 How we doing? Apparently you got the first pick off of Ryan here in camp. How nice was it to be able to pull that one in? It was great. You know, I've been seeing everybody's right now, Ryan in through no picks during practice. So I had to end the street today. But now, man, honestly, Ryan's been on a great job of, you know, kind of going through our defense. Obviously, you know, being here, obviously on both sides, we kind of understand what teams or what we're trying to do to each other. So he's been on a great job of being precise and on that play, obviously running two minutes, making sure that, you know, got to go to field. If you're in the game with a pick, it's great. So I was able to make a play kind of in a little robber situation right there. So I was able to read his eyes and make a play on the ball. You're trying not to make... Your college coach can just come up the road, come to a practice and continue to see what you do here in the NFL. I mean, how special is that to be able to have that? It's very special. Me and Coach Stark have a very special relationship. We text and we talk on and off a lot. Obviously, he texted me right before training camp started, told me good luck, told me he loves me. And we're always checking in with each other. I went to see him down there this spring, early this spring. But like you said, just the distance, 40 minutes from Murfreesboro, it's just great, man. Coach Stark has always been a great mentor for me, and I definitely appreciate him. Right now, to make too big an example out of, from your standpoint on the defense, what are you kind of seeing from the offense that's allowing it to sit clean? Just, I think, just their operation. Obviously, like I said, with Tanner Hill just being sharp. His timing has been great with his receivers. Receivers have been making plays because they get paid too. But like I said, I don't try to put a lot into it because I think last year, training camp, I only had one interception. It was during the Red Zone period, end of game five during the season. So, I mean, honestly, for me, it's all about competing. We're gonna make plays, they're gonna make plays. But obviously, during training camp, you are for sure once you start a quarterback. Really all your quarterbacks to not throw any interceptions. But they're gonna happen and it's all about how you respond after you make a bad play or we make a bad play. How do you think the relationship has stock evolved that you've gotten deeper in your career and further away from being a player on this team? I mean, honestly, it just keeps evolving. I would just say, obviously, I'm not the young man that I was when I first got to college. But it's more about just the check-ins, the mental check-ins, him just checking on me. Those things mean a lot. I still have pretty much all my college coaches from Coach Bobby, who's my safety coach, Coach Ellis, I run into him a lot, Coach Tyrone, Nick's, they all check in on me. And that's what it's mainly about. And I've developed a lot of great relationships through my time in college. And like I said, I'm just appreciative of those guys just continuing to reach out to me. It means a lot. What do you see as Kevin from the receivers that you're competing against on a regular basis, whether it's Robert, Traylin, or maybe some of the guys on the back end? They're just being highly competitive. I think obviously starting with Robert, being the veteran, being the leader of that room, he's doing a great job setting example, being one of the last guys off the field. Obviously with Traylin, he's working through, obviously being a rookie, but at the end of the day, he's going up making plays. He's obviously still a lot of things he needs to work on, but I've been very impressed with Racie McMath. He's been making a lot of big plays down the field. We're gonna need him with that. And even Kyle Phillips, even the rookie, we're doing our one-on-one tackle drills and he calls me out first. Even though I'm always the first guy going up there, well, he should already know, but he calls me out. I like the confidence. He's been making a lot of plays. Really good route runner. A lot of these guys, and obviously even kind of learning experience in the last two minutes, the last period, because I kind of talked about Caleb with the media the other day, a lot of times the practice is just kind of four plays and done. They're going eight play drives, some of the receivers getting a little tired, so we're just learning experience and every single practice, every single period is all about learning experience for everybody from the DBs to the receivers. It's all about trying to learn and learn, and every day just trying to stack good days on top of good days. Said the other day, first offensive pass interference call is on me, wants the receivers to be super physical and then maybe asking them to ratchet it down. How good is it for you guys maybe that it's more visible than it probably would be allowed to be by officials? Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, that's the way that our team is built, especially on the offensive side of the ball. We want to be physical. Obviously, we know we're gonna run the ball. So you can see we, even the personnel guys that we have, we have our slot guys, but we also have guys on the receivers. They're gonna be big, so he wants them to be physical. He wants to be able to, you know, and I think we went into games like that. A lot of times, especially on third downs, where guys are, you know, in most cases in third and short, third and mediums, we're gonna, they're gonna see man coverage and sometimes we weren't always physical. So obviously knowing guys like AJ Brown, who we had before, want guys to be physical. So, but for us, we just understand they're gonna be physical. We have to be at a battle with that and that's gonna be game-playing throughout the year. How physical are these receivers? We know we're gonna face guys coming up here in a couple weeks with guys like De'Andre Hopkins, who we know he's gonna be physical at the top of the route. So just understanding your personnel, who you're going up against and be able to battle that and just understand what those guys are gonna do in every situation. So you're popping out in one-on-ones against Kyle Phillips. Is that something like you kind of take it personal? Like, hey, I gotta stop this little streak that he's going on? No, I mean, honestly, it's just certain situations. Obviously we know in games, more often than not, state these coverage height ends, but at the end of the day, we want to be able to expand our roles. So if we're in a situation where we can be in, not necessarily talking scheme, but I would rather, I want our defense to be able to be, and rather if it's base defense or our nickel defense, hey, I can go out there and cover the slot. We can get better disguises and things like that. So I just want to go out there and show that I can cover these fast slot guys. I can cover big bodies on the outside. Just trying to do as much as I can to add to my game so I can show the coach that, hey, maybe we can be in different personnel depending on what type of team we're playing. Last year you guys said Dane was your secret weapon. Who's the secret weapon now? I want to know, we got to keep it a secret. But honestly, we have a lot of guys who I feel like is going to be real good ex-factors for us. And I've kind of taught the Christian folks and about that. Obviously we drafted Rodgers who I think is going to be really good corner force. But I'm talking to Christian like, hey, you're going to be an ex-factor for us. A lot of guys have different expectations and have different standards for themselves. But I say, hey, you, a Pro Bowl year for you has to be the standard. You have to be trying to reach that next level. You had a good year last year. You had some little injuries and have some laws or whatever. But a Pro Bowl year has to be good for you. And I think if Christian could take his game to the next level, that'd help our defense out a lot. You have to see four trips to the playoffs. Yet everyone's talking about the coats. Have you got them right where you want them? Man, I don't really pay attention to that. Man, I've been here long enough to understand that we've never been the talk of the town. I mean, that's just what it is. It's not necessarily that I prefer it that way, but I just got to understand that it really doesn't matter. You know, pre-season rankings and all that stuff, really doesn't matter because they can, you can judge everybody at zero to zero, but it's all about when the season get going. Who's going to be the team that obviously try to start fast, but who's finished stronger? So that's really what it's about for us. And for me, just trying to make sure as a team, we're just staying locked in on the now and not worried about, you know, what they're saying about the rankings and man ratings and all that stuff because it really doesn't matter. And with that with Christian, you know, he's getting a lot of work. Some days tough days, some days not. Like, what do you say to him to keep him going and keep him progressing towards that Pro Bowl corner you want to make? No, I mean, I talk to all those guys. At the end of the day, in my opinion, it's the hardest position in football. Obviously quarterback left tackle, but that quarterback position because, you know, people that don't watch football that don't really know football, they don't understand when a guy fits, mitts fit a run and they break down. But they see if a DV misses a tackle, hey, that's his fault. And so at the end of the day, you know, we always have to be, we always have to be on point because we give them a big place. That's what people see. So I think it's just a hard position to play. So I understand that you're going to give up some plays. You know, you're going to face a lot of elite receivers weekend and week out. They're going to make some plays that we get paid to do. But it's all about how you respond to that. You know, if you give up play, don't turn the two or three. So that's just really what I want to see from him or continue to see from him is that she's keep battling back, trying to make sure that, hey, I give up play. Hey, okay, let's flush it onto the next play. And I think he's done a good job with that. What's that you talked about, Gracie, a little bit earlier, Kevin. What do you see as maybe a difference or two from Gracie last year to this, that he's making some of those big plays and kind of grabbing some. You know, I think it's just the confidence. You know, I've talking about it to some of the young guys. When you're going into your second year as a player, rookie year, you come into training camp, you know, you kind of had to, you know, you're carrying pads, you're in the lunchroom thinking about what song I'm going to sing in front of the team. It's just like a different type of pressure from you as a rookie. But coming into your second year, just kind of like a breath of fresh air. You kind of understand what coach is looking for. You can kind of answer questions in the meeting room before the coach even asks you. So just that confidence level is there. And I think he just understands what position he's in. He's trying to come out here and create a role for himself. And I think he's doing a great job. As long as he continues to stack days, he'll have a role for us. He'll have a role for himself on this team. What's the craziest thing anybody asked you to do as a rookie? And do you ask rookies to do anything special for you? What's the craziest thing I've asked as a rookie? Nothing crazy. I mean, I used to have guys ask for like pop-highs on the plane. So I used to hear them and try to go get dressed real fast and run the pop-highs. I was scared of being late on the plane. D'Nora Cersey to have me go get like little jolly ranchers from the gas station or whatever. Nothing too crazy. I honestly don't ask a lot from the rookies, at least outside of the building, other than getting the snacks. Because honestly, I haven't been eating any snacks. So I don't really ask them for a lot. But trust me, I will. Eventually, when I figure out something, might tell them to go get my dry cleaning or something like that. We'll see. How can I help you get away from all the burgers? Yeah. Were you sticking to it? I've been doing really, really good, honestly. Doing really, really good. You know, I have my cheat meals every now and again. I may have like some beef or something, because I haven't really been eating a lot of beef. I may have some beef for lunch or something like that. But I honestly have been doing very good. I have my cutoff time at 7 o'clock at night. And I may just drink some tea to finish the night off. So I've been doing really good. I feel good. But honestly, if we have a little off day coming up, I think me and my lady might go out to dinner. I might get some good appetizers. Yeah. You know what, as we watch a pre-season game tonight, Kevin, very personal on it? Yeah, I'll check. If we got some time, obviously, it's probably going to be in the locker room. It's probably going to be here. I'll be able to check out some of the stuff. I know probably most of the starters are not going to play. But I'll be able to check out, because I kind of just like watching different situations in games, try to stay locked in on stuff like that. So I'll check in on it. Yesterday brought in a second player who had USFL experience earlier this year. I know that the other guys are making those decisions to bring these guys in. But when you see him on the field, particularly Shakur getting on the field, I think he's got a pick already. Can you tell that they were playing football earlier this year, or is there any physical traits that you can notice? I mean, I think that Shakur was a player that we liked coming out of Michigan State. He was a nickel and had an opportunity to add him. And he's got to come in pretty quickly and show the ability to understand what we're doing and special teams and defense. And so he's got an opportunity. I'd say he's done well to take advantage of it and earn more reps, kind of like I do all the time. I think there's some good. There's bad. And we just have to continue to eliminate the stuff that gets you beat. But that's where I'm at each and every day, probably. Did it seem like Malik was processing things quicker? I mean, just from us watching, it seemed like the ball was coming out quicker. Is that accurate? And what would you say? Yeah, I think from my view, from being behind him in some places, and watching, and his composure, I think, is a really good place to start in the two minute. There's a lot of chaos there. And we've really focused on the other situations up until this point. And so this was a good taste of getting that two minute in there. We'll do that quite frequently from here on out, but really put a lot of time into first and second down, third down in the red zone. And so now trying to install and introduce that and all the different situations that come up. Rayce McMath has gotten a lot more reps recently. What did you see from him that has earned him those spots in the first team reps? I mean, he's tried to get open. He's made some big plays for us. I think his understanding of what we're asking him to do has really improved in his comfort level there. And once we can try to get some of these guys to understand where they fit and how we want them to do it, or just ask of them or require it of them, then you start to see a lot of growth. And Rayce has done that on offense and hopefully can continue to do that. Tony, dude, this was talking about Haskins' ability to get up to good rate of speed at the handoff, at the line of scrimmage for a guy that's not a blaze or how attractive a quality is that, that catch your eyes as you were studying. Well, I mean, there's a good run style there. He runs behind his pads. He's got some play strength, versatility. Probably caught the ball or ran routes better in the spring. We still have to see that here a little bit when we ask him to do that. But just having been our third day in pads for some of these backs, that's critical and that work's going to be important in the pre-season work. I think everybody's ability to get to a certain speed, especially at running back, but also be able to make the cuts that are going to be needed. You just really can't predict where the hole's going to be and that's important so that they're not stutter, step in, or sitting there dancing. So we're going to keep working with all those guys. How does the shot we've looked coming back off the injury during the first week or so of game? Good, I thought he probably had his best day, his most active day in that call-it, which would be pretty similar to how he was last year. I think you watched, we'd work on some things in practice and then he'd get to the games and really just show up and be productive and get noticed. And I think that that probably is trending in the same direction. But I would say that he's improved. He's an improved player and he's trying to not only grasp the defense and what's getting better there, but also on special teams because he knows how important that is for those guys that aren't starters at outside linebacker or any position, really, to be proficient in special teams. Is Tori Carter done to go from practice squad guy to your clear-cut fullback in a year's time here? Well, I think we all really like his play demeanor, his physicality. It's straight ahead, no fair dodging. And he brings a presence to our offense and to our run game as well as special teams. So he's a physical player by nature. You got on the offense at one point for not running to somebody who scored a touchdown and celebrating how important it seems. Yeah, they're hard to come by. I think it's hard to score in this league. So just a reminder that we're going to celebrate touchdowns with the teammates. That's the easiest way to avoid taunting is go celebrate with teammates. And if there's teammates around to celebrate with, then that's a good thing. So we're just working some conditioning. And those guys are asking them to finish in the end zone. And then the guy scored on the other side. They were like, I wish I knew he was going to score because I probably would have headed in that direction. But we were just trying to get some conditioning out of the air, which I thought was really good. Getting those guys running to the end zone. You mentioned last week just seeing the line obviously in pads. You see a lot more there. What have you seen with three days in pass? Well, I mean, I see improvement. I see defensive linemen that are playing with the techniques that we're asking them to play with in the run game, transitioning first and second down. And then third down sometimes comes to working together knowing where you're supposed to be. And offensively, I think that there's been some improvements. Some guys are getting better football shape and starting to understand and take the drills to the group period and a group period to the team period. Kyle Phillips has been getting more reps with the ones recently in 11-on-11s, different things like that. Has that always been the plan with him? Or is that a result of him earning those reps through his practice? Yeah, I wouldn't say that that was the plan is to come out here and define a role for yourself and help develop a team and build a team. So there was no plan. We'll see where it goes and see how it looks. There was some things that he did well today and there's some mistakes that he made. What's he been doing well? Well, I mean, he's a player that gets open. I think he's an instinctive player. I think to play inside, all those guys have to have some level of instinctiveness. What leverage, if it's man, what leverage is it, where I need to break? There's a lot of timing that's involved with the quarterback. It's hard to go at someone and be ready to throw to them and not be where they're supposed to be. So the timing and the understanding is critical because the pass rush, it's not all seven-on-seven. So getting open quickly and then when it's zone, being able to be where you're supposed to be in that zone. Last week, he said Aaron Brewer was a $2 tougher than a $2 steak. I bet you've eaten a lot of $2 steaks in your day, Corey. Plant-based protein, now, James got me switched. How do you resist asking him to be a bigger steak? He's 290, he says he's good there. Why are you good with him there? Well, I mean, sometimes a six-ounce filet is just as good as a 12-ounce filet. I mean, sometimes it's more tender and they could cook it right. You probably burn a crap out of a big filet. So we just try to monitor where everybody is each and every day. We try to monitor hydration and whether they can do their job. And effectively, that's the most important thing. Some guys are naturally bigger. So right now, we're just working with what his skill set is and what his body type is. And we monitor strength. We monitor all those different things. And that's where we're at with this particular player. Your team's energy today? Yeah, I mean, I thought they went out and I think it was humid. I think everybody recognizes that. And it's something that we have to be able to push through when there's a lot of work that needs to be done in a short amount of time. But I thought it was a good start. I mean, 27% of the game has played where we practice today. It's played in a red zone. It's played in two minutes. That's over a quarter of our season is going to be played in the red zone or in two minutes. And that's why days like today are so critical.