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Jonnu Smith – August 5, 2024 Download PDF version

Monday, August 5, 2024

TE Jonnu Smith

(What do you think of the prospect of adding to the tight end pass game production? This is one of the teams that didn’t score a touchdown from a tight end last year.) – “Just being able to come in early and be able to do what I do, make key plays, be an addition to the team and utilize my skillset and help us go a step further. So I’m excited to be here, excited for the opportunity. Just continuing to stack these days and collectively we’re all coming together building our identity as a team, and that starts with bringing your individual skillset to the team and contributing. That’s where we’re at now and so far, we’re making great strides with that.”

(What have you learned from Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends Coach Jon Embree? He puts such an emphasis on blocking.) – “He’s the best that I’ve had. (Jon) Embree is a heck of a coach man and a better person. A ton of coaching experience, a ton of wisdom and knowledge that I can soak up and learn from him, a great guy to be around. That man’s name speaks volumes around here, so I’m excited to be a part of his room. I’m excited to learn and grow with him not only as a player, but as a person as well.”

(This team has talked about being more physical, more aggressive, I know that’s part of your game. What should that look like Tuesday and Wednesday against the Falcons?) – “We got to come and set the tone. It’s just that simple, come and set the tone. They’re coming in our house. We’ve been knocking each other’s heads off for the past couple of weeks, man. It’s time to just take it out on somebody else, and it just so happens to be them. We’ll handle that tomorrow.”

(Speaking of taking it to somebody else, you get to see some of your boys. Is there a player that you want to catch a pass over or run over?) – “(laughter) Listen man, I’ve been battling with those guys. They’ve got some good players on that side, but whoever lines up in front of me tomorrow, I’m treating it like I treat game day. It just is what it is. I’m excited about the opportunity, excited to go out, excited to let loose on these guys, excited to do it with this group of guys as well. One more sleep, one more sleep.”

(Head Coach Mike McDaniel made a great point about how your offense is only as versatile as your tight end, like your tight ends have such a big part of how many things a team could be versatility wise. What does that mean to you personally?) – “The tight end in any offense is really the guy that really creates the defense to move. That’s the adjuster. He’s usually the strength for the formation and he’s usually the guy going across the formation motioning across and shifting, just moving all over the place. That causes the defense to move, that causes the defense to adjust. If you got a guy that’s already giving the defense headaches and when you go out and he has a certain skillset that’s hard to defense you got a lot of problems on Sunday. That’s why I love playing the position. Just being able to use my advantage against teams and it’s part of the reason why I’m going into my eighth year in the NFL. Glad to be doing it with (Head Coach) Mike McDaniel calling the plays, man. He’s a hell of a coach, hell of a play caller. So just excited with everything we got in front of us.”

(We’ve seen you take reverses, line up all over the place. How many different positions do you think you’ve played this past month?) – “Everything, whatever I’m called to do. He’s going to utilize me to my skillset. That’s why I’m so excited about being here. I’ve been in offenses where my talent has been utilized and underutilized, so it’s good to be back on this side of it.”

(When does this offense become second nature to you as a first-year player in it?) – “I’ve been in this system – it’s kind of a West Coast style system – for a while now. Going back with Arthur Smith and Matt LaFleur, I’ve been in this offense for a while now, so it’s a lot of familiar terms, a lot of the same schemes, just different ways of dressing it up, different ways they’re dressing it up. So learning – already having an idea of what we’re trying to do makes it a lot easier, so just continuing honing on this playbook and establishing my role in it, just attacking it every day, every night. Whether it be in these meetings or these walk-throughs, already a couple of weeks in everything is coming in a lot slower. It can only get better from here on out.”

(What would constitute a good season for you personally?) – “Just make sure my skillset is known and that these guys know that I came here and brought what they expected. I’ve been a guy that’s been dynamic with the ball in my hands for my entire career. If I come out and continue to do what I do and do it with the ability that I’ve been blessed that I’ve worked on my entire career, good things are going to happen for this team.”

(What do you think are some of the creative ways to get you the ball?) – “Can’t spill all the beans right now man. Can’t spill all the beans. But no, like you said man, you alluded to it earlier, (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) is phenomenal at drawing things up for guys of a certain skillset. Again, I’m excited about everything that he’s got coming for us.”     

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