By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.Special Contributor
The big screen has given us 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' with the ephemeral Audrey Hepburn and 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?' with the much-more substantive Katherine Hepburn. Now, in this grand tradition, we give you 'Lunch With Fitz,' a traditional gathering at the start of spring practice where the 'Cats coach sits patiently at the head of a table and takes questions from a variety of media types.
1. The topic du jour, not surprisingly, was the quarterback position. Junior Andrew Marty, who guided them to a win over Illinois in that season's finale, worked with the ones in the practice that preceded our gathering. But there are six other quarterbacks on the roster and, Fitzgerald said, "Our quarterback competition is wide open. Andrew went out with the first reps today because he was the last guy to win a game for us. But that job is wide open."
2. Another seeking that job is TJ Green, who returned for a sixth-year with the 'Cats after suffering a gruesome ankle injury last fall in their season-opener at Stanford. He is not full go. But he is on his feet, jogging, taking mental reps and aiming to be ready by the fall. "I didn't think we'd see him doing anything on his feet at all (this spring)," Fitzgerald said of him. "So, the steps have been encouraging. Really happy for him."
3. A third prospect here is the junior Hunter Johnson. He transferred in from Clemson to grand acclaim, but on the year completed just 46.3% of his passes with a single touchdown and four interceptions. He was also sacked 11 times. "I think he's turned the page," Fitzgerald said of him. "He's just worked hard at being a great teammate. I think that's his goal, and then learn the offense and then get an opportunity to go out there and compete. He's not the first guy to transfer here nor will he be the last. Unfortunately, what comes with that locomotive is the hype. . .(but) it's unrealistic to expect a lot right away."
So, what must Johnson do to improve?
Fitzgerald chuckled and then said, "He's got to execute the offense, number one. For now, it's learning it. Fundamentally he's got to be better. He's got to get the ball out of his hands. There were a lot of times last year, I would call it deer-in-the-headlights look. A quarterback has to know where his weaknesses are in protections. When you don't know where your weaknesses are, you're going to get you lips knocked off."
4. Right there next to the quarterbacks on the interest meter was Mike Bajakian, whom Fitzgerald hired to replace Mick McCall as the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. His previous stops included Central Michigan, where he created a spread offense that featured future Steelers star receiver Antonio Brown; Cincinnati, where his offense got the ball to tight end Travis Kelce, now a star with the Super Bowl champion Chiefs; Tennessee, where he unleashed running back Alvin Kamara, now a Saints star; and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was Jameis Winston's first quarterbacks coach. That history informed Fitzgerald's choice of Jake (as everyone calls him) over two other unnamed candidates he interviewed.
"First and foremost, I want to control the line of scrimmage. It's the Big Ten. You've got to be able to control the line," he would explain when asked what he's looking for from his offense this year. "I want to be able to have explosive plays and score points. then I want to use our weapons to the best of their ability. Get the ball into the playmakers' hands that can make plays. I don't want the scheme to be the proverbial round hole when our personnel is square. It's got to be the other way around. We've got to have the flexibility to morph to our personnel, which obviously changes every year. That was the mindset that I approached everything with as I approached different guys. It's pretty easy when you talk to some coordinators and they're, 'This is what we're running. This is what I'm comfortable with. This is it. Take it or leave it.'
"Then there's guys like Jake. 'We've had Antonio Brown. We've had Kamara.' You talk about the different personnel they've had and you talk about the quarterback development they've had. You look at the different ways they've gone about it, it was kind of a no-brainer. There was evidence at multiple stops. Development of guys that go on to play in the NFL. The development of Jameis as a young quarterback. Those types of things gave me great confidence that he's been there, done that."
And that he has the ability to adapt?
"Exactly. That's exactly right. And there was evidence of that. It wasn't, 'When I do this.' It's, 'I've done it multiple times.'"
5. By the end of last season Fitzgerald was talking openly about how the quarterback room (the injured Green excepted) was just not ready to succeed Clayton Thorson, who had choreographed the 'Cats the previous four seasons. "The change in their coach and the change in their scheme put a lot more on their plate mentally. And I think that group learned a lot.
"A lot of those guys watched Clayton Thorson become NU's all-time winningest quarterback. They rode the bus and ate the steak and they gave him his hat when he came out and took (off) his helmet, but they didn't make plays. It's easy to stand on the sideline and say, 'When I'm out there, you know what I'm going to do.' Well, they didn't do it. That's what they've got to improve on. They've got to get their confidence up. They've got to make plays. That's chicken-egg, right? But sometimes you've got to have that fake-it-to-make-it mentality and go cut loose and play fast.
"Jake's had some really good points. When we've had some offensive installation meetings and he has asked a question and he expects the quarterback to answer right away. When the answer iss apples and they say oranges, he says, 'Yeah. You're wrong. But the good news is you didn't turn it over. We can't turn it over in this room. We need to be more decisive.' By the time we get to the field (in the fall), apples needs to be the response. But right now oranges is fine. We just need to be more decisive. We need to cut it loose. That's a big area where I've seen a change.
"Be confident. It's okay to be wrong right now. Part of our job is to teach them and get them to the right spots."
6. Here's a measure of the overhaul the 'Cats offense is undergoing: In their suite of offices there's an offensive coach's room and a defensive coach's room and, during a typical off-season, Fitzgerald says, "I usually bounce back and forth between the two rooms. It's back and forth a lot. But this season it's been almost exclusively with the offense."
7. Another change: That offense no longer has superbacks. It has tight ends. Asked how the change occurred Fitzgerald said, "Jake said, 'Can we call them tight ends?' I said, 'Sure.' It's that simple. Literally, that simple. It was not a deep, philosophical discussion."
And he had no emotional attachment to the term superback?
"No. I played tight end in high school. I got recruited to play tight end by some schools."
Did he ever consider playing that position?
"Yeah. Wisconsin. Michigan State. A couple other schools talked to me about playing tight end. But I wanted to play defense."
8. One spring past Fitzgerald famously said guys only "make reservations" for starting positions this time of year. It was no surprise then when he noted, "Coming off of last year, jobs are wide open." But then he got a chuckle all around when, speaking of his senior tackle, he added, "Rashawn Slater's going to start."
9. Looking back one last time, he said, "You go beat your rival in the last game on the road, I think it shows the backbone of this group. But obviously the lack of success is totally and completely unacceptable."
10. Finally, minutes later, someone noted that next fall will mark his 15th season as the head coach of the same school, and wondered how he had avoided burnout. Here Pat Fitzgerald got reflective. "Every team is different. That's what's so awesome about this role," he said here. "No two teams that I've had have been the same. Their DNA is different. The way they approach things is different. That just keeps you young, it really does. It's always a new challenge.
"Are there things that kind of frustrate you a little bit? Yeah. I think there's always going to be. But the grass isn't necessarily always greener somewhere else. I love coaching our guys here. I love the challenge of recruiting to a high academic school. I love the challenge of being unique in a conference where a lot of schools are alike. Stacey (his wife) and I love raising our (three) boys in our hometown. We feel very fortunate to have that. We feel very fortunate as a staff to have the support of the university.
"We just have to continue to do our job and do it better and not have years like we had last year on the field."
NUsports.Special Contributor
The big screen has given us 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' with the ephemeral Audrey Hepburn and 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?' with the much-more substantive Katherine Hepburn. Now, in this grand tradition, we give you 'Lunch With Fitz,' a traditional gathering at the start of spring practice where the 'Cats coach sits patiently at the head of a table and takes questions from a variety of media types.
1. The topic du jour, not surprisingly, was the quarterback position. Junior Andrew Marty, who guided them to a win over Illinois in that season's finale, worked with the ones in the practice that preceded our gathering. But there are six other quarterbacks on the roster and, Fitzgerald said, "Our quarterback competition is wide open. Andrew went out with the first reps today because he was the last guy to win a game for us. But that job is wide open."
2. Another seeking that job is TJ Green, who returned for a sixth-year with the 'Cats after suffering a gruesome ankle injury last fall in their season-opener at Stanford. He is not full go. But he is on his feet, jogging, taking mental reps and aiming to be ready by the fall. "I didn't think we'd see him doing anything on his feet at all (this spring)," Fitzgerald said of him. "So, the steps have been encouraging. Really happy for him."
3. A third prospect here is the junior Hunter Johnson. He transferred in from Clemson to grand acclaim, but on the year completed just 46.3% of his passes with a single touchdown and four interceptions. He was also sacked 11 times. "I think he's turned the page," Fitzgerald said of him. "He's just worked hard at being a great teammate. I think that's his goal, and then learn the offense and then get an opportunity to go out there and compete. He's not the first guy to transfer here nor will he be the last. Unfortunately, what comes with that locomotive is the hype. . .(but) it's unrealistic to expect a lot right away."
So, what must Johnson do to improve?
Fitzgerald chuckled and then said, "He's got to execute the offense, number one. For now, it's learning it. Fundamentally he's got to be better. He's got to get the ball out of his hands. There were a lot of times last year, I would call it deer-in-the-headlights look. A quarterback has to know where his weaknesses are in protections. When you don't know where your weaknesses are, you're going to get you lips knocked off."
4. Right there next to the quarterbacks on the interest meter was Mike Bajakian, whom Fitzgerald hired to replace Mick McCall as the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. His previous stops included Central Michigan, where he created a spread offense that featured future Steelers star receiver Antonio Brown; Cincinnati, where his offense got the ball to tight end Travis Kelce, now a star with the Super Bowl champion Chiefs; Tennessee, where he unleashed running back Alvin Kamara, now a Saints star; and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was Jameis Winston's first quarterbacks coach. That history informed Fitzgerald's choice of Jake (as everyone calls him) over two other unnamed candidates he interviewed.
"First and foremost, I want to control the line of scrimmage. It's the Big Ten. You've got to be able to control the line," he would explain when asked what he's looking for from his offense this year. "I want to be able to have explosive plays and score points. then I want to use our weapons to the best of their ability. Get the ball into the playmakers' hands that can make plays. I don't want the scheme to be the proverbial round hole when our personnel is square. It's got to be the other way around. We've got to have the flexibility to morph to our personnel, which obviously changes every year. That was the mindset that I approached everything with as I approached different guys. It's pretty easy when you talk to some coordinators and they're, 'This is what we're running. This is what I'm comfortable with. This is it. Take it or leave it.'
"Then there's guys like Jake. 'We've had Antonio Brown. We've had Kamara.' You talk about the different personnel they've had and you talk about the quarterback development they've had. You look at the different ways they've gone about it, it was kind of a no-brainer. There was evidence at multiple stops. Development of guys that go on to play in the NFL. The development of Jameis as a young quarterback. Those types of things gave me great confidence that he's been there, done that."
And that he has the ability to adapt?
"Exactly. That's exactly right. And there was evidence of that. It wasn't, 'When I do this.' It's, 'I've done it multiple times.'"
5. By the end of last season Fitzgerald was talking openly about how the quarterback room (the injured Green excepted) was just not ready to succeed Clayton Thorson, who had choreographed the 'Cats the previous four seasons. "The change in their coach and the change in their scheme put a lot more on their plate mentally. And I think that group learned a lot.
"A lot of those guys watched Clayton Thorson become NU's all-time winningest quarterback. They rode the bus and ate the steak and they gave him his hat when he came out and took (off) his helmet, but they didn't make plays. It's easy to stand on the sideline and say, 'When I'm out there, you know what I'm going to do.' Well, they didn't do it. That's what they've got to improve on. They've got to get their confidence up. They've got to make plays. That's chicken-egg, right? But sometimes you've got to have that fake-it-to-make-it mentality and go cut loose and play fast.
"Jake's had some really good points. When we've had some offensive installation meetings and he has asked a question and he expects the quarterback to answer right away. When the answer iss apples and they say oranges, he says, 'Yeah. You're wrong. But the good news is you didn't turn it over. We can't turn it over in this room. We need to be more decisive.' By the time we get to the field (in the fall), apples needs to be the response. But right now oranges is fine. We just need to be more decisive. We need to cut it loose. That's a big area where I've seen a change.
"Be confident. It's okay to be wrong right now. Part of our job is to teach them and get them to the right spots."
6. Here's a measure of the overhaul the 'Cats offense is undergoing: In their suite of offices there's an offensive coach's room and a defensive coach's room and, during a typical off-season, Fitzgerald says, "I usually bounce back and forth between the two rooms. It's back and forth a lot. But this season it's been almost exclusively with the offense."
7. Another change: That offense no longer has superbacks. It has tight ends. Asked how the change occurred Fitzgerald said, "Jake said, 'Can we call them tight ends?' I said, 'Sure.' It's that simple. Literally, that simple. It was not a deep, philosophical discussion."
And he had no emotional attachment to the term superback?
"No. I played tight end in high school. I got recruited to play tight end by some schools."
Did he ever consider playing that position?
"Yeah. Wisconsin. Michigan State. A couple other schools talked to me about playing tight end. But I wanted to play defense."
8. One spring past Fitzgerald famously said guys only "make reservations" for starting positions this time of year. It was no surprise then when he noted, "Coming off of last year, jobs are wide open." But then he got a chuckle all around when, speaking of his senior tackle, he added, "Rashawn Slater's going to start."
9. Looking back one last time, he said, "You go beat your rival in the last game on the road, I think it shows the backbone of this group. But obviously the lack of success is totally and completely unacceptable."
10. Finally, minutes later, someone noted that next fall will mark his 15th season as the head coach of the same school, and wondered how he had avoided burnout. Here Pat Fitzgerald got reflective. "Every team is different. That's what's so awesome about this role," he said here. "No two teams that I've had have been the same. Their DNA is different. The way they approach things is different. That just keeps you young, it really does. It's always a new challenge.
"Are there things that kind of frustrate you a little bit? Yeah. I think there's always going to be. But the grass isn't necessarily always greener somewhere else. I love coaching our guys here. I love the challenge of recruiting to a high academic school. I love the challenge of being unique in a conference where a lot of schools are alike. Stacey (his wife) and I love raising our (three) boys in our hometown. We feel very fortunate to have that. We feel very fortunate as a staff to have the support of the university.
"We just have to continue to do our job and do it better and not have years like we had last year on the field."