Kenyan Drake – May 31, 2017
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Wednesday, May 31, 2017
RB Kenyan Drake
(Head Coach Adam Gase was in here a few minutes ago and he talked about how he wants you to become a complete back so that God forbid something were to happen to RB Jay Ajayi, you could do everything. What are your thoughts about how you can become a complete back?) – “I’m definitely just trying to come in here every day and be the best pro I can be. I think that’s just the first and foremost thing, because honestly coming in and seeing guys like Jay Ajayi – who is a great person to look after – or Damien Williams or any other running backs or any other great players on our team that come in day-in and day-out and just get the job done. So that’s what I need to do too.”
(So you are catching punts out there right?) – “Yes.”
(How do you feel about that responsibility?) – “It’s very exciting just to help the team in any way possible. Jakeem (Grant) does a great job for us now, but just being a reliable backup to him, that’s just what I’m trying to be able to do. I’ve never caught punts before in a game situation. I did in practice leading up to … last year and in college a little bit. But it’s a different animal, honestly, so it’s just something you’ve just got to do.”
(What makes catching punts so different?) – “Well in kick return, you just know there won’t be anybody in your face. It’s just more of a mental thing to where you don’t know where the ball is going to go per se off the punter’s foot. It falls differently depending on how the tip of the ball falls, and also if it’s a left- or right-footed punter. It’s just nerve-racking in the sense that you know somebody is running down, so you have to make a decision to either fair catch or run with it. And it’s hard enough to do it with nobody even running down to even get to that point. It will be interesting to see how I progress.”
(Has your role on the team changed this year?) – “I think that will be up to me and my capabilities. If I come in and put the work in, we’ll see how everything unfolds from there.”
(From a personal standpoint, what will make it a successful season?) – “From a personal standpoint, just helping this team get past where we got last year. We were excited about making it to the playoffs. We obviously wanted to go further but it was unfortunate we ran into a good Pittsburgh team in Pittsburgh. But this year, we are looking forward to taking the next step. Any way I can help with that, I’ll be happy.”
(What area of your game do you most want to improve this season?) – “Just more of the off the field preparation, I guess, to kind of put myself in the best position to be the best player I can be on the field. That’s what I want to do.”
(Things happened quick for RB Jay Ajayi and all of a sudden he had a great year. What makes you think it could happen for you?) – “I feel like that could happen to anybody, honestly. Jay is a great example of just putting your head down and just going to work. Things didn’t go the way he wanted them to early in the year, but all he did was work, and everything kind of happened the way it was supposed to because of the hard work he put in. I think anybody that wants to kind of follow in those footsteps – maybe not the initial standpoint of it but the diligent work that you put in to be where you want to be – I feel like anyone could be in that position.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said a few months ago that he sometimes wants to hurt you. He said that ‘he does so many good things but he always does one thing, whether it be on or off the field that will test me. But I kind of like that.’ What are you doing that is irritating the head coach so much?) – “I just have to be more consistent, I guess I can say. My play on the field, sometimes I’m real critical on my self-performance. Let’s say I do something that wasn’t on script or something that I didn’t … that wasn’t planned. It works sometimes, like the Buffalo game; but sometimes it doesn’t work. So sometimes I just have to kind of put my head down and get those 2 or 3 yards when it’s not there. That can be frustrating because also I want to make a big play every time I touch the ball. So it’s just understanding my role in the grand scheme of things and kind of let those big plays come when they come and not force them.”
(Is that kind of the nature of your relationship with Head Coach Adam Gase so far?) – “I feel like that’s what he brought me in to be, that big playmaker. And sometimes I press on myself to make the plays, because last year I didn’t necessarily get the amount of opportunities that I wanted. But at the same time, it also comes with the whole grand scheme of mirroring off field with on field and making sure that I’m where I’m supposed to be, when I’m supposed to be, and everything else will happen how it’s supposed to.”
(Is it kind of a fine line between your creativity and what you bring to the table naturally and then also kind of tapering that off and just doing what the coaches say at the same time?) – “Yes.”
(How do you kind of mix those together and bring those together?) – “It’s not like I’m necessarily just every time I get the ball, just going off script and just doing what I want to do. It’s just knowing, say for instance like today, we had a situation where I caught a quick hitch out of the backfield and it was third-and-4. Instead of just catching the ball and falling backwards for the first down, I tried to catch it and make a couple of people miss. It was touch, so who knows if I would’ve been tackled or not, but it was just the coaching point of understand the situation, it’s third-and-4, just get the first down and live to see another down, instead of possibly getting tackled for a 2-yard gain when I had the first down.”
(Do you have a pretty good understanding of what’s ok with Head Coach Adam Gase and Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen, if you take chances for example? Is that clear to you, in what spots is it ok and what spots it is not?) – “Yes, of course. In those critical situations to where it’s a third-down play. Okay, I need to be aware of the situation to understand that I need to get the first down. That’s priority No. 1. Big plays happen, not necessarily when they’re not supposed to, but when you follow the rules. If I just continue to do what I have to do on a consistent basis, then those big plays will become more numerous instead of trying to force them.”
