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00:00 [INAUDIBLE]
00:02 Hey, Sean, how you doing?
00:03 How's--
00:04 Good, how are you?
00:05 Good, man.
00:05 So the transition to Tallahassee,
00:07 how's it been for you?
00:09 And if you could go back maybe a little bit through the decision
00:12 to come to Florida State.
00:13 It was pretty good, honestly.
00:15 It was really nice, easy transition, smooth transition.
00:18 And just going into picking Florida State is pretty easy.
00:24 Coach Novell and I talked during my recruitment in high school,
00:26 and he had a vision.
00:28 And he kept up with that vision, and he
00:30 was very consistent in what he was doing.
00:32 And he showed me he could do what
00:34 he was going to say he's going to do.
00:35 So picking Florida State was a no-brainer.
00:37 And yeah.
00:39 All right, next we'll be Chris from Roger left.
00:42 Morning, Sean.
00:43 The opportunity at linebacker here, how appealing was that?
00:46 And also just your relationship with Randy Shannon
00:48 as you've gotten to know him.
00:49 It was very appealing.
00:50 I just wanted to come somewhere where I can make an impact
00:53 and be a great teammate and just find a new team
00:57 to help go to the next level.
01:00 And Coach Shannon and I have been
01:02 building a great relationship.
01:04 He's very knowledgeable, and he's
01:06 done this for a very long time.
01:08 And he has a lot of experience.
01:10 So that's been an easy relationship to build.
01:13 Sean, can you break down some of your skill sets,
01:20 things that you think you do particularly well,
01:22 strengths for yourself right now?
01:23 And then what are some things you're
01:25 working on this offseason?
01:26 I think I diagnosed plays very well.
01:29 I think I could read the offense very well.
01:31 I think I've learned a lot of schemes
01:34 through Alabama and just my time, just being in college.
01:38 And I think I come downhill fast.
01:40 I'm just pretty good football player, honestly.
01:43 We'll go to the third row on your left, the door.
01:45 Sean, you mentioned it a little bit already,
01:47 being a good teammate as a linebacker, sometimes
01:48 the heartbeat of the defense.
01:50 Can you talk about your leadership style,
01:51 both on the field and off the field,
01:52 and some of the relationships you've built
01:53 in the linebacker room so far?
01:55 I think the best leadership style is to lead by example.
01:59 I think anybody and everybody will respect you
02:02 if you could do what you're telling other people to do.
02:05 And you can never have a moment where
02:07 you're not doing what you're telling other people to do.
02:10 And I think as a linebacker and being
02:12 the quarterback of the defense, I
02:13 think that's a main priority for someone at my position
02:18 or anybody in our position.
02:19 And I hope the whole linebacker room
02:21 could learn to do that and just be one leader,
02:25 not just one specific linebacker in the group.
02:28 Second row for us.
02:30 You mentioned the leadership in the linebacker room.
02:33 It's a pretty young linebacker room.
02:35 What have you seen from the group so far,
02:36 and what do you like about it?
02:38 What areas are you guys looking to grow in?
02:41 A lot of hard workers, honestly.
02:43 Coming in here, seeing all these young guys,
02:45 they work very hard.
02:47 They're very confident.
02:48 And they love what they do.
02:49 They're very passionate in what they do.
02:51 And I think with time, I think we
02:53 could all build confidence and become one unit and one leader.
02:56 Come back over here to Ira on your right.
03:03 How far back does your relationship
03:04 go with Coach Norvell?
03:06 And were you able to--
03:08 were you watching them?
03:10 When they were playing the last two seasons,
03:12 were you able to keep up on what they were doing?
03:13 I know you obviously were busy with your own season.
03:16 Yeah.
03:17 During high school, Coach Norvell
03:19 was very persistent on me.
03:22 And we built a pretty nice relationship.
03:24 And during recruiting, I loved what he did.
03:26 I picked Alabama, but I still love what he did.
03:29 He was a top school for me.
03:32 Just seeing him over the years, I
03:34 didn't really get to really pour everything to watching them.
03:39 But the times I did watch them, they
03:40 were very consistent with what they were doing.
03:42 And they were very dominant.
03:44 We'll go back to your left, second row, Essen.
03:47 You mentioned just seeing their consistency
03:50 and how they got better.
03:51 Obviously, they were not very good when you
03:53 were coming out of high school.
03:54 So how much weight does it hold when a coach says,
03:57 I'm going to do this, and then he delivers on that promise,
03:59 like just watching from afar?
04:02 Well, it's a lot of weight.
04:03 It holds a lot of weight, honestly.
04:04 It shows you can stick to your word.
04:06 It shows that your standards are very high
04:08 and that you can take a team to where you want to go.
04:11 And I think, honestly, with somebody at the head like that,
04:15 I feel like you can go a lot of places, not just as a team,
04:17 but individually, just in general, in life,
04:20 in all aspects of everything.
04:22 All right, next question is going to be from Zoom.
04:25 Matt Baker from Tampa Bay Times.
04:28 Hey, Sean.
04:28 Obviously, you're not the only guy
04:30 to come to Florida State this cycle from Alabama.
04:33 What's that dynamic kind of been like with some
04:36 of your former teammates--
04:38 I guess, now still former, but still current teammates?
04:41 It makes it easier, honestly.
04:44 It makes it way easier to transition
04:45 to everything going on.
04:48 You see familiar faces, and you're not doing it alone.
04:52 Sometimes it can be hard going to a new place, new area,
04:56 not knowing anybody and trying to get to know everything.
05:00 But when you have other teammates,
05:02 you go through the same thing.
05:04 And you can learn together, and you can find your way together.
05:09 I'll go back to your left for Brendan.
05:11 Doing some film review and film study so far,
05:13 I guess what stands out about how FSU uses their linebackers?
05:16 How do you think that fits into what you do well?
05:19 I think they do a very good job of utilizing their linebackers.
05:23 They put them in positions to make plays.
05:25 And I think that's very unique.
05:27 And I love that about FSU.
05:30 And I think that will help all of us
05:32 get to where we want to go.
05:34 [INAUDIBLE]
05:36 Early on, how was Tallahassee comparing to Tuscaloosa?
05:38 Two college towns, but I feel like similar,
05:41 but Tallahassee might be a little bigger.
05:43 Tallahassee is definitely a little bit bigger,
05:46 a little bit more busy than Tuscaloosa.
05:49 It is the capital and college town at the same time.
05:53 So it's a little more busy than Tuscaloosa.
05:55 We'll come back to Ira on your right.
06:03 Could you talk a little bit about your former teammates
06:05 from Alabama that are here and what they bring,
06:08 like what you saw from them on the practice field
06:10 and in games?
06:11 Well, I think they're all very hard workers.
06:14 They came from Alabama, and they were under a saving,
06:17 just like me.
06:18 And we all got to pick his brain and learn how to work hard,
06:21 learn how to be consistent, learn how to be
06:23 poised in certain situations.
06:25 I think, honestly, with all of us here,
06:28 I feel like we can bring some of Alabama to Florida State
06:32 and mix our cultures up.
06:34 And I think that would be great for all of us.
06:37 I think all of them will bring a lot to the table.
06:41 And I think all of them can contribute
06:42 in very impactful ways, whether it's on the field
06:46 or off the field, because they're all great guys.
06:48 I think as a base, you guys ran 3-4 in Tuscaloosa.
06:57 I think here, mainly two backers on the field.
07:00 Is there something about your skill set
07:02 you feel that'll get you on the field quicker in a 4-2-5?
07:05 Or is it just kind of a numbers game
07:06 where there's more opportunity here in Tallahassee for you?
07:10 Honestly, with Alabama, we ran a little bit of everything.
07:15 So coming here, it's not like I haven't ran that defense before.
07:19 I think it's actually easier transition here,
07:22 because I've been in the system to where I
07:24 could play any type of defense.
07:26 And I think coming here, there's more of opportunity,
07:29 because the way they utilize their linebackers.
07:31 And I'm just--
07:32 Where do you think you have grown the most
07:39 during your time at Alabama as a player?
07:41 Is it mental or physical or both?
07:44 Honestly, I think it's both.
07:45 But I want to say more so mentally,
07:47 because just picking Saban's brain every day
07:51 and learning through the system, being in hard situations,
07:54 and et cetera, I think that builds you mentally.
07:57 And it makes you more mature and more poised
07:59 in this type of environment, which is a very hard environment
08:03 to be in.
08:07 [INAUDIBLE]
08:10 Obviously, Saban retired.
08:13 The portal opened for Alabama players.
08:15 You entered.
08:15 What was that process like of finding out Saban retired
08:18 and then just picking Florida State?
08:20 Was that on the top of your list?
08:21 Or how did that process play out?
08:23 Well, honestly, I had no idea that Coach Saban
08:26 was going to retire.
08:26 It was kind of like a bomb when it happened.
08:29 I was taking my eyes off it.
08:31 I didn't know it was going to happen.
08:32 I don't think any of us knew it was going to happen.
08:34 So when it happened, it threw us all off guard.
08:37 But he got to do what's best for him at the end of the day.
08:40 And I'm happy for him.
08:42 And I love what he's doing now.
08:43 He's enjoying life right now.
08:46 But just with Florida State, I already
08:50 knew that was one of the schools.
08:52 If I was to enter, that would be one of the schools
08:54 I would take interest into, along with a couple of others.
08:57 But I feel like here, I could have the most opportunity
09:02 and make the biggest impact here.
09:06 Anything else?
09:08 All right.
09:09 Thanks, Sean.
09:09 Thank you, Sean.
09:10 Thank you, guys.
09:12 [BLANK_AUDIO]