“Like Coach always tells us, even if you’re not out there with the ones, you’ve got to think you’re a one,” he said. “Your name could be called at any moment. I take that serious.”
As he does his ongoing education at the nickel, or slot corner, which wasn’t a frequent assignment for him in college. So far, he says the transition has been “smooth,” and his smaller frame (5-10, 184) suits the spot.
His mentality is to play bigger, pointing to his head and saying, “I’m 200 pounds up here sometimes,” and to always stay confident. The other mental piece to his game is in preparation, which he calls the most important lesson he learned from defensive backs coach Jerry Gray as a rookie.
“Coach OG, he’ll tell us, ‘Football’s an open-book test. The offense is giving you keys on every play,'” Jean-Charles said. “If you can take small pieces from every play and just keep that in the back of your mind, especially playing on the inside, formation tells you a lot.”
Getting one year under his belt has given Jean-Charles knowledge to build upon as he angles for more playing time in his second season.
During his rookie year, Jean-Charles played in 14 games, but rarely on defense, recording just two tackles. He posted six coverage tackles on special teams, where his biggest moment came in helping strip the ball from Rams punt returner J.J. Koski in Week 12.
Tight end Dominique Dafney was officially credited with the forced fumble, but Jean-Charles knows he had a hand in the play. It’s the type of impact new special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia has discussed with a lot of young players about providing on punts and kickoffs.
“We’ve been (talking) all summer on big plans that he has for me and a lot of the guys going into this year on special teams,” Jean-Charles said. “I feel like it’s going to be a big part of me being on this team.”
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