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Andre Cisco on evolving as an athlete throughout his career | The O-Zone Podcast · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

0:08
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Ozone Podcast presented by by Star Credit
0:13
Speaker 1: Union with Jaguars senior writer John Osan. All Right, welcome
0:17
Speaker 1: in to this week's Ozone podcast, and I'm looking forward
0:20
Speaker 1: to this week's guest. We talked last year, late in
0:23
Speaker 1: the season, but different circumstances. We're doing over zoomed still
0:26
Speaker 1: because of COVID and he really hadn't had a chance
0:29
Speaker 1: to establish himself in the lineup yet. It's Jaguars second
0:32
Speaker 1: year safety now, Andre Cisco, and Andre, thanks for joining us.
0:35
Speaker 1: Absolutely appreciate you. I'm glad to be here. So tell
0:37
Speaker 1: me about the difference in you, Uh, just in terms
0:40
Speaker 1: of known what the NFL's about. First year, second year.
0:43
Speaker 1: How much more comfortable are you right now? Yeah? Like uh,
0:46
Speaker 1: I would say like light light years ahead of where
0:48
Speaker 1: I was a year ago in terms of mentality. Understand
0:51
Speaker 1: what it takes to be part of the line up
0:53
Speaker 1: each week is a big responsibility. I just understand your opponent.
0:56
Speaker 1: So you gotta get really into it. You gotta have
0:58
Speaker 1: intense focus all the time, and so learning what that's
1:00
Speaker 1: like and how to not burn yourself out. But you know,
1:02
Speaker 1: give it all. You got not to dig in too
1:05
Speaker 1: much of last year, but first third team game didn't
1:07
Speaker 1: play a whole lot. Looking back, did you learn anything
1:10
Speaker 1: you know being on the bench. Uh, obviously you would
1:14
Speaker 1: have liked to have played. Set you back, Where are
1:16
Speaker 1: you in terms of that? You follow me a great question.
1:19
Speaker 1: You know what I'm getting? Yeah, Now, I learned a
1:21
Speaker 1: ton last year just learning from Ray, Shawn and Dewey.
1:23
Speaker 1: How they approach it is is very similar to how
1:26
Speaker 1: I see myself doing it throughout my career. So able
1:28
Speaker 1: to learn from those guys and watch some make mistakes
1:30
Speaker 1: and correct and do those things and make plays on
1:32
Speaker 1: the field. So it was it was an opportunity to
1:34
Speaker 1: you know, to learn behind the scenes and not every
1:37
Speaker 1: rookie's ready. Uh, and aspects. So I got to do
1:40
Speaker 1: it a different way. And so I learned a ton
1:41
Speaker 1: last year. I feel like it gave me a good
1:43
Speaker 1: mindset going into O, T A. S. And I've been
1:45
Speaker 1: able to carry it out. And you seem again I've
1:48
Speaker 1: only talked to you for a few minutes on Zoom
1:50
Speaker 1: last year and a couple of times in the locker room,
1:52
Speaker 1: but you seem like a confident guy, not necessarily cocky,
1:55
Speaker 1: not necessarily gonna. I said on everybody's face. But you
1:57
Speaker 1: walk with a confidence. Uh did you maintain that through
2:01
Speaker 1: the rookie season? And where's your confidence now? I'll say
2:04
Speaker 1: it's up and down through the rookie season. It's tough,
2:06
Speaker 1: you know, being on the bench, like you said, Um,
2:08
Speaker 1: and then also you know you're playing in the NFL,
2:10
Speaker 1: so guys are better, so you're trying to make make
2:13
Speaker 1: sure that you wanted them, you know what I mean.
2:14
Speaker 1: So I had some lessons I had to learn and
2:16
Speaker 1: I aspect and even this year, Um, it's been some
2:18
Speaker 1: ups and downs. Uh, and that comes with the game.
2:20
Speaker 1: You know, you gotta sometimes you gotta make place to
2:22
Speaker 1: remember that you Um, you know you can make plays
2:24
Speaker 1: like you get you know what I mean? So, uh,
2:26
Speaker 1: for me, it's been up and down. But uh, you know,
2:28
Speaker 1: when you want to stay as steady as possible, not
2:30
Speaker 1: be too low to eye and that safety can be
2:32
Speaker 1: a tough position to maintain confidence because every mistake is magnified,
2:36
Speaker 1: right and that the right Now, where are you at
2:41
Speaker 1: week ten compared to where you were a week one?
2:44
Speaker 1: How much better are you? Where of you got developed? Yes,
2:47
Speaker 1: it's a it's a much much improved player. In my opinion,
2:50
Speaker 1: just mindset wise approach finishing these games. I think was
2:53
Speaker 1: the biggest thing I need to learn just how long
2:55
Speaker 1: they are, the intensity through every play, um and you
2:58
Speaker 1: know you can't let up like they get every hole
3:00
Speaker 1: in the defense, they'll they'll they'll catch up on it
3:02
Speaker 1: eventually throughout the game. So I think it's been a
3:05
Speaker 1: lot of learning lessons and um by by this time
3:07
Speaker 1: compared to week one off for like you know, like
3:09
Speaker 1: a year ahead. Honestly, you said something interesting just then.
3:13
Speaker 1: I think people often associate what's It's a big physical difference,
3:17
Speaker 1: but I guess especially it's safety. You're out there seventy
3:20
Speaker 1: plays in the NFL. You know that every play, if
3:24
Speaker 1: you're not on your toes, you're gonna get beat, whereas
3:27
Speaker 1: maybe in college you can take ten plays off because
3:29
Speaker 1: the other team wasn't good enough to take advantage of it. Right. Yeah,
3:32
Speaker 1: that's and that's that's what I learned quickly, is that
3:34
Speaker 1: you know you don't have those places to give and that,
3:36
Speaker 1: like you said, they're magnified as safety. So I gotta
3:38
Speaker 1: make sure I'm accountable to the guys around me, all
3:40
Speaker 1: my coaches and the really whole team, and you come
3:42
Speaker 1: into the league known as an interception guy. Uh, and
3:46
Speaker 1: that and all of a sudden last week you're making
3:48
Speaker 1: headlines for your hits. Uh. I'll get to the fines
3:51
Speaker 1: in a minute, because I thought it was ridiculous. But, um,
3:56
Speaker 1: have you made a point of effort this year to
3:57
Speaker 1: be more physical or have you always been physical? And
4:00
Speaker 1: we're just known as an interception guy because you had
4:02
Speaker 1: a lot of I think it's a little bit of both. Um,
4:04
Speaker 1: just developing as a player again, more comfortable in this league.
4:07
Speaker 1: You gotta get more physical over time. That's that's your job. So, um,
4:10
Speaker 1: just being able to assort myself in that way has
4:12
Speaker 1: definitely been a point of emphasis. And then the interception
4:14
Speaker 1: thing is kind of like like you said, it's followed
4:16
Speaker 1: me throughout my especially my college career. But you know,
4:19
Speaker 1: it's not something that you want to just hang your
4:20
Speaker 1: hat on all the time because you're not always gonna
4:21
Speaker 1: get interceptions. That's the reality of it. Sometimes some teams
4:24
Speaker 1: is not throwing you the ball like that, So I
4:26
Speaker 1: gotta do a better job. I've tried to do a
4:28
Speaker 1: better job of U'm serting myself in other way so
4:30
Speaker 1: that when I don't get an interception. It's not like
4:31
Speaker 1: I'm not making an impact Jeff three this year, which
4:34
Speaker 1: as I think it's right right three um, which is
4:38
Speaker 1: a first year a guy that's a lot. Uh. What
4:42
Speaker 1: is it about your game? Uh? Clearly you have a
4:46
Speaker 1: knack for it, but it's more than a knack. There
4:48
Speaker 1: has to be something mentally that you do something with
4:51
Speaker 1: the way you read quarterbacks. Why do you think that's
4:54
Speaker 1: such a strength of yours? I think, Uh, if I
4:58
Speaker 1: have to point some out of myself, I think we'll
4:59
Speaker 1: be reading. Reading the quarterback is something that I would
5:01
Speaker 1: say I'm good at, especially in the middle of the field. UM.
5:04
Speaker 1: I just think it's very it's very natural for me
5:06
Speaker 1: to just kind of you know, read quarterbacks, watch the
5:08
Speaker 1: film the right way, watch footwork and just tendencies who
5:11
Speaker 1: they want to go to, what parts of the field
5:12
Speaker 1: they're aiming for, and then it gives you a little
5:14
Speaker 1: bit of it, just a slight second jump on on
5:16
Speaker 1: certain routes. So I think that's what's doing one of
5:18
Speaker 1: my strengths, and that's I've been able to be around
5:20
Speaker 1: the ball now. And you have good hands for safety
5:23
Speaker 1: as well. You'll remember this. Do you have any drops
5:25
Speaker 1: this year. I can't remember you got two drops because
5:27
Speaker 1: you just kick yourself for those, right, you remember those
5:29
Speaker 1: more than the ones you got. But um, hands are
5:33
Speaker 1: obviously a strength of yours and you usually don't give
5:36
Speaker 1: up those opportunities. Uh. Is that something that you work
5:39
Speaker 1: on hands or is that just something you've always had?
5:42
Speaker 1: Definitely worked on them. I would be honest. I wasn't
5:44
Speaker 1: a natural catcher growing up, Like I was, like, you know,
5:46
Speaker 1: I was good, but I wasn't like a wide receiver
5:49
Speaker 1: or nothing. I was running back, So it was like
5:50
Speaker 1: I had to work in my hands. And I still
5:52
Speaker 1: work in my hands all the time. Um, you know,
5:54
Speaker 1: just to make sure and then you get you get
5:55
Speaker 1: those drops in the game and you get in your
5:56
Speaker 1: head about it. So you've got to stay on topic.
5:59
Speaker 1: As the DV. We're not supposed to have great hands,
6:01
Speaker 1: so you know, you gotta do it on your own time.
6:03
Speaker 1: But it's funny when I mentioned that you knew exactly
6:05
Speaker 1: how many. Oh yeah, you don't forget that. Yeah, they're
6:08
Speaker 1: never gonna leave my mom. What tell me about this team?
6:12
Speaker 1: A little bit? This year? UM struck me in the
6:14
Speaker 1: locker room on Monday. A striking amount of confidence for
6:17
Speaker 1: a team is three and seven? Uh, Where does that
6:20
Speaker 1: come from? And how real is it when you guys
6:22
Speaker 1: talk about, Hey, we're still in this thing. Yeah, I
6:24
Speaker 1: think the confidence comes from within, Like it's not about
6:27
Speaker 1: the result on the field right now. But we got
6:29
Speaker 1: so much love and appreciation for each other that we
6:31
Speaker 1: know that we were capable of turn this around at
6:33
Speaker 1: any moment. So we're not giving up on us, um,
6:36
Speaker 1: And we're not listening to any outside noise either. So
6:38
Speaker 1: I think just keeping it close, keeping it tight is
6:40
Speaker 1: what it has been our strength. What's been the difference? Um,
6:43
Speaker 1: you came in when Doug Peterson in the off season
6:47
Speaker 1: this year, Uh, comes in, Tell me about what he's
6:50
Speaker 1: meant and what this coaching staff and just the structure
6:52
Speaker 1: has meant you to you as a player and I
6:55
Speaker 1: and I to you as players. Yeah, he's given us
6:57
Speaker 1: space to develop, if that makes sense. You know, he's known.
7:00
Speaker 1: I think it's a player's coach, and he definitely comes
7:02
Speaker 1: off as that, just you know, just working with us,
7:05
Speaker 1: making sure that we're on our toes in terms of preparation. Um.
7:08
Speaker 1: And he puts his best foot forward every week and
7:10
Speaker 1: so we just match his intensity and that in terms
7:11
Speaker 1: of that, and I think it's um. It's worked for
7:14
Speaker 1: us UM on several times, several occasions. Now I'm been
7:16
Speaker 1: trying to get you, trying to get you in trouble
7:18
Speaker 1: here because I don't think I can define that you
7:21
Speaker 1: got against Kansas City. What could you have done differently
7:24
Speaker 1: on that play? He follow made it? Yeah, And again
7:27
Speaker 1: I'm as always curious as a player because it's it's
7:30
Speaker 1: one of the tougher rules in the NFL. People don't
7:32
Speaker 1: know under he got fined for hitting not Juju Smith Schuster.
7:36
Speaker 1: It was a bang bang play. A lot of controversy
7:38
Speaker 1: over it, But I don't know what you would have
7:41
Speaker 1: done differently, And that's tough as a safety and it Yeah,
7:43
Speaker 1: I think looking back on it, maybe I could if
7:45
Speaker 1: I would have wrapped up, it might have looked better
7:47
Speaker 1: wrapped up kind of drove him to the ground. But
7:49
Speaker 1: when you get like a big collision like that, it's
7:51
Speaker 1: like boom boom, play ball falls out and everything. It
7:54
Speaker 1: kind of just looks worse. And so you know, you're
7:56
Speaker 1: they're able to dial in on it on the TV
7:58
Speaker 1: copies and you know, I think, I mean, I do
8:00
Speaker 1: my best key my head out of it. I'm not
8:02
Speaker 1: a head first hitter ever, so um, you know they
8:05
Speaker 1: had uh, I guess they've seen some contact with the helmets,
8:07
Speaker 1: and I felt like it was it's never been a
8:09
Speaker 1: thing for you in your career, has never been a
8:11
Speaker 1: thing where you get a lot of that. Yeah, So
8:13
Speaker 1: it's just sort of sort of a fucky thing. I
8:16
Speaker 1: guess it's something that you just have to as a
8:18
Speaker 1: safety say, Okay, every once in a while, it's gonna happen.
8:20
Speaker 1: I have to play my game and I have to
8:23
Speaker 1: do it the way I'm coached and the rules say
8:24
Speaker 1: as best I can, right. Yeah. Yeah, I don't think
8:26
Speaker 1: it's not gonna change anything from me. And is that
8:30
Speaker 1: tough at your position though, because it's the only position
8:32
Speaker 1: where that really comes into play. Yeah, I mean it's
8:34
Speaker 1: it's just not those those plays happen so fast that
8:37
Speaker 1: I can't think about it and never think about it.
8:39
Speaker 1: Like but like I said, I'm not a head first hitter,
8:40
Speaker 1: So it's not gonna be a term of terms of
8:43
Speaker 1: changing my technique or anything like that. It's kind of
8:45
Speaker 1: keep doing what I'm doing for the best. I got
8:46
Speaker 1: you now. Story I've read and heard about you that
8:49
Speaker 1: I'm fascinated by you played high school football and then
8:56
Speaker 1: transferred to right and with your mom's full blessing right
9:02
Speaker 1: and basically saying, hey, this is something we need to do. It.
9:06
Speaker 1: Take me through that story too, because it's fascinating and
9:11
Speaker 1: and maybe it says something about uh, your background and
9:14
Speaker 1: I use a person. Yeah, it was, Um, it was
9:17
Speaker 1: a very pivotal moment in terms of my football development.
9:20
Speaker 1: Um I was. I was, you know, focus on you know,
9:22
Speaker 1: being the best player I can throughout my first years
9:24
Speaker 1: of high school. But I don't know if I saw
9:27
Speaker 1: as much as uh my mom did for me. For myself.
9:31
Speaker 1: So she saw like she was like, you know, like
9:33
Speaker 1: why not the NFL kind of thing, And it was
9:35
Speaker 1: just it wasn't her being like hard on me. It
9:37
Speaker 1: was just like, you know, dream big. And so she
9:39
Speaker 1: pushed me to take that next step and leave home.
9:41
Speaker 1: And it was hard because I was so close on
9:43
Speaker 1: my friends, had a great relationship with everybody back home.
9:46
Speaker 1: But you know, she pushed me to take that step
9:48
Speaker 1: and it was hard, and that first year was challenging,
9:50
Speaker 1: similar to last year, to be honest with you, So
9:52
Speaker 1: you know, sometimes you gotta take those big steps and
9:55
Speaker 1: risk and it paid off. And you know, I had
9:56
Speaker 1: a great two years there, and so you're leaving when
10:00
Speaker 1: you're it's a big step for mom too, right, right right.
10:05
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know if she was ready to
10:07
Speaker 1: give me out the house. I was. I'm the third one,
10:09
Speaker 1: so I'm asister was still there my other sister, but
10:12
Speaker 1: she was the last one. I'm sibling of three, so uh, yeah,
10:15
Speaker 1: it seems like she was ready, she was ready to
10:17
Speaker 1: give me out the house. I was a little bit
10:18
Speaker 1: of a problem, but obviously, Uh, you've got to feel
10:23
Speaker 1: great and deadedness to her for having a vision to
10:26
Speaker 1: make that. Yeah, that's a cool thing. Yeah. I mean
10:28
Speaker 1: I feel like every time she talks to other parents
10:30
Speaker 1: for like like why did you say that? Like why
10:32
Speaker 1: did you do that? What made you take that step
10:34
Speaker 1: for him? And I feel like she don't even know.
10:35
Speaker 1: I think she was just led by God like to
10:37
Speaker 1: just you know, push me in. Um. I think it
10:39
Speaker 1: paid off ways we would never saw. I would think
10:42
Speaker 1: that has to Um, you know, being sort of on
10:45
Speaker 1: your own at six things, even though you're an academy
10:49
Speaker 1: with support system, you're away, Uh, has that caused you
10:53
Speaker 1: to be more mature later? On in life, it would
10:56
Speaker 1: seem like it would. Yeah. Absolutely, It's like I look
10:58
Speaker 1: back on it, I look at that just like my
11:00
Speaker 1: freshman year of college, you know, so almost like bump
11:02
Speaker 1: everything up two years and um, when I got to college,
11:05
Speaker 1: I wasn't fascinated by being away from home and and
11:08
Speaker 1: then the independence of it. So like we were all
11:11
Speaker 1: used to it. And I have some great friends at
11:13
Speaker 1: IMG two that went to other big colleges, and we
11:15
Speaker 1: kind of just used to it, you know. So you
11:17
Speaker 1: have a support system where, you know, I guess sort
11:19
Speaker 1: of know what to expect more a lot of people. Uh.
11:22
Speaker 1: Final question on these lines, did you have an idol
11:25
Speaker 1: growing up? Did you have uh, somebody that you pattern
11:28
Speaker 1: yourself after? Football wise? Um, nobody, honestly, Like, not one
11:33
Speaker 1: person that stands out when I look back. I was
11:36
Speaker 1: a Jets fan, so I enjoyed those good years we
11:39
Speaker 1: had um. But other than that though, I was just
11:41
Speaker 1: a fan of the league. Like Reggie Bush. I was
11:43
Speaker 1: a Saints fan as well. I was a Seahawks fan
11:45
Speaker 1: for some years. But no, I wouldn't say not one
11:46
Speaker 1: person that didn't Really safety kind of found you in
11:49
Speaker 1: a sense, right, I didn't played safe until my senior year.
11:51
Speaker 1: So I went down to as a corner on transition safety, saying, okay, yeah,
11:56
Speaker 1: the final thing we do here is what we call
11:57
Speaker 1: out the ozone five. This is five quick questions. Uh
12:05
Speaker 1: under Cisco. What was your last binge watch? Um? House
12:09
Speaker 1: of Dragons? The Game of Thrones spent off? I didn't
12:13
Speaker 1: finish it yet though, Okay, so you were Were you
12:15
Speaker 1: a Game of Thrones? Guy? I wasn't. That wasn't. That's
12:17
Speaker 1: why I want to watch this new one because I
12:18
Speaker 1: feel like I missed out on the last one, which
12:20
Speaker 1: every one said was great. So what's the best binge
12:23
Speaker 1: watching ever that you're at prison break? I'm talking about
12:26
Speaker 1: far last song you heard in the way in this morning,
12:31
Speaker 1: last song or the song you're into right now? Either one? Okay,
12:34
Speaker 1: song I'm into right now? Uh, one's popping in my
12:38
Speaker 1: head as I Will Exalt You by Maverick City Music
12:40
Speaker 1: to gospel song. Um, so yeah, that's cool. I'm an
12:44
Speaker 1: old man, so it won't surprise either. I never touched
12:47
Speaker 1: with that. Yeah, I asked that question, and I never
12:51
Speaker 1: get back when I'm into So, uh, what's your best
12:54
Speaker 1: football memory? Best football memory? I think to date? Right
12:58
Speaker 1: now is my freshman year of college when we was
13:01
Speaker 1: good at Syracuse. It was like the biggest year we
13:03
Speaker 1: have since, you know, twenty plus of years. And then
13:05
Speaker 1: I had a big year as well, and it was
13:07
Speaker 1: just like a perfect year overall. So it was a
13:09
Speaker 1: great year. The best player you ever played against? Player
13:12
Speaker 1: I played against? Um, I'm gonna give you a college answer,
13:16
Speaker 1: and let's say, uh, it could be Trevor, could be Travis.
13:22
Speaker 1: Honestly too, I would say one of them. Yeah. And
13:26
Speaker 1: in my freshman year I was playing. They moved me
13:27
Speaker 1: down to strong safety for that game. I don't know
13:29
Speaker 1: what I was doing, and Travis just kept getting on
13:31
Speaker 1: the outside outside. I think it like two on the yards.
13:34
Speaker 1: How much you guys talk about that now? We don't.
13:36
Speaker 1: I feel like they don't even remember me, honestly. Yeah,
13:38
Speaker 1: beer things on my mind. So I got you, Um,
13:42
Speaker 1: hit or pick what's better? Pick. I'm gonna pick guy.
13:47
Speaker 1: It's gonna take the pick. Yeah, Okay, fair enough. Andre.
13:51
Speaker 1: I really enjoyed talking to you. I can't thank you
13:53
Speaker 1: enough for doing this, look forward to doing it again,
13:55
Speaker 1: and thank you for joining the others on the podcast.
13:56
Speaker 1: Thank you, Bro,