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00:00 Yeah.
00:00 Well, I mean, obviously, your career path
00:04 is where you want it to be right now, right?
00:06 Are you pretty happy with where you're at right now
00:09 with what you're doing?
00:10 Yes, sir.
00:10 All the different roles they're asking you to do?
00:11 Yep.
00:12 I'm very happy.
00:13 Just plug me in anywhere, and I can do the job.
00:15 Where did you get the courage to catch those punts?
00:21 Like I said last--
00:22 You almost got--
00:23 Yeah.
00:24 Like I said last time, I said confidence, just working up
00:27 and seeing the ball come down and knowing
00:30 that you have a little bit of time to be able to catch it
00:32 and also get down.
00:33 But sometimes you should have been looking back and like,
00:36 man, I really should have caught that one.
00:38 But it happens.
00:40 Was there anything from past experiences
00:43 that kind of prepared you for this?
00:45 I would say baseball.
00:46 I played center field, having to look up all the time.
00:49 I wouldn't say the contact part, but being
00:51 able to track the ball, baseball really
00:53 comes into part with that.
00:54 Track.
00:56 On Saturday, when we talked to Garrett,
00:58 I think the first thing he mentioned
01:00 was wide receiver blocking.
01:01 Yeah.
01:02 Can you just-- why were you guys so good at blocking
01:06 on Saturday?
01:07 How much do you guys work on that?
01:08 I mean, ever since my freshman year,
01:10 we've always worked on blocking with the receiver coaches.
01:13 And we really put in more time in the offseason with blocking,
01:18 and we've all really improved on that.
01:20 But we definitely have made a big impact
01:23 on blocking on the outside.
01:26 It's not just running either, because I think
01:28 Jaheim's touchdown catch--
01:29 I think Hudson threw a block.
01:30 Oh, yeah.
01:30 Like 30, 40 yards downfield.
01:32 Yeah.
01:33 They always say activity after catch.
01:35 So once somebody else catches it,
01:37 just turn upfield and look for somebody to block,
01:40 because that could lead to a touchdown.
01:42 Are you realizing the value of doing that when you've
01:44 got a guy like Garrett or Jaheim that if you just
01:48 get in their way, it's a chance for a 75-yard touchdown?
01:51 Yep.
01:52 If you just get in somebody's way,
01:53 you're going to maybe blow something up.
01:55 Like, I see Jaheim or Garrett running at my back,
01:58 and if they can set up the block,
02:00 like set up where I'm blocking, they can just cut off right off
02:03 me and make something big happen.
02:05 What impresses you most about Jaheim?
02:07 His speed, and he's really quick,
02:10 and he can move fast all the time.
02:12 And he's a small guy.
02:13 Like, he can just get in little pockets and little holes
02:16 and make something big happen.
02:19 Did you see this early from him?
02:20 I mean, in camp, did you see the possibility
02:23 of him being what he is now?
02:25 Yeah, for sure.
02:25 He slowly worked his way up and just keeps improving every day.
02:32 Talk about your relationship with Garrett.
02:35 Does baseball play a role in that?
02:37 Yeah, probably.
02:39 I would say he's got a really good arm.
02:43 You can see it through baseball.
02:44 It transfers over.
02:47 But our relationship's really well.
02:48 We do good together.
02:50 How did it develop?
02:51 I mean, you weren't playing a lot today,
02:54 so he wasn't throwing to you a lot of times.
02:58 I mean, we played Monday night football together,
03:00 working our way up.
03:01 And we've been in the same place since freshman year,
03:04 so we've had a good connection.
03:07 And we were scoring a lot in Monday night football,
03:09 like working our way up.
03:10 So we did pretty well with that.
03:13 Eye contact receiver and quarterback.
03:16 What was that?
03:17 Eye contact between the receiver and quarterback.
03:19 Yeah, for sure.
03:20 How does that develop?
03:23 I don't know.
03:23 He sees me open, and then I see him.
03:25 And I see the ball coming, and it just hits me every time.
03:30 Throws like a catcher or a right fielder.
03:31 Yeah, for sure.
03:32 Maybe sometimes needs to throw a second baseman
03:34 every once in a while.
03:35 He really spins it.
03:36 Yeah.
03:37 That's for sure.
03:37 Have you been able to help even newcomers,
03:43 like a veteran like Devin Carter,
03:44 just get used to Garrett's ball since you
03:46 had more familiarity with it?
03:49 I would say they just got used to it themselves.
03:52 It's like every other quarterback.
03:55 The only thing that's different is Nico's ball is lefty.
03:58 But you just get used to the speed
04:00 through repetition and practice.
04:02 What's it like catching that fastball on a screen pass?
04:05 Because sometimes he's throwing that screen pass
04:08 like he's throwing a deep go.
04:10 Yeah, it's pretty hard to catch.
04:12 But if you just have your eyes on it
04:13 and really watch it come in, you can catch anything.
04:17 [AUDIO OUT]
04:20 We good?
04:24 Perfect.
04:25 I've got one question.
04:26 As a returner, I think I know how you'll answer this.
04:28 But pushing the blocker into the returner,
04:32 it's like legal cheating almost, it feels like, right?
04:35 I don't know.
04:36 I'm not saying make rules, but can that
04:39 be legislated in a way, like an underhanded tactic
04:41 to do something like that?
04:42 Because here you are, camped out to fair catch,
04:43 and all of a sudden, some guy comes flying into you.
04:46 Yeah.
04:46 It must be the wrong way, I guess.
04:49 So they always say to push them into you.
04:51 But we teach our guys to peak the returner.
04:55 So if they get too close to us, they're
04:57 supposed to get away from us.
04:59 So you just got to pay attention to that.
05:01 And we're getting better with that as we practice that.
05:04 So--
05:07 [INAUDIBLE]
05:10 424 yards.
05:11 It's rough, but if you're out there doing your job,
05:14 you can make great blocks.
05:15 And people notice that.
05:17 So--
05:19 Are you getting more familiar, just as time goes by,
05:22 I'd imagine, with knowing when Garrett is maybe
05:25 going to scrap a play that was initially a pass play
05:28 and potentially take it through the middle?
05:30 He did that.
05:30 That seemed like that happened a lot, maybe, in Cincinnati,
05:33 with their defensive line seeing an opening
05:35 through the middle.
05:36 Yeah, usually you see that.
05:37 Like, if I'm running a pass or something,
05:39 I turn my head to look for the ball,
05:40 and I see him running, immediately you turn upfield
05:43 and have to go get on somebody, because you never
05:45 know where he's going to go.
05:46 So you just got to be ready for that at all times.
05:48 I imagine that's easier said than done, though,
05:49 to snap into blocking mode.
05:51 No, yeah, definitely.
05:54 You mentioned it was rough being a receiver for a 400-yard day,
05:58 but you had 200 receiving.
06:00 Yeah, true.
06:01 So when you get 600, 700, that's a pretty big--
06:03 You get a lot of yards, yeah.
06:04 Yeah, that's not too bad.
06:05 No, not too bad at all.
06:06 OK, thank you, Preston.