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Brandon Jones – August 21, 2020 Download PDF version

Friday, August 21, 2020

S Brandon Jones

(Could you just give us an overall description of how camp has been going for you without the benefit of having OTAs, and also, does it benefit being around some veterans such as CB Byron Jones and different guys like that?) – “Yeah, it’s always good when you can get around vets – people that have been doing this for a while – and just kind of pick their brains. Obviously it’s a different situation. It’s something that we’ve never been a part of as the NFL, so it’s just kind of a learning experience for us, especially not being able to have preseason and OTAs and all of that stuff earlier; so I’m just literally staying under the older guys’ wings, learning as much as I can possible and then during practice, mistakes are going to happen, especially a lot of this is new for me, especially being in-person seeing stuff. I’m just trying to learn and get better every single day.”

(Has it been so far all safety work for you? Have you lined up in nickel at all? I know you did that obviously at Texas some last year and what’s your comfort level doing that if I may ask you to?) – “I’m open to whatever gets me on the field as fast as possible and whatever I can do to help the team, whether it’s lining up in the slot at nickel, lining at high safety, strong safety; I’m just here to do what I can to make the team better at the end of the day, and I have been working kind of everywhere. Our coach wants to be able to be multiple and be able to play different positions because you never know what can happen at the end of the day, so I’ve definitely been working kind of everywhere.”

(What are some of the things you were able to do during the time that there were no OTAs and so forth? What did you do on your own to try to get in shape and get prepared for this camp?) – “I’m really big on routine, so I was back in Dallas and Frisco most of the offseason and kind of just stuck to a routine – the same thing – getting as much work as possible. It’s kind of hard when you’re by yourself, especially during the quarantine, to get around with people. You have to stay six feet apart from everybody, so my biggest thing was obviously conditioning was a huge importance. I know lifting and getting strong is going to come with it, but being in physical shape conditioning-wise was super important, especially with this heat. This humidity is a lot different. I’m not used to it. I’m still kind of adjusting to it. I lose hella weight every single day, so it’s definitely new for me; but yeah, the biggest thing was just conditioning-wise and I think I’m in pretty good shape for the most part.”

(The last time we talked to you, you mentioned you’re not the biggest guy in the world out there. In fact you’re the lightest safety out there. I noticed at one point today, it looked like you were taking on a guard who probably outweighed you by 10 or 15 pounds.) – “Probably 50 pounds. (laughter)”

(What’s that like?) – “I really just kind of use my advantages and use my strengths and go against them. Obviously strength-wise, as soon I know in my head – as soon they get me locked on – I’m done for, so I’m going to try to do as much wiggle room, use my speed, get down because I’m shorter – a lot shorter – than a lot of them, so I’m going to get down as low as I can and try to make them bend; but those times are going to come. On screen passes or anything like that, you’ve got guards and tackles pulling to come get you. The biggest thing our coach tells us is just stay alive at the end of the day.”

(I wanted to ask you in terms of this defense, how complex is it to learn? I know you’re a smart guy, but what are the intricacies that give you issues?) – “I would say just kind of getting comfortable in knowing the next step. I think I’m really good at knowing once we get a formation, what the call is and stuff like that; but kind of getting on the next level knowing that if this guy motions, this is what we’ve got to go to, and just the overall importance of fundamentals and techniques. It’s tough. You’re playing against the best of the best each week and a bad step or anything like that can win or lose a game, so you’ve got to be very, very critical of your fundamentals and techniques and just kind knowing ahead of time what’s next to happen if this may occur in a situation.”

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