Austin Jackson – November 3, 2023
Download PDF version
Friday, November 3, 2023
OL Austin Jackson
(How have you enjoyed Germany so far?) – “It’s great. I loved getting down here early to acclimate to everything. Love the weather, especially it’s different from Miami. I’m really thankful for the opportunity to play the Chiefs here. It’ll be a lot of fun.”
(Wanted to ask you about the offensive line. Well first, how does T Terron Armstead look to you his first week of practice back?) – “He’s great. He’s back in damn near midseason form. He looks good.”
(At one point last game, you were the last starting offensive lineman standing. Especially after last year, the troubles you had to deal with with injuries, I’m curious what did you do specifically this offseason to prepare your body to kind of I guess not get hurt, to simply put it?) – “It’s a mix between luck and for me, I just made sure I was in a position to be able to move out of any situation if I was put there. But like I also said earlier, it’s luck too. I had bad luck last year, really bad luck. I’m just thankful to go out there every play and I try to be as out the way as I can in terms of like pileups and stuff like that.”
(When injuries happen like that, is there just like a balance between acknowledging like, wow, I just got unlucky, versus oh, there’s actually something I can do different?) – “It’s a lot to process in the moment. But yeah, you’ll get there over time. For me last year, there wasn’t much for me to do in my situations. Roll ups are an unfortunate part of the game, hard to control. That’s something that’s really up to luck. Everyone’s taking care of their bodies the same for the most part.”
(I thought there was an interesting set of statistics from the Dolphins. It said that the Dolphins defensive front is number one in the NFL in quarterback hits and the Dolphins offensive front is best at preventing quarterback hits. So number one on offense, number one on defense, according to the Dolphins. What do you think is the correlation there? What’s going on with this team that sort of allows that to happen on both sides of the ball?) – “Well, on both sides of the ball, I know we both, offensive and defensive line, we preach elite technique of everything. We built up a lot of reps over the summer, over OTAs, just getting better, trying new things. If you weren’t successful in something, not curling up and not doing it again, but keep hustling and working until you get the result you want. I think that offensive and defensive line, both of us attacked it the same way this year and we will for the rest of the season. That’s the plan.”
(Have you seen or eaten anything that you thought was cool here in Germany?) – “I had these chopped up beef and pork schnitzels. No, not schnitzels. It’s like hot dogs with a bunch of random stuff on it. I don’t even know what was on it, but it was good.”
(We also know that OL Robert Hunt won’t play in this game. I wanted to know what you think of how OL Robert Jones has played when he’s been in and also OL Lester Cotton moving back and forth at the guard positions?) – “Yeah, we’re going to miss big Bobby (Robert Hunt) in there, but we have confidence in our other guards, Lester and Rob Jones as well. They’ve both started in this league, both very detail-oriented guys. We’re confident to get them in there. I’m confident to see them do their job and get the opportunity to play.”
(I was just looking at the numbers before you came in and Chiefs DT Chris Jones has played 202 snaps at defensive end over the last two seasons. I wondered what the challenges were for you when you’re normally facing a Haason Reddick or a Josh Uche at maybe 250, 260 pounds, facing a guy that’s 6’6”, 310, and what challenges that presents you for somebody as big as him but also with the outstanding balance and hands and the two-hand swat that he has that’s so effective? How do you prepare for somebody like Chris Jones?) – “Wow, you just named like three of his rushes that’s pretty good. Really it just comes down to your plan. Obviously, you can’t have the same plan for a guy like Chris Jones, who like you said is 6’5”, 310, versus Uche who’s 6’1”, probably 250. A different skill set. So you just have to have a different plan for both guys. I don’t think you should look at it as a challenge. Well, you could look at it as a challenge. But it’s just having a different plan.”
(You talked about being out here, how you’ve enjoyed it and all that. But is there almost more anticipation? Are you almost ready to get to the game already? Is it a little different than when you’re preparing at home?) – “In terms of like the feelings I feel on the inside, leading up to a game, I think like that Saturday night, I’m like the most ready to get to Sunday. I know I need every single day leading up to Sunday to be the best version of myself. It would be nice to see my family. That’s about it. But I’m taking it one day at a time and enjoying the moment. I’m in Germany for the first time, so I’m just taking it one day at a time.”
(You spoke about family. Your grandfather played in the NFL. Have you had a chance to speak with him about your experience being the first one from your family to play in a international game?) – “No, I haven’t. To be honest, he wouldn’t care. (laughter) Not like he wouldn’t care about an international game, but he’s just very old school. Very, who cares, just get the job done.”
