June 17, 2022 • 16 mins
Lance Medow is joined by Cincinnati Bearcats Head Coach Luke Fickell to chat about Darrian Beavers’ football IQ and college career. SUBSCRIBE NOW: **Apple** | **Spotify** | **Google** | **Stitcher** | **[iHeartRadio](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-giants-huddle-new-york-gia-79840354/)** :33 - Darrian Beavers’ skillset 4:08 - Beavers’ 2021 improvement 7:21 - His football IQ 11:28 - Fitting into Giants' scheme
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's time to get inside the Giants huddle on Giants
dot Com. Here we go, Giants the Giants Podcast Network.
Welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Shuttle Podcast.
Lance Meadow with you as we were continuing to analyze
the two thousand twenty two draft class, and the Giants
selected eleven players this year, and with their lone sixth
(00:21):
round pick, they took Cincinnati linebacker Darian Beavers. If you
get more into Beavers and what he'll bring to the Giants,
we are now joined by the head coach of the
Cincinnati Bearcats, none other than Luke Fickle. Coach Lance Meadow
here greatly appreciate the time. Let's start with a player
who interestingly began his career at Yukon and then transferred
to Cincinnati and played the last three seasons there. What
(00:44):
was appealing about Beavers that when you brought him over,
you said, this is going to be a player that
we could certainly tap into his variety of skill set
to make an impact within the Cincinnati defense. Thanks for
having me, Lance, I love talking about our guys Beavers
obviously in particular, but you know, it's it's so unique.
We missed him coming out of high school. To be
(01:06):
honest with you, he was about a six ft three
eighty pounds safety and um, you know, it was our
first year here, so I don't know that we did
a great job at recognizing some of the kids in
the area and and having any opportunity to work with them. Um,
so I think that was probably the big thing. And
he went to Yukon and I remember that when we
played him in year one, he was starting as a
(01:27):
true freshman at actually at linebacker, and then a year
two he started form at defensive end. And uh was
a good player on a team that you know obviously
struggled a bit. And uh so for us, we had
we had probably four or five guys from his high
school over those first two and a half years that
we had recruited, and it just became unique that he
(01:47):
had a connection with those guys and we were starting
to have success. And I think that you know, he
was struggling a little bit at Yukon that uh he
had an opportunity to come back and this is before
the portal, and you know, he kind of had to
go through a little bit of waiver pross us to
play and you know what was he we I don't
know that we really knew, and that's why I'm happy
to say that had he not been maybe from the area,
(02:10):
had he not been from Cincinnati, had not had a
bunch of guys on his team that you know, kind
of knew him pretty well. I don't know if we
had taken um the chance on him and if there
was still a portal at that time, I don't know
that we wouldn't have thought maybe there was something else
out there better. But we were pleasantly surprised just to
have him and then to see how he grew over
(02:30):
a three year period. Well, speaking of how he grew,
let's take that to a literal definition, because good, for
what I understand, when he was a junior in high
school to the time he was a senior with you,
he added about a hundred pounds. So I mean, that's
unbelievable in terms of the transformation of a body. What
do you attribute to your own training staff to get
(02:51):
him to that point and why was that so important? Well,
I think that all those guys as they kind of
developing their bias and their seven eighteen year old kids,
as they kind of grow into being a man um
Even when he came back to us, I still think
he was like a two pound guy. Um. You know,
I think three years in the program. Really if you
ask us what the strength of our program as it
(03:12):
starts downstairs in our strength program and not just lifting weights,
but obviously transforming the mind and understanding how important that
is to be incoming a better football player for help
and a lot of other reasons. And uh, it probably
took a year just to buy into the different way
that we have done things that maybe he had done
him um when he was at Yukon. And not saying
(03:34):
who's is better, but the reality is just you know,
that emphasis on if you want to be a pro,
there's a lot of things you've got to do, and
change in your body was a big part of you know,
for Darian in particular, just strength and share ability to
be able to play. Whether we played four teen games
and if you want to take that leap to the
next level, I mean you're talking eighteen games and a
(03:57):
lot longer season. And so really he kind of bought
in UM and in particular this last year it did
a lot of different things to continue to enhance and
change his body. Well, and speaking of the two thousand
twenty one season. This was a career year for him
in terms of statistical production. So what did you see
the leap that he made coach specifically into the two
(04:19):
thousand twenty one season. Clearly, you had an awful lot
of talent on Cincinnati because a boatload of them got drafted,
But what was in particular that stood out to you
about two thousand one? Well, I would bring it just
back real quick to the two thousand twenty when when
I kind of recognized that he wanted to truly be
a pro. Everybody, I tell everybody's got a dream to
be a pro, right, There's only a few guys that
(04:40):
have the actual passion to be a pro. And he
kind of made that transformation, I think in when he
sat down with us talk to us about possibly red
shirt in knowing that he had a passion to play
at the next level and he realized the gap that
he had to make up. And the good fortune is
with the COVID stuff, they kind of said that everybody
(05:02):
was going to have another year, so he was able
to play the whole season. But it really kind of
showed me like he's willing and ready to take that
next step to being a pro because he's got a
passion to play at the next level. And I think
it really showed this past year and his ability to
play every snap, his ability to play, you know, as
a third down rush guy, as a as a first
(05:22):
and second down guy inside the box. Um, when actually
his strength might be a little bit more of being
an edge guy and be really really good and pass coverage.
So the evolution of where he came from as a
safety to a linebacker, to a defensive end back into
you know, a real kind of hybrid player. Um, it
all kind of come to me, kind of full circle
(05:43):
when he kind of made that decision that he's got
a passion to be able to play at the next level,
don't is your chance to experience a premiere hospitality experience
watching Giants games, world class concerts in two as a
Giant Sweet partner. Limited full season locations are available or
plays a deposit for individual games called E E n
Y is a Giants dot com slash suites for more information.
(06:05):
I'm glad you brought up the versatility component because when
Giants GM Joe Shane spoke to the media coach after
they drafted him, they said, from what they've seen on
film and how they've analyzed him. They look at him
as somebody that doesn't have a lot of restraints on
his plane, meaning they can play him inside, they can
play him outside. They really like the idea of tapping
in to his varied skill sets. So from a coaching perspective,
(06:29):
how do you walk that fine line of not overwhelming
a player despite the fact that he could be used
in so many different ways. Well, good news is, I
think they go Thursday to start, they'll get a good
concept of, you know, where he is mentally. I think
he's a really intelligent football player. Um, he's a smart kid,
you know, and you always kind of worry about the
jack of all trades and master of none at times.
(06:51):
But I'm sure they'll get a good feel for, you know,
how well he can handle some things, and then where
you know kind of is the best fit for not
just up issue, but how much he can handle Because
You're right, he can be a guy that can be
a really good edge and a rush guy. But I
think where he's going to grow even more at the
at the pro level is be a really really good
past defender and a passing league. Um that maybe he
(07:15):
wasn't challenged as much in college and in our system
um as he will be at the next level. And
I think that's where Hill excel well. I think that
also goes into the intelligence of a player, which is
what you're alluding to. And when he spoke to the
reporters in the New York media market, he emphasized when
he was asked, what do you think is most appealing
about your play, coach, he said, my intelligence. So I'm
(07:36):
clearly he thinks very highly himself in terms of taking
on a lot, but I'm sure you were exposed to
that in terms of having the confidence to play him
in a variety of different positions. And that's where the
next step came. And as this past year, when you
can see the passion to play at the next level,
that's when he took a little bit more serious on
changing his body. That's when he took it a little
(07:57):
bit more serious about not just letting his physical action,
you know, speak for him, because he had those natural abilities,
but you know, taking that next step to understanding we
played him as an inside linebacker, we played him down
as an outside guy, and we played him in some
different pass schemes um and that was on purpose. To
challenge him a little bit more mentally, because he always
(08:18):
kept saying, I got a passion to play at the
next level. So I felt like it was our obligation
to continue to try to give him all those things
to prepare him for that. And on the topic of
putting a lot of things on his plate when you're
a sixth round pick in the NFL, normally special teams
as a requirement coach, right, especially if you want to
get on the field. He had mentioned that he had
been exposed to a lot of different facets of special teams.
(08:40):
How did you utilize him in that category? And why
does his skill set, perhaps on defense translate well over
to that area. We all know, unless you're you know,
a day one starter, one of the real real dudes,
I mean, you better make it on special teams. And uh,
we've emphasized that in our program. Um, if you're not
starting on the punt team, you're probably for us. You're
(09:02):
probably maybe not a guy that we we trust quite
as well. Um, being a former linebacker coach, if the
whole punt team wasn't all linebackers, I wasn't gonna be
real happy. Uh. So he was obviously a guy that
for two years started for us on the punt team,
which is, you know, as high as you can get
on our program. So he understands the importance of it.
(09:23):
He has done it, he's been very good at it.
So when he when he realizes as you go to
camp that the best way to be able to make
that team and be able to excel U is on
the special teams, he'll have a lot of a lot
of things that he's already done. Now. Um, for us,
he wasn't on maybe all three, but for us, starters
are never gonna be more on more than one or two,
but they have to be on at least one, and
(09:45):
the ones we trust the most are gonna be the
ones that are gonna be a punt team. And he's
he's been there for two years, and it's understandable. When
they take on a larger role on defense, you want
to make sure that you're not overwhelming them in terms
of snap counting. That brings me to for what I
understand when he came over in mean nineteen, he played
through a shoulder injury, which I think speaks volumes of
his toughness. And you talked about availability. Durability is so
(10:08):
important and that was appealing. But what did you learn
about him, perhaps, coach when he first came over, and
the fact that he was willing to stay out on
the field and give it his all even though he
wasn't necessarily healthy. Well, I mean, you never know those
things when when you first get a guy, and when
they're young, you sometimes got to push them and push
him and push him and to the point where there's
(10:28):
a balance, we understand that, but when you don't know him.
And then as he grew obviously after that first year,
realized he's playing through pain. Um, then it became okay,
now Europe going into that pro category. Now we want
you to be smart about your body. Now you gotta
you gotta tell us. So that helps us in us
growing that maturity. Hopefully that they go into that next
(10:49):
level they understand, you know, once people trust you and
respect you enough that they want you to communicate with them.
So it was great to see him be able to
push through some injuries as a young guy. And then
it got the point where hey, now you've got to
be honest with us because we're not going to put
you in some of those harms way. Um, So that
has a lot of that growing maturity once you recognize
how tough they are and what they can play through,
(11:10):
and he did that in his first year. Force Giant
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that also speaks of the evolution of a player. And
(11:31):
the other thing that comes with evolving as a player
is learning new schemes when you get to the NFL.
Wink Martin Dale is the Giants new defensive coordinator. Interestingly
coach when he was at Cincinnati and even if you
go back to his youth con days, he's played for
a lot of different defensive coordinators. In terms of your background,
markets Freeman, Mike Trestle, Now, how better does that prepare him?
(11:53):
The fact that he's constantly had to learn new schemes
throughout his collegiate career. Well, we always try to tell
him that that's the rate preparation. Now, I mean, consistency
is the hallmark of greatness, but ther ability to be
able to adapt and adjust is so key, especially making
at the next level. And uh, we've been pretty similar,
even though we've had some changes here, you know, mainly
(12:15):
because I'm you know, involved with the defense a lot.
But I think just the ability for even as freshman year,
he was one thing at at at Yukon and the
sophomore he's playing another position. So even though the consistency
once he got here of schematics, we still evolved and
he changed in his position too. So all those things
challenged him greatly. Uh, And we knew going into this
(12:38):
past year we had to find other ways to challenge him,
and it was more on the mental side of things
with with some of the third down packages, whether it's
coverage or rush um that even though it might be
the similar scheme, he's been challenged to grow in a
lot of different aspects to understand the game. On the
topic of familiarity, nine players drafted from your programming school
record six on the defensive side of the ball, and
(13:00):
two are now heading to New Jersey because you got
Darry and Beavers with the Giants and Sauce Gardner with
the Jets. Not to say that they're gonna have a
lot of free time on their hands, coach, because they're
gonna be learning about the exits, it knows. But from
a familiarity standpoint, because you talked about how when he
came over to Cincinnati he knew a lot of the
players going back to his high school days. How much
does it help to have Sauce not too far away
(13:23):
with the New York Jets. I think it's always a
good thing. We we all know that when you take
that next step into that that pro level, I mean,
it's different and and sometimes the mental side of things,
not just understanding the game or the playbook, but just
all the things that go into the business side of it.
Uh to have somebody that you might be within forty
(13:44):
minutes of um, it kind of can take you back
and let you decompress as as you know, as they
know all those guys you know you're gonna be guys
on his team he's gonna connect with. But sometimes it's
even harder because it might be guys you're competing against
for certain spots. So for both of them, I think
it's going to be a really unique thing, and I
think they'll use it in some ways, especially as you
(14:06):
know they go through this summer period and into fall camp,
just to be able to kind of, you know, share
some of their stories about what they're going through in
the business side of UH next journey of their life. Well,
speaking of the next step in the next journey in
a player's life, I want to go a little bit
outside of Cincinnati because, interestingly, coach, the Giants drifted Evan Neil,
(14:26):
who you went up against and you had to solve
when you played Alabama in the College Football Playoff the semifinals.
I know, obviously you've been analyzing and going over a
lot of different players, but I'm just curious, considering Alabama
was your most recent opponent and he's also coming to
the Giants. What jumped out to you. He was playing
left tackle. They're probably gonna start him out at right tackle.
But his skill set and how that could translate to
(14:48):
the NFL level, well, obviously, you know I think that
first and foremost people obviously knows it can move, and
I think at the next level are always looking about
the past. Can they pass block because it's so critical
with the edge is UH and what we maybe didn't
recognize as much as how physical he is at the
point of attack and UH you know, they ran the
(15:08):
ball pretty tarned well against us, unfortunately. Um, but that's
where I probably watching the film, I thought they were
much more of a passing team going into that, and
he was very good in space with his you know,
obviously with his past sets, and we weren't thinking to hey,
we're gonna just line up on the edge and probably
win some one on ones on on guys like him. Um.
(15:30):
But what I was overly know, probably more impressed with afterwards,
it's his physicality, his ability to move guys up front,
especially at the point of attack. Well, he'll be having
to deal with Darien Beavers now on the opposite side
as their teammates for Big Blue. He is the head
coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats. Luke Fickle as Darian Beavers
were selected in the sixth round by the New York Giants.
(15:50):
Coach can't thank you know, greatly appreciate the time of
the inside, looking forward to following Darian's career, and best
of luck with your program moving forward. I appreciate thanks
for having me. You got it. This is the Giants
Tuttle podcast, which you can catch on Giants dot com,
the mobile app, and your favorite podcast platforms,
It's time to get inside the Giants huddle on Giants
dot Com. Here we go, Giants the Giants Podcast Network.
Welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Shuttle Podcast.
Lance Meadow with you as we were continuing to analyze
the two thousand twenty two draft class, and the Giants
selected eleven players this year, and with their lone sixth
(00:21):
round pick, they took Cincinnati linebacker Darian Beavers. If you
get more into Beavers and what he'll bring to the Giants,
we are now joined by the head coach of the
Cincinnati Bearcats, none other than Luke Fickle. Coach Lance Meadow
here greatly appreciate the time. Let's start with a player
who interestingly began his career at Yukon and then transferred
to Cincinnati and played the last three seasons there. What
(00:44):
was appealing about Beavers that when you brought him over,
you said, this is going to be a player that
we could certainly tap into his variety of skill set
to make an impact within the Cincinnati defense. Thanks for
having me, Lance, I love talking about our guys Beavers
obviously in particular, but you know, it's it's so unique.
We missed him coming out of high school. To be
(01:06):
honest with you, he was about a six ft three
eighty pounds safety and um, you know, it was our
first year here, so I don't know that we did
a great job at recognizing some of the kids in
the area and and having any opportunity to work with them. Um,
so I think that was probably the big thing. And
he went to Yukon and I remember that when we
played him in year one, he was starting as a
(01:27):
true freshman at actually at linebacker, and then a year
two he started form at defensive end. And uh was
a good player on a team that you know obviously
struggled a bit. And uh so for us, we had
we had probably four or five guys from his high
school over those first two and a half years that
we had recruited, and it just became unique that he
(01:47):
had a connection with those guys and we were starting
to have success. And I think that you know, he
was struggling a little bit at Yukon that uh he
had an opportunity to come back and this is before
the portal, and you know, he kind of had to
go through a little bit of waiver pross us to
play and you know what was he we I don't
know that we really knew, and that's why I'm happy
to say that had he not been maybe from the area,
(02:10):
had he not been from Cincinnati, had not had a
bunch of guys on his team that you know, kind
of knew him pretty well. I don't know if we
had taken um the chance on him and if there
was still a portal at that time, I don't know
that we wouldn't have thought maybe there was something else
out there better. But we were pleasantly surprised just to
have him and then to see how he grew over
(02:30):
a three year period. Well, speaking of how he grew,
let's take that to a literal definition, because good, for
what I understand, when he was a junior in high
school to the time he was a senior with you,
he added about a hundred pounds. So I mean, that's
unbelievable in terms of the transformation of a body. What
do you attribute to your own training staff to get
(02:51):
him to that point and why was that so important? Well,
I think that all those guys as they kind of
developing their bias and their seven eighteen year old kids,
as they kind of grow into being a man um
Even when he came back to us, I still think
he was like a two pound guy. Um. You know,
I think three years in the program. Really if you
ask us what the strength of our program as it
(03:12):
starts downstairs in our strength program and not just lifting weights,
but obviously transforming the mind and understanding how important that
is to be incoming a better football player for help
and a lot of other reasons. And uh, it probably
took a year just to buy into the different way
that we have done things that maybe he had done
him um when he was at Yukon. And not saying
(03:34):
who's is better, but the reality is just you know,
that emphasis on if you want to be a pro,
there's a lot of things you've got to do, and
change in your body was a big part of you know,
for Darian in particular, just strength and share ability to
be able to play. Whether we played four teen games
and if you want to take that leap to the
next level, I mean you're talking eighteen games and a
(03:57):
lot longer season. And so really he kind of bought
in UM and in particular this last year it did
a lot of different things to continue to enhance and
change his body. Well, and speaking of the two thousand
twenty one season. This was a career year for him
in terms of statistical production. So what did you see
the leap that he made coach specifically into the two
(04:19):
thousand twenty one season. Clearly, you had an awful lot
of talent on Cincinnati because a boatload of them got drafted,
But what was in particular that stood out to you
about two thousand one? Well, I would bring it just
back real quick to the two thousand twenty when when
I kind of recognized that he wanted to truly be
a pro. Everybody, I tell everybody's got a dream to
be a pro, right, There's only a few guys that
(04:40):
have the actual passion to be a pro. And he
kind of made that transformation, I think in when he
sat down with us talk to us about possibly red
shirt in knowing that he had a passion to play
at the next level and he realized the gap that
he had to make up. And the good fortune is
with the COVID stuff, they kind of said that everybody
(05:02):
was going to have another year, so he was able
to play the whole season. But it really kind of
showed me like he's willing and ready to take that
next step to being a pro because he's got a
passion to play at the next level. And I think
it really showed this past year and his ability to
play every snap, his ability to play, you know, as
a third down rush guy, as a as a first
(05:22):
and second down guy inside the box. Um, when actually
his strength might be a little bit more of being
an edge guy and be really really good and pass coverage.
So the evolution of where he came from as a
safety to a linebacker, to a defensive end back into
you know, a real kind of hybrid player. Um, it
all kind of come to me, kind of full circle
(05:43):
when he kind of made that decision that he's got
a passion to be able to play at the next level,
don't is your chance to experience a premiere hospitality experience
watching Giants games, world class concerts in two as a
Giant Sweet partner. Limited full season locations are available or
plays a deposit for individual games called E E n
Y is a Giants dot com slash suites for more information.
(06:05):
I'm glad you brought up the versatility component because when
Giants GM Joe Shane spoke to the media coach after
they drafted him, they said, from what they've seen on
film and how they've analyzed him. They look at him
as somebody that doesn't have a lot of restraints on
his plane, meaning they can play him inside, they can
play him outside. They really like the idea of tapping
in to his varied skill sets. So from a coaching perspective,
(06:29):
how do you walk that fine line of not overwhelming
a player despite the fact that he could be used
in so many different ways. Well, good news is, I
think they go Thursday to start, they'll get a good
concept of, you know, where he is mentally. I think
he's a really intelligent football player. Um, he's a smart kid,
you know, and you always kind of worry about the
jack of all trades and master of none at times.
(06:51):
But I'm sure they'll get a good feel for, you know,
how well he can handle some things, and then where
you know kind of is the best fit for not
just up issue, but how much he can handle Because
You're right, he can be a guy that can be
a really good edge and a rush guy. But I
think where he's going to grow even more at the
at the pro level is be a really really good
past defender and a passing league. Um that maybe he
(07:15):
wasn't challenged as much in college and in our system
um as he will be at the next level. And
I think that's where Hill excel well. I think that
also goes into the intelligence of a player, which is
what you're alluding to. And when he spoke to the
reporters in the New York media market, he emphasized when
he was asked, what do you think is most appealing
about your play, coach, he said, my intelligence. So I'm
(07:36):
clearly he thinks very highly himself in terms of taking
on a lot, but I'm sure you were exposed to
that in terms of having the confidence to play him
in a variety of different positions. And that's where the
next step came. And as this past year, when you
can see the passion to play at the next level,
that's when he took a little bit more serious on
changing his body. That's when he took it a little
(07:57):
bit more serious about not just letting his physical action,
you know, speak for him, because he had those natural abilities,
but you know, taking that next step to understanding we
played him as an inside linebacker, we played him down
as an outside guy, and we played him in some
different pass schemes um and that was on purpose. To
challenge him a little bit more mentally, because he always
(08:18):
kept saying, I got a passion to play at the
next level. So I felt like it was our obligation
to continue to try to give him all those things
to prepare him for that. And on the topic of
putting a lot of things on his plate when you're
a sixth round pick in the NFL, normally special teams
as a requirement coach, right, especially if you want to
get on the field. He had mentioned that he had
been exposed to a lot of different facets of special teams.
(08:40):
How did you utilize him in that category? And why
does his skill set, perhaps on defense translate well over
to that area. We all know, unless you're you know,
a day one starter, one of the real real dudes,
I mean, you better make it on special teams. And uh,
we've emphasized that in our program. Um, if you're not
starting on the punt team, you're probably for us. You're
(09:02):
probably maybe not a guy that we we trust quite
as well. Um, being a former linebacker coach, if the
whole punt team wasn't all linebackers, I wasn't gonna be
real happy. Uh. So he was obviously a guy that
for two years started for us on the punt team,
which is, you know, as high as you can get
on our program. So he understands the importance of it.
(09:23):
He has done it, he's been very good at it.
So when he when he realizes as you go to
camp that the best way to be able to make
that team and be able to excel U is on
the special teams, he'll have a lot of a lot
of things that he's already done. Now. Um, for us,
he wasn't on maybe all three, but for us, starters
are never gonna be more on more than one or two,
but they have to be on at least one, and
(09:45):
the ones we trust the most are gonna be the
ones that are gonna be a punt team. And he's
he's been there for two years, and it's understandable. When
they take on a larger role on defense, you want
to make sure that you're not overwhelming them in terms
of snap counting. That brings me to for what I
understand when he came over in mean nineteen, he played
through a shoulder injury, which I think speaks volumes of
his toughness. And you talked about availability. Durability is so
(10:08):
important and that was appealing. But what did you learn
about him, perhaps, coach when he first came over, and
the fact that he was willing to stay out on
the field and give it his all even though he
wasn't necessarily healthy. Well, I mean, you never know those
things when when you first get a guy, and when
they're young, you sometimes got to push them and push
him and push him and to the point where there's
(10:28):
a balance, we understand that, but when you don't know him.
And then as he grew obviously after that first year,
realized he's playing through pain. Um, then it became okay,
now Europe going into that pro category. Now we want
you to be smart about your body. Now you gotta
you gotta tell us. So that helps us in us
growing that maturity. Hopefully that they go into that next
(10:49):
level they understand, you know, once people trust you and
respect you enough that they want you to communicate with them.
So it was great to see him be able to
push through some injuries as a young guy. And then
it got the point where hey, now you've got to
be honest with us because we're not going to put
you in some of those harms way. Um, So that
has a lot of that growing maturity once you recognize
how tough they are and what they can play through,
(11:10):
and he did that in his first year. Force Giant
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that also speaks of the evolution of a player. And
(11:31):
the other thing that comes with evolving as a player
is learning new schemes when you get to the NFL.
Wink Martin Dale is the Giants new defensive coordinator. Interestingly
coach when he was at Cincinnati and even if you
go back to his youth con days, he's played for
a lot of different defensive coordinators. In terms of your background,
markets Freeman, Mike Trestle, Now, how better does that prepare him?
(11:53):
The fact that he's constantly had to learn new schemes
throughout his collegiate career. Well, we always try to tell
him that that's the rate preparation. Now, I mean, consistency
is the hallmark of greatness, but ther ability to be
able to adapt and adjust is so key, especially making
at the next level. And uh, we've been pretty similar,
even though we've had some changes here, you know, mainly
(12:15):
because I'm you know, involved with the defense a lot.
But I think just the ability for even as freshman year,
he was one thing at at at Yukon and the
sophomore he's playing another position. So even though the consistency
once he got here of schematics, we still evolved and
he changed in his position too. So all those things
challenged him greatly. Uh, And we knew going into this
(12:38):
past year we had to find other ways to challenge him,
and it was more on the mental side of things
with with some of the third down packages, whether it's
coverage or rush um that even though it might be
the similar scheme, he's been challenged to grow in a
lot of different aspects to understand the game. On the
topic of familiarity, nine players drafted from your programming school
record six on the defensive side of the ball, and
(13:00):
two are now heading to New Jersey because you got
Darry and Beavers with the Giants and Sauce Gardner with
the Jets. Not to say that they're gonna have a
lot of free time on their hands, coach, because they're
gonna be learning about the exits, it knows. But from
a familiarity standpoint, because you talked about how when he
came over to Cincinnati he knew a lot of the
players going back to his high school days. How much
does it help to have Sauce not too far away
(13:23):
with the New York Jets. I think it's always a
good thing. We we all know that when you take
that next step into that that pro level, I mean,
it's different and and sometimes the mental side of things,
not just understanding the game or the playbook, but just
all the things that go into the business side of it.
Uh to have somebody that you might be within forty
(13:44):
minutes of um, it kind of can take you back
and let you decompress as as you know, as they
know all those guys you know you're gonna be guys
on his team he's gonna connect with. But sometimes it's
even harder because it might be guys you're competing against
for certain spots. So for both of them, I think
it's going to be a really unique thing, and I
think they'll use it in some ways, especially as you
(14:06):
know they go through this summer period and into fall camp,
just to be able to kind of, you know, share
some of their stories about what they're going through in
the business side of UH next journey of their life. Well,
speaking of the next step in the next journey in
a player's life, I want to go a little bit
outside of Cincinnati because, interestingly, coach, the Giants drifted Evan Neil,
(14:26):
who you went up against and you had to solve
when you played Alabama in the College Football Playoff the semifinals.
I know, obviously you've been analyzing and going over a
lot of different players, but I'm just curious, considering Alabama
was your most recent opponent and he's also coming to
the Giants. What jumped out to you. He was playing
left tackle. They're probably gonna start him out at right tackle.
But his skill set and how that could translate to
(14:48):
the NFL level, well, obviously, you know I think that
first and foremost people obviously knows it can move, and
I think at the next level are always looking about
the past. Can they pass block because it's so critical
with the edge is UH and what we maybe didn't
recognize as much as how physical he is at the
point of attack and UH you know, they ran the
(15:08):
ball pretty tarned well against us, unfortunately. Um, but that's
where I probably watching the film, I thought they were
much more of a passing team going into that, and
he was very good in space with his you know,
obviously with his past sets, and we weren't thinking to hey,
we're gonna just line up on the edge and probably
win some one on ones on on guys like him. Um.
(15:30):
But what I was overly know, probably more impressed with afterwards,
it's his physicality, his ability to move guys up front,
especially at the point of attack. Well, he'll be having
to deal with Darien Beavers now on the opposite side
as their teammates for Big Blue. He is the head
coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats. Luke Fickle as Darian Beavers
were selected in the sixth round by the New York Giants.
(15:50):
Coach can't thank you know, greatly appreciate the time of
the inside, looking forward to following Darian's career, and best
of luck with your program moving forward. I appreciate thanks
for having me. You got it. This is the Giants
Tuttle podcast, which you can catch on Giants dot com,
the mobile app, and your favorite podcast platforms,
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