Rutgers football wide receivers coach Lester Erb chatted with TKR and the rest of the media contingent after practice on Tuesday.
See what he had to say in the video above about the bevy of pass catchers on the roster, who is standing out to him, and more. The quotes are below.
LESTER ERB
On the wide receivers as a whole
“I think there’s great competition in the group right. Some younger guys have joined. You see Daevon (Robinson) moved in from tight end. The biggest thing is we’ve added competition and we’ve gotten better each and every day. I just told them, throughout the last four practices, we’ve gone out and caught the ball as good as the three years that I’ve been here. The guys are working hard and pushing each other and supporting each other. We’re starting to see the growth.”
On Daevon Robinson’s growth
“Daevon’s been. He’s a big guy, obviously. He can run and has tremendous ball skills. The biggest transition he’s made from being a tight end to sliding outside is the technique. But, he’s a football player and he’s moving forward.”
On Paul Woods
“Paul Woods is really coming along. We’ve seen a lot out of him the last week. He’s feeling more comfortable here in the Big Ten and he’s built his body here in the offseason. He’s stepped up and you’ve seen a lot of maturity and growth from him. He continues to get better.”
On importance of Robinson’s height and ability to stretch the defense
“It’s extremely important. It makes the job easier for the quarterback on the back end. We made an emphasis to try and get bigger on the outside and we had a guy sitting right there. He’s really grown into the position.”
On building Woods’ lean body
“Oh yeah. A lot of times with guys coming out of high school, they weren’t on a weight program like he’s on now. It takes a year or two. Shameen Jones was the same thing. He came in as a lean guy and took him a full year to be big enough to play in the Big Ten. Paul right now is going through the same process.”
Is it now or never for Bo Melton, Everett Wormley, and that redshirt sophomore/junior class?
“No, I’ve seen guys not play until their fifth year and have phenomenal seasons. It comes down to how they develop. The biggest things that I’ve kind of looked at is once they get to their junior year on campus you really start to see the potential. If those guys were in a deeper program early on, maybe they would have redshirted. Maybe that would have been the best thing for them. But they got forced into action and their having good springs also. It’s never too late for anybody.”
On lack of wide receiver production
“To me, if you look at wide receivers, we were a young unit. That’s the facts of the matter. I’m never going to make excuses, but a lot goes into the pass game with the protections, or the throws, or creating separation by the receivers, and catching or not catching it. We were a young group. Look at all the guys who are still in their second year and we were playing against seniors. There’s a difference. The guys are starting grow now and that’s what I’m (focused) on. I’m not concerned with what they did last year.”
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky.
