Javontae Jean-Baptiste Talks Transfer To Notre Dame, Audric Estime, Versatility
Notre Dame added depth and experience to its defensive line when Javontae Jean-Baptiste left Ohio State to join the Fighting Irish defense this offseason. Jean-Baptiste will be a sixth-year graduate student in 2023. The defensive end played in 47 games in his first five years with the Buckeyes, including 25 games over the last two seasons. He recorded 8.0 sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss and 53 total tackles in that time. Jean-Baptiste fielded questions at a recent media session at Notre Dame.
On What Attracted Him To Notre Dame
"Just opportunity on the field and connections to coaches. Seeing and talking to (Notre Dame defensive line) Coach (Al Washington) and having that connection with him .... Even talking to Marcus Freeman who is an Ohio State alum.
"I like this place because it’s a traditional place. Notre Dame for me, if you want to obtain a goal, and you want to be really focused on it, you come here."
On His Relationship with Washington At Ohio State
Washington was the linebackers coach at Ohio State from 2019-2021 when Jean-Baptiste was at Ohio State.
"Coach Wash, at first when he came into the building at Ohio State, as it always is with new coaches, they’re around and stuff. You get to talking to coaches like that, and then from there, just building a relationship with him. Talking to him during workouts there throughout the years, and just always like going to his room to have conversations with him. Just checking in with him.”
"I would say we got close. Just because we weren’t in the same meeting room or the same position group, when you’re part of the same defense it’s all the same coaches, so you listen to them all the time.”
On If Notre Dame Sold Playing Vyper Or Big Defensive End To Him
"They sold playing defensive end."
On If It Matters Which Position He Plays
"Doesn’t matter to me. I see one as more of a stand-up and the other is hand-in-the-dirt that can stand up occasionally. I’m good with showcasing either talent."
On His Strengths For The Two DE Positions
"I would say it's kind of hard to say which one is really truly stronger because I feel like I'm versatile to do both. I've been more in a three-point stance through the start of my career but then in the end I started getting more comfortable going into two-point, so I think I’ll be good with both.”
On His Current Weight And What He Wants It To Be
"I’m at 253. I probably plan to add, my real goal this this offseason is just to create more lean muscle and just drop my body fat. My body fat percentage when I first got here in January was around 15 and I'm looking to drop it back down to 12."
On The Differences In Going Through Recruiting A Second Time
"I would say second time there's really not much—after you’ve been in the business five years—I really didn't care for the flash and whatever. At the end of the day, it’s a real clear-cut decision. I wanted to see how which program would be able to use me and help me to get better at my little aspects (my game). The second time around it’s definitely more of a business decision. The first time around, you’re taking all these visits, you've seen different schools, but once you’ve been in it you know how to see it (differently).”
On The Decision To Use His Grad Transfer And Sixth Year Of Eligibility
"It was a gut-wrenching decision, you know, going through the days and stressing because at the time it was it was still like, alright, do I really want to come back to college football, or do I just declare? I feel like we're having a lot of conversation and prayer with my family, and just really taking the time to help my thoughts and pin it down to what I really wanted to do, what my original set goal was, before I got to college, I think the decision probably came easier.”
On If He Consulted Players At Notre Dame About Transferring
"I had the twins (Jayson and Justin Ademilola). I knew Audric (Estime). I had a conversation with him. I even talked with Isaiah Foskey about what Notre Dame was like for him and the experience he had.”
On Estime’s Input On His Decision
"I definitely had conversations just to see what everything was like here. He told me that it's a great program. A team. It's really like a team-oriented style that the coaches really push the players hard, and that’s just the betterment of the self.”
On What Kind Of Player He Wants To Be At Notre Dame
"I would say the type of player that I'll be here is…I like to use the word versatile. That's just because I can come here and help in the pass rush game, but then I can come here and also help in the run game. That’s what I’ve been working through a lot and working with (Director of Football Performance) Coach (Matt) Balis to help me get stronger.”
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