Spring Insider: Q&A with Bruce Rollinson

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One-on-one with Coach Bruce Rollinson:

Question: What is your impression of your team at this point?
Bruce Rollinson: This is a group that for the 13th day, today (Wednesday), I’ve gone off the field saying, 'All right, they’ve worked very hard.' The inexperience shows with the mistakes, but that’s why you have spring football. The experience shows with playmaking and leadership out of those young men. That pleases me. Overall, we didn’t get anyone banged up. I feel good about this phase of the development of the team.

Q: What were you hoping to accomplish?
BR: We went to a little bit of a different format. We wanted to enhance the competition, so early on the first day at the start of spring football, we split the team in half. We went against each other. We were able to coach more young men in the same amount of time. And the competition has proven to be very beneficial. In between there we put together what we thought would be tentative starting lineups on both sides of the football and then we would go against the best available service teams. When you look at spring football, you’re trying to identify weaknesses. It gives you direction for the summer.

Q: A year ago you brought back a very talented group and it seems you’re doing that again. Does it feel like you have that type of team again?
BR: Every team is different. Last year’s team was very mature and they had a lot of character. This year's group is more of a loosey-goosey group, but they have a quiet confidence about themselves. We’re just starting to identify the personality of the football team. We’re not going to make this year's team like last year’s team. We’re going to make this team have its own identity. That’s what the process is now, to identify that identity. But when it’s all said and done, there some pretty good football players out there.

Q: Can you talk about the receivers, who are a big mystery to everyone?
BR: Everyone’s wondering about the receiving core. I really feel we’re going to dial in the same numbers, new names. Of course it's going to be hard to replace a Robbie Boyer. But I think we got a kid that maybe by the end of the year will have made a major contribution. What I can feature is more speed on the outside than we’ve had in a while. I think we can stretch it vertically a little bit more than we were able to last year. That was a great receiving crew and these guys are up to the challenge. Obviously they know with Matt (Barkley) they have a great opportunity to showcase their talents.

Q: With the passing leagues coming up, is that when you start to get the timing down between Barkley  and the receivers?
:You’re constantly working on timing. You’re constantly working on a relationship between Matt and the five or six receivers, so he understands their movement, their profile. But when you have a kid of Matt’s ability, he adjusts faster than the receivers. Matt has the ability to put the ball anywhere he wants to at any time he wants to. The receivers are the ones that have to adjust. They might (think), I’m not sure I’m open. Well, Matt can put it between two guys and bring a lot of velocity on the ball. That’s what’s been hard for them. The levels they’ve played at, they wouldn’t even be considered, but Matt just goes, 'There’s a crack, so he lets it fly.' That’s all part of timing and has dramatically improved for us.

Q: What do you think about your defense after graduating a lot on that side of the ball?
BR: We have a lot of young kids that are going to slot in. We’re a lot bigger at linebacker than we were last year. Do they have the ability? That’s one of the issues. Defensive line, we have a couple of those kids back. We’ve got enough kids that have quality playing time, but it’s the cohesiveness of the unit. I can tell you I like their nastiness and the total team speed. We can run. Its building that unit together, that’s the process that will take place.

Q: With national championships and several other plaques on the walls and an annual top ranking, how do you keep your players focused on this season?
BR:What you do is preach tradition. Tradition never graduates. It is their turn to step up and identify themselves and make their mark in the history of Mater Dei football. We spend a lot of time talking about things like that, talking about the power of the three stripes: power, poise and courage. And getting them to buy into it. They know the expectations are high and they know they have a tremendous opportunity to carry on the traditions of the high school. Now it is their turn. That is all encompassed by your seniors.

Your whole season, I believe, is dictated by how unified and strong your senior class is. We feel good about this senior group, led by Matt Barkley and some other kids. They will get the younger players to understand how big this thing is. They will get the younger players to understand what the responsibility is and what comes with being a Mater Dei football player. Mater Dei football is not a right, it’s a privilege. And they must understand this is a privilege. But coming with that privilege is the responsibility that they have to take care of business on the football field.

Contact the writer: amaya@ocregister.com