CHRIS WEINKE
I got here and just got familiar with the rest of the people here and spent a little time in the building and a little time with the rest of the staff, then hit the road recruiting and just got off the road and get organized for spring ball. We have not spent a whole lot of time together, we will start to crank that up and these guys' approaches and how they learn and that will be important as we head into spring ball.
On Zach Gibson’s experience helping along with Sims' experience, we have some guys who have been in the battle before, I’m excited about our room. Jeff Sims is very athletic and can do all the things we want in our offense and Zach Gibson who has played at the collegiate level and Zach Pyron who I love the way he approaches everything he does and what we expect from the QB position. I like the mindset of the guys and their approach and Jeff has an opportunity to be really special, he is really athletic and has all the arm talent to make the throws in our offense. It is a work in progress and I love competitive rooms and I think these guys will be really competitive.
On where he can help Sims, It is always unique when you bring in new offensive coaches and the scheme and verbiage will be different than what he was used to. Our job is to make these guys comfortable and confident, it is about learning his understanding. What I call FBI, football intelligence, how fast can they learn, can they take what they learn in the classroom and bring it to the field, we will learn that when we get on the field. On the surface, watching the games he has played what jumps off the film is his athletic and can make every throw, now it is the rhythm and flow and timing, but he is a special talent.
On what he did last year, I had the opportunity to train QBs all levels and flew around and I spent time down in Florida helping coach a HS team and it gave me an opportunity to learn some different offensively philosophies.
It is always nice to take a step back and work from afar, the competitive side of me hated being away from it, it isn’t just Xs and Os and relationships, but also the structured schedule and recruiting 247 and it was very nice with my 15 and 12-year-old kid to spend time with them, but to be with people I believe in and a philosophy I believe in, I believe in that and I’ve worked with Coach Long, worked with coach Key and I recruited coach Daniels in HS.
On his experiences as a QB coach, those experiences at all three levels as a QB, I told them I’m just an older version of you, I went through it, you don’t have a guy who has never faced adversity, I’ve been at the highest of highs winning an MNC and the lowest of lows throwing 6 picks. I want them to know they have a guy who cares about them and has done it himself at every level and developed guys, they know I’ve been there and done it, sometimes I revert back to those moments, if I see a guy struggling I relate a story, ‘hey I went through this and this is what I did.’ I’m old school and blue-collar, but I am also demanding and that is refreshing for them, the opportunity to coach and played the game at all levels is a bonus for the kids.
On Gibson’s fit in the system, that is the goal, my job is to prepare them for success on Saturdays, I tell every QB I’ve ever coached, let's be prepared for anything, and then let it fly on Saturdays. A guy like Gibson who has playing experience and minimal mistakes, my job is to limit as many mistakes as possible and are you a functional thinker? This is what we are looking at and this is where we expect the ball to go. Going from a player to the coach, I can’t cross the white line, that is hard for me. Zach has a great experience playing and protecting the ball at all costs, that is our mantra in our room to protect the ball.
On facing Tillman in the NFL at practice
I used to light those guys up every day, he never had a pick on me, he was a great teammate and a really good solid guy and a great player, I’m excited to work every day with him, we will battle against each other every day, it will be battle.
On FSU playing for Richt and Bowden and their influence on his coaching style
Coach Bowden is why I chose to go to FSU, when anyone asks me about him, he is the greatest human being I’ve ever met, he is a faith-based man who did things the right way. He put us in an environment to be successful in football and all his life. Coach Richt was my QB and position coach, he built my foundation after I played six years of pro baseball, he had to start me at the ground level, I’m indebted to both of them and they are a big part of why I got into coaching. Both of those guys were instrumental in how I coach guys and it is nice to come back to the ACC, we had a lot of success down at that other place and I expect to have a lot of success here.
I got here and just got familiar with the rest of the people here and spent a little time in the building and a little time with the rest of the staff, then hit the road recruiting and just got off the road and get organized for spring ball. We have not spent a whole lot of time together, we will start to crank that up and these guys' approaches and how they learn and that will be important as we head into spring ball.
On Zach Gibson’s experience helping along with Sims' experience, we have some guys who have been in the battle before, I’m excited about our room. Jeff Sims is very athletic and can do all the things we want in our offense and Zach Gibson who has played at the collegiate level and Zach Pyron who I love the way he approaches everything he does and what we expect from the QB position. I like the mindset of the guys and their approach and Jeff has an opportunity to be really special, he is really athletic and has all the arm talent to make the throws in our offense. It is a work in progress and I love competitive rooms and I think these guys will be really competitive.
On where he can help Sims, It is always unique when you bring in new offensive coaches and the scheme and verbiage will be different than what he was used to. Our job is to make these guys comfortable and confident, it is about learning his understanding. What I call FBI, football intelligence, how fast can they learn, can they take what they learn in the classroom and bring it to the field, we will learn that when we get on the field. On the surface, watching the games he has played what jumps off the film is his athletic and can make every throw, now it is the rhythm and flow and timing, but he is a special talent.
On what he did last year, I had the opportunity to train QBs all levels and flew around and I spent time down in Florida helping coach a HS team and it gave me an opportunity to learn some different offensively philosophies.
It is always nice to take a step back and work from afar, the competitive side of me hated being away from it, it isn’t just Xs and Os and relationships, but also the structured schedule and recruiting 247 and it was very nice with my 15 and 12-year-old kid to spend time with them, but to be with people I believe in and a philosophy I believe in, I believe in that and I’ve worked with Coach Long, worked with coach Key and I recruited coach Daniels in HS.
On his experiences as a QB coach, those experiences at all three levels as a QB, I told them I’m just an older version of you, I went through it, you don’t have a guy who has never faced adversity, I’ve been at the highest of highs winning an MNC and the lowest of lows throwing 6 picks. I want them to know they have a guy who cares about them and has done it himself at every level and developed guys, they know I’ve been there and done it, sometimes I revert back to those moments, if I see a guy struggling I relate a story, ‘hey I went through this and this is what I did.’ I’m old school and blue-collar, but I am also demanding and that is refreshing for them, the opportunity to coach and played the game at all levels is a bonus for the kids.
On Gibson’s fit in the system, that is the goal, my job is to prepare them for success on Saturdays, I tell every QB I’ve ever coached, let's be prepared for anything, and then let it fly on Saturdays. A guy like Gibson who has playing experience and minimal mistakes, my job is to limit as many mistakes as possible and are you a functional thinker? This is what we are looking at and this is where we expect the ball to go. Going from a player to the coach, I can’t cross the white line, that is hard for me. Zach has a great experience playing and protecting the ball at all costs, that is our mantra in our room to protect the ball.
On facing Tillman in the NFL at practice
I used to light those guys up every day, he never had a pick on me, he was a great teammate and a really good solid guy and a great player, I’m excited to work every day with him, we will battle against each other every day, it will be battle.
On FSU playing for Richt and Bowden and their influence on his coaching style
Coach Bowden is why I chose to go to FSU, when anyone asks me about him, he is the greatest human being I’ve ever met, he is a faith-based man who did things the right way. He put us in an environment to be successful in football and all his life. Coach Richt was my QB and position coach, he built my foundation after I played six years of pro baseball, he had to start me at the ground level, I’m indebted to both of them and they are a big part of why I got into coaching. Both of those guys were instrumental in how I coach guys and it is nice to come back to the ACC, we had a lot of success down at that other place and I expect to have a lot of success here.
