I got a one-on-one interview with Pratt yesterday that was not part of the normal Zoom calls.
You were home schooled through the eighth grade. How did that work for you?
"I'm the youngest of four. I have two older sisters and an older brother. We were all home schooled growing up, and then going into my ninth grade year my dad moved to Virginia (to attend law school) and my mom went back to work full time (as a teacher and then a principle at a Christian school in Pompano Beach) and that's when me and my sisters started going to public school."
Did your mom handle all the home schooling, and what was the typical day like?
"Yep. It kind of varied to be honest. Every day was really different. My dad was a general contractor my whole life when I was growing up, and there would be days I would go to work with him as my day of school. It was kind of nice. I got to wake up whenever and then really I just had a list of stuff I had to do. As soon as I got those things done, I'd go to the beach, go fishing and do stuff like that every day."
Tim Tebow is the most famous home-schooled quarterback from Florida. Have you ever met him?
"I haven't met him, but I know a little bit about his history, and he's definitely a big role model for me."
Is it true you never played football until you started attending Boca Raton High in ninth grade?
"Yeah, i wasn't allowed to play football. I played baseball and basketball all my life, and my ninth grade year was my first year of football."
How excited were you to get out there and play the first time?
"I loved it. I wanted to play football my whole life. My parents never wanted me to because of injuries and whatnot. When my dad moved to Virginia, I was like I'm going to play football now."
Did you have to convince them to let you play football then?
"My mom wasn't necessarily too opposed to it. She kind of said she wanted me to wait until I was in high school. My dad wanted me to play baseball."
How good were you in baseball?
"I was really good in baseball. That was my sport. I'm not going to lie. I was probably better at baseball than I'll ever be at any other sport. I was a pitcher and shortstop. I was a good on-base guy. My dad was really a good baseball coach. My key things were I barely ever struck out. I always put the ball in play. That was something that was big for me, and then pitching was really my go-to. In seventh and eighth grade I played varsity at Boca Christian, which was one of the high schools. When I was home schooled, I was traveling to tournaments every weekend and kind of lost interest."
How quickly did you know football was going to be your sport?
"Since the first day I played. I kind of just fell in love with it. I had a major passion for the game."
Did you start right away at Boca Raton?
"The first fall I played JV, and then I started on varsity my freshman spring."
Coach Fritz says you have good mechanics. How did you develop that?
"Just great coaching. I think my arm strength came from playing baseball, and one of the big things I worked on a lot was shortening up my release. Coming from a baseball background I had a long release, so that was one of the things I really worked on and tried to perfect going forward."
You transferred to Deerfield Beach right before your senior year and had four wide receivers and a running back who signed with FBS programs. What was that like?
"It was big time. That was really one of the major reasons I wanted to go somewhere else because I wanted to play at a higher level of competition based on who I was playing against and who I was playing with just to kind of prepare me for college. When I went over there, their starting quarterback had committed to Southern Mississippi. I wanted to go somewhere I wasn't necessarily the guy and I wanted to be surrounded by other people that would push me to get better every day and have another really good quarterback that was established there and would push me and make me go 110 percent every day so I could get better and really just prepare for college. It was a huge benefit for me playing teams like St. Thomas and Columbus and all those different teams as opposed to when I was at Boca and not playing at that level."
You had an abductor injury early in the season. How serious was it?
"That happened when we were scrimmaging Cardinal Gibbons in the preseason. It was a strained abductor and they told me I was going to be out for like two months, which was really the majority of the season, so I ended up sitting out the first three games and was doing therapy every single day and trying to do management and not let it get worse, but I came back. That was really difficult for me. I lost a lot of the strength in my legs from not being able to lift and run a lot. It's something I have to continue to work at."
Were you ever 100 percent last year?
"No. It still bothers me to some extent today, but it's not as bad as it used to be. I have to do treatment on it every day just strengthening it back up and getting strength back up in my legs. That's going to be one of my major focuses this offseason is just getting the strength back in my legs. My junior spring was probably the most athletic football I've ever played. After my sophomore fall season, that's when I stopped playing basketball and just really started focusing on hitting the weight room and preparing for next season."
One of Deerfield Beach's wide receivers, Bryce Gowdy, died when he was hit by a train after signing with Georgia Tech last December (it was ruled a suicide, and Gowdy's family had been homeless for a time). What was that like for you when you found out, and how have you honored him going forward?
"I was actually at Vanderbilt at my sister's basketball game (she plays for Columbia) when I found out the news, and it was really devastating. He was my guy when I was at Deerfield. He was the guy that pushed me the most out of anybody after practice. Normally I'm the person that would talk to other receivers, hey, let's get a few extra reps, let's work on this, let's work on that, and even the days that I was exhausted or not in a good mood, he was always pushing me making sure that me and him were getting five extra fade balls after practice before I went home, five slants, stuff like that. Just trying to honor him, Ive got a chip on my shoulder and what I do is really for him.
You have a tattoo to remember him, right?
"Yeah, I have a tattoo on my right arm. It says believe with a 7. He wore No. 7 and that was kind of his motto. I wore No. 13 in high school and I wear No. 7 now for him."
How happy were you that the number was available?
"I talked to them about it and they did what they could to get me the number. I think Duece was going to wear No. 7, but they got it done for me so that I could wear it."
What have you done best in your starts, and what do you need to improve on?
"Really just trying to be a leader and trying to get the best of the guys to rally around me and having trust and faith in me, which is pretty big, and just competing every day, getting better and making sure everybody is going 100 percent in practice, which has been huge. I feel like I've been getting better and better every week, and moving forward I just want to continue getting better with my athleticism, moving my eyes faster, reading defenses, picking up on blitzes and checking protections."
You throw a beautiful deep ball. Is that just a knack?
"I don't know. I guess it's just a natural thing. A lot of people either have it or they don't. It's something I've worked on a lot and coach Hall has done a good job of coaching me up on. But I feel like it's just something that comes natural."
Did you expect to be in this position?
"Yeah. To be honest, yeah. I didn't necessarily know it was going to happen this year, next year, whatnot, but that's the goal I set for myself and I worked my way towards that goal and finally achieved it."
You were home schooled through the eighth grade. How did that work for you?
"I'm the youngest of four. I have two older sisters and an older brother. We were all home schooled growing up, and then going into my ninth grade year my dad moved to Virginia (to attend law school) and my mom went back to work full time (as a teacher and then a principle at a Christian school in Pompano Beach) and that's when me and my sisters started going to public school."
Did your mom handle all the home schooling, and what was the typical day like?
"Yep. It kind of varied to be honest. Every day was really different. My dad was a general contractor my whole life when I was growing up, and there would be days I would go to work with him as my day of school. It was kind of nice. I got to wake up whenever and then really I just had a list of stuff I had to do. As soon as I got those things done, I'd go to the beach, go fishing and do stuff like that every day."
Tim Tebow is the most famous home-schooled quarterback from Florida. Have you ever met him?
"I haven't met him, but I know a little bit about his history, and he's definitely a big role model for me."
Is it true you never played football until you started attending Boca Raton High in ninth grade?
"Yeah, i wasn't allowed to play football. I played baseball and basketball all my life, and my ninth grade year was my first year of football."
How excited were you to get out there and play the first time?
"I loved it. I wanted to play football my whole life. My parents never wanted me to because of injuries and whatnot. When my dad moved to Virginia, I was like I'm going to play football now."
Did you have to convince them to let you play football then?
"My mom wasn't necessarily too opposed to it. She kind of said she wanted me to wait until I was in high school. My dad wanted me to play baseball."
How good were you in baseball?
"I was really good in baseball. That was my sport. I'm not going to lie. I was probably better at baseball than I'll ever be at any other sport. I was a pitcher and shortstop. I was a good on-base guy. My dad was really a good baseball coach. My key things were I barely ever struck out. I always put the ball in play. That was something that was big for me, and then pitching was really my go-to. In seventh and eighth grade I played varsity at Boca Christian, which was one of the high schools. When I was home schooled, I was traveling to tournaments every weekend and kind of lost interest."
How quickly did you know football was going to be your sport?
"Since the first day I played. I kind of just fell in love with it. I had a major passion for the game."
Did you start right away at Boca Raton?
"The first fall I played JV, and then I started on varsity my freshman spring."
Coach Fritz says you have good mechanics. How did you develop that?
"Just great coaching. I think my arm strength came from playing baseball, and one of the big things I worked on a lot was shortening up my release. Coming from a baseball background I had a long release, so that was one of the things I really worked on and tried to perfect going forward."
You transferred to Deerfield Beach right before your senior year and had four wide receivers and a running back who signed with FBS programs. What was that like?
"It was big time. That was really one of the major reasons I wanted to go somewhere else because I wanted to play at a higher level of competition based on who I was playing against and who I was playing with just to kind of prepare me for college. When I went over there, their starting quarterback had committed to Southern Mississippi. I wanted to go somewhere I wasn't necessarily the guy and I wanted to be surrounded by other people that would push me to get better every day and have another really good quarterback that was established there and would push me and make me go 110 percent every day so I could get better and really just prepare for college. It was a huge benefit for me playing teams like St. Thomas and Columbus and all those different teams as opposed to when I was at Boca and not playing at that level."
You had an abductor injury early in the season. How serious was it?
"That happened when we were scrimmaging Cardinal Gibbons in the preseason. It was a strained abductor and they told me I was going to be out for like two months, which was really the majority of the season, so I ended up sitting out the first three games and was doing therapy every single day and trying to do management and not let it get worse, but I came back. That was really difficult for me. I lost a lot of the strength in my legs from not being able to lift and run a lot. It's something I have to continue to work at."
Were you ever 100 percent last year?
"No. It still bothers me to some extent today, but it's not as bad as it used to be. I have to do treatment on it every day just strengthening it back up and getting strength back up in my legs. That's going to be one of my major focuses this offseason is just getting the strength back in my legs. My junior spring was probably the most athletic football I've ever played. After my sophomore fall season, that's when I stopped playing basketball and just really started focusing on hitting the weight room and preparing for next season."
One of Deerfield Beach's wide receivers, Bryce Gowdy, died when he was hit by a train after signing with Georgia Tech last December (it was ruled a suicide, and Gowdy's family had been homeless for a time). What was that like for you when you found out, and how have you honored him going forward?
"I was actually at Vanderbilt at my sister's basketball game (she plays for Columbia) when I found out the news, and it was really devastating. He was my guy when I was at Deerfield. He was the guy that pushed me the most out of anybody after practice. Normally I'm the person that would talk to other receivers, hey, let's get a few extra reps, let's work on this, let's work on that, and even the days that I was exhausted or not in a good mood, he was always pushing me making sure that me and him were getting five extra fade balls after practice before I went home, five slants, stuff like that. Just trying to honor him, Ive got a chip on my shoulder and what I do is really for him.
You have a tattoo to remember him, right?
"Yeah, I have a tattoo on my right arm. It says believe with a 7. He wore No. 7 and that was kind of his motto. I wore No. 13 in high school and I wear No. 7 now for him."
How happy were you that the number was available?
"I talked to them about it and they did what they could to get me the number. I think Duece was going to wear No. 7, but they got it done for me so that I could wear it."
What have you done best in your starts, and what do you need to improve on?
"Really just trying to be a leader and trying to get the best of the guys to rally around me and having trust and faith in me, which is pretty big, and just competing every day, getting better and making sure everybody is going 100 percent in practice, which has been huge. I feel like I've been getting better and better every week, and moving forward I just want to continue getting better with my athleticism, moving my eyes faster, reading defenses, picking up on blitzes and checking protections."
You throw a beautiful deep ball. Is that just a knack?
"I don't know. I guess it's just a natural thing. A lot of people either have it or they don't. It's something I've worked on a lot and coach Hall has done a good job of coaching me up on. But I feel like it's just something that comes natural."
Did you expect to be in this position?
"Yeah. To be honest, yeah. I didn't necessarily know it was going to happen this year, next year, whatnot, but that's the goal I set for myself and I worked my way towards that goal and finally achieved it."
