That was my goal. When the Chargers went to their dime package, Tranquill’s quick adaptation and previous experiences as a safety all helped contribute to his expanding responsibilities.“It was similar to what you saw (at Notre Dame) in terms of making plays on special teams, blocking punts, making tackles and just executing my technique that earned my position and allowed me to own our third down package in terms of the linebackers,” Tranquill said.It gave the Chargers options that perhaps they didn’t think they’d have in 2019.“(Tranquill) gives us versatility,” Bradley said.
That definitely added a little bit of juice to the fire. “They challenged me to take over that starting position full-time next year and really become a leader in the locker room in terms of bringing guys along with regard to my habits.“When I watch film, can I bring a couple guys with me? “Just having done a lot of time at Notre Dame and having done the degree (engineering) I did, I just felt prepared in terms of how to be a pro, how to go about film study, how to take care of my body…“All of my experiences at Notre Dame definitely played into that. From there I knew once I started making plays, maybe I could earn the respect and earn the rapport to carve myself a role on third down, and then eventually move into a full-time starting position.”That’s exactly what Tranquill did, starting with a blocked punt against the Indianapolis Colts in Week One, building with a seven-tackle performance against Denver in Week Five, and peaking with a 14-stop effort in Week 10 against Oakland en route to 75 tackles in his rookie season.“They challenged me,” said Tranquill of head coach “They wanted me to learn both linebacker positions on top of all the special teams I was playing. It ended with Charger brass challenging Drue Tranquill to return as a starting linebacker for the 2020 season. So much so that when each of the Charger players conducted exit interviews with their position coaches following a 5-11 season in Los Angeles, the off-season goal was clear.Come back and claim a starting linebacker job in 2020.“Their job as coaches is to create the most competitive environment to accelerate and bring the best out of guys,” Tranquill said.
He’s a guy that any time we need a break or someone goes down, he can flip over there and we really don’t lose much.”Tranquill out-thought and out-prepared the learning curve.“As a rookie, you don’t have experience to lean on,” Tranquill said. We were 5-11, which wasn’t even close. You have to be healthy.“But two, how quickly can the coaches trust you to execute their game plan?
If you can get out there and execute the game plan and really beat the guy across from you, they’ll play you.“Being available, learning and being trustworthy, and then competitiveness in beating the guy across from you. But I was able to get some very valuable reps and experience that will certainly benefit me heading into this year.”Not only did Tranquill not reach his team goals, he fell short of his individual aspirations, even with his selection to the all-rookie team while finishing eighth in the NFL in special teams tackles with 11.“I really wanted to make the Pro Bowl,” Tranquill said. He’s just a great guy. “He can go in and play Mike, he can play dime, he can play Will. “I told them availability is the biggest ingredient. “They can’t trust you from an experience standpoint. The workload didn’t feel as much as it probably did for some of my peers.”The workload increased rapidly because Tranquill showed he was ready for anything the Chargers threw at him.“He’s playing more like a veteran player,” said defensive coordinator So Tranquill played Will linebacker.
That’s Tranquill. After opening 2-2, the Chargers lost nine of their last 12 games to finish 5-11.“I found out in my time at Notre Dame that when the team wins, everybody wins,” Tranquill said. He finds a niche, owns the niche, and then continues to elevate his game as a leader, whether it’s as a freshman at Notre Dame or a fourth-round rookie in Los Angeles.“I took the same approach I had going into Notre Dame in terms of how I was going to carve a role for myself,” said Tranquill, who earned all-rookie league honors for his special teams play while breaking into the lineup at linebacker for the Chargers.“My freshman year at Notre Dame, I went in with the mindset that I was going to make plays on special teams and I was going to start immediately on special teams. It started as a quest to be the best special teams performer on the Los Angeles Chargers’ roster.That’s Tranquill. It was exciting to get that play against them in Week One.”Tranquill didn’t disappoint the team that ultimately chose him.“Those intangibles are starting to show in our locker room and on the football field,” said Chargers head coach Tranquill’s realization that he was a legitimate pro came with decisive confidence in his ability from the outset.“Even though I wasn’t a captain like I was at Notre Dame, even though I was a rookie, I felt like I belonged and had some leadership capacity in the locker room from my peers respecting my maturity and the way I went about my business,” Tranquill said.“After the summer training program and after rookie OTAs and OTAs, I believed I belonged the entire time.