Fall Camp Day 14: Sumlin talks team-wide progress

On the progression of Ricky Seals Jones…

“Y’all saw him catch a touchdown earlier today? Well, I guess that’s continued development. He’s still got a way to go — he’s got real ability, he’s very athletic, but he’s got to learn the nuances of the position. He’s seeing a lot of different blitzes, we’re throwing things at him and I think with Malcome (Kennedy) in there right now, it’s helping us in terms of flexibility.

"He doesn’t have to start right away. It’s going to give us the flexibility to move him along, which I think is good with him. He’s definitely going to have a role in our three- and four-wide (formations) and maybe even some two-wide packages. He’s got real talent and he’s working on it.”

On Seals-Jones' qualities aside from size…

“Well, he’s big and he’s fast and he’s got real good hands. That’s why he was rated the way he was rated out of high school. He’s still learning and he’s 240 pounds. So, I was concerned about his weight until Coach (Larry) Jackson said he put him into what we call a 'bod pod,' which measures density and body fat. He’s about as lean as you can get. That’s just him. He’s a big dude.

"Because of that, he’s carrying it well. We’ll see what the plans are for him. We’re bringing him along. He’ll play this year but he doesn’t have the pressure on him right now because of how Malcome Kennedy is playing.”

On the second-team QB battle…

“We evaluate all of them. We haven’t made a decision on any of the quarterbacks at this point. They’re still going.”

On when he will name a starter or backup…

“I’m not setting a date for that this year. Last year’s situation, I don’t know if you know this (laughs), but last year was a little bit different than right now. So, no. Is that alright? Sorry about that, but it’s kind of a fluid deal.”

On Brandon Williams being ready for Rice…

“My concerns would be ... I’m more concerned about Brandon Williams being ready for the season. So, if I feel like he’s ready to go, he’s ready to go; if I feel like it’s best from a medical standpoint to hold him, we’ll hold him.

"Our other backs have been doing a really good job, and in scrimmage situations we haven’t played Ben (Malena) very much. We’ve got between Ben, Trey, and Tra. Those guys are above adequate, pretty good backs, and Dolezal got some carries last year. If (Williams)’s ready to go by then, I’m more concerned with him being involved in double-digit type games than one game.”

On Tra Carson’s impact…

“Good hands, good versatility and he’s really picked up the pace in protection. He’s really trustworthy and solid. He gives us another dimension of 230 pounds that we don’t have with the two little guys.”

On the difficulty of transitioning from high school to college at wide receiver…

“None are harder than QB. I think the further away you get from the football the harder it is to play as a young guy. The closer you get to the football, the physical of nature of what’s going on there just makes it difficult to play from a size and strength situation. But if you’re on the perimeter, and you’ve got speed, if you’ve got some athletic ability, you can get away with it on what people are asking you to do.

"From that standpoint, you can be a good player, but physically you might not be able to play in the interior and you have a better chance coming out of high school to play on the perimeter than anywhere else.”

On the Taylor brothers…

“What they’re doing a lot better of is playing harder. I think they understand the tempo of the game and what’s important more so than they did last year at this time. They approached the summer differently.

"When you watch great examples of Damontre Moore and those guys during the game, it’s easy to point at the tape and say, 'These guys played hard. This is the level of effort that we need, not necessarily with that effort comes the kind of production that we need.' It’s on tape and those guys are getting it.”

On the growth of the 31 freshmen…

“Yeah, we challenged them a little bit. They hit the wall the last couple of days. This is usually where guys haven’t been through this. There’s a lot going on and they were a little bit down today but we challenged them. Tomorrow is our last two-a-day practice. So, we’ve got to get through tomorrow, both mentally and physically, and then we’ll begin preparation for the game early Thursday.”

“I think his overall knowledge of the offense, where he is and his ability to think through the play, and giving him a little bit more flexibility to change plays, understanding defenses. And he’s worked on mechanics with his feet. I think there’s a lot of things that we sat down and talked about how he can improve, and he’s approached it and his attitude and focus have been good during camp.”

On the freshmen corners…

“They’ve shown the ability to cover sometimes and get beat sometimes. That’s what freshmen do (laughs). They’re talented, they just don’t know everything yet and when you play Mike Evans, it’s not good all the time. So, Tavares (Garner) has real good talent, and we’ve played Victor Davis out there at corner too. He’s got a lot of talent. Noel (Ellis) is playing nickel.

"So those young guys have had a lot of turns. Alex Sezer is playing a lot. We’re giving them turns because after our first couple of guys, we’ve got to kind of figure out where we are with backups and who’s playing; and they’re all competing, they’re all learning, but they’re playing against some pretty great players. That’s good — competition makes them all better.”

On whether they arrive with short memories…

“No, we have to teach them that. But with Mike Evans talking to them they way he does, it’s not very nice. He is unmerciful in practice. Everybody is not him. I tell those guys, not everyone is 6-5, 230 and can do that to them.”

On Evans preparing to make a leap this season…

"Yeah, he’s a good player. He was just a freshman last year.”

On whether he's close on a decision regarding Floyd Raven and Deshazor Everett…

“No”

“He has, along with Malcome (Kennedy), really improved. He didn’t see the field, I didn’t know if he was ever going to play here. We challenged him and he got better in the spring and has been steady. He’s competing to play right now, to really get on the field. He’s right there and I’m really happy with his progress and the next week and a half will determine how much he’s going to play in that first game — and after that, how much he will play during the year.”