Jakeem Grant -July 29, 2018
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Sunday, July 29, 2018
WR Jakeem Grant
(You’ve had some family and friends around?) – “Yes, I had my kids and wife and my brother out yesterday. It was great to have them out here and show people the reason why I play football. It’s not just because I love it, but just for them.”
(They saw that nice diving catch yesterday.) – “(Laughter) Yes, they did.”
(What were you thinking as you started to lay out for that one?) – “I knew for a fact I couldn’t get to it because ‘Lipp’ (Tony Lippett) kind of held me, so I was like, ‘Man, there’s no way that I’m going to get to it.’ So I was like, ‘You know what, the only way you’re going to get to it is dive out for it.’ I didn’t even hesitate, didn’t think about it, I just laid out for it. I was just trying to make a big play and I did. I was just showing them that I’m able to go out there and make big play after big play.”
(Do you feel that’s important for you to do because of all of the depth at wide receiver, that you need to come up with those?) – “Not just because of the depth, but just because I’m showing that I can make those big plays. Yes, I’ve got great guys in front of me; but I’m going to continue to compete every single day and make those big plays every single day.”
(We saw Head Coach Adam Gase trying to get physical with you guys. What was that all about?) – “He just came out. It was one of those days where he’s on edge today. He came out, he was feeling it and he just wanted the DBs to stop putting their hands on us, so he wanted to come out and simulate that. We appreciate that from him. That’s a realistic look. DBs are going to be in our face trying to put their hands on us and we’ve got to work that release. That’s what he was doing.”
(I saw CB Xavien Howard grab WR DeVante Parker today. That was a flag for sure.) – “Definitely. That was definitely a flag.”
(You’ve got to be careful not to slap Head Coach Adam Gase’s hands too hard when he’s putting them on you.) – “Oh, yes. He’s physical. He gets physical with us. But one thing we try to do is we try to tell all of our guys is that coach is going to put his hands up there and (we should) make sure that he doesn’t put his hands up there again. Sometimes we try to break his arm and do all that. (laughter) It’s just out of love, just trying to show him to just stick to coaching. (laughter)”
(Everybody is complaining about the heat. It’s not hot out here.) – “Not today. You’re right. It’s a great gift from Mother Nature; but the rest of the days, yes, it was brutal out here. But that’s the advantage that we have here playing in the heat. When opponents come here, they’re not going to want to play in this and we’ve been practicing in it for 1,000 times already, so now when we get to the game, it’s going to be like second nature.”
(S Reshad Jones said that some guys have an ice headband thing going on. Have you tried that out yet?) – “Yes, I tried out the ice headband. It looks kind of funny when you put it on your head, but it cools you down ultimately. That’s the great thing about it. When you get out for a play and just put that on and just kind of cool down, so when you get ready to get back out there, you feel fresh.”
(T Laremy Tunsil says he likes using the cold tents. He’s in there whenever he gets a chance. But that’s kind of far to run over there to get in the cold.) – “Yes, when they say it’s a break and I see a lot of guys over there in the cold tent, I’m just like, ‘You know what, I’m just going to sit right here,’ because for one, it’s already a far walk and then I’m going to have to go all the way back over here when they call us up. So I’ll just sit out there, get me a cold headband and just cool off for a little bit.”
(How are they going to spread the ball around with so many guys at your position?) – “To tell you the truth, I have no idea. I’ll leave that in Coach Gase’s hands; but either way it goes, we’ve got great guys that can make big plays, and that’s what we’re looking for. We come out here and compete every single day against one another and see who’s going to make the biggest play each and every day. As long as we’re doing that, who knows?”
(What’s the difference between Jakeem 3.0 and the freshman and sophomore version?) – “I’d say more confidence and just being me. I’d just say overall just more confidence. Sometimes my rookie season, I was out there trying to prove a point, trying to show guys that I belong in the league and trying to do that. Ultimately, when you do that, you’re trying to do too much and you end up messing up. Now, I’m just being myself, letting the big plays happen, just continue to play my role and do the things that I do and then the big plays will come, and then letting people see my personality and laughing, joking, playing around. When it all comes down to it, get serious and make big plays. Once you do that and you build that confidence in yourself, who knows, who can stop you?”
(We know WR Kenny Stills has been a leader in your room for a couple of years. Has Danny Amendola tried to become one as well? Has he been vocal with the group? Has he been trying to hold guys accountable for whatever it is to hold guys accountable for?) – “Yes. Danny came in, off the top, being a leader. He’s a vet. He has the most years (of experience) behind him in the room. He came in taking on just being a leader and that’s what we like of him. He knows a lot of things that we don’t know. He’s been in the game for double-digit years. He has definitely come in. Him and Kenny go both ways. Even me, even Albert (Wilson). It just rotates sometimes like that. It’s one day when you feel like someone else didn’t step up and talk and you step up and talk. Somebody has to uphold the receiver group. That’s not just on Kenny and Danny. That’s on all of us. Whenever one of us is lacking or the whole group is lacking, one of us has got to step up and make a big play or step up and just encourage each other.”
(You have two established punt returners with you and WR Danny Amendola on the roster. Do you hope to convince the coaching staff to trust you on returns closer to your end zone?) – “’Rizz,’ (Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi) he trusts me 100 percent. It’s whatever he wants to do and whatever he feels that’s right and I’m just going with it. He definitely trusts me. You’ve got Danny (Amendola), you’ve got Albert (Wilson), you’ve got all of those guys out there that are doing punt returns along with me. I’m picking Danny’s brain and just asking him a few questions like, ‘What can I do right here if this and such and such happens?’ He’s just giving me great advice. But ‘Rizz,’ he has ultimate trust in me. He’s going to trust me without a doubt to go back there and handle the ball.”
(Can you walk us through that touchdown in the corner of the end zone earlier today?) – “It was a sluggo (route). I saw that Torry (McTyer) was playing off and I had to sell it for a few more steps. After I sold it, I knew I had to dig out of it. I knew David (Fales) was going to throw it up. I had a feeling he was going to throw it up. He’s always throwing me the ball. Thanks, David. (laughter) I knew I had to make a big play and I had to show … I was telling Coach (Gase), we have a jump ball to DeVante (Parker) and I was like, ‘I want a jump ball too. Don’t shy away from me because I’m short.’ He was like, ‘Hey man, I’m not.’ I’m just saying I don’t know if that was just like a fluke or something like that. So I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll show you.’ So the only thing I was thinking in my mind was like, ‘I’ve got to show Coach Gase.’ So immediately after I scored, I ran over there, I celebrated with my teammates and ran over there to Coach Gase and I was like, ‘I told you.’”
