Tyreek Hill – August 4, 2023
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Friday, August 4, 2023
WR Tyreek Hill
(How’s the second training camp going for you compared to when you were brand new here last year at this?) – “It’s going good man. I’m getting open a lot. It’s nothing new. It’s still the same thing for me. I’m still trying to learn the offense, trying to learn exactly where Tua (Tagovailoa) wants me to be and things like that. Any way I can help the offense, I’m going to do that. That’s my mindset.”
(You seemed to have chemistry with QB Tua Tagovailoa from very early on with Tua. How is it going into year two?) – “It’s grown crazy. Just the reception I had yesterday where he was able to throw it between like three defenders was crazy. It just goes to show the amount of trust he has in me, and I just feel like it’s going to continue to grow.”
(If it was a real game, you might have taken a big hit. How do you feel about that?) – “I play football. That’s what I signed up for, to get hit right? I’m not scared. That’s what I do. I’m big bodied. They don’t bring you here just for the followers or whatever. They brought me here to make those kinds of catches. I feel like I’ve proved throughout my whole entire career I’m able to make those kinds of catches through contact.”
(How important is it for you guys to have a number three receiver as a wide receiver? Would you be just as happy if it was a tight end or running back?) – “If I had it my way, I would have all receivers out there because I play receiver. I’m a receiver guy. If I had it my way, I would have all receivers out there.”
(What is the skill from CB Cam Smith that you’ve noticed you think might make him a good NFL player?) – “He definitely has the size and just the intangibles of just being that physical corner. I think a lot of people don’t realize is that what y’all see is – you may see him make a play, but I’m sure in his mind, there are ways for him to get better from that rep. I saw a rep from him yesterday where we watched it as a receiver room. It was on the goal line where he broke up a pass. To me, it was a bad ball by the quarterback. I’m sure Cam could tell you too that if that was a better ball, that was caught. From what I’m seeing from Cam Smith, he’s doing a tremendous job. He’s making plays and he’s going to continue to make plays.”
(What was your reaction when you heard that CB Eli Apple was signing?) – “Well, when I heard about it, coach had called me. He was like ‘Reek, we’re fixing to sign somebody.’ I was like ‘who y’all fixing to sign?’ He said, ‘we’re fixing to sign Eli Apple.’ I was like ‘alright, cool.’ He was like, ‘you don’t have a problem with that?’ ‘No, I don’t have a problem with that. Why would I have a problem with that?’ I just feel like a lot of people get fed into what’s going on in social media. That’s not really what it is. I was fired up for us to be able to add another competitor to this team because that’s going to make us better in the long run having that cornerback depth. Eli is a great guy. I know we had some battles. But at the end of the day, we’re all trying to win. We’re all trying to get better. Now, my looking from it is, now I get to embarrass him every day. It’s a win-win for me. (laughter) I haven’t gone against him because every time I try to go in one-on-ones, it’s either like ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) trying to go against me or Kader (Kohou) or Noah (Igbinoghene). I’m like ‘bro, let me go against somebody else.’ They be calling me out every day. I’m like ‘no, I don’t want to go against y’all. Let me go against Eli or Cam (Smith) somebody else.’ Those guys be calling me out.”
(What would it be like if you and CB Eli Apple faced each other?) – “I’m going to try to bully him off the line. I’m going to try something different. I’m going to try to push him off the line. I’m going to win the rep.”
(When is that going to happen?) – “Man, look. The day that ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) don’t call me out. Because when ‘X’ calls me out, I feel like if I don’t go, then the receivers are going to look at me like ‘you scared?’ Then I’m going to be like, ‘Nah.’ So, the day ‘X’ doesn’t call me out.”
(CB Kader Kohou, it looks like he’s been covering you quite a bit. You guys have been going back and forth with competition. How have you seen his game kind of come along here in year two?) – “Kader is another guy that a lot of people may say that Cam (Smith) is making a lot of plays, but Kader is another guy to look out for this year for a breakout season. Undrafted guy and he’s a dawg. He’s small, but he’s very strong at the line of scrimmage, and he isn’t afraid to tackle. I’m looking for him to have a breakout year this year. I’m very excited to see him play.”
(General Manager Chris Grier mentioned that he called you about the CB Eli Apple signing. Does it feel good to work for people who obviously know what a great player you are and want to include you in things even if it’s just to give you a heads up. Is that a good feeling?) – “It is a good feeling, but I feel like they messed up my time with that. I was asleep when they called me. (laughter) I’m like y’all calling me and I got to be up there at 6:30 in the morning. What’s going on? I thought I was in trouble or something. I was like man, are y’all fixing to cut me or something? (laughter) Y’all calling me this late? Y’all could’ve saved that for the morning. But he was like we’re fixing to sign Eli Apple. I was like alright, cool.”
(We saw the offense come out of the gates last year, and then have that little bit of a lull that coincides with the five-game losing streak. I’m curious what you as a team and offense can take from that and be better for this year?) – “I know a lot of ways that we can be better. And this is speaking from one of the leaders in the offense. We have to fix our pre-snap penalties for us to be better at anything. I believe us having referees out here is going to help us get better from that. I believe we were like 31st last year in pre-snap penalties. That’s bad, right? If we clean those up, and we execute, and we do what we’ve been doing out here in practice each and every day, I can see us being another top five offense in this NFL. It definitely can get scary when you think about all the weapons that the Dolphins have. And just the people that they have added to this team to protect our quarterback. It can get real scary.”
(I know that you’ve moved along from the offseason incident, have you heard anything from the league?) – “I haven’t heard nothing from the NFL, so I believe that is good news for myself. I’m still waiting.”
(Is it still pending?) – “Still pending.”
