Tyrique Stevenson blog: Little things are catching up with us but I can see things heading in the right direction

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CB Tyrique Stevenson will have a weekly blog all season at CaneSport.com. In this edition, Stevenson talks about the North Carolina game and where the team goes from here.

NOT ONE THING HAS GONE WRONG, THERE ARE DIFFERENT REASONS WE’VE LOST 3

We keep making more mistakes than the next team and it always comes back to bite us.

We have lost three in a row but feel every game is different, because the A&M game it was different things than the Middle Tennessee game. And then just coming back to North Carolina, it was all different aspects. But it’s something we feel we can always clean up.

And we’re grateful that we are able to see it, fix it each week despite the outcome that we’re coming out with, which is a loss. Nobody wants that. And everybody in this building wants to win. Each week is a different thing that we kind of beat ourselves. That’s what it is. We have to play with a lot more discipline, relieve ourselves of the mistakes we make.

IMPORTANT FOR PLAYERS TO KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THE OUTSIDE NOISE

Our coaches tell us to stay off social media, but just the world and generation we grew up in, social media is pretty much what we do all day.

Coaches tell us you’re not going to outrun it, you’re on your phones and stuff like that, just try your best not to pay attention to it.

Mario Cristobal’s motto is stay off it, stay away from it, don’t listen to it. Don’t read it. If you read it, don’t let that negative energy from someone else bring you down. Don’t let somebody else’s opinion dictate how you feel, how you move throughout your day. His biggest message is just don’t read it, try your best to stay away from it even though you can’t. Don’t let any outside noise in, and you have to stick together and keep pushing forward.

Each loss, even with some wins, I have to block people, you know? A lot of people do come with harsh opinions, come with harsh statements. Like somebody actually told me to die, you know? And that’s how they feel. I’m still here apparently. But just stuff like that you block it out because at some point that’s how somebody is feeling in 10 seconds and that’s how they felt. And that’s not how I feel about myself and I know I have loving people around me and stuff like that who cares about me.

I jJust always try my best – you read it, it is what it is – but always try my best to not let it influence me any type of way because somebody else’s opinion … not to sound arrogant … really doesn’t matter to me. Because at the end of the day we’re on that field, we’re practicing Monday through Friday for a game, for a 60-minute game. Everything doesn’t always go how it seems and how they want it to. No disrespect to the fans, we love the fans, but it’s always easy for a fan to sit at home and call everything out or wish something would happen. And it’s different being in a game, actually being in that present.

I had to block about 12 people after the A&M game, Middle Tennessee had to block 15, 20 people. And after this game I actually didn’t count. I just ended up deleting instead of blocking. I didn’t want to give people the time of day, just delete it and go on about my day. Fans say some of the harshest things ever, and they don’t understand how that can affect an upcoming growing man who may have emotions off the field, dealing with those emotions off the field. To add problems on top of it…….some people it can ruin their day. Others use it as motivation. I kind of use it as motivation, but for some other people, fans can dictate a lot about that individual.

THE LITTLE THINGS WE’RE NOT DOING RIGHT ARE SHOWING UP

We’re just not doing anything how you do everything. It’s kind of showing up with just certain things like being late to something or missing something, just not being where you’re supposed to be at the right time. That always shows up because it’s on the field. You have a gap, jump out of your gap, a big run happens. DB no technique at the line, give up a big play. A receiver doesn’t release right or do a certain thing, you put other people in danger.

The smaller details outside of the facility, handling your business is showing up on time because it’s mistakes if you don’t. If you’re constantly making mistakes outside of football, it has no way but to transfer over. Maybe at a critical point you’re trying to do right and happen to make a mistake, well maybe that mistake came from you on Tuesday when you didn’t go to an appointment on time, second-guessed yourself and happened to be late or missed something. That’s all it comes from.

With this team, everybody is trying to do it right on gameday, just sometimes with this football thing some things never go your way. That comes with life anyway. Everyone is trying their best in practice. We have some team periods where people are lackadaisical, and that might be where it can show up in a game. But I feel all in all, including myself, we are trying to get better and get better each play and add 1 percent into the bank.

And it’s not a case of the same issues coming up over and over, some of it has been cured. But we still have some problems, including myself. Sometimes my eyes are undisciplined, sometimes I get lackadaisical in my technique. So just certain stuff, the small details keep popping up. Coaches are doing a great job. They are the same coaches from Day 1, want you to get better and succeed in life. They come in this building and give us their all each day and we are reciprocating that back to them.

IT’S A PROCESS, AND I SEE IT HEADING THE RIGHT WAY UNDER COACH CRISTOBAL

How long will it take to get to where it was at Georgia when I transferred from there? I don’t know how long the gap will take to fill. It really depends on the players, depends on us.

I just see the direction going up. For each game, we’re not getting blown out. It’s a close game which means we have to clean up the small details, clean up the small mistakes and stop shooting ourselves in the foot. All that comes from us working on our discipline. And I feel this team is going in the right direction. No one is hanging their head. Everybody wants to win, everybody wants to pitch in and make sure we’re a winning team. And all we are noticing with this L we had, and the coaches even put it in front of us that we’re not losing games because we’re getting outmuscled. We’re not losing games because we’re getting out-physicaled. We’re not losing games because we’re sorry. We’re losing games because sometimes we lack discipline, sometimes we don’t go to the next play and sometimes we shoot ourselves in the foot.

I don’t know how long the process is going to take, but I can just tell you right now that it’s heading in the right way and coach Cristobal in the years coming is going to add players that will add to that mindset and the standard of this organization.

And right now there’s nobody hanging their head on this team. I’m pretty proud of these guys for that. Not many teams can lose three games in a row and still come in the building and just be able to smile and pick people’s heads up who are sad about this. I’m very proud of these guys for that. There’s no downward spiral. We are the only people who can pave the road out for us. There’s hole in the road, and all we have to do is just cover those holes up so you can ride smoothly. We’ve had good practices this week. Everybody was happy putting in their 1 percent, nobody was dragging around, nobody pointing fingers. Everybody knows that we all want to win and they want to put in that 1 percent to help each other win.

I CRIED WHEN I GOT BANGED UP SATURDAY AND WASN’T ABLE TO GO BACK IN THE GAME

The last two games I missed two quarters each due to injury, and it’s definitely frustrating. I actually cried when they took my helmet from this game. I actually cried because these last few weeks, even the beginning of the season, I go in for treatment early every morning. Meetings start at 7:30, I try to get in at 6:10 and just warm my body up, prepare myself so I can have a great practice and give my teammates all I’ve got, the 1 percent they need. And just having these last two games not bending my way is really frustrating and hurtful to me because I know what I’m going to accomplish this season and these younger guys and some of the guys who are seniors look up to me and I look up to some of them. Just  me not being out there and being hurt all the time is just really frustrating. I’m doing all I can, going into treatment before practice and before  meetings at 6 just to get my body in a healthier way so I can go out there and be who I am and give my teammates all of me. And yes, I’m planning on playing this weekend. We’re getting a plan together to see how far I am in this process and if everything is feeling right and they feel everything is right then I’ll be able to get into this game.

WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT FIRST LONG TD PASS

That early long TD was just a lack of communication and the simple things I was talking about – lack of discipline, lack of eyes, the lack of doing your job. And that’s certain things that always shoot ourselves in the foot. They didn’t do anything special. We were in Cover 2, it happens in football sometimes your eyes get bad and plays like that happen. There wasn’t anything special they did, they just ran a normal route and I feel I could have done better on my end to help the safety out, jam the guy, save a little bit more time and maybe the safety could have made up on it. The blame is not completely on him, it’s a team sport and I take 50 percent of the blame for me being an older guy. I have to make sure the safety gets the play, understands. There are mistakes that can happen like that.

I’M FIRST IN MY FAMILY SET TO GRADUATE

I just want to have a healthy season, give my teammates all I’ve got and have an opportunity to be drafted. And I haven’t decided yet if I will go pro or come back, I’ve really just been thinking about school. I just got some news that I’m on track to graduate soon as a sociology major. So I’m really focusing on that. I’d be the first in my family to graduate college. You know, football is not always going to be here just with injuries and stuff like that. The fact they told me I’m on track to graduate is good, and I’ve been focusing on that and getting back healthy right now.

Football has blessed me with so many opportunities, and I’ve met so many people – once I get my degree and start a master’s program, I’ll be able to fill in the blanks sooner or later in life.