Position Coaches - From the Podium - 6.13.25

On the final day of mandatory minicamp, hear from the offensive and defensive position coaches.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the From the Podium Podcast. I'm Brock Danny.
He on the final day of Minnie Camp twenty twenty five,
you'll hear from our offensive and defensive position coaches.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Up.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
First, defensive line coach Jacques Sareh, who talked about the
potential of the defensive line and Mason Graham's offseason so far.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
So I know Jim when.

Speaker 4 (00:31):
He talked to us that he thinks Miles can have
really put the challenge him his best season. When we
talked to Myles and he seemed to accept that, just
what do you what do you think about all that
that season?

Speaker 5 (00:40):
Look? Yeah, obviously, you know after going through the season
that we had last year, and and you know, Miles
had a really good season, but you know, he left
a lot of meat on the bone and he himself
said that, hey, I can do better. So I know
Miles is a prideful man and he works extremely hard,
and I know he's gonna go out here and put
his best best foot forward and go out and like

(01:00):
he usually does. So, yeah, do I expect our best
players to play their best for us? Absolutely, And if
he happens to have the best year of his life,
you know, the best, best season of his life. Then
next year, I'm gonna want even more, you know. So
so you know, it's about him coming out every day,
working to get better, working with the guys every day,
and and and helping them get better. And I think

(01:21):
we'll be fine. It's one of your impressions on Mason's
I love Mason. You know the thing I love about Mason, right,
you know, I mean, I think everybody you know heard
you know, you ate a little bit too much and
he threw up that first day. But what a lot
of people are not talking about is that the kid finished. Okay,
he went back out there, you know, puke and all
and finished the rep.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
You know.

Speaker 5 (01:41):
But here's a kid that every day he got better.
Every day he came out here, he's running to the
balls as fast as you could. You see his rush
game developing, You see him launching with hands. It's gonna
be hard, you know, obviously, coming from a red scheme
going to an attack scheme. But he's done a really
good job and he's great in the room, extremely smart individual,
hard work. So I I can't wait to see him

(02:01):
kuh gone to play?

Speaker 6 (02:02):
Sorry, Yeah, what part of the draft process did you
learn the most about Mason Graham.

Speaker 5 (02:07):
Was it the combine or the visit here? Well, I
I usually started watching these guys like the year prior,
and I remember telling our guys you know, you know,
you know, if there's a kid at Michigan right now
that you know that guy can move, you know, and
he he has a lot of rush moves, and then
he has strong hands, and we gotta take a look
at him. And then they our guys were already on
and they're like, yeah, we know. And you know, a

(02:28):
as you start watching tape, watching tape, watching tape, he
just started, you know, really liking a guy more and
more and more and more and just start fitting the
pieces together, like, oh man, if he was on this
side playing with this guy, imagine what he could do.
So it was nice that, uh, you know, the the
our whole process here for picking players. I I love
it because you know, you you actually have a say

(02:50):
in things, and and Ab does a great job. All
the scouts do a great job. So the more the
more and more I just started watching, the more and more,
I I just felt like, hey, man, like I, uh,
this kid is gonna be perfect for what we do.
And so here we are right now, and I'm excited
for that. Well, I met him at the thirty visit,
but those are really short, you know, and and really

(03:12):
you start zooming with guys and talking with guys and
things like that. But no matter what, you could do that,
and I've done that with a lot of players over
the years. No matter what it, it doesn't really count
for me until they step in that building. When they
step in that building, you get to see their habits
every day, right Who this person? Is he a guy
that comes in early?

Speaker 2 (03:30):
Yes?

Speaker 5 (03:30):
Is he a guy that hits the feel early? Yes?
Is he a guy that wants to work after practice?

Speaker 2 (03:34):
Yes?

Speaker 5 (03:35):
So then that's when you start realizing, like, man, this
guy not only is he a really really good player,
but but he's a probably one of the hardest working
guys that that we got. So you know that that
that's a good little uh recipe for success in the NFL?

Speaker 7 (03:48):
Is that is that?

Speaker 5 (03:48):
Uh?

Speaker 7 (03:48):
Is that how you y when you guy have a
guy in like a read scheme, like he was a
Michigan coming to a texs eve. Is that those traits
how you were able to kind of project how he'll
fair or going.

Speaker 5 (03:59):
From That's a great question. Okay, uh, because a lot
of there's not a lot of tag teams in college football.
But when you see a guy start penetrating and he's
in a red scheme, right, and he's penetrating the line
of scrimmage, I'm not talking about one yard. I'm talking
about three, four or five yards in the backfield, getting
tackle velocities or setting other people up to make plays.

(04:21):
That's when you're like, Okay, this kid can do what
we're we're gonna ask him to do. You know. So
you know a lot of people, you know, you get
in these discussions with people about you know, penetration or disruption,
which one you like more? I I like him both.
But you have to have certain traits in order to penetrate, right.
You gotta have you know, good quick tuh quick twitch.
You gotta have a great get off. You gotta be strong,
you know, and and and load of is a low

(04:42):
center of gravity and you don't You don't need a
big three hundred and sixty three hundred and seventy pound
man to penetrate. You just need a guy that's about
two ninety three hundred and just wants to go well.

Speaker 8 (04:52):
Along the lines of his fit There's been so much
made the last couple of years of like having Miles
Garrett having like a sidekick on the other side of
the defensive line. But is it almost more beneficial to
Miles to have somebody like Mason who's next to him
and you kind of the block up like a can
work on the same.

Speaker 9 (05:09):
Side of the hims.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (05:10):
I mean I always talk about, you know, four equals one, right,
we need four four rushers working together at all times.
So it's not just about Miles and a sidekick or
or or Miles and somebody else on the other side
of him. It's just four guys working together to rush
the quarterback. That has to be coordinated, and everybody has
to have some kind of rushing ability. If you only
have one guy with rush ability out there, then that

(05:32):
guy's gonna have a freaking long day and the rest
of those guys are gonna be stuck on a lot
of scrimmers. So everybody has to has to pitch in
on the rush having any type of penetrating defensive tackle.
In an attack scheme, rushing the quarterback is always good
cause the quarterback can't step up if if the pockets
getting collapsed, if the pocket is getting squeezed. You know, mi,
what Miles gonna do?

Speaker 2 (05:51):
Right?

Speaker 5 (05:51):
So if if the pockets is getting collapsed by you know,
uh it could be Mason, it could be uh Malik Collins,
it could be Sam Kamar, it could be Juwan Briggs,
whoever it is. If they're collapsing in the pocket and
we got the ends coming around on the edge, it's
a beautiful thing. Do change.

Speaker 10 (06:07):
Mason said when we talked to him during much When
you can that it would be like taking the cups
off him.

Speaker 5 (06:12):
Yeah, attack right?

Speaker 2 (06:13):
What does that mean? Well?

Speaker 5 (06:15):
You know, I you know, when you know, most most
defensive schemes, they're asking their defensive line to hold blocks
up right, take on double teams, whole blocks up so
the linebackers can be free and go make money. Right.
And I'm just like, huh yeah, you know, I you know,
I want my guys to be the first sign of scene.
I want my guys to be the penetrators, the disruptors,
and them got the them to make the plays and

(06:38):
and them to make the money.

Speaker 2 (06:39):
Okay.

Speaker 5 (06:39):
So, so when you're talking about read scheme, a lot
of that is staying on the line of scrimmage, right,
holding up blocks for guys t you know, ky holding up,
you know, double teams and things like that. When you're
talking about attack, we don't. We don't take on double teams.
Our linebackers are coming downhill. They they're the ones that
are are are cleaning things up for us, not the
other way around. So we put a big emphasis on

(07:01):
the front. You gotta have guys that want to go
out there and make plays. We not have. We don't.
We take the handcuffs off, meaning that I'm not gonna
tell a guy, Hey, you gotta worry about this block
and this block and this block. I'm gonna tell a guy,
I want you to get off the ball as fast
as you can, okay, with speed, violence and precision. Okay,
and go make plays. Go make plays. We want to
give you money, okay. In order to do that, you

(07:23):
gotta go make plays.

Speaker 10 (07:27):
Obviously we know you know, Miles makes that trade request,
then signs the contract when he comes back. Does it
feel like he's all the way back in now?

Speaker 5 (07:34):
Yeah? I don't even I don't even remember that. Okay,
all right? That that that's the first thing. Second thing,
every every player is entitled to the giral opinion. If
you know if that's how he felt at the time,
that's how he felt. You know, people can change their minds. Okay,
And obviously he's here now. He's happy, he's engaged with
the guys. You know, he was working his butt off yesterday,
so so Miles is here. He's all the way by in.

(07:57):
He loves what we've done with the defensive line, and
I know he can't wait to get the season started.

Speaker 4 (08:01):
I wanted to ask about Alex because losing him last
year and how he's worked coming back from that tricep.

Speaker 3 (08:07):
And it seems like he's.

Speaker 4 (08:08):
Coming with a whole new mentality and changed his body
composition with What have you.

Speaker 2 (08:12):
Seen from him so far?

Speaker 5 (08:13):
Yeah, just the same thing. I mean, he's just a tough,
physical defensive end that knows how to rush the passer
with physicality and and I just like how he sets
the edge. You know, he has some position flex where
he can play inside and give us a good rush,
play outside and give us a good rush and the
guys just to hard work or just another hungry, fast,
physical guy that we need on this defensive line.

Speaker 4 (08:33):
What do you think his ceiling could be with this team.

Speaker 5 (08:35):
I I believe everybody's ceiling is limitless. Yeah, if you
if you're willing to put in the work, grind it out,
learn as much as you can, and you believe in
yourself anything as possible.

Speaker 1 (08:45):
Second cornerbacks coach Brandon Lynch spoke on the depth of
his room.

Speaker 7 (08:50):
He said, actually he thought last year was his best year.
Would you agree with that of that assessment of where.

Speaker 11 (08:56):
He was a year ago?

Speaker 12 (08:57):
Absolutely, you know, and we talk about good, better, best.
Never let it rest to your good as your better
and your better as your best, and that's something that
it was a good year, but it wasn't our best year,
you know. And he's been working like really really hard,
especially with the new practice, like how we're going out,
we're competing like he's displaying toughness. You know, this is
a young guy that really stood like the whole time

(09:18):
that we've been in camp and you're seeing his impression
on the team right now.

Speaker 8 (09:21):
Brandon last year in U four total interceptions on the team,
and uh Schwartz talked about that.

Speaker 12 (09:27):
We get the term those PBUs and the iont Yes, sir,
how do you do that on the doctor's field? Yeah, y,
you know what like keep and body in our defensive
mindset like we we wanna attack first, right, like we
we're the tip of the spear. We wanna make sure
that we're forcing errors, but we're forcing errors because we're
communicating and we're executed. And then when we talk about
like the heart and toughness, like with us fighting through friction,

(09:49):
like just displaying that that toughness through and then finishing
for the team, right, Like everything that we do is
for the team. And those guys really work to serve
and when they're keeping the focus on that, it's c
to produce.

Speaker 2 (10:01):
So does doing the drugs gunn do any.

Speaker 5 (10:03):
Help at all? Ah? Absolutely?

Speaker 12 (10:05):
And and and these guys like since they've been in
you know, those guys they hold each other accountable to it.
You know, they have a routine where they catch about
fifty a day as a segment. So with you know,
on average eight ten, eight to ten guys being here
the whole time, like throughout the day, they're catching fifty
a day.

Speaker 5 (10:22):
M Is that different?

Speaker 12 (10:23):
I'm sorry? Y?

Speaker 2 (10:24):
Is is that is that different from previous years with you? Y? Y?

Speaker 12 (10:28):
You know, a more consistency, MO, more consistency with standard.
You know, those guys that really bought into holding each
other accountable.

Speaker 11 (10:35):
She was also talked about.

Speaker 13 (10:36):
Like improving third down percentage just and as a defense,
but for your unit specifically, like what's your fair role
in that.

Speaker 5 (10:44):
Way and how can you guys like work on that,
aguess Na.

Speaker 12 (10:47):
Yeah, you know, the first thing is to leverage our engine, right,
like we wanna make sure we always talk about Russian
coverage working together, so us staying tight, getting tight, stand tight,
and then like being a tip of the spear for
our nerve center, so being some that our linebackers, our
safeties they can really rely on when we communicate.

Speaker 4 (11:05):
You mentioned a lot about what you more toughness.

Speaker 13 (11:08):
What are you specifically looking for, like out on the
field or is it something in the building.

Speaker 5 (11:11):
To where you're like this guy losset, Oh, excellent.

Speaker 12 (11:14):
It starts with toughness, Like period, it starts with toughness.
You know, we want tough, competitive guys that really like
know how.

Speaker 2 (11:21):
To play smart.

Speaker 12 (11:22):
You know, we talk about like a lot of hard
and toughness within our group, So it has to start there.

Speaker 4 (11:27):
But do you like what is toughness?

Speaker 2 (11:29):
Is there something in particular you see.

Speaker 12 (11:31):
Out on the field and you're like this guest, yes, yes, ma'am,
Like hungry dogs run faster.

Speaker 2 (11:35):
You know.

Speaker 12 (11:36):
So when you talk about like championship effort and when
we talk about toughness, like three things that we really
wanna be known for, physical violence, great effort, and swagging passions.
So when we're seeing guys display that, yeah, that's it.

Speaker 5 (11:49):
I know em.

Speaker 14 (11:49):
Your employ didn't have the most production that he wanted
last year. So how have you seen his mind shift
or or mindset? Mas shit Kins enters this off season
program looking ahead.

Speaker 12 (11:59):
To a stronger twin Yeah, consistency, you know that like that,
that's a young a very resilient player. He's a very
resilient player that he holds his self accountable and his
teammates hold him accountable. So for him to be here
every single day, you know, leveraging. You know Larry in
the weight room, our nutrition department. You know, he's a
come early, state late guy.

Speaker 2 (12:20):
You know.

Speaker 12 (12:20):
So the little bit of details that we talk about,
like he's really embodied him and he's another player when
we say good, better, best, right, like yeah, he was good,
he's getting better now he's en route the putting his
best stuff on tape.

Speaker 13 (12:33):
You know Greg as well, like this kind of this
coming year, what are your exculations pretty where he's gonna
be the way that he's.

Speaker 8 (12:40):
Uh maybe stepping.

Speaker 5 (12:41):
Even more selling to the leadership.

Speaker 12 (12:43):
Yes, continue to lead, you know, continue to lead by
example specifically. You know, he's a young guy that he
puts it on tape. He always brings swagging passion right
and then like he's a guy that the younger guys
and older guys as peers, they look up to him
for leadership. So making sure that he can tinues in
that lane to be consistent.

Speaker 1 (13:02):
Up next, Safety's coach from Bonda addresses the new additions
to the safety room and how they can improve from
last year.

Speaker 7 (13:08):
How big years this run in terms of his growth
and development, huge, he knows it.

Speaker 9 (13:14):
It's a big, big point.

Speaker 15 (13:16):
Year three in the system, a great opportunity to take
advantage of a situation that he's.

Speaker 9 (13:22):
Worked hard to earn.

Speaker 15 (13:24):
You know, he's done an excellent job in terms of
preparing taking advantage of situations like year one in the
in to make the team.

Speaker 9 (13:33):
Now it's time to go out.

Speaker 15 (13:35):
There and execute to the level that we believe he
can and that he knows he can.

Speaker 10 (13:41):
Was getting a lot more comfortable towards the end of
last year, especially playing to the box.

Speaker 2 (13:45):
Did you see that?

Speaker 15 (13:46):
Yeah, I mean I think Grant is really starting to
touch you know, the true greatness that he can be.

Speaker 9 (13:54):
You see it.

Speaker 15 (13:55):
I know that we had whatever we had in terms
of the season, but he had a nominal year. I mean,
reached the hundred tackle mark again, played really really good
football at the at the second level. So he's definitely
he's got himself to a good spot. Now where can
I help him grow in other areas? We're focusing more
on the third level for him right now. Uh, so

(14:16):
he can be a true complete safety in all those areas,
take advantage of opportunities at the third level and help us,
you know, create more place.

Speaker 9 (14:25):
So definitely saw that.

Speaker 16 (14:26):
It feels like your room was pretty consistent for the
last two years. Right now you got a couple of
significant changes.

Speaker 2 (14:33):
So yeah, what's that like for you?

Speaker 16 (14:34):
And what do you see a couple of transitions.

Speaker 9 (14:37):
I'm earning my money now at.

Speaker 15 (14:40):
First two years? Uh, well, first year earned my money.
The second year was a lot of consistency. Uh and
now the third year is almost like year one again
without a o g Rodney McLeod. So it's from scratch.
I'm basically attacking it in and approaching it like no
one knows what they're doing, even a guy like Grant

(15:00):
or Rocket and building it from the top up, because
we do have almost like three different rooms. We got
like Grant, Chris and Rocket who've been here, then we
got this vet.

Speaker 17 (15:09):
Group of ra of of Ray.

Speaker 15 (15:12):
Sean, Kaz and Nick, and then we have a rookie.
So it's it's just this really diverse room right now.
So for me, it's been fun UH to just remind
myself to go back to day one and teach from
the ground up.

Speaker 2 (15:25):
Watch.

Speaker 15 (15:26):
I think it's also gonna benefit the guys that have
been in the room, but definitely earning my money. Coach
Schwartz walked by one time early in the process of
the spring. He goes, yeah, it ain't gonna be easy
like it was the last few years.

Speaker 9 (15:38):
So he reminded me pretty quickly.

Speaker 13 (15:42):
Those veterans that you guys brought in, like how has
their outside perspective little benefited you and kind of helping.

Speaker 14 (15:49):
Them the haste.

Speaker 15 (15:52):
It's been good because I think anytime you bring in
new people to UH to an organization, doesn't matter what
you're doing, they have different perspectives, different way of doing things.
They ask different questions, which is always good because those
questions are something maybe we didn't.

Speaker 9 (16:06):
Talk about before or work through.

Speaker 15 (16:09):
So it's nice to have those things, especially when we
have as many as we have now, so they're all
coming from different places.

Speaker 17 (16:16):
But as a coach, it also reminds you to.

Speaker 15 (16:18):
Not assume that they know it, or when they say yeah,
it's like this, you got to be careful and say, well,
is it exactly like we do it or is it
the way you kinda did it?

Speaker 17 (16:28):
So it's been really healthy for us for the room.

Speaker 7 (16:31):
Is Nick sort of a guy who can bounce between
corner and in safety.

Speaker 9 (16:36):
You know, he's played corner and nickel obviously in his.

Speaker 15 (16:38):
Career, but right now we are completely focused on playing safety,
so I know, like you know, there was some just
maybe questions on what he is that guy is playing
safety for us. I liked his skill set in the
sense that he can do both things.

Speaker 2 (16:53):
That's always good.

Speaker 9 (16:53):
You know, Og was a past corner.

Speaker 15 (16:56):
Guys who have corner flex always do transition or can transition.
The biggest thing is the growth that has to happen
from corner to nickel and the things that you have
to do with safety does change, and he's in that
process right now. He's done a good job of working
at it, and I hope that that.

Speaker 9 (17:13):
Can transition, you know, into the season.

Speaker 17 (17:16):
He seems like, yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 15 (17:22):
I couldn't answer that, to be honest with you, but
I'm glad he's here. He's obviously a success in Atlanta.
You know, he had success in Pittsburgh. He's a guy
that we kind of saw in the process that can
make place, He can provide position flex, he's a veteran.
He goes and finds the ball, which obviously we got
to be better at in terms of getting the ball.
So he's a guy that can do all those things.

(17:43):
I'm glad he's here. He's worked really hard since he's
got here. We did have a kind of an The
room wasn't really complete till halfway through the spring, so
it's been a little bit of a different process.

Speaker 9 (17:52):
For him in terms of learning it picking up. But
he's done a good.

Speaker 16 (17:54):
Job week week about it. How heavy safety guys, Yeah,
scheme is do you think that's going to remain the
same given the transition.

Speaker 15 (18:05):
I think so, you know, I know how big that
package is for us. My whole career, I've been a
very three quarter safety type, you know, scheme deal for me,
So I understand the benefits and how that helps a
play caller. I think it allows him to do a
lot of different things, but at the same time keep
the core of who he is and what we do
schematically intact. I think that'll continue, but we need to

(18:28):
find the pieces they can do it.

Speaker 9 (18:30):
I mean, the last two years we had it.

Speaker 15 (18:32):
We're still in the process of figuring out who those
people will be and how we can operate to make
that happen for us as a team.

Speaker 13 (18:38):
Were so with that kind of the mentality said, like
going into a season, how beneficial is that that?

Speaker 5 (18:50):
That's where the.

Speaker 15 (18:54):
Look bottom line is they have to be like the
safety room has to fix problem. You know, tarb over there,
you know right next to me. That's our job. Our
job is to be the mainframe. Our job is to
be able to take information, process it fast.

Speaker 9 (19:09):
And fix the things that need to be fixed or operate.
This is the league, that's how it works.

Speaker 15 (19:13):
So it's absolutely benefit or necessary for those guys to
be the nerve center for us to be able to
handle those things.

Speaker 9 (19:19):
But if you are gonna say you're that, then you
need to be able.

Speaker 15 (19:22):
You need to be capable of fixing those things having
those tools.

Speaker 11 (19:26):
We're gonna make this the last week eloyment.

Speaker 7 (19:29):
Uh, how rigid are you in terms of in the
box versus free in terms of where you see guys,
because it seems like Grant fits more in the box,
like can you, I mean, how much is that kind of.

Speaker 17 (19:47):
To answer your question, how rigid am I?

Speaker 9 (19:49):
I'm not Now.

Speaker 15 (19:50):
I know certain safety coaches can be and in the
league could be very strong, safety free set oriented, but
I don't necessarily for my past believe that that's always
what's best. Because especially in the league with and you
only have a couple of guys active and guys go down,
they need to be able to play both. You need
flex the way that offenses are changing in terms of
FSL and motions and all that other stuff, so you

(20:11):
need guys who can do both.

Speaker 17 (20:13):
So to answer your question, yeah.

Speaker 15 (20:15):
It is important to have the body types in certain spots,
but the league and the way offenses are built now,
they're gonna put you in wherever they want you, So
you need guys to be able to be able to
do both.

Speaker 1 (20:25):
Lastly, for the defense, linebackers coach Jason Tarbor shares how
the loss of Joka impacts this room and how he
plans to replace him this season.

Speaker 2 (20:33):
What do you think your group's got done this spring.

Speaker 6 (20:37):
I think we've gotten better as a group. I really
let our personality. They've they take out everybody in our
two young rookies have been good. I mean, we don't
care right now where we play. We bring the energy
to the field. It's not the last day of school.
If it feels like it's something, it's not. We're gonna
bring the energy today. But we're all working really well
together and they're really working on learning all the linebackers

(21:00):
positions and learning the entire defense.

Speaker 18 (21:02):
That's been great.

Speaker 2 (21:04):
How you know how far is he coming these last
few weeks and what's going.

Speaker 6 (21:07):
To be his biggest challenge going for Carson is really
does a really good job of being able to focus
on each play and making the next play's best play,
which is one of the things that I've said before.

Speaker 18 (21:18):
But that's that's.

Speaker 6 (21:19):
Usually where a rookie will struggle, where he's worried about
what he just did or hangs on to it. He
figures it out, ask great questions, runs to the ball,
he's he's led us and run into the ball, let
us and scoops in the spring.

Speaker 18 (21:30):
Which is good because we need to do that, We
need to set the tempo.

Speaker 6 (21:33):
But the rookie should they're younger and really impressed with
how he goes to the next play and how conscious
he is within the place.

Speaker 18 (21:40):
So having said that, that's that's.

Speaker 6 (21:42):
The learning curve that can really help a young man
play fast in this league. There's there's what I'm really
excited about is how many people we have that have
worn the green dot or have the ability.

Speaker 18 (21:54):
To wear the green dot.

Speaker 6 (21:55):
I mean last year we did it out of necessity.
We had Jordan Jeremiah, my Mood, Devin Carson. We have
a lot of guys and Winston's growing too. We have
a lot of guys that could wear the green dot.
And that is unique. That doesn't happen all the time,
unusual for a rookie. Yeah, can be he's he's wired
to where he's smart and he wants to get the

(22:17):
answer right. But also when stuff breaks down, just to
chase the ball, because that's the key.

Speaker 4 (22:21):
What did you think when you get Carson here and
he studied bio engineering.

Speaker 10 (22:26):
He's given your background.

Speaker 6 (22:27):
Oh yeah, there was a there was a chance when
I was at UCLA that I would have taught some
of his classes as a as a when I was
in graduate school, which is really crazy, but yeah, I
didn't know all that.

Speaker 18 (22:38):
My roommate is a U s A season ticket holders, Like,
you gotta watch this kid.

Speaker 6 (22:41):
You gotta watch this kid, Like right away when he
started playing first couple of games, when he made a
tackle this save the game against Hawaii and get the
ball out, And so I'm like, okay, cool. Now I
start watching him like, oh, he's pretty good. And then
I look him up. I'm like, oh my gosh, Like,
how would this kid? I mean, that hasn't happened.

Speaker 5 (22:55):
Pretty cool, just.

Speaker 4 (22:58):
Given what he studied. And do you think there's a
similar way you guys think and everything along those lines
and can communicate in a similar way.

Speaker 6 (23:06):
I think he's just he's he's he's done a really
good job and growing up in his family and where
he played, of just the process.

Speaker 18 (23:15):
Of playing and thinking of of everything.

Speaker 6 (23:18):
He just stays in the process and keeps it simple
and goes on to the next thing. Nothing's too big
yet now Obviously, we've got games to play, so we'll.

Speaker 5 (23:25):
See how he does.

Speaker 6 (23:26):
There's gonna be mistakes, but as long as you learn
it from the first time, you'll be good. So I
think just how he's wired and how he approaches problems
and solving problems is really unique.

Speaker 18 (23:38):
And when he stays in that it's it's exciting.

Speaker 5 (23:43):
A professor doing this.

Speaker 6 (23:47):
Yeah, I got my master's degree in biochemistry macrobiology, but
I just think this, I just I really wanted to
try everything, teaching, coaching, studying everything to find out where
I could help the most. And I think I'm really
lucky to have found my passion to help help us.

Speaker 18 (24:05):
Win and help these guys be the best they can be.
So I appre said that, I feel.

Speaker 14 (24:11):
Like the Mood has been out there and making plays
with this early part of off season workouts. What have
you seen from him and what would a year.

Speaker 6 (24:18):
Breach up look like for Oh, hey, I'm really excited
about Mamood.

Speaker 18 (24:22):
You saw my big smile. He was really good yesterday.

Speaker 6 (24:25):
We emphasized some body position and stuff he's gotten in.
He got a really great shape between the first off seasons.
The Key and Nate and Winn are in there right now.
The first off season you got to get in the
best shape of your life, and now you know it.
And then your second one, now you know how to
do it. He's even gotten better shape. His explosive numbers
are through the roof.

Speaker 18 (24:44):
He's running.

Speaker 6 (24:44):
He barely looks like he gets tired. He is impressive
as heck. And now he's playing all three positions. So
when he came in last year, what we do is
we give him a home first one position out of
the backers.

Speaker 18 (24:55):
We'll all know it all.

Speaker 6 (24:55):
Eventually he had his one position and when he went
in the game, that's where he played, always playing the
other ones.

Speaker 18 (25:01):
So he's done a good job.

Speaker 6 (25:03):
Like he had a couple of plays where he's on
the edge of defense yesterday that he had never done
before and they were perfect yesterday.

Speaker 18 (25:08):
So very excited with where he's going.

Speaker 3 (25:10):
Just knowing you.

Speaker 4 (25:10):
Guys are going to be without the Jeremiah for this season.
Just how disappointing is that. I mean, guys that when
they've talked about him said it seems like he's gonna
be around and still contributing in his way.

Speaker 6 (25:20):
Oh yeah, now he's when whenever we put anything in
the linebacker text message area like I try to put
lots of things in there. Jeremih is the first one
to comment, which makes us happy. We miss him, we
love him, and he's his progression to become everything from
wearing the green dot to you name it last year.
Really proud of him for that. And what what's helped
is is our younger players in the room watched that,

(25:43):
So he helped it. We know the process because Jeremiah
went through it, and so from for my mood and
Nate and Winston and our rookies, they've seen it.

Speaker 18 (25:52):
And so Jeremiah's given us that. He's shown us the.

Speaker 6 (25:55):
Process, so now we can keep working through it.

Speaker 5 (26:00):
Known for his collisions, the way he plays the game.

Speaker 18 (26:02):
Violent and all that is sweastenser like that. Carson is this.

Speaker 6 (26:08):
Carson has a unique feel to find the ball and
get it on the ground. I don't remember all his
tackling stats, but in his one year he was highly
productive at finding a way to get somebody on the ground.

Speaker 18 (26:20):
And it shows.

Speaker 6 (26:20):
And he runs in the hustles and he does that.
He's what's impressive about him is how for a younger player,
how well he takes care of his body. He's incredibly
flexible and strong, and you can see it and how
he moves, how he's able to keep his feet apart,
So yes, he can. He's he's a little bit taller
and and he can hold and he's got a little
more weight in his lower body. But he's very, very flexible.

(26:42):
There's some movement things that that they do that are
very similar. Sometimes they even run out of their cleats.
Sometimes when you see a great athlete slip, it's because
their angle of their body, the cleek can't handle them.
They're too strong for the cleat. You see that sometimes,
Like if you ever see Miles slip, it's usually because
you know he's stronger than the thing that's holding foot
in the ground.

Speaker 18 (27:01):
So there's some similarities.

Speaker 6 (27:02):
But the best part about both of them is how
hard they run to the ball and how how much
they want to get the ball carrier on the ground.

Speaker 4 (27:11):
It seems like when we've gotten to talk to person,
he hasn't lost that chip on his shoulder for being
I guess do you see that? And how valuable is
that type of guy come in with that sort.

Speaker 18 (27:23):
He's all football.

Speaker 6 (27:24):
All he wants to do is be the best he
can be each day. And again in a in a
younger player in this league. That mindset is special and
I think he's going to keep it, but I will
make sure it does.

Speaker 16 (27:39):
But what does he give you with all the experience
that he's had, how does he help you as a coach?

Speaker 6 (27:48):
Well, it's a lot, and we do. There's times where
I'll say, hey, Jordan, you've seen this. What do you
think about this? Or what's the easiest way to say this?
Or how have you done this to be productive? Because
he's got he's smart, he's so aware, he's so tough,
he knows how to train his body, and he's Jordan's
another one. He's he's in the moment. He goes to
the next player really fast. So there's times we're all

(28:09):
start to meeting. Hey Jordan, I'm gonna talk about this today.
What do you think You know that it's highly valuable
and just how he portrays himself. I mean, you'll see
these guys come out right now and Jordan and Devin
Bush will just start playing catch like little kids.

Speaker 18 (28:20):
They do it every day as part of the warm up.
I love that, love.

Speaker 6 (28:23):
That and you get better catching the ball. But that's
that's who he is. Like We're all excited to be
around that. That's why we do it.

Speaker 17 (28:33):
Is a guy who similar to Ja Okay or what
do you see him?

Speaker 5 (28:37):
Bring him start back?

Speaker 18 (28:38):
Jerome.

Speaker 6 (28:39):
Jerome has done a really good job out here. We're
doing more seven on seven and that Jerome is very quick.
Jerome has covered a lot of routes in his career,
both in college, from playing in space here in college
and in in the NFL. So his quickness and his
awareness is really good.

Speaker 3 (28:56):
Uh.

Speaker 18 (28:57):
I'm really excited to see him in our system.

Speaker 6 (28:59):
He hasn't been able a play in our run type
fit system, which he'll get more of when we get
to training camp, and I'm really excited to see where
he can go well some of the times in the
different defenses he played in. Uh, he played in a
bunch of different schemes when he's down there, so each
year was a little different for him. But there's a

(29:19):
little bit more of five down fronts where he's sliding
behind making things right. And in our defense, you hear
from Coach Schurtz all the time with the Lion's job
is to go wreck it and our jobs to fix it.
So sometimes we can move quicker forward and with Jerome's
quickness and ability as he learns that timing could be
really good, So that would be the difference.

Speaker 14 (29:40):
Campbell back to Carson, and I asked him about the
limited temple size in college, and he said some people
might see that as anop to him, but for him,
he sees it as a way to show off that
he's got a high ceiling. Where do you think that
he can elevate himself and show his ceiling at during
this part in training camp.

Speaker 6 (29:57):
Well, I'll talk a little bit about our evaluation ear
the year, and I talked about the Hawaii game. He
made it. He it was a blitz and it broke
out and he just took off and saved a touchdown
by sweeping a leg of a wide receiver and then
he punched the ball out to win the game at
the end.

Speaker 18 (30:11):
And that game was close.

Speaker 6 (30:13):
So I went, okay, football awareness, hustle, big fast athlete,
and what you could see through the years, he learned
from everything that happened to him.

Speaker 18 (30:21):
And when I.

Speaker 6 (30:22):
Interviewed him, I cut up certain plays before and said
in specific plays, whether or not he made the play,
whatever it was, so he wasn't even at the point
of attack to see what he knew.

Speaker 18 (30:32):
He knew the scheme, he knew what it was, and
he knew what he learned. So that there's your answer the.

Speaker 11 (30:39):
Process, did you learn the most about him?

Speaker 3 (30:42):
So I have to combine.

Speaker 6 (30:43):
It well, when you get a kid from UCLA and
my master's degree from there, and then I really liked him.

Speaker 18 (30:49):
I liked Kane, I really liked all the guys at UCLA.

Speaker 6 (30:51):
But so I was excited to meet him anyway, So
I was really when I got to the combine, I
was prepared to be able to see him, talk to him.
And he had a hams so he couldn't do anything.
But it was all in that time where I was
getting ready like I do with every year for all everybody,
but I was maybe even a little more excited because
he's UCLA. The linebackers are all teasing me, Oh, you
go your guy.

Speaker 1 (31:12):
After practice it was the offensive turn. First up, Wide
receivers coach Chad o Shad discussed what he's excited about
heading into the twenty twenty five season.

Speaker 7 (31:22):
Yeah, when you have a quarterback competition like that, as
a wide as group, wide receives ever group, what's your
biggest responsibility in terms of making it as easy as possible.
How do you make it as easy as possible, you
know for.

Speaker 3 (31:35):
Those four quarters?

Speaker 19 (31:36):
Right, So, the one thing that coach Tefanski has done
a great job from an organization standpoint is the amount
of reps that we've been able to maximize by this
the two spots. So, I mean, this is the most
reps that I can remember getting in spring practice, and
it's because we've organized practice to have two spots and
just to really get a lot of reps. So not
only does that have a lot of quarterbacks that are
competing for the job, and it helps the receivers go

(32:00):
out there and we can have two fields going at
once and maximize reps.

Speaker 2 (32:03):
It's been great, Johnson see a lot of catching up
to do.

Speaker 19 (32:10):
Yeah, I mean Deontay I always say this, anybody new
to our system, which Deontay is has, has a long
way to go, whether it's a rookie or a free
agent acquisition or somebody that we signed in the off season.
So I think with all of our new players, there's
always a long way to go. Certainly, he's trying to
get out here and get caught up to speed, learning
our offense, learning how we do things and learning as teammates.

(32:32):
So training camp, he'll he'll be here and we look
forward to working with him. And you know, the more
he can be out there, the more he has an
opportunity to play after what.

Speaker 2 (32:40):
He went through last year.

Speaker 5 (32:42):
Ed you as a.

Speaker 2 (32:43):
Coach, how he deal with that? Yeah, I mean we don't.

Speaker 19 (32:47):
I don't even have focus in on the past.

Speaker 2 (32:50):
I really don't.

Speaker 19 (32:51):
All I focus in on is when he's here, working
hard with him to bring out the best in him
as a player and a person. So I don't even
reference the past. We don't even talk about it, nor
do I even think it's a part of our daily process.

Speaker 11 (33:06):
Him out there, it seems like, yeah, catching at.

Speaker 5 (33:10):
Him.

Speaker 19 (33:11):
Yes, Jamar has had a great offseason, and it started
with what he did prior to coming back for us.

Speaker 11 (33:16):
In our formal practices, he.

Speaker 19 (33:18):
Worked extremely hard on some of the things in the
areas that we asked him to work in, and I
think that set him up for a lot of success
this spring. I've been very pleased with not only his
work ethic, but most importantly, his performance on the field
has been outstanding. And I think that's all because he's
embraced the things that he needs to improve on moving forward,
and I know that he's a player that we've just
been pleased with his production on the field. Did yeah,

(33:41):
I mean Jamari, you know obviously, you know when you
go into year two as a player, things that start
slowing down for you. When you're a rookie, things are
happening very fast. You're trying to learn a system, you're
trying to learn your teammates, and you're trying to play
in the NFL for the first time. So when you
go that second lap around the track, as we tell him,
there should be some things that should be so much
better from an assignment standpoint, from just an overall awareness

(34:03):
of what's going on. And you know, he's done a
great job there. And then we ask our receivers to
do three things. Get open, catch the ball, and compete
in the run game. And Jamari really has shown the
ability to catch the ball this spring has been the
most The one thing that really jumps out at us
as a coaching staff is his ability to really catch
the ball and the contested area.

Speaker 2 (34:23):
And he's available. I think availability.

Speaker 19 (34:25):
We talk daily to our players about being available, how
important that is. It's really the most important part of
the processes that you're out on the grass and Jamari
has been out there and it's been great.

Speaker 18 (34:38):
Going in camp.

Speaker 2 (34:41):
Yeah.

Speaker 19 (34:41):
I mean, look, those guys have made a lot of
progress in the spring. They've missed some days, but they
were out here today. Is really participants in everything we do.
We had the reps according to kind of giving reps
to everybody, we spread them around with those two guys
were on the field today working with us. They worked
through every period they were available. So my expectations they'll

(35:02):
be up and going in training camp.

Speaker 20 (35:03):
For you think, not Jamori specific, did you think in
general rookies come into the NFL and maybe they're.

Speaker 5 (35:11):
Not aware of what a big step it is from.

Speaker 3 (35:14):
College to the front.

Speaker 19 (35:15):
Yeah, it's nothing that there's a there's not a manual
for it. There's nothing you can tell them that prepares them.
They have to go through it themselves and physically, and
I would say there's definitely a transition. And fortunately for Jamari,
he took all the coaching and everything that was provided
to him from a resource standpoint here in our building
last year to really set him up for success going

(35:36):
into second year.

Speaker 10 (35:36):
Mentioned anyone who comes into the team has a has
a long way to go if they're new, how much
how much progress can they make over this six week
break and getting caught out?

Speaker 19 (35:46):
Yeah, I think progress is really based on what they
want to do as far as their motivation and how
much they want to get done. Certainly, there's you know,
just so many hours that we have a lot with
the players that we can spend with them. Obviously we
try to maximize those opportunities, but at the end of
the day, it's what they do when they're away from
here to really you know, put them in position to

(36:07):
catch up and to be in position to compete and
make our team and help us win. So so much
of it has to do with the traits of the
players and their motivation levels. That's why guys that I
think of that are on our current roster, like a
Jamari Thrash has done so much away from the building
to really maximize his opportunities with us on the field.

Speaker 11 (36:25):
To that point, said yes that you guys are only
team that reached out to him.

Speaker 10 (36:29):
How have you seen that if at all translate into motivation.

Speaker 3 (36:32):
Urgency anything like that.

Speaker 19 (36:33):
Yeah, I mean when we acquire players, like I tell
the guys that are drafted or undrafted. Regardless of where
we acquire you or or you know, winning part of
the year, you're come into our building.

Speaker 2 (36:45):
It's an opportunity.

Speaker 19 (36:47):
It's no different nobody first round picks, no different than
Deontay being signed in the off season. And again, it's
what that person does with the way they work that
will ultimately really determine how successful.

Speaker 20 (36:59):
They Are's strength as.

Speaker 19 (37:01):
A receiver, Yeah, I mean Deontay has strengths as a receiver.
Obviously we've all seen that on film. I'm not gonna
like comment on his strengths. I will say what I'm
most excited about is the strength of this group as
a whole, the receiver wise. I'm excited about our rookie class,
about how hard they work and what they've done. And
I'm excited about a lot of players that have worked

(37:22):
hard to be here and really make a difference for
our team.

Speaker 1 (37:27):
Next, new offensive line coach Mike Bloomgren shares some insight
on convincing Joel Betonio to play one more season and
how his first offseason with the Browns has gone so far.

Speaker 10 (37:37):
Coach, what's the challenge of being the new guy in
a group with so experienced that most of these guys have.

Speaker 11 (37:42):
Ended here for the pier of years. You know, I
don't know that there's a challenge in that.

Speaker 21 (37:46):
I think it's quite an advantage, especially because there's so
many things in my background with Bill Callahan that is
called the same and still done the same, but there's
also things that aren't. And so I think having those vets,
you know, when you talk about Joel and Poe and
Wyatt and Jack, I mean, those guys are such a
good window into the past, the recent past, and so
I can see how Bill evolved, because Bill always evolves,

(38:08):
you know, he's a master coach. And so it's a
good thing for us to be able to say, Okay,
we're gonna do this like this or exactly like that.
And just for a start of reference in the conversation
Mike jack.

Speaker 7 (38:19):
Wasting yesterday, that beyond just what you bring from your
own experience, the head coaching experience, that a coaching piece
that you have in your background. He said, it's how
valuable that it is to bring over there.

Speaker 5 (38:29):
What do you.

Speaker 7 (38:29):
Feel like that head coaching experience adds as a position
coach now.

Speaker 21 (38:34):
At this level, Yeah, I think whether you're a head
coach of a football team or the position coach, like
you're in charge of that segment, right and as a
head coach, of course, you have a lot of balls
in the air. I think the big thing I'd tell
you is is I am so fortunate and so happy
to be back in the National Football League and to
be part of this organization. It's an outstanding organization to
be part of. And I get to worry about football

(38:55):
all the time. I get to worry about the offensive
line all the time instead of, you know, kissing babies
and raising money and some of the things you do
as a head coaching college football in this day and age.

Speaker 20 (39:05):
Joel, when we were talking to him, he said, it's
crazy to you, he said, sometimes you have to bend coach,
So how.

Speaker 11 (39:17):
Do you how do you do that without going too long?
You know, I think you have to be true to yourself.

Speaker 21 (39:22):
I think players at any age feel like when you're
not being genuine, and they know it. And I think
they can tell how much I love this game. If
it comes across as being that word, that's probably the
nicest way everybody's anybody's ever called me that word.

Speaker 11 (39:35):
So I guess I'll take it.

Speaker 21 (39:36):
You know, And I appreciate the fact that, uh, these
guys want to be pushed and they do. They want
to be great, and that's a fun group to work
with day in and day out.

Speaker 16 (39:45):
I know at the end of last year a couple
of guys were talking about wanting to get back to
why Joe, what Kevin had done early in his tenure here,
and that Joel's excited to do it too. Can you
see that the excitement from these guys that are kind
of getting back to the bread butter.

Speaker 21 (39:58):
Honestly, from day one of osp when we got to
talk about it, when Tommy Reese went in there and
installed the offensive identity and we talked about who we're
gonna be and what things have to happen for us
to be that team, I think you've seen a great
level of excitement and you've also seen guys making a
commitment to make those techniques work.

Speaker 14 (40:16):
The what is what is going into.

Speaker 19 (40:21):
This What do you wanted this line to be?

Speaker 21 (40:23):
What they what you wanted to Yeah, this line is
gonna be smart, tough, and physical, and they're going to
see the game through one set of eyes, and that's
gonna be Ethan Posick, who's going to identify things for
us you were you.

Speaker 7 (40:33):
Were with the Stanford teams that I mean running the
football and that physicality was sort of that was their identity.
Just what's the similarities between what you guys are trying
to do here with what you guys did there.

Speaker 21 (40:46):
They're the stand I think it's a very similar philosophy
in terms of wanting to have the ability to pound
the rock. Now with that you're in the National Football
leagu you're also gonna have to pass protect. But again,
in everything that we do, there's never gonna be a
passive rep. Like pass pro is only passive until contact's
made and then it's straight violence for the rest of
the doubt and it's a barroom brawl. And so as
long as we take that mindset and understand the fight

(41:06):
that it takes, whether it's run or passed, I think
we're gonna be just fine. But going Yeah, talking about
those Standford days, those were a lot of fun. Those
are a lot of fun being able to pound the
rock down people's throats, and that's something this offensive line
really wants to be able to do for this team
as well.

Speaker 2 (41:20):
What have you seen from Dewan Jones about tech?

Speaker 11 (41:23):
Yeah, I think Dwan's done some good things.

Speaker 21 (41:26):
You talk about like what you've seen this offseason just
as the osp started.

Speaker 11 (41:29):
You talk about the steps that he's taken.

Speaker 21 (41:31):
He's been at everything, he's attacked his rehab, and he's
lost some weight with so I think those are good
starting points. I think there's so much good in the
package that is Dewan Jones, things that certainly you can't coach,
you know, from a length a size standpoint athleticism.

Speaker 11 (41:46):
There's a lot of good in there.

Speaker 21 (41:48):
But he's certainly not a finished product, as are none
of us in that offensive line. We're go including myself,
like there's still a lot of work to be done.
I really think it's the proverbial like we're not where
we need or want to be, but thank god, we're
not where we used to be.

Speaker 11 (41:59):
We're making progress, got a long way to go. You've
got a player count.

Speaker 3 (42:01):
Is there anybody from your past that will want to
remind you that.

Speaker 11 (42:05):
No, he's that unique. He's unique.

Speaker 3 (42:08):
Yes, he talked about the transition from the right side
and west side.

Speaker 16 (42:11):
Now he thinks he's still kind of going through that,
just you know, trying to do stuff left handed. How
do you how have you seen him get better, and
how do you help him get further better?

Speaker 11 (42:21):
Side, Yeah, I think it is reps.

Speaker 21 (42:23):
Reps, reps and ruthlessly repetitive fundamentals are a thing we
believe in the offensive line room, and so the mar
sets he can get from the left and the more
comfortable he can get, whether it's.

Speaker 11 (42:31):
From a two point stance or from a three point stance.

Speaker 21 (42:33):
That all has so much value and we've got to
make sure we're getting in those reps. I'm really encouraged
by the ability that's there. And again, I think there's
a philosophical philosophy in this building and something Bill has
always held strong to.

Speaker 11 (42:47):
And there's not a whole lot of difference between playing right.

Speaker 21 (42:49):
And left tackle from a skill set, And although we
know the importance of the left tackle position, I'm not
saying that.

Speaker 11 (42:54):
But again, when.

Speaker 21 (42:55):
You talk about just mastering those footwork patterns and feeling
comfortable with every kick and every step your take, that's
really just time on task because it is a different stance.

Speaker 7 (43:03):
So you you believe that kind of a tackle is
a tackle right left? Isn't more is made right and
left than maybe the reality.

Speaker 11 (43:13):
I think when you're looking for tools and skill set. Yes,
Over the past.

Speaker 14 (43:17):
Couple of years, injuries have kind of.

Speaker 11 (43:19):
Played the line for you.

Speaker 2 (43:20):
Where do you.

Speaker 11 (43:21):
See the depth of this team?

Speaker 5 (43:22):
Obviously want to stay.

Speaker 21 (43:23):
Healthy, but for you, I think the depth's coming. And
I think the off season moves that we made and
bringing Tevin in and bringing Cornelis Lucas in those are
great steps to shoring that up.

Speaker 15 (43:33):
Uh.

Speaker 21 (43:33):
There's also gonna be some competition in a couple of
positions because of those guys jumping in there. I think
Luke Whippler, who we call coach Whippler because of his
knowledge of the system, you know, I think he's doing
a great job and I think we have a ton
of confidence in him.

Speaker 14 (43:44):
How much do you enjoy the development that is?

Speaker 5 (43:47):
I love it.

Speaker 11 (43:47):
I live for this, y'all, like like football is what
I love.

Speaker 8 (43:51):
Along the line, So you want switching to the west side,
I've seen a couple of times for he's all on
the side files a little bit and you're just sting
to talk about different things.

Speaker 18 (43:59):
How much you can Milds to help go on sort
of blur up the.

Speaker 8 (44:03):
Ropes on that side and just going against that caliber flaring.

Speaker 21 (44:06):
Yeah, I think it's the ultimate iron sharpens iron right
as you talk about that, and so anything that they
can do and certainly post rep Hey, what you see,
what you feel and why, and being able to process
that as an offensive lineman, knowing that we live in
fractional seconds, so it's gotta be something that's done pre
snap and so we can take it away the next
time understanding like, hey, I saw your shoulders open.

Speaker 11 (44:25):
Hey I saw you off balance. Great, let's make sure
we fix it and just stay lower and stay square.

Speaker 18 (44:30):
Did you really?

Speaker 5 (44:32):
I did?

Speaker 3 (44:32):
Man?

Speaker 21 (44:33):
Look, I'm the eternal optimist, and I'm praying to get
every moment I can with Joel Potonio, Like from that
first dinner that we had, I just think it's it's
been such a blessing to be around him. I really
compet to when we brought in Alan Fanica with the
Jets in two thousand and eight, and when whenever Joel
talks about something he sees through the face mask, I
like can't wait to write it down right because there's so.

Speaker 11 (44:54):
Much wisdom in there.

Speaker 21 (44:55):
And it really was the same as Fanica, Like I
got books full of his vantage point that I still
used today to teach.

Speaker 2 (45:00):
So you're pretty relieved when he decided he was coming back.

Speaker 21 (45:02):
Yeah, I'd say it's one of my best recruiting efforts lately.

Speaker 1 (45:06):
New tight ends coach Christian Jones talks about how the
tight end position has increasingly become a more important part
of the game.

Speaker 18 (45:13):
Christian, it looks real fan catch. Everything is exaggeration or.

Speaker 3 (45:19):
Am I close debate on the market? You are very
close to on the mark. He's got really strong hands.

Speaker 22 (45:23):
He tracks the ball well, and you see it on
tape every time he's been playing, when you study him
and where we were getting ready to see what he
would be for us, and the guy catches everything, tracks the.

Speaker 3 (45:34):
Ball well and really adjusts to the ball and the
ball in the Airwell, you guys got.

Speaker 11 (45:39):
Him marked for a drop.

Speaker 9 (45:40):
It seems working minicat.

Speaker 22 (45:42):
I had to go back in the files. I don't
think he's had to drop an easy drop.

Speaker 3 (45:46):
He might have had a contested catch drop, but I
don't think he got.

Speaker 4 (45:49):
Will Christian, what about his uh after the catch creation stability?
It seems like that's something that shows up on his
college film too. How have you guys seen that?

Speaker 16 (45:58):
I know it's contract.

Speaker 3 (45:59):
Yeah, he's decisive and he's balanced.

Speaker 22 (46:02):
He has a lot of balance in his play so
he really tacklers fall off of him. He tends to
keep his feet running when somebody's coming at him, and
he does a really good job of knowing whether to
split or just make one miss and being really efficient
and high runs the ball. I think that's where he
really shows up, is he's balanced and efficient, and that's
something you're always gonna see, is that accumulates in the
extra yards and somebody pops up and you're like, oh wow,

(46:24):
why does he have the eight hundred nine of yards?
And it's because of those little decisions.

Speaker 18 (46:27):
So I would say that what's.

Speaker 10 (46:29):
The biggest digest for a young tight end coming into
the L.

Speaker 22 (46:33):
I would say the breadth of the playbook as well
as the amount of defensive looks that you have to
look at even in the off season. Right we're wasting,
You're facing normal force, deep four down front. But Schwartz's defense,
they'll put anything in, they'll run anything. So now he's
looking at a six one in front, he's looking at
some kind of underfront like it could be anything, and
he has to be ready to think quickly as.

Speaker 3 (46:54):
Well as be ready for ten, twelve thirty different calls.

Speaker 5 (46:56):
On the debt.

Speaker 10 (46:57):
Do you think people understand how complicated him playing tight end.

Speaker 5 (47:01):
In the NFL?

Speaker 22 (47:02):
It's a little unappreciated. It's starting to be appreciated more,
but I still think there's a lot to learn about
playing tight end.

Speaker 2 (47:07):
The NFL.

Speaker 3 (47:10):
Stated, I know he saw, but what just.

Speaker 11 (47:14):
Have been your first impressions of football?

Speaker 3 (47:17):
He brings a lot of energy.

Speaker 22 (47:19):
He loves football and brings a lot of energy, and
he wants to be out there playing and supporting his teammate.
I think that's something that I've sayed from the day
he came in and when we talked a little bit
earlier before I even got him to Cleveland, is he
loves his teammates, wants to play, and he wants to
get back to the level that he's been at. He
really takes his game seriously and that's been great to
have in the room. And forgot to see the.

Speaker 1 (47:37):
Scale of tight end appreciation.

Speaker 11 (47:39):
You said, we've made some progress.

Speaker 2 (47:40):
Yeah, what progress have we made?

Speaker 11 (47:42):
And then what do we still not go?

Speaker 22 (47:44):
Well, we finally have a was a tight end appreciation day, right,
we got tight end his Day.

Speaker 3 (47:48):
We got T shirts that are going around the league.

Speaker 22 (47:49):
So I'd say it's that, and it's it's using bigger
personnels to try and create passing opportunities, right, staying in
smaller person else to run the ball. It's just being
versatile on how you approach the game and how you
approach game planning and using tight ends in different positions.
They don't always have to block, they don't always have
to run routes that are love of the game. Now,
we love those. We need to do those right. But

(48:10):
Titans can be playmakers and I think we're starting to
see a lot more athletic players show up and I
think the game will change as that happens.

Speaker 10 (48:18):
This position under Devin Stefanski has been sort of approving grounds.

Speaker 11 (48:22):
Yeah, it's a position, he really is.

Speaker 10 (48:25):
That a big part of it that you have to
be involved in so many aspects of the offense and
just sort of understand every piece.

Speaker 2 (48:31):
Of the offense.

Speaker 3 (48:31):
Yeah, you hit a ride on the money.

Speaker 22 (48:32):
You have to be involved in every aspect of the
offense and typically don't have as much meeting time as
quarterbacks would get. Right when special teams are going on,
the Titans are in special teams meetings, So you have
to be really efficient with your time and typically the
Titans have to be really smart because they have to
be able to digest everything quickly and apply that on
the field, right, And they have to do a lot
of studying on their own.

Speaker 3 (48:52):
So you gotta find guys that are self.

Speaker 22 (48:53):
Sufficient, want to work, will look for you to work,
but also we'll do it on their own as well.

Speaker 3 (48:58):
So it takes a lot of work in the building
in outside.

Speaker 4 (49:00):
I would say when you talk about Data being like
so motivated, I know you were here last year with him,
but if he went through so many banging injuries, like,
has he talked about that or expressed frustration with the
last year and wanting to to put that behind him us?

Speaker 22 (49:14):
Yeah, I mean he had a tough year last year,
a lot of things going on with injuries, and I
think he fought through them all well, like he's always gonna.

Speaker 3 (49:20):
Try and be out on the field.

Speaker 22 (49:21):
And that's something that I've heard and the scene expressed
from him, and yeah, that's a vis it's visible frustration
when you asked him how the last year went, that's
the first thing we talk about, right as injuries, how
it held him back and what he wants to do
as a player, right be out there every game that
he can and play as many snaps as he can.
I think that's something that he's aiming to do this
year and I'm excited to see it.

Speaker 11 (49:39):
Everything that's on the tight ends played it.

Speaker 15 (49:41):
When you add in the fact that Harold was kind
of the.

Speaker 11 (49:44):
Position, how do you balance pushing.

Speaker 22 (49:47):
Him and being patient with him always gonna be all pushing, like,
you gotta push him and make it and see where.
You know at some point Rooki's alwayshit a wall right
with the installs, with the amount of defenses they see.
So you try to push him up into that wall
and then find ways new ways to teach them, new
ways to help them learn, new ways to retain information
so that way they can keep pushing past it.

Speaker 3 (50:07):
I think that's something that always happens guys.

Speaker 22 (50:10):
Once you get to install whatever five to six guys
start to it starts to flood their head.

Speaker 3 (50:14):
You gotta find ways to bring them back.

Speaker 22 (50:15):
Think, think, think through things clearly, and then approach it
maybe a different way.

Speaker 21 (50:19):
So I think more Obviously the tight end has come
big the fut.

Speaker 3 (50:26):
Uh. That's a great question. I think as the game evolves.

Speaker 22 (50:31):
As nutrition gets better, way training continues to grow, and
players obviously, guys are getting bigger, faster, stronger, So I
think you're just gonna see a lot more athletic players
out there, and I think you're gonna see.

Speaker 3 (50:41):
Guys running a lot more unique routes.

Speaker 22 (50:43):
I think we've got there's a lot of there's a
lot of tight ends in the class this year that
are really athletic and could go out and line up
that number one and one run routes and win. And
Herold has done that in college as well, So I
think you're gonna see a lot of tight ends that
can be efficient receivers, both in the slot attached and
even out at number one.

Speaker 3 (50:58):
Versus press coverage.

Speaker 5 (50:59):
I think that will happen.

Speaker 3 (51:00):
At some point.

Speaker 18 (51:04):
When you guys tra.

Speaker 4 (51:08):
Came out, you guys are gonna take care of it.

Speaker 22 (51:12):
I I it was kind of a whirlwind, cause I
kind of like I was just sitting there waiting to
see what would happen.

Speaker 3 (51:17):
That gets a little bit different than every team.

Speaker 22 (51:18):
But once I saw the name flash up, it was
a lot of excitement, and I got to know him
through the process, so I was honestly just more happy
for him and excited for him and his family. He'd
been through a lot, and his family been through a
lot and got getting to meet them.

Speaker 3 (51:30):
They're all really close and they all support.

Speaker 22 (51:32):
Each other, so I know what it means for a
family to to have somebody accomplish something.

Speaker 3 (51:36):
Everybody feels like they helped. So I was more excited
for them.

Speaker 4 (51:40):
What do you like talking about?

Speaker 3 (51:45):
How special was that? I mean, like, like, ye, that
was great.

Speaker 22 (51:53):
I couldn't see much cause he was trying to put
his ear to the phone to hear me cause there
was a lot of screaming going on, but I could
tell by you know, you could tell by the ton
and everything that's going on in the background that they're excited.
So that's all I really needed to see. All I
told him was this time to work, right. I'm not
here to high five of you, I shake your hand,
take congratulations, but once you step in the building, it's
time to go to work.

Speaker 3 (52:10):
So that's the first thing I told him. That's what
I told him every day.

Speaker 1 (52:13):
Lastly, running backs coach Do Steally gives an update on
how the two rookie running backs have played so far.

Speaker 10 (52:19):
So, what are your impressions of uh Quinn shaw.

Speaker 2 (52:21):
Hare early been doing a good job.

Speaker 23 (52:23):
I've been putting in the time, been asking all the
good questions, staying after meetings, going over film, been doing
a good job.

Speaker 7 (52:33):
How would you compare other running backs?

Speaker 23 (52:37):
Like, well, we're out here in pajamas right now. When
we put on some armor, I'll let you know.

Speaker 6 (52:46):
How a dealing.

Speaker 23 (52:49):
Getting to see the Yeah, another young player who's been
doing an awesome job.

Speaker 5 (52:52):
Uh.

Speaker 23 (52:52):
It all starts in the building first, having good meetings
with him and being able to show him as a
running back and a receiver. Also meeting with CEO, going
in there and going over some of the receiver splits
and routes, and just being able to just take his
game and expand it.

Speaker 2 (53:08):
He's been awesome.

Speaker 5 (53:10):
He's uh.

Speaker 10 (53:10):
Obviously Nick Chubb officially leaving going to Houston. Just uh,
I mean, what are your thoughts on Nick and and
the time that you got to spend love him?

Speaker 2 (53:16):
Yeah, I'm just gonna echo what everybody else has said.

Speaker 23 (53:19):
I love Nick, you know, and uh, of course I'm
upset because I didn't get a chance to spend a
lot of time with him, having one year, but every day,
you know, was a great day with Nick. And he's
gonna bring a lot of excitement to that organization, a
lot of leadership, and we all know who Nick is,
so I wish him the best and I love him.

Speaker 2 (53:37):
Why why do you think? Why do you think guys.

Speaker 3 (53:38):
Loved him so much?

Speaker 2 (53:40):
Oh? It's easy. He worked his ass off.

Speaker 23 (53:42):
For one, he left everything on the field, and when
he went out there on Sunday, he just transformed into
a a different guy.

Speaker 16 (53:49):
Do you see, uh, the cutting ability of Quinn Sean?

Speaker 24 (53:51):
He is obviously you can see it on film at
Ohio State and just watching some of the drills you
have him, you know, going through here right now, even
though there, as you said, in pajamas, But just how
as his position goes. How excited do you get with
maybe his potential?

Speaker 23 (54:09):
I'm very excited. I mean every day, Uh. As a
skill group, we work on quick feed. So that's one
of our things and no matter what the drill is,
we're gonna work on bending bursts and being able to
get out of breaks and being able to plant that
foot and go north.

Speaker 2 (54:22):
So and that's what you'll see out of my drills.

Speaker 23 (54:24):
And he's able to come in and straight from college
and he knows some of the drills already and he's
been able to do well.

Speaker 16 (54:30):
So just when you look at Q and Dylan, how
similar or different are they when you talk about skill
sets and you know, I think people wanna go like
thunder lightning around but do they?

Speaker 2 (54:39):
Are they more similar than different? No, they're different. Yeah,
two different guys.

Speaker 23 (54:42):
I mean Dylan is able to go play in the
slot and also he's able to go and play on
third down and maybe.

Speaker 5 (54:49):
Sprinkle on a little second down.

Speaker 23 (54:50):
I'm not saying Q can't play on third down, but
I'm just looking at what we can do with Dylan
as far as a receiver. UH, and we'll be able
to do a little something with uh Q se year
or two.

Speaker 2 (55:00):
But totally different. So don't think about it like that.

Speaker 14 (55:03):
That get like for you as what does it look
like for you as a coach trying to figure out
where they fit best and how they vibe together.

Speaker 11 (55:10):
As you're looking to create some kind of pandem.

Speaker 23 (55:12):
That's a great problem to have, a great problem to have,
you know, when you got guys like that, and let's
not forget about your own and Pierre, those guys bring
a lot of value too. So being able to take
those guys, all four of those guys and kind of
move 'em around like chess pieces.

Speaker 8 (55:26):
It's been funny, I get it amid that you were,
you know, pushing Dillon's buns a little.

Speaker 18 (55:32):
Bit or them and s princh on.

Speaker 8 (55:33):
And kind of try to get them sort of prison
or just what's that been like seeing them sort of.

Speaker 18 (55:37):
Form like a relationship too.

Speaker 2 (55:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 23 (55:40):
One of the things that uh, I make sure they
understand is every time they step on the grass, its own.
Every time you bucket it up, its own, every time
you lay your shoes up, its own, no matter who
it is. And we take pride in being the best
group on this field. But to be the best group,
you must win within the group in order for you
to be the best in the league. So we got
a lot of goals, of course, and it starts with

(56:02):
our group and how we look at each other and
challenge each other.

Speaker 5 (56:05):
Yeah, he said.

Speaker 16 (56:06):
Don't forget about Jerome's here. Where do you think particularly
Jerome fits with He's He's.

Speaker 23 (56:12):
Fitted in great, without a doubt. I mean, Jerome has
definitely a great skill set. Of course, you know about
the speed he's able to pick up the blitz and
catch the ball. So I'm excited to see Perp has
been working his ass off came back in great shape.
So I'm excited to see all four of 'em go
at it.

Speaker 10 (56:28):
Jerome's kind of the older States boards group, now, so
how was he kind of taking on maybe being like a.

Speaker 23 (56:33):
Leader in jass buildings and you really Yeah, Jerome is
Uh he has a little nicking until he goes out
there and he leaves by example. Uh, He'll say a
little bit here, say a little bit there, but not
a lot. He let his actions show that's here.

Speaker 14 (56:46):
And Jerome, they've been here where too new with these
Is there any part of this process that is pretty
recreating the identity or uh finding.

Speaker 23 (56:54):
A new identity with a It's just motivation, you know,
as a older player, I've been in those shoes. Of course,
as a older player, you see the young players come
in and you see how their skill set and how
they would help us. But you also want to challenge
them and let them know, Okay, man, I have the
same skill set and I'm able to go out there
and help our teunity.

Speaker 10 (57:13):
Dude, Kevin has talked about a more physical camp, maybe
a more competitive training camp.

Speaker 18 (57:18):
When when you hear that, does they get you excited?

Speaker 23 (57:20):
He ain't no doubt about it. I mean, we got
this pick up every day hopefully thing scross.

Speaker 3 (57:26):
You guys are trying to us and re establish it.

Speaker 9 (57:30):
I guess what excites does about this?

Speaker 13 (57:32):
What to do if that needs to.

Speaker 2 (57:36):
Yeah, and Kevin has done a good job man, he uh.

Speaker 23 (57:38):
All off season we talked about, of course what you
just said, just rebuilding the run game, going back to
day one when Kevin got here, going back to when
he was in Minnesota running wide zone. You know, that's
one of our staples and that's what we're gonna stick
to and we have the backs for that.

Speaker 1 (57:53):
That does it for today's From the Podium podcast. You
can like and subscribe today wherever you get your podcasts.
Be sure to check out all of the Browns social
media platforms Cleveland Browns dot com and our YouTube channel
YouTube dot com slash Browns for the latest news from
the off season. I'm Brock Danny. Thank you for listening

(58:13):
to the From the Podium podcast.