Q. (Regarding Lassiter.)
MATT BURKE: Yeah, yeah, obviously never lack of energy and enthusiasm. You know, I think part of the reason we brought him on this team and program is just who he is as a person. Really cool to see guy like Kamari competing out here. Means something to him. DeMeco preaches if you're here you're here and it's important.
He's shown the growth he made throughout the year and continuing on that path, and been fun to see him work for sure.
Q. (No microphone.) What are your expectations as you go into year two?
MATT BURKE: The same for everybody. Keep getting better. Obviously both those guys as rookies got a lot of playing time, so like hopefully that experience and the highs and lows and the things they saw throughout the year add to the foundation building from here.
Both those guys have been here the whole offseason, been really working together. As we know they're kind of tied at the hip. Really like the intent and focus they're showing.
They're kind of growing into a leadership role and into young veterans on the team pretty quickly, so it's cool to see.
Q. What have you seen from Derek Stingley, Jr.? Looks look he's already a mid-season corner the way he's practicing.
MATT BURKE: Yeah, same for sure. Again, another guy like -- most of you guys were there for the contract, I guess you call it a press conference, I'm not sure. But doesn't just change. He's day in and day out.
I think as a coaching staff we have talked about it off and on, that the growth we've seen from him in the two years we been here, two plus years, just continues.
He's really just like trying to fine tune a bunch of things to take it even to the next level. The focus is there and the work is always there with Sting. It's been really cool to watch.
It's hard sometimes to step back in the big picture window, but from a two-year span where he continues to grow, it's really cool to see. Really excited to see him keep developing for sure.
Q. (No microphone.)
MATT BURKE: Yeah, for sure. I think with Will, like a lot of these guys, you guys know, the effort and the intensity and energy is never going to be an issue, the get-off. The challenge we put to Will is to fine tune the details and go, you know, what does it take to go from good to great to elite to the best. As he's climbing that ladder it gets harder and harder to make those steps up those rungs.
We know he's a great player. All right, how do we keep climbing and fine tuning to become even better. He's on a mission. He dropped a move today in the pass rush setting that was a new move for him. He executed it really well. Really cool to see.
He's just really trying to work on a lot of details to climb that ladder to be the best.
Q. We got so many familiar faces. Don't have as not as much turnover. Does that allow you, give you an advantage to get deeper with these guys? Right now it's still coaching, but familiarity with the system?
MATT BURKE: Obviously there is some familiarity and we do have some new faces. You know, we always like to sort of like reset when we come back in the spring or whenever it is. I always say like the -- I actually put this up in one of the meetings. Three most dangerous words in the vernacular, I got it. If those come back and think, I got it, I took all those reps, I'm cool with that.
We always like to start back at the fundamentals and the foundation and then build. Hopefully you can progress through that a little bit more because it clicks back into place.
But if you start sort of skipping steps and starting where you left off, these guys have been gone for three months and there are new people, new positions, new stuff we're doing. We really like to go back to the fundamentals and build up from there.
So hopefully you can progress through that quicker as you go because of the level of familiarity, but we just sort of start back over again.
Q. (Regarding Christian Harris this offseason.)
MATT BURKE: Yeah, he's been here working, like he always is. He's another guy -- sound like a broken record. Christian has been doing his thing. All the guys are on different plans and routines. The goal is to get all these guys ready for camp, and he's on track to be there for us.
Q. When you look at Jalen... where do you see him fitting in this defense?
MATT BURKE: Yeah, for a lot of our guys, the more you can do the better. I think you guys have seen a little bit, like we like versatile player. Guys that can do that, Kamari last year that played some of the spots for us. Really trying to feel that out and work him and just see, again, what can he absorb from a mental, technique standpoint, and just where that best fits.
As we move forward down the road in-season in terms of how you can deploy them in different spots, week to week in different matchups, the more versatile players we have that can play different spots the better.
That was definitely something that appealed to us about him from the draft process standpoint. He's been doing a good job working and trying to absorb everything we're throwing at him. See how that plays out.
Q. (No microphone.)
MATT BURKE: Oh, yeah, it's great. It's awesome.
Q. (No microphone.)
MATT BURKE: For sure. Yeah, I mean, I feel like we got a team full of those guys. We talked about it last year, how like he stayed obviously like energy and being in the building and meetings. Another guy that's really trying to like just elite focus on becoming the best whatever you want to call that in the league.
Trying to move him around a little bit. We know what his talents are bit just the energy, the work ethic, enthusiasm is just unwavering with him. It's always, always, always a pleasure to be around Jalen.
Q. (Regarding Dylan Horton.)
MATT BURKE: Yeah, yeah, sure. Dylan, obviously everyone knows what he went through last year, so I think really cool from just physical standpoint first of all, what he did in the offseason to really get back. His starting point this year is a lot different than it was last year.
So really cool. So Coach always puts in the team meeting in the morning some highlights of guys that are working, and he highlighted D Horton this morning just like working a technique that he needed to get better at.
So just like how he's transformed his body. Got back it the strength and size he's used to playing and he is working his craft really well out here. Excited for him to be on the journey he's been on for sure.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports