Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Rookie TE Justin Joly is a GEM, His TE Coach DETAILS Why He Will IMPRESS

Starting point is 00:00:00 Debra Broncos rookie tight-in. Justin Jolie was a gem to coach at NC State. If you don't believe me, we'll hear from the coach who coached him. You are Locked-on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's happening in Broncos country? I'm Cody Rourke. Today's show is brought to you by Fanduil. Right now, new customers met.

Starting point is 00:00:27 Just $5 to get $150 in bonus bets. If your first bet wins, head to Fanduil.com to get started. I told you in the open to this that Justin Jolie was a gem to coach. And if you don't believe me, we are going to hear from the coach that coached him. Gavin Locklear, tied in coach at NC State, joins us to tell us what the Broncos are getting from Justin Jolie as a football player, but also as a human being and what his experience was like coaching him. So without further ado, let's get into our interview with Gavin Locklear. I'm joined right now by Gavin Locklear, tight-in coach at NC State.

Starting point is 00:01:00 He got to know Justin Jolie a little bit as we get our first look at him this week. as the Broncos begin their rookie minicamp this weekend. Gavin, thank you so much for your time today. I think Broncos fans, more importantly, want to know what they're getting and Justin Jolie, who ends up in Denver as a fifth round pick. But watching his tape, there's a lot of things that are exciting about him as a player, you know, good size. You could tell he's got physicality to his game.

Starting point is 00:01:25 And I feel like he's a more well-rounded tight-in prospect. And I think a lot of people we're talking about in the pre-draft process because he's a willing blocker. He loves contact. He's also a big weapon in the basket game. What was it like coaching him? Yeah, you know, it was awesome. The last two years have been a pure blessing to coach Justin.

Starting point is 00:01:45 And one of my favorite things about the kid, I tell people all the time is how competitive he was. You know, and I think that's really what makes him a really good football player, right? And he's always competing in everything he does. And, I mean, there was one time on the practice field. We're in one-on-ones. and, you know, he doesn't win a rep. And, you know, you can just see the frustration on his face. And, you know, the anger actually did he had.

Starting point is 00:02:13 And it's, you know, he's coming over. Where'd I go wrong? You know, why didn't this work? And, but that's who he is, right? You're talking about a one-on-one rep. But he understands that those one-on-one reps are the reps that win you the games, right? Those are the reps that you make that catch on fourth down against Florida State. And this kid is the ultimate competitive.

Starting point is 00:02:33 he'll do whatever you ask him to do and he'll do it as hard as he can possibly do it. And so that's really in a nutshell what you're getting out of Justin Joey. Well, you know, you mentioned that Florida State game this past season. That was the game I was watching on the All-22. To me, I felt like that was just a dominant game from him all around. You know, it doesn't necessarily have to show up in the number of catches or the number of yards. It's the overall impact. And for him here in the NFL, the Broncos say they project him to be kind of this move around F-type of tight end.

Starting point is 00:03:03 within their offense. And that was kind of what he played a little bit at that NC state, where he's offset on the line of scrimmage. He's playing underneath the offensive tackle, and he's coming back up underneath here. What kind of role did he embrace early on coming over from Yukon? How was it trying to figure out what he was going to do? Yeah, you know, and we got him in that 2024 season. We really did use them more as like a receiving threat and a passing option for the quarterback. And man, he was a huge security blanket for our quarterbacks that year. Ended up with over 600 yards receiving.

Starting point is 00:03:39 And, you know, that's really what we brought him here to do that year. And then he goes kind of through his draft process last year, you know, and decides he wants to come back. And one of the things he and I sat down and talked about was how do we make ourselves a better NFL prospect, right? and that's kind of where the whole, I want to become a better blocker showed up. And that was a major focus this year

Starting point is 00:04:05 while still, you know, making him a passing threat. And he led our team in receptions and targets and all those things this past year as well. And so we still used them in the past game big time. And to your credit, like what you're saying, you know, for the Broncos, this kid played all over the place for us, right? Like he'd line up at the boundary number one receiver, boundary number two receiver, field number three,

Starting point is 00:04:25 field number two, field number one. one, you know, tied off the ball, tied in on the ball. You know, he lined up at fullback force a few times. He called a touchdown pass against Wake Forest out of the fullback position, right? So, you know, there was a lot of football this kid had to learn this year. And he did a great job. And wherever we asked him to play and whatever we asked them to do, whatever route we asked him to run or a block, we asked him to execute or pass protection. I mean, like I said, he did to the best his ability. There were there were two blocks that stood out to me in that Florida State game. There was one where he's lined up offset to the left side and the defensive tackle is running a

Starting point is 00:05:04 stunt towards him to the outside as if they're looping around. He, he sidesteps and gives him a nice little shoulder check. You usually see sometimes offensive linemen do that declares essentially the defensive tackle and then there's one later on in that game. He's lined up on the right side. You guys bring him back underneath the formation. He kicks out the cornerback. I mean, we're talking about the cornerback, legs up in the air, decleted, and it helps you guys continue to just move the chains for a first down. One of the things I read is when he came from Yukon, he ended up putting on 20 pounds of muscle. Did that kind of balance itself out this past season? Yeah, I would say so. I would say so. And, you know, he played for us on the field. He probably played for us anywhere between 250 to

Starting point is 00:05:48 255 and majority of our games. But, excuse me, he got up as high as 260 at one point. And it's one of those things where you look at the kid and you're like, there's no way his kid weighs 260 pounds, right? Yeah, it doesn't look like it on tape. He hides it extremely well. And, you know, a majority of the weight that he puts on goes straight to his legs, goes to his lower body. And I think that translates when you watch him run routes and you watch him after the catch.

Starting point is 00:06:15 You know, he's hard to bring down. He's extremely hard to bring down. And there's a lot of explosiveness and a lot of power in his lower body. you know and so yeah you see it in his stance too especially if he's this move around guy he's got a low center of gravity and he can just get across the formation and maintain leverage it's one thing that i notice about him we talked to broncos jm george peyton after he was drafted and one of the things he said is that hey don't try to shake his hand he'll try to break it like they've had that type of conversations with him they've obviously gotten to know him pretty well but man his hands seemed like they're very strong

Starting point is 00:06:53 There was that game winner against Florida State where he's lined up to the left side. The DB's in great position, but he just, he's got that big body frame. He boxes him out. He makes the catch-through contact in the final minute or so there. How has that part of his game evolved since you've been coaching him? Yeah, you know, like one of the things, like, one of the things when we were recruiting him out of Yukon is, you know, he had a few drops at Yukon, right? And I'm just a big believer, and you got to catch ball every day. And it's not I'm catching five balls every day.

Starting point is 00:07:25 I'm catching 300 balls every day. You know, and I think that's one of the things that when Justin and I sat down, Justin's got great hands and they are huge, right? They're like over 10 and a half inches. And when he shook my hand for the first time, when he came on his official visit, it was the exact same thing, right? I'm like, okay, this kid might have just broke my hand, you know? And like his hands are huge.

Starting point is 00:07:48 And it definitely helps him when it comes to catching the football. But the thing about him is he's got super, super strong. hands as well, super strong fingertips, right? In his house at home, he's got rice buckets, and he's in the rice buckets every night. And there's actually a picture up here on my wall of that Florida State catch, and he caught the ball with his fingertips, right? Like the ball's literally on his family. I'm looking at it right now. It is on his fingertips, right? And so my thing always was catching the football, if you drop a pass and nobody's around you, that's just a lack of focus. You know what I mean? Like you're not focused. You're not seeing it all the way in.

Starting point is 00:08:23 And to that kid's credit, man, he caught the ball first extremely well for two years. Well, where I think he really jumped off the tape and where he really separates himself from a lot of people is those contact catches. Right. And kind of to what we're talking about, you know, him being extremely strong in his lower body, in his upper body, that kid does not get phased with anybody's around him. You know, when that ball's in the air, it's like he's got laser focus. He's focused on one thing, and that's football. And one thing that we work on every single day in practice. practice is contact catches.

Starting point is 00:08:55 Right. And so I'm trying to prepare those guys for when those moment of true plays come against Florida State. They're ready for it, right? Like everybody saw that catch against Florida State. They think about how great of a catch that was. I watched that kid make that same catch maybe seven times in practice. You know, and so when we get into that situation in the game, our coaches have watched them make that same catch seven times in practice.

Starting point is 00:09:21 Right. And so we're sitting over there on the sideline, and it's crazy because he actually came over and was like, hey, man, throw him the ball. You know what I mean? And but it just so happened that our offense coordinator was saying the same thing. You know, our head coach was like, hey, you got to play. You like OC was like, I got to play at love. And then we line him up back there one-on-one. We throw it to him.

Starting point is 00:09:39 And it was just like we've seen in practice multiple times. But he had the confidence in himself because he made that play so many times an individual and then a one-on-ones and then in actual team settings and practice, right? And so to him, he came on, and that's what I love about the kid, man. He comes off the field, you know, I'd daff him up, and he just goes, coach. That's routine play for me, you know, and so. Yeah. I love that. And Broncos fans are going to like hearing that as well because they've heard Sean Payton talk a lot. I'm around Sean a lot every single week in the regular season. One thing he always says is confidence is born from demonstrated ability. You know, you do it over and over again. It becomes second nature. You develop confidence and belief in

Starting point is 00:10:20 In one game this season at Pitt, Justin Jolie went down with an injury that held him out of action in the second half against Pitt. But how did that opportunity turn into a coaching experience for him as a player that told coaches exactly who Justin was? You'll hear that here on today's episode of the show. Broncos Country, today's episode, the show is brought to you of our friends over there at Fandoo. The NBA playoffs are here. They're continuing the Devere Nunkets, unfortunately, are out of the first round of the playoffs. But you know what? In these games, every possession matters.

Starting point is 00:10:48 If you're looking to get even closer to the action, well, guess what? Van Duel, they have a great offer that's going to get you started here today because right now new customers can bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. That's right. Turn five bucks into 150 in bonus bets just for getting started. I like using Vandul during the playoffs because everything I need is right there in one place. We had a lot of series in the first round that ended up going to seven games. But now the second round of the playoffs is beginning, which means that the stakes are even higher

Starting point is 00:11:17 and the game is going to be even more exciting as the push for the finals approaches. You can check stats, trends, matchups before making your picks, which makes the whole experience a lot more informed. So head to theFandul.com to get started. FanDuel play your game. Today's show is also brought to hear by friends over there at Indeed, folks. Workplace chaos, you've got deadlines that are stacking up. Your inbox is also inflown.

Starting point is 00:11:39 But the one position you have to fill, it's also still sitting open. Well, guess what? When the pressure is on and you need the right higher, this is a job for sponsored jobs because Indeed, sponsored jobs helps you reach the people who actually fit what you're looking for, the skills that you're looking for, the experience, and the location. So you're not just hoping the right candidate stumbles across your post. In the minute that I've been talking to you, companies like yours, they made 27 hires on Indeed, according to Indy data worldwide.

Starting point is 00:12:03 So if you're hiring, spend less time searching and more time interviewing candidates who check all your boxes with Indeed sponsored jobs with less stress, less time, and more importantly, more results. When you need the right person to cut through the chaos, this is a job for Indeed, sponsor jobs. And listeners to this show, you'll get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job. The premium status that it deserves at indeed.com slash podcast. Just go toindeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show up by seeing you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast terms and conditions apply need to hire. This is a job for Indy, sponsored jobs.

Starting point is 00:12:37 It seems like he is that type of kid who works through that. I mean, like I said, he was to the point where you mentioned about how he's improved as a blocker. I mean, I'm watching him also line up in line. I'm watching him kickstep against an outside linebacker where you guys are backed up in your own goal line and he's allowing your quarterback to dip up underneath and scramble to pick up yards for a first down. That's another aspect too about his game that George Peyton told us shortly after he was drafted was we really feel like, hey, if we get in a scramble drill type situations, he's going to be perfect. And ironically

Starting point is 00:13:08 enough, I'm watching in that Florida State game. And I've got so many other games on hand too, where quarterback has to roll out to his right. And you guys were running this play where he caught a pass earlier up the seam, kind of in the middle of the safety and underneath the defender. He takes a shot. You guys run the same play, but then pocket breaks down, quarterback rolls out to his right. He's trailing. And once again, he's just there. He's patient. He's calling for the ball. He gets it, gets up feel for about 20, 25-yard gain. In terms of that scramble drill, because in the NFL, I mean, for the Broncos, Bo Nicks, he uses legs, uses athleticism quite a bit.

Starting point is 00:13:41 That was a big benefit to his game. What is he going to bring to the table in that regard here for Denver? Yeah, you know, I think one of the things with Justin is he's quarterback friendly, right? And one of the things we talked about a lot was some of the biggest past plays you can have are on scramble drills, right? Like, and all that takes is effort. It takes your effort trying to get in the quarterback's vision, right? It takes your effort running across the field.

Starting point is 00:14:10 And, you know, for a guy like Bo Nicks, who's going to do that, he's going to get out of the pocket. He's going to use his athleticism, right? That's going to allow Justin to find some holes in defenses that might have not been there. You know, if he's sitting in the pocket and everybody spot drops or, you know, they're dropping to their man or whatever it may be. You know, now eyes might be on the quarterback. Okay, we've got to stop Boe from running and boom, there you go. Like you said, 20, 25-yard game. And that's one of the things I think Justin does really well.

Starting point is 00:14:37 You know, he had a great one against Virginia Tech for CJ. All we did was run for avert. It was man-to-man. CJ ended up running out of the pocket, and it was an unbelievable throw. But, I mean, it was a sideline toe tap catch, right? He actually catches it probably three yards out of bounds. His feet are obviously inbound. But it's plays like that, you know, as a coordinator or a play caller,

Starting point is 00:15:00 you call a play and a play breaks down, and you can get a huge one just because a kid understands. and if I just play as hard as I can, if I'm trying to get in the quarterback's vision, something good can happen, right? Yeah, and we talk so much about, you know, in the sports world, what players can do on the field. But also, who are they getting as a human being in terms of Justin? You know, I know obviously against Pitt, he ended up getting hurt on a player where he

Starting point is 00:15:23 actually scored. How did he handle that? I mean, I've talked to some people, and they say, you know, at times he handles it, that moment right there, he almost became like another coach. Like he's encouraging guys that are stepping into his role. What does he like, you know, as a human being? He's great, man. He's unbelievable. He's been great to me. He's been great to my family, right? My little brother plays for us. And he's great friends with my brother. He's been over to my house multiple times. Always hugs my mom. He's always smiling. Kid always has a smile on his face. You know, he took me out and the other two tight-ins,

Starting point is 00:15:59 Dante and Cody, they took me out, my family out for. my birthday last year, right? He organized it. That's just kind of who he is, you know, I mean, he likes to please people. He likes to help as much as he can. You know, during that pick game, when he got hurt, I mean, he had five

Starting point is 00:16:15 catches for 120-something yards and two touchdowns at halftime, right? And, you know, he wanted to come back out there and play in the second half. He came, when we got back out on the field, he came up to me, grabbed me, and said, hey, man, let me go back out there. And I knew how much pain he was

Starting point is 00:16:31 because I was watching him warm up. I was watching them run. And I knew there was no way I was going to put him back in the game. But once again, like, that speaks to that kid's competitiveness that he wanted to go back out there. And when he couldn't, it's exactly like you said, right? Like he was encouraging his teammates and he's trying to help his teammates. And he was unbelievable in our Georgia Tech game that he didn't play in just as far as helping those guys on the sideline, encouraging those guys.

Starting point is 00:16:58 He was great during the week coming to meet. still preparing as if he was playing. And he was really just another coach for us on the sideline. You know, we played a young guy in that game, and he was trying to really help a young tight end we had. But that's who he is, right? He's a caring kid that wants what's best for, you know, all those around him. Wow.

Starting point is 00:17:21 The Broncos are getting a good young man off to fill. That's one thing the Broncos have done. They like to draft guys with high character, obviously leadership traits, but also good football town as one. And we can find two of those and one player. It's always exciting. I know he's one of the prospects that Broncos fans are super, super excited about. Gavin Locklear, tight-in coach at NC State.

Starting point is 00:17:39 Thank you so much for your time today. We appreciate it. Absolutely. Thanks for having it. We want to thank Coach Locklear once again for his time to talk about Justin Jolie and what he's going to bring to the table here for the Denver Broncos. I always feel like for a young guy, when fans are trying to get to know who a player is, the best way to find out outside of reading the bios that you get online,

Starting point is 00:17:59 It's talked to the coach that coached the player that knows the player probably better than anybody else. And Gavin Locklear gave us a ton of insight about Justin Jolie. So Broncos Country, thank you so much for rock with us here on today's episode. So let us know what you thought of our interview with Gavin Locklear and what your thoughts are now of Justin Jolie after hearing a little bit more about him from the coach that coached him at the college ranks at the highest level. With that said, Broncos Country, we'll be back tomorrow for a brand new episode of the show.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Rookie TE Justin Joly is a GEM, His TE Coach DETAILS Why He Will IMPRESS

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.