Quoted: Preseason Camp – Sept. 29
9/29/2020 12:18:00 PM | Football
Below is a partial transcript of Zoom press conferences with Indiana cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby, cornerback Tiawan Mullen and cornerback Jaylin Williams on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
Cornerbacks Coach Brandon Shelby
Q. On the depth of the position…
SHELBY: During this time, it is so crazy, one test and somebody is out. Unlike any other year, you have to be ready for so many guys to come in and play, so it is a little bit different. Those older guys that have started some games, they understand the complexities of going out and preparing every week. We have to make sure they sharpen it up, make sure they do not get complacent and make sure they are living right outside of the complex. We have to make sure that the next eight-nine weeks we are healthy and we can go the whole season. When we talk about the young guys, we have to make sure they understand the importance of the little things. I think at the end of the day, those are the things we are harping on. You think about the mental gymnastics these guys have had to go through, from we are playing to we are not playing and back to playing again, emotionally, they had to get their minds right. For the young guys, we have to prepare those guys to know the playbook in and out. We might have to simplify the playbook a little bit so they can understand it and get those guys in terms where they can go out there and play fast. That is what we need those young guys to do right now, understand the terms, understand the key concepts that we need to work on and make sure the mental gymnastics are out so we can go play fast on Saturdays. They are doing a good job of pushing. Ultimately, at the end of the day, you could mess around, and hopefully this does not happen, but you could test positive and the next guys has to be ready to go play. That is the biggest different from years past.
Q. On newcomers/young guys stepping up…
SHELBY: One guy that really keeps doing a great job is Larry Tracy III. He keeps making plays. As a freshman, he was kind of scatter-brained, but you can understand that. He has locked in, gotten into the college, started to understand the flows of college and he is locked into football. I see a totally different change in him on and off the field. I am excited for him and the process he is doing to give himself an opportunity to go play. I know in that family that football is important, and I think that he is settling into who he is on and off the football field. I am really excited for the future for him. When you talk about Lem Watley-Neely and Christopher Keys, those guys have the athletic ability. As true freshman coming in, I wish I had those guys years ago. It would have made that transition a lot easier. Right now, the thing that we have to get through to those guys, you talk about a guy like Chris, who is from Collins, Mississippi, is the speed of things, the speed of life. The town he is from, things are a little bit slower. You get here and everything is go, go, go. He has to settle into the expectations that I have of him in that corner room, but also of this football team. The thing with Lem, he is a great football player. He is really tough. Now we have to get all the mental stuff together when it comes to all of the checks. A lot of times in high school, if it is Cover 2, you play Cover 2. If it is Cover 3, you play Cover 3. Here, based on how people shift, motion and move, those changes can occur. Those are things that we have to get ironed out with those guys. Athletically, they are some of the best freshmen that we have. I am excited and I expect great things from those guys. The great thing about it is, this is a learning opportunity because they get the same year next year. Just think about how great we will be next year with all of these guys coming back and it does not hurt their eligibility at all. I am really excited for right now and the future.
Q. On Taiwan Mullen…
SHELBY: He comes from an athletic family. He does a lot of great things and he has had a lot of press clippings. For me, I have to coach him even harder about the little things, where are his feet, his eyes, his hand placement. When he messes up, he might get 50 yards of up-downs, while someone else might only get 10. I am a lot harder on him because, at the end of the day, a lot of players that have a successful freshman year usually fall into a sophomore slump. We have to do a great job of making sure he continues to do the things that allowed him to get to this position, watching film, being critical of every little thing and the details. He is from a coaching family. He takes great coaching and has been pushed since he was a little boy. Now, as a young man, this is second nature to him. He loves football. When you get that DNA, it is awesome to coach. We just push him, hold him to a different standard and hopefully God will keep blessing him and he will keep rising like he has thus far.
CB Jaylin Williams
Q. On what he wants out of his football career…
WILLIAMS: The biggest thing for me is that he [Coach Shelby] wanted me to be more of a leader this year. He said that if I do what I need to do and work on the things that I need to work on, that I could potentially go to the next level. Basically, that is what I am trying to do, get to the next level. I am trying to help IU, right now, win as much as possible.
Q. On the mental gymnastics of the season…
WILLIAMS: You have to think of it as a glass half-full not a glass half-empty type of situation. We always held out hope that we were going to have a season. We needed to keep doing the little things, keep looking at film, keep working out, keep getting to the field and perfecting our craft. We had to keep having hope that the season was going to come back and it did.
Q. On the younger players stepping up…
WILLIAMS: I kind of took Larry Tracy III under my wing. I have been trying to harp on Larry to do the little things. There are some things, as a young guy I did not realize I did some of these things, but I realize when he does some them. I have been trying to help him out because I went through the same things that he has went through. I am trying to guide him through this process. I am looking for Larry to step up. He can do it, but he needs to know he can do it and have the confidence in himself.
CB Tiawan Mullen
Q. On what he's doing to push himself to be better…
MULLEN: What I did last year, it was great and everything, but with Coach Shelby behind me, I need to push harder. I know his expectations, so he doesn't need to push or yell at me. Just doing whatever I need to do for the team and things like that. Just reach the team goals and whatever accolades that's for me out there will come after we reach the team goals.
Q. On if he talks with his brother, Trayvon Mullen, on how to push forward and improve after his freshman season…
MULLEN: Pushing forward, there are a lot of things I can fix to become a better player like knowing what routes the receivers are going to run, whatever formation they get in, knowing what's coming. That's something me and my brother talk about. Me and Coach Shelby talk a lot about knowing the next step, knowing the next play and knowing the check call that's coming and knowing what's coming ahead of time.
Q. On building a trust with Senior Assistant Athletic Director for Football Performance Aaron Wellman…
MULLEN: On building trust, you have to give a person a chance. Coach Wellman hasn't let us down, we gave him our trust and we believe in him. Since then and up to now, he's been getting us prepared. We have a great system and a great staff. I feel like we'll be prepared for October 24.
Cornerbacks Coach Brandon Shelby
Q. On the depth of the position…
SHELBY: During this time, it is so crazy, one test and somebody is out. Unlike any other year, you have to be ready for so many guys to come in and play, so it is a little bit different. Those older guys that have started some games, they understand the complexities of going out and preparing every week. We have to make sure they sharpen it up, make sure they do not get complacent and make sure they are living right outside of the complex. We have to make sure that the next eight-nine weeks we are healthy and we can go the whole season. When we talk about the young guys, we have to make sure they understand the importance of the little things. I think at the end of the day, those are the things we are harping on. You think about the mental gymnastics these guys have had to go through, from we are playing to we are not playing and back to playing again, emotionally, they had to get their minds right. For the young guys, we have to prepare those guys to know the playbook in and out. We might have to simplify the playbook a little bit so they can understand it and get those guys in terms where they can go out there and play fast. That is what we need those young guys to do right now, understand the terms, understand the key concepts that we need to work on and make sure the mental gymnastics are out so we can go play fast on Saturdays. They are doing a good job of pushing. Ultimately, at the end of the day, you could mess around, and hopefully this does not happen, but you could test positive and the next guys has to be ready to go play. That is the biggest different from years past.
Q. On newcomers/young guys stepping up…
SHELBY: One guy that really keeps doing a great job is Larry Tracy III. He keeps making plays. As a freshman, he was kind of scatter-brained, but you can understand that. He has locked in, gotten into the college, started to understand the flows of college and he is locked into football. I see a totally different change in him on and off the field. I am excited for him and the process he is doing to give himself an opportunity to go play. I know in that family that football is important, and I think that he is settling into who he is on and off the football field. I am really excited for the future for him. When you talk about Lem Watley-Neely and Christopher Keys, those guys have the athletic ability. As true freshman coming in, I wish I had those guys years ago. It would have made that transition a lot easier. Right now, the thing that we have to get through to those guys, you talk about a guy like Chris, who is from Collins, Mississippi, is the speed of things, the speed of life. The town he is from, things are a little bit slower. You get here and everything is go, go, go. He has to settle into the expectations that I have of him in that corner room, but also of this football team. The thing with Lem, he is a great football player. He is really tough. Now we have to get all the mental stuff together when it comes to all of the checks. A lot of times in high school, if it is Cover 2, you play Cover 2. If it is Cover 3, you play Cover 3. Here, based on how people shift, motion and move, those changes can occur. Those are things that we have to get ironed out with those guys. Athletically, they are some of the best freshmen that we have. I am excited and I expect great things from those guys. The great thing about it is, this is a learning opportunity because they get the same year next year. Just think about how great we will be next year with all of these guys coming back and it does not hurt their eligibility at all. I am really excited for right now and the future.
Q. On Taiwan Mullen…
SHELBY: He comes from an athletic family. He does a lot of great things and he has had a lot of press clippings. For me, I have to coach him even harder about the little things, where are his feet, his eyes, his hand placement. When he messes up, he might get 50 yards of up-downs, while someone else might only get 10. I am a lot harder on him because, at the end of the day, a lot of players that have a successful freshman year usually fall into a sophomore slump. We have to do a great job of making sure he continues to do the things that allowed him to get to this position, watching film, being critical of every little thing and the details. He is from a coaching family. He takes great coaching and has been pushed since he was a little boy. Now, as a young man, this is second nature to him. He loves football. When you get that DNA, it is awesome to coach. We just push him, hold him to a different standard and hopefully God will keep blessing him and he will keep rising like he has thus far.
CB Jaylin Williams
Q. On what he wants out of his football career…
WILLIAMS: The biggest thing for me is that he [Coach Shelby] wanted me to be more of a leader this year. He said that if I do what I need to do and work on the things that I need to work on, that I could potentially go to the next level. Basically, that is what I am trying to do, get to the next level. I am trying to help IU, right now, win as much as possible.
Q. On the mental gymnastics of the season…
WILLIAMS: You have to think of it as a glass half-full not a glass half-empty type of situation. We always held out hope that we were going to have a season. We needed to keep doing the little things, keep looking at film, keep working out, keep getting to the field and perfecting our craft. We had to keep having hope that the season was going to come back and it did.
Q. On the younger players stepping up…
WILLIAMS: I kind of took Larry Tracy III under my wing. I have been trying to harp on Larry to do the little things. There are some things, as a young guy I did not realize I did some of these things, but I realize when he does some them. I have been trying to help him out because I went through the same things that he has went through. I am trying to guide him through this process. I am looking for Larry to step up. He can do it, but he needs to know he can do it and have the confidence in himself.
CB Tiawan Mullen
Q. On what he's doing to push himself to be better…
MULLEN: What I did last year, it was great and everything, but with Coach Shelby behind me, I need to push harder. I know his expectations, so he doesn't need to push or yell at me. Just doing whatever I need to do for the team and things like that. Just reach the team goals and whatever accolades that's for me out there will come after we reach the team goals.
Q. On if he talks with his brother, Trayvon Mullen, on how to push forward and improve after his freshman season…
MULLEN: Pushing forward, there are a lot of things I can fix to become a better player like knowing what routes the receivers are going to run, whatever formation they get in, knowing what's coming. That's something me and my brother talk about. Me and Coach Shelby talk a lot about knowing the next step, knowing the next play and knowing the check call that's coming and knowing what's coming ahead of time.
Q. On building a trust with Senior Assistant Athletic Director for Football Performance Aaron Wellman…
MULLEN: On building trust, you have to give a person a chance. Coach Wellman hasn't let us down, we gave him our trust and we believe in him. Since then and up to now, he's been getting us prepared. We have a great system and a great staff. I feel like we'll be prepared for October 24.
Players Mentioned
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