- 2 days ago
Luke McCaffrey talks his confidence in new play caller David Blough, the happiness emanating from Terry McLaurin, and his practice habits.
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00:00Luke McCaffrey walking in the tent. What's up, brother? How you doing? Great to have Luke joining us for a
00:07few minutes.
00:08You should be good to go. Just throw that on there. You want a water Gatorade? No, no, all good.
00:12How are you, buddy? Great. Doing well. Two days of camp in the books. What's it like to be back
00:17out here?
00:18It's awesome. It's awesome. You know that first day you come out, you're like a kid on Christmas, antsy, sleeping
00:23in your cleats.
00:23And, you know, I think through the first two days it's been a lot of fun, a lot of competing,
00:27a lot of energy, and excited to get better.
00:30Where do you feel like you are or the team is with this offense?
00:34I think we have such a great base. We have such a great foundation.
00:37And now we're attributing that and impacting that in a competitive standpoint that it's camp.
00:44You know, OTAs are so great to learn the basics, to learn the foundation, and now we get to go
00:48out there and compete.
00:49You know, you have some periods that aren't completely scripted. You have some things.
00:52So to understand the flow, to understand the competition is a lot of fun right now.
00:56Dude, you probably don't know this, but the PR staff does a great job here, and they're very hardcore about
01:03guys like me not giving away any state secrets, right?
01:06But it's not a secret we're seeing more formations, more motion.
01:10How much do you like that, maybe moving around more and getting different looks within the offense?
01:16Yeah, it's a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun.
01:17I think we have a really good room, too, because we have a lot of guys that are versatile.
01:20We've got a lot of guys that can play out of a lot of different positions, can play out of
01:24a lot of different formations.
01:25And, you know, when you get to football, you start trying to create plays where the defense doesn't know what
01:31you're doing
01:31or where they think that you're doing something else.
01:33And so, you know, that's the base fundamental level of it, and I think we've had fun doing it so
01:37far.
01:38So, again, no state secrets here.
01:40Yesterday I did see a play where you were in motion and at the snap were able to kind of
01:45just break that motion right into a route.
01:49How different is that?
01:50How much easier is that?
01:52How much more challenging is that?
01:53If you have a little bit of a running start when you're then able to break that and perhaps use
01:59that forward momentum,
02:00like what advantage does that bring?
02:02Yeah, you know, there's all kinds of advantages you can get in so many different ways.
02:06That's one way to get off the line a little quicker, one way to time it up,
02:10one way to create, you know, foundations of plays that all look the same.
02:14And so we're having a lot of fun doing that, and I think it's, again, cool to have such a
02:18great room,
02:18whether it be receivers, running backs, tight ends, who all are versatile, can all do so many different things,
02:24line up at so many different spots, and we're having fun competing.
02:28The Internet's going crazy about the Yankoff catch there towards the end of practice.
02:32What did you see on that?
02:33It was awesome.
02:34It was awesome.
02:34Great ball, great catch.
02:36That's what we come out here to compete.
02:39He's a sick athlete.
02:40He's a freak.
02:40Like, you know, I have a story about you and Coulson from your rookie year.
02:44Yeah.
02:45I don't know if you're going to remember this.
02:47The Wegmans right down the street.
02:48Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:49So I came in, and you remember you guys were trying to, like, set up your value card or whatever
02:54because it was probably, like, two weeks into your rookie year at, like, the self-checkout.
02:58And I remember very specifically you were only buying meat.
03:00Like, it was just, like, four steaks for the two of you.
03:03That was awesome.
03:04Yeah, we were living together that first year, and that was so much fun.
03:08I bet.
03:08Growing every day, having a blast.
03:10What's your, like, living situation now?
03:12Because you're in year three.
03:13Like, you're established here.
03:14Yeah, it's awesome.
03:15It's nice to be settled, to be part of the community, to really, you know, know where you're going,
03:20not have to plug in maps to get away every day.
03:23But it's a lot of fun.
03:24Again, whether it's in this program, whether it's in this community, it's so much fun to just be more ingrained
03:29in it
03:29and really feel a part of it.
03:31Having been here throughout the Kingsbury era into the David Blau era, like, when you found out,
03:38and I have a feeling that folks in the building were aware of some transitions,
03:42maybe before those of us outside the building were officially aware of them.
03:46But, like, when you found out Blau was getting that call and recognizing what a jump that was,
03:50what was kind of your initial reaction?
03:52Yeah, I was stoked.
03:53I think, you know, every day everyone in this building could see what he put into the game,
03:56the love, the passion, and the intention that he put into it.
04:00And so I think that alone gets everybody excited.
04:03And then the minute you start talking to him and start really diving into his philosophy,
04:07to his scheme, and to all that, you really start getting inspired just because it's so intentional.
04:12It's so passion-filled.
04:13And I think we've had a lot of fun learning it, and now we're having a lot of fun competing
04:17with it.
04:17It's been fun for me to watch, just on the sideline, obviously.
04:21But, like, all the different looks, I think, are going to open so much more stuff up.
04:26But, like, do you think your game coming off play action will be helped?
04:30Or are all receivers helped by play action?
04:33Yeah, yeah.
04:33Again, football is such a multidimensional sport.
04:36Play action, run game will help the pass game.
04:39Different receivers will help other receivers.
04:41It's the ultimate team game.
04:42And so the more you can do as a unit, the better off you're going to be.
04:46I know, like, when I talk to offensive linemen, all they want to do is run the ball, right?
04:49Like, that's just how they're wired.
04:51But, like, for receivers, when you know, okay, we could run play action here,
04:55that might help me get separation.
04:57Like, isn't that great?
04:59Anything that helps?
05:00No, definitely.
05:01Definitely.
05:01And I think we have such a great group of receivers who all understand the entirety of football.
05:06They understand the whole mechanism of, you know, how to set plays up, how to do things like that,
05:10and the benefit of making sure those runs pop.
05:13You know, I think receivers' main job in the run game is to help boost explosive plays.
05:18A lot of times you're blocking the second level.
05:19You're blocking the guys that, if the running back breaks through,
05:23is he going to get tackled by the safety, or is he going to go for a 60-yard touchdown?
05:26And I think as receivers, when you're bought into that, it'll help the entire offense
05:31in explosives and efficiency and everything.
05:35For sure.
05:36Talking with Luke McCaffrey here, kind enough to make some time for us in the tent.
05:39What do you think of our digs here?
05:40It's awesome.
05:41It's pretty spacious, huh?
05:42It's awesome.
05:42Good setup.
05:42Oh, yeah.
05:43That's my spare dress shirt, golf shirt, in case I get, like, too sweaty.
05:47Yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:48So we've got plenty.
05:50It's nice that you've got AC in here.
05:51Dude, the AC's legit.
05:52We've got snacks?
05:53You want a granola bar or anything?
05:54No, I'm all right.
05:55Thank you so much.
05:55We're locked and loaded.
05:56What is your diet now?
05:58Are you, like, super – like, we had – Senate join us yesterday.
06:01Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:01He's like, 90% of my diet is, like, scripted to the nth,
06:04and then I allow 10% because I like sweets.
06:07Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:07Like, are you in a similar boat?
06:08I've never had a huge problem eating pretty healthy.
06:12You know, I think generally healthy.
06:14I've always been a lighter guy, so anything I can do to keep weight on,
06:17which makes it nice.
06:18Yeah.
06:18You get to eat a little bit of –
06:20Yeah, you got to add.
06:20A little bit of junk food, yeah.
06:21But, no, I've always pretty eaten generally healthy,
06:26eaten enough to maintain and gone from there, yeah.
06:29It was funny talking with Senate yesterday about how much he grew
06:33and learned in his first two years
06:35and how much he just wants to show that in year three,
06:37that there's so much more he can offer.
06:40You had the injury last year, but do you feel somewhat similarly?
06:42Like, dude, I can do a lot more.
06:45Not that – I think as a kick returner you showed a lot,
06:48but, like, the actual production offensively.
06:51Yeah, I think as a player you're trying to win every single play that you're out there.
06:56You know, whether it's blocking the safety,
06:58whether it's cracking a linebacker, whether it's running a go ball.
07:02You know, every single thing you do you try to win.
07:04You try to do it as well as you can.
07:06And, you know, luckily you get the opportunity sometimes.
07:09Sometimes playing a position like tight end, like receiver, you know,
07:13you're not guaranteed to get the ball.
07:14You could run a perfect route and still not get the ball.
07:17And so I think when you really hone into the mastery of that craft,
07:21when you revere the game so much that you put your respect into every single little part of it,
07:26that's kind of when you start seeing things naturally go well.
07:29And it's a lot of fun to work on.
07:31I appreciate you making time for us.
07:33I only have a couple more.
07:34I know you probably got to get to recovery or whatever.
07:37One, Dan Quinn talked about Terry McLaurin playing with joy this camp.
07:42And, like, I've known Terry since his rookie year.
07:44Like, I can see it compared to where things were last year.
07:47And, obviously, business is business.
07:49You've got to handle it, right?
07:50But how much better is it this camp, just Terry in the room, on the practice field,
07:55just getting the full version of him?
07:57Yeah, it's awesome.
07:58I think Terry is such a great leader.
08:01And even beyond that, he's such a great leader by example.
08:04You know, I think everything he does is so intentful, so passionate,
08:08and so, you know, intense in the way that he competes.
08:10And so it's a lot of fun just to be in that room to feed off that energy
08:14and to kind of just be a part of that.
08:16And then with Jaden, year three, another guy you were drafted with, right?
08:20He was asked yesterday.
08:22Jaden's not the dude that would have said this on his own.
08:24But he was asked because Bobby Wagner was such a big part of the leadership of this team
08:28for two seasons.
08:29And with Bobby gone, like, is it more of Jaden's team?
08:32What, if anything, have you seen of Jaden kind of taking on more leadership?
08:36Or is it as simple as you're huddling up longer now and the play calls are longer
08:40and he has to be more vocal?
08:43Yeah, I think, you know, from day one he's been a leader on this team,
08:46just from the way that he's come out, the work that he's put in.
08:50And kind of like you just said, I think being in the huddle with him
08:53just lets you see even more of that as a teammate.
08:56And it's really helped me grow in appreciation for just the mindset, for the poise,
09:02for the focus that he has because you really get to see that more firsthand
09:07now that we're huddling more, now that, you know, we're in a circle together.
09:10And just to see the way that he commands that is awesome.
09:12All right, this is my last thing, and then I'm going to let you go.
09:14But I have made this contention for some time.
09:17This is our producer, Ryan.
09:18Ryan, if you could, pull that chair over and sit next to Luke.
09:21Luke, now we've got this, you're on various television networks, YouTube streaming.
09:26You're on a lot of networks right now.
09:28I think you guys kind of look alike.
09:31So I want you to sit next to each other and tell me if you agree.
09:36Stallion's messing with the microphones.
09:37You can hear me.
09:38You don't need to return.
09:39All right, do you think, there we go.
09:42Do you two think you kind of look alike?
09:45I mean.
09:49I've said this.
09:50Is it like Spider-Man me?
09:50I'm like, what's going on here?
09:54That was it.
09:55I just wanted to see it side by side because I thought this.
09:59Now, I will tell you this.
10:00He used to be a big fat ass.
10:02And I wouldn't have said it then because you've always been sculpted.
10:06But now that he's lost the weight, I kind of think you guys look alike, dude.
10:09I see it.
10:10I'll take it as a compliment.
10:11Do you get the Glenn Powell look like?
10:13People say I look like Glenn Powell.
10:14You say you look like Glenn Powell.
10:16No, no, no, no.
10:16They say we look like Glenn Powell.
10:17Oh, yeah.
10:19Who do people say you look like?
10:20Because it's not him.
10:21Nobody's heard of him.
10:21I get Cameron from Ferris Bueller's Day off a lot.
10:23Really?
10:24A lot.
10:24Yeah.
10:25If you look at it, that's been my Halloween costume for the last seven years.
10:27You just wear the Red Wings jersey?
10:29Yeah, exactly.
10:29That's awesome.
10:30That's awesome.
10:32Luke, dude, the kick return game.
10:33How important is that to you?
10:34It's awesome.
10:34You know, it's a lot of fun.
10:35Is that a role you want to continue?
10:37Yeah, definitely.
10:37I think it was a lot of fun.
10:38It's a lot of fun for me because that was kind of the first opportunity I really had
10:42to touch the ball over and over and just to show what I can do with that in my hands.
10:47But I also think it's, you know, the intent that we put on special teams as a team is
10:52awesome.
10:52Just the way that Izzo has that group running and the way that everybody's bought into that.
10:56It's a lot of fun to be a part of.
10:57I'm curious if you'll agree with this.
10:59So, B-Mitch that I host the show with, he's visiting family back in Louisiana.
11:03That's why he's not here.
11:04But I see it in Brian's eyes.
11:07I saw it in Belor's eyes.
11:09When you talk to, like, kind of a dude that builds their NFL career and they can go 10
11:14plus years as a special teamer, they got crazy in their eyes.
11:17For sure.
11:18Like, it exists.
11:20Yeah, yeah.
11:20It takes a special type of person, man.
11:22No, no doubt.
11:23And I think you're going to show a lot more, too.
11:25I'm excited to watch you in this new offense, especially that little motion I saw into that.
11:31I'm not going to give the route that came after, but it was exciting.
11:33Thank you for the time, dude.
11:34Thanks so much.
11:35Good to see you.
11:35Luke McCaffrey, Washington Commanders, wide receiver and kick returner joining us.
11:40I'm telling you, I've thought for years you two look alike.
11:43Thank you very much, bro.
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