DENVER BRONCOS QUOTES (9/7/17)
KICKER BRANDON MCMANUS
On being named a team captain
“It was a huge honor for me. This is, believe it or not, the first time I’ve been a captain I think in any sport. This was an honor for me to be here even though the team did vote a kicker out of the football room to be a captain. It was a huge honor for me.”
On never being named a captain because he’s always been a kicker
“I wasn’t only a kicker. I used to play quarterback and safety. Not just football but any other sport that I played I never had the opportunity to. I’m pretty sure I’m well liked in the locker room and the past two years I’ve done well for the team so they thought highly of me. Obviously the preseason helped to give me maybe the last edge or push to get over. It was a goal of mine to be a captain this year on special teams.”
On if he’s changed his leadership style this year
“I don’t think so. I think I come to work every day on time and in the same manner, excited to be here every day. I’m not a huge speaker but I talk to everyone in the locker room. My play on the field is what I want to do and lead by example. Especially with a lot of young guys that we need on special teams right now. I basically know even though it’s a new scheme, special teams and even though I’m not on punt, punt return or kick return, I know everyone’s position and their job. I’m obviously somebody to lean on and ask questions to.”
On his responsibilities as a captain
“First off, my main job is obviously to put points on the board and negate any big returns on kickoff. Like I said, these guys, my job is to get them ready for the game. A lot of these guys are superstars that didn’t play special teams in college, so now they have to come here and that’s kind of the role. That’s my job to teach them how to learn certain things about the other team’s specialists, learn the game plans and how to prepare for it.”
On if he prepared differently this offseason
“Not really. I’m completely different than a lot of other guys. I use the OTAs to kind of get ready for season in the summer. A lot of guys will continue to kick and I don’t know if that’s why they get injured more than I do because their muscles kind of wear down. I’m a little different. I stay in shape and I work out a lot but I don’t do any kicking really. I might kick once before we report at any time. That’s just kind of my mentality and it has worked for me.”
On his offseason routine
“Non-kicking. I might kick once just because I have to get my hip used to the weight of the ball, but other than that I’m just going out and working out. I really don’t kick.”
On not kicking during the offseason
“It’s always been my routine. I don’t know, obviously I want to enjoy what I do a lot. I don’t want to continue just to kick in the summer at a field that has high school uprights and it’s not realistic to me. I like to envision everything that I do is the real thing. A lot of other guys are really good kicking off like the sticks and stuff, but I like to see the snap and hold that’s kind of the best thing for me. I really don’t want to practice something that’s unrealistic to me.”
On whether he’s a trick-shot kicker
“You will not see me doing any back flips or any of that stuff like the guy we’re playing this week (Los Angeles K Koo, Younghoe). I’m too tall I think for that, but I’m excited to see what he has to bring to the table. Obviously he earned the respect of the coaches there in L.A. to take over the previous kicker.”
On his pregame routine
“To me, the most important kick still right now is the extra point. I practice that a lot and I don’t know if a lot of others guys can kick a lot of extra points in pregame. I probably kick about 12 of them in my warm up total before the game even starts. I don’t think anyone else does that. Just because that’s the most important kick to me. Obviously I kind of have a routine every game. Not exactly the same yardage that I do, but I have a routine back and forth and the amount of kicks that I’ll kick.”
On setting his range in pregame
“My range is the same every game. Obviously it will change with the temperature I think a little bit more than anything. Some days you feel a little bit better than the others, but pretty much my range is always the same.”
On his range in ideal conditions
“Ideal conditions? It’ll be pretty warm [Monday night], but I could always kick anything in the 70s I think. 75 is still the farthest kick I’ve ever hit so I don’t think I could go over that. With the snap and hold nothing, changes for me. I don’t kick the ball lower to drive it further. I kick the ball just as high as I always do.”
On what he does during practice
“Practice is a little different. I think right now we’re practicing and a lot of people are just focused on watching their positions and stuff. Right now, I don’t think it’s a big thing. Most of the times we actually go in and lift. I’ll kick in the beginning of practices then I’ll lift and then I’ll come back out depending on what we have at the end. That’s where I guess the OTAs are big, like I said. I’m working out with all of them and doing the running and stuff. That’s the biggest thing I think about earning that respect in that respect.”
On working with Special Teams Coordinator Brock Olivo
“Brock’s great. I know you guys say he’s loud and stuff but he’s not. He’s a quiet guy that really wants you to learn the scheme he has. He’ll teach the player out there individually which is completely different then what we have before. We had a super loud guy with [former Special Teams Coordinator] Joe-D [DeCamillis] who would yell at you on the field and make sure everyone knew it, whereas he’ll go up to you and make sure you really understand your role, your position and what you’re supposed to do. He’s great in that and obviously he’s a first time special teams coordinator, and I want to help him as much as I can and make his job easier for him.”
On if he has hopes for a contract extension
“I think obviously you’re always looking forward to the guarantees and that security. That’s my position that I do and if you do miss a couple of kicks you’re going to be in trouble. Obviously we’ll see what happens. I’m excited the season’s here and like I said, one of my goals was to be a special teams captain and I was able to get that.”
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