Laremy Tunsil – August 19, 2019
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Monday, August 19, 2019
T Laremy Tunsil
(The preseason for veterans is one game away and then it’s go time for real. How ready or close to ready are you?) – “Am I? I’m as ready as I can be. I come in every day and try to prepare and improve and work my ass off and provide for this team. That’s my mindset: to come in here every day and work and get better.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores said that he’s seen improvement from the o-line. What specifically have you seen, experienced, witnessed that’s on the up and up here?) – “There are some new guys on the front five and I think we’re coming along together and executing plays and learning each other. I think that’s what we’ve improved on, but there is more stuff to detail and improve on every day. That’s what we’ll keep doing. We’ll go today in the film room, in the meeting, and fix our mistakes and keep moving.”
(You said that you wanted to be more of a vocal leader, how is that coming along?) – “PRETTY GOOD! (laughter) Hey, guys clean up now! (laughter) It doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. We’re still trying, we’re still getting there.”
(Seriously, looking at the room now, we know the bigger task at hand.) – “Yeah it is, it is. It’s still something that I need to work on: being more vocal with the guys. But you know, I take it day-by-day and try to keep improving. I just keep leading with my actions and the vocal part will come with it.”
(What about your relationship with the two rookie guards that are starting right now – G Michael Deiter and G Shaq Calhoun? How would you describe that relationship? Does it take you back to when you were a rookie and how new it all was?) – “It does. It does for sure. ‘Deits’ (Michael Deiter) playing left guard, that’s the position I came in and played (as a rookie). I was right next to (Mike) Pouncey and Branden Albert. It was a fun time. I had a great time with those guys. Now I’m the vet in the room and I’ve got to bring the rookies up. Mike Pouncey and Branden Albert helped me out a lot and I know what to do from that point.”
(How do you embrace that leadership role that’s been put on you whether you want it or not?) – “Like you said, whether you want it or not, you’ve got to embrace it and keep trying to be better. Just be a better person, be a better leader, be more vocal and lead by your actions a little bit more. Just take it a step up and keep doing things.”
(Although you’re a younger guy, talking to a lot of the guys, they say it doesn’t matter your age.) – “It doesn’t matter your age at all, for sure. It’s Year 4 for me and it feels like Year 10.”
(Which is easier, which is more natural for you: to take care of you and to play up to your level or to take on an entire group and try to raise them up?) – “I’d rather take ownership of the entire group and raise them up. You can lead vocally or you can lead with your actions. It depends on who you are. I lead with my actions and I’m working on being more vocal. I’d rather focus on the group than focus on myself any day.”
(Did T Branden Albert change the way you looked at this thing? He was kind of the model guy.) – “He was the model guy. He did, he did. He came in and changed a lot of ways and has also helped me improve and mature, I’d say.”
(What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve gotten from either T Branden Albert or C Mike Pouncey that you can pass along to those guys?) – “That was a long time ago, guys. (laughter) Three years seems like a long time. I hit my head a lot.”
(Does there seem to be a whole lot of change in this area of the room in just the few years that you’ve been here?) – “Just new faces and new coaches. That’s a part of the business. That’s the only thing that’s really going to change in the environment. What ‘B-Flo (Brian Flores) came in here and did, he wants players to be more mature. That’s something he established and that’s something we’re working on. No changes, (just) new faces.”
(As with age, obviously comes more wisdom. Have you seen yourself mature a lot more since you’ve started and can it help you become a better football player?) – “Yeah, for sure. That’s one of the biggest things for me is maturing. Having guys like, Josh Sitton, ‘D.K.’ (Daniel Kilgore), Branden Albert, Mike Pouncey and seeing how those guys operate, I just took some tips from them and started doing it my own way and leading from that point.”
(What’s one thing that you know now that you wished you knew as a rookie?) – “How to watch film. That’s one thing some of the guys taught me, how to break down film – especially Sam Young – how to break down the film, what to look at, and what this player is doing and what this player is doing. I wish I would’ve watched film a little bit more when I was a rookie.”
(The Laremy Tunsil coming out of Ole Miss, if he was to meet this Laremy, what would the reaction be?) – “It would be a lot of things. (laughter)”
(Would it be a short conversation?) – “No. It would be a long conversation. We’ll leave that alone. Next question for sure. (laughter)”
(As far as the third preseason game, is that one the most fun because it’s like a regular season game?) – “Yeah, because we’re going to be in there the whole game. It’s the most fun. Let’s get some work.”
(Are you ready for a big year?) – “A big year? Yeah. (We’ve got to) keep improving. Not just me, just the whole team. We’re underdogs. We want to prove some people wrong.”
