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Carl Tucker – May 14, 2021 Download PDF version

Friday, May 14, 2021

FB Carl Tucker

(What was the discussion like last year when you went to Alabama, with either Head Coach Nick Saban or the coordinator, about what role you served? I know obviously you were versatile with tight end and fullback. Did they say you’d be more valuable doing multiple things for them?) – “They told me exactly what I was going to do. I had planned on being their extra blocker, their extra fullback. I took that chance because I knew that would better my opportunity and that would bring growth to my versatility.”

(Can I ask you real quick, just because you’ve been around WR Jaylen Waddle for a year, what’s the most incredible thing you saw from him last year before he got hurt in practice or in a game, that made you think ‘my goodness this guy is special?’) – “The obvious answer is his speed. I remember one of the first practices we had at ‘Bama, I had to be his lead blocker and he just zoomed past me. I was trying so hard to stay in front of him and he just coasted right by me.”

(You mentioned that going to Alabama and being in that versatile position to increase your opportunity to get to this level and now here you are. I’m wondering, watching some of your tape, there are some really fun take-downs where you really insert your will on guys. Is that something that you’ve always had or did it kind of come along later where you tried to increase your opportunity? Can you just talk about your mindset when it comes to playing that position?) – “It absolutely grew on me. Starting off at Chapel Hill, I came in as a receiver. I played receiver in high school, but I came in playing tight end. At that point, I had never played tight end in my life. I was coached by one of the hardest coaches probably at the time – Seth Littrell. He was a fullback at Oklahoma. He was a hard-nosed heavy hitting guy. He would definitely get on your ass if you weren’t doing what you were supposed to do. If you weren’t physical enough, he’d definitely call you out in front of everybody. I remember the day that changed, he just got on me the whole meeting. So I just told myself, I’d never be soft ever again. (laughter)”

(What you do is typically done in pads, at full speed and that’s when you can kind of show what you are able to accomplish with the physicality. Talk about having to kind of hold back in a practice, especially a minicamp practice, where you can’t really go all out, you can’t be as physical as you normally are and you don’t really want to jack up any teammates?) – “I think that’s the best part because people a lot of times just see that I block very well and they see or believe that’s all that I can do. But I personally believe that one of my strong suits as well is that I have good speed for my size, I have great hands, I feel like I run solid routes. So it’s definitely a perfect opportunity for me to of course be smart and take care of teammates and everything, but also at the same time, get better at the other things that don’t include heavy physicality, like with route-running and stuff like that.”

(As you were talking about making that transition and learning the tight end position, I couldn’t help but think about TE Jibri Blount, a teammate of yours now, who is coming over and trying to learn tight end after being a basketball player. What do you suppose that must be like for him, coming from basketball to tight end?) – “I can only imagine it’s a crazy transition, playing basketball and then making the switch in the league. I know he has a great head on his shoulders, he has a great mentality and I know he’s ready to attack it.”

(Last year, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey referred to the tight ends room as the muscle club. I’m just wondering how you fit into a group called the muscle club?) – “(laughter) I think I fit in pretty well. I wouldn’t say I’m heavy set, but I’m a pretty buff guy. That’s pretty funny. (laughter) I like that a lot. I think I fit pretty well into that.”

(It’s not necessarily a benefit, but does it help I guess having WR Jaylen Waddle, a former teammate? You don’t have to go through this rookie camp necessarily by yourself, but you have a familiar guy that you can double check or just have a conversation with, that you are with Jaylen because you obviously spent this past year with him?) – “Absolutely. It’s maybe not like a huge kind of thing because I only got to know him for a year; but it definitely helps knowing that somebody that I went through the trenches with is here with me. It definitely contributes to me getting a little bit more comfortable than I would be if I was – I wouldn’t say by myself, but getting to know everybody. Just having at least one person you already know.”

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