TE David Njoku (7.24.23)
Did you add some muscle and weight this summer?
“Does it look like it, or?”
Yes, it does.
“Really? Thank you. Maybe a little bit. I’m not really sure. I think I have different phases from January, February till the beginning of camp and then this year was pretty good.”
What are your expectations heading into this season, given that it’s first full year with Deshaun (Watson)?
“I’m excited, bro. Honestly, I’m so excited. I think we all have high expectations for the whole team, you know what I mean? But we just focus on one day at a time. Try to stay present, level and just take it from there.”
Is the offense going to look a lot different or do we not know that yet?
“I guess we’ll find out, right?”
Well, I mean, are we going to find out soon or is it going to be later?
“We’ll see. I mean, maybe we’ll show you like a little tease and camp. You never know. It’s up to the head man, Kevin Stefanski. You got that on camera?”
You talk so much about building chemistry with the receivers and Deshaun. So all the different things you guys did during the offseason, do you feel like you were able to take those steps that you wanted to?
“Absolutely. I think us just being together is a positive. How much more talking and football together, like picking each other’s minds. Knowing what we’re thinking so we can let that chemistry ride I think it will help a lot.”
David, we were talking to coach before practice and you came up and his eyes kind of lit up. Like he couldn’t wait to talk about kind of where you’re at and if you’re fitting this thing. Anything different from one year to the next?
“Say that one more time. You were talking to Coach?”
We were talking to Coach before practice.
“And you said my name and his eyes, he kind of lit up?”
They lit up! He couldn’t wait to talk about you.
“I might be in trouble, man. I’ll find out in about a half hour. Every offseason you have a chip on your shoulder to be a better athlete or a better player than you were previously. I feel like this year, not just myself, but a bunch of the guys, especially on offense, I don’t really know much more about defense, but we really took it upon ourselves to figure it out. And have we figured it all out yet? No. Every day we’re trying to get better and better, but we’re working hard. So we’re going to continue to work hard and God willing that things will happen.”
Not speaking for Kevin, but I think he sees another level from you. Do you feel like you got that?
“Do I feel like I have another level? Yes, I do.”
What does it look like?
“God willing, we find out this year. I stay healthy. So we’ll see. Working hard every day and pray for good things.”
He thinks you’ve matured a lot since he got here in 2020?
“Matured? I hope so. Let’s just say yes. I think I have it too.”
Has that been like a point of emphasis for you? Something you paid attention to? Like, ‘hey, I need to grow up a little bit.’ Did you ever think that?
“I’m going to be honest, when I’m 50, 60, 70, I think I’m going to act the same way. One of my mentors told me something and it hit hard because he’s in his 60s, knocking on 70. He said, ‘Never forget that kid you once were. Never change that.’ You know what I mean? I feel like as kids, and this is off topic, but as kids, we see adults and we think, ‘Okay well they’ve got it figured it out.’ Number one, they’re different than us. But I mean, at the end of the day, we grow up, we maybe have some gray hairs, but we still are the same kids that we were before. So I try to keep it fun.”
What do you think Elijah Moore? What can he add to this offense?
“The boy’s explosive. He excites me. He really does. His route running, his ball abilities – he’s just elite. I don’t want toot horn too much, because there’s always room for improvement for all of us, but that’s one player that definitely excited me the most this offseason.”
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