AT&T PEBBLE BEACH PRO-AM

February 2, 2022

Keith Mitchell

Josh Allen

Pebble Beach Golf Links

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Keith Mitchell and Josh Allen to the interview room here at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

First of all, Keith we're going to start with you. You're making your fifth start at this event and on TOUR this season you're coming off of three top-15 finishes in your last six starts. If we can get some comments on the state of your game coming into the week.

KEITH MITCHELL: Feels good. Feels good. It's kind of a statement that's hard to use because last week I missed cut, but I felt like I was playing better than I performed. But probably the best start to a season in my short career out here, so really excited about how many event we have left and building off that and trying to make it to the FedExCup playoffs and then eventually to East Lake.

So this week's a great week, I've had mixed success here, but hopefully my partner can carry me a little bit on Sunday.

THE MODERATOR: Speaking of your partner, Josh, just a couple weeks ago coming off of a game that people will be talking about forever, basically, can you talk a little bit about that game and then what it's been like the last couple weeks and how being here at Pebble Beach can sort of be cathartic for you?

JOSH ALLEN: To feedback off that I get nine pops, so he just said, Nine pars, that's all I need out of you. So that's my goal.

And to answer the question, it was a fun game to be a part of and I know that everybody I talked to so far has come up to me and talked about how much they enjoyed that game and it's a small consolation prize, I guess, to be a part of that game, just where two teams are going back and forth.

Unfortunately, we didn't get the job done and it hurt watching the last week's game and it's going to hurt watching the Super Bowl, knowing what could have been. But, again, we move on, we'll learn from it and we use it to our advantage.

THE MODERATOR: Keith, did you watch that game and just how excited are you to being here this week playing with Josh?

KEITH MITCHELL: I did and I obviously watched the highlights again and again and at the time watching the game obviously I had no idea that this would be thing that Josh was -- I was assuming he was going to still be playing football and now that we are here playing golf I think we're just going to scratch the Super Bowl and get a trophy this week, so we're not really worried about it.

THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions.

Q. Curious, Josh, how much golf you actually got to play since you were kind of tied up with football in Buffalo.

KEITH MITCHELL: Not much. He hit it 60 feet with a wedge.

JOSH ALLEN: I should have putted it, I should have just putted. Yeah, like you said, not much. Probably the last 18, other than last couple days, it was probably mid July before training camp.

So it's been awhile, knocking off the rust. And I'm not the best player in the world, I'm not going to tell you that I am, but when I can hit it, I'm going to hit it far, a long way. And it's something that I enjoy to do though. It's my favorite thing besides football to do is to be out on the golf course and hitting shots and hanging out with the boys and having a good time.

Q. Follow-up, curious, it is a competition, will you try to bring the same intensity that you would on a football field?

JOSH ALLEN: Absolutely. I love to win. I got a good partner here and I'm thankful to be paired with him and we got to meet last night and hang out a little bit and super excited to be on the course with him and maybe pick up a few pointers here and there.

Q. Josh, what's your history in golf, when did you pick it up, you obviously grew up just a few hours from here, did you come to this event, watch this event as a kid, what's sort of the back story?

JOSH ALLEN: Yeah, I played a little bit growing up. My dad and mom would take me out every once in a while. But I really didn't get into it really until college. That's where I figured out I loved to do this and I want to do this as much as I can.

But, yeah, this is an event that my parents, our friends, our families they would come to this event. Being two hours away it was pretty easy. My grandparents had a spot up here where we could stay.

So I spent a lot of time here but yesterday was actually the first time I've ever played Pebble Beach. So that was unbelievable, it was awesome. And I know it was a practice round, but there was like nobody out there and we got to walk and just enjoy our time out there, throw a couple balls down, it was spectacular. To have that moment was, it was pretty cool.

Q. Too bad it was so cloudy.

JOSH ALLEN: Oh, man you couldn't have asked for a better day, honestly, and I think this weekend the weather looks pretty good, so gives us some opportunities, us, I mean him, to go make some birdies.

Q. Can you talk about the inspiration for that Phil Mickelson costume and that obviously generated a lot of chatter on social media and sort of made it clear your interest and obsession with golf.

JOSH ALLEN: Yeah, I do the thumbs up every time I pass by our cameras going into the locker room and I kind of got that from Phil, his little hat tip and thumbs up.

And I got to talk to him a couple times, he spoke to our team before the season, and just took a lot from what he said. And just wanted to show my, I guess, admiration, if you will, by dressing up as him for Halloween and it turned out pretty good. Like really good.

Q. When did you decide to actually come here?

JOSH ALLEN: We got the call was it Tuesday? Tuesday. And my agent back there, he asked me and I just said, Absolutely. I can't pass this up.

I played in a couple things, I played in the American Century in Tahoe a couple years ago, I played in the Waste Management two years ago, but this is the creme de la creme, top of the top and I wanted to be a part of it.

And I know not many people get this opportunity to come out here and play with some special golfers and enjoy this experience, so once I was asked I knew it was a no-brainer, I needed to be out here.

Q. And did you know Keith before this?

JOSH ALLEN: I knew of him. I never met him until last night.

KEITH MITCHELL: He didn't know of me.

JOSH ALLEN: Yes, I did. Yes I did. That's a lie. You're a Georgia boy. I knew it.

No, but again, just in talking with him for 20 minutes last night and then seeing him here at the little par-3 thing I feel like our personalities match up pretty well and again, I'm super excited to be out on the course with him.

Q. If you had to analyze what you've seen so far, except for the poor chip shot I think it was from 60 feet, can you just talk about what you see in his game?

KEITH MITCHELL: He's got some great arm strength, he's pretty quick, he can, he's really avoided a few tackles, so I think he's one of the best.

JOSH ALLEN: Golf game.

KEITH MITCHELL: Oh, oh. (Laughing). Sorry. I knew what you were talking about.

Yeah, I saw him hit two shots and they weren't his best, but you know what, we're -- and Larry Fitzgerald is already talking a lot of smack saying him and Streelman are going to take us down. We know Larry usually gets too many shots, so we might have an adjustment in our own game, with him winning twice.

So we're going to try to take them down, definitely try to make it to the weekend, or make it to Sunday and see where we can go.

But like I said all I need is nine pars on those nine holes, I don't care what he does on the rest of the time, but nine shots from the tees he's playing, with the drives he can hit are going to definitely be an advantage.

Q. So how far do you hit it? Keith?

KEITH MITCHELL: I mean, that's funniest question about golf when people ask how far you hit it. Well here it goes nowhere because you got the marine layer, it's cold in the mornings, it's damp, I mean I was hitting --

JOSH ALLEN: Pretty far.

KEITH MITCHELL: Yeah, there you go. I was hitting two clubs extra this morning. But we can see his size and his up tees, we're going to be just fine.

Q. Josh, can you sort of, what from football can you bring to this? Obviously very different game, but what can you transfer?

JOSH ALLEN: Well, I've been working with a pro down in El Niguel, which is the golf club I'm a member at, his name is Wade Wilson, he's the pro down there, and he's just trying to relate my swing to basically my throwing motion, trying to fire my hips first and kind of letting everything else follow through.

So there are a lot of similarities between a throwing motion and a golfing stroke and I just want to come out here, hit some good shots and have some fun and help him out on those nine holes.

Q. But if you think about what it's like down the stretch in Kansas City with 80,000 people screaming and you trying to organize your offense versus what it's going to be like tomorrow on the first tee with dead silence and people lining the tee box, what's that going to be like for you?

JOSH ALLEN: Well in that term it's polar opposite, right? Instead of using silent cadence and you can't even hear your own thoughts, to your thoughts being the loudest thing you hear on the golf course and sometimes that's almost as scary as it being super loud.

But again, just the mental toughness that you have to have as a golfer and you have to bounce back after a shot, you have to bounce back after an interception.

And again if you, you can't let your last shot or your last throw dictate your next shot or your next throw and you got to be good on that end of letting things go and just trying to find out how you can best move forward.

Q. Have you asked, have you told Keith what you would like to have him do? Like Jordan Spieth was talking yesterday where his playing competitor or his playing partner gives him a lot of grief when he's not playing well. Have you talked to Keith about what you need to get motivated if something goes wrong?

JOSH ALLEN: No, not really. Just going to try to give you a bunch of reads on the green, that's all I can do.

KEITH MITCHELL: We're going to have fun. If you have fun you play well. It's the way it goes. Especially in golf, especially in this tournament. It's one of the most fun events of the year if you let it be, on and off the course, a lot of fun events each night and concerts.

So we're going to have a good time and if we have a good time we're going to play well.

Q. To clarify, this is your first interview room since Kansas City?

JOSH ALLEN: Technically, yes. We had an exit interview Tuesday, the following Tuesday or Monday or Tuesday, so, but, yes, it's been about a week and a half.

Q. How much golf will you play between now and I guess next summer?

JOSH ALLEN: Almost every day, I hope. I love it. I love golf. Like honestly it's my absolute favorite thing to do other than throw the pigskin.

Q. What kind of reaction, interaction with the fans have you gotten, do you expect to get? As you know this is 49er country, Steve Young still gets a big response. And I know you grew up a 49er fan, what's that dynamic like now that you're here as the Buffalo quarterback?

JOSH ALLEN: I don't know, Bills Mafia travels pretty deep. Seems like -- I don't know how they do it, but they are, they're everywhere and nowhere at the same exact time. So I expect them to be out in full force and expect to see a lot of familiar faces from the central valley because, like I said, this is an event that a lot of my family and my family friends would come to growing up so it will be fun to see all those people.

Q. Did you ever come?

JOSH ALLEN: I never came to the pro-am by my parents they would come here, get a baby sitter and have a good time in Carmel, Monterey. Which now, being 25 years old, I don't blame them for doing that.

Q. I would probably be remiss by not asking, I'm not sure if you have been asked yet about Brady's retirement and so go ahead and tell us what you think about Tom Brady retiring.

JOSH ALLEN: Yeah, I mean, the greatest player of all time I think in any team sport, period. The things that he's done for football beyond on the field or beyond the field, it's remarkable. And obviously you look at all the stats first and this, that and basically everything. And as a kid, especially a California kid, he was my idol growing up.

So being able to play against him was surreal to me, we almost got him this year in Tampa Bay, we were pretty close, another overtime coin flip, but I digress.

But he's just, again, I've gotten the chance to talk to him a couple times and you can't just, you can't say an ill thing about the guy. Like he, as a person, is one of the best dudes you'll ever meet. And again for what he's done for me as a football fan, as a football player growing up and wanting to be the type of player that he is, he pushed me and he taught me so many different things that he doesn't even realize he did. But he probably did that for a generation of players.

So I'm happy if he's happy and it's just one of those situations where you hate to see a competitor like that walk away from the game, especially after throwing for 5,000 yards and 40 plus touchdowns this year and it still feels like he's at the top of his game. But if that's the decision he makes, then we'll, he's always going to be a legend.

Q. Could you conceive of a situation where you would be playing 20 more years?

JOSH ALLEN: I don't know, that's tough. That's a lot of football. But one thing that me and him have in common, we absolutely love the game. I love the game and I absolutely want to play as long as I can, as long as my body will allow me to and hopefully after that get to play a lot of golf.

THE MODERATOR: Before we go, Keith, we didn't ask about your career as an athlete like football, basketball, baseball. Anything?

KEITH MITCHELL: I played everything but football and my dad was a great football player and he kind of told me not to. And then it was a funny story, I was, we were at a little charity event and I was throwing the football with Eric Decker and Eric Decker asked whether I played quarterback in high school, which was the biggest compliment I've had in my career in golf and everything. And I told him, I've never put on pads in my entire life, so thank you for saying that. I tried to throw it today on to 7 and that didn't work. So I have lost my touch.

Q. Josh, you would be too young to really remember Steve Young, what are your sort of endearing 49ers childhood memories?

JOSH ALLEN: Well my dad was a huge 49er fan, it was a 49er household. And so I heard all the stories of Joe Montana and Steve Young, obviously and I've gotten the chance to talk a few times with Steve and be interviewed and things of that nature and he is again one of those guys that just, you can't beat the type of person he is. He's just fun, he loves having a good time, but he's just a genuinely nice person and again, you want to be surrounded and you want to idolize people like that.

And again, I never really got to see him play growing up, but after seeing some highlights and watching some film on him I think he was just, I know he's still a Hall of Fame quarterback but if he was in today's generation he would be probably still tops in the league in terms of running and using his ability to escape and throw the ball down field.

So I feel like we have very similar, I guess, play styles and that's a lot to compare myself to him, but -- and that's not what I'm meaning to do, but, yeah, he's awesome. I got a lot of admiration for him as a player and a person.

Q. What do you remember of the players growing up?

JOSH ALLEN: Tim Rattay. Jeff Garcia. Ken Dorsey was there, my new offensive coordinator, he was there for a couple of coffee. And then obviously Alex Smith and I got to meet Alex Smith and talk with him for awhile. And again, there's just some great dudes out there and Alex Smith might beat 'em all.

Just the things that he's endured in his career and I know he's played in this quite a few times, but it's his first one back since, and I know he's pumped up about this opportunity to come out here again and be loved by all the 49er fans in this country and it will be fun to kind of see him play too.

THE MODERATOR: All right, gentlemen, thank you for your time, best of luck this week.