On his biggest takeaway from this month
"The biggest thing I took from this month is just the preparation going into the week. All of the practice habits that you have is going to come out and shine when it comes to playing. Being around a lot of veterans in my room, you see what it takes to play the position. Also being around a lot of great knowledge with Coach Kubiak and Coach Janocko and the offensive staff helps me as a young player to keep on learning. The month has been great. It has been a great preseason for me to go against different NFL teams and to also have the opportunity to lead our guys. Now moving forward, it is all about building."
On if he expects opportunities to play in regular-season games
"I expect to be prepared whenever my opportunity presents itself. I don't know when that opportunity is going to present itself, but when it does, I am going to give my best week and also, I am going to be trusted when I go into the game. If I am in the game, it is because the coaching staff trusts me. It is going to come from my working habits, practice habits, the stuff that is done in the dark. It is going to come out to shine for sure. I know that better things are ahead. It ispreseason. You're not going to win the Super Bowl today. No team is going to win the Super Bowl today, and so I am just excited for the opportunity because there will be an opportunity for me to play. It is all about the season."
On if anything changes from preseason to regular season
"Nothing changes. I am going to keep on preparing. I know that the coaching staff is very confident in me. When you have a coaching staff like that, it makes you excited to go back to work. Nothing to be discouraged about. If you're discouraged, that means you're not a competitor. I love football. I love everything about it. The highs. The lows. The failures. The disappointments. You have to love football. It is part of the game. It was my first start man. It is a great opportunity to build upon it. I am just excited to keep on competing and keep on getting better."
On if he always gets up at 4:30 a.m.
"Always, man. I'm up. Because the biggest thing as a quarterback is that you have to be trusted. With that it is all about working on your craft so that you can be prepared to lead the guys. You have to have a singular focus for each and every rep that you have at the position. You have to be dialed in. So it is the work that you do in the dark, whether that is physically running, getting up, stretching, yoga. Whether it is a VR system or meeting extra with my coaches. I am going to continue to do that no matter what. That is just something that I like to do and I know that building my craft is going to allow me to be the quarterback I want to be."
On how Virtual Reality is helping him
"It is beneficial. You have those extra reps that you may not get at practice. You are on your timing. You build a schedule to keep on working. These are reps where you are getting the physical reps at practice, but also building upon that by doing that. So it has been great for me. It has been awesome to have that resource here in Seattle and so I am going to continue using it moving forward."
On the WR Jake Bobo injury scare
"12 is 1 is our motto as a group and that comes into life when it comes to any player on our team getting hurt. All we want to do is ensure that Bobo is okay, that all our of teammates are okay. It is a dangerous sport for sure, so that is the biggest thing I want to do is check up on him and ensure that he is okay. When you go into a game the biggest mission is everyone coming out head up high and healthy. It definitely affects me, having to play that one down (after the injury). We are definitely 12 as 1 and I am definitely going to check up on him."
On how his parents' military background has influenced him
"Detail-oriented, working as a group, having a single focus, being driven by goals. So many things that I learned from my parents. There's a lot of things I can say about my parents. But those were things that were instilled in me so when it comes to playing football there are a lot of similarities when it comes to their background and how much they poured into me. They show what right looks like as being parents. I definitely love and appreciate them. Despite anything, disappointment, failure, smiles, those are the first people I want to greet when I am around them. Those are people that I love and appreciate and when you talk about unconditional love, I have that with my parents."