Q: How is different now as a head coach than as an assistant?
BRADLEY: I now know the planning that goes into it. We spend quite a bit of time last week sitting down and formatting the practice schedules to maximize every minute of the day. It’s one thing to find out about these players on the practice field but in our meetings is where to look at. How much information to give them and how much they can handle and if they translate to the practice field and how they take notes. Going from meeting room to meeting room and trying to learn the learner. I’m trying to learn these guys and what they’re all about.
Q: Coach Smith was talking about how he’s learned more about the players in his first 36-48 hours.
BRADLEY: I agree. I agree. You get to spend so much time with them. It’s still amazing how much you can get from these guys. It’s not only from now, the Draft, but also the experience they have. We get to showcase our organization so that three or four years down the line when free agency comes up, the players may remember being coached by our staff and what the feeling was like.
Q: When a player gets an invite and chooses not to play, can that change the perception?
BRADLEY: I don’t believe so. We concern ourselves with the guys on our list that come out to compete. With the juniors coming out now, it places much more emphasis on this opportunity there. There are so many evaluations that take place that you can come here and se a lot of guys in a three-day period. That part’s great.
Q: Dee Ford has had some good days of practice, what have you seen?
BRADLEY: All it takes is one team to really like you. Dee is exciting. I really like his personality, I like his spirit, he loves the game and he showcases that on the practice field. Anytime a guy can come off the edge and show the ability to have some rushes in him, it really stands out.
Q: Billy Turner from your alma mater (North Dakota State) is here, how big of an opportunity is this for the small school guys?
BRADLEY: I think it’s a great opportunity. I think what you look for in guys like that are how fast can they get ready for the level of competition. You might see them struggle right away but more importantly how does he do the next day and how does he do as the days progress? There’s some guys that have really done good. The Georgia Southern guys and Liberty, Walt (Aikens), at corner, those guys have come in here and what I think is really good is that it’s not too big for them.