Inside The Hawkeyes
  • 2 years ago
Iowa player interviews
Transcript
00:00 It's been pretty good. It's getting better every week and we're just excited to go out there and fly around and do what the Doughboys do.
00:06 What do you learn from him?
00:07 Really, he's super easy to learn from. We watch film together, just send clips back and forth, just what we see, things that could mess with us and how we're going to execute.
00:16 So really just having him out there really makes the game even easier.
00:19 Are there other things you can do, like just play chemistry with him?
00:22 Really, we just hang out outside of football. So outside of football just helps you have that better relationship.
00:28 What other stuff do you do?
00:30 We'll just go eat, play some video games, nothing too crazy.
00:35 What video games?
00:36 A little Madden just came out so we've been playing that.
00:39 Who's better?
00:40 For sure me.
00:41 Who's your team on Madden?
00:42 Seahawks.
00:44 What have you seen from the offense during the fall camp getting into game week?
00:48 They've been executing so we're just excited for them to have the opportunity to go out there and give our whole team just go out there and execute.
00:57 Are there guys in the NFL that you like watching the film of that I guess would kind of emulate your game after a while?
01:03 I really like watching Mika Fitzpatrick. I feel like we're close to the same size.
01:06 And Kyle Hamilton, when I visited Notre Dame, he was kind of a mentor for me. So just him, we're kind of in the same place now.
01:14 What's the difference for you last year to this year? Last year at this time you were just getting ready to play your first game. Now how much more comfortable are you?
01:22 Still not super comfortable. Still growing into comfortability but it's going into week one so you're just excited for the opportunity and ready to go flat around.
01:31 How do you keep your emotions in check with your first start at Kenneck Stadium? I'm sure it's something you've thought about for a while.
01:37 Something I've looked forward to but really just another day and another game so you just got to go out there and have fun and execute.
01:43 How have some of those young corners that you came in with, like Deshawn and TJ, how have they progressed?
01:49 They've progressed tremendously from the spring to fall camp to now. Just really seeing them grow, go out there and make plays, fly around and I see them a lot more comfortable.
01:57 Was there a time in the fall camp or over the summer where you felt like you were starting to get things that maybe you weren't as a freshman?
02:11 Oh yeah for sure. Going into the deep middle is so much easier now. Just read where the quarterback is going, the route combinations coming in, stuff like that.
02:20 Little cues just pick up a lot faster. Just go out there and make the play.
02:24 It's like alright I'm coming. So then we go, we do treatment together, we do everything.
02:28 Every single day we're just trying to spend some time together and we're just talking ball, talking film.
02:32 And when we get back to the house after a long day, here in the facility, we're still just talking ball.
02:38 I think we both just love the game. So talking about that, I don't know what else we were really talking about. It's been fun.
02:45 You guys spending all that time together, I bet you guys have talked about your expectations for each other and what you guys are going to do on the field together.
02:52 What are you guys expecting to do this season?
02:54 Shoot, we're just coming in and trying to fulfill our job within the defense and uphold the standard.
03:01 Not trying to do anything extraordinary or anything like that. We're trying to do our job and trying to make plays within the defensive scheme to help the whole defense succeed.
03:10 Did you consider the NFL after last season?
03:14 I did.
03:15 What turned you the other way?
03:18 I think that there was just a lot of things. I think holistically, when I looked at the whole picture, I thought there were things in college that I could work on to get better and I think that there was more opportunity.
03:30 So I thought that just coming back to college was going to be a good step for me.
03:35 I know you've probably been asked this a hundred times, but what sold Iowa to you as opposed to the other places that were interested?
03:43 I think it was just the culture, the history, and just everything behind the program.
03:49 When I sat down and met with Coach Wallace and Coach Parker, how detail-oriented they were and how they had a plan to coach me and help me get better as well.
03:58 Within the scheme, I thought it was just going to help me grow my knowledge and help me become a better football player.
04:03 So then eventually when I can make that next step, hopefully to the NFL, I'll be more prepared and ready.
04:09 You feel that more preparation already, even just a couple months in and getting ready for his first game.
04:16 Yeah, I think Coach Wallace pushes me and challenges me every single day.
04:20 So I think every single day I'm growing in my knowledge and I'm trying to see the bigger picture and trying to just correct habits that maybe weren't as efficient or anything like that.
04:30 So I'm just trying to become a better player every single day because I know there's a lot I have to work on.
04:35 There's this line, linebackers, so we're able to bounce ideas off each other on things that we see in the film and what screen sets that we can do.
04:44 What are some of the ways that you have focused on improving yourself as a player from last season to this season?
04:53 Yeah, I think just improving some of my footwork stuff and the man-to-man part of it.
05:00 And then in the film room as well, with some of the guys just going over different things that they saw that I did and what they see that I can improve on.
05:13 So it's been fun to learn from the guys, like Jermari Harris who reached that out last season, what he saw and what I can get better at.
05:25 Do you think this defense is even better than last year's or can be?
05:28 I think, I mean, there's a pretty high standard that we want to uphold.
05:35 We have to show that on Saturdays and go out and prove it by dominating each and every snap.
05:42 How often do you make it out to a high school game?
05:44 Was Saturday your only one of the year? Are you guys going to go on Friday nights when you're at home?
05:48 Yeah, Saturday was, well I guess we got a bye week so I might be able to get back home maybe to see my little brother play.
05:58 What do you think of Nick Brooks out there?
06:00 He's a big dude. I don't know if I've, I mean he moves pretty well for his size, especially as a high schooler. He's cool to watch.
06:13 Do you miss those Friday nights? I mean even as much as you enjoy Saturdays?
06:16 As much as I enjoy playing in front of 70,000, I do miss those Friday nights.
06:22 You guys played an unknown opponent last year and they ended up being the best team in the FCS.
06:27 What's the key to preparing for a team like that where you don't have a ton of film on?
06:33 Yeah, you just got to prepare like you do every week. You can't underestimate anybody in college football.
06:41 You got to prepare like it's the best team in the country and that's what we try to do each and every week.
06:49 Our preparation is something that we believe allows us to play as well as we have in the past.
06:57 To practice every single day, just high motor and just ready to go and that really stands out to me.
07:03 And it doesn't have to be on the practice field, it can be in the film room as well.
07:07 They're just ready to go every single day we've been going through camp, through the winter phases.
07:12 So I'm just really excited to see what they have to do.
07:15 Six years for you now, that's a trip.
07:19 Hey, we all are.
07:21 Do you think about that at all going into this final opening week for you so to speak, unless you find a seventh year somewhere?
07:29 I don't know.
07:30 Do you get any reflection?
07:32 Any reflection?
07:33 Just about where you've been and that journey of coming in as a quarterback and even as a D.I.
07:37 That's a great question. I appreciate you asking that.
07:40 I'm very thankful to have my parents in Iowa City.
07:46 It's literally the best thing, I think, for me.
07:50 I'll get to the reflection point, but I'm just going to give a little shout out to them.
07:54 They have made so many sacrifices for me and to be in the position that I am.
08:01 I'm grateful for them and hopefully someday I'll be able to repay them.
08:06 About the reflection part, it is funny that you say that because over this past, I think we had Saturday off maybe, Saturday.
08:15 My mom and dad actually asked me that question if I'm able to reflect.
08:19 The answer, I try not to.
08:21 I just kind of try to look forward.
08:23 I don't want to reflect on the whole walk-on thing just because I'm not trying to really get in my feelings.
08:30 You know what I'm saying?
08:31 I'm just really trying to focus on this year and just being the best player that I can be.
08:38 So having been around the program for this long, what were some of the things that you worked on during the offseason
08:44 and some of the growth that you had in mind for your own personal goals?
08:48 Yeah, so the biggest goal for me was my leadership.
08:53 I really wanted to be able to help out the young guys.
08:56 That was a big thing for me coming back and just being able to help out as much as I can
09:00 because this program has given me so much, so I just wanted to give everything I could back to this program.
09:05 From a football standpoint, I think I can always improve on everything.
09:09 So just being able to get in the film room, I watched every single game of last year a couple times through.
09:16 Just being able to critique myself and then being able to go out on the practice field,
09:20 whether that be my pad level, my hand placement, speed rush moves, that's what I was trying to really focus on.
09:28 And of those young guys that you're providing that feedback to, one, how rewarding is it to see that come to fruition?
09:36 And two, of the younger guys, is there anybody that's sort of standing out and is maybe not getting the hype yet
09:43 but sort of feels like a contributor in the making to you?
09:47 Yeah, I think it's very rewarding.
09:49 Honestly, I told my parents--I talk to my parents all the time, I keep saying that--
09:55 I kind of told them that I didn't really know if I'd ever want to be a coach,
09:59 but just kind of coming back for the sixth year and being able to help them through things,
10:03 it's kind of making me think, "Maybe I could get into this coaching thing a little bit, maybe high school,
10:08 or maybe when I have kids, coach youth football or something like that."
10:12 But it's very rewarding, and guys sticking out to me, it's hard for me to really say there's one guy that's really sticking out.
10:21 I mean, I could talk about every single guy in the defensive line and just how they've been improving
10:26 and getting better every single day.
10:28 We talk about this, just getting 1% better every day, and I think every guy's been doing that.
10:32 Joe, how's Noah doing?
10:33 And kind of what is--has he been able to kind of get in the room and help the younger guys like you're doing?
10:39 Yeah, I think Noah's doing good.
10:43 Just a terrible situation.
10:46 That's one of my really close friends, and we've kind of been through it all together,
10:50 so just to be able to see him go through that has just been terrible.
10:53 But he is just one of the best leaders that I've been around, and he knows the game so well,
10:59 and he knows just every single guy in that locker room so well.
11:04 So he's been able to really help in that way, in that aspect.
11:08 Have you needed to pick him up at all?
11:10 Because he's a pretty upbeat guy.
11:12 He is an upbeat guy.
11:13 But this is a tough situation, as you said.
11:15 Yeah, I mean, obviously we have talks together.
11:18 Just being able--you know, I wanted to show him that I'm there for him with anything,
11:22 and I think any single guy in this facility is there for him.
11:26 But he's such an upbeat guy, so I end up talking to him,
11:30 and then all of a sudden he's helping me out, you know what I'm saying?
11:33 But he's a tremendous guy, and he's going to be just a lifelong friend for me.
11:37 Thanks, John.