Second-Round Safety 'starting from scratch' at Bills' rookie minicamp

Utah safety Cole Bishop returned to football activities at Buffalo Bills' rookie minicamp on Friday and took time to address reporters about his first taste of the NFL.

Sep 23, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes safety Cole Bishop (8) encourages the fans to / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Buffalo Bills' rookie safety Cole Bishop is learning on the job.

The No. 60 overall draft pick is attempting to digest a new defensive scheme while getting his first taste of NFL life at this weekend's rookie minicamp.

"Not very similar [to Utah's defensive approach]. We didn't run a lot of quarters [coverage]. Kinda starting from scratch, but getting smarter in the game of football," said Bishop during a media scrum on Friday.

Bishop, who played 35 games at safety for Utah over the past three years, was admittedly happy to be back on the field in a football setting.

"This is what we do. We're football players. We're not track runners and all these things," said Bishop. "Combine went good and everything, but I'm here to play football, so I'm excited to actually get back to playing."

Prior to Friday's minicamp work, the 6-foot-2 Bishop, who ran a 4.45-second 40 at the Combine, spent his first days as a Bill reviewing film of predecessors Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.

"Every play you're trying to learn, you're watching on film and it's those guys. They're great players obviously. They did a ton of good things here for a really long time, so it's good to watch," said Bishop.

Before he can begin to think about emulating the former All-Pros, the 21-year-old safety is busy acclimating himself to the new surroundings.

"I just trying to learn right now. I'm excited for once I have a little bit more of the playbook down, to be able to actually study these guys and their techniques," said Bishop.