Head Coach John Harbaugh

JOHN HARBAUGH: Appreciate everybody being here. Really good day of practice. Effort is high. Attention to detail is high. We got better throughout the course of the mini camp. All the way back to the first day back in the off-season program, we've improved dramatically.

We have a long way to go, but now our arrow is pointing towards training camp. So we'll have more of a mental sweat type of practice tomorrow, and then the guys will be away until training camp.

I'm proud of the guys. They've done a nice job, and onto the next thing. What questions do you have?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: How do you feel about that defensive front?

JOHN HARBAUGH: How do I feel about the defensive front? The Thibodeaux guy has got me a little concerned back there. He looks shorter to me. Oh, there he is right there (laughter).

Just so you know, this is par for the course for this guy right here. He is the number one question asker in all the meetings. Did you guys know that? Top question asker.

Q. What's next for the group?

JOHN HARBAUGH: He's going to be your crowd here someday.

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: I'll be too rich for that, Coach.

(Laughter).

Q. What's the challenge for you of transforming a new team's mentality?

JOHN HARBAUGH: I just think these -- this team -- the thing I like about this team, probably you meet everybody where they're at. With the team, you just kind of see where you're at and where you need to go, but I really like the mentality of the team here. I think the mentality from day one has been really, really good.

They want to win. They want to be successful. They're very open-minded. They ask a lot of questions. They want to be on the same page. We had an in-depth conversation in special teams meeting this morning about one of our coverage rules, and guys weren't sure about it. That's what we want, we want them to ask questions.

When someone asks you a question, whether you're a coach or a player, don't feel like you're being questioned. It's not an interrogation, you're being asked, and someone wants to know something. We want to be on the same page. We want to be clear about everything. So we've tried to encourage that, and I just feel like they've done a good job with that.

Q. How physically and mentally taxing will your training camp be?

JOHN HARBAUGH: Is there a rating scale for that? Give me the rating scale. What is the scale? Vince Lombardi being 10 and whatever, it won't be that. It won't be Lombardi-esque or anything like that.

Q. Lombardi 10, John Harbaugh 8.

JOHN HARBAUGH: I guess it will be 8. You gave me the answer. Thank you very much, Steve. I appreciate it.

Q. There's a lot of roster moves since you've been here obviously and change. Not much change in the running back room. What does that say about, first of all, your belief that Cam Skattebo will be back, and what does it say about the running backs in general? That you kind of, it's same group?

JOHN HARBAUGH: I'm confident Cam will be back. He's working hard. You saw him out there taking team reps today. That was during the team period. That was really good to see.

I wouldn't say we're ruling out any opportunities. If an opportunity came along at any position, including that one, we'd go for it. I think, if you see what we've done everywhere else, that's the mindset.

There hasn't been an opportunity in the running back room, but if there was or if there becomes one, we'll do what we've got to do to get better. We're always going to do what we need to do to get better.

Q. What did you see from Cam last year? He's a unique guy. What do you sense of this player, and what did you think of him coming out?

JOHN HARBAUGH: I thought he was just what you saw, a downhill runner, a tone-setter type runner. He's a tough tackle. That's what you look for. How many guys can make yards when they're not supposed to make yards on their own?

It seems to me he was that kind of guy at Arizona State and the exact same guy that I saw on tape last year. You guys know better. You watched him up close and personal.

He's a top tier back, and he's planning on playing that way this year.

Q. Where was Tyrone Tracy today?

JOHN HARBAUGH: He had a personal thing with his wife. His wife's pregnant, and he was with her.

Q. What did you learn about him as a person, Cam Skattebo?

JOHN HARBAUGH: Man, just a really good hearted guy. The funny thing about it, you ask that question, the special teams situation that we were talking about, he's the guy that brought it up. He knew the guys weren't sure about something, and he's not even on the punt team. But he was in the meeting asking the question to make sure everybody's on the same page. I've never seen that before from a starting running back.

Q. Obviously you want to get production from JuJu and Odell, you brought them in here, but they're also adding some role positions and things like that. Just how important is it when you build a team, you have obviously your young core and your stars, but to have those veterans come in and really add to the fabric of the team?

JOHN HARBAUGH: Definitely a part of it. I know those guys are adding to that part of it where they're talking to the younger guys and showing them the ropes, so to speak. Also, it's a unique situation because they're also competing for a spot on the team too.

So kind of to your question, I guess, it's definitely a unique circumstance.

Q. A lot of reps today toward the end of practice where Jaxson seemed to be on the field for quite a long stretch. Is that by design?

JOHN HARBAUGH: That's pass scale there. You know what, I don't know because I looked at the other quarterbacks and I'm like, what, Jaxson's going to take all the reps?

So I think maybe they had an agreement with Coach Nagy and Coach Callahan in the pass scale he was going to take all the reps, but nobody informed me of all that. But he looked all right.

He's the starting quarterback. If he wants the reps, he can take them.

Q. What is your take on the kicker situation? Ben Sauls seems like he has struggled quite a bit. How do you think that is right now?

JOHN HARBAUGH: I was talking to Ben out there. I feel like this is preparation for training camp, which is where the competition will really heat up. The good thing about that is with Ben's misses they've all been left, if you've noticed. They've all been pushed left. It's the same exact miss every time.

That's a good problem to have. He knows the problem with it from a technique standpoint. He's just got to lock in and fix it. He'll do that. I'm confident in it.

Q. What about Dominic Zvada? What have you seen from him on the flip side?

JOHN HARBAUGH: He has looked good. Same thing you've seen. You haven't seen as many of the practices. What you saw yesterday was what he's been all the way through. He's been consistent and done a good job.

Q. What do you like about training camp?

JOHN HARBAUGH: What do I like about training camp? It's all football all the time. If you love football, you love training camp. I love every day waking up and starting football and doing football all day and going to sleep and waking up and doing football again. For a coach, it's the funnest thing ever. Players might not agree, but coaches do.

Outside Linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux

Q. What do you think of that defensive front?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: Oh, man, I think our defensive front, man, it's scary. I love it. We have – we're almost cursed with too much talent. We have that – we have a matchup problem no matter what team we face. I think just being able to work together and just play off each other and continue to build that chemistry, that's going to be key for us.

Q. What do you think about what (outside linebacker) Brian (Burns) said about you yesterday? I know you saw that.

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: Me and Brian go way back now, like I told you. You guys heard from me being in high school and him taking on a visit to Florida State. Now we've been teammates for – I think it's our third year together. We've just got to go win, man. You see two guys that – a guy in him, and a guy in me who have been working together, ups and downs, and now we have another opportunity to go get it, and we feel like it's our best opportunity to go get it.

Q. How much has Coach Harbaugh so far transformed the culture here?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: You know, I subscribe to the idea that, if you got two brothers fighting, you make them fight, and then they've got to go clean the (expletive) up after. You don't just call it a day and everybody's done. For me, like I appreciate that mindset. Like no matter what is going on, we're still going to get the work done because the work is the work.

As far as Coach Harbaugh – I think he's a maniac, he's obsessed. I love it. He's so great at explaining things that of course he looks at a guy like me like how could you ask so many questions, you know. But we always talk about like someone who questions, it's not like they're challenging, we just want to make sure we have the best understanding of how to execute at the highest level. I think, man, this is the best I've felt coming into a new year.

Q. Both Brian and Coach Harbaugh were very complimentary talking about the way you've handled all the speculation and the stuff swirling around you. What are your thoughts on them being that complimentary and all of that speculation?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: The work is the work. I think I've been putting in work and people are seeing it. I appreciate it. It's hard to compliment people in this league. This is a 'what have you done for me lately' league. For me, I just try to keep getting better every day, and I'm happy that they can see that.

Q. How is Coach Harbaugh a maniac?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: He's kind of like me. I call a maniac a guy when you ask him a question and he goes to answer it and then he gets that twitch. That twitch is when they just go rogue and they just keep talking and talking and talking. And that's me. I kind of got that a little bit.

His first day, I noticed that in him. I was like, 'yo, you remind me of me a little bit.' It's similar. For me, I can tell he loves the sport, and he's going to give us our best opportunity to win it.

Q. How grueling are you expecting training camp to be?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: Grueling for who, us or the offense? (laughs)

Q. A bunch of guys have mentioned some of the guys here that think that coming off the bus this team is going to look a little different. Maybe like (linebacker) Tremaine (Edmunds) was talking about him and you've got (linebacker) Arvell (Reese). Do you sense it that this is just a bigger, physical, stronger group of men and athletes right now?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: I say something within my family, and I say your mindset has to be bulletproof. When you have a bulletproof mindset, it doesn't really matter how big or how small or how tall. It's like when you have that confidence in the preparation and in the work, there's nothing that can take you off that yellow brick road or off your pivot. For us, I think when you talk about what is it going to be for the team getting off the bus, I think it's going to be the confidence and the preparation and the work that's going to set us apart.

Q. But big and strong is not a bad thing to be, right? You know what I'm saying?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: No, of course. It's a sport.

Q. You look at your linebackers, the two guys they brought in.

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: I try not to size guys up as much as you do (laughs). Kind of just focus on myself when it comes to size and speed.

Q. It's obviously different from anything you've ever done in the past. What do you think about training camp going away and being in West Virginia?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: Well, I did that back in college. I have no problem; I love it. I think even right now with the building being under construction, it's the same kind of idea as far as things aren't comfortable, things aren't perfect. We're not used to it. It's a new environment. We can't eat the same way. We can't connect the same way. So, we've got to find ways to come together through the mud, through the dirt. I think it's going to be all for the better.

Q. Where did you guys go in Oregon?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: In Oregon we would drive up to Portland and have a camp like – not a spring game, but like a practice up that wasn't in our stadium and our kind of facility.

Q. You've had a choice in your career where you can focus on one thing, you can focus on another thing. Coming into this year, you could have taken a different approach and thought about yourself a lot and said why isn't this the way it should be for me? But it doesn't seem like you've taken that approach publicly or privately. How did you get your mind right to take, and why was that the right way to go for you?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: I would say, when you are self-aware, man, you can be honest. I'm not crazy, I know why fans feel the way they feel. We've been losing. I didn't have 10 sacks, 15 sacks. I had it one year, but it's consistency, it's greatness. I live for greatness. For me, I've never worried about what people think because, (shoot), I want to be great too. If it ain't great, trust me, I know.

As far as everything around me, I'm on a mission, and I'm aware enough to know what I've got to continue to get better at, and I'm humble enough to say, hey, help me. Help me find what things I can do to get better or how I can do it. It's been great for me. I'm happy I'm in a position where, you know, if I go play great, God is good. If I don't go play great, God is still good. I've been able to accomplish my dream by being here, and now it's time to go take everything I deserve.

Q. What's your mission?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: My mission is just to be the best Kayvon Thibodeaux I can be, just be the best player on the team. Get as many sacks as possible, stop the run as much as possible, and play 17 games.

Q. Are you a little lighter or no?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: What you mean? I think I got a tan.

Q. Weight-wise?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: No, man, you've got to stop. What are you guys doing, bro? (laughs).

Q. On that note, you talked about how you want to be the best version of yourself. I think we asked you about leadership and what that means to you being one of the most tenured guys here. For you, how has that shown up onsite here with practice and everything just taking that approach?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: Being in New York, there's a lot of cameras, and there's a lot of opportunities to talk. There's a lot of opportunities to say; there's a lot of opportunities to project. For me I've realized that over time words don't last. They don't. It's what you do. It's the tape you put out. It's the legacy you leave.

I think for me, when it comes to leadership, I've always taken the approach as a vocal leader because I'm smart, and I've always loved the game. I've always worked hard. But now, you know, when you're in a position and you are battling for a position or you're battling for your livelihood, for lack of a better term, you've got to realize like, all right, how can I be a pillar for my team but still stay true to my work and my grind and not over exceed – not over spread myself too thin without getting the work done that I need to get done.

For me it's been a great balance. Having guys like Burns and all the vets that are in here being able to share game and give me some wisdom, it's been great. I love sharing my story. I think I'm a guy regardless of anything, if (linebacker) Abdul (Carter), if Arvell, if Tremaine, if all of those guys play great because I was able to give them something to play great or if I play great because they were able to give me something, we're all going to feel good at the end of the day. I think that's the key in playing team sports.

Q. What have you been asking questions about just through this part of the off-season?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: What have I been asking questions about? Me, I just don't believe (anything) – I believe everything people say, and I don't believe (expletive) nobody say. Whether it's my head coach, whether it's my mom, whether it's the teacher, I want to know, and I'm going to believe you, but I'm also just curious. If you can explain it to me, that means you really know your (stuff).

Coach – I just love him so much because every question I've had, he's been able to explain it, and there's a system, and there's a process, and there's a method. That's the difference between people who are about the game and are about their expertise – because we're all here for expertise. If I'm asking you a question about your expertise, that should be easy. If you ask me about pass rush, I'll tell you because that's what I do for a living.

So for me, I appreciate that Coach is accepting me and accepting who I am and been able to lead in my way and just continue to be a leader for the team.

Q. You talked about this system kind of reminded you of '23. I'm curious now that you've seen it out on the field a little more, what does it remind you most of what it was in '23?

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: I want to touch on that, about the questions thing, I think as you become a leader in a room, there are a lot of questions that go unasked that the young guys need. When Coach refers to me and I have to think back like what was he saying with the questions? When Coach is speaking, there are a lot of questions that aren't necessarily for me because I've been in the league for a while, but there are a lot of younger guys who may not have the confidence to ask the questions. He laughs because sometimes I ask the obvious question that I know the answer to, but I know that it's valuable to be mentioned for the other guys in the room.

The question about the defense and the team – got some swagger, man. The only thing – and not to get too far comparing and contrasting, but when you talk about that 2023 year and this year, it's the swagger, it's the fight, it's the fun, but now it's a little more discipline, it's a little more process, a little more detail. It's a little more nuance to it that I think it will allow us to be militant and be bulletproof. You won't see as many holes because we have, from a player standpoint, not from a coach standpoint, from a player standpoint, they have a greater understanding of what they need to execute.

Q. How much has (defensive coordinator) Dennard Wilson (inaudible)…

KAYVON THIBODEAUX: Dennard Wilson is a great coach. I asked him today does he think he's the best DB coach in the league? Of course, he said yeah. Of course he's going to. For me, I didn't ask him that because I didn't think it. I asked him that because our DBs have been playing at a high level. I saw this same defense before. So now seeing these guys play at a pace that is unbelievable, it's no question of how great of a coach he is.

Linebacker Arvell Reese

Q. What do you make of your first NFL offseason program and your progress from rookie minicamp till now?

ARVELL REESE: What do I make of it? It's been good. It's been fun. Yeah, it's been fun.

Q. Anything surprise you about it?

ARVELL REESE: No, not really. Not at all.

Q. What's made it fun?

ARVELL REESE: You know, just I'm in the league now. But just being here and getting to know everybody and just flying around, it's just been fun. It's football. Football is always fun to me.

Q. What did you learn so far from the vets? You said you wanted to be seen, not heard, but what have you heard from the vets being around them more?

ARVELL REESE: What have I heard from them? Just like, just tips on how to operate and just go about building a plan for yourself. Like I'm realizing that everybody do things differently, everybody do stuff that works for them. So just getting advice on what I should be looking towards doing.

Q. What do you think when you hear a player like (outside linebacker) Brian (Burns) say we knew, we saw some highlights and we heard about you, but your ability to cover was something that they didn't know, right? What do you think when you hear that?

ARVELL REESE: What happened?

Q. Brian Burns said we knew you could rush the passer, they saw highlights of that. They didn't quite know that you can cover the way you can. What do you think when you hear that, and how do you think that ability has transitioned here?

ARVELL REESE: I don't really think (anything) when I hear that. I could see why somebody would think that, though, because the clips they highlighted of me coming out was just me getting downhill and I guess blitzing or rushing. So, I don't really think (anything) of that.

Q. Do you have a clear indication now in your mind of how you fit into this defense, or will it take training camp to figure that out?

ARVELL REESE: No, I think I've got a good understanding right now.

Q. And do you like the way you fit in?

ARVELL REESE: Yeah, I love it, yeah, yeah. I love where I'm at right now. Like the role I'm going to be in, how they're going to use me and put me in good situations. Yeah, I love it.

Q. Will it be very similar to what you did in college, or will it be --

ARVELL REESE: In my opinion, I think so.

Q. A lot of people coming out, when the Giants took you, everyone said edge rusher, edge rusher, edge rusher, and the Giants said linebacker, who can rush the passer. Did people not really realize that you're actually a complete linebacker?

ARVELL REESE: Yeah, I'm actually happy that it ended up this way, I think. This is the perfect situation for me, me being able to play linebacker, then when it's time, getting unique with me. But just playing linebacker, that's where I feel I'm most comfortable playing. So yeah.

Q. Is some of that because of the guys around you? There's so many edge rushers already here, like (inside linebacker) Tremaine (Edmunds). You know, they have a lot of pieces already, and they can kind of put you where you fit and then they can see, I guess, how to explain your role. There's a lot of guys around you. Do you sense that too?

ARVELL REESE: I don't really know if it's because of that. It's just, you know, I'm a linebacker, you know. I just get to play linebacker, and that's where I'm going to be deployed first. So, I think that's why it's the perfect situation.

Q. You've been with Tremaine pretty much all the time. What have you learned about him so far?

ARVELL REESE: I feel like he's a great leader. I feel like he leads the defense well. He communicates well. He's been on me about communicating every play, so that's how we do every play, we're making sure we're talking to each other.

Great in space. Great in coverage. He's a lanky guy. So, he's got a bunch of good traits about him.

Q. Did you have the green dot?

ARVELL REESE: No, he got the green dot.

Q. What was it like to sign your first contract?

ARVELL REESE: It felt good. It was a great feeling.

Q. Did you do anything special?

ARVELL REESE: No, I just signed it and then went to the hotel and then just got ready for practice the next day.

Q. A lot of guys do like a first purchase kind of deal. Is there anything you did special?

ARVELL REESE: I don't really got (anything) to buy right now. I already got everything. I got a car and an apartment. So, I'm good right now.

Q. Going back to Tremaine, what's it like with you guys being that lanky on field? Do you see great potential with how both of you guys fit each other with being tall, lanky guys?

ARVELL REESE: I see great potential with that, not just us being tall, lanky guys. We're guys who got a knack to get toward the football. So, I think there's going to be some great things going forward with us two.

Q. You guys are going to go, Giants are going to West Virginia for training camp. First training camp will not be at the facility. Are you excited about that? Do you have any impression about going somewhere away for training camp?

ARVELL REESE: I don't even know. I'll just go wherever they tell us to go. We could do it here. It don't matter where we do it. It don't got nothing to do with me, just get ready for camp.

Q. Do you as a player wonder, once camp starts and then after a few days you put the pads on, and I'm sure that's how you kind of measure yourself, right, with the pads on. Are you kind of thinking, you know, where do I fit in physically in the NFL? You know what I'm saying? This is no pads. So once the pads come on, there's a little more contact. Are you looking forward to that aspect of it?

ARVELL REESE: Yeah, I'm looking forward to that for sure. Are you saying am I worried about it?

Q. Not worried, but just are you interested to know, okay, now I'm in the NFL. I've got the pads on for a few days, how do I stack up with the offensive linemen? You know, with men?

ARVELL REESE: Yeah, I don't really know how to answer that. I always think to myself like physically never like concerned about (anything), you know. Yeah, I don't really know how to answer that.

Q. You mentioned you're a linebacker. You had a couple of Hall of Fame linebackers here yesterday talking to the team after with Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson. I don't know how much you knew all of them before you got here, but I'm curious if they said anything that stuck out to you yesterday? And what do you think of how much those guys meant to this franchise?

ARVELL REESE: I'm definitely going to have to do my homework. I already know a lot about Lawrence Taylor just from growing up, just hearing about him and seeing the highlight tapes and people talking about him.

I don't really know too much about Carson, but he gave us a good note, though. He just mentioned how like, if we plan on winning anything, we've got to play together. He said, when they were playing back in the day and they were one-on-one, he said, it was just a bunch of guys playing for the love of the player next to them. So, yeah, I think that was a good little nugget he gave us.