Press Conferences (Philip Daniels) August

I feel like when you get here, it's just, it's a whole other level.

Um, he's gonna keep coaching you up.

He's gonna be hard on you.

He's gonna tell you what you're doing good, he's gonna tell you what you're doing wrong.

And, uh, he's gonna push you to be your best.

What kind of role do they have you playing? Do they have you moving all over?

Yeah, it's moving all over.

Inside?

Yes, sir.

What was it like for you just getting to be here and see, you know, this team win a national championship in their first two weeks on campus?

It was crazy.

I feel like I knew that they were gonna do it from the beginning of the season.

I feel like they always had the potential.

And then, uh, they came out here, they did it.

And the freshmen, we had a, uh, opportunity to sit there and watch it.

So I feel like now we just gotta do it again.

What did you learn from that, just watching them?

Just it, it's all hard work, and it's just a bunch of guys, and it's really a brotherhood.

And it's really just our family versus their family, and we just gotta persevere, and we gotta win the games and get back to the Natty.

Coach Hartline, Coach Hartline was saying that Carnell and Brandon have really been leaders in the room so far this year.

For sure.

What have ...

How have they both been leaders for you and the other young receivers?

They've been leaders just in multiple ways.

Whether I call them, uh, we're in there in the film room together, we're on the jugs.

Uh, I'm asking them about this route, how I can run it better.

I'm asking them how I run this route on this play.

Just many different things.

I feel like those guys, uh, they're like big brothers, and all they've done is help me.

How valuable is that to have, you know, guys that are, you know, that play a lot of football but also have been in college for a while, so where, you know, you could ask them various things about college life and football? How valuable have they been?

It's real, real valuable for sure, 'cause they're, they're first round pick guys.

So I feel like just being in a room with those guys, and if you're able to thrive with those guys, you know something's going good for you.

What have your impressions been on the quarterbacks and I guess specifically Tavien, you know, the freshman coming in? What have you kind of known about him and learned about him over these last couple weeks?

Uh, I had a ...

I always had a good relationship with Tavien.

Uh, he recruited me hard to come here, so I feel like we always talked.

And, uh, he came here, and he's been doing his thing.

They've all been doing their thing.

And Julian Sayin, he's another Cali kid, so I had a little relationship with him, too.

So good to see, uh, Julian, Lincoln, and Tavien all doing real good.

What, what does that next step for you look like, you know, in terms of evolution of your game? What do you want to get better at in the spring practice and just training?

S- I ju- really just everything.

I feel like you can never be too perfect, and I feel like you just gotta keep doing your job.

So I say maybe just, uh, just showing up more and just doing my job to the T.

Going against these, these corners or these DBs, how has that kind of made you better over the last couple weeks? Because they're pretty talented.

At high school, in high school I had, uh, a five-star corner, De- DeJon Lee.

He's at Alabama.

So I always had good working corners.

So I feel like it's just a lot ...

I'm going against a lot of good guys now, instead of just being one-on-one at practice with DeJon.

So it, it's real good for sure.

Does it take more courage to play in the slot than outside?

Say that again, please.

Does it take more courage to play in the slot than outside?

What do you mean by that?

'Cause there's more stuff.

There's, there's bigger hitters-

Oh

... inside.

Mm-hmm.

You have to have a ...

Y- you've got to be aware of it.

But does it-

For sure

... take more courage to do that?

Um, I guess you could say that.

I feel like I've just always played slot, and I, I feel like that's what I've been better at.

So I feel like, um, I feel like it's just what I have to do, to be honest.

So I, no matter who's in front of me, how big he is, how strong he is, I feel like if I got an assignment, I gotta do it.