Saints Wire’s Jeremy Trottier had the amazing opportunity to speak with wide receiver Bub Means, the New Orleans Saints’ fifth-round pick, the morning after he was selected in the 2024 NFL draft. Means played at a couple of different colleges before moving up to the pros, so he’s had opportunities to meet many people around the football landscape.
This allowed us to get an inside look into one of the newest members of the team and talk to him about his connections to Louisiana and current Saints players, as well as some of the newest draft picks for the team. So without further ado, let’s get right into the interview:
SW: What first got you into football, was there someone specific who got you into the sport or was it just a personal choice?
Means: “It was just something I was naturally good at, when I was younger me and my cousins would compete with each other. My big cousin who’s two years older than me, he was playing football back in the day, he was pretty good. He had a few championship Sundays, and we used to play on the side of the house and stuff, and I’m like, ‘yeah I’ve got to get good at this I’m trying to be better than my big cousin.’ So eventually I just got pretty good at it.”
SW: Talking about your college career, you started out at Tennessee as a defensive back, and one of the people I wanted to mention was Alontae Taylor, do you have any connections to him from then?
Means: “That’s my dog, oh yeah, for sure. Me and him were in the same DB room my freshman year. We spent a lot of time in the same room, no cap. Actually, when I was a freshman, Marquez Callaway, he went to the Saints too, that’s my dog too for sure.”
SW: Obviously Alvin Kamara also went there a little bit before you too.
Means: “I didn’t go there with Alvin, he’s a little before my time, but he’s smooth on me though, he’s from the crib. Alvin beat my high school his senior year in the championship, it was Norcross versus Lovejoy in the championship. Man, he came back in the second half, went crazy. Yeah he’s good.”
SW: You mentioned in your interview last night (post-draft) you’ve played gunner, returner, and receiver. Is there a specific role you see yourself in with the Saints, or is it more just go with whatever role they have for you?
Means: “Well I’m just trying to help the team win, get some wins, it doesn’t matter what role I play. If I’ve got to play special teams, if I’ve got to be the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 receiver, if I’ve got to play kickoff return, whatever I’ve got to do to get on the field and help the team win, I’m just trying to contribute to some wins.”
SW: The Saints specifically have a history of taking later-round receivers or undrafted receivers — Deonte Harty, A.T. Perry last year, Rashid Shaheed — and developing them into full-time players, especially with Rashid as a starting receiver now. Is that something that gives you hope, that you have that type of opportunity to develop with the team?
Means: “Yessir, I’m just grateful for the opportunity, I felt like anywhere where I got an opportunity I was just going to keep my head down and grind, and just try to make the best out of whatever role I’m playing. I’m just grateful for the opportunity to get to play for the Saints, no cap.”
SW: Building off your college experience, you had led the Pittsburgh offense in receiving yards and touchdowns last year. What do you feel most contributed to your success last year, was there anything in particular or was it just one of those seasons where you had the opportunities?
Means: “Opportunities and coaching, my position coach he helped me stay consistent with the work, he kept my mindset sharp and kept my mind focused, he helped me a lot. So I feel like that contributed to my production, me just being focused and continuing to grind through adversity, through the struggles, through obstacles.”
SW: Building off that too, who were some of the teammates and coaches that you had along the way that you feel like most helped you along the way?
Means: “I’ve been to three different schools so there’s a lot, players and coaches for sure. Just at Pitt, my teammates for sure, (receivers coach/pass game coordinator Tiquan) Underwood, (offensive coordinator Frank) Cignetti, (head coach Pat) Narduzzi, I talked to Narduzzi, he called me right after I got the call, Underwood too he called me. Coach Salem, Coach Collins, all of them, the whole staff, they made my time good at Pitt, great at Pitt, so I appreciate all of them. Every coach I’ve ever experienced, I’ve never had a bad coach or a bad relationship with a coach. Every coach to this point, I really appreciate them, they helped me and molded me into this person I am today.”
SW: Talking about Louisiana Tech, you went there for two years, how does it feel to be coming back to Louisiana for the start of your career?
Means: “Man, Louisiana was fun, that was a fun time in my career, a fun time in my collegiate career. So I’m just glad to make it a part of my NFL career.”
SW: Is there anything you missed about Louisiana?
Means: “Oh yeah, the heat! The heat, the food, man the food is so good out there, the food is so good. I can’t wait. The culture out there, it’s a fun place to be, great atmosphere, great culture, great people, great city, and now I’m on a great team. I can’t complain, at all. Hey man, the winters up here are brutal, especially being from Atlanta, then going from Louisiana all the way to Pitt, that was a shock I can’t lie.”
SW: Is there a little rivalry there, coming from Georgia and going to a New Orleans then?
Means: “What’s crazy is, a lot of people grew up in Atlanta as Atlanta Falcons fans, I was never a Falcons fan. I was more of a player fan, Steelers, Troy Polamalu, stuff like that. But man I was a Drew Brees and Reggie Bush fan more than I was an Atlanta Falcons fan, any day. I can remember back when they won a Super Bowl back in the day, I was watching that back in 2009, I was watching the Super Bowl when they played the Colts, and they caught the pick-six. I was watching the whole game. It’s a blessing to get the opportunity to play for the Saints, it’s almost hard to describe the feeling.”
SW: That’s awesome. I was looking at the interview last night, you were talking about your ability to get open over coverage and get deep targets, your average depth of target being 17.7 yards last season showing that. How does it feel to be able to learn from Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, who play a similar type of game, and do you think that’ll help you hone in on that skill set?
Means: “Oh yeah, I feel like me getting in a room with Chris Olave and Rashid will help me take some tips and tricks from their game. They’ve been in there, they have success at that level, and I want to have success at the next level. So I’m gonna go in there, get under those guys, and just learn from them, help them elevate my game to the next level so I can have success there too.”
SW: At the next level, you’re obviously coming into a new scheme here, Pete Carmichael leaving, Sean Payton leaving recently, you’re gonna have Klint Kubiak running the offense now. Do you think his system will be similar to what you guys ran at Pitt, in terms of spread?
Means: “Well at Pitt we were more of a pro-style offense, but when I was at Tech we ran more of a spread offense. So I’m pretty adaptable when it comes to offenses, I feel like I can play, you can give me a role in any offense and I’d be able to play and do it successfully. So I know that the coaches have a plan for me, and I understand we’re all gonna work the system and learn a new system together. So I’m just waiting to get my opportunity to see what kind of role I’m gonna play on the team man, no cap.”
SW: That must be fun for you too, because you’re coming into a scheme where he’s trying to build his own offense, and you were one of the first guys he brought in, so that’s got to say a lot about what you’ve got for him.
Means: “Oh yeah I appreciate coach for sure, he gave me the opportunity, so I’ve got to go in there and prove him right.”
SW: In your interview last night, you said ‘if you don’t block, you don’t get the rock’ which I love to be frank, and the Saints have always had those type of blocking receivers. Do you think that’s a role you could see yourself in on the roster?
Means: “Oh yeah, for sure, I take pride in trying to do everything, defeating the person across from you. So in my one on one, if I’ve got to block, I’m trying to defeat my person in front of me. At the end of the day it’s a team game, ‘We all we got we all we need’ that’s how our motto went. We go in there and we’re like ‘Okay, cool, we’ve got to block for my brother,’ because on a pass play, the running back is gonna have to block for us to have success, so we have to do the same.”
SW: Absolutely. Talking about the pre-draft process, you were one of the 321 invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, how did that experience go for you, did you enjoy that event? Obviously you had a great day so I think you would.
Means: “Yeah that was smooth, very great experience, very humbling experience. I appreciate the committee, whoever is on the committee to invite me I appreciate them for sure for the opportunity. It was a great opportunity, great week, I got to meet a lot of coaches and players, and we just had a great time. We learned a lot, it was really like an introduction to the NFL, and I just got to compete and see where I’m at compared to some of the other top athletes in the country. So it was a great experience overall.”
SW: You also went to the East-West Shrine Bowl as well, can you talk a little bit about your experience there? Were there any teams who had contacted you there, I know you said the Saints had met you there, but is there any other teams that were reaching out there?
Means: “At the East-West Shrine Bowl I probably talked to every team it felt like. After practice I probably literally talked to every single team. That was a long process, because I talked to so many teams at the East-West Shrine Bowl, the Combine really wasn’t as stressful or as hectic as other peoples’ schedule. So, the East-West Shrine Bowl was more of the hectic schedule. Right after practice we get like an hour and a half, and then we go back to a straight four hours of meeting with coaches, interviews, stuff like that. So it was an experience for sure, I enjoyed that experience, I want to thank Eric Galko, he gave me the opportunity and I just made the best out of it. I really appreciate it because it helped me up my draft stock for sure.”
SW: How was the draft process for you, draft day seeing the players taken, fielding calls, stuff like that?
Means: “That’s a crazy experience, the draft experience, because you don’t really know where you’re going, going in. It’s a waiting game really, I did everything, I prepared and put in the work, I did the interviews, the workouts, the visits, stuff like that. So at the end of the day, this was a stressful day because the only thing you can do is sit there and wait. You can’t make a call to get picked earlier, a team could say they’re gonna take you this round and then not take you, anything can happen. So that’s a stressful day for sure, but I’m just glad I got to experience it, I’m glad I got to be a part of this program.”
SW: Talking about the draft, did you catch any of the other players the Saints had drafted? I’m curious if you have any experience with them, or played against them?
- (Regarding Kool-Aid McKinstry): “Kool-Aid! Actually what’s crazy is I was on a visit with Terrion (Arnold), I went to the Atlanta visit with Terrion. But Kool-Aid, that’s a good player for sure.”
- (Regarding Spencer Rattler): “Spencer! I think we graduated in the same class. He used to go to South Carolina with Will, one of my best friends from high school. But my dog said he’s cold though, my dog vouched for him, so I like his game. I thought he was gonna go a lot earlier, no cap, there was a long period of the draft where they didn’t take quarterbacks. I’m glad he’s there too.”
- (Regarding Khristian Boyd): “I’ve heard of him though, for some odd reason I think I know someone who went to Northern Iowa.”
- (Regarding Boyd’s 38 bench press reps viral video): “That’s why I’ve seen him! I know someone who went to Northern Iowa. But I had seen the video, man he went crazy! I hit 19 (reps), and that was heavy. He’s smooth.”
- (Regarding Josiah Ezirim): “I’ve most definitely heard of him. I had a coach from my freshman year at Tennessee that coached for Eastern Kentucky, so I was kind of familiar with their program. I had a quarterback who used to play for Eastern Kentucky back in the day from high school.”
- (On the draft class overall): “Yeah I’m glad we got a few guys, man it sounds like we had a great draft!”
SW: How do you feel about playing with the current offensive players, obviously we mentioned Olave and Shaheed, but does anybody else stand out to you?
Means: “Alvin Kamara, I told you, that boy cold. He from the ‘A,’ Alvin Kamara was good not only at Norcross, not only at ‘Bama and Tennessee, but he is really good in the league. So the things he’s doing, as a receiver it’s fun playing with a good running back. I want to be able to play with Alontae Taylor again, compete with him at practice, that’s a ballplayer. Man y’all got another good corner, Kool-Aid a ballplayer too! Marshon Lattimore still there too?”
SW: Yeah, he’s still there and so is Paulson Adebo.
Means: “I want to be able to go out there and work, practice against them. Learn their tips and tricks. If I can beat them in practice, I should be able to beat anybody in the game, that’s how I be feeling, those are some of the top corners in the league.”
SW: Even better, you’ve got Tyrann Mathieu deep at safety.
Means: “That’s what I’m saying, they got the Honey Badger, I used to watch his highlights before my games. I forgot Tyrann Mathieu was there man! The Honey Badger! Man I used to watch his highlights before my middle school games, his LSU highlights, every single game I used to watch his highlights. I used to want to be No. 7, all that! That boy good, no cap, I’m glad you reminded me he’s on the team! Cam Jordan too, y’all got a few studs, and I’m talking about real studs.”
SW: One of the guys I think you may learn from too is Taysom Hill, having that kind of versatility being a whole different breed of athlete.
Means: “That boy is a ball player, he’s an athlete, that’s what you call a ‘ATH’ right there, he can play quarterback, running back, receiver, he can do it all, kick return, punt return, you just get him the ball.”
SW: Is that something you’d somewhat be interested in too, playing a bunch of different positions?
Means: “Oh yeah for sure, I’m an athlete, just give me the rock and let me take care of the rest man, that’s how I like playing. I like his (Taysom’s) game for sure.”
SW: Speaking of which, your offensive skillset, what do you feel like your strengths are, and where do you feel you need some more development where a receivers coach could come in and help you?
Means: “I feel like I’m a vertical threat on offense, I feel like I’m a ballplayer, so that means like we just said before, anytime you can get me the ball in my hands, I can make something happen with it. What I want to work on really is just always critiquing my routes, defining and fine tuning my routes. A lot of people, I’ve been reading a lot of the pre-draft things, people say I got a lack of route variety, so I just want to always work on my routes. As a receiver you can never run perfect routes, you’ll never be done fine tuning and detailing your routes until you’re done playing the game. So I always wanna get better at top of route efficiency, foot placement, stuff like that, that’s something I’ve always been working on.”
SW: Is there anything else you want fans to know about you, anything we haven’t talked about?
Means: “I just want fans to know that I’m gonna make sure I give everything for the Saints man! I’m just trying to put the south side on the map man, bring the south side with me to New Orleans!”
