After the Hurricanes 2026 Spring Game, Peter Ariz and DMoney sat down with new Hurricanes defensive end Damon Wilson, and veteran defensive back Xavier Lucas at the 'Titanic' right by the Hurricanes campus.
Here is everything they talked about during the show:
DMoney: We'll start with the new guy, Damon, man. Just how's it been? You're now through your first spring. Just how you feeling? How do you feel the spring went?
Damon Wilson: I feel like it went good. Was able to get close with my teammates, learn the scheme, and just get better. I mean, that's what I came here for, and I feel like that's what I got accomplished.
Peter Ariz: Back in Florida too. This guy did the same thing last year, but you're back home in the state of Florida. You know, you were at a couple other spots, but does it feel nice being back here and, you know, family being, I know they're on the west coast, but kind of closer?
Damon Wilson: It feels good being able to just go to the beach after practice and just relax and just be able to have the sun, no snow, so it's been beautiful being back home, man. It's a blessing.
DMoney: What are you working on to take your game to the next level? What's your focus for just this past spring and now this summer coming up?
Xavier Lucas: My technique, of course, but just trying to slow the game down as much as I can and become a smarter football player and make it easier for myself.
Peter Ariz: Damon, just had Darian, we've had some of the offensive players here, and they're just always talking about the battles, the back and forth that the offense and defense has every day. I mean, how is that helping you, I mean, especially the offensive line, you know, very talented group. So what do you see from the other side of the ball there?
Damon Wilson: So for me, I sit next to Ryan Rodriguez, and so just talking to him and just seeing how his mind thinks about the calls and picking up backers. So I mean, he has high IQ. And then me and McCoy, we've made a really good bond. And so he's a big boy, 340, and so we battle every day, and we hang out in the locker room. So I've been really making a really good bond on and off the field, just competing day in, day out with those guys.
DMoney: I gotta follow up on this real quick, because you were doing a lot of battles with Jackson Canwell. You gave him a nice inside move today. I saw that one.
Damon Wilson: Obviously, he's getting up to speed on what the highest level of pass rush is, but just those battles and that... I like doing it with Jackson. He has a good personality, good energy, and he's ready to attack the day every day. Even for a lot of young guys, they kind of just go through it, and he's really detailed about his craft, so I appreciate that from him.
Peter Ariz: Those battles with the receivers on the other side, those one-on-ones when we get to watch them in practice are electric, man.
Xavier Lucas: We compete day in and day out, no matter what we do, if we're doing one-on-ones, if we're playing ice hockey, table pool, or anything. But, yeah, we just compete day in and day out. But we pick each other's brains on, okay, what are they looking for? What are we looking for in this certain split or whatever coverage? But it's a blessing, very talented group of guys, but it's great being around them.
DMoney: I got to follow up with you there, because I saw Bain, Mesidor, Keionte Scott. Seeing those guys get drafted and have their dreams come true, the motivation for you, does that make an impact to make you go even harder as you get into your junior year?
Xavier Lucas: Definitely, because this year I would become draft eligible and knowing that they were in my shoes and they showed that it's possible. You just got to put your head down and work.
Peter Ariz: Damon, it seems like one of the factors for you coming here was being able to work with Jason Taylor. Just talk about how that's played out for you and the knowledge you're able to gain from a Hall of Famer like that.
Damon Wilson: It's pretty crazy, right? Not even just the knowledge. I really enjoy just being around a good human being, someone who's just a good person. So I think that makes it 10 times easier to play under. He just lets me be free. And then the football part is football, that's what I came here for. But it's also the other stuff. So he's a good coach.
DMoney: Same team with Coach Harris, Coach Jefferson, just that relationship in the DB room and how you guys are coming together.
Xavier Lucas: It's great, even the new guys, they're buying in to what the plan is, what the standard is. But, Coach has been great since last year, since they first got here. But, they don't, they critique, but they try to work around your craft as well because everybody has different skill sets, things of that nature. But it's great.
DMoney: I see some great battles between you and Cooper Barkate. You with your physicality and your length and your speed, he's got that route running in the hands. Just how have those battles gone to get you better?
Xavier Lucas: We compete every day. He's an older guy, so I get to learn a lot of things from him. So I'm just trying to just pick his brain as much as I can. But, we go at it. He wins his battles. I win my battles some days. And, we just keep working. Great guy.
Peter Ariz: What's your plan the next couple months in terms of what you're trying to focus on? And then, obviously, it's not as much organized team stuff, but what's your plan in terms of getting with the guys and working with them?
Damon Wilson: Well, I don't know if y'all know, but Asharri Charles he's my young bull. He's from my city, so I'm going to take him under my wing. I'm going to work with him. But, I mean, I'm just trying to get as big, fast as I can and become a monster.
Peter Ariz: Sounds like a good plan, man.
DMoney: Similar question to you as far as you got young guys under you that are trying to come up, Ja'Boree Antoine, Brody Jennings, guys like that. You and OJ, guys who have played, are you guys trying to, you know, show the next generation how to play, or are you focused on your own thing?
Xavier Lucas: No, we're all bought in together. We can't just focus on ourselves because we're a team. We've got to be bought in because if we're just worrying about ourselves, we're not going to get nowhere. But, yeah, we work with them, not even just in the field, but, in the film room. We go over divider splits or things like that, what they see from this receiver, how can they do this better, how can they do that better. But we work on their craft every day, every day.
Here is everything they talked about during the show:
DMoney: We'll start with the new guy, Damon, man. Just how's it been? You're now through your first spring. Just how you feeling? How do you feel the spring went?
Damon Wilson: I feel like it went good. Was able to get close with my teammates, learn the scheme, and just get better. I mean, that's what I came here for, and I feel like that's what I got accomplished.
Peter Ariz: Back in Florida too. This guy did the same thing last year, but you're back home in the state of Florida. You know, you were at a couple other spots, but does it feel nice being back here and, you know, family being, I know they're on the west coast, but kind of closer?
Damon Wilson: It feels good being able to just go to the beach after practice and just relax and just be able to have the sun, no snow, so it's been beautiful being back home, man. It's a blessing.
DMoney: What are you working on to take your game to the next level? What's your focus for just this past spring and now this summer coming up?
Xavier Lucas: My technique, of course, but just trying to slow the game down as much as I can and become a smarter football player and make it easier for myself.
Peter Ariz: Damon, just had Darian, we've had some of the offensive players here, and they're just always talking about the battles, the back and forth that the offense and defense has every day. I mean, how is that helping you, I mean, especially the offensive line, you know, very talented group. So what do you see from the other side of the ball there?
Damon Wilson: So for me, I sit next to Ryan Rodriguez, and so just talking to him and just seeing how his mind thinks about the calls and picking up backers. So I mean, he has high IQ. And then me and McCoy, we've made a really good bond. And so he's a big boy, 340, and so we battle every day, and we hang out in the locker room. So I've been really making a really good bond on and off the field, just competing day in, day out with those guys.
DMoney: I gotta follow up on this real quick, because you were doing a lot of battles with Jackson Canwell. You gave him a nice inside move today. I saw that one.
Damon Wilson: Obviously, he's getting up to speed on what the highest level of pass rush is, but just those battles and that... I like doing it with Jackson. He has a good personality, good energy, and he's ready to attack the day every day. Even for a lot of young guys, they kind of just go through it, and he's really detailed about his craft, so I appreciate that from him.
Peter Ariz: Those battles with the receivers on the other side, those one-on-ones when we get to watch them in practice are electric, man.
Xavier Lucas: We compete day in and day out, no matter what we do, if we're doing one-on-ones, if we're playing ice hockey, table pool, or anything. But, yeah, we just compete day in and day out. But we pick each other's brains on, okay, what are they looking for? What are we looking for in this certain split or whatever coverage? But it's a blessing, very talented group of guys, but it's great being around them.
DMoney: I got to follow up with you there, because I saw Bain, Mesidor, Keionte Scott. Seeing those guys get drafted and have their dreams come true, the motivation for you, does that make an impact to make you go even harder as you get into your junior year?
Xavier Lucas: Definitely, because this year I would become draft eligible and knowing that they were in my shoes and they showed that it's possible. You just got to put your head down and work.
Peter Ariz: Damon, it seems like one of the factors for you coming here was being able to work with Jason Taylor. Just talk about how that's played out for you and the knowledge you're able to gain from a Hall of Famer like that.
Damon Wilson: It's pretty crazy, right? Not even just the knowledge. I really enjoy just being around a good human being, someone who's just a good person. So I think that makes it 10 times easier to play under. He just lets me be free. And then the football part is football, that's what I came here for. But it's also the other stuff. So he's a good coach.
DMoney: Same team with Coach Harris, Coach Jefferson, just that relationship in the DB room and how you guys are coming together.
Xavier Lucas: It's great, even the new guys, they're buying in to what the plan is, what the standard is. But, Coach has been great since last year, since they first got here. But, they don't, they critique, but they try to work around your craft as well because everybody has different skill sets, things of that nature. But it's great.
DMoney: I see some great battles between you and Cooper Barkate. You with your physicality and your length and your speed, he's got that route running in the hands. Just how have those battles gone to get you better?
Xavier Lucas: We compete every day. He's an older guy, so I get to learn a lot of things from him. So I'm just trying to just pick his brain as much as I can. But, we go at it. He wins his battles. I win my battles some days. And, we just keep working. Great guy.
Peter Ariz: What's your plan the next couple months in terms of what you're trying to focus on? And then, obviously, it's not as much organized team stuff, but what's your plan in terms of getting with the guys and working with them?
Damon Wilson: Well, I don't know if y'all know, but Asharri Charles he's my young bull. He's from my city, so I'm going to take him under my wing. I'm going to work with him. But, I mean, I'm just trying to get as big, fast as I can and become a monster.
Peter Ariz: Sounds like a good plan, man.
DMoney: Similar question to you as far as you got young guys under you that are trying to come up, Ja'Boree Antoine, Brody Jennings, guys like that. You and OJ, guys who have played, are you guys trying to, you know, show the next generation how to play, or are you focused on your own thing?
Xavier Lucas: No, we're all bought in together. We can't just focus on ourselves because we're a team. We've got to be bought in because if we're just worrying about ourselves, we're not going to get nowhere. But, yeah, we work with them, not even just in the field, but, in the film room. We go over divider splits or things like that, what they see from this receiver, how can they do this better, how can they do that better. But we work on their craft every day, every day.
