Senior Bowl Interview with Baylor's Jalen Pitre

The talented and versatile defender shares his football intelligence, work habits and NFL role models

Author:
Jordan Pun
Publish date:
Feb 3, 2022 7:39 PM EST

In this story:

With plenty of future NFL talent flocking together down in Mobile for the 2022 Senior Bowl, it’s time to highlight one player who has shined both on the field and off of it. Baylor safety - he’s really more of a nickel/linebacker hybrid - Jalen Pitre has made numerous eye-popping plays during practice and provided insightful answers during media interviews. I spoke one-on-one with the young man and learned a ton about the mature, self-aware and articulate prospect he is.

Personally, I thought Pitre was one of the standout defenders after the first day of practice but when I asked about how he thought it went, Pitre displayed his desire for perfection, “I think it went well, I was flying around. I was making plays but there’s definitely some things I want to fix come day two.”

Probing into what those ‘things’ he wanted to fix were, revealed Pitre’s ability to quickly identify his improvement areas, “Just being more crisp in my reads, I feel like in one of my one-on-ones I was a little too anxious, put my hands out a little too early. And then in the team periods, I just need to read my keys a little slower and that’ll allow me to react quicker.”

Watching Pitre’s 2021 film displayed a player who was always flying to the ball like a missile, so I asked him how he finds the balance between his aggressive mentality and reading his keys patiently to ensure he’s in the right place at the right time, “I would just say watching as much film as possible. You don’t have that luxury here because it’s just a one-week activity. But I like to watch film and see things so that when game time comes I can see them faster and move a lot quicker, so that’s what I like to do on a natural game week.”

The fellow film junkie in me couldn’t help but ask which NFL players Pitre watches film of and models his game after, to which he responded with Tyrann Mathieu and Budda Baker.

Pitre is spot on by studying those two All-Pro safeties as he shares similar physical abilities, feisty mentality and versatility.

Baylor aligned him all over the defense and I asked Pitre if there was a favorite position where he has the most fun at, “Just being on the field with my teammates is fun. I feel like I can play anywhere on the back end at safety, or even closer at nickel and they can move me around at some different hybrid positions. I feel comfortable wherever I am as long as I know the defense and understand my piece.”

That final line is key, as long as Pitre knows the defense, he will succeed. I wrote a film breakdown on why I thought Pitre was a scheme-specific sleeper who, if put in the right defense, could return first-round value.

His strengths can be maximized and weaknesses minimized in the right scheme - particularly when playing the nickel/linebacker hybrid called STAR - which is exactly what Baylor head coach Dave Aranda provided.

Pitre instantly lit up when asked what it was like to be coached by Aranda, one of the best in the business, “It was wonderful, it fit my skills very well and they allowed me to showcase my talents well. He’s a great coach and he taught me a lot of things. He’s a great person too, he’s not always worried about football, he worries about your character more than your production on your field.”

NFL teams value character highly and Pitre will definitely bring an on-field leadership element to whichever team drafts him, “I’m always trying to bring the energy. I’m always trying to uplift guys and make guys feel like they’re the guy. Everybody out here are good players and sometimes you might have a bad play here or there but it’s all about the energy and the vibes that you’re giving off. So I’m always trying to push good vibes and make sure my team is headed in the right direction.”

For a recent college graduate looking to enter the NFL, the right direction can be as simple as being on a track of constant improvement. For Pitre, his “biggest improvement was probably my pass rush moves. Working on one move and one counter and mastering that. So I’ve been trying to master the dip and rip and also working on the spin move for the counter.”

It’s not often you see players with Pitre’s play recognition and coverage skills, willingness to tackle and nuance as a pass rusher. That’s what’s so alluring about his game but his multiple strengths which can be weaponized don’t come easy and are earned through hard work to master the fine details.

“To me, it all goes back to film study. I love to watch game copies and get a feel for how quarterbacks are doing their cadence. So when they are giving their cadence I’m trying to get a run on the snap, fire off and then make the tackle or tight end set farther (outside) than they have to. Then either counter back inside with a rocker step or use my power with hands.”

At the end of the day, Pitre has made Baylor proud and will make one NFL team very happy due to his versatile traits, projectable production and improvement habits, “I love football, I have the passion to play and I’m willing to learn. I think when you have those traits you can fit in anywhere. So I’m looking forward to whatever’s next.”

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