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COACHSPEAK | EXCERPTs FROM BILL O'BRIEN's TELECONFERENCE How important will it be for you to manage your linebackers this year? That's something that I think about 24/7. Our three linebackers who are in starting spots right now, I believe that they are very, very good players. They're tough guys, they're smart guys, and they're instinctive players. I do think that there are some guys behind them who can help us who have improved. Gary Wooten has definitely improved over the spring. Ben Kline has been out with a shoulder [injury], but he's been in noncontact drills and he'll be back in training camp. We've got a freshman coming in – Brandon Bell – who we think can help us, but there are not a lot of guys there. We certainly have to do a good job the rest of the spring and obviously over the summer and into training camp of making sure that [Glenn] Carson, [Mike] Hull and [Nyeem] Wartman are as healthy as they possibly can be going into the opener. Has there been a group that has pleasantly surprised you with its play thus far this spring? Last year when I came in, I had heard that the offensive line wasn't the greatest in the world. And I can tell you from day one last year, I felt like those kids jelled well and played hard and were tough guys and played well for us. This year I know these guys a lot better. So I wouldn't say that one position group has stood out over another. I think [with] all of these guys, I have been impressed with the effort in practice, I've been impressed with their retention, their ability to retain what we taught them in the fall. How is your patience with younger quarterbacks and how is their patience with not being in your system that long? I think everybody here has been patient. Our quarterbacks, they are smart guys. It's not like they've made a ton of mental errors. I think that these guys have had productive A P R I L QB QUESTIONS O'Brien said Ferguson, left, and Bench have received an equal number of reps in spring practice "They've both had their good moments and their bad moments," he said. Tim Owen practices. Has every play been great? No, but you could say that for every position. The word patience is a very important word here, especially as it relates to me. Coming from pro football, I definitely have to learn more patience with all these young players. I think I have, but I can even do a better job of being more patient with them. These guys are 18,19 years old, and we've got to let them grow and get better. Can you discuss the running back situation? Is there a leader at this point? We have three running backs who have all competed very, very hard: [Zach] Zwinak, Billy Belton and Akeel Lynch. Each guy has improved. Each guy has practiced well. I have been very pleased with that position this spring. I would say, right now, if we broke the first huddle, probably Zwinak would get the first reps. But we're going to play all three of those guys. It goes back to depth. I don't think that you're just going to play one guy all year. Wherever I've been, the most successful running games I've been around have rotated backs. Zach's had a good spring. Billy Belton, I believe, is a much-improved player. He's lost some weight and he moves quicker. He banged his toe up last week so he's missed a couple practices here, but he's still putting in some good things. And Akeel Lynch has improved every 1 7 , 2 0 1 3 10 single day of spring practice. So we'll play all three of those guys next year. Is there one thing that stands out to you with the way your tight end position has developed? The one thing that stands out to me about the tight end position as a group is that they are smart guys. That position in our offense is very difficult to learn – second only to quarterback. It's a very, very difficult position to learn because you're involved in run blocking, running routes, pass protections. You're involved with a lot of things that go on. I've been very impressed with all those guys – their instincts and their football intelligence. Can one of the quarterbacks separate himself from the other? Can you compare and contrast the styles of Steven [Bench] and Tyler [Ferguson]? These guys have had an equal amount of reps. I think they've both had their good moments and their bad moments. I definitely think there's enough time. Any time you have practices left, there's always enough time for one guy to separate himself. We'll see what happens over the next few practices here. I don't really like to get into all the compare and contrast. I think they both do some things well and there are some things that both of them need to improve upon. B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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