NFL Draft Diamonds Prospect Interview: B’Jon Couther, CB, Western New Mexico University

NFL Draft Diamonds has interviewed some of the best small schoolers to make it to the NFL.  Last year our team interviewed over 750 players from NAIA to the FBS. This year we went to NFL teams scouts for every question on this interview.  Ten NFL scouts who are avid readers of Draft Diamonds put this interview together for our reader’s pleasure. We hope you enjoy this interview, with another potential NFL draft prospect.

• Name: B’Jon Couther

• Height: 6’2

• Weight: 187

• Position: CB

• College: Western New Mexico University

• Twitter: N/A

Tell us about your hometown, and what you love most about it?

• My hometown is Oakland, CA. It’s a hard place to grow up but it has its positives and negatives just like any other place. With Oakland being a dog eat dog place, it brings out the best in someone and forces them to have drive and tremendous focus. It’s a beautiful struggle.

List these three in order of importance and why: Film Study, Strength and Conditioning and Practice?

• Practice has to definitely come first. Practicing hard makes the games that much easier from conditioning to paying attention to small details to improve technical flaws in technique. I find it most important because that’s where playing time is established in order to get on the field. Next has to be film study. Film study makes the game slow down. If you can outsmart your opponent and know them better than they know themselves; you can play that much more faster which as a corner means being able to know every route from formation recognition and where their offensive coordinator wants to go with the ball in certain circumstances. Once you know tendencies, your possibilities on defense are endless. Strength and conditioning have to be last. You can be strong and conditioned but if you don’t know the game in and out, what use is it to be strong and conditioned? However, I do feel that they are all key and work for a hand in hand when it comes to taking one’s game to the next level.

What do you worry about, and why?

• I constantly worry about am I giving God enough of my time. I feel that with everything that I have going on whether it’s school, football, or just everyday life; am I giving enough thanks and time to the one who’s making it all possible.

Give me an example of when you failed at something. How did you react and how did you overcome failure?

• I remember my first college test. I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect. I went in not knowing what to expect other than the fact that I studied and knew what I thought I should’ve known. Boy was I wrong. I failed tremendously. The way I overcame it was studying for each and every test and checking with my teacher making sure that I was studying the correct curriculum which lead to me getting an A+ the next time.

What do your teammates say is your best quality?

• My teammates say my ability to lead by example is my strongest quality and what I take pride in most. After practice, my teammates can always count on me putting in countless hours of hard work to improve on the minute details whether it’s a false step in press man, to dropping to a certain depth to be able to view the entire field in zone coverage.  

Who is the best player you have ever played against in college?

• It’s hard to just go with one specific guy so I have to give you a few. The best players I’ve played against in college I’d have to say would have to be my brother Ramiah Marshall (WR) who’s a 2x all-american, and Dekyri Mims (DB).    

What would your career be if you couldn’t play football?

• If football wasn’t my career, it would have to definitely have to be something in the criminal justice field related to forensics. Using science to solve crimes is like a huge puzzle and it’s on you to first, find all the pieces to the puzzle in order to solve a crime.

Room, desk, and car – which do you clean first?

• My room. The first thing I do when I wake up is pray and thank God for waking me up and giving me a good night’s sleep. Directly after, I clean my room before I even think about starting my day. I feel that starting off the day with a prayer and a clean room starts my day off on the right foot which leads to a trickling effect.  

If there was a disaster and you could either save three strangers or one family member, which would you choose and why?

• That’s a hard question to answer. I was always taught family first but it feels selfish of me to save one person rather than three. If I possibly could in a perfect world; I’d save all four.

If you could be any television or movie character, who would you be and why?

• If I could be a movie character, I’d be Luke Cage because he’s indestructible and invincible.  

Tell me about your biggest adversity in life and how you’ve dealt with or overcome it?

• My biggest adversity in life was not going division one in football due to grades. From then on, I made a promise to myself that grades would never be the reason I’d be hindered from anything. I attacked the books the same way I do the field and all throughout college I maintained a 3.4 GPA.  

What is your most embarrassing moment?

• My most embarrassing moment would have to be when I was in middle school and I flipped into a pool and hit the front of my face on the cement. I knocked out two of my teeth and blood was everywhere.

What was the most memorable play of your collegiate career?

• The most memorable moment of my collegiate career would have to be intercepting Midwestern’s  quarterback Layton Rabb who threw for over 3,000 yards in each of his last two seasons. The receiver I was guarding had over 1,000 yards receiving going into the last quarter of the season and they were clearly a playoff team.

What song best describes your work ethic?

• The song that best describes my work ethic is Hardaway by Derez Deshon. Through everything I’ve been through, my path was in no form was easy which he portrays in saying “I took the harder way”.  

What is the most important trait you can have (Physical or Non-Physical) to help you succeed at the next level?

• The most important trait that I can have to help me succeed at cornerback at the next level would be a hard work ethic. At the next level I understand that nothing is going to be given to me and it’s going to be a constant grind but there’s nothing that hard work and determination to continue to give my all can’t conquer.

If you could bring one person back from the dead for one day, who would it be and why?

• Hands down it would be my grandma Annie Francis. She was my rock. She was the glue in the family and would sacrifice everything to make sure each and everyone in my family had a smile on their face and taken care of. She taught the family what true love actually meant and to be able to see her face again, would bring me an everlasting joy.

If you were to open a dance club, what would you name it?

• I would keep it simple and sweet and go with  “Just Dance”

Who is the most overrated player in the NFL?

• Odell Beckham. I feel he has pretty good route running and speed but when faced against top tier DB’s (Xavier Rhodes, Josh Norman, Jalen Ramses), he has trouble. Can’t wait for my shot to line up against him.  

Would you rather be liked or respected, and why?

• I’d rather be respected than liked. When liking someone, emotions can constantly change but if you do something that gains someone respect; you now have their respect for a lifetime.

What player who had his career derailed by off-field issues do you feel for the most and why?

• Sean Taylor. He’s arguably the greatest safety and certainly one of my favorite players of all-time. It’s sad and I feel for him because he had a whole career ahead of him aside from all the great highlights he accomplished so soon. R.I.P. Sean Taylor.  

Do you love to win, or hate to lose?

• I hate to lose more than anything. Hating to lose is kind of why I approach the game the way I do. I give everything I have and put my body on the line play in and play out until the clock has all zeros on it because I hate to lose just that much.  

Who has been the biggest influence on your life and explain why? • My grandma and my mother has had the biggest impact on my life. They’ve been there since day one and raised and instilled in me the fear of God and made me attend church on a daily basis for hours on end. They also instilled discipline, hard work, and love which is why I’m the man I am today. They also sacrificed all they’ve had to provide a better life for my two brothers and me.