Austin Jackson – April 30, 2024
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Tuesday, April 30, 2024
OL Austin Jackson
(What’s the goals for you this offseason? Last year you started to look more like a defensive end than an offensive lineman. Props to you for the work that you put in. But what’s your vision for yourself this offseason?) – “My vision for myself this offseason is to be more consistent in how I want my technique to look. This was my first full year playing in this system last year. So now that I have more of a real baseline, I feel like I can improve a lot from there. So I’ve watched every game and recollect what I was thinking in those games. So I think from there I can make all my technique as consistent as I want it to look.”
(What goes into that? Is that film work mostly?) – “Yeah, it’s a combination of film, recognizing it on film, and then consciously improving the muscle memory on the field. So it’s a combination of both.”
(You guys have had some turnover on the offensive line this year. We haven’t talked to you since Robert Hunt left and Connor’s [Williams] still kind of up in the air, what his future is. Just your thoughts on what’s transpired this offseason and the new names you brought in?) – “We definitely miss those guys. Those were great guys in our room, great people altogether. But we returned a lot of guys from last year, including two of our position coaches. In terms of football, I think that’s really helpful for us moving forward because we kind of have a standard already set. So there are some things we can improve on versus starting back to Day 1 completely. So I think we have a good foundation going forward. And I think when we get to meet everybody, everybody new at least, we’ll transition just fine.”
(And a quick follow-up if I may, the Dolphins obviously took a tackle in round two, Patrick Paul. Curious if you’ve had a chance to talk to him yet? And what advice would you give him with a guy who’s got huge upside but obviously still needs to learn the pro game?) – “I would just say keep a sense of urgency and stay hungry. Most definitely, especially while you’re young. The league moves fast and if you’re not trying to get on top of it, you’re falling behind, meaning every day is a day to get better. I can’t way to meet you. I don’t think I’ve met him (Patrick Paul) yet.”
(You talked about the importance of the continuity with the offensive line coaches. Something that General Manager Chris Grier and Head Coach Mike McDaniel both talked about when they drafted Patrick Paul, was the ability to get his technique up to speed and kind of harness those rare traits that he has. I’m curious if you can tell us about what Offensive Line Coach Butch Barry did last year to really help the entire offensive line kind of play better, in particular for you, just get your technique to where you wanted it to be?) – “Yeah, he was very forward in working with each and every individual in the room, one by one. He would do things like call guys one on one after the meeting, which is something that hasn’t happened since college if that makes sense. That’s just something that coaches don’t really spend a lot of time with at this level in my experience, but he’s one of those guys that can do that because he’s so serious about his work. So that’s why he can ask a lot of us and we can see what exactly he wants. That plays a big role in it. And also just I think his personality. He’s very passionate for the game. I think that makes it easy for players to feed into and understand where he’s coming from. I think he has all the tools to help anybody.”
(I’m doing something on the stresses that players could be under during OTAs and training camp and things that we don’t see. And so I’m wondering when you’re talking about making as a youngster, maybe $300,000 versus $50,000 and having to wear a suit every day or if you’re rehabbing an injury or if you’re a youngster, your reps against the vets or learning a new system. Tell me about some of those stresses that we don’t see that youngsters could be going up against or battling in OTAs and training camp.) – “I would say a big thing for youngsters and OTAs and training camp, is I guess you could fall asleep, meaning there’s not much asked of you up front. You’re just evaluated on everything. So the type of player you are, your best is your best guy. So if you get three reps in training camp, those three reps need to look great. There shouldn’t be a rep where you’re making a mistake someone in the first team made, because technically you already saw that mistake. I would just say like not falling asleep. You have to constantly be on yourself more than what’s asked of you at the time. Just because it’s not asked of you right now doesn’t mean you don’t want to be in that situation later in your career one day. And a lot of times I’ve seen guys come in and just kind of let themselves fall asleep with their work ethic.”
(How conscious are you of that? When does it pop into your mind? Before you go to bed or when you’re having a meal or when you’re stretching or weight room? How often does that pop into your mind? I can’t fall asleep, I have got to be sharp?) – “It’s a daily thing for me. I’m not perfect. I definitely think looking back on my career, there’s some definitely some situations I wish I had a different sense of urgency on. But once you understand it, you realize it’s an everyday thing. That’s what it is. Every day I show up to work. The NFL, some call it the ‘Not For Long’ league or whatever. That’s all true. You’ve got to take every day like it might be your last day. That sounds so morbid, but it’s true.”
(We’ve kept hearing this offseason that Offensive Line Coach Butch Barry has been a major selling point for free agents and draftees wanting to play for the Dolphins. They want to play in Miami for Head Coach Mike McDaniel and for Butch Barry. So I’m curious, your first impression of him that let you know that, oh wow, this is a coach that I really would like to play for or that I really am excited to play for. Was it when he called you in for a one-on-one meeting for the first time? Or was there a moment before that?) – “I would say one of the biggest moments was, I think we were coming into preseason of last year. It was my first preseason game. I didn’t have the performance I wanted to have or I forget – something happened in practice, something along those lines where I wasn’t getting the job done. And yeah, Butch heard me out and he helped me out with what I needed to do to get better and he didn’t do it on his time, meaning I had to go to him outside of his meeting time and it was a one-on-one deal. But he just put a lot of effort into me, I would say. There’s been times where you don’t have anyone who’s willing to meet you there with the extra effort. But he’s always been there and he’s serious about his job. Very serious, and that benefited me.”
(Considering how it was a difficult first few years of your NFL career with just injuries and moving around and alignments and continuity changes on the offensive line staff room, how much did it mean to you to get that kind of attention and get that kind of support after, like you said, a practice or a game that you didn’t feel like you gave your best in?) – “It was good. It was good and it wasn’t just me that got that attention. Let me specify that. It wasn’t like he went out (of his way) just for me. But that’s the type of energy he carries for all his players. He just kind of feeds off the room. Then you have 11 guys who are truly trying to play at their best feeling hopeful, feeling good.”
(We’re all happy for Christian Wilkins that he got his 110 million dollars. I happen to think that DT Zach Sieler can help kind of fill the void of the things that Christian did successfully. What attributes do you think those guys might have that are a bit similar?) – “They both – well we call Zach ‘Sack Sieler.’ He’s great at rushing the passer. They both are great at rushing the passer and I think they both play very similar thinking back on it now. While they were here, they were very close. I think they both admired each other’s game and work ethic. I see Zach carrying that same speed on the line, speed and aggression, disrupting the line, fighting the offensive line for first contact, but also staying dangerous with the lateral game as well. Zach’s also able to move very well laterally. Zach and Christian themselves both did really well in the stunt games because they can play off of each other. So I think that’s something that’s still able to be created with Zach. And they’re just both really fast, shifty guys who are powerful.”
(The Dolphins drafted a Trojan. Do you know [Tahj Washington]? Or have any connections to him?) – “He got there right when I left in 2020, but I know of him pretty well. Still a Trojan every day. So I definitely watched his film, watched his games.”
(I still marvel at the fact that you’re going into Year 5 in the NFL and you’re not 25 yet. That’s kind of crazy to me. So I wonder if you can touch on that? And also where do you feel you are in your career? Both in terms of how far you’ve come along and how much more is left for you?) – “I think I’m at a great point in my career to keep getting better honestly. I’ve been able to do just that in my first five years and I’m looking forward to taking the experience I have and just building on top of that. Want to be the best player I can be. That’s all I hope for every day, every season. So I think I’m at a great spot with my previous knowledge to just keep getting better, keep improving.”
(I wonder if you can take us through the process of what you mentioned earlier about watching tape? You had 989 snaps last season. Did you watch all 989? Are you in a room alone doing it? When you see a play that made you unhappy, maybe a pressure or one of the handful of sacks you allowed last year, do you watch it like four or five times and take notes? Take us through that process if you could, please.”) – “I wouldn’t say all 900. I’d say probably 500, 600 because I don’t watch a lot of runs. It’s mostly pass protection stuff and how I want my body position to look per se. So after every game I see what I got beat on. And that’s really the basis of what I watch going into the next game. Okay, so did I make that same mistake? If yes or no, then I can kind of put a sense of urgency on what I need to fix right away. And then if I have a long list of stuff I need to fix, then that’s a separate issue to figure out.”
(But you’ve watched some just at home this offseason? As you said maybe about 500 snaps just to see where you could improve technique?) – “Yes.”
