Noah Igbinoghene – September 3, 2020
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Thursday, September 3, 2020
CB Noah Igbinoghene
(How do you feel you’ve improved the most since you slipped on a Dolphins uniform?) – “Just my overall technique and just learning the game. The game is kind of slowing down to me. I feel like it’s been hard for a lot of rookies in this class because we didn’t have a preseason or minicamp or anything like that; so I really had to progress just in the meeting room, honestly. Practice has been limited, so I feel like just mentally, I’ve really grown. Physically as well, just as far as my technique and stuff like that – just little details of the game and just mentally overall.”
(Auburn Defensive Backs Coach Wesley McGriff told me he couldn’t use you a ton in the slot because they obviously needed you outside. Have you worked there much this week and how comfortable are you there in nickel packages?) – “I’m comfortable with doing whatever the coach asks me to do. I’ll do whatever they ask me to do whether that’s corner, nickel, safety. It doesn’t really matter. I’ll play anything on the field they need me to play, so that’s kind of the mentality I have towards that.”
(We know that you played cornerback your final two years of college after converting from wide receiver. I’m just curious how you feel that transition is going at this point in your career and is there anything you’ve had to kind of work on extra to kind of get you more familiar with the cornerback position?) – “Like I said before, it’s really just the mental part of it. Coming from a wide receiver, it’s a whole transition. I really had to switch my mind on things defensively, I would say, and so I really had to learn the game I feel like a whole different way. I feel like I’m more natural learning it that way, I would say, because if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here, honestly. So just that part of the game, I feel like that’s why.”
(I wanted to ask you about what’s it been like having CB Xavien Howard back in the room after he came off the COVID and PUP lists; and he was in Zoom meetings and such before, but what’s it been like actually having him on the field next to you and in the building?) – “It’s a huge – he’s somebody I looked up to before coming to the league and it’s crazy that I’m playing beside guys like Byron (Jones) and him. It’s crazy just to see him work on the field, him being right next to me; it’s a dream come true. I’m just happy to see him on the field and healthy and everything. I’m just ready to see how he does in the season.”
(Obviously “Igbinoghene” is a long name. I wanted to know if you’ve got any teammates giving you nicknames – “Iggy” or anything like that of that sort?) – “They haven’t started it yet, but I think it’s coming. I think it’s coming soon.”
(I know your background is as a receiver and you haven’t been playing cornerback that much, but what is the toughest challenge of playing inside in that nickel role?) – “Honestly I would say the receiver can go many different ways. Playing corner or playing outside, you have the sideline as your help and so you can really use that to an advantage. Inside, you don’t really have the sideline so you can really go anywhere you want depending on the coverage you’re in. So that’s why I feel like slot is harder just mentally. Physically, I think corner is harder; but mentally, inside you have to know a lot of things.”
(Cornerbacks have to have the ultimate confidence in themselves, kind of like a baseball closer. Even if they give up a homer, they have to come back on the next play or the next day. I’m wondering early in the season, you’re going to matching up against guys like Patriots WR Julian Edelman and Bills WR Stefon Diggs – guys you probably watched on TV. What kind of approach do you take to that? How do you feel about doing that real soon?) – “Honestly, I approach the game like I’m going to dominate every single game. That’s just the mentality I have. Like you said before, playing corner in this league and any league, you’re going to get beat. I don’t care who you are, you’re going to get beat. Even the greatest get beat, and so it’s all about the next play. That’s all our coaches preach to us and so I feel like you wouldn’t be able to be on this level if you didn’t have that mentality because stuff is going to happen, just like life as well. I approach it like that. I approach any game like I’m going to dominate who I’m going against. I’ll never change that.”
(I wanted to ask you about special teams – what you’re expecting and what your comfort level is as a potential return man in the NFL?) – “I’m comfortable doing anything my coaches ask me. I did return in college at Auburn and so it’s something I’ve been doing. I’ve been doing kick return for a very long time, so it’s something I’m very comfortable with. Whether that’s punt – whatever special teams they want me to play, I’m willing to play. I’m just ready to get out there.”
(I wanted to ask you about your position coach in Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander. We’ve had a chance to talk to him a few times and he seems very direct but also intense and very to-the-point that way. I’m just curious what your experience has been like with him so far and what you’ve taken away from him both on the field and the classroom.) – “He’s taught me, and my cornerbacks coach Charles Burks, has taught me a lot about this game. There’s a lot of things I didn’t know coming in that I thought I knew. There’s really a lot of things about this game that I didn’t know and they both sat down and had many conversations with me in the summer. Those one-on-one meetings I feel like really got me right mentally to just come in and be a step ahead, I would say, so I appreciate them from the bottom of my heart. They’ve taught me a lot besides football as well – just in life and stuff like that – so I can’t wait for what the future holds for all of us.”
(Obviously you were playing a lot of outside corner with CB Xavien Howard gone. I guess where is your comfort level at playing slot corner?) – “I’m comfortable playing anywhere. I’m a baller at heart, so I feel like I can play anything on the field. Whether that’s offense, defense, special teams; I feel like I can do anything, so I’m comfortable doing anything.”
(I’ve been curious for months. When you left that meeting on March 5 on campus – you and the other Auburn defenders with Head Coach Brian Flores and Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer – what did you emerge thinking? Had you thought that it would be fun to play for them? Boy, it would be demanding? What thoughts went through your mind that day?) – “After that, I really did want to play for Miami. That was one of the teams I really wanted to play for. Just everything we’re trying to do here. Coach Brian Flores, just his mentality as far as the team, I really feel like we relate just mentality-wise – and so just like you said, I really enjoyed that meeting when they came up there to Auburn for Pro Day and stuff. It’s crazy how stuff works out.”
(Now you’ve gone up against many of these guys during practices from training camp. Who would you say is the hardest receiver to defend for you so far?) – “I can’t pinpoint one. They all do a lot of things individually that’s different, I would say. I could say one person and another person does something else. They all really have one thing about their game that really separates all of them, so it’s been a challenge at times guarding all of them. And so I’m getting used to it, like I said before. I‘m getting better every single day.”
(What do they bring to the table? You said they all have one attribute. What’s that attribute that stands out to you about this receiving unit?) – “Speed, physicality, size. We’ve got craftiness. We have every single person to match what you want in an offense, so I really feel like we’re going to be a very special offense this year. Like I said before, we have every receiver for any category you want, and so I can’t wait to see what they do this year.”
