Rutgers Running Backs coach Damiere Shaw talks Spring Practice: Press Conference

Rutgers Football continued spring ball this week on Thursday afternoon, and Running Backs coach Damiere Shaw spoke to the media for his first spring football press conference of the season.

Shaw spoke for roughly eight minutes and addressed a range of questions, including Antwan Raymond returning, the young backs standing out, transfer Clay Thevenin, and much more.

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Full Damiere Shaw Presser Transcript

Coach, how important was it to get Antwan back here for another year and how valuable is it for you as a coach to have that kind of guy leading your room?

Damiere Shaw: “It was super, super important. You talk about a guy, Antoine, who’s one of the best backs in the country, not just from a production standpoint, but a work ethic standpoint, a character standpoint, it means a lot that he came back. It speaks to the culture that Coach Schiano has implemented here over the last six seasons and it speaks to the relationships that’s in a running back room. These guys love playing with each other, so I’m honored to have him back and obviously when you’ve got really good players like Antoine, you look like a better coach.”

What have you seen from Ja’shon Benjamin this spring and kind of what do you want to see from him going into the summer as he continues his development?

Damiere Shaw: “Yeah, Ja’shon doing a really good job. He’s doing a really good job. He’s more consistent. He’s a really, really smart player. He’s worked himself into that. The work that he’s put in learning our offense, then learning defenses and learning the game of football as a whole. So he’s definitely ascending as we’re exiting spring, so I’m excited about the progress that he’s made and just hopefully he can stay on that trajectory. Not hopefully, I know he will.”

Going back to Antwan, what do you think he needs to do this spring and fall to take the next step?

Damiere Shaw: “I think what I just alluded to with Ja’shon, right, his football IQ, he’s a super, super intentional kid, probably the best worker I’ve ever been around and I think as he continues to evolve in his football IQ, the game within the game, which Coach Schiano does a better job than anybody else I’ve been around with our football 101 lessons that we have, as he continues to learn the game within the game, he’s going to continue to elevate and be playing two steps ahead of the defense.”

Coach, first opportunity to talk with you since your new role, could you just kind of take us through what exactly that new role is going to entail and how that’s going to look for you with balancing your duties?

Damiere Shaw: “Yeah, so first and foremost, I still have to make sure the running backs are ready to go every Saturday. And then whatever Coach Ciarrocca needs me to do to help the offense produce and be productive on Saturday.So whatever task is thrown my way, I’m ready to take it in full stride. But it was cool. I was honored.

And to me, it goes back to the players. We’ve had a lot of success in the running back room, but that’s a result of the players. Whether it’s Antwan, whether it’s Kyle, whether it’s Ja’shon, whether it’s the guys on scout team. So it all goes back to the players. So I’m honored to have the guys in my room to help me look like a better coach.”

Coach, when you look top to bottom in your depth, who has stood out so far this spring?

Damiere Shaw: “It’s hard to pinpoint one guy. You know, you talk about Antoine and Ja’shon, they’ve been here and they’ve helped us win games. Clay is a guy who, when we watched him on film, we knew that he was explosive. So a lot of stuff that I saw on film when we evaluated Klay is showing up in the spring ball.

Then you’ve got guys like Ed Guerrier and Terrell Mitchell who’ve been around and they’re figuring it out and they’re progressing. And then you’ve got Michael Dukes. I mean, that kid is super, super talented.

We’re excited to have him. I’m happy that he came in January and he’s continually progressing. Then you’ve got Xavier Williams, who’s doing a really good job for us, too. So all in all, I’m impressed and I’m happy with the progress in the room.

The other day, Tyler Needham mentioned how a lot of the running backs here have that Kyle Monangai build, kind of that short, stocky build. Is that something you look for in running backs coming in here, or is it just a coincidence?

Damiere Shaw: “I would say it’s kind of a coincidence, but I just alluded to Michael Dukes, who’s a 6’1”, 215-pound kid, totally different build. To me, you’ve got to have the ability to make people miss and generate yards after contact, however your body’s built. Which if you look at what we’ve done over the last three years, we’ve been top five in the country in yards after contact. So if you can generate that, if you can make people miss, if you have good instincts for the position, and then most importantly, the character.

The personal character and the football character. That’s what we look for when we’re evaluating running backs. So more than a build, I think you’re trying to recruit that mindset that Kyle had and that he currently has in the NFL. So it doesn’t matter. We’ve got different backs in different shapes and sizes, as long as they’ve got that mentality and that football character.”

Expanding on Clay, why did you and the staff feel like bringing in a running back from the portal was necessary? And what made him the right fit to be that addition?

Damiere Shaw: “Yeah, well, Clay, we watched probably over 60 running backs and evaluated a bunch. But when we watched his film, I saw some elite traits. Change of direction, suddenness, the ability to generate those yards after contact that I just alluded to. And then when we got on the phone and had a chance to speak with him and then visit him, that football character and that personal character matched the film. So to me, to us as the offensive staff and with Coach Schiano, it was a no-brainer to add a guy like that.”

Coach Schiano also mentioned on Saturday that the young running backs have kind of really impressed with the way that they’ve been running. I guess, what about that group has impressed you with what they’ve been able to do in their development?

Damiere Shaw: “Well, here’s what I’ll say. When you talk about those young running backs, I’ve got to tip my hat to Steve Thames, my assistant. I mean, he’s qualified enough to run his own room. He’s elite with those guys.

He will meet as a group and he always has those guys individually. He has a plan of development for all of those guys. So he does a great job with those guys. And they have the, again, it goes back to that football character. They want to be coached. They want to get better. So he does a great job with those younger guys. And when you look at what Antwan did as a freshman, Steve Thames was a huge part of that and extra means that he was doing with them. So I think it’s a result of the work that those guys put in, combined with the assistant that I have, who’s top-notch.

You’ve talked a lot about Antoine. He was really consistent last year, game in, game out. Do you think that there’s another level for him, though, that he can achieve and unlock this fall?

Damiere Shaw: “Absolutely. We talk about, in our room, leaving meat on the bone, right? And we watched every carry of his, every pass pro of his, every route of his. And he’s his biggest critic. So there’s a lot of meat on the bone with Antwan. And with his work ethic, there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s going to go get all those inches that were left on the table last season. So he’s working diligently at it.

He’s a great person, great worker, but a great teammate. Like, if you see him with these younger guys, I mean, it’s nothing short of amazing how he corrals those guys, how he encouraged those guys and uplifts those guys. But yes, there’s definitely a different, another level that Antwan is going to tap into this year.”

It’s been a couple of years, obviously, since Kyle’s been here, but how much do you still see his example in that room with the way that these guys work, the guys who played with him and kind of saw how he prepared himself week in and week out? How much do you see that kind of still present?

Damiere Shaw: “I think, you know, that’s truly what legacy is, right? Coach Schiano always says that when you pass something on that everybody else to follow, they can mimic and they have something to imitate. And that’s what Kyle did, right? And Antwan was able to see it, Ja’shon was able to see it, and Edd was able to see it. So you still see his work ethic, his approach live through those guys.

But look, they’re all their own individual and they put their own twist on their work. And that’s what I encourage. Like, we’re not trying to be another Kyle. We’re not trying to be another Isiah Pacheco. We’re trying to be ourselves. Now, the mindset has to be the same as far as like, I got to get better every day, that coach me coach mentality. But, you know, Edd Guerrier is Edd Guerrier, Antwan Raymond is Antwan Raymond, Ja’shon is Ja’shon, so on and so forth. So I want to encourage them to be themselves, but take the mindset of those guys who came before us.”

Coach, running back screens, passes out of the backfield to the running backs is not a major part of the offense to say the least over the last few years. What’s your sense of why that is? And in your new role, are you kind of nudging Coach Ciarrocca to throw a little bit more to your guys?

Damiere Shaw: “You see what Antwan did against in that last game? Yeah, so he has some touchdown catches. But look, we’re we’re we’re offensive staff who’s going to do whatever we got to do to win each game. Right. And we don’t go into a game saying, well, we’re not going to do this or we’re not going to do that, whatever. Give us the best chance to win. We’re going to go into that game with those plays or whatever those concepts are. But you definitely see a skill set in Antwan. We’ve seen Ja’shon in the past game, even since he was a freshman. You see some of that with Clay on film like we got a lot of guys who can do that. I’m confident that we will if we need to throw the ball to the running backs to win a game. We will do that. But we have some really good receivers, too. So if they turn around and hand us the ball 40 times and we throw the ball 40 times, they all go to the receivers and tight ends. So be it. Whatever we got to do to win.”