WR KhaDarel Hodge (8.22.21)
On his TD catch:
“It felt amazing. That was my first one since my rookie year – preseason with the Rams. I have been trying to get in the end zone for so long. I just thank God. That is all I can do is thank God.”
On if his TD catch was on the same play and route as WR Rashard Higgins’ incompletion earlier in the drive:
“No, it was actually a different play. You could say the same route, but it was a different play and different setup. It just happened to come to me, and I tried to take advantage of an opportunity.”
On if a preseason TD is just as meaningful as a regular season TD:
“Oh yeah, everything counts. Just coming out and competing, you want to put the best on tape every day, whether it is in a game, practice, preseason, regular season or anything. You want to put your best on tape at all times. That is just what I do is come out and compete as much as I can. The ups and downs are going to come but try to fight through adversity.”
On if he felt like he needed a TD catch to stand out in a crowded Browns WR room:
“We just come out and compete every day. We know we have a great receiving room. We push each other every day to come out and be the best every day. There are no plays off. Every opportunity counts. We never know when it could be your last so everything is important in the receiving room.”
On QB Case Keenum and how important it is to have a backup QB with significant experience:
“It is great. Case makes things a lot easier. He has been around the game long. He breaks it down, he can talk about coverages and he can talk about how to set up a route and what you do in certain coverages or how to run a certain route in certain coverages. He is a great guy. He just brings a lot to the game.”
On his earlier comment about this being a long week:
“Just training camp. Training camp is draining mentally and physically. That is just what it is. I think it is more mental than physical. It is just repetition after repetition, the same thing day after day and just fight through, fight through.”
On if he ranks himself daily in the WR room based on each day’s performance:
“I don’t look at it like that because it would drive me crazy. We just come out and compete. That is our mindset from top to bottom. The receiving room, we push each other. We want to be the best every day, each day. We are all like brothers in there. We see someone messing up or someone needs help, we are going to give each other advice at some point and pick each other up at some point. We just come out and compete every day.”
On if he enjoys the label of being a good special teams player, even as he begins to contribute more on offense:
“I take pride in special teams. If that is what they label me, then that is what they label me. I can play offense and special teams. If that is what they want to do, then that is what they will do. I know what I can do, and that is all that matters.”