Club Shay Shay - Tyreek Hill

Episode Date: December 10, 2022

"Cheetah" is here! Tyreek Hill joins Shannon for a LIVE conversation inside Club Shay Shay. The two of them discuss Tyreek's trade to the Miami Dolphins, this season playing with Tua Tagovailoa and they settle the debate on who really is the fastest WR in the NFL. Tune in! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I am your host, I'm also the proprietor of Club Che Che, and the guy that's stopping by for a conversation and a drink today really doesn't need an introduction, but I'll give him one anyway. He's been selected to the Pro Bowl every year he's been in the NFL. He's a Super Bowl champ. He's a three-time first-team All-Pro, about to be four. He's a member of the 2000 All-Decade team as a punt returner, one of the fastest men to ever play the game. I believe he's currently the fastest man playing the game. The most dangerous man in the NFL, and he's not a defensive player,

and he doesn't wear 300 pounds. Ladies and gentlemen, Tyreek Hill, also name is Cheetah. How you doing, Reek? Doing all right, man. I am doing all right. I just wish you had that same energy when you said I had no hands. That's not what I said. That's not what I said.

I said you're not a natural hand catcher. Come on, man. You got hands. Obviously, you got your wide receiver. I just don't pay you 30 million for no reason. Okay. Okay. We'll get to that in a little minute.

Come on. We're going to get to talking today. We're going to get to talking. We're going to get to talking today. Cheetah Bo, you got the name from your grandma. How did you come up with Cheetah Bo? Well, growing up, my whole family called me Bo Bean. I had several nicknames.

Bo Bean. But Bo kind of stuck with me throughout my whole entire life. Everybody knows Bo Jackson. Right. You know, Bo Jackson was whole entire life. Everybody knows Bo Jackson. Right. You know, Bo Jackson was an incredible athlete. He did it all. So once I got to the league, man, you know, Bo was already taken. Right.

You know, so my grandmother, like, she kind of came up with something. She was like, you know what? We're going to call you Cheetah Bo. You know what I'm saying? Because I'm a huge animal guy. I love animals. It fits. It definitely fits.

What were your expectations? Because when you first got into the league, well, I will give you this, Tyreek. You've turned yourself into a hell of a receiver because when you first got into the league, you were mainly a returner. Kick returner, punt returner. They bring you in a couple of plays on third down,

but you worked your tail off. You run the route tree. You can run the out, the in, the dig, the go, the shake, all of that. Right. What was it that you said, you know what, I'm more than a gadget guy. I'm more than a returner. Well, for me, man, like, so my parents, my grandparents, they did a great job of raising me and just believing in who I am as a person

and as a player. You know, I grew up in a small town, you know, where a lot of people, you know, may not have the same opportunity that I may have had. But, you know, I knew once I got the opportunity to be able to play on a big stage, on a big platform, I had to make it count. Right. You know, so I wanted to be different. You know, like there's a lot of guys in this

league that play receiver. But I tell guys, look, I play offense, man. Like you can't coach what I do. Right. You feel me? So for me, for somebody to just sit there and just call me a gadget guy, I want you to add more to that. He's an offensive weapon. Right. Like do that. You feel me? I rather you call me that instead of just a gadget guy. Right. And I still don't consider myself one of the best receivers because, you know, I can't do what some of those other guys do. But I know what I can do.

I can play football and I'm smart. But they can't do what you do. Exactly. Which is why I say, like, you can't coach what I do. You feel me? So, that's to each his own. Right. I'm looking at you, and last week you didn't win the ball game,

but you put up a monster day. You had nine catches for a buck 46 and a touchdown. You watched the team that the Raiders played, and Devontae Adams, y'all have very different ball games. Right. He goes for a buck 77 and two touchdowns. When you play a team and you see the previous week a wide receiver goes off, are you thinking, mm-hmm, your boy about to eat?

Yeah, sometimes, man, especially. But like you say, like me and D.A., we got different games. You know what I'm saying? Like he's more of a finesse guy. He's more of a release guy. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So our game is so different, man.

So I wouldn't sit here and say that the Chargers got a bad defense because they allowed D.A. to go for 177. But what I will say is I'm fortunate enough to play with a good quarterback and a great head coach who's able to put me in position to make plays. Right. And we've been able to see that all year. So I don't want to sit here and take all the credit for that. When are you surprised when guys try to press you?

Because like I said, you're one of the probably five or six fastest guys to ever play the NFL. Right. I believe you're currently the best. And we're going to talk about this because there's a lot of guys that want to challenge you, say, nah, it ain't Tyreek and Shannon. Oh, you need to stop saying it's Tyreek because it's not. So they've been coming on my show, sitting me straight.

They've been hitting me. I'm like, well, damn. So, but are you surprised when you see a guy you line up in the slot or you line up outside the numbers? Are you surprised when you see a guy like, bruh, are you really about to do this? Man, believe this or not, I rarely see press. Like, I haven't seen press in like two years. It's always crazy. Like, during this whole entire year, like, when we see press, like,

me and Jalen, we automatically think it's cover two. Right. You feel me? And most, like, 99% of the time it is cover two. Right. Or like, it's some form of zone. Right. So we don't see press and when we do see press, you know, the referee is holding his hands up like this, like touchdown.

You make him smell deodorant, huh? Yeah, like you make him smell deodorant, man. It's a long road trip. I've played 14 years, and I never had a situation where, even when I was playing with the Ravens, we'd come out west, and then we'd stay. What have you been able to do? So how does that – because we're routine.

Right. When you're at home, you go to do? So how does that because we're routine. You know, when you're at home, you go to practice, you go to, you know, you have meetings, you go to practice, get your massage, get your massage, you go back home. But on the road team is on the road trip, especially two weeks. What do you do? How do you get how do you get into a rhythm to make sure you're still able to function at a high level? Well, this is kind of new to me also as well, too, because in Kansas City we didn't do nothing like this. So, for me, I've been able to, like, fly my whole family out. I made sure that, you know, I got the same schedule with seeing my family, seeing my mom, seeing my sister, seeing the kids, seeing everybody, you know, who I regularly see during the week.

Right. And as far as practice-wise, I try to make everything the same. So there's rep count. There's making sure that I study plays during the night and stuff like that. So everything is typically the same. And as a team. You're just doing it on the road. Yeah, yeah.

We're just doing it on the road. And as a team, we've just been spending time together. Right. So we had a comedian come in on Wednesday. Right. Was he good? We had like four comedians. Oh, wow.

Of different races. Okay. You know what I'm saying? So I believe tonight we're doing something as a team. Right. That's unbelievable. That's great. Just trying to spend, just find a way to spend time together as a team.

Right. Because we're a young team. Right. And. And get to know each other outside of together as a team. Right. Because we're a young team. Right. And, you know. And get to know each other outside of football. And, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So that right there is like a whole new level, man. So, but I feel like once I got to this team, like, this team already had it.

You know, they just needed a voice inside of the locker room. So, I mean, once I got here, I kind of accepted that. You, I'm looking at your numbers. You still have a chance. You need to average 100, I think 124 yards over the next five games, and you'll break Calvin Johnson's record of 1,964. When you got to Miami, what were your goals? What were you thinking?

There's been a lot of talk. I said Tyreek's been a lot of talk. I was not in that group. I said, Tyreek's going to be Tyreek. Now, I don't know if he's going to have a whole bunch of 60, 70 yards. And, damn, lo and behold, you got a bunch of 60, 70-yard touchdowns. It's all right, bro. What were your expectations of when you got to Miami? To be who I am, man.

I feel like, you know, everything happens for a reason. Right. You know, I feel like as great as I am, you know, my guy would never steer me into a direction that I don't need to go in. Okay. You feel me? So once the idea of Miami came across my mind, you know, and other teams, because I was an avid Miami fan. Right. And other teams were, like, calling.

I was like, nah, it's a no-brainer, Miami. You know what I'm saying? Because I've seen what Coach McDaniel can do. You know what I'm saying? And I know that he's an offensive guru. And I know, and I knew that Tua was, like, he was him. People don't realize Tua was him. Like, coming out of college, he was him. Right. People don't realize Tua was him. Like, coming out of college, he was him.

Yes. He just had some bad, you know, situations. Right. You know what I'm saying? His first few seasons. Got hurt, got nicked. Got hurt. You know what I'm saying?

His hip. So he's not able to throw the ball how he want to throw it. So I was like, bro, I'm going to go here and I'm'm gonna have the best year in my career right i'm gonna see it so when i got there that's how me and coach medea was talking about his like bro we gonna get 2000 bro really yeah that's the first thing he said to me he didn't say hey welcome he was like 2000 first thing he said i'm like man you must be reading my mind like let's go you was thinking that too huh automatically man, because we all have goals. I'm not one of them dudes to get paid and just shut it down.

I want to continue to get better. I want to find ways to get better. And like I say, everything happens for a reason. My receiver coach is Wes Worker. Wes Worker, he literally holds me accountable every day. Right. You feel me? And as a player, I need that sometimes because I'm lazy.

I know I can get lazy. I can get complacent in where I am, and he a player like i need that sometimes because i'm lazy like i know i can get lazy i can get you know complacent and where i am and he'll be like reek i need you to wake up i need you to realize like we only got one shot to do this all right so let's get back to work let's focus on the details and fundamentals and let's keep grinding baby because we need you and as a as a as a player i need that sometimes so i feel like like coming here to Miami, man, it really helped my career because I needed like a different change of scenery. And it's paying off. About that, you really had a great situation.

You had a great offense with Andy. Andy was dialing it up. You had weapons around you so they really couldn't double team you because you had Kelsey. You had Nicole. For a couple of times you had Sammy Watkins. You had Robinson. So you've had guys around you. You, you had Nicole. For a couple of times, you had Sammy Watkins. You had Robinson. So you've had guys around you.

You had a great offense. And you seem like, dang, man, Tyreek in Kansas City, Mahomes. You have the quarterback. Nothing needs to be said about him. Right. When did you think that there's a possibility that, you know what, man, I might not finish my career in Kansas City? It got like that probably like mid-last season.

You feel me? Uh-huh. I'm the type of guy, like, I love playing ball and I love, you know, being by the team because football is a team sport, right? Correct. And it will be some games where, like, I get two targets. I get three targets. And we'll go into meetings and my coach would be

like hey we got to get you involved we got to get you involved and I'm like no y'all need to get me involved yesterday don't tell me about it today exactly like you know like you know how to like you know the feeling so I'm calling my agent every week after they say some some crazy stuff like that like bro I got to get out of here so let me ask you a question because obviously you're not a guy to bite your tongue and obviously so, so did you go to EB? Did you go to Andy? Like, bro, what's up? I mean, during the week of practice, y'all throwing me all these balls.

I get into the game, and I get two targets. What's really going on? No, no, no, no. I'm not like that. I'm not going to go to anybody. I'm going to go to my position coach because I deal with him more than I deal with them. Right. You feel me?

And I'm going to go talk to him. But what if he ain't relaying the messages that you need relayed? Then i'm out of there you see where i'm at now i'm out of there man but i love eb i love coach andy reed you know those guys really helped me get to where i am today you know i'm saying as a young player i feel like they really developed me right and like shaped me to who i am today so did you did you did you have a conversation with my home Patrick did you say I'm sorry bro but I'm out uh I just need I need to do this this is not anything to have to do with you this is about me and what I think is the best for my career so check this out I talked to Andy and I talked to uh PM I talked to both of them Patrick Mahomes so I'm like so I talk to both of them. Patrick Mahomes. So I'm like, so I talk to

Coach Andy Reid and I'm like, Coach, like, I don't even need to be the highest paid receiver. I just want to be taken care of and I want to stay, you know, with Kelsey. I want to stay with Pat. I want to stay with my brother. So you had that conversation to end it. Look, take care of your boy and I'm here. Just take care of your

boy, man. Just make me 25 M's. You know what I'm saying? Match me with AJ Brown and I'm cool with that. He was like, okay, okay, okay. So we get back. They got it to 25 M's, but the guaranteed money wasn't looking right.

Me and Drew going back and forth with that. I'm like, Drew, it's fine. Drew's like, no, we can get more. We can get more. You know how agents are. Of course. And that's what he should do. So then I talked to Pat. He was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's saying the same thing. Bro, we got to get you back. We got to get you back.

I'm like, yeah, bro. I want to come back, bro. Like, let's make something happen. But make the money right. But make the money right. Like, just make the guaranteed money sound at least right, bro. That $100 million and you giving me $20 million guaranteed, that don't make sense to me. Exactly.

Exactly. OK. So then, like, Miami had a call. They was like, look, we just going to go all out. We're going to give you 72 million guaranteed. And then I was like, bro, I can't turn that down. No, no, you can't turn that down. I can't turn that down.

With no state income tax either. With no state income tax. I'm basically living in my house for free right now. I'm like, yeah, we can't turn that down. Right. Great weather. Did you go to Andy and and ask them can they match this or were you were your mind already set i gave you every opportunity i didn't really need 30 i didn't

really need what i got but i just needed you to make the guarantee so yeah we did so we did so we did we actually told we actually told kansas city what miami offered and kansas city was like nah we just gonna trade them so then i was like okay bet like that that really goes to show how valuable i am to them. Right. You know what I'm saying? Opposing to how valuable I could be to Miami. Correct.

So I was like, just sign the deal. Let's get it done. And then we just going to make some shape, man. Right. So here I am today. No hard feelings. No hard feelings. No hard feelings, man.

Like, I feel like you can't mix. I can't mix my hard feelings in with the business side of all of that. I still got love for all of them boys. Patrick, Kelsey, Veach, Coach Reed, EB. I still love them. You know what I'm saying? But just know if we do play them, if we do see them, it's showtime.

It's showtime, man. You try to go for two, three bills? What you try to go for? Let's just say for the sake of argument, you play the Chiefs in the playoff. You try to go for two, three bills? What you try to go for? Let's just say for the sake of argument, you play the Chiefs in the playoffs. You try to go for three? They better have two people on me. That's all I know. The Cheetah will be arriving in Kansas City or in Miami.

I don't care where I be at. So let me ask you this. At midseason, they asked NFL execs if they had to vote MVP, Offensive Player of the Year. You got the most votes for Offensive Player of the Year. If you were to get 2,000 yards receiving, forget Offensive Player of the Year. They've been receiving to win that award.

Should you be the MVP? No, I don't. I mean, I don't think so. Like, for me, I really don't look at awards and just go crazy like that and just be like, oh, I think I deserve this. Like, I've basically accomplished everything that I want to accomplish. I feel like I won a Super Bowl, but I can do more. I want to continue winning Super Bowls.

The award thing, that's cool and all, but I want to continue to win with my team. You know what I'm saying? I feel like nothing can, you know, outweigh winning another championship. Right. You know, MVP is cool. Winning MVP is cool. That's cool for my kids. That's cool for my family.

That's cool for, you know, the legacy. That's cool for the legacy. Yes. But once I win, like, but winning a Super Bowl, it just hit differently, man. I swear, man. It's something different when you come into the room and it's like, that's Super Bowl champ Tyreek Hill.

Not Pro Bowl Tyreek Hill. That's Super Bowl champ Tyreek Hill. That's Super Bowl, like, yeah, yeah. They say your name a little bit differently. They do. It does. You're like, okay. Check out how I look.

So, yeah. Okay. You started off. I had Steve Smith. I know Smitty. We go back to 2001 when he made his first Pro Bowl. And he and I were discussing. And –

Oh, my. You're going to shut the clock, baby. I'm listening. Oh, you're listening. I'm locked in. Okay. So – Here.

There you go. Oh, you're listening. I'm locked in. Okay. So, here. There you go. Here, give me. Take that one. Shot a clock, Tony. So, he and I was having a conversation. I asked him to list his top five receivers. Uh-huh. He didn't put you in his top five.

You saw, I'm like, you ain't got the reek in there is there has is there any beef between you and i mean because y'all kind of like the same he's not as fast as you obviously right but physical tough tenacious guys uh turned themselves he came in he was a returner duco too though he went to juco also exactly he was a returner punt returner kick returnerer, made the Pro Bowl. That's how you got it. Taught himself to become a great receiver. Exactly.

Also like you did. So did you take offense to him leaving you off the top five receivers? Nah, not for real, man. You know why? Why? Because I make 30 M's a year, bro. Why not? Why would I value another man's opinion?

But I will say, once he tried me with the no hands part i was like bro like you really tried me right like because i feel like i got some of the best hands you know in the league you know granted me not being the biggest you know what i'm saying i feel like i got some of the best hands yeah but you but here's the thing i think when you you're uh like you said you look at i look atae, and I look at Devontae, and he's like he would be more of a prototypical because he's 6'1", angular body, long limb, and he's fluid. You are power. You are power receiver.

You're explosive. Right, right, which the NFL has never seen before. You feel me? But I feel like I can catch with those guys just like those guys can catch. When I look at you, Tyreek, I've been around a lot of guys that can run, but they were track guys. I was in the league with Sam Grady. He won the silver medal in the 84 Olympics.

I know who that is. James Jett. He was on the gold medal winning team in 92. I've seen guys, but I've never seen a guy built like you. You are a track guy. But you have track speed, but you are a track guy. You are, but you have track speed, but you're a football player. When those,

when I look at you, I don't see track. I know you have track elite speed, but I look at you and I look at the way you're built. You're a football player. Those guys were track guys playing football. You are a football player that can run track.

Exactly, man. Like, I don't know. It's just God-given. Yeah. Or maybe my mom and dad just got some crazy genes. I don't know. I don't know. Your mom was over there.

She was pretending she was your sister. Because I walked in, I'm like, you his mom? She's like, no, I'm his sister. I said, well, y'all know. I knew y'all was related. Then she literally like, OK. She had some speed, too, though. She had some speed.

You had some speed, mom? Yeah. That's where you get it from. You got it from you? Okay. Mom said she's faster than that. So you played, so what position did you play in high school? You were a receiver in high school or you were a running back? I did running back, receiver.

I did it all. And track, obviously track. So I didn't start running track to like 10th grade a lot of people think i ran track my whole life i'm like no i'm a country boy man i just i just ran track because the football coach was always the fastest fast right now i wasn't always the fastest believe this or not when i was in 10th grade we had kids that was faster than me huh yeah so what are they doing now where are they now I need to know. They got to be like. You know how I be, man. Like every hood got like these kids.

Guys that really not disciplined. Not disciplined. And they just don't make it out. Right. You know what I'm saying? I was just one of the fortunate ones who listened to my mom. Right. A lot and made it out.

So. I want Tyreek's heels. And you can put yourself in there if you want to, or you can leave yourself out. Like, I don't want to put myself in there. Don't ask me about no top five. Give me. I need it. I need it.

I can't, man. I can't. Because, like, the way that I grade it is, bro, I feel like if you look at all 32 football teams, right? Right. I feel like if you look at all 32 football teams, right? Right. They go to your top five right there. 1-8 through 32 right there.

Man, you crazy. Stop it, Tyreek. Bro, given the circumstances, if you put a guy in a certain system, they can go crazy. You feel me? I disagree. Everybody cannot be Justin Jefferson. I don't care.

I can take guys. Name a guy. I don't care. I can take guys. Name a guy. I don't want to name any guys, but I'm saying that's what makes you unique. Every guy is skilled, bro. Let me ask you a question. He said skilled. You done got me hyped. He hyped a little bit.

Let me ask you a question. Okay. How many 30 million guys are there? How many $30 million guys are there? That's what you told me to begin with. You told me I'd make $30 million. Why they going to give somebody $30 million that ain't got no hands? All right, then. So why they didn't give Devontae Adams $30 million guys are there? That's what you told me to begin with. You told me I'd make $30 million. Why they going to give somebody $30 million that ain't got no hands? All right, then. So why they didn't give Devontae Adams $30 million then?

He turned out less money to go to LA. He took less money to go to LA. Now you're making excuses. No, no, no, no, no. Tyreek. I can put Christian Curtin in my top five because I believe he's a top five receiver in this league. You're looking at me crazy. Yes, bro.

Yes. Yes. Yes. So how much? I gonna move along let's argue let's argue today no no no standing up for my guys i i get it stand up for the receivers but there are there's levels to this no levels to it man given the circumstances i feel like if you put if you put me in atlanta right now i like. No, no, no. I'm talking about the quarterback. Obviously, the quarterback plays a big role. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I give you that. But everybody doesn't have the ability to do what you do

and to do what Devontae does and do what Justin Jefferson or Stephon Diggs. That's not true. That is not true. I can list 15 guys. And do what? That can go out there and put up 1,000 yards, 1,500 yards. But 1,000 yards is not anything. That's 62, that's 64 yards a game.

That's not anything. So what's your argument? But I'm saying there's a reason why that you get what you do. There's a reason why Jefferson and those guys and Devontae get. There's more I feel like you just can't list five guys and just say here's a top five list that's just like saying well if somebody would have cared I could give somebody Michael Jackson's producer and he could have been Michael Jackson that's a lie I can give somebody the same song that I gave Biggin Tupac and they

could be Biggin Tupac that's a lie I'm not I'm not hearing the argument right now. There are 15 qualified like people be forgetting about Brandon Cook. So you believe they be forgetting about Brandon Cook. They be forgetting about Mike Evans. They be forgetting about Keenan Allen. The guys like that who really deserve it. But here's the thing. I'm

not saying they're not Tyreek. I think you're missing the argument what I'm saying. I'm not saying they're not good receivers, but they're tops to this. They're great companies, but everybody ain't Google. Everybody's not Apple. You can't say, well, I was. Those guys are Googling Apple, though. Brandon Cook, Keenan Allen, they not like that to you?

Okay, well, let's. Oh, my God. Mike Evans, they not like that to you? I'm not saying. Tyreek, you're missing my point. I'm not missing your point. Yes, you are. Those guys are

top five receivers so let me get let's go jamal justin top five receivers yes all of us top five that's why i say it's one through 32 like you so you so there are no top five quarterbacks you believe that every quarter i see what what's the difference what's the difference hold on are we missing something how why so if i gave if i gave, if I gave, so you said if I gave, let's just say for the sake of argument, Baker Mayfield, he going to turn into Tom Brady. If he playing with me, yeah. Come on, now. If he playing with me, yeah.

Okay. That's all day. You see what he did last night? Game winning drive. 98 yards. Went crazy. Now, how you want it? Baker Mayfield for the dub.

Hey, Baker Mayfield, I'm on your side, bro. Come on. You keep telling me you got it 30. So, let me ask you a question. When they cut the check and you get this big signing bonus and you look, I don't know, maybe they did, but I'm saying they gave you a check, obviously the direct deposit. What was the first thing Tyreek Witten got?

Well, I'm not too much of a crazy spender, but we bought a nice-sized estate down in Miami. Okay. Spent a pretty penny on that. And that was about it, man. You're not a car guy? No car, no bike? I mean, I bought my car later down the road.

I bought a 720. McLaren? Whoa! So, yeah, I bought a 720. And that's pretty much it, man. That's it? That's it. I'm a simple guy.

You're simple? I drive a minivan to work every day, so. A minivan? Yeah, seriously. I drive a minivan to work every day. Tell me it's a Sprinter. No, it's a minivan. It's a Dodge Caravan. With the wood panel on the side? Come on, seriously. I drive a minivan to work every day. Tell me it's a Sprinter. No, it's a minivan. It's a Dodge Caravan.

With the wood panel on the side? Come on now. Talk to me. Police, if y'all see this man in this minivan, pull him over. Windows tinted every time. How many doors, Mom? Come on, Reed. Come on, bro.

I understand. You try to lay low, K. You don't want nobody to know that's how bro. I understand you try to lay low key. You don't want nobody to know that's Tyreek up in there. You got to lay low. So when you got to Miami, obviously you wanted to win. What was your number one thing? What was the number one thing Tyreek wanted to accomplish? Because you got the C on your chest. That's saying something.

For a guy that leaves one locale, comes to another locale, and gets the C on your chest. That's saying something. For a guy that leaves one locale, comes to another locale, and gets the C on his chest. Quarterbacks, obviously, normally quarterbacks have the C on their chest. But for you, and if I'm not mistaken, I could be wrong, did you ever have the C on your chest in Kansas City? I did. My rookie year, I was a special teams guy. Okay.

They gave me the C for being a special teams guy. Okay. So, yeah. So now you go to Miami and you get the seed. So what was Tyreek's goal? What did you hope to accomplish, not only team-wise but individually? Well, I always look at the big picture of things. Okay.

And, you know, I feel like, like you say, everybody has value in this league and not many people can do what other people can do. Right. You know, so signing the deal in Miami, you know, yes, that was great. But I wanted to do something different. I wanted to prove to people that receivers are just as valuable as quarterbacks. Okay. Okay.

You feel me? Yeah. We even seen it You feel me? Yeah. We even seen it with Stephon Diggs. What he did with Allen. Yes, yes. We seen it with Jamal Chase. Burrow. With Burrow. And, you know what I'm saying, as great as those quarterbacks are,

you know, they still need somebody to bail them out here and there. You feel me? Correct, yes. they still need somebody to bail them out here and there. You feel me? Correct, yes. So I just wanted to just show people the future of what receivers are going to look like. You feel me?

I mean, they may not look like me, but maybe just how valuable we are, man. Like, just start paying a little bit more. I think a receiver that's in the right system can look like you. That's what you just told me. Yeah, they can. Jalen Waddle, for real. There it is right there.

There it is. He can do exactly everything I can. You feel me? And I'm teaching him everything that I've been taught. So he can. They don't fear Waddle like they fear you, though. Hey, no, don't start this. Don't start this, bro.

Don't start this. Tyreek, Tyreek, Tyreek. Don't start this. That's no knock on Jalen. No, I think he's phenomenal. I think he's a phenomenal. It's nice that, I mean, you've really never had anybody, and I know McColl, I mean, it's close to McColl,

but to have somebody like that level speed, like when you and McColl was on the field, like, damn, who? We just got to get deep. Just take off running safety. Just get back as far as you can. That, I don't know if there have ever been two receivers on a team. I mean, I don't know if there have ever been two receivers on a team. I mean, I don't know. Like I said, I was in the league with Sam Grady

and Willie Gault was on the Raiders, and they would just run by people, just throw the goal ball. Yeah, Willie Gault was crazy. Crazy speed. Willie's from Georgia also. He went to Griffin. So you go to Miami, and you're like, okay, I need to show them why they gave me 30 mil.

You go to camp, OTAs, and you start. So what was your goal? What did you want your teammates to see about Reek when you first got here? When I first got in there, man, I told Xavier and Howard the first day, I said, I'm going at you every day in one-on-one training camp. I need the best because that's just me. When I was in KC, I did the same thing with all the DBs. You can ask the DB coach.

I called out everybody, DBs and all. You know what I'm saying? That's probably why they got rid of me. I said, no, my hamstring hurt today, Tyree. I talk trash. So every day, one-on-one, I was like, Xavier Howard, I need that. Come on, let's go, me and you. We first off, and we're going to set the tone of practice.

We're going to set the tone of practice. It's on the right. I like that. I like that. Because check this out. The way that Coach McDaniel runs his team meetings, he's going to start with that. Two of the best guys on the team, highest paid guys on the team,

going at it, and they're not afraid of competition. So'm like yeah once i let these guys know that i'm about my business and i work hard i practice hard and i practice fast and i'm not here just for the money they're gonna realize that hey we need to lock in with this guy and you know follow follow him you know i'm saying and allow me to lead. And those guys have – Is that what you wanted? You wanted more of a leadership role? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I see myself more as a leader. Right. You feel me? Because I feel like I can do that. You feel me? So some took it as shade. Some took it as you're taking a shot at Patrick. When you say it said,

or saying that Tua throws the prettiest ball to, I mean, you spoke in such glowing terms and a lot of people like, well, man, you know, man, he's just trying to hype his guy up.

That's his guy. He's trying to give him some confidence and something like, man, you can hype your guy without – I think he's throwing shade. What were you hoping to accomplish by praising Tua and giving him that credit, although you had never played with him before? Well, I wasn't really looking to accomplish anything.

You know, everybody knows that Patrick Mahomes is on a different level with his quarterback play. Right. You know, he's going to be special, you know, no matter who's there playing receiver for him. You feel me? He's an alien like that. You know, my whole thing was, you know,

every quarterback is good at something. Right. You feel me? Right. Pat has a strong arm. He's accurate. But what I've seen from Tua is, you know, he may not have the strongest arm.

Right. But just know when you turn that ball, it's going to be in the center of your chest every time. Right. It's going to be right there, catchable every single time. You know what I'm saying? And, like, I'm not here to throw shade at nobody. Right.

And Pat know that. He know I love him like a brother no matter what. So you know how the media is. They're just going to take stuff and run with it. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed

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You grew up. You're from Georgia. I'm from Georgia. You're a little further south than I am. You went to, you went to coffee County high school. I think y'all are the Trojans. Are y'all the Trojans? Coffee County Trojans. Doug Douglas. And when, when Tyreek was growing up, what did Tyreek want to do? Did you ever think about being a professional athlete? Like I'm going to run track. I'm going to be in the Olympics. What did you want to do? What did

you want to be? You really want to know what I want to be? I want to know. I ain't going to say that. Yeah, tell me. Come on, tell me. So, believe this or not, man, my senior year, I had all kind of options of what I wanted to do. I didn't have the grades coming out, so I had to go to JUCO. Mm-hmm. So, but I had ran track my final year, and I didn't have no football scholarships.

Right. You feel me? So, ran track my final year, and I didn't have no football scholarships. Right. You feel me? So ran track. I ran fast. I ran like a 10-1, and I ran a 20-point one. And all these big colleges like LSU, Alabama, Florida State, they was all hitting me up like, hey, come run track for us. And I was like, I don't got the grades.

So they was like, okay, you can go to Juco route. Right. So that's how I learned about the Juco route. Right. So I'm like, okay, I can go Juco, and then I can come to y'all. They was like, okay, you can go to Juco route. Right. So that's how I learned about the Juco route. Right. So I'm like, okay, I can go Juco, and then I can come to y'all. They was like, yeah. So they recommended this Juco called Garden City Community College. In Kansas, is it?

In Kansas. All these schools. They was like, go to Garden City, run track there, and then you can transfer to us once you get your grades up. So I go to Garden City. Once I get to Garden City, I'm just there for track. Right. But Garden City, they got a football team.

I don't know if you know Nick Marshall. He was an Auburn quarterback. Yeah, Auburn quarterback. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So Nick, he was one of my boys. I knew Nick from playing against Nick in high school. Okay. Nick was like, hey, Reek, man, you should come play football.

So I go out and play football. You know what I'm saying? I'm like, I started killing it. Had you ever played football before? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, you played? I'm saying I played football in high school but i didn't have no offers right they sent me there to run track right garden city right but you only ran track

your last year high school right yeah i ran track and i played football okay okay so i did both but i just didn't have no offers right okay so when i got to garden city nick was like come play football i played football and i killed it and then me uh that's when I began to get all this, what you call it, attention from scouts and stuff. And I forgot about what the track people had said. They was like, go run track at Garden City. And I forgot about them. I'm like, I'm football now.

I'm back football now, baby. So once you went to the football team, you forgot. So you didn't run track at Duke? I didn't run track. Until my second forgot so you didn't run track I don't know I didn't run track until my second year. I don't run track okay So you said you ran you ran a 10 100 meters in high school you ran 20 point one What that was the fastest time ever of a kid under 18 at the time right somebody just broke that recently right? Oh, yeah, the Terry and night. Yeah, Terry night. He read 1949 Yeah, that kid fast.

That kid fast. So do you still have a state record? Because I think you ran 20.9 in high school at Georgia, right? Is it still standing? It probably is. It probably is. Right. It probably is still standing.

Let's go ahead and get this out of the way. I've had a lot of guys. They've hit me up, say, man, you need to stop talking about Tyreek, the fastest man in the NFL, because he's not. I had DK Metcalf sit in that very chair, and I said, hold on. You try to tell me you faster than Reek, Cheetah, Ten. He said, you give him as many nicknames as you want to. He cannot run.

I'm going to tell you like this. I DM DK Metcalf this offseason. I'm like, bro, pull up. Let's race. We can donate the money to charity. We can do 50,000 on the line right now. Guess what he said? He sent me a picture of himself in a boot. I'm in a boot, bro. I'm like, bro, I don't even remember you getting hurt, bro.

When you got hurt? Okay, there's a guy on your team, Max Breda. No, Mostert. Raheemeem moster oh you you can ask him all the time i i told him at the end of this season i'm bringing a briefcase full of a hundred thousand me and him gonna race on the spot right there and he ain't gotta put up number 50 you would take the man money yeah like like you i mean uh there's uh uh marquis goodwin i think he's talking about he can get you. Marquis Goodwin, like, I've challenged him to many races. Like, a lot of these guys, like, they just get on TV and talk.

But what I do is I DM them on the side trying to set stuff up for charity, but they don't want to do it. Like, they just come on your show and just talk, I believe. Yeah, so you can say emphatically, empirically, that you are the fastest player currently playing in the NFL. I'm the fastest player currently playing in the NFL. There's nothing needed to be said about that. That's it. So why do all these guys want to stake claim to your title?

So I just like people trying to chase jordan right right you know how people chase jordan and say oh man like he'd go he'd go yeah i know i'm the goat like he'd go like you feel me right i'm not saying i'm the goat but i know i'm the fastest right you feel me i i'm definitely claiming that title so if i if i were if i if i were scheduled race, I got you, DK, Raheem Mostert, Jalen Waddle, the kid that just came out at the Patriots. I think his name is Taequann Thornton. Taequann Thornton, yep. So I got five guys.

I'm going to put y'all on the track. What you want to run? You want 100 or you want 40? Whatever those guys want to run. I let those guys choose. You going to let them? I let them choose, bro. So you're saying lose or pick?

Lose or pick. Whatever they want to pick, man. And the money go to charity? And the money go to charity. If I can get charity to like, okay, this is $100,000. We're going to go to a great cause. You think they're going to show up? I think two of the guys will show up then.

Two of the guys are going to realize that, hey, we're really about to lose. I'm going to show up on time. You did see DK at about 230. Run 1033 at 230. He said if he dropped down to 200, 195, he said you ain't got no chance. I'm just telling you what he told me. If he dropped down to 200, then he going to be sorry at football.

So which one he want? Which one he want? He want to be faster than me or he want to be good at football? You better stick to what he know, which is catching passes. So how much do you weigh right now? What, 190, 195? I weigh 195. Okay.

So you wouldn't drop anything. You going to get on the track and run 195? Look. Look, I'm still going to eat my Popeyes, go to the race, and then do what I got to do. Yeah, let's talk about that diet. Because when I got here, you eating Cheeto. I mean, you was eating Doritos.

And your diet is still, you and DK, y'all got something in common because y'all diet is terrible. Look, my diet is straight from my mom's kitchen. You know, when I come home, I have that fried pork chop ready. So what's the meal? Okay, Tyreek wakes up. Do you eat at home or do you get to the facility? I eat at home. You eat at home. So what is the breakfast? Okay. Tyreek wakes up. Do you eat at home or do you get to the facility? I eat at home. You eat at home. So what is the breakfast? What's breakfast for Tyreek? My mom used to cook bacon, sausage, eggs, everything. Grits. Grits. You can't even move

in the morning. You'd be walking like the Michelin man in the morning. Man, I'd be ready to go back to bed. I'd eat all that bacon, grits, and sauce. I don't miss by three meals because of my mom. Like, crazy. Getting me fine. Okay, so now, lunch, you at the facility, and you know they got gourmet. I mean, they lay it out.

Oh, yeah, they lay it out. They lay it out. Whatever you want, if you pescatarian, if you vegan, if you paleo, whatever you want, these facilities can accommodate you. So what's lunch for tyreek well typically lunch is like kind of like we only get lunch for like 20 minutes because we because we jump from lunch straight to practice okay so i can't you gotta be like so i gotta i

gotta eat like okay typically i do like uh i do like a shake and i'll be like uh like a something quick like a quesadilla or nachos or something quick. Damn, you know, that's still like, okay. Now, do you do dinner there or you wait till you get home tomorrow? I go on home and eat. So what you eat for dinner? I mean, she really serve it up.

Like she really, it really be different. It varies from days, depending on how she feeling. If she in a good mood, she really gonna take care of me. But my favorite meal that she makes, she made like a little Frito pie. Yeah. What them chips called? Fritos.

Fritos with the Frito pie. And hey, I'm tripping. Frito chips. Yeah. She got cheese on the side. She got jalapeno. She got tomatoes and diced tomatoes. What else?

Man, that's one of the best Hispanic meals of all time right now. How often, how, mom, how often you cooking that? We did that the other day. God, I'm kidding. That one, 195 right now. We did that the other day, we did. Tariq, your final season in Kansas City,

you had 111 receptions 1239 yards nine touchdowns did you go to Miami saying I can beat that I know what I did that's the best season I've had as far as catches I can beat that oh yeah yeah yeah easy easily because because like I said it was some games that I only got two targets right you know, I would have to make up for it in other games and go for like 150 or 200. Right. And I knew once I got to Miami, you know, Coach McDaniel, he was going to feature me, you know, in a way that I've never been featured before in this league.

Right. You know, so I'm real, I'm like, I can say this a million times, I'm real grateful for being able to play for this organization, for this team, you know, for him, for just bringing me here, me and my family, man. I'm very thankful for that. Right. We touched on it earlier. You guys got some, you know, you got to make up some ground.

The game you lost last week didn't do you any – it's solid. Buffalo is leading your division. You get a chance to play them again. Hold on. Buffalo, hold on. We leading. We 2-0. We 2 a chance to play them again. Hold on, Buffalo, hold on. We leading. We 2-0. We 2-1.

2-1. But they have a better overall record than you guys. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, you know, it goes overall record. Then it goes, if it comes down to it, it goes to division record. How does, you know, you got to make sure you're in the playoff. Because, obviously, you know, Kansas City, that's, you know, you just want to make the playoffs.

Because that's your goal. Like, okay, this team hadn't been in the playoffs because obviously, you know, Kansas City, you just want to make the playoffs because that's your goal. Like, okay, this team hadn't been to the playoffs in a minute. They brought me in here for a reason. I ain't here to just take their money. I'm here to get them over the hump. Well, my message to all the guys on the offensive side and defensive side is just, you know, let's just be us and let's just focus on one week at a time. You know, we can't look ahead and think about who we got or who's playing who.

All we can do is control what we can control. Correct. And that's our next game, which is, you know, the Los Angeles, which is the L.A. Chargers. Right. So we're just going to go out to this game, you know, looking to play with fundamentals, techniques, come out with a dub, man, against a real good team.

Right. Their record may not show it, but they're a real good team, I believe. I'm looking at this. You guys, Chiefs have the number one passing offense. You guys have the number two passing offense. So it seems like everybody should be happy. It was a win-win, I think. No, it wasn't a win-win.

No, I ain't going to lie. I can a win-win, I think. No, it wasn't a win-win. No, hang on. I can't say it lost their way. No matter who they got, no matter what them picks, they're not going to beat Tyreek. You know, Tyreek, you got a chance to get fitted for a gold jacket. You do understand that, right? I don't even know what none of that means, bro. You get fitted for a gold jacket.

You go to football heaven. Football heaven. Now, that's something right there. You go to football heaven. Football heaven. Now that's something right there. You go to football heaven. That'll be something right there. My goal was just to make it into the league, but just to be acknowledged

for going into football heaven, that'll be something crazy right there. The Dolphins haven't been to the playoffs since 2016. What would it mean to you, to the city, to Miami, that fan base? Tyreek comes in, and obviously they've added some other pieces. I think Coach McDaniel has done an unbelievable job scheming, doing a great job of getting you in position so you can do what you do best, catch the football,

and get down the field in a hurry. Jalen Waddell, you guys have weapons. I'm looking at you, Wilson Jr., and you got Mostert and yourself and Waddell and Gusecki and Smythe. Guys, I mean. Got Teron Armstead. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We got some crazy guys on this team.

And they go out and make the trade for Bradley Chubb. Bradley Chubb. So the one thing I can say about the Dolphins, y'all all in. Yeah. You shoved all your chips to the middle of the table. They really all in, you know, on this team, and they really all in on Tua. And that just goes to show, you know, how successful he's been this year.

You feel me? Right. Because I feel like no team would do that. You know, like they wouldn't go out and just trade for like one of the best DNs in this league, you know, if they truly didn't believe that this is our window right now. Right. You feel me?

So they understand. Mr. Greer understands. And obviously this whole organization believes in, you know, our quarterback. So looking forward for the challenge, man. Like making the playoffs will be like a dream come true, man, as just a player. You know, I know I've been fortunate enough to be on teams to make it to the playoffs. Right. You've never not made the playoffs.

In your whole NFL career, you've never not made the playoffs. But to be able to, like, actually help a team. Right. That has been a long time since they've been in the playoffs but to be able to like actually help a team i know right there's been a long time since they've been in the playoff and now you show up on the scene but you know that's not a coincidence right it just hit differently man you know right talk to because we see mike mcdaniel we remember him singing the song last year we see him on the sideline and they ask him and he said said, no, that wasn't me. I effed up. I effed up.

So what's he really like? Oh, he's a great coach. His energy, the way he leads his team, the culture he has brought to this organization has been great. You feel me? Everybody loves him. He has a different kind of swagger, and he's one of those coaches that anyone can get along with. You feel me? Everybody loves him. He has a different kind of swagger and he's one of those coaches that anyone can get along with. Right. Feel me? So, I mean, I think the world of

him and I obviously love playing for him and he makes my job a whole lot easier. Like, I feel like when I was playing with Coach Reed, I feel like, I don't know, I just had like a different kind of pressure because Coach Reed was like one of them goaded coaches. It's like, you grew up watching Coach Reed on TV and it's like, bro, this dude, Coach Reed, is a legend, bro. I don't want to mess up. Right. But it's like, with Coach McDaniel, it's like, you don't want to mess up, but it's like,

dang, bro, this dude really believe in me. Right. You feel me? Because it'll be some plays where I drop a pass and he'll be like, Reek, I know you were supposed to catch that. Like, I know you were supposed to catch that. I knew you wasn't trying to drop it. You feel me?

It's like a different vibe from KC. Are there any similarities between Coach McDaniel and Andy? What are some of the similarities and what are the major differences? Well, both of them, I feel like both of them are real open to change, and they're open to any fresh ideas that are pertaining to opening up this offense even more. Right. And that's what makes them great at what they both do, which puts the ball in their playmakers' hands.

You feel me? So Coach Andy can dial up a crazy play and put the ball in somebody's hands, and Coach McDaniel can do the same thing. You feel me? And just take us to a different, you know, spectrum, and it'll go crazy. How about this here? Who's the best duo? Ten wide receivers.

Okay, we got A.J. Brown, Devontae, Stephon Diggs, Gabe Davis, Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, Jamar Chase, T. Higgins. We got you and Waddle. And you know what? Just for good measure, I'm going to throw C.D. and Michael Gallup in there. Who the best two receivers?

All I'm going to say is stats speak for themselves. No, no, no. I don't know. You know how that is. Ain't nobody got no stats. Who got the stats? For the people out there watching stats speak for themselves, man. Who got the best stats?

If somebody's number one and number five in the chart of receiving yards, stats speak for themselves, man. That's all I got to say. Would that be you? I don't know. I have no idea. When you got to the league, who was your mentor? When you got to Kansas City, put their arms around you and said,

okay, this is how we do it. See, I had Jeremy Macklin. I had Albert Wilson. And I had Chris Conley. All three of those guys were very helpful in my career. But I feel like once I got to the league, those guys knew that, hey, we got somebody that run 4-2 in here, and he know how to play ball. He coming to get my job. He coming to get my job.

Him and, because it was me and Demarcus Robinson. Right. It was like those two young dudes, they don't talk, they work hard, and they make sure that we get our Popeyes on Sunday. I mean, on Saturday. Saturday going to play. Before we travel. These dudes bought their business. So they knew once me and D-Rob, we showed up at practice like that

and we were very accountable, they was like, yeah, we in trouble. But the one guy that I really could say that really helped me get to where I am right now, man, Kelsey. He really put his arms around me and really taught me the way, man. Nah, man, Kelsey, he really put his arms around me and really taught me the way, man. Like, we don't play the same position, but he really, like, really broke down. Like, we all know you fast. We all know you got God giving this and that and that.

But there's a certain way you got to play this game. There's a certain time you can use all that. And now when I'm thinking, I'm like, yeah, you're right and I'm telling Jalen the same I'll be telling Jalen Water the same thing like we got God given but there are times that we use that there are other times that we can turn into little West Wilkers and just route stuff up in the slot you feel me and that's and that's the part of the game that I didn't know early on in my career you know you feel me yeah what's Yeah. What's your favorite touchdown celebration that you've done?

I mean, the backflip? Probably when I did the F1 car. Sunday night, I did the F1 car. Probably that one. That was probably my rookie year. What made you start doing the peace sign?

Because that's, I mean, you're like, bro, I'm out. So me, man, I'm all about peace and love. Like I'm all about spreading awareness, man. And like I believe just one time, my rookie year, I was running to the end zone. And I'm like, okay, I don't know what to do. So I just threw up a peace sign. You feel me? So I just did it there, and then I just began to do it all the time.

I began to get cocky with it. Defenders be right beside me like, hey. Just throw it up in their face. So what would happen if you threw up the peace sign, and all of a sudden the dude got to burst the energy and snatch you. You know what? You don't believe that can happen? I don't believe it can happen because I don't feel like nobody can catch me. And that's not me saying that I'm just the fastest.

I'm just saying, like, I'm just confident that I'm that far away from you. Right. Like, I know positioning and I know my leverage. Right. I'm by you now, so I'm going to throw this up. Right. You feel me? Because you still stuck in quit sand. Right. Like, I know positioning and I know my leverage. Right. I'm by you now, so I'm going to throw this up. Right. You feel me? Because you still stuck in quicksand. Right.

And I'm, like, on a treadmill and I'm gone. Right. You're tight end. Gusecki tried to hit the gritty. Yeah, that was embarrassing, right? You're like, bro, when he got to the side, you say, bro, what was that? What are you doing? That's the gutty.

That ain't the gritty. When he did, I was like, bro, are you hurt? Are you okay? What's going on with that gritty? It was like, bro, it didn't look like that in the mirror. I'm like, you got that right. You're like, I hope it didn't look like that in the mirror. You still came out and did it.

You know what's crazy? I told him to continue to do it because people actually hated it that bad. They actually liked it. It's crazy. So I told him, next time you score, keep doing it. Right. You played the Chiefs a couple years ago. I ain't never seen a guy have 200 yards in a quarter.

a couple years ago, I ain't never seen a guy have 200 yards in a quarter. When you got up to that kind of start, did 300, 400 yards cross your mind? You know what? Yeah, over 200, 203 yards and I think three touchdowns in the first quarter. Like, I wasn't even thinking at the time. You know, I was just thinking about winning the game. Like, maybe if the game was like, maybe if it was up by 21 the whole game, I would have been stat checking. But the game was so close against the Bucs that, you know,

I didn't even have time to just think about stats. I would just go line up, make a play, and then Pat would be like, hey, I'm going to come back to you. I'm coming back to you. This is right here. And I would be like, okay, let's do it. So, it never crossed my mind, not once. Because I'm thinking to myself, I see 203. I'm like, he got a. Let's do it. So it never crossed my mind not once. Because I'm thinking to myself, I see 203.

I'm like, he got a chance at Flipper's record. Flipper did 339 on a Sunday night game against the Saints. He was with the Rams. He did 339. 15 catches, 339. You kind of feel it, though. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. You kind of feel it, though.

200 in the first quarter? All I need is like 50, 50, another 50. That ain't asking too much. I just got 200. I know I can get 50 a quarter for the next three. But it's like defensive coordinators are so smart now. It's like you're not going to. You're not going to keep doing that.

Because they play man and all of a sudden they went to cover two. Yeah, because they play man the first few possessions of that game. Right. It was like after that, it was like, you know what? You're not going to keep doing our guy like that. We're going to play two men. We're going to put him off and let him play inside. We're going to put the safety over top.

We're not going to do that. Right. Growing up in Coffey County, did you live on a farm? Did you have animals? I mean, so what was life like for you in Coffey, Coffey County? It was great. I didn't live on a farm. I didn't live on a ranch.

But I just lived in a typical home. It was kind of in the country. Right. It was away from the city. So I would have to walk. No, Coffey County is country. I would have to walk. Unless you live in Atlanta, you're in the country.

I would have to walk like two miles to the city. What? Yeah, I did that too. Yeah. I remember one time I ran like 15 miles from like city to city crazy what was somebody chasing you nah you know like your mom gonna whip you nah my mom told me to be home by a certain night she was like make sure you home by one o'clock a.m i was seeing i was seeing like my little girlfriend at the time yeah Yeah. My mom was like, I am not going to come pick you up. You got to be home.

So I had to run 15 miles to 15 miles and I did it. Ma, you let him run 15 miles. He over there laughing with a head down. So you didn't ride horses? You didn't do anything like? I know how to ride a horse. You know what? You speak't do anything like that? I know how to ride a horse. You know what? You speak very highly of your grandparents.

I was raised by my grandparents. Obviously, they did an unbelievable thing for me. You spoke about your grandmother, and you said, you know, you get back home a couple times a year because, you know, your grandparents still live there. Tell me about the influence your grandparents had on you. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL daily with Greg Rosenthal five days a week.

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Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Well, my grandparents, they raised me throughout my whole entire childhood. So they really inspired me. They really, you know, grew me to who I am today.

They made me into the animal I am today, that hungry guy who doesn't take losing easily. You feel me? So I'm very prideful in everything that I do. I'm very thankful for them for raising me this way. And yeah, I had a great life. I had a great childhood, man, growing up. I had everything that I wanted. If I didn't have it, they would work their tails off to get it.

Very blessed to have them in my life still to this day. Your grandparents, it's something special, something to be said, that people that inspired you, that helped you, are

able to be their witness and see Tyreek this big to this big and to see what you've been able to accomplish. What was that like for you when you're growing? You're like, Grandma, I don't know if you call it Granny, Grandma, Big Mama, I'm going to the NFL. I'm doing this and the accomplishments and the Super Bowls and the Pro Bowls and the All Pros. What was that like? Well, like any typical grandmother, you know how that is. They're going to be like, nah. Like, they're still going to look at you as a baby.

So my grandma, she still look at me as a little boy still. Like, she still think I'm about this tall. Like, nah, you don't supposed to be doing that. But my granddad, he's like proud of me. Every day he calls me and like, man, I can't believe to be doing that. But my granddad, he's, like, proud of me. Every day he calls me and, like, man, I can't believe you're doing this, dog. Right. Like, it's still shocking to me that I can get on YouTube and look up your highlights in the NFL and you doing everything that you said you was going to do.

So for me, man, to be able to make them proud and my parents proud and just everybody around me proud, man. Like it's, it's surreal sometimes. Like I'm not able to like take it all in sometimes and be thankful for just being who I am. Right.

Man, I'm looking, I mean, this is impressive. You were on the gold medal winning team, uh, the four by one in Barcelona. Uh huh.

You won the bronze medal in the 200 meters in the Olympic... I guess we call that the Junior Olympics, right? And then you won in track and field, the 5A state meet. You won 10-1-9 and won 20.14. I mean, that was...

Who would have thought? I won the best performance trophy in triple jump in 86. So you got both best performance trophies. Mm-hmm. Who would have thought, man? One guy. In Jefferson. You still have it in Jefferson?

Still in Jefferson. Who would have thought, man? Because believe this or not, my junior year I ran like a 10.8. How the hell did you go from 10-8 to 10-1? I have no idea, man. Like a lot of people thought I was taking stuff. They was like, hey, he's got to be on something. But, nah, like it's just like the relationships I grew,

like my track coach that I had, his name was Jerry Hill. And a lot of people think he's my uncle or something, but he's not. He's like he's a white, and he's my track coach. Me being able to connect with him on a different level and him just understanding who I am as a person, as an athlete, the way that we just connected, he truly believed in who I was. And our first conversation, he was like, Re re like this is our year that we're gonna win state and this is a kid who just came off running 10-8 and I'm like bro like the kid just

ran a 10-3 last year I'm gonna run I'm gonna drop like that he's like no I see it I see it in you like it's just you don't train so he said that that, and I began training, and then you know, everything just began to take off in the right direction. I never practiced long jump, but I won that. So you got the high point trophy also? Yeah. No, no, no, no. We got second place in the high point trophy

as a team. No, I'm saying but you won the high point, so individual. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So you won the 100, the 200, and the long jump. And the long jump. I won the high point trophy too. You know you won with high – so individual. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So you won the 100, the 200, and the long jump. And the long jump. You know, I won the high point trophy too. You know what I'm saying? You know, you won with the high point trophy. I'm going to say it.

I won it in 85. But so you mentioned high school. You had to go the Juco route because you didn't do the necessary work or the steps. I didn't have the grades. Why? Were you just bull jiving? I didn't have the grades. Why? Were you just bull-jiving? I was just bull-jiving.

Typical high school guy, typical high school athlete. You chasing the girls? I mean, Cheetah. Cheetah was a fan for a reason. Cheetah was a ladies' man back in the day, you feel me? Yep. You feel me? I used to get around with the honeys a lot, stay out late.

And, yeah, I just didn't apply myself in school until I realized that I actually had the opportunity in front of me I didn't start applying myself the graduation test was like two weeks away and I didn't start applying myself to like a week away from the graduation test and I'm like bro like what did I just

screw my life my senior year of high school away and I could have been going D1. Right. So now you realize, in order to make my dreams come true, I'm going to have to go an alternate route in order to get back on the road that I need to be on. That's when I began to run track, and all the track offers began to come. And that's when they sent me to Garden City.

Okay. They sent you to Garden City. So my thing is you mentioned LSU, you mentioned Alabama, you mentioned a lot of big schools. You didn't mention Oklahoma State. What made you choose Oklahoma State? Oklahoma is a long way

from Georgia. At least Louisiana and Alabama are close. So, my mom lived in Oklahoma. Oh, okay. She lived in Oklahoma. And then I had this whole fascination with Tavon Austin going to West Virginia and being like this big star. Right. Having like 544 yards in one game. Yeah, yeah.

And I'm like, bro, I can be just like this dude, bro. I move like him. We may be the same speed. I'm taller than him. I can do that too. Right. So I'm like, I'm going to commit to Oklahoma State, go to the Big 12, and then I'm going to go first round in the draft.

That was my goals. Right. You go first round. Go first round. That was my goals. You go to Oklahoma State. You have an incident. Mm-hmm.

And you got dismissed from the team. What did you learn? What did Tyreek learn from that incident? Hmm. What did I learn, man uh I had to grow up real fast so once I got dismissed I had to move all the way back home so you came all the way back to Georgia I came all the way back to Georgia now you know when you leave everybody's not happy that you left there are a lot of people that was like yeah I told y'all Tyreek wasn't gonna do nothing

yeah like that that's just typical Yeah, that's just typical talk. Yeah. That's just typical talk, though. So you get back home. What was Tyreek's game plan? Because your home, I mean, life was good. I mean, in Bedlam, you return a punt return 92 yards. You the toast of Stillwater.

Come on. I was him. I was up here. I was all the way up here. So now you've got to go all the way back to Georgia. So what's going through Tyreek's mind? You and your mom, your grandma's house, you laying in the bed at night like, damn, what have I just done?

Did I just F my life up? What did I do? Nah, man. It was just one of them typical college stories about a football star and a girl. Like, you know how it is. People just bang, bang, bang. He did this. He say, she say moment.

Right. We're not going to get into all that. But what I will say, when I went back to Georgia, I went back to Georgia with my grandparents and I had completely lost everything. Friends, family, a lot of people not believing in me, but I still had my

core unit. I had my grandparents, I had my mom, I had my dad, my sister. I still had those people that believed in me. Yeah, that's all you need. As long as you got the core, you good. As long. I had my mom. I had my dad. I still had those people that believed in me. Yeah. That's all you needed. As long as you got the core, you good. As long as I got the core, I'm good. So I didn't have no plan of going to school. I was like, I'm going to sit and chill for

a minute. Like you say, you're going to have those people that was like, yeah, I told you Tyree, you're going to be back. This is typical. It's typical. It's typical. So my granddad, he get us a job at this wood plant. So you know, when you go to the wood plant and you, I'm sticking wood inside of a thing and you,

I don't know, I can't remember. It's a wood plant, so I'm doing that. I did that for like two months. And I don't know, I really believe in everything happens for a reason. I got a call from this school. School called me. They're like, hey, this Tyreek? And I'm like, yeah, this Tyreek.

And it's a school in Tennessee, Chattanooga. So they're like, yeah, man, you can come up here and go to school. Like, we heard about your story. You can come up here and go to school. So I tell my mom. She's like, oh, yeah, we're going back to school to play ball. So I tell my mom, she's like, oh yeah, we going back to school to play ball. So I tell her that. I drive literally eight hours

to go to Tennessee from South Georgia all the way to Tennessee. I get all the way up there. The dude was like, all you got to do is just talk to the president. I get all the way up there. The dude is like, bro, we can't accept you. What? Exactly. Hold on. You know, hold on.

I drove by myself. I drove by myself too. I drove all the way up there to talk to the president, the You know, hold on. Exactly. I drove by myself. I drove by myself, too. I drove all the way to talk to the president, the head coach, athletic director. They all was up there. So once I got up there, I ain't even see him. He just called me. He was like, yeah, you up here?

He was like, yeah. We can't accept you, man, because of the situation. You know, y'all could have called me on the phone when I was in Georgia. When I was leaving, y'all could have told me that. So I called my mom. I'm like real sad. I'm like, man, I'm about to hang it up, ma. My mom, she was like, hey, man, don't worry about that.

Just come home. God got you. So believe it or not, as I'm driving home, I get another call from West Alabama. So Coach called me. He's like, Reek, you ready to play some football?

I'm like, man, I ain't want to. Who is this? I'm like, nah, man, I ain't want to talk right now

because the school just turned me down. Right. I'm like, nah, I ain't want to play no ball. He's like, Reek,

I got the transcript. I'm ready. West Alabama. I said, send me a picture of it. He sent me the picture of the transcript. I'm really, West Alabama. I said, send me a picture of it. He sent me the picture of the transcript. Him and the AD, the athletic director, the president, and the head coach, they all on the phone.

Yeah, come on. We want you. So I, let me type in Alabama. I'm four hours away. I'm on the way. So I called my mom. I'm like, Mom, I just got a call from West Alabama. They say they want me. She was like, yeah, yeah, let's go, let's go, on the way. So I called my mom. I'm like, Mom, I just got a call from West Alabama. They say they want me.

She was like, yeah, yeah, let's go, let's go, let's go. So I go there. I get there. And I play literally in the game. The game was the next day. What? Crazy. Game was the next day.

I returned two punts in the same game, which is crazy. You hit them up. I hit them up. Like, Coach, I'm on the way. So I scored two times in the game. Wow. You parlayed West Alabama. You become a late-round draft pick.

Fifth round. I got a very similar story. I ended up with Prop 48, ended up going to Savannah State, the best decision of my life. I go in the seventh round. You went in the fifth round. How motivated were you getting there? Because I'm thinking to myself, man, this is my last opportunity.

I mean, I'm not no first-rounder. I ain't guarantee no roster spot. Well, like I knew I had the talent, you know, to play with anybody, you know, but my granddad, like he's such a huge advocate in my life. He told me, man, once you get that opportunity, dog, just don't look back. Just don't look back. There are no friends in the NFL.

A lot of guys will try to be your friend. A lot of guys try to do this and tell you to do that, but really, it's all about saving their own jobs. So that was my mindset going in. That happened to me, Reek. I had a guy I didn't know to play. I asked the guy we competing for the job.

He said, go in there and do that. Guess what I did? I did that. Guess what it was? Wrong. Yeah, we got some guys like that. I couldn't say, well, coach, he told me wrong. I should have known what I had to do. Lesson learned. Lesson learned.

So yeah, man, once my granddad told me that, I got locked in. I was like, yeah, there's nothing stopping me. You were the last wide receiver on the depth chart because you were drafted mainly as a returner. And you were – did you go out there with a say, every day I'm going to get better? I'm going to give them a reason. I'm going to give them a reason to give me an opportunity to get on offense.

Yeah, I'm going to return punts and kickoffs and all that stuff, but I got my eye on one of them receiver spots. I got my eye on that being on the offensive side of the football. So I was a backup to Jeremy Macklin, and I would go in for him when he was tired. Right. And then I would make plays, the same plays he would make, but I would do them like five times more exciting. Yeah, he'd get 10 yards, you get 30.

They'll be like, oh, who is this guy right here? He's a return guy. Yeah. So like, man, like I say, man, my mindset was like, once I get this spot, I'm not looking back, man. Right. You didn't look back.

Does it bother you that people always mention your size because, I mean, your pro day, you measured 5'8 and a half. Mm-hmm. That don't, I mean. No, that really don't bother me. I mean, God could make you 6'2 and still let you run 4'2. It really don't bother me, man, because I feel like you can't measure a guy's dedication and preparation in his heart

to how much passion he got into his craft. Correct. You feel me? Yep. Like I say, I play football. Right. You can line me up at receiver.

You can line me at running back. I feel like I'll still be successful at both. I may not be able to get you a fourth and one, like running through the hole, running somebody over, but I'll be able to make you a play. Right. I'm not going to run nobody over, but I'm going to be able to get that fourth and one. It may not look the way you thought it was going to look. It ain't going to look like Derrick Henry.

It ain't going to look like Derrick Henry, but it's going to happen. We're going to move the change. You feel me? So I just play football, man. You know what? You challenged Usain Bolt. Numerous times. Numerous times. Numerous times.

Hold on. I even DM'd him. I DM'd him too. Reek. I got the receipts in my phone. I'm not saying, Reek, I'm not saying that you didn't do that. But I'm saying, were you like, do you realize who that is? Yeah, he washed up.

Oh, I love this man. He washed up. Us, he washed up. Oh, I love this man. He washed up. Usain Bolt washed up. Like, there comes a point in your life where you get older and the new generation come in. Like, washed up, right? So you believe if you say, look, Usain, I'm going to give you six months to train. Do what you need to do.

And he says, okay, we're going to run a 40. You can beat Usain Bolt. In the 40, I'm definitely beating him. If there's a 40-yard dash between me and Usain Bolt, I'm definitely beating him. Now, if you go maybe 80, he may got a chance. He got a chance. He got a chance then. But no NFL player got a chance in any distance, 40, 60, or 100.

Yeah, no NFL player got a chance at 40, 60, maybe even five. Like, ain't no chance in 40, 60, maybe even five. Ain't no chance at nothing. You and I talked earlier. You've gone to the Pro Bowl every single year. You've been a three-time first-team All-Pro. I believe it's about to be four. I believe, Tyreek,

you're on a Hall of Fame trajectory. And we kind of touched on it briefly. What would it mean given where you came from the obstacles and the detours that you had to take to reach the ultimate destination, what would it mean for you to have to one day

I don't know who would be your presenter your mom, grandma, sister, brother I don't know, maybe you have a son he'll be old enough to present you what would it mean to have someone put a gold jacket on you? I don't know, man. I probably get emotional for real. You know, just thinking about all the adversity I had to face. Thinking about, you know, the situations I've been in in my life.

you know the situations I've been in in my life and just just the things I've had to do to get to this point in my career right like when I said sacrifices I mean the workouts you know making sure that I'm I'm early in the morning for workouts and stuff like that because, like, days get hard, man, when you're doing it alone, man. Right. Especially, like, when you're training. Do you mainly train alone? You don't train with a group of guys?

You mainly by yourself? I train alone. I train with Dub. Keith Williams, he's the receiver coach for the Ravens. Okay. And I train with him. So me and him used to be up early, 6 a.m. in the morning. Right. Just like coach for the Ravens. I train with him. Me and him used to be up early, 6 a.m. in the morning.

Just like it's a regular season. You run alone? You lift alone? I like to do everything alone. It's either me and Dub or it's me and my granddad. It's just

the way that I'd rather have it. Congratulations on all your success. Continued success. Stay healthy and the best of luck this season. Thank you. Appreciate that, bro. Tyreek Hill, ladies and gentlemen. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal.

Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolfe. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.