San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens spoke with the media following Thursday night's 34-3 victory over the Oakland Raiders.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
You got verified tonight – mid-game. What's that like, man? How's that feel?
"I guess pretty cool. It's cool."
When did you find out about that? Right in the locker room afterwards, or what?
"Yeah. I think somebody told me after the game. I was really excited about a lot more things than that."
You prepare, obviously, like you're going to be a starter every week. But, was it different this week preparing?
"The feeling, obviously, knowing that you're going to start puts some more emphasis on it I guess you guys could say. But, you know, my preparation stayed pretty consistent. Studied the plan. Always going to be ready when my name is called, and it was called. I just tried to do the best that I could. The team did the best that we could. We played great, sound football all three phases of the game."
Was it difficult? You didn't really have practices. It was your first week going in as a starter, but you didn't have those real practice time reps. How did you kind of replicate that? Did you do extra work?
"You just study your progressions, really. Just know where to go with the football based on the look that you get. That was the biggest thing. I knew as long as I could just stick to my progressions, then I would have a chance. It definitely helped that the O-Line protected their butts off tonight. They did a great job, definitely."
What's it like getting the phone call from Brett Favre after the game?
"It was pretty cool. Definitely an honor. It's cool to see Southern Miss alumni stay in-tune with the program and support each other. So, I'm definitely appreciative of that, and definitely have the most respect for Brett."
What'd he say to you?
"He just told me how proud of me he was. He sent me a message before the game. He said, 'No pressure. Just be yourself,' and that's what I tried to do before the game and during the game. So, just tried to stay calm out there and lead the offense. Obviously, we got some veterans on the O-Line, so it was just a very collective effort."
How'd you sleep last night?
"I slept good, except I woke up about every hour. But, those hour periods were great. No, I slept pretty good. No, the Marriott – spent plenty of nights there."
When did you have an idea? I assume it was yesterday that you had a good idea that you were going to start.
"Yeah, I had an idea. I found out yesterday, and I was just ready to go. Very excited, and the opportunity was in front of me."
When did you feel like you truly settled in? Did it feel like after that first touchdown drive, or were you pretty confident at the beginning of the game?
"I don't know if I did. I was on edge until the clock hit zero, to be honest. I was just ready to win. Ready to just keep going. The O-Line, we worked together with the skill guys. I thought we just worked well as a unit in the huddle. We were all banded together and just ready to go. We were excited. We were ready to attack. I thought we did that well tonight."
What was your most challenging throw? Was it the one to TE George Kittle that he made one-handed?
"Yeah, probably. Yeah, you could say that. I just tried to leave it a little inside for him. I still haven't seen his catch, but they said it was sick. So, I can't wait to see it. But, yeah, I just tried to leave it inside and he made a great play like he has all year."
Because you were undrafted, you hadn't taken a snap in a regular season game before tonight, I think the expectations publicly were very modest. Did you view this as like, 'Now, I can finally show people what I can do?'
"To an extent. I keep some of it in the back of my mind, but not all of it. I think I'm here for a reason and this was my opportunity to prove that I can play. Talked about that a couple times since I've been here. So, a little bit. But, the biggest thing is just attack your job and worry about what matters. What mattered most tonight was the team and how we played."
Before you came out here, you were sitting in your locker and head coach Kyle Shanahan came over and said something. What did he say?
"We were talking about Kittle's catch, actually. That was a pretty cool play. Other than that, he was just proud of me and obviously, I'm very appreciative that he put me in great situations and put the whole offense in great situations to succeed."
George shared that you would blast your headphones to simulate crowd noise.
"Yeah. I don't know how he found that out because I only do that at my house. But, yeah, it's a good way to prepare."
Where do you get crowd noise?
"Apple Music."
Do you just search for crowd noise?
"Yeah."
CB Richard Sherman said he told you to give the pre-game speech. What were your thoughts when he asked you to do that? How did that process go?
"I was ready to go, to be honest. Yeah, I love doing that stuff. I'm pretty, I guess, I don't know what guys would describe me as, chill in the locker room I guess. On game day, I love to compete and that's what it's all about. So, yeah, I was ready to go. The whole team was. We brought great energy, played with great energy on offense, defense and special teams."
What was the message you wanted to get across to your teammates?
"It was a four-round fight. The whole week we talked about finishing, finding a way to finish. You know, tonight, we did. It's a four-round fight. Even in the fourth quarter, foot on the gas. It was the last round of the fight. Let's finish this thing. So, that was kind of the emphasis for us tonight."
Obviously, the team needs to have confidence in their quarterback. Did you feel that confidence form your teammates in you?
"Yeah, I believe so. I just appreciated that they listened in the huddle. I'm probably pretty annoying sometimes, to be honest. But, appreciate that they listened, respected me and gave me a chance to lead the offense. Everybody worked well tonight. I think we said we distributed the ball well, we ran the ball well and they blocked their butts off up front. So, I thought everybody worked well together."
You're happy they listened to you because you're annoying? Is that what you said?
"Yeah. I'm always talking through the game, just trying to encourage guys, trying to keep them up. I'm sure sometimes, I don't know if they're listening to me or not. But, I'm talking."
Back to the Apple Music crowd noise, is that something you did in college, as well?
"Not really, because in college you didn't have to worry about the play calls as much. So, in the NFL, play calls, I should be able to hear those and repeat those. The crowd noise, it's a good way to simulate the game to prepare."
How does it feel to be the last winning quarterback of the Battle of the Bay?
"Yeah, that's an incredible honor. I grew up watching the Niners, even from Alabama. It's an incredible honor. I knew it was a big game for the people around this area, and I'm glad I can represent the Niners the right way. Glad we got a win, for sure."
