Houston Texans star Derek Stingley Jr. sits down with Richard Sherman to break down what makes him one of the NFL’s premier lockdown corners. Stingley talks about dominating top receivers, the Texans’ elite defense, LSU’s DBU standard, and the mindset required to play corner at the highest level.
Sherm and Stingley go deep on DB technique, ball skills, film study, confidence, penalty mindset, man vs. zone IQ, and how elite corners bounce back when a receiver wins a rep. Stingley also opens up about his “welcome to the NFL” moment, learning from LSU legends, working under DeMeco Ryans, and the wideouts across the league who don’t get the respect they deserve.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast, and we have
a very special guest, a guy that is very tough
to track down, but I'm happy to have in the
day one of the best corners in the National Football League,
Dereck Stingly.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Appreciate you joining me, brother here. Man.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Yeah, you yeah, Look, look, I I'm not gonna start
no controversy. Y'all playing some great defense right now. Y'all
playing some great defense. Uh, you had to pick last week. Well,
I'm gonna started off with that. The pick was incredible.
Why you stiff for him that man like that? I
mean I did. I thought it was just a normal
stiff for him. Apparently you know not, but I don't know.
(00:43):
You know that we get stiffed through them all the time.
So right, you got to give him back a little
bit when when you can. That was that was a
great play, though, man, And what what what did you
read on that play? What did you see? Because I
mean that was incredible. A lot of your books are
really great, Joe. Your ones in the playoffs was great too.
I think your ball skills are our next level. Obviously
(01:05):
they said you had twenty seven of them things in
high school. I said that's just silly numbers man. Now, yeah,
that on their play.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
I mean, you know, I'm just looking at the vertical
and then I saw I saw the quarterback he was
looking at the that too, and then I mean I
just went to the ball, seen the ball.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
Just get ball.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
You you didn't, you didn't picked off the sema too
a lot. That's what I'm saying you. Maybe it might
have been your first game back from injury, like like
a couple of years ago. That might have been your
first or second book. They ran a scene a vertical
and you was on one. You came off of one
and book two? Do you prefer? And I know people
always argue this, you do a great job following the best,
(01:49):
best receiver and mirroring them. But when you in zone,
you get to play with vision and your football IQ
is so high that you can you have an incredible
feel for the zone, the space, the concepts you get
talked me through that well.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
I mean it really doesn't matter, to be honest. I mean,
if I'm a man just being up there just playing
face or face, or if I'm his own just knowing
that that I'm communicating with like my teammate, my safeties
or nickels or whoever whoever is next to me, all
just going out there just whatever it is, like, oh,
it doesn't matter, just just get this job done.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Yeah, what makes this defense so good?
Speaker 1 (02:27):
You know, it seems like y'all have a great, great
combination of incredible pass rush and a great secondary. Y'all
number one in the scoring defense. Y'all only allowed four
passing touchdowns this season, allowed fourteen point seven points per game.
And that's Look, that's giving you a chance to win
every week. Talk me through that. Y'all got a great
D line. Obviously they hunting up front, but in the
(02:49):
back end, y'all locked into.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Yeah, I mean, I mean, I mean you pretty much
said it all Like, you know, the front, the D line,
they they know how to work with each other, like
they know never somebody is caging and containing around and
you know, like they all working together. And then it's
the same on the back end. And then whenever we
all do that at the same time on every play,
at least we try to every play, and then it's
(03:13):
just a good result. So, I mean it started with
them when we say they're the engine of the defense.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
So when you got to the league, Was it what
you thought it would be.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
All in a sense of like business.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yeah, I mean I knew coming in that you know,
it's a job, like you're you're here doing the job.
But I mean it's still fun, like it's still football
is football? Like that part didn't change either, I don't know.
I mean, first coming into the league, obviously the speed
of the game was you know, had to get used
(03:46):
to that. But other than that, it's been pretty much
the same.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Yeah, but that's one thing. Y'all got down and chat
at LSU. Man, you facing what you're gonna face. You
seeing what you're gonna see. Ain't much better. Ain't much
better than what you've been seeing. Yeah, talk me through that.
You were the number one recruit in your class coming in,
which is rare for a corner to be the number
(04:11):
one recruit.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Is it true?
Speaker 1 (04:13):
They offered you in ninth grade? Yeah, and you played
on varsity in eighth grade.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I didn't even know that was possible.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
But yeah, you know, I went to a small school,
so you know it was possible for us.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So did you did you did you get any did
you get any?
Speaker 4 (04:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah in eighth grade?
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Ye, Bro, that's like legendary stuff you tell as like
a folk tale, like you know, you tell your grandkids like, yeah, man,
when I was in eighth grade playing varsity.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
About five eight and one, I don't even know, like
I wouldn't. I was small out there.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
But yeah, good, Yeah, you got a good feel. So
what what what helped you?
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Was? It was it just you know, having a hav
an NFL.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Round you, you know, family members.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Obviously your pops uh played pro baseball and and uh
and and played some some arena football. Is it was
it just that that helped your mentality because obviously every
level it seems like you've dominated and been the most mature.
You came to the league. It didn't it didn't seem
like it surprised you. As soon as you got your reps,
you got in there, you you were picking stuff off. Yeah,
(05:23):
your first time in the playoffs you're picking stuff. Well,
not your first time in the playoffs. But last year
was one of the most dominant playoff runs for a dB.
I thought y'all had a really great chance. But tell
me what what really moded your mentality coming up?
Speaker 4 (05:37):
I mean it was really you know, being around my pops.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
He played and he he also coached in the Arena
Football League, and I mean it's just a little kid.
I would be doing DV drills with like the players
that was on this team, or running a round tree
like against his DB's practice all and just I don't know,
I mean just being around him. Without him, I wouldn't
sitting right here talking to you at all, which is
(06:02):
crazy about it, but you know, just he molded me
into into who I am.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
So I mean, you gotta keep it going.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
No question, you're doing a great job keeping it going.
You got eleven interceptions already. You you in your class,
I would I would assume you got the most by
far and away. Not a lot of them getting books
right now, but you you're definitely hunting them. Uh, who's
been the like? Have you had your welcome to the
NFL moment? You know, sometimes guys have them. Sometimes it's
(06:33):
not that big a deal.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Yeah, I mean it was. It happened in practice. I'm
going against Brandon Cooks, obviously, my rookie year. I'm covering
them and he's a jump ball that's in the end
zone and I jumped up like to catch the ball,
and he also got his hands on the ball and
he ripped it away. Now, that was like the first
time that somebody really like like took the ball.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Away from me in the air. And I was looking
around like like, that's crazy.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Like Brandon Cooks, like you know, he cold, Like I
don't whatever you think about him, but that was one
of the he's one of the great receivers to be
in the league, and he yeah, he made that play.
And I was just looking around like, yeah, this is
the NFL, not like yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Yeah for show NFL now. But Cooks don't ever get
enough credit. You get you get in front of Cooks,
you be slouching if.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
You want to cook your bits for real, it's crazy.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Yeah, who you who?
Speaker 1 (07:28):
I can't really talk to you about who the best
receivers in the National Football League is because you you
went against them in college and you probably see him
a lot different.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
I mean, they still el he can't not say that.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
But outside of Justin and and Jamar, who are you
feeling like, are some of the best receivers in the
National Football League?
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Well outside yeah, outside of Justin Jefferson and Jamoar Chase
me Geartt with the Jets.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
Oh, Mike Evans is up there.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Oh, people don't give Mike Kevis the credit. Is Mike
Evins handful?
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Yeah, who as Uh, Davantae Adams is always gonna be
up there.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
All. I can't even think of people right now for uh.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Something you you probably played against tarrenk. You probably played
against Davante's split release stuff and how he moved his
release packages.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, He's always up there. Uh would
be up there.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
A lot of people saying pooker right now. J Brown.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
See that's the differ, you know, like people be ranking
and doing all that. Like everybody is great at something
that they do, like that's what they're in the in
the NFL. Like like everybody that you just said is
phenomenal at a specific thing and that's how they get
they touched down. So I don't know, It's it's hard
to rank people with any position.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Right right right, because it's it's just depend on any
given day. Like I give a lot of respect sometimes
to receivers people don't like Stevie Johnson was an issue
for me, and and we've talked about this a lot
of times, like that boy had a split release and
I had to figure that out, and you know, I
went against him once in Toronto and it was a
long day. We won by like thirty, but you know
one of them days where you you didn't have a
(09:19):
great day.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
The team had a great day. Day wasn't great, you know.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
And and then we he got signed by San Francisco
and I went against him again and that much different,
much different kind of day. I had two books on
the day. It was Thanksgiving. I was eating turkey on
the field after the game. Sometimes you get back, yeah,
living right, Uh, yes, sir, living living good. So who
did you look look up to outside of your pops
(09:44):
and you know as a as a dB as a
corner that you know you tried to emulate Chimp Bailey.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Oh, he was just all somebody that that I always see.
He would number twenty four. He got the interceptions, he
he was he was able to cover like press off
like you know, he did everything and he Yeah, since
I was the kid Champ Bailey being over.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
No no question about it, y'all. L s U was
DBU and they've put put out some of the best.
Did you ever have like a good relationship with like
Tyron and Pat p and those guys, I mean, two
of the best to play.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Yeah, I mean, Pat, he would come back and work
out with us, like teach us some of the stuff
that he was either learning at the time or dealing
with or playing with at that time. Then we would
just take that add that to our game.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Tyre.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Matthew will come back and like talk to us before
the game sometimes like break down the dB huddle.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
Who else? I mean, it's uh.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Yeah, it's a lot of people, like we got too many,
a lot of people just coming back though.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Right right, talk about uh one of another good corner.
National Football League pasts are Team one Defensive Player of
the Year last year. What what was your reaction when
you saw that?
Speaker 3 (11:03):
No, I mean he deserved he been ever since day
one coming into the league.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
He you know, he doing what he's doing now.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
It's like, you know, it's about towing somebody in our position,
got it. I think the last one was was who Gilmore?
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Gilmore?
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Yeah, Gilmore. Yeah, it's about town. It comes back to
the cornerbacks. So I'm heavy for him, like he deserves, no.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Question about it, y'all two right now or or the
top of the total pole on the top of the mountain.
As as cornerbacks going to the National Football League, but
talk to me about how difficult it is to play.
I played the corner in the league obviously for eleven years,
and it's so these refs sometimes just be so on
the on the oh my goddamn nerves about about some
(11:48):
of this ticky tach nonsense, and any given play they
could just decide to throw one, you know what I mean,
whether it's I legal contact or are you calling p
I talk about how you you've been able to navigate
around that well.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
I mean just kind of like what they always teach
us if you're down the field and the receivers coming back.
Like my DP coach Dino, he always say if you
if you're getting beat on the goal route and you
find yourself catching up to the receiver, that doesn't mean
that you're that much faster that I mean, the ball
is in the air and it's slowing down for you
to turn around and you know, look for the ball,
(12:22):
make a play or whatever.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Hopefully the rest wouldn't throw nothing.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
If you're looking back for the ball, they still can,
but you know the chances of it go down. And
then I mean at the line of scrimmage, just making
sure you're not too grabby, like grabbing.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
Too much with your hands.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
I mean, you know, whether you play with your hands
a lot or not, like certain after a certain point,
like you don't, sometimes it can hurt you if you're
still trying to use your hands too much. So I mean,
I don't know, Like I just go through my processes
starting at the line and then as you move away
from the lines, just eliminating.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
And you don't really need to use your hands for.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Right right, right right, You're you're a hell of a athlete,
so you don't need to use them much. Sometimes it's
just it's just some of them things where hand fighting.
You're hand fighting down the field. But that's why anytime
it's nine ball, I'm shoulder in front of theirs. I
look up, get them off the red line, get.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
The money, gotta get it, yep, they got to.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
So do you like to step kick or do you
or what do people call it step replace or everybody
calls it something else?
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Or do you like to motor or saf shoe?
Speaker 3 (13:29):
I'm more of a like a step like either step
in place or step in replace or you know whatever,
like you said, whatever you want to call it. I
don't I don't really like to to what is it
inch or pedal at the line because I want to
get some type of contact, like within that first movement,
(13:51):
because then at that point then I just feel like
I can kind of read. I could read the receiver
easier after that.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
So yeah, yeah, I was total step kick. I couldn't
I couldn't do the motor stuff. I felt like it
even low key. I didn't like to pedal, and your
pedal was smooth as your pedals smooth and clean and
you get out of your brakes clean. I moved from
receiver to corner like my junior year of college, so
(14:18):
everything I was doing when I changed over was pure,
like I understood. I knew what the place, I knew
what they were about to run. So it was like, hey,
I recognized the play bang, It's about to be slam,
it's about to be curl, it's about to be this.
So it's like I didn't feel like I needed to pedal,
so I get to the shuffle so I could have
my foot in the ground so I could just break
when I want to break, because I start pedaling and
I have my room my left foot up and then
(14:41):
have to pedal one more cycle to get my.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Right foot in the ground. And all that.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
So I start doing that side shuffle stuff, and we
ran a lot of cover three. Obviously you ran man
on third down. But when I have vision and I
could see it.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
I'm tough to deal with.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
But I I really see a lot of that in
your game too, when you visual and you can see it, Boy,
they better be careful putting that ball over there.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Yeah, I mean, you know, sometimes it you know, isn't good,
like my eyes are, you know, beat me sometimes, but
try to eliminate that and then you know, hit the
ball in the air, try to go get it.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
How much how much of what you do is is
film study, route recognition, combination recognition, and how much of
it you feel like it's just feel instincts, Like I
feel the movement, I feel the lean, I feel the hips.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Drop, I feel like I mean, of course, during the week,
you you do whatever, like like you feel study like
you you.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
Do a whole bunch of that. But then you get
in the game, like.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Sometimes you just gotta know when you just got to
know certain situations. I feel like you just gotta know
when to turn that off, like the analytical part of
it and just be able to just go out there
and play football. So I say about what would like
it's a it's a different battle like throughout the game,
like whichever one you choose to use and that in
(16:05):
those moments.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah, yeah, I feel the same way. How is Demiko?
Speaker 1 (16:10):
I mean, obviously I know Demiko, we were in San
Francisco together. Incredible player, incredible person like, just just a
great man.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
But how was he as a head coach? I've never
seen him as a head coach.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
No, I mean, you know, he's a great coach. He
you know, he's always smiling. He's gonna be smiling anytime
you see him. All he gonna you know, motivate you
and and make sure that you know you're ready to play.
You know, he played defense or he played linebacker, so
he understands. He understands what's really going on like from
(16:44):
a player, like from a player's perspective, he understands like
what's going on or whether that be on the field,
off the field, or whatever. So I mean, yeah, he's
just one of the great coaches in the league. And
you know he can do this as long as he
won't so.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Right right, speaking of that, how long how long you
want to do it?
Speaker 4 (17:06):
I'll try to play it on about fifty.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
There you go, there you go. I love that.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
I love that boy come from baton ruge about to
play till he fifty.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Yeah, ain't mad at that. I ain't mad at that
at all. You got any questions for me? You know
what I mean?
Speaker 1 (17:21):
You know, I don't make this more conversational. Allow you
to say what you got to say?
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Uh, I mean, I mean, so halftime you talked about
you talked about what's his name from the bills?
Speaker 4 (17:34):
At halftime, what you was thinking? Like, like what you
what you was? What were you trying to change, like
going into the rest of the team.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
So that that was that's a great question. So he
kept doing basically they were isolating me, you know what
I mean, Like they were, He didn't because I'm a
big time play recognition, like I could if I see
the formation, I see this, like I'm all pretty much analytical.
If I know the place on the field we are,
I can pretty much tell you what.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
They're about to run.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
And this boy was breaking my rules, like he's supposed to.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Run a slant.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
He'll see me sitting inside the boy stutter stutter, stutter,
go route. I'm like, what's that?
Speaker 4 (18:14):
You know? What I mean.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Then I'm like, okay, now he feeling me for go route.
So I'm like, all right, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna
go for the go. That boy stutter stutter slat, like okay,
I just he got me right now. And so they
got me. They put me in a slough a couple
of times. And this was early in my career. This
is my second year in the league, and I wasn't
(18:37):
I wasn't as good in the slot as I am
as I ended up being later in my career. And
we in the red zone. You know, it's seven cuts
in the red zone. But my my grit's been getting
cooked all game. I'm all and so he give me.
He give me inside release, and I'm like, all right,
inside release. We going slant and he banged me to
(18:59):
the corner tug. Yeah, one of the two tugs I
gave up that year. I tell you, I worked so
hard in practice the next two months on everything.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Boy.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
My feet were good, my eyes were good, my tech
was good.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
I wasn't letting.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
What I would say is it humbled me enough to
like give me get me back where I needed to go,
because you know, you start feeling yourself, you get sloppy.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
Yeah, and I was.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
I was grateful.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
So at halftime, I really just was telling myself, like,
come on, man, you gotta lock in. You got you
gotta lock in. You can handle this, dude. I mean,
I think they only scored thirteen points in the game,
so it wasn't like they killed us. But it's just individually,
I held myself to such a high standard. I gave
up two hundred yard games in my career and he
was one of them.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
Yeah, So it's really just about patience what I'm hearing.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Yeah, Yeah, it's about patience and trust. And you know
in those games, in those moments, that's when you can
lose yourself. That's when you grow. The most people are like, man,
you grow so much when you have a great game. No,
you grow when you're having a bad game, or somebody
you gave up a grab early, you give up a
touchdown early, or you give a big play, Like how
you respond because they're coming back to you. Yeah yeah,
(20:12):
And so the great ones like like you you can
give up play and then you book him later in
the game. You book him in the fourth like, hey,
I'm about to I'm about to win this game just
like this, and people don't understand the mentality and the mindset.
You have to have to be able to respond and
answer when the when the when the ball finally come
your way again, and be able to change the game.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
Yeah, won't play at a time.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
One play at the.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
Time, is it?
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Uh? Huh? You got anything else? That's a great question.
Speaker 4 (20:45):
I appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
It's crazy, you crazy, you crazy, bro.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
I been a big fan of your game, bro, one
of the best. You wanted the best doing it in college,
you wanted the best doing it now you obviously it
was one of the best doing it in high school.
Big fan of your game. And if you ever need
anything from me, don't hesitate to reach out.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Yes, sir, appreciate you, Yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Call love
Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast, and we have
a very special guest, a guy that is very tough
to track down, but I'm happy to have in the
day one of the best corners in the National Football League,
Dereck Stingly.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Appreciate you joining me, brother here. Man.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Yeah, you yeah, Look, look, I I'm not gonna start
no controversy. Y'all playing some great defense right now. Y'all
playing some great defense. Uh, you had to pick last week. Well,
I'm gonna started off with that. The pick was incredible.
Why you stiff for him that man like that? I
mean I did. I thought it was just a normal
stiff for him. Apparently you know not, but I don't know.
(00:43):
You know that we get stiffed through them all the time.
So right, you got to give him back a little
bit when when you can. That was that was a
great play, though, man, And what what what did you
read on that play? What did you see? Because I
mean that was incredible. A lot of your books are
really great, Joe. Your ones in the playoffs was great too.
I think your ball skills are our next level. Obviously
(01:05):
they said you had twenty seven of them things in
high school. I said that's just silly numbers man. Now, yeah,
that on their play.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
I mean, you know, I'm just looking at the vertical
and then I saw I saw the quarterback he was
looking at the that too, and then I mean I
just went to the ball, seen the ball.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
Just get ball.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
You you didn't, you didn't picked off the sema too
a lot. That's what I'm saying you. Maybe it might
have been your first game back from injury, like like
a couple of years ago. That might have been your
first or second book. They ran a scene a vertical
and you was on one. You came off of one
and book two? Do you prefer? And I know people
always argue this, you do a great job following the best,
(01:49):
best receiver and mirroring them. But when you in zone,
you get to play with vision and your football IQ
is so high that you can you have an incredible
feel for the zone, the space, the concepts you get
talked me through that well.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
I mean it really doesn't matter, to be honest. I mean,
if I'm a man just being up there just playing
face or face, or if I'm his own just knowing
that that I'm communicating with like my teammate, my safeties
or nickels or whoever whoever is next to me, all
just going out there just whatever it is, like, oh,
it doesn't matter, just just get this job done.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Yeah, what makes this defense so good?
Speaker 1 (02:27):
You know, it seems like y'all have a great, great
combination of incredible pass rush and a great secondary. Y'all
number one in the scoring defense. Y'all only allowed four
passing touchdowns this season, allowed fourteen point seven points per game.
And that's Look, that's giving you a chance to win
every week. Talk me through that. Y'all got a great
D line. Obviously they hunting up front, but in the
(02:49):
back end, y'all locked into.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Yeah, I mean, I mean, I mean you pretty much
said it all Like, you know, the front, the D line,
they they know how to work with each other, like
they know never somebody is caging and containing around and
you know, like they all working together. And then it's
the same on the back end. And then whenever we
all do that at the same time on every play,
at least we try to every play, and then it's
(03:13):
just a good result. So, I mean it started with
them when we say they're the engine of the defense.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
So when you got to the league, Was it what
you thought it would be.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
All in a sense of like business.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yeah, I mean I knew coming in that you know,
it's a job, like you're you're here doing the job.
But I mean it's still fun, like it's still football
is football? Like that part didn't change either, I don't know.
I mean, first coming into the league, obviously the speed
of the game was you know, had to get used
(03:46):
to that. But other than that, it's been pretty much
the same.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Yeah, but that's one thing. Y'all got down and chat
at LSU. Man, you facing what you're gonna face. You
seeing what you're gonna see. Ain't much better. Ain't much
better than what you've been seeing. Yeah, talk me through that.
You were the number one recruit in your class coming in,
which is rare for a corner to be the number
(04:11):
one recruit.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Is it true?
Speaker 1 (04:13):
They offered you in ninth grade? Yeah, and you played
on varsity in eighth grade.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I didn't even know that was possible.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
But yeah, you know, I went to a small school,
so you know it was possible for us.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So did you did you did you get any did
you get any?
Speaker 4 (04:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah in eighth grade?
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Ye, Bro, that's like legendary stuff you tell as like
a folk tale, like you know, you tell your grandkids like, yeah, man,
when I was in eighth grade playing varsity.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
About five eight and one, I don't even know, like
I wouldn't. I was small out there.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
But yeah, good, Yeah, you got a good feel. So
what what what helped you?
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Was? It was it just you know, having a hav
an NFL.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Round you, you know, family members.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Obviously your pops uh played pro baseball and and uh
and and played some some arena football. Is it was
it just that that helped your mentality because obviously every
level it seems like you've dominated and been the most mature.
You came to the league. It didn't it didn't seem
like it surprised you. As soon as you got your reps,
you got in there, you you were picking stuff off. Yeah,
(05:23):
your first time in the playoffs you're picking stuff. Well,
not your first time in the playoffs. But last year
was one of the most dominant playoff runs for a dB.
I thought y'all had a really great chance. But tell
me what what really moded your mentality coming up?
Speaker 4 (05:37):
I mean it was really you know, being around my pops.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
He played and he he also coached in the Arena
Football League, and I mean it's just a little kid.
I would be doing DV drills with like the players
that was on this team, or running a round tree
like against his DB's practice all and just I don't know,
I mean just being around him. Without him, I wouldn't
sitting right here talking to you at all, which is
(06:02):
crazy about it, but you know, just he molded me
into into who I am.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
So I mean, you gotta keep it going.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
No question, you're doing a great job keeping it going.
You got eleven interceptions already. You you in your class,
I would I would assume you got the most by
far and away. Not a lot of them getting books
right now, but you you're definitely hunting them. Uh, who's
been the like? Have you had your welcome to the
NFL moment? You know, sometimes guys have them. Sometimes it's
(06:33):
not that big a deal.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Yeah, I mean it was. It happened in practice. I'm
going against Brandon Cooks, obviously, my rookie year. I'm covering
them and he's a jump ball that's in the end
zone and I jumped up like to catch the ball,
and he also got his hands on the ball and
he ripped it away. Now, that was like the first
time that somebody really like like took the ball.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Away from me in the air. And I was looking
around like like, that's crazy.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Like Brandon Cooks, like you know, he cold, Like I
don't whatever you think about him, but that was one
of the he's one of the great receivers to be
in the league, and he yeah, he made that play.
And I was just looking around like, yeah, this is
the NFL, not like yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Yeah for show NFL now. But Cooks don't ever get
enough credit. You get you get in front of Cooks,
you be slouching if.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
You want to cook your bits for real, it's crazy.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Yeah, who you who?
Speaker 1 (07:28):
I can't really talk to you about who the best
receivers in the National Football League is because you you
went against them in college and you probably see him
a lot different.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
I mean, they still el he can't not say that.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
But outside of Justin and and Jamar, who are you
feeling like, are some of the best receivers in the
National Football League?
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Well outside yeah, outside of Justin Jefferson and Jamoar Chase
me Geartt with the Jets.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
Oh, Mike Evans is up there.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Oh, people don't give Mike Kevis the credit. Is Mike
Evins handful?
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Yeah, who as Uh, Davantae Adams is always gonna be
up there.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
All. I can't even think of people right now for uh.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Something you you probably played against tarrenk. You probably played
against Davante's split release stuff and how he moved his
release packages.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, He's always up there. Uh would
be up there.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
A lot of people saying pooker right now. J Brown.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
See that's the differ, you know, like people be ranking
and doing all that. Like everybody is great at something
that they do, like that's what they're in the in
the NFL. Like like everybody that you just said is
phenomenal at a specific thing and that's how they get
they touched down. So I don't know, It's it's hard
to rank people with any position.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Right right right, because it's it's just depend on any
given day. Like I give a lot of respect sometimes
to receivers people don't like Stevie Johnson was an issue
for me, and and we've talked about this a lot
of times, like that boy had a split release and
I had to figure that out, and you know, I
went against him once in Toronto and it was a
long day. We won by like thirty, but you know
one of them days where you you didn't have a
(09:19):
great day.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
The team had a great day. Day wasn't great, you know.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
And and then we he got signed by San Francisco
and I went against him again and that much different,
much different kind of day. I had two books on
the day. It was Thanksgiving. I was eating turkey on
the field after the game. Sometimes you get back, yeah,
living right, Uh, yes, sir, living living good. So who
did you look look up to outside of your pops
(09:44):
and you know as a as a dB as a
corner that you know you tried to emulate Chimp Bailey.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Oh, he was just all somebody that that I always see.
He would number twenty four. He got the interceptions, he
he was he was able to cover like press off
like you know, he did everything and he Yeah, since
I was the kid Champ Bailey being over.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
No no question about it, y'all. L s U was
DBU and they've put put out some of the best.
Did you ever have like a good relationship with like
Tyron and Pat p and those guys, I mean, two
of the best to play.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Yeah, I mean, Pat, he would come back and work
out with us, like teach us some of the stuff
that he was either learning at the time or dealing
with or playing with at that time. Then we would
just take that add that to our game.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Tyre.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Matthew will come back and like talk to us before
the game sometimes like break down the dB huddle.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
Who else? I mean, it's uh.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Yeah, it's a lot of people, like we got too many,
a lot of people just coming back though.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Right right, talk about uh one of another good corner.
National Football League pasts are Team one Defensive Player of
the Year last year. What what was your reaction when
you saw that?
Speaker 3 (11:03):
No, I mean he deserved he been ever since day
one coming into the league.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
He you know, he doing what he's doing now.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
It's like, you know, it's about towing somebody in our position,
got it. I think the last one was was who Gilmore?
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Gilmore?
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Yeah, Gilmore. Yeah, it's about town. It comes back to
the cornerbacks. So I'm heavy for him, like he deserves, no.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Question about it, y'all two right now or or the
top of the total pole on the top of the mountain.
As as cornerbacks going to the National Football League, but
talk to me about how difficult it is to play.
I played the corner in the league obviously for eleven years,
and it's so these refs sometimes just be so on
the on the oh my goddamn nerves about about some
(11:48):
of this ticky tach nonsense, and any given play they
could just decide to throw one, you know what I mean,
whether it's I legal contact or are you calling p
I talk about how you you've been able to navigate
around that well.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
I mean just kind of like what they always teach
us if you're down the field and the receivers coming back.
Like my DP coach Dino, he always say if you
if you're getting beat on the goal route and you
find yourself catching up to the receiver, that doesn't mean
that you're that much faster that I mean, the ball
is in the air and it's slowing down for you
to turn around and you know, look for the ball,
(12:22):
make a play or whatever.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Hopefully the rest wouldn't throw nothing.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
If you're looking back for the ball, they still can,
but you know the chances of it go down. And
then I mean at the line of scrimmage, just making
sure you're not too grabby, like grabbing.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
Too much with your hands.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
I mean, you know, whether you play with your hands
a lot or not, like certain after a certain point,
like you don't, sometimes it can hurt you if you're
still trying to use your hands too much. So I mean,
I don't know, Like I just go through my processes
starting at the line and then as you move away
from the lines, just eliminating.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
And you don't really need to use your hands for.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Right right, right right, You're you're a hell of a athlete,
so you don't need to use them much. Sometimes it's
just it's just some of them things where hand fighting.
You're hand fighting down the field. But that's why anytime
it's nine ball, I'm shoulder in front of theirs. I
look up, get them off the red line, get.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
The money, gotta get it, yep, they got to.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
So do you like to step kick or do you
or what do people call it step replace or everybody
calls it something else?
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Or do you like to motor or saf shoe?
Speaker 3 (13:29):
I'm more of a like a step like either step
in place or step in replace or you know whatever,
like you said, whatever you want to call it. I
don't I don't really like to to what is it
inch or pedal at the line because I want to
get some type of contact, like within that first movement,
(13:51):
because then at that point then I just feel like
I can kind of read. I could read the receiver
easier after that.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
So yeah, yeah, I was total step kick. I couldn't
I couldn't do the motor stuff. I felt like it
even low key. I didn't like to pedal, and your
pedal was smooth as your pedals smooth and clean and
you get out of your brakes clean. I moved from
receiver to corner like my junior year of college, so
(14:18):
everything I was doing when I changed over was pure,
like I understood. I knew what the place, I knew
what they were about to run. So it was like, hey,
I recognized the play bang, It's about to be slam,
it's about to be curl, it's about to be this.
So it's like I didn't feel like I needed to pedal,
so I get to the shuffle so I could have
my foot in the ground so I could just break
when I want to break, because I start pedaling and
I have my room my left foot up and then
(14:41):
have to pedal one more cycle to get my.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Right foot in the ground. And all that.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
So I start doing that side shuffle stuff, and we
ran a lot of cover three. Obviously you ran man
on third down. But when I have vision and I
could see it.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
I'm tough to deal with.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
But I I really see a lot of that in
your game too, when you visual and you can see it, Boy,
they better be careful putting that ball over there.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Yeah, I mean, you know, sometimes it you know, isn't good,
like my eyes are, you know, beat me sometimes, but
try to eliminate that and then you know, hit the
ball in the air, try to go get it.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
How much how much of what you do is is
film study, route recognition, combination recognition, and how much of
it you feel like it's just feel instincts, Like I
feel the movement, I feel the lean, I feel the hips.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Drop, I feel like I mean, of course, during the week,
you you do whatever, like like you feel study like
you you.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
Do a whole bunch of that. But then you get
in the game, like.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Sometimes you just gotta know when you just got to
know certain situations. I feel like you just gotta know
when to turn that off, like the analytical part of
it and just be able to just go out there
and play football. So I say about what would like
it's a it's a different battle like throughout the game,
like whichever one you choose to use and that in
(16:05):
those moments.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah, yeah, I feel the same way. How is Demiko?
Speaker 1 (16:10):
I mean, obviously I know Demiko, we were in San
Francisco together. Incredible player, incredible person like, just just a
great man.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
But how was he as a head coach? I've never
seen him as a head coach.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
No, I mean, you know, he's a great coach. He
you know, he's always smiling. He's gonna be smiling anytime
you see him. All he gonna you know, motivate you
and and make sure that you know you're ready to play.
You know, he played defense or he played linebacker, so
he understands. He understands what's really going on like from
(16:44):
a player, like from a player's perspective, he understands like
what's going on or whether that be on the field,
off the field, or whatever. So I mean, yeah, he's
just one of the great coaches in the league. And
you know he can do this as long as he
won't so.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Right right, speaking of that, how long how long you
want to do it?
Speaker 4 (17:06):
I'll try to play it on about fifty.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
There you go, there you go. I love that.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
I love that boy come from baton ruge about to
play till he fifty.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Yeah, ain't mad at that. I ain't mad at that
at all. You got any questions for me? You know
what I mean?
Speaker 1 (17:21):
You know, I don't make this more conversational. Allow you
to say what you got to say?
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Uh, I mean, I mean, so halftime you talked about
you talked about what's his name from the bills?
Speaker 4 (17:34):
At halftime, what you was thinking? Like, like what you
what you was? What were you trying to change, like
going into the rest of the team.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
So that that was that's a great question. So he
kept doing basically they were isolating me, you know what
I mean, Like they were, He didn't because I'm a
big time play recognition, like I could if I see
the formation, I see this, like I'm all pretty much analytical.
If I know the place on the field we are,
I can pretty much tell you what.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
They're about to run.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
And this boy was breaking my rules, like he's supposed to.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Run a slant.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
He'll see me sitting inside the boy stutter stutter, stutter,
go route. I'm like, what's that?
Speaker 4 (18:14):
You know? What I mean.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Then I'm like, okay, now he feeling me for go route.
So I'm like, all right, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna
go for the go. That boy stutter stutter slat, like okay,
I just he got me right now. And so they
got me. They put me in a slough a couple
of times. And this was early in my career. This
is my second year in the league, and I wasn't
(18:37):
I wasn't as good in the slot as I am
as I ended up being later in my career. And
we in the red zone. You know, it's seven cuts
in the red zone. But my my grit's been getting
cooked all game. I'm all and so he give me.
He give me inside release, and I'm like, all right,
inside release. We going slant and he banged me to
(18:59):
the corner tug. Yeah, one of the two tugs I
gave up that year. I tell you, I worked so
hard in practice the next two months on everything.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Boy.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
My feet were good, my eyes were good, my tech
was good.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
I wasn't letting.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
What I would say is it humbled me enough to
like give me get me back where I needed to go,
because you know, you start feeling yourself, you get sloppy.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
Yeah, and I was.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
I was grateful.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
So at halftime, I really just was telling myself, like,
come on, man, you gotta lock in. You got you
gotta lock in. You can handle this, dude. I mean,
I think they only scored thirteen points in the game,
so it wasn't like they killed us. But it's just individually,
I held myself to such a high standard. I gave
up two hundred yard games in my career and he
was one of them.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
Yeah, So it's really just about patience what I'm hearing.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Yeah, Yeah, it's about patience and trust. And you know
in those games, in those moments, that's when you can
lose yourself. That's when you grow. The most people are like, man,
you grow so much when you have a great game. No,
you grow when you're having a bad game, or somebody
you gave up a grab early, you give up a
touchdown early, or you give a big play, Like how
you respond because they're coming back to you. Yeah yeah,
(20:12):
And so the great ones like like you you can
give up play and then you book him later in
the game. You book him in the fourth like, hey,
I'm about to I'm about to win this game just
like this, and people don't understand the mentality and the mindset.
You have to have to be able to respond and
answer when the when the when the ball finally come
your way again, and be able to change the game.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
Yeah, won't play at a time.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
One play at the.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
Time, is it?
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Uh? Huh? You got anything else? That's a great question.
Speaker 4 (20:45):
I appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
It's crazy, you crazy, you crazy, bro.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
I been a big fan of your game, bro, one
of the best. You wanted the best doing it in college,
you wanted the best doing it now you obviously it
was one of the best doing it in high school.
Big fan of your game. And if you ever need
anything from me, don't hesitate to reach out.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Yes, sir, appreciate you, Yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Call love
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