How Tyson Campbell's Injury Impacts Jaguars' Secondary

Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile spoke last week. Below is a partial transcript.

Q: On DE Travon Walker and the type of player he is?

Campanile: “He's a great player, obviously, but, I said this the last time I talked to you guys. He's a great person. He's got a lot of leadership qualities. I don't think there's anybody in the building that doesn't genuinely love the guy. He's just a great human being, got a great energy about him. It's credit to everyone that raised him because, he's the type of guy you love to coach him. Teammates love playing with him and his coaches love coaching him.”

Q: On how a player like DE Travon Walker impacts the locker room?

Campanile: “What I think is when some of your best players are your best leaders, and the best people, that's a great thing, because that's what sets the culture of every building. The guys are going to follow the guys, who bring that energy, and he brings a positive energy. I think it's, obviously, an overall net positive for the entire building, offense and defense, to have a guy like that.”

Q: On how much he knew about DE Travon Walker prior to arriving to Jacksonville?

Campanile: “I did, because just knowing Trey Scott at Georgia a little bit and some of the people, you know, we kind of run-in the same circles, coaches, and some other coaches. I know I remember Pete Jenkins who's kind of a legendary d line [Defensive Line] coach going down there and, had worked with him at Georgia and talking about him way back when he was in college. Just the type of guy, he is always serious, driven, and wanting to be great. So that was really what I knew of Travon, and all that's been true.”

Q: On if DE Travon Walker is too quiet around the team?

Campanile: “No. No. I don't think so at all. I think when he speaks, people listen. And there's a lot to that when somebody, who maybe people perceive isn't that vocal, which he is. He's vocal in the building. But when he speaks, it means something to the guys on the team and people listen.”

Q: On how dominant DE Travon Walker can be?

Campanile: “I mean, he's got a ton of potential. Sky's the limit for him. And it's just like every other position, every other guy doing it every day, every play. That's really what sets the tone for what you're going to do out there every day. And I think , out there on Sunday, I should say. But he's a guy who brings it every play every day. You watch him drill work. I mean, he's locked in, laser focused, so I'm excited for him, excited for what he's going to do this year.”

Q: On if he’s excited to get DE Travon Walker in his system?

Campanile: “Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. When you know there's a guy like that, it's an exciting thing. Coaches get a lot smarter when you got good players.”

Q: On how he feels after two days of practice?

Campanile: “I mean, like, usually, like, any year in camp, you got some of those early mistakes, and camp is a great thing because you kind of just get locked away. You do football for quite a while here, and you really have a singular focus. What it takes to get better at football is playing football, so you need constant repetition. It's all about muscle memory and seeing things over and over and over again, talking about things, in a consistent way, saying things the same way. So we hear them the same way all the time.

That's really, as a coach, I think the biggest challenge in camp. Everybody's speaking the same language, and everybody driving the same points home and being honest. You have to be honest. So, our guys have done a great job with that to this point. Obviously, it's two days, but they're doing a really good job and hopefully continue to get better.”

Follow us on X to talk about our podcast on the injury to Campbell and more at @JaguarsOnSI and @_John_Shipley.

Check out our podcast on the injury to Campbell and more following our Facebook WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE