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Preston Williams – October 26, 2020 Download PDF version

Monday, October 26, 2020

WR Preston Williams

(What was your reaction to the news about QB Tua Tagovailoa’s promotion?) – “I thought it was pretty cool – Tua getting his first start this week against the Rams. I’m excited for him. I’m ready to see what he’s going to do, just like everybody else.”

(Before last week when they announced the change, the first six weeks of the season QB Ryan Fitzpatrick obviously got the vast majority of reps in practice. How much did QB Tua Tagovailoa work with the ones? Have you had a chance to work with him really since training camp or has he been running mostly the scout team?) – “I got a couple plays with him every now and then. The plays he did get with me, he looked real good, so I’m excited for Tua.”

(Obviously you and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick had a good connection when y’all were playing together. How do you transition and how does the flow of the team still stay high where you were with “Fitz,” even though you got a new quarterback now?) – “We just try to do the same thing every week and just execute no matter who’s in – make plays. Whether it’s ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) or Tua, we’re all going to just do our assignment and make plays.”

(Everyone’s heard a lot about how QB Tua Tagovailoa’s a good kid. He’s humble, he’s respectful, he’s got leadership qualities; but we’re not allowed to watch practice since the season started. That’s closed to the media. So can you just kind of fill us in on what you think his on-field traits are? What does he do best on the field? What are his football strengths?) – “Obviously throwing. Making plays. Everything you want in a quarterback. Y’all have seen his tape. It speaks for itself. Like I said, we’re excited that Tua is making his start, just like everybody else. I’m excited to see him in his first game action against the Rams.”

(For a long time up in New England for example, they always went with left-footed punters because they thought it threw the return men off with the rotation of the ball. So I’m wondering when you have a left-handed quarterback, how does that rotation of the ball affect you? What is it like catching a pass from QB Tua Tagovailoa as opposed to catching a pass from QB Ryan Fitzpatrick?) – “It’s not really different. Catching a football is catching a football, no matter how it comes, how it turns over. If it’s a left-footed punter, you’ve still got to make the same type of punt. You practice for that type of stuff. So just the reps in practice will help us catch a left-handed thrower. I’m a lefty myself; we run a couple trick plays in practice. I throw it to some guys, so they’re probably used to seeing it a couple times.”

(Obviously you guys got the Rams this week. They’ve got a couple big playmakers on the defensive side of the ball with DT Aaron Donald and CB Jalen Ramsey. For you and Ramsey – you might probably face him – what do you see in him as a corner and how does it change your game when you’re going up against a guy like him who has a lot of respect around the league?) – “I know (Jalen) Ramsey’s a good player. The Rams are a good team. They’re going to come ready to play. We’re going to come ready to play. You’ve got to be – a big-name DB in there like that, you usually just try to play your game. We’re going to take some shots at him, I believe, so we’re going to see.”

(About the left-handed thing, aside from the spin of the ball there’s a coach – Steve Mariucci, he had Steve Young and he was a lefty – and I was watching a video where he was talking about when Steve Young goes in a game what’s different. And I didn’t know this but he said that in the 49ers playbook, they actually had to flip the plays so strong would become weak and weak would become strong. Do you guys literally have to flip your playbook?) – “No. Tua can throw going left just as good as he can throw going right. That’s why he’s here. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.”

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