Clemson tight end Milan Richard took the time to speak to the media following Thursday’s practice. Richard, a redshirt sophomore, is excited for the upcoming season and is currently attempting to fight his way into that backup position.
Q: That number two position behind Jordan (Leggett) is there any movement there between you guys?
Richard: “Not really. The coaches haven’t really made a certain number two yet but we’re really not worried about depth chart stuff right now. We’re just coming out and trying to compete and we’re focused on Auburn and trying to prepare each day.”
Q: Are you more of a pass catcher or run blocker or do you feel you can do both equally as well?
Richard: “I would say my background is more of a pass catcher just because I played pretty much basically receiver in high school. So coming here blocking was one thing I really had to focus on, so now I would say my blocking is coming along. It has gotten a lot better than when I first got here.”
Q: When you guys are out there and the second team quarterbacks are in, is there a big difference between the ball coming out of Deshaun’s (Watson) hand versus coming out of Kelly’s (Bryant) or Nick’s (Schuessler) hand?
Richard: “Oh no they’re all spirals so we catch it wherever they put it at. That’s our goal, we’re just trying to catch the ball. We don’t really care who’s throwing it.”
Q: When you look at Auburn on film what are some of the things that catch your eye, some of the people they have on defense?
Richard: “All over the place. They’ve got talented players all over the place. I mean they’re a big time program so I would say they don’t have any slouches on defense. I think everybody can play and we’ve just gotta be prepared for anything they throw at us, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Q: The coaches say outside of quarterback that tight end is probably the hardest position to play in this offense. Has the game slowed down for you now that you have more experience with the playbook and know what they expect out of a tight end?
Richard: “Yeah, I would definitely say it’s slowed down and it’s one hundred percent the hardest position outside of quarterback, but I would definitely say it’s slowed down. When I first got here everything was going fast you know we can be in two or three different places in one play and three different jobs. So it all depends on where we’re at but I’m enjoying it more now because now I can just play and I’m not really thinking about what I’m doing as much.”
Q: For you what’s the most difficult part about playing tight end?
Richard: “Like I said when I first got here the point of attack was a lot more different than what I was used to. I mean blocking guys, versus last year we blocked Shaq Lawson all year in practice. I mean guys like that and Kevin Dodd and now we’re blocking guys like Austin Bryant and Christian Wilkins so the point of attack is really physical. That’s just not something I was used to coming in, but I’ve grown to like that and to become better at that, so now I’m not happy with where I am, but I am definitely more confident when I am inside the box.”
Q: Are you guys kind of following Jordan Leggett’s lead to follow up for the future without him here?
Richard: “Yeah I would say so. Jordan, you know he’s gonna leave us with a lot of tools. He’s always talking to us about route running and defensive schemes and everything so I definitely think he’s going to leave us with a lot of dos and don’ts. We have coach Pearman too who does a great job as well as Keith Jennings and Darrell Barrett. All three of them do a great job.”