Safeties coach Ephraim Banda (12.15.23)
“Definitely tough. Just really from the very beginning of this process, when I first walked through the door, getting to reconnect with him from our days way back when, and then really talking about our goals, his personal goals, and then my goals for him as a teammate, as a player, really proud of what he has done to this point. I mean, he’s obviously having a career year. Really contributed in so many different areas and facets, but what I’m really proud of Grant for, and the part that we got to do a good job of the next few weeks, is replacing his leadership and coming out of his shell and really making sure, like Coach (Jim) Schwartz said, that the group feels him, the defense feels him in the huddle, out of the huddle, in the meeting rooms and at practice. And I thought he did a really good job of that this past year of getting out of his comfort zone and being that guy for our group. Definitely happy for him in terms of the contract extension. And I’m happy as a coach because he’s going to be here. Shout out to AB (Andrew Berry), all his staff and everyone ownership getting that done. He’s a perfect guy for this room. Culturally, he fits this place, and it was one of our goals to make sure that he went out this year and played as good as possible so that he could earn that as part of his goals and his future. So tough, but we got to move on and find the next guy up.”
What have you seen from Ronnie Hickman, how he’s grown this year and now that he could have a bigger role?
“I see the same things that I saw when the first time I sat down with him. I see just a true, composed young man who doesn’t allow the environment to affect him. First time I ever sat with him in a big room in Indianapolis with a million things going on with the clock going off in the corner and coaches grabbing people and scouts [saying] grab this guy. And he was so cool and composed in that environment. He locked eyes with me. He communicated super well and that moment is really who he is because in the games he’s the same now in terms of his development. He’s taken that approach and applied that in the meeting room and at practice. When he has not got a ton of reps, he’s still walking through. If you ever watch him on practice clips, he’s the guy in the very back still walking through reps even though maybe Grant’s getting them or Juan’s (Thornhill) getting them. So just really proud of his progression to this point. He’s still got more growing to do and is eager and he’s coachable. I thought he did a really good job in the game. Obviously, want to make that tackle the end. We worked hard at that. That’s a part of his game that we addressed coming out of college and getting into this environment, something we spend a lot of time on weight distribution and the transfer of weight on a human when you tackle. He knows what he can do better in that situation and we’re looking forward to getting him in that situation and making that play next time.”
We’ve seen Rodney (McLeod) around the locker room a lot, even with the injury and everything. How valuable has he been in terms of even though he’s on IR, still projecting that veteran leadership in that room?
“Yeah, I mean, Coach Schwartz said it when Rod officially went down. He said he’s never seen a player affect a team on and off the field as much as he has. And that is still happening. It’s 11:31, the clock just hit one and at about 11:27, he’s in there helping me coach those guys right now, or 10:31, we’re late. But no, he’s still in there helping me coach those guys every second in the walk-through, in the meeting room. Obviously, he could be somewhere else training and doing all that stuff, and that happens and that’s always good. But he’s been in this building, he’s stayed in here. He’s present on the sideline, he’s helping me in practice, in games and in the meeting room. He sees my blind spots and everyone needs that, right? Some of us are married in here. We all have blind spots. Our wives like to tell us or sometimes vice versa. He’s there for me and sees the blind spots and helps me coach that. And he also has the perspective of the player. So he’s been amazing to have in the building and around and still do an excellent job of – I call him coach. It’s Coach McLeod to me. So, he’s been great. It’s been awesome for me.”
Duron (Harmon), I know he’s been on the practice squad for a while. Can he in some ways fill a little bit, at least on the field on Sunday?
“When you got a guy who has what, 23, 24 interceptions on his career and has played a lot of football and has done a lot in his career, absolutely. Now, can you demand everything to be perfect for him? He’s still in that learning process. Only been here for a few weeks. He’s had a lot on his plate. New baby at home and, I mean, he had the baby, got on the plane and flew here. It’s been a lot for him. God bless his wife. She’s a saint for sure. But yes, to answer your question, we will lean on him and we’ll demand the most we can out of him, but at the same time, we got to be smart with the reps and what he can handle. Now, he can handle – you can probably fill his cup up a lot higher than maybe most, but at the same time, it’s still a cup and it’s going to overflow at some point. So, you got to be smart in that aspect of what you ask for him. And Coach Schwartz and I and the staff, we have a plan for him in terms of making sure that we don’t do too much, but at the same time lean on him to the same extent, which you can.”
What do you have to change? You specifically and then maybe Jim, when he’s calling plays, when you have, let’s assume it’s Ronnie and D’Anthony (Bell), right? So you get two guys that haven’t played a ton on defense in their careers, asking them to start.
“This is the NFL, it’s December. Coach Schwartz puts up a PowerPoint every week, it reads this, it says ‘Any mission assigned will be completed in a superior manner no matter the obstacles.’ Right now, the mission is the mission, and we have to go out there and complete that mission in a superior fashion. So, it comes from the Marine Corps. It’s something that my dad always said when I was growing up. Right now, we don’t want to change anything. We got to go in there and execute. Those guys got to go out there and execute. They’ve been around in terms of Duron of the years, but also the other guys and Ronnie and TMac (Tanner McCalister) and DBell, they’ve been around. They know they’re ready. And for us, it’s more just making sure we manage the reps correctly. And we’re smart in that aspect. But for us in terms of changing anything, no, we got to go out there and execute. It’s December, it happens. It’s part of ball, it’s part of the NFL. And for us, we got to go out there and execute and operate. And the bottom line is, no matter the obstacle, complete it in a superior manner.”
Go back to Grant., I mean, I know he’s crazy competitive. But it also seems like looking at his career, he’s had to have a lot of patience for various reasons, whether it’s injuries or moving up the depth chart or even where he got drafted. How much do you see that aspect of his personality and how beneficial do you think it is as he’s going through something like he is right now?
“I tell Grant all the time, man, his toughness, physically and mentally, is just something you just don’t see in people, period. And I want to say it’s the level of toughness, right? The extent and how far he can push himself mentally to deal with those situations physically in a game separates, and you know I just saw him, right now for a sec and he popped in and he’s got a smile on his face, right? He came up, gave me a hug. That’s who he is. He’s the same guy when he walks in here all the time. He wants to be present. What kills Grant Delpit is not being on the grass with his teammates. That’s what gets him. And that’s because he’s so tough and because he wants to be such a good teammate and he wants to be present for his brothers. So, this will be a process that I know is not easy. It’s hard for him. He wants to play in the playoffs. That’s a big part of one of his goals. But I told the group, we got to do whatever it takes to get there so we can give him a chance to do that. So, for us in our room, that’s our motivation and what’s going to fuel us through these next few games,”
Had a couple coaches mention how Kevin (Stefanski) puts an emphasis on developing practice squad guys. How important has that been? What has that message been from Kevin to make sure that entire room is ready?
“I’ve been in a lot of places over my years when it comes to development. This ranks up there at the top. When I talk about that, I mean, not just the development on the field in the meeting rooms, but in the weight room, nutrition, what Brew does, what support staff does with all the people that surround these young men to grow them, to get them ready for these moments. Kevin does a phenomenal job, top-down in terms of that and creating that environment and pushing guys to be ready and to be able to answer the bell, because a lot of it’s like this, how I see it. Anyone watch Top Gun? The second Top Gun. I finally got a chance to watch it the other day on a long play ride, right? I’m sitting there, I’m watching it and it gets to the end, right? And we’re on a warcraft right in the middle of the ocean, in the middle of nowhere, and there’s a dogfight going out there and there’s fighter planes fighting. And unfortunately, not everyone gets to get off that carrier and fight. But you still got to be in that cockpit waiting for your moment for them to tell you to go and when it’s time to go, which it is for a lot of these guys, a lot of our young players, you got to be ready to operate because people are dependent on you. And it’s all that training that leads to that moment. Like in Top Gun 2, which is a cool movie. I hate that I waited too long to watch it. You have to be that guy when they say go to fly off that runway and operate so that everyone can depend on you and that we don’t miss a step in that situation. And Kevin does an amazing job. AB and the developmental support staff in this place are phenomenal.”
Which Top Gun is better?
“Oh, man, I love Top Gun. I love the first one, man. I remember being a little kid riding my bike around thinking I was on a jet plane. But I grew up in the military, so all those are fun.”
Is Juan getting frustrated just by how his year is going, he’s kind of stop, start to nature to it?
“Obviously, injuries are always hard. I think probably the hardest thing for outsiders, fans, people that are not in this building or people who have not been involved with this game or any sport, the toll that injuries take on players mentally is very, very hard because they love being on the grass. They love playing. I will say Juan’s done a phenomenal job of staying positive, of being there for his teammates. He’s another guy in that meeting room right now asking questions even though he’s not playing or he’s fighting to get back in that sense that he’s not getting all the reps in terms of playing with the injury last week. And he’s fighting hard to stay positive for his teammates because he’s an energy guy. I’ve told him, I’m like, you’re an energy guy. You’re like me. If you’re down and out, people will feel it. And I told him, you’ve got to be present, you’ve got to be locked in, you got to keep pushing even though you may feel bad. And I feel like he’s done a really good job of that. Despite not getting to – not playing last week and having the situations he’s had with the calf.”
What happened with that last week in pregame warm up? Did you see? Did he just pull up with it?
“Yeah, he was warming up, trying to get it going again and just flared up. And he’s such an explosive athlete that if your tire is blown, the car is not going to move the way it needs to, especially for him. So that’s all. Just kind of flared up on him again. He’s fighting his butt off to get back and doing a really good job of that.”
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