there because he doesn't know what he's doing there. He's a guy that bring a lot depth to us in the fact that he can play guard and tackle. I see AJ Arcuri moving around on the field, he looks good. We've got some young guys with length that are athletic that just haven't had a lot of playing time that we have to develop. Right now, you know, I'd say looking at it, at tackle is the place that we are really going to have to work hard and develop some depth, more so even maybe than the interior.

On Matt Allen being home and working out with his brother, former Spartan and former NFL offensive lineman Jack Allen...
Yeah, that's a pretty good deal to be able to be at home with an NFL-caliber player to work with. I'm happy for him for that, and selfishly for me, I think it's great because he's getting some good work. One thing I've noticed about him, is this is extremely important to him. You can tell he's got a great focus, he asks a bunch of questions. He stays on top of it until he understands it and he's got the leadership. I've seen him talk to some of the guys and steer them in the right direction, which, you would think that may be something that happens quite a bit, but you don't get a lot of kids that are willing to step up and challenge their peers. I like what I see from there. I just can see a determined guy. He wants to do everything he possibly can to be great this year and as a coach, that's all you can ask for.

On some of the guys not having weights to lift and ability to work out fully while at home...
Obviously, it's a huge challenge. We talk about it quite a bit when we are in our Zoom meetings, and it's just not all football. I'm checking on these guys to see how they're doing, just the simple things. Are they comfortable where they are at, are they able to eat, are they able to do the things that are just basics. Then it's being creative, some guys have a pretty good setups at their house, they have weights -- they've got like a gym at their house so they are in pretty good shape. Some guys don't have that. Then it's just our strength coach Jason Novak and his staff have done a tremendous job sending them just all kinds of different ways to train without the basics that you would normally have in a weight room. The kids have really bought into it and they've been creative. We have no idea how long this will go, so they're just trying to do the best they can and that's all you can ask. Is it a concern, well obviously it is, but there's nothing you can do about it. You can control the controllable and just make sure they are doing the best with what they have at this present time.

On the philosophies that he sees from last year and what he would like them to change going into the season…
That's another one that's difficult to know completely because we haven't had a practice on the field. I know in our meetings, just talking through, first of all, terminology, it's like learning a foreign language. So the calls that I usually have are different than the calls they had previously. There has been a little carry over, but for the most part it's different, so they are kind of learning from there. Then there's some things that there's some give or take, there might be a couple things that they've called and they understand it and I'm a little more flexible and say, 'OK, we can go with that.' So I try to work with them in that way. Technically speaking, it's 'hey guys do this.' There's some things that we're going to do that are very similar that they've been taught, but then there's some things that are quite a bit different than I see. It may just some subtle things in the run game, or just there footwork and where I want there hand placement and pass throwing, there can be some things that... how I'm having them set, how I'm having them use their hands. There is some crossover, but there are some things that I definitely will be doing differently than they are used to. That's a part, you know, we are missing all this time that we could be getting on top of this. I've got a drill video that I sent them of a drill that I've done, just so they can see it and start doing that on their own and trying to learn. It's a heck of a lot easier to teach it when we're doing it then to just talk about it.

On how much he thinks having extra time doing the mental aspect of it this way helps...
As we go through this time period, we're getting more time to spend together in a meeting setting than we probably normally would. If you take out spring ball, you're looking at typically April 15 to the end of May we're on the road recruiting. There aren't many meetings. Just looking at what we think this is going to go to, we are going to have more time to have meetings and really walk through the different things that we want to do. Myself, or my (graduate) assistant Jack Harris, we have to be creative on just the different kind of videos we are using to train off of. We've got apps that we are using to quiz and test them. We're just trying to find different ways to stimulate the brain and keep them locked in so we can continue to learn. On the mental side of it, we're probably going to be ahead, but it's still... until you can do it, you can never really get it truly ingrained in your head. All kids learn differently, so you're asking a lot of kids to be able to learn just through visualization and talking through it. A lot of kids need that walk through and those reps. So that's the part that you aren't going to be able to do, and we are going to have to play catch up when we get on the field. I think there are some benefits, but nothing like being on the field and being able to do it.

On his relationship with head coach Mel Tucker and what it's like working with him...
Working with Mel (Tucker) has been a great experience. I just feel like he's got a really good plan. He's a guy that won national championships and he's been a leader or coordinator at the highest level. I really feel like he has a good pulse for how hard to coach guys and to push them, and also know when to pull back. I noticed right away when we were at Colorado, how much the kids respected him and I think that's important that you know the team is going to respect and play hard for their head coach. I love the way he treats us assistants, you know, he lets you coach and be who you are. He's very supportive, you know, if you aren't doing what you are supposed to, he's going to let you know. I've never worried about that and all I ask for is for somebody to let you do your job and do it to the best of your ability, and he definitely does that. He's also somebody, like I said with the experience he's had of winning championships, I feel like I can learn from him, and that's always important. It's been a great relationship. He's just a great person on and off the field and I showed last year that I wanted to stay and work with him. Then when this opportunity came and he asked me to work with him and come here to Michigan State it was like two wins. I got to come to Michigan State and I also get to work with Mel (Tucker), so I have the utmost respect for him.

On how he would describe his approach with blocking...
At the end of the day, first and foremost, I want people to say my guys played really hard and were physical. I think that's got to be the staple for your offensive line and it's got to be for four quarters. And then obviously from there, you've got to be technically sound. We're going to work on technique and rep it until you can't rep it any more, because I think that's very important for our position. I think that's part of it, you've got to find a way to motivate your guys to really want to play hard and play physical for four quarters and be able to do it week in and week out. That's always the challenge too, some of these kids, there's some days they are motivated to play and then there's some Saturdays it's just not the same motivation. You have to be able to get it out of them. For us, it all starts in the zone run game and then we build from there. Like you said, we're going to have inside zone or ways to attack the perimeter as well. We're going to have some gap schemes to be able to play downhill football also. Pass block-wise, we'll mix that up, we'll change it up. I think the big thing there in pass protection is, it's really the whole offense. People talk about the offensive line, if they're sacked, it may be an O-lineman that missed an assignment, it may be a back that missed an assignment. It may be that the wide receiver didn't run the right route and the quarterback is holding the ball too long. That's the thing about protection, it really takes the whole offense to execute that. That's something that we take a lot of pride in as well. Without saying probably too much more as we build this thing, you're going to see an offense that wants to be able to run the ball, wants to be physical and wants to be able to finish games when you have that lead, being able to finish it by running the ball. And again, if everybody can say, 'man those guys are playing hard and are physical,' I think we've found something.

On how much lead up time it takes to do the things he needs...
It's going to have to be, we're going to make it happen. I think that's part of being good coaches, we're going to have to figure out what they can handle and I think even going into our first year, if we have our normal amount of time, we're very conscious of not putting too much on our plate too soon. Because at the end of the day, you have to be able to execute. It doesn't matter what plays you are running and you can think you are going to out-scheme everyone in the world, but if the kids don't execute, it doesn't matter. That's what we have to figure out, how much can they handle, what can we execute at a high level and then we've got to stop there and just get good at it. I think that's important, the better they are at it, the better they understand it, the harder they can play. Once we figure out how much time we have before that first game, we'll have to figure that out. Yeah, would I have loved to have the whole spring and the summer of them doing the stuff on their own, absolutely, but that's not the situation, so we've got to figure out what they can handle and make sure whatever it is, they execute at a high level.

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Spartan Football Update: Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator Chris Kapilovic Media Teleconference Transcript

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