Tyreek Hill – October 13, 2022
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Thursday, October 13, 2022
WR Tyreek Hill
(QB Tua Tagovailoa is still in concussion protocol, but just to have him back out there, what does it mean for you and the team?) – “Well, just to have him back out there, his energy, his leadership, the way that he’s able to have fun with playing this game throughout it all man, it’s just amazing within itself. So, it’s always fun to have your brother back out there on the field. I’m looking forward to having him whenever he’s back, but it’s good to see him healthy.”
(Do you get a sense that QB Tua Tagovailoa wants to be out there sooner than later? I know that there’s a protocol.) – “Oh, obviously, man – that’s every competitor. I know every guy in this locker room will be wanting to fight back to get back on the field at any point. But obviously, it’s up to the trainers, it’s up to the professionals for them to do their jobs and protect us from our own selves. Because we all love this game so much and we all want to do everything we can to help the team win, but we don’t often sometimes think about our health.”
(I know you said you could put up numbers with anybody at quarterback. Can you speak to your confidence with QB Skylar Thompson?) – “That’s just me, dawg. That’s just the way that my grandparents always raised me – believe in myself, no matter what. I was a fifth-round draft pick. everybody told me I was too little. Everybody told me I was just a fast guy in his league. So, I mean, I’m going to talk my (expletive) whenever I get a chance to talk my (expletive) – that’s just me, man. But for Skylar (Thompson), he’s a young guy who can come into this offense and make a lot of plays, whether it’s to me, or whether it’s to any one of the weapons on this team. So I’m looking forward to playing with him again. I know he’s very excited. He’s very confident in his game also. And, yeah, it’s going to be fun.”
(People have pointed to you, for the short time you’ve been here, as a leader on his team. Is there – how do you approach when a new quarterback is out there, “Hey, I’m here, whatever you need?” Is there a conversation? How do you approach that as a leader?) – “Well, me just being me, I just tell the quarterback, ‘Look, man, it’s your show, dawg. I’m just buying tickets and showing up to it, you know what I’m saying? I’m just trying to make plays for you.’ Skylar (Thompson), he’s a young guy. Obviously, I’ve been in this league for a minute and that was just my whole message to him. You just go out, call the plays, and you’ve got the keys to the boat. You drive the boat.”
(Earlier in the week, Head Coach Mike McDaniel mentioned that it was the captain’s decision to take the ping pong tables out of the locker room. What went into that decision? How did you guys come to it?) – “You know what man, I’ve got a brand new ping pong table coming for the guys. I just decided to get like an all decked out Miami Dolphins ping pong table for the guys, because the ping pong table we had in here was just too basic. So I feel like the guys, they really deserve something brand new, so that’s what we’re going to roll with, dawg – a brand new ping pong table. I don’t get into all the analytics, giveth and taketh away – I don’t get into that … That’s something that my grandparents never taught me to be, and that’s not what I am. So I feel like the guys needed a brand new ping pong table, man.”
(What was it about the focus part? Guys being more focused and taking the ping pong table out?) – “Look, these are professional athletes. This is our job, this is our livelihood. I can look every guy in his eye and stand in front of this whole team and just look at the faces on this team and tell you that every guy on this team is focused. Every guy on this team has the same goal and that’s to win games. Like, we don’t come up – we don’t drive all the way up here and just say, ‘Oh, we’re going to play ping pong today.’ No, that’s not what we do – our job is to go out and play football, man. Having ping pong is nice, but I just feel like the guys – we just needed like a better table.”
(So when is that delivery coming in?) “I don’t know yet, man. It takes a minute for things like that. Instead of Pimp My Ride, it’s pimp my ping pong table. So that’s what we’re doing – custom job, baby.”
(So why chuck out the old one?) – “Because it was kind of bent. It was bent. We’ve got a serious tournament going on. You see the paper on the wall? It’s still up there, so that’s the tournament we’ve got going. The tournament isn’t in the air.”
(You have WR Justin Jefferson on the other side this week. Do you ever get into battles with other receivers, check the stats to see who played better? Does that ever matter to you?) – “No, that doesn’t matter to me, man. As long as I see that ‘W’ on the win column for us, I’m cool with it. Fairly, having stats is cool and all, but I feel like being a winner is something that I can be a part of forever. I’ve been playing this game so long, and that’s the way I’ve been taught ever since I was a kid. Like it’s cool to have 200-yard (games), 100-yard games, three (touchdowns), but if you want to be a true guy that really loves the game of football, a true competitor at this level, you’ve got to learn how to win. Sometimes it’s going to be you getting 20 yards a game, sometimes it’s going to be you going crazy, so it’s all a part of the sport.”
(What impresses you about WR Justin Jefferson?) – “Oh, Justin Jefferson? Bro, he’s like a real sneaky – he’s sneaky fast and the way he’s able to get in and out of his breaks as a route runner. I’m really impressed with his game as far as him being so young. I believe he was like a two-star recruit coming out, so I really applaud him for working hard and getting to the level he’s at now. So man, shout out to him. I know he’s going to keep working hard. The receiver market is steady going up, man, so I’m very happy for that. I hope by the time my son is able to play football in the NFL, it’s like at $40 (million) or something like that. (laughter) So Justin Jefferson, keep raising the market brother.”
(Let me go off script for a second. You talk about winning and that’s more important than stats. Have you thought about Canton? You seem like you’re on track there. Have you thought about that?) – “I mean, I really haven’t thought about any of that at this point in my career. Like I said, I was – for me, I already accomplished everything that I basically wanted to accomplish. A smalltown kid, fifth-round draft pick, and I’m able to be that role model for so many kids around the world, but most importantly, I’m able to be a role model for kids back in my hometown, who probably don’t even believe in themselves, but they get a chance to look at me from the same city, same dream, as a role model. For me, man, that right there is a part of my blessing every day, and that’s really why I play football. That’s really why – I try to motivate myself with that each and every day, because I began to think it’s not all about me all the time. (I’m) really blessed to have this platform that I’m able to perform at. I thank God for it each and every morning. I’m able to wake up, provide for my family, provide for my kids. And, man, if I’m blessed to go to Canton, I’d be very thankful for it. If not, I’m just happy to be able to play this great sport. I grew up jumping on a trampoline imagining I was jumping over Randy Moss as a kid – now, I’m here.”
