Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin spoke with media at training camp report day and discussed the vibe around camp with low outside expectations as well as the development of the 2023 defense and his impressions of rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson. (Video by Jake Arthur)
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00:00 So what's the vibe this training camp?
00:05 I mean, last year was last year.
00:07 I don't know, how do you view this coming in?
00:10 >> I don't know, I'm just super excited.
00:13 I think we got a lot to prove.
00:17 We got, for myself personally, just trying to not only follow up on a good year,
00:23 but take it further than that.
00:25 I just felt like I got a whole nother level,
00:27 a whole nother step I wanna take, not only on the field, but in the locker room,
00:32 off the field and stuff like that.
00:33 So just blessed to have another opportunity, another season.
00:36 And then as far as the team, man, it's similar, a lot to prove.
00:41 A lot of guys who know who they are in this league,
00:43 who wanna maintain that standard.
00:45 A lot of guys who got a lot of opportunity, who wanna step up.
00:48 So that's what camp's all about, and let's get to it.
00:52 >> Coming off last year,
00:53 you feel like it's kind of a chance to look yourself in the mirror as a man.
00:58 Not you, but I'm talking about 53 guys.
01:00 I mean, you just kind of alluded to that, right?
01:02 The guys have to kind of check themselves and
01:04 realize you're fighting for your job every day out here.
01:08 >> Yeah, I mean, but that's the beauty of the NFL.
01:10 I mean, you gotta prove it every year, every week.
01:12 It's not really about who you're supposed to be, it's about who you are.
01:16 You consistently show who you are every day, every week.
01:19 So look, man, you only did it your last performance.
01:21 Last one wasn't great, but look, we all are 0-0, so let's get to it.
01:25 >> So again, the way last year went, we won't go into all that stuff.
01:30 New head coach and a rookie quarterback, perhaps.
01:33 Not a lot of expectations outside.
01:35 Do you pay attention or is it, hey, we'll show you?
01:39 >> It's funny, I was just telling my parents, I'm like, it's hilarious cuz
01:43 the NFL is obviously full of narrative, and narrative change every week.
01:47 We didn't come here and I didn't stay here when we had a lot of expectations and
01:52 I lived up to them.
01:53 Now we have no expectations.
01:54 So it's just kinda like, again, you only get it your last performance.
01:58 They're not talking about us, they'll be talking about us soon.
02:01 I'd have been sitting in a cafeteria and being ranked 32 by ESPN and
02:05 then five weeks later, we'd have best team in the NFL.
02:07 So it doesn't really matter.
02:09 >> Does that make it more fun though, or do you guys get to be more loose?
02:12 >> No question, you gotta enjoy the ride now.
02:14 That's like I said, it's the beauty of the NFL.
02:16 You get to make your own storyline every week.
02:18 So I'm just looking forward to playing that flag week one against Jacksonville.
02:22 >> You touched on wanting to grow both on and off the field.
02:24 What are some things in the locker room that you're hoping to build upon to become
02:27 a better leader?
02:28 >> That's a good question.
02:30 Honestly, really just with a younger team.
02:33 It's weird now, being year six.
02:36 I know that's not old, but I feel like after year five,
02:39 you kinda on just the other side of it a little bit.
02:41 So I don't know, that's how I see it.
02:43 But we got a lot of young faces, a lot of new guys in the building.
02:47 Just really just wanna show them the standard of which we brand ourselves in
02:51 football, show them how we wanna carry it, show them how we wanna be a teammate.
02:56 First off, just lead by example, help the guys along and
02:59 be that light and that helping hand to the young guy that was in a position that I
03:03 might have been in, whether that's trying to earn his way on the team,
03:05 whether that's trying to be a difference maker on defense or special teams.
03:10 So just really just going out my way to try to help the guys and
03:13 help the team along in this process.
03:15 >> Do you feel like you raised the bar because of the fact that the year you had
03:18 last year is now you can talk to younger players about what it's like to
03:22 become a starter and accomplish some of those things?
03:25 >> Well, I mean, yeah, in the NFL, credibility is everything.
03:28 So even when I was making a lot of plays and I was a leader and
03:33 a difference maker on the field, but in the special teams role,
03:36 it was certain things that maybe I wouldn't have been able to really touch on or
03:39 really speak about.
03:39 But now I have to have an experience last year, it gives me just more credibility
03:44 because I can show them like, look, this is what my hard work has resulted into this.
03:49 So I guess maybe they'll listen more, I guess, maybe hopefully, but we'll see.
03:53 >> Is there any pressure at all in a good way when you have the kind of year you had
03:58 last year because now you have to, that's your bar now, right?
04:01 I mean, is there anything there?
04:04 >> I mean, pressure is whatever you make it.
04:09 I put pressure on myself every day to come out here and compete and
04:12 make a difference every single time I step on the field.
04:14 If I come out here and practice and I feel like I'm not showing that I'm a guy,
04:19 then I feel like I gotta step up, I gotta do something more.
04:21 So I don't necessarily look at that pressure,
04:23 I look at it as, look, that's what it looked like when I got my first opportunity.
04:26 And it was highs, but it was some lows too.
04:29 So I've been watching it with a crucial eye, with a critical eye.
04:34 Just trying to build on my mistakes and my errors,
04:36 cuz I just feel like it's just so much room to grow.
04:39 So I'm just looking forward to the opportunity this year and
04:42 starting off the training camp and that's the first building block to another great
04:45 season. >> You had a record setting year last year,
04:47 but how quickly do you put it in your review and also remember, okay,
04:50 this is what I'm capable of and I get a full opportunity.
04:53 >> Man, it was definitely one of those situations where,
04:56 a player in the league, you gotta celebrate yourself.
04:58 You know what I mean?
04:58 So if you don't, you at least feel some type of, all right, look,
05:03 at least I accomplished something, I did it, I made it, I played every game.
05:06 I was able to help our defense in a positive way.
05:09 But at the same time, it's just like, okay, now follow up.
05:12 One of my mentors, Bobby Wagner, he always tells me, look,
05:16 anybody can have one good year.
05:17 He said a lot of people can have one good year and then disappear.
05:19 So I think that's just a little way to kinda push me and
05:22 motivate me to keep going.
05:23 So that's really what I'm looking for.
05:25 But those are the guys I aspire to be like,
05:27 the guys that are multiple time Pro Bowl.
05:31 Those guys are, Ray Gavon, those type of guys that I aspire to be.
05:35 I don't aspire to be a guy that just popped in and had a shine for
05:39 one time and then just lived off of that for the rest of my career.
05:42 So I still just feel like this is another level I wanna reach to.
05:45 I got a lot of goals that I wanna reach and
05:49 look, I'm doing everything I can to get there.
05:50 >> Do you think Shaq will be ready to go?
05:55 >> [LAUGH] >> We'll ask Shaq, obviously.
05:58 >> Won't be the first day with a Shaq question, but no, look, man,
06:03 I saw him in Tampa and pass in a couple times.
06:06 We was in different groups, man, he's in great spirits.
06:08 Like I said, I know he's doing everything he can to get back.
06:12 Far as I know, that's out of my control.
06:15 That's with the training room and with Shaq and his thing.
06:18 But to be honest, I've watched this dude not do any OTAs and
06:22 do one week of training camp and then leave the NFL and turn it over.
06:25 So I mean, wouldn't be the first time.
06:28 So he's a special player, so once he step on that field, we all know who he is.
06:32 >> You have a question here.
06:33 >> You've been a leader in the locker room for a long time.
06:35 Is that something that specifically you can help Anthony Richardson with,
06:38 just navigating as he?
06:40 >> Yeah, I mean, I think leadership is to everybody's personal style.
06:46 I know how my personality is and what that fits in, how that fits in with guys
06:51 in locker room and how I have to interact with people.
06:54 Anthony's gotta develop his own style, but I think having guys in the locker room,
06:59 like myself, DeForest, Grove, Buck, JT,
07:04 having those type of guys in the locker room definitely gives him good examples
07:08 to follow behind Clinton, honestly.
07:11 And you gotta learn from example.
07:14 I think that in my opinion, the best leaders are the best followers.
07:17 So as a young guy coming in with a lot to learn, just following the guys ahead of
07:22 him and taking him by example, I think that'll put him in a good spot.