New head football coach Jeff Quinn is someone who doesn't hold anything back.
Not one play went by in Buffalo's Saturday scrimmage without Quinn's raspy voice echoing throughout the Buffalo Bills Fieldhouse. On one particular play, he applauded his offense after an effective draw play, then immediately sprinted across the field to defensive coach and demanded to know why a linebacker was out of position.
Buffalo's players are not use to this much noise or energy coming from their head coach.
With Saturday's Spring Game marking the end of spring practices, Quinn and his 80-player roster are still learning about each other. Quinn's enthusiasm is almost a polar opposite to the quiet confidence Turner Gill displayed during his three years leading Buffalo's players.
And Quinn knows it'll take some time for the adjustment to be complete.
"It's been a work in progress, but I think our players are becoming a little more familiar with what I do and expect," Quinn said.
While getting acclimated with Quinn's personality, the offensive players are also studying Quinn's spread offense, which is a lot faster in pace and more dynamic than Gill's multiple offense look. Quinn and defensive coordinator William Inge have also abolished Gill's 4-3 defense in favor of a 3-4 system, which utilizes more blitzing and faster players on the field.
For senior safety Davonte Shannon, the system adjustment is nothing new. Inge is Shannon's third defensive coordinator – and brings in Buffalo's third defensive system – in as many years.
On a personality level, the two-time First Team All-MAC selection believes Quinn's passion brings more of a benefit than a nagging change.
"It's a little different from coach Gill, who didn't have that same enthusiasm, but I think players are responding well to it," Shannon said. "Some players really need that drive that coach brings out here when he's screaming at them and encouraging them."
Like Shannon, senior receiver Terrell Jackson loves Quinn's intensity and his drive, but the stylistic switch hasn't been as easy to handle.
"As far as playing style, [Quinn's philosophy] is a lot different. The change is similar to being a freshman coming in from high school and adjusting to the college coach's system," Jackson said. "We have just to work at it and have repetition."
Meanwhile, Quinn is still learning about his players and what is now his program. He's met with UB football alum Drew Willy and Naaman Roosevelt to learn about Buffalo's recent success, and about his group of players.
But when Quinn scans the UB Stadium field during practice, he sees young men who are just starting to see eye-to-eye with him. One-on-one meetings with players are common, and so are alterations to the depth chart; Quinn is recognizing more of his players' strengths and weaknesses which each passing practice.
That's because Quinn hasn't have an ample amount of time to analyze his talent. After being hired by Buffalo on Dec. 21, Quinn finished his work at Cincinnati – he was the Bearcats' offensive coordinator for the last three years – in Jan. 1's Sugar Bowl as acting head coach, and immediately hit the road to recruit for Buffalo until National Signing Day on Feb. 3.
Since then, he's been instilling his system and has been playing 20 questions with his players. Right now, he wants his guys to get accustomed to any differences he has with Gill.
"We all have the same goal in mind," Quinn said. "I think [the enthusiasm] is rubbing off on the guys. They do see that genuine interest and passion for what we're doing, and they're feeding off that."
Line-up changes will continue to happen until Buffalo kicks off its 2010 season against Rhode Island on Sept. 2. For Quinn, the consistency isn't there. He sees flashes, but the Bulls need to execute on a regular basis.
"It's not championship level right now. Everybody's taking turns to mess up," Quinn said. "If it's not the offensive line, it's the receivers, if it's not them it's the tight ends, and so on. Everybody isn't syncing together just yet, and what we're trying to as coaches is to be proactive, so those mistakes are eliminated."
The players must know they're getting on the coach's bad side: he'll let them know rather loudly if they do.
"Quinn is intense and expects the most out of each and every person," Jackson said. "He doesn't let up. He keeps on pushing, and that's a reflection of how our defense and offense are doing."
And they should know that playing time is not guaranteed.
"I tell them everyday, ‘Hey, you better bring your A game. If you don't, guess what? Next Bull in,'" Quinn said. "Somebody else is waiting right in the trenches to get that spot too, so if you're not playing at your very best every single time you come out here, you're out."
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