Tyreek Hill – November 2, 2023
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Thursday, November 2, 2023
WR Tyreek Hill
(We just learned you have been named AFC Offensive Player of the Month. What is your reaction to that?) – “I actually learned that this morning too. It’s always an honor to receive something like that, to be voted anything in this league. It’s special. For me to be able to be putting up performances like I have, I just have to give a credit to my teammates. They’ve been unbelievable also. Tua (Tagovailoa), the offensive line, (Jaylen) Waddle, really just the whole entire offense. That really helps me out a lot. I know I’ve said it a million times. Yes, I make a lot of plays, but without my teammates, none of this would be possible. To God be the glory. Always.”
(Obviously you have to be going through a lot of emotions going against your former team this week, the Chiefs. A lot of players have said you’re actually going through it the same as any normal week. What are you feeling leading up to this game?) – “I’m feeling tired. (laughter) I’m still trying to adjust to this sleeping schedule. But yeah, just another opportunity for me to play the game that I love. Obviously, it will be against the Kansas City Chiefs, but I’m going to treat this week like it’s any other week.”
(I figured you’re going to get a lot of Chiefs questions, so I’ll be the next to ask. How do you reflect and look back on the time there? I know you’ve said it last year that you didn’t want to leave the Chiefs, but the business aspect came in. But when you look on your six or so years there, what comes to mind and how do you reflect on that time?) – “When I look back at that time in Kansas City, I just look back at that time and say, man, just a young guy trying to find himself in the league. I was able to learn from so many guys. I was able to mature so fast because I was able to step into a receiver role and it was a lot. I kind of took that on and I didn’t look back. The coaching staff trusted me there. I absolutely loved every minute of it. I wouldn’t take none of it back. So yeah, it was fun times definitely just thinking back whenever I was in KC.”
(I know your first year you made the Pro Bowl as a return specialist. But I think early on the narrative was you’re just a gadget guy, a return specialist, a speed guy. Is there a moment or time it clicked for you? Like I could not only be one of the fastest players in the league but also one of the best receivers in the league?) – “I mean you could say that. I feel like back then – I come from a small city, come from a small town. My grandparents always told me never listen to the outside noise. So I’m that kind of person. So when people were telling me I was this and that, I already knew what I was. I knew what I was. I knew I could be a top-tier receiver in this league. I already knew that. All it just took was mindset. Once I got my mindset fixed and everything, I became what I am today. I never listened to the outside noise.”
(I’ve been asking your teammates and coaches on the other side of the ball about how defend Chief QB Patrick Mahomes, but from your perspective, when he starts scrambling and running and twisting like that, how did that play change for you as a receiver?) – “Just find open space, always. What I’ve been telling the guys to do is just find (Travis) Kelce. (laughter) If you allow Kelce to get open, he’s like the energy of that team. Although Pat is all-world, but if he finds Kelce and Kelce just catches a two-yard pass, he somehow finds energy in that and gets that team going. They do a great job of it. And they do a great job of coaching it also whenever I was there. They got a whole PowerPoint on it and everything. It’s crazy, it’s ridiculous. ‘When Pat goes this way, you guys need to be doing this, that, that, that.’ Obviously, you can’t run lines, so just find Kelce, that’s it.”
(So there’s a science behind it? It’s not just school yard run around and find space?) – “I mean, like I said, they do a whole PowerPoint on it and it’s just one of those things that you can’t run lines. When you’re out there with live bullets, it’s just going to happen naturally.”
(How do Cheetah’s like Germany?) – “I haven’t really been nowhere. Just been hanging out and taking care of my body. Trying to hydrate a lot. Just relaxing, watching some German TV. And yeah, that’s it.”
(Do you like the international stage?) – “As far as the schedule of leaving Monday, I don’t like it. But any chance I get to play the game of football anywhere, I enjoy it. I love it. I’ll never take it for granted. I look at it like this. We get a chance to become global stars. This is a chance to grow our own personal brands too. The schedule may suck, but at the end of the day, we have to look at the pros of it.”
(I’m sure when you got traded a year and a half ago, there’s a lot of emotions that probably go through you. Now that you’re further removed from it, are you at peace with how it ended? How do you look back at the trade itself and moving destinations?) – “I’m kind of glad it happened now. I don’t even think about it now. Obviously, the situation that I’m in is great. I’ve got great teammates. My family is from Miami. Also, I accomplished one of my goals of being one of the highest paid (players) in the league. Everything is great, life is great. Never can take anything for granted. You can’t look back, always have to look forward. That’s my mindset.”
(I know you’re trying to treat it like another game, but do you anticipate you have to be ready emotionally for something a little different when the game comes? Just because of all the relationships.) – “Nah. I don’t think so. I want to beat them. We want to beat them just as bad as they want to beat us. No emotions.”
(This game was supposed to be played in Kansas City. Would you have rather this happened at Arrowhead, meeting the Chiefs again?) – “It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t really matter where we play at. Obviously it would’ve been great to play in KC, but it really doesn’t matter where we play at. They are going to get this work wherever though. Y’all can use that. Bulletin board material. (laughter)”
(When the trade went down, what was the first thing that went through your mind? Did it sink in then or did it take some time to sink in that you were leaving KC?) – “It took some time once I noticed that Andy (Reid) and Pat (Mahomes) weren’t going to call me back about a deal. (laughter) But besides that, yeah it took some time. Yeah, it definitely took some time.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle said yesterday that he is a Swiftie. Are you? And what do you think of that relationship for your boy Travis Kelce?) – “Nah, I’m not getting into that bro. That’s a dangerous crew. I’m not getting into that. No comment. It’s a dangerous crew. (laughter)”
(Your stats this season are incredible. Do you think you have a chance to win the MVP award?) – “No. Because we have a player on our team who is better than me and means more to the team. So, no. And his name is Alec Ingold. (laughter)”
(Congrats on one million on YouTube, but first I wanted to ask how do you stay focused on your gameplan and avoid distractions, especially when facing former teammates and dealing with the pressure of this 2,000-yard pace?) – “Well, how do we avoid distractions? Well, I feel like as a ball player, that’s a choice. Everything is your choice. Having the proper mindset each and every week and I’ve been having that this whole entire year trying to avoid everything I can. Whether that’s partying, doing things when I’m not supposed to be doing, not trying to help my career. So I’ve been avoiding a lot of things. Whenever it’s time to party, I recover now. Drinking, I’m drinking water now. Doing things like that. And with the teammates, I’ve been talking to my teammates. My boy ‘Meco’ (Mecole Hardman) called me the other day. I’m really excited to see him. Excited to see Pat (Mahomes), (Travis) Kelce, things like that. There’s going to be trash talk but it’s going to be fun though. It’s going to be like I want to see you do good but we’re going to bust your ass at the same time. It’s going to be one of those things, like backyard football with your brothers. (laughter)”
(I’m going to give you the opportunity to be the international spokesperson and salesperson for the Dolphins 305. Why should independent fans who don’t have a team yet in Germany or anywhere internationally support the Dolphins?) – “Why should international fans support the Miami Dolphins? I don’t know. (laughter) See if you would’ve told me this, I would’ve had an answer at practice. I don’t know. Because we are in Miami. (laughter) I don’t know, I’ve got to walk off on that one. (laughter)”
