With all that, the part Canales really liked was the way he’s talking to teammates on the field.
“It’s watching him communicate,” Canales said. “I think if you’re asking for one specific thing, it’s watching him talk. He’s got to be connected with the corner, the nickel, the calls that are coming with motions and all those things, and I think that’s probably the biggest growth that I see from Demani is his level of comfort in our system to be able to talk loudly.
“Sometimes the guys kind of sheepishly whisper something out there, but when you can hear them loud and they own it and they’re demonstrative, you know that they really have grown, to the understanding of the concepts.”
He’s also earning the respect of teammates, as cornerback Jaycee Horn recognized his Texas A&M roots as a sign of belonging.
“Just the communication, playing above the Xs and Os, because it’s, it’s hard for a lot of young guys to do that,” Horn began. “They just try to do exactly what the coach says so they don’t get in trouble. But Demani, he came out of the SEC, so I expected him to be a high-level player, and he turned it into just that, communicating at a high level, making plays, and I think he’s just going to get better and better.”