During his press conference Wednesday afternoon, defensive backs coach Kirk Callahan went in-depth on plenty of members of the Florida secondary.
On Vernon Hargreaves: I think the two reps you’re talking about, one I thought he was a little lackadaisical. They went with a double move and he was caught staring at the quarterback. He took it lightly on that play and obviously had an opportunity with a guy got behind him which is obviously not what we want. The other situation was a chance where we were playing cloud on our near sideline where Vernon is the flat defender and could’ve done a better job to reroute and Brian Poole was the safety at the time and should’ve been over the top. Again, at the end of the day, no matter who it is. If it’s Vernon Hargreaves or anybody, we’ve got to be prepared every play to be on point because at the end of the day there’s some good players out there and we’re going to face some good receivers that are going to test us vertically every day.”
On Marcus Maye: Obviously Marcus is a big-time player. He’s got to sit there and earn his way back into the starting lineup in terms of his reps to come back. At the end of the day, when you’re not practicing, you’re not in the two deep and you’ve got to keep working it. He’s done a great job this week and we’re excited to have him back.”
On Nick Washington: "The one thing he did a great job i think it really started in the summer with Coach Kent. Because he was a guy that had a couple proficiencies in terms of his stiffness and flexibility and that was something that he attacked with Coach Kent. He came back into fall camp kind of like a new man. He was really healthy, really in shape. And you started to see this guy flash a little bit more than you saw in the spring. Knowledge is power, right? He had, even though certain situations he may sit there and look less efficient or whatever, he is smart enough to put himself in the right position to make the right calls to get everybody lined up in terms of the 'backers and the secondary. That's where he earned his keep and obviously gave himself an opportunity to start last Saturday."
On Marcell Harris: “Again, he’s another guy, he started the offseason. He worked himself in. His whole thing was he was a great special teams player for them last season. But he’s really gained a knowledge of the playbook. Like we talked about, knowledge is power. The more you know, whether that’s at safety, at nickel, at dime, that only increases your stock as a guy we can put in situations to make plays. Because he’s a talented kid. But I think the big thing has been him in the offseason with the weight room, the study of the playbook have allowed him to be an even faster play.”
On Quincy Wilson: “He started for us at corner, he did some great things out there for us. He’s such a big body. For him improving offseason and continue to keep building on that. I don’t think he was tested quite often on Saturday. A few throws his way were completed. Moved him in at nickel for a couple of series as well, give Jalen a shot out there at corner. He played well for us. My whole thing to him is go take it over, go be dominant, don’t settle for doing the right thing, let’s go be great. That’s what he’s working toward.”
On Deiondre Porter and Chris Williamson: “Experience is huge, just getting them out there. Obviously, the wealth of knowledge in the room and being around. Those guys have to earn their goals and reps just like everyone else. They went out there and did some good things. I thought Deondre came in and for his first time playing at DB. … obviously he was an offensive guy when he first got here, and he’s continued to keep coming along. That’s more value for us, it’s more people, there are more pieces to the puzzle we can sit there and play with.”
On what Keanu Neal brings when he's healthy: “Leadership, toughness are two things that jump out. He’s a guy, he’s very serious in that he takes everything that he does seriously, whether that’s practice, technique, film study and obviously that’s another thing that you want those young guys to continue to see. That’s a guy that does things the right way. You reap what you sow. The things that he puts in off the field is going to show up on Saturdays when he’s out there.”
On Vernon Hargreaves: I think the two reps you’re talking about, one I thought he was a little lackadaisical. They went with a double move and he was caught staring at the quarterback. He took it lightly on that play and obviously had an opportunity with a guy got behind him which is obviously not what we want. The other situation was a chance where we were playing cloud on our near sideline where Vernon is the flat defender and could’ve done a better job to reroute and Brian Poole was the safety at the time and should’ve been over the top. Again, at the end of the day, no matter who it is. If it’s Vernon Hargreaves or anybody, we’ve got to be prepared every play to be on point because at the end of the day there’s some good players out there and we’re going to face some good receivers that are going to test us vertically every day.”
On Marcus Maye: Obviously Marcus is a big-time player. He’s got to sit there and earn his way back into the starting lineup in terms of his reps to come back. At the end of the day, when you’re not practicing, you’re not in the two deep and you’ve got to keep working it. He’s done a great job this week and we’re excited to have him back.”
On Nick Washington: "The one thing he did a great job i think it really started in the summer with Coach Kent. Because he was a guy that had a couple proficiencies in terms of his stiffness and flexibility and that was something that he attacked with Coach Kent. He came back into fall camp kind of like a new man. He was really healthy, really in shape. And you started to see this guy flash a little bit more than you saw in the spring. Knowledge is power, right? He had, even though certain situations he may sit there and look less efficient or whatever, he is smart enough to put himself in the right position to make the right calls to get everybody lined up in terms of the 'backers and the secondary. That's where he earned his keep and obviously gave himself an opportunity to start last Saturday."
On Marcell Harris: “Again, he’s another guy, he started the offseason. He worked himself in. His whole thing was he was a great special teams player for them last season. But he’s really gained a knowledge of the playbook. Like we talked about, knowledge is power. The more you know, whether that’s at safety, at nickel, at dime, that only increases your stock as a guy we can put in situations to make plays. Because he’s a talented kid. But I think the big thing has been him in the offseason with the weight room, the study of the playbook have allowed him to be an even faster play.”
On Quincy Wilson: “He started for us at corner, he did some great things out there for us. He’s such a big body. For him improving offseason and continue to keep building on that. I don’t think he was tested quite often on Saturday. A few throws his way were completed. Moved him in at nickel for a couple of series as well, give Jalen a shot out there at corner. He played well for us. My whole thing to him is go take it over, go be dominant, don’t settle for doing the right thing, let’s go be great. That’s what he’s working toward.”
On Deiondre Porter and Chris Williamson: “Experience is huge, just getting them out there. Obviously, the wealth of knowledge in the room and being around. Those guys have to earn their goals and reps just like everyone else. They went out there and did some good things. I thought Deondre came in and for his first time playing at DB. … obviously he was an offensive guy when he first got here, and he’s continued to keep coming along. That’s more value for us, it’s more people, there are more pieces to the puzzle we can sit there and play with.”
On what Keanu Neal brings when he's healthy: “Leadership, toughness are two things that jump out. He’s a guy, he’s very serious in that he takes everything that he does seriously, whether that’s practice, technique, film study and obviously that’s another thing that you want those young guys to continue to see. That’s a guy that does things the right way. You reap what you sow. The things that he puts in off the field is going to show up on Saturdays when he’s out there.”
