DALLAS — A transcript of our Tuesday morning conversation with Iowa State’s preseason All-Big 12 tight end E.J. Bibbs.
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Q: It’s been an exciting offseason for you E.J. with all of the preseason magazine attention and being named first team All-Big 12. Do you pay much attention to that?
Bibbs: I don’t but my dad does. I just work out and do football and work on my school stuff. I’m not really worried about all of it right now. It’s a huge honor and I appreciate it but I am just looking forward to the season and getting my team wins, you know?
Q: To follow up on your dad, does he send you text messages and stuff when he sees stuff about you online?
Bibbs: My dad actually is probably texting me right now with all of these pictures going onto social media right now. Man, I appreciate my dad. I love him so much.
Q: At the end of the spring, you talked some about playing out wide more this season. Is that still the plan?
Bibbs: Yeah, this year I am going to be flexed out a lot. I can’t tell you too much but I am playing outside more and will go vertical more.
Q: You’ve done that before, right?
Bibbs: Yeah that is my specialty. I love being out wide and catching the ball. I love doing little quick out routes and vertical routes too.
Q: Specifically at wide receiver, you guys have a ton of depth. There are a lot of guys there.
Bibbs: Man, there are a lot of guys. Q-Bundrage. D’Vario, Jarvis West, Dre and everybody else. We have a lot of guys who can make plays so that will help me out in the long run.
Q: Have you noticed increased competition in the offseason because of it?
Bibbs: I love competition. I love it when there is a guy who you know is pretty good that could possibly take your place. It makes my game better.
Q: What was the process like for you last year? Even though you were a JUCO guy and were more mature than say a freshman, there is still a growth period that you have to go through.
Bibbs: Last year I was so worried about playing time and being behind Ernst. I was really worried about playing time. There was a big difference when I started starting. It was an adjustment with the Big 12 Conference and how fast it goes.
Q: At what point did it click for you?
Bibbs: The Texas game actually. I started against Tulsa but I was still shaky while watching film. Then we played Texas and I was pretty confident in my playing.
Q: Physically, how are you different from that of a year ago? How has a Big 12 weight room impacted you?
Bibbs: My man Yancy has got me right this year. I’m putting up good numbers in the weight room and am much stronger than I was last year.
Q: What is your weight compared to last year?
Bibbs: I came in at around 250. Now I am weighing in at 260. I like being at 260 but during camp I will probably lose it and be 255.
Q: Now that you’ve been around him quite a bit for the first few months, what are you impressions of Mark Mangino?
Bibbs: He is a character.
Q: Really? He doesn’t show that to us.
Bibbs: Oh yeah. He does that a lot. He is a character in the film room. I love him and I am really excited.
Q: He loves tight ends doesn’t he?
Bibbs: He does. That’s a big part of the offense. You have to have a great tight end to run great plays. When he first got there, we thought he was just an offensive coordinator. We didn’t know that he was going to coach tight ends. When we found out in the meeting room, I was pretty excited.
