Beginning with Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Jordan Paopao has one of the strongest runs in the nation selecting tight ends from Washington, including Drew Sample, Will Dissly, Cade Otton, and ASJ.
In addition, he brought in Jack Westover and Devin Culp to UW before leaving to take a new position at Arizona under Jeffd Fisch. Now that Fisch is in Seattle, he has returned Paopao to a place she knows well.
For the first time since his return to Washington, Paopao was interviewed by the Seattle media. He discussed working with Coach Fisch, returning to a place he calls home, his opinions on some of the tight ends he is now working with, and a host of other topics.
On being back at UW…
“It’s great to be back, great to see a lot of you guys again. It’s just an incredible place, somewhere that means much to my family. All the guys that I’ve been super fortunate to coach, it’s been unbelievable to be back.”
What’s changed since you left?
“There’s a lot of the same walls that are up here. Just in terms of a lot of the things that are the core tenets of the program, it’s been cool to see those resonate and continue to build and continue to stay, especially under Coach Fisch. But a lot of the new additions in terms of the players that are up on the walls and guys that are celebrated there, it’s really, really cool to see a lot of the guys I was fortunate enough to coach to be on those walls right now.”
First reaction when you started hearing Fisch’s name being floated for this job?
“Honestly? The logistics of moving with three young kids kind of went through our minds but exciting. Being able to come back to a place that I consider home and being around family, especially with my wife’s that are right down the road…just ecstatic to be back.”
How have you grown and evolved under Fisch?
“I think a lot of the things, especially with Coach Fisch, are being able to have a voice within the head coaching decisions and knowing his mental process about what he’s doing. I think he’s an unbelievable man in terms of what he’s allowed with my family to be around the office and be around players. I do think a lot of the time it can become coach talk when you say this is a family environment, but being around a head coach that really embodies that has been fantastic.
“I mean this sincerely; at the end of the day for (my children) to grow up around football like I did – my Dad was a coach for 40-plus years – and to be around players and be around the game I think is fantastic. I’ve got the little one stepping on my toes right now but every day I get to see them is an incredible experience and just a testament to Coach Fisch for allowing them to be around as much as humanly possible.”
On the youth and numbers of the tight ends room…
“I do think we’re going to look at the portal and see the guys that are available or guys that are going to jump into there. But ultimately fit is going to be most important, and I do think when you don’t have as much veteran experience, I think it’s super-important for the young guys and new guys to get reps and really try and culminate some experience through game reps now just to be able to see what we can do. I’ve been really impressed with the younger guys, the guys that haven’t played up to this point in terms of the retention of information, their execution, and then just trying to continue on the physicality aspect.”
Do you have your eyes on anyone on the defensive front you’d like to convert to TE?
“Every day. I always talk to Coach (Jason) Kaufusi and always kind of joke…he’d be really, really good catching touchdowns. So any time I can look at a guy like (Zach) Durfee and say hey, man. Do you like catching touchdowns or not? I do think we have a couple guys in the tight end room that will continue to grow and continue to get better.”
On Owen Coutts…
“I just know this; Owen, for a big body and natural ball-catching ability, it matched too much for him not to be able to have an opportunity to showcase his skillset and what he can do in terms of being a red zone target and threat. And it’s been very cool to see over the last couple days, not just in the red zone but specifically down the middle, contested balls. And with his ability to run, I’m very, very excited to see how he continues to grow as well.”
How important is it to have at least one veteran guy in Quentin Moore that has played a lot?
“Having anybody that’s been around many different NFL tight ends, just from his experience and his time with a couple different position coaches and staffs, just knowing how those older guys worked and what it looks like in terms of daily operation, daily commitment to excellence, daily commitment to nutrition and taking care of your body, and then just being able to play in big games. Catching a touchdown in the Pac-12 Championship Game, he’s made plays. That confidence of knowing the speed of the game helps a lot of the younger guys because he’s able to break things down from a first-person vantage point. And that’s powerful in terms of being able to grow a younger room.”
On Ryan Otton…
“He’s taken a lot of steps. I do think for Ry, being able to build some consistency and grow in physicality, but you see how he looks and how he can catch the ball. I think he’s a unique talent and someone I’m really looking forward to continuing to work with, especially since I’ve spent substantial time with his family.”
Connections with Jedd Fisch before moving to Arizona…
“Really it was the connection with Coach (Jimmie) Dougherty. Coach Dougherty was probably single-handedly responsible for getting me up here the first time as a graduate assistant and being able to coach the tight ends, and was also one of my coaches at USD (University of San Diego). Coach Dougherty has always been a very close friend of mine, a close mentor and somebody whose opinion I value very much. The way he spoke about Coach Fisch, his ability to not only one, understand the game of football, but also just the personal component and how close he was in terms of friendship and mentorship was something that was hugely important and something that was very attractive at our previous place.”
Did you realistically ever think you’d coach up here again?
“When it happened? No. I’m going to be real honest. But it’s been fantastic. Couldn’t be more fired up to be back here and to continue the success that this program has had for the last 10 years or so.”
Any places you immediately hit once you got back to Seattle?
“I can’t tell you all my secrets! Some of the old eating grounds, especially the breakfast places, were something I frequented quite a bit since I’ve been back here.”
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