Hunter Renfrow thrilled to be seeing stars in Pro Bowl
There were stars on Hunter Renfrow’s cap and jersey during Thursday’s Pro Bowl practice at Las Vegas Ballpark. But the ones in his eyes seemed a whole lot bigger.
“It’s cool (being out here) with my teammates,” said the Raiders slot receiver in reference to fellow Pro Bowlers Maxx Crosby, Denzel Perryman and AJ Cole, “but also meeting a lot of the other guys here — people you grew up watching, people you’ve been fans of a long time. I’m just humbled.”
The third-year pro from Clemson had a breakout season, catching 103 passes for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns — impressive numbers and easily career highs. But he thought he still might wind up watching the Pro Bowl on TV.
“I found out maybe two or three weeks ago that I was going to be an alternate,” he said. He was not optimistic that his name would be called.
But when Chargers receiver Keenan Allen pulled out with an injury, Renfrow was added to the AFC roster.
Despite being told the AFC bus was waiting for him after practice Thursday, he trotted over to talk to local media about the honor.
“I was excited because this is something that’s going to be attached to my name forever,” he said. “It’s not why you play the game — I didn’t dream of playing in the Pro Bowl. I dreamed of winning the Super Bowl, and playing and having fun with my teammates. But it’s an honor and an added superlative, I guess.”
As much as Raider Nation may hate to hear this, Renfrow said the guys he was most looking forward to playing with probably were Kansas City Chiefs.
“Just watching the Kansas City guys is going to be fun,” he said. “With Tyreek (Hill), how fast he is, with Travis (Kelce), how he can improvise. But really, with all of them. I mean, they’re all at the top of their game. They’re all the best of the best.”
His reaction to longtime Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels being named the new Raiders head coach was more measured, given the majority of the Raiders seemed keen on interim coach Rich Bisaccia keeping the job after leading the Raiders to their first playoff berth since 2016 and only their second in 19 seasons.
“Obviously, we love Rich. We think he did a great job. It almost feels like you’re losing a teammate,” Renfrow said. “We cared a lot about him. We’re very thankful for him, but you can’t hold that against McDaniels.”
Renfrow said he hasn’t been studying much New England game film but laughed that he probably would start after the Pro Bowl. He also said he’s eager to start working with McDaniels.
“He called me after he got the job and said how excited he was, and I feel the same way,” said the sticky-fingered receiver. “What he’s been able to do with slot receivers and receivers in general … hopefully we can just build and take off from where we were last year.”
But only time will tell if Renfrow transitions into the next Julian Edelman, who excelled as a slot receiver under McDaniels with the Patriots.
“We know he’s a great coach; he can get the job done and set us up to win and hopefully win a Super Bowl,” Renfrow said as the AFC bus continued to idle. “So we’re excited. I don’t think there’s any turmoil at all.”
Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.