Here’s what New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had to say on Wednesday with the local media on June 12, 2024. (Note: the beginning portion of this was omitted)
On where he feels like he’s made the biggest strides since the start of the offseason program since he got here:
“I think just rep by rep, I think kind of the concepts offensively, where it’s timing up the footwork with it. I think the more reps you get, sometimes it’s hard. You learn a new install each day. You’re doing one or two reps for each play. But as we got more into minicamp and more days, we’re doing the plays over and over and got a good grasp of it. I feel like I picked it up well and just trying to translate that to the field. It’s a lot easier drawing it up than executing it.”
On the fact we saw him targeting Kayshon Boutte during drills and what about him that he noticed today:
“Yeah, some of it was just the read. You get one-on-one. That’s what these guys are paid to do, win one-on-one matchups. He’s a good ball player. He played in the SEC, so he can make plays.”
On what his goals are when he’s working with Javon [Baker] and Ja’Lynn [Polk] out there after practice:
“Yeah, I think it’s important. I think the biggest thing is those guys want to get reps. They want to come after practice. It’s one thing of not getting a rep here, but getting it after. It’s not the same, but at the same time, picking up little things each day. Usually, Ja’Lynn will get me and Javon, too, if he was out there on a route. Maybe we missed. Like, I missed the out route today in the last two minutes. I said, ‘Hey, let’s get after practice.’ Ja’Lynn’s right there. Then the center stuff, just little things as a rookie quarterback. You don’t want to go out there and lose the snaps and little things. Just, already as a rookie, you can’t do things like that.”
On what his plans are between now and training camp and if he has a map for himself:
“Yeah, I think we’ll be here. We’ll be here for the next two weeks, just lifting, working out, conditioning. I’m sure I’ll throw with the receivers that are here. The rookies, we’ve got to stay. I think the vets are free to go. That’s how it is. From there, just go home. First real break I’ve had in a long process. So just time with family, but still get to work. Got a season to get ready for.”
On if there’s a coach he’ll be staying in touch with more during the summer break?
“Yeah, shoot. Really now, I think just the guys coaching me out there, I think TC and a few other guys that are coaching me now. But back at school, we got Coach Christensen has been great. So we’re back there working out and throwing with him.”
On if he’s looking forward to tonight’s festivities:
“Yeah, it’s going to be awesome. The GOAT, getting a chance to celebrate him on his day. It’s pretty cool. Just excited to have a chance to witness it.”
On what his experience was like at the Celtics game:
“TD Garden is awesome, man. I’m glad they won. It was a big overtime game. If they didn’t win, I would have probably never went back. They wouldn’t want me back in there if they didn’t win. But I look forward to that. I think they play tonight, right? Game three? Yeah, hoping they close it out. Jason Tatum was pretty cool, although he’s a Duke guy, but still a fan.”
On the benefits of virtual reality:
“I think getting that in the works, I think it’s just another chance to get reps. It’s hard to simulate real reps, real live reps with guys coming at you. I don’t think that part of virtual reality is still there, but just seeing things, seeing routes, seeing concepts, seeing defenders. It all helps translate and get you ready for, especially our concepts, getting them in there and just mastering them.”
On how much progress he thinks he’s made and how much more is there to go from him:
“I think it’s hard to judge. Like I said, I’ve made some progress. I feel like I have. At the same time, I think I got a lot of work to go. I still haven’t been touched out there. I’m a quarterback in a red jersey. It’s different taking hits from those guys. Some big dudes up front, but I’m looking forward to see what we got. I think the closer and closer we get to the season, the more you kind of feel like, ‘Man, these Bulls are flying.'”
On what element he thinks he’s progressed the most:
“I think started off first in here. Like I said, just the footwork. Coming in here, first off, left foot up, right foot up in the gun, under center. It was a new game for me. Just kind of getting the little details. I think more and more of the huddle calls are coming together. I don’t sound like I’m fumbling words in there and telling those guys. I sound like I know what I’m doing. I think that’s the biggest thing.”
[Inaudible] On what he’s been able to learn from Brady:
“Yeah, he did it here for so long. We were at a breakfast with him and some other prospects out there in LA. So he gave us some good words. I think the biggest thing with Tom is the way he’s wired. I shared one thing about think he won maybe his fifth or sixth Super Bowl ring. He said his favorite one is the next one. So that’s just his mindset. I think it’s pretty cool to get a chance to meet him and be able to see what he did here. And watching old tape of him is pretty fun.”
On how it’s been calling plays:
Exactly. It’s a little thing, but it goes a long way. I think getting in the huddle, calling plays, mixing up letters, a bunch of letters, a bunch of numbers. So just getting that down pat. And I think it’s a good thing to be in command, be in command in the huddle. [It’s] a good thing I’m a pretty big dude in there. I’m not a short guy. They’re looking down on me. So I’m looking at those guys in their eye and not just looking down and commanding it and getting a good break, getting a good clap, kind of gets you in a good mood of, ‘Hey, it’s going to be a good play.'”
On if this is the first time in his career that he really had to call plays:
“Yeah, we did a little bit in the red zone. And obviously, in Peewee football, you’re calling plays, but other than that, yeah, not at this level.”
On the fact it seemed like he and Keyshon Boutte were connected a few times today and what he saw out there:
“Yeah, I think part was the read, and another part was him just winning one-on-one match makeups. I think that’s what, like I said earlier, they get paid to do that. He showed it today, made some great grabs. I think the two over here were close on the sideline. They were close and one over there. He’s a good ball player. He played in the SEC and played some football. Just trying to give those guys a chance.”
On his dodge ball performance getting a lot of attention yesterday …
“Yeah, dodgeball.”
And how his arm is feeling:
“I feel all right. I can throw it a little bit. But the biggest thing out there was those kids to make sure they were looking if I was going to hum it at them. But if they step on the court, man, it’s free game. That’s how I look at it.”
On the fact he knocked out David Andrews and how that felt:
“Yeah, DA. He’s a good athlete for how big he is, but I think DA tried to fire something back. It’s kind of an unfair match, but it was fun out there.
On if he’s worried for the season, being that Andrews is the guy in front of him:
“Yeah, no. It’s all… Yeah, shoot. He was competing out there. On different teams, it don’t matter.”
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
