The three players I interviewed one-on-one on Sunday were running back Nathanial Peat, tight end/defensive end Tucker Fisk, and defensive end Thomas Booker.
Peat talked about how he sees himself as an all-around running back. He seems eager to have a bigger role in the offense this year.
Fisk talked about his all-around passion for playing and how he looks to really get his teammates going. Keeping football fun even at this intense level.
Thomas Booker talked about his love of making an impact play on defense and how he’s really focused on improving his pass rush. He also talked about how excited he is to learn more about VR in one of his classes. I had a fun exchange with Booker after the interview about the joys of tackling running backs for a loss. The one highlight I had in my brief two-year high school football career was a game winning tackle for a loss. Him talking about that brought some fun memories back.
Q: Your yards per carry were very impressive last year (7.0). Do you have any sense whether or not you’re going to get more touches this year than last year based on your production?
Peat: “I’m just going to do whatever the coaching staff has me and puts me in a position to do. But whenever I get the ball, trying to make the most out of it. It’s definitely a credit to the o-line. Them pushing. We have a lot of guys back and so feeling pretty strong with what we have and so coming into this year I hope to be as productive as last year if not even better.”
Q: What type of running back are you? What are your strengths as a running back, do you think?
Peat: “As a back, I feel like I can do it all regardless of height, weight, whatever. I feel like I’m a speed back. I can make people miss. And I feel that’s one of my strong suits and so whenever you need a big play or anything like that, I feel like I can make that happen within the offense and getting good blocks is all that, but I feel like I can make plays and make the long runs.”
Q: With the quarterbacks Jack West and Tanner McKee, what are some strengths that you feel they each bring to the table?
Peat: “They’re both great quarterbacks. Tanner is a great talent and then Jack West is a great talent as well. He’s very mature and then Tanner’s maturing as well as he gets to the system. They’re both great quarterbacks. I hope to see how they do within the season and how they play, but I’m feeling very confident with both of them. So, we’ll see what happens.”
Q: 9 AM kickoff against Kansas State. How much talk has there been about that and can you talk about the preparation you guys are going to go through to adjust to that?
Peat: “I think one of the keys that we’re trying to press on is sleep. Sleep is key. Going to bed early or going to bed early two nights before so we can get acclimated to the time zone, but we’re built for adversity through last year. Through this year. And so, whatever they put forth, I think we’ll be prepared for and we’ll prepare ourselves for it.”
Q: Can you talk about Austin Jones, his game, and your relationship with him? How do you guys push each other?
Peat: “So we’re actually roommates and so we’re pretty close connected and so he’s a great back. He’s makes peoples miss, he makes the big plays, and he knows what to do and he knows where to be at the right places. So that’s what makes him a great back. And so how we work together, we talk with each other, we work on like if we have a question we’ll ask each other or if we have to critique each other, we know what to say with tough love because we know we’re trying to make each other better. And so, just in telling that, he’s a great back and a good friend and so can’t wait to see what he does in this season and hopeful we’ll have a great season in the running back core.”
Q: Any classes you got coming up this quarter that you are particularly excited for?
Peat: “So my junior year I’m just trying to get into the core of my major, which is Science, Technology, and Society. To get into the core of that and really diving into my major and then finding exactly what I want to do within that. And so that’s kinda what I’m looking forward to. Not taking any too interesting classes, but to get into the core of my major.”
Peat talked about how he sees himself as an all-around running back. He seems eager to have a bigger role in the offense this year.
Fisk talked about his all-around passion for playing and how he looks to really get his teammates going. Keeping football fun even at this intense level.
Thomas Booker talked about his love of making an impact play on defense and how he’s really focused on improving his pass rush. He also talked about how excited he is to learn more about VR in one of his classes. I had a fun exchange with Booker after the interview about the joys of tackling running backs for a loss. The one highlight I had in my brief two-year high school football career was a game winning tackle for a loss. Him talking about that brought some fun memories back.
Q: Your yards per carry were very impressive last year (7.0). Do you have any sense whether or not you’re going to get more touches this year than last year based on your production?
Peat: “I’m just going to do whatever the coaching staff has me and puts me in a position to do. But whenever I get the ball, trying to make the most out of it. It’s definitely a credit to the o-line. Them pushing. We have a lot of guys back and so feeling pretty strong with what we have and so coming into this year I hope to be as productive as last year if not even better.”
Q: What type of running back are you? What are your strengths as a running back, do you think?
Peat: “As a back, I feel like I can do it all regardless of height, weight, whatever. I feel like I’m a speed back. I can make people miss. And I feel that’s one of my strong suits and so whenever you need a big play or anything like that, I feel like I can make that happen within the offense and getting good blocks is all that, but I feel like I can make plays and make the long runs.”
Q: With the quarterbacks Jack West and Tanner McKee, what are some strengths that you feel they each bring to the table?
Peat: “They’re both great quarterbacks. Tanner is a great talent and then Jack West is a great talent as well. He’s very mature and then Tanner’s maturing as well as he gets to the system. They’re both great quarterbacks. I hope to see how they do within the season and how they play, but I’m feeling very confident with both of them. So, we’ll see what happens.”
Q: 9 AM kickoff against Kansas State. How much talk has there been about that and can you talk about the preparation you guys are going to go through to adjust to that?
Peat: “I think one of the keys that we’re trying to press on is sleep. Sleep is key. Going to bed early or going to bed early two nights before so we can get acclimated to the time zone, but we’re built for adversity through last year. Through this year. And so, whatever they put forth, I think we’ll be prepared for and we’ll prepare ourselves for it.”
Q: Can you talk about Austin Jones, his game, and your relationship with him? How do you guys push each other?
Peat: “So we’re actually roommates and so we’re pretty close connected and so he’s a great back. He’s makes peoples miss, he makes the big plays, and he knows what to do and he knows where to be at the right places. So that’s what makes him a great back. And so how we work together, we talk with each other, we work on like if we have a question we’ll ask each other or if we have to critique each other, we know what to say with tough love because we know we’re trying to make each other better. And so, just in telling that, he’s a great back and a good friend and so can’t wait to see what he does in this season and hopeful we’ll have a great season in the running back core.”
Q: Any classes you got coming up this quarter that you are particularly excited for?
Peat: “So my junior year I’m just trying to get into the core of my major, which is Science, Technology, and Society. To get into the core of that and really diving into my major and then finding exactly what I want to do within that. And so that’s kinda what I’m looking forward to. Not taking any too interesting classes, but to get into the core of my major.”
