By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
In the final position segment of the spring, new linebackers coach Christian Robinson, Josh White, Brooks Miller and Matt Jones met with the media this past Friday. This position group added Mike Smith from Liberty but most hope others on the roster step up.
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Christian Robinson
(Linebackers) It’s been a great spring. Starting with the basics with everything we do, talking about our eyes, our footwork, how we do things in our meeting room, that’s been a vocal point of what I’m trying to instill and what Coach Aranda has asked me to do. They’ve done a great job of trying to listen to those details and grow every day. They’re not trying to master it all in one day, it’s a piece by piece day by day process.
(Spring scrimmage) I want to see how we communicate with each other on the field. We’re the quarterbacks of the defense, we should lead with our communication first and then with our effort to get to the ball. We’ve talked about setting the tempo and being those leaders on that side of the ball. If we do that, it will be success for me.
(Why join staff) When I met Coach Aranda years ago, I noticed how he treated other people. I knew he was a great coach, I knew he was somebody I looked up to as a position coach, coaching linebackers defensively. I wanted to align myself with somebody who was bigger than just football and about the character, the development. The opportunity to learn from him today, even our walk-through, he comes by and coaches me up on what to be looking for, and that’s excited me on a day by day basis to grow and to become a better coach for the guys I’m responsible for.
(Mike Smith) He’s done a great job from day one, just starting from scratch and being a great teammate, effort in the weight room, the connection with the other guys in the room. For somebody to come to a new place and be willing to work and build that connection, I was really excited to see him do that, and he continues to do that every day. I’m excited to see how the whole group performs together and how they jell. As we take this next step, can we be an elite group in our culture in our room.
(Leadership) We’ve had some guys who were here last year who have really stepped up in the way that they approach the game, the way they affect other people. Obviously one being Matt Jones and guys like Josh White and Brooks Miller, guys who in the weight room I didn’t have to hear them to know that they were pushing other people and know that they were doing their job, and then they’re focused on what other guys around them are doing, being in the moment and being present. If you spend all this time together, it might as well be worthwhile.
(Theme of spring) I’ve really tried to focus on the pride in what we do, the pride we have in how we break down practice, the pride in our meeting room , our notebooks, how we take notes, focusing on the little things and not rushing because if we have a great combination it will allow us to grow when things come up. We were talking about a play that happened in a game I coached a couple of years ago that we talked about in fall camp that showed up in the SEC championship game. So are we going to be present, are we going to focus on those things because they will show up. If we have pride and focus on little details, we can have a chance to be a great team.
(Coach Powledge) The first day I came to visit, me and my wife were looking at a house and it was his first day back in town, and he drove all the way out there to meet us. We were trying to get our stuff moved and he showed up and spent time with us. He’s put together a great group of guys who are connected. It feels like a brotherhood, and you see it on the field with the energy we bring in practice. We’re into it, the players are all into it, and he’s all in. He’s always looking for help and advice too. We’re all from different backgrounds and we see different things, and we all want the same thing. So how can we all get there together. We talk about shared commitment and he listens every day to us, and it’s evident to the players.
(Mike Singletary) The guys were laughing at me a little bit. I started scribbling down notes. How often do you get to listen to somebody of that stature, who played the position at the school you’re at and has done everything you wish you could do. So for our guys, it’s easy to brush things off like it’s another thing. But you live a little longer, you see how important taking words and trying to apply them to your life. He coached one of my teammates (Alec Ogletree, drafted by the Rams). I got a chance to grab him before he ran off the field, and just talking about that we came from the same place and watching him coach him on some of the clips I’ve seen and inside the meeting rooms. It’s just an honor. I talk about him to a lot of people who come to visit our school. I talk about the position, and this is great place with great people who have played this position, and he’s one of them. I remember watching him (Ogletree) and seeing him get coached. I don’t have it all figured out, and that’s what I try to tell these guys is if I learned something new today that changes the way I see the world and changes my life, and I’m trying to teach them that every day.
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Brooks Miller
(having a new position coach) Oh, it’s been great. He likes to have a great relationship with every player he has in the room. And you can tell, it’s not just the linebackers, he’s building relationships with the coaches, with the safeties, the offense. And it’s really fun to see the energy he brings to practice. So, he’s just fun to be around.
(having Coach Powledge back as the DC) Oh, it’s awesome, because he also brings that juice. You turn on the tape, and he’s running up and down the sidelines. So, it’s pretty awesome to have him back.
(pressure for you to bring that same kind of energy) Oh yeah, but it’s not pressure, because it’s really fun to do it with them. So, like me and C-Rob, we’re jumping up and down. Mike, Matt, it’s all good fun.
(getting more of a taste of playing last year, evolving as a player, what’s been your focus this spring) My technique needs to get better, and every day I’m trying to focus on one more thing, whether it’s pass rush, footwork, eyes, where I need to be. Really, just getting better every single day is my main focus.
(how valuable is that experience you got last year) It is valuable with the mental aspect of the game. Like, I’m looking at the O-line and I’m looking for tips that I’ve seen in games, like the weight on the heels, weight on fingertips. So, like getting tips from the O-line and from the games and bringing it into practice and seeing how it’s going to overlay together, that’s really the way it works for me.
(which spot are you at) Mike (or middle). It’s Mike Smith, me, Tyrone (Brown) and JJ (maybe Jeremy Evans?).
(missed part of the spring) So, our first Tuesday practice, I got a concussion. And that set me out for, I think, four or five practices. And then I was back after that. (everything good now) Yessir.
(biggest difference with the defense from the bowl game to now) It’s the relationship aspect of everything. I think there’s a sense of brotherhood this year that is higher than it’s ever been since I’ve been here.
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Josh White
(what’s the competition at LB been) Yeah, it’s been good competition, which is a good thing. Honestly, it doesn’t even really feel like competition, because we’re all trying to make each other better. Like, I’ll mess up on something, Jonesy will coach me up on it. Or Jonesy will mess up on something, and I’ll coach him up on it. So, it’s something like a big brother, and we all want to see each other be successful.
(how much more comfortable are you now that you’ve been here for a year) Yeah, I feel very comfortable because being around longer, I’ve got like a brotherhood with the boys now. So, I see stuff from their perspective and stuff like that.
(new DC, new linebackers coach, what’s that been like and how much has it changed) I feel like it hasn’t changed as much, like play-wise, which is good. It’s easy to catch on. But the main thing, I feel like, is it’s just a brotherhood and a shared commitment and stuff like that. Like, we all care for one another. And we all compete.
(take us back to how you got here, coming from LSU) So, it was a long process. I had to think about it a lot because it was a big decision. Coach Aranda had left before I got there, so I kind of stayed because Coach O (Orgeron) was there. And then, when Coach O left, I had to make a decision to myself, ‘is this really where I want to be?’ So, I talked to my people and I talked to my mom, and I decided to enter the transfer portal. And I always wanted to be coached by Coach Aranda, because I know what he can do with linebackers. So, as soon as I got another opportunity to be coached by him, I was like, ‘Yeah, I definitely got to come back here.’
(on the person over player mantra) It means a lot, because I feel like everything is a thing. So, if you’re doing good in school and you’re where you’re supposed to be all the time, then that’s going to carry over to football. And if you have good grades, all of that’s going to carry over to football. And if you’re doing bad in school, your football will be bad. All of those things are wrapped up together, and that’s basically what the person over player thing is really about.
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Matt Jones
(On being a leader)
Yessir, 100%. I believe my leadership needs to grow more on and off the field. I wouldn’t say there was a lack of leadership (last year), but the leaders need to step up more, lead by a whole lot more than what we’ve been leading, and we’ll be good.
(Did you learn from Dillon)
I learned a lot from Dillon, the leadership skills. I remember, his girlfriend wrote a little graduation book for him and asked me to say something about him. That was the main thing I said was how he taught me to lead on and off the field, how to grow, the aspects within football and within life that you need to prepare and grow into to be great. He taught me a lot of those things.
(Does leadership stuff depend on personality, is being a leader harder than physical demands of football)
Yeah, I would say (repeat the question). No, yeah, that’s definitely one of the things I lack. I’ve always grown up more of a quiet person, more laid back, (and) do what I gotta do. But having to step out of your comfort zone, that goes a long way, even in life. You gotta be comfortable with being uncomfortable and stepping out of your little bubble and doing what you gotta do even if it’s uncomfortable. That’s what’s best for you and what’s best for the team.
(Where are you now and are you comfortable in that role)
I’ve been in all three all spring. Yessir, I’ve done Jack not full time but within the same personnel. I’d say (the) majority I’ve been at Will about 90%. I’ve done Mike, we’ll switch here and there. But at the end of the day, the Will position is the same as the Mike position, just different alignments. But yeah, I’ve been doing all three and we’ll see where I end up.
(What does Mike Smith bring to the table)
Mike, he brought great leadership. He came in, he started in the back of the line, I guess that’s just how it is when you transfer. You don’t want to overstep, but he started in the back of the line and now he’s up in the front. And he’s leading. If you see him out in the field, he’s coaching up the other players as they maybe mess something up or needed to get something better. He’s there to coach them.
(What did Mike Singletary tell you today)
The main talk was just you have to find your four principles, which was, you have to find Christ first and foremost. Find Christ, find your high on Christ, that’ll get you in the best spot in life. And then he talked about just finding your technique, making the technique your own and getting comfortable with it and then staying healthy. No matter what people are doing out here, partying, drinking, having fun (in) life, you stay back and do what you’re supposed to do. Stay healthy, eat right, drink right and even though people will push you by and laugh at you and not really be your friend because you don’t want to go out and do all these things. At the end of the day, you’re doing what’s best for you, what’s best for the team and get you to where you need to be in life.
(Was that pretty cool to see him)
It was. I’ve wanted to meet him for a long time. And also, just seeing him, it kind of blew my mind just being able to see him out there and get some wise words from him.
(What do you sense from this team right now)
Yeah, I sense everyone coming together really as a whole unit. I know last year, everyone had their own choices, (their) own decisions. People thought differently than everyone else on the team and everyone was just not even on the same page, even with a few coaches. And I feel now, everyone’s on the same page, everyone’s working to one common goal. And that’s to play in AT&T (Stadium) again in December. So, just the atmosphere, you can tell in that atmosphere that the energy’s here, the shared commitment, the brotherhood; everyone wants what’s best for each other. No one’s really concerned about themselves, they’re concerned about their brother next to them.
(Repeats question)
I do agree with Brooks a lot. We’ve definitely come closer, we’ve come tighter. And honestly, a lot of it has to do with (Coach) Aranda. I know, I mean I don’t know if he’s mentioned anything, but he mentions it to us. He let a lot of stuff go last year. He didn’t really put his foot down as he should have. And this year he’s really put his foot down and he’s given us like, ‘hey, here’s what we’re gonna do. If you don’t do it, that’s too bad.’ So, he’s just stepped up as a coach and everyone's realizing that he’s serious and that this team needs to go to the top rather than last year.
(Do you feel like he’s figuring things out as a HC)
Yeah, I definitely see him finding his way. I know, I remember, I don’t know which meeting it was, one-on-one meeting with him, but he asked what he needs to do as a coach to help me grow. And my main response was just ‘Keep doing what you’re doing.’ I remember from the beginning of the year, I think it was (Trestan) Ebner, he was talking from the huddle, and he just shouted ‘hey coach! Speak up!’ Because he was just so quiet and then in meetings and stuff, he was quiet and more laid back. Now he’s found his way. He’s come a long way, talks a lot more and he’s a phenomenal coach. I like to refer to him as a wizard.
(What’s it been like this spring as a veteran, are you soaking it in?)
Yeah, man. Yesterday, a lot of people were happy that we ended practice early from the storms. And I was a little disappointed because that was my last true — besides the spring game — last true spring practice as a ballplayer here. So, it definitely hit a little different, but I know we got the summer, we got the fall. I’m looking forward to that.
