Jeff Wilson Jr. – August 4, 2023
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Friday, August 4, 2023
RB Jeff Wilson Jr.
(Obviously you were sidelined for a couple of practices. Was that just a precautionary soft tissue thing?) – “Yeah, it was just a precaution thing. Just being on top of eveyrhting, make sure everything is good. Everything is fine though.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel has said that he wants to run the ball more this season. Have you seen such a commitment? Does that have to wait until preseason games? How is that going?) – “Oh, yes sir. It is going right as planned. Obviously, that comes with us putting in the work and making him feel comfortable every day that we go out there. So I feel like the o-line has been doing a tremendous job. We all still have room to improve and room to grow, so I just can’t wait to see it all finally come together, and we get this thing rolling.”
(From what you know of Head Coach Mike McDaniel, and you know him well, does he prioritize and value the run game?) – “Oh yeah, no doubt. I remember back when he was the run game coordinator where I used to be, so obviously that never leaves. That’s a love of his and he knows that’s a love of ours. So with us and the o-line, it’s our job, like I said, to make him feel comfortable every day when we go out there working and make him be willing to call the plays.”
(So knowing that, at any point last season, did it surprise you that the team ran the ball so little, the second lowest in rushing attempts?) – “No, not at all. I mean, shoot, you’ve got to think, we’ve got electric people on the outside as well with a tremendous quarterback. It’s hard not to utilize those guys at times, but like I said, mainly it goes back to us of doing our jobs and making it hard to go away from us. So we just have to keep working that way, so we could be just as good as everybody else on the field.”
(Last year, the last five games of the season, you guys rushed for 125 yards per game which was about 40 more than the rest of the season. Do you feel that there was kind of continuity building that got you to that to where the running game took off more late in the year?) – “It was just more of a mindset thing. You got to think, people hear the chatter just like everybody else does, so it comes to a point where you have to stand up as a man and as a player and say that we’re not a one-dimensional team. Just like those guys like to pass block, they like to run block as well. And just like we like to pass block, we definitely love to run the ball, so it goes hand in hand. Like I said, it just reverts back to us going out there every day and doing what we need to do that way when they do call, we’ll be ready to execute every time.”
(How do you think that continuity carries over from pretty much the same running back room, obviously you added a couple rookies and a lot of the same offensive line coming back. How do you think that benefits the run game and just the relationship y’all have working together for so long now?) – “Like you said, that’s the main thing – relationships, the last part of that question. We’re all together. We all know each other. We all know each other’s goal, so that being said, we’re going to try to put each and every player in the best position. So just like they have to make the right block, we have to make sure we make the right cuts to make sure they have the right block and right reads. So it all plays hand in hand, and like I said, it’s not our first year together (where) we didn’t train together in the offseason, and we didn’t have our camaraderie. So now it’s just time to get on the field and put it to work.”
(What do you make of the RB Dalvin Cook chatter? He’s made it no secret he’d like to be here.) – “Shoot, he’s a great player. If he comes, we’d love to have him. It’d just makes our room that much more competitive, and it makes everybody step up to another level, even though we’re already at another level. Still, competition always breeds greatness in players, so to have him come and be the tremendous player that he is, that’s just another addition to a Super Bowl run.”
(When you and RB Raheem Mostert have ever been around General Manager Chris Grier and Head Coach Mike McDaniel, do you ever get curious, have you ever asked, “Hey, what’s going on with Dalvin,” just because it impacts your position? Or is that nothing you guys would ever ask Chris Grier jokingly or good naturedly?) – “Me personally, I wouldn’t. Our job is to work here. Their job is to make decisions on that aspect. So I feel like … that’s almost disrespectful if our job is to come out here work and do everything we can to be the best that we can be. Whatever happens before or after that, that’s what happens. That’s the decision upstairs. We’re players and we’re here to play the game.”
(From a running back’s perspective, I’d like to know about the defense. To us, DT Christian Wilkins has been unstoppable, the front seven has been really good. What have you seen from the front seven?) – “Oh, definitely that. He’s a pain, man. And he’ll let you know he’s a pain. So that makes him even (more), you know what I’m saying? But no, they’re tremendous and I love our front seven. They’re making our o-line great. So you have to understand those guys are some of the best in the league, so if you’re going against that every day, like I told them, you aren’t going to see too much harder than that when you go on Sundays. So if those guys keep on honing in and doing what they’re doing and they’re getting better every day competing with those guys, it’s going to be a beautiful sight at the end of camp and when we get rolling in the regular season, because it’s not going to be too much of nothing they haven’t really seen.”
(Where does DT Christian Wilkins rank in smack talk?) – “(laughter) Yeah, he’s top tier. He’s definitely top tier.”
(On the team or in the league?) – “I would say in the league. This is my sixth year and I’ve been around and have heard some guys talk, but I don’t know. Christian, it’s just like he’s got the aggravating trash talk. It’s like, ‘Ah, I want to kick your,’ you know what I’m saying? (laughter) But it all comes from a good place and a good spot in his heart, so it just makes everybody come out and play that much better, so I love it.”
(Who are some other guys around the league that are in your top 10?) – “In what, trash talk?”
(Yeah.) – “Oh, that’s tough. I’d have to really think about that one, because I’ve seen a lot. I already know, there’s some out there for sure, I’ll tell you that.”
(When it’s not live and they’re tagging off, is there a pretty healthy debate about whether or not I would have broken that tackle or no, I would’ve gotten you down? Do you guys kind of go back and forth about that?) – “Oh yeah, most definitely. It’s an ego thing. Defense is always going to think they make a tackle, even if they put a fingernail on you. So that competitiveness, that’s another edge that keeps us driving. That’s why when we get in pads, it’s just that much more fun and that much more competitive, because we already know those guys think that they’re the beast on the field and they’re unstoppable. But shoot, we’re unstoppable, too, so it’s a pretty thing.”
(What have you seen from RB De’Von Achane and what has communication been like between you and him with you as a veteran?) – “Oh yeah, he’s going to be great. He’s going to be great. He already knows anything he ever needs, he can call on me and he can ask me. It’s not a thing where I won’t give him every tool that he needs to be great. Even though we’re in competition, that’s not the state here, because at the same time, I remember when I was a rookie and I had a guy, Jerick McKinnon, Raheem (Mostert), Matt Breida, those guys did the same thing for me. So I feel like it’s only right for me to do the same thing for anybody else that comes in, for him and Chris (Brooks). So he’s going to be a great player. He’s learning the game fast and he’s already fast. It’s going to be a great sight. It’s going to be a great sight for him. I can’t wait to see his future.”
(I didn’t notice T Terron Armstead out there much, I only noticed him out there for one snap. But was there any tangible difference, a boost or anything from having him out? Or is it too soon to tell?) – “He’s a vet. Anytime you see him come around, every time he’s around, you feel his presence. So it’s like even when he’s not there, he’s there. He’s always talking. He’s always giving advice and he’s another guy that if you need something and you ask him, he’s going to tell you and he’s going to be completely honest. He’s going to give you every tool that you need to be great because he’s a great player. He’s an awesome player. I love having him around. I love feeling his presence. I just can’t wait to play with him again.”
(Did you get the scooter out much in the offseason?) – “Oh yeah, I took it to the house. I got tired of people stealing it from me, riding around, wasting my battery then I’ve got to come back and charge it up. (laughter) But I take it through the neighborhood now, so it’s all good. (laughter).”
