Entering the draft final month, a robust case may very well be made that the Chicago Bears’ best roster want was on the defensive position — particularly a three-technique sort out to assist make coach Matt Eberflus’ protection go.
General supervisor Ryan Poles handed on the consensus finest defensive sort out within the draft — Georgia’s Jalen Carter — and that transfer will likely be evaluated for a while. But the Bears obtained a younger participant with upside on the place within the second spherical, selecting Florida’s Gervon Dexter with the 53rd decide.
David Turner, at the moment the defensive position coach at Mississippi State, coached that place for the Gators from 2019 by 2021. He was a part of not solely recruiting Dexter, but in addition teaching him for Dexter’s first two seasons in Gainesville, Fla.
Turner spoke to the Tribune not too long ago to supply perception into Dexter’s recreation and the way he initiatives within the NFL. Here’s that interview, edited for readability.
Note: This is a part of a collection of conversations with the school place coaches of this yr’s Bears draft picks.
Considering Gervon performed solely two seasons of highschool soccer, was he nonetheless fairly uncooked when he stepped foot on campus and obtained to you?
What would you assume? He was uncooked with loads of athletic skill. There are loads of issues you possibly can coach, however you possibly can’t coach 6-foot-6, 280 kilos. From that standpoint, he had all the instruments. He was a pure and aggressive child. The advantage of soccer, you don’t get 5 fouls (like Dexter did as a basketball participant). So he can tough them up slightly bit and he doesn’t have to fret about fouling out.
Gervon was a giant, athletic child and also you noticed an entire lot of potential. He wasn’t an entire lot completely different from Chris Jones. I had him at Mississippi State. Really very related. Chris didn’t play soccer till his junior yr (of highschool) and thought he was a basketball participant. So there have been loads of similarities. Gervon is a child that wished to be coached. He’s an awesome child: “Yes, sir. No, sir.” I used to be excited to have an opportunity to work with him. The advantage of it, there weren’t an entire lot of unhealthy habits he needed to break. You simply needed to coach him up. He wished to be nice and it was a pure development.
So simply how related is Gervon to Chris Jones?
They’re alike when it comes to measurement, however they’re slightly bit completely different guys, little bit completely different ability units. But there are some similarities. Chris was in all probability slightly bit extra fluid athlete than G. Both of them have pure energy. Both of them wished to study, wished to be nice. The greatest drawback with G is he wished to be nice proper now. He needed to perceive there’s a course of to this. Being new to it, he was studying every thing for the primary time. It’s onerous if you’re gifted with measurement and energy to understand issues are going to take time to be the place you need to be. That was the most important factor, having him perceive the method, being affected person with improvement. You’re not going to be nice now, however ultimately you’re going to have an opportunity to be a extremely, actually good participant.
He obtained on the sector a good quantity as a real freshman. Did he study fairly rapidly?
He performed some. I don’t know if any freshman ever performs as a lot as they need to, however the one approach for him to get higher was to get on the market and check the water, so to talk.
How did you see him develop and mature heading into his sophomore yr?
Well, his freshman season he was type of feeling every thing out. I’ll offer you an awesome instance. I went and watched him in spring follow in highschool and he was principally the D-line coach. He comes from a small faculty and the coach there does an awesome job. Gervon is on the market and he was attempting to assist a few of his teammates and he doesn’t know an entire lot.
The SEC will not be an actual entry-level place, so he needed to get on-the-job coaching. And the one approach he was going to get good was to see and perceive that everybody is large and powerful, so he’s obtained to grasp approach goes to play a significant half and that’s what he began to determine. The greatest factor in his sophomore yr was approach and pad stage. He nonetheless wasn’t the place I wished him to be, however he understood it having been examined and thrown within the hearth. Everything his freshman yr was the primary time going by it, so the second time was simpler.
What sort of questions did NFL groups have for you about Gervon within the pre-draft course of?
What type of child is he. All the essential stuff. He’s an awesome child. Mom and Dad raised him proper. He simply wished to make his dad and mom proud. Learning was not an issue for him. That was actually the questions: the background, what was he like to teach.
Any similarities between Fletcher Cox, one other participant you coached at Mississippi State, and Gervon?
Fletcher was lower completely different. Fletcher was a man that each day was the identical. Whether his canine died, he broke up together with his girlfriend, each day was the identical. Being constant (in) how he confirmed as much as work. That is one of the best factor you possibly can say a few child — he’s constant and each day is similar. He had a professional mentality very early on.
Gervon was rather a lot like Fletcher and Chris. Those guys got here in with a plan that they wished to remain three years and have an opportunity to get out (and go to the NFL). Like I inform all of them: “Hey, man, if you have a high enough draft grade, that’s great. I will be the first to tell you there aren’t a whole lot of entry-level jobs that are going to start you at a million dollars or more.” Gervon was the identical: “I want to stay three years and get out.” That was his plan and the way in which he went about it. He was targeted and went about his work.
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com