Raiders WR Hunter Renfrow From Training Camp
HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders have opened their 2023 NFL Training Camp, and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow took to the podium to address the media.
You can watch his entire comments below., and read the transcript:
Wide Receiver Hunter Renfrow
Q: Hunter, obviously with no pads, you can't make a judgment on a person, but Aidan O'Connell sure seems to be smooth looking. Can you just give us your early assessments?
Hunter Renfrow: "Yeah, Aidan, he got drafted I think in the fifth round. So, fifth rounders, that's a special place in my heart but he's just been a guy who has stepped up in the huddle and just has that calm demeanor about him and guys want to follow him. And he's been incredibly accurate since he's gotten here. I don’t know how all this plays out, but he's someone who we believe in and if he goes in there, then we'll follow.”
Q: The last time we talked to you, you said you're going to get in your truck and drive to South Carolina to kind of clear your mind, or just think about the season when you got home to South Carolina. What was that like?
Renfrow: "Yeah, it was a long season. And so, yeah, I just got home. The last two summers I stayed out here, this summer I went back home and just got back to the fundamentals, back to the basics, back to why you love the game. And the biggest thing for me that I learned through all of it was just to control what I can control. And I think getting pulled in a lot of different directions and expectations, and unnecessary ones I put on myself, and just to go out there and have a great day and have a great practice and take it one day at a time, one rep at a time, one route at a time and have that kind of singular mindset. And then let everything else take care of what's going to happen next. And so, that's really what I've taken from that.”
Q: Sometimes when people are looking at things from the outside narratives can grow, and one was that you might not be able to flourish in this kind of an offense with Coach Josh McDaniels. What do you say to that type of narrative?
Renfrow: "I'm practicing hard to try, right. I think all of us are. I think everyone out there that practices is doing what they can because they owe it not only to themselves, but they owe it to their teammates. And I think that's the important thing and that's the big thing for me where I felt like I let a lot of my teammates down last year, and that's something that left a bad taste in my mouth and something that I want to get over and prove to them through the spring and also going into the season, that I'm a guy who they can count on and that’s going to be consistent this off season.”
Q: There's been a lot of reports with your name circulating, whether there's trade rumors and things of that nature. I know that's kind of part of the NFL business. But what’s been kind of your response to your name being out there?
Renfrow: "Just have fun every day and control what I can control. Going out there with my teammates and just playing the best that I can and having fun with it. I didn't necessarily have a lot of fun last year. And so, that's my big thing for this year, is to find ways to have fun and not really care about the outside noise and just go out there and go in with my teammates and find a way to have a blast.”
Q: Do you feel like you have a better understanding since it is year two and you kind of know what happened year one and where to correct it and how to make it better?
Renfrow: "Yeah, I mean, I'm trying to find ways to correct it, right. But, yeah, I mean, just from the spring and the verbiage and going through these first few days of camp, these first few installs, everything is so much more smooth, so much more familiar. And the guys are familiar, the coaching staff is familiar in how they coach. And so, I feel like I'm in a lot better place than I was this time last year.”
Q: You said you didn’t have a lot of fun last year. Was it because of the injuries and the transition to the new offense?
Renfrow: "I think a lot of the expectations I put on myself. Yeah, just trying to do too much. I've always gone by the two things of the way I measure my success in the season is, not letting my teammates down and being the reason why we win games, and I feel like I didn't do a very good job with either one of those last year. And that's why I didn't have the most fun, but there were some good parts of last year and things we can take from. I enjoyed all my teammates and that sort of deal, but I want to definitely give them the best version of myself.”
Q: This offseason you guys brought in Danny Amendola as part of the coaching staff, and I know you guys kind of have some similarities in the way that he ran in that offense and what you do here. How has he been able to help you so far?
Renfrow: "Yeah, just how he sees the game and he's done it, right. Coach (Mick) Lombardi and Josh [McDaniels], they've done a great job of coaching it And they're great coaches, but for D.A. to go out there and show us how it's done and kind of pull me aside when it's needed to say, this is what I'm seeing, this is how I run this, this is how I view this, this is how I kind of look at coverage. It helps you a lot and it gives you confidence to know that he's done it and he knows what to look for.”
Q: Did you do anything this offseason in terms of your training program to kind of get you ready and prepare for 2023?
Renfrow: "Not really, I mean, you always do a little extra, right. But I'm hoping last year was a fluke and you always do things core wise and strength training wise to prepare yourself. But I like to think that I've been playing at a decent level at Clemson for four or five years and then four or five years here. So, I didn't want to get all scared all of a sudden and think I have to do all this and change who I am.”
Q: First couple days working with Jimmy Garoppolo, what are your impressions of working with him on the field?
Renfrow: "Yeah, he's fun to play with. He's steady. He's consistent. He's what you want in a quarterback. He's a leader, he's a great guy in the locker room, so I can't say enough good things about him. And he's won everywhere he's been, so just following his lead and kind of jumping on his back and going from there."
Q: I know he did a lot of work behind the scenes in the spring with you guys. Have you been able to see that translate to the field here the first couple days as far as familiarity with the offense and your chemistry?
Renfrow: "You can tell he's put a lot of work in, right? You can tell he's got all the motions down, he's not thinking while he's up there, so he's doing a great job. You can tell he's on the right path to honing the offense. I guess he's played in it before obviously, but he's been other places and come back and sometimes you forget some things, but he's done a great job."
Q: How different is it in that locker room now with Derek [Carr] gone, Foster [Moreau] gone and Darren [Waller] gone in terms of your personal experience?
Renfrow: "Personally those are some of my best friends, so you hate to see them go. I know Foster [Moreau] got chance to go home with his cancer and thankfully he's in remission with that. And to see Derek [Carr] go as well, it was tough, but also you understand why you get paid. It's your job, right? I'm sure you all have co-workers that either get fired or get promotions and leave, so you just wish them the best and know that you have a job to do."
Q: Is it hard to wrap your mind around that though, or is that just a business that the NFL is now?
Renfrow: "Yeah, I think that's just the business. You just don't talk to them as much from day-to-day perspective, but I know that those will be lifelong friends, and we a lot of people locker room now that I'm making lifelong friends with."
Q: There's kind of a different level, like a roar out there in training camp when some guys make a play. I think you're certainly one of them it seems like you've had a huge reception. What's that like you kind of being a fan favorite after coming in mid-round pick under the radar guy, now it seems like you're kind of beloved here?
Renfrow: "Yeah, I mean our fans are incredible. I haven't got a chance to go over there, I had media today, so hopefully this weekend or early next week, go over there and sign autographs and hang out with them. But they've been incredible. Raiders fans are the most loyal and passionate fan base in football, and I think that's been evident to everybody in here who cover us. So yeah, it's special and it definitely gives you an extra step."
Q: Your wide receiver corps may be the deepest in the NFL. It's loaded. When you look around that room and all that talent, do you think about the endless possibilities of what you guys can do?
Renfrow: "Not really, I think just pushing each other every day. I think when you have a lot of good players -- at least some of the good teams I've been on we've all pushed each other. Iron sharpens iron and you get better and better and better. You see DeAndre make a play and you go out there and want to make a play or Tre [Tucker] Davante [Adams, whoever it is. You go see them do something spectacular and you're like: 'Man that's fun,' and you want to go do that as well."
Q: What did you learn from a season playing with Davante Adams?
Renfrow: "How easy he makes football look. I mean he's so smooth and consistent, but he doesn't get enough credit for how smart he is and how he views the game. He's very genuine and his intentions are pure. I think a lot of people in his position would go out there and make it about themselves, but he's very team oriented and he makes everything about how can the team get better, how can our position group get better. So, his selflessness is something I've learned a lot about as well as just how fundamental he is just in and out of routes and foot placement and how he how he views DBs and how he wants to beat them. So without getting in to too much specifics, he's a very intelligent person."
Q: You're adjusted to a new system for the first time in your NFL career last year. What were sort of the challenges that came with that? And I know you're a guy that's pretty studious when it comes to keeping that notebook that you have with some things that you can improve on every year. Have you kept up with that?
Renfrow: "Yeah, for sure. I'm glad you remember that, just kind of jot down things in the back and definitely a lot of things back in South Carolina that I tried to improve on. But yeah, a new offense, lot of new details, but like I said, coming in to training camp you have a lot more familiarity with it. So, now you know the general stuff and you can go deeper and there's not as many moving parts. You're not trying to learn it coming off injury or halfway through the season. So it's been fun, and Josh [McDaniels] has done a great job of getting us the information and presenting it to us and just letting us go play."
Q: It's early in training camp, but what have you seen from the defense, the young DBs and the addition of Marcus Peters?
Renfrow: "We haven't gone against them too much, so ask me again in two weeks and I realize a better answer, but in the locker room they're good guys and that's kind of all I can speak about."
Q: You talked about kind of resetting mentally. Did you have a moment where it just kind of clicked like: 'OK, I can get back there,' or was it more of a process?
Renfrow: "Yeah I mean, I think practice matters, and I feel like this spring was a big time for me to go out there and prove that I could still do it to myself and prove that I can play. So that was a big deal to me, hopefully I got some confidence from that and hopefully it carries into training camp."
Q: What's the feedback you've gotten from Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler? I'm sure you guys had some talks this offseason. How has that gone?
Renfrow: "Yeah, it's been good. Without getting into too many specifics, it's been good and hopefully I can just prove them right for resigning me."
The Silver and Black open the preseason by hosting the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Aug. 13, at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. PDT.
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