In order to keep athletes safe and performing at their best during the hot summer months, Gatorade joined forces with the NFL in July to educate parents and coaches about heat-related illness and the importance of hydration. As part of Gatorade’s “Beat the Heat” program, NFL players, coaches and their wives lead hydration awareness efforts, while also raising funds for the Kendrick Fincher Memorial Foundation.
One athlete that has been working with Gatorade on its “Beat the Heat” program is Indianapolis Colts star receiver Reggie Wayne. Reggie was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to talk about his alma mater Miami beating rival Florida State on Monday night, who the toughest cornerback he’s ever faced is and what was going through his mind when Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XL back 100-yards for a touchdown.
Side Note: TSR must be a good luck charm for Reggie, because after he talked to us he caught 10 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown in the Colts’ 14-12 win over the Jaguars on Sunday. Anytime, Reggie…anytime
The Scores Report: Hey, Reggie – how are you?
Reggie Wayne: What’s going on?
TSR: You still waking up from that Miami hangover from last night?
RW: Yes I am!
TSR: I know you watched it – what did you think? How’d the Canes look to you?
RW: They showed me something. They showed me that they have a little fight in them. I remember when I was there and I was playing it was so easy to say, you know what? We’re not going to win this one. (Laughs)
TSR: (Laughs) Were you impressed with their quarterback, Jacory Harris?
RW: I was, although he might have been a little too cool back there (in the pocket)!
TSR: (Laughs)
RW: I saw him play when he was younger, playing on playgrounds and things. I’ve heard a lot about him and his play at Northwestern High School, which is a good school. So it doesn’t surprise me to see him play well. In the summer time (the coaching staff) said he was ready and he showed it last night by staying poised and winning the game for them.
TSR: Were you surprised that the defense gave up 30-plus points?
RW: You know what? I was, but at the same time they were only rushing four guys for the majority of the game. The (FSU quarterback) had all day to throw. But as you saw towards the end of the game, they started putting a little pressure on him, blitzing guys here and there, and all of a sudden his throws weren’t as accurate as they had been all day.
TSR: For sure.
RW: But hey, they pulled it out and they got one of four this month. They’ve got some big games coming up, so hopefully this will be a turning point for them.
TSR: Do you think a conference championship is in their future?
RW: Yeah, I feel like this is the time for them. I feel like they can get it done and this four game stretch will tell a lot. Let me tell you something, when you beat Florida State that boosts you everywhere. I remember my senior year in 2001 when we beat them – we rolled from that point on. We arguably should have been in the national championship game, but we lost to Washington earlier in the year.
TSR: And maybe this year’s Miami team can do the same thing.
RW: I hope so.
TSR: Switching to the Colts, what’s it been like playing for a new head coach? What’s the change been like for you under Jim Caldwell?
RW: For the most part it’s been pretty much the same. There’s not much difference outside of a couple of wrinkles here and there. Coach Caldwell isn’t a 100% clone of Coach Dungy in that he does a couple of things differently, but nothing is too surprising. The biggest surprise is probably having a seating chart for team meetings, which has me up front!
TSR: (Laughs)
RW: But for the most part the schedule throughout the day is pretty much the same; training camp was pretty much the same. Although (Caldwell) probably did an even better job protecting guys’ bodies and giving us more time off, which I didn’t think was possible (coming from) Coach Dungy. But (Caldwell) came in and figured out ways to give us more rest and stressed having us fresh for the first game. The guys are excited about a new season getting under way and ready to fire off.
TSR: Definitely. With Coach Caldwell having you sit up front in team meetings, do you get the sense that he’s trying to get you to become more of a leader?
RW: Not necessarily, I just think I got the short end of the stick!
TSR: (Laughs) Right – you got the bad luck of the draw, right?!
RW: (Laughs) Yeah! You know, at first I was kind of opposed to it, but since we made all of our final cuts they’ve adjusted things and don’t make guys sit up in the front like where I am. I had the chance to sit back in my normal spot and I declined it. I kind of enjoy sitting up front now and taking notes. It’s a new wave for me I guess you can say, or a turning point and I’m excited about it. Hopefully I can get some of the young guys to see my work ethic and take the same approach.
TSR: For sure, got to get the young guys excited about playing football. What’s it like being in the same huddle as Peyton Manning? It must be an intense feeling, especially when the game is on the line in the fourth quarter.
RW: It is and I’ve been truly blessed to have him on my team for nine years. He’s a guy that definitively bleeds football. Sometimes I joke with him and I ask, “Do you have a life when practice is over?”
TSR: (Laughs)
RW: It just seems like he’s 24/7 football. You see so many receivers in the league that want a quarterback of Peyton’s skill set, which is tough. This guy has known football all his life and has been a quarterback his entire life. He grew up watching his dad play and he comes out here ready to play and knows exactly what’s about to happen. You want a quarterback like that – you want a quarterback that thinks football 24/7 and we have that kind of guy here and he’s been a blessing to me.
TSR: You get to watch other teams’ offenses when your defense is on the field. Do you think there’s anyone else in the league like him or is he just one of a kind? Obviously Eli comes from the same bloodlines, so maybe him?
RW: I think Eli is just because that’s what they both know. So they’re pretty much identical when it comes to thinking about football 24/7. When you hear analyst talking about who compares to Peyton they always say Tom Brady. When you watch Tom Brady play, he always is so poised, so cool and always seems to know what to do and when to do it. Guys like that don’t make very many mistakes – guys like Peyton, and Tom…and Joe Montana was like that too. And there’s no secret, these guys are competitors and they study the game…study film all day and it shows in the way they play.
TSR: Have you gotten the chance to watch some of the young quarterbacks play yet? Guys like Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan and Mark Sanchez? If you have, have you been impressed with how they’ve played so far?
RW: I have seen them play. I got a chance to see Joe Flacco last year and he had a tough day against us, but he’s out there doing his thing. The one thing about those new quarterbacks is that if they have a pretty solid running game, it’s going to help them out a lot.
TSR: For sure.
RW: You take Matt Ryan, you know, who has a great running game. When teams tried to load the box to stop that running game and he had one-on-one matchups out there it’s almost like passing on air. In New York, I feel it’s going to be the same thing with Sanchez. He’s got a 1-2 punch in the backfield and that’s going to help him out offensively and get him some one-on-one opportunities down the field. That’s kind of how it is these days. You have a 1-2 punch in the backfield with your running backs and that’s going to help your quarterback out.
TSR: Right.
RW: I’m kind of interested to see how Stafford does in trying to turn (the Lions) around. So stay tuned, I guess.
TSR: Definitely. Let’s talk about your teammate Anthony Gonzalez. Is this a breakout year for him now that Marvin Harrison is no longer with the organization?
RW: I think so. We all pretty much, as a group, feel as though we have something to prove and he’s definitely one of them. It’s his time to prove to everyone that he can be a starter in this league, while I’m trying to prove that I can be a No. 1 on this team and in this league. We’ve got some young guys in Austin Collie from BYU, whom we drafted in the fourth round, and also a second-year player in Pierre Garcon from Mount Union who are both trying to prove that they can be in this league period. So as an entire unit we have something to prove and we want to go out there and show everybody what we can do.
TSR: Who’s the toughest defensive back you’ve ever gone up against and maybe someone that people don’t give enough credit to?
RW: There are quite a few guys. I would say throughout my nine years of playing, the toughest would be…he’s kind of an older guy and I don’t think he’s playing anymore, but it would be Aaron Glen.
TSR: Okay – yeah.
RW: When I was a young player it seemed like every route I ran, he ran it before I did. I was saying to myself, is this my shadow?
TSR: (Laughs)
RW: He always seemed right there to make that pass breakup. There are other guys out there that are pretty good. But as far as I’ve witnessed and gone up against, he was by far the best. He got the best of me a couple times.
TSR: You’re one of the best and most established receivers in the league. Do you lick your chops when you know you’ll be facing a young corner on Sundays?
RW: I wouldn’t say I lick my chops, but obviously I’d rather face a rookie cornerback than an eight-year vet. But that’s kind of how it is now – every week it seems like you’re going up against a young guy. This is a young guy’s league and you try to keep yourself as fresh as possible to stay young yourself, you know?
TSR: For sure.
RW: There are plenty of times that you’re going to go up against somebody that’s 22, 23, 24-years old and they’re always going to be fast, and they’re always going to go out there and look at me and go, okay, this is Reggie Wayne and I’m going to go out there and shine against Reggie. And for me it’s the other way around. I’m thinking to myself, here’s a young guy trying to make a name for himself and I have to bring my A game. That’s kind of how it is – it’s a chess match and may the best man win.
TSR: What’s your biggest challenge as a player and then what’s the biggest challenge the Colts have in getting back to the Super Bowl?
RW: Just focusing on the little things and letting everything else take care of itself from there. Whether it’s showing up to meetings on time or taking notes or watching extra film. A lot of people think it’s just about the practice or the games or going out and making big plays. But we already know how to do that. I’ve been playing the game since I was seven years old and I understand how that stuff goes. It’s the little stuff like watching extra film, learning, finding their weaknesses and putting it all together. All of that shows when you go out there and play. You want to go out there and stay focused as a team and that’s what Coach Caldwell has been preaching to us. Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves.
TSR: Right.
RW: That’s been our motto from the beginning and that’s what we’ll take into the season.
TSR: Besides playing in the Super Bowl, is there a moment that stands out as one of your greatest as a Colt? I know the Super Bowl was special, but what other moment, whether it be a catch or a touchdown, stands out to you?
RW: As a Colt the first one that pops in my mind was last year’s game against Houston. Just as a team we hung in there and hung in there. Everyone was writing us off but we kept playing and at the end we got a turnover, you know, Gary Bracket picked up Sage Rosenfel’s fumble and took it in and now the momentum is on our side. They get the ball back, they go three and out, have to punt the ball to us and we go down and score. All of a sudden we’re winning in four minutes. That game right there was the turning point for us last year and we went on a roll from there. We didn’t win the division like we had planned, but if we lose that game we probably don’t even make the playoffs. You know, we could have gone downhill from there. So that game sticks out to me because as a team we hung in there and fought, we never gave up and it worked out in our favor.
TSR: And what is your most memorable moment from the Super Bowl, outside of winning it of course?
RW: Just all of the exposure – all the media stuff. The game was the game, you know? Even though that was probably the greatest game I’ve ever played in, all the exposure the whole week we were down there was memorable. Just seeing everyday, you know, Colts vs. Bears over and over and over again. It was just like, man, this is the biggest stage of them all.
TSR: For sure.
RW: You know, there so many countries watching us, so you just want to go out there and perform your best. I’ll tell you what, it’s an experience I wouldn’t mind experiencing again.
TSR: (Laughs) Right! And what was going through your mind as Devin Hester is returning the opening kickoff?
RW: What are we doing!
TSR: (Laughs)
RW: That’s what was going through my mind! You know, our defense was humming in the playoffs – they pretty much carried us. So to kick it off to Hester and he runs it back…just go ahead and pooch it! That was probably all the offense they had and we were kicking it right to them.
TSR: Right.
RW: So you know, I was happy for him being a former Miami alum but at the same time I wasn’t happy for him. That was the first play of the Super Bowl and it could have easily hurt us but we stuck in there and it just goes to show you the pride we take into the game and the resiliency we have.
TSR: Can we expect another Pro Bowl season from you, Reggie?
RW: I hope so. I feel like if I go to the Pro Bowl we’ll have a successful season and you know, I’m kind of on a roll – three in a row.
TSR: Definitely.
RW: But you know, I definitely see myself having a good year and knock on wood I’ll stay healthy. We just need to play this game like we know we can, believe in the system and the rest will take care of itself.
TSR: Well we really appreciate your talking the time to sit down with us and I wish you nothing but the best throughout the season. We’ll be rooting for you.
RW: All right, I appreciate it.
TSR: Thank you.
