Are there certain traits that you look for in players?

A: “We’ll go through that over the course of time with our players, what those seven pillars of being a part of this program are about. I’d rather talk to the players first about it than to start talking to everybody else. Those characteristics are things we look for in recruiting, but also we try to build once guys are here to keep them working and keep them growing.

“There’s definitely a philosophy. Sure, it takes talent. But character is huge. And desire. Desire to play. You run across guys all the time that are very talented, but do they want to play football? At this level, that gets exposed fairly quickly.

“Do you really like to play the game? Do you love the game? How important is your education to you? What kind of person do you want to be? Those are questions that we’re asking all the time in the recruiting process and talking with young men (about when they’re) here.”