Former Ole Miss DB and New Jacksonville Jaguar Deantre Prince Talks at his Post-Draft Press Conference
JACKSONVILLE – (Release) Deantre Prince is headed to the Sunshine State, where he’ll be united with former Rebel tight end and Jacksonville Jaguars Pro Bowler Evan Engram as he begins his NFL journey.
Prince hopped on a call with the Jacksonville media after his fifth-round selection. Read on to see what the Charleston, Mississippi, native had to say about joining the Jags and what social media had to say about the pick.
Deantre Prince Post-Draft Press Conference
On his journey to the NFL…
“I was immature my freshman year. Off the field type of things. Not knowing how to properly be a man and communicate the way I needed to to get things off of my chest, going through problems and things like that. Kind of just reset, took myself two steps back so I could get two steps forward and finish the journey out the right way. All about coming back was just me wanting to finish where I started and just show the youth that you don’t have to go to Georgia or anywhere out of state. If you’re from Mississippi, you can make it from Mississippi as well.”
On press man coverage…
“I’m ready. I don’t care who is across from me. Whoever it is. He can be the best receiver, Hall of Famer or whatever. I’m ready to compete.”
On the pick…
“The standard for myself, it was nothing they told me or anything. I just felt like I was probably, if anything, probably fourth or something like that. That’s just my standard for myself. I’m glad that I’m this pick right here because it makes me hungry. It makes me want to gain respect. It makes me want to come to the building and come straight about my business.”
On the Jags…
“I learned that it’s a great community. Great environment. Loving environment. Beautiful environment. I’m from Mississippi, all is see is crop fields and crop dusters and things like that. Seeing the palm trees things like that, that calms a man down that comes from Mississippi. I feel like I fit in the scheme. They told me they basically like to play man, and I’m a man corner. I think there are a lot of things I can do better to better my game. Always looking to improve, but at the end of the day, I feel like I’m a man corner to the fullest for sure.”
On the press man coverage…
“It just means man-on-man. You’ve got to win your matchups, and you’ve got to compete every play. I’m looking forward to competing every play. I don’t care who is across from me, who I’ve got to hold. I’m ready to compete, do anything I have to do to make sure it’s an incompletion or a pick or a fumble, make sure the offense gets the ball back.”
On receiver he had the most difficult matchup with…
“We’ve got him—Brian Thomas Jr. He was a very good receiver when we played against them. He kind of got me on a slot fade for a touchdown. He’s very big, very physical, very fast as well. I think people don’t know how fast he actually is. He’s still my top receiver, and now he’s on my team.”
On the Jaguars drafting SEC guys…
“The SEC is the best. That’s what I was learning coming out of high school. I wanted to play with the best of the best. The SEC is the place to go to play with the best of the best and competing against the best of the best. We have a very high competitive level, very high confidence as well. Everybody gets messed up at corner, have a bad play, but it’s always about what you do after that.”
Social Media Highlights
The Fresh Prince of #DUUUVAL
We have selected Ole Miss CB Deantre Prince with the 153rd overall pick!@Dream_Finders | @prince_deantre pic.twitter.com/xoXq1cniyC
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) April 27, 2024
Make a play!@Dream_Finders | #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/WgS4sAzqwg
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) April 27, 2024
New #Jaguars DB Deantre Prince says he was “frustrated” being on the Board as long as he was.
Excited to “earn the respect” of league, getting picked in the fifth round “makes him hungry” after anticipating going in the fourth-round.
— Mia O’Brien (@MiaOBrienTV) April 27, 2024
Deantre Prince is an awesome fit for the #Jaguars and an great value here in the 5th.
He’s physical and smooth as an outside cornerback, and has outstanding perimeter/downfield speed (4.38 forty at the Combine).
He + Jarrian Jones are great DB additions 👀#ShrineBowlWhosNext https://t.co/n0bHwo9CeV pic.twitter.com/2e04SRY9dQ
— Eric Galko (@EricGalko) April 27, 2024
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
