Travon Walker and Anthony Campanile Talk Defense at Training Camp | Jacksonville Jaguars

Travon Walker and Anthony Campanile Talk Defense at Training Camp | Jacksonville Jaguars

First couple days obviously acclamation, everybody getting used to the heat, uh getting used to communicating with each other, but uh so far so good. Every day we just trying to come in and get 1% better as a unit, as a team. That’s the goal. We get 1% better every day. How’s that change from offseason program communication to now training camp, you know, besides the five weeks away? I mean, obviously OTAAS, it was just to build up and once we came back into training camp, we were just still trying to build off of what we learned in OTAAS. Obviously, we probably had to go back and refresh over some of the plays, but uh it was it wasn’t like it was our first time hearing it. So, uh with us coming in, we was able to pick up on some of the things faster, but obviously some guys as we they give us a little load, they we may mess up here and there, but that’s what all this time is for. Meetings, walkthroughs, and everything like that. How different does it feel this year training camp last years, man? Uh I mean, training camp going to feel like training camp every year, especially here with the heat. Uh but it’s training camp. Uh, we all know it’s a time where we all try to come together to help build the team chemistry to help get where where we want to go during the season. So, I mean, it’s a great great so far. It’s going to be training camp regardless. Uh, I mean, it’s going good. Uh, the coaching staff doing great. I feel like they’re doing a great job uh with the play call. Like I say, we’re just refreshing on the plays, so obviously they’re not just pouring on. It’s not our first time hearing it. Uh, but the staff so far is great. You talked today. So, what do you like about PLC? Man, I love I love the attack mentality, the type of just the mentality that camp brings along. Uh he’s the same high energy guy every day. And as a as a person uh looking into someone else, all you can ask for is them to be consistent every day. And uh he’s been that every day. Did you enjoy the Iron Jaguar game? I did. I loved it. Uh obviously a little competition, get get to go against some of our teammates, which makes it a little bit funner. Uh just give you a little bit of edge, especially if you’re a true competitor. How do you take more leadership forward this year? What do you feel like you need to do? Uh me, I just I just think it’s number one honing in on me personally myself. I have to do things the right way first. Uh and then go from there. Just try to pour into the other players as they come to me, ask questions. Like like I said, it’s a couple of a lot of young a lot more guys that’s younger than me that’s coming to me asking questions and things of that nature. Just leading by example on the field. That’s the main thing. This kind of switch for you. At one point not too long ago, you were the young guy asking a ton of questions. Most definitely. I mean, I always felt like I’ve been a leader ever since I’ve been a little kid. My mom always told me, mom and dad always told me not to be a leader, not a follower. So, I feel like I always been a leader. It’s just now it’s it may be a little bit more broad to you all as far as the media and the fans and things of that nature as I get older as a player. How would you describe your leadership style though? Are you more of the lead by example or I’m definitely more lead by example. Uh, I mean, I talk, joke, uh, laugh around, joke around, things of that nature, but I’m more of a go out there, get the job done, and obviously a lot of guys, they just see the hard work that I put in, dedication that I have for the love of the game. Hard to believe it’s year four, but where are you different now than maybe a couple months ago? Uh, I’d like to say just my my mental aspect and obviously in the film room. I know exactly what I’m looking for, but once I go into the film room now, it’s not uh I have a more of a routine when it comes to film study, treatment, things of that nature. So, I feel like just going in the year before, I’m a lot more mature when it comes to carrying how I’m carrying myself in the building. How am I going about myself outside of the building as well? When you see a film of yourself as a rookie year as opposed to like last year now, do you go, “Wow, what a different guy I am.” Uh, I mean, I wouldn’t say different guy cuz like everybody know I was I was drafted off of potential. Um, I only been pass rushing. I started pass rushing at defensive end probably say true my sophomore year of college, but now I’m just I always had athleticism to be great, but now I’m just starting to put everything together. So, obviously it’s some things that I’ll be like, “Oh I definitely could have worked on some things better right here.” But, uh, obviously now, like you say, just trying to get 1% better every day, every year, and that’s the main goal. You feel like there’s more for you to do as a pass rusher. Oh, most definitely. It’s always room for improvement, but like I say, I feel like I’m u establishing myself, especially amongst the team. That’s all that really matters. The outside world, it really doesn’t matter what the media thinks, fans thinks or anybody else. As long as I get my respect from my teammates and my peers, that’s all that matters. Speaking of your teammates, just how much of an impact has Eric Armstead made over the last year and a half? I know he had a sort of up and down year last year, but coming in, uh, for me personally, Eric, he brings a lot of different things to the game. like he’s like I say he’s a true vet. He’s been around the game of the he played in couple probably two different generations of football. So, uh it’s just his mindset uh how he breaks down certain plays, certain formations, and just even the smaller details. Like you want to always hone in on small details, but I feel like Eric he does a great job of digging even deeper into what they’re doing or why they’re doing it this way. How much easier can that make it for younger guys? I I know you’re entering year four, but just learning your third defensive playbook, having a guy like Eric or or a veteran to be able to carry along or help along uh makes it a lot easier. Obviously, he’s one of those guys like he’s a laid-back reserve guy as well, but if he if he knows that you’re struggling with something, he’s definitely going to come up to you and say something regardless of if you ask or not, just because that’s the type of leader that he is. He’s played in multiple defenses himself and uh he he knows how to categorize some things that maybe it may be able to help the younger players. You and Josh played together enough to kind of know what to expect from each person on every play, you know what I mean? Uh, most definitely. Uh, like I I’ll talked about this my rookie year and years after that, too. It’s just like knowing who’s on the other side of you or knowing who’s on the inside of you. What type of rusher is he? What type of rusher am I? And that’s where times like this during camp, you all come together as far as communication. He take is he taking a high rush? Should I take a low rush when he takes this high rush? So just we all been on the same accord especially up front. Uh I mean within that box like we all have to be on one accord when it especially number one when it comes to the run game. Everybody has a a job to do on every single play and that’s in the run or pass. So uh just playing with him for going on four years now. Uh it’s I feel like I know him as a player and we work together very well. All right. Thanks J. What have you sort of seen from him um since you got here? And and what type of player is he for for people to manage? He’s he’s a great player obviously, but uh I said this the last time I talked to you guys, he’s a great person. He’s got a lot of leadership qualities. Uh I don’t think there’s anybody in the building that doesn’t genuinely love the guy. He’s just a great human being. Got a great energy about him. Um you know, credit to everyone that raised him because uh he’s the type of guy like you love to coach him. you know, you love his teammates love playing with him and and his coaches love coaching. How much how much can that impact the locker room in a positive way? Just just having a guy like that around who’s sort of steady, doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low, and and is coachable as you said. Well, when I think when some of your best players are your best leaders, uh, and the best people, that’s a great thing, you know, because that’s what sets the culture of every building. Um, you know, they’re going to go the the guys are going to follow the guys, uh, who bring that energy, and he brings a positive energy. I think it’s Obviously an overall net positive for the entire building, offense and defense, to have a guy like that. Do you know much about him as a player before you got here? He’s kind of like one of those anonymous really good players. Yeah, I I did. Um cuz just knowing Trey Scott at Georgia a little bit and some of the people uh you know, we kind of run in the same circles, coaches, um and some other coaches. I I remember Pete Jenkins, who’s kind of a legendary Dline coach, going down there and had worked with him at Georgia and talking about him way back, you know, when he was in college. Um, just the type of guy he is. Always serious, you know, driven, um, and wanting to be great. So, that was really what I knew of Trayvon and and all that’s been true, you know. No, no, I don’t think so at all. Um, I think when he speaks, people listen. And um, you know, there’s there’s a lot to that that when when somebody who maybe people perceive isn’t that, you know, vocal, which he is, he’s vocal in the building. Um, but when he speaks, it means something to the guys on the team and people listen. Uh, I mean, he’s got ton of potential. Sky’s the limit for him. Um, and it’s just like every other position, every other guy, you know, doing it every day, every play. Um, that’s really what sets the tone for what you’re going to do out there every day. And I think he, you know, out there on Sunday, I should say. Um, but he’s a guy who brings it every play, every day. You watch him in drill work. I mean, he’s locked in, laser focused. So, I’m excited for him. Excited for what he’s going to do this year. Excited to get him in your system, too. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, when you know there’s a guy like that, it’s an exciting thing. You know, coaches get a lot smarter when you got good players. So, it’s coach, where are you after two days with this uh new uh Yeah. I mean, like usually like any year in camp, you know, you got some of those early mistakes and camp is a great thing because you kind of just get locked away. You do football for quite a while here and you really have a singular focus and what it takes to get better at football is playing football. So, you need constant repetition. It’s, you know, it’s all about muscle memory and seeing things over and over and over again, talking about things, um, in a consistent way, saying things the same way so we hear them the same way all the time. That’s really, as a coach, I think the biggest challenge in camp, you know, everybody’s speaking the same language, and everybody driving the same points home and being honest, you got to be honest. So, um, our guys have done a great job of that to this point. Obviously, it’s two days, but they’re doing a really good job and hopefully continue to get better. As the defensive guy, how much do you have next Tuesday? So, as the defensive guy, how much do you have next Tuesday? So, when pads go on, you see these guys get off blocks. Yeah, that’s that’s always a huge deal, you know, and it’s it’s a exciting time for the players, too. But, uh, the only thing we can control is what we’re doing every day. And that drill work that we’re doing. I think that’s such a critical part of coaching that you have to simulate the things that are going to happen in the game. Um, and you got to be laser focused as to where you’re standing when you’re coaching the drill, where you’re filming the drill from, you know, so they’re getting constant consistent feedback when they go out there in full pads that they can play at optimum performance. A lot of the defenders have talked about just your defense as you attack more and get better. Have you seen them be able to play more freely? Yeah, I think the better you know things, um, you know, the more you do something, that’s when you play faster. You know, um, there’s more anticipation when there’s better communication. So, the more and more you do things, the more and more you see things, you talk about things, uh, in the meeting room, you walk through things, and you get a chance to get it at game speed, you’re going to communicate better. And, uh, a call is going to help somebody. So, when our team is communicating, that’s when we’re usually playing fast. And, and I see that, uh, through the transition of the spring into the summer, I think our guys did a good job of studying this off seasonason. Uh, and they were able to hit the ground running a little bit when they got out here. Communication was good. you you’ve been asked this already, but in terms of rotating guys at both corner and safety, kind of seeing those different combinations. What’s your expected timeline to when maybe that shakes out and the depth chart starts? I think you’re always going through that throughout the season. And one of the beautiful things about football is um it can be so personnel and package oriented, you know, based on the opponent, you know, what they’re putting out there from a personnel perspective or who those guys actually are, what’s the best matchup. A lot of times that decides who you play uh and who’s playing in the game. So we try to do that all the way through, you know, all the way through uh to the end of the season. And I think that’s a big part of evaluation as a coach. You guys have given Travis a little bit extra work in between like when there’s special teams per spirit or stuff like that. Yeah. Does does that stress you guys out a little bit in terms of your planning and how it works around or No, I I would say Liam’s done an unbelievable job with that. Um he is like down to the second with all that. It’s it’s honestly it’s impressive to watch. Um because he does a great job of communicating with us, you know, when he’s going to be with us, when he’s going to be meeting with us, when we’re going to have time on the field. Um and our coaches, Coach Miles, Coach Perkins, those guys have done a great job. And Coach Lceri uh in the meetings, they’ve done a great job planning everything out with his meeting time and then having the stuff ready to go on the field so we can do, you know, feet meets and walking talks with him uh in between if he’s available. You’ve been around a lot of great football players. When you see the three wide receivers going up against your defense, is this among or if not the fastest group of wide receivers? Yeah, it’s a great group. Um and they’re are hardworking dudes, you know, like they’re they’re uh they challenge you in practice. So, um you you couldn’t get a better situation, you know, if you’re a defensive player uh than we have here, getting the opportunity to play against great players every day. So, they they really are. It’s a great group. It’s a special group of guys. How important has it been to have a guy like Eric Armstead in the building in the defense just being able to carry the guys along a little bit too? Yeah, I think Eric’s got as you know, you know, he’s like Walter Pave man of the year the whole thing. He’s got great leadership qualities and the people in the locker room uh people look up to Eric. Um because one his consistency and performance and just his personality uh is that of a guy that wants to help other people, you know. Um, so that that is a as a coach, it’s a great thing to have, you know what I mean? And and uh a guy that you can uh obviously is always going to be honest, and that’s what we’re always looking for, honest feedback from coaches to players, players to coaches. And I think he’s done a great job with that. Appreciate you guys. Thank you.

Jacksonville Jaguars DE Travon Walker and DC Anthony Campanile speak to the media after practice at 2025 Training Camp, presented by Dream Finders Homes.

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