Speaker 1: Welcome to the Command Center Podcast. I'm Julie Donaldson. Another
Speaker 1: season of Scary Terry is on the way. McLaurin inked
Speaker 1: a three year contract extension, making him a commander through
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty five season. The wide receiver led Washington
Speaker 1: and receiving yards through the past three seasons, accumulating over
Speaker 1: three thousand yards and sixteen touchdowns. I sat down with
Speaker 1: Terry after the signing. Terry, I see that smile. How
Speaker 1: does it feel. I mean, you just finally inked the deal.
Speaker 1: I'm sure this is something that you dream. I mean,
Speaker 1: you dream to get in the NFL, but you also
Speaker 1: want to get you want to get that contract. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Is super exciting to kind of have this culmination to
Speaker 1: come here and sign my extension, to stay with this
Speaker 1: team that drafted me. That kind of initiated my dream
Speaker 1: with just being in the NFL. And I remember getting
Speaker 1: here and just being so happy to be in the
Speaker 1: opportunity that I had. UM. You know, guys, bless me
Speaker 1: with so many great opportunities and just the ability that
Speaker 1: I have and UM to come here and sign that
Speaker 1: contract and make things efficial to stay here as UM
Speaker 1: one of the leaders of this team and just so
Speaker 1: many goals we have going forward. Is really exciting to
Speaker 1: share this moment with my family, my girlfriend, and my agents.
Speaker 1: So it's it's been really an exciting day. And uh,
Speaker 1: you know, this smile may not like off for a
Speaker 1: little bit. Should it shouldn't? It shouldn't. It's great. It's
Speaker 1: you know, I mean, you talk about your God given abilities,
Speaker 1: but let's let's not deny the fact that you've worked
Speaker 1: really hard for this too. There's a lot of aspects
Speaker 1: of your game that are earned throughout that as well. Yeah, um,
Speaker 1: where do you feel that your game most because you
Speaker 1: get paid for what you did? Where do you feel
Speaker 1: your game really kind of that work paid off to
Speaker 1: where you're at today? Um? I think, honestly, just my
Speaker 1: ability to be able to increase my ball skills. I
Speaker 1: think that was something that was really a point of
Speaker 1: emphasis and college, and I remember just being in the
Speaker 1: indoor at Ohio State and trying to create different drills
Speaker 1: and trying to increase my ball skills where it's contested
Speaker 1: catches or just catching the ball in a way that
Speaker 1: was cleaner and just gave me the best ability to
Speaker 1: do something with the ball. As soon as I got
Speaker 1: it and now just to see I'm you know, my
Speaker 1: drop percentage is really low and my contested catches led
Speaker 1: the league. And that's just a testament to the hard
Speaker 1: work that I was trying to put in during that time.
Speaker 1: And you really never know at the time when that's
Speaker 1: going to show up, when you're going to need it most.
Speaker 1: So it just makes me want to continue to try
Speaker 1: to improve on the weaknesses I may have in my
Speaker 1: game and then continue to make my strengths even stronger.
Speaker 1: So the work ethic is something that I've always prided
Speaker 1: myself in, and no matter what the opportunity that I
Speaker 1: head in front of me, I knew I wanted to
Speaker 1: prepared for those moments by putting the work in when
Speaker 1: nobody else was watching. So you talk about your hands
Speaker 1: kind of the ability to do that, But does that
Speaker 1: still resonate with you when Ohio states so that's something
Speaker 1: we want you to work on. Is that something that
Speaker 1: still impacts you today? I mean definitely. I think I'm
Speaker 1: always trying to analyze my game and see where I
Speaker 1: can see improvements, and I think that the time you
Speaker 1: get complacency in this league is the kind of when
Speaker 1: you get passed by, and so I'm always looking to
Speaker 1: try to stay on top of my game, whether it's
Speaker 1: my route running, my releases. It was something that was
Speaker 1: very big and last offseason I wanted to improve on.
Speaker 1: And so it's just things that I always wanted to
Speaker 1: continue to focus on in my game that I can
Speaker 1: keep me at the top of my level and continue
Speaker 1: to keep to be my best for this team and
Speaker 1: one of the best receivers in this league. Another thing
Speaker 1: you touched on is staying here. Yeah. You know, this
Speaker 1: is the league where a lot of guys, you know,
Speaker 1: people typically would follow a team and the players would move,
Speaker 1: and so now a lot of times people follow the
Speaker 1: players to whichever teams they go to. Why was it
Speaker 1: important for you to stay here? I mean, I think
Speaker 1: I got a very unique opportunity to come and play
Speaker 1: for you know, Washington, and I got that call that
Speaker 1: night in Indianapolis to you know, be a part of
Speaker 1: this organization and just the history that this organization has
Speaker 1: in the winning culture and the Super Bowls, and having
Speaker 1: Doug Williams around, who's been a mentor of mine. I
Speaker 1: get the even where his seventeen again, and so um,
Speaker 1: you know, it's just was super special to come in
Speaker 1: here and I had an opportunity to be able to
Speaker 1: contribute right away. And you know, I was very excited
Speaker 1: for my opportunity to come you know, help the team
Speaker 1: anyway I could. But I knew I had the chance
Speaker 1: to play a big role as a receiver as a rookie.
Speaker 1: And you know, I was very fortunate to have some
Speaker 1: really good mentors my rookie year that really helped me
Speaker 1: be prepared for my opportunities. And I was just putting
Speaker 1: the work in and excited so um, you know, and
Speaker 1: just these fans, they're so passionate, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: There's there's really no fan based like them in the NFL.
Speaker 1: To me, and the way they supported me and just
Speaker 1: encouraged me, and autographs I get to sign, and seeing
Speaker 1: them out at camp, it's just it makes it makes
Speaker 1: my heart really happy to be able to stay here
Speaker 1: and continue to try to build something back to where
Speaker 1: it should be. And uh, I know we got a
Speaker 1: lot of great guys in the locker room that are
Speaker 1: have the same goals in mind set as I do.
Speaker 1: I know you're gonna say winning is most important over everything,
Speaker 1: and of course it is, um, but personally you're starting
Speaker 1: to break records that were set by Gary Clark, and
Speaker 1: he got that for being here and staying at this franchise.
Speaker 1: But just in a short time, in three years, you're
Speaker 1: already breaking those records. Give a thousand yards season last year.
Speaker 1: How much do you pay attention to just and I
Speaker 1: don't know how real you can be, but how they're
Speaker 1: saying to pay attention to come on, when you see
Speaker 1: those numbers and those records being broken on you individually,
Speaker 1: I mean, it's definitely very humbling when you see guys
Speaker 1: like you're in the conversation with Gary Clark and our
Speaker 1: monk in Santana like to be just in the conversation
Speaker 1: with those guys extremely humbling from me. And to be
Speaker 1: able to achieve some of those things so early in
Speaker 1: my career is definitely very exciting and it's something I
Speaker 1: really take pride in. And you know, at the end
Speaker 1: of the day, I really do just love being around
Speaker 1: the guys and winning football games. But i'd be lying
Speaker 1: to say I don't want to be like the best
Speaker 1: player I can be and try to, you know, reset
Speaker 1: some of those records and things like that. But I
Speaker 1: think that just comes with the everyday work ethic that
Speaker 1: I try to bring, the competitiveness, the leadership, and I
Speaker 1: think the rest takes care of itself. So I'm really
Speaker 1: excited to continue to try to be my best and improve,
Speaker 1: you know, individually, but help our team in our offense improve.
Speaker 1: This year, you get a new quarterback again, another quarterback
Speaker 1: to work with. Um, you haven't been on the field
Speaker 1: with him yet because you were waiting for this to
Speaker 1: be signed before you get out there. So we'll see
Speaker 1: you on a training camp. But what are you anticipating
Speaker 1: you can do with Carson knowing the arm that he
Speaker 1: has and then also the other weapons you know, Curtis, say,
Speaker 1: Curtis healthy, John Dotson coming in here. What are you anticipating. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I haven't got to be on the field with Carson
Speaker 1: quite yet, but we've we've really got to be able
Speaker 1: to build a personal relationship over the last few months.
Speaker 1: You know, he was texting me all throughout the off season,
Speaker 1: just checking in on me, seeing how I was doing.
Speaker 1: And you know, personally, he's just a really a really
Speaker 1: good guy that I feel like we were going to
Speaker 1: get along personally and just as a competitor. You know,
Speaker 1: he's been doing this at that very high level at
Speaker 1: the early part of his career, and you know, hopefully
Speaker 1: I could just add something to his game and be
Speaker 1: a guy that he could really trust and depend on.
Speaker 1: And I think no matter the quarterback that's been here,
Speaker 1: I've just always wanted to make their job as easy
Speaker 1: as possible. So whether that's getting the extra work to
Speaker 1: try to make up some of the time we missed
Speaker 1: in camp or watching film we're just hanging out. I
Speaker 1: think we're gonna have some opportunities to grow together, and
Speaker 1: you know, I think that will permeate throughout our group,
Speaker 1: the receivers and the quarterbacks, and I'm really excited to
Speaker 1: be a part of our guys again. I think we
Speaker 1: have a really interesting dynamic group this year. Young, some vets,
Speaker 1: some guys who can come in and step into spots
Speaker 1: when we need them with camp sims, and I'm really
Speaker 1: excited to see how we all gail together and mesh
Speaker 1: this camp to see how we can make some explosive
Speaker 1: plays happen. Because I think talking to Coach with Very
Speaker 1: and Coach Turner and things like that, we want to
Speaker 1: really make more explosive plays down the field, and we
Speaker 1: know how big that is. In this NFL with you know,
Speaker 1: points and scoring points and making big plays. So I'm
Speaker 1: really excited to see how everybody starts to jail together
Speaker 1: and you know, do my best as the leader to
Speaker 1: try to push everybody. I know they're gonna push me
Speaker 1: as well. So that's that's the fun part competition, that's
Speaker 1: really where you get better. You've seen over the past
Speaker 1: few years or this team really kind of invest a
Speaker 1: lot on defense this offseason. They kind of made it
Speaker 1: a point to say, Okay, we've got Carson, we've gone Terry,
Speaker 1: we need to make sure that we invest on the
Speaker 1: offensive side of the ball. How do you see this
Speaker 1: offense maybe different than what you've had so far in
Speaker 1: the past. Well, I think we're really strong upfront. Um
Speaker 1: you know, I think coach Masko does a really good
Speaker 1: job with the guys up front. You know, Charles and
Speaker 1: Chase obviously guys have been around for a little while,
Speaker 1: and Wes and the new guys that we brought in
Speaker 1: I haven't got to meet yet. I think it really
Speaker 1: starts up front with the old line that we have
Speaker 1: and the toughness that they bring. I think that sets
Speaker 1: the tone for our offense. But um, I think think
Speaker 1: as many weapons as we have, I think it's really
Speaker 1: this guy could possibly be the limit if we put
Speaker 1: the work in each and every day to try to
Speaker 1: mention Jail. So we're on the same same page, and
Speaker 1: I think it's not going to be like all on
Speaker 1: me or all on one guy, all on Carson. I
Speaker 1: think a group collective efforts really is what's gonna make
Speaker 1: this offense successful to where defenses have to respect the
Speaker 1: run game with Antonio and j D and the other
Speaker 1: guys in that room, and the tight ends with Logan
Speaker 1: come back healthy and in what John Bass does in
Speaker 1: our run game and in the past game. So I
Speaker 1: think we really have a dynamic group UM of a
Speaker 1: lot of versatile guys who are smart and unselfish. I
Speaker 1: think when you have a collective group like that, you
Speaker 1: have an opportunity to do a lot of great things.
Speaker 1: But we're just gonna try to take it a day
Speaker 1: at a time. Just one ball, try though, Yeah, just
Speaker 1: one ball. But I mean coming from college, I mean
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, I know what that's
Speaker 1: like to um. You know, the ball to be distributed.
Speaker 1: But that also I know what I have to do
Speaker 1: and bring to this table and be the guy that
Speaker 1: could make the plays when we need them most. But
Speaker 1: I think it's very exciting that we have other guys
Speaker 1: can make plays when we need them as well. And um,
Speaker 1: like I said, when you when in this league, now
Speaker 1: you see teams with a lot of different dynamic weapons,
Speaker 1: and I think that will really help us guys to
Speaker 1: develop and step into their role to make this offense
Speaker 1: a complete offense this year. All right, when you look, queen,
Speaker 1: I appreciate it. You got the chains. I mean you're
Speaker 1: looking you're looking like that contract. Um, but let me
Speaker 1: ask you, is it going to be the fishing poles
Speaker 1: to get upgraded or the golfing clubs? I haven't decided.
Speaker 1: My partner's at PXG actually upgrading my golf clubs to
Speaker 1: their new gym five, So shout out to them for that.
Speaker 1: I've been really kind of get some golfing because once
Speaker 1: the season starts, I got to kind of put so
Speaker 1: now that you couldn't afford everything for free, it's a blessed.
Speaker 1: It's a blessed. So maybe, um, you know, I maybe
Speaker 1: upgrade my dad's golf clubs or something like that. But um,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm really excited just to you know, tie
Speaker 1: my money and give it to a church that I'm
Speaker 1: really um passionate about and seeing the great works they're
Speaker 1: doing in this community, and um, you know, I want
Speaker 1: to be continue to be a part of that. And
Speaker 1: UM you know, I know I'm not being blessed with
Speaker 1: this money just to enjoy for myself, but UM, I'm
Speaker 1: excited to have this opportunity to set my family up
Speaker 1: and myself just um financially so that we're that we're good.
Speaker 1: But at the end of the day, you know, I've
Speaker 1: always played this game because I love it, and I
Speaker 1: respect the time, the work, and the effort that it
Speaker 1: takes to be good at this be great at this game.
Speaker 1: And I'm really just excited to get back to work.
Speaker 1: All right, family, proud fan base, proud excited. Keep that
Speaker 1: smell well, it looks good. Thank you, Terry, congratulations and
Speaker 1: we can't wait to see you on the film. I
Speaker 1: appreciate you can see you again. For all your Commanders
Speaker 1: news and analysis, be sure to tune into command Center
Speaker 1: weeknights at five thirty ten pm on NBC Sports Washington.
Speaker 1: And while you're at it, follow us at Commanders on
Speaker 1: all social media platforms. For the latest on the team.
Speaker 1: Hail to the commanders