HEAD COACH LIAM COEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 2025
(On his thoughts about the stadium scrimmage) “I thought there was a lot of explosive
plays. Guys made plays, made some contested catches that we hadn’t really been making
at times. Ton of explosives on both sides. Had the interception, obviously, with J-Lew [CB
Jourdan Lewis]. Great play. I just thought it was cool to see all groups make a play, make
some sort of a play. I thought it was well executed for the most part. Had some false starts,
couple of holds. It wasn’t perfect, but thought it was a good start.
(On how QB Trevor Lawrence handled the scrimmage) “I thought he played awesome.”
(On his thoughts on the pass game in today’s scrimmage) “That was really up until tonight,
it was like I had a little bit more just general confidence running, not confidence, but we
were running the ball well on offense in general, kind of over the last six practices. Then
tonight, just to see the pass game open up a little bit more and guys get out in space and
protect fairly well. So, that was definitely something that I was pleased with seeing because
it really, not to say that it hasn’t showed up, it’s just hard sometimes in those controlled
settings to always, when scripted, be able to get those off.”
(On what he liked out of Lawrence) “I thought he was making sharp, fast decisions. The ball
was getting driven constantly. I thought it was getting driven. He missed a few for sure. He
missed Travis [WR/DB Travis Hunter] down on the goal line behind, when Ventrell [LB
Ventrell Miller] made a great play, but that ball’s got to be out in front. The interception’s a
tough one. Parker [WR Parker Washington] took a little long on the route. We had an out in a
corner combination down here. The guy that had the out covered fell off. He lobbed it in the
back of the end zone. Just move on, progress, or throw it in the back of the end zone but I
just thought he made good sharp decisions. He drove the ball. I thought he ran the show
well. I thought it was a good night for him.”
(On WR/DB Travis Hunter’s performance) “I mean, you guys saw it. Pretty cool in space,
isn’t he? I thought it was great. We got him the work that we wanted to get with him on
offense early on and then able to get him on defense and get him enough reps. That was
what we were hoping to do tonight in terms of just get him on both sides of the ball, quality
work. I know he doesn’t get much because of the one d line was getting a good rush, so it
was a little hard to see but, I thought when he had the ball in his hands and he operated, he
operated at a high level.”
(On the headspace needed as a play caller for the offense) “Confidence. I thought the guys
came out with great energy. It was great to have the fan base here tonight and a lot of
people supporting our organization tonight. Last time I was in here was the Kentucky
Clemson Bowl game. We lost in the final minute. So, it was cool. I think it’s a fast track too.
I’ve just kind of noticed that being out here. I thought it was a great job with the surface, and
I thought our guys felt fast tonight, which I was really pleased with.
(On the mechanisms on organizing the scrimmage) “It was good. Shane Waldron, Heath
Farwell were out there with me, really helping with the operation. The refs, we did a full
operation pregame in terms of the ref meeting with me in the locker room, going through
that. That was my first one, so that was cool. We did the whole pregame. Was it perfect, no.
It was great to just get this operation in before the first game. So, for all of us, just to know
where your locker is, where’s my stuff, where do I go, how do I handle this, and the
communication throughout with penalties, declining, accepting, not a ton of true
situational ball came up that we had to stress. Although, we got the two minutes, the third
downs, the red zone, some of that. So, it was a great first start.”
(On if it will be an easier adjustment to a regular season game) “(joking) Nah, I don’t think
it’ll ever be easier.
(On the speed of the clock in the scrimmage) “This definitely felt fast. I actually looked up at
one point, and it felt like we were kind of going for a while, and I looked it was, like, 7:40. I
was like, oh, jeez. We still have a lot more plays to go through. So it was moving much faster
as you mentioned. I do agree, like, even for the guys, our two O line, a lot of those guys are
on the three O line. They’re dying. We’re trying to get them a little bit more rest where you
say those TV timeouts come in, the natural stoppages of play come in. It definitely slows it
down, whereas tonight did feel a little fast.”
(On if he got to spend enough time talking to Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile)
“Yeah. I only called the – Grant’s [Offensive Coordinator Grant Udinski] mic was cutting out,
so I called the first and second group for the first, I don’t know, six drives, and then he took
the rest, so I was able to be on the defensive side of the ball. Hearing his communication
with his staff, just hearing the communication to the players, I thought they did a nice job.
With the exception of that one drive, the first defense did a pretty nice job. I thought, a.)
stopping the run and also getting some pass rush. I thought [CB] Jarrian Jones had a good
night tonight as well. But yeah, I thought their communication and operation on defense
was clean as well.”
(On how the pass rush performed) “I thought I felt it. You definitely felt it. We were chipping.
We were trying to help and it was getting home. We definitely felt it. He wasn’t pressuring
much either. This was being played kind of like a Pro Bowl from a scheme standpoint,
specifically on defense. Just trying to let them go get lined up and go play, so he was only
bringing really single backer pressure. And then in the red zone, he brought the one-zero, so
you guys didn’t see any of the blitz packages or any of that stuff, which was nice for nobody
to see.”
(On how he thought the younger players handled the scrimmage) “Yeah. Good. I thought,
okay. Okay. I would just say okay. I think you definitely saw some bright eyes in some ways. I
think [RB] LeQuint Allen [Jr.] continues to show up in terms of just doing the right thing all
the time. He just plays hard. He plays fast. He made a great move in space over here. Some
of those younger guys need to get used to it. The lights do get a little bit brighter in here for
them, so breaking the huddle, formations that they haven’t been jacking up. They did a little
bit tonight, but that’s kind of to be expected in some ways. We’ll clean this tape up and
move on.”
(On if he now has a better feel for K Cam Little’s range) “Oh my gosh. Yeah. Dude, I didn’t
even blink. It was just like, yeah, he’s going to hit it. That’s how we all felt. You guys have
obviously seen it more than I have, but I got a ton of confidence in Cam and obviously saw
some of the kickoffs tonight and he did a good job with that. I thought that the operation on
special teams was as sharp as it usually is.”
(On OL Anton Harrison getting reps at left tackle) “Yeah, we were trying to mix and match
with Cole [OL Cole Van Lanen] being out, we have to figure out who our swing tackle is
going to be for the short term right now, specifically. We still have, obviously, competition
going on at all spots, but specifically that position, we want to make sure that we’re giving
guys the opportunity to be on the right side and the left side. That’s why Anton moved over
there so that we could kind of get a good evaluation of all those tackles being able to play
on both sides because you don’t know truly which side they’re best at. And they have to get
good at both if they’re going to be our swing tackle.”
(On if the team is on track 10 days into training camp) “I think we are probably about where I
expected us to be in some ways. I think tonight was maybe a little bit more explosive than I
expected us to be in some ways. So that was just a pleasant surprise, not a surprise, but
that was just pleasant to see. We have guys that can make explosive plays and do it. It’s
just tonight it maybe happened a little bit more than it has. And then really just from a
physicality standpoint, discipline, we have to continue to become more disciplined as a
team with the penalties, jumping offsides, formations, alignment, assignment, that’s never
going to stop getting critiqued probably. But, once we get to a point where we do stop
having to worry about that, maybe we can start worrying a little bit more on the
fundamentals, techniques, and kind of the craft, if you will.”
(On how pleased he’s been with WR Dyami Brown) “I think, like you said, it’s been really the
last three practices, I’d say. He’s kind of taken another step, right? He had a great spring
and then was just maybe a little quiet early on in training camp. And it’s not like he wasn’t
doing his job. Just maybe either wasn’t coming his way or didn’t come down with a couple
one-on-one ops [opportunities]. Tonight was just great to see him get out in the open field
because you can see he can run. He can run. He was coming down the middle of field
fearlessly multiple times. That’s kind of been consistent throughout the spring as well. So,
I’ve been pleased with him. He never really misaligns. He doesn’t jack up formations or
motion. Like, he’s just a good pro. He’s done a nice job and I’ve been happy with him.”
