Noah Igbinoghene – July 29, 2022
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Friday, July 29, 202
CB Noah Igbinoghene
(Obviously this is the second time CB Xavien Howard and CB Byron Jones have been out and you’ve had the opportunity to step up. What will make this time different than the last time in your opinion?) – “I wouldn’t say – I’m not really worried about last time. I’m really focused on right now and the situation I’m in right now and just coming to work every day. I’m not really worried about ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) and Byron (Jones) honestly. I’m worried about myself and this team and me getting better and my job because I have a role to play on this team, a responsibility just like everybody else on this team, so I just want to come to work every single day and do my job the best way possible.”
(What have you worked on to improve yourself?) – “I’d say this offseason I worked with Goldfeet TA – shoutout to him – and just working on my press and just everything, my speed, getting my body fat down, getting my weight down. Just working on a lot of things, completing myself as a man, stuff like that and just, so I can come here and give my full 100 percent every single day.”
(And going up against WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle who obviously you’re familiar with Jaylen, but what does that teach you?) – “They’re one of the two top receivers in this league, so if you can be successful against them, consistent against them, that shows how you’re able to do against the rest of the league. So I look to be really dominant against them so I can be dominant against the rest of the rest of the receivers in this league. It’s a blessing just to have those two players on my team and I can’t wait to see what they do and what this team does as well.”
(How much of a difference does it make for you playing and being coached by guys who were so good – Sam Madison and Pat Surtain?) – “It brings a whole different type of experience to the room. We already have ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) and Byron – two people that have been playing this position for a very long time and when you add Sam Madison, you add Pat Surtain, that’s four right there that just – they played this game at a really high level at my position so I’m just able just to soak everything in just to learn. I just watch and learn and listen and apply it to my game and whatever they tell me, I do so.”
(Cornerbacks/Pass Game Specialist Sam Madison was the press god around here. Is there anything that he’s taught you about, that technique, that you’ve incorporated into your game?) – “I would say really just staying on the receiver, staying as close as possible to the receivers and not really letting them breathe honestly because I remember I used to play receiver and I didn’t like that – a corner always in my face, a corner always pressing me, a corner always just putting their hands on me. I don’t like that. A lot of receivers don’t like that, especially now, and so he’s taught me that and just doing it every single play, not just one play and being lackadaisical on it, but showing up to the line every time that man is called and doing it count like play after play after play after play and not just one play like I said before. And so yeah, he’s taught me that and he’s going to teach me so many other things and I’m just excited man. I’m waiting to see what we do.”
(How much more confident do you feel than maybe at this time last year?) – “I feel very confident. My body feels different. Everything feels different. The atmosphere feels different. Everything is new and so I can’t wait to see what this team does again.”
(That play in one-on-ones where you got a pass breakup on WR Jaylen Waddle but he still caught the ball, do you count that as a win or does that make you frustrated when he gets the reception at the end?) – “I count it as a win. I count it as a win. (laughter) Of course if we were live, it would have been complete because he still caught it, but it was one-on-ones, so I count it as a win.”
(Did he talk a little trash after that?) – “No, he didn’t say nothing. (laughter) He knows he lost. He knows he lost. He knows he lost. He got me the first play, though. He got me the first play. (laughter)”
(CB Xavien Howard had some really nice things to say about that. What does it mean to you as somebody who’s newer here to have that encouragement from a longtime vet?) – “Man, like I said, he’s played this position at a very high level so just anything he says, I really just listen because he knows what he’s talking about because he’s done it. Like he has proof, he has film and so I should listen to him. That should be the person I’m going to and seeking advice from – him and Byron (Jones) and Pat (Surtain) and Sam (Madison). I should be going to those guys and asking them all the questions I have in this world because a lot of people don’t have – they’re not in my position to be able to learn from those guys. So again it’s a blessing just to be in a room with them.”
(What’s the best advice that CB Xavien Howard has given you?) – “Just to come into work every single day not really worried about yesterday or last year or two years ago, but worried about be present today. Not worried about tomorrow, but come to practice every day and just worry about that day because corner – yeah, everybody’s going to get beat. You’re going to have mistakes. You’re not going to be perfect, but how can you bounce back the next play and the next play after that and just being consistent play after play after play. It’s not just doing it one time. You’ve got to be able to do it over and over again.”
(Did maybe you have that mentality kind of opposite your first two years? Like right now you seem lighter, but did you have that mentality the last couple years where you were a little bit harder on yourself?) – “Yeah, definitely a little harder on myself. Yeah, I would say I was a little bit harder on myself, but now I just, I let things go now because you can’t worry about the past nowadays. You’re not going to be able to stop everything. You’re not going to be able to beat everybody every single time. Everybody gets paid in this league. Everybody is a pro athlete and everybody is playing in the NFL, so I’ve just got to do my job the best way I know how and if I do that count in and count out, I know how dominant I can be. I’m just putting the work in and I can’t wait just to show it off.”
(Speaking of just learning how to let things go, not to bring up old stuff, but that against the Bills your rookie year…) – “Against Stefon (Diggs), yeah. (laughter)”
(Against Stefon. How long did that stick with you?) – “Honestly I still think about it now, and not like anything like ‘I’m thinking about the past’ or anything like that, but he’s a high-top receiver and that’s somebody I want to – if I want to be the player I want to be, I’ve got to be able to beat those guys every single time I go against them. And the Buffalo Bills, they’re really, they’re a high-level team and he’s the top receiver there. So just to be able to go against him, I’ll cherish the opportunity just to go against him again and do the opposite of what happened.”
(So it’s not that it – it could bother you, but it’s not like it still weighs on you?) – “Yeah, because it’s in the past like I said. There’s nothing I can do. I’m a whole different person than I was at that point, so I can’t even judge myself at that time. I’ve got to bring who I am now; I’ve got to bring that forward and show that when we play them this year, so I can’t wait to just to play them honestly. I can’t wait.”
(So your body fat’s down? What did you do to get it down?) – “I’ve just been working. I’ve just been working. Not saying I wasn’t working before, but…”
(Diet?) – “Yeah, diet and stuff like that. There’s a bunch of things that I’ve been able to do.”
(I’m trying to learn the tricks.) – “You’re trying to learn the tricks? (laughter) All right, bet. I actually – a year ago I became vegan. I’ve just seen the improvements in my body. I don’t know if anybody else, but I know what it’s done for me and it’s just completely changed the way I feel, just everything. I just feel more lean. I know I look more lean and so yeah, I’m excited, man. I came in this year, 190, that’s the lowest I’ve ever been ever in my career, so I’m excited. I feel loose. I feel ready and I’m ready to go. Ready to hit it man.”
(What was the toughest thing you gave up to be a vegan?) – “Oh, man. Probably my mom’s cooking. (laughter) Probably just everything. What they have in the cafeteria downstairs – it’s hard. It’s really hard not to eat because I was eating – I wasn’t a vegan for most of my life and now becoming vegan, it’s just another level of discipline, I would say. So it’s just really on my game. Just really sticking on that, really sticking on a diet and that just applies to everything else in this life. Just be consistent and being disciplined. It applies on the field. It applies off the field and yeah, that’s just another asset I have just to be able to be successful in this game.”
