Donte opening statement:
"Right now it's spring ball, I'm really pleased with where my group is headed. For numerous different reasons, we were pretty thin for quite a few practices. And guys was able to play a lot of reps and they was able to rotate so one thing I was really pleased with what the strength staff did as far as conditioning because those guys was out there getting more reps than probably anyone else on the team and they were never tired, they never complained, they just kept going and going. So I'm pleased from that standpoint, I'm pleased with the amount of plays we're making on the ball. I mean, a lot of them, we're getting interceptions but at the same time we're touching a lot of balls and I think we should be. So we're going to continue to work ball drills to make sure a lot of those 50-50 balls we're coming down with. So I'm pleased where our group is headed as a whole, I'm looking forward to some of the guys I guess coming this summer just to add more depth to what we have and I'm fortunate right now to a lot of these guys that were out for different reasons are starting to come back right now."
Donte, where does Chris need to improve entering junior year?
DW: "Everybody I guess, well, they probably don't know, athletically, Chris is up there. I mean, when it comes to who can clock a 40, bench press, vertical jump, he's as good as it comes in those attributes. So I think more for him is the mental aspect, not just football but the mental aspect with him. Just making sure he plays a lot better with his feet than with his hands, because he is physically strong, physically gifted. And then the same time a lot of these balls, he knows this more than anyone, throws up balls that he's breaking up or a lot of times he's just covering the guy instead of doing that, make the play. Get interceptions. He has a goal right now, I'll let him speak on that or not speak on that but at the same crack, he knows where he wants to go and it's my job to help him achieve that. At the same time, it's his job to make sure he does everything to achieve that. So right now that's where Chris is headed. I think he's second to none not just in this conference but in the nation but we're gonna continue to work toward that goal."
Donte, what have you seen from Jayden Williams this spring?
DW: "He's making plays on the ball. I mean, definitely making plays on the ball and he's worked at his feet. His feet and his eyes are two things that could get him in trouble just because he is extremely aggressive and he plays, just like Chris, he plays with a chip on his shoulder. So at times you gotta get him to get back into the technical aspect of the game, make sure he's playing mentally, not just physically. Because the game is 90% mental, 10% physical and sometimes him and Chris both get caught up when they're playing the game 50-50. So it's my job to make sure the game is calmed down and slowed down for them and they're playing with a level head, playing technically first and physically second."
Chris, is defense's physicality translating to the offense?
CS: "Like Coach Donte mentioned earlier, the game is 90% mental and 10% physical. So I really just try to go out there and give the guys my best shot every time out there. I treat practice like it's a game and our team, I'm fortunate enough to compete against some of the better receivers in the conference and the country every year. My freshman year, I had to guard Michael Pittman, last year I was guarding Amon-Ra every practice and this year it's Bru McCoy or Drake London, Gary Bryant. It's just a handful of guys I have to compete against so I mean just, I feel like when I treat it like a game, the energy just translates so I think that's kind of how it works with our team."
Donte, is offense picking up on defense's intensity in practice?
DW: "You know what, I can't say that, because on a day-to-day basis neither of us are scheming towards the other. We're pretty much just running our defense, they're pretty much just running their offense. It's totally different when we get to the course of the season because that is focused on another team. And that's like, even these guys right now, last year we didn't have a true spring ball, we had one practice, we didn't really even have a true fall camp. So last year was all about making sure we're prepared to play against someone else. Right now, we're doing everything possible from an offensive and defensive point to get our particular players better. And a lot of the focus is on them. So it's good to have Chris back. Yesterday was only his second practice you know so I think you're going to see guys make major jumps the rest of this spring football like they've already been doing on offense and defense."
Donte, doing cross training, seeing offense picking up on mental toughness of defense?
DW: "Well, that was just to make sure the offense guys get a case of how to tackle and the defensive guys get a case of how to hold the ball. Because we're definitely gonna recover some fumbles, we're definitely going to buy some interceptions. So that was making sure they understand ball security and just from an offensive standpoint, some of those guys are going to be on kickoff and some of those guys are going to be on punt so they understand how to tackle. Because our quarterbacks don't throw interceptions in games so they don't got to tackle for that."
Chris, what are your goals for this season?
CS: "So I actually have a few goals set for this season. Obviously I want to be a first-team All-American, unanimous All-American so I want every panel across the board, across the country to recognize me as one of the top corners in the country this year. And it's also my goal to leave after this season as a high draft prospect. So I been working real hard this off-season, working on my mental more than anything to be able to accomplish that goal."
Chris, was there one area from last year's film you felt you needed to improve?
CS: "The main thing I've been working on is being lighter on my feet and my hands. I feel like I had a tendency, I've always had pretty good feet but I've been a little over physical with my hands at times. So that's been my main focus along with just making plays on the ball. I came to the realization that I'm a pretty long corner so if I just try to catch the ball, I think I've always had like a kind of a bad rep of not making plays on the ball, just having a lot of pass breakups. So this year I definitely want to make a lot more plays on the ball, get some interceptions, I'm looking at getting five this year so those are my two goals."
Donte, what have you seen from ITS and where can he take next step?
DW: "He's one of the guys that I feel is taking the next step every day. Every day he's getting a half percent better. He's starting to make plays on the ball. He's got some things that are going to help him especially when it comes to his vision after spring football. But he's just making sure he's paying attention to the details. It's the little things for him. Whether at times he gets a little lazy with the technical aspect or at times he plays too high, at times his feet cross over. So the biggest thing for him is consistency. When it's consistency, like everybody saw when he was in high school, even at the Opening. He has all the attributes that you would want at that position. But it's the consistent basis that kind of throws him off a little bit. Two plays that are really, really great are, you know, that's not good enough. It has to be able to be for a whole game. So that's where we're working at right now with him."
Donte, what's natural and difficult about Josh Jackson transitioning to corner?
DW: "Everybody naturally is able to go forward. So that's just a natural movement, walking, running, everything. So for him everything is flipped to go backwards. But pretty much after the first like five yards you're no longer the DB no more, you're now a receiver when it comes to covering. It's a little different when it comes to tackling. Tackling is a bit different than blocking. But one thing I will say about him that I didn't know if he would come up and hit someone, I didn't know if he would come up and strike somebody. And he's definitely shown that he will do that over these courses of practice, because for spring ball right now, the majority of our practices have been live so he's definitely shown a physicality that I didn't know he had. But at the same time when the ball's in the air everybody knows that he's a receiver and he's gonna definitely make plays on the ball. So that's one thing that I hadn't really focused on with him, everything else, learning the technical aspects of how to be a DB and taking the things that he already knows about offense and flipping them to make sure that his brain's working defensively."
"Right now it's spring ball, I'm really pleased with where my group is headed. For numerous different reasons, we were pretty thin for quite a few practices. And guys was able to play a lot of reps and they was able to rotate so one thing I was really pleased with what the strength staff did as far as conditioning because those guys was out there getting more reps than probably anyone else on the team and they were never tired, they never complained, they just kept going and going. So I'm pleased from that standpoint, I'm pleased with the amount of plays we're making on the ball. I mean, a lot of them, we're getting interceptions but at the same time we're touching a lot of balls and I think we should be. So we're going to continue to work ball drills to make sure a lot of those 50-50 balls we're coming down with. So I'm pleased where our group is headed as a whole, I'm looking forward to some of the guys I guess coming this summer just to add more depth to what we have and I'm fortunate right now to a lot of these guys that were out for different reasons are starting to come back right now."
Donte, where does Chris need to improve entering junior year?
DW: "Everybody I guess, well, they probably don't know, athletically, Chris is up there. I mean, when it comes to who can clock a 40, bench press, vertical jump, he's as good as it comes in those attributes. So I think more for him is the mental aspect, not just football but the mental aspect with him. Just making sure he plays a lot better with his feet than with his hands, because he is physically strong, physically gifted. And then the same time a lot of these balls, he knows this more than anyone, throws up balls that he's breaking up or a lot of times he's just covering the guy instead of doing that, make the play. Get interceptions. He has a goal right now, I'll let him speak on that or not speak on that but at the same crack, he knows where he wants to go and it's my job to help him achieve that. At the same time, it's his job to make sure he does everything to achieve that. So right now that's where Chris is headed. I think he's second to none not just in this conference but in the nation but we're gonna continue to work toward that goal."
Donte, what have you seen from Jayden Williams this spring?
DW: "He's making plays on the ball. I mean, definitely making plays on the ball and he's worked at his feet. His feet and his eyes are two things that could get him in trouble just because he is extremely aggressive and he plays, just like Chris, he plays with a chip on his shoulder. So at times you gotta get him to get back into the technical aspect of the game, make sure he's playing mentally, not just physically. Because the game is 90% mental, 10% physical and sometimes him and Chris both get caught up when they're playing the game 50-50. So it's my job to make sure the game is calmed down and slowed down for them and they're playing with a level head, playing technically first and physically second."
Chris, is defense's physicality translating to the offense?
CS: "Like Coach Donte mentioned earlier, the game is 90% mental and 10% physical. So I really just try to go out there and give the guys my best shot every time out there. I treat practice like it's a game and our team, I'm fortunate enough to compete against some of the better receivers in the conference and the country every year. My freshman year, I had to guard Michael Pittman, last year I was guarding Amon-Ra every practice and this year it's Bru McCoy or Drake London, Gary Bryant. It's just a handful of guys I have to compete against so I mean just, I feel like when I treat it like a game, the energy just translates so I think that's kind of how it works with our team."
Donte, is offense picking up on defense's intensity in practice?
DW: "You know what, I can't say that, because on a day-to-day basis neither of us are scheming towards the other. We're pretty much just running our defense, they're pretty much just running their offense. It's totally different when we get to the course of the season because that is focused on another team. And that's like, even these guys right now, last year we didn't have a true spring ball, we had one practice, we didn't really even have a true fall camp. So last year was all about making sure we're prepared to play against someone else. Right now, we're doing everything possible from an offensive and defensive point to get our particular players better. And a lot of the focus is on them. So it's good to have Chris back. Yesterday was only his second practice you know so I think you're going to see guys make major jumps the rest of this spring football like they've already been doing on offense and defense."
Donte, doing cross training, seeing offense picking up on mental toughness of defense?
DW: "Well, that was just to make sure the offense guys get a case of how to tackle and the defensive guys get a case of how to hold the ball. Because we're definitely gonna recover some fumbles, we're definitely going to buy some interceptions. So that was making sure they understand ball security and just from an offensive standpoint, some of those guys are going to be on kickoff and some of those guys are going to be on punt so they understand how to tackle. Because our quarterbacks don't throw interceptions in games so they don't got to tackle for that."
Chris, what are your goals for this season?
CS: "So I actually have a few goals set for this season. Obviously I want to be a first-team All-American, unanimous All-American so I want every panel across the board, across the country to recognize me as one of the top corners in the country this year. And it's also my goal to leave after this season as a high draft prospect. So I been working real hard this off-season, working on my mental more than anything to be able to accomplish that goal."
Chris, was there one area from last year's film you felt you needed to improve?
CS: "The main thing I've been working on is being lighter on my feet and my hands. I feel like I had a tendency, I've always had pretty good feet but I've been a little over physical with my hands at times. So that's been my main focus along with just making plays on the ball. I came to the realization that I'm a pretty long corner so if I just try to catch the ball, I think I've always had like a kind of a bad rep of not making plays on the ball, just having a lot of pass breakups. So this year I definitely want to make a lot more plays on the ball, get some interceptions, I'm looking at getting five this year so those are my two goals."
Donte, what have you seen from ITS and where can he take next step?
DW: "He's one of the guys that I feel is taking the next step every day. Every day he's getting a half percent better. He's starting to make plays on the ball. He's got some things that are going to help him especially when it comes to his vision after spring football. But he's just making sure he's paying attention to the details. It's the little things for him. Whether at times he gets a little lazy with the technical aspect or at times he plays too high, at times his feet cross over. So the biggest thing for him is consistency. When it's consistency, like everybody saw when he was in high school, even at the Opening. He has all the attributes that you would want at that position. But it's the consistent basis that kind of throws him off a little bit. Two plays that are really, really great are, you know, that's not good enough. It has to be able to be for a whole game. So that's where we're working at right now with him."
Donte, what's natural and difficult about Josh Jackson transitioning to corner?
DW: "Everybody naturally is able to go forward. So that's just a natural movement, walking, running, everything. So for him everything is flipped to go backwards. But pretty much after the first like five yards you're no longer the DB no more, you're now a receiver when it comes to covering. It's a little different when it comes to tackling. Tackling is a bit different than blocking. But one thing I will say about him that I didn't know if he would come up and hit someone, I didn't know if he would come up and strike somebody. And he's definitely shown that he will do that over these courses of practice, because for spring ball right now, the majority of our practices have been live so he's definitely shown a physicality that I didn't know he had. But at the same time when the ball's in the air everybody knows that he's a receiver and he's gonna definitely make plays on the ball. So that's one thing that I hadn't really focused on with him, everything else, learning the technical aspects of how to be a DB and taking the things that he already knows about offense and flipping them to make sure that his brain's working defensively."
