Austin Jackson – September 25, 2023
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Monday, September 25, 2023
OL Austin Jackson
(How many times did you watch the replay on RB De’Von Achane’s run where it looked like you got you a few pancakes?) – “Shoot, after meetings I probably watched it like five times. (laughter) It was a lot of fun. Fun game, a lot of great plays. I’m glad all the work we’ve put in paid off.”
(I thought he was going to ask you about the replay to the conga line. That looked like a lot of fun.) – “That was a lot of fun. We put that in super last minute. I think it was the last Friday practice. As an offense we just kind of went, at some point we want to do that.”
(It’s nice to see you playing so well. Beyond obviously having your health, which is the biggest thing this year? Is there something else that’s clicked for you in year two in the zone blocking scheme? Something Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith, Head Coach Mike McDaniel or Offensive Line Coach Butch Barry has emphasized with you that you think has helped?) – “They’re all great coaches in terms of knowing what the standard is for the system they want to run. I think for me, I do my best to excel at the fastest rate I can and really take in every single detail of what they say. They’re all great coaches and I just try to be receptive to everything and put it on tape.”
(You were talking about the conga line, that got my interest. Who’s in charge of putting the celebrations together? Is it one person? Or how does that work?) – “Nobody’s in charge, but I think it was Tyreek (Hill). I think it was Tyreek that initiated it.”
(So what did he do, just bring a video and say, ‘hey, this is what I want to do?’) – “No, it was a five second thing. We did it in like five seconds. Everyone knows how to dance. (laughter)”
(What was your initial reaction of WR Tyreek Hill’s celebration? I know it happened super fast when the game just started. But what was your initial reaction on that?) – “I didn’t see it until after the game, actually. The video is hilarious. You’re talking about when he jumped in the stands? Yeah, it was hilarious. He was jumping and cheering. If I wasn’t so tired and he wasn’t so fast, I would have tried to do the same thing.”
(When things like that happen, do you guys just build off that energy just for the remainder of the game? Or is it just something fun?) – “Yeah, that’s Tyreek Hill, man. He’s an energetic player, has a lot of energy. The touchdown alone got us energy. But I think when good things go right, the team is happy. It’s a great feeling.”
(You guys have had some battles up in Buffalo. The challenge in front of you this weekend is what?) – “The challenge in front of us, obviously Buffalo is a great team, great defense. They’ve been ranking pretty high every year since I’ve been in the NFL. I think our biggest challenge is our preparation for the week and being consistent in our standard. We’re going to have different things to study about them that they do well. And in terms for us, we have things that we didn’t do so well at, that we need to get better at going into this week. So it’s a perfect balance to just continuing to put the work in that we have been doing on a consistent basis.”
(They’ve kind of been the big dog of the division for a while. How much of a statement game do you think this is for you guys to go up there and win in a place you haven’t in a minute?) – “I don’t use terms like statement games and stuff like that. It’s a big game for sure. Like you said, they’re a great team. We know that. We know that doing what we do well is going to be important and also fixing what we don’t do well. Those are like our two big (points of) emphasis going into the game.”
(How happy are you right now with where your technique is at?) – “I feel pretty good. I had a whole year off of football and I watched a lot of football in that time. Had a year of offseason to train and kind of understand just what I want it to look like and what I want my game to look like. So I’m happy. I’m happy to be healthy first and foremost, because that’s when I get my opportunities to play. So yes, very happy.”
(I’ve probably asked you this 10 times in the last two years. But now that you have a significant amount of game reps to go off of, how do you feel this offensive system really suits your skill set from a physicality, athletic standpoint?) – “A lot. I definitely think that I can play to the advantage of my speed in this offense. It’s very fun. I love what the offensive concepts are focused around in terms of angles and power, speed and just everything that we can orchestrate. Yeah, I think it fits a lot of my skill set.”
(In terms of understanding what you wanted your game to look at and watching a lot of football last year, was it other right tackles? What were you looking for? What did you see that helped you grow your game?) – “Watching defensive ends and offensive tackles in situations consistently throughout helps a lot. Watching defensive ends and how they rushed, studying habits that they have and just all types of stuff, I just had a lot of mental focus because I lost my physical element. So I tried to regain that on the mental side in terms of what I studied and what I took away.”
(When you go back and watch the offensive film, do you guys kind of get enamored by the things that QB Tua Tagovailoa does in terms of the details, the ballhandling, the way he kind of can stride one way and throw the opposite way?) – “Hell yeah. Tua’s a magician. He’s a magician, he’s a dawg. He’s a great football player, great teammate. Our coach has challenged him. Not in a bad way but just like, they give him an expectation because they know he can handle it and he’ll do it well. He just consistently does that over and over again. We love watching his little crazy no-look passes and just watching him throw every throw in rhythm with no hitches and perfect footwork. Yeah, he’s a magician.”
(On the no-look, is that something you practice that way, like with his offhand? Is that the way it was practiced?) – “To be honest, I don’t even look back there ever really, because of my job. I noticed that after the game when everyone else on social media was freaking out about it.”
(How much pride do you take in knowing that this last game, both running backs had four touchdowns a piece? The offensive line was an integral part in making that happen. How much pride do you all take in that?) – “We take a lot of pride in that. It’s something I’m really thankful for. It’s encouraging and encourages us to get better because at the end of the day, it’s only Week 3. We have a long season left and to kind of understand what good we put on tape this last week, we can take that with us the rest of the season. That’s probably like the biggest part of it. In terms of for the backs, I’m happy as hell for those backs. That’s a great stat sheet for the game.”
(You guys are towards the bottom of league in pre-snap penalties. I know that was an issue last year. Head Coach Mike McDaniel mentioned, especially with all the motion, how much it takes everyone, especially the offensive line too. Can you maybe take me through the process of Year 2 getting the flow of the motion and the pre-snap elements and timing?) – “Yeah, pre-snap penalties, yeah the motion and the timing and everything is key. But I mean there’s just been such a huge emphasis on needing to reduce the pre-snap penalties overall. That’s just simple. That’s just directly on the player. There’s nothing like the scheme or anything you can do to alter that. I think every person just has to look within themselves, myself included, to not jump offsides, to understand what we want to do on that play. Because it’s little things and split-second decisions where you think too much on a certain play or you didn’t think enough and now you’re not moving with the whole team. It’s just little things within the player. The screens and stuff, that’s great for Mike and his approach to play-calling. But in terms of no pre-snap penalties, that’s just focus.”
(You have a front row seat to watch OL Robert Hunt do his thing every week. Where have you seen him grow here in his fourth year?) – “He’s just an animal. He is very comfortable in the system, understands his angles, run targets and run blocking. I think he even began to set more aggressive in pass-pro. I’ve seen him clamp a lot of guys at the line. He’s just growing at a fast rate. He’s already a wonderful player.”
(I believe zero sacks means a cake, right? Do you guys get to choose the cake? What’s the process of the cake there?) – “I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t think we got a cake because the Chargers game…”
(You guys didn’t get a cake?) – “Yeah, we didn’t get a cake. Raheem (Mostert) got a cake because he got protector. He gave it to the o-line because he’s a running back.”
(With RB De’Von Achane going for 200 yards two weeks after being a healthy scratch, what kind of strides have you seen from him in practice that gave him that opportunity?) – “It’s kind of just a testament to him. He got in with us in OTAs. (Mike) McDaniel coached him up for sure. He’s taken all the coaching and he’s been very attentive and just really elevated because of him taking the coaching and working hard. I love to see that type of stuff out of him. It’s nice to see him in a game for the first time. That was my first time seeing him in live bullets. Was he in preseason? I’m not sure.”
(I think he got hurt early on. So maybe like one game and it wasn’t much play time.) – “Right. Yeah, that was my first time, so it was exciting to see him.”
