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IllustrateD volume 24, issue 5 37 f going into the fall is left tackle. How do you feel about that position exit- ing the spring? Shoop: "I think Jack (DeBoef) and (right tackle) J.J. (Prince) both had very strong springs. Jack really battled his tail off. I think he's a little ahead of it in the run game than he is in the pass game. But this is a guy going into his senior year. He's an ultra competi- tive guy, and he knows what is at stake. He wants to make this a memorable year. Boy, did he work hard and really improved every practice throughout the spring. We're sure counting on him. He's not just going to roll over. Neither of those guys are just going to roll over." Gold and Black: There's a chance you'd have to scheme to offer some help to that spot until, perhaps, JUCO transfer David Hedelin is able to play. That's something you had to do at points last season, too. But does that limit other things offensive- ly as well? Shoop: "Sure. Any time that you're having to help some- one or chip or line up in certain formations, it could be lim- iting. But you have to do that every week in a game plan to a degree. We didn't do a lot of it this spring. We didn't chip. We didn't help our tackles very much at all. We told those guys to go out and block them. So I think it'll be easier for those guys once we get to a game plan in terms of the help we give them. It is certainly difficult because they're going to be going against some great players, but we sure didn't scheme to help our tackles at all this spring and I thought they really competed." Gold and Black: Did Raheem Mostert emerge as the complete back you're looking for? Shoop: "He really has shown that he can be an explo- sive player with the ball in his hands. But, as I've told this to Raheem, he's got to get a lot better with the ball not in his hands. He could be a better blocker. He could be a better route-runner. He could be a lot better at a lot of things. But he did show a great deal of explosiveness with the ball in his hands and some of those other things are things he knows he's really going to work hard on all summer and getting better. We have some quarterbacks on our team who have natural leadership about them, and they're going to have guys out there all summer throwing and working." Gold and Black: Mostert did mention he had more missed assignments than any other running back, so he certainly has a ways to go. Shoop: "He sure does, and everybody does, not just him. I think he showed some positive things. He just has to clean it up a bit with the ball not in his hands, and he knows that." Gold and Black: How did Akeem Hunt do in the slot? Shoop: "I thought he did really well. I was pleased. He really embraced it and studied it and Coach (Jafar) Wil- liams did a fantastic job of cross-training him and (receiv- ers) Coach (Kevin) Sherman as well. He was kind of going back and forth a little bit in the collaboration those guys showed coaching him and helping him. That shouldn't be overlooked. It was a great job of really Jafar all spring just coaching him and getting him ready for a lot of different positions. I think (Hunt) likes it. Here's how you can tell — if your quarterback throws him the ball or not. You can say, well, he ran the right route, he did these things, but these guys just aren't feeling him, they don't see him. They were feeling him. They could see him. As a route-runner you want to be readable to the quarterback. You want to not trick your quarterback, and that was pleasing. Not only was he lining up and doing a lot of the right things, but these guys were throwing it to him." Gold and Black: Jafar was a receiver at Maryland, Tom Campbell In hopes of accentuating players' skill sets, running back Akeem Hunt spent some time at slot receiver this spring, and he impressed Shoop with his performance.