Christian Wilkins – November 27, 2023
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Monday, November 27, 2023
DT Christian Wilkins
(What was it like watching S Jevon Holland’s play?) – “It was cool. That was probably one of the best plays I’ve ever really been a part of. I thought it was a cool moment for Jevon obviously and he was able to show his return man abilities. He’ll tell you first he thinks he’s a heck of a return man and all that good stuff, but no, it was definitely a cool moment for him, cool moment for us. Guys were able to help him get there, so that was just a really cool and big moment in the game because that definitely swung the momentum a little bit.”
(Did you play o-line in high school?) – “I did. Along with other positions, too, I was quite the athlete in high school. But yeah, I did play a little o-line, a little guard, little tackle, little tight end as well so I’ve got a background doing that as well.”
(Fullback?) – “That, too. Fullback, all that. I was able to do a lot of different things in high school.”
(I think you carried Breece Hall about 12 yards on that block. Was that kind of going back to your high school offensive line days?) – “Maybe a few glimpses, but no, I was just happy I could make a play to spring Jevon a little bit on that one.”
(What’s that like when you have a DB, one of the athletes on the back end of your defense, that has a chance to make a big return and you’re one of the guys that has the opportunity to clear the way?) – “In the moment, you’re just trying to do your job and just help out, but then you come away from it, you’re like, okay, that was really cool and I’m glad Jevon was able to have that moment, like I was saying. That was really, really cool for him.”
(You guys, as a defense, it’s always been said that sacks come in bunches and you guys are stacking them up right now. How difficult is it to be patient and let them come to you?) – “It’s a balance. Like you don’t want to necessarily press, but you’ve got to do your job and go get them. They’re hard to come by, but it’s a collective effort. You’re just kind of reading off guys. There’s times where one guy really gets the pressure and another guy – there’s a lot of different moving parts that come with that so you really just got to be relentless and just keep going after it.”
(The next time you guys take the field is going to be in December. What did you learn last year about December football that can help you this year in December football?) – “Just really throughout my time in the league, you kind of play ball in September and October, but you remember November and December. Just the later the ball gets, just the later in the season it gets, the more important the games are. You’ve got a bunch of film of guys on teams, so you’re not going to trick anybody. People are who they are and every little bit matters, so hopefully we’ll be gearing up and we’ve done enough now and built a specific formula that we’ll be able to do some good things at this point in the season.”
(What has that road been like from where you guys were with the Chargers to now the seventh-ranked defense in the NFL?) – “Really just guys being committed to doing their best and doing their best for the team, so really just whatever guys have been asked to do, just try to do it at a high level. It’s just been a process of guys just attacking each day as the most important day.”
(How has, if you’ve seen him at all, LB Jaelan Phillips, been – his spirits and what does that loss mean to the defense?) – “Obviously that whole situation sucks for Jaelan because he was just playing some really good ball and just seeing his growth from Year 1 to now, it’s just great to see because that’s my little brother and whatnot and I’ve got a lot of love for Jaelan and the things he does. He’s an inspirational player in the sense that he just plays so hard and relentless, so you see him doing that and that you’re like, all right, I’ve got to up my standard and it’s contagious throughout the defense so that’s obviously tough for us there. But we’ve got guys who will be able to do a really solid job. But yeah, it’s just obviously a tough situation for him.”
(A career high in sacks and counting now for you. Is there one trait you could point to that you really think has taken another step from where you were previously as a pass rusher that you have taken to the next level to get to the career-high?) – “I’m always just working on my game constantly. I’m never a finished product at any point that I’m playing, any point during the season, or anything like that. I’m never a finished product so I’m always working on improving in little things. I’m not really focused necessarily on that specifically. I’m just trying to do what I can for my teammates and I’ll look up at the end.”
(What will make this December different from last December for this team? What is different?) – “I guess we’ll see. I guess that’s left to be seen. But I think like I was saying, we’ve got the right guys in the locker room and right leadership and right mindset as a team that I think we have a chance to do some good things moving forward. But again, it all starts with being present one day at a time.”
(I asked Head Coach Mike McDaniel about RB Jeff Wilson Jr. kind of giving the pregame speech before you guys broke for warmups. He talked about how he’s like a spark plug for the locker room. I was curious just do the captains decide who speaks to the team before or how does that kind of play out?) – “It’s kind of just like a vibe thing, but it’s nice when Jeff gets in there because he’s a psycho, man. (laughter) I love Jeff. I love hearing from him. He’s all ball and I don’t know who pisses him off before every game or before he touches the ball, but it’s a fun thing to watch him play. So it’s just an energy vibe thing before the game.”
(With the sacks and the interceptions recently, this defense has really been a play-making and game-changing unit with S Jevon Holland’s interception. Are you aware of that and does it make a difference when you take the field?) – “Again, you’re kind of just focused on play by play. I don’t know. I’ll just be so locked in, I’m not really like – I can see when someone makes a good play, but I’m not necessarily thinking like, ‘oh, this is…’ I just kind of take it play by play and you don’t really realize stuff as it’s kind of happening. You’re just locked in, ‘all right, onto the next.’ But I guess we’re doing all right, I don’t know.”
(But you’re aware of like CB Jalen Ramsey’s interceptions or S Jevon Holland’s interceptions, your sacks…?) – “Oh yeah, when they happen and then when you kind of take a minute and watch the film afterwards and see, ‘oh, that was actually really impressive.’ Or ‘that’s a cool moment’ or whatever it is, yeah.”
(When you get a guy like CB Jalen Ramsey or WR Tyreek Hill – I covered the Heat before Shaq came there – when Shaq got there it was like they walked into the building differently. Do you walk into a building differently when you have guys such as Jalen Ramsey and Tyreek Hill?) – “I kind of spoke on it a little bit last week when you asked, just what Jalen (Ramsey) brings or what those type of guys bring and it’s cool to see your best players be some of the hardest working and just the things they’re able to do, the plays they’re able to make are pretty special. I talked about Jalen and his calming presence. Like that’s the biggest thing he’s been able to add to kind of me and us as a defense, I feel like.”
