Buffalo Bills WR Mack Hollins is determined in everything he does in life

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Mack Hollins is a truly inimitable soul, and his out-of-this-world personality has quickly won the hearts of the Bills Mafia and his new teammates. Perhaps initially considered a special teams player, Hollins has had a fantastic training camp from the start, finding plenty of first-team reps at several different positions. He understands that the primary mission of the NFL is to earn a role each season.

In the few months he’s been with the Bills, Mack Hollins has become a popular interviewee and is very generous with his time, signing autographs after every practice. A trim football veteran with a head of envious hair and a well-known penchant for bare feet, Hollins opened his press conference by asking, “Who gets the first question about feet?” He then said, “I could stay here all year,” reflecting on training camp.

Back to his bare feet, Hollins was asked to give a rundown of his preference, offering, “…foot strength, ankle strength, knee strength. The release of the free elections of the body, where the grounding comes from, so you feel more grounded. You’re cleaner, you move faster, you strengthen the whole body so your knee doesn’t have to take as much pressure because your ankle is not developed. I don’t know, shoes are a tool. You wouldn’t walk around with a hammer just because you have to nail something every now and then. Why would you walk around in shoes just because you might step on something every now and then?” Hollins added, “I walk around barefoot so I can feel things around me.”

But just how Did Mack Hollins choose to go barefoot? “About eight years ago, I tore my groin, I couldn’t get back in shape. I met these guys from Australia, Melbourne Muscular Therapy, and I brought them out to Philadelphia when I was with the Eagles at the time. I brought them out, they came barefoot to Philadelphia, and I said, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ You all look at me the same way, that’s how I looked at them, and they said, ‘That’s what we do. We’re always barefoot, except in bathrooms and airports. We work out barefoot.’ So I started working out with them barefoot, and at the time I couldn’t walk, I was ready to retire, and they got me back in shape, obviously, with other stuff – bodywork and other training stuff. But the barefoot thing was their thing, so for the next two or three years I trained barefoot, and then three years ago I thought, what’s the point, let’s get rid of shoes?

Having learned that he was more than often named one of his favorite teammates by his peers, Hollins was quick to show his appreciation, saying, “I’ve really enjoyed being a part of this team and I’m excited for every day that I get the opportunity to be here.”

When asked why his career has taken him so many places, Hollins said, “I don’t know, I think I value myself. I’ve always bet on myself throughout my career. Obviously, I left Philly and went to Miami. I could have stayed in Miami, taken less, or I could have taken more in Miami, but I would have had a (lesser) role. But I bet on myself and think, ‘Hey, I can play receiver in this league and I was able to go to Vegas and show that I can play receiver.’ I’ll always bet on myself. And I know people say, ‘Oh, you got a one-year deal, what could go wrong?’ Well, what could go right, okay. I bet on myself. I roll the dice, if they roll a seven, then I get my money back.”

Asked about his first impressions of quarterback Josh Allen, Hollins said: “Gunslinger. He’s a man. He can throw. It’s awesome, you know, obviously I’ve been on the other side, I was in Miami watching him throw the rock for touchdowns, and now I get to be on the right side. And it’s awesome. But also the way he works, the intentionality that he has when he’s on the field, he’s obviously a fun, playful guy. But he takes the game very seriously, and I respect that about him and that’s why he is the player that he is.”

On wide receiver Keon Coleman and how he’s handled the transition from college to the NFL, Hollins said, “He’s doing great … he’s learned quickly what the NFL is all about. Nobody gets anything for free, nothing’s free in the NFL. He’s going to have to do it and he’s earned a lot of things, but he’s going to have to keep going. Like I said before, every year you continue to earn your place. Nothing’s given to nobody, and he’s done a great job of not only listening but taking information and applying it. So it’s been fun to watch.”

Hollins was then asked how the team would replace receiver Stefon Diggs, to which he responded: “You have to have 11 guys on the field. Obviously, Stefon’s a great player. You know, we grew up, I don’t know, 10 minutes apart in Maryland. But it’s not like they’re stopping the game. You know, no matter who it is, the game doesn’t stop, so at some point, somebody’s got to step up, whether it’s three guys stepping up to match the number of yards he had or one guy stepping up, whatever it is. Our goal is to win the game.”

Mack Hollins said he’s comfortable with offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s offense: “I’m good at it. It’s actually a combination of a lot of things that I’ve done before. But like any offense, you kind of have to… I don’t know, coaches… there’s only so many lines you can draw on a page, but every team is just going to call it something different. So, you know, the goal is to erase your memory of the old stuff and completely learn this new thing. But having some kind of context of what it was, the foundation and the foundation of it, helped me be able to absorb things quicker. and kind of erase the old stuff and integrate the new stuff.”

When asked why the “Everybody eats” mantra might work for the offense, Hollins said it was simply “…because nobody cares who eats, as long as everybody has a plate, it doesn’t matter if this guy’s plate is bigger today. We know that at some point your plate is going to be big. Just be ready to eat when it comes. And obviously Joe’s philosophy is everybody eats. But it only works if everybody eats only when nobody cares who eats, because if people are complaining, it doesn’t work.”

Hollins then answered the question of where he sees his best spot on offense, saying, “Wherever Joe wants me to be. I can throw, too. If Josh wants to get nervous one day. But no, wherever that is, honestly, wherever. I’ll throw deep balls. I can do stuff underneath. If I have to be in the running game, so be it. If there’s a win at the end of the day, that’s all I care about.”

Why does Mack Hollins cut his shirts? “I don’t do anything for fun, even though it may seem like it. There’s always a purpose. When I was in Miami, I would cut the shirts like this (the strips at the bottom) because the end takes longer to get wet than if I wore a whole shirt. So when I was in Miami, obviously it was a lot warmer, so I could still dry my gloves. And then it evolved, it became just a fashion statement. But it depends, if I have scissors… I have scissors for this one, so you know, the cut is a little more jagged. It’s not as professional as I would like. If I have a fabric cutter, which is like a little metal wheel – oh, smooth, it’s pretty. But you know, you work with what you work with.”

Have other players gotten into going barefoot? “They’re doing it little by little. It’s crazy what I do, and then on the fourth or fifth day of camp, their feet hurt and they take their shoes off, they’re like, ‘Oh, I feel a little better.’ Why wait until day five? Why wait until your feet hurt and you don’t start working on them? Why not just take your shoes off? When you get home, you take your shoes off and you exhale because it feels good to have them off. And you’re allowed to take them off, so take them off. So now, yeah, now guys are doing it little by little – and I’m just like, ‘Oh, look, I got you. I got you.’ And they’re – it’s coming together, we have about 30 guys that are barefoot now.”

Of course, you’re curious about what Hollins does in the winter. Can’t he prefer to go barefoot once the temperatures drop? “Anytime it’s below 35 degrees, I usually put them on. Other than that, I’m pretty good. Unless it’s raining. If it’s raining outside, it’s probably going to be 30 degrees or below.”

And yes, he’s a barefoot enthusiast: “I wash my feet every time I walk into a room.” Be sure to watch Mack Hollins’ full press conference, embedded below.