I spoke briefly with Bill O’Brien Sunday morning following the final training camp practice for Boston College. The Eagles officially open up the season a week from Monday against FSU in prime time.
Here’s what O’Brien had to say during our chat:
On if he likes where the team is at right now
A: “Yeah, I do. I really do. I think they’ve given us everything they had in the tank for camp. Now, we’ve got to transition to the regular season. I’m proud of these guys. They’ve worked very, very hard to get to where they are now. It’s a tough season ahead. They’ll have the day off (Monday), get going on school and then we’ll start preparations for FSU on Tuesday.”
On how long they’ve been looking ahead to FSU as far as scouting
A: “I mean, maybe here and there, we’ve given them some looks here and there, but we haven’t even really talked about the opponent yet. It’s more about us in training camp. Tuesday we’ll officially start on Florida State preparations then.”
On injured lineman Logan Taylor and a timetable for his return
A: “I think he’s doing better. I think we’ll know more about that early in the week.”
On the overall health of the team and if he feels good about it
A: “Yeah, I do. I think it’s trending in the right direction. Soft tissue guys are headed back, a couple of them were back out there today. Reed Harris was back out there today. It’s never going to be perfect, it’s football, but I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
On if he cared whether FSU was 1-0 or 0-1 heading into next week (after they lost to G-Tech)
A: “Doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. We have to get ready. We’ve got to control our stuff. We only control our process and the way we get ready. We can’t control anything…that’s a big deal for us. We’ve got to control the controllables. That’s how we play, how we line up, our discipline, how we approach preparing for the game and all that. We can’t control the things outside of that.”
On how much he’s looking forward to getting out on the road as a program for the first time
A: “Oh yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to it. That’s how you really start to find out about the team. We’re going down there with a small group of people, the players, the coaches, the support staff and athletic administration…that’s the beauty of going on the road. That’s all you need. You need that group of people to go down there and try to win a game. Yeah, I’m looking forward to that.”
On if he still gets early season butterflies/jitters
A: “Oh yeah. Absolutely. Can’t wait for the first game. You put in all that work and all this time during the different phases of the offseason. Winter conditioning, spring ball, summer practice, training camp…all for games. That’s the process that leads up to now, so yeah, I’m definitely excited about it.”