Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (5.9.25)

Opening statement:

“Okay. Really good first day with these guys. Beautiful day out here on the grass. They’re doing a very, very nice job, as you would imagine, on their first day. Always make that first impression with the first day and I thought they did a great job. They’re all in their seats very early for these meetings. All very compliant, but really good group of guys. And then, you know, have brought in a bunch of impressive kids to take a look at. So that’s kind of the fun part for us as coaches is see what everybody can handle mentally, get them moving around, see what they can do physically, and then let them put their best foot forward and then we’ll go from there. But with that, I’ll take any questions.”

 

Kevin, how much had Dillon (Gabriel) and Shedeur (Sanders) worked under center before they got in here?

“In their collegiate career?”

 

Yeah, in their collegiate career…

“I think most guys coming out of the draft that are in predominantly shotgun will do a lot of work on their own leading up to pro day and those type of things. Both have done it over the course of their career. But certainly, in the collegiate game, it’s majority shotgun. In the NFL game, it’s majority shotgun. So, it’s just getting guys comfortable where you have the ability to do both is really the idea.”

 

When you went to team, state the reason Gabriel took the first snaps?

“Yeah, I wouldn’t look into really anything.”

 

I know, but how do you choose that? The draft status or what?

“Yeah, I wouldn’t look into anything. I think you’ll see the whole weekend, going through the spring. I mean, we don’t pay too close attention to who’s in that first snap.”

 

Will it change tomorrow?

“Hey, will you be here? I’ll see you here.”

 

So, Kevin, when you get the quarterbacks, just the quarterbacks on the field for the first time at a camp like this, what are some of the things you pay the most attention?

“Well, I think the fun part is we’ve spent so much pre-draft time with these players, particularly when we’re talking about our quarterbacks, with Dillon and Shedeur. We spent meeting time with them, out of this building. We’ve taken them through walkthroughs and then they get to go do it in uniform with the helmets on and just see what they can take from the meeting room to the grass. And I thought both guys did a nice job.”

 

Kevin, earlier today you said that you guys were going to kind of restructure maybe like the practice or sort of maximize the reps for the QBs. Can you kind of just give us a little insight into that?

“Yeah, so today we did a couple seven-on-sevens, longer seven-on-sevens than we typically have done. And the idea there is just to maximize reps for those guys, you know, what we’re trying to do. And that was part of the idea of bringing in some tryout players this weekend. Now, those tryout players are trying to make the football team. They’re not just here for practice. I was around a tryout player a few years ago named Adam Thielen. So, we’re giving these guys every chance they can to put their best foot forward.

Kevin, not so much today because you had so much going on out there, but Carson Schwesinger, what are your early impressions on him?

“A very intelligent young man, plays very fast. I think you see that, Jeff (Schudel), in how he moves. He’s got really athletic movement skills, aggressive linebacker, but I think he’s able to play so fast due to his ability to process information really quickly.”

 

Kevin, when Shedeur first got here, even last week, he’s been out and about a little bit in the community, trying to get acclimated and maybe give back a little bit. Just what do you think of some of that? And does all of that go into your decision, just in terms of quarterback leadership and everything?

“Yeah, I mean, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that, Mary Kay (Cabot). I would tell you we always encourage our guys to get out in the community, and I think our group does a great job here at the Browns. It’s an important part of what Dee and Jimmy (Haslam) believe in, and we’ll certainly talk to these young players about that, and they’ll have opportunities to go out in the community. So, if guys are doing it on their own, that’s outstanding.”

 

What kind of early homework are you giving these guys as they head out to the facilities and obviously come back for this minicamp?

“They have a lot of homework. They have a lot of film to watch, playbooks to look at. You know, you don’t want to overburden a player where he’s not going to play fast, but you want to see what they can handle. You want to push them. Not to their limits, but certainly push them. So, there’s studying that needs to be done. We’ll install plays on offense and defense that maybe we won’t even practice, but we want them to spend the time out of this building in their playbook and then be ready to roll tomorrow morning, so we’ll all sleep well.”

 

Kevin, kind of a similar question to the quarterbacks, but with Mason (Graham) I mean, obviously, when D-linemen don’t have pads on, like, what can you take away from these practices?

“Yeah, I think individual drills are always really important. I’ve never been around a defensive line coach or an offensive line coach that gets enough individual time. They always want more. So, this is a great opportunity. Particularly that we’re doing these seven-on-sevens to have individual time. And you see over there, Jacques (Cesaire) and Coach (Adam) Morris are working these guys really hard and just indoctrinating them to individual. And when I say individual, we’re talking about fundamentals and techniques. That’s what you’re working on in individual. It’s the foundation of what we do. So, they have a lot of time to be able to teach our techniques, which always are a little bit different than what they’ve been doing in the past.”

 

How many hours of prep work did it take to get a collection of 47 players to run a team into seven-on-seven drills?

“That’s a good question. So, we can’t really talk to them until yesterday, Thursday when they arrived. So, it’s a lot of – I wish there was a secret to it, but it’s a lot of just time in the meeting rooms, time on the board. You know, I think it’s helpful when you have a bunch of smart players, which I think we have that. And then the coaches, kind of, once we get them here in the building, they work around the clock. Maybe not completely around the clock, okay, don’t check me on that [joking]. But spending every waking moment that they had available to them to get them ready. And it’s a lot of walkthroughs too, I should mention. You know, I think we started this morning at 7 a.m., I bet you there was a ton of walkthrough at each position going out on throughout the day.”

 

Kevin, we’ve seen Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco, some photos of them, some videos of them working in the offseason program already. Just wondering, how is that side of the quarterback competition going so far?

“Yeah, I think the guys are working really hard. It’s been a really fun group to work with in the meeting room, out on the practice field. I think they push each other just by naturally being guys that work so hard and put so much effort into it in the meeting room out here on the practice field. So it’s a really good group.”

 

Has there already been a decision on who will take those first team reps when you guys get together for OTAs?

“We’ll work through that. I know this will probably fall on deaf ears, but don’t look too much into it, okay? Check with Tony (Grossi) after each practice on where everybody was. There’s plenty of reps. There’s a lot of time between now and September, so we’ll have a plan. But it’s an all-encompassing evaluation. It’s not something that it’s just based on the practice reps. There’s a lot that goes into it.”

 

When you draft two running backs like you guys did, do you consider how they complement each other in that process, or do you just get them in here and kind of figure it out?

“Well, I think we picked Q (Quinshon Judkins) and obviously, you know, his skill set. So, I think Dylan (Sampson) was a player we really, really liked a lot throughout the process. So, I think it really just so happens that they’re different in style, which I think is beneficial. I think when you’re talking about the running back position and the quintessential change of pace, sometimes that pace can turn into a. You can go from a speed back to a stronger back, but. Or vice versa. So, I think it really did just happen that way. But we like both of those guys a lot going into this draft process.”

 

Kevin, how have you seen Dylan respond to you guys adding another highly touted rookie in his position? 

“You know, I think it just goes back to the competition at each position is something that elevates every single one of these guys. So I don’t think any of our players are looking around who’s in line with them. They’re just focused on making sure they do their job and do their job to the best of their ability.”

 

Do you consider this weekend construction or competition? 

“I think it’s both. I think you can do both. I think part of who we are, part of our core is being competitive. That’s what we do in sport. That’s certainly what we do in this building, out in these fields, everything. We’re constantly competing. Now you’re also competing with yourself, of course, but everything we’re doing is always competitive.”

 

Kevin, kind of going back to quarterbacks. Big picture, I know it’s only May 9, but is there a point where you kind of in your mind say, we have to go from 4 to 3, 3 to 2 because of the overall getting the football team ready to play games? Or is this something that you could stick with four all the way through in terms of the general competition?

“Yeah, we’ll kind of keep it…You mentioned it’s May 9, so we’ll kind of keep it there. I understand the question, and we’ll work through all those things over the course of the next few weeks.”

 

Kevin, Andrew Berry mentioned on the radio today about Nick Chubb. It’s unlikely for him to return. I know you’ve been on the record as Andrew, well documented about your love for Nick and everything, but can you just kind of expound upon that and echo Andrew’s statements? 

“Yeah, I can echo what Andrew said. You know, I read what Andrew said, and I agree wholeheartedly. I understand how this works, but doesn’t change how we feel about the person.”

 

Would there be a scenario that you would ever bring them back? 

“Yeah, of course. And I think Andrew kind of said that as well. But again, Andrew said it better than I can. So, let’s stick with what Andrew said.”

 

Kevin, I know that you said don’t read into anything, but given. Well, I’m just looking for clarity because given the importance of the position and the situation that you guys are in as a franchise at that position [quarterback], you understand why people are asking for more insight. And you understand that, not really divulging as much as people would love to hear. Want to expound on that?

“Yeah. I mean, I think for all coaches, as you can imagine, you put plans together to practice and get the guys ready for a season, but we don’t have to put a depth chart out for such a long time. So, it’s not something that we’re really focused on. How guys come off the field in terms of who gets the first shot at it. I mean, you may get the first rep of practice with the ones, but then the next period you may get the second group. So, we vary it throughout. We’re focused more on the totality of this competition, if you will, at every position, not just the quarterbacks. I told the players last night, we tell them this – we’re evaluating everything they do out on the field, in the meeting room, in the weight room. We want to see how they work. So, this is a total evaluation. It’s not just about one rep at rookie minicamp or one rep in an OTA. It’s really all about the body of work.”

 

In terms of the arm strength revolution on the ball. You know, just footwork and things like that. Were they sort of what you expected them to be? What were your first impressions of just them [Gabriel and Sanders] physically? 

“You know, Mary Kay, I’ve seen both guys throw live, so that’s part of why it’s so important in that process to get around those guys. So, they were as advertised, but I thought both guys did a really nice job and there’s so much to work on. And it’s the minutia of the position, it’s some technique things, it’s the operation needs to get better, all those things. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we’re going to work really hard over the next few days to get these guys ready for when they join the veterans on Monday.”

 

So, Kevin, I was gonna ask you, you think it’s important to see a guy throw live for the first time, right? That’s part of the pre-draft process?

“Yes, I do. Yeah, I do think with quarterbacks you should see them live.”

 

So once you see a guy throw at a crowded workout or whatever, do you feel like then you know how a guy throws? 

“I do. Yeah, I do and I think if you talk to an offensive line coach, he’d like to see a guy come out of a stance line or a linebacker coach, he’d like to see a guy break on the ball. So, part of it is just in that evaluation. You see it on tape, certainly, but I think being around the players can be important. It just depends on the position and how important.”

 

Kevin, how are you guys approaching the situation with Devin Bush after he got arrested and was he in the building this week? 

“He’s in the building this week. I don’t have much more to comment on past that, Dan (Labbe), but we’ll update you as there’s more information.”

 

How much does the plan does the plan for a rookie minicamp get altered when you, I mean, it’s rare that you draft two quarterbacks, right? Like, I didn’t know if that’s happened before in your career, but does it change the thinking or do you go into the conscience like, got to split these guys up more so maybe than if he was an undrafted free agent?

“I think rookie minicamps over the last 20 years, it really has changed. Back in the day, it was a full-on minicamp. It was two practices a day. It was a lot of reps. And there’s been an effort to do a little bit less on the field in recent years. And part of the reason is these guys are on the draft circuit and they’re traveling to every building and organization for interviews. And it’s hard to stay in football shape in that way. So, you get guys hurt, really. We’re trying to balance the ability to get some live reps and see these guys move and still do it safely. Because it is May, and these guys haven’t been playing football in a little while.”

 

Regardless of who went first in 11-on-11s and seven-on-sevens, it looks like you’re trying to give them both almost an equal amount of reps. Is that accurate or maybe 55/45?

“Yeah, that’s fair. I think certainly for this camp, Mary Kay, that’s ‘s the idea to split the reps.”

 

You guys are always talking about blocking out the outside noise. Obviously there’s a lot of hype that comes around Shedeur. What is your guy’s role as in helping quiet it down? 

“Yeah, I’ve talked to our team many times over the years. We’re not so caught up in outside noise, that we kind of worry about what’s going on inside between our walls. We get that this game comes with a lot of attention and that’s the fun part of this business and the fun part of it for our fans. But for our work, we focus on what’s between those walls.”

 

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