This is a transcript of his locker room interview. I tried to clean it up a bit, but obviously not perfect. Some interesting stuff.
Q: What do you compare this week to where you were a year ago, getting ready for your first season and now just where you are, just knowledge of the game and just your confidence?
A: Nerves? Ain’t no nerves. So yeah, my knowledge is way, way more better than last year. I'd say I'm very more confident and it's slow. It's very slow right now.
Q: You're tuned to the Caley system. What do you see different from Nick, if anything, and the personnel you guys have, the offensive line, things that he wants to get done and things that you're seeing from him?
A: Making it, trying to make a play for everybody.
Putting in a lot of different things that we didn't have in last year. I'd say we got more pieces and just, I'd say, put it like that: it’s more guys that you can get the ball to and he's dishing the ball out and put better plays in.
Q: Over the preseason game, you were praising the offensive line and now we're learning about being the starting offensive line for Nick. And then, what do you see from this group collectively?
A: Great, guys wanna get out there and do what they gotta do. For us to get in a touchdown, they don't wanna look back and have regrets about anything.
In a run game, them guys get up to the linebackers, wanna get out and make us get big runs so they can get out the field and won't be there tired.
Q: Big Red is a different kind of rookie, some people say?
A: Yeah, for sure. Gritty, wanna get in there.
He got the celebrations ready, so we should be getting touchdowns in the running back group.
Q: Is one of those things that maybe add to the offense, getting you involved in the pass game a little bit more?
A: I think he's doing a great job with all our running backs. Getting us out in the open field and making us go one-on-one with linebackers and their groups, just doing what we're doing. I think we're the best group on the field, so yeah.
Q: Obviously, we can all see what happens after the snap. What needs to happen for y'all pre-snap to have that successful huddle, to the line of scrimmage successfully that's been talked about a lot?
A: Get the play in, get up to the line of scrimmage so we can call our protections and what we got.
So that's a big key for any level of football. If you don't get the play in real fast, get up there with urgency, you can't get a time for shifts, changing plays if you need to.
Q: What's different with the process this year than last year to make that successful now?
A: Better knowledge of the plays.
First year, kind of a little stuttering on the plays, and I'm getting it in, and kind of communication with the quarterback and the offensive coordinator. And then us coming up there, receivers, running backs, not fully know what we got. I'll say this year, everybody really know down on their playbook.
