DT Siaki Ika (8.24.23)
We can see the finish line from here. How does it feel camp being over?
“Exciting. Really exciting. Just grateful to be here. Grateful for each day that I get to do what I love. So real excited for what’s to come.”
So how would you say your first camp went?
“For me, it was a little bit of what I expected and a little bit of a lot of stuff I didn’t expect. It was hard at first, adjusting to playing ball in the pros. But as time went, I feel like I did a great job at adjusting, and I’m finding a pretty good fit in myself and in the defense, especially in the D line room.”
Being in that room with Myles (Garrett), Za’Darius (Smith) and Dalvin (Tomlinson) next to you and now (Shelby) Harris, what sort of stuff are you picking up from those guys?
“To be honest, there’s a lot of little things. From recovery tips to what they do on their off days to how they watch film, a lot of little details. I feel like that’s what the biggest difference is between college and the pros, is they take the little things and they do it so much that it’s just second nature. So taking advantage of every area that we can get better in.”
When you say there are things you didn’t expect, what are some of those things?
“I feel like just ball in general. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on the field, so especially that first day in Greenbrier when we kick things off and I’m finally putting my hands on someone again in a full-speed fashion, I’m hitting someone in a face mask with my face mask in a full-speed fashion. And those first couple of days are rough. I feel like everyone can kind of say the same thing about camp. So, the first couple of days are rough, and you start adjusting to it as the days go on and get better.”
They talk about Jim’s (Schwartz) defense being simplistic for the players, but Jason Kelce was saying last week about the complexity that also you have in dealing with it. How would you sort of balance that? What do you think he was trying to say there?
“I don’t know. Something that is complex but simple at the same time. For us on the D line, it’s not much to it. We have a track and we have a point in the backfield that we want to get to. And when the ball snaps, we just stay on our track and get to that point as fast and as violent as we can so it doesn’t get too much harder than that. I feel like for offensive linemen, where they’re doing all these gap schemes and combo blocks and stuff, where we’re not worrying about the blocks at all. We’re just getting the feel. I feel like that can cause some issues.”
What had the addition of Shelby Harris brought to this defensive line?
“I’d say another leader in the room, another vet. Another well-seasoned, experienced vet, someone who has a very valuable two cents in any conversation we have in that D line room. So, for me, it’s just another shoulder to lean on for me to look up to.”
With Ben Bloom or Jim Schwartz coaching a lot of veterans, but you’re a rookie, do you ever get, like, overwhelmed or how does that relationship work? Coaching a young guy as opposed to a ten-year veteran?
“I feel like for most people, it can be overwhelming. I mean, it is a hard situation to be in. You got a lot of guys around you who know how things are going to be, and then there’s maybe three or four guys who haven’t been around and they don’t know how things are, so it could be hard. But for me, since I was young, I’ve always been thrown into things like this. My freshman year in college, I was forced to play early, so adjusting to the speed of things and kind of nut up or shut up, really. So that’s what it is, how I’ve always looked at it, and that’s kind of how it’s been for me up to now.”
Some rookies have come through here and said their college preseason spring ball, training camp, so to speak, is physically tougher than what they found here. How do you weigh in on the physicalness of this training camp?
“I know for sure I’m in the pros now. Whether it’s taking care of my body or the guy in front of me being a ten-year vet, I know for sure I’m in the pros. And college is hard too, but that’s the way it is.”
Did you get an opportunity to talk to any of the really excellent Eagles defensive tackles? And if so, maybe what did you learn or pick up from some of them?
“Oh, I did. I was able to talk to Jalen Carter. Me and Jalen Carter actually knew each other from this past Combine prep and stuff and whatnot. And Jordan Davis, I knew Jordan Davis from his time at Georgia a little bit, so just talking to him, it was more of catching up. I feel like for a lot of us, we can always talk ball, but when there are guys that we know and they’re in places doing different things, I feel like we focus more on catching up, the personal things, and then we still talk some ball, but I think it’s more about catching up.”
Did you guys feel like when you were up there, over there as a defensive line – did it feel pretty cool to be able to field a line that can stack up with that amazing Eagles line and they know we’re pretty darn good too, over here?
“Oh, for sure. Definitely. And I kind of saw it across the board from the vets to us rookies. I feel like not even just against the Eagles, but just throughout training camp, seeing our progression as a D line and how we fit in Schwartz’s system, I feel like we’re all slowly starting to see the potential we have and we are real excited about it.”
How about Patrick Mahomes? I don’t know if you’ll get an opportunity to actually play against Patrick, they might only play a very short period of time. But how exciting is that for you? Will you almost really feel you are in the NFL when you have a chance to oppose Patrick?
“Yeah, just like you said it. I mean, best quarterback in the league. A guy that I’ve played video games as, a guy that I’ve watched on TV. So, words can’t even describe it, real exciting. And it’s why all of us play this beautiful game.”
When you look at Saturday, what is the biggest thing you feel like you want to take away from that individually and as a defense collectively? What’s the biggest thing you want to get out of it? Where you will say this was a successful trip?
“To be honest, for me, just be better. I want to get better every day. So as long as it’s better than the day before or the week before the game before, I’m good. And as far as our defense and our team, I feel like we just want to get a good little preview of how the season is going to be. So, it’s going to be real fun to see everyone get out there and show what’s about to go down.”
Is the game slowing down for you at all? Did you notice the difference between the Hall of Fame game to last Thursday in Philly? A difference in just how you were able to process everything in real-time?
“Definitely. I wouldn’t say the game’s slowing down because it’s pretty damn fast by the game that we play, but I do feel like my level of being able to keep up with the speed and stuff definitely has come along from the first Hall of Fame game to this past game with the Eagles and going into this week. I think most of it has to be with just the reps. As time goes on, I’ve gotten a little bit more comfortable. I’m not as – try to put this in an appropriate way. I’m not as stiff and tight, anxious. I’m just real excited and I’m loose. Loose. Feel more comfortable in playing with pros now.”
Were you able to accomplish your goal of becoming Myles Garrett’s best friend?
“I think I’m getting there. I feel like I’m in pretty good standing with everyone in the D line room right now. I’ve said a good couple of jokes in there. They make their rookie tell jokes every day. So, I’ve gotten a good amount of good jokes in there.”
Can you give us an example of one?
“Oh, I don’t think so. I think those have to stay in the D line room.”
How would you compare and contrast Z (Za’Darius Smith) and Myles? As personalities as much as anything?
“Man, that’s hard because they’re both kind of the same. Well, as far as how I look at them in the D line room. They’re both elite edge rushers, and they both are going to be able to complement each other so well. We already see it in practice. I’d say the biggest difference would probably be Z’s ability to rush outside and rush inside, and Myles is getting some looks at that, too. We’re playing around with a lot of different packages, rush packages in there. So real exciting to see.”
You talked about how there was an adjustment period for you at the start of this camp on the field, but off the field, do you feel like you’re getting used to the schedule, getting kind of adjusted to that and what life is going to look like for you as a pro football player?
“For sure. It’s been real interesting, especially with this being my first year here and coming off of the past four years, the schedule I had of being in college and the different things we had. So, it’s been real interesting to see how different things are now and how serious things are now with all the things I mentioned earlier as far as the recovery and how you spend your days off, stuff like that. I’m still working to get better at everything on and off the field every day. So, try to mix things up here and there.”
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