Jordan Howden speaks with the media ahead of the first start of his Saints career.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 I mean, I guess a bunch of us have just kind of figured that something was going to happen
00:06 with Marcus eventually.
00:07 Have you kind of been mentally preparing for that possibility as well?
00:11 Yeah, so like you were saying before, this whole summer was to get me prepared for any
00:15 situation in any of the spots.
00:17 So that's why it was good for me to learn the strong, the free, or any of the spots
00:22 that we have in our dime package and things of that sort.
00:24 So because when this stuff does happen, then I can be able to step up and go out there
00:28 and just do me.
00:29 How beneficial was it just to get some snaps defensively the first two weeks and to get
00:34 that time in training camp working the first team defense and all that stuff?
00:37 Yeah, you know we get snaps in the preseason, but when you get to the season, the actual
00:40 first game, it's a little different feeling.
00:42 So actually to go out there and get the jitters out, especially to go out there with the ones
00:47 and stuff like that on third down, it gets it out pretty early.
00:50 So now when I go out there with the actual group, I can go out there and just play fast
00:54 and execute on the game plan as fast as possible and do what I gotta do.
00:58 If you are out there, is there a sense just knowing that maybe they're going to try to
01:05 go after the rookie who doesn't have a ton of NFL experience?
01:08 Do you have to kind of be prepared for that?
01:09 Yeah, I mean when you see a different number out there, I would.
01:12 Offense coordinator is definitely going to be like, "Okay, there's a different number
01:15 out there.
01:16 We're going to attack them any type of way."
01:17 So you just got to be ready and just be confident and play fast.
01:21 Jordan, obviously you don't want it to happen this way, but what's your level of excitement
01:25 to get the opportunity?
01:26 The excitement is going to be very high.
01:28 This is my first start.
01:29 So like I said, you just got to be confident and don't think too much.
01:34 Go out there and play fast, play physical, and do what I came here to do.
01:38 How comfortable are you?
01:39 Because I think Joe said yesterday you were a perfectionist and it kind of slowed you
01:45 down a little bit.
01:46 I'm very hard on myself, so when something--I have a little tweak here and there, I like
01:51 to make sure I'm doing everything right and doing what's best for the team so they can
01:55 rely on me, count on me, so they don't have to worry about me and doing their jobs.
02:01 So I can go out there and do what I have to do so they don't have to worry about me.
02:04 We can just count on each other and just play fast and play physical.
02:06 How much confidence have you been able to gain just this week alone, taking those first
02:09 team ups throughout practice and just knowing that you are going to be the guy playing?
02:13 A lot.
02:14 That started when we first started the season and going to be in the film room with the
02:18 older guys and talking to the coaches, being there early and staying here late watching
02:22 film and knowing what to look for so I can be able to go out there and just play fast.
02:27 Basically what I've been saying, because once you're out there you don't know what you're
02:30 doing, you don't know how to play fast and that's when a lot of stuff happens.
02:34 Do you have any fond memories of playing at Wisconsin?
02:36 Yeah.
02:37 I don't know if Minnesota got any wins at Randall.
02:39 Yeah, we went in the AX twice.
02:40 At Camp Randall?
02:41 At Camp Randall.
02:42 So every time we went there, well, we lost one time, let me backtrack, but that's the
02:48 only thing I know really about Wisconsin is playing against them with the AX.
02:53 Luke's from Wisconsin.
02:54 I was going to ask, do you have a built-in hatred for the state of Wisconsin?
02:57 He asked it all nicely, like it's a vacation destination.
03:00 I mean, like, football standpoint, of course, but I'm not going to say for the whole state,
03:04 I don't know nobody there.
03:06 You don't need to go anywhere.
03:07 Exactly.
03:08 Do you have a preference, I mean, obviously you landed here, the way they use their safeties
03:14 at the beginning of the game, but if you mix it up, it's just a game-sterfield, what about
03:18 taking a strong free kick?
03:20 Right.
03:21 I mean, does this suit yourself?
03:22 How do you go in and use your safeties?
03:24 It most definitely does, you know, it just actually translates from what I was doing
03:27 in college.
03:28 It's not, I mean, of course, like the playbook and stuff, but all the techniques, the different
03:33 things, it already just translates from what I was doing in college, so getting here just
03:36 made it kind of another step forward from getting here and everything else is just like
03:41 learning the game plan, executing, and just knowing what I'm doing when I'm out there.
03:45 [BLANK_AUDIO]