Minkah Fitzpatrick – June 5, 2018
Download PDF version
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
S Minkah Fitzpatrick
(Have you been counting your interceptions or your tipped passes or plays you’ve been making during practice?) – “Have I been counting them? Yes. I think every DB counts them. (laughter) I’ve got two picks and a couple of pass breakups. That’s it really. I’m just doing my job.”
(Is that typical, do you think? Or is that going to go…) – “That should keep going up. As more and more, I get comfortable, I’m going (to make) more and more plays. Sometimes I see too much or see too little during a play; but once I get more and more comfortable, it’s just going to keep going up and up.”
(What’s the process been like in terms of learning this defense? Do you feel like it’s slowing you down a little bit right now?) –“Obviously when you’re learning anything, you’re not going to be moving as fast as you want to be; but the coaches and the other players are doing a good job of just teaching me. I’m learning from my mistakes and learning from my good plays as well. But it’s just like learning anything. It’s not going to be as fast at first, but every single day I’m going to get faster and faster. I’ve been able to make more calls, see more things and make more plays. It’s just day-by-day. I’m getting better day-by-day. I’m moving faster and making more calls.”
(How many positions are they having you learn right now?) – “Strong safety, free safety and nickel.”
(How much do you think you’ve worked at each of them? Split pretty evenly) – “Yes, it’s split pretty evenly.”
(How’s it going do you think?) – “It’s been going pretty good. They trust me to do that and we’re just doing a good job of just making sure I’m learning on and off the field. (Defensive Backs) Coach (Tony) Oden is doing a good job. (Defensive Coordinator Matt) Burke is doing a real good job of just teaching me different things and different techniques. They’re not putting too much on me, but they’re definitely putting a lot on me at the same time. Every single day it’s something new. It’s new challenges and that’s it.”
(You’ve made one or two … How many White House visits have you made with Alabama?) – “Just one.”
(What was that experience like for you?) – “It was cool. (Barack) Obama was the president at the time. It was my freshman year. We flew up to the White House. I think it was in … I don’t remember what month it was in; but we flew up to the White House, we got a little tour of one of the wings of the White House. We sat in his library and checked it out; went through some books. Then Obama came into this one room. We shook hands with him. He talked with us for a little bit, took some pictures with him and then we had a little ceremony at the end. It was an overall great experience.”
(How often have you been on the field, after seven practices, with both S Reshad Jones and S T.J. McDonald, with three safeties? Have you done much of that yet?) – “No, we haven’t done anything with three safeties. We all rotate. So there will be … Reshad and T.J. go in and then I’ll take either one of them out and take a couple of reps with them. Then, it’ll be the other way, maybe a couple reps later.”
(Of the three spots you’ve been at, where are you most comfortable? Where are you best?) – “Either of the three. I’m comfortable just out there making plays and doing my job.”
(What, if anything, has been harder than you expected?) – “Nothing has really been harder than I expected. It’s all been hard, but it hasn’t been harder than I expected. I expected a real challenge. Everybody’s great on this level. Everybody’s trying to make plays on this level. Overall, competition is great. The playbook is going to be hard to learn, but I think I was prepared well at Alabama; so I’m stepping up to the challenge.”
(When you’re out there … This is going to sound weird but are you aware that you’re a first-round pick? Like do you put more pressure on yourself or do you think “I need to make impact today?”) – “No, I just tell myself I’ve just got to do my job, because once you start doing that, you start putting unnecessary burdens on yourself. You start trying to do things you’re not supposed to do. Every day, I’m just trying to do my job and learn what I’m doing. I have to tell myself I know I’m going to make mistakes. I made a mistake today. I’ve just got to learn from it, not let it happen again and that’s it. I just try to go out there every day and do my job and get better,“
(Does anybody make little “jokey jokes” with you about being a first-round pick?) – “I mean obviously everybody’s going to do that. We were making joke with Bobby (McCain) because he just got a contract extension, and so we just went through that. We were calling him “Big Money.” (laughter) Obviously, they’re going to say the same thing to me, but it’s all a part of the game.”
(What players have you leaned on thus far? It’s one thing getting instruction from coaches but as far as players helping out?) – “Just all the DBs. I’m just watching old game film, watching them play, doing it the right way, doing it the wrong way – whatever way. Obviously I’m asking questions on the sidelines and even when I come off the sidelines, they might see something that I didn’t see and they’ll talk to me. T.J. (McDonald) does it all the time. Bobby (McCain) does it some of the time. Reshad (Jones), Xavien (Howard), all of them. We just talk and communicate whatever we see and that’s it.”
(You knew obviously when you got drafted that this was coming; but what was it like when you signed that contract and see that amount of money coming to you?) – “It was good. It was a good feeling. Any time you see your hard work paying off, it’s a blessing. Me and my family, we worked real hard to be in this position; but you’ve just got to keep telling yourself ‘This is not the end goal’. It is a goal but it’s not the end goal. I said it earlier in the media, I didn’t come here just to be a first-round pick. I wanted to be a great player here and establish a great legacy here. So you’ve just got to keep on pushing it. Again, it’s an honor, it’s a blessing that we got that money and all of that stuff, but we’ve just got to keep on moving forward.”
(Did you celebrate with your family or anything?) – “No, not really. I just signed the contract and that was it.”
(You may have seen a couple of weeks ago there was a report, out of Boston actually, that when the Dolphins were on the clock, there was some discussion over whether to pick you. Maybe Owner Stephen Ross needed to be persuaded that you were the right guy to be picked at No. 11. Did you hear about that and does it add any extra motivation to prove that you were deserving of being picked where you were?) – “Yes, I heard about it. He’s a businessman, so he’s going to see the business side of everything. It’s a little extra motivation just to prove that I am the worthy pick, that I deserve to be here and that’s it really.”
Did you get a chance to chat with Owner Stephen Ross today?) – “No, sir.”
(Have you talked to Owner Stephen Ross since you were drafted?) – “No, sir.”
(Do you have plans for a big purchase after signing your contract?) – “No, nothing crazy. I mean, obviously, a house. I’m going to need somewhere to live; but besides that, no.”
(Do you feel Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban sufficiently prepared you to play at an NFL level? If so, how?) – “Yes, I’d definitely say … If you utilize all of your resources at Alabama, you’re definitely going to be prepared. Whether it’s the coaches, the physical training staff or just whatever. If you put 110 percent effort into it, you’re going to be prepared. Just the scheme, it’s almost the same exact thing. There’s small little differences that you’ve got to learn, but the scheme’s almost the same exact thing as Alabama. I’d just say the scheme and overall, I think we were prepared really well at Alabama.”
(Did you have an invitation to go to the White House most recently when Alabama went?) – “Yes, I did; but I was in San Francisco on a visit.”
(It was purely that or…) – “Yes, it was that. I was just on a visit. The schedules didn’t line up very well.”
(I know it’s only been 7 or 8 practices, but how does Head Coach Adam Gase’s personality and leadership style seem to compare to the last coach you had, Nick Saban?) –“They’re both very passionate coaches. They’re both really hands-on. The only difference is Coach Saban yells a little bit more. (laughter) But that’s about it. Coach Gase is a great coach. He’s a real energetic coach. All of the players love playing for him. I love playing for him and I’m happy that he’s my head coach.”
(Would you like to be stuck on a boat with Coach Saban when he ran out of gas?) –“(laughter) I didn’t see it but I heard about it though. I’m going to try to watch it sometime today, but it’d be pretty funny; a pretty fun experience.”
(Did you get anything back from Coach Gase on the interceptions?) – “He just said ‘Good job. Just keep doing what you’re doing.’ That’s it.”
