Opening Remarks from Mike Triplett (ESPN):
“Alvin, we vote every year on our media appreciation award winner. Whoever helps us do our job the best, gives us good answers, good insight and you were the winner this year. So congratulations, and thank you for playing ball with us.”
Alvin Kamara:
“I appreciate that! Where’s my trophy at?”
Mike Triplett:
“I think Nick Underhill is working on that. He’s putting something together in his shed right now.”
Alvin Kamara:
“Alright Nick, if I don’t get my trophy I know who to talk to.”
You’ve had a couple of days to sort of let Christmas day soak in, what does it kind of mean to you now that you’ve had a chance to kind of reflect on those six touchdowns in the historical aspects of it?
“It’s definitely history. I am blessed to be able to do it in a city that I love with a team that I love. It’s cool, but I’m like, and I’m being like completely honest, like I always say this and I think you have been dealing with me long enough. Like, I am always looking like, to the next. What’s next? What more can I do? That is kind of like what I am looking for. I mean, it was cool, Christmas Day and all that. But as a team, we’ve got so much more to accomplish. That was fun for me. It was personal. It was whatever, I woke up the next day and I went to my other job. So it’s cool, I do not want to downplay it and make it seem like it was not a great accomplishment because it was. I was more happy, like I was more happy about just sharing it with everybody. Guys were so excited for me like Drew (Brees). Sean (Payton) was excited, all those guys were excited. So it was cool.”
Kind of knowing what you are going to say to this, but I think you are like 68 yards from a 1,000 yard rushing season. Would that mean anything to you to hit that mark?
“Yeah, I’m 68 away. My sister was telling me after the game, she’s like, ‘Yeah, you’ve got 68 more to 1,000.’ I don’t really look at the stats during the season I’m just like playing so much. Playing, playing, playing and then she told me that and I’m like, ‘Alright, well, shoot if I get 68 yards I’ll probably finally be like an elite running back. They say I never had a 1,000 yard season so if I get it, I get it. If not, it’s whatever, we’ve got more stuff to do.”
Terron Armstead has gotten a lot of love since that last game, a bunch of videos of him. How glad are you to see that? And just talk a little bit about Terron and what he means in the locker room and what he means on the field?
“Man, I don’t even want to talk about the field, all of you see what he does on the field. Terron in the locker room, like he’s one of those dudes, people gravitate towards him. He’s like the upper in the locker room. I mean, he’s a leader on the field, but off the field, he is just, probably just as much or more of a leader. Guys talk to him, come to him for anything, advice, to talk. Pre-COVID, he had guys over his house and we (would) go over there and kick it with him. To me he is kind of like another big brother. I have got a brother but, he’s another like older brother in this football world for me. And man, he’s just like, just an overall great human. Like, and I feel like I say that when you guys ask me about some of these dudes on his team. Like when you ask about Demario (Davis) and ask about Cam (Jordan) and Drew (Brees) like, man, we just got some great humans on this team that you like being around. I don’t know how it is other places, but I like being here, being around the people that are here. He’s just a great dude. But, to get back to the on the field, he is crushing people every week. I’m just happy they finally saw that, like, it was so prominent and he is just dragging dudes. He talks about it on the sideline, he’s like I crushed him, he’s like AK wait until you see the replay, I crushed him like, I’m killing them out there. I’m like, alright, he knows. And just as much as I’m running to the right, when I’m running to the left I know like I could close my eyes and probably run to the left and get 10 yards because I know Terron (Armstead) is going to do what he has to do. He always handles his business. So, happy he got his recognition. It’s probably, I know they do like fines in the O-line room because, you know, that’s not a glamorous job. So, when anybody gets any type of like recognition in the media or anything they fine each other. So, I’m probably, I’m going to fine for him being a star (laughter).”
Terron (Armstead) won the media award last year, by the way, so?
“Oh yeah, okay, well, I’m going to check the ledger and see if he got fined for that.”
I wanted to ask you, going back to your 1,000 yards, last time you did that was back in Hutchinson. What do what do you remember about that 1,000 yard season you had?
“Man, I remember it. It was nothing like the NFL. I remember that. You know, but yeah, last time I did that I was at Hutchinson. And then before that, I guess high school, but definitely would be cool to get that. So I mean, I know Sean (Payton) is probably going to sit here and watch this after we do this. So, Sean (Payton), I need like 68 more yards. So, whatever he wants to do with that information, it’s on you.”
Six touchdowns, at some point do you start running out of celebrations? I mean, where do you go for your inspiration on those?
“Yeah, I don’t know. I didn’t even come up with the snow angels. I forgot who told me, I think like, I think either it was, I don’t know who told me, there were like we’re going to do snow angels. I’m like dead, I don’t care whatever. I’m just like, alright, hopefully I get to six. But, I just started counting them like, you know, (Jared) Cook after the fourth one, he started counting four. The fifth one I got in there, the camera was right in front of me. It was (the) perfect, opportunistic situation, I am like alright, I’m going to count five. Snow angels came up. The first one, I do not even know what I did. But, that is a lot of touchdowns. That’s the first time I’ve ever scored six touchdowns in a game. I don’t even think I did that in high school and I was cold in high school.”
It’s always been that way? Or there was a time when you did get corrected and you wanted to make that stop?
“It’s kind of always been like that. But I think more so like in the NFL you’re expected to know, like, nobody’s sitting around babysitting you, like, alright, well, you got this, that. But in college and in high school and stuff, they kind of like try to run after you, babysit you and try to teach you after you already learned. So in college, that was not for me. They were like, man, you have to do this and that and I’m like, I have not done anything wrong yet. So, until I do something wrong, leave me alone.”
{Transcripts provided courtesy of the New Orleans Saints}