Davon Godchaux – September 19, 2018
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Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Defensive Tackle Davon Godchaux
(Did defensive line coach Kris Kocurek say anything at the beginning when he first met you guys back in April that he didn’t want any of you guys worrying about who is starting and who is no because the snaps are comparable? That I don’t want to hear any complaints about that? Was there anything that he brought up to the group?) – “We just roll; we just play. He doesn’t really bring that up in particular. Like I said, it’s the next guy up and we expect the same thing. Whoever it is in the game, we expect you to go 100 percent each and every play. It doesn’t matter who is in. We label all nine guys in that defensive room as starters. Nobody is particularly a starter. We label all guys starters – the first group, second group, everybody is the same.”
(Is that something the players do or did coach meet with you guys and say ‘don’t worry about the starters?’) – “Players and coaches, because we’re not selfish players. We all stick together.”
(How would you describe the No. 1 most helpful thing Defensive Line Coach Kris Kocurek has done?) – “Energy. Swagger and energy he brings to each and every game. It gets us fired up, starting on that Monday when we come in to watch the game from Sunday, getting ready for our opponent this Sunday. It’s kind of just the energy and swagger he brings. He brings that energy and you have to follow up with that same energy.”
(Defensive Line Coach Kris Kocurek always yelling in a good way. Does he do that even when you’re in the film meeting after the game?) – “That’s him. Whether it’s a good game or bad game he’s going to yell. He’s never going to let you feel that you’re on top of the world. He’s always going to let you know that you’ve got to keep working and never get complacent. That’s the thing for each – 11, 9 or 13 guys whoever is in the room – that’s what we love about him.”
(When you first saw that was Defensive Line Coach Kris Kocurek’s personality, were you kind of like ‘holy, moly?’) – “No. I had head ‘Coach O’ (Ed Orgeron) in college. I was kind of used to getting yelled at. I’d have a good game and then he comes back and be like ‘Don’t be too high on yourself because you’ve got to come back and do the same thing next week.’ I had ‘Coach O,’ so it’s kind of the same thing.”
(You’ve been getting many tackles for loss. Who is the guy that gets the most tackles for losses and why does that happen?) – “It’s a group effort. If I get a tackle for loss, the other three guys on the d-line did something right to help me get that tackle for lost. It’s the same thing about Akeem Spence, Jordan Phillips and Vincent Taylor. If they get a tackle for loss, somebody helped them do their job. We all kind of stick together and go together on things like that.”
(Specifically as it relates to your development, which has come now or is coming. Tell me the area that is best improved. Is it footwork, handwork? I want to know, feet, hand what is it?) – “I’m just trying to be consistent each and every day because you don’t want to get complacent in this league. You always want to stay consistent and know that you’ve always got more work to do. Never get too high on yourself and never get too low on yourself. Just know that you always have work to improve on.”
(How tough is it to get geared up for the running game of Oakland?) – “They have a good offensive line. It’s a challenge for us, but we accept the challenge. Each and every day we come out here and try to get better, because we know that we have a tough task on Sunday.”
(You know about ‘Beast Mode’ [Marshawn Lynch] and there’s a reason his name is Beast Mode?) – “I’m not focused on that. I’m focused on getting better each and every day. Marshawn is a great running back. We don’t take that for granted. We just focus on getting better each and every day.”
(What can you take away from what they were able to do against you guys last year or not because it is a different coaching staff?) – “No. They beat us fair and square last year. We’re not focusing on last year. We’re just focusing on this Sunday.”
(Where can I get some Chauxdown stuff?) – “Go to the site. Go to DavonGodchaux56.com and you can get some Chauxdown hoodies, shirts and all of that. Get you some gear and make sure you support the gear.”
(Tell me a little bit about what Chauxdown means.) – “That’s my foundation supporting obesity – eating right, eating healthy and all of those things like that. Growing up as a child, you always want to eat right to get to this level. It makes it easy. A guy like Cam Wake eats right, takes care of his body, lasted long in the league and still looks like he’s in Year 5.”
(Has your body changed a little bit since your arrival here?) – “Yes, I would say that. I don’t eat right all the time, but I try to stay consistent on eating good things each and every day.”
(Personality wise, you seem to have come out this year a little bit more. Am I mistaken about that? Things like, the Chauxdown and you were on Channel 4 barbecuing and things.) – “(laughter) I’m just being me. I’m just having fun. Life after football … Other than football, I like to cook, bring the guys over for crawfish boils and barbecue and just things like that. It brings the d-line closer together.”
