Brandon Jones – April 24, 2020
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Friday, April 24, 2020
S Brandon Jones
(When they talked about you on the broadcast, they talked about you requesting all of these film clips from all of these NFL teams. Tell us why you did that, and when you watched the Dolphins defense, what stuck out for you?) – “I knew I wanted to grow my game mentally. That’s something that’s going to keep you in the league for the longest time. I was very determined to get as much film as I could from my agent. I requested that from my agent to see as much film (as I could). I really wanted to dissect the defense of each NFL team and get a different sense of how teams scheme up different teams and what’s teams’ main coverages and why they run this versus that. I just took a lot of questions with me and I don’t know. It was a really fun experience and it took a lot of time – probably about 8 weeks to finish the whole thing. It was definitely worth it at the end of the day.”
(I imagine the studying probably paid off, especially when meeting with Head Coach Brian Flores and General Manager Chris Grier. What were some of your conversations like with them in regards to the defense that they play with a safety on the back end and usually a lot of nickel and dime?) – “Their big thing obviously is they liked how versatile I was and how I’m able to kind of move around and not have one specific position. Just kind of be very coachable and do whatever I’m told to do at the end of the day. It was awesome. It was an awesome experience. I just kind of had a very good vibe when I sat down and met with them. It was kind of like a connection at first sight, especially when I went and sat down with them and talked to them. I had a really good feeling about it honestly, and it kind of went up from there.”
(I read a few stories that talked about how you have played through injuries in your career. You played through or tried to play through ankle and shoulder injuries. Can you talk about the mindset that went into that?) – “Yeah, I’m the type of player that honestly, just how competitive I am, I don’t like anything to get in my way, to be honest. I’m kind of firm and stubborn when it comes to injuries. I know they are definitely a part of the game. It’s a physical sport, so there are a ton … which kind of sucks; but it is what it is at the end of the day. I’m going to give it my all until I can’t anymore. That’s the biggest – that’s how I kind of live and that’s how I’ve always thought of myself as a person and a player. Being able to go full speed, to go 100 percent as much as I can, as fast as I can and as hard as I can was my biggest goal going into it. I don’t really like injuries to get in the way and determine the type of player that I am because injuries don’t stop me. They happen, like I said; but at the end of the day, I think they kind of humble you. They make you really appreciate things once you get back. I don’t know. I just rarely let anything stop me or anything get in my way.”
(Talk to me about the ability to play strong safety or being down in the box and being the deep safety, as far as mentality. I’m thinking as the last line of defense, you have to take a wider angle when you’re the last guy. Maybe up in the box you can be more aggressive. What are the differences in those safety positions and which do you prefer?) – “Yeah, so being in the box, it’s nasty. It gets nasty down there taking on running backs if you blitz – one-on-ones with them. You have to take on pullers for counters. You have to take on tight ends. I’ve always embraced it. I think I’m a pretty aggressive, an aggressive safety. I love the challenges, to be honest. Honestly I’m not the biggest dude out there; but kind of in my mindset, I’m going to get back into this backfield and do whatever I can to be great and be successful. I think the biggest thing that I’ve learned is just the vision. It’s kind of weird going from the high safety and being able to see everything and then once you get down in the box, you start playing man coverage or when you roll down and be that roll down safety, your vision kind of shrinks. So you have to adjust that and kind of get used to that. That’s definitely the biggest difference.”
(You talked about your versatility. I know that you played a lot of special teams. You had a couple of blocked punts and returning ability. What is it about special teams that gets you going?) – “It’s really just anytime I touch the field, to be honest. Like I’m always looking for a chance to be great and kind of prove myself, whether it’s on defense or on special teams. Special teams has always been fun to me because you can make plays, you can be nasty and you can do some really fun stuff. Returning – I really, really enjoyed. Returning from that standpoint – I love running down on kickoff, I love blocking punts. I just love being on the field at the end of the day.”
(How is the shoulder doing? Typically with safeties, the shoulder injuries happen a lot because you’re diving into the running backs, tight ends. I guess how do you kind of see yourself not fearing to do that thing and trusting your shoulder and trusting your body after this?) – “My shoulder feels really good. Obviously, I’m staying the course, trusting the process, taking it one day at a time; but it’s definitely – after an injury, the biggest thing is just getting your confidence back. I think once you get your confidence back, you can be the type of player that you want to be. I think over this, with the rehab and everything I’ve been able to do, I’m able to do mostly everything now. I’ve been running for a number of weeks. I’ve been lifting weights. I was super excited to do pushups again. I never realized how fun pushups were. It’s definitely just a step-by-step and day-to-day process at the end of the day. But the shoulder is doing really good. I’m just enjoying and like I said, just taking it day-by-day.”
(How do you see yourself fitting into Coach Flores’ system and what do you add to the defense?) – “I just really see me being kind of like a Swiss army knife, a guy that can come in and do whatever I need to do. Obviously, just me being as versatile as I am, if a coach needs me to play in the box, I’ll do it. If he needs me to play high safety, I’ll do it. If he needs me to play some reps at corner, I’ll do it. The biggest thing to me is just getting on the field and helping the team out at the end of the day.”
