Michael Clay

Q. What’s your early impression of LS Rocco Underwood? How’s he been looking? (Reuben Frank)

Michael Clay: Rocco got to work in the spring. With pads, it’s going to be great for him to get some rushes. He’s doing a great job in terms of gelling with the veteran guys, not just the specialists. You’ve got to have good rapport as a long snapper with the other guys. They rely on you as a long snapper to protect as a guard, and he’s got great rapport. [He’s a] big dude that could run. We had punt earlier this camp, and he did a good job against the rushes. Obviously, he’s going to see everything from anything I could draw up from around the league [like] rushes we’ve got, and he’s going to see before we even get into Baltimore. He’s doing a good job and we’re going to just try and keep building on that as we get going.

Q. What have you liked about WR Makai Lemon as the punt returner? (Dave Zangaro)

Michael Clay: You guys have seen– he’s very natural in terms of catching the ball, regardless of being a wide receiver, kickoff returner, punt returner. He’s done a good job actually going against [P] Braden [Mann]. Braden does a really good job of trying to keep you on your toes, especially when it’s a punt emphasis day. It’s more of a, ‘Hey, Braden, what you do is what you do, then the returners have to play off of [that].’

He’s done a really good job of being natural. He’s able to view it off of two really good returners in [WR] Britain Covey and [DB] Cooper DeJean in terms of watching where the ball is going– the nose, end over end. Is it a banana? [Is he] winning with his feet first? He’s done a really good job [the] first couple times being out there as a returner.

Q. Is there anyone in the wide receiver room that has made a great impression so far on special teams? (Krystle Rich)

Michael Clay: Outside of just the wide receiver group, I think it’s everybody. You get so many different faces from the turnover from last year to this year. The wide receivers have done a really good job of embracing their role on offense and embracing their role on special teams. Being in full pads over the next few practices, I think, is going to be great, which may help out some guys who are more physical. Everybody looks good in shorts and a shirt, but when you put the pads on, I think some guys will be able to really use their physicality. It’s for the entire group — you’ll see [WR Dontayvion Wicks] Tay when he’s on offense, be able to block. Then it comes to [WR] Darius Cooper and [WR] Johnny Wilson, they’re able to use some good physicality from a wide receiver standpoint.

Q. What do you like about RB Will Shipley as the personal protector and also on kick return? (John McMullen)

Michael Clay: Very similar [to] how I always talk about — I could talk about [K] Jake [Elliott] and Braden [Mann] for days. I could talk about Will for days in terms of– it’s really unique. You go [into] your first game in the NFL and you’re the starting personal protector. One, as a coach, you have to have full faith that he gets all the calls right. He’s done an absolutely great job. You get him in coverage as well to make some plays. As a kickoff returner, he understands, he’s sure handed, he shows some bursts and he’s a physical runner — which this new kickoff return over the last couple years has kind of showed. It’s more inside-outside zone than the old school space, trap block, bounce returns. His reliability in terms of being a personal protector, getting the calls right and taking command then being from a kickoff return standpoint, controlling angles, [and] tracks to help out the blockers.

Q. RB Dameon Pierce has some history as a kick returner. What do you think about him? (Brooks Kubena)

Michael Clay: I loved his tape when he came out of Florida, not just as a returner, but also as a core guy. We’re going to try and see how much he can do from a core aspect. Obviously, in Houston, I think it was 2023, he had a great year as a returner. Having that, and that added competition, that added knowledge, really when we do get into a group setting and we’re able to communicate and talk about, ‘Hey, this is what the returner sees,’ you get Will’s voice, you get Damien’s voice, you get [RB] Tank [Bigsby]’s voice, you get Covey’s voice in terms of, ‘Hey, this is what we see, [and] how we could influence some blocks in right there.’

Q. How did you get the sense that K Jake Elliot fell out of love with the game? (Olivia Reiner)

Michael Clay: I wouldn’t necessarily say he fell out of love. In terms of being in the NFL, you have to love the game to perform at a high level. For him, it was just resetting and you never want to see guys — I look a lot at body language. You never want to see them kind of get out of sorts in terms of their body language. So, for me and him to have our own personal talks, I think he’s done a really good job since then in terms of his body language, being better and not necessarily getting down on himself on things he can’t control. Control what you can control. If you’re able to be on top of that, there’s going to be things in life you can’t control. You’re not going to be able to control mother nature. You’re not going to be able to control the distance we put you out there.

What we do expect is [for you] to perform at your greatest ability when we do call your number. He’s done that for 10 years at a high level. It’s more of him understanding [that] you don’t survive in the NFL for nine plus years as a kicker by being down on yourself or doing things of that nature. It’s like you have to go in there thinking, ‘All right, I’m that guy.’ No different than [QB] Jalen [Hurts], no different than [RB] Saquon [Barkley]. When they touch that field, they’re probably thinking, ‘I’m the best player at my position. I’m the best player on this field.’ [It’s] no different when it comes to a field goal. He has to have that ability to hold down my language right here [and] be that guy when he goes out there.

Q. How’s LS Rocco Underwood done with long snapping? (Jeff McLane)

Michael Clay: He’s done a great job. We hit it earlier. He’s been able to gel with the guys, gel with the offensive lineman and field goal pro. His snaps are great in terms of not making Braden work so hard, but there’s always things to improve on. We’re going to improve as much as we possibly can from today. On our separate field, he’ll get a good workout with [us], and we’ll have a couple punt days [over] the next couple of days in there where he’s getting some real rushes against some real guys, where I’ll switch up the depth chart. It won’t be him going against a rookie. It may be him going against an [OLB] A.J. Epenesa or a [TE] Cameron [Latu] to see what a real NFL rusher is on punt pro.

Q. DB Cooper DeJean playing safety and base, when he played that corner last — Is this a situation where the snaps are there for him on defense that he wouldn’t be as involved on returning or how do you kind of—(Brooks Kubena)

Michael Clay: He didn’t return last year; he only returned his rookie year. We always [have] got to get him ready. I get everybody ready from roster number one to roster number 90 because you just never know what’s going to happen in a game situation. The bottom may fall out in the middle of the game, and we’ve got to rely on some guys that have a heavy responsibility on offense [or] defense to be able to get us out of a tough jam. My job as a special team coordinator is not just to favor just the specialists or the core four players. It’s my job to get everybody from one to 90 down and ready to get out there when their numbers are called. You could go back to last year, probably in this same scenario. Nobody really thought [TE] Cam Latu would play such a significant role for us on special teams.

But I have to get them ready — give them the opportunities the same as when you’re a defense or offensive starter. I have to make sure you’re ready, so I don’t put you in a bad scenario where you haven’t done it in two months, then I throw you out there. I want to make sure you’re still primed up for those situations.

Q. When you all bring in a veteran, do you do a deep dive on what those guys have done in the NFL before or do you just want to see what they should do once they get here? (Dave Zangaro)

Michael Clay: No. Are you just talking about rookies or veterans?

Q. When the team brings the veterans, do you look back at what they’ve done? (Dave Zangaro)

Michael Clay: Obviously, I always look back to if you had plays in the NFL [and] what you did in those senses. [S] J.T. Gray’s done a great job. [OLB] A.J. Epenesa, when he was in Buffalo, I looked back on what he did. Last year in Buffalo, he played the speed five, threw a guy out the way, and made a tackle at the 22. I’m always looking for what these guys do best and how do I highlight that. Then, how can I help them grow or improve? Maybe I do enough to help them out that they improve their longevity in the NFL two to three years. More power to them because now their family [doesn’t have] to worry about that. I always take pride in making sure every roster guy is expanding the role or learning something new they may have not learned in a different club.

Q. How have you seen an all pro like S J.T. Gray help some of the younger players develop? (Andrew DiCecco)

Michael Clay: Outside the players, he helps me develop. I ask him, ‘Hey, what were some drills you did in your career?’ Talking with [Special Teams Assistant] Tyler Brown, ‘What do we want to work on right there?’ It also helps the younger guys, [CB] Mac McWilliams out there, [WR] Darius Cooper from the gunner standpoint — releases, what he sees, and really his mindset and tenacity to go out there and make some plays. It’s a great job, and he’s only going to help elevate [CB] Kelee [Ringo] as well in terms of being one of the premier gunners in the NFL.

Q. [On what K Jake Elliott needs to show during training camp in terms of consistency.] (Krystle Rich)

Michael Clay: For me personally, I just want him to be who he is each and every day and be consistent. Everything kind of gets highlighted to the one field goal session we’ve had. He’s kicking a whole bunch of field goals on our other field, and we’re working on different scenarios on the other field. For me to see him consistently hitting the racks we called in our own session right there, then to come out to the team session and be able to deliver — again, just the consistency of him being himself and out there. We’re charting everything in terms of his field goals.