SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Panthers safety Jeremy Chinn joined WCNC's Ashley Stroehlein for a one-on-one after practice to discuss returning to Spartanburg for training camp, the expectations for the defense in the upcoming season and how he prepared in the off-season.
Chinn also shared that he attended his first NASCAR race after moving to the Queen City and loved the experience.
Q: "You didn’t get this experience last year as a rookie so now that you've had a few days here in Spartanburg what are your thoughts?"
A: "Yeah, I didn't get this experience, but it's really cool seeing the fans outside by the field and getting to interact with them a little bit, but it's definitely different than last year."
Q: "How are you dealing with this heat?"
A: "The heat is different too. Something to adjust to, but it's part of the game."
Q: "Looking at the defense as a unit, you guys have a lot of hype coming into this season. A lot of people putting a lot of big expectations on you. How do you deal with that and what are some goals you're setting for yourself as a group?"
A: "Really just dealing with that we block out the noise. We know what we want to accomplish. When we're in meetings we talk about it every day and we communicate well with each other and I think we're all on the same page. As far as all the outside noise we kind of keep that on the outside and focus on what we have to do day in and day out."
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Q: "A lot of the veteran players have been telling us these young guys we have, this youth movement that we have - they're inspiring us and they're kind of reenergizing the squad. What are those conversations like with some of those veteran players?"
A: "It's big time. I think that started a little bit last year, you know being able to push some of the older guys and kind of set a standard in a way. The young guys coming in kind of meshing with the old guys, we've got that energy part, the mental part and the wisdom as well so it's a good combination."
Q: "For you personally, obviously last year was your rookie season in the NFL what were some things you did differently to prepare for this season?"
A: "Most of it was taking care of my body, eating differently, finding a massage therapist. and things to take care of my body, different techniques and really learning my body and things that help me prepare each day."
Q: "Aside from the chemistry you're building on the field here what are some things you're doing behind the scenes to develop that bond and that brotherhood?"
A: "We're with each other all day so even in the dorms we leave meetings and go back and eat together. We may play games together all that type of stuff, may play cards, whatever just spending that time building that camaraderie between each other."
Q: "The last time we saw you was actually at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coke 600 so switching gears I have to ask how your first experience at the track was?"
A: "It was awesome. It was crazy. I've always wanted to go to race track and experience it. I grew up in Indianapolis. I've never been to the Indy 500 so coming to a NASCAR race was really cool, seeing a pit stop and all that was something. I learned a whole lot too, there's a lot of teamwork and stuff that's behind that."
Q: "Looking ahead a few weeks in Indy NASCAR is going to be there when you go there for your joint practices with the Colts. You're going to have your first preseason game, obviously, Indy is home for you so looking ahead how excited are you to go there for those joint practices?"
A: "I can't wait. I know already I have a ton of family and friends coming to see me. I'm excited to just be able to play football in front of them."
Contact Ashley Stroehlein at astro@wcnc.com and follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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