Chad Morris spoke to the media for the first time Tuesday night after the Hogs' third practice of spring ball, here's what he had to say:

Opening Statement, Scoota Harris news:

"Any time you get out on the field and get better, that's what it's all about. Lot of fundamentals being taught, teaching going on. Not only by the coaches, but the older players. We've been pretty simple with our install so far. Good to see some of these guys stepping up and standing out. ... Scoota will be out the rest of spring. Surgery on his foot Friday. Expect him back sometime in May. Lingering injury from last season, just wanted to get it taken care of now, he got a small screw in his foot for the fracture."

On Guys Standing Out Early:

"Trey Knox has been consistent and making an impact. Very pleased to watch him catch on. Good to see Eric Gregory, who has been impressive since he's gotten here. Greg Brooks, Devin Bush, Myron Cunningham have been impressive. I'm excited about the direction of these young guys. ... Sosa has been very much a leader. We're going to continue to push him to be the leader on that side of the ball. His effort level has been impressive for three days. ... Bumper Pool was very active today. Made quite a few plays. ... Devwah Whaley and Chase Hayden are really stepping up."

On Ben Hicks So Far:

"I've been very pleased with Ben. I think he's brought great energy into the QB room. He's done everything he's supposed to do as a grad transfer. He's come in, put his head down and earned respect from his teammates by working. For three days, he's taken a lot of reps, and different type of reps - first, second and third team. What's impressive is when you watch him coach up the other quarterbacks"

On Noland's Return to the Practice Field:

"Glad to have Connor out there today. We know he's going to be sporadic throughout the spring. It was good to get him out there and get some reps in. He hasn't made a lot of meetings. Connor is competing. He's battling his tail off. I love that. It's on him to get caught up in the meeting rooms and doing his own film study to make sure he stays on schedule. Do we have him on a pitch count? No, we don't. But we never over throw our guys."

On Plan For Next Practice:

"We'll be able to live-tackle on Thursday. We'll go 50/50. About half of the practice will be live. We'll be scrimmaging inside the stadium Saturday. ... With install, we're focusing on fundamentals right now. That'll pick up over the next few days, but then back off a little to focus on fundamentals again."

On Adding Starkel:

"Like all quarterbacks, he's a great competitor. He has an extremely strong arm. That really stands out. We know he's played in this league. I think everybody that has been around him talks about the quality of person he is. You want to bring the right fit in and I think he brings that and great competition."

On Compensating for Scoota's Absence:

"Bumper is getting a lot of reps, LaFrance and Morgan too. We don't have the depth we need at linebacker right now. It allows some of these younger guys to get even more reps. It's good to see. It forces these guys to have to grow up pretty quick."

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