Speaker 1: We've had.
Speaker 2: I think I think that's number six. That's six, Yeah,
Speaker 2: I think that's number six.
Speaker 1: Six.
Speaker 2: Good practices. They're working really hard, got a long ways
Speaker 2: to go. We've stayed relatively injury free in terms of
Speaker 2: the big stuff. We'll see how Trent is. But other
Speaker 2: than that, you know, guys have just pushed through any pain.
Speaker 2: And like I said to me, a sign of an
Speaker 2: increase in talent is guys staying on their feet. When
Speaker 2: guys stay on their feet in football, they don't typically
Speaker 2: get hurt. So we're doing a good job of that
Speaker 2: and just really competitive practices. We end every day with
Speaker 2: a you know, got a habit period like we had
Speaker 2: the day two minutes today and it's just hyper competitive
Speaker 2: after you know, two and a half to actually two
Speaker 2: forty five almost three hours.
Speaker 1: It's great to see. So, I mean, he's good right now.
Speaker 3: There's a lot of talk about your skill players and
Speaker 3: those guys, but the defense won that last time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, to end today, it's it's like every day, it's
Speaker 2: kind of back and forth. Yeah, it's and that you
Speaker 2: want to see that, you know, I mean, you don't
Speaker 2: want to see it if it's bad football, but when
Speaker 2: it's good football. You want to see that, you know,
Speaker 2: just hyper competitive, and we have we have two periods
Speaker 2: during the day where the losers run and you know,
Speaker 2: we've had six practices, so twelve of those periods and
Speaker 2: it's probably you know, five to seven and I don't.
Speaker 1: Know who's seven to five. I'm not even sure who's winning.
Speaker 2: So those are great periods for us just to compete
Speaker 2: and go after each other other.
Speaker 1: Guys you brought in defensively are all older in some experience.
Speaker 1: How much does that help sort of accelerate the process.
Speaker 2: It helps because they played football at this level. They
Speaker 2: understand what it takes. They have some background in terms
Speaker 2: of techniques that you know, we're coaching.
Speaker 1: We're teaching. It's a new scheme and they're playing next to.
Speaker 2: New players, so they've got to obviously, you know, adjust
Speaker 2: each other. But I haven't I haven't seen it be
Speaker 2: a problem that we have so many new guys. I've
Speaker 2: seen it be really a positive. But we've still got
Speaker 2: to we still got a jet, you know, the stuff
Speaker 2: to learn how to trust each other and count on
Speaker 2: each other, and they're doing that every day in practice.
Speaker 3: How do you see it being a positive?
Speaker 2: What's that the older guys, more maturity, more football experience,
Speaker 2: more football knowledge. You know, guys that have been in
Speaker 2: the fire, that understand how to prepare themselves to get ready.
Speaker 1: For a game.
Speaker 2: You know what it takes to play a game at
Speaker 2: this level against really good competition and win. And so
Speaker 2: to me, those are all positives. The challenge, obviously is
Speaker 2: putting together you know, kind of.
Speaker 1: A new group each year.
Speaker 2: But that's where we are right now, and I think
Speaker 2: we've picked the right types of men to come in
Speaker 2: here and help us. You know, the guys that we've
Speaker 2: brought in so far, what I've seen is that they
Speaker 2: are team oriented. They they are have high standards for themselves,
Speaker 2: they have leadership qualities, and so everything so far is good.
Speaker 2: You know, when we hit a little adversity, that will
Speaker 2: show us a lot. But what we're trying to do
Speaker 2: every day is creative versity on the field and create
Speaker 2: pressure situations so that if there's something bubbling under the surface,
Speaker 2: if somebody needs to get straightened out, you know, we
Speaker 2: can get it fixed before the season starts. Jim alex
Speaker 2: Sonick's a guy we're gonna get a chance to talk
Speaker 2: to football journey of different positions different schools, different countries.
Speaker 1: What do you what do you make of everything he's
Speaker 1: done for himself in the sport and what have you
Speaker 1: come to appreciate.
Speaker 2: About I mean, he's just he's a really good man,
Speaker 2: you know, first and foremost, he's a dependable, conscientious Uh,
Speaker 2: He's he's empathetic, he's tough, he's demanding, he's straightforward, he
Speaker 2: tells the truth. You know, he's everything you want in
Speaker 2: terms of character as a football player. I mean he's big,
Speaker 2: he's physical, he's athletic. You know, he can he can
Speaker 2: block at the line of scrimmage. He can catch down
Speaker 2: the field. You had three touchdown catches last year. It's
Speaker 2: just a matter of, you know, finding the best way
Speaker 2: to utilize him. But you know, he's Feldman's super freaks
Speaker 2: or whatever. And I read the thing that he said
Speaker 2: and it kind of is him to a t. You know,
Speaker 2: he was an intern in the weight in the weight
Speaker 2: room in the off season. He's the ultimate team player,
Speaker 2: you know, and we're really fortunate that he's here. And
Speaker 2: you know, there are people that came after him in
Speaker 2: the off season, and there's people that you know, read it,
Speaker 2: offer him a lot of money and the fact that
Speaker 2: he stayed here and stayed with us, I think it
Speaker 2: just speaks volumes about him and what he's all about
Speaker 2: as a person and as a player.
Speaker 1: So we depend on him, you know, on and off
Speaker 1: the field. I mean, you have to for up a
Speaker 1: little bit more money.
Speaker 2: So you know, we have our budget and we stay
Speaker 2: within it, but you know, we yeah, I mean, you
Speaker 2: know it's a money game now, it really is. And
Speaker 2: I think I told you guys just the first day
Speaker 2: is during that second portal period in the after spring ball,
Speaker 2: we had really good players that left three point three
Speaker 2: or three and a half million dollars in offers, whether
Speaker 2: they were tampering offers or guys were in the portal
Speaker 2: offers mostly tampering offers on the table to come back here.
Speaker 2: And Alex is one of them. And you know, to me,
Speaker 2: that says a whole lot about those guys. You know,
Speaker 2: you look at Sky, he's over there, he's out here.
Speaker 2: You know, we got he's been out here for almost
Speaker 2: four hours and he's still catching the ball, so you know,
Speaker 2: and he was another guy that decided.
Speaker 1: To stay here.
Speaker 2: So you just want to populate your team with guys
Speaker 2: like Alex, Honik and Skylar Bell.
Speaker 1: And those kinds of guys. Something something interesting in that article.
Speaker 1: They're talking that some scouts think that Alex could be
Speaker 1: offensive line but the next level and he's big, he's
Speaker 1: six seven two seven to do whatever that may be.
Speaker 2: That in the cards at all, not for us. He's
Speaker 2: a tight end for us. What happens at the next
Speaker 2: level is, you know, up to them and up to Alex.
Speaker 1: I mean, I.
Speaker 2: I'm sure that athletically they like that and length and
Speaker 2: all those things, but I you know, I don't know
Speaker 2: that he can't be a tight end. I mean, tight
Speaker 2: ends become a premium position in the NFL. And when
Speaker 2: you can get a guy that's six foot seven two
Speaker 2: and thirty pounds can run like he can can jump
Speaker 2: the way he can is athletic and smart and tough
Speaker 2: and team oriented. You know, I'm sure that the stardom
Speaker 2: it is a tight end, and maybe he grows into
Speaker 2: being alignment. But you know, offensive lineman in the in
Speaker 2: the NFL, like they're three hundred and thirty pounds, so
Speaker 2: he'd have to put on sixty pounds.
Speaker 1: That's a lot of pounds.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So I think he's a tight end, but I'm
Speaker 2: not in the NFL anymore.
Speaker 1: You mentioned bringing a lot of older guys. Does it
Speaker 1: help from a leadership standpoint? I don't know that, You're
Speaker 1: that's a good question. You know, player driven is usually
Speaker 1: the best.
Speaker 2: You're absolutely right, it's the best. It's by far the best.
Speaker 2: And I don't know yet. That's a great question. And
Speaker 2: that's one of the things we're trying to find out
Speaker 2: out here, you know, And in the meetings.
Speaker 1: It's like who who steps forward? Who steps up?
Speaker 2: And is it legitimate or is it just you know,
Speaker 2: hot air, And we're identifying those guys. And you know,
Speaker 2: everyone on the team has a chance to be a leader,
Speaker 2: you know. I mean, you can have one hundred and whatever,
Speaker 2: we end up with one hundred and fifteen guys on
Speaker 2: this roster, and every single one of those guys can
Speaker 2: be a leader in their own way, and that's really
Speaker 2: what you want. But yeah, you need some guys that
Speaker 2: are you know, that that everybody listens to. And I
Speaker 2: think we've got some of those guys that are that
Speaker 2: we're here. I think, you know, Demon Brentson, everyone listens
Speaker 2: Tomon Brinson, Donovan Branch doesn't say a lot, but everyone
Speaker 2: listens to Donovan branch. Everyone listens to Camra, which everyone
Speaker 2: listens to Joe. You know, everyone's listens to Alex. But yeah,
Speaker 2: some of those guys that we just got here, they're
Speaker 2: still finding their way. But we need some guys that
Speaker 2: we can depend on, you know, that do it right
Speaker 2: all the time. Because that's what leaders do. They do
Speaker 2: it right all the time. They embrace your Culture's gonna ask.
Speaker 1: You about the part it seems like to me, the
Speaker 1: sort of setting the tone competitively that he always does. Man,
Speaker 1: he's something.
Speaker 2: No, he just brings juice, you know, that's who he's become.
Speaker 2: It's like, and he's just got great energy. He loves
Speaker 2: to play football and he lets it out on the field.
Speaker 2: You know, he doesn't hold back, and and it's always
Speaker 2: good natured.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: I mean he'll rub the other guy, he'll rib the
Speaker 2: other the other guys, you know, the offensive guys.
Speaker 1: But he does it with a smile on his face.
Speaker 1: You know, he's just trying to promote competition and create energy.
Speaker 1: And I love that about the kid. Man.
Speaker 2: I mean, he's come so far since the first day
Speaker 2: he walked on this campus.
Speaker 1: He's awesome. Have you seen growth and mil Brown maturity?
Speaker 2: He actually talks every once in a while, he smiles
Speaker 2: a little bit. But what I've seen is a guy
Speaker 2: that really understands this offense now, and it's a great
Speaker 2: offense for him. You know, the wide zone stuff that
Speaker 2: we do, the outside zone stuff is really meant for him.
Speaker 2: He's really good at setting up the defense and slipping
Speaker 2: a hole. And then I've seen you know, he I
Speaker 2: don't know if you guys remember last year, guys are
Speaker 2: running backs snytime they break when they'd run all the
Speaker 2: way to the ends, and you saw Cam do it today.
Speaker 2: You know, Mel kind of started that last year and
Speaker 2: it just kind of caught on and he did it
Speaker 2: yesterday and now the backs are starting to do that.
Speaker 2: So he kind of talked about a guy who's a
Speaker 2: leader without really saying a lot.
Speaker 1: That's that's kind of what Mel is like. We look
Speaker 1: at him. He's tough. Guys looked at him. You know,
Speaker 1: he does it right.
Speaker 3: The five point seven yards per Carrie last year, not
Speaker 3: a not a fluke. I mean, he just has that
Speaker 3: alusiveness about him.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's got something about him.
Speaker 2: And there was a couple of scouts out here the
Speaker 2: other day and I asked who you're looking at And
Speaker 2: both of them said, mel Brown, you know, And that's
Speaker 2: good to hear. It means that you know that he's
Speaker 2: opened some eyes. But I don't think it's a fluke.
Speaker 2: I think it's he's the real deal. And I think,
Speaker 2: you know, in stature, he might be short, but he's
Speaker 2: not small. He's you know, he's stout, and he just
Speaker 2: knows how to find. He knows how to set the
Speaker 2: defense up, find the whole. He's got great cutback ability,
Speaker 2: great e loosiveness in the open field, and he catches
Speaker 2: the ball well. And the thing that did you ask
Speaker 2: me how he's grown or did you ask me how
Speaker 2: he knows grown?
Speaker 1: Pass protection? That's how he's grown too. Pass protection. He
Speaker 1: sticks his nose.
Speaker 2: In there and he's become stout and pass protection. That's
Speaker 2: an overlooked value for running back.
Speaker 3: Kim Edwards had a couple of catches today. Is that
Speaker 3: an area of his game that can grow for.
Speaker 2: You guys, Well, he's surprisingly been.
Speaker 1: He's got probably one of the best sets of hands
Speaker 1: on it to I believe that now.
Speaker 2: I mean, he really catches the ball well consistently, Like
Speaker 2: when he drops one, it's like whoa cam dropped one,
Speaker 2: you know, and yeah, I mean you'll catch in the
Speaker 2: check down and him in the open field and guy's
Speaker 2: trying to make a one on one tackle on him
Speaker 2: that's hard, or.
Speaker 1: Throwing a screen to him, you know, melling him. Are
Speaker 1: both really good screen runners.
Speaker 2: So you know, anytime a back can be a good
Speaker 2: runner obviously can catch the ballut of the backfield or
Speaker 2: run routes when they're not aligned in the backfield and protect.
Speaker 2: I mean, you got you got the real deal, and
Speaker 2: I think we've got some really good backs.
Speaker 3: He didn't lose faith in faith in Chris Freeman last year,
Speaker 3: and he kind of paid you back in the end.
Speaker 3: Have you seen continued growth? I mean, do you expect
Speaker 3: bigger things out of him this year?
Speaker 2: I think he's special, I do. I think he's got
Speaker 2: something about him.
Speaker 1: His demeanor. Number one.
Speaker 2: For a kicker, you've got to be steady and consistent
Speaker 2: in the way that you approach your craft. You know,
Speaker 2: it's a lot like golf. You know, every shots his
Speaker 2: own shot. He's a pretty good darn good golfer. But
Speaker 2: I think he's the real deal. I think he's got
Speaker 2: leg strength. I think he's got consistency. I think that
Speaker 2: he's got accuracy. I think he's very mature, you know,
Speaker 2: I think he's kind of got.
Speaker 1: It figured out. So yeah, I have a lot of
Speaker 1: faith in him.
Speaker 2: Think he's going to be a really good football player.
Speaker 2: I think he's got a chance to play at the
Speaker 2: next level for sure. You know, he's got to keep
Speaker 2: working on his consistency.
Speaker 3: See addition to Alex, your tight end room looks like
Speaker 3: it has some talent.
Speaker 1: I mean his size and talent.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there's some big guys. You're pretty pleased with what
Speaker 3: you have in there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think we're pleased. I you know, I'm a
Speaker 2: big fan of tight ends. I think is a defensive coordinator.
Speaker 2: You know, in my day, trying to defend the Tony
Speaker 2: Gonzalezes and you know, those types of guys, it was hard,
Speaker 2: you know, And I think they're a great mismatch.
Speaker 1: I mean, who do you put on Alex. He's six
Speaker 1: seven to two seven, and he.
Speaker 2: Runs fast, like if you put a little dB on
Speaker 2: him and then he's just gonna muscle him. If you
Speaker 2: put a linebacker on him, he's got a chance to
Speaker 2: outrun him. You know, he's got those special traits. And
Speaker 2: I think tight ends are the guys that you can
Speaker 2: find mismatches with, and that's what we try to do
Speaker 2: with our guys. And we've got kind of all different
Speaker 2: types of bodies and different speeds and talent basis. So
Speaker 2: we like that room a lot. We've got nine guys
Speaker 2: on the roster playing tight end.
Speaker 1: That's a lot, you know.
Speaker 2: So Billy Bivarro, you're a Giants fan, Oh oh, yeah, he.
Speaker 1: Was the best man. He was great in til Ronnie
Speaker 1: Lott lit his ass up.