1-on-1: Alex Highsmith - January 25, 2022

1-on-1: Alex Highsmith - January 25, 2022

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Alex, let's start that year to jump that coach Tomland
always talks about when you look back and after talking
to coaches, what's I guess the main feedback. Yeah, I
feel like this year it was year that I definitely grew.
You know, it's not the year that I wanted to have.
You I know I can always be better, no no
matter how good I do, I know that I can
always be better. But overall, from just a mental standpoint
and physical standpoint, I feel like I grew a lot

(00:21):
this year and just be my first starting year in
the starting role, I feelt like, you know, to take
a jump, But at the same time, I want to
take an even bigger jump coming into year three, and
I know it can be a lot better than I was.
I'm excited for the off season ahead and just working
to be the best that can be in year three.
You said that your goal for the two thousand twenty
one season was double digit sacks close but did not

(00:41):
get it. So what do you do in terms of
setting new goals moving forward for the next season. Yeah,
I think I have a lot of the same goals
that I had this year. Um for me, just really
working on finishing my coaches really just emphasized with me
just finishing the top of my rushes. There were so
many plays and so many rushes where I was right
by the quarterback but just didn't finish, whether he stepped
up there or the offensive line was still on me.

(01:02):
So just really working working on things like that to
help me finish my rushes. To be able to reach
out to what didact point is something that's going to
be emphasis for me in my training this year. Coach
Salmon has said in terms of t J Watt, he's
not like a raw ro guy. He's kind of quiet,
but he's very technical. What is something that um he
has taught you this year that has helped improve your game? Yeah,

(01:23):
something that I've always learned from watching the the live
TV copies before games to get the to get the
cadence for the for the pleasant team. So that's something
I did a lot this year, and we would always
talk about it in meeting, talk about the different cadence
you to talk about what's the hard count, talk about
what's on too. So that was something that helped me
a lot, especially for away games this year, to be
able to to get work on my get off and

(01:43):
be able to get out the ball faster, and so
I'm definitely photo translation for it, as I would feel
like I was getting on the ball a lot faster
than I was last year, and so that's something I
look forward to continue to improve on. I know it's
maybe a small thing, but how much better or different
was it that there were fans in the stands this year,
unlike a rookie or I know you didn't know any better,
but it had to be a big difference. It was awesome.

(02:05):
I was just so thankful that there was fans in
the stands. I was thankful that my parents, um and
and my fiance and whoever wanted to come to the
game was able to come this year, whereas last year
a lot of the games they weren't able to because
of COVID UM, and so it was just awesome to
be able to truly experienced steal nation and every time
they played really Gate, I get chills, and especially that
last game, you know, Ben's last home game was pretty awesome,

(02:26):
and so it was awesome to be able to have
fans in the stands. And so I'm glad that we're
training in an upboard direction regarding COVID. What are you
going to do in terms of the offseason working out,
Where are you going and are you meeting up with
any teammates? Yeah, um, I'm going. I'm gonna be in
Charlotte from the majority of my training this all season.
So I got a good training regiment down there, a
good trainer, just a good uh just get in a

(02:47):
good flow down there. And so last year I fel
like I had one of my best, my best offseason,
and like I came into camp in great shapes, in
the best ship in my life. And so I think
that's gonna be a home baseball me on the off season.
And so I'm just that's where I'm gonna be that
and try to get some working with t J sometime
over all season as well, and some other passbusters as well.
I mean, you guys go to Wisconsin thinking about it, Yeah,

(03:08):
So hopefully we can get up there for a week
or so and I'll get together and get some get
some training and they'll be awesome. Do you guys take
some time to um, maybe just you know, do your
own thing, and then how do you keep in contact
and maybe keep that momentum, that tightness of the group. Yeah,
I think, you know, we guys definitely, uh, kind of
had their own time and you're right for the season.
You guys go on vacation and guys go back visit

(03:29):
the family and stuff like that. And I think, you know,
we do have a group chat, so I think we
always like to keep that running and stuff like that,
and so that's something we'll we like to do to
stay at contacts, keep that group chat running. Is it? Linebackers,
Whole defense? We do have a D line and we
have a whole defense as well. Um, we usually text
a lot in the whole defense, so we texted some
funny stuff in there. So it's pretty cool. Who's kind

(03:50):
of the ring leader of that? Pay cam? M say
cam Yeah, cans and when he created so I say
cans and the ring leader of it? All right, Thanks Alex,
You're welcome to see