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Raekwon McMillan – July 31, 2017 Download PDF version

Monday, July 31, 2017

LB Raekwon McMillan

(First day out there in pads. How was that?) – “It was fun to go out there and finally get to tackle somebody, hit somebody and run around. You know as a ‘rook,’ (rookie) you can’t just worry about the defensive portion of practice. You’ve got to go out there and take it one period at a time – individuals, special teams, all that stuff. You’ve got to go hard in everything because you’re still trying to prove yourself to the coaches that you’re worth whatever you’re worth and that I can do everything that I’m expected to do.”

(How much faster has it been than college?) – “It’s a lot faster. I was talking to a couple of my teammates last night – old teammates – about how practice is during the day, and I was like, ‘Man, every snap is like playing the best team in your conference on game day.’ I can only imagine how it will be in a game. If every day in practice is like game day in college, I can only imagine how it is in the game.”

(Are things beginning to slow down for you a little bit?) – “Yes, for sure. When I first came here in the spring, my head was spinning, I wasn’t making the right calls, coach is in my ear – I’ve got the headphone in my ear so he didn’t really have to yell. He’s in my ear the whole time. But now it’s kind of slowing down to me. I kind of have a full understanding, repping in with one’s and the two’s. So it’s just a blessing to be where I’m at.”

(Making the calls, I remember I got a chance to speak to Seahawks LB Bobby Wagner when he was a rookie. He was just … getting in there, making the calls with the veterans, that proved to be a little bit challenging for him. But how big is that for you to be able to get in there and be accepted and be able to make those calls amongst the veterans and have them be accepting of whatever it is you need to communicate?) – “One thing I thing I learned about the NFL, I’ve only been in the league for a couple of months. One thing I’ve learned is you earn respect by going out there and doing it every day. You can’t just come in just because I’m a second-round draft pick and expect people to respect me. They don’t know who I am. They don’t know what I’m capable of until I went out there and showed them. So when I came here, yes, I’m a second-round pick, this, that and the third; but I had to go out there and show the older guys. And once I got more reps in with them, I started earning some of their trust. I’m sure I haven’t fully earned everybody’s trust, but over time we’ll go out the better together.”

(How do you use personality in being able to kind of be outgoing in order to make those calls in the middle there?) – “You just have to be confident, not much outgoing. You’ve just got to be confident in everything that you say, because even if you’re wrong, if you say it loud and proud and confident, they’re going to listen to you. So that’s just kind of another trait at middle linebacker.”

(You said that you’re wearing the head piece. Does everybody have the head piece or?) – “No. You’re only allowed to have one person on the field with the head piece. So when I’m on the field, I’m the guy with the head piece.”

(So when LB Kiko Alonso’s on the field, he doesn’t have a head piece?) – “Yes, so he’s not … In practice, we both have it; but in a game, it will only be one person. When I’m in, I’m calling it. When he’s in, he’s calling it.”

(How much time knowing that you’d have the responsibility of calling plays, how much time have you spent during those six weeks off studying the play book?) – “I try to take about an hour a day, just to look at my playbook during the offseason. I try not to get too mind-bogged in it. I was all over the place my offseason. I went back to Ohio State, went home to Georgia and went back to Jamaica. I had some fun because I knew once it’s time to come back and lock in, I’m not going to be able to get out of these walls.”

(Your skillset obviously you can play strong side, obviously you can play Mike. Where do you envision your skills being best suited to long term? As a Mike, do you think? What’s your first gut instinct reaction to that play?) – “I mean I’ve always played Mike my whole life, as you know. But like ‘L.T.’ (Lawrence Timmons), ‘L.T.’ has been in the league for 11 years and played every position for the Steelers. So wherever I can find a fit and wherever’s going to keep me a job, that’s where I’ll play at.”

(I enjoyed listening to practice today. It sounded different to me. How did practice sound different today?) – “It’s just another level of intensity. Guys strap up their stuff a little bit tighter when they say live, when we’re going to the ground, because people’s livelihoods are on the ground. We’ve got 90 players on the squad right now – 90 some players – and by the last preseason game, there will only be 50-some. So there’s people’s livelihood on the line and you only have so many chances.”

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