Q. Ryan, this question is certainly not to denigrate the skills of Marquise Williams. Is there a difference between a Marquise Williams' ball and a Mitch Trubisky's ball?
RYAN SWITZER: I feel like the time I've gotten to spend with Mitch on the field thus far, whether in the game or in practice, I feel like Marquise would even tell you that Mitch's arm talent is unique and very rare.
I've been fortunate enough to catch passes from both of them. Like you said, not to diminish anything that Marquise did for our program, but Mitch is a very rare talent. Everything that he brings to the table, he's very composed, he's a very team-first kind of guy.
I'm looking forward to seeing his talent displayed this year, especially with the guys that he has around him.
Q. Ryan, you said your New Year's resolution was to be an all-around better version of yourself. We're seven months into the year. Are you holding on to that New Year's resolution?
RYAN SWITZER: Absolutely. It's been a long, like you said, seven months thus far. The amount of work that I and my team have put in, it was hard to supersede what we did last year, but I feel like we've done that thus far. Especially for me personally, not only physically, but mentally as well, continuing to study coverages, continuing to better myself from a mental aspect, is what ultimately is going to make the difference for me as a player going forward and this coming year.
Q. Does Mitch lack that ability to turn a busted play into something the way Marquise was able to last season?
RYAN SWITZER: He hasn't gotten the opportunity to show it as much. But Mitch is a very athletic guy. He's very good in space. Straight ahead, I'm not sure who would win between him and Quise. Mitch is an athlete. He was a multi-sport guy in high school. He knows how to move. He's not one of those guys that's just going to sit in the pocket when things break down, either throw it out of bounds or get sacked.
He knows what to do with the football, knows what to do with his legs, how to get out of trouble. As receivers, we're looking forward to it, because when you have a guy scrambling, everything breaks loose in the secondary. That's when big plays are made.
No, we're not expecting Mitch just to sit back in the pocket and play it safe or take a sack when things break down. We're confident he can make a play with his legs.
Q. Ryan, this question is probably more towards T.J.'s avenue, but the Big 12 commissioner said the other day that kickoffs are perhaps the most dangerous play in all the game. Your thoughts on the NCAA potentially getting rid of kickoffs down the line?
RYAN SWITZER: I think the game would take a big hit if that were to happen. Football's a dangerous game regardless of what play it is. We know as players you put yourself out there risking injury every time you step out on the field.
Yeah, kickoff and kickoff return is tough 'cause guys are running full speed, but there's also plenty of other times guys are running full speed. I've gotten hit across the middle, got hit catching punts where I didn't think I was going to get up.
That's ultimately not my call. But to see kickoffs taken out of the game, I don't feel would be positive for the game of football.
Q. You've spoken a lot about Mitch, but the talent around him, how you define this offense moving forward, building off of a lot of success from last year.
RYAN SWITZER: I joke with Mitch all the time at the house about how fortunate he is to step into the position that he is (smiling).
I don't know of any other team that's returning what we're returning on offense. Like you said, not just the receivers, but we've got two veteran runningbacks. T.J. Logan behind Elijah Hood could start on virtually any team in the country. Returning four of our five offensive linemen is incredible.
At the end of the day, without the guys up front, the offense goes nowhere. We know that and we're very fortunate to have those guys. As receivers, it's our job to kind of make Mitch look good, which we don't really need to do too much of because of the talent that he has.
But us as a whole, we're really excited to get the season started because we know the talent and the experience that we have coming back. It's not so much that we out-do ourselves or out-do the numbers we put up, but just continue to be more consistent on a drive-to-drive basis and make sure we don't waste all the weapons that we do have.
Q. Ryan, defending coastal division winner. You reached the ACC championship. How has last season changed how you have to manage the expectations that you may be number one on opponents' list to try to knock off this year?
RYAN SWITZER: It's definitely been a different off-season from last year, going 6-7, 11-3, there's a big discrepancy there. We tried not to focus too much on being teams' go-to game. We know our schedule is hectic enough as it is. We play seven teams I believe with new head coaches. We open up with an SEC team. We understand that although we may be the number one team on some team's schedule, we've got 12 number one teams we've got to see this year in order to get anywhere close to where we were last year.
It's been about making sure that we don't have any regrets in terms of off-season work, making sure that we take it week by week so we can continue to build our program in the right direction.
Q. DeVon Edwards was in here earlier. He has a chance to set or tie a national kickoff return record. You have a chance to tie or break the national punt return record. Wes Welker, what are your thoughts about him and the possibility to equal or pass him?
RYAN SWITZER: There's not enough good things you can say about Wes and the things he's been able to accomplish in his career. I've been getting comparisons since I've been in high school. I don't know why, by the way. We don't look alike.
To be mentioned with someone like that, the success he's had not just at the college level, but the professional level as well, it just bodes well for my confidence. The punt return record would be something I would love to have. The guys and I joke about it all the time. We technically already do have it. We got ten of them, but three of them have been called back. At least the 10 guys and I can be satisfied with that.
Hopefully it happens. It would be nice to have. Looking forward to getting back there and returning some more punts this year.
RYAN SWITZER: I feel like the time I've gotten to spend with Mitch on the field thus far, whether in the game or in practice, I feel like Marquise would even tell you that Mitch's arm talent is unique and very rare.
I've been fortunate enough to catch passes from both of them. Like you said, not to diminish anything that Marquise did for our program, but Mitch is a very rare talent. Everything that he brings to the table, he's very composed, he's a very team-first kind of guy.
I'm looking forward to seeing his talent displayed this year, especially with the guys that he has around him.
Q. Ryan, you said your New Year's resolution was to be an all-around better version of yourself. We're seven months into the year. Are you holding on to that New Year's resolution?
RYAN SWITZER: Absolutely. It's been a long, like you said, seven months thus far. The amount of work that I and my team have put in, it was hard to supersede what we did last year, but I feel like we've done that thus far. Especially for me personally, not only physically, but mentally as well, continuing to study coverages, continuing to better myself from a mental aspect, is what ultimately is going to make the difference for me as a player going forward and this coming year.
Q. Does Mitch lack that ability to turn a busted play into something the way Marquise was able to last season?
RYAN SWITZER: He hasn't gotten the opportunity to show it as much. But Mitch is a very athletic guy. He's very good in space. Straight ahead, I'm not sure who would win between him and Quise. Mitch is an athlete. He was a multi-sport guy in high school. He knows how to move. He's not one of those guys that's just going to sit in the pocket when things break down, either throw it out of bounds or get sacked.
He knows what to do with the football, knows what to do with his legs, how to get out of trouble. As receivers, we're looking forward to it, because when you have a guy scrambling, everything breaks loose in the secondary. That's when big plays are made.
No, we're not expecting Mitch just to sit back in the pocket and play it safe or take a sack when things break down. We're confident he can make a play with his legs.
Q. Ryan, this question is probably more towards T.J.'s avenue, but the Big 12 commissioner said the other day that kickoffs are perhaps the most dangerous play in all the game. Your thoughts on the NCAA potentially getting rid of kickoffs down the line?
RYAN SWITZER: I think the game would take a big hit if that were to happen. Football's a dangerous game regardless of what play it is. We know as players you put yourself out there risking injury every time you step out on the field.
Yeah, kickoff and kickoff return is tough 'cause guys are running full speed, but there's also plenty of other times guys are running full speed. I've gotten hit across the middle, got hit catching punts where I didn't think I was going to get up.
That's ultimately not my call. But to see kickoffs taken out of the game, I don't feel would be positive for the game of football.
Q. You've spoken a lot about Mitch, but the talent around him, how you define this offense moving forward, building off of a lot of success from last year.
RYAN SWITZER: I joke with Mitch all the time at the house about how fortunate he is to step into the position that he is (smiling).
I don't know of any other team that's returning what we're returning on offense. Like you said, not just the receivers, but we've got two veteran runningbacks. T.J. Logan behind Elijah Hood could start on virtually any team in the country. Returning four of our five offensive linemen is incredible.
At the end of the day, without the guys up front, the offense goes nowhere. We know that and we're very fortunate to have those guys. As receivers, it's our job to kind of make Mitch look good, which we don't really need to do too much of because of the talent that he has.
But us as a whole, we're really excited to get the season started because we know the talent and the experience that we have coming back. It's not so much that we out-do ourselves or out-do the numbers we put up, but just continue to be more consistent on a drive-to-drive basis and make sure we don't waste all the weapons that we do have.
Q. Ryan, defending coastal division winner. You reached the ACC championship. How has last season changed how you have to manage the expectations that you may be number one on opponents' list to try to knock off this year?
RYAN SWITZER: It's definitely been a different off-season from last year, going 6-7, 11-3, there's a big discrepancy there. We tried not to focus too much on being teams' go-to game. We know our schedule is hectic enough as it is. We play seven teams I believe with new head coaches. We open up with an SEC team. We understand that although we may be the number one team on some team's schedule, we've got 12 number one teams we've got to see this year in order to get anywhere close to where we were last year.
It's been about making sure that we don't have any regrets in terms of off-season work, making sure that we take it week by week so we can continue to build our program in the right direction.
Q. DeVon Edwards was in here earlier. He has a chance to set or tie a national kickoff return record. You have a chance to tie or break the national punt return record. Wes Welker, what are your thoughts about him and the possibility to equal or pass him?
RYAN SWITZER: There's not enough good things you can say about Wes and the things he's been able to accomplish in his career. I've been getting comparisons since I've been in high school. I don't know why, by the way. We don't look alike.
To be mentioned with someone like that, the success he's had not just at the college level, but the professional level as well, it just bodes well for my confidence. The punt return record would be something I would love to have. The guys and I joke about it all the time. We technically already do have it. We got ten of them, but three of them have been called back. At least the 10 guys and I can be satisfied with that.
Hopefully it happens. It would be nice to have. Looking forward to getting back there and returning some more punts this year.
