Q&A with Mike Canales

[Stier]

South Florida's offense had become a little predictable and one-dimensional recently, but new offensive coordinator Mike Canales is looking to change that.

Canales, who was the Bulls' receivers coach last year and who served as Jim Leavitt's first-ever offensive coordinator, is transforming the offense into a true spread attack. He's also trying to improve the struggling run game, cut down on Matt Grothe's turnovers and maybe find some Percy Harvin-esque players this season.

 

  New coordinator Mike Canales is transforming the Bulls' offense into a true spread attack.

I caught up with Canales briefly Thursday and asked him about some of the Bulls' pressing issues.

The offensive line obviously was the biggest concern in the spring. How does that stand now and how do you see it going into preseason camp?

Mike Canales: The one thing I was very pleased about during the spring was that our young kids had the chance to get a lot more reps. That's just so vital to our success, I believe. It built depth, which we need. We had some young kids get experience, which I think is important, and they did a good job of stepping up and accepting the roles. Obviously, we're going to need some of our older kids and the new kids coming in and some junior college kids to step in and help us and create some depth immediately. But I was really pleased when we ended spring that a lot of kids were getting reps.

Do you have a good idea now who will start where on the line?

MC: Not right now. It will all be based on competition. We know Jake Sims will be a starter; we know Zach Hermann will be a starter. Those kids have been in the offense and have played a lot and have started. Other than that, a bunch of players are competing for jobs. That's probably where I'd leave it at right now.

How do you feel about the running game after what you saw this spring?

MC: I like that Mo Plancher had a lot of good reps. Mike Ford did really well. He's slimmed down and looks good. He looks sleek and he had a heck of a spring. We did some new things that we haven't shown before. Even (defensive coordinator) Joe Tresey came up to me and said, "You guys didn't show that last year." I said, "I know, Joe."

We did some new things and we're looking at some things we can try to do. I think it helped us run the ball more effectively, and I think that's our biggest goal. We want to be able to run the ball more effectively and not have it be Matt all the time. So we're working on ways to do that. The big thing is working on ways to get guys the ball, not just running backs, but our receivers. Find a way to get the ball outside to our playmakers on the field.

Last year it seemed like you had seven or eight guys carry the ball. Do you see yourself having a large stable of running backs splitting carries again this season?

MC: I don't want it to be by committee. I'm one of those guys who likes to have a running back you can settle on and get comfortable with, and that's the guy you want to get the ball to. But one of those guys has to step up. They understand that, and they want it. They want a guy to step up and be the guy, too. They'll compete for it, and we'll make a decision at the end of fall camp.

How's Jamar Taylor doing?

MC: He's back and healthy and ready to go. He's getting after it in the summer. I saw him after a workout recently and he looks really good. He's back to normal and working hard.

It seemed like Matt had a great spring, which you'd expect from a four-year starter. But even with a new offense, he looked comfortable. Did he do everything you wanted this spring?

MC: Yeah, he really took to it. We spent a lot of time in quarterback school, just really dissecting defenses and understanding schemes and why things worked the way they did. One thing I was really pleased with was that he came away with only one interception in a team scrimmage situation when we were going against the defense. And I think that was the biggest thing, just understanding the checkdowns and getting the ball to your backs. Don't try to force it and make a big play. Take what's there and understand that your second hitch outlet is as good as anything.

If you want to increase your (completion) percentage from last year to this year, go to your backs and that will increase your percentage by six percent. Don't be afraid to drop the ball off. It's not always about making the big play; it's about making the right play.

Backup quarterbacks Evan Landi and B.J. Daniels also had nice springs and can do a lot of things. Do you have packages to get both guys on the field, or does it worry you to play your backup quarterback and risk injury?

MC: That's a secret. I can't give away what we're going to do there. (Laughs). But we've got some great ideas.

How excited are you to see some of the freshman skill players who will report to campus this summer?

MC: Oh, it's just ... speed. You know, we studied Oregon and Florida and studied some people who are doing some great things. And the one thing that really stood out from watching Florida is speed. It wasn't just that they're big, strong and quick; these guys were fast. And they weren't very big. We've got some kids coming in who were 10.2-second, 10.3 [in the 100-meter dash] high school All-Americans in track and whatnot. We've got to find a way to those kids and their speed on the field.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/bigeast/0-5-80/Q-A-with-South-Florida-O-coordinator-Mike-Canales.html

[IHuckItDeep]

one star running back?!?! it cannot be....i must see it with my own eyes.....for 12 games....then i will believe it

[windbane]

one star running back?!?! it cannot be....i must see it with my own eyes.....for 12 games....then i will believe it

a star has to emerge

[Orlando Bull]

Joe Tresey came up to me and said, "You guys didn't show that last year." I said, "I know, Joe."

My favorite part. Shows our OC is doing some new things, and our DC already has a great scouting report on all of the BE squads. I still think that was a huge hire after Wally left.

I am really excited about our offense this year. I hope the OL holds up, I think if we can get some solid play from the line, this offense is going to be something to see.

Is it September yet?

[Bulls On Parade]

Joe Tresey came up to me and said, "You guys didn't show that last year." I said, "I know, Joe."

My favorite part. Shows our OC is doing some new things, and our DC already has a great scouting report on all of the BE squads. I still think that was a huge hire after Wally left.

I am really excited about our offense this year. I hope the OL holds up, I think if we can get some solid play from the line, this offense is going to be something to see.

Is it September yet?

I agree Tresey alone should be worth a few extra wins in big east play with his inside knowledge of the other big east teams and what they run. 

Can't wait to see what this offense looks like should be alot better than whatever Gregory was running.

[Bullpride08]

We did some new things and we're looking at some things we can try to do. I think it helped us run the ball more effectively, and I think that's our biggest goal. We want to be able to run the ball more effectively and not have it be Matt all the time. So we're working on ways to do that. The big thing is working on ways to get guys the ball, not just running backs, but our receivers. Find a way to get the ball outside to our playmakers on the field.

This statement says it all for me.  I was screaming and harping on the fact the biggest issue with gregory was his nuts.  We lacked speed last year but we never attacked the perimeter enough, never.  Teams never respected our outside game and our offense seemed to always rely on exclusively the interior both passing and running so teams stacked the middle and killed us.  He could have solved that with more screens, more outside toss runs, more options...even if they don't work you keep doing it, keep going to your playmakers...the more you attack the perimeter the more you soften those guys up, and then you can throw in a balanced attack and hit the middle of the field and see things open up as a team is left guessing.  Gregory would abandon something if it didn't work first- bad.

It sounds like Canales is going to spread things out, get the ball to Bogans more, Mitchell more, to Ford more, to our speedsters more...and let them do their job.

[beastiebull]

How about applying the same concept with the running backs to the WRs.  Establish one and let him be your go to guy instead of our usual constant non-sensical rotation. 

[Apis Bull]

For WRs, spreading the ball around works better.  It keeps the defense on their heals and they can't key in on one guy.

[Jake_Ryan]

I think Jamar Taylor is going to emerge as the #1 back.  Excited to see what Canales will do with the offense.

[RG]

I think Jamar Taylor is going to emerge as the #1 back.  Excited to see what Canales will do with the offense.

I agree. I think Taylor is the better all around back.