Bryce Norman, Southeast Missouri (2024 Big South-OVC Football Media Day)

all right if you just want to give us your thoughts General thoughts on the upcoming uh football season uh yeah you know spring went well uh I came off an injury this year or last year so I had a shoulder surgery in December I'm feeling good uh spring went well got to get some reps in Summer's been going good and uh just excited to get to the season I can't believe it's going to be my last one here as a red hog if people have questions for Bryce Let's us know down the chat and we'll call on you we'll go first go Dan from Prairie State pixin go ahead Dan He Bryce um you go against a pretty good quarterback every day in in practice but I want to get your thoughts on Pierce Holly since you guys were both the preseason uh you know picks for player of the year uh yeah he's a great quarterback uh I think he's a transfer I'm not for sure about that but he came in last year and uh we luckily got to play him here at home uh luckily our defense played a great game that uh game and uh I think we pulled out the victory but yeah he he's got a lot of talent and uh you know I'm going to be excited to compete with them this year you know hopefully we can keep under wraps what did it mean for you to be named the preseason defensive player of the year uh I really appreciate it and uh you know I'm excited that I got named that but you know it's a preseason award uh my goal is this year is just focus on uh winning games and helping my team win games this year thank you let's go to Luke from kfs hey Bryce uh coach to called you Mr Simo obviously went to Jackson won a State title there your senior year and then come here what does it mean to kind of just embody this area for for football-wise now your entire life it feels great going into my senior season uh you know like coach Tok said my dad played here and uh just having all the support my parents come to all the games and then having my family and friends as being able to come to the home games and support me it just feels awesome just uh having the community support Community Support important Family Support around me here uh let's go to Jake from wsil so that titled Mr Simo uh does it carry some weight uh sometimes it does yeah uh it gets a little hectic every once a while just dealing with a little bit of pressure around here going just going out to eat somewhere here and just knowing someone that uh you know it does uh feel nice to have their support but just having a little pressure on your shoulders uh added pressure now that you're tabed the uh conference defensive player of the year uh it adds a little bit but uh like I said you know a preseason award I'm just looking to help my team win games this year and uh you know that's what we're looking forward to doing uh we've had a good spring and summer so far and I'm just ready to get on the field I asked coach this I wanted to ask you do you feel your your defensive unit is in front of the offense or is the offense in front of you guys right now uh I think the offense is maybe just a little bit in front of us but we're putting in some new plays right now and uh you know backs and he's on the offense he's a great leader and uh you know he kind of aggravates me and the other defense players in practice so uh you know I think pxton kind of puts him ahead right now is uh is it nice to know that you know at least on defense you're going to face one of the best quarterbacks in the conference you get to do it on a daily basis oh yeah he makes this better every day I mean just you know the way he goes through his progression and uses his eyes to take not only me but different players off different routes is this uh great force and how he controls the game in practice uh or we need to go fast or need to slow it down he just does a great job of uh you know he's going to do a great job of preparing us for getting ready for big games coach open media day uh kind of on a negative side saying that he wanted to his the tape last year made his eyes bleed he kind of criticized the team a lot um how quickly do you want to put last year behind you and kind of move forward uh heading into this year yeah I don't I don't even want to think about last year but uh you know good thing that's over and done with and we have a have a new book to write this year so uh I think everybody on the team just kind of had a bad taste in their mouth and uh we're looking forward for New Beginnings speaking of that new beginning I know you still have some time but to open the season on ESPN uh you know you guys played in the spotlight before but now to open the season in it uh how cool is that as a player uh I think it's awesome I mean uh six o'clock on ESPN on Saturday I think we're probably going to be one of the only games that weekend so just kind of showcasing what I have and what our team has and uh hopefully go out there and get a victory be awesome for everyone to see thanks for the time close with Tony from the Southeast Missourian go ahead Tony these guys asked all my questions and I hav come up with two and fly but I start off like um since you're a senior you're going in as a leader what has been the challenges of finding your voice or becoming that leader especially when you had a lot of seniors next to you last year uh yeah I've always kind of been a quiet guy so being a leader hasn't always been my strong suit but just I kind of let my play through talking it's kind of work my way into being a leader on this team so uh just having a good defense around me and the people that I've uh been around on the defense is kind of like I know them better than other year so being able to step up and say something is not as hard this year as it uh has been in the past and going back to the Mr Simo thing I know you talk about the pressures of being of playing for his community in the history you have when did you feel like you first became Mr Simo like when that first that that moment in your career were like okay I'm not just the guy who won state championship Jackson but I'm now like one the top guys at Simo too yeah I don't I don't think of myself as Mr Simo but uh you know that's some people call me I guess uh ever since I started making plays for the Red Hawks I guess the nickname kind of started coming around I thanks for time one last one Bryson we'll let you go um how have you you've been good since you're freshman year a freshman all americ how do you keep working at getting better each year and keep uh improving your game uh I was I would say I was okay my freshman year I was really skinny not very fast but I just kind of did my job and kind of got lucky and showed up to play so I definitely had a lot of room for improvement and just uh really now that what I look into is uh like studying the defense and what we do on our side and just kind of knowing what everyone does around me you know and I feel like all inside linebackers say that but I've really focused on learning what uh not only what I do but what the fronts doing in front of me and the behind me so just holding people accountable to that and just knowing what every piece of the puzzle fits in on our defense well perfect thank you for your time this afternoon right and best of luck to you this season all right thank you for having