Austin Jackson – May 20, 2021
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Thursday, May 20, 2021
T Austin Jackson
(As Year 2 kind of gets underway here for you this offseason – I’m sure you’ve been training for awhile now – but looking back at this time a year ago, how would you compare where you are now compared to then, from both the physical and mental standpoint?) – “Well, things are a lot different when you’re not in a pandemic, first and foremost obviously. Being able to just have way more access to resources this year as opposed to last year certainly helps a lot. Getting my feet set for my second year, having more knowledge, knowing a little bit more of what to expect is pretty good. I would say that’s probably the biggest difference from this time last year to this time this year.”
(On kind of the same topic, we had T Liam Eichenberg in for media and he talked about working out with you once upon a time, and witnessing and admiring the Dolphins culture from both you and TE Durham Smythe, who he knew from Notre Dame obviously. I just wanted to get your perspective on that workout and what you’ve seen in Liam’s game.) – “I’ve watched – we did work out recently before all of this kind of unfolded. He’s a great player, honestly. He always has been. When you turn on his Notre Dame tape – I came from USC so I always respected what the o-line was doing over there and what he was doing, especially after guys like Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson left. He stepped in and did a great job. We’re excited to have him with us. I think he definitely fits the culture of what we’re trying to build and I think he adds a good piece for us.”
(The last few months, were you here? Were you in California? Were there instructions from the coaching staff on things to work on this offseason? Were you asked to put on some weight this offseason and did you?) – “Nope. I wasn’t asked to put on weight. Obviously every year – well, that’s not obvious but every year, you want to kind of try to take off bad weight and add more good weight because muscle is heavier. Just working out and making sure my technique is consistent. It’s hard to pick one thing to work on because you’re pretty much working on everything. But I can say that knee bend and getting lower is something I’ve been working on – my flexibility. Strength and conditioning, torque power, turn power and all of that stuff, that’s something we as offensive linemen work on every day.”
(Have you seen strides in those areas?) – “Yeah, most definitely. Most definitely. Especially being able to have a year under my belt. I know what to expect, how it’s going to look in person. You can take that knowledge and put it into your training, which helps a lot.”
(You got a new offensive line coach, Lemuel Jeanpierre. Tell us about how he approaches teaching and how you guys connect.) – “He approaches teaching very well. We had him on staff last year so it’s not like he’s a brand new guy or we’ve never heard him coach before, stuff like that. He’s a great teacher and a great coach. We’re excited to have him. He does a great job with all of us, in general, making sure we’re on the same page. As offensive linemen, the front five have got to work as one. A big part of that is all of us being able to communicate and being on the same page. I think he does a great job with that.”
(It seems like you’re going to get a new partner to work with at the left guard spot. Obviously there’s a lot of mixing and matching going on right now. You talk about chemistry and how important it is. How do you establish that when you’ve got so many guys mixing in there?) – “I think the best thing for me is to make sure that I know both positions and make sure that I’m able to communicate and – I don’t want to say help whoever steps in – so that I can be of assistance if I need to be, so that I can even know what they’re doing. It just makes my game that much better and makes it easier for the left guard as well.”
(To piggyback on something you said earlier about the pandemic. It’s better now, you’ve got more resources, more access, more wisdom. What do you hope as a unit – we can’t call you guys rookies anymore – that you guys learn and took from what you did last season, and it helped you become a better line?) – “Like what could we take from last year to make this a better line? I’d say one thing we can take from last year is just going through adversity. I think when you go through a lot of adversity and come out the other end of it, you kind of learn how to just be consistent in yourself and what you can control. So the things that you can control as a football player is what you do on the field, how you take care of your body, showing up every single day. I think we got a real good glimpse of that last year, which will help carry us over into the future and being able to lock those things down. If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. We’re just going to keep it moving with that.”
(There’s been an adage around the NFL for many years that players make their biggest improvement between their first and second season. Does that ring true to you?) – “Yeah, that’s what everyone has been saying. I’ve heard that a lot as well. That’s how I’ve been working, too.”
(So how exciting is that from a personal standpoint? That idea.) – “From a personal standpoint, it’s really exciting. As a competitor and as a teammate, I definitely want to go out there and do everything perfect for myself and for my team. Having that kind of expectation, but also having the knowledge of what needs to be done, is exciting. It excites me a lot and I’m looking forward to it.”
(I wanted to ask you about QB Tua Tagovailoa. Does he look a little different to you? Does he seem a little different to you this time around?) – “He’s got a beard. (laughter) Yeah, he’s got a beard and has a little more bass in his voice.”
(What about his biceps?) – “(laughter) I haven’t looked at his biceps. But yeah, he’s doing good. I see him a lot. He’s been working hard, every single day just like all of us. That’s my guy. He’s a great kid. He’s looking good too, and he’s working hard.”
(Last year you guys had three rookies that wound up starting on the line with you, G Solomon Kindley and G/T Robert Hunt. So that having been said and with the expectation of the Year 1 to Year 2 jump, what kind of jump as a whole from the offensive line is fair to expect in 2021?) – “I would expect – the type of jump from the offensive line, first and foremost, we look back to our values and how we want to see ourselves. We have our own kind of culture in the room. We want to be tough, disciplined, detailed and nasty. All of those four words are kind of what we aim for and I think you can see a big improvement in those aspects. We want to do our job well, know we don’t have any errors and we want to do it fast and do it with a sense of urgency.”
(Have you had conversations with G Solomon Kindley and G/T Robert Hunt about you three guys being the foundation for this offensive line for years to come, and all that that entails?) – “It sounds nice to say; but at the end of the day, what it really comes down to is you’ve got to look at what’s in front of you right now. Right now, between all of us, our head is on this next season and what we can do, however it plays out, making sure that each one of us individually is putting the work in to be better and help those around us. For years to come? Yeah, I love it. That sounds great. But keeping the reality of it, we know what we want to do next year. That’s kind of where we’re at for now.”
(Whenever a new player comes into the offensive line room, it’s like adding a new cog to the machine. How long would you estimate it takes to get everything running smoothly the way that you see it?) – “Between?”
(For instance, you add a new person, you have to gain chemistry with that person. You have to get an idea of how that’s going to affect the entire offensive line. How long do you think it takes to really build that chemistry to the point where you say, “I know how you function, let’s make it go?”) – “I would say it’s hard to give an exact timestamp. But I would say maybe even after – I can’t even give you a timestamp. I do know that with us having new people in, everyone in the o-line room, and on our team in general, does a good job of bringing them in, bringing them up to speed, communicating so we all can get on the same page rather quickly. In terms of gelling and being completely in sync, I would say a couple of practices – a couple of practices, a couple of extra walkthrough sessions like we have been doing.”
(You mentioned about the nastiness of the offensive line. Does that really start during these offseason workouts and programs and not really once you hit training camp?) – “Definitely. It’s a mentality. You can’t just show up and be nasty. Everything you train for has to be aggressive and with intent. It definitely starts now with how we train ourselves to go to battle.”
(Compared to a year ago in the midst of COVID-19, it’s opening up a little bit now. There are about 70 guys, I believe, in the offseason workouts at camp. Is it different right now? Is the feeling more upbeat right now that things are changing and you guys can do more and it’s a little bit more open?) – “Definitely. Definitely. Last year was very unusual for I think everybody. I think that everybody in the world had an unusual last year. The NFL was definitely affected. We have all of our drafted guys down here already; but my class, we weren’t able to do that. It’s a big difference. I think we’re all excited to get over this thing.”
(Earlier you mentioned adding good weight, and getting rid of bad weight, so I’ve just got to ask you, does that mean no more Saturday night ice cream?) – “I think you guys asked me that question even before the season started – it was an ice cream question. I think as the season went, I think ice cream Saturdays have been done for a while, when I realized how the season was going to go and how many games we had. So that’s done. (laughter) In terms of good weight being put on, that’s just muscle. That’s just learning what your body digests well and what it doesn’t, maintaining your body for the long season.”
