Ja’Marr Chase is still trying to get adjusted from college ball to the pros, with an extra emphasis on the ball.

The former LSU wide receiver, who was selected fifth overall in the draft by the Cincinnati Bengals this year, has raised some eyebrows after speaking about how it is harder to pick up the NFL football on his routes.

“The ball is different because it is bigger,” Chase said, via Bengals.com. “It doesn’t have the white stripes on the side so you can’t see the ball coming from the tip point so you actually have to look for the strings on the ball at the top, which is hard to see because [the] whole ball is brown and you have the six strings that are white.

“But for the most part, just have to get used to it and find out what I am comfortable with catching.”

The quote comes after concerns stemming from when Chase dropped four balls in three preseason games. During the preseason, the collegiate standout had just one catch for 16 yards.

“I know I left a lot of stuff out there, but there’s a lot of time for me to get better of course,” Chase said to reporters. “I’m not afraid to get better. That’s what I’m here for, to put in the work and get better, make the team better, make the organization better, so that’s all part of the plan.”

But if the bad news is the literal football, there is some good news for Chase. He does have a familiar arm throwing him the football in quarterback Joe Burrow. The two lit up college football together in LSU’s national championship campaign two years ago. In the title game against Clemson, Chase made nine catches for 221 yards and two touchdowns.

The Cincinnati coaching staff, however, did not seem concerned with the early struggles from the wideout and has faith he’ll right the ship.

“His approach has remained unchanged in terms of he still has a lot of confidence,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “He comes to practice ready to work, he’s on top of the details that we’re asking him to do, and the rest of it comes with it. I think he’s certainly heading in the right direction.”

Chase made 107 catches (23 touchdowns) for 2,093 yards in two seasons at LSU. He opted out of the 2020 season to focus on his chances at an NFL career.

Now, a year and a half removed from his last game that counted, Chase will get the chance to reel in some catches again — if he can adjust to the pro ball.