Los Angeles Rams Rookie Phenom, Puka Nacua, has been the bell of the ball at the Super Bowl LVIII’s Radio Row. He made his rounds to all the major media outlets and took part in a NextGen Stats and Zebra Technologies symposium on the future of player tracking. That is where he met with a scrum of reporters including the LAFB Network.
Puka Nacua On The Loss In Detroit And The Infamous Missed Pass Interference
“I’m sad. I’m sad. We lost. I’m sad still. I learned a lot. Although we did lose, it made me really excited for the off-season and for the room to improve that I have.”
“Anytime Matthew [Stafford] throws me the ball, my job is to go out there and catch it. The Rams organization trusted me to make that play, and I wasn’t able to make that play. So that’s something that I hold very dear to my heart. Every time the ball gets thrown my way, the whole organization is trusting that I’m able to make the play. So I wasn’t able to in that moment and I won’t let that happen again.”
“I should have caught the ball. I wish I would’ve caught that ball. I should have jumped higher.”
On Sophomore Offseason Work
“I’m focusing on conditioning. Be out there. 100 percent of snaps. That’s definitely a goal of mine. I can contribute in the passing game and in the running game. I also learned I led the league in drops, so I’m going to be working on that.”
“Man-to-man is the most difficult coverage to play against. They have the ability to disrupt some of the timing and to stand in close proximity to somebody. Those guys, they’re fast too on the other side of the ball. So I think man-to-man is definitely a difficult coverage for sure. Still.
Puka Nacua On Falling to the 5th Round of the Draft
“The 40 carries a lot of weight and that’s something I didn’t thrive in, but not too often in my play style do I run in a straight line for 40 yards. but that’s why I didn’t get drafted higher.”
On Becoming a Starter
“Wednesday practice before Week 1. The receivers were kind of rotating (because Cooper Kupp‘s injury) then Coach said ‘Go in there and take the first rep’ and it was the very first play of the game. And I was like ‘Oh. Wait. really?’ And it just took off from there. “
It was Coop who actually came to me. He was like, man, I’ve been waiting. You’ve been catching all these passes and your first touchdown had to happen. Of course, your first touchdown was a game-winner in overtime.
Anime Fans and the Los Angeles Rams
“Cooper Kupp is a firm no on anime. I’ve tried. I’ve sent him some TikToks and some funny memes. I think he understands the world. I think he’s going to get into it. But some guys have told me they are into it or they dabble. Like, ‘now way, you watch?!’ But it let me know who the ‘anime guys’ were.
