If you told me to grade myself at the end of my rookie year on an A-D scale, I’d give a D-minus.
I hold myself to very high standards, which is what made it difficult when my position coach, Mike Caldwell, gave me an offseason checklist. It was hard not because I couldn’t do it, but because I already knew what was on it — study, master my footwork, improve my coverage skills. Simply put, I knew I had to step up in my second year.
Once Dave [Harris] left, I took it as a signal that I needed to speed up my learning curve regardless of who takes over the Mike.