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Speaker 1: When we talked to you twelve days ago. I don't

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Speaker 1: think any of us want to ask about Davonte down

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Speaker 1: What has he done to impress you? And is he

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Speaker 1: kind of the perfect example of when coaches always say

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Speaker 1: it's a new slate after after our coaching staff change.

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Speaker 1: He didn't really get much of an opportunity last year.

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Speaker 1: I imagine there's not a whole lot of film on him. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I know he came in you know that later in

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Speaker 1: the season last year, so um, but yeah, it's it's

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Speaker 1: it's perfect example kind of wiping the slate clean, giving

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Speaker 1: a guy an opportunity, and everyone's on the kind of

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Speaker 1: level playing field, and you know, um, he's he's done well.

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Speaker 1: You know, he's done well for us. What is it

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Speaker 1: about him specifically that's quite your eye. You know, I

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Speaker 1: think a little bit of probably some confidence, you know,

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Speaker 1: just uh in uh, you know, familiarity the area, the staff,

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Speaker 1: a little bit in time we've been around each other.

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Speaker 1: Just most of its zoom, but uh and then just

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Speaker 1: you know, he's a big, bigger athlete. You know, he's

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Speaker 1: one of the bigger guys in the room. He's two

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Speaker 1: in the two forty range. You know, most of the

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Speaker 1: guys are a little bit like other than that, Kevin. Um,

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Speaker 1: I know we talked to you about Zoe is more

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Speaker 1: about your background with him in college. But um, he's

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Speaker 1: basically been an edge guy here. Do you think he

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Speaker 1: can play in the inside and if so, what traits

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Speaker 1: do you have that you could translate there? You know? Uh, yeah,

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Speaker 1: he has a unique skill set overall, you know, with

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Speaker 1: his link athleticism. Uh, there's probably a lot of positions

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Speaker 1: he could play. He probably you know, I'm sure they

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Speaker 1: probably would like to have him on the offensive side,

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Speaker 1: you know, just the way you can run. But you

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Speaker 1: know there's a possibility of that, you know, if we

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Speaker 1: got into a bind, I'm sure he could jump over

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Speaker 1: there and do that. Um, there were some things he

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Speaker 1: did at college level. You know, it wasn't his main

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Speaker 1: deal to play you know, inside backer, but the scheme

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Speaker 1: kind of allowed it to happen, if that makes sense.

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Speaker 1: So he's a guy that could possibly, you know, do

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Speaker 1: that if needed. Um, I want to go back to

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Speaker 1: Devonte Downs for a moment. When he came out of college.

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Speaker 1: I believe he had a knee injury his senior year

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Speaker 1: and I'm just wondering how long does it usually take.

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Speaker 1: I know, every guys different, But when you look at

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Speaker 1: his film and you look at his background, how much

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Speaker 1: of that knee injury do you think maybe stunted his development?

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Speaker 1: And do you see him now finally rounding back into

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Speaker 1: that pre knee injury form um. You know, I really

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Speaker 1: didn't realize that until you brought it up, but that

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Speaker 1: you know, that could be I mean, you know, each

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Speaker 1: guy is different. You know, typically a year eighteen months

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Speaker 1: is about what you kind of see the progression back

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Speaker 1: to what they normally work beforehand um as a kind

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Speaker 1: of general rule of thumb in some ways, But that

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Speaker 1: could be the case. You know, I just with him,

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Speaker 1: I see a lot of a lot of confidence that

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Speaker 1: that I didn't necessarily see on film last year. And again,

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Speaker 1: you know, only being around him personally for just a

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Speaker 1: few weeks, I've seen his confidence really grow. So that

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Speaker 1: could be could be true in that case with you know,

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Speaker 1: with a knee issue coming after college. And then similarly,

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Speaker 1: you know, Ryan Connolly is coming back from a knee injury,

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Speaker 1: and and again there's there's a school of thought that

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Speaker 1: it can take twelve to eighteen months for a guy

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Speaker 1: to come back. Uh, what have you seen from Whine,

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Speaker 1: especially since you know, the last couple of days he's

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Speaker 1: kind of been put you know, put aside you and

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Speaker 1: not put aside, but you know he's been held out

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Speaker 1: of practice. I mean, do you have to kind of

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Speaker 1: coach him differently or approach how you train him a

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Speaker 1: little bit differently since he's coming off that injury? Um,

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Speaker 1: you know, for the most part, I mean, once they

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Speaker 1: get cleared, you know, you're you're you just coach them

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Speaker 1: how how you have, you know, whatever time you have

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Speaker 1: with them. And uh, I wouldn't say it was any different,

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Speaker 1: um from the way that you approached each day. He's

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Speaker 1: obviously around, he's around the system, he's around practices. You know,

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Speaker 1: it's around the meetings and things like that. So there's

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Speaker 1: not really much different the way you treat them. It's

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Speaker 1: just you know, good determine the way the reps are

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Speaker 1: a practice. Thanks coach, You're welcome, Bruce, Coach. What do

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Speaker 1: you think is the biggest difference here going from the

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Speaker 1: college to the pro level in terms of these players?

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Speaker 1: I mean, is it the speed? Is that, the focus,

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Speaker 1: is that the ability to listen? Is it? A lot

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Speaker 1: of things? Um, you know, coming from the SEC. I

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Speaker 1: think the athleticism and speed was there in that league.

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Speaker 1: I think probably the attention to detail as players, the

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Speaker 1: focus uh, probably the maturity to understand situational football, not

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Speaker 1: that it wasn't necessarily preached or taught at the college level.

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Speaker 1: It's just you know, these guys have been around at

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Speaker 1: the teaching and year around guys that have the same

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Speaker 1: kind of goals and and mindset that you do. So

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Speaker 1: it allows you to grow and mature more as a player.

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Speaker 1: In my opinion, Kevin, what do you see from your

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Speaker 1: group so far? Um? I see a group that's kind

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Speaker 1: of hunger to kind of prove themselves. Um. You know,

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Speaker 1: each gut has their own, you know, different traits and

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Speaker 1: skill set, but they kind of worked good together. Um.

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Speaker 1: And I say a group is trying to be you

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Speaker 1: know what a linebacker shouldn't be physical, you know, the

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Speaker 1: quarterback of the defense and trying to communicate and me

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Speaker 1: the leader. And that's and that's you, not just one guy.

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Speaker 1: That's all of them trying to kind of carry that

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Speaker 1: same mold. Hey, Kevin, I'm just curious. I wanted to

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Speaker 1: ask you about Tay Crowder. I mean, we talked about

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Speaker 1: downs and how he's your side. Crowder seems to have

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Speaker 1: a little bit different of a profile and there bringing

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Speaker 1: in athleticism. Just curious what you've seen from him. He

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Speaker 1: seemed to flash a little bit in the scrimmage last Friday. Um,

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Speaker 1: just kind of going up and being willing to hit

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Speaker 1: at the point of attack. Yeah, he was obviously being

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Speaker 1: at Georgia Nu tay a little bit you know beforehand,

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Speaker 1: kind of knew what he was about. He's a guy

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Speaker 1: that coming out of high school was running back, tight

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Speaker 1: end offensive player and through his college career transition to

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Speaker 1: the defensive side, very similar scheme, uh to a certain

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Speaker 1: degree and what we do. Uh so I think that's

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Speaker 1: helped him to where he does. It come in just

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Speaker 1: with a complete you know, ground zero. He has just terminology,

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Speaker 1: you know, in language he's trying to interpret. But uh,

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Speaker 1: he's you know, he's done well. Um, you know, he

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Speaker 1: still has a ways ago uh some learning, you know,

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Speaker 1: some understanding, some situational awareness and things like that. He's uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, he's he's done well for us. U does

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Speaker 1: have a different skill set than the other guy's a

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Speaker 1: little a little big, pauler, longer, you know, probably a

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Speaker 1: little bit more athleticism than than a lot of the

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Speaker 1: other guys in the ring. I'm wondering, what have you

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Speaker 1: seen from Blake Martinez from a coverage perspective. Uh, you

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Speaker 1: know coverage, which you know, we mixed what we do

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Speaker 1: a little bit. He's uh, he's done well. Uh, he's

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Speaker 1: been some things similar to what he's done in the past. Uh.

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Speaker 1: The one thing about him is, uh, he has a

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Speaker 1: really good understanding of awareness, situational awareness, you know, individual

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Speaker 1: players what what it is that they do. So I've

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Speaker 1: actually been really kind of pleased with him and the

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Speaker 1: way that he's understood that because you know, you can

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Speaker 1: kind of think of of him as being a kind of,

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Speaker 1: you know, more of a downhill mic linebacker, but he's

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Speaker 1: got a lot of awareness and ability in the in

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Speaker 1: the covert area. So how comfortable are you guys with

143
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Speaker 1: him having them run with running backs for tight ends

144
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Speaker 1: if that's you know it is. I don't think it

145
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Speaker 1: matters what linebacker it is. I think you always have

146
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Speaker 1: a little bit of concerned that you you know, you're

147
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Speaker 1: gonna have possible mash up issues no matter who that

148
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Speaker 1: guy possibly is. So I think that will be a

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Speaker 1: week to week you know, game to game situation on

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Speaker 1: who we face, you know what type of offense, what

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Speaker 1: they do with their backs. Uh, you know in practice

152
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Speaker 1: now you know, we seem to um have things we

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Speaker 1: can do in the scheme that can help them and

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Speaker 1: things like that. If he gets in the mind