San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Quinton Patton was back home in Nashville, Tennessee this weekend, hosting his first football camp. The camp was free to anybody who wanted to attend, and was split up between kids 7-12 and 13-18. On Friday, Patton did some promotion of the camp on 104.5 The Zone, a Nashville radio station. It was a fun interview that covered a lot of things including learning from Anquan Boldin, his favorite kind of pie, his plans for 2016, and some college memories.
The interview opened with some discussion of the NBA Finals. We found out that Patton’s favorite player is Carmelo Anthony. After the basketball banter, they got into the camp and other topics. Here’s the full transcript:
What he’s up to:
Just finishing up my first camp. It’s coming up this Saturday, June 25 at Lavergne High School. Continuing the offseason, continuing to grind. Try and get up on this contract year.
On having good year last year:
I had an aight year. Still missed some plays out there, but can’t get ‘em back, just build on ‘em.
On who will be QB:
I got respect for all the quarterbacks that are back there. And whichever one’s back there, my routes gonna be the same. I just run my routes.
On challenge of different quarterbacks throwing in different games:
Everybody thinks Kap throws real hard. And he does, I mean he broke one of my fingers. ButBlaine throws pretty hard, too. It comes out, it spins pretty good, it spins pretty good.
On kid’s camp this weekend:
It’s all one day, it’s a one-day camp. It’s my first one, at Lavergne High School, it’s free, totally free.
On what will be happening at the camp:
For the older kids, we’re going to be doing a little more experience, like 7-on-7, and 40s, and just teaching the game a little bit more. But the younger kids that’s coming earlier, we’re teaching them little basic stuff about football. Like basic heads-up football. But the older kids, we’re gonna have some competition going there. 40 drills, cone drills, it’s pure competition.
On how to get involved:
If you’ve got a kid, bring ‘em to Lavergne. It’s totally free. Saturday, the firstsession starts at 9am, and that’s gonna be kids from 7-to-12. And that’s gonna be early in morning, from 9-to-12. We’re gonna feed ‘em lunch and everything. And from 2-to-5, that’s for high school kids ages 13-to-18.
On why Jim Harbaugh is a good coach:
I had been around Coach Harbaugh maybe about a year-and-a-half or two. But from the memories I do have, he’s just been, a guy of many faces, many wonders. You never know what he’s gonna say, but when he says something, you better pay attention to him.
On biggest reasons for his development as football player:
My biggest influence in just playing football is making it out of Nashville. Many of us kids don’t make it out. Just keeping working, don’t listen to what anybody negative has to say about you, your school, your sports, or anything. Just keep going, no matter what, always keep pushing no matter what.
On having some baseball skills:
I love baseball. Sonny could never strike me out. I played outfield, and sometimes third base. I covered ground.
On him and his dad playing Sega Genesis [note: his dad called in to tell the show to ask him about this and the “Super Saiyan coming out of the background”]
He can’t beat me no more.
On who’s the best cornerback in the division, or more specifically who gives him trouble:
I haven’t really got to go up against the Shermans and the Petersons that much because we always had another receiver out there. But my toughest opponents are the people I practice against everyday. It doesn’t matter in those games because it always comes back to practice and Jimmie Ward and Tramaine Brock and Kenneth Acker. There’s really nobody out there I’ve went against that’s given me problems.
On the pressure of a contract year:
I really try not to think about it a lot. I just keep on playing like I’ve been playing and everything will take care of itself.
On going to Tennessee (Patton’s home state) and playing for the Titans:
I just play football.
On his opportunity this year:
There’s a lot of opportunity out there with Coach Kelly coming in with his offense and the offense slinging the ball around. It’s up there, there’s a lot of competition out there to make plays.
What he learned from Anquan Boldin:
Just everything. Not just football, but as a man, period and how to conduct yourself and knowing that there’s a time and a place for everything. On the field you can’t put words around how he plays or how he conducts his business, but just be there just to watch him.
On Boldin’s toughness:
People just don’t know how tough Anquan really is. I can’t fathom how happy I am for the time to play with Anquan and learn as much as I could and pick his brain every chance I could.
On people stealing his Dad’s pies [note: Patton’s father is known as the pie man and regularly would send the station pies that got stolen as well as his son]:
I just know he told me UPS came and dropped them off. I was heading home from practice. Box was there, the pie wasn’t. Somebody had a sweet tooth.
His favorite pie:
Apple.
On the surge of athletes from middle Tennessee and why they are coming out of the area.
We’ve known just to fight. Fight the adversity, fight through the struggles, fight through everything. Tennessee is not considered a football state or the most athletic state period. So anytime we get a chance to show off our athletic ability or that we can probably do something, we do it to the maximum that we can. Just how it is.
On Chip Kelly tracking weight and sleep:
I just go to practice and we run. I wouldn’t say a lot more running, but it’s more uptempo.
On Coach Jim Tomsula and being in over his head:
I’m going to let management do the management part, and I’m going to play the football part.
Explaining his huge numbers at Louisiana Tech:
Just trying to get my name out.
On his game against Texas A&M [widely believed to be one the best games of his college career and his signature game prior to being drafted]
That game was one of my best games of my career. One of my funnest games. I think that was on ESPN’s top 15, 20, 25 games of the year. That game was amazing going against Johnny Maziel back and forth. And his receivers that he had.
On the number of receptions he had in that game (close to a record):
I didn’t really notice it when it was happening until I got on the bus. I knew I had a good game and everything. I’m like, “Man, we just lost. We are 6-1 now, could have been undefeated.”
My best friend Miles White comes to me and says, “You just caught 22 balls.”
I was like, “I did?”