Christian Wilkins – September 25, 2023
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Monday, September 25, 2023
DT Christian Wilkins
(How surreal was yesterday a day later scoring 70 points in a game? Did you get texts from anyone you hadn’t heard from in years saying, how is this possible?) – “Yeah, you get a little bit of that. It was definitely a good one obviously and we were able to enjoy it and just have a good one as a team which was important. But it’s officially about 24 hours since the last game so turn the page quickly and on to Buffalo.”
(Funny you should bring that up. I was going to ask you about the Bills. You and Bills QB Josh Allen seem to have some battles throughout the year. What is it about him?) – “That’s my guy. I love Josh (Allen). We’re cool, we’re tight. But no, he’s a heck of a competitor. I love playing against him. He definitely brings the best out of you as a defense, as an individual. His resume speaks for itself. But definitely a heck of a player and we’re going to have to be on it this week as a defense and as a team because they’re a really good team and they play tough and we know them, they know us. There’s no secrets. Just have to go out there and ball, compete, and may the best man win.”
(You obviously play different positions, but you’re both kind of fiery, aren’t you?) – “I guess you can say that. I think just both of us are just really good competitors and want to do everything you can to get a win and that’s, like I said, two really good competitors that just bring out the best in you.”
(You personally have a little bit of a knack to get under people’s skin. You like to talk a little bit on games. Does that ramp up Bills week?) – “I think that’s all speculation that I do that. I mean, you have no proof. I haven’t said that that’s what I do. So I think that’s all speculation. That’s all hearsay and whatnot. But like I said, division opponents. It’s always competitive, so just hopefully, we’ll be ready to play a good game.”
(I guess the last few games or at least the playoff game didn’t go the way you wanted. Is there extra there for this team, given they are at the spot you guys want to get to as far as on top of the division?) – “Like I keep saying, every game is important. This is an important game obviously because it is on the road, a division opponent. So we’re just going to have to focus on Buffalo and doing everything we can throughout the week to make sure we put ourselves in the best position possible to leave there with a W.”
(If I can go back to this past game, the S Jevon Holland forced fumble and LB Andrew Van Ginkel return; you’re the first one I see that peels back and goes and gets a block, but then the swarm of white jerseys kind of shows up on the screen and goes and hits blocks. I just wanted to hear the way you guys or I guess the coaching staff or players, the way you guys preach “go block for a guy like that” on a return?) – “That’s something you kind of talk about or mention. Like if there’s an interception or if there’s a turnover or things like that, always go and try and find the first opposite-colored jersey you see and typically try to block the quarterback or skill and that’s who made the play. So we would’ve liked to get ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) in there. It would’ve been cool, but that’s just kind of what you’re coached to do and how we did it on that play.”
(There were a lot of celebrations last week. You’re typically involved in a lot of those. Which one would you say stood out the most to you?) – “I ain’t going to lie, I thought ‘Cheetah’ (Tyreek Hill) going into the crowd was pretty cool. That was fun and it was just funny to – you see him try to get over the thing. It was hilarious. But I really liked the conga line, everybody doing the one-two step. That was fun. That was cool.”
(I think OL Austin Jackson was telling us they put that in Friday before the warmup. I’m curious like, do you have a process of maybe putting together some defensive celebrations? Like what does that…?) – “I’m usually typically spur of the moment. I’m pretty creative, too, so I’ll come up with maybe a little something here or there, but yeah, usually typically just emotion, spur of the moment, just have fun with it. Just let the moments happen and just let it out.”
(DE Emmanuel Ogbah was telling us that it’s demoralizing as a defender – not if it’s your own team, it’s great – but if you’re on the other team and you see guys dancing in the end zone after a touchdown, how do you react when you see those kinds of celebrations? Like if it happened to you?) – “I mean, I don’t know. I think it’s fun that we’re on this side of it and we’re just having fun with it and guys are just embracing each other and coming up with cool things like that and it definitely makes it more fun.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel had said earlier today – I asked him about the pregame speech that I guess he allowed FB Alec Ingold to give before the game and he mentioned that when you break the team down at the end of a meeting or before the game, he’ll have a player go speak to the rest of the guys. I’m curious in your captain’s position what that means to you and what you think it means to the players that it’s player-driven?) – “It’s definitely just that. It’s player-driven. We’re the ones going out there on the field having to compete and it’s just kind of like a last time, last second, just us, nobody else. And we have that time, guys can say what they want to say, kind of set the mindset, what’s on their mind, what’s on their heart. So I think that’s cool. It’s definitely important for me and I appreciate it and I embrace it and definitely try to lock in when other guys are speaking because it means a lot to me just to kind of hear what my teammates got on their hearts or on their minds and just to kind of give you like a little extra before you go out there. It’s good to obviously hear from Coach (McDaniel) or whoever, but then when it’s the players, that’s more meaningful.”
(It’s about to be double figures in games for you against Bills QB Josh Allen. I know it’s the Bills, but what have you relished about the matchup with Allen? What’s been the most challenging element of it?) – “Like I keep saying, just the competitive aspect of it. Every game, or at least definitely the last few, it feels like they’ve come down to the – it’s been a four quarter, 60-minute game. And that’s what you want. You want the best to be brought out of you. You want the best to be brought out of your team. It doesn’t really, on the road against the division opponent, you can’t really beat that. It’s going to be a fun one. And their crowd’s always into it, their fans get into and everything like that. They’re a good team, so they’re going to bring it. We have to bring it just a little bit more, and it’s just going to be us on the road, road dawgs, going in there. So it’ll be fun.”
(You eclipsed 300 tackles in your career. When you tackle, you certainly do some celebration as far as like the Power Rangers and Matthew Judon you did two weeks ago. What tackle stands out to you if you had to pick a specific tackle?) – “A specific tackle? I really don’t know. I didn’t know I had 300-plus, and I’m just blessed to been able to have that many to this point. Hopefully a lot more will come in the future. I guess I would say my favorite tackle is the next one.”
(The offensive line is rolling right now. I know you probably don’t spend time watching the offensive line tape, but just curious your thoughts on how they’ve been playing?) – “No, absolutely. I’m locked in on game day, I have a lot of fun watching offense out there, seeing what those guys do. And whenever I get the chance to see what they do, it’s a lot of fun. Because we’ll joke here and there. I’ll mess with Rob Hunt or somebody and say you’re lucky you don’t have to see me in the game or whatever, just kind of having fun. But no, they’ve been doing a great job just protecting well and being able to move guys in the run game. It’s been cool to see because, you see all those guys kind of just put work in and kind of build from the offseason and gel. And it’s just good to see that. I’m happy. They’ve been able to do some good stuff and hopefully they continue building and continue to put together some good performances.”
(You mentioned being locked in on a game day. Obviously, you see them put up 70 points. If you were mic’d up, what would be some of the things that we would have heard you say?) – “No, I would have probably sounded – well, we put up 70 points as a team. But I would definitely probably just be quoting DJ Khaled a lot. ‘Another one, another one, another one,’ I guess.”
(You guys played the Bills three times last year. I think it was decided by a total of three points. This matchup couldn’t be closer. What did you learn about yourself from going toe-to-toe with them last year?) – “They’ve been the top dog in the division. We’ve been right there. We’ve been close. They’re the top dog for a reason. They’ve been able to win those close games and beating us twice last year and everything like that. So, just like I continue to say, it definitely brings out the best in everybody. Them. Us. And it’ll just be a good, fun, competitive match.”
(You mentioned earlier that 24-hour rule. Is that amplified even more coming off such a convincing victory?) – “It’s the same, always, because whether you win by 50, or whether you win by one point, a win is a win. So you got to kind of take it the same way, same approach, be professional, 24-hour rule. Whether you win by one, you win by 100, it’s the same approach. It’s what’s next.”
(Second straight game you guys have had multiple turnovers. I think all three of the turnovers led to points. Is there something you guys do in maybe meeting rooms about those turnovers? Especially the ones that lead to direct points?) – “Yeah, I think it’s definitely you get what you emphasize. We talk a lot about it and put emphasis on protecting the ball and attacking the ball. Obviously, the offense wants to protect the ball and the defense wants to get after it and create those opportunities. Then when we get it, protect it as well if guys are running with it or whatever. So we definitely emphasize that as a team, as a defense. It’s kind of on guys’ minds and we try to practice that way too. Whether or not you get them, that’s the mindset you want to have.”
(What’s going on with Clemson?) – “Clemson is a great, fine institution. The best university in all of the country. FSU (Florida State) is a good team. A tough loss obviously. I’m sure I’ll be wearing – I put some wagers up. I’ll be wearing some ‘Noles’ gear real soon unfortunately. It is what it is. Clemson is still the number one university. Like I said, Go Tigers.”
