Matt Miller

When I'm evaluating rookies, I want a Thanksgiving on.

If you make an impact before Thanksgiving, that's just extra.

But it's really Thanksgiving the rest of the season.

That's when you start to get comfortable.

That's when you're acclimated.

Both Colston and Luther Burton were great from that stretch on.

Yeah, you know, I'm thinking about the seasons because we watched it so closely because, Matt, we had a good time this year.

We had a really good time this year.

But when Loveland really started to emerge, I'll never forget when Ben said, talked about his work ethic and talked about his mind and just how well he's been doing.

And then he said, and his route tree has grown accordingly.

It's like, well, there you go.

So in part, they don't ask too much of rookies until they know they can trust him, right?

So that makes all the sense in the world, your Thanksgiving timeline.

That's the smart way to do it.

Instead of asking these guys to come in and drink from a fire hose, give them a straw.

Let them learn a little bit and then add on to it.

I think where we do make mistakes is by expecting way too much mentally, physically.

Especially a player like Holston Loveland.

Yeah, he has some injuries, but a lot of these guys are coming off a long college football season.

And like, so this year, Ohio State players played 16 games, Indiana players, 16 games.