Video/Transcript: John FitzPatrick, JT Daniels and Nakobe Dean Interviews – August 30, 2021

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Video/Transcript: John FitzPatrick, JT Daniels and Nakobe Dean Interviews – August 30, 2021

On JT Daniels’ confidence …

“I see it every day in practice. He’s prepared in walk thrus and meetings. And then come practice time, he shows it on the field. His confidence, it shows out there. He has a swagger, confidence, and he leads the team in the right direction.”

 

 

 

 

On preparation for Clemson…

“Obviously spring ball is about focusing on ourself, but you start watching Clemson as soon as possible here and there in the spring. And then a lot of the time it’s on your own and when you can get extra film in. The tight end room will go watch film together on a Sunday here and there, and just get notes down, look at some schemes. We just continue on throughout the summer, so it’s been an ongoing process.

On Clemson’s defensive line …

 

 

 

 

“Absolutely, we’re ready for the challenge. We’re excited for the challenge, but at the same time we have a bunch of studs up front from left tackle to right tackle and the guys in the middle. They’re all studs and we’re excited for that challenge.”

On Daniels’ connections with teammates …

“We have been talking about it a lot. We have a lot of guys, first of all, lot of guys I feel comfortable with and being with just the amount of work that we got in the off season. Guys missing a couple days missing here, or you got guys rolling in and out. However it is, we have the report that we’ve been building over time. So there’s no concerns of that from me.”

On Daniels’ transition to Georgia …

“Football is just another thing on the west coast I would say is kind of how it felt versus football being the thing here. I remember driving in, it’s the first thing I remember from being in Georgia from when my family and I drove from the Atlanta airport to Athens. Just seeing the Georgia flag flying and the Georgia Bulldog flag flying everywhere. I just really came to experience what it’s like, you know having football be such a main focal point and such a communal aspect. But for me I loved it since I’ve gotten here and I still do. And I’ve been vocal about how much I really love being here and the way that it functions. For me it wasn’t much of an adjustment, that’s how I’ve been my whole life.

On John Fitzpatrick’s role in the offense …

“First with (John Fitzpatrick) Fitz, Fitz and I are great friends, have been since I got here. Having a guy that you know where he’s going to be, he knows all his assignments, you know he’ll fix something that you don’t think about but not everything comes in right from the sideline sometimes. You know there’s a lot of variables in running an offense, and a guy like Fitz that always knows what we’re really trying to do is a guy that plays a big role in fixing the small mistakes or miscommunications. And of course, athletically, I think he’s underrated in terms of what he can do as a pass catcher and as a blocker. I’m excited to see what Fitz will do this year.

On preparing for Clemson’s defense …

“In terms of the mental clock, there’s elite pass rush in the SEC and with a team like Clemson, they’re no different. I’ve always tried to be get the ball out, get the ball in the right guys hands. As I’ve matured, I think I’ve gotten it out quicker and quicker.

On the corner and star position …

“I feel great about it. They have put in the work, everybody on the team and defense has put in work. I trust our coach to put the right people in the right positions to make us a good defense.”

On JT Daniels’ development as a leader…

“Back when we were on the scout team, I was impressed with how he handled coming from where he came from and who he was and how he handled being on scout team and how he attacked it every day. And now he just gives the offense, I feel like, all the confidence in the world. You know, they’re on his back and every body on the team is on his back. He is the one to offensively lead this team.”

On how Nakobe Dean has gotten better despite injury obstacles in the spring…

“For me, being able to stay engaged in the spring just came from me loving ball and knowing that when I came back I wanted to be better. I probably wasn’t able to get better with technique or so but I was able to get better mentally so that was the biggest thing for me.”

On Nakobe Dean’s perspective of Fall Camp…

“We had a lot of guys who had a good camp. Camp is definitely a grind. There’s a lot of people, including myself that got better this camp. It will be able to help the team this fall.”

 

 

 

 

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