Q&A: Whit Weeks, Emery Jones, Bradyn Swinson talk about season

LSU players met with the media on Tuesday night after practice to discuss the start of SEC play, the environment on Saturday, and what they’ve learned so far this season. Here’s a rundown of what freshman linebacker Whit Weeks, sophomore offensive tackle Emery Jones, and junior EDGE Bradyn Swinson said.

LB Whit Weeks

Experience so far

“It feels good, just being able to play in Death Valley has always been a dream of mine so playing in front of 100 thousand people is a big difference from high school and coming into fall camp I was running with the twos, but I knew when my time came I would make the most of it.”

Playing with his brother West

“Playing with my brother is awesome. Back in high school, my sophomore year and his senior year was the most fun I’ve had playing football and I knew whenever I made a mistake he would come clean it up. We have great chemistry on the field. That’s one of the main reasons I came here.”

Growing up with West

“As boys we were pretty rough and we’d fight all the time. We’d get after it. I don’t know how my mom did it.”

On Ole Miss

“Coach house has a really good gameplan. They’re a really fast offense so we’ve been working tempo and we just have to eliminate the big plays with them.”

What was it like playing at home last week?

“It’s a feeling I’ve never had in my life. Running out of the tunnel, you can’t even feel your body. Against Mississippi State I couldn’t feel my legs because it was my first start, and then this week at home I knew it was going to be a different level. The crowd was loud, it was awesome.”

“Who wouldn’t want to play in Death Valley? Last Saturday was the coolest experience of my life.”

How hard was it to learn Matt House’s scheme?

“It was hard. Thank goodness I came in January, because if I didn’t come in January I still wouldn’t know it. The meetings we got in the spring are really what helped me learn. It’s totally different, in high school you got two coverages, here you’ve got so many coverages and assignments you have to know.”

Playing next to Greg Penn

He knows both positions, so when I don’t know where to go I just look over and say ‘Greg, Greg where do I go?’ and he just tells me what I have. There were a few times last Saturday where he helped me out a lot.”

OL Emery Jones

On Jayden Daniels

“He’s playing his butt off. He’s getting it out in time, throwing it to the right guys, taking shots, and we all believe in him and he believes in himself. Jayden does a great job of also using his feet to make plays.”

Logan Diggs / RBs

“Explosiveness. He sees the hole and he’s done a great job of getting those dirty yards and making plays after contact.”

“If we’re doing our job up front, it doesn’t matter who gets the ball back there, when we create a hole all of them can get through it and we trust them to do it.”

O-Line chemistry

“It’s great. We all have a lot of love for eachother and going into work everyday you want to see the next guy be great and we’re all pushing each other to be better. The goal coach Davis set for us this year was to win the Joe Moore Award and we all have that in mind, so we’re trying to work to show we’re the best.”

Dashawn Womack’s sack dance

“It’s funny because we talked about it the day before and he said ‘I’m going to hit the Baltimore Bop’ and I didn’t know what it was so he showed me and I said ‘you aint doing that’ then he got the sack and I saw him without a helmet on doing it. I love that kid. He’s a great addition to our team.”

On the true freshmen players…

“A big thing for me as a freshman last year was building trust with the coaching staff and I think that’s what they’re working on as well. That takes time and those guys are doing a great job of earning that trust.”

DE Bradyn Swinson

Doing the fundamentals

“From a position standpoint, coach Diaco really hones in on doing everything one step at a time, footwork, hand placement, set point, everything is about the details here. Doing those things will take you a long way here. Coach really focuses on doing the small things better.”

Ole Miss’ run game

“It starts with setting edges and once you have an edge everything comes along with it. We have a dominant defensive line with Jordan Jefferson, Maason Smith, Mekhi Wingo, and a whole bunch of guys there that can do the job. It’s really just setting the edges and playing with a grit.”

How do you like LSU?

“I love it here. The food is the best thing. I love the food that’s here. Coming from Georgia, everything that’s here has been great. The coaches have been great, the people have been great and I really enjoy it. After having my first SEC home game last week, that was an amazing experience in Tiger Stadium. I love the fans and everything going on here.”

Pass rushing

“Over the years of just trying to evolve my pass rush and also the help from the coaches. I feel like the pass rush comes natural and then they’ve developed my speed and strength here with coach Flint and his staff. They do a great job of building me physically and mentally.”

Jaxson Dart

“We have to do a great job of having a cage rush and caging him with our pass rush. We have to focus on pass rush and keeping our rush lanes.”

Being coached by Bob Diaco

“Coach Diaco’s favorite saying is ‘What if you start everyday with the same energy you had on the first day’ and he’s an example of that. Everyday it’s great energy and same enthusiasm. He’s always happy and loves his job. He gets it done. He’s a great coach. I really enjoy being coached by him.”

On Dashawn Womack’s sack dance

“He call it the Baltimore Bop. That’s my best friend since he came in. When he was doing it, I was on the sideline doing it with him. He’s taken so many strides and I’m proud of him for how he’s playing. I’m excited for him, but the dance? That’s our dance now, I’m going to steal it from him.”