Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 >> Yeah, all of a sudden by like week two of it, we already started late and
00:03 the COVID things, guys were going down like flies.
00:06 And by day three, I'm making my first start in college.
00:08 Honestly, mentally, I knew the plays, I felt like I could physically match up, but
00:13 I was nervous.
00:15 And then being able to play that entire year, it meant something, but
00:19 at the end of the day, it was COVID.
00:21 Everybody was shaking up a little bit.
00:22 So I don't think it really snapped for me until that last game of the year at UCLA,
00:27 double overtime, and I got the opportunity to make a game-saving play.
00:31 And that's when it kind of clicked, it's just like, just slow down.
00:34 Just like you can slow everything down.
00:36 I felt like I was trying to late in that year and just learn from mistakes,
00:40 learn from other people's mistakes.
00:42 That became one of the biggest things for me, it's just learning from everything
00:45 that I can and trying to soak up any opportunity to learn.
00:49 I feel like I can bring that experience to guys around here.
00:51 And what I'm trying to do, I kind of told Bram day one,
00:53 we had the first conversation, I told him about a video game.
00:55 I said, I wanna bring a level of leadership to this team,
00:58 a level of experience that nobody here has.
01:00 I feel like guys similar to Jack Plummer,
01:02 he can bring the same exact thing to the offensive side.
01:05 I've been to a different place, I've been on a different side of the country,
01:08 I've been at a different conference.
01:09 I've played a lot of guys, but going on to the next level, I'm not there yet.
01:13 I'd like to learn and grow from these guys.
01:16 I'd like to pass on my experience and hopefully become the best team in ACC.
01:19 >> You mentioned leadership, is that, you come from another school with so
01:23 much experience, is it an easy role to jump into?
01:25 Are guys able to turn their ear to you pretty easily?
01:28 >> I think maybe so if you came to the same culture.
01:31 Stanford is not Louisville, Louisville is not Stanford, they're not close.
01:36 But what I've realized is nothing's wrong with that.
01:38 I'm starting to love it here, love these guys,
01:40 love the bond we've created over the time.
01:43 And sometimes it just takes a little time, it took a little bit of springboard for
01:47 guys to actually want to listen.
01:50 Of course, you can't come in day one and start calling shots after the outfield,
01:53 nobody knows who you are.
01:55 You've gotta come in, you've gotta prove it to these guys if you're willing to get
01:58 down and dirty, get pretty with them in the trenches.
02:01 You've gotta be able to walk the walk.
02:05 If you can't do that, then how many guys are gonna listen to you?
02:07 So I had to come in, kinda keep my head down and just focus during spring ball and
02:11 summer workouts and let guys know that I'm willing to put the same work you are in
02:15 every single day, and I'm trying to hold myself to the same level of accountability
02:19 that I am for you, so let's all win together.
02:22 >> Jeff and a lot of guys on the staff are obviously from here,
02:24 talk a lot about the local vibe of being here.
02:27 Is that something that drew you back, and
02:28 do you feel that now as you get ready for this season?
02:31 >> I mean, growing up as a kid, going to Louisville football games,
02:34 being able to experience that, always something in the back of my head, but
02:37 always be great.
02:38 Come back and be able to have all of my fans that were fans of me in high school,
02:43 people that watched me throughout that entire time, my family.
02:46 My family means everything to me, so being able to see them on a weekly basis and
02:49 have them come out and support me, grandparents, aunts, uncles,
02:52 not a niece, being able to see stuff like that from week to week is huge for me.
02:57 So really, this fan base, I know those supports.
03:00 We just gotta win, we've gotta make this a home for them to wanna support.
03:05 We wanna come back each week and fight for us and support us.
03:09 >> In different kind of familiarity, you've competed against Jack.
03:12 When you studied him, what stood out to you, and do you see that now?
03:18 >> His knowledge of the game, Jack's experience.
03:21 He knows exactly what he's doing on the field, and I'm excited to see him back
03:25 into a scheme that he knows, he understands.
03:28 Not that I saw anything that was wrong last year, but
03:30 seeing him, he looks so comfortable in this scheme.
03:32 He looks comfortable, he knows exactly what he's doing.
03:35 Him and Brum have already gone through that kind of building process of making
03:40 some mistakes and getting yelled at and going back and forth.
03:43 There's not many mistakes Jack makes, and I imagine the ones that he does make,
03:47 he probably made them, hopefully he can make a better play.
03:50 So I'm excited to see him work.
03:52 >> You mentioned Brady's role,
03:54 how do you describe what his role is with this program?
03:57 >> [INAUDIBLE] Brady's a fundamental catch all.
04:04 He handles a little bit of everything.
04:05 I've seen him in training rooms, talking to guys, I've seen him out on the field,
04:09 wrapping guys up as they come on to practice.
04:12 I know he's in coaches meetings every single week.
04:14 He's doing a lot of things around here, he's helping recruit guys.
04:17 Honestly, Brady is probably one of the most memorable factors that I had in that
04:20 first go around in recruiting at Purdue.
04:23 It's just like Brady was the first face I saw, Brady was the last face I saw.
04:27 Every single time I came to Purdue, I spent time with the Brums.
04:31 And being able to see him again, honestly,
04:33 is one of the funniest things I've done in that moment.
04:35 >> If you had to describe the defensive system you guys are putting out this year,
04:41 what traits kind of jump out to you, what you think you guys can do?
04:44 >> Stop the run.
04:46 Stop the run.
04:46 Coach English is not playing any games without stopping the run.
04:49 I felt like that's something that at Stanford we struggled with.
04:52 We didn't have a good run stopping defense.
04:53 And last year in the Pac-12, I think we had either the 11th or
04:57 12th worst run stopping defense, but we had the best pass stopping defense.
05:02 Little do people know, you don't stop the run, you don't get the third down.
05:06 So it doesn't really matter what you do on pass if you can't stop the run.
05:10 So that's one thing we're gonna do early and often.
05:13 That's what we put an emphasis on throughout spring ball,
05:15 throughout summer ball, and the campus.
05:17 That we're gonna stop the run first and foremost, and
05:18 then we can have a little fun, then we can send some blitzes.
05:21 Then we can have some fun with getting our back end some figs,
05:23 getting the front end some sacks, and being able to experience those things.
05:26 >> Did you already start to see that potential of stopping the run in
05:29 spring ball?
05:30 >> Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
05:31 A lot of guys are coming off loss, a lot of guys seem comfortable up there.
05:35 I think it was a learning process, some differences in the scheme from what they
05:38 learned from last year to this year.
05:40 There was just some differences, going from a three man front to a four man front,
05:43 you kinda see that coming.
05:46 Seeing the guys being able to adapt and kinda like I talked about up there is just
05:49 the fundamental growth that you see guys have at an early point.
05:54 And kinda just that light bulb tickle.
05:57 You see guys start to finally understand,
05:59 what the coach is saying in these meetings is actually making sense.
06:02 What he said, what he told me to do two weeks ago,
06:05 that now I'm finally starting to do is really coming into play.
06:09 And I'm making a lot more plays.
06:10 And you see guys just doing what they're supposed to do all the time,
06:12 like clockwork, and that's been amazing.
06:14 >> What's it like being here kind of on ground zero for Coach Brown's team?
06:19 You're giving that, being from here, do you see the coaches coming and go, but
06:23 this is a job that he's obviously invested in?
06:28 >> I think what Coach Brown is trying to come do is exactly not start on ground zero.
06:33 He's trying to come in, he's trying to elevate us as quickly as possible.
06:37 He comes in, we all know it.
06:39 I think we all have a lot of knowledge that this community is looking for
06:43 us to win games and win games quickly.
06:45 And Brown expects the same thing out of himself and out of us,
06:48 is that we gotta come out here, we have to win together.
06:51 It's gotta be a weekend and week out.
06:52 We gotta focus on one game at a time.
06:54 We have to come in here and build this program back to what it should be.
06:58 There's tons of athletes on this team, more athletes than I've seen on a lot of
07:00 teams, honestly.
07:01 It's just about making sure that we can come in, put our minds together,
07:05 all our bodies together, make plays, everybody doing their one on one.
07:08 >> Do you feel like the rest of the ACC views Louisville and
07:14 the grand scheme of competing for the conference,
07:16 some people label it a dark horse, is that something you feel like?
07:20 >> I think somewhat, maybe that's the term they're giving it.
07:24 I think a lot of players, unless they're really looking at roster and
07:27 stuff like that, changes.
07:29 I don't think that they're necessarily as worried as they should be.
07:32 I think coaches know.
07:33 I think a lot of coaches know what Brom brings to this program,
07:36 what this coaching staff brings to this program.
07:37 And these coaches are slouches.
07:38 They didn't pick up a guy off the street or
07:40 a guy in his first year to come and coach this team.
07:43 They picked up some real veterans as coaches.
07:45 And honestly, went into the portal twice, multiple times, every time they could.
07:48 And they found players to make this team the best that we can be.
07:51 And I'm excited what we can do.
07:53 I'm looking to do everything we can to be the best team in the ACC.
07:57 >> Brom said that one of his goals this year is to win the ACC championship, but
08:00 also another goal is to win against Kentucky.
08:03 Being a local kid, what does the rivalry mean to you?
08:05 >> Honestly, my mom, so I grew up in a split household.
08:10 My mom went to Kentucky, my dad went to Louisville.
08:13 Being able to say I grew up a Kentucky fan for a long time and
08:16 being able to see that was honestly huge.
08:18 Seeing all those rivalries every single year.
08:20 And I remember when I came back, I hadn't really experienced this rivalry in house.
08:26 So I remember when I first came back, guys, it was from day one.
08:29 It was like, no, don't even wear blue in the locker room.
08:33 I was like, I don't think it's that big deal.
08:35 We got eight months till we get there, guys.
08:38 Don't even worry about it.
08:39 But it's honestly a hatred toward anything blue in this locker room.
08:43 And honestly, I'm starting to fall in love with it.
08:45 >> [LAUGH]