Iowa defensive player interviews
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00:00 - I do.
00:01 I really like night games.
00:03 It's just different energy levels.
00:05 Just everybody's a lot more bought in
00:07 and a lot more excited to be there.
00:10 - Seems like the fans are a little juiced up too,
00:12 doesn't it, night games?
00:13 Seems like they're a little more revved up.
00:13 - Oh yeah, for sure.
00:14 Everybody's so excited to be there.
00:16 And it's, I don't know what it is that changes,
00:18 but it's always a different atmosphere
00:21 when you play at night, so.
00:23 - What has Cade told you about that atmosphere
00:25 at Penn State and being in that wideout game?
00:29 - Yeah, I have not really talked to Cade much about it.
00:31 It's just, yeah, I have not talked to Cade about it,
00:35 so apologies.
00:37 - How's the Athletes in Action stuff going?
00:39 - Oh, it's going really well.
00:40 Meeting every Monday night,
00:42 meeting leadership on Sunday night,
00:44 so it's going really well.
00:45 We have good turnout.
00:46 We have roughly 75 student athletes
00:49 that are coming every week,
00:50 so it's pretty exciting to see the progress
00:52 that has been made there, so.
00:55 - Just gonna go sign some football cards now?
00:58 - I guess so, yeah.
00:59 So I've been told.
01:00 - How's your wife doing?
01:02 - She's doing very well.
01:03 She actually just had a meniscus surgery,
01:05 so pickleball accident.
01:08 She was, yeah, she was beating me,
01:10 but then she had a forfeit, so I took the bunt.
01:13 (laughing)
01:16 A few months back, she ended up tearing her meniscus,
01:18 so she ended up getting that repaired,
01:19 and she's doing pretty well now.
01:21 Came off surgery pretty well, so.
01:23 - The guy who does those cards, I grew up with him.
01:25 - Oh, gotcha.
01:26 - Someone mentioned it to me,
01:27 and he was there, and she had surgery.
01:30 - So going back a bit, but do you remember anything
01:31 from camp or weight room where you got
01:34 that first impression of, yeah,
01:36 Ontario's a pretty good athlete?
01:38 - Oh, the first day, we're doing speed work.
01:41 Throughout the summer, we do speed work every single day,
01:43 and he's just doing some stuff.
01:45 We're like, what is happening?
01:47 His condition is not there yet,
01:50 but he could run when he wanted to,
01:52 so it's just incredible to see the progress he's made,
01:55 and his physical preparation, his mental preparation,
01:58 and it's super exciting to see
02:01 where his talents will take him in the future.
02:05 - That moment on the sideline
02:07 after the safety and everything,
02:10 I mean, that was half the team was over there.
02:12 Just, that's a guy who hasn't been here that long,
02:15 but it seems like he is just,
02:17 he's certainly found a home here real quick.
02:18 - Right, right.
02:19 It's just super exciting to see other guys succeed.
02:21 It's like, the starters,
02:24 you are pretty consistent with the expectations
02:29 that you have,
02:31 but the guys that are really fighting for spots,
02:33 trying to, like a few weeks ago,
02:35 he didn't even travel to the game,
02:37 so it's like, for him to just come in and block a punt
02:42 and get a safety and really change
02:44 the energy of the game, it's huge.
02:45 So, it's super exciting to see other guys succeed.
02:48 - It's been a pleasure.
02:48 - Oh, no, no.
02:49 (laughs)
02:50 - Penn State, obviously, a highly regarded quarterback,
02:54 some really good running backs.
02:56 What are the keys against this offense
02:58 for you guys as a defense?
02:59 - I'd say for us just to stay together as a team.
03:02 Obviously, it's gonna be a hostile environment,
03:05 so our biggest focus is making sure
03:06 we stay on the same page.
03:08 No matter what happens,
03:09 making sure we keep our anxiety low, tension low,
03:13 just keep doing what we do.
03:15 Play Iowa football, play defensive football,
03:18 and don't, we don't really need to change
03:20 much of what we do.
03:21 - What do you feel like you guys need
03:23 to make the most improvement as a defense
03:26 going into this week,
03:27 looking back at the non-conference schedule?
03:29 - Yeah, I'd just say make sure we all,
03:32 every play could be that big play.
03:35 And just making sure we lock in on some details,
03:38 making sure everybody does their job,
03:40 just sharpen up some little things,
03:41 but you never know what that big play,
03:44 that game-changing play will be,
03:45 so just giving maximum effort every play
03:47 is what we try to do.
03:49 - They've hit some on you.
03:50 You've given up more big plays than you guys normally do,
03:52 but seem to have recovered when you have.
03:56 What are the keys to eliminating those big plays?
03:59 Is it just the details here and there?
04:01 Is it one person at a place,
04:04 things like that that are happening?
04:05 - Yeah, that's usually how our defense works,
04:07 is we're, I mean, it's a puzzle,
04:09 so if one piece is out, the whole picture's messed up.
04:13 I mean, we did a great job.
04:15 We got some first-year starters out there,
04:17 and I feel like we've done a great job.
04:19 Me, myself, I mean, this is my first time
04:22 being in that situation, so I'm proud of my guys.
04:25 I'm proud of how we handled ourselves.
04:27 I mean, with the tempo offense
04:30 that we've been getting for the last three weeks,
04:32 I mean, the way the quarterbacks
04:34 the last couple of weeks have been throwing the ball
04:36 out so fast that basically it's been hard
04:38 for our D-line to get a pass for us,
04:40 so there's been some things that have been hard on us
04:43 that definitely affect how we play,
04:45 but I've been proud of the way
04:47 we've been playing the last three weeks.
04:48 - What fired up for you to play in this type of atmosphere?
04:51 - It's just another opportunity for us
04:52 to go show how hard we've been working.
04:55 We've been working, there's no real off-season,
04:57 and we work hard in fall camp and spring practice,
05:01 so it's just another opportunity
05:02 to show how much you've been sacrificing.
05:05 - As a competitor, are these the environments
05:07 you kinda like to play in?
05:08 You like playing at Kinnick,
05:09 and when you got everybody screaming against you,
05:11 you can kinda, is it kinda us against the world
05:13 when you're there, talking to each other?
05:13 - Definitely, and the good thing is,
05:15 defensively, the crowd's usually not yelling
05:18 when their offense is up, so I don't know.
05:21 I mean, the environment's still be crazy
05:23 when they score a touchdown,
05:24 but I don't have to worry about too much.
05:26 It's when the quarterback's about to snap it.
05:28 - What was it like being--
05:29 - I mean, I'm gonna say just like everyone has,
05:32 there's just a different perspective in life
05:34 and how there's different trials and relations
05:37 and how people react to it,
05:38 and I guess I was just fortunate to have,
05:40 I guess be patient in a sense, so yeah.
05:43 That's all it was for me.
05:46 - What's your personal pregame routine
05:48 before a game like this?
05:48 What music do you listen to?
05:49 How do you calm down the nerves before a big game?
05:52 - Like during a pregame, music has a lot to do with it,
05:57 so it just depends.
05:59 Like I have it, I put it on my,
06:02 I don't have a certain playlist, a game day playlist.
06:05 I just, I put it on shuffle,
06:08 so whatever comes up, comes up,
06:09 and whether it's slow down music
06:12 or high tempo music, whatever feels right,
06:16 I'm gonna just go with the, I guess sort of the flow,
06:19 so I try to have that same mindset in the game,
06:23 'cause anything can happen in the game,
06:25 so I just try to just react
06:27 and just go with the flow, per se.
06:30 - Allie, their quarterback,
06:33 threw a lot of praise preseason.
06:34 He came in highly touted.
06:36 Do you guys take a lot of pride
06:37 in shutting a quarterback like that down
06:38 when you get the opportunity?
06:40 - I mean, yeah, we wanna do that
06:41 wherever it gets in our way,
06:43 so to do it again is just to uphold the standards,
06:48 so it feels pretty good, yeah.
06:50 - So, Dashaun, what are some of the keys
06:52 to eliminating some of the big plays you guys have given up?
06:55 It's uncharacteristic of an Iowa defense
06:58 to give up some of the plays.
07:00 Is it new guys in new places,
07:01 a guy just missing a play here or there?
07:04 - Yeah, I mean, that's just the game,
07:06 just trying to be perfect every play,
07:09 knowing that you probably won't ever be perfect,
07:12 but like you saw on Saturday,
07:15 there was slip-ups here and there,
07:17 but we wanna, especially on this defense,
07:20 we wanna be as good as we can be
07:22 and just not have those slip-ups,
07:25 and it's gonna happen regardless.
07:26 It's just how you bounce back,
07:28 but yeah, that's what our focus was this week, just, you know.
07:34 - How do you work on those in practice?
07:35 How do you kind of prepare yourself for those situations?
07:39 - I mean, I'm pretty sure I can vouch like any guy
07:42 that they can back me up on this.
07:46 Like when they make a mistake like that,
07:48 they know what their mistake was,
07:50 so they know exactly how to recover from it.
07:53 So that's how it was.
07:54 Like I don't think they needed a whole day
07:58 just to realize what their mistake was.
08:00 They knew what their mistake was when it happened,
08:03 so they bounced back,
08:05 so we got complete trust in our guys.
08:08 - How much time do you think you've got left?
08:09 - Today makes 23 years.
08:10 23 years of life, I've made plenty of mistakes.
08:12 I'm just trying to make a lot more.
08:14 The key is acknowledging it and finding a way to be better.
08:18 - Today your birthday?
08:21 - I say.
08:22 - Well, happy birthday.
08:22 - Happy birthday.
08:23 - How much does it feel like a little bit of a fresh start
08:26 now that you have your first game of this season
08:27 under your belt?
08:28 Does it feel like you're even more able
08:29 to kind of put that behind you
08:30 and move on to the next chapter?
08:32 - Yeah, last week was the longest and quickest week.
08:37 (laughs)
08:38 In a long time.
08:40 But it was good to get out there.
08:42 Honestly, I feel as though I wanted it too much.
08:46 It kind of took away a little bit of my focus,
08:51 hence what happened.
08:53 But looking back, we looked at the tape,
08:59 made the corrections,
09:01 making the corrections during practice,
09:03 and we're looking forward to Penn State this week.
09:06 - How's your cat doing?
09:07 - He's great.
09:08 He's great.
09:09 He's a very lovable guy.
09:11 I'm sure when I get home,
09:12 he's gonna be meowing, waiting for me to rub him.
09:15 Every day when I walk in, I gotta pick him up,
09:17 or else he's not gonna stop meowing.
09:19 I pick him up and I'm like,
09:21 I don't know what type of instrument that is,
09:23 but getting one of these on his chest or not,
09:25 rub his head and everything.
09:26 But yeah, he's a lovable little guy.
09:29 I love him.
09:30 - Did you choose him or did he choose you?
09:32 - Funny, he chose me.
09:35 That's kinda how I wanted to pick my animal.
09:37 As soon as I walked into the room, he walked up on me.
09:41 And I knew he was a attention-loving guy
09:43 'cause he just meowed and his purrs,
09:45 he got a real loud purr.
09:47 And so I was like, yeah, this the one for me.
09:50 - What do you see from this Penn State offense,
09:51 specifically Ruel R,
09:53 probably the best quarterback you've faced
09:54 on this record so far?
09:56 - Very athletic.
09:58 They're running backs, they're really good running backs.
10:00 Great wide receiver, great line,
10:02 shocking some of the D linemen.
10:04 It's gonna be a good challenge for us.
10:07 - How's the moment going back on the field?
10:09 I mean, really your first action
10:10 since the end of '21 as well.
10:12 So kind of moment like full circle for you?
10:15 - There was a sense of calmness,
10:18 but also a sense of wanting to make a play.
10:21 And that's not a little too early,
10:22 I feel as though that's why my focus was a little off
10:26 because instead of trying to play,
10:28 you know, tough, physical, smart football,
10:30 I was trying to make a play for the team.
10:32 I started meeting with my mom and dad and then we got married.