TAVIERRE SMITH: Just keep getting better each and every day, learn from the older guys. The older guys been in the league 13, 1 years the. Learn how to keep my body health and keep learning from my fellow brother, which is my best friend, Des, he teaches me a lot. It's friendly competition over there so just want to keep getting better each and every day.
Q. Coverage --
TAVIERRE SMITH: Try to be tighter in coverage each and every play and if I continue to do that, plays will come to me.
Q. Does having that close relationship with Des make you want to do better in practice?
TAVIERRE SMITH: For sure. You've got to be better because if you're not better he's getting better somehow, some way so I try to get better just as much as him and it's like friendly competition. It's going against my best friend every day, so just got to keep getting better each and every day.
Q. But it's a level of expectation?
TAVIERRE SMITH: If I do something bad, he's going to say something, vice versa.
Q. A lot of youth on the secondary. What did you see?
TAVIERRE SMITH: They really just like -- what we tell them is just play like you in college. Don't go out there think you going to make mistakes. Just go out there and have fun. As a rookie you're going to make mistakes and then in the game it's going to be way easier. If they can just continue to learn from the older guys and go out each and every day and have fun, plays are going to come to them.
Q. The consistency with the veterans --
TAVIERRE SMITH: Everyone is preaching the same message because these guys were drafted high and a lot of people going to be expecting a lot from them, especially us. We want them to go out there and have fun and just lean on us and if you have a bad play, go to the next play.
Q. A guy like Jalen, not only making plays as a pass rush, but also coverage, and when he makes a mistake you see him immediately correct it. What's it like to see that?
TAVIERRE SMITH: He's just very smart. That's one of the smartest guys I've seen coming in, me going on my fifth year. He's very smart. You wouldn't know that he's a rookie. Like he ain't make like the little rookie mistakes.
But other than that, you wouldn't think he's a rookie. When he's not in, he's calling out plays, calling out formations, so he knows the game, and as long as he continue to do that he's going to be real good in the league.
Q. Is that the exact same stat -- having guys back, does that make the consistency easier?
TAVIERRE SMITH: I would say, yeah, like we just got to just trust those guys and just keep going each and every day and if we do that, I feel like we got -- the ceiling is high for us.
Q. How did that relationship come about?
TAVIERRE SMITH: We been playing together since we was like the fifth grade, sixth grade. Now we in the NFL together. It's like that's my guy.
Q. Do you guys talk about that?
TAVIERRE SMITH: Sometimes. We just know each other so well. I know when he's down I'm going to pick him up and vice versa. That's my guy.
Q. How is it going from sixth grade and now playing together as a pro?
TAVIERRE SMITH: It's surreal. It's a surreal moment. When we first got together last year, I never expected to be playing with him but now playing with him, it's like, feel like we back in little league again. Certain things we do, literally like the same we did back in high school and middle school.
Q. Any good stories --
TAVIERRE SMITH: We got a lot.
Q. First memory?
TAVIERRE SMITH: I don't know where his defense came from with Des. Des was offense player. They called him Baby Sanders, he was real good on offense. To see him playing defense at a high level in the NFL, that's kind of crazy growing up with him. He scored like in high school -- so I got put out of state playoffs, I got put out state playoffs, so he had like three games left and he score like 15 touchdowns. I went to a charter school and he went to a public school. He scored like 15 touchdowns in three games.
I'm like, oh, this GPS stuff is easy. I used to tell him all that time. He goes, no, oh, man, I'm just good, whatever.
Q. Inaudible?
TAVIERRE SMITH: We all play together.
Q. Do you have a nickel group chat?
TAVIERRE SMITH: Me and Jordan talks a lot. I don't know if Des and Jordan talks a lot but my fiancée and his wife are real close, so we always together in the off-season.
He wore 20 his whole life until he got 25.
Q. And you played defense?
TAVIERRE SMITH: I was straight defense. I was good on offense. I played quarterback. I was like a Michael Vick, right hand, Michael Vick. I was taking off running, you know.
Q. So if he was Baby Sanders what was your nickname?
TAVIERRE SMITH: Black Magic. That's me. Our defensive coordinator came up with it, an older guy, his name was Black Magic and then I was with him -- I'm chocolate and then I made a lot of plays so they call me Black Magic, so yeah.
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FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports