Q&A with Lane Kiffin

Q: If JaMarcus improved that much in one week, what can you expect with a whole off-season and training camp?

Kiffin: The thing about it is one game will never define you as a player or as a team. To think he’s going to play great all the time, we know that probably won’t be the case, but he’s going to get so much better because he’s going to get stuff he’s never had before. He didn’t have a true offseason from the beginning, he didn’t have a training camp, he didn’t have preseason. If you believe in coaching, and you believe that’s how players get better, he didn’t have that, so it was really good to see him play that well and I’m glad that we managed it the way we did because I don’t believe there was any way he was able to play the way he did yesterday in Week 6 or 7 because of the amount of practice reps that he’s had and the amount of exposure to other guys playing and all the game plans has helped him and prepared him for that game. It wasn’t just last week, it was all the time leading up to it.

Q: How critical for JaMarcus to go into the offseason on a good note?

Kiffin: I think it was really important for our whole franchise. I think it was really important for our fans, our building, our players, everyone, to see him play very well and make some dynamic plays at times that he did. It’s very valuable because it just increases their faith and trust in him and where we’re going. I think it was really, really powerful and important. Would have been much better if we won the game, but it was very good for him.

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