ASHBURN, VA (WTKR)- Darryl Tapp and Jalyn Holmes are not only enjoying the Commanders' playoff ride, they're helping to drive the success.
Tapp serves as Washington's defensive line coach, while Holmes hits the field as a defensive lineman. Both are in their first seasons in the burgundy and gold, with Tapp part of Dan Quinn's initial coaching staff with the team and Holmes joining the roster mid-season off waivers from the Jets.
"I'm having a blast," smiled Tapp after the team's practice Wednesday afternoon. "I'm having a blast to have the chance to run my own room, do it for my favorite childhood team growing up."
"The guys in the locker room, the coaches, it's definitely been easy," Holmes added. "It's definitely been a fun up-and-down ride, but I'm glad I'm here."
Two Hampton Roads natives are part of the same unit. Tapp played his high school football at Deep Creek before suiting up for Virginia Tech at the college level. Holmes starred for Lake Taylor and continued his career at Ohio State. Now they're both in the defensive line room, representing both the burgundy and gold and their home region.
"Whether it's from people talking around the city or whether it's getting recruited by Virginia Tech when I was in high school, I heard all about him (Tapp)," Holmes remembered. "Meeting him, meeting the man, meeting the coach, it's definitely been great and it's been good for me."
"The fact that he can do it from home, I couldn't ask for anything more," Tapp said of Holmes. "He's been a welcome addition to the guys, guys gravitate towards him, so to see him have the success that he's having as of late has been pretty cool to see."
Both the Chesapeake and Norfolk natives have made stops all across the country throughout their careers. The chance to join the Commanders marked an opportunity to play for the NFL team that's nearest to their respective hometowns and they're taking advantage of that.
"Most times I get a break, I try to do something for the community," said Holmes. "Me being home and being able to tie back in and give back as much as I can, it's a blessing. I couldn't really ask for better."
"For those people to see me grow up as a little kid, playing at Deep Creek to Virginia Tech, go all around the US as a professional player and then come back to this role as a coach, I couldn't ask for anything more," Tapp added.
Now these area products look to help the Commanders navigate waters they have not charted in quite some time. A victory Sunday night would give Washington its first playoff game win since the 2005 campaign and, for the two former 757 stars, keep their memorable debut seasons in DC alive.
"It would be good to be a part of that," Holmes said. "Being a kid from Norfolk, Virginia, to now playing for the Commanders to getting a playoff win that we probably haven't done since I've been alive, it would be really dope for the city."
"It's going to be a huge game regardless because it's a playoff game," Tapp pointed out. "Very few teams get this opportunity, so it's going to be a huge game and a huge opportunity for us to go out there and get this thing accomplished and we're going to work our tails off to do that."
The Commanders and Buccaneers kick off Sunday night at 8:00 PM. News 3 is making the trip to Tampa Bay with the burgundy and gold. Tune in all week for reports both on-air and online.
