LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL MINICAMP DAY 3 QUOTE SHEET
June 8, 2023
Opening Statement: “Been two good days. One more day, we get some situational work and it’ll pretty much be it for the vets.”
On how he feels about the progress the team has made so far going into a break next week: “For what we’re allowed to do, I think we’ve gotten everything that I wanted to get checked off, we’ve done. And there again, you’re talking about – you can get some first, second down work. You can get third down, redzone, but the other stuff, the four-minute, the backed-up, the – you can talk about them, but you can’t really – short yardage, goal line, you can’t. So that portion won’t come until training camp, but as far as the – most of what you need to focus on, we’ve hit. And so everything that I wanted, situational work today will be the end of that. And I feel pretty good.”
On the message he will give to the veterans before they go on break: “It won’t be much. Just take care of themselves. Be smart, continue to train. Be in shape, which they will, and that’s really it. And come back ready to go.”
On the progress he has seen in Lions S Ifeatu Melifonwu in a newer position and coming back from his injuries: “Yeah, I would say you see growth. To your point, he’s relatively new to the position and you’re right, the injuries hurt him, not being able to get the reps, the repetitions, added time on task. So, this is one of the few times that we’ve had him for a significant amount of time, consistently, consecutively, and so that in itself is paying dividends right now. So we see growth, he is. He’s coming along. And look here’s the thing, Iffy’s a pretty smart player, he really is, like he gets it. He just needs time. He needs time on task, he needs reps, like a lot of young guys do. And particularly when you’re talking about a new position – now here’s the beauty of Iffy too, he continues to train there but you’ve seen he’s played some corner too. So, we’ll still throw him out there, particularly if we need a – guy needs a blow for a minute, we’ll put him out there. And so, he still has the ability to do some of that. We see him as a safety, but yet, he’s played corner, so if you need him in a pinch, he can go out there.”
On if he thinks Lions WR Jameson Williams could benefit from being mentored by a veteran player or someone within the organization: “Well, I think we’re – absolutely, as I do all young players. And I think we’re set up that way. I think that everything that we have, all the resources we have in this building, on top of the veterans we have in the room that we have, really on the team, the coaching staff, so I think we’re set up that way and absolutely I think he can benefit from that. And that’s – we want to help any player that we have come in. That’s what it’s about. It’s not always going to be perfect. There’s always a transition. It’s different than college. Every guy grows up in a different environment, different college program, so as fast as you can get them up to speed with how we do things, help him along, so yeah absolutely he can benefit.”
On how the process works for finding someone within the building to mentor Lions WR Jameson Williams: “Well, I think, first of all, everybody that we have in this building so, player engagement, player development, (Lions Co-Director of Player Engagement) Jessica Gray, (Lions Co-Director of Player Engagement) Sean Pugh, they work hand-in-hand with him. (Lions Wide Receivers Coach Antwaan Randle) El, (Lions Assistant Wide Receivers Coach) Seth Ryan, (Lions Offensive Coordinator) Ben (Johnson), myself, (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes), (Lions Mental Skills Specialist/Clinician) Dr. (Michelle) Garvin, (Lions Director of Sports Performance) Mike Clark, (Lions Head Strength and Conditioning) Josh Schuler, we’ve got a number of people that are constantly in contact with him and it’s just about – you’re giving him the information, you’re trying to teach and there again, it’s not just him, we’re doing it with all the young players. We do it with all the rookies, all the second-year players. So, I just think it’s – for us, we’re a united front and – but we’re here to help. But we’re also not here to hold your hand. We’re here to help you along the way. And so, that’s really what and why we designed everything we did.”
On the open-door policy he has with his players and if Lions WR Jameson Williams has come to him on his own to address a problem: “No, he’s never just come up himself, but he knows that he can, any player knows they can come talk to me if you’ve got – and I encourage it. If you’ve got something on your mind, well shut the door and get it off your chest. Because to me, I’ll never – for me personally, I’m pretty good about – I don’t hold a grudge. And if I’ve felt like I’m going to, that’s why I’m going to get it out to you. I will call you to my office and I’ll get it off my chest, so that I don’t have resentment, and I would expect them to do the same to me. And no-holds-barred, you’ve got something to say, say it, and I don’t care what it is. And we’ll clear the air and move on. But he knows that and there again, if I have something, I’ll bring a guy up and we’ll talk one-on-one.”
On which player he thinks has improved the most on the roster this offseason: “Man, there’s – that’s a tricky one because there again, with where we’re at and what we’re doing, not having pads, the style of practice, but there’s a few guys. We talked about (Lions LB Derrick) Barnes yesterday. Barnes has had a good spring. (Lions QB) Nate Sudfeld’s had a good spring. There’s a ton of guys that are doing exactly what you’d expect them to do. (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint is as steady as they come, you’d be shocked if he had a bad day type-stuff. We talked about (Lions S Ifeatu Melifonwu) Iffy, Iffy has shown up a little bit. I’ll tell you what, for a rookie, (Lions CB) Starling (Thomas V), showing up a little bit. He made a play yesterday, but he’s made a few plays now. He’s showing some things. But there again, we’re not in a real camp so – but yeah there’s a number of guys doing a good job.”
On how Lions DB Brian Branch is doing thus far: “He’s doing well. He had a little bit of an injury at the end of (rookie) minicamp, so we didn’t really have the first couple of days of OTAs. But, he’s really been here for two weeks with the vets practicing and he’s doing a good job. Here’s what you – and you can see it on tape, one of the reasons we acquired him, he’s an instinctive player. He has instincts. Now he doesn’t quite entirely know exactly why or what, but he can figure it out a little bit. And so, in the meantime, being a young player, he’ll start to learn and understand the what’s and why’s and then when you have the instincts he does, you – it’s pretty promising. So, he’s done a good job.”
On what traits beyond instincts of Lions DB Brian Branch interested him to trade up for him in the Draft: “Well, you guys hear me say this all the time, he’s a football guy, man. He’s all about it. He has a very serious approach about him, especially for a young player. He’s very intense. He wants to – I mean one of the first conversations we had – you know, we draft him – ‘Congratulations. Great. Fired up. Can’t wait.’ It was a little more exciting than that. But the next day I call him and basically I told him, ‘Let this be a chip on your shoulder.’ He’s sitting there for a while and there again, it’s one of the reasons we traded back to get him because we couldn’t believe he was still sitting there. And you use that. No different than (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint did. You use that and you show everyone else who passed on you what you’re capable of. But he was fired up. The first thing he asked was, ‘Man, can I get the playbook? I want the playbook.’ And that’s where he was at, that’s where his mind was at. It wasn’t about anything else. He’s just ready to move on to the next thing. I think he’s all business. He’s – what we know on tape about him, he’s pretty resilient. He’s a finisher. He doesn’t take plays off. He’s instinctive. He’s a ball-guy. He can find the ball, and he’s versatile.”
On what he has seen from International Pathway Program Player Lions T Max Pircher: “Very early. Man, it’s very early. Literally, we have not had him long enough for me to even really make an assessment to be honest with you. I hate to go there. I just don’t. There’s nothing I’m discouraged about. We’re glad to have him. He’s a body. He can help us. We’ll see where he can go with it, but it’s just too early.”
On if he has gotten to know International Pathway Program Player Lions T Max Pircher off the field: “No, he’s been good. Look he’s been in a program you know he was out there with the Rams. He’s been in it. He’s done it. I think he fits in the room well. It’s just early, and without pads and all that. But as far as type of guy he his, good guy, comes to work, wants to know it, learn it, figure out – he’s trying to learn our system, verbiage, but it’ll be good to have him here and see what he can do.”
On how Lions LB Jack Campbell is doing and learning from the veterans: “Yeah, he’s good. He’s what’d you expect. He’s going to grind through it. He’s going to work at it. He’s pretty hard on himself. That’s something he’s going to need to work on. He can – it’s a blessing and a curse when you’re hard on yourself. But he’s doing a good job and (Lions Linebackers Coach Kelvin Sheppard) Shep’s letting him have it. Shep’s not going to let him off the hook so – but he’s doing good. And look, we throw a lot at those guys. Our inside linebackers are asked to do a lot, mentally and physically in this defense. Playing with vision. A lot of times now you got to drive, break, see it, hit, communicate. So, he’s got a lot on his plate, but he’s growing.”
On what aspects Lions LB Jack Campbell is hard on himself about: “I think like with any young player, he’s smart enough I think to understand what’s going on, but he’s not processing it fast enough because he’s young. It gets on him fast. The speed of the game’s different and that’ll come. That’ll come.”
On if there has been an impact from the recent poor air quality outside due to the Canadian wildfires: “Yeah, we’ve been monitoring that. We’re pretty good. We were good.”
On if Lions DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson is returning for practice today: “C.J.’s back. Yep.”
On if he will be attending the Taylor Swift concert at Ford Field this weekend: “Yeah. I could be there. My wife – I thought it was a question, but I think it was a statement. So, there’s a good chance I’m there.”
On if he is a Taylor Swift fan or was roped into going to the concert at Ford Field this weekend: “Yeah, no, we’ll go. Look, we’ve got some people coming and my wife invited some friends, and we’ve got some people from the staff, so it’ll be good. It’ll be a good time.”
On Lions Linebackers Coach Kelvin Sheppard’s increased responsibilities within his role: “Well, he’s earned that. He’s earned that. He’s – I feel like Shep, the more we put on Shep, the more he answers the call. And he’s developing as a coach. We see growth – no different than the players, you want to see growth from your coaches. And so, (Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG and I talked and we felt like it was time to put more on him, especially this year. I think Shep is a young, promising coach. I think he can be a coordinator one day, and I think he can be a head coach one day. I think he’s got that type of potential, so the time is right.”
On what his message to rookies is when they arrive here for them to succeed in the Lions organization: “Yeah, I think more than anything it’s – there again they asked this, but we’re set up in certain way that we will tell you – we’re going to tell you exactly what you need to do to have success, or to give yourself a chance to have success. And so, just listen, man. Listen to what we’re telling you, asking you. It’ll be interactive. There’ll be these things, but I think more than that it’s – if we’re telling you something, it’s because there’s been a lesson that’s had to have been learned the hard way or this is your best chance at success. And so I think that more than anything. And then, just go to work. Go to work. Don’t work – you can never get too high or too low in any situation, especially now. We would expect you to fail right now. You should fail. That’s the best way to learn. And that’s OK. Learn from it. As long as you don’t make the same mistake tomorrow, we’re fine. It’s OK.” |
