Jordyn Brooks – December 24, 2024
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Tuesday, December 24, 2024
LB Jordyn Brooks
(How are you doing after you came away with those knee and quad ailments last game?) – “I’m doing good. I’m doing well. Nothing serious, so I’m good.”
(What has this first season as a whole been like for you in Miami? The numbers you’re putting up and the being able to play in this Anthony Weaver defense?) – “It’s been good. Going through some adversity early in the season as a team, that can always be difficult. I feel like during the course of the season, it’s been a great first year getting to play with some of the guys I get to play with and then play in the system and scheme under Coach Weaver. He’s been great for us all year. I’ve been blessed all year to be here.”
(On the playoff possibilities. Do you follow the playoff possibilities? Do you know what you guys have to do, or do you just show up every day and work?) – “For me, it’s a mixture of both. I’ve got to see where we’re at to keep the belief alive and keep the belief going. I told the guys before the game last week, if the say there is 0.01% chance, then we fight for that chance because nobody knows what can happen. Everybody else outside could be like, ‘Oh, they’ve got no chance,’ but you don’t know who’s going to win that game or who’s going to lose that game and how it’s going to shape up. I think as a football player, you’ve got to think that way. I think as a man in general, you’ve got to think that way in life – having faith in anything that you do. For me, that’s how I approach it. The rest of my teammates know that’s how we got to approach each week. We’re still alive. Come to work each day preparing and expecting to make the playoffs and see how it all falls out.”
(I’m a fan of the LB Chop Robinson celebration. Where does that rank for you? Do you have some other favorite all time celebrations with teammates or just as an NFL fan?) – “I think earlier in the year, we were at a team dinner and Chop (Robinson) was kind of getting frustrated he wasn’t getting any sacks yet. I remember talking to him, I said, ‘Hey man, you just got to get your celebration ready.’ He was telling me, ‘I got one. I got one up my sleeve,’ and then the very next week, he ended up getting his first sack. He’s held on to it and it’s become a thing. I love his celebration. I don’t know where he got it from, but it fits him. It fits the name, it’s been great. Another one that I like that’s an all-time is Ray Lewis coming out the tunnel. That celebration is iconic, but Chop’s is definitely up there for sure.”
(To follow up on LB Chop Robinson, just talk to me about his development and his growth from the early days of preseason to now?) _ “I think just getting more comfortable with just being in this system, being around the vets, the coaches, everything. Being a rookie is hard to just go out there and start balling right away. Some do it, some don’t. For him, I don’t think it took him too long at all. It’s right on time for him to get going for us and for himself. I think the sky is the limit for him to keep going and playing at a high level.”
(Now that you’ve basically had almost a full season under Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver, I’ve enjoyed watching his defense, but I’m curious to hear from one of the leaders in the middle. How would you describe Coach Weaver’s first year here coordinating this defense?) – “I think it’s been outstanding. You guys get a chance to talk to him when you ask him questions, and you kind of can get a feel for his demeanor and his personality. I think that’s the way you got to be to coach men in this league. I think he’s a good mix of laugh and play with you and being dead serious at the same time. I think he’s got the respect of all the guys in the locker room. It makes you want to play hard for him, and I think that’s why as a defense we’ve had and the success that we’ve had, and we can be even better. I feel that he’s done a great job coming in here his first year, brining in a great system and coaching it up the right way with his assistant coaches and all that. And really just earning the respect from everybody, holding every man accountable, that’s the type of things that I love about a coach. I’ve got nothing but good things to say about Coach Weave.”
(What do you think the offensive line gets out of OL Isaiah Wynn when he’s in the lineup? If you’ve gone up against the first team line in practice or just watched him, what do you think he provides as a blocker?) – “I think he’s great. We get a chance to go against him at practice as he’s been ramping up getting back from injury. I think he gives us a boost, just his experience in the game and obviously his God-given ability. I’m excited for him to keep going and help us improve as an offense and an offensive line. The sky is the limit for him as well.”
(What defensive teammate that you didn’t know a lot about coming into this season your first year here that you’ve gained an extra appreciation for about how good they are, about how they work, something about them? I’m sure a lot of guys would fall into this category, but first couple of names that come to mind, I’d be curious?) – “The obvious one would probably be Zach (Sieler). I didn’t now much about Zach at all. Even when I first met him, I didn’t know who he was. But just being around him, our lockers being right by each other, really getting to know him outside of football, it’s no accident to why the success that he’s having right now. He was definitely a guy I wasn’t thinking about coming in, but definitely I gained a lot of respect for just by the way he played and works, his approach to the game. Yeah, it would definitely be Zach, no doubt.”
