FOXBOROUGH, Mass — Mack Hollins is not afraid to be himself.
The wide receiver will also choose not to wear shoes, only doing so on the football field for practice. But when the final whistle blows, the receiver typically takes them off and even walked over to the podium barefoot for his press conference on Sunday.
In a shirt he made himself with a big smile on his face, he talked about how the New England area has embraced him as he enters his second year with the Patriots.
"Now they're kinda letting me slide being barefoot in restaurants and stuff because they know who I am," he said. "At first, they're just like some homeless guy (is) coming in here, but now it's like, that's the mechanic homeless guy, so it's alright."
And with that, he has
also become a fan favorite for his appreciation of the fans who show up every day of practice. After Sunday's session, he signed autographs for hundreds of fans waiting patiently.
It's something that's very important for him to do.
"They stayed out there for two hours, some three hours. Some at 6:30 or 7:30 when I drive in in the morning, they're already lined up out there," Hollins explained. "Some of them don't even know who I am. They be calling me Mack Collins and like 'Hey crazy hair guy. Hey what's his name?' And that's fine. I don't care.
"Maybe that'll put a smile on their face and will etch some memory in their mind six years from now, 10 years from now, 20 years. I was at Patriots practice, this dude with crazy hair and no shoes signed my autograph, like an autograph for me. So I just do it."
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Mack Hollins keeps signing, smiling, and winning over New England
