COURTESY OF CLEVELAND BROWNS MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
On his transition to LT thus far and what he needs to do to be ready for Week 1:
“It is going well. The transition is hard for anybody in any position no matter the position, whether you are a skill player or not. Really just coming in, improve the things I need to work on in practice and just get ready for this next two weeks.”
On being at FirstEnergy Stadium today and if he is becoming more comfortable as training camp progresses:
“It was great being in the stadium for the first time. You just kind of get that at-home feel. Really, just trying to do what I need to do day in and day out to get to that stage of comfort because there are always things you can improve on.”
On the biggest adjustment since the beginning of training camp:
“Really just seeing different things every day from the guys on the other side of the ball. Really mastering your technique and being ready for all the kinds of moves.”
On how he is evaluating his progress on a day-to-day basis and his overall progress since training camp started:
“I think I have made a lot of progress, especially like you said since the past few weeks. Moving along very quickly and just trying to get better.”
On if he is looking forward to the opportunity of competing against DE Myles Garrett on a regular basis prior to Week 1:
“It has been a great competition between me and Myles and also (DE) Olivier Vernon on the other side, which is who I see mostly. It definitely would have helped to get these things moving along way back in OTAs, if we would have had those with this COVID thing going on. It would have definitely helped, but we have to adjust now and just keep moving forward.”
On if he ever becomes discouraged when competing against and after losing matchups against top NFL veterans like Garrett and Vernon:
“Of course because you come from a place in college where I just dominated everybody I went against. It was easy and it was a walk in the park, and now you are going against these guys who are Pro Bowlers and some of the best pass rushers in the league. It gets frustrating at times, but you just have to learn from your losses.”
On Head Coach Kevin Stefanski stating yesterday that the team is 100 percent committed to starting him at LT Week 1 and how encouraging that is to him:
“I guess I would say it is a boost in confidence just to know that they are still behind me, are pushing and have full faith in me to get the job done. From my end, words can only do so much so it is really up to me to just keep getting better and fix some things I need to work on.”
On his relationship with T Jack Conklin and how significant Conklin has been for his development:
“Jack has been doing really well. He is going against (DE) Myles (Garrett) most of the time on the other side of the ball. He has really good technique, having played in the league for a couple of years. I really just go to him on advice on things I need to work on and just the small details that you need to play offensive line.”
On how offensive line coach Bill Callahan and other Browns OL have helped him get ready for the tempo and intensity of Week 1:
“There really has not been too much talk on it because really, we are kind of scouting against each other right now going against the defense every day. I think this week, we are picking up on Baltimore, but that is with anything when you come ready to play on gameday that everybody is going to pick up the intensity. It will be nothing just to match that because everybody will be going on Week 1.”
On what does he expect the matchup to be like with when competing with Garrett on a more regular basis:
“I have had a couple of reps against Myles when he came back this past week so we have had some reps against each other in one on ones and team periods. He is just a really explosive pass rusher. For a guy that size, you do not expect him to move that fast. His hands are very quick. You can see why he has the ability to be one of the best pass rushers in the league.”
