Safeties Coach Ephraim Banda (9.29.23)
First, start off with just how well Grant Delpit has been playing and how he just really seems to be coming into his own?
“Yeah, his effort from the moment that we started phase one to today, it’s just been relentless. His ability to stay in the moment, locked in, go day to day, week to week. And more importantly, he says it all the time. Be here for his team, all the time. He is such a competitor, his toughness and his desire to be on the field for every play, like the young man, he won’t let me take him out. Like practice, games again, wire to wire. From the first day of phase one to today, he’s been present and locked in, and I’m super, super proud of him. And he got his degree, and when he got his degree, he still got on a plane and showed up to that preseason game. So, I think it just says a lot about him, who he is, how he was raised. From his family, comes from a strong family background, which I loved back when I was recruiting him, and a big reason why I wanted the opportunity to coach him, which I’m getting to now.”
I know you talked about recruiting him and he was in high school and stuff. Did you always kind of sense those intangible things about him that he would have the, I guess, ability to get to this point?
“Absolutely. I mean, that’s what I saw. When you’re recruiting safeties in college, especially those blue-blood college programs, and you have the opportunity to recruit young men like that, you get a bigger pool to pick from, and that’s the hardest thing. You got to weed through that pool and find the right people. And what drew me to Grant at the time was that. Just who he was and how he was raised and the person he was. Because safety play isn’t just about talent. It’s about awareness. It’s about being selfless. It’s about doing all the other things. A book that we read in the summer, it’s about being a water carrier and being that guy for that team, for your team. You’re not going to – like last week, Grant had a great couple of games and then had to do the dirty work against Tennessee, and he did it at a high level and he had a chance to make a couple of plays, and he did. But he was selfless for his team. And that’s the type of person you want when you’re recruiting a guy. And it’s obviously the person we want in this building. And it’s kudos to this organization for finding him and making that a priority. And you’re starting to see the fruits of the labor of that decision.”
It seems like he’s really kind of thrived playing closer to the line of scrimmage, maybe not directly on the line, but more almost like a linebacker at times. Would you say that?
“I think what you’re seeing is a player that is multifaceted and can do a lot of different things. And I think that’s what Coach (Jim) Schwartz is doing an excellent job of with him is putting him in the right places. Coach Schwartz talks about all the time, this thing’s about players, man, and it’s about our job to get them, to put them in the right position. And that’s what Coach Schwartz is doing. And his ability to do that, to your question, is true, but if you watch him, he’s been excellent in man coverage and killing it, and we’re putting him at the point of attack in those situations regularly, Coach Schwartz is and because he’s done a great job and because he can do that, and he’s worked hard on that since we’ve walked in these doors. And I see a young man, I see a player that’s just really starting to touch the ceiling of his greatness that he likes to talk about and that he’s trying to achieve.”
I’m sure you went back and watched him last year, even the previous two years. Can you put your finger on why he’s been able to make more plays this year?
“I did watch him, but I’m not a big fan of trying to understand what he was asked to do and those things. I think that’s unfair to coaches who were here before. I’ve been at places where I’ve taken jobs over as position coaches or coordinators, and I just never thought that was fair to the player or to the coaches. What I do see is, I see a player that’s stacking reps. And when you do get to that rep threshold, you see what’s happening right now, and I can say that’s for sure the truth. I see a man that’s really finding confidence, and it’s my job to keep fueling that fire for him. And that’s more of what I see from before and then what I see to now. And I see a guy that, again, is just all in for whatever it takes to do whatever it takes. A water carrier mentality and is really blossoming, so proud of him for his efforts. What you guys don’t get to see in the meeting rooms, that’s the stuff that I’m just super excited for him for, and he’s finding success.”
Mentioning the book, was that something the safeties did all together? What can you tell us about that?
“Yeah, it’s called Captain Class. It’s essentially a book that Kevin (Stefanski) gave us as a staff that he wanted us to read in the summer. I fell in love with it. Great book, but it talks about the great leaders in teams across all areas of sport. And there’s a section in there that talked about it’s not always the most high-profile guy, it’s that water carrier, that guy that you don’t see behind that really keeps teams together, the glue. And those guys are massive in true successful teams, actually, it’s probably the biggest, most important piece. And Grant’s been that guy for us, and he deserves the credit that he’s getting now, and he’s been humble about it, and he’s taking it one day at a time.”
You told us back in the spring that you guys don’t really look at it like free safety, strong safety. How have you seen guys kind of embrace that versatility, and how has it helped you guys overall?
“Again, the world I come from, you got to play it that way a little bit more, but the things that I learned over the years is that you’re cross-training guys. They’re learning more, but more importantly, they’re learning more of the stresses that one person has versus the position, just playing one position. So the things that I’ve seen come from that is a greater awareness of what Coach Schwartz is trying to teach us and teach our team, our defense. And there’s a bigger knowledge, which I think is also helping the communication flow, because everyone knows the problems before they’re coming because they’ve played that position, whether they’re playing it then or not. And it’s just really grown the big picture of it. And I think it’s been good for us to do that. And it’s a great idea for Coach Schwartz to push us to do that, and especially early. Sometimes you just put him here and put him here and just let him learn that. No, no, let’s start this thing from the jump like Coach Schwartz said, and let’s do it this way. And it’s been good for us.”
Jim mentioned it yesterday, but that week you guys didn’t have Juan (Thornhill) and Ronnie (Hickman) kind of stepped in. Like, what did you see from him? An obviously just his progression.
“You know, Ronnie has done an excellent job. I’m proud of him too. He was a young man that we all had felt strong about through the process. He was actually, he was my first interview at the NFL Combine. It’s kind of funny. I’ll never forget it. And sitting down with him in that big old room and all the madness that happens in there. He was my first interview, and I was blown away with his intelligence, his presence, how he carried himself. I remember it being my first, and then I had, like, I don’t know, 40 or 50 after. And then I remember going back home and reading my notes and just really circling back to him. And what he did that moment and what he did in that game was he just didn’t make it too big. He was present, he was there, he was ready. He handled it very, very well. He’s been coached well. He comes from a great program at Ohio State, and they obviously do a great job there. You know, you know, a lot of those guys over there or they’re colleagues of mine in the past, and they do an excellent job, and they prepped him for this moment. It was not too big for him, and he was ready to go. And Coach Schwartz preaches that. He’s telling all those guys who haven’t got the Ronnie Hickman experience that your time’s coming. Don’t drop your gloves. Be ready to go.”
When you guys decide to go with three safeties, how much of that is dictated by what the other team does personnel-wise, or just what you want kind of to dictate to them?
“It’s more what Coach Schwartz sees. He’s amazing. First off, Coach Schwartz has been an absolute for me – absolute pleasure to watch work. I’ve grown and learned so much by watching him. And it’s those moments where he’s like, I think we fit better here versus this group personnel versus our personnel. And that’s what dictates those things. He’s one of the greatest defensive coordinators this NFL, this league has seen. Bottom line. And his ability to see those things, and then again, goes back to what I talked about, putting the players in the right spot, the right situation to have success. And that’s what he does extremely well.”
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