QA: Weis at Big 12 media days

Below is the Q&A transcript from Charlie Weis who just finished up meeting the media at Big 12 media days.

The players are coming in on August 7. We don't play in August and we open up on September 6. We will come in on the seventh and get going on the eighth. We will get our 29 practices in plenty of time and get ready to get rock and roll in September.

On Jimmay Mundine:

He has become a more well-rounded player. When I first got here he had better offensive skills than he did blocking skills. But now he has become more efficient in both manners. With a change of offensive philosophy that we're going through this year and going to a more spread mentality I think the tight end position gets accented more than the offense that I was used are running. I think that Jimmay will have a chance to be an integral part of the offense this year.

On Montell Cozart:

First of all I am glad I made the decision halfway through last year to play him. There were high points and low points but I think we know what we're getting. I don't have to worry about the freshmen jitters in his sophomore campaign. In this offense that we're running I think that athleticism at the quarterback position is a critical factor and he definitely has athleticism. So besides being able to stand in the pocket and deliver I think that added element on the called runs for the quarterback or just scramble ability to bail you out of some trouble situations gives us a better chance to score more points.

On Nick Harwell:

Anytime you can plug in a number one wide receiver who has played three years as a starter with big production it puts a whole different composition into your wide receiver position. Obviously wide receiver is one of the multiple positions on offense that we have struggled at the last couple years. I think that adding a valuable senior leader like Nick with his athleticism just makes everyone around him play better.

On what he saw in the spring from Kevin short, Andrew Bolton, and Marcus Jenkins-Moore:

I saw a lot more out of Bolton and Short than Jenkins-Moore because Jenkins-Moore had a knee injury that has taken a long time to recover. Bolton came in banged up and really wasn't ready to go. He is a big, physical bruising type of guy that I would've liked to have played last year but I'm glad we didn't.

Kevin has all sorts of athleticism. The one position when you look at our defense right now we have a veteran secondary. So I think Kevin being thrown in with the rest of those guys gives us a chance to be able to cover some of these offenses that play fast paced in space.

Jenkins-Moore came in as a dynamic pass rusher but I still think he is a ways away.

On true freshman center Jacob Bragg:

I think the fact you have one of the best pure centers in the nation coming in from the state of Texas is very encouraging. I tell Jacob the same thing I'd tell every single kid we are recruiting and that's don't come in here with the mentality that you are going to be redshirting your freshman year. Come in and try to beat everyone out. Jacob is going to come in and he is going to start at the bottom of the depth chart just like every other freshman that walks in the door. When Jacob is ready to play he will play and he has tremendous upside.

Steps to make sure there is less contact and player safety:

My trainer Murphy Grant was actually the guy who kind of headed (no pun intended) this concussion type of discussion on behalf of the Big 12. We have had a lot of talks at length about minimizing the best we can the helmet to helmet type of thing. Fortunately or unfortunately to get ready to play football you need live tackling to be able to practice fundamentals and techniques. Like we do every year we will have our defensive coordinator get up and demonstrate the proper way of tackling. As far as the contact itself goes we would have already abided by that two days a week maximum. I think as the season goes on there's only so many times you can tackle and take them to the ground and you have to cut it down the more and more as the year goes along.

What do you have to do on first and second down as an offense:

Anytime you have a mobile quarterback which is really not the way we were suited to last year until Montell started playing. Until that you are playing 11 on 10 football. If the quarterback is never going to carry the ball and is not a threat to the defense and they don't have to worry about him, then they are plus one as far as numbers go. By having a quarterback being able to be one of the guys who can carry the ball puts much more stress on the defense.

On putting a number of what would be successful wins:

Yes I can but I won't. I think it is really important that your team's expectations must be clearly defined but we haven't done a thing in the two years that I have been here. We won one game two years ago and three games last year in one game in the conference. We haven't won a game on the road. For me to get up here and say what my expectations are to you… I'm not very smart. But our team clearly knows what our expectations are.

With the move to spread offense what will be Weis role:

My involvement with the offense will take place during the week it will not take place on game day. I will not be involved on game day. Other than a critical situation or if I see coach Reagan has them on the ropes, for example if we are hammering them in the run game I might say keep pounding them. I'm going to let the offensive staff to run the offense.

I am more of an advisor right now. I would like to think I'm a good person for him to use as a resource as far as how would you do this or how would you do that.