Head Coach Joe Judge

Q: I know you don't like the term starter, so I'll use bulk of the reps. The cornerback opposite James (Bradberry), you've used a bunch of different guys. (Isaac) Yiadom, (Corey) Ballentine when he was here, Ryan Lewis. Is it sustainable to just keep kind of having a different guy there at cornerback two all the time, or do you guys need to settle on one guy?

A: No, I expect all the guys to play, I really do. There may be certain matchups that we may favor a certain guy for a skillset. There may be certain positions on the field, whether it's red area versus backed up or in the field, that may be more of an early down guy or a third down guy. Every game brings a little bit of a different element on how you're trying to match up the opponent. To me, I have no issue at all playing guys at any position and rotating them on through. As long as we're getting production, we're keeping guys fresh, we expect everyone at the game to contribute. In terms of the way I view the game, no, I have no issue with that at all.  

Q: How do you think Ike (Yiadom) has played these last couple of games? He went from playing a lot to playing not much at all to now playing a lot again. How do you think he's performed this second stint?

A: I've seen a lot of improvement from Ike. Yeah, that's a guy who's really worked tirelessly at practice. He's really competed hard for us and shown a lot of things at practice. Then he got a shot in the game and he went out there and he's been making plays for us. Yeah, he's done a lot of really good things right now that have helped us. He'll keep playing for us as well, as will (Madre) Harp(er), we get Ryan Lewis back and a number of other guys. 

Q: When you made the decision to transition (Nick) Gates to center, that was probably with the thought that you'd have a full offseason, a full training camp, and preseason games. I'm curious were there any reservations about throwing him right in the way he had to get thrown in? How do you feel like he's developed through the season?

A: I'll start with the backend part first. I think he's developed really well. I see a lot of improvement on a weekly basis from Nick. Look, going from playing guard and tackle into center is a completely different animal. The multiples on your plate, the command you have to have, the calls, even just the different mechanics of having to snap before you block, these are things you have to learn how to do. There's a reason a lot of guys play center throughout their entire career up through high school, college and then in the NFL. It is a different type of position. I think he's done a really good job of advancing in that. I see a lot of promise going forward with him. I'm pleased with how he's playing, I see improvement every week. Now to the first part of it in terms of yes, obviously, initially we saw that as having a full offseason, full training camp. But like with everything else, that wasn't going to waver when the pandemic hit. It wasn't going to change our course of action in terms of how we were going to get this team ready. We just decided, hey, we're going to adapt or die. We're going to get ready. There are going to be some growing pains with a lot of guys, we have to move forward. 

Q: On Monday, you talked about one of the things you've learned is to juggle time so you have enough time for your defense and offense. I tend not to be the most organized guy in the world. Why would you put yourself through that, or is that just how you have to be to be a coach?

A: I think as far as being the head coach, I have to know what's going on with all three sides of the ball. I can't know what's going on without putting in the tape and time to learn the opponent on the frontend, and I can't know what's going on without really watching our teams at practice and studying what we're doing and reviewing all the practice tape and the game tape, and understanding our personnel and how we're using them. To me, it's just part of the responsibility of what you have to do to be effective. I don't know how I could help the team if I don't know what's going on. That's just an emphasis for me. 

Q: What's your message to your players during this bye week? How do you balance staying focused and keeping the momentum going with taking a much-deserved break?

A: I'll go back to the momentum question first. I don't really believe that exists, to be honest with you. Nothing that we did against Philadelphia or Washington is going to help us against Cincinnati. We have to learn from what we did wrong and make corrections, but we have to come back on Monday and have a good, strong practice. To be honest with you, obviously, we've gone virtual this week with some of the COVID protocols going back to the intensive protocols. That's changed a little bit of our plans with what they were going to be on the field. Initially, we were going to do more of a walkthrough (on Tuesday). Some of the younger guys, practice squad and some of the younger rookies, we're going to have a more intensive practice when the walkthrough was over. Then today, Wednesday, would have been an on the field, padded practice for the entire team to get out there, popping around, work on some new schemes, concepts, make sure we correct some things that came up through the season. Now we're working virtually to go ahead and have meetings and address those things right there. But we have to have a good day on Monday. In terms of the momentum, the only momentum I think we'll be able to go ahead and transfer and create is how we practice and how we play. We have to come back next week ready to go. 

Q: I'm curious 10 weeks into the season, after watching the tape of all these games and coaching through them, what's the biggest thing you've learned about your team and what do you guys have to get better at down the stretch?

A: We have to continue improving across the board on fundamentals. I think that's something you always have to improve on. You can never think 'we've arrived' there. I think sometimes the mistakes you make as a team as you get to a certain point in the season and it's very scheme-oriented, and you fall away from what you worked hard on in training camp in terms of fundamentals and basics. Ultimately, that's really what always makes the difference anyway. We talk about turnovers, penalties, mental errors, those are the things that are going to be the true deciding factors within games. In terms of our team, we hoped early on that we could develop a tough culture without knowing these players early on, and I've seen that with our guys. Our guys, it's a team full of resilient guys, very mentally tough guys. I've seen these guys come to work week in and week out, no matter what the noise on the outside was. They come in focused, they come in determined, and they play together. I've seen a group of guys moving in the same direction, make a lot of improvement. I'm proud of how they practice, I'm proud of how it's shown up on tape in games, and I think that transfers directly from how we practice to how we play.

Q: It seems like that's really kind of taken off over the last two or three weeks, especially on defense. It seems like you're playing a more physical brand of football than maybe you started. Why do you think that is, and do you think maybe that's just kind of snowballing with wins and confidence beget more wins and confidence or is there more to it than that?

A: I think when you practice with good execution and you're confident with what you're doing schematically, you can play more aggressive. When you demonstrate across the board that you have 11 guys on the field who truly understand the schemes, the concepts and what we're doing, then you can play aggressive by not worrying about the guy next to you and what he's doing. I think right now, we're at a point where our guys have really learned and progressed within the schemes and concepts that we're working. They've really done a good job week by week adapting to different game plans and how they fit, and understand not only their responsibility, but how the guy next to them has to play as well. When you understand that, you can play more aggressive. That's probably why some of that is starting to show up the way we want it to on tape. 

Q: Do you look into the data, how teams come into a bye, how teams go out of a bye? This is your first time being a head coach with this. Is there something that you can do maybe better than someone else taking your team out of a bye that could give you an advantage?

A: Yeah, I think you have to look at what you do well, what you're deficient on and what you have to improve on. I think the biggest thing coming out of a bye, other than maybe getting some guys back health wise or getting some things adjusted schematically, is you just need to come out and correct things that you've made mistakes on and go forward with. You may have a new wrinkle you try to work in here or there. We do look at teams coming out of byes. Obviously, the last two weeks we played teams coming off of byes. To me, it's important to look at those teams based on what they've done in the past coming out of a bye. What kind of adjustments do they use? What does their game plan look like that game out of a bye? Different than it was the previous games before the bye? How many schematic differences do they have? Is it a more aggressive mindset? What do they do? You want to put all of those things into account just to anticipate what your opponent may do against you. For us specifically, I think the biggest mistake is people think when you're coming out of a bye, you're automatically fresher and faster and all that kind of stuff. I think that's a myth. You have to come out and all that matters is how you play on that Sunday. You have to wake up and you have to knock off those cobwebs because the one thing is, these guys will have four solid days off without being around us as coaches or hearing our voices. Four days, again this season, is like four months. It just is. You come back, and that Monday practice we'll have, that's very necessary to go ahead and just make sure everybody gets woken up, knocks off some rust, has a good day on the field, and that that can transfer going forward. 

Q: Coaches very often and sometimes you hear players say 'he's not a rookie anymore'. Are your rookies still rookies? What is that mindset? Do you subscribe to that mindset?

A: You can kind of phrase that two different ways on that. I know what you're saying with that. I expect marked improvement from our team along the way. The so-called rookie mistakes, I don't care if it's a rookie making it or a vet making it, I just don't expect to see it repeated. That's what we're really holding everyone accountable for. Things are going to happen, we just have to learn from them and move forward. I think at this point right now, our young players obviously have a different perspective and a different taste for the speed of the game and what goes in week by week. You hear a lot about these rookie walls. We talk to our rookies a lot about them. I've talked to rookies in the past about it as well. To me, it's important to have these rookies understand that really right now we're at a point where the college football season is winding down and about to be over. At least in a normal year, it would be. Your season is very much still going. We've got a lot of ball left to play. In a normal season, by the time you get to Week 8, that is a college season. That's four preseason games. It's eight games, you're looking at 12. Maybe you play a bowl game after that. Go get a Little Caesar's pizza bowl thing and go back home for Christmas and stuff. This season here, you've got to refuel and get going. You've got to make sure that you handle your routine throughout the season effectively. Physically, you don't break down and mentally you don't fatigue. To me, that comes into having a good established routine but then also some point in the year changing up your routine to change the stimulation. If you're a guy that's always watching tape mid-afternoon, okay maybe it's an early morning thing and you get your workout in mid-afternoon. You have to change things up a little bit throughout the season not to have that monotony that kind of wears you down to the point where you think you're being productive just because you have activity. You've got to make sure you're actually taking steps forward every time you do something. We're not writing a pass for any of guys, whether they are rookies, vets, whatever they are. In terms of repeat mistakes, we have to make sure as coaches we do a good job of eliminating those. 

Q: I wanted to ask about Will Hernandez and everything he has gone through the last couple of weeks. You come into Sunday, it seemed clear you had a plan that he wasn't necessarily going to get snaps. What did you see from Will in the game? Is it a challenge this week knowing you're not in the building with these guys? How can you gauge how he is coming out of this weekend, first opportunity being out there on the field?

A: The best feedback we get as far as how he came out of this weekend is from the trainers and the strength coaches. We're not in the building, but what we have done is we're doing very small group workouts that are going to be available to our players, that they want to come and get something physically. Obviously, we've had to do a lot of maneuvering to make sure it's very limited people in the field house working out or running. The field is very spread out, we're taking precautions in that. The feedback I'll get from the trainers and strength coaches will be the most valuable feedback I can get on those guys. What I saw when he went in the game is a guy who was ready. I saw when Will went in there, he was mentally, physically and emotionally ready to go. Obviously, two weeks off from a game, it's a lot to ask anyone to jump right back in the swing of things and go through an entire game. When we needed him, he came through. He played well, he played tough. That's just kind of Will's personality. Coming out at the end of the game right there. He kind of goes in as the enforcer when we needed him right there. I was pleased to see Will at the game. It's good to have him back in the building. He's always a dude that makes everyone smile when he's around. It's just good to have him back with us. 

Q: Do you feel like when you come back on Monday that the last couple weeks are behind him?

A: I think it's still wait and see to see him on the field Monday, to be honest with you. To be fair to him, if we had practiced the last two days, if we were out there today, I think I'd have a much better view on that and an answer for that. Not being able to see with my own eyes when we put him through a practice, that's a tough thing to evaluate and gauge. He says he's feeling better. I don't want to speak for the player, I guess I just did. I want to make sure that we make the right evaluation for him at all times. These guys are tough guys, they are competitive guys. Sometimes they say things and you have to make sure you really gauge it and make the best decision for them. 

Q: You have a bunch of guys on the verge of returning from injured reserve. What's their status coming off the bye. Tae Crowder, (Oshane) Ximines, (Xavier) McKinney and Ryan Lewis.

A: That falls back on Art's (Stapleton) question. I was really counting on seeing a little bit of those guys this week. Obviously, we can't see them on the field football wise this week. Monday will be an important day for us to kind of take a look at a lot of these guys moving around. We still have to make a declaration on a couple of these guys in terms of their clock. We're going to have to evaluate these guys next week and see where they are going into Cincinnati. We're optimistic we should see the majority of those guys if not all of them at some point down this stretch. They've all made progress, they're all working very hard with our trainers. I know they are a lot further ahead than they were when they initially went on IR. We just have to see how close they are to game action for us. 

Q: For you personally, do you decompress? Do you take any time off at the end of this week? Do you just plow through and worry about that after the season?

A: I'll definitely structure good family time this weekend. I've got a laundry list of stuff right now that I am loading up on and making sure I stay ahead on. I'm using a lot of this time right now not only to self-scout and catch up on things that we've done throughout the season. The coaches have done a lot of really good research and reports and giving me good feedback on where we have to go going forward. That's been very valuable. I'm trying to jump ahead on all of our opponents to get a head start which will help me down this final stretch. As far as watching some tape. I'd be lying if I didn't say that when this weekend rolls around there is going to be a point where I have to dive in and be dad again. I've got to dive in with the kids and give them all my undivided attention. I'll probably be way more worn out from that than I am from a week of game prep. It's something we're looking forward to. That will kind of reset the motor for us and get us moving through the final six. 

Q: Have you talked to Graham (Gano)? How is he feeling? What can you tell us about (Ryan) Santoso?

A: Ryan's a guy who has a huge leg, he's shown a tremendous amount of improvement since he's been here. It's a unique skillset that he does all three, field goals, kickoffs and punts. He's shown a lot of improvement in all three phases through being. I think Tom (Quinn) and T-Mac (Thomas McGaughey) do a tremendous job of working with this guy. This guy is a mentally tough guy, too. He's one of my favorite guys on the practice field. He kicks for us in kicking periods, obviously. He does a lot of his field goal operational work on Friday with the team. Me and him normally have some kind of side bets going on as he is kicking, kind of put a little pressure on it. I think he's a little bit better in terms of roping that thing through the uprights when I'm talking a little smack behind him. We have a lot of confidence in Ryan. He's definitely a developing player. I think he has a big upside in this league for a long time, I really do. I'm pleased he's been in our program and we've been able to hold onto him through this point. I'm really pleased with the work Tom and T-Mac have done with him. If he's got to go, we have a lot of confidence he will be able to go out there and do the job effectively. Graham has talked to Ronnie (Barnes) today. I touched based with him yesterday. I don't want to speak for him in terms of how he may feel with this. I don't know all the stages of this virus personally, so I don't know if this is something that increases, decreases. I don't want to speak for any of the players. I know obviously our trainers are communicating with him on a regular basis to make sure his welfare is okay. I'll touch base with him later today like I do with most of the players.

Q: Do you expect to have him back in time for the next game?

A: There's a timetable with that. There's an opportunity for that, but there are some other things that go into that as well. Are there any setbacks in that time window? Where does the physician clear him? There's a ramp up period. Him, like everybody else, we have to be fair to this guy. He's sitting in a hotel room for a couple weeks. Is it fair to him to put him on the field and ask him to go ahead and do his job? These are all things we have to account for. In fantasy football, yeah, plug him in and we're good to go. In reality, are we doing the fair thing by him individually and the team collectively to take someone who hasn't had two weeks of an opportunity to prepare to put him out there to do a job?

Guard Will Hernandez

Q: First question is kind of an obvious one. How are you feeling? How was everything you went through with COVID?

A: Yeah, it was definitely a different experience, one I had never really experienced before. It was weird. But just like everything else, we got through it and I feel great now. I'm good. I'm ready to roll.

Q: Were you sick at all? Did you have symptoms?

A: Yeah, I went through the standard sickness and all that. At the end of the day, I just kind of got over it and I feel good as new. 

Q: One last thing. What did you do during those two weeks? You were kind of holed up, right?

A: Just quarantined and self-isolated. I didn't really do much. I don't have any crazy stories for you. I think the craziest story I could give you is I went on a drive or something. 

Q: Just to get out of the house?

A: Yeah, just around the house. I think the most I was able to do is go on the Zoom meetings, so that took up a lot of time during the day so that was good. But other than that, just did what I could here as far as working out and trying to stay in shape in the house. Just kind of watched a lot of TV. 

Q: That's kind of an unfortunate way for your 3,000-snap streak or whatever it was, 2,500-snap streak to be stolen from you. As a guy that likes to play every snap, was that frustrating?

A: Of course, of course. Being reliable is one of the things I've always wanted to do and always wanted to excel in. Just having the coaches and the team know that they can rely on me for whatever it is, that's something I've always taken a lot of pride in. But things happen. Life happens. What are we going to do at this point? Yeah, I was definitely upset. It means a lot to me. But I'm good. 

Q: Take me back to this past Sunday. I guess you're standing on the sideline probably chomping at the bit. I don't know if you thought you would play earlier or if you knew you would only go in in an emergency, but what was your role going to be this past Sunday? Then when (Kevin) Zeitler gets hurt, you have to flip the on-switch right away I guess.

A: The training staff was being very careful with me, especially dealing with a virus that we know little about. They told me from the beginning that they were going to ease me into this. They didn't know exactly how much it was going to be, what I was going to play, how much. But at the end of the day here, we have to remember this is a team. This is about the team, not about Will Hernandez. If I wasn't 100 percent ready to go coming back from this, then what's best for the team here? We just need to remember that. Coming back from two weeks of doing nothing, and not by choice but doing nothing, you have to kind of think about is he ready to just get back in there and play? But I was always ready to go, I was always ready to play. I wanted to play, obviously. You guys know me by now. But at the end of the day, I'm just going to follow what the coaches are telling me and what the medical staff says. 

Q: Did they ever figure out how you got it?

A: Oh come on man. Nobody knows how, nobody knows how. It could have been a thousand different ways. We can't figure it out. I have no idea how. I just did. They say you can get it just from breathing, so there you go. I don't know. I wouldn't know what to tell you on that one. 

Q: I assume you've had a ton of coaches in your career. When you look at Joe Judge, what stands out about him?

A: This is definitely a coach that wants to win and puts the team first, and always does what's best for everybody. You can definitely get behind a guy like that. I really like how he's very attention to detail. I'm pretty sure everyone has seen by now, he's very, very hard on the big things, the main things, and also the little things just as much. I think that's what it takes exactly to be a great team and have a great team. It's always great having somebody that can always remind you of those little things because sometimes you get caught up in all this, and it's always great to have a coach that can see all these little things consistently. 

Q: Did you realize, and I know watching when Zeitler came out, how did you know it was your turn to go in? Did you see him come out and knew right away that it was time for you to run in? What was that like? What were the emotions involved in, I know you're going to do a job but I have to imagine the anticipation was kind of building up the entire time?

A: I knew that if a guard were to go down, I'm going in. I saw him going out, and obviously yeah, I was excited to get back in there after so long. It's horrible seeing one of your boys come out of the game like that, but yeah, when my number was called, I was ready to go. It definitely was exciting to get back in there with the guys. 

Q: Did you see him come out and knew to go right in or did someone have to tell you to get in there?=

A: I didn't see it right away, like as soon as it happened. But as soon as he started coming off, that's one thing we do a really good job of. Everybody is always just hollering out 'hey, we need a guard we need a guard!' As soon as I heard the first guard, I knew I was going in. 

Q: I would think that the only thing that's scarier than getting that positive test result a couple weeks back is wondering if you're going to be the guy that kind of topples the whole house of cards there that the team has built keeping this virus away from everybody. How nerve-racking was it waiting for other people's negatives to come back? What was that period like for you?

A: Obviously, that's one thing you don't… it already sucks enough that you get it as an individual. But to know that you infected other people, that's probably the worst feeling about it. That's something I definitely did not want to happen and I'm glad it didn't.

Wide Receiver Darius Slayton

Q: What has it been like for you this year to see opponents put their number one corner on you more and follow you all over the field?

A: I think it's fun. I think it adds a little bit of the game within the game feel. It's something I kind of see as an extra challenge. 

Q: What does it do your to confidence when you're able to make some plays like you did on Sunday against a guy like that?

A: It's definitely beneficial. He's a really good corner, been a good corner in this league for a long time. It's definitely a good confidence boost that I was able to go out there and perform fairly well.  

Q: I wanted to ask you about Xavier McKinney and what you saw from him in training camp and probably in college too.

A: He's a rangy guy. I think he is supposed to come back soon actually. Whenever that exactly is, I'm sure they will find some way to get him out on the field. I'm looking forward to seeing him play. 

Q: How hard does he make it for players like yourself and obviously opposing players to run routes?

A: He plays safety, so he doesn't necessarily have as much impact as far as my routes are concerned. He went to Alabama so you know he can run and hit. Obviously, he seems like a bright young man. I look forward to seeing him play. 

Q: You've had 10 games under your new coach. What are your general impressions of Joe Judge?

A: He's a pretty structured guy. He's a good leader. He has a high football intelligence, a good teacher. He's taught a lot of fundamentals as far as playing various positions as well as just the ins and outs of the game of football. 

Q: Is it easier listening to a younger guy as opposed to an older guy?

A: I wouldn't say that necessarily. I think in any case whether you are old or young, in anything in life I think as long as you're coherent in what your saying then normally it leads to people being able to believe and trust what you're saying. If you're accurate with your information, like I said coherent in what you're trying to get across.

Q: Tell me what it's done for the locker room now that you guys are alive in a playoff race?

A: It's definitely been a breath of fresh air, a breath of life if you will. Obviously, having a chance to be able to have some control over our own destiny is always a position you want to be in. Just looking forward to finishing out this season strong. 

Q: What do you think of the way Daniel has played the last couple of weeks? Maybe the huge stats aren't there like he had as a rookie. What do you think of the way he has kind of answered some of his critics these last couple weeks?

A: I think he's been really efficient. He's done a really good job of taking care of the football. I believe he was 21 of 28 on Sunday. He probably should have been a little bit better than that if we had made a couple more plays on the back end receiving. I think he's done a good job of being efficient. I don't think he has any turnovers in the past two weeks. He's just doing a really good job right now. I know he will continue too. 

Q: You guys are obviously one game back in the division. In your mind, what does this team need to do to be a playoff team?

A: Keep winning football games. We've been able to find a way to win the last two. I think the more momentum you can build going down the back stretch of a season leading in the playoffs, the more wins the better.  

Q: In what areas do you feel like you guys need to do better, specifically offensively? What do you think you need to continue to get better at in order to make that jump? Beat some quality teams, beat some winning teams that are going to be on your schedule?

A: I think as of late; we have done a really good job of running the football. I think that's something we've dramatically improved on. It's something we need to continue to do well and improve on. We've made explosive plays here and there. I think we could probably do a little bit better job of that going down the stretch.

Linebacker Blake Martinez

Q: Are you at all surprised at how quickly this team has taken shape and sort of formed to Joe Judge's vison and identity?

A: Not really. Every single day you go to work and you see the guys that are on the team, the coaches that are around us. They just give you that sense of urgency. That sense of wanting to get better. Every single guy wants to get better every single day. Everyone is trying to the best of their ability to improve on their weaknesses and make their strengths stronger. It's just been awesome to see that continual improvement. Like you said, you're starting to see the type of team we can be when everybody is doing what they need to do on every play. 

Q: Does it help that he (Joe Judge) is 38-years old and he is kind of like your age group?

A: I think so. I think at first, obviously coach Judge is a very serious personality at first. As you got to see him outside the meeting rooms and things like that, he's able to connect to anybody. He wants to know everything about you, and I think that's been an awesome aspect of him as a head coach. You're not scared to talk to him as he's always got a joke or two to mess with you about. It's been fun. 

Q: What's your level of concern with this team that it's going to be a full week without being on the field? I know you guys are doing virtual meetings now. Is that too much time off?

A: I think at the end, you can kind of take it as a normal bye week. Typically, in a normal season during the bye week most of the time you would have that whole week off. It's something as professionals you know what you need to do during that time. I'm actually in our weight room at the apartment just trying to make sure I stay ready to go so when I do come back Monday, I'm all set and not rusty or more tired than I normally was before the bye week. 

Q: For the defense as a whole, you guys have had pretty much the same guys in the lineup for the first 10 games except at that second cornerback spot. How are you guys managing to play good defense with kind of a revolving door opposite James Bradberry?

A: I think that's just a testament to the type of group we have. Every single week we know that no matter who's going in, just from the leadership from the top down on our defense and our team in general. Whoever is going to be in is going to be ready to go. For that given week, they're going to know where to be. It's just on us to make sure everyone is comfortable out there, everyone is calm. Especially me as a middle linebacker of the defense, just making sure if there are any questions, any adjustments, we get it expressed throughout the defense, all 11. No matter if it's the second cornerback spot, the D- line, whatever it is. It allows people to play that much quicker. 

Q: This is going to sound like a stupid question, but did you really only have four tackles last game?

A: One of those games where it's just really good team defense across the board. Everyone around on the defense just made plays. It was a fun game to be able to go out there. Whenever the plays came, we made them. Obviously, there are things to clean up in every single game that I would want back.

Defensive Lineman Dexter Lawrence

Q: You look at the records and it's really just a one-game difference between where you were last year and where you are now. What in your mind is the biggest difference? What has changed in this franchise from the last year?

A: Honestly, it's the guys wanting to buy in, the guys wanting to play for each other. It's just us collectively as a whole just being hungry to win and being hungry to getting better each and every day, to fight each and every day, to practice hard and prepare the right way.  

Q: How much has Joe Judge and what he's done for this organization impacted that?

A: He brought that attitude to where we're going to be tough, we're going to work hard, we're going to prepare the right way. You have 1,000 meetings. That shows you how much preparation and getting ready for the game and things like that is important.  

Q: I wanted to ask you about your Clemson brother, Trevor Lawrence. You guys are brothers, right? Same last name.

A: Long lost, long lost. 

Q: I know you're here and he's there, obviously, but I'm sure you guys stayed in touch, you played a year with him. How has he handled being the biggest celebrity in college football? You know his personality. Why is he made for that?

A: Honestly, he's just laid back. I don't think he buys too much into it. He's going to be his self regardless. That's kind of why I think he can hold that weight on his shoulders pretty much. He's always the same guy every day. He's going to be funny, he's chill, he's going to be a team guy, everybody loves him. That's just who he is. 

Q: He's kind of a country guy though, right? How would he handle New York? You know what New York is, what it has to offer, how tough we can be. How would he handle New York?

A: Any environment I feel like he's put into, he can make the best of it. That's the type of guy he is. He has the Lawrence blood in him. Come on now. 

Q: One of the things at Clemson, Dabo Swinney has been very successful and he has a tremendous amount of talent. Do you see any of what he does down there in what Joe Judge does here?

A: It's kind of two different cultures. Everybody wants to win, so that's always the same. Coach Swinney goes about things maybe a little different than Coach Judge does. But Coach Judge, I applaud him because he's really building a strong culture right now. That's what he came in to do, and that's what we all needed this culture that he's bringing. 

Q: What's his best quality? Is he detail-oriented?

A: Very detail-oriented. That's the biggest thing. We harp on the little things. The little things, they turn into big things. If you have too many littles, then that can cost you a game or something like that. The details in everything is the most important.