LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (7.24.23)
How’s the foot feel and talk about just the process of getting back out there and running around?
“Yeah, foot feels fine, it feels good. Spent a lot of time in the offseason eating the right things, and doing the right things – whether it’s stretching, yoga, or taking the right supplements to be able to ensure the foot’s health. So it’s going well.”
Did you ever consider undergoing surgery? Was that a big decision that you had to make? And ultimately, how did you decide not to?
“Yeah, I mean, the surgery was obviously presented as an option. I wanted to more so tap into the natural way to kind of heal my foot. It was a personal decision, it wasn’t like I saw anything better on this side or not better on that side. It was more so just a personal preference.”
When Coach was asked about you today, he was asked what would make a great year for Jeremiah. The first thing he said was ‘stay healthy.’
“Absolutely.”
Are you conscious of that as he obviously was?
“You’re obviously conscious of it. Of course when you get on the field, you’re not thinking, ‘Oh, let me not do this so that I won’t get an injury or something like that.’ You just go out there, you have fun, and you play. I agree 100% with Coach. The best ability is available so we can have a healthy year that’s a successful year.”
Kevin said you came in at the weight that they were hoping you would. How do you feel about your weight going into the season?
“Yeah, weight feels fine. I gained a little bit more mass. To me I still feel fast, still feel quick. I still feel like I could do the same things that I am used to doing – the quickness and agility, so it feels fine.”
Has it been difficult to kind of find that weight to figure out what the ideal number is for you?
“Not necessarily. I mean, I’m always in between 216 and 225, so I’m always in that range. It’s just about keeping that consistently throughout the season and making sure that I’m eating the right things. With my diet, it’s a little bit different. I can’t take three days off, two days off with not eating the right things, right? So I have to be a little bit more conscientious of exactly what I’m putting in my body and the things I’m taking.”
Were you happy with where your weight was last year?
” I mean, not necessarily. I mean, I was in a space where I could still play fast and I could still be powerful. I told A-Walk (Anthony Walker) the other day, and he was joking about the weight situation, I’m like, ‘Well, if you find ten plays through my year that I’ve been here where somebody has bullied me, then let me know.’ So joking with them like that, but it’s more so durability. As Coach Stefanski said, it’s about health. That’s what I’m gaining weight for and that’s why I want to get more mass, to be able to be more durable, take more shots and to give more shots.”
Jeremiah, when players are coming off an injury, unfortunately, that offseason where you would be investing time in expanding your game or improving your game is spent rehabbing. How have you balanced the rehab aspect while at the same time maybe trying to find ways to make yourself a better player?
“I don’t think necessarily it’s about training a particular way versus another. Even with injured guys, you look at some of the best players, they might not necessarily look like they’re working as hard as some of the other players. It’s really about finding a tempo for you. It’s about finding where exactly to train, who to train with, and who are the good people that you need to invest in your body. So you do a lot of things to stay conditioning. You do a lot of things to stay healthy and to get back healthy. It’s really about strength and really the connective tissues versus maybe like a bone or like a muscle.”
This new defense, we kind of know there are things going to be different up front. Things in the back are going to be different. What about in the middle where you are? What’s different?
“Not necessarily anything that’s different. I wouldn’t say different at all. I think it’s more so of just a mindset and to evolve. And I don’t think anything shifts from one to another with the linebacker mindset. It’s always run, shed, tackle the guy with the ball, to be simple. Coach (Jim) Schwartz emphasizes the attack defense. That’s what we’re looking to go into. Nothing different in reference to a certain body type or another body type or a different mindset. Coach (Jason) Tarver is still our coach. We have a similar mindset.’
What do you make of the fact that this is the one position group that didn’t add really anybody except one player?
“Again, there’s nothing different, right? We want to stay consistent with the room, as coaches may tell you. Nothing has really shifted in our room. It’s more so just being consistent and really leveling up. We want to be the best linebacker group in the country. Right? And in the world. I know we win the Super Bowl, we say the champions of the world, right? So really in the world. We want to make sure that we stay consistent and grow from what we were last year.”
Do you feel better being in your old college number?
“Oh, yeah, it’s a pleasure. It’s a pleasure, definitely.”
Was that always the plan? Did you always want to get back to it?
“It was semi-planned. I was like, ‘Baker (Mayfield) is going to be here forever.’ You look around, you see nothing but Baker jerseys. So even last year, I’m like, ‘I don’t want to get it yet,’ you know. But I talked to Baker about it and it’s cool.”
What did Baker say when you talked?
“I was talking to him about it last year, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I might be thinking about getting this number.’ He’s like, ‘You might want to wait a year.’ Yeah, it’s cool.”
Are you excited about how you could be used in this defense and attacking and playing to your strengths?
“Any player that has a certain skill set yearns for a coach like Coach Schwartz to be able to tap into his full potential and to put him in the right places, to send him when it’s time to send, to put him back when it’s time to put him back. Coach Schwartz really understands not only my skill set, but also the other players and the personnel, not only of our team, but also of the other teams and when to put us in different places at certain times.”
Have you ever watched some film of linebackers that have played for Jim Schwartz before? Maybe from the (Philadelphia) Eagles or anything?
“I mean, my eyes are green right now from how much Eagles film I’ve watched. But yes, of course.”
Who have you been watching and who do you see that sort of you’re emulating a little bit?
“Nigel (Bradham), he was a guy from the Eagles. Very good linebacker, very elusive, able to hop from one place to another, get from ‘A’ to ‘C’, and very strong. He’s really able to see the field a certain way and expose the ball. He really embodies that attack mindset. When you go watch that Eagles film from Jim Schwartz’s days”
When you talk about building up that durability, Jeremiah, we talked to Coach Tarver right at the end of minicamp. He said that was one of the two things he told you, that was his going away message, that you need to come back stronger and have a better understanding of the system. Is that something that you guys are on the same page about?
“it wasn’t just to me, it was more so for the entire linebacker group. My mindset is a coach is not going to say, ‘Come back weaker, come back slower.’ Of course the coach emphasizes coming back stronger, faster. We’re linebackers. This is what we do. We get downhill. We don’t hesitate, right? These are some of the things that have been emphasized lately, the tenacity with which we play. Coach Schwartz always talks about us being the nerve center. You all probably heard that once or twice. That’s really what we’re focused on is to be that holistic group and to not allow ourselves to succumb to any weaknesses.:
Jeremiah, knowing you probably turn the injury into a positive. How did you do that?
“Again, if you see it as a challenge instead of a negative, then you can get something out of the challenge. The challenge is always supposed to get people better. So when of course adversity comes, you take it, you look at it and you say, ‘How can I improve from this? How can I let this situation make me a better person?’ And that’s exactly the mindset that you have. Frankly, if you do look at the studies, you’ll see that mindset versus somebody that says, ‘Oh, this is a negative thing.’ You heal faster with a certain mindset towards injuries.”
Jeremiah, I kind of was talking about that four H’s exercise to some of your teammates and getting to know each other as people. What has that exercise been like that? Have you done that before? And I guess just take us through the impact?
“So I haven’t done it yet, but every year we’ve done it. So different guys have gone and talked about their history, talk about their heroes, talk about just different things that have impacted them and who we’re looking at. Everybody has a story, everybody has a history. And as well, everybody has hopes of a better future or of a consistent future. So that’s been a very productive exercise and I think that’s one of the ways that this team chemistry is going to excel.”
As you enter year three here, how do you look back at your first year?
“A bit more free. I’m breathing, I’m breathing now. Right. We have a scheme that really allows us to be who we are. A coaching staff that’s very solid. We’ve put the pieces in place, looking for a very strong year. So just breathe. I could breathe, our brothers could breathe. We could kind of go out there and really go out there and attack. I think that’s going to be huge. You’ll see it in the mindset, you’ll see it in the way that we play. It’s going to be very no-nonsense, no patty cake and you’ll see that.”
So do you think when you go back to the first two years, you had glimpses of what you can show and then this year it all comes together and it’s more consistent?
“Last year wasn’t the best year for me specifically. But again, nothing really changes, everything really just evolves. So it’s about which way am I going to go? Am I going to decrease or I’m going to incline? So that is what we’re focused on. We’re focused on the incline. We’re focused on doing the same things in reference to the mindset. Elevating that in a way that we can and going right within what coach wants us to go.”
When you be free of mind, is that what you mean?
“Well, not free of mind necessarily. Again, we’re going back to the holistic aspect, right? Free of body, getting back stronger, no injuries. We’re talking about the aspect of football that many people don’t get to really experience without going on the field and being free and not thinking too much – not worried about the body, not worried about a certain scheme. So there’s a holistic aspect to it.
Jeremiah, when they hired Jim, did you reach out to some guys that played for him and what was sort of the feedback you got from them if you did?
“No, I didn’t reach out to necessarily anyone. I had certain coaches talk to me, whether it was from the Notre Dame staff or whether it was from some of my high school coaches that were like, ‘Hey, I’m an Eagles fan. I’ve been watching this guy,’ et cetera, et cetera, The feedback that I got was the same that everybody hears, he’s a no-nonsense guy. He’s able to tap into the true potential of players, and he’s able to lead. Every warrior has that when they go to war, they have to be gassed up, and motivated in some type of way. Nobody’s just going to war willingly and saying, ‘Oh, let me just go out there and risk my life.’ So Jim Schwartz does a great job of that, and we’re happy we got him.”
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