Drew Stevens entered his first NFL training camp immediately thrust into a kicking competition with the Washington Commanders' incumbent kicker, Jake Moody, whom the team had given a one-year deal to return. That competition ended abruptly this week with Stevens declared the victor and Moody released.

Stevens spoke to reporters for the first time since earning the position after practice Tuesday. The following five quotes stood out most from Stevens' first press conference since winning the job.

“I'm going to take this opportunity to give Jake some flowers here because obviously we're competing. He could have had every right, because we're competing for a job, to just lead me in wrong directions and not be a good guy to me. You know what I'm saying?"

“But he was — I mean, I followed him more than I followed anybody else in the building. He was like, ‘Hey, we're going to lift this certain way. We're going to go and do stuff down during this time.’ And he did not have to do that at all."

“So, I mean, props to Jake because he's a great guy and he did not have to be.”

“I mean, easy terminology, just getting adjusted to how good the operation is. Because I thought I had probably one of the better operations in college, if not the best, a few of those years in there."

“And it's still — it's insane, night-and-day difference between here and there. Like, I'm not even thinking about it. It's basically kicking off sticks."

“Which is why, whenever I hit warm-ups — I was talking to DQ today — when I hit warm-ups and I'm hitting a good kick and then he's like, ‘Yeah, it's off sticks.’ Like, whatever. And I'm like, it's basically off sticks when I'm kicking with them, you know?"

“But I don't know. I feel like the mental growth is, no matter if it's a good or bad day, I think the best place that I've grown is I haven't changed anything."

“I'm still sticking to what I believe is going to work. I'm not lacking conviction in certain areas. I'm just believing that my thing is going to be good enough, you know?”

“I would say it's almost the most important thing. I would say it is the most important thing because, like, how many kickers in the NFL have you seen just bomb one perfectly dead straight? That means you're physically capable of doing it every time. So where's the disconnect?"

“It's up here. So I think getting your mind right is 100% the most important thing in kicking. And being convicted is showing true belief in what it is you're doing."

“So, I mean, I would say it's the most important thing is being convicted."

“Like, I'll give you an example. Let's say it's a right-to-left wind, but it's kind of gusting. So sometimes it's really strong and sometimes it's barely moving right to left. Then let's say you're standing back in your stance and you just lined up to aim it pretty much down the middle, and then you feel it gust. What's your plan?"

“You don't want to be sitting back there like, ‘Oh, do I play it out right, or do I think it's going to stop gusting?’ You got to pick one thing. Like, ‘All right, I'm playing my line and I'm going to just hammer it.’"

“You can't have questions in the back of your stance. You got to be okay if it goes wrong as long as you stuck to your plan.”

“Yeah. I mean, it's definitely different, but it's also easier because it's really good. It's a really good operation."

“I remember the first day I was here, Tyler snapped a ball, and the rotation was off. On rotation, we do it like a clock. So, 12 o'clock, his lace is perfectly straight, pointed at the uprights."

“He snapped one that was like 10 o'clock, so it's a little off, or nine o'clock, and he'll be pissed. He'll be like, ‘I know you're fine with it, but I got to get that right.’"

“And it's crazy that that's the standard that he's operating at. So, I mean, it's pretty easy to adjust when guys are good and have done it.”"