Chris Petersen Media Day Interview Part 2

Part 1 can be found here.

Could you touch on the talent at quarterback in the Pac-12?

Yeah, speaking of quarterbacks, huh. It's amazing. I've been paying attention to this conference for a long time. I think you had 10 of 12 returning. What really strikes me is every one of them are good players. It's not just they've got a guy coming back that's okay. They're all good players. There's no question. And it's scary when you don't have one of those returning guys and every week you're going to have to face someone like that.

Did Shaq Thompson get any reps at tailback?

Yeah, so startedthat a little bit in spring ball because of depth. And every time we gave Shaq the ball, he did a great job. So we'll continue with that and see how our depth goes out there and see how Shaq progresses. We don't want to water him down and make him less of a defensive player. So I think there is a fine balance there and we'll continue to work through that.

Is the feedback from the offseason workouts good so far?

I think it's been good. You'd have to ask Ben and Hau'oli. But I think they're making progress and they're excited.

After looking at film from the quarterbacks in the spring, what do you want to see from them in the fall?

I think everything, just improve. We've got to take the next step. I think it always comes down to decision making and accurate throwing. I would say that's who we're trying to recruit in there and that's who we want our guy to hang his hat on. Oh, boy, he's a great decision maker and has something good there. So I think those are two areas we'd like to see those guys improve on.

On the defensive side you'll seefaster and more faster teams. Do you have any concern making those adjustments?

I don't know if there are too many tougher jobs in America than being a defensive coordinator in college football. I'm sure there are a few, but I know that's one that I probably wouldn't like. It's just there are different styles. It spreads you out. There is so much speed out there. You're right. It's hard. The fact that a lineman can go down the field and throw a ball, it's really hard to play defense, and in high school, and being more skilled. It puts a lot of pressure on defense. I don't know. You're going to see a lot of points being scored.

What's your relationship with [Oregon coach] Mark Helfrich?

Never heard of him. I like all these guys. I won't like them game week, but these are really good people, really good coaches. Mark and I go way back. It's not surprising he's in the position he's in and doing the job he's doing. I tried to talk him out of football. I wanted him to be a doctor. I think he had that in his mind. I said don't do it. But he wouldn't listen.

Will those conversations stop now?

Probably. Some of the conversations we've had are football related. But he'll always be a good friend.

What’s your reaction to Josh Shirley’s transfer?

Guys got to do what they've got to do. You have 105 guys and there are going to be a lot of different things like that going on. Guys got to do what they've got to do.

With so much experience on the defensive line, it doesn’t affect depth much.

I'm always worried about that, because it changes so fast. It only takes one injury at the position, and you thought you had pretty good depth, and now you don't. So we're always concerned with roster management. But, hey, we'll get the next guy ready to go and move on.