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2022 Senior Bowl Quotes from Coby Bryant, Zachary Carter, Brian Robinson Jr. and More

Senior Bowl prospects provided plenty of insights on a wide range of topics

Author:
Jordan Pun
Updated:
Feb 3, 2022 3:52 PM EST
Original:
Feb 3, 2022

In this story:

The open media session on Wednesday provided a platform to learn more about how the Senior Bowl prospects are wired, their work ethic and how practices have been so far.

Cincinnati cornerback Coby Bryant was asked how he prepares for and matches up with certain wide receivers, “Honestly just watching film, studying that receiver. If you’re gonna face a bigger guy you have to study his tendencies, what he does well, what he doesn’t do well. That’s just with film study, sitting down and locking up your opponent."

Bryant spoke openly about what it was like to play with Sauce Gardner, Darrian Beavers and other talented Cincinnati defenders, “We all have a great relationship, we’re brothers. We push each other, whether it’s me or Mad (Ahmad Gardner), or Beavers or Myjai, whoever it may be, we push each other. This opportunity this week is big for us. We just got to go out and seize it and take it day by day.”

Baylor linebacker Terrel Bernard was asked which NFL teams he talked with and stood out to him at the Senior Bowl, “Yeah I think the Bears and the Cowboys are two teams I had pretty good interviews with. They liked my style of play and it was fun to be around them."

Bernard also detailed what part of his game he hangs his hat on, “I think my effort. You know I’m not overly a big linebacker, not super fast but I feel like I learn pretty well and play hard.”

Furthermore, Bernard is clearly a film study guy and detailed which NFL linebackers he watches and tries to learn from, “First was Lavonte David, Darius Leonard, Bobby Wagner and Fred Warner. I think all those guys are guys I look up to and try and take bits of pieces from their game and implement them into mine.”

Michigan State fullback Connor Heyward spoke about the increased value of his position, “Lot of teams are trying to get back to that fullback and have a fullback on the roster, or h-back, because you can do so much with them.”

Heyward also provided insights on learning from Lions coaching staff, “Duce Staley’s been working with the running backs, so just soaking up all his knowledge, he’s got a lot of wisdom. Everything he says, I’ve been writing down. And coach (Steve) Oliver as well, he’s our position coach this week. So just writing everything down and learning as much as possible.”

Florida defensive linemen Zachary Carter spoke about how he’s grown from the adversity Florida faced in the 2021 season, “This whole season was a learning curve. I really had to learn how to deal with losing. We’ve been pretty successful the last four years. So to just have a season go downhill, it really taught me how to fight through some adversity.”

Alabama running back Brian Robinson Jr. detailed how Alabama prepared him for the NFL, “Since day one, coming in with all those great players who eventually turned themselves into the NFL as high draft picks. Just building confidence in myself, competing against those guys all day. Watching those guys go off to the next level and have great success. Having the opportunity to compete with those guys, just helps you build confidence to know that you have the ability to compete among the best and you just always want to stand out.”

Additionally, Robinson Jr. was asked how the practices at the Senior Bowl have compared to the practices at Alabama, “Pretty similar to the physicality, speed, enthusiasm. Practice at Alabama is routine. We’ve got to show up every day. It’s more physical, more periods, more time just put into it.”

Tennessee wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. was asked about the connections he’s built at the Senior Bowl, “All the quarterbacks, we go through all the plays together, we’re building chemistry. Some of these guys we come to these games and they’ll be your brothers for a life time. So we’re all bonding, preparing with each other, getting each other better, going over plays together. So we’re just bonding throughout this week, not taking nothing for granted, worrying about everything one day at a time.”

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