Tyreek Hill – July 26, 2023
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Wednesday, July 26, 2023
WR Tyreek Hill
(There was some news last month about an alleged altercation. On Monday, your attorney and their attorney put out a statement saying that you resolved the differences. Can you kind of tell us what happened last June and where you stand?) – “As far as the story, I’m not here to get into that. I’m here to play ball. I understand your question totally, but the issue has been resolved, and I’m currently cooperating with the NFL, giving them all the details on what happened on that day.”
(Are you concerned about a suspension?) – “No. When I’m able to come here and play ball, I get a chance to get away from all of that at the end of the day. That’s the thing about football. God has blessed me to be able to perform and do what I do, and I’m blessed and grateful for that. I just can’t make boneheaded mistakes like that.”
(Have you been given assurances that there won’t be anything criminally coming against you?) – “Like I said, I have no idea. I have no idea, man. Like I said, it’s been resolved and I hope everything gets situated.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said that he talked to you about it. What did he say? What did you say to him?) – “I can’t give you all of the details because that would be basically like me pillow-talking to you guys. But he did tell m, ‘You know ‘Reek,’ we got your back, full support.’ That’s all the details that he said to me and I didn’t respond back.”
(I know your goal is 2,000 yards this season. How much effort have you been putting into this offseason to make sure that goal is a reality?) – “I’ve been grinding this whole offseason. Obviously I’ve been doing the camps all over the U.S. But I’ve had time to fine-tune my game. When I come out here to practice, to me it’s not all about running fast anymore. Now it’s all about getting open and being in the right spots for my guy Tua (Tagovailoa), or whoever is in at quarterback at the moment. As you saw today, I was out there coasting, trying to find ways to get open, trying to be like Travis Kelce-ish. Yeah man, just learning the game a little bit more. I’m playing at my own pace and just trying to control the tempo for myself.”
(You mentioned QB Tua Tagovailoa. How have you seen him grow since you’ve been with him?) – “He’s more vocal. I would say Tua is more vocal, and that comes with confidence, obviously. I feel like the year that he had last year gave him everything that he needed to go into this year. I’m really looking forward to seeing what he’s going to do this year. I know he’s going to do very exciting things this year.”
(The last time we talked to you, you talked about year two in this offense. Head Coach Mike McDaniel mentioned it as a foreign language. What does it feel like for you now having another year in it?) – “Like I said, just being able to play at your own tempo, being in the right spots, and then understanding every route and how to run every route. Like I said last year, I was just out there running routes and just getting open. But this year, I completely understand the offense, and how to use leverage against DBs and know where I need to be at in certain coverages. Everything has slowed down man.”
(What does that translate to?) – “Two-thousand yards. That’s what it translates to sir, 2,000 yards.”
(Was there a time last year where you thought 2,000 was in the bag for you? Because you were certainly on pace for that.) – “Obviously. As a competitive person, it never slipped my mind, or it never crossed my mind that I wouldn’t hit the goal of 2,000. But obviously that wasn’t my first goal. Obviously my first goal is to win a championship here, to bring something special to Miami.”
(Earlier this offseason, you mentioned that you were planning on retiring after the Dolphins’ contract is up. It caught a lot of people by surprise. How serious were those comments, and how many more years do you think you can play at an elite level?) – “I can continue to play this game for forever, I feel like. I’m feeling great. Obviously I’m still fast. My dad had a chance to talk with me the past two years. He told me, ‘you can make all the money in the world, but what is it for if you’re not able to spend it? You don’t want to spend your whole life working. You want to be able to enjoy your life.’ That’s kind of what I’ve been doing. I’ve been traveling the world. I was able to go to three countries this offseason. I really enjoyed that. I don’t know, man. If I keep traveling the country like I’m doing, who knows man. I’m enjoying life, having fun.”
(Zach Thomas goes into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Miami Dolphins. If you’re able to win a Super Bowl here, do you plan on going into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Dolphins?) – “Did you say would I want to?”
(Yeah) – “Oh yeah, for sure. Obviously I have a lot of history down in Kansas City. Shoutout to those guys down there. Andy (Reid), Brett Veach, John Dorsey, Mr. Clark (Hunt). Those guys brought me in and gave me a chance. A young kid from south Georgia that they believed in. But I feel like here is much more special. You’re in a great city with a bunch of legends. Being able to do something here similar to what the ‘72 team did would be remarkable. I would want to enter it here.”
