Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS -5/1- Touching On Colts UDFA's; Brief Interview W/@TheRealJavJones

Episode Date: May 1, 2017

Taking a break from the #Colts draft class, Matt takes a look at some of the most interesting UDFA's coming to Indianapolis, Matt answers some Twitter questions and UDFA Javancy Jones talks about his road through the pre-draft process and getting signed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Learn more about our healthy benefits at fepblue.org slash getmore. No, I'm not for sale. You are lockeded On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back to Locked On Colts, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Matt Dainley. Thank you guys for joining me here on our very first day of May. Look, the excitement is still in the air with the Indianapolis Colts draft class.

It's a good draft class. We picked up some great players. We picked up some guys that are noticeably projects that are going to take a little bit of time to acclimate themselves through the game and through the team and within the scheme a little bit. But overall, very good draft class. I think we've kind of knocked that out of the park as far as both the draft itself and we've covered it pretty well. So that's probably not what we're going to talk about today. We're talking about a little bit of these undrafted free agents and how exciting this is going to be with an immense number of undrafted guys that have come in. There's going to be some roster spots that probably are

going to end up being filled with these undrafted guys. Now, I think we touched on this yesterday, but it's interesting because there's guys coming in. This is like either a legit, we don't like this guy or we like this other guy a lot, and we need to fill it with even younger talent. At the wide receiver position, I think that's pretty much because they didn't really address it through the draft, nor do I think that they felt they needed to with some of the depth at wide receiver that was available. But I don't think that that necessarily means that the Colts don't like any of the wide receivers that are back there or anything like that. I think that this is, I mean, I think they like Chester Rogers.

I think they like Guan Bray. But some of these guys are going to come in and battle them for those spots. I mean, and if a couple of them are better, then they're going to get that playing time. They're going to get that roster spot. And I don't think that's going to be any different throughout the roster. I think George Bremer touched on that really well for us yesterday, that, you know, that's basically how this organization is going to run now. You either, you know, fill your role and play well and do your job, or you're going to,

you know, probably not be on the team. So I think that's exciting. Like I said last night, I think that's exciting for what the Colts are looking to do as far as not only get younger, but get significantly better. And when they get better, they get better through whoever is good. That's who's going to play. There's no favorites. There's no, I drafted this guy or I signed this guy. so he's going to get the playing time because this or that. This is going to be the best guys are going to play. And GM's going to take care of who's on the roster, but ultimately Pagano is going to take care of who is on the field.

So the way that works is these guys are going to have their constant conversations over and over again. But if Ballard feels that a guy's not playing up to snuff, or if Pagano talks to him and says, hey, look, this guy's struggling, if there's a guy that can replace him and replace him with better production and better athleticism and better mind to football, it's over with. It's not going to be, hey, we're going to keep you around because I really like you. I think you're a great guy. This is all about winning football right now, you know, and that's the way it's going to be. That's the way it should be. And that's something that we didn't see in the past very much. Now, when we look at the way that Grigson was, he was

very much a played in favorites kind of guy. He liked people, he didn't like others, and basically not necessarily just limited to like and dislike, but more of, I took this guy and this is the guy I want to play. He's going to get out there, or I think he's better than him. That's who you should play, Chuck, type of crap like that. But there is something, okay? We've got to give Gregson where the credit is due. We've talked about this a couple times on the show in the past, but the reality of it is last draft with bringing in Haig, bringing in the Raven Clark, bringing in some of these other guys that have been on the offensive line, that helped significantly this year because the Colts didn't have to take offensive linemen. They didn't have to go after those guys the Colts didn't have to take offensive linemen.

They didn't have to go after those guys early. They didn't have to get Garrett Bowles. They didn't have to get a Forrest Lamp because that could have been ultimately a bad draft strategy as well. They have no choice but to get some of these offensive linemen. That means they're going to move up, lose picks, maybe mortgage some picks from next year, stuff like that. So whether we want to crack, and we should because Grigson was a total tool for the majority of the time he was here and treated people like crap. But if you look outside of 2012 and 2016's draft, those interior years, he was terrible. But that 2012 draft was solid, and last year's draft was solid as well.

We got those offensive linemen, like I said, that really helped a lot this year. Ballard didn't have to mess with that. Instead, he was able to go entirely defense. Because if Andrew Luck doesn't have anybody protecting him last year at all or this year, the Colts have no choice but to draft offensive linemen or to bring a ton of guys in and really have a crap piece together line offensive line this year. And some people still are harping that offensive line was terrible. They have to have this look, the offensive line wasn't great last year. I don't think that anybody would tell you that they were, we'll tell you that

they, in some aspects, they improved significantly throughout the season. And also, I think if you're looking at projection, I think you're looking at a group of guys who are healthy now and are looking to really improve. And I think that LaRaven Clark's improvement on the right tackle spot just from the beginning of camp until when he actually got on the field is significant. And I think that the fact that Ballard has all but said there's no two ways about it,

that Joe Haig is a guard, that is clarity to how this offensive line is going to go forward. The unknown is never a good way to be, whether you're a coach, a player, or a GM, or anything else that has to do with professional football. Like I said, we just at least need to give Grigson credit where credit was due. He got some good offensive linemen last year. At least it appears that they were good. And, you know, we didn't have to draft a ton of guys this year in order to fill those roles. So on to a couple more Twitter questions that I got over the past 24 hours or whatever.

So let's get into this real quick. At DanteJBaca on Twitter, in your opinion, what will be our biggest needs this season on either side of the ball? Where will we be inconsistent? I think that we'll still be inconsistent on the offensive line now that we're kind of in that mode talking about that. I think that the offensive line will be significantly better, but I also think that we haven't seen a serious injury to Costanzo. Not that I'm looking forward to it, obviously, oro. Not that I'm looking forward to it, obviously, or anything like that. I'm just saying the offensive linemen get injured quite a

bit. There's a reason that there's only a couple teams a year that don't start anybody else other than their first set of offensive linemen throughout the season, because those guys get hurt all the time. Running backs running into them, diving at their knees. Other guys, linebackers, diving at their knees because the running back's behind the offensive lineman. That's a position there that is just begging to get an ACL tear. So now we've got Costanzo, Muhor, Kelly, and then we've got, ultimately, in my opinion, we've got Haig and probably LaRaven Clark starting up front, and I think that's a pretty good little group. But I still think there'll be some inconsistencies there, although I think there'll be a significant improvement in their overall play throughout the entire season. Other inconsistencies, I think that we'll probably have

some in the linebacker, linebacking core, because eventually, you know, Spence and Bostic are probably, I mean, I think that you could probably say that they're day one starters at now. If I was to just guess, I would say that those two are probably going to start, but Jackson and Morrison, those guys are going to battle for that. If Morrison's got his head on straight, you know, he's going to at least be in the running for that starting position, I would assume. And so you'd really don't know who's going to start there. But if I had, like I said, if I had to say Spence and Bostic would be the two guys I would assume. And so you really don't know who's going to start there. But if I had, like I said, if I had to say Spence and Bostic would be the two guys I would assume would be starting there, but I still think there's going to be some inconsistencies there. Bostic's only been in

the league for a few years. He didn't play at all last year. Sean Spence has missed a couple years because of injury. And then we have the inconsistencies with our depth at that position too. So I think linebacker is still going to be a work in progress. Unless one of these undrafted guys all of a sudden just blows our doors off and ends up being like the guy we missed out on or something like that. But I think there'll be inconsistencies there. And I think maybe the other spot that there'll still be some inconsistencies are in coverage. I think that we're significantly better in every area, but I don't think that this roster yet is anywhere close to being a consistent roster all the way through. I think, like I said, Hankins up front is going to be significant. A couple guys off the edge, Simon and Sheard,

and then now we've got Terrell Basham there. That's another weapon there. We've got a great center fielder in Malik Hooker, but that's not necessarily the Colts game in and game out scheme back there to run a single high. They will do it. They will run two high as well. But we've got Vontae Davis, who's been injured a ton. We finally got another nice, big, long athletic corner with great ball skills. I'm really excited to see what Hairston does, to be honest with you, especially from what George told us last night. I'm excited to see this guy. I want to see him play. He seems like a guy who is just on top of it, who's really excited to get the opportunity. And like I said, whatever you think his ceiling is going to be, apparently this

guy is going to go well and above it. So I think there will be inconsistencies a lot throughout the defense. And I think the offensive line will still be inconsistent, but I still think that the Colts are significantly better in all phases of the game as it stands right now. So the next question I got comes from Foxwag at Foxwag49 on Twitter. So with the draft said and done, the Colts did draft a few projects that you've mentioned specifically with Grover Smith, Zach Banner, and even Nate Hairston,

who has just made the transition to corner. That will require some significant coaching to take him to the next level. With Pagano in the hot seat, do you think if these players don't transition to the next level, maybe that's a factor to deciding whether he keeps his job? Also, do you personally think that Pagano and company has what it takes to coach these guys up to become real impact players? If I have to assume that Pagano is

going to coach these guys up, I don't know that. I have an issue with Pagano coaching troubled players because we've had troubled players in the past, and they don't work out. And not only don't they work out, they don't get any better, and they end up being off the roster. But when we look at guys who are projects, who can we really look at that is a project that came through that improved? I think Zach Kerr improved. He was, uh, considered somewhat of a project, although I had high hopes for him when he was signed as an undrafted free agent guy. Uh, there, there's a, there's a couple of them, you know, I mean, I mean, you could, you could make a case for Jonathan Newsome aside that, uh, you know, he kind of fell off after having one kind of somewhat impressive year and again, became a fool and got himself arrested or I can't remember if

he actually got arrested for his pot deal that he had a party and all that other stuff and got busted and got kicked off the team. But you know there's a few guys that have worked out project wise but if you're looking at people that I think he can take over the top to become outstanding players I don't know that. I really can't say for that right now. I have my questions and obviously it makes me feel like there's a couple issues with that thought process, but I wouldn't say one way or another. Specifically, Grover is a guy who I think is just going to have to get better, lighter, and faster off the snap. I think that he's going to have to find some technical moves a little bit because he's relying on his length and his power right now. That's not going to make it in the NFL.

Zach Banner, he's a guy who is losing weight, and I'm hopeful for that because his tape is terrible in my opinion. He is very, very slow. He is exceedingly, has heavy feet, like whether he's in run blocking or he's in protection they were talking about that he's so big that he takes a long time to get around well that's not necessarily true I think I mean it can you can make the case that that's true but you can also make the case that uh upfield burst I mean once you're past a guy you're past a guy it doesn't matter if his arms are there you're're going to get a holding call. What good is that? That doesn't do anything in my opinion. Nate Hairston is a guy that I have high hopes for. And I just kind of spoke about

this a few minutes ago. He is a guy, he's got ball skills, he's got hops, he's an athlete, and he's a guy who's really driven. And that is something that I think at the cornerback position is something that not only do the Colts need it, but that's something that's going to help them succeed quite a bit. That tells you that he's got a little bit of moxie, that he's a guy that is definitely going to try to make the case for being the man. As far as at his position, he wants to hold down that nickel slot corner spot, which he did in his days at Temple. And that's kind of going to be the thing. One of the scouts was talking the other night that he didn't get beat deep.

That's good. He's not the fastest guy in the world, so he must have some good press technique. He must have some other things to go along with just his ability to get up and have some ball skills. And then to kind of move on to the end of that question there about Pagano being on the hot seat if these guys don't necessarily transition um does that affect his job I don't think so I mean because first and foremost I mean if he drafted them he drafted them but that's not really the issue uh when it's all said and done I don't think I think that once uh these guys are gonna be who they're gonna be and then they're either gonna be good and be on the team or they're gonna be replaced I don't think. I think that once these guys are going to be who they're going to be, and then they're either going to be good and be on the team, or they're going to be replaced. I don't think that that's necessarily something that'll be hung over his head. Ultimately,

Ballard thinks that he has gotten some more talent in the building, and they are more talented already than they were last year. I think that that's an easy case to make. And I think that if these guys aren't learning anything, it'll be an all-encompassing thing. If you're 5-5 going back into the season and the guys are so inconsistent that you can't do anything with it, I don't think Pagano's going to be sticking around for the following season. If they're 5-5 and they're working their butts off

and they're really coming together as a team, that's a different story. It's really hard. I think it almost depends on how this roster itself starts to mesh throughout the season. Now, if they start out 0-3 or 0-4, Pagano may not make it the rest of the season. But as for now, I would say a lot determines whether Pagano stays or goes is kind of not solely based, but in large part based on how the team is coming together from a chemistry standpoint. So thanks guys for the questions. Wanted to make sure I got those out and answered and stuff like that before we went on to the next phase of the show. Now kind of looking a little bit into these undrafted guys, there's some more guys that are getting signed and there's

a couple more that are more intriguing the further we get into it. We talked about Trey Griffey and a couple other guys, Bug Howard and stuff yesterday, but there's another guy that's a big dude out of Iowa State that looks really interesting. It's Joston Thomas, 6'6", 275, defensive end. He can come off the edge. He's not uber athletic or anything like that, but the guy is productive and he's strong enough to get himself free from offensive linemen. He's a really interesting guy that I'm going to want to keep my eyes on as the offseason approaches and everything comes forward, especially once training camp gets here. It just continues to get more and more interesting. Reggie Porter, a quarterback, a cornerback, excuse me, out of Utah. Justin Gibbons, a corner out of Aurora.

And Deshaun Bond's an offensive lineman out of Cincinnati. He's another guy that I'm going to want to keep my eye on, especially Chris Muller from Rutgers. He's a guy that's got, he's gotten a little bit of pub as well. And there's another guy who kind of come from a bigger school that, you know, may have been talked about a little bit, just not as highly as some of the other, the more highly sought after guys is Garrett Sickles from Penn State, another defensive end. So the Colts have got some good talent in here in their undrafted free agency class. The thing that we need to see is how much talent is there and is there a spot for some of these guys? So going forward, guys, those are some names that you may want to look up, like if they got

some YouTube, maybe draftbreakdown.com or just find some other ways. I'll be looking for them as well. I actually got another question as we've been on the air here and somebody's asking me if I'm going to do some film breakdown of some of these guys. And I will. If you guys have seen any of my articles or anything that I've done in the past, sometimes I'll just do a YouTube video and put a mashup of all the video clips that I can find, at least their quality ones. And I'll either just put them on Twitter or something, or I'll put them in an article and kind of describe what I'm seeing as well. But I'll do those as we get further into the process and stuff, whether it's through an

article or just putting it up on Twitter. But I'm very interested to kind of dive into these guys and see what we're going to find. So make sure you guys are staying tuned to all that. But before we get out of here for the rest of the day, I've got a quick interview that I think you guys will be interested in here to get us kind of wet your lips on future interviews that I'm trying to line up and stuff. A really good ball player who came into the Colts for a pre-draft visit. Really interesting guy out of Jackson State. Really versatile guy. Tons of tackles. I mean, 351 total tackles in his college career, 77 tackles for loss, 18 and a half sacks. He went undrafted, and this guy's got some qualities it's it was kind of surprising to me

that he did go undrafted and I kind of was hoping that the Colts would end up swinging through and grabbing him as an undrafted free agent but he did end up going to the Arizona Cardinals it is Javancy Jones so let's welcome in Javancy Jones. Javancy thank you for joining us man on such short notice really appreciate it. Thank you for having me in the time. So I'm really interested in the entire process here of going through the pre-draft process with different teams, taking interviews, taking meetings and stuff like that with these guys. How does that process interest you as far as getting all this information

from different teams as well as trying to sell yourself to convince these teams to draft you uh you know it's a great project you know it's a blessing just being able to go through the process because a lot of people there they didn't get a chance to go through it you know uh it was also stressful at the same time so it was uh it was bittersweet you know i had fun going through it I'm glad I was able to go through it, but all the time, waiting up until the draft, it's a stressful process. I'll bet. There were several teams that you had meetings with.

You had a team meeting with the Colts Brass. How did that interest you as far as that? What were the guys that you met with and how did they come off to you? Were you interested in the Colts as well before you made your final decision? Oh, yes, sir. You know, that's a great system, a great program to go to.

And, you know, they talk good about me. They told me different places they could use me at. So, you know, I hate things that go the way I thought it would. And it was interesting, too, because, you know, watching some of your film over the past several weeks, they really used you quite a bit in different ways. They used you at a three-tech. They would also use you outside, you know, standing up, put your hand in the dirt, a little bit of everything, as well as on special teams.

Was there a specific spot that you felt that you were most prepared to play at the next level? Not really, you know. When they have my position up there, they said, you're managing the line back at the end. They should have just put half of me. I think I'd play anywhere on the field, no matter what side of the ball it is. So how many teams did you actually take interviews with as far as meetings

and stuff like that pre-draft? Pre-draft, business, workouts, I had like about 14 to 15 teams. Really? So what all went into your process as far as deciding on who's the right team for you? Basically, who showed the most interest throughout the whole process. Who actually just had the best situation for me to thrive and make the roster. Do you feel like that, obviously, with Bruce Arians and the guys in Arizona, that you're going to have the best opportunity at least to compete

for a starting position in the near process? Yes, sir. Like I tell anybody, I'm just trying to get my foot in the door with this first team linebacker at the end. Anywhere they need me to play in, the different schemes that they run over to Arizona, it's on their feet. We bleak.

Just sit up for the linebackers to make play. There's a lot of the buzz that was surrounding you was not only that you didn't, you know, you don't take plays off, but you're also a great leader both in the locker room and on the field. You can see that with your tape, moving guys over to get them in the right spot for the right call and so on and so forth. What goes into that as far as your mindset on the field to make sure that everybody is doing what they need to do to make your team successful? Basically watching a lot of film.

Watching a lot of film, trying to learn exactly what the offense is doing. And on the field, my teammates, you know, it's all about respect. They really don't have to listen to people that tell them to do certain things, but just trying to help other people make plays, and trying to do anything to help the team. That's basically all it comes down to.

Do you think that your versatility as far as that you could play in several positions helped maybe get yourself as much recognition from as many teams as you did in the pre-draft process? Yes, sir. You know, I played in four different schemes when I was at Jackson.

I played a 4-2-5, a 3-4, a 4-3, and we played a 3-3-5 our senior year. So just to be able to be versatile and show that I could adapt and still learn to play on the time frame that I did, you know, and just show the lack. What do you feel like your biggest strengths are? My biggest strength, you know, my effort. They tell me all the time, you teach anybody to skill, but you're going to only teach so much effort.

So, my effort, my IQ of the game, you know, I know before the play, even to get started, I know exactly where the play is going to be run and having the time. And just my aggression, you know, I'm aggressive. And, you know, my self-esteem, I've been the zip on the bench, play on the field all the time. Yeah, and everybody needs that, especially every defense needs that. They need a guy not only a leader,

but they need the guy who believes in himself as well as his teammates. That always is something the NFL teams are looking for, especially now you can call it Moxie or whatever you want to call it, but teams need that, and they don't want a guy who's submissive or dismissive, I guess you should say, as far as about his role within the defense. Now, when you went into the pre-draft process and you were getting yourself set for the weekend, did you believe that you were going to be drafted?

At first I didn't. You know, coming from a small school, you know, even though the things I did, you know, they always come and tell me that the competition I went against wasn't up to par or that type of thing. But the light really came on, you came on after the Scranton game. I think I did pretty good in the Scranton game, and I thought I had an opportunity. Absolutely.

There was a lot of buzz surrounding you as soon as you ended that. And not just for guys like myself. There are guys that try to analyze players that are coming up and getting ready for the draft. But it really is something that we need because we don't get, there's not a lot of tape on you guys and stuff like that for us to check you out. So that kind of stuff, like the Shrine games, the All-Star games, a lot of that stuff leading into the draft are a lot of things that help us out.

Is there anything that anybody that helped you kind of along the way once you began to get a little buzz that kind of helped uh amplify your name a little bit amongst scouts and teams not really but uh the man of both guys who is it that you model your game after is there anybody in specific that you watch on on a weekend week out basis in the nfl now or in the past that you kind of modeled your game after in order to refine your skill set at your position? Well, actually, you know, the passion for the game, I always got to model my game behind Ray Lewis, you know. He's always honing for success, and I always want to get the teammates to know that.

But my skill set itself, I asked for X Khalil back. You know, he was blessed to be all forward to this position, being a linebacker, and I was blessed to be all coverage in the end in linebacker edition. I think we got a couple similarities. Another guy from Buffalo, smaller school. It's really interesting. I was trying to get a hold of you, hoping that you hadn't made your decision quite yet because I was going to do whatever I could to see if you might reconsider and swing

yourself into Indianapolis for the upcoming season. Be interested in checking you out during camp and everything like that. But congratulations to you, Javancy, on going to Arizona. You're with a great guy there and Bruce Arian's a great system, great GM, Steve Keim and stuff. Your hard work is getting noticed. The best of luck there in Arizona and hope that you can be successful there as well. Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you guys again for the fantastic viewership, listenership. And, you know, we're trying to get some good interviews on here over the next coming days.

I'm very hopeful to get one or two of these guys to reach back out and get this done. I'm really excited for a couple of them, so I'm hoping a couple of them are going to come to fruition, but I'm not going to give you guys the names of them quite yet. Just know that I'm trying to get some good stuff here for you. Thank you guys. Also, I wanted to tell you guys that I appreciate the iTunes ratings and reviews. Those things are steadily climbing. We have made Locked on Colts by far the most well-received podcast dealing with the Indianapolis Colts has gotten the largest amount of ratings and reviews of any that I could see. So thank you guys for that. I appreciate

that. That's awesome. And you know, the listenership is far and above any other Indianapolis Colts based podcast. So, uh, if you guys can continue that, continue, if you haven't gone and given me a rating and review, please do that. That's going to do nothing but help this podcast grow. And, uh, I can't thank you guys enough for it. I really appreciate the comments that are in the reviews. Thank you guys so much. And please continue to do that. If you haven't done that already, please do that. And I'm going to, like I said, do everything I can to make this podcast the best thing for you guys so that you guys have something to listen to each and every day throughout the season. But especially with this time of season to where there's really not a lot

going on, I'm going to start digging, try to find some stuff for us to really get into, and we're going to know this team inside and out by the time the season starts. So thank you guys all for listening, and I'll check you out tomorrow right here on Locked on Colts. You are Locked on Colts, your daily podcast on the Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.