WEBVTT - Kendall Fuller has 'Unfinished Business in D.C.' | Next Man Up | Washington Commanders 0:00:02.400 --> 0:00:04.480 What's Good Command is Familey Brian Cooble Junior here, and 0:00:04.559 --> 0:00:06.680 this is the Next Man Up Podcast. 0:00:06.720 --> 0:00:09.400 Our next Man Up is no other than our starting 0:00:09.480 --> 0:00:11.520 corner Kendall Fuller. 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:15.560 Kendall talks about being from Baltimore, Maryland and how growing 0:00:15.640 --> 0:00:17.959 up with three brothers helped him form to be the 0:00:17.960 --> 0:00:21.560 player that he is today. He talks about almost committing 0:00:21.600 --> 0:00:24.800 to Clemson for backing out last minute, and also what 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:28.400 it's been like being a leader for such a young secondary. 0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:31.160 All that and more starts right now. 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:35.800 What's Good Command is Familey Brian Coole Junior here, and 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:38.239 this is the Next Man Up podcast where we talk 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:40.280 to your favorite command as players. Not so much about 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:43.680 X and o's more about the man behind the helmet. 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:46.240 And our next man Up is no other than our leader, 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:47.479 Kendall Fuller. 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:48.440 Can How you doing today? Brother? 0:00:48.440 --> 0:00:49.239 Pretty good? How you doing? 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:51.480 Thank? I now? I'm doing real good. Course. Man's happy 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:52.000 to have you. Man. 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:54.240 You know we're fresh off the bye weekend. I asked 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:56.319 you this off camera and I wish I would have waited. Man, 0:00:56.920 --> 0:00:58.639 how did you spend your abide week? 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:00.440 Man? Tell us about it. 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:04.000 Took a took a little getaway trip to Mexico ended 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:07.680 up proposing to my girl, which was which was amazing, 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:10.520 have the whole family down there to celebrate with us 0:01:10.560 --> 0:01:12.800 and things like that. So it was definitely a good 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:13.760 goodbye week for me. 0:01:14.040 --> 0:01:15.040 That's awesome that I'll see. 0:01:15.040 --> 0:01:17.000 I recently just got engaged as well, so I know 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:20.160 how much goes into planning that. How nervous war you 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:22.520 during this whole process of planning this could it takes 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:22.920 some time? 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:26.240 Yeah, it wasn't. Honestly, it wasn't too bad. I had 0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:27.760 a lot of people that was helping me out, a 0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:29.520 lot of friends that were helping me out and things 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:32.520 like that. So the biggest thing is getting the ring. You. 0:01:32.800 --> 0:01:34.600 Once I kind of figured out that I can get 0:01:34.600 --> 0:01:36.880 the ring in time, I was able to kind of 0:01:37.160 --> 0:01:38.880 set it up with the help of some friends, but 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:42.520 really just holding holding a surprise because I had all 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:45.399 our family come down there, so holding a surprise was 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:49.360 mainly the big thing. But executed on that so it 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:51.360 was it went as good as plann. 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:54.560 I'm happy for you and I'm glad, she said, yes, man, congratulations, man, 0:01:54.600 --> 0:01:55.200 I can't wait. 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:55.880 To see what happens. 0:01:55.920 --> 0:01:58.120 You know, what your wedding and all that stuff and 0:01:58.160 --> 0:01:59.760 like I said, man, we don't talk so much football 0:01:59.800 --> 0:02:01.520 on the show. We really want to go back to 0:02:01.520 --> 0:02:03.720 who this person is, right, who is Kendell Fullest. So 0:02:03.800 --> 0:02:04.880 let's start it from the beginning. 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:07.720 Baltimore, Maryland. That's home for you, man. What does Baltimore 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:08.120 mean to you? 0:02:08.480 --> 0:02:11.200 That means a lot, man, just everything that you know, 0:02:11.320 --> 0:02:13.880 me and my brothers did growing up. We played a 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:17.079 We were a sports family, so we grew up all 0:02:17.120 --> 0:02:19.680 around Baltimore playing sports and things like that. The people 0:02:19.680 --> 0:02:22.560 that you meet, the connections that you have, it was 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:24.960 it was a blessing for us to be able to, 0:02:25.080 --> 0:02:26.880 you know, just grow up in that type of culture, 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:30.799 that type of environment. It was a blessing, man. And 0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:33.200 you know, we definitely tribute a lot of that to 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:36.560 our dad, who just got us around the right people. 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:39.919 There's a lot of coaches that that have a hand 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:41.880 and that's being where we are now. So it was 0:02:41.919 --> 0:02:42.720 definitely a blessing. 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:46.320 Yeah, man, And you mentioned your three brothers. Three brothers, 0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:48.640 all four of y'all have played college football. 0:02:49.320 --> 0:02:51.240 All four of y'all have been in the NFL. 0:02:52.800 --> 0:02:55.359 I can't imagine growing up in a household like that. 0:02:55.440 --> 0:02:58.160 Were three older brothers that are that talented as well. 0:02:58.480 --> 0:03:00.280 It was easy? Was it? Was it easy? Was it? 0:03:00.320 --> 0:03:01.600 Was it a little tough? No? 0:03:01.680 --> 0:03:03.440 I mean it was as you're the baby, right, you're 0:03:03.480 --> 0:03:03.880 the youngest. 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:04.839 Yeah, for sure. 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:07.840 As I always tell people, the summers were the worst 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:10.760 because your parents, parents are gone out of the house. 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:14.239 Older brothers are kind of getting some get back. There's 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:18.880 a younger brother. Always. I always knew we had our basement. 0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:21.440 We were mainly be down there, and if I made 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:25.079 it up the steps to Pops, I'm good, he'll get 0:03:25.200 --> 0:03:26.520 he'll get my big brothers off me. 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:28.080 But you had to make it up. 0:03:28.080 --> 0:03:29.440 But I had to make it up them steps, which 0:03:29.440 --> 0:03:31.240 I did a good amount of times. But uh, in 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:32.960 the summers where I ain't had nobody to run to, 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:36.320 they definitely they definitely got their get back. So it 0:03:36.400 --> 0:03:38.240 was definitely tough, but it was fun, you know, just 0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:39.280 kids being kids. 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:42.160 Yeah. And I read that you're the you're the spoiled 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:43.760 one out of all the kids. Man, is that true? 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:44.640 Would you say that's what? 0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:48.320 That's what? Probably? Corey was Older siblings say the younger 0:03:48.360 --> 0:03:51.200 siblings are the most spoiled, But I say the younger 0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:55.160 siblings just learned the most because they watched the older 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:57.200 siblings mess up and they just like, I'm gonna just 0:03:57.240 --> 0:04:00.600 not do what you did. So now I don't think 0:04:00.600 --> 0:04:03.000 I'm spoiled. I think I just I learned. I had 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:04.760 a coach that said, you either learned the smart way 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:07.440 or the wise way. Smart way is learning from your 0:04:07.440 --> 0:04:10.400 own mistakes. Wise way is learning from somebody else's mistakes. 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:12.520 I tried to learn the wise. 0:04:12.200 --> 0:04:15.160 Way, and clearly these brothers, man, they paved a big 0:04:15.200 --> 0:04:17.040 way for you, right, You guys kind of all followed 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:19.920 it like same trajectory, the same path, but as that 0:04:20.080 --> 0:04:21.800 kid as a youth, right before you even made it 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:23.440 to college. We even made it as like a high 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:26.479 school star. What were you getting from those moments where 0:04:26.480 --> 0:04:28.400 you had to fight to get upstairs to your dad, 0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:30.880 where you had to maybe you know, fight for that 0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:32.760 first meal or that last piece on the plate. 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:34.560 What did those things do for you as a person? 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:37.400 Yeah, I mean I think really it's just the toughness 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:40.560 and just like that competitive nature. You know, it's just 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:45.520 you're competing against For me, my brother's being older than me, 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:47.880 and even my dad he'll always have us play up 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:50.000 a age group just to where like when we got 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:52.200 to our age group. It wasn't something that was like 0:04:52.240 --> 0:04:54.840 it was almost easier for a little bit, but just 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:59.320 creating that competitive household, that competitive nature in you, which 0:04:59.360 --> 0:05:02.360 definitely did lot for all of us. And you know, 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:05.080 it's it's something that you know, when I'm thinking about 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:07.120 having a family in my future, that's something that I 0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:09.200 want to you know, have in my household. 0:05:09.400 --> 0:05:11.640 That's really cool. Man. Did it? Did it put a 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:12.480 chip on your shoulder? 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:15.440 Being the youngest, being the baby of the household, being 0:05:15.480 --> 0:05:17.880 the smallest one you know, growing up? 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:19.400 Did it put a chip on your shoulder at all? 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:22.440 Not too much, because I mean when you're young, you're 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:25.039 just playing sports. Yeah, you know, you're not thinking about 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:27.960 necessarily college or NFL. You just want to go out 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:30.440 there and play with your friends. But I think for me, 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:33.640 kind of when I started getting recruited in high school 0:05:33.640 --> 0:05:37.080 and started going to camps, it created that chip because 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:40.040 you know, guys will kind of look at me and say, oh, 0:05:40.120 --> 0:05:42.520 you're only getting offers or people only pay attention to 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:45.080 you because of your brother's success. So that kind of 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:47.039 put that chip on my shoulder, like all right, let 0:05:47.080 --> 0:05:51.480 me let me show you why so and that competitive 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:54.960 nature that I have with my brothers, that that created, 0:05:55.560 --> 0:05:58.200 you know, definitely helped me with going through things like that. 0:05:58.440 --> 0:06:00.600 When did you realize that it was really for you? Right? 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:02.200 Like you said, you know your brother's are talent and 0:06:02.240 --> 0:06:02.919 you know they're going on. 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:06.200 When did you realize as kindle yourself that you know, 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:08.000 I'm really good at this football thing and it's not 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:08.839 just my brothers. 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:11.440 I'm good because I got this skill set. 0:06:11.600 --> 0:06:13.880 Yeah. I mean I knew I was pretty talented in 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:17.279 high school, you know, just we had a ton of 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:20.520 athletes come out of my high school. But in terms 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:22.799 of the NFL, I would probably say after my freshman 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:27.960 year of college just being able to go out there. 0:06:28.000 --> 0:06:31.880 I think had a great freshman year, had like six 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:35.520 interceptions as a freshman. That off season, I went and 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:38.160 watched my brother get drafted in the first round. So 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:40.839 for me, it was just like, all right, I saw 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:43.000 how he prepared for the game. I saw how he 0:06:43.080 --> 0:06:47.960 studying the off seasons, how he went about just his 0:06:48.080 --> 0:06:50.599 off season and just training, and like the sacrifices that 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:53.400 he made to get himself to that level. And I 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:55.120 was like, I got the blueprint. That's that's what I'm 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:57.680 gonna do so. I think after my freshman year was 0:06:57.680 --> 0:07:00.200 when I was kind of just like, like, I I 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:01.719 can have a career in the NFL. 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:04.800 It's awesome, man, And you choose to go to Virginia Tech. 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:07.440 Your three older brothers went to Virginia Tech as well. 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:09.080 So I got to ask, was it even an option 0:07:09.240 --> 0:07:10.520 to go to Virginia Tech at this pot or was 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:12.560 it just like, hey, brou you're going to Virginia Tech. 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:15.800 You're following the family legacy. 0:07:15.000 --> 0:07:17.680 Honestly, and most people are surprised, but they didn't say 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:18.360 anything to me. 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:18.920 Wow. 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:25.000 The only thing that I remember happening is my brother 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:27.280 when he was at Virginia Tech and I was getting recruited. 0:07:27.280 --> 0:07:29.680 He had got asked with if he would take it, 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:31.320 if he would take it personal if I went to 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:33.720 somewhere else, and the school that I was really close 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:36.680 to going to was Clemson, and I think somebody asked 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:38.200 him like, would you take it personal if he went 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:40.160 to Clemson? And I think he was just like yeah. 0:07:41.240 --> 0:07:44.000 He didn't tell me about the interview, but I had 0:07:44.040 --> 0:07:48.200 just saw it, but it was yeah, Virginia Tech was home, 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:51.360 but I didn't feel pressure. I think that was the 0:07:51.400 --> 0:07:54.200 only moment, and then I think on my official visit 0:07:54.200 --> 0:07:57.160 to Clemson, my mother was with me and she's in 0:07:57.240 --> 0:08:00.480 Coach Sweeney's office just talking about Virginia Tech in front 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:03.200 of him. So like that kind of told me how 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:05.000 bad she wanted me to go to Virginia Tech. But 0:08:05.040 --> 0:08:07.800 besides that, they kind of let me make the decision 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:09.520 for myself because they knew that, like I would be 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:10.360 the one living. 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:11.280 In Yeah, and I heard this story. 0:08:11.280 --> 0:08:12.320 I don't know if it is true, and I ain't 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:14.520 trying to snitch all you, but I heard that you 0:08:14.600 --> 0:08:18.160 actually picked up the phone to commit to Clemson, but 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:20.640 as the phone started ringing, you hung up. 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:22.680 What was that feeling. 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:24.320 That you had, because that's such a big decision to 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:26.000 even pick up the phone and make the call and 0:08:26.040 --> 0:08:27.320 then it just back out of it like that. 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:28.200 What was going on? 0:08:29.560 --> 0:08:32.720 I know, I loved Clemson. It was a beautiful campus. 0:08:35.080 --> 0:08:37.520 I knew when I was in high school, I was 0:08:37.640 --> 0:08:39.520 it was we had a ton of athletes, a ton 0:08:39.520 --> 0:08:42.320 of good talent that was going D one every single year. 0:08:43.000 --> 0:08:45.760 So my thought process about Clemson was, I think at 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:49.920 that time, they had Sammy Watkins, Martavius Brian, DeAndre Hopkins, 0:08:50.040 --> 0:08:51.720 at a squad. I was I'm gonna go against the 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:54.600 best receivers year and the year out, and so I 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:57.560 think that was like my biggest thing. I don't know 0:08:57.640 --> 0:09:02.199 what exactly told me to hang up that phone. The 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:06.640 only thing I can think of is God, And in 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:10.360 hindsight I see why. But something told me to hang 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:14.080 up that phone, and I think it may be about 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:16.640 like a month or two later, I ended up committing 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:17.560 to Virginia Tech. 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:19.439 Wow, I don't I don't. 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:21.199 Know the feel The only thing I can genuinely, the 0:09:21.200 --> 0:09:23.680 only thing I can say is probably just God, and man. 0:09:23.559 --> 0:09:25.679 God is good. Man, Clearly you made the right decision. 0:09:25.760 --> 0:09:27.679 So let's go to that freshman year Virginia Tech. 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:30.040 Right, You get on campus and you have three older 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:31.880 brothers who have already made a name for themselves on 0:09:31.960 --> 0:09:34.160 this campus, have built their own legacy. 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:36.000 Is there a shadow there for you? Man? 0:09:36.120 --> 0:09:38.440 Was it kind of hard to get past the shadow 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:40.400 that your brother is in the legacy they had built already? 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:43.880 Not really, just because like me and my brothers, we 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:46.319 weren't we were we were all football, you know what 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:48.640 I mean? So like we weren't big part of yours, 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:51.760 we weren't big big anything. It was just the only 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:53.920 thing we knew how to do was work. It's kind 0:09:53.920 --> 0:09:56.080 of something that I father instilled in us was just 0:09:56.120 --> 0:10:00.480 always work, always grind, always do whatever you need to 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:03.800 do to be successful. So even for me when I 0:10:03.840 --> 0:10:06.360 came into Virginia Tech, it was just like and even 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:08.160 watching my brother Kyle, that's all he was doing. 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:08.760 You know. 0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:11.920 It wasn't out doing this, out doing that. It was just, hey, 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:15.560 I'm here for football. And the best I think the 0:10:15.600 --> 0:10:19.960 best piece of advice that my oldest brother ever gave 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:23.000 all of us was you know, he kind of told 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:25.440 us like, hey, like there's a lot of people when 0:10:25.520 --> 0:10:27.880 they go to college, they want college to be the 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:30.520 best four years of their life. Yeah, and he was like, 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:34.079 he was like, you leave college at twenty one years old. 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:35.440 You got the rest of your life ahead of you. 0:10:36.000 --> 0:10:38.000 He was like, I want you to have the mindset 0:10:38.000 --> 0:10:39.679 of like you want the best four years of your 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:42.760 life to be after college, and like whatever you do 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:44.840 in college, that's what's going to set you up for 0:10:44.920 --> 0:10:45.400 your future. 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:45.840 Yeah. 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:48.200 So like him being able to even have someone like 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:50.960 give us that type of advice and set that mindset 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:51.400 for us was. 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:53.839 Big, and you know, being a little brother. 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:56.360 Like you know, things are always different as you're growing up, right, 0:10:56.440 --> 0:10:58.600 Like you know, things are different. You probably communicate differently 0:10:58.600 --> 0:11:00.640 with your brothers in middle school, differently in high school. 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:02.600 But once you're in college and you really made it 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:04.120 to that point that they have all made it to 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:06.680 as well, did the conversation between you and your brother's changed, 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:09.200 Like was it more about like we're more peers now 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:09.959 and like getting that game? 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:11.839 It was tho conversations like with your brothers, it. 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:15.800 Was just more so just it was definitely more conversations 0:11:15.840 --> 0:11:18.240 in terms of like like my oldest brother's a thirteen 0:11:18.320 --> 0:11:19.240 year old age gap. 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:20.120 Wow, So like. 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:23.440 The more I kind of moved up in each level, 0:11:23.480 --> 0:11:26.040 it was more in depth conversations we were able to have, 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:28.640 you know what I mean now compared to high school 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:30.360 and college. Now it's like we can really have in 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:34.240 depth conversations about football, how to break down film, Like 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:38.319 my brother played safety smart, so like just different things 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:41.240 to look for and things like that. Even my brother Corey, 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:43.720 just being able to talk to him at this point 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:47.360 he was an NFL receiver, so being able to get 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:50.360 his outlook from a receiver standpoint and things like that, 0:11:51.640 --> 0:11:54.240 and then I mean Kyle, I was just whatever he did, 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:57.040 I was doing, so I was right behind him and everything. 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:01.319 I think my senior year of my senior year of 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:06.120 high school, Kyle was calling me to kind of watch 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:08.839 tape with him from springball. Wow, you know what I mean, 0:12:09.040 --> 0:12:11.280 just kind of showing me, teaching me little things like that. 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:16.280 So it definitely got easier. Started just more in depth conversations. 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:19.680 That was definitely helpful for me and just impacted you 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:21.640 know how well I could could see the game. 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:24.160 And clearly your parents they mean a lot to you 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:25.000 and your brothers. 0:12:25.559 --> 0:12:30.800 How did they manage having for successful kids playing sports 0:12:30.800 --> 0:12:33.720 at different areas, different places, at different points in their career, 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:35.880 because it seems like your parents are very involved, right, 0:12:35.880 --> 0:12:37.280 It seems like they want. 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:38.679 To be at your guys and stuff. How did they 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:39.160 handle that? 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:41.480 What was that like to your parents go from place 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:42.920 to place trying to sports you guys. 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:44.760 I mean, when you're in it, you don't think too 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:46.600 much of it. You're kind of thinking like, hey, this 0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:50.040 is what we got to do. But I know for them, 0:12:50.080 --> 0:12:53.120 you know, my father started with my father, his main 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:55.520 thing was just like y'all are going to college. I 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:58.160 don't care what it's for. I don't care if it's academically, 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:00.360 I don't care if it's for sports, But like you're 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:04.280 going to college, and he just did his best to 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:07.040 put us in and give us the opportunity to do that, 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:11.600 get us around good coaching and whether that means sometimes 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:14.280 we would have to travel thirty forty minutes away to 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:15.960 go play a sport to where we could have just 0:13:16.120 --> 0:13:19.880 traveled five. But he was like, you know, there's better coaches, 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:22.719 better team here, So like we're going to make this sacrifice. 0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:25.160 And that's what they did. They sacrificed a lot for us. 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:26.640 Even my mom. 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:30.880 I remember my mom just kind of working nine to five, 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:34.079 get home, She calling us before we leave the practice, 0:13:34.120 --> 0:13:36.280 just saying like, hey, like can y'all take the chicken 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:38.880 out so I can cook it later? And we forget that. 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:42.400 I forget, I mean, but like she go work all day, 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:44.280 we go to practice, come home, and like she has 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:47.080 dinner ready for us and things like that. So just 0:13:47.720 --> 0:13:50.120 it's a ton of sacrifices that they made and just 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:54.360 you know, we were fortunate that they made those sacrifices, 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:57.520 that they cared enough to kind of invest in us 0:13:57.720 --> 0:14:01.520 and invest in our future that young they've definitely been 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:02.319 been a blessing. 0:14:02.679 --> 0:14:05.680 That's so cool, man, And clearly their their sacrifices paid off. 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:05.880 Man. 0:14:06.000 --> 0:14:09.280 You were the fourth fuller to make it into the NFL. Man, 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:12.400 you got drafted here by Washington, And I mean you've 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:14.079 stayed pretty close to home, or you stay closer to 0:14:14.080 --> 0:14:16.240 the DMV. It's not you know, Virginia is in Baltimore, 0:14:16.280 --> 0:14:19.880 but DMV, you know it's pretty pretty close together. What 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:21.600 did it mean to you to get drafted by like 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:24.720 not your hometown team, but a team that was very 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:25.360 close to home. 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:31.400 It was I think honestly because of my situation, you know, 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:35.120 kind of being protected early having my injury. I think 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:37.760 I was just kind of upset fall into the third round. 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:41.000 So once I once I got the call, at that point, 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:43.160 I didn't care where it was going to be. And 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:47.080 I would say probably around my second years when I 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:50.120 really started like appreciating being able to be so close 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:54.320 to home, because I would tell people I would after games, 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:57.160 instead of driving all the way back out here with FedEx, 0:14:57.200 --> 0:14:59.800 I would just drive home. I would stay with my parents, 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:03.720 stay with my parents at their game. I was telling 0:15:03.720 --> 0:15:05.240 my mom like, hey, you only have to come. You 0:15:05.240 --> 0:15:08.560 can just make Sunday dinner. Yeah, go out after the game, 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:11.840 go home, get some dinner, stay the night, and then 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:14.360 in the morning and drive back out here. So and 0:15:14.600 --> 0:15:16.920 just especially going to Virginia Tech. There's a ton of 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:20.800 hokies out here in this area. Yeah, exactly. So I 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:23.320 think the more the more time I spent out here, 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:25.400 the more I was able to, like really appreciate it. 0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:28.000 And you mentioned being that moment where you got picked 0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:30.080 in the third round. You know, those kind of moments 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:33.760 can shape a person's whole outlook on life. You said, 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:35.320 you know you were expecting to go a lot higher, 0:15:35.320 --> 0:15:36.680 and you know you did it because of the injury. 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:39.360 What did that do for you that third round selection? Man, 0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:41.560 how did that change your mindset? And how did that 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:42.680 affect the rest of your career? 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:48.680 I mean, it just motivated me, honestly. And as a competitor, 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:52.440 there's a lot of things that you probably shouldn't take personal, 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:55.080 but you make it personal. And for me, that was 0:15:55.120 --> 0:15:58.800 something that I took personal because I was telling somebody 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:00.920 the other day, like when you like you did what 0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:04.280 you needed to and you put into work to achieve 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:06.000 a hurtain goal, and you and you feel like you 0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:08.920 should have earned that and you didn't. It sticks with you, 0:16:08.960 --> 0:16:12.080 and that's something that's always going to stick with me. Yeah. 0:16:12.440 --> 0:16:14.240 One of my best friends, he made a comment to 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:16.720 me the other day just kind of talking about some 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:18.880 of the guys that were d drafted before me. It's 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:21.760 just it's something that and all of those guys earned it. 0:16:21.800 --> 0:16:24.480 But as a competitor, that's just something that motivates, you know, 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:27.480 and things like that. So that definitely motivated me. Just 0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:30.920 put that fire fire in me. And uh, you know, 0:16:30.960 --> 0:16:33.960 at that point, once you're no matter where you get drafted, 0:16:34.000 --> 0:16:38.200 once you're in your end. Yeah, and but it definitely 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:39.680 it motivated me a lot. 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:42.600 And then you know, you're in in the NFL, you 0:16:42.640 --> 0:16:44.680 have one of the best seasons of your young career, 0:16:44.880 --> 0:16:46.720 and then you get the call said, hey, hit it 0:16:46.760 --> 0:16:47.480 to Kansas City. 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:49.680 How did that affect you? 0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:51.800 I mean, you don't hear a lot of cornerbacks in 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:54.920 stuff of getting traded within the NFL at that level, 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:56.640 right for like a franchise quarterback. 0:16:56.720 --> 0:16:57.520 How did that affect you? 0:16:58.320 --> 0:17:02.040 It was tough. I think genuinely, I was just as 0:17:02.080 --> 0:17:04.600 confused as anybody and just I mean at that point, 0:17:04.640 --> 0:17:05.680