Speaker 1: Hey, welcome back to drop Light. We're in Westfield and
Speaker 1: it is over the second of two practices with the
Speaker 1: Falcons and the Colts preseason Game two is coming up
Speaker 1: on Saturday. If you're watching on the stream right now,
Speaker 1: he can wave at you and he his rides right
Speaker 1: behind him right here, the Forest Buckner the Colts is
Speaker 1: with us. How you doing, man, doing well?
Speaker 2: Doing well? Appreciate you guys for you.
Speaker 1: Look like you feel I know you just had practice
Speaker 1: and you're tired as hell, but you look like you
Speaker 1: feel good.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I look like you're in good nut shape. You're always
Speaker 1: in good shape like everything.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I'm feeling really good, you know, being able
Speaker 3: to especially these past two practices, you know, is the
Speaker 3: most of ours I've got, you know, all camp and
Speaker 3: everything we've been ramping up to it, and yeah, I've
Speaker 3: been feeling really good, you know, being getting back in
Speaker 3: the mix of things, and uh, it's just wanted to
Speaker 3: be back out there with the guys.
Speaker 1: How dark were those times when you really didn't know
Speaker 1: you were going to be able to do this again?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I know I was.
Speaker 3: It was I definitely got to a pretty dark place,
Speaker 3: but I you know, I was very lucky to have
Speaker 3: people in my corner like my wife, you know, to
Speaker 3: kind of, you know, help drag me out of that
Speaker 3: hole a little bit, you know what I mean. You know,
Speaker 3: especially the first month after surgery, you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 3: not being able to do anything, just pretty much be
Speaker 3: on bed rest for the for most of part. It
Speaker 3: was a struggle. It was a struggle for sure early on.
Speaker 3: But you know, having somebody like my wife and a
Speaker 3: lot of other loved ones around me, and obviously you know,
Speaker 3: having my kids around and a lot of prayer. I mean,
Speaker 3: it's it helped me get through those times. And I'm
Speaker 3: just blessed to be here today.
Speaker 1: Was there a signature moment when you knew, you know
Speaker 1: what I am coming back?
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, it was really you know, I had
Speaker 3: a great conversation with my wife. I mean, you know,
Speaker 3: she she just you know, she really just made me realize.
Speaker 3: She was like, you know what, you never quit anything
Speaker 3: in your entire life, and you're not going to start now.
Speaker 3: She was just like, you know, we're gonna take it
Speaker 3: one day at a time, recovery, rehab, and just take
Speaker 3: it one day at a time, and you know what,
Speaker 3: that's what I did, and and that's you know, that's
Speaker 3: what really helped me.
Speaker 1: Well, there are so many things that I think psychologically
Speaker 1: can work against you because you've done all this, you've
Speaker 1: accomplished all this, you feel set, and you got a family, spend.
Speaker 2: More time with them.
Speaker 1: But ultimately, man, it's that juice of competition that has
Speaker 1: to pull you back in.
Speaker 2: Sure one hundred percent.
Speaker 3: And uh, you know it's I'm very happy, you know,
Speaker 3: it's that I made it through that time because you know,
Speaker 3: being out here, being back on the field competing, Uh,
Speaker 3: is no other place like it.
Speaker 1: All right, DeForest Bucker is with us. What do you
Speaker 1: think about the way the defense is coming together?
Speaker 3: So yeah, I mean I feel like, uh, you know,
Speaker 3: we put together a solid couple of days. I mean,
Speaker 3: obviously there's things we can still clean up, you know,
Speaker 3: so a bunch of time before the season starts, but
Speaker 3: I like, well, like what I'm saying so far, you know,
Speaker 3: we just got to you know, some minor things we
Speaker 3: got to clean up in little things like that, but
Speaker 3: continue to communicate, especially with all the different faces in
Speaker 3: there in the mix, and I feel like we can
Speaker 3: be something special.
Speaker 1: So your teammates, especially though coming off the edge like
Speaker 1: lay out to lat too. What have you seen from
Speaker 1: him from your angle where you've seen improvement and maybe
Speaker 1: a little bit of an upgrade in results coming off
Speaker 1: the edge and more of a consistent pass rush this season.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I just I would say the confidence, you know
Speaker 3: what I mean in his rushing abilities, you know, each
Speaker 3: and every day, he just got to continue to, you know,
Speaker 3: build that confidence and build off of what he did
Speaker 3: last year. And I feel like he'll be able to
Speaker 3: be set up for a great year.
Speaker 1: So I know him very well because he's from here,
Speaker 1: Kate and Curry, I don't know how well you know
Speaker 1: him obviously a teammate. Now what have you seen from
Speaker 1: the rookie from Ohio State so far?
Speaker 3: Now, I mean he's like a Swiss army knife, you
Speaker 3: know what I mean. You can put him wherever, you know,
Speaker 3: whatever you need, he'll deal, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3: He can be inside outside and uh, I mean he
Speaker 3: has that natural pastorsh ability, you know, if you know
Speaker 3: he goes from one move to another, he's he's uh,
Speaker 3: he's really good at what he does, you know, with
Speaker 3: his craft, and you could tell he's been he's been
Speaker 3: working on it, you know, rushing inside and outside to
Speaker 3: have that ability, and you know he's he's a technician,
Speaker 3: so it's it's been fun to watch him.
Speaker 1: So knowing you have at the back end, whether it's
Speaker 1: Mooney or Sauce, Gardener or whomever. How how nice is
Speaker 1: that to know that you have this incredible playmaking ability
Speaker 1: in the back end of this defense.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, it definitely brings a lot of confidence to
Speaker 3: the front, you know what I mean. And you know,
Speaker 3: we know we you know we can get there. You know,
Speaker 3: we're having guys like Mooney and Sauce and Wally and
Speaker 3: uh and uh Cam back there, you know, all those
Speaker 3: guys back there. I mean, it's it's definitely some confidence,
Speaker 3: you know, go annoying you you you have a little
Speaker 3: time to rush.
Speaker 1: It is buying him the one he's to figuring everything
Speaker 1: out for you on defense making calls in such right. Yeah,
Speaker 1: So how different is that for it? Because I know
Speaker 1: the guy that used to do that is now in
Speaker 1: Green Bay. How is that for you with him taking over? No?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I feel like it's been good.
Speaker 3: You know, Uh Cam's been doing a really good job
Speaker 3: with taking over that spot, you know, owning it and everything,
Speaker 3: and you know, getting the calls, you know, relate to everybody,
Speaker 3: and I feel like it's been it's been good so far.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Deforcet Buckner is with us. What is this rank
Speaker 1: as far as this defense in this group compared to
Speaker 1: defense as you've been a part of either here or
Speaker 1: in frist Go in the past.
Speaker 3: No, Yeah, I mean it's it's up there, you know
Speaker 3: what I'm saying. I feel like it's one of the
Speaker 3: top defenses, especially on paper, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: You know, but on paper doesn't mean anything. It's out there,
Speaker 3: you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2: Improve it.
Speaker 3: So we're definitely up there, you know, on the defense
Speaker 3: that I've been on in the past, and you know
Speaker 3: we've got to go out there and prove it.
Speaker 1: Lou Anroumo and what he asked for you? What what
Speaker 1: is on the top of that list? What he ask
Speaker 1: for you? What is your job description on top of
Speaker 1: the list each and every week, each and every game
Speaker 1: for me personally?
Speaker 2: Yeah, dominating my one once?
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, because you do you allow other people to
Speaker 1: take advantage then when you do that too, So that's
Speaker 1: job number one. Now that's a tough that's a difficult gig.
Speaker 3: Yeah right, no, yeah, I mean, uh but you know
Speaker 3: it's you know, it's what's required for me, and you
Speaker 3: know I wouldn't have it any other way.
Speaker 2: All right.
Speaker 1: So you had a summertime where you're rehabbing a neck
Speaker 1: and and your back. Did you do anything that was
Speaker 1: was fun at all besides just getting back to it?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 3: Yeah, took my kids to Disneyland. Well heck, yeah, he
Speaker 3: hits a heck of a time right there. Did a
Speaker 3: bunch of golfing, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: Do you get back to Hawaii very often?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 3: I try to every year when when when I can,
Speaker 3: you know, to take my family out there. This this
Speaker 3: year during the summer, wasn't really able to you know,
Speaker 3: get out there, just because we had so much going on,
Speaker 3: you know, with with the with the kids and everything
Speaker 3: throughout the summer. So I'm hoping to get others.
Speaker 1: How much of how much of your family still and
Speaker 1: pretty much all of the Yeah, my mom's side. That
Speaker 1: where you see yourself one of these days getting back there.
Speaker 2: Ye. Visiting a lot, yeah, visiting a lot.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, but it seems like a hell of a
Speaker 1: place to grow up.
Speaker 2: Yeah, honestly, right there, all right.
Speaker 1: I gotta ask you this. The Oregon Ducks, out of
Speaker 1: the Big ten, I believe preseason rank second, had a
Speaker 1: little difficulty with the Indiana Hoosiers, the defending national champions
Speaker 1: a couple of times a year ago in Eugene and
Speaker 1: in the Peace Toll. What about the Ducks and the
Speaker 1: season coming up here? You feel it?
Speaker 3: I''m filling I feel it every year. I'm optimistic every year.
Speaker 3: So you know what I mean, I'm gonna be. I
Speaker 3: got a couple of you know, I got I got
Speaker 3: a couple of guys on my side.
Speaker 1: I know here.
Speaker 3: I'm not the lone duck anymore out here, So you
Speaker 3: know what I mean, We're gonna be.
Speaker 2: We're gonna be wrapping a lot of brown.
Speaker 1: When you were in Eugene, what if I would have
Speaker 1: told you that a handful of years down the road,
Speaker 1: the Indiana Hoosiers are gonna win the national title? What
Speaker 1: were you have told me?
Speaker 2: I would have laughed, Yeah, when I was back in school, Yeah,
Speaker 2: it is. It is.
Speaker 3: It's awesome though, to see that the way that program
Speaker 3: was turned around and everything, and it's been fun to watch.
Speaker 1: How would have you been in the n I L
Speaker 1: R As a collegiate player. Have you ever thought about
Speaker 1: that had the NIL era been a part of your era,
Speaker 1: how had that been for you or the transfer portal?
Speaker 1: Would you have stayed or would you have bounced around?
Speaker 2: I think like that. I mean I think I would
Speaker 2: have stayed, to be honest, I mean that's just that's
Speaker 2: just that's just kind of who I am.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean you get one place and you stay,
Speaker 1: and yeah, I kind of wonder that's tested in nature.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's definitely tested for sure.
Speaker 3: I mean I couldn't imagine having the portal and the
Speaker 3: NIL back in my day.
Speaker 1: It to me there is something to say about legacy though, Yeah,
Speaker 1: for sure. And so many of these guys end up
Speaker 1: losing their legacy, you know.
Speaker 3: That's been one of our main points and talking about
Speaker 3: the whole, the whole you know deal. I mean, like
Speaker 3: where do they go back to you know, when they
Speaker 3: want to go back and visit you know as a lum. Yeah,
Speaker 3: what school do you go to? And if you've been
Speaker 3: to three different schools? You know what I'm saying, Like
Speaker 3: what school's going to claim you is? You know what
Speaker 3: I'm saying, Like that's hard?
Speaker 1: No, Well I go back to college in the nineties
Speaker 1: and it's like stratospherically different. But do you imagine how
Speaker 1: different it is even for you going back? Not as
Speaker 1: far as I go right now, it's completely different from
Speaker 1: when you were there. But I would agree with you
Speaker 1: on that. I just don't know if a lot of
Speaker 1: people would be on the same page monetarily over legacy.
Speaker 1: But we see that on a high school level all
Speaker 1: the time too. It just seems like a legacy is
Speaker 1: becoming less important. But for guys like us, I think
Speaker 1: it's understandable right there. What can this team do this season? Divorced?
Speaker 2: I mean, I think we can. Honestly, we can definitely.
Speaker 2: How do I put it? Exceed expectations? Yes?
Speaker 1: Do you read the expectations or look or watch what
Speaker 1: people view you as record wise this year? I mean,
Speaker 1: you knowivated by that or you too?
Speaker 2: Ved know?
Speaker 3: I definitely get motivated by it, you know what I mean?
Speaker 3: I mean I'd be lying if I said I didn't
Speaker 3: see it, you know what I'm saying. And with the
Speaker 3: guys that we have on this team and the trust
Speaker 3: that we have in one another, leaf we having one another,
Speaker 3: I mean that's how I feel.
Speaker 1: Is there something that we don't know about this group
Speaker 1: that that you see, because you've been around this game
Speaker 1: long enough as a teammate, about this group that maybe
Speaker 1: we don't see from the outside looking in.
Speaker 3: No, I just feel like everybody's hungry, you know what
Speaker 3: I mean, just just hungry to get.
Speaker 2: Out there and win.
Speaker 3: I mean, I mean just the way we started last
Speaker 3: year obviously and the world we were on, and then
Speaker 3: obviously the way it ended. I mean, you know, it
Speaker 3: is a bad taste in our mouth, and I just
Speaker 3: feel like the guys are are are hungry this year.
Speaker 1: The words of your owner Carly ERSA. Gordon saying, this
Speaker 1: is a you must have, must win type of season
Speaker 1: that resonate to you as well.
Speaker 2: Oh for sure.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's hungry is a good way to put it though,
Speaker 1: because it has been a while. Hey, congratulations on be
Speaker 1: it back, getting back from that dark spot. Appreciate one
Speaker 1: of the bright spots always right here is this guy.
Speaker 1: Go ahead and wave to the folks out there watching it.
Speaker 1: DeForest Buckner of the Colts joining us here live and
Speaker 1: drop live. Thanks man, Thank you, stay healthy, pal. We
Speaker 1: appreciate you. That is DeForest Buckner, and thank you for
Speaker 1: very much for joining me. And uh we'll see you again,
Speaker 1: sum Pal. Thank you. The Forest Buckner right there, Mike
Speaker 1: Chappell's gonna join us. You want to go early today,
Speaker 1: do you. I'll tell you what. Let's take a break.
Speaker 1: We'll get Mike coming up on the other side as well. Caleb,
Speaker 1: we can do that drop light. Westfield Grand Park is
Speaker 1: our location. The Forest Buckner will put that on a
Speaker 1: podcast at one oh seven five. The fan dot Com