Q & A with OL Coach Mark McHale

Brett Malone, of The Territory.org, caught up with new offensive line coach Mark McHale to get his initial impressions of the first day in pads.

Q: How did the guys look in their first day in pads?

"I saw Castillo in one-on-one and he left with his hand injured. Saw Frady for two snaps and he left the practice injured. These are all guys that are injured. Atkins had shoulder surgery, he wasn’t able to scrimmage. So that’s disappointing, not being able to see those injured guys."

Q: The ones who were healthy, what was your impression?

"I think the biggest one that stands out the most to me in Jackie Claude. For me it’s a surprise. I didn’t know what kind of player he would be, he’s a young player. I think he’s got the talent to start for us. He’s doing some goods things. David Overmyer, and Frady, when he was in there, did OK. The rest of them got a lot of work to do."

Q: What were some of the good things you saw out of Overmyer?

"He’s a technician. He’s smart and he’s knows his assignments. He’s going to get his body in the right place. Not show up with a bad play and negative plays. He’s dependable."

Q: You wanted to try Frady at guard, but his injuries prevented him from practicing most of today. How will you handle position switches if you have to work around injuries?

"We’ll have to wait till two-a-days, and hope they are able to get healthy over the summer."