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ASHBURN, VA -- August 4, 2020, Washington Football Team guard Brandon Scherff speaks to the media.
On a long-term contract extension:
“I'm not really worried about that right now. I'm just glad I get to play another year here. I said my end goal is to end up as a [Washington Football] player my whole career and I'm one more year closer to that. I'm just excited for this year, so I'm not really worried about that at all.”
On offensive line improvements and new Coach John Matsko:
“What we're working on is the small details and the different way that he coaches things. We had a great coach in Coach Callahan and we owe a lot to him, he helped us be the players that we are right now. Coach Matsko has a different way of doing things, so we have to do what he wants us to do and just focus on the techniques and details that he wants to get the job done.”
On the differences between Coach John Matsko and Coach Bill Callahan:
“It's a whole new terminology so we have to learn different terminologies, he has different footwork, it's all his way of coaching and you just have to listen to the coach. I'm excited to learn all the new things that he has to teach us.”
On the offensive line’s progress with Matsko having spent no time on the field with him:
“We had eight weeks of OTAs with him, so he showed us films of the O-line from the Panthers doing it, from the Rams doing it so we were able to kind of get a glimpse of what he's teaching. Then he expected you to go out, on your own when you worked out in the summertime and do it on your own so that when you get here, you were able to step on the field and just pick it up right away. I think we did a good job of doing that and he's done a great job with us.”
On changing his approach during the offseason after injuries:
“Nothing, I'm not changing anything. I'm just trying to take care of my body a little bit more. I told Ryan Kerrigan this morning I said I respect the Kory Lichtensteiger’s. When I was a rookie I came in here at 7:30 for an eight o'clock meeting, ate breakfast, went right up to meetings. Now, I'm coming in at six for a nine o'clock workout, so I'm just trying to take care of my body a little bit better trying to follow the example of Ryan Kerrigan and older guys who have…this is year 10 for him so just trying to pick up things that he does to help his body to get through the process.”
On QB Dwyane Haskins Jr. and how he has looked so far:
“He looks great. We're excited for him. He's doing a great job on walkthroughs for us, communication-wise he's picking it up on the fly and he's doing a great job and we've seen him doing pretty good and just stacking days on top of each other.”
On his thoughts about the recent report about racial bias at Iowa:
“I'm not going to comment on that. I just appreciate Coach Doyle for all he did for me. I wouldn't be the player I am without him, so I wish him the best and I owe a lot to him.”
On filling spots on the left side of the offensive line and observations on T Saahdiq Charles, G Wes Martin and G Wes Schweitzer:
I’m just trying to be the vet. It's kind of hard to say that, the vets all those guys were to me, just trying to help them along the way. Saahdiq [Charles] has asked me a lot of questions, and Coach Matsko is just throwing a whole bunch of guys in there, in the mix, and just trying to find that right group. You just have to show up each and every day and show Coach Matsko and Coach Rivera that you know what you're doing.”
On offensive and defensive linemen opting out of the season:
“I honestly haven’t been paying attention to that.”
On if he ever considered opting out of the season and his decision process on returning to camp:
“No. You just wear a mask when you need to, take care of yourself, and stay away from people. And in Iowa, you can do a pretty good job of that.”
On the roster turnover and leadership changes:
“It feels different…what did Morgan [Moses] say, I am the fourth-oldest now, which is kind of crazy to believe, but change is good, and you just have to do what Coach Rivera asks. He’s been very successful and I think he's the right man for the job and we're excited to have him at the top.”
On his relationship with T Morgan Moses over the years:
“It’s going great. In the offseason, we would FaceTime. Morgan has a beautiful house out in Beacon Hill, beautiful swimming pool, a nice weight room so I would go out there and work out when I was here. When we were in quarantine here I would go over there and get a lift in. I appreciate Morgan. I've played with him for six years. This will be year six on the line. He's helped me out a lot and I've tried to do the same for him, so it's kind of fun being two of the older guys on the team now.”
On if he had gym access in Iowa:
“Yeah, I mean nothing really shut down, so I was rehabbing and they had a workout facility right there, so I was able to do the same thing.”
On the status of his injury:
“I feel really good. I did rehab four or five days a week since January. I got cleared when I got here so I'm feeling really good.”
On getting to know the new coaching staff and how it will impact his decision to stay beyond this season:
“I'm honestly not worried about next year at all. I'm just focused on doing what coach asks and trying to be that leader he wants me to be. If I do everything right, things will fall in place. And I've told you I've wanted to retire as a player of the Washington team, the rest of my career. I just have to focus on the small details and get better as a player, as a group, as a team and everything will fall in place. I'm not really worried about that.”
On if this offseason has made him more focused than a typical offseason:
“Oh yeah. We got to stay at home, with that quarantine I did a lot of turkey hunting, I did a lot of fishing and Busch Light was only on Saturdays, so I held off on that. And they have Busch Light Apple now, so I think fruits good for you now, right? But, yeah, I feel good. Not having that extra… I don't know four weeks of pounding, during OTAs is really good for your body. I feel good. I took care of my body quite a bit, a lot better than I did the years previously so you know I'm excited to get going.”
On if he considers his injuries being normal wear and tear or unlucky football injuries:
“I honestly think they were unlucky. One, I landed on the ground wrong and that's where I tore my pec. The other I had my arm out of there. I know the exact plan happened, I had my arm in a weird position and that's where my shoulder went and I knew it went so I tried to play through as many games as I could. So, that's my fault, better technique and it wouldn’t have happened.”
On if his family will be joining him for training camp:
“We're in Ashburn right now. We have a place here, so my wife and Easton, my son, and then my two dogs, we all drove out two weeks ago. So, they're out here with me, which is really awesome.”
On if his injuries have changed his perspective of the game:
“Oh yeah, for sure…it's always been my dream to step on the field and play football, and I'm very fortunate to be able to call it a job. When you're on the sidelines watching everybody else play or have somebody playing your spot, you always want to be out there with your teammates and the guys that you push through practice each and every day. And Morgan [Moses], I've said I've been there with him for six years and he's played every game, he's fought through injuries, so I just wish I could do the same thing.”
On potentially playing in empty stadiums:
“It's going to be different. On away trips, you won't have to worry about the crowd noise. I don't know what the ruling is on that, but we're honestly just not focused on that right now. Just focused on trying to learn the playbook and trying to do what coach asks and we have five or six weeks until the first game so we have a lot of making up to do in that short amount of time. So, we just have to worry about ourselves and then the game will take care of itself.”
