McCaffrey, but whatever they end up coming up with, it’s going to have to fit what Rooster called a ‘happy-go-lucky’ personality.
“I think I'm passionate about football and I love the game, and it's a shame to not appreciate that. I think my college journey was so lucky because I had some adversity, went through some different things, so it just grew an appreciation for football and the camaraderie and joy that it brings,” McCaffrey, who Lynnell coined “Luke Turfwalker” for his ability to get open, said. “I'm just so thankful to be out on the field and to be a part of a team and organization that does things the right way and focuses on growth and getting better and how to master your process. It’s such a blast being here, it’s been awesome.”
McCaffrey isn’t getting the snap or target share some of the other veterans are, but that’s all part of the process – and when he has been called upon, he’s been aces.
“I think that's all part of the process, right? I think we have such a great approach here in Ashburn of just how we focus on getting better on improving on doing everything as well as you possibly can,” he said. “So when it comes to worrying about anything else, whether it's what other teams are doing, or the competition aspect, we all are constantly in that phase of competing with yourself, trying to get better every single day and master the art. For me, it's blocking, it's, it's route running, it's trying to get open, it's making every catch and how to maximize YAC. It's just learning how to master and fall in love with every part of what it takes to be a receiver, to be an offensive weapon, and ultimately to be a football player. It’s a cool process, and a blessing to have the coaches who communicate and teach, and we get on the same page and build chemistry and just grow and continue to compete from there.”
And speaking of coaches, Luke is loving playing in an offense designed by a fellow former QB in Kliff Kingsbury.
“It's awesome. I think Kliff does such a great job of just matching personnel and being able to see things,” Luke said. “Kliff just has trust in us to be able to learn and go out and execute, and it obviously helps when you got a great gunslinger with Jayden, who takes care of the ball and it does such a good job of just seeing the field. When you have all those pieces together, you're allowed to do a lot of fun things, and then start mixing in the personnels – it gives the defense a lot to prepare for every single week, and it's a lot of fun.”
Austin Ekeler had told Grant & Danny earlier in the week on 106.7 The Fan that one of Kingsbury’s hallmarks has been a high amount of walk-throughs each week, which really gives players the chance to perfect plays (as, you know, practice makes perfect), and yeah, McCaffrey is feeling it.
“We’re a signal system; we do huddle, but we like to use our tempo and the ability to get on the ball as fast as we can to just see what the defense is doing and hopefully make it a little bit more vanilla,” McCaffrey said. “It's a way in my opinion to steal reps on certain plays, and it's been so beneficial.”
Take a listen to McCaffrey’s entire visit above, which touches on this weekend’s matchup with Cleveland, returning home after two road wins, and more!