By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Baylor's safeties met with the media following Monday's practice.
Christian Morgan
The secondary is looking real good. I think we’re just building on the momentum we had last year. We were pretty solid last year, and I think we’re just trying to get better every day like Coach Aranda says.
(Leadership role) It’s a lot of young guys in the secondary, so it’s a leadership role. I have a lot of experience, so I’m trying to give the young guys knowledge from all the experience I’ve had the past few years.
(Where are you playing) In fall camp, I’m playing more of a high safety role. But I’m still open to playing everything. I’m just keeping my mind open to playing everything on the back end if somebody goes down. I could play star, free or weak, whatever I need to play.
(Forcing turnovers) We have a saying: robbers and jackers, Coach CY (defensive analyst Caleb Young) came up with it for turnovers, it’s going to be good for us. We want turnovers to be real high.
(Al Walcott playing star) Most definitely he has the talent. When I see Al, I most definitely see a lot of Pitre in him, just a bigger version of him. He’s really instinctive, really fast, a playmaker with really good ball skills, a complete package.
(Lorando Johnson at cornerback) Snaxx is a dog. He’s going to do just fine at corner. He’s going to make a lot of plays. I’m real confident in him.
(Safety strength compared to last year) It’s tough to say because I feel these two groups are completely different. We have our strengths and weaknesses. It really just depends on how much you work. Last year’s group really came in and worked. I’m not going to say this group is going to be better. We’ve got to come in and work every day.
(Not having Pitre or Woods around, is it the same for you) It’s pretty much the same approach. It’s a little tougher. I spend a lot of time with them watching film. Even off the field, hanging with them. It’s a little bit different, but for the most part my approach is the same.
(How did the offense look in the scrimmage) My take on the offense is they have a lot of young playmakers. I think they’re going to be just fine. I don’t really see a drop off.
(No. 10 in AP poll) We saw it. It’s a little weird. It’s the first time we’ve been ranked in the preseason since I’ve been here. It good to be ranked, but it’s not really important in the grand scheme of things.
(Do you think of former Bears when seeing NFL highlights) Yeah, I do. It’s crazy because Coach Aranda put them up in the team meeting. He showed us guys making plays. He basically showed us where these guys came from. They just say keep on grinding because this is where it can take you. It was pretty eye opening to see that. It’s really inspirational.
Devin Neal
(What are you seeing from the safeties, will it be a strong group) I honestly do. It’s a different unit overall without JT and Pitre who left. It’s just a whole different dynamic. We’re younger guys coming in, new roles, new shoes to fill. I feel like it’s going to be great and everyone’s going to work hard with their head down and just do what we got to do.
(Do you think of shoes have to fill) I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it. Everyone thinks about those things, and I obviously have. I don’t think it’s going to be that big of a deal, just watching the guys ahead of me and putting in work and just playing to my strengths.
I’m working both (safeties) but mainly the weak safety.
(A lot of returners played quite a bit last year) Honestly, it will be great having experience on all ends of the field. Having guys who know how to be really versatile and playing different spots. If a guy goes down, we can step in if need be. So it will be great.
(Tough week before classes start, is it a mental thing) It will be, yes. It will be a pretty good challenge.
(How do you handle it) Honestly, it’s just what I’ve done all my life. It’s what we all did. We’re student-athletes first – class first and then football. So, really, he’s got to take care of business, just do our job.
(About Robbers and Jackers) I like it. I think it’s our own creativity and style, approach to it. Obviously, with the Take-Three movement, that used to be a thing, but we’re making something new of ourselves just with what we’ve got.
(Pride in turnovers) We take a lot of pride in that. Forcing turnovers is really what gets everything going. Like, we have a wonderful offense, and we’ll do anything to get the ball back in their hands.
(On the receivers) It’s a lot of talent, a lot of names. Hal Presley today, he had a great practice. A lot of guys, young unit, and I feel like everybody’s going to step up. Just seeing the guys ahead of them, obviously, like Tyquan (Thornton), what he did, just modeling after him, I feel like it’s going to be a show.
A.J. McCarty
(How much are turnovers stressed) Oh, it’s stressed literally every day, all day, every meeting. Defensive meetings, that’s like one of our top goals is getting the ball out. I know they were talking about the Jackers and Robbers thing earlier, I think that’s really cool, because it just makes us want to attack the ball even more and more aggressive so we carry it over to the game.
(What exactly does that mean, will there be props involved when you go the sidelines after a turnover) I really don’t know. I know they just introduced it today. And I really think it’s more of a practice thing to try to get everybody more involved to attack the ball, like a little inner-team competition kind of thing going on, because everybody wants to go hard when competition is involved.
(How will that translate to the games, have a whiteboard on the sidelines) Maybe, it could be, if that’s something they want to do. They haven’t said anything about that yet. I don’t really think they’re too worried about that right now, but that’s something that could happen.
(How confident are you in the cornerbacks, after losing some key guys) I feel really confident about it. We did lose a few players last year to the draft, but we’ve got guys, I think, that are just as capable to do things that were done last year, maybe even better, especially if we can all connect as a team. Everything would just be smoother. So, I think the cornerback room is really solid right now.
(Are you gaining confidence, or is that just natural for you) Oh yeah, I’m real confident, always have been. That’s just my nature. Competitiveness is above the roof. I just like to play ball.
(Inspired by guys like Jalen and JT that are doing it in the NFL) Oh, it’s really inspirational. Preseason just started, and they’re all out there making plays. The thing about it is, they were on our team last year, so it’s pretty cool. Seeing them be able to thrive and rise up and play in the league and make plays up there.
(Think of Terrel’s play) Oh yeah, that was pretty cool, little fumble recovery to the crib, that was hard.
(Seen that from him) Oh yeah. All the time. We practice, there’s a ball on the ground, he’s picking it up every time, there’s no question.
(Pop a time on the GPS tracker) Oh yeah, I ran pretty fast. It was during the scrimmage, I think it was around like 22.8 (mph). Almost there. I know that during the season, I’m reaching for 23, with the adrenaline and all that, hopefully I’ll make it.
(Being ranked 10th) Personally, I obviously believe that we have the ability to go all the way this year as long as we can connect. I’m not really looking into all the rankings and all that right now, because then I’ll throw my mind off of what really matters. But, personal opinion, I think that we will make a good push to be high this year.
(Is there a receiver in practice that really brings out your competitiveness) All the receivers, that’s a young group and they’re all really, really talented, so I can’t really sit here and pinpoint exactly one receiver that’s just the best right now, because it’s all pretty spread out evenly, the talent in that room. It’s really good, though.
(What sets this group apart from others) I think our energy with our coach, because Coach (Kevin) Curtis, he’s a real high-energy dude, and he always wants us to be high-energy, too. And he expects nothing less, so he’s always in there trying to motivate us. So, I really think the positive energy in our group helps lead more on to the field, so we really don’t have much drama going on.
Publisher
Baylor's safeties met with the media following Monday's practice.
Christian Morgan
The secondary is looking real good. I think we’re just building on the momentum we had last year. We were pretty solid last year, and I think we’re just trying to get better every day like Coach Aranda says.
(Leadership role) It’s a lot of young guys in the secondary, so it’s a leadership role. I have a lot of experience, so I’m trying to give the young guys knowledge from all the experience I’ve had the past few years.
(Where are you playing) In fall camp, I’m playing more of a high safety role. But I’m still open to playing everything. I’m just keeping my mind open to playing everything on the back end if somebody goes down. I could play star, free or weak, whatever I need to play.
(Forcing turnovers) We have a saying: robbers and jackers, Coach CY (defensive analyst Caleb Young) came up with it for turnovers, it’s going to be good for us. We want turnovers to be real high.
(Al Walcott playing star) Most definitely he has the talent. When I see Al, I most definitely see a lot of Pitre in him, just a bigger version of him. He’s really instinctive, really fast, a playmaker with really good ball skills, a complete package.
(Lorando Johnson at cornerback) Snaxx is a dog. He’s going to do just fine at corner. He’s going to make a lot of plays. I’m real confident in him.
(Safety strength compared to last year) It’s tough to say because I feel these two groups are completely different. We have our strengths and weaknesses. It really just depends on how much you work. Last year’s group really came in and worked. I’m not going to say this group is going to be better. We’ve got to come in and work every day.
(Not having Pitre or Woods around, is it the same for you) It’s pretty much the same approach. It’s a little tougher. I spend a lot of time with them watching film. Even off the field, hanging with them. It’s a little bit different, but for the most part my approach is the same.
(How did the offense look in the scrimmage) My take on the offense is they have a lot of young playmakers. I think they’re going to be just fine. I don’t really see a drop off.
(No. 10 in AP poll) We saw it. It’s a little weird. It’s the first time we’ve been ranked in the preseason since I’ve been here. It good to be ranked, but it’s not really important in the grand scheme of things.
(Do you think of former Bears when seeing NFL highlights) Yeah, I do. It’s crazy because Coach Aranda put them up in the team meeting. He showed us guys making plays. He basically showed us where these guys came from. They just say keep on grinding because this is where it can take you. It was pretty eye opening to see that. It’s really inspirational.
Devin Neal
(What are you seeing from the safeties, will it be a strong group) I honestly do. It’s a different unit overall without JT and Pitre who left. It’s just a whole different dynamic. We’re younger guys coming in, new roles, new shoes to fill. I feel like it’s going to be great and everyone’s going to work hard with their head down and just do what we got to do.
(Do you think of shoes have to fill) I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it. Everyone thinks about those things, and I obviously have. I don’t think it’s going to be that big of a deal, just watching the guys ahead of me and putting in work and just playing to my strengths.
I’m working both (safeties) but mainly the weak safety.
(A lot of returners played quite a bit last year) Honestly, it will be great having experience on all ends of the field. Having guys who know how to be really versatile and playing different spots. If a guy goes down, we can step in if need be. So it will be great.
(Tough week before classes start, is it a mental thing) It will be, yes. It will be a pretty good challenge.
(How do you handle it) Honestly, it’s just what I’ve done all my life. It’s what we all did. We’re student-athletes first – class first and then football. So, really, he’s got to take care of business, just do our job.
(About Robbers and Jackers) I like it. I think it’s our own creativity and style, approach to it. Obviously, with the Take-Three movement, that used to be a thing, but we’re making something new of ourselves just with what we’ve got.
(Pride in turnovers) We take a lot of pride in that. Forcing turnovers is really what gets everything going. Like, we have a wonderful offense, and we’ll do anything to get the ball back in their hands.
(On the receivers) It’s a lot of talent, a lot of names. Hal Presley today, he had a great practice. A lot of guys, young unit, and I feel like everybody’s going to step up. Just seeing the guys ahead of them, obviously, like Tyquan (Thornton), what he did, just modeling after him, I feel like it’s going to be a show.
A.J. McCarty
(How much are turnovers stressed) Oh, it’s stressed literally every day, all day, every meeting. Defensive meetings, that’s like one of our top goals is getting the ball out. I know they were talking about the Jackers and Robbers thing earlier, I think that’s really cool, because it just makes us want to attack the ball even more and more aggressive so we carry it over to the game.
(What exactly does that mean, will there be props involved when you go the sidelines after a turnover) I really don’t know. I know they just introduced it today. And I really think it’s more of a practice thing to try to get everybody more involved to attack the ball, like a little inner-team competition kind of thing going on, because everybody wants to go hard when competition is involved.
(How will that translate to the games, have a whiteboard on the sidelines) Maybe, it could be, if that’s something they want to do. They haven’t said anything about that yet. I don’t really think they’re too worried about that right now, but that’s something that could happen.
(How confident are you in the cornerbacks, after losing some key guys) I feel really confident about it. We did lose a few players last year to the draft, but we’ve got guys, I think, that are just as capable to do things that were done last year, maybe even better, especially if we can all connect as a team. Everything would just be smoother. So, I think the cornerback room is really solid right now.
(Are you gaining confidence, or is that just natural for you) Oh yeah, I’m real confident, always have been. That’s just my nature. Competitiveness is above the roof. I just like to play ball.
(Inspired by guys like Jalen and JT that are doing it in the NFL) Oh, it’s really inspirational. Preseason just started, and they’re all out there making plays. The thing about it is, they were on our team last year, so it’s pretty cool. Seeing them be able to thrive and rise up and play in the league and make plays up there.
(Think of Terrel’s play) Oh yeah, that was pretty cool, little fumble recovery to the crib, that was hard.
(Seen that from him) Oh yeah. All the time. We practice, there’s a ball on the ground, he’s picking it up every time, there’s no question.
(Pop a time on the GPS tracker) Oh yeah, I ran pretty fast. It was during the scrimmage, I think it was around like 22.8 (mph). Almost there. I know that during the season, I’m reaching for 23, with the adrenaline and all that, hopefully I’ll make it.
(Being ranked 10th) Personally, I obviously believe that we have the ability to go all the way this year as long as we can connect. I’m not really looking into all the rankings and all that right now, because then I’ll throw my mind off of what really matters. But, personal opinion, I think that we will make a good push to be high this year.
(Is there a receiver in practice that really brings out your competitiveness) All the receivers, that’s a young group and they’re all really, really talented, so I can’t really sit here and pinpoint exactly one receiver that’s just the best right now, because it’s all pretty spread out evenly, the talent in that room. It’s really good, though.
(What sets this group apart from others) I think our energy with our coach, because Coach (Kevin) Curtis, he’s a real high-energy dude, and he always wants us to be high-energy, too. And he expects nothing less, so he’s always in there trying to motivate us. So, I really think the positive energy in our group helps lead more on to the field, so we really don’t have much drama going on.
