Todd Bowles & Baker Mayfield Talk After Day 2 of Training Camp Practice | Press Conference

morning. So Morrison made some plays against the ball. How has he shown up in the last season so far this year and what he’s doing out here? All right, we got a sample of what he can do when healthy. Obviously, he’s got quick feet. He’s very smart and sticky receiver, uh, cornerwise, sticking on the receiver. So, just got to keep bringing them along, getting the scheme down. But, he looks good. OB, you’d love to see a little bit less interceptions from Baker. I’m sure he wants that, too. At the same time, you don’t you’re not pressing that button, right? You want him to continue to play his game because the the good outweighs the bad in terms of his production and the way he plays football. Is that fair to say? Yeah, he’s definitely got to play his game. We’re not trying to limit him as far as playing his game. We just got to be smarter with a few more decisions going that way forward. But he throws a lot of touchdowns. He makes a lot of plays for us. We just want to cut that interception ratio down at offensive line. You got three undrafted rookies on that second line right now. It’s it’s early. It’s not passed, but just from now off season, what have they shown you as three new additions on that? Well, they’re willing to work. That’s number one. Uh, obviously I got a good look at Klein. I really think he changed his body in the offseason, so I’ll be very interested to see him in pads. And the rest of them, you got to see in pads as we go forward, but we know they’re tough and we got them for a reason. We like what we see in the spring, but again, pads is a different story. That’s when the offensive linemen count. Try to move everybody around a little bit. He has some flexibility at tackle. We have a little bit at center. So certain situations we’ll move him around in case of emergency. Kind of see how he does. Had a pretty impressive pass break up today. All right. Who was that? Christian had a pretty impressive pass today. You speak to his versatility and he can play your defense and be what you’re looking for. Uh he’s pretty much our unsung hero last year defensively. He can make a lot of plays. He can do a lot of things. Just happy to see him healthy and out there flying around again. What can you say about the play that the defense had getting after the quarterback looked like Chris Grasswell yada yada yabby both had multiple sacks? It’s hard to do out of pads. You know, the offensive lineman can’t hit shoulder pads and grab and the defensive lineman if they get a edge. You try not to hold the guys, so that’s hard to judge at this point. You know, it’s great they’re getting off the ball, but all that comes into play when the pads come on. what you want to see Bradwell do to, you know, make the leap from rookie to to his second season. What is it he has to do? His was mostly mental. I I think he had to learn the mental part of it and all the different techniques and playing faster. He’s playing fast this spring and once he continues to play fast and pass, I think you’ll see a big difference in him from last year. So, I look forward to that. He’s got the scheme down now and he’s shown that he’s playing faster. So, we look to see the guy we drafted. Todd, some of the players are wearing the gladiator caps, some aren’t. Is there a policy that you’re put in place where some guys can’t wear them or they’re wearing special helmets that have maybe there’s a policy not only to wear gladiator caps, but they have gladiator helmets now as well. So, most likely the ones that are without caps have the helmet have the helmets that’s already made for it. Fair to say uh defense got better off two minutes. No, I mean at the end that’s tough to do when you need a touchdown and a two-point conversion with nine seconds. So, it’s a tough ratio. You like to execute depending on which side wins, you know, that that was the end of it. But the offense did well uh at the end of the half as far as understanding the clock management and holding the football. So, we’re working on situations that everybody understands and you know, it’s good competition. You’re not calling the defense on certain days, certain practices. Does that fall to George Edwards or Larry Foot? Are you mixing it up? It mixes up and I call it on a lot of days and we’re scripted and everything else. I script them so I know the play so I don’t have to call it. So I can look there between George, Larry, and Caldwell. Any any one of the three can call the defenses depend on what I think they should work on and working towards preseason. We’re Tristan down Charlie Hex over there right now. Will you guys continue? Obviously, you you’ll need to fill that spot for a while possibly. So, will you try to look outside as you’ve done the last few days to find a veteran that’s played? We’ve been looking and we’ve been bringing guys in. Uh we hadn’t settled on one yet, but we know from a depth standpoint, we got to get some people in here pretty soon. And, you know, we we’re trying to make one of those signings. Coach Dur, is there anything specific from who? Uh I didn’t hear who you said again. I’m sorry. Oh. Um, they just cop has had a heck of a spring. He worked his tail off. Obviously, he’s lighter than the other ones, but he’s a feisty blocker. Just continuing to get the system down for him. Uh, Payne is a heck of a blocker for us. He has a big catch radius. Just getting them more involved in the in in the offense obviously that way. And they should be singled up a lot with all the receivers that we have. So they should be able to make some plays that way and not too far behind Kade. They should be stepping up pretty good. Todd, can you speak to the ways that maybe you help Grizz off the field when you guys aren’t doing the call up periods or whatever, but um inside one Buccaneer place in meeting rooms, watching film is what type of wisdom are you imparting? You’ve probably done before with Dave Canalis and Cohen to get them ready. the conversations, you know, understanding how he likes to call a game, what we have, but also understanding situational football and we meet about those type of things. Grizz is very bright. He has a plan on his own. He wants to understand every situation of the ball game and you know, you get these out the way with the caller periods, what he can and can’t do. and we continue to talk ball and what he sees and what he might see in the red zone in the field and when he gets too much pressure from one way or the other and he has a plan based off all that. But again, he’s a very bright guy. He understands it very well and the conversations we do have have all been great. What is Zach Beastine’s role, your new hire in the offseason during the training camp? Well, he corrected me so I’m going to correct you. It’s vice line, not beast line as as he specifically told me. Uh his role is uh just breaking down situations and giving us things to practice and understand things that we weren’t very good at last year or we could do better this year. Just giving the team an overall understanding of which situation is which when we have timeouts when we don’t, what part of the field we on, how many plays it could take to score, trying not to give the other team the ball back. Just certain situations and all that stuff has been refreshing to hear because he’s got all the numbers and stats and everything like that. Not giving it to him all at one time, but we have days where he comes up and speaks in front of the team and it’s very beneficial. Thanks. Hello. How we doing? You heard a week or so before the season that Tristan WS who very good friends with or you rely on he was going to go overnight and he’s going to miss some time. What does that do for your mind space? Yeah. Um, obviously unfortunate when you’re when you’re thinking about heading into the year, you think about the pieces that you have. Um, what you envision the season being like game planning. It sucks timing wise really really sucks. Um, you know, I don’t I don’t know all the details about the timing of it, but you know, we had to unfortunately had to deal with this last year when Luke went down for a while and having a game plan. So, it’s when it comes to the game plan stuff and what we’re dealing with, it’s you know, we’ll adjust, but we we trust Charlie. I mean, he’s here for a reason. So still trying to instill the faith in him uh that that he’s more than capable of doing his job at the left tackle spot and then yeah just when it comes to us just game planning knowing that we don’t have our allp pro left tackle u being smart with it you know knowing that what type of team we have defensively the upgrades is so offensively how can we minimize mistakes turnovers and let our defense thrive early on in the year until we really get healthy to trust who’s there whether they put a title whatever trust yeah and I think that’s you know as as you get older the quarterback back position. How quickly can you get the ball out? How quickly can get get into your playmakaker’s hands? Let them make plays. And so I still think it goes hand inhand with that. Obviously unfortunate that Tristan’s not going to be there, but uh when it comes to me doing my job, I still have to focus on that. silver lining all this the fact that that Charlie had this long on-ramp with the training camp in the preseason getting ready or where with Justin it was like yeah didn’t practice on that Wednesday all of a sudden he’s going up against I think uh yeah when you think about it that way there there is a silver lining in it silver lining in it um they’re getting reps together as that the starting five as of right now they’re getting reps together communicationwise and that unit the more they get chemistry the more they get going together the better it’s going to be. So, yeah, it is good that they’re getting reps. Um, circumstantially, not the not the best reason why, but uh it’s great that from day one in training camp, we’re doing it. Very similar to last year, but other easy things you can point to that would be different. Yeah, I think um just what what Grizz did last year in our past game, how are we how are we moving Mike around to get him to where he’s not double teamed every time? and that, you know, obviously with the weapons we have now, you can’t exactly do that anyway, but just the motions, moving guys around, uh, I mean, it’s that’s Grizz’s forte. So, there’s some changes in terminology, but nothing nothing major overhaul. So, now it’s nothing carries over into the next year. We know what we could be good at, so we’re still trying to improve on it, but, uh, you know, training camp, you’re still trying to figure out what type of team you’re going to be. Speaking of weapons, you talked about how this player playing within these last two days here getting back to it. How much are you seeing that how he’s improving? Um, extremely well. I mean, like a day like today where Mike’s not practicing, um, you can put a Mecca anywhere. So, it’s it really is it’s the truth. So, it’s fun to be able to have a guy like that that’s that intelligent. Um, that doesn’t act like a rookie, his head’s not spinning, uh, that he’s able to do it and handle it the right way. And it just it raises the standard for everybody else when when you have a rookie coming in learning the offense for the first time. Uh it pushes everybody else around him. So it’s it’s great to have somebody like that. You’re all about wins. Statistics come second, but when you look at last season, 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns, prolific numbers in this offense. Does that kind of excite you? Because touchdowns win games. when you get those big leads and you’re having those three and four touchdown days, Todd BS can get in his bag defensively and turn it up. Does that excite you heading in a year or two in this offense kind of knowing, you know, was and what can be what you’re capable of doing in this offense is capable of doing in the passing game? Yeah, I mean it’s exciting knowing that we have the same system. Uh starters are back, same guys, chemistry continues to build and when anytime you can have that, you’re on the same page, good things are going to happen. But I’m more focused on the only staff from last year is the 16 picks. um how can I eliminate that? And that in turn helps our whole team out, helps the defense when we punt it, pin them down deep and and let them thrive. So, I’m more concerned about that statistic. Is there a um yeah, I think it’s always circumstantial. Uh you when it when it comes to situational football, is it end of half two-minute drill where we’re obviously trying to get points but not give them the ball with with time left to score or is it end game? Are we really trying to go win this thing? Um and just knowing where we’re at in the field. Do we already have points? Do we have a field goal? We have a great kicker. We know that if we take a sack in the red zone, it’s not the best, but he can still nail a long one. um and and just turnovers and trusting our defense this year and and understanding that um if we just do our job on offense, good things are going to happen. A lot of quarterback rankings and surveys and pretty much this year’s top 10 or what’s your I don’t really think about them. Most of the people that vote on them haven’t played the position at a high level or in the NFL. So I I just I do my job. That’s not a that’s not a knock on the people that vote, but the rankings don’t mean anything if you don’t win games. Talk about the defense. That’s the side of the ball that needs to really make some strides these first couple days. Have there been any uh defenders that have caught your eye that that have been problematic for you guys? Yeah, Tweeze got me yesterday. Um I I just think all the DBs as a whole, they’re they’re doing a really really good job at disguising coverages and the young guys, you can tell that they’re bringing them up to speed pretty quick on how to how to hide stuff and then show it late. So, uh, they’re doing a good job of breaking on passes, uh, making making plays. And so, um, I mean, it’s we have we have a lot of depth back there. It’s hard to name all of them, but I mean, Ben Morrison’s a guy that just seeing him out here, uh, he’s moving around really well. I think Bryce Hall’s moving around really well as well. Zion’s continues to get better. Jamal’s consistent and just obviously having Tiki back there with Antoine. Those guys just mess with your head. They’ll be down at the line of scrimmage and run back and it’s just they’re playing games. can see about the broken progression of Deon Hall yesterday. Yeah. Uh Devin’s taking a lot of steps. You know, a guy that is extremely athletic for his size, can really really run. Um so just being able to have a guy like that, I mean Kad’s extremely trustworthy. Pay’s more of our dominant meatthead guy. Uh and having a an athletic guy like Dev to be able to stretch the field at the tight end position that that creates mismatch problems. So u if you want to line a linebacker up on him, he he can outrun you. And so you’re going to have to take a safety out of that and that that kind of opens the spot up for everybody else. So it’s great to have a guy like that that can stretch the field. You put that in your thinking. Uh exactly what LD said. I mean we we go as as him and Mike go. Um and that’s yeah we know we have potential. I I think everybody in this building knows that the roster that Jason and I have have built, the chemistry that we have, the standard that Coach Bull sets each day, um elite is the standard. And so we realize that we’ve had the mid-season lull. We’ve had to scratch late in the year to get into the playoffs. Um the mindset is to be be hungry, be killers, uh to finish it out early. And that’s whether that’s games or the season clenching, you know, our division. That that’s the whole mindset when you step foot on this field. figure you were training this offse was there was there how was that something going you’ve been doing that um yeah I normally try and train with some teammates but obviously being here in Tampa you don’t really want to leave you don’t want to go back home wherever that is uh it’s a good spot to be so makes it easy yeah but having those guys around the whole offseason just being able to push each other you know understand that you’re enjoying your time off but uh you know, you work out and grind together, understanding that when you see guys working that hard in the offseason at the time period that we did it, um you trust them on the field even more. So, it just building the chemistry off the field is huge and and those guys were there for that. Looks like you had some fun in the offse. Uh golf game could be better, everybody. Um felt great going into it mentally had it between the years. Uh fell apart, but yeah, it was a blast. Took some trips. did a family trip um late June after mini camp and then the Lake Tahoe thing. Other than that, been here uh just trying to stay used to the humidity. How well do you think so far? Um I think he fits right in. Uh as a guy that, you know, people wanted to put some labels on him from whatever’s happened in the past. Uh he’s extremely hungry. um got a little chip on his shoulder and I think this building as a whole appreciates that and we understand what type of talent we’re getting out of him and the veteran leadership he brings as well just adds on to that. You mentioned Jason Mlan earlier. What do you think of this sheriff when he came into training camp with you Mike and Chris interesting choice for day one but I’ll trust him. Looked good. My outfit choice in the shirt wasn’t great but I’ll I’ll take it. What about your lunch box? Lunchbox was a nice gift. Thanks PR team. How much as a competitor, how much do you carry when you have the internal expectations of winning another championship back at Tampa Bay? Um, and that’s expectations are, you know, you want to set your own expectations. That that is a perception when you look at our roster from top to bottom. You should that probably should be the guess in the bet. But, uh, for us, you set our own standard. And our standard is we’ve won the division the last few years. And we’re not just trying to do that. We’re trying to take it to the next level. So, uh, you know, you when you set the standard, you try and live up to it each day. And that’s what we’re trying to do in training camp right now is elevate each other, get better each day at whatever you’re trying to focus on. So, yeah, the goal is the Super Bowl. What can you say about Kate and the also someone you call the swagless wonder? Still the swagless wonder, man. Um, no. Cage’s just, you know, the definition of consistent and we have a lot of guys like that, but he is just always in the right spot at the right time. Knows exactly what he’s supposed to be doing, overcommunicates with that room. Um, just elevates the standard. And I think the biggest step for Cade that I’ve seen in the past few months is is vocal leadership. He’s not the loudest guy, but uh he’s taken a big step in, you know, realizing, you know, the key part he is to this team. And so, he he’s been more vocal. I’m really proud of him for that. It’s game to game, right, in terms of schematics and what you how you’re trying to attack the other team. But if you don’t have an allp pro left tackle that you know you can lead by yourself, is that a challenge for Grizz now to go into it and say, “Hey, protection guard is number one that we might have to put some resources over there, help that change your offense.” Um, I mean, it changed us a little bit last year when we we lost Luke. Um, when it comes to, you know, game planning, actually game planning against an opponent in season, you know, your protection fixes, you know what you need to do. Um, and I think that was the the step for me that Liam pushed me to do last year was how quickly can you uh eliminate things, get the ball out, whether it’s checking to a screen, checking the protection, get into a great concept that gets the ball out of your hands. And so, yeah, I mean, that’s it’s a challenge, but Grizz was around for that when we had to deal with it. Uh, he was a part of that game plan stuff. So, uh, we’ll just adjust and adapt. Your clock speeds up, right? a little bit, but you don’t want to be in a rush. You mentioned you’re focused on going into this year where you have a very similar offense going into more continuity. What things are you going into? Uh turnovers number one. Um you know, and that’s some stuff’s going to happen that there’s going to be an errant throw that obviously I’m not trying to throw it to the defense, but I just miss it. That’s going to physical mistakes are going to happen. It’s more the decision- making. Those are the ones that, you know, when we talked about situationally, how to be aggressive, where are we at in the field, what are we looking at, th those are the ones that uh really trying to fine-tune that and just that’s always a work in progress of and it’s hard to simulate that unless you’re really going, you know, scrimmage type feel in practice, but um in mindset, mentally, where we at on our practice field, even though we might be in the red zone area, are we really practicing red zone? But I can treat it mentally like that. So, uh, fine-tuning that and then once again, we have some new pieces, getting everybody on the same page, cuz when you have all 11 on the same page, good things happen. You guys are excited to play anybody, right, in week one that happens to be in Atlanta, uh, the team that swept you guys, but you guys came from behind and and capture the division again. What What are your thoughts on facing the conf? Um, obviously, you know, the last memories we have are losing twice to them. um you know and a heartbreaker there in Atlanta and just something that you know it felt like we didn’t make enough plays to win the game and so uh yeah divisional games are always really important. The fact that we start the year with them away I I think is great for this team. Uh just to to see what type of mentality that the guys have and bring to the table uh it’s exciting but still only in day two of training camp so we got a long way from there but I’m excited about that. I know it’s early, but offensively, who’s a name that’s maybe going under the radar early on you think that could make an impact in 2025? Um, God, it’s it’s hard. I I think TZ Johnson’s a guy that has a lot of potential. Um, and I think, uh, sneaky one is Josh Williams. Um, doesn’t say a word. I think he might be mute, but he does all the right things. Uh, explosive, and he was fun to watch in college. So, I think once we get the pads on, he’s going to be really fun to watch. Okay. Thank you. Thanks, guys. Hey, good. It’s not necessarily the news that the team would want, but you’re here for a reason, right? And so with Tristan getting hurt as well as you did, how prepared do you think you’ll be? You offense uh did have a lot of reps in the offseason. So, what do you think of the opportunity? Yeah, absolutely. It’s a great opportunity. You know, Tristan’s the best tackle in the NFL, so uh we’re hoping for a quick recovery and I know he’s attacking the rehab process. He’s positive, but right now I’ve just got to be ready ready to fill in and help however I can. This offensive line room has been known as a group that’s really tight fit, very close. So, how’s it been coming into this room and appreciating yourself? How open have they been with you? Oh, it’s awesome. They’re the best. I mean, just like you said, I mean, they bring everybody in with open arms. They’re helping everybody learn to play. I mean, it’s super easy coming in as a new offensive lineman cuz they instantly take you in, help you with any questions. Everybody’s hanging out. It It’s a really good room. Every quarterback is different. Um, but what are some of the kind of unique things that you’ve had to kind of learn in working with Baker? Obviously, his ability to extend plays certainly kind of impacts your job. Oh, Baker’s like the type of quarterback you want to block for as an offensive lineman. I mean, he’s the guy that, you know, you want to go to war for. I mean, he gets in the huddle, commands the huddle. You want to fight for him and, you know, he he does have that crazy ability to extend plays and, you know, pull some magic out there. So, he’s awesome. Charlie, as a swing t, I know a lot of times you find out you’re starting on a Wednesday or even later in the week. How much does it help to know you have basically five, six weeks to get yourself ready for weekly? Definitely. I mean, it helps a lot. I mean, cuz sometimes you’ll be thrown in there in the middle of a game. You got to be ready to go. So, you know, the more you have time to prepare, the easier it is to, you know, go out there and execute. You you’ve got experience of left and right tackle in the league. Is there one of those a home base for you? Are you more comfortable playing left or right? Generally speaking, you know, I’ve I’ve spent so much time, you know, every training camp switching back and forth that after a few days sticking with one, you it it feels more comfortable. So, I I wouldn’t say there’s a specific one. What’s the most important thing with you and Ben working together just having a better experience better next year? Yeah, I mean communication. I mean just reps together building that chemistry. I mean that’s huge. I mean that so every day we’re out here at training camp. That’s going to be what’s what’s helping us build that chemistry. You’ve been good friends with Pay Durham since you got here. Kate Hotton as well. Just talk about the tight ends because that’s probably going to be part of the game plan too. You and the tight ends double teaming whether it’s pass rusher in the run game on that side. Yeah, I mean they’re an extension of the offensive line a lot of times. You know, I mean, those guys are great communicators, great athletes, and I mean, they’re nasty blockers, too. I mean, so when whenever you’ve got one next to you, you know, it’s a it’s a great thing. Joshard walking into this not unfamiliar with the offense. He was part of the staff last year as the pass game for he’s a first time play caller. What is your initial impression of Josh Gazard, seeing him work in the mini camp, the OTAAS, and also training? I mean, obviously, this is my first time here, but I mean, he doesn’t seem like a new coach to me. I mean, he seems like he’s dialed in as an experienced offensive coordinator. So I mean smooth to meads on a day as well. I saw he was chirping already. Yeah. You know getting the pads on is when real football starts and I mean as offensive linemen that’s what we want. You you know you want the pads on that’s when you can really go out there and compete against the D line. Absolutely. You mentioned back in March one of the big factors of signing there was the coaching staff in place. How have Heathers and Carberry and Brian Fuji so far? Yeah, I mean they’re awesome. I mean they they come in every single day prepared. You know, they’ll they’ll work with you individually on what you need, what they see out there at practice. I mean they’ve been they’ve been awesome here to come in and work for football’s always a work in progress, right? You’ve been in the league I think six years now. Um what’s that that one area of the game where you’re always trying to work on and perfect and take your game to the next level? You you know it it’s just building days to me, you know? I mean, if there’s there’s something new that you’re trying to work on every single day, and it it’s not repeating the same mistake twice, especially in camp, you know, if there’s one thing you go out there and you’re like, I’m going to work on quicker feet today. You know, you go out there and you’re you’re not going to make that same mistake. You’re going to fix that for the day. And then through camp, you’re just building each day on something new. Uh mentioned the fact that, you know, when you’re a swing tackle, I mean, sometimes you don’t find out that you’re going in until maybe Wednesday or even later than that. But are there any instances where you’ve had to step in where you feel really proud of or maybe that that talked you a little bit more about yourself or or really like made you feel like, hey, you know what, I can I can really do this? Oh, absolutely. I mean, this this past season I was in Arizona, got a call on Christmas and was told that I was going to be starting a left tackle Monday night against Detroit for San Francisco. So, that was a three-day turnaround and, you know, went out there, battled. It was fun. It was awesome. I mean, that’s that’s what it’s like in the NFL. Got to be ready for your opportunity. Like been in those situations, those adverse situations or even those situations like Baker had to do, you know, when he had to have his spot start uh against the the Raiders. I mean, that’s the textbook example there with Baker when he was when he was in LA. U you know, it’s it’s always great when you have some more time to prepare, but when you can go out there in the heat of the moment and battle, it’s awesome. You feel proud of yourself. Thanks, y’all. Yep. Y’all have a good one. defense yourself in particular when you get in those red zone situations knocking balls around. What does that feel like to be out there and make plays like you have so early in camp? Uh, it’s a blessing just to be out there competing, have an opportunity to play for this team. Um, so in the day, every time I step on the field, um, my goal is to make plays and and and make things shake. So, it’s a blessing. In in spring and OTAAS, it seemed like they were being careful holding up some. It looked like you had no limitations at all physically. Do you feel like you’re you’re back to yourself? Yeah. No, I feel like I’m back to myself. Um, this is the best I ever felt since uh injury, um, since the surge and everything. So, just being out here able to compete, like I said, it’s a blessing. You don’t take this for granted anymore. um reps that you could have done in the past um took for granted, now you don’t. Um just you understand like what it’s like sit on the sideline. So just uh being a a look or being a scout team look. Um I I take pride in that because I remember last year being on the sideline. I was like when I get a chance to get back on the field um I’m going to uh stay on it. Does worry about that first hit? You kind of had that with Mecca there on that one play, that little um collision you had. I want to say it was an OTA camp or whatever midair. Um what what did that do for you? I guess that was a pretty impressive Yeah. Uh no, I think I had one earlier um when I when I fell on my on my my left hip and that’s a surgical one. I think that was kind of gave me that like green light. Hey, you’re good. Um don’t try you don’t have to think about it anymore. Ever since I haven’t thought about it. Um so I it is that one play you need that just takes you back in reality like hey you can play football again. Um and not hold back at all. So I will say that was the play. What about the play though with Rebecca when you guys did collide in the air like that and to take it away from them? I mean that’s that’s good on good right there like to be able to have that kind of a competitive situation and Yeah. No, he was drafted first round for a reason. Um he’s a really talented receiver and it’s a privilege so that I can go against him every single day cuz it’s going to make me better and hopefully I can make him better every single day. Um so I mean you got to look what he did at Ohio State. Um he was productive all of his years. So understanding that a guy of his success, I want to go against him every single day cuz ultimately going to make me better and I’m going to make him better. Speaking of successful, which speaking of successful receivers, you had a couple reps against Mike Evans. Yeah. What’s it like to go up against a future Hall of Famer like that? Yeah, I mean it’s it’s everything you want. I mean, you can either step up or back back down. Um and I think it’s it’s an opportunity. You get to go against a great every single day. Um, you look at the talented receivers throughout the league and Mike’s up there top three every single year for a reason. So, getting the confidence of going against him and and being able to see the way he works, I mean, I’m I observe and I could just watch from afar. Um, ultimately, I want to uh be able to do the things on the opposite side of the ball that he’s done. So, I observe him, Chris Gwin, um, Antoine Winfield, those guys to be able to because they’re all great players and also great humans. Now that you’ve had a couple practices under your belt, how quickly are you taking off the the defensive playbook and everything you’re reading now, you’re doing it on the field, too. Yeah, I think OTAA’s really helped. Um, just being able to kind of like dip your feet in the water a little bit. Um, stakes aren’t as high. You can make mistakes. Um, but now I mean trying to earn a job right now. So, for me, it’s like I use summer to really get ahead on the playbook. Um, make sure I know my ins and outs cuz otaas I found myself relying on a call um or someone to say a call to trigger something. But now I got to be the person to understand it for myself. Um cuz understand that when you get in the game, I mean when bulls are flying, it’s no different. Um so really understand I have a full like grasp of the defense. Um not saying I have it all figured out. Um but I strive to uh kind of have it all. Rookies tend to react differently to NFL game speed sometimes when we get there. There’s no pads yet, so that’ll be a whole different. But so far, how you alantric speed of NFL compared to the college? Obviously, it’s going to be a little faster. I think the the quarterbacks and we have one of the best ones in the league. But the way I think about it is football’s football. Um even yesterday day one, you know, you got the anxiousness, the nerves. Um you you get out there, it’s like, do I belong? But you start playing, you look, it’s just football. Um and that’s the way my mindset is is it’s football. I’ve been doing it since I was 8 years old. I’m living a dream, playing a a child’s game. So you can’t make it bigger than what it is. The stadium gets bigger, but the game itself stays the same. How much do you relish those like one-on-one jump ball opportunities where team versus the receiver and just kind of mono stuff? Yeah, I mean I love competition. So anytime you can compete for something I think I mean that’s that that wakes me up. Um I mean at the end of the day I mean this our job now so you get paid off of production. So when that ball’s in the air that’s money so you got to go get it. Your skills is just how you’re able to track the ball. How where did that develop? How were you able to to kind of have that almost that sense where you’re back to the quarterback, facing the quarterback? Seems like you get around pretty good. Yeah, I think that’s just a god-given ability of mine. I mean, I dropped two today. So, it wasn’t really one of my my strongest abilities. So, I got to hone in on that. Make sure I’m really focused, but it really comes down to details. I mean, anyone can be a good catcher if you really lock in and have confidence in your hands and look it in. Um, so that just comes down to looking it in and being a complete football player. you were a starter as a true freshman at Notre Dame, but when you arrived in camp, where were you on the depth chart at that time to be able to get into the starting line? Yeah, I was probably the lowest you could be. Um, I didn’t early and roll, so they didn’t know much of me, so I mean I was lowest I could be head down just worked. Yeah, they’re I mean, they’re both two excellent corners. So for me, it’s just like they’ve had success and they’re they’re doing what I ultimately achieved to do one day. So why not learn everything from them? I mean, they don’t have to be vocally and tell me what to do. I mean, these guys are both going to be future Pro Bowls, all pro uh corners, so who am I not to listen to them, and who am I not to watch every single rep they’re in? Um because they’re doing something right. Mini camp OTAAS. Did you stay down here or did you go back home? You want to train in the heat? Like what was your your routine? Yeah, I was home for a little bit. Um, I was home for a little bit and then was back down here for the majority of the time. What was your training like that period of time? Yeah, I was here. Yeah, I was here. So, everything I was doing on OTAAS with the team, I mean, same thing, same people. So, just getting ready warmer here than than South. A little. Was that part of the reasoning to come here to get used to the heat, humidity in these conditions and to understand the hydration levels you got to be at to be able to perform? I mean, honestly, no. I mean, I was just so excited to be in Tampa. I mean, just it’s a new beginning. Um, I wanted wanted to get a little acclimated to the the scenery and just where to go. Like, I was some days just drive around, drive 40 minutes to Od Desa, just see what that’s like and just come back down here. So, I just want to get used to Tampa. You’re going to perform your role, whatever that is. But when you get here for you competitively, it’s all about I want to get on the field. I’m going to force my way out there and play right away. Wait, say it again. Like you your mentality is I want to force my way on this field and play right away. Yeah, I I don’t think you get drafted or not to have that mentality. I think I’d be wrong if I didn’t have the mentality. Um I think that’s the mentality you have to have and those mentality everything every single DB in the room has. You know what I’m saying? Cuz we’re in the NFL, so we’re all competing. We know what it is. So, I mean, everyone wants to be the best. Everyone wants to compete. By the end of the day, only two to three corners can’t play. So, you got to put your best foot forward out here during this training camp and then preseason then see how it shakes out. Thank you. Thank you.

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