Aug. 18, 2015

Scott Booker – Tight Ends Coach/Special Teams Coordinator

On how the tight end position is shaping upââ’¬¦

“I like the way it’s trending right now. I think you’re going to see multiple tight, tight end sets, so 12 personnel a lot; you’re going to see multiple guys playing certain roles and playing on the field at tight end. I don’t think we’ll see the same situation as we did last year which was an outlier in playing Ben Koyack over 1,000 snaps. In the time Coach Kelly’s been here, that’s the first time that’s ever happened; usually we have multiple guys, two, three, four tight ends playing over 200-300 snaps and a lot more 12 personnel. You’re going to see that, and it’s trending well.”

On replacing Kyle Brindza on special teams this year with placekicker Justin Yoon and punter Tyler Newsomeââ’¬¦

“They’ve done a good job so far in camp; obviously Justin [Yoon] just getting here in June has done a good job acclimating himself to the college game and acclimating himself to the sped-up operations of field goal operations which is obviously a lot slower in high school. Tyler [Newsome] has really made improvements in his mechanics from his redshirt freshman year until now. That’s a testament to how hard he worked and also to him watching Kyle for a year and understanding that being a specialist isn’t just kicking a million balls, it’s about honing your craft and muscle memorization.”

On freshmen, Alizé Jones coming along on trackââ’¬¦

“Alizé [Jones] has done a good job acclimating himself to the college game. Coming from Bishop Gorman (High School in Las Vegas), a great program, he was able to play in some big games and play in some really good competition. That being said, in college football what we ask our tight ends to do is very different than any other university or high school team. There’s been acclimatization and he’s done a good job. He’s very, very competitive, and really takes coaching well. He’s a perfectionist, so he’s hard on himself, but he wants to get things right and I love his attitude, love his competitiveness, and he shows some really good athleticism.”

On what sets Alizé apartââ’¬¦

“First of all, he came in at 240 pounds; that’s bigger than any tight end we’ve recruited that’s come in, except for Tyler Luatua that we brought in last year. He has good ball sense; he’s definitely a mature, physical 18-year old so that’s a plus. Then he’s got some good athletic traits that we saw on film. His attitude has been really good as far as his willingness to take coaching, his competitive nature and the ability to make tough catches; that’s what you have to be able to do at tight end. You can go back in the annals of our tight ends since Coach Kelly has been here, and they’ve all been able to make tough, contested catches and he’s shown that ability through the couple days.”