Mohamed Kamara – April 27, 2024
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Saturday, April 27, 2024
LB Mohamed Kamara
(What was it like growing up in Newark, and how did that help form you into the person you are?) – “Newark is the biggest city in Jersey, and it’s very dangerous in Newark, but learning how to adapt to my environment, that’s what helped propel me to go to Colorado State. Being around a lot of different cultures and learning how to adapt there, so it definitely showed me how to maneuver in my environments.”
(What has been the key for you finding success to getting to the quarterback?) – “Always going back to the basics, that’s the biggest thing for me. Looking at film, rewatching film, studying film. Always trying to get back to the basics, always working on my technique, that’s always been the key. If I had eight one year, then I went to 13, that’s just me getting back to the drawing board and working on the basics.”
(I wanted to ask you about a quote I’m reading here from Head Coach Jay Norvell at Colorado State who said, “Every day in practice, Mo set the example by setting the tone and was a no-nonsense player.” I’m curious to hear in your words your approach to the game, and what he means by that?) – “Unless you are an athlete, you understand that practice is the most important part of the approach, if you get what I’m trying to say. Make practice super, super hard so the games are easy. Be relentless in practice so when you get to the game, you’re just letting yourself free. Fail, succeed, mess up in practice so when you get to the game, it’s easy and you’re just doing what you have to do. That’s just how I look at it, so I’m always going to be relentless in practice. That’s just how I am.”
(Have you watched the Sopranos?) – “No, I didn’t watch the Sopranos, but it is from Jersey. It is from down the way. I didn’t watch the Sopranos. No, I’ve never watched it, but it is from Jersey. I’m more of The Godfather, I think that’s the show. It’s based on the same thing, but I haven’t watched the Sopranos.”
(What do you think of coming into a situation now with LB Jaelan Phillips, LB Bradley Chubb, LB Shaq Barrett, a lot of good veteran edge defenders, and also first-round pick LB Chop Robinson among this edge defender corps?) – “Man, I’ve got to put my foot in the ground and keep moving forward. As much as I respect them, hopefully they will respect me and we all work together. Hopefully we all get to push each other, and hopefully I’m in that room for a long time. Me and Chop (Robinson) were already working out in Arizona, so we already have a relationship there. Both of us worked in Arizona and did what we had to do, and we already butt heads because that’s the relationship we have. We’re good friends, great friends at that. That’s how I’m going to – I respect his game, and he respects mine.”
(First of all, you prefer to be called “Mo”?) – “I prefer to be called ‘Mo.’ It’s easy. I don’t like when people mess up my name. That’s something I take personally. Don’t mess up my name. Just call me ‘Mo.’ Keep it at that, keep it at that. Some people say MOO-ha-med. It’s just MO-ha-med. Or I don’t even know how they say the last (name), what they say. It’s some weird way, but it’s just Mohamed Ka-MAIR-uh. I don’t like when you mess up my name, just keep it simple.”
(And then pronounce the last name?) – “Ka-MAIR-uh.”
(Tell me about the moment of getting drafted. What did it mean? You seemed pretty composed. Were there tears? People at the house? Tell me about the moment with the phone call and everything like that.) – “To be honest, I’m very excited, but I also am very, very angry going the round that I did. That’s just my personality. I knew I could’ve went higher and I wanted to go higher, but the lovely team of Miami picked me up and I’m going to give them that burning desire. I have a chip on my shoulder, so it just got even greater. So everybody else, all 31 other teams, look out because the way I’m about to play against these guys, you should’ve picked me before. That’s just the type of person I am so respect to those guys and I’m grateful for Miami for picking me up, but I know what I’m going to bring to the field and every other team has to see me.”
(Quick follow-up, what round should you have gone? What would’ve been appropriate for you?) – “Somewhere higher. God put it in certain ways or whatever case may be. I should’ve went higher, but it’s not the end of the world. Like I said, I’m grateful for Miami allowing me to even get picked, but for me and my personally I’m going to just take that and just roast the whole NFL. That’s just how I look at things.”
(I was wondering, what is your comfort level playing at multiple positions? Whether that’s rushing with your hand in the dirt, standing up, rolling inside, outside? How comfortable are you with your versatility at this stage?) – “Very comfortable. You’ve seen the film that I’ve done it before. Definitely I have to get better, because that’s what we’re all trying to do is get better. Definitely I’m going to get better, but I’m very comfortable. That’s just the passion I play with. So I’m very comfortable doing that.”
(A lot has been made about your size and that you’re an undersized edge guy. How much do you use that to fuel you in terms of the productivity that you have on the football field?) – “Every thing that people knock me for, I use it as fuel – every single thing. Like I was saying earlier, I’m going to make some things up just to push me to keep going. That’s just the type of person I am. I’m never satisfied. I will never be satisfied. So if you want to call me short, watch out. If you didn’t believe in me, watch out. That’s just the type of person I am, that’s what keeps me going every day. I’m never going to be satisfied.”
(I read that you’re a fan of doing some talking when you’re on the field, talking trash.) – “I don’t mind that. I mean me personally, especially in practice, I don’t mind it, but it’s also a respect thing. I’m never going to really disrespect anybody. There’s a difference between talking trash and disrespecting people. I don’t disrespect anybody. That’s not my cup of tea. I’m not in the game to belittle a man. That’s not what I want to do. If we’re going to talk trash, we’re going to talk trash, and it’s only going to be about football. Like I said earlier, the fire I bring to practice, that’s what it is. By the time we get back to the locker room, it’s just like, ‘Alright, it’s OK.’ Then we get back to practice and we do it again. That’s just the fire I play with. Any reason to run through somebody’s face, that’s just how I look at it.”
(On a totally different topic, South Florida, what do you know about it? Have you been here? Do you have many connections?) – “No, I’ve never been there, but I have a lot of teammates that are from Florida, so they’re definitely going to take care of me. I’m not too keen on what Miami is. I know Miami is its own place, that’s what I’ve been hearing. But I know a lot of people from Florida that will take care of me, a lot of my brothers that will take of me that I’ve played with, that will never steer me wrong or anything of that nature.”
(I’m reading a story here that described you as the ‘The Smack Talker In Chief.’ I wanted to know how you felt about that label?) – “That’s a little bit extreme, Smack Talker In Chief? I’ll say this: I talk trash in practice but in the game, I’m so quiet because I’m so focused. I don’t say much in the game. I don’t say much in the game. I like to build the atmosphere where we’re competing in practice. That’s why I keep mentioning practice, it’s like you have to compete to get better. When it is gametime, the bullets are flying. You don’t have time to be – me personally, I don’t have time to be saying certain things. I’m trying to catch my breath because I’m running full 100 miles per hour every time playing the edge position. In the games, I don’t really talk a lot, but in practice, we’re chatting it up. Like I said, it’s a respect thing, so I have to go into training camp and go into the facility earning the respect of everybody. I’m not going to go the first day blabbering my mouth – that’s not football. I have to first earn the respect of my teammates, my coaches, the organization and the people of Miami, too. Then if it’s requested, I’ll do it. If it is not, then I wouldn’t have to do that. So ‘The Chief’ is extreme, ‘The Chief’ is going way left. I don’t think I’m the Chief. I’m just not afraid to talk when it needs to be said, to say things that need to be said. That’s not something that I tip my hat too. The Chief? No, that’s a little too much. (laughter)”
(Is there an NFL player you’d say you model your game after or whose style you think yours resembles?) – “I did Haason Reddick a lot. He’s definitely a guy that’s my weight, my speed, my height. He’s somebody that continues to make plays, and he’s doing it at a high volume, going from team to team. That’s somebody that I look closely at. Also Von Miller – a guy that if you do half of the things he does, you’re probably going to be better than the rest of the league.”
(You named guys like Von Miller and Haason Reddick who are of similar size in stature. In a previous interview you’ve had, you also mentioned another Colorado State alumni in LB Shaq Barrett, who is now a Miami Dolphin. He has the same stature, same speed, same length and you guys bring the same thing to the table as well. What are some things you are looking for or what are some types of experiences and toolsets that you’re looking from LB Shaq Barrett to elevate your game in the NFL?) – “Shaq Barrett has a great motor, too. He’s a guy that does a great job at turning the corner. He gets a lot of pressures. One thing that I’m going to take away from him and I’m going to study his brain is how he was able to sustain this long career in the NFL, because that’s what I want to do. Like I said earlier, he won (Mountain West) Defensive Player of the Year years before, and now I’m coming in winning Defensive Player of the Year for the same team. I’m not going in to be any of those guys – Haason Reddick, Von Miller or Shaq Barrett – but I am here and I am coming in to learn from these guys. I personally want to pick his brain of how do you compose a long career like that? How are you able to sustain productivity throughout those years too?”
