Raheem Mostert – August 3, 2023
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Monday, August 3, 2023
RB Raheem Mostert
(In these drills out here when you’re not tackling to the ground, how much can you really tell about the run game, especially your inside runs?) – “When it comes to being able to get some live reps – well not technically going live – you still want to get a feel for everything, how the flow of practice is going, especially in the run game. You want to get your right fits, right reads and you get a little thump in there too every now and again, just making sure you’re staying protected but at the same time being smart. So I think that’s the biggest thing in regard to trying to get a feel of the offense and in the run game.”
(In the run game, how much do you need to get a feel for your linemen? I know there’s a couple spots where different linemen are in there and sometimes with the ones. Does that matter? Do you have to be in sync with your guard – especially your interior linemen?) – “Yeah, you have to really be in sync with the whole o-line and have to have that understanding and that connection. When it comes to this game that has been around for years, you can’t just – it’s just like the receiver and the quarterback. They have to be on the same page, they have to get the feel and the timing aspect. It’s the same thing, essentially, in regards to the run. So if you’re able to have that connection, especially with the interior – it starts with the center. If he’s able to make the right calls, right reads, then it just goes and spreads out in front of everybody. So that’s what you want, you want to make sure you have a better understanding of that.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel mentioned earlier that with QB Tua Tagovailoa’s training regimen, he saw some new versatility with the throws. Have you noticed anything different?) – “I feel like he’s been able to utilize his legs a little bit more, not in a running aspect but settling down, getting his five-step and three-step timing right. I peep all that stuff just because I’ve been in this offense, and I like to watch every little asset as possible. He seems like he’s finding his way in regard to the time management, how to work his feet, his lower body, his rhythm and his hips.”
(When it comes to somebody gaining muscle, do you think too much is made a bit by the people in the media?) – “I mean you can call it what it is. I’ve definitely seen (Tua Tagovailoa) bulk up a little bit ever since last year, but I think that’s more of a question that you have to ask him on his regiment. I feel like he’s in a good stance right now, he’s doing what he needs to do out there on the field and he’s delivering the ball in exceptional places.”
(You mentioned, I believe, last week you put focus on being an elite pass catcher. Can you talk about the area of your game where you felt you did work or what you worked on this offseason to improve that?) – “Yeah, every aspect you really want to work on in the pass game. Me being a former receiver, I understand the importance of your stance and coming out and your routes and how you’re not supposed to ‘blow your load’ – that’s what they call it – in regards to try to figure out what you have to do in the game. It’s just all those little things that help you be an elite pass catcher. So for me, I’ve always understood the importance of all the minute details that go into being a receiver. I just need to go out there and get the opportunity to show what I’m capable of doing. I’ve been doing it for years, it’s just now I’m on a road where I want to be a complete back.”
(What do you think of this whole group’s experience from last year, from a pass-catching standpoint from the running game?) – “We brought the group back from last year and then we’ve got the rookies coming in, both of them – Chris (Brooks) and De’Von (Achane). It brings a lot of versatility into the unit, but we all have an attribute, and we all want to just show that attribute as best as possible. I think this is the offense to do it.”
(Going from San Francisco to now here, you’ve had two of the best fullbacks in the game. What’s the value of a good fullback?) – “I mean obviously you see what’s going on with what I had in San Fran but also with Alec Ingold. He’s at the top of his game right now. If you see the way he gives those hits and is catching out of the backfield and he’s making all of these unbelievable plays, I give him nothing but credit just because I know what it looks like. I have a good fullback in front of me. He’s that guy. He’s the one that’s the down and dirty guy, the one that’s trying to do his best for the team and he’s going to put his body on the line no matter what. He accepts challenges, as you can tell, and to me, he conquers those challenges, whether it be small or big. In the gameplan, he does eveyrhting that he needs to do, so I’m very happy and everyone else around is happy that we’ve got him and also John Lovett. John Lovett as well, he’s a former Heisman in Princeton (laughter). That guy is also an athletic guy just walking around here.”
(FB John Lovett was a Wildcat trigger man, wasn’t he?) – “He was a Wildcat trigger man, and he was able to do everything.”
(It’s a position that’s kind of, I don’t want to say died out because they’re still doing it at a high level, but it’s decreased more. Did you play behind a fullback prior to San Francisco?) – “No, not really. I was in an offense with Chip Kelly and everything that he had, so they didn’t really utilize it all that much in a fullback regard.”
(Would it be weird for you to go back to playing in a single-back set more often?) – “It would be, just because I feel like with the fullbacks right now with the game that we have and the offense that we have, they’re our eyes. That’s something that we use in the room. They’re the ones that see the hole before the hole opens up, and they’re the ones who have to hit those holes in order for us to hit them as well. They always say, ‘Let the fullback’s eyes be your eyes,’ and I truly believe in that.”
(At times last year, you guys had problems getting the play from the coaches to the huddle. T Terron Armstead was saying after the last game that that was going to be a focal point of the offseason. How is that process going? Can you work on it outside of game situations? If the ones don’t play much in preseason, will you be confident in that process going into the regular season?) – “Yeah, the play call definitely is something that has been an emphasis here in regard to timing. If you look at how we operate in the ones at least, we have a play clock down at the end zone and Tua does a great job receiving the play and then giving it out by at least 20 seconds, 15 is the cutoff. So I mean, he still has some wiggle room to get those calls in and also have the coach tell him, ‘Hey, look. This is the play that you need, this is the receiver that you’ve got to look for in this coverage,’ and then once it cuts off, it cuts off. But the timing aspect is definitely something we emphasized this offseason going into OTAs and now in training camp we’re utilizing and trying to understand.”
(In the run game, have you seen development in any blocking from OL Liam Eichenberg and T Austin Jackson?) – “Yeah, absolutely. When those two guys – I know they were down last year for some injury, but they’re getting their footing right. They’re trying to do their best, you can definitely tell what has been transpiring in regards to them. So it’s been nice to see.”
(I heard you mention the rookie. How has RB De’Von Achane looked so far?) – “De’Von, he’s a great learner. He’s absorbing all the information that he possibly can and he’s doing a good job. We’re still trying to utilize him, get that little burst here and there. Today was actually a good day for him. He came out and definitely showed a little bit of that versatility and that burst. So myself and the rest of the group were definitely pleased with that. That’s something that you want to emphasize is speed. I know he’s not necessarily the biggest and I was telling him, ‘Hey, look. You’ve got to use your aggression in order to promote that speed.’ That’s something that I utilize just because I know I’m not the biggest in the huddle or on the field at times. I just try to use my aggression and that will carry over into my speed, and I was trying to emphasize that with him.”
(You were jamming out to the first song or two of WR Jaylen Waddle’s playlist today. Your full review of his playlist?) – “His playlist had me right for a practice. (laughter) I know that I set the standard a little bit with my playlist, but he definitely did his part. Nobody can top me as of right now, I’m just saying. I’m just saying.”
(It’s the versatility.) – “Yeah, I had a lot of diversity in that playlist, a lot of versatility. (laughter)”
