DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR ANTHONY CAMPANILE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2025
(On DE Travon Walker and the type of player he is) “He’s a great player, obviously, but, I said
this the last time I talked to you guys. He’s a great person. He’s got a lot of leadership
qualities. I don’t think there’s anybody in the building that doesn’t genuinely love the guy.
He’s just a great human being, got a great energy about him. It’s credit to everyone that
raised him because, he’s the type of guy you love to coach him. Teammates love playing
with him and his coaches love coaching him.”
(On how a player like DE Travon Walker impacts the locker room) “What I think is when
some of your best players are your best leaders, and the best people, that’s a great thing,
because that’s what sets the culture of every building. The guys are going to follow the guys,
who bring that energy, and he brings a positive energy. I think it’s, obviously, an overall net
positive for the entire building, offense and defense, to have a guy like that.”
(On how much he knew about DE Travon Walker prior to arriving to Jacksonville) “I did,
because just knowing Trey Scott at Georgia a little bit and some of the people, you know,
we kind of run-in the same circles, coaches, and some other coaches. I know I remember
Pete Jenkins who’s kind of a legendary d line [Defensive Line] coach going down there and,
had worked with him at Georgia and talking about him way back when he was in college.
Just the type of guy, he is always serious, driven, and wanting to be great. So that was really
what I knew of Travon, and all that’s been true.”
(On if DE Travon Walker is too quiet around the team) “No. No. I don’t think so at all. I think
when he speaks, people listen. And there’s a lot to that when somebody, who maybe
people perceive isn’t that vocal, which he is. He’s vocal in the building. But when he
speaks, it means something to the guys on the team and people listen.”
(On how dominant DE Travon Walker can be) “I mean, he’s got a ton of potential. Sky’s the
limit for him. And it’s just like every other position, every other guy doing it every day, every
play. That’s really what sets the tone for what you’re going to do out there every day. And I
think , out there on Sunday, I should say. But he’s a guy who brings it every play every day.
You watch him drill work. I mean, he’s locked in, laser focused, so I’m excited for him,
excited for what he’s going to do this year.”
(On if he’s excited to get DE Travon Walker in his system) “Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.
Absolutely. When you know there’s a guy like that, it’s an exciting thing. Coaches get a lot
smarter when you got good players.”
(On how he feels after two days of practice) “I mean, like, usually, like, any year in camp,
you got some of those early mistakes, and camp is a great thing because you kind of just
get locked away. You do football for quite a while here, and you really have a singular focus.
What it takes to get better at football is playing football, so you need constant repetition.
It’s all about muscle memory and seeing things over and over and over again, talking about
things, in a consistent way, saying things the same way. So we hear them the same way all
the time. That’s really, as a coach, I think the biggest challenge in camp. Everybody’s
speaking the same language, and everybody driving the same points home and being
honest. You have to be honest. So, our guys have done a great job with that to this point.
Obviously, it’s two days, but they’re doing a really good job and hopefully continue to get
better.”
(On how he is looking forward to practice with pads) “That’s always a huge deal. You know?
And it’s an exciting time for the players too. But, the only thing we can control is what we’re
doing every day. And that drill work that we’re doing, I think that’s such a critical part of
coaching that you have to simulate the things that are going happen in the game. You got to
be laser focused as to where you’re standing when you’re coaching the drill, where you’re
filming the drill from. So they’re getting constant, consistent feedback when they go out
there in full pads that they could play at optimum performance.”
(On his defensive system and the freedom it gives to players) “I think the better you know
things and the more you do something, that’s when you play faster. There’s more
anticipation when there’s better communication. So the more and more you do things,
more and more you see things, you talk about things, in the meeting room, you walk
through things, and you get a chance to get it at game speed, you’re going to communicate
better. A call is going to help somebody. So when our team is communicating, that’s when
we’re usually playing fast. And I see that, through the transition of the spring into the
summer. I think our guys did a good job of studying this offseason, and they were able to hit
the ground running a little bit when they got out here. Communication was good.”
(On rotating players at corner and safety) “I think you’re always going through that
throughout the season. One of the beautiful things about football is, it can be so personnel
and package oriented based on the opponent and what they’re putting out there from a
personnel perspective or who those guys actually are. What’s the best matchup? A lot of
times that decides who you play, and who’s playing in the game. So we try to do that all the
way through to the end of the season and I think that’s a big part of evaluation as a coach.”
(On giving WR/DB Travis Hunter extra work between periods and if that stresses him out)
“No, I would say [Head Coach Liam Coen] Liam’s done an unbelievable job with that. He is
down to the second with all that. It’s honestly impressive to watch because he does a great
job of communicating with us. When he’s going to be with us, when he’s going to be
meeting with us, when we’re going to have time on the field. And our coaches, [Secondary
coach Ron Milus] Coach Milus, [Defensive Backs Coach Anthony Perkins] coach Perkins,
those guys have done a great job, and [Assistant Defensive Backs Coach Drew Lascari]
coach Lascari, in the meetings. They’ve done a great job planning everything out with his
meeting time and then having the stuff ready to go on the field, so we can do feet-meets
and walk and talks with him in between if he’s available.”
(On if the Jaguars wide receivers room is among the fastest group of receivers he has faced)
“Yeah, it’s a great group, and they’re hardworking dudes. They challenge you in practice.
You couldn’t get a better situation if you’re a defensive player than we have here. They get
the opportunity to play against great players every day. They really are. It’s a great group. It’s
a special group of guys.”
(On DT Arik Armstead) “Yeah. I think Arik’s got, as you know he’s the Walter Payton Man of
the Year. He’s got great leadership qualities and the people in the locker room look up to
Arik. One because of his consistency and performance and just his personality is that of a
guy that wants to help other people. As a coach, it’s a great thing to have. A guy that is
always going to be honest, and that’s what we’re always looking for. Honest feedback from
coaches to players, players to coaches, and I think he’s done a great job with that.”
DEFENSIVE END TRAVON WALKER
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2025
(On what he’s liked about the first couple of days of training camp) “The first couple of days,
obviously, acclimation, everybody getting used to the heat, getting used to communicating
with each other. But so far, so good. Every day, we’re just trying to come in and get one
percent better as a unit, as a team. That’s the goal: to get one percent better every day.”
(On how communication has changed from the offseason program to now) “Obviously,
OTAs, it was just the buildup, and once we came back into training camp, we were just still
trying to build off what we learned in OTAs. Obviously, we had to go back and refresh over
some of the plays, but it wasn’t like it was our first time hearing it. So, with us coming in, we
were able to pick up on some of the things faster. Some guys, as they give us a little load,
we may mess up here and there, but that’s what all this time is for—meetings,
walkthroughs and everything like that.”
(On how different training camp feels this year) “Training camp is going to feel like training
camp every year, especially here with the heat. But it’s training camp. We all know it’s a
time when we all try to come together to help build the team chemistry, help get where we
want to go during the season. So, it’s great so far. It’s going to be training camp regardless.”
(On training camp with a new regime) “It’s going good. The coaching staff, I feel like they’re
doing a great job with the play calls. Like I said, we’re just refreshing on the plays. They’re
not just pouring it on us. It’s not our first time hearing it. But the staff so far is great.”
(On what he likes about Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile’s scheme) “I love the
attack mentality. Just the type of mentality that Camp [Defensive Coordinator Anthony
Campanile] brings along, he’s the same high-energy guy every day, and as a person looking
at someone else, all you can ask for is them to be consistent every day. He’s been that
every day.”
(On if he enjoyed the Iron Jaguar Games) “I did. I loved it. Obviously, a little competition, got
to go against some of our teammates, which makes it a little bit more fun. Just gives you a
little bit of edge, especially if you’re a true competitor.”
(On how he can take more of a leadership role this year) “Me, I just think it’s number one,
honing in on me personally, myself, I have to do things the right way first. And then going
from there, just try to pour into the other players as they come to me and ask questions.
Like I said, there are a lot more guys who are younger than me who are coming to me and
asking questions and things of that nature. And just leading by example on the field. That’s
the main thing.”
(On the adjustment from being one of the younger guys to a veteran) “Most definitely. I
always felt like I’ve been a leader ever since I was a little kid. My mom and dad always told
me to be a leader, not a follower. I feel like I’ve always been a leader, it’s just now it may be
a little more brought to you all as far as the media and fans and things of that nature as I get
older as a player.”
(On how he would describe his leadership style) “Definitely more lead by example. I talk,
joke, laugh around, joke around, things of that nature, but I’m more of a go out there and get
the job done, and obviously there are a lot of guys that just see the hard work that I put in
and the dedication that I have for the love of the game.”
(On how he is different going into year four) “It’s going fast. I’d like to say just my mental
aspect, and obviously in the film room, I know exactly what I’m looking for once I go into the
film room. Now I have more of a routine when it comes to film study, treatment, things of
that nature. I feel like just going into year four, I’m a lot more mature when it comes to how
I’m carrying myself in the building and how I’m going about myself outside of the building
as well.”
(On if he’s surprised when he watches film of himself from his rookie year to now) “I
wouldn’t say a different guy, because like everybody knows, I was drafted off of potential. I
started pass rushing at defensive end, probably, say my sophomore year of college. I
always had the athleticism to be great, but now I’m starting to just put everything together.
There are some things where I’m like, ‘oh shoot, I definitely could have worked on some
things better right here.’ But now it’s just trying to get one percent better every day, every
year. That’s the main goal.”
(On if he feels there is more for him to learn as a pass rusher) “Most definitely. There’s
always room for improvement, but I feel like I’m establishing myself, especially amongst
the team. That’s all that really matters. The outside world, it really doesn’t matter what the
media thinks, fans think or anybody else. As long as I get my respect from my teammates
and my peers, that’s all that matters.”
(On how much of an impact DT Arik Armstead has made) “For me personally, Arik brings a
lot of different things to the game. Like I said, he’s a true vet. He’s been around the game.
He played in probably two different generations of football. It’s just his mindset, how he
breaks down certain plays, certain formations and just even the smaller details. You want
to always hone in on small details, but I feel like Arik, he does a great job of digging even
deeper into what they’re doing or why they’re doing it this way.”
(On how much easier having veterans like Armstead can help younger guys) “It makes it a
lot easier. He’s one of those guys, he’s a laid-back, reserved guy as well, but if he knows
that you’re struggling with something, he’s definitely going to come up and say something
to you, regardless of if you ask or not, just because that’s the type of leader that he is. He’s
played in multiple defenses himself, and he knows how to categorize some things that may
be able to help the younger players.”
(On if he and DE Josh Hines-Allen have played together long enough to know what to expect
from each other) “Most definitely. I talked about this my rookie year and years after that too,
just knowing who’s on the other side of you and knowing who’s on the inside of you. What
type of rusher is he? What type of rusher am I? That’s where times like this during camp,
you all come together as far as communication. Is he taking a high rush? Should I take a
low rush when he takes this high rush? We’ve all been on the same accord, especially up
front. Within that box, we all have to be on one accord especially number one when it
comes to the run game. Everybody has a job to do on every single play, and that’s in the run
or pass. So, just playing with him for going on four years now. I feel like I know him as a
player, and we work together very well.”
