Jefferson & Gilman On Camp & Harbaugh | LA Chargers

been a while but excited be back playing um for the hometown team really being from San Diego this is awesome um dream come true really to be able to put the the Bol helmet on so thank you guys for having me and uh any questions ready to answer what made you want to come back uh it was always in my thought process honestly um my last year in New York had a pretty significant LZ Frank injury um didn't get the surgery so I missed nine games and I played through it but um it was it was rough playing through that so I figured it it'd be best if I took the year off and kind of see where I was at um afterwards so I wanted to be around the game still so that's why I took the internship with the Ravens and was doing my scouting and um you know that itch just never went away uh pregame I'd go down pregame and I'd be sizing the guys up the players up I'm like man I was just playing against you guys a few months ago so uh you know I kind of had that that itch still and I knew that was kind of what I wanted to do once the season was over last year so was it like working under Joe and working in that that scouting Department oh working scouting was it was a great experience working under Joe obviously um the Ravens have uh the utmost respect when it comes to the front office uh uh part and I was able to to see that side of the game um experien that type of uh type of work um I see the scouts now around here and I tell them I have the utmost respect for them now for what they do behind the scenes um they really don't get as much credit as uh they should for what they do for the organization so um uh it was a really good experience for me uh and working for Joe I mean I've had talks with him a little bit um you know just about how much I missed it and you know how much I still had that itch in me so did you Scout any of the guys you're playing with now I did so uh it it was kind of kind of weird when I seen lad in person cuz like I was I was watching him a lot on tape I'm like I I really like this guy you know he's really good and you know he had really good routes but what I really liked about lad was what jumped out on tape for me was his blocking you know with his size I thought he he blocked well and yeah I don't I don't want to sound like Scout right now all that stuff it's it's crazy cuz I talk to the guys and I'm like oh man cuz I was talking just watching Justin Herbert like and I was just talking him like I was just mesmerized how tall like I didn't know he was that tall and then just his arm talent and everything and everybody's like dang you really are we a scout huh I was like yeah my bad so uh yeah have you been telling guys like what you saw a scout keep no I I try and keep that separate um you know there's a couple as on the team too I'm like I was watching your table was so good but I just keep that to myself where you're at kind I getting back acclimated to the NFL coming up to speed with the new scheme and the safety room as a whole yeah uh so luckily and fortunate for me the scheme is the same um that I ran in Baltimore uh Jesse Minter was the assistant DB coach while when I signed there in 2017 so I got to spend a few years with him and then um even when I was in New York I was with wink Marell the same scheme same same uh terminology and everything so uh that part's been kind of uh you know the easy part the tougher part really was the physical aspect cuz I can train as hard as I want but you can't really emulate uh football practice so uh you know I've been I've been working through that first couple days were kind of rough but I I feel like I've gotten into my my groove now and you know physically I think I'm I'm on the upward of it yourself AJ Finley Derwin alohi what do you make of just the safety room as a whole and kind of how you guys bring it to I love I love the safety room I I think it's very versatile I think everybody can play any position and that's what this defense is predicated off of at that position um obviously Derwin can play pretty much anywhere um and he's just a maniac just a physical freak A Football freak just you know just uh a great leader also um although he he's he has a lot of I got to play with Eric wed and uh there's a lot of similar traits uh that emulate Eric wed with him and it's not just because of the number and the finger tape but um the mental aspect of it too and you know his burst to the ball and stuff like that so uh then you got AJ Finley guy who's got size not to sound like a scout again but uh just a guy who's versatile as well JT Woods can it's a Blazer fast you put him anywhere and then uh you know we got the young guys undrafted guys who were who are basically the same shoes I were when I entered league as an undrafted free agent so I'm there to lean on them and uh you know any questions they have I know I'm there for them what's it been like working with Coach Harbaugh uh I love working for Harbaugh uh funny story my freshman year going to sophomore year I went to a full contact camp Stanford and he was the head coach there and uh I had a pretty good first few plays and he called me over he's like we're going to talk after after practice and he offered me up there and I committed right away so we shared that story when I first saw him too and then I I got to play him a lot when I was in Arizona and he was with the 49ers so uh we've had that every after every game we talk and you know we just we just had that respect and relationship and you know it's kind of funny watching him get up and talk because he kind of reminds me of his brother over in Baltimore a little bit you know same personality same mannerisms but uh it's been really fun it's been really good to to be around uh this this culture are they uh Jim and John how how are they likee and different if you could go into it a little bit uh I mean personality wise you could tell they're Brothers you could tell they're related um you know but for me both of them just love football and they love they love winning they love Tak taking care of their players and you know they they make the environment uh fun they make the en the environment welcoming uh even for new guys like me who came in for for mini camp um and then now I I feel like I've been here for a while already and you know it's it's just been like I said very welcoming is there anything J said or done that stood out to you had different people share different things he's done over the offseason different phrases he said or things in meetings uh uh I think the the most important really is just building a bully here and but having the healthiest team and that's that's what he wants to do that's how he's formulating everything that's how he wants the practices to go and um I think having herb and uh s and Marco everybody in the training room like it's been so good for me as far as keeping my body healthy and keep my body ready to go every day so I'm excited about that that how's Dad life dad life it's great I uh channeled some inner dad strength now so I might have the best season ever to add strength sleep I got a I got a little bit uh first couple days were rough um I snuck away last night to sleep in the team Hotel said I got to work so it was that was my excuse but yeah so I stole some sleep I'll I'll have to make it up later on that's yeah yeah yeah I'm working on that still first couple weeks of training camp man it's been good it's been great uh it's been very different from the past good different you know obviously you guys see the the environment the people um just the just the cultural change uh the buyin and I think you know being in it you you kind of feel it you feel it's just different so i' I've been enjoying it it's been right up my alley and uh I'm excited to just keep going what about it stands out to you that makes this different um I mean you mean you see Coach Harbaugh with his cleats on doing the all the stuff that we're doing after practice that's a that's a big change um you know he's a guy who's who who leads the right way leads by example and he runs a tight ship he um you know he he just changes the way that we operate and you could see it on every every level every part of the organization um that's for one um and just the buying to the people um you know obviously having a having a baby was huge and he him and his staff and Coach you know um Joe hortiz just just really opening up me as family and support and you know my uh my baby girl so it's uh that's a good feeling to have you know from football coach you know most football coaches don't don't really get too involved with that stuff but it means a lot to him so uh that's that's a big change coming into Camp obviously there's a bit of a competition at the third safety spot we talked to you like in the spring about how that was initially what you were playing and and then of you know that's how you cracked into on defense worked your way up from there just what's your assessment of sort of where that that spot is that we' seen AJ in there obviously a decent amount but just how do you think that competition is coming along oh it's going great I mean everyone's getting better so you know it's cool to see like like I was in that position as well uh you know those reps are limited and you have to take advantage of every opportunity and I think you know those guys are doing a good job you know AJ JT TJ obviously older vet um then the younger guys are coming along and and trying to earn their stripes as well but uh it's a good competition right now and I'm just excited to be a part of it and just help everyone along the way cuz the better the competition the better we are as a unit and at the end of the day we want to be as strong as possible cuz like everyone knows you know this this season is long and it takes everyone for us to compete on a high level and you have to be a guy who's able to step in like like I was in those positions and you know help us win games so that that because I have that perspective I know how it feels I'm constantly trying to build that in and Ste it into them to to be able to prepare for those moments because it could be anyone and you have to be ready and you know it could change your career and it has for me so how is this training camp different from the last one that you had um very different um it's hard to put put a exact words to it it's just a different energy um and for me personally I I I personally just align with it um just a No Nonsense there's not a lot of great area in this business and this operation and we're just trying our best to find ways to get better and to win games and that's just point blank period and in every way possible you know you know Coach Harbaugh is just a maniac with that trying to find every little way and it bleeds into everyone so I I really love it um and I'm I'm going to enjoy it I'm going to keep continuing to build on it and help my game and help the others around me so that's the best way I can explain that what do you think of the new building oh so cool man it's like a Disneyland it's like my own personal Disneyland so I get to come to this every day it doesn't get better than this as far as uh Jesse's scheme a lot of guys have talked about how the way he teaches it and calls it plans it builds it allows guys to play Fast not think too much Christian kind of described it as like he doesn't want guys stressed out there can you articulate it all like how has he gone about teaching you guys the scheme and the way that it's structured that allows guys to play faster and not think as much yeah coach Min is great man I've I've really enjoyed working with him first and foremost as a coach as a leader his his demeanor you know it just bleeds confidence into guys and whether you're a starter or even a young guy like that's what he brings to the table and I I love being a part of it because you get to see people's game raised to another level whether you're a starter or a guy who's trying on the bubble trying to make this team and the undrafted guy whatever it is but I think scheme wise you know coach coach Min he's a he he's very smart but he finds ways to maximize the players potential and I think that's that's the way that I I look at it um allowing us to use our strengths to to our best advantage and you know Balan philosophy with simple Concepts but um it allows us to play fast and also um give us gives us freedom within the defense to you know what use the tools that he gives us instead of you know boxing every s set of tools and did you do this and this like he gives us that freedom and I think that's how you build a team and build the confidence within each other and you build that chemistry even more and it takes out the gray area a little bit so that's my assessment of it