Q&A Recap: Tyler Roehl, Jaylen Raynor and Tyler Fortenberry meet with the media
· Yahoo Sports
Iowa State offensive coordinator Tyler Roehl and a pair of Arkansas State transfers in Jaylen Raynor and Tyler Fortenberry met with the media on Thursday. The following is a transcript of their respective availabilities.
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Q: I wanted to ask you about your season with the Lions and how much do you find yourself drawing on lessons you learned in that one season more than maybe you even anticipated given the change of scenery, the level the type of difference?
Tyler Roehl: A ton. I mean every day I was there there was something new, whether it was from a coach, a player someone in front office – I mean you were learning so much at a rapid rate. It was unbelievable for my growth not just offensively, but how to establish a roster, personnel moves. There’s just so much that was learned and I learned a ton from those players. One example, situational football. The margin of victory of winning games is so small and it was Monday Night Football, fourth and one. We ran a play, something that’s not in our playbook here, but ran a play to St. Brown. He then pitched it to Jah Gibbs. It was fourth and one. The effort, finish and execution that they had to convert that first down to help us win that game was unbelievable. So to take that clip, and the the lessons learned just from those eight seconds to then teach our players is imperative for our growth. So I mean, I learned so much really appreciate what what Dan [Campbell] did for me, that staff, that whole entire offensive staff. There was a lot of growth.
Q: In terms of growth from your offensive units, who do you I guess you want to see massive growth from all of them, but who are you seeing as a group that maybe needs to maybe based on lack of experience or whatever, need to grow the most up?
Tyler Roehl: Yeah, all of them. I mean, you can’t get enough repetitions right now. And right now for a lot of these guys, this is a different system and different can scare people, right? But this is an unbelievable challenge that they’ve grasped, attacked. It’s been fun to see their growth. You can’t run and hide in this system. You’re either about it or you’re not. Repetitions right now, I mean, it is what it is. Based on the rules and how we need to practice. We’re not in full pads yet, right? It’s just a pajama party out there. For us to accomplish what we want to accomplish, it starts tomorrow with real football. That’s when you find out who’s about it and who’s going to buckle up the chin strap, bite down on the mouth guard and come off the ball with velocity. I’m excited to see who responds because there can be a lot of hooting, hollering with without pads on, but who’s going to be about it tomorrow at 10 o’clock?
Q: Coach, what you just said, when you’re in tight situations in games, how comforting is it for you as the play caller to have a guy like Jaylen who has his level of experience and it seems to be a lot of confidence in himself to get the job done.
Tyler Roehl: Oh yeah, he chooses belief every single day. He’s about it. Understands ball, high football IQ, very curious to learn. Repetition is the mother of learning and the amount of banked repetitions he has with great coaching from coach [Keith] Heckendorf the belief, the trust, that he has and has grown within this system, there is a lot of trust. Trust has to be earned out there on the practice field too, it can’t just be earned. Everyone looks good in the [independent] drills but when it’s third and eight and we’re on the right hash can you drive that ball to convert a first down and he’s made great strides and I’m excited to see continued growth out of him as well.
Q: Coach Rogers mentioned yesterday the three freshman receivers, [Malcolm] Watkins, [Jamal] Polite and [Jeffrey] Roberts as guys that have stood out so far. A lot of similar attributes and sizes between them. Is that something that fits into your philosophy and what you learned in the NFL?
Tyler Roehl: Oh, yeah. You got to have if you go to build cabinets and all you have is hammers, probably not going to get a great cabinet. But if you have different tools to accomplish the job, that’s going to give full asset to the offense. It’s up to us as coaches to put those players in the right spots to highlight their skill set. So yeah, they’re all a little bit different. They all got great speed, ability, eager. I’m excited for that group. They’ve done a good job. They’re young, but they’re willing. That’s all I can ask for.
Q: Can you talk about the tight end position a little bit? And then also kind of extending on that. I know not maybe not a lot of numbers or experience at this level yet. Would you potentially entertain maybe having like a six offensive lineman on the on the line, to run the system that you want to run?
Tyler Roehl: Yeah. Six, seven, eight, nine. We can do whatever we want. I think that’s fun. There’s so much that goes into that position, right? I mean, you can break it down to just base fundamentals.
stance.
Am I attached? How’s my stance? Am I on the right side? Am I on the left side? Am I on or off the ball? Am I detached? Am I detached in a three-point stance or two-point stance? Am I on the ball or am I off the ball? What’s my objective after I depart my stance? What’s my pre-snap alignment? Am I shifting? – Because those guys shift a lot. – How do I execute this shift? When do I move in the shift?
We ain’t gotten to snapping the ball yet.
Where’s the technique lined up against me? Is it a nine? Is it a six? Is it a five? Is it a six-eye? Where’s that defender’s eyes? Where’s the weight in his stance? What’s the scheme? Am I on the front side? Am I on the back side? Where am I at in this passing concept? Where am I at protection?
There’s so much to it. This system has emphasized that group. So for them to get comfortable understanding what is asked to play that position, you got to just work at it. It takes reps. Day by day there’s incremental growth.
You look at the room, Tyler Fortenberry is one who has played a lot of football, but he hasn’t been in a system like this, you know, so for him to get those reps, it’s imperative.
Vince Benetti was playing D-Line two years ago. Roskop has been more of like a wing fullback. Training him to be able to do all of it. That’s where you create value for this offense. Easton Miller, having him do everything. Slot, tail back, fullback, wing, on the ball, tight end. AJ Petersen has done a really good job.
Christian Greenlaw. I mean, from the level that he came from and through that recruiting process, I said, ‘We cannot evaluate Christian until the middle of fall camp.’ That went back to January. It’s unfair because it’s all so brand new to him. For him, there’s been so much growth just even getting in a three-point stance. And for him, it’s unfair to judge him on what he’s done for probably another eight practices, but there’s been really good growth from him as well.
Q: At running back, early early reads on Flora and Pettaway, I mean, is Flora a guy you can foresee being like a bellcow type of guy or I mean, is it going to be a kind of a team effort out of those guys?
Tyler Roehl: Yeah, Flora can be like Christian McCaffrey in my opinion. I’m high on Flora.I’m high on Cam. Cam’s a good player. We got two really good dynamic players in there. I said Easton Miller. Arnold Barnes. There’s growth. I think it’s unfair to judge where he’s at right now. Just hasn’t done a lot. Can’t wait to get Ryver back. He’s trending in a good direction. Still, it’s probably hopeful for early in the season. There’s two young players. Hey, Wyatt Archer. He was playing DB early in spring. Came over and made plays. That guy is fighting for every opportunity and repetition that he can get. So what people may think is not a deep, there’s good depth. There is, and it’s building every day. Have they proven themselves to be an elite group yet? No. There’s work to do, but they’re trending in a good direction.
Q: I know you guys are going to have the guys competing every day in practice, but to have Jaylen in there at QB1, how beneficial is that everything like that you just mentioned as being new to everybody to have that position as settled as it can be to have your attention elsewhere or to be able to have him take the reps that he needs with the entire offense.
Tyler Roehl: Confidence is contagious and his belief work, aptitude, ability to help lead, bring along players. That’s huge. I mean, as a coach, you want extra coaches on the field. Player led programs are championship level programs. When you have guys that are all in without waver every day, that’s when you know you got something special. His continued growth, leadership, I mean, that was from day one. His energy was contagious. and we can’t have enough of those guys. He’s done a good job.
Q: Hey coach, want to go back to running backs. You guys obviously made the addition of Arnold after the spring.
What went into that decision to add depth there and what have you seen from him throughout the summer as well as two training camp practices?
Tyler Roehl: When we got here, AJ Petersen was still playing tailback. I love AJ. AJ’s not a tailback. some situations he could be. AJ’s a fullback. He’s an old school fullback that will run downhill. Then you have injury or other players on the roster changing and we needed depth, but the right depth. You win with the right people and we wanted to add someone who we had knowledge of and a familiar background of and he fit that. So we just we need another player.
Q: I’m curious for you as an offensive coordinator, your job is, from my understanding, to bounce around to different position groups within practice. How do you approach spending time with quarterbacks, but then also getting to offensive line, receiver, running back, tight ends to make sure you’re managing your time effectively within the hour and a half you guys have?
Tyler Roehl: First and foremost, back in late December, early January, it was about hiring the right people, and we did. To give them autonomy to be the head coach of their position group. They are quite frankly an extension of me and they have the ability to teach, encourage, grow their position groups. During special teams, the O line is usually not involved with that, and the quarterbacks are usually not involved with that. So that’s where I can go and gravitate towards those two groups, if I’m not involved in special teams. I kind of hop around, we’ll do some different circuits where that’s the whole offense, whether it’s ball security, catching routes, catch contact to full offensive blocking circuits, that’s where I can still bounce around to to all the players, but it’s on me.
You win with people, you win with the right people and trust goes a long way. You got to have connection and it gets hard because there’s a lot of demands in getting ready for practice or scripting the practice and making sure everything’s organized, but I need to be one who’s getting around and making sure that they they see me, they feel my presence. They know that I care. With us running our offensive system daily like an NFL system, we have unit meetings every single day. It may be one minute, it may be five minutes, it may be 10 minutes. So that gives me an ability to get in front of all of them at least once a day. I think that’s imperative just to continue to portray the image of how we want to play, develop the mindset and mentality of in which we need to play with. I just I think that’s important.
Q: In the spring, you applauded your offensive line depth. I’m curious, you know, have you seen a group of five or configuration five? Did it separate from itself or are you still working through that through fall camp?
Tyler Roehl: No, great question. It’s hard right now. There’s there’s good depth, but until we get to tomorrow at 12:05, I won’t know because it’s in a helmet and t-shirt really shoulder no shoulder pads. So, honestly, it’s not our whole offense is in. It’s day two. We have mo much more to install. Until we get everything in, that’s when people will separate themselves because they’ll show if they’re about it or not. I could I could put five out there, but again, it’s not real football, especially for that position group until tomorrow.
Q: And for the uninitiated, how intense was that coaching rivalry between you and Rogers when you were at NDSU? How’s that transition been to where now you’re the guy he trusts to run his offense and you guys are now synergizing together over the last six, seven, eight months?
Tyler Roehl: It was highly competitive. He wanted to win and I wanted to win, but there was the utmost respect out of each other as people. How they inspired their position group or side of the ball to play and I appreciate him entrusting in me his vision for this place. You guys heard him yesterday. It’s unbelievable the way in which he directs, communicates, has alignment. Everyone is pulling the rope in the same direction under his vision. It is our job as position coaches, coordinators, players to continue to build our edge to go win. We’re on a mission. We’re on his mission and that’s to win and win now.
Q: Hey coach, what makes people want to follow Jaylen Raynor?
Tyler Roehl: Confidence and energy is contagious. When you’re around someone who doesn’t smile a lot, kind of by themselves, you don’t want to follow them, right? When you’re around someone who has a bounce in their step, a smile on their face, knows that he cares because he knows your first name. He came in and learned every single person’s name on the roster in the building. That’s special. That doesn’t go unnoticed. It’s contagious. You’re seeing someone who has taken the reigns and just flourished. A lot of those people, they see true leadership. Leadership is earned every day because leadership can be lonely. When you do it the right way, you show trust and care, you’re going to have some people who will follow.
Q: Impression after, you know, two, I guess, padless days, but still two days of practice?
Jaylen Raynor: Really good energy. I think, on both sides of the ball, everybody’s flying around competing. So the first two days have been really good. I feel like the summer, we were able to establish a lot of things on both sides of the ball. We retained all the information and we were flying around for the first two days, so it was good.
Q: How were some areas of your game like over the summer that you focused on like individually maybe with the receivers, tight ends, any of those guys?
Jaylen Raynor: Being more intentional with the protections and learning the ins and outs of the offense, not just knowing knowing the surface level. Obviously growing those connections with timing, ball placement, how different people want the ball placed in certain areas of the field and things like that. Timing mechanisms, improving with my rhythm and drops to eliminate pressure on the offensive line and just the small details of the offense.
Q: Coach Roehl talked about it being a completely new system for you. How much do you like embrace that challenge and because he also talked about confidence coming from all your banked reps and so you have that so much experience, but coming into a new system?
Jaylen Raynor: I feel like all of the banked reps, like you said, obviously gives them myself confidence and going out there and being able to perform, but all of the reps from we started in January, just learning the playbook and then spring ball, repeating it over again in the summer, all of it has just culminated to what I know now. It gives you more and more confidence the more and more you go over it, talking through it with the teammates, with your coaches. It’s just the reps. It gives you so much confidence to be out be able to go out there and execute at a high level.
Q: We see this time of year the expectations that other people have for the program for you guys. What’s your expectations?
Jaylen Raynor: We expect to come out here every day, compete our tails off and really just focus on day-to-day. That’s kind of the message we have going on right now. Control the controllables right now. Do the best that we can each and every day to stack and get to where we want to be for game one and then the rest of the season.
Q: How important is your command of the huddle? I mean, people are going to look at arm strength and how fast you can run and those things, but for you how big a deal is just command of the huddle?
Jaylen Raynor: Especially in this type of offense where we huddle every play almost is very important. I think it starts with the relationships to be able to have those people and those guys depend on me and have confidence in me. To be able to communicate with them clearly. Get everybody on the same page. Talk with confidence and they have confidence in me to know what I’m doing and I know that they know what they’re doing. It all boils down to the relationships that we have built up to this point and we’re going to continue to build those and obviously continue to cherish those reps.
Q: How important is it to already have that, in the start of fall camp where those guys are looking to you and trusting you and you’re not building that up through Sept. 5?
Jaylen Raynor: It’s very important. Basically the same thing of bouncing off of the banked reps that we’ve had through spring ball, through the summer, watching film together, all of that. It gives us a basis obviously to start in fall camp on the rise, but the first two days I think we’re a pretty good starting point of where we want to be and we’re going to continue to push each other to rise each and every day.
Q: What are you seeing from the two guys behind you, Flores and Moberly? What what are you seeing out of them?
Jaylen Raynor: They’re super smart. They’re super competitive. We push each other each and every day in the film room, on the field, in the weight room. So they’re great guys to compete with each and every day. They’re great people individually. We hang out inside the facility, outside the facility. We’re just continuing to build that brotherhood. We encourage each other. We push each other. They’re they’re very good quarterbacks and we’re going to continue to push each other. So, whenever somebody’s in the game, whoever it is, they have the confidence to go out there and execute at a high level.
Q: How much experience do you have verbalizing play calls and assignments pre-snap?
Jaylen Raynor: This is really my first year doing it. Especially each and every play. We did it a little bit at Arkansas State, not too much. We were more shotgun tempo, uptempo, things like that. But, this is really my first year, but all of the reps, like I said, since January, meetings and things like that just continue to help me build confidence in doing it.
Q: How do you work on building confidence and getting the play call out succinctly and easy for everyone to kind of hear their assignment and execute it?
Jaylen Raynor: It goes back to me doing extra work outside the building, inside the building, or just going through a script, verbalizing it to myself of how I would want to break each section up and make it clearly to clearly enough to understand it. If I was on the opposite side listening to the play call. So I do that a bunch, just going through plays. Then for myself, picturing where everybody is, shifts, motions, things like that, setting a protection. So, it’s all about reps. Mental reps are very important. Even when I’m not in, I try to get the rep if another quarterback’s in. Just the more and more I do it, the more and more I see it, it just becomes more and more natural.
Q: We’ve heard a lot about the system. What’s the most different thing about it for you? Is it the huddling or what is what has been the biggest difference?
Jaylen Raynor: Being able to verbalize, obviously is a big piece of it, but just the amount of shift trade motion. Having to know where each and everybody each and every person is, telling them basically what to do on each and every play. It can be a lot, but it’s something you sign up for. It’s something you want as a quarterback challenging yourself. It comes down to being able to study, retain information, and it’s kind of fun to do it. Once you you put say all of those words and everybody just goes out and does exactly what they’re supposed to do, it’s it’s an amazing feeling.
Q: When you are doing all of that and telling everybody where to be, where to shift, do you feel like that helps your job, even though it’s complicated right now over the over the course of the season?
Jaylen Raynor: I think the more and more I do it, like I said, it’s like picturing where everybody’s at while I’m reading through the call. It’s easy. It gets more and more easy the more I do it. At first practice of spring ball, we got shifts in motions. I’m trying to picture everywhere everybody’s going to be and it was kind of hard. It’s jumbled up. But as we’ve gone through it multiple times, it’s like everything’s clicking. It helps me to be able to picture where everybody’s at. What I’m looking for in the defense on offense and those types of things.
Q: Did a wristband to help you kind of get through some of the assignments?
Jaylen Raynor: Wristband and then also the helmet communication.
Q: When did it become apparent to you that you had the type of traits that people look at you the makings of a leader?
Jaylen Raynor: >> Maybe high school? Being able to lead a junior varsity team. I guess it’s kind of the same way. Middle school basketball. It’s just I’ve kind of always been that type of guy to want everything a certain way. Things done the right way and obviously the most important I’d like to win. So I’m going to do whatever it takes to put my team in the best position to win at the end of the day.
Q: How much of that comes naturally and how much of it becomes intentional with each step that you take?
Jaylen Raynor: I feel like I have a good sense of awareness. Kind of taught that or trained that a little bit at Arkansas State with my strength and conditioning coach Jeff Jones and we talked a lot about awareness. So, me being aware of how I want to present myself and present myself to the guys around me and my confidence and things like that rubs off on other people. It goes back to the awareness and how I kind of perceive that and want people to perceive me to give the confidence to the people around me.
Q: How has being around an entirely new team outside of Fortenberry and Heckendorf improved your leadership?
Jaylen Raynor: It makes you get out of your comfort zone. I think you have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. You’re in a game with big people, little people and they’re all coming to get you as a quarterback. You sometimes you got to have those conversations to get everybody on the same page so you’re protected as a quarterback, but also so you can get the playmakers the ball and give confidence to the people on the offense to go out and make plays. Then also just not only the offense, but talking to the defense, learning the defense, special teams, everything. So, you have to have those different conversations, but, it can be uncomfortable to reach out of your comfort zone and get to know somebody a little bit deeper and things like that. So, it’s very good. It’s a good opportunity for me.
Q: Is leading a junior varsity football team the same thing as leading a Big 12 football team?
Jaylen Raynor: No, not at all. It kind of stems from the same place of having that desire to do what it takes to win. Doing whatever it takes to come out on top and like pushing yourself and the people around you to get the best out of them and best out of yourself. No, it’s definitely not the same thing.
Q: Did he do that at Arkansas State, too? Did he memorize everyone’s name?
Tyler Fortenberry: Well, whenever I got there, whenever I transferred in, he pretty much already knew everybody’s name.
Q: Two days of camp so far. How’s it been?
Tyler Fortenberry: I think it’s been pretty good. Two pretty light days. Just really bunch of indie work. Just getting better at the small things, but a lot of pass game today. So, just getting the timing down with the QBs and the receivers and all that.
Q: Roehl said in when he was just in here that this is like an entirely new system for you. Can you kind of go through like what the big changes are and maybe the big adjustments for you?
Tyler Fortenberry: I would say the main thing is at Arkansas State it was signal. So like everything coming on the field like you had to know the the play and the signal to it. Here, it’s just like the QB comes into the huddle. It’s more pro style. You hear the play one time. You kind of have to digest it all at once and then you go out there and execute it.
Q: How’s Jaylen gone with that? I mean has that kind of been something that that everything’s flowed well
Tyler Fortenberry: Jaylen’s in the facility at least 12 hours a day watching film even whenever we just had workouts for two hours a day. So everything’s pretty smooth for him. He’s in here watching film on SEMO two months ago getting ready for that game. It’s been pretty easy for Jaylen just becauseof the work that he puts in.
Q: Coach Roehl said you don’t he’s not going to find out who is I think in his words “about it” until your pads come on. What what does he mean by that? What does it mean to be “about it” in his offensive system?
Tyler Fortenberry: I think just not being scared of contact. Like you can tell the film’s never going to lie. Like you can tell who’s afraid of contact and who’s not. So whenever the pads come on, which will honestly be tomorrow will be in shells and shorts. But we’ll figure out tomorrow who’s about it.
Q: Where do you fall on that scale? How “about it” you?
Tyler Fortenberry: Film’s not going to lie. Y’all see.
Q: You’ve had a bit of a winding career. JUCO, Vandy now here. What makes Iowa State the place where you feel like you’re going to have the most success?
Tyler Fortenberry: I would say the coaching staff and the players here, it’s like everybody’s a family. Like the coaching staff, like you’re more than just a football player to them. You’re a person. I feel like pretty much everywhere I’ve been has been more of just like you’re just a football player to them. How you do on the field is how they treat you off the field. And here I feel like it’s not like that. Especially with my tight end coach, coach Hestness.
Q: How much do you feel like your time at at Arkansas State kind of helped you just improve overall as a player to now your second opportunity and the power four to succeed?
Tyler Fortenberry: I would just say the game experience that I got there because I was getting like 70 reps a game because our other tight end Tyler Little got hurt like second game of the year. I think it was great for me just being out on the field like feeling all the pressure like having to go through like the fourth quarter situations whenever it’s a close game and I guess coming out on top was all good for me.
Q: This is the time of year when we see expectations and what they are from people outside the program. But what’s important is what you guys believe. What do you feel?
Tyler Fortenberry: Well, I think Coach Rogers does a good job like in team meetings and stuff like making sure we’re not focused on what Twitter says, what Instagram says, not worried about what the media has to say about where we’re going to finish because obviously they all have us at 16. If you buy into that and you believe what the media has to say, then you’re never going to get anywhere in life.
Q: What’s the balance of I guess shutting out the outside noise and then everybody online at least made a big deal about, Jimmy picking you guys to win the Big 12. What was that, you know, moment like when you saw that you did that and what kind of feeling does that instill?
Tyler Fortenberry: Well, if you’ve been in like the I guess you would say the facility, the locker room or the team meeting room, like you would expect it out of him. Like he’s overly confident about everything. Like he’s pretty much won everywhere he’s been and South Dakota State won a won a national championship twice in ‘23 and ‘24 I think. So I think we all expected that out of him.
Q: With your skill set and playing tight end here. I mean, what what’s what are the responsibilities for you and I mean, how’s that maybe a good fit?
Tyler Fortenberry: I think here more than Arkansas State, we’re going to run the ball more. So, I think me just getting better in the run game would be good for me. AThrough fall camp, like obviously, I’ve got to focus on things like pad level and just balance in general. So, I think getting better at that would help me a lot in this system.
Q: You also had a fair amount of catches too in in that offense and stuff. Looking at the rest of the position, not a whole lot proven yet on Saturdays. Is that something maybe you can lean into as well?
Tyler Fortenberry: I think just like proving it in practice, like I don’t really think what I did at Arkansas State matters here because I’m here now and I’m not at Arkansas State anymore. So, I think just proving to everybody what I can do here and then having the coaches trust me in the system.
Q: Coach Roehl says that repetitions bring confidence more or less. I’d imagine when you got to Arkansas State, Jaylen was already an established leader. How have you seen him evolve in at a different place? I famously learned everyone’s names and all that, but how have you seen him take another step in that regard?
Tyler Fortenberry: I think like all y’all said like how he learned the names as soon as he got here was like really cool to see because whenever at Arkansas State like we had we had a few transfers come in whenever I was there, but like it wasn’t near as many as we had here. Seeing him learn everybody’s name and basically like a week if not half a week here was pretty cool. I think he he cares about everything. Like he’s just a big football guy.
Q: How big of a job is it for you guys to to install the offense, to understand it, and to be able to do it all, you know, 11 at a time together?
Tyler Fortenberry: I would say like now because whenever we got here in the winter, obviously first install was like the first four weeks, but we’ve probably installed it six times since then. So now it’s more like everybody knows what you’re doing if you like slow it down. You read the play twice, you really look at the play. But just hearing it once is probably the hardest part of this offense. Being able to know everything you have, the motions before the shifts before the trades, all that. I think that’s probably the hardest thing, but like by now pretty much everybody knows the system. It’s just like hearing it that one time and then going out there and executing it.
Q: How valuable are those summer team activities that you guys can do and and understanding the install of the offense?
Tyler Fortenberry: I think it was very important. Like all the walkthroughs that we do here is probably more than anywhere else I’ve ever done. Like all the walkthroughs help you like you slow it down. You like you really know who knows what, who doesn’t know what. Go in the film, review that. I think it’s been good for everybody.
Q: Coach Roehl spent a year with the Lions and around some good tight ends. Has there been any pieces of advice that that you’ve gathered from him?
Tyler Fortenberry: Oh, yeah. Definitely. Like anytime coach Roehl is coaching you, like you have the utmost respect for him because of where he’s been. He’s one of the best I’ve ever like just heard like coaching me like it’s so easy to understand what he’s saying and then apply to what you’re about to do.
Q: What was the process like of you coming here? I mean granted there probably the connection with Rainer with with coach Heck and then I think also Jimmy had said that Clark Lea and him were pretty close. Did you play under Lea at Vandy or just get the connections there?
Tyler Fortenberry: Clark Lea was a great coach. Like nothing but respect for Clark Lea. I think he’s one of the best coaches in the nation. But I also had coach Heckendorf come in with me and then coach Roehl obviously being in the NFL like you have trust and respect for him. But having Jaylen come in too was huge because I mean he was QB last year. He threw it to me pretty much every single time. I would say all that was big.
Q: Has your connection kind of picked up where it left off with?
Tyler Fortenberry: I would say since we got here, honestly, it’s gotten better just like off the field stuff. Like we’ve hung out a little bit more here, but yeah, it’s definitely got better since we got here.
Q: What is it about the way that coach Ro instructs or communicates that makes him such a good teacher that makes it easy to to pick up concepts?
Tyler Fortenberry: I think just like his love for football and how deeply he understands everything. like it’s very easy for him to communicate to anybody.
Q: How well do you see him kind of bounce around to the different position groups, be it in practice or jumping into your guys’ meeting room before going over to another offensive group?
Tyler Fortenberry: I mean coach Heck, even at Arkansas State, like he was the OC there, like he had a ton of energy, too, but coach Roehl is just on a whole another level. Like he’s running around like he’s 20 years old, chasing us down, out running us. Super cool to see it.