Beanie Bishop 2023 Pitt Preview
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00:00 We got cornerback, Dean Bishop.
00:02 Questions for Dean?
00:04 Dean, just start with analysis on the secondary.
00:07 I mean, it's your first year here,
00:09 but what have you seen first two games?
00:13 I see we play hard, and, you know,
00:16 obviously we're improving every week.
00:19 We just have a lot of things to work on.
00:22 Just getting better day by day, you know, week by week.
00:25 And just, you know, it's always room for improvement,
00:28 and that's just an area that we have to improve.
00:32 This past week, you know, we gave up 200-something yards,
00:35 you know, to --
00:37 and the week before, gave up a lot of passing yards,
00:39 I believe, so just improving, you know,
00:42 just every aspect of coverage
00:45 and being able to tackle and, you know, get the ball down.
00:48 What's been the message?
00:49 What have the coaches been telling the corners?
00:51 Is there anything particular they say,
00:54 "We've got to get better at this"?
00:56 I just think just cover skills, you know,
00:59 just sticking to our guys, you know,
01:02 not letting guys get open down the field and stuff like that.
01:05 And when quarterbacks scramble, you know, stand on the guys
01:08 because that was --
01:10 that's how they made a lot of their plays last week,
01:12 you know.
01:13 Quarterback just threw the ball up and, you know,
01:16 just hoped for the best, and their guys were out there
01:18 making plays and catches, so just sticking on our guys.
01:23 What was your perception like that?
01:24 Just the emotion of getting one?
01:27 You know, every time, you know, you get an interception,
01:30 it changes the game, you know,
01:33 just being able to swing momentum, you know,
01:36 the crowd erupted and stuff like that,
01:37 just being able to make a play in front of the home fans.
01:40 It was crazy, you know, just being able to make the play.
01:45 And like I said, you know,
01:46 last time I was in front of you guys,
01:48 told y'all guys we want to lead the nation in takeaways,
01:50 and, you know, I kind of want to be able to lead by example
01:53 and, you know, any way I can get the ball,
01:55 interceptions, fumbles, any kind of way,
01:58 like being able to, you know, try to change the game with that.
02:01 And after the turnover, offense went down to score, you know,
02:05 so just one of those things, you know, is a game-changer.
02:09 Walk us through that because that was not an easy interception.
02:13 When you talk about degree of difficulty,
02:15 I mean, that was like Willie Mays
02:17 catching the ball in the World Series all those years ago.
02:20 I mean, you were -- obviously, you had to keep your head
02:22 turned around, but you didn't get it around,
02:24 so talk us through that.
02:26 It's just -- well, explaining it
02:29 would probably sound, like, simple,
02:31 but it's just one of those drills that we work every day.
02:35 Like, we work that drill every day,
02:38 and it's just about, you know, taking those practice reps,
02:40 building them up day by day,
02:42 and then eventually -- you never know when,
02:45 but eventually it'll come up in the game.
02:49 It's just -- just trusting the technique,
02:52 and I was able to, you know, locate the ball,
02:55 and it, you know, just kind of dropped
02:57 and just holding on to it.
02:59 A lot of my teammates told me
03:00 they thought I got it caught on,
03:01 but, you know, just being able to --
03:04 just being able to keep my technique
03:06 and just remain calm and poised and,
03:09 you know, just do what I've been taught.
03:12 Looked like you took it out of his hands almost.
03:14 Yes, sir.
03:16 Yeah, he tried -- we just --
03:17 we kind of fought for it a little bit.
03:18 I think he was -- I think he was a little shocked.
03:20 I seen some of the pictures and, you know,
03:22 seeing, like, people's faces,
03:23 seeing them on the ground and stuff like that.
03:25 It was kind of crazy.
03:27 Were you mad you didn't get one or even two at Penn State?
03:30 Yeah.
03:32 People tell me, "Oh, you're supposed to have this,"
03:34 you know, all of that, but, you know, I mean, yeah,
03:38 I could have that, but, you know,
03:39 I don't try to dwell on the past too much.
03:42 Do you get a chance at all to look at any film
03:44 or have any thoughts on its quarterback,
03:45 what he currently --
03:46 what he brings to the table?
03:49 We're kind of just still, you know,
03:51 making corrections from -- yeah, from last week.
03:54 And, you know, going into this week,
03:57 you know, we're going to watch a lot of film
03:58 and then see, you know, what's the strengths and weaknesses,
04:02 watch a little bit of the Cincinnati game.
04:05 Do you guys expect --
04:06 because you didn't go into the season
04:09 thinking the defense is secondary a lot better.
04:11 You talked about wanting to leak the takeaways
04:13 and then had some, you know, hiccups in the first two games.
04:18 So do you expect a veteran quarterback
04:19 especially like that to test you guys out?
04:21 Yeah, for sure.
04:23 I think every game, you know,
04:24 especially since we're playing a Big 12,
04:26 it's going to be a lot of passing.
04:28 So I feel like a lot of it's going to fall on the secondary.
04:31 You know, we're just trying to gel together,
04:33 you know, watching film and stuff like that
04:36 and improve on coverage skills, like I said.
04:38 So -- and I think teams are going to try to attack us,
04:42 but we're ready, you know.
04:44 We know what's going to come,
04:45 so we're just preparing every week.
04:48 What's the biggest rivalry game
04:49 you've played in before this week?
04:52 Wisconsin and Minnesota for the Ags.
04:55 You know, I don't think it was as --
04:57 I mean, it's been a long --
04:59 you know, the rivalry there was long, one of the longest ones,
05:02 but I don't think it's like as much hate
05:04 as it is for this rivalry.
05:06 Like, fans didn't really seem like they --
05:09 I mean, they cared, but it wasn't like this.
05:11 Like, you know, we hate Pitt all year round, you know,
05:13 so it's kind of one of those things.
05:16 No curse words in the songs, right?
05:19 No, sir.
05:22 Have you talked to your guys, like, hey, the guy at the corners?
05:28 I mean, you've kind of become kind of the leader.
05:31 Have you talked to them and said,
05:32 "Hey, we got to be better.
05:33 We got to perform better.
05:35 It's on us. We got to do that"?
05:36 Have you given that pep talk to them a little bit?
05:38 Yes, sir, and I told guys, like --
05:42 I was telling Ruffin and some of the other guys,
05:45 like, we have to trust ourselves, you know.
05:48 Whenever we're able to, you know, make plays,
05:50 we got to be able to trust ourselves, you know.
05:53 Instead of getting pass breakups,
05:54 you know, let's go for interceptions.
05:56 Like, you don't want to --
05:57 like, those average guys get pass breakups.
06:00 You know, you want to go to the NFL.
06:02 You want to, you know, get takeaways in any way possible.
06:05 So, you know, pass breakups are okay.
06:09 It's being an average corner, but takeaways,
06:12 you know, that separates those guys into the elite category.
06:16 Is there a method to that, though,
06:17 for not trying to do too much on some plays
06:19 and have them be more conservative sometimes
06:21 and not go for the interception?
06:22 Yeah, but, you know, you just got to --
06:24 you trust your technique and those kind of things.
06:29 I don't think coach will be mad at you for being aggressive,
06:32 but at the same time, you know,
06:34 not going out of your way to try to make a play,
06:37 and then you do -- you try to do way too much
06:39 and, you know, do something else
06:41 and cause more harm than good.
06:45 You talked a little bit about controlling --
06:48 handling emotions of a cornerback.
06:50 I mean, you make the interceptions,
06:52 great, but you dropped one in the previous game.
06:56 How is that -- how do you handle the emotions of it?
07:00 I always just try to, you know, don't be too high,
07:04 and, you know, don't be too low.
07:06 Stay pretty even-keeled.
07:08 You know, have poise at the end of the day.
07:11 So, give up a catch, break the ball up, get interception.
07:17 It's always a next-play mentality.
07:19 You don't want to go in a play holding your head down
07:22 because offense coordinators,
07:24 they look at the stuff like that.
07:26 You go -- you moping around, and you look sad
07:29 and all of that kind of stuff.
07:30 They're going to keep going at you, you know,
07:32 so just trying to stay even-keeled.
07:35 How do you teach yourself that lesson?
07:38 You just -- you learn it.
07:40 And coaches say it all the time, you know.
07:44 Just seeing the guys, like, seeing some of my teammates,
07:48 like, hold their head down, and then next thing you know,
07:51 the offense keep going at that guy,
07:54 so just learning it that way instead of learning it
07:57 the hard way where, you know, be inside and all of that stuff
08:00 and get picked on, so.
08:03 Do you have a bad day where you got picked on?
08:05 You just learned it, I guess, maybe after a good game.
08:08 Yeah.
08:10 I would say my last year at Western, when we played --
08:13 we played UTSA.
08:16 Kind of -- that was probably one of my worst games of college,
08:19 and just seeing that, so, like, I just promised to myself --
08:23 it was, like, a sad -- it was a shootout, a sad day.
08:28 Just told myself I wouldn't, you know,
08:30 wouldn't let it happen again and just control all my emotions.
08:33 You know, don't get too high, don't get too low,
08:35 because in that game, too, I made plays,
08:37 but just don't let myself get too low at any point.
08:42 You finished that season pretty strong.
08:44 Is there a difference created right there
08:45 between, kind of, Merced and Justin?
08:48 A huge difference.
08:49 You know, I just, you know, started talking to a psychiatrist,
08:55 you know, just being able to clear my mind
08:57 and those kind of things and, you know,
09:00 doing stuff outside of football to, you know,
09:02 to make sure that my mind's clear and whenever --
09:05 and always go back to my why, you know,
09:08 my family members and things like that and teammates,
09:13 and just know whenever -- like, it could always be worse.
09:17 What do you do to get away?
09:19 I'm into photography and play video games.
09:22 You know, my last year at Western,
09:25 I took a photography class, ended up getting a camera
09:27 because one of my friends were --
09:29 she was in journalism, so just doing that.
09:32 And being outside, it just kind of helps me be at ease.
09:37 The thing you said earlier about sticking with guys
09:40 and don't let them get too far away,
09:42 I imagine that's the one stuff.
09:44 But there are good players outside, too.
09:46 How do they get away?
09:47 How do guys not get away?
09:49 Guys just -- I just feel like guys
09:51 have their eyes in the wrong spot.
09:52 You know, quarterback runs around,
09:55 guy peeks back at the quarterback,
09:57 and, you know, the receiver goes a different way,
10:00 and the quarterback just heaves it up
10:02 and, you know, the guy's running away from him, so...
10:07 Do you think that's been the quarterback's frame
10:09 and that's been the biggest kind of issue so far?
10:12 Yeah, for sure.
10:14 Is that -- you're saying just keep your eyes in the right place.
10:16 Is that just a discipline thing, then?
10:17 Yeah, and it's hard because, you know,
10:20 you -- sometimes you see too much.
10:23 You know, you want to make a play,
10:25 and like I said, sometimes guys trying to,
10:28 you know, do too much instead of just
10:31 staring on a guy, looking at the man,
10:34 instead of looking at the quarterback.
10:36 You look at the quarterback for one second,
10:39 the guy's somewhere else, he throws it up.
10:41 It's a chance of being a catch or,
10:44 you know, a passing interference.
10:45 So in a play like that,
10:47 if you're just sticking on your man,
10:48 I mean, do you just kind of have no idea
10:50 what's going on, you know, back at the line of scrimmage?
10:52 I mean, how do you go through that?
10:54 You don't know where the quarterback is,
10:56 if he's taken off yet, or...
10:58 How do you work through all that?
10:59 You kind of -- you know, you kind of want to be
11:01 on top of the receiver.
11:02 If you're on top of the receiver, you know,
11:03 you can see the guy,
11:05 and then you can see through him to the quarterback.
11:08 So then, whatever sudden movements he make,
11:10 you know, you still can be on him,
11:11 and you can see whatever's still going on.
11:13 But you don't want to see too much,
11:15 or else you'll lose your guy.
11:17 So he's doing -- the receiver's watching the quarterback,
11:19 and you're just watching him. Yeah, basically.
11:22 How's your prep week?
11:23 Obviously, you get through the last game, you correct that.
11:27 You personally walk us through from today through Saturday.
11:32 How are you going to prepare for Pitt?
11:34 You know, just -- yeah, I watch a lot of film.
11:39 You know, some day -- well, today it'll be first down --
11:42 first and second down.
11:44 Then you get third down tomorrow.
11:46 Well, actually, first down today.
11:48 Tomorrow it'll be second down.
11:50 Then third -- then, wait, Thursday, third down,
11:53 fourth down, stuff like that.
11:55 And then, eventually, getting to break it up,
11:58 look at their top formations and things like that,
12:01 top pass concepts, top runs.
12:04 We already went over some of the receivers
12:06 that they have and -- or tight ends, things like that.
12:11 That's how I kind of watch film.
12:12 And then, you know, staying on top of my body,
12:15 doing all kind of recovery stuff like that,
12:18 you know, with all the modalities
12:19 that we have downstairs.
12:20 So, like, maybe Friday is review.
12:23 When do you start reviewing all the things
12:24 that you build up through the week?
12:25 Is that when you start or --
12:27 I'll say Thursday after.
12:28 Thursday after practice, you know, and Friday,
12:31 you know, we do, like, quizzes and tips and stuff like that.
12:35 Okay.
12:36 So, growing up in Kentucky, did you know anything
12:39 about West Virginia pit rivalry?
12:40 And do players like playing in rivalries?
12:44 I mean, you think about this more than just a regular Saturday.
12:49 Growing up in Louisville, I mean,
12:50 I didn't really hear about it too much.
12:53 Not that I can remember.
12:56 What was the second question again?
12:58 Just in general, a rivalry game, do you get more jacked up
13:02 for a rivalry game than a normal game,
13:04 or Saturday is Saturday once you get out there?
13:06 I feel like a lot of guys do get,
13:09 you know, get into the rivalry game thing.
13:13 For me, I don't --
13:15 I don't really get too high or too low.
13:18 It's just another opportunity to go out there,
13:20 you know, and play football, you know.
13:22 But, assuming that this is a rivalry,
13:24 I am very excited for it,
13:26 just especially after all of the guys
13:29 explained some of the history behind it
13:30 and a lot of the hatred and just seeing it,
13:33 like, not only from my teammates,
13:36 but, like, from fans.
13:38 If I go into stores and, you know, go get food,
13:41 and if I have my West Virginia stuff on,
13:44 they're like, "You know, let's be pit."
13:46 Like, that's the main thing.
13:48 Even before the season started, that's, like, the focus.
13:51 So, yeah, I think people get excited,
13:55 very excited for the game.
13:57 To that end, though, is there ever a sense in your mind,
14:01 and even as a leader, to help others,
14:03 to make sure you don't get too psyched up,
14:05 if you know what I mean, that you're just, like,
14:07 not able to be as good because you're just too overly jacked?
14:10 Is that a thing that can exist,
14:12 that a player can get too overly jacked up?
14:14 I think so, you know, because a lot of --
14:17 some guys, you know, get bought into the hype of the game,
14:20 and, you know, then start doing other things
14:24 that, you know, that's, like, out of their control,
14:26 like trying to make more plays --
14:27 trying to, you know, make plays out of position
14:30 and stuff like that.
14:31 So, yeah, I do think it's a thing,
14:34 but just trying to tell those guys,
14:35 you know, just do your job.
14:37 At the end of the day, you just have to do your job,
14:39 your 111th, and, you know,
14:41 everything else will fall into place.
14:44 Have you had games at Western that seemed like old,
14:47 more rivalry game than the games you had in Minnesota?
14:50 Yeah, the Marshall game, when we played Marshall.
14:54 Hated those guys.
14:57 But, yeah, that would probably be
15:00 the biggest rivalry that we had.
15:02 Does it usually --
15:04 instead of it being just a rivalry game
15:05 because it was always a rivalry,
15:07 does it seem like it's a bigger game
15:08 because, like, Marshall was usually better
15:10 and that was, like, a big game anyway?
15:12 Yeah, and we kind of --
15:14 my last year there, we played those guys
15:16 for the Eastern Division Championship.
15:19 So, when we went in, whoever won that game
15:22 was going to go on to play in the Conference Championship.
15:24 And, you know, obviously, we won that game.
15:28 But, you know, the guys, even, like, every year before that,
15:31 it's just, like, bad blood.
15:33 Like, you know, guys were talking crazy to each other,
15:36 you know, trying to inflict pain on each other
15:38 and stuff like that.
15:39 So, you understand that when we played those guys in green,
15:44 it was, you know, it was a lot of hate between us.
15:49 Your Minnesota-Wisconsin game, was that in Madison
15:51 or was that at --
15:52 At Camp Brenda.
15:53 Is there something about going into another stadium
15:56 that's obviously emotional and playing on the road?
16:00 Is that different for a player than playing at home
16:03 and better in a way, worse?
16:06 I like it, you know, because, you know,
16:10 you're going to have some fans at the game.
16:14 I don't know how many fans we had at the game,
16:16 but, you know, just going into the opposing team's home
16:20 stadium and, you know,
16:21 just imposing your will on those guys.
16:24 And, you know, seeing a crowd, you know,
16:26 get deflated whenever you make a play
16:28 or something like that, it's just,
16:31 it's just, like, a momentum shifter.
16:32 And they don't have --
16:34 If the crowd's not into the game,
16:36 like, it makes a huge difference.
16:38 Like, those guys will feel that
16:40 when their crowd's not into the game.
16:42 And we kind of get energized off that kind of stuff,
16:46 you know?
16:47 So, I like playing rivalry games at the opposing team's stadium.
16:53 What felt better, beating Wisconsin
16:55 or beating Marshall in Huntington?
16:57 I want to say beating Marshall.
17:05 We needed that, you know, especially it was a lot of --
17:08 it was a lot of stuff going into the game,
17:11 you know, obviously winning that game,
17:13 sent us to the conference championship.
17:14 And that's something that I didn't get to do before.
17:17 So, I think that had more importance of,
17:21 you know, than obviously just keeping the A's,
17:24 which that was cool and stuff, too.
17:27 But just being able to play in a conference championship,
17:29 that's something that you dream of, you know?
17:31 Because winning's hard,
17:33 and a lot of guys don't get to experience that.
17:36 You were on the team last year,
17:38 but are you already hearing some players
17:40 that were around talking about last year's brawl?
17:42 And, like, did you see that atmosphere
17:44 and watch that on TV or see what that was?
17:47 You're talking about you love playing at the opposing team's
17:50 place in a rivalry game. That's the example.
17:53 Yeah, I've seen some pictures.
17:56 Guys haven't really talked about it too much, you know?
18:00 But just seeing, like, seeing some of the pictures
18:04 and seeing, like, some of the highlights from the game,
18:06 I just seen, like, how fun it looked and, you know,
18:11 just, like, hearing Brandon talk, like, before me,
18:14 like, just hearing him talk, like, the crowd.
18:17 And I think even Coach Adon told me,
18:19 I think it was, like, the most fans they had
18:22 in a Pittsburgh sporting event or something like that.
18:25 So, just seeing that and having a chance to go out there
18:29 and be part of history, I think it's going to be exciting.
18:35 All right, anything else for Beeney?
18:37 All right, thank you very much.
18:39 Thanks, everybody.