Cornell Armstrong – June 13, 2018
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Wednesday, June 13, 2018
CB Cornell Armstrong
(I know former Dolphins CB Patrick Surtain was trying to catch up with you at some point. Did that happen yet?) – “Yes. Actually, we met up with him. We had a player engagement meeting, a little thing that we do. So we met with them at Bokamper’s and all of the alumni came down. I chopped it up with him. I’m supposed to hopefully get in contact with him this summer and try to get some knowledge, and just see where it goes from there.”
(What, if anything, did former Dolphins CB Patrick Surtain tell you in terms of advice, general advice, or anything?) – “He told me to go out there and get as many reps as I can. (He said) don’t hide in the back, go out there and just do what I do, do what I did to get here and just play ball.”
(Has Southern Miss changed a bunch since former Dolphins CB Patrick Surtain was there? I don’t know. How is the perception of the program?) – “I would say we have the same perception (and) the same motto. Just attacking the ball. We still have ‘The Nasty Bunch,’ what they call our defense. We just go out there and try to hold up to that name and go out there. I know those guys are going to keep it going; but when I was there, that’s what we lived by. ‘The Nasty Bunch.’ Just doing all you can to … Giving it all you’ve got out there on the field.”
(Did you ever YouTube former Dolphins CB Patrick Surtain? What did you see?) – “(Laughter) I YouTubed his videos and I just liked the way he played. I’m going to have to go back and break them down some more; but yes, I liked the way he played. Most definitely I’m going to have to go back and try to steal some tips.”
(Former Dolphins CB Patrick Surtain was playing when some of us were covering the team, so you make us feel old.) – “(laughter)”
(Do you have any picks at all during team drills during the OTA sessions? Any interceptions?) – “Not yet, but I’ve got a few pass deflections. I’ve got to get my hands on the ball. I’ve got to steal some picks, for sure.”
(Which DB do you think has had the most interceptions in OTAs?) – “I want to say I think Minkah (Fitzpatrick) is up there, for sure. Yes, I think Minkah is up there.”
(I know you came in as a very accomplished college cornerback, but it’s a big jump to covering some of these guys. What has it been like to cover people like WR DeVante Parker and WR Kenny Stills out there?) – “Like you said, it’s a big jump; but deep down, you’ve just got to trust yourself. Mostly I’m just trusting my speed. I’m just doing everything I did that got me here and just building off of that.”
(What’s the worst and best experience you’ve had on one of those guys?) – “I don’t know. Like I said, (I’m) just trusting my speed. Sometimes I’m trying to sit on stuff and stuff like that, so I’ve just got to trust it and just go with what I see on film and believing what I see.”
(Who is helping you learn how to study film for NFL games? How do you learn that process?) – “There’s a few. Actually, I go around the locker room asking all of the vets – Bobby (McCain), Xavien (Howard), ‘Lipp’ (Tony Lippett), T.J. (McDonald) – all of those guys. I’m getting outlook from all of them, just trying to see what’s the difference and how I can build myself and separate myself in the room.”
(CB Bobby McCain said that you remind him of him. Has he mentioned that to you?) – “(laughter) Yes, he actually did. One day after practice, I just went up to him. I just got out of that shell of just hiding back, so I had to go talk to him. I was like ‘Man, why did you do this? Why did you do that?’ Because I want to be up there where those guys are at one day. I decided to just stop shying around and just go out there and speak to all of those guys and treat them like they’re my brothers.”
(From a football perspective, is there anything that you see similar – your style – to CB Bobby McCain?) – “Physical. I like the way he plays. He’s a physical guy. He’s not scared to go in there and get rough with you. I like that. That’s just how my game is.”
(CB Bobby McCain just got paid and he was a fifth-rounder. You were a sixth, right?) – “Right.”
(Does that give you some hope that you don’t have to be a first-rounder?) – “Man, it gives me a lot of motivation. Yes, I look up to him a lot. Just to see that and where he came from – a fifth-round guy, late-round guy – yes, it means a lot. It does.”
(You’re nearing the end of your first spring in the NFL. How would you evaluate how things have gone?) – “Every day I could say I laid a brick, I laid a foundation, to get better every day. I may have a few mistakes but the next day, I’ll build off that. I’ll make sure that I don’t mess up again on the same mistake. Every day I’m just laying a foundation and just stacking bricks.”
(Tell us more about that shell you were in when you first got here.) – “I’m pretty sure every rookie, just new guys in the room. When you come out of college with guys for three or four years, you see them every day. Now, you’re the new face. Now you’ve got to know names and stuff like that. I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s just being shy, I guess. I don’t know.”
(Have you learned every receiver’s name yet?) – “Yes, I know a few of them. For sure.”
(A few of them? Not all of them?) – “Not all of them yet. (laughter)”
(How difficult is that to learn 98 new teammates?) – “It’s very difficult. Like you said, I’m learning 98 names and they’re only learning one, really. Yes, it’s pretty tough.”
(Have you been on WR Isaiah Ford, who is visiting with us later today? What makes him difficult to cover?) – “Isaiah is just … He’s a fast guy. I don’t know what his 40 (time) is but the way he’s so light on his feet, I can tell he’s pretty fast. I don’t know what he ran but I can tell that he’s fast.”
(Do you have experience playing in the nickel spot in college?) – “I played it actually in practice but never in a game. I’ve got a little experience there.”
(Have they worked you at all in nickel?) – “No; but we’ve got a bunch of guys working in a bunch of spots. I’ve mainly been left and right corner, every day, just switching it up and getting used to this side and getting used to that side. (I’m) not mainly sticking to one side.”
(Did you move in college?) – “Yes, I did. I did”
(So you’re familiar with …) – “Boundary and field. Yes, sir.”
(There’s a lot of nicknames in that secondary – ‘X,’ ‘Tank,’ ‘T.J.,’ ‘G5.’ What’s your nickname?) – “They call me ‘Big Country.’ (laughter)”
(Why’s that?) – ‘Big Country?’ Because I’m from Bassfield, Mississippi. You know Mississippi is country so ‘Big Country,’ that’s my new name until I guess I get out of this rookie shell and get my ‘C-Nell’ back.”
(Are you okay with that nickname?) – “Yes. I’m okay with ‘Big Country.’ (laughter)”
(Who stuck that on you?) – “(Defensive Backs) Coach (Tony) Oden. For sure.”
(Was it just purely because you’re from Mississippi or did he detect the accent?) – “Yes, he detected the accent. They kind of tell me I talk too fast, so sometimes I have to slow down. Like if you hear me say Bassfield, Mississippi, they don’t understand that I have to break it down – ‘Bass Field.’ But I kind of run with it – ‘Bassfield.’”
(Who has been working in the slot besides CB Bobby McCain obviously?) – “There’s been a few guys. ‘Mink’ (Minkah Fitzpatrick), Jalen Davis, (Jordan) Lucas. There’s been a few guys. Everybody is just working around in different spots.”
(CB Johnathan Alston has been outside?) – “Yes, sir.”
(Back to the nicknames. Are there any of the other rookies that have been saddled with a nickname that they didn’t like so much?) – “I’m not sure they don’t like them or anything but I know Jalen Davis’ nickname is ‘Surfer,’ because he is from San Diego and coach says he likes to surf, I guess. We call Johnathan Alston, we call him ‘Snoop’ because of his dreads and long hair. We call him ‘Snoop.’ What did we call ‘Mink’ (Minkah Fitzpatrick)? We really just call him ‘Tide.’”
(They don’t sound like derogatory nicknames.) – “No.”
(It sounds like something you have to earn your way out of being called that? At some point you earn the right to be called what you want to be called?) – “Right, right.”
