Ty Summers speaks with the Saints media following Day 20 of training camp.
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00:00 >> I mean, we've got like a lot of guys in that room.
00:05 We haven't really had a ton of opportunity to show it like at the regular season
00:09 game level in the NFL.
00:10 So what's that been like?
00:13 >> I would say of the rooms that I've been in,
00:16 this is probably the most competitive room.
00:19 The highest number of guys that can absolutely contribute and
00:23 contribute at a high level.
00:25 All of a sudden, that's the regular season.
00:26 So obviously, iron sharpens iron, and I feel like that's kind of the situation we
00:31 got here.
00:31 We've got a good group of guys, too, that really like each other, support each
00:34 other, encourage each other.
00:35 So I feel like at the end of the day, whoever ends up being on that 53 is gonna
00:41 help make a significant difference come Sundays.
00:44 >> How important was it for you to get that exposure to this team,
00:50 to the system last year, to Coach Hodges, all that?
00:53 >> It was great.
00:54 That way when I came in this offseason, it wasn't new.
00:56 Of course, there was a lot that I hadn't learned,
00:59 cuz there's only so much you can get crammed into the week of a game
01:03 with three weeks left.
01:04 So personally, it's been a big growing opportunity, and
01:10 I kind of feel like I need it, especially after my experience in Green Bay.
01:14 Getting kind of being here, getting familiar with some guys, and
01:18 coming in and just having fun.
01:21 That's the thing I wanted to bring back this year that I feel like I didn't in
01:24 my previous few years I've played, was I put so much stress on myself.
01:28 And this environment that they create here is about competing, but
01:32 having fun, enjoying it, and enjoying doing it with the guys you're doing it with, too.
01:36 >> How much part of that is Hodges?
01:39 >> Man, it's huge.
01:40 He's big on camaraderie.
01:42 He's big on just caring.
01:45 That's one thing that he says, and he lives every day.
01:48 He's just speaking over and over how much he cares about us, and
01:51 wants us to be successful, and wants us to be great.
01:53 The cool part is he's not just a friend, and as an actress like that,
01:56 he pushes us, too.
01:58 So he wants us to be great, cuz he sees the potential, and
02:00 he's trying to get that out of us every single day, too.
02:02 And so you respect that as a player.
02:04 >> Ty, how important is it for you to have a strong outing come Sunday?
02:08 You got off to a fast start against the Chiefs.
02:11 And then we were doing the pre and
02:15 post game, and talking about you and Ryan Conley, how really standing out.
02:20 He has to deal with the knee injury, but
02:21 how about this opportunity for you come Sunday?
02:24 >> It's huge.
02:24 Every opportunity is a big opportunity.
02:26 And so of course, this is the last preseason game.
02:28 It's the last final mark that you can leave in the front office,
02:32 in the GM's minds, as well as across the entirety of the league, too.
02:36 So for me, I'm trying not to put too much pressure on it, cuz I realize,
02:41 especially this year, that I've played my best ball when I come out here.
02:44 And I just play football.
02:46 Don't overthink it.
02:47 I've played enough ball in my life to know what's right and wrong.
02:50 I understand this defense now that I should just be able to go react.
02:53 And I might react wrong sometimes, and I'll be okay with that,
02:56 as long as I'm going fast.
02:58 So that's my mentality.
02:59 So I'm just excited to go out there, have another opportunity.
03:01 Maybe play a couple different positions I haven't played in a while,
03:04 try to show some stuff off.
03:05 >> Special teams?
03:06 >> Defensively, as well, linebacker.
03:08 So we got three positions.
03:10 So they're trying to expose me in different areas,
03:12 kind of see how I react to that.
03:13 So I'm just excited to go out there and just compete, and just have fun.
03:16 >> Now, Ty, do you still follow TCU and everything, or keep up?
03:19 >> Absolutely, absolutely.
03:20 >> So how excited you are that they're kicking off the season against Deion and
03:24- >> That'll be fun.
03:25 >> Fans in Colorado.
03:26 >> That'll be exciting.
03:27 You know it's gonna have a ton of exposure, too,
03:28 because it is Deion Sanders' first game and all that.
03:32 And so, I believe my guy's gonna go out there and handle business.
03:35 But I'm excited to see how Deion's culture over there as well in Colorado.
03:39 But he's going as my frog, so I already know how it's gonna go.
03:42 >> [LAUGH] >> How easy was the decision to come
03:46 back here?
03:48 >> It was.
03:49 Riz approached me, Riz and Phil,
03:51 approached me in the locker room right after our game in Carolina and said, hey,
03:55 I know you're gonna be a free agent, but I just want you to know we want you here.
03:57 So keep that in mind, stay in touch.
03:59 And so for me, that was huge.
04:00 So of course, I did my due diligence, my agent was reaching out and stuff.
04:04 But it just made sense to come back here,
04:06 just considering the fact how adamant they were just from the get-go.
04:10 And so I knew this was the place that I needed to be.
04:12 Like I said, I really enjoyed my time previously here, and
04:14 I knew that there was potential for me to come out here and compete.
04:17 And I knew I could become better here as well.
04:20 So I'm closer to home, too.
04:21 I'm from Houston, so it's just down the road.
04:23 So it's nice for family to finally be able to come to the games.
04:26 Yes, absolutely, I can't wait for that.
04:29 >> Let's talk about how just you saw,
04:32 he's saying how important position flex is for guys behind the Mario and Pete.
04:36 >> Absolutely.
04:38 >> So is it hard to learn three different positions in this defense?
04:43 Is it just kind of something that you just feel like is a necessity?
04:46 >> I would say Sam and Will kind of go together in a lot of ways.
04:50 They both have very different techniques in certain calls.
04:53 But at the end of the day, if you can know one, you can kind of understand the other.
04:57 So then Mike is kind of different.
04:58 There's a lot of different goals and different roles that you have.
05:01 But for me, again, it goes back to the way that Hodges coaches.
05:05 He's so diligent at the way he's used detail with every single thing that me
05:09 sitting in there focusing on Mike as I have been, I was still able to pick up Will's
05:12 stuff, pick up Sam's stuff.
05:14 That way, whenever he said, hey, can you do it?
05:16 It's just a matter of me going out there and just pulling on things that I remember.
05:19 And the nice part is he's had grace on me, specific techniques,
05:23 things that I haven't necessarily practiced.
05:25 But again, it's because of so many things that he's done and said and
05:28 I've watched, cuz Zach is a great example of how to play Sam as well.
05:31 And he's helped me out a lot as well, which is really cool.
05:34 It kinda helps it for me that I can just go out there and
05:35 just play ball based on things that I've heard.
05:37 Cuz it's been instilled over and over and over again.
05:40 >> Who's kinda like you in the head of the whole position?
05:42 >> Mike.
05:43 >> Mike. >> Yeah, cuz I'm a big communicator.
05:46 I've always played stat.
05:47 I say always, starting in college.
05:50 That's just for me, kind of the role that I've typically played.
05:53 I did some Sam in college as well, but that was kind of experimental.
05:59 So I'm excited though to do it again.
06:01 >> The quotation around Sam, was it just a specific approach they had?
06:05 >> Well, we had it, I was basically a defensive end, but
06:08 we did some stuff similar, where I had to drop and all that.
06:11 But it was still a end there.
06:14 So it's some similarities, but
06:16 different cuz this is still considered a linebacker role.
06:19 >> When you were talking about kind of learning all these different positions
06:21 and everything, how big of a role or
06:23 factor does Demario play in all that as well for you?
06:26 >> Well, I mean, Demario obviously being the captain, being the lead of the defense.
06:29 It's nice being in meetings with him, cuz the way that he,
06:32 just the questions he asks us, he thinks so intellectually.
06:35 Because he knows his defense like the back of his hand.
06:37 So now he's asking more in-depth questions.
06:39 Hey, how about if this guy motions, if he sifts back,
06:42 all these things that makes it really thought provoking.
06:44 To understand the game as a whole in a different way of seeing it,
06:47 that's the helpful way.
06:48 Of course, he is a Mike and he's done well as well.
06:51 So I've been leaning more so on, like I said, Zach when it comes to Sam stuff.
06:55 But having him to ask questions, I mean,
06:58 it's like actually looking up in the dictionary how to play this defense.
07:01 So super beneficial having a guy like that in the room.
07:05 >> All right, thank you, Todd.