By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Baylor's 2023 secondary will have several new faces, especially at corner. Defensive backs coach Kevin Curtis, Tevin Williams, who started the Armed Forces Bowl against Air Force and Miami (FL) transfer Isaiah Dunson met with the media after Monday's practice.
KEVIN CURTIS
(younger group this year, how’s it been going) It’s been good. Those guys are coming to work every single day. And we’re asking them to press more and we want to challenge wide receivers and make it hard for them. So, they’re coming to work. We’re getting better every day. The offense, the receivers are really good, so they’re making us better. So, that’s all you can ask for.
(on Tevin having some experience) I think the next step for him is just playing with confidence, playing with discipline, but just understanding that he can do it and just go out there and do it.
(does the press coverage come from Powledge, or just a tweak) I mean, in ’21, we were tight coverage, and everything would start from there. So, we want to get back to that. if you can press, you’re going to do other things. But you want to be able to play press man and take away easy throws, access throws. So, that’s what we want to be able to get good at. So, in order to do that, you’ve got to do it all the time. So, that’s what we’re working on.
(what has been the biggest difference in this defense with Powledge) You love his energy. Every day, he’s bringing energy. I think all the guys are going to play for him. They have a relationship with him, being the special teams coordinator, having a relationship with everybody a couple years ago. So, I think that’s the biggest thing is we’re going to go back to more basics, and go from the ground and build it back up.
(on Chateau) He’s been doing good, he’s taking the next step. So, every day, we just need to keep taking the next step with him. Just like everybody, playing with confidence. At the corner position, the ball is going to be in the air. Sometimes, you can make a play, sometimes you won’t. But you’ve got to know that, ‘Hey, next play, make it hard for him.’
(on Isaiah Dunson, Maimi transfer) Oh, he’s good, he’s a worker, and he’s very intentional about the things that he does. He practices hard, so I’m excited about what he can bring to the table and the leadership to the group.
(in the fall, placed an emphasis on forcing turnovers. Is that still a key point) Yes, in order to win ballgames, you’ve got to create turnovers. If you look at all the teams that win a lot of games, they’re creating a lot of turnovers. So, sometimes it’s not always the prettiest defense. But if you create turnovers, you always have a chance. And that’s one of our pillars, creating turnovers.
(Is it still Jackers and Robbers?) Yes, it is. Coach (Caleb) Collins has done a great job of taking ownership of that. And the guys have taken a liking to it, and we have a little competition going on. We had a draft with guys on defense, so just making it even more of a competition and try to create turnovers, and not just fumbles that they just dropped on the ground. No, take the ball away from them, force turnovers.
(besides Tevin, Isaiah and Chateau, who are some of the other guys) Reggie (Bush) is taking the next step. Caden (Jenkins) and Carl (Williams IV), are both freshmen that were mid-year guys. So, every rep that they get, they’re getting better. So, sometimes it might feel like, ‘Oh, I got beat,’ but it’s just a learning experience. So, the more you can take those experiences and learn from them and see what I did right and what I could do better, it’s all good.
(do they seem to like the press coverage) Yes. As a corner, you always want to get hands on guys and destroy the timing of it. and the more you do it, it’s just like shooting 3’s – like Golden State was really good at shooting 3’s because they shot 3’s all the time. So the same thing, if you keep pressing over and over again, you get better. You understand what you can do, what you can’t do. So, this will be the start of it in the spring, and then they’ll take the next step as well in the summer when they’re working with each other, and getting with the receivers and doing one-on-ones and doing releases.
Tevin Williams II
(Young CB group, what do you bring)
Just stepping into more of a leadership role. Me and Chateau are the oldest in the room right now. So, just being more talkative and helping younger guys along as we go.
(Feel weird that you’re one of the older guys?)
Yeah, it does because Mark (Milton) last year, he was a sixth-year (senior), and I used to rely on him. So, I’m just trying to take notes from what Mark used to do just to help out our younger guys.
(What specifically have you been working on?)
Just staying more relaxed, being more patient in press (coverage). Sometimes I get a little bit hyper. But other than that, it’s just playing with full speed and playing with confidence.
(Do you like the press coverage?)
Oh yeah. It’s way more fun. It’s less to think about because last year, we had a lot of reads to make. Now, you just have one man, and you have to cover him.
(What’s your biggest takeaway from the end of the season last year?)
I feel like mainly just complacency because last year, we thought we made it. It’s just, knowing that we have to work every day to get better (and) stacking good days onto good days.
(Powledge back, what does he bring)
He has a lot of swagger. Last year, we were playing for each other and not really the coaches, but kind of with this year, you can tell that we're going to play for Coach Powledge and everybody around us.
(On emphasis to create turnovers and who’s winning that intrasquad competitions?)
Oh, yeah, it’s still a big emphasis. Right now, it's my team (that’s winning). We have one team (called) jackers, one team (called) robbers. I forgot the score, but I think we're up about 60 points. So, we're doing pretty good right now.
(What does the winner get)
We don't know yet.
(What did you learn from Mark)
Mainly just how to carry yourself, how to do meetings, how to take notes, how to conduct yourself on the field, just the little things like that, that what he's doing now and in the future with the pros that carries on.
(Is the mindset to get the defense to what it was in 2021)
Yeah, totally. It’s just, we have to keep stacking good days and sooner or later we’ll be clicking again.
Isaiah Dunson
(Why pick Baylor) Coach Aranda, Coach Powledge, Coach Curtis, it felt like the right fit and the right scheme for me. I like the press man. I like it a lot and work on it a lot.
(BU receivers) They’re working every day, it’s a good group. They’re correcting little things after practice that night. It’s a really good group.
(Dave Aranda sales pitch) It’s just him. He’s himself and there’s really not a pitch. He just tells you how it is, and I like that.
(Big switch from ACC to Big 12) I don’t think so, football is football.
(Does press coverage put more pressure on you) Nah. The more you work on it, the better you get.
(Goals) I just want to be around the guys and do what I’ve been doing.
(Who is winning battles between receivers and DBs) We’re going at it every day, it’s competition.
Publisher
Baylor's 2023 secondary will have several new faces, especially at corner. Defensive backs coach Kevin Curtis, Tevin Williams, who started the Armed Forces Bowl against Air Force and Miami (FL) transfer Isaiah Dunson met with the media after Monday's practice.
KEVIN CURTIS
(younger group this year, how’s it been going) It’s been good. Those guys are coming to work every single day. And we’re asking them to press more and we want to challenge wide receivers and make it hard for them. So, they’re coming to work. We’re getting better every day. The offense, the receivers are really good, so they’re making us better. So, that’s all you can ask for.
(on Tevin having some experience) I think the next step for him is just playing with confidence, playing with discipline, but just understanding that he can do it and just go out there and do it.
(does the press coverage come from Powledge, or just a tweak) I mean, in ’21, we were tight coverage, and everything would start from there. So, we want to get back to that. if you can press, you’re going to do other things. But you want to be able to play press man and take away easy throws, access throws. So, that’s what we want to be able to get good at. So, in order to do that, you’ve got to do it all the time. So, that’s what we’re working on.
(what has been the biggest difference in this defense with Powledge) You love his energy. Every day, he’s bringing energy. I think all the guys are going to play for him. They have a relationship with him, being the special teams coordinator, having a relationship with everybody a couple years ago. So, I think that’s the biggest thing is we’re going to go back to more basics, and go from the ground and build it back up.
(on Chateau) He’s been doing good, he’s taking the next step. So, every day, we just need to keep taking the next step with him. Just like everybody, playing with confidence. At the corner position, the ball is going to be in the air. Sometimes, you can make a play, sometimes you won’t. But you’ve got to know that, ‘Hey, next play, make it hard for him.’
(on Isaiah Dunson, Maimi transfer) Oh, he’s good, he’s a worker, and he’s very intentional about the things that he does. He practices hard, so I’m excited about what he can bring to the table and the leadership to the group.
(in the fall, placed an emphasis on forcing turnovers. Is that still a key point) Yes, in order to win ballgames, you’ve got to create turnovers. If you look at all the teams that win a lot of games, they’re creating a lot of turnovers. So, sometimes it’s not always the prettiest defense. But if you create turnovers, you always have a chance. And that’s one of our pillars, creating turnovers.
(Is it still Jackers and Robbers?) Yes, it is. Coach (Caleb) Collins has done a great job of taking ownership of that. And the guys have taken a liking to it, and we have a little competition going on. We had a draft with guys on defense, so just making it even more of a competition and try to create turnovers, and not just fumbles that they just dropped on the ground. No, take the ball away from them, force turnovers.
(besides Tevin, Isaiah and Chateau, who are some of the other guys) Reggie (Bush) is taking the next step. Caden (Jenkins) and Carl (Williams IV), are both freshmen that were mid-year guys. So, every rep that they get, they’re getting better. So, sometimes it might feel like, ‘Oh, I got beat,’ but it’s just a learning experience. So, the more you can take those experiences and learn from them and see what I did right and what I could do better, it’s all good.
(do they seem to like the press coverage) Yes. As a corner, you always want to get hands on guys and destroy the timing of it. and the more you do it, it’s just like shooting 3’s – like Golden State was really good at shooting 3’s because they shot 3’s all the time. So the same thing, if you keep pressing over and over again, you get better. You understand what you can do, what you can’t do. So, this will be the start of it in the spring, and then they’ll take the next step as well in the summer when they’re working with each other, and getting with the receivers and doing one-on-ones and doing releases.
Tevin Williams II
(Young CB group, what do you bring)
Just stepping into more of a leadership role. Me and Chateau are the oldest in the room right now. So, just being more talkative and helping younger guys along as we go.
(Feel weird that you’re one of the older guys?)
Yeah, it does because Mark (Milton) last year, he was a sixth-year (senior), and I used to rely on him. So, I’m just trying to take notes from what Mark used to do just to help out our younger guys.
(What specifically have you been working on?)
Just staying more relaxed, being more patient in press (coverage). Sometimes I get a little bit hyper. But other than that, it’s just playing with full speed and playing with confidence.
(Do you like the press coverage?)
Oh yeah. It’s way more fun. It’s less to think about because last year, we had a lot of reads to make. Now, you just have one man, and you have to cover him.
(What’s your biggest takeaway from the end of the season last year?)
I feel like mainly just complacency because last year, we thought we made it. It’s just, knowing that we have to work every day to get better (and) stacking good days onto good days.
(Powledge back, what does he bring)
He has a lot of swagger. Last year, we were playing for each other and not really the coaches, but kind of with this year, you can tell that we're going to play for Coach Powledge and everybody around us.
(On emphasis to create turnovers and who’s winning that intrasquad competitions?)
Oh, yeah, it’s still a big emphasis. Right now, it's my team (that’s winning). We have one team (called) jackers, one team (called) robbers. I forgot the score, but I think we're up about 60 points. So, we're doing pretty good right now.
(What does the winner get)
We don't know yet.
(What did you learn from Mark)
Mainly just how to carry yourself, how to do meetings, how to take notes, how to conduct yourself on the field, just the little things like that, that what he's doing now and in the future with the pros that carries on.
(Is the mindset to get the defense to what it was in 2021)
Yeah, totally. It’s just, we have to keep stacking good days and sooner or later we’ll be clicking again.
Isaiah Dunson
(Why pick Baylor) Coach Aranda, Coach Powledge, Coach Curtis, it felt like the right fit and the right scheme for me. I like the press man. I like it a lot and work on it a lot.
(BU receivers) They’re working every day, it’s a good group. They’re correcting little things after practice that night. It’s a really good group.
(Dave Aranda sales pitch) It’s just him. He’s himself and there’s really not a pitch. He just tells you how it is, and I like that.
(Big switch from ACC to Big 12) I don’t think so, football is football.
(Does press coverage put more pressure on you) Nah. The more you work on it, the better you get.
(Goals) I just want to be around the guys and do what I’ve been doing.
(Who is winning battles between receivers and DBs) We’re going at it every day, it’s competition.
