Linebackers Coach Jason Tarver (8.1.24)
Coach, how have you been doing with all these schedule changes this week?
“Hey, great ones adjust. We get to go out and practice football at some point in the day, so we’re ready to go whenever they tell us. Whenever we put the ball down, like we tell the defense, as soon as they put the ball down, we gotta be ready to go. So that’s how we function around here.”
When you need a third linebacker is it Devin Bush right now?
“Right now, we’re all competing. There is no depth chart, as you’ve heard from coach (Jim) Schwartz and we’re just playing. We’re all learning all the positions, and we’re rolling all the linebackers in to work with each other, because no matter what happens, these are long seasons. We need everybody. So, I mean, we have everybody working next to Jordan Hicks or everybody working next to Mohamoud (Diabate), or everybody working next to Nate (Nathaniel Watson), or trying to get Nate next to a veteran that’s been in the system like Nate next to Tony (Fields II), just so everybody works together.”
What have you seen from Jordan Hicks and how much of it is just plug and play given his experience and time with Coach Schwartz before?
“Jordan can really focus on technique and plays, and he’s seen so many things that he has the great ability to stay in the moment and calm people down, and then when he sees things, to be able to hit things quickly, both in the scheme and in other schemes. He had some really, for example, today, he had a couple in the very first team period where he was gone. He saw it and he was gone, it was pretty, and leveled down. So Jordan’s at the point where he can really work through some simple technique things. Like if he feels himself getting up too high, then he’ll do something for that. So he’s very conscious. And then, of course, just how great of a human he is and how badly he wants to win and tie everybody together. We’re the nerve center of the defense. We need to be able to get everybody lined up, get everybody chill and then when the ball is snapped, make the play. So we love his ability to do that.”
What’s the next step for Jeremiah (Owusu-Koramoah) this season?
“I have a very good repeatability when I speak about Jeremiah, if that’s still a word. It is first, keeping his body in tip top shape. He came back in great shape, so great. Now we want to keep that through the year. And then second, is his ability to do a little what we just talked about with Jordan. It’s to be able to, no matter what happens on the next play, focus on when the ball is down going for the next play. And his reps in camp so far, he’s been really good at that. His last two practices that he’s had were really good of just making a play, celebrating, right back in and you can see him get focused and go. Because when he locks in, he’s so special. He can really feel football and just let himself go play.”
What have you seen from Nathaniel (Watson) through training camp and how he’s just adjusted to all the nuances of the NFL?
“Nathaniel’s really good in that he’s played all positions of football. He’s played on the edge, he’s played offense, he’s played defense. And so he knows the game of football and he sees and feels football. And he’s been really good at not making the same mistake twice. And so when he sees something, he fixes something and he locks in. So those are his strengths. As all rookies, it’s learning the tempo of play, you know, how hard, how big these lineman are, because the biggest difference in the NFL is the big guys are all big and fast. College fast guys are fast guys. The big guys are big and fast and being able to shed them and be in the right spot. So that’s what practice is for. He’s on his way.”
You expect Jeremiah to be back out of practice soon?
“Yeah, Kevin (Stefanski) will answer injuries as he always does, but soon.”
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