Senior wide receiver Tyler Simmons met with the media on Wednesday afternoon and talked about graduate transfer tight end Eli Wolf, sophomore running back James Cook, and fellow wideout, true freshman George Pickens.

(On playing with Eli Wolf)

“He had a pretty good game, last game. I really didn’t know he could play that well. He showed to the world and to me that he could really play and he will be a great asset to our team.”

 (On the block George Pickens had on D’Andre Swift’s long run)

“Of course, that’s something that’s overlooked for receivers, blocking downfield; it goes a long way. Of course, I’m pretty hyped about the blocking. I love when receivers make good blocks downfield, it helps bring our other players forward, but we were all pretty excited. … We let [the younger receivers] know since they walked in the door that if you want to play, this is not just an air raid offense, we run the ball too and that requires us to block. For those short runs to become long runs downfield, we have to block those safeties, block those corners, and just get our hands on them.” 

(On the benefit for an offense to have a guy like James Cook)

“When you have a running back that can play slot, that’s already an advantage. When he can learn how to run routes, learn how to catch the ball in space and make moves in space, that’s already an advantage. So we’re using him a lot more in the slot and trying to using him to our advantage.”