What did you like today? What didn't you like?

"It's funny how they're connected in a spring game. I like where our defensive backs are right now. Paulson Adebo may be the best corner in America. Obi Eboh had a great offseason, great spring football. Should have had two more interceptions. The hard part is we still have to beat those guys. We have to get on our edges, we have to get in front of them, get between the quarterback and the defender. I like where those guys are.

"I like where our young linebackers are. Curtis Robinson didn't go today (as a precaution) but him making the move from outside to inside has been really good for him, also.

"I like the way our running backs are running right now. They're running hard. There are a lot of things we worked on that we didn't do today, but you see how hard our guys run. I think we used our tight ends well today, maybe not like we typically do, but our tight ends are in a good spot.

"I just told them that I really appreciate all that they've done. I challenged them to execute and that's what we did."

How do you think Costello did?

"Without looking at the film, I thought he did well. We had a couple protection issues and that's tough for our offensive linemen taking every single snap with no rotation.

They got gassed, understandably. As far as his reads, his accuracy with the ball -- the one that got intercepted he was trying to beat the rush. Besides that I thought he was really good."

Andres Fox was called for a personal foul. Shaw called him over after the play and they talked for a minute in the end zone: "Yes, Andres and I had a conversation about that. It was pretty simple. He thought he got held, he was trying to get off and a guy ended up on the ground. I said holding calls are on the officials, they're not on anyone else. We didn't get a holding call but we got a 15-yard penalty on the defense. That's one of those things I know he won't do in a game."

The play of Simi Fehoko and the wide receiver group overall: "We're cautiously optimistic. I think Mike Wilson and Connor Wedington have had outstanding springs. Simi started off with a hamstring (injury) early on and was able to come back. I think the combination of guys we have right now is pretty exciting. One of the challenges I gave the receivers is being better after the catch. We saw that (with Fehoko) catching a shallow cross and running for a touchdown."

Any word on Justus Woods' injury?

"Thankfully it wasn't a knee. It's not as bad as we thought it was initially. He'll be out for a little while and hopefully he'll be ready for training camp."

On Davis Mills: "He looks great and probably could have done the team but we're not ready to put him there just yet. He feels the best he has felt in a while. He's throwing the ball really well. We'll get him in team in training camp."

How does where Paulson is right now track with what you thought he'd be at this point?

"He's probably right where we hoped he'd be a year from now. He is, I have no problem saying it, at least a year ahead of schedule. With his length, his speed, and his competitive fire, and how coachable he is ... we thought once he got going he would be really, really good. He is a full year ahead of schedule. He may be the best in America."

How much has it hurt you guys not having a full roster here in the spring?

"Obviously we're invested long term. We have 7-on-7 and one-on-one, we're doing really good stuff, it's just you can't do it for 12, 13, 14 or 20 plays at a time. It leads to an unrealistic situation. But we also have to develop depth in case a guy goes down. You're running back-to-back-to-back reps you're ... not fresh. It's definitely hurt us. I think the job will be correlate one-on-one and 7-on-7 to team. Definitely we're rusty in team. Getting Walker back and Devery back is going to be a big help."

That challenge of taking that work into team is to an unprecedented extent I imagine in your career. What do you think that will look like? Do you have a mindset of how you're going to have to take one into the other?

"I think it's going to start with just doing it. We're going to hold a lot of team player run practices twice a week. We're going to take the film that we did out here, we're going to watch the ... parts that are part of growing in this offense. What that looks like is team practices twice a week and probably now taking more reps in team than 7-on-7 or one-on-ones, because we've done so much of that. We're going to slowly ramp that up into training camp."

On Simi Fehoko's ability to create space: "It's really impressive. I'm trying to let him use that as his advantage, very much like with JJ (Arcega-Whiteside) it was going up and getting the ball. But everything else before that we have to be on the same page in terms of what we're trying to hit. That's something -- even him, the first half of spring he was out. There is a lot of raw talent that needs to be tightened up with reps."

What are the goals before fall camp?

"For me it's to piece together and offense that is ready to go day one. I think we'll also going to have to get Cam Scarlett involved. We're going to have to get Walker involved. We're going to have to get Devery involved pretty quickly here. Really it's figuring out who is who and where. We like to develop roles for guys. We all know Colby's role. Mike is coming into his own.

"Our defense is also scheming a lot for us, so it's tough. We're tough because taking what the defense is giving us. A lot of it is the short stuff. Coach Shaw talks about making unemotional decisions. That's one side of it that I'll easily be able to do this season. Now I want to work on the explosive side."

On carrying on success of last season: "I'm focused on trying to do better. I feel like we started late. We got into our groove the last half of the season. If we can do that for at least the bulk of the season everything else will take care of itself."

How was spring for you?

"It went great. My teammates and I put in a ton of work this offseason. We worked on the basics, getting the whole picture of the defense down before we got to the details. It paid off. The defense looked great today."

On learning the game to direct his natural ability: "Definitely still a long way to go improving my eyes, looking at the whole picture is still part of it. Each of us is getting it down day by day. We're obviously going to continue to put in work in the summer."

Are there any specific examples you can think of that you've made progress in from the start of the spring or last year?

"The biggest thing is the scheme in general. Coming in I only played football for two years. All the football language, the general scheme, was new to me. Coming out here and having a 60-play playbook, everything is moving around and I think this spring me and Jacob (Mangum-Farrar) honed in on getting the details, and understanding what everyone is doing around us. So, we get the whole picture and can play fast and play hard. That's what you saw today. We still we're working and improving."

When you've watched film of yourself this spring, what do you like the most of what you're seeing right now?

"I'd say we've put a lot of work into our tackling, our tackling in space, and our footwork when we tackle. I think today the work we put into those drills manifested. The tackling was pretty solid from the defense in general."