(On what advice he has for players who will be selected in the upcoming NFL Draft) “When I was in that process last year, the main thing was to stay in shape. After your Pro Day, you take all your top 30 visits and the main thing is to stay in shape. Once you get to rookie minicamp, make sure you are in the best shape of your life because they are going to test you. Really, that is about it. Get to know your teammates and coaches and get adjusted.”
(On how difficult this year’s pre-draft process must be due to the restrictions put in place) “It is real tough to not be able to showcase your talent for the coaches and the teams. At that point, you have to go off of film. It is tough not being able to do that, so I feel for those guys.”
(On if he remembers how the team rallied around QB Gardner Minshew II last season) “Gardner came in with a lot of energy, and he was a great leader. Once he came in, we all rallied around him and supported him all the way through the season. He made a lot of great plays for us, and we are looking forward to seeing what he will do for us in the future. As a young offense, we all just practice hard and play together. We are getting better and we are just building right now.”
(On the virtual offseason program) “I know right now the NFL is supposed to be helping players with money to get equipment to use at home. Right now, that is what we are in the process of doing. I have been training myself along with a few other teammates. I feel like the virtual program will be pretty good. It will be a lot different. I feel like we will be able to get a lot of work in and we will see how it goes.”
(On his thoughts on University of Florida CB C.J. Henderson) “First off, he is a great kid. He works extremely hard. Of course, everyone knows how athletic he is and how good he is on the field, but he is also very good mentally, and he knows the game of football. Of course, I am pushing for him. I played two years with him in college, and I’m looking forward to hopefully suiting up with him again. I am pushing for him a lot.”
(On the criticism the offensive line receives and how good he thinks the offensive line can be) “We drown out the noise. We don’t listen to it. We just keep pushing forward and getting better as a unit. [Offensive Line] Coach [George] Warhop is doing a great job with us, [Head] Coach [Doug] Marrone and all the other coaches around. They are doing a great job with us. We are just building. I love the guys around me. They helped me have a great rookie year. I learned a lot from them, just coming in under all the vets’ wings and learning the game of football at a higher standpoint. Right now, we are just building and getting better every single day.”
(On if he has reflected on his rookie season and knows what he needs to improve on) “Most definitely. All the things I needed to improve on, I’ve been working on that so far this offseason. Even though the virus and stuff is going on, I still am focusing on the certain things I need to get better at. I did go back and look at different things I did well. It was a good year for me, but I can also do a lot better and I’m looking forward to next season coming up.”
(On University of Florida DE Jabari Zuniga) “For one, he’s a very strong guy, athletic, physical. He knows the game of football extremely well. He played under Coach [Jim] McElwain and Coach [Dan] Mullen. He has a lot of experience, a lot of starts under his belt. He has valuable experience and brings pretty much everything to the table. He is a great teammate as well and is a good leader on the defensive line. We had a lot of battles in practice every single day. We got each other better, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does at the next level.”
(On what he remembers from being drafted and how he feels for players that won’t be able to attend the draft this season due to COVID-19) “I know it is tough. It is a crazy feeling when you actually get drafted. You get the phone call, you have your family around and getting to walk across the stage is also a great thing. Doing the virtual thing is a lot different. At the same time, it is still going to be a great feeling for those guys to get the phone call.”
(On where he has to improve in his second season) “I want to get stronger. I feel like that is something I definitely need to improve on, getting my strength level up. I want to improve my hand placement in pass protection and I need to clean up penalties. Those main three things, I need to clean up the most.”
(On if it bothers him that he isn’t able to be around his teammates and work with them during the offseason) “I love the offseason – being around teammates, training together and getting better as a unit and getting better as a team. It is different right now because everyone is at home training on their own. At the same time, we still have to find ways to get better. There are really no excuses. You have to stay in shape. Right now, we are all trying to find ways to get better.”
(On if the lack of an in-person strength program would have been more difficult if he was younger) “Two years ago, I wouldn’t have the same mindset of the way I take care of my body and the way I did my rookie year compared to two years ago. I feel like I got a lot better with that.”
(On reducing the number of penalties and if that was something that bothered him) “I definitely need to improve on that. For one, just focus on holding penalties and false starts. With holding penalties, making sure my hands are in the right place. That is something I have been working on a lot – hand placement and things like that. False starts is another focus. I feel I have to get better at that. That is just locking into the snap count, locking into the cadence and the quarterback in the huddle. I definitely have to improve on that.”
(On the toughest matchup he had last year) “Von Miller and Cameron Jordan were the best two I went against. They both bring a lot of different things to the table. They challenge you in the games. Those two I feel like were the best.”
(On how Von Miller and Cam Jordan got him better) “I talked to Von [Miller] after the game. He told me I would be a great player in this league for a long time. I still talk to Von to this day. He got me a lot better. It was different things I knew I needed to improve on once the game was over with once I went back and watched the film. They both definitely got me a lot better. Cam [Jordan] was a power rusher, a bull rusher, he is a swim move type of guy, but Von has a lot of different things he does to get to the quarterback.”
(On what he has been able to do to train) “Before I found a trainer, I was at home running on my own. I got a lot of different weight bands from [Strength and Conditioning Coach] [Tom] ‘Mylo’ [Myslinski] and the strength staff. Lately, I have been training with someone in Jacksonville who has weights and different things like that. I do a lot of different things – I do yoga, I do boxing. I do things like that to keep my [fitness level] up and I still do run to keep in shape.”
