Las Vegas Raiders Divine Deablo Anxious to Do More
HENDERSON, Nev.--Linebacker Divine Deablo of the Las Vegas Raiders showed flashes in his 2021 rookie campaign of potential greatness.
His vision and field awareness set Deablo aside with the elite talent to become a star. He spoke after practice and you can watch the entire press conference below, and read the transcript:
Linebacker Divine Deablo
Q: Looking forward to getting the pads on? Is that just pushing it up another notch?
Deablo: “It definitely pushes it up a notch. That's playing football. Football requires pads. I'm ready to turn it up a notch, I'm sure the team is, and we'll see where everybody is.
Q: How are you acclimating to the new defensive coaching staff and the new system?
Deablo: “I love the new defensive coaching staff. It's a lot of stuff they put in. They put us in a great spots and I'm excited for it.”
Q: How excited are you to earn more reps?
Deablo: “I'm really excited. First, I got to prove it out there on the field. I got to earn my spot. But I'm excited. I'm still new to the linebacker position. I'm trying to grow every day, improve every day, and that's my only goal.”
Q: You guys have had a lot of turnover in that linebacker room. How have you come together as a group?
Deablo: “Actually, they brought in a great group of guys, all the way down to the two the rookies, and we're all like brothers in there. We all try to help each other out and it’s just a great room.”
Q: What's it's been like having Antonio Pierce as your new position coach?
Deablo: “It's been great. You know, he played in the league, he played with a lot of legends and it's just nice picking his brain, learning from him. He's a player's coach so he knows what it's like to be a player. So, I do enjoy that.”
Q: Going from safety to linebacker, how does that change your vantage point and how you're looking at that responsibility?
Deablo: “So being at safety, I get to see the whole field. Linebacker you got to look around more, know what's behind you. So, it's tougher, but I'm getting a better feel for it.”
Q: You obviously had to gain some weight to make that transition to linebacker?
Deablo: “I feel pretty comfortable, more comfortable than I was last year, I got whooped. Especially the first preseason game against the 49ers. But ever since then I've been stepping up, like I said earlier, just to improve every day. That's my goal.”
Q: What's been the biggest change in mindset from last year?
Deablo: “They brought in a lot of guys and they're good, so first of all I just got to earn my spot. That's my main thing. And I want to earn the trust of my teammates. I want them to see me as a leader as well.”
Q: That preseason game against the 49ers, it looked like they were running a full offense basically. But was that kind of an 'Oh Wow' moment for you?
Deablo: “Yeah, it was definitely an NFL moment for me. I realized I had to work a lot harder than I was. Grind more, study more and that's what I continue to do to this day.”
Q: During the offseason, you had a cast on your right arm. What were you dealing with and are you okay?
Deablo: “Just a small wrist injury, it didn't take long for me to get back and I feel great now. I'm only wearing the cast just to protect it a little bit, but I'm ready to play.”
Q: What was the biggest lesson from your rookie season you carry forward?
Deablo: “I wanted to work on my run defense. Getting off blocks. That was my main thing after the 49ers.”
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