Chris Brazzell II: I wouldn't want to be anywhere else | Carolina Panthers

0:00 What's up, Chris?

0:02 What up?

0:05 What's that shirt for, Chris?

0:06 What were the last couple of days like?

0:08 Uh fun, man.

0:09 Uh I'm excited to be here with my favorite team.

0:11 Glad to be out here.

0:12 It's a blessing.

0:12 Uh I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

0:15 Have you been able to dig up more pictures of you like in Panther stuff?

0:18 I know we saw the one of you and your mom.

0:19 Yeah, I got plenty of Panther stuff.

0:20 I did I only posted I posted two, but I got like a lot.

0:24 Oh, you talking about that photo?

0:26 So, I got photos when I was like young young in Panther stuff, but yeah.

0:30 Has it hit you yet that this is where you're at?

0:32 Yeah, it hit me the first day I was here.

0:35 Not training camp, but first day we came in, did the physical, signed paperwork.

0:39 It was like, "Yeah, I'm really really on the team." So.

0:43 Chris, is there Just seeing Reed spin around the offense,

0:47 is there like a guy or a coach that you're

0:49 really kind of leaning on as you're learning this this weekend?

0:51 Uh Brad, my receiver coach.

0:55 Uh Reed, you just named.

0:56 Really everybody are my resources.

0:58 The quarterback, me and him did a couple of walks.

1:00 We always talked about it.

1:00 So, yeah.

1:02 Is there um A lot of people talk about the difference between the Tulane tape

1:06 and the Tennessee tape where you were kind of more of a route runner at Tulane.

1:11 Why were you not allowed to maybe or or maybe why weren't you

1:14 used kind of in a similar way in that in the Tennessee's offense?

1:17 See, I'm not sure like See,

1:18 everybody knows Tennessee has the running gun, which they're right.

1:22 I'm not going to sit here and lie.

1:23 So, 2024, yeah, like I said a lot like that was a lot of running gun.

1:27 But, this year, if you really watch my film,

1:29 you know I'm running every route in the playbook.

1:32 Like, every route I done ran here, I ran at Tennessee.

1:34 There's not a route I done ran here that I have not ran.

1:36 So, Tennessee is definitely evolving the playbook.

1:39 They're getting more pro style, more friendly.

1:41 So, yeah, I haven't really ran a route here that I haven't ran at Tennessee.

1:44 So.

1:45 All right, Chris.

1:46 Dave Dave Canales was asked yesterday what he thought

1:49 you had a build physical build similar to Robbie Anderson.

1:54 He said, "I don't like hair guys.

1:55 They're kind of built similar." Have you heard that from anyone

2:00 Yeah, Slim.

2:00 Mayhem Slim.

2:01 So, y'all see a slim guy.

2:02 I I I get it.

2:03 So, yeah.

2:04 I I see what y'all saying.

2:06 What Do you know him at all?

2:07 Yeah, definitely.

2:08 Yeah.

2:08 What what would you say about him and his career and Good luck.

2:12 Definitely a good player.

2:13 I know he played on I think he played on the Dolphins, the Jets.

2:16 I know he played here.

2:18 He had like a 1,000 yd here or something like that.

2:19 Yeah, yeah.

2:20 He was a baller for sure.

2:21 So, respect to him for sure.

2:23 All right, Chris.

2:23 A couple of years ago you had

2:24 a run-in with the law regarding your driver's license.

2:28 Exactly, what happened there?

2:29 Was that a learning experience?

2:30 Yeah, it was a learning experience.

2:32 It's a long story.

2:33 Long story short, I just really didn't know my license was suspended.

2:37 It was the one of them things I'm

2:38 just driving on a suspended license like a dummy.

2:40 And in the state of Tennessee,

2:41 they issue you a suspended license and they never tell you.

2:43 So, my license was suspended for like a year and a half.

2:47 Then I got pulled over like 13 year

2:49 and a half to get pulled over again to be like,

2:51 "Damn, my license is suspended." And then I was in jail for like 30 minutes.

2:55 No bond.

2:55 Leaving a ticket.

2:56 Went in there, walked out.

2:58 The people in jail were telling me I'm not supposed to be in jail, to be honest.

3:00 So, it was just a It was a learning lesson.

3:02 Just pay your speeding ticket on time.

3:04 That's it.

3:06 Yeah.

3:05 Is that something teams asked you about in the pre-draft?

3:09 Yeah, they asked me.

3:10 But, they understand.

3:11 It's not like I'm not a troublemaker.

3:14 I've been 22 now.

3:15 That's my only experience with the laws or anything bad.

3:18 But, like I said, it's not like I was

3:20 on some dummy stuff just driving around suspended license.

3:23 I just got on for didn't know.

3:25 Tennessee understood I didn't know cuz the cop talked to them.

3:28 So, it was one of them things.

3:30 Like I said, pay off speeding ticket on time.

3:32 So, Yeah.

3:33 Chris, when you were drafted,

3:35 Ken Whisenhunt went into a lot of detail talking about the way you run routes,

3:39 different things about it.

3:40 What's it like to come in as a rookie when your hip coach

3:43 used to be a receivers coach and can go into that little detail?

3:47 I mean, it's amazing.

3:48 Just kind of like I went to Tennessee.

3:50 Head coach there was quarterback, won a national championship.

3:53 He like to throw the ball and to the ball.

3:55 So to have a head coach that coach receivers,

3:57 like receivers, and hearing the feedback from him is amazing.

3:59 I go to him, ask him what he thinks about this, what he thought about that.

4:02 So, yeah.

4:03 Obviously, you've been a fan of this team for a while,

4:05 but over the past couple weeks,

4:06 have you gone back and watched any of last year's tape,

4:09 maybe specifically just with a more closer eye?

4:12 I I watched the Rams game for sure.

4:15 Uh I watched the Falcons game.

4:17 Uh I watched the Cowboys game.

4:19 My dad a Cowboys fan.

4:20 I watched that game live.

4:22 Uh and me and my dad, he was actually in Tennessee when we watched it.

4:24 So, it was a little back and forth.

4:26 So, yeah.

4:27 What were your takeaways about maybe Bryce or the receivers and how

4:30 they're used and what you can kind of how you can fit in?

4:33 Bryce is a baller.

4:34 Uh team that put their baller.

4:35 Uh Jaylen Cooper or Coker, excuse me.

4:37 He's a baller.

4:38 The gifts a baller.

4:39 All them guys are ballers.

4:40 So, yeah.

4:42 How do you fit into that room?

4:44 Uh however I fit in, however the coach wants me to fit in.

4:46 Uh be used how they want to be used.

4:48 So, yeah.

4:49 How's this process been getting to know the coaches,

4:53 guys around the building, and and your teammates?

4:56 So, I took a 30 visit here.

4:57 So, the coaches I met kind of everybody already.

5:00 Uh teammates are new.

5:01 Everybody's cool.

5:02 We clicking pretty good.

5:03 Receivers are cool.

5:04 So, yeah.

5:05 Is there a guy that's stood out, whether you know the name or number,

5:08 over the last few weeks while you've been playing?

5:12 Here?

5:11 Yeah, or sorry, over the last 2 days.

5:13 Yeah, uh I mean, Hunter.

5:15 Hunter's big.

5:16 Hunter's a big old dude.

5:17 So, when I seen him, I'm like, yeah, okay,

5:19 I see why y'all got him in the second.

5:20 So, yeah.

5:21 Chris, what about Haynes King?

5:23 Did And also, did you know him?

5:24 Like, did you what keeping up with him while he's playing in college?

5:28 about the quarterback?

5:29 Yes.

5:31 Yeah, uh I believe I watched him play

5:32 Georgia one year that took him like five overtimes.

5:35 So, I did watch him back then.

5:36 So, yeah.

5:37 Yeah.

5:37 Oh, what's it been like playing with him the past couple days?

5:39 Great guy.

5:40 He's a leader for sure.

5:42 Uh he wanted to do a walk-through yesterday in the parking lot.

5:44 Uh go over the plays.

5:45 He's in the locker room, helping me go over the plays,

5:47 talking to players out for me, so he's a good leader.

5:50 Where did you come from?

5:50 In the parking lot?

5:52 In the parking In the parking lot, man.

5:53 Yeah.

5:54 Was that strange?

5:55 Man, you got to get it where you get it at, so yeah.

5:57 Was that something with the Was that something with the coaches or something?

6:01 Nah, it was just he called it.

6:03 We was all trying to get together.

6:04 Uh first day, everybody was kind of in Maine a little bit.

6:07 Everybody was a little rough.

6:09 Uh he wants to be great, I want to be great.

6:10 A lot of people want to be great, so he decided he was like,

6:12 "Man, we go to the parking lot and do a walk-through." So

6:14 And this is right up here, and not like in the

6:16 Nah, it's not.

6:17 Nah, right here, right around here.

6:18 The parking lot here at the stadium?

6:20 Do a couple more.

6:21 And you come from an athletic family.

6:22 You know, your dad and your mom and your um What is it like to have

6:27 that background and how much does it help

6:29 you when you're growing up and be here?

6:31 So, I mean, my dad played in the NFL when I was a kid,

6:34 so I mean, I was brought into an NFL family.

6:37 I've been playing football since I could walk.

6:39 Watching him train.

6:41 Also, I feel like the reason Well, I know the reason why I am okay,

6:45 if you know what I'm saying, because of my dad.

6:48 Like, that's an NFL guy.

6:49 Everything I learned really came from him, so yeah.

6:51 Going back to your route tree, it's it's easy to kind of watch you and go,

6:55 "Okay, well, the speed is definitely there,

6:57 the downfield." But what's something that in your game that maybe people

7:00 don't is a little underrated or people don't pay attention to as Uh underrated?

7:08 I'll say either my route running,

7:10 cuz for some reason because I went to Tennessee,

7:13 I guess like I can run routes pretty good.

7:15 It is what it is.

7:15 I'm just going to You know, it is what it is,

7:17 but I'll say that aspect and definitely my run after the catch.

7:21 Uh hopefully, I'm able to show y'all a little bit more this year, so yeah.

7:24 Is there a story behind you picking 19?

7:26 Nah, it's They had this number.

7:29 They had 14.

7:30 No, they had 14.

7:31 They had this number.

7:34 16?

7:33 16.

7:33 They had 16.

7:34 So, uh I tried to go 19, so yeah.

7:38 All right, thank you, Chris.

7:39 Thank y'all.

7:40 Appreciate