Tyrique Stevenson blog: I felt numb after the FSU loss but trust coach Cristobal and feel like he’s doing a great job with the team

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CB Tyrique Stevenson will have a weekly blog all season at CaneSport.com. In this edition, Stevenson talks about where the team heads from here coming off the loss to FSU last weekend, his thoughts on turning pro or returning, team leadership and more:

FLORIDA STATE GAME LEFT ME FEELING NUMB

What went wrong against Florida State? I’m still puzzled by it too.

We came out with great energy, practiced with great energy. We all had a good connection going on. Just sometimes you can have everything going right and have it not all put together and just have it blow up in your face like what happened. I’ve been thinking about that too because all week we had the coaches push the tradition of the game. I felt like even without the coaches we understood what this game meant and how this game should be played out. We felt we’d put up a better fight than what actually happened. Can’t tell you what happened, it just blew up in our face. We took all week, put in extra work, I put in extra work, had the DBs come put in extra work. I felt everybody was going into this game with their best foot forward. Sometimes in life it just doesn’t go down like that.

As DBs we watched the film with coach Addae, and coach Steele pitches in to give his two cents about how he feels about certain situations we were in. Florida State didn’t surprise us, because we go over film a lot – but we went out there and shot ourselves in the foot. That’s pretty much what it was. We can have a great practice, do everything right in practice, just sometimes we get in the game, get in front of fans and everything is discombobulated. We have to do a better job of mentally being out there in the game, focus on doing our job and block out all the noise and distractions. Like coach Cristobal says, anything that’s going to distract you from being the best player, from doing your job, then you don’t need to be around it.

For me, after the game I was numb. Growing up and seeing this game, finally being a part of it, just ended my career 0-2 against them. I was just numb. And to end it like that was a gut punch. Just numb, didn’t accept it till Wednesday that I have to maybe end my college career like that. I ended up going home, watched the highlights, put on my iPad, watched film, just dissected it. Just went to sleep, thought when I wake up tomorrow I’ll figure out what’s wrong with me, how to deal with what’s going on right now. So went home, tried to accept it, couldn’t accept it. Dissected what went wrong, seeing everything that went wrong, that we continually shoot ourselves in the foot. That’s all I did Saturday  night.

So after the game for all of us it was a mix of all emotions. All of us felt all the same things – you’re angry at the part you got blown out on national TV. It was a horrible, horrible, horrible thing that happened for us on our end. And then I felt sad because we didn’t uphold the standard of the game.

For coaches they had all those emotions but also were encouraging us because we have to play Georgia Tech this week. Have to be encouraging about that, can’t let this loss beat us twice. It already happened, is in the record books forever, but we still have a game.

And the social media aspect, it definitely got worse after the game. People felt they should voice their opinion no matter what it is. But you can’t take it a certain way. You have to remember at the end of the day you’re out there with your helmet on in front of thousands of people and you’re on television and they’re home watching. Despite if they know what they are talking about or not, you have to remember that you’re out there. But at the same time it has gotten worse. Some of them are more direct than others, some more harsh than others. You can’t let it get to you. People are always going to say what they want to say, people are always going to feel like they’re right. I think they shouldn’t put it out there on the Internet for some people to read it. But they did what they did and in their mind they felt right. So you just have to take it and go on with it.

WE TRY TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER BUT THERE HAVE BEEN TOUGH MOMENTS LIKE ALL TEAMS HAVE

I still to this day feel we’ve stayed together. We just have our little moments, and I feel every team has that little moment where it just doesn’t feel like a team sometimes. I felt like we had that more times than not this year where we go out there and some people play individual, some people aren’t playing team ball, the offense isn’t clicking or defense isn’t clicking. I just feel we haven’t stepped apart, but there were moments it wasn’t a brotherhood, wasn’t a family. It was more like this side beefing with this side, stuff like that. But practice this week – good energy despite what happened Saturday. We just have to work together and work together on being more in tune with each other, more of a family vibe.

I know on defense we have leaders, and it’s a lot of guys. I consider myself and Mesidor, Agude, even LT – the whole D line room is leaders. All the linebackers are leaders. You have me, DJ, Kam, James – it feels like a bunch of leaders on this team. Everybody has leadership qualities. Just you have to be understanding of one another, that’s what it is. You can say somebody can be a leader, but if somebody else doesn’t respect them then how can you be a leader? As a leader you don’t have to be liked, but you have to be well respected. I just feel all the guys on defense are leaders. We all understand where we are coming from. The whole defense is putting one hand in the middle to be the best defense.

And we’ve had countless player-led meetings to try and figure out where each other’s head is at, how we can band together as a brotherhood.

Collectively as a team, we all have to be on the same page, and you can just see sometimes on gameday where we’re not on the same page, you know? As a defense you see sometimes the D line is not on the same page with the linebackers and gaps open. Or you see sometimes the back end we’re not on the same page and a bust happens. Just feels like everyone has to be more mentally locked in to what they are doing and be more mentally locked into the people around them so we can all be on the same page and try to fix whatever is wrong right now.

So now we are trying to win a game at a time. As for a bowl game? I don’t say it’s important to get to a bowl game, but at the same time it’s another opportunity to play this game. you don’t get too many opportunities. So to have an extra game and to give the guys for next year practices to get ready – that would be a great feeling and a great blessing to end the season with a bowl game.

THE FACTORS IN MY RETURNING OR GOING PRO

I feel like it’ll just be a decision within me. If I feel like I’m ready enough to take it to the next level or if I still need to polish off a few things before I leave. It’ll be a decision based on me and how much I trust in myself, am ready to invest in myself.

I haven’t thought about it too much, just want to close the season out on the right note, my classes on the right note.

REFLECTING BACK … AND LOOKING FORWARD

The season hasn’t worked out the way I thought it would. Heading into the year I had faith in our team, definitely felt this season was going to be a good season despite everything that’s going on and despite this not being the roster that coach Cristobal wanted and stuff like that. I believe, still believe we can close the season out on a good note. I believe in this team, believe in the work that they put in. Just seeing them boys work, I believed we could go into the season, have one hell of a season.

So it didn’t work out this year for us. But it can be a turnaround next year. Just the guys that are coming in, the guys that are staying here. Even if I do end up staying, we just have to come in and remember this season, actually put it in front of our brains so we know what we have to work for.

And if you are coming in, you have to come in and be ready to work because this is a program that has a lot to prove. This season didn’t go how we wanted it to go, so next year I’m pretty sure the team is going to come out swinging in all areas, put their best foot forward and come out throwing punches. So just recruits coming in have to work and every guy that decides to come back and be a part of this team just has to put in more work than they thought they did this year.

MY MESSAGE TO MIAMI RECRUITS

I’ve been through three coaches, around a lot of coaches in my life, and I can just tell a recruit right now that I trust coach Cristobal. I trust that he’s going to put you in the best situation so that you can be the better you. He’s going to put the right people in front of you, going to put you in the right surrounding of people to have you be the best player you can be, also have you become a better man in life. I just trust coach Cristobal with that and I feel like he’s doing a great job with the team now despite him coming in late and everything. To a recruit, I just trust coach Cristobal. In this profession, collegiate athletics, you have to trust your head coach.

WHAT I SEE IN OUR YOUNG QB JACURRI BROWN

Jacurri just adds fire to us. We are all ready to see him play, do his thing. Us as a team, when he’s in the game, we need to rally around him.

Not just the defense but the whole team. Jacurri when he goes out there being Jacurri and showing how good a player he is, that’s exciting. He shows how determined he is to be out there. That ignites the whole team, not just the offense. It trickles down to us – when Jacurri is out there we know he’s going to give his all. He also gives the offense more hope than what they’ve had all season.

And he can throw the ball. His accuracy wasn’t there in the spring, but I feel he’s been working and working and working and this whole season he goes out there with the scouts and throws pretty good balls, you know?

As far as a comparison with how Jacurri plays, maybe Deshaun Watson. I feel he’s Deshaun right now. A big guy who can move, take a few hits, get a first down. He can pull the ball, put a defense on their toes. In a few years you can start comparing him to Lamar Jackson once he gets comfortable, understanding the game and the game slows down for him. But right now definitely see a Deshaun Watson – big quarterback with a huge arm and that has great talent and is able to pull the ball and keep the defense honest. And he’s one of the fastest on the team – him with me, Te’Cory Couch, Malik Curtis, Jaleel Skinner – he can roll – Brashard Smith, Mike Redding and some others.

WE WILL BE READY FOR GEORGIA TECH

We are going to come out juiced up, ready to play, to be the most dominant and physical team. I don’t feel we’ll have our tail tucked between our legs because I feel this team is still locked in and engaged despite everything that’s been going on, despite the horrible season, despite the five losses we already have. I feel this team is still engaged.