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Press Pass | Foye Oluokun: “Elevate My Game, Elevate This Defense.” · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What did I do. I saw some friends, kept up
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: my Yale connections, saw my family, obviously, my brother, my parents,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: went back to Saint Louis, just chilled out there, good
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: calm headspace, and eventually started working out a little bit
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: here lightly. Then I went to Denver to really start
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: moving again. That's kind of my routine. Saw some friends
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: on the weekends if I if I felt like I
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: needed to see some people. But you know, just stuck
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: to my routine, always about being better than I was
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: last year, going forth to the end of my career.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: What was the biggest thing that you learned last year
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: that you said, maybe I need to do a little
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: bit more.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah. First, it's gonna be understanding our scheme, how people
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: attack our scheme. I think that when you play more
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: years in the scheme, then you can understand, you know,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: where people are going to be sitting down or exactly
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: like down in the distance, where I should be looking
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: at what plays I can make, what plays I didn't
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: make last year. I mean we already started looking at
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: and I'm moved here kicking myself. But you know, when
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: you take some time off then come back to it.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: Now you're kind of coming back to it as a student,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: and you want to be able to apply what you
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: learn going in the next year so I can play
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: faster and make more plays for this team.
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: You're a teammate with Calvin Ridley. He just talked about it.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: You know, you guys get to know each other in Atlanta.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: Can you talk about what he brings to this locker
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: room into the jets of the team. I mean, first,
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: he's a good dude, you know, very respectful dude. I
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: heard him talking about that. But you know, he respects
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: the game. For sure. He's gonna come in. He puts
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: that work in and even with all the talent that
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: he has, he's a hard worker. And he came in,
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: you know, even though it's oka, he looked ready to go.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: I talked to some people running routes with him and
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: they said he looked ready to go. So I'm very
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: excited for him, and I hope he has all the
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: success that he needs here. It gets all the success
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: that he needs here, because I definitely believe in all
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: this his talent and ability. But obviously he's gonna be
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: a weapon for us on offense, and whenever he gets
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: the ball, you know, he can make a big play
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: out of it. So I'm excited to see what the
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: offense does with him. I know your suret.
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: What's up about the shirt?
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: The shirt man, that's what the defense believes in. Right here,
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: we was down and out and then we started talking
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: about thinking takeaways. Coach Bob Sutton said, if you want
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: to become, you know, an effective defense in the lead,
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: we gotta take the ball away. So we all came
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: back this OTAs and this was in our lockers, think takeaways,
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: and me personally, I want more takeaways, you know, elevate
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: my game, elevate this defense, and you gotta be thinking
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: it at all times. So you go to sleep thinking that,
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: you wake up thinking it's gonna happen for you. So
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: we're gonna get more takeaways. I think we was top ten,
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: top five in the league, maybe maybe number four. We
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: just went over takeaways. Man, get that ball in your hands.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: Good things happen.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: After you've been able to sort of see what happened
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: during the season last year on defense. That what gives
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: you the confidence. I guess that this team might take
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: a bigger leave on defense this year.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: It's really understanding the scheme, understanding my teammates, next to me,
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: and then we can all communicate together. So it's not
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: you know, I've been in the league a long time,
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: it's not me communicating what I'm seeing, what I'm anticipating.
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: This kind of bouncing ideas off each other before the play,
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: seeing what we're seeing even during the play. So all
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: these guys coming under expect this guy coming over, you
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. So kind of the experience that
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: we all have of playing together and then within the
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: same scheme being able to play faster, being one step
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: ahead of what we were was last year. Because I
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: definitely want to improve on what I did last year
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: as a defense, what we did last year, We got
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: to make more things happen.
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: You guys have three players that will be going into
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: their second year, Trayvon, Chad, Yeah, and Devin. What was
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: that like for you going year one to year two?
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: And how big of a jump can a player make
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: in that time?
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: A big jump just because you understand where you're supposed
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: to be on every play. You're gonna go watch all
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: this film, all these cut ups of you know, plays
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: that you might have messed up on technically, but now
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: it's like all you're gonna see the same formation next year.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: So now it's like, all right, I know I'm going
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: to be here. I remember from last year they ran
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: these kind of plays out of this formation. Just being
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: as I said, one step ahead of the game now,
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: making sure you're retaining that information, learning from your mistakes,
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: and kind of just applying that to be a better
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: second year player. I think this is just how it goes.
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: How do you look at these workouts?
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: So it's just a good time to kind of get
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: most of the team together and kind of start the
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: gelling process.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: Generling process, culture, keep that culture up. Obviously, we enjoy
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: being together. We definitely have fun out there, but everybody's working.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: We don't take the workouts lightly, I'll put it that way,
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: but we have a lot of fun out there, kind
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: of guys drawing back and forth at each other. Make
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: sure we're keeping the camaraderie up. But we definitely you know,
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: lifting our weights and stuff, and then if you need to,
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: you know, get a little extra. Eventually, as this OTA
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: period goes on, seeing what you know, you feel like
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: you need to improve on working that work that into
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: your workout as well.
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: The culture not automatically carry over if it's most of the.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: Same guy Atlanta wanted won a Super Bowl to you
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: before I got there, I'm pretty sure like the brotherhood
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: and stuff when I first got there was very similar,
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: but we weren't winning. So I just want to make
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: sure we're keeping up that same standard that we always
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: tried to preach about in Atlanta when I was first there,
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: That same standard that we had going in the end
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: of last year, how we approached things, how we making
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: sure no excuses about things. Uh, same thing gotta come
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: to anybody new coming to the team, anybody who was
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: on the team last year, remember what got us there?
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Even improve on that because it's easy to say, all right,
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: we got it now. We surprised some people then, but
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: they're gonna be ready for us. So it's like we
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: got to have that same standard to even improve on it,
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: to make that same to make a leap from last year. Yeah,
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: you definitely preaching that.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: Sorry, when you watch the tape back from last year
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: as a team, what was the biggest thing that the
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: Jaguars need to improve upon on.
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: We's got to finish finish plays, finish tackles, tackle better,
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: better communication pre snap and then you know, just trust
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: your your brother and their assignment. A lot of that
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: was a new scheme. A lot of times we're going
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: in the weeks with kind of new variations of plays.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: So that now that like if we had the same
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: place from last year, maybe tweak some stuff up, but
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: we understand where we're all supposed to be, so now
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: we can disguise better. Now we can kind of, you know,
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: maybe tilt this safety down or bring this safety on
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: the blitz because you know, week in week out we
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: run the same plays. They kind of know how we
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: line up to it. Now, when we get like some
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: more comfortability, if that's the word, some more wildness and
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: stuff in our call, we can kind of play with,
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: play with a little bit, try to disguise a little bit,
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: make sure we can make our play at the end
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: of the day, but not be so not have a
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: tell for ourselves. Teams obviously change your year. This team
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: you kept most of or running tacked the core.
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: Do you guys feel like this is a little bit
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: of a.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: Running back situation. Let's let's run back and be a
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: little bit.
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: Better than last year.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: I mean, I hope we do better than last year
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: running back. We got the same guys, but we know,
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: we got you know, steps to take. I don't think
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: we can have success with how we played last year.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: I think we have to be better than last year.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: And I'm gonna keep preaching that to the guys who
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: were definitely a young, malleable team, and we can be
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: molded to any way we start going. So we got
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: to make sure we're going in the right direction. We
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: can't just line it up how we was last year.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: We got to be better and we're gonna have that
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: that attitude the whole offseason.
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: From a leadership at the standpoint, what was the challenge
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: that you had last year coming in as a free
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: agent versus now where you've led this team and tackle
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: let the league and tackles and establish yourself.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: Last year I was I'm kind of a naturally kind
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: of shy guy. When I get comfortable around people, that's
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: when I kind of, you know, I won't say exert myself,
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: but I'm comfortable people, people comfortable with me. Lead by
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: example at first, make sure I take care of, you know,
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: how people view me, and then I can start you know,
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: leading them. But you know, the whole bunch of young
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: guys too. On top of that, I kind of had
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: to start talking a little earlier. Now I got more
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: comfortable with those young guys. I start trusting those young guys.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: They are taking accountability within themselves to get better, to
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: understand the defense and stuff. You know, the sky is
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: the limit for us, as long as we stay on
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: the same page and just stay comfortable with each other,
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: keep working on our connections that way. On the field,
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: it's the same way. It just seems seamless like we're
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: best friends out there playing for each other.
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: Thanks for