WEBVTT - #532 Packers Unscripted: Sharing stories 0:00:00.880 --> 0:00:15.320 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted Social 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:18.880 Distancing Style from Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford. 0:00:18.960 --> 0:00:22.479 He is my trusted colleague West Hodkowits coming to you 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:25.479 from our humble abodes. As we've done and West, we've 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:27.960 switched up the schedule a little bit. Now that the 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:32.440 draft is done, the schedule is out for we're cutting 0:00:32.440 --> 0:00:35.519 back here to maybe one episode a week for the 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:38.080 time being. So you okay with that, my friend? Yeah, 0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:39.880 I'm totally okay with it, Mike, because this is typically 0:00:39.920 --> 0:00:41.519 what we ended up doing once we get into the 0:00:41.520 --> 0:00:43.519 o t A schedule anyway. You know, there's only so 0:00:43.520 --> 0:00:47.240 many days availability. Now there's no availability. So here we are. 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:49.400 I did get a kick out of your intro. Your 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:52.080 intro though, and you're right, this is social Distancing Style. 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:54.200 I feel like when we get back in the studio, 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:56.520 it's good enough feeling like we should be like, hey, 0:00:56.560 --> 0:00:58.840 this is our studio style. I mean like it's almost 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:01.080 like this is gonna end up becoming common place for us. 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:04.680 But be that as it may, we persevere, we press on, 0:01:04.840 --> 0:01:07.679 and we got some cool draft picks to discuss here 0:01:07.680 --> 0:01:09.640 on today's show. Yeah, well, hopefully we don't have to 0:01:09.680 --> 0:01:12.360 put up like a plexiglass thing between the two of 0:01:12.400 --> 0:01:14.319 us when we get back in the studio. That would 0:01:14.319 --> 0:01:17.080 be that'd be a little awkward. But anyway, yes, you 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:19.720 said it. We're gonna talk about some of the Packers 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:22.240 draft picks because since the draft, you and I have 0:01:22.319 --> 0:01:25.600 been getting in touch with uh past connections to the 0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:28.679 Packers draft picks, a lot of college coaches other folks 0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:31.240 like that and posting some stories on the website, So 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:34.360 UH for fans who want to UH to check those 0:01:34.360 --> 0:01:36.640 out by all means do And I think the fun 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:38.839 thing with this for US West when we get into 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:42.640 these conversations with college coaches and others, you get the 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:46.920 little anecdotes, the little stories that maybe haven't been told necessarily. 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:49.320 You get a little bit of a peek into these guys. 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:52.960 And I'll start with one because um Kamal Martin, the 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:57.200 fifth round linebacker the Packers drafted out of Minnesota. He's 0:01:57.240 --> 0:02:00.680 one of these guys, you know, unfortunate and to his 0:02:00.800 --> 0:02:04.800 college career because he played a stretch of his senior 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:07.400 year trying to battle through a knee injury, gutting it out, 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:10.720 doing what he could eventually it got aggravated to the 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:13.240 point where he had to be shut down and he 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:15.760 had to have surgery on it. Now not a full 0:02:15.840 --> 0:02:18.120 reconstructive surgery or anything, but he had to have a 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:22.440 procedure done. So he's and this is the story I 0:02:22.480 --> 0:02:26.840 got from Minnesota's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Joe Rossi. 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:31.760 So the Gophers are down in Tampa, Florida to play 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:35.519 the Outback Bowl, and but Martin, who had just had 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:38.040 his surgery, he has to recover at home. He can't 0:02:38.080 --> 0:02:40.799 travel with the team, so he's sitting on his couch 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:44.120 back at home watching the game, cheering on his his Gophers, 0:02:44.120 --> 0:02:47.519 and everything. Well, Minnesota pulls out this really exciting win, 0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:50.960 a big uplifting wind for their program. If you remember, 0:02:50.960 --> 0:02:53.640 they were on the verge of potentially getting to the 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:57.040 Big Ten championship game before Wisconsin knocked them off at 0:02:57.080 --> 0:02:58.840 the end of the year, and then Wisconsin ended up 0:02:58.840 --> 0:03:02.520 advancing to that ofference title game, but nonetheless a January 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:05.800 first bowl game, the Outback Bowl, big big victory. So 0:03:05.960 --> 0:03:10.120 Joe Rossi, the defensive coordinator, as everybody is running to 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:12.320 the middle of the field and celebrating, and the Gophers 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:16.919 are celebrating this big victory. He facetimes Martin gets him 0:03:16.960 --> 0:03:20.400 on his couch and basically makes him like part of 0:03:20.400 --> 0:03:24.400 the celebration in Tampa, passing the phone around to like 0:03:24.480 --> 0:03:26.560 all the rest of the guys. I just I thought 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:29.440 it was a great story. But and it's an illustration 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:35.240 of what senior leaders mean to team, to their teammates, 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:37.520 to a program. I thought that was the type of 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:41.920 story that really illustrated what Kamal Martin meant to the 0:03:42.080 --> 0:03:45.600 rise of the Minnesota Gophers program under p. J. Fleck. Yeah, 0:03:45.640 --> 0:03:47.320 and it's it's cool and it's a neat story. I 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:48.760 hope people got a chance to check it out on 0:03:48.800 --> 0:03:50.720 Packers dot com if you hadn't go back and look 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:52.680 at it, because the thing that I've been introduced to 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:55.440 with Kamal Martin is just the character of this guy 0:03:55.640 --> 0:03:57.680 and also just the way that people seem to really 0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:00.000 gravitate towards him. I mean, he did a little video 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:02.600 for our Packers social team, just kind of introducing himself 0:04:02.640 --> 0:04:05.960 to fans, and he sort of has this infectious enthusiasm 0:04:05.960 --> 0:04:08.320 about him. He has an interesting way that he's able 0:04:08.320 --> 0:04:11.280 to communicate in a very expression, Uh filled and in 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:14.360 terms of his uh, you know, interpersonal skills. So that's 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:17.200 really neat. But the thing that is cool about his 0:04:17.279 --> 0:04:19.720 story is and you you were actually the first one 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:21.480 I think that asked him about this on the conference 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:23.320 call when we first talked to him on draft night. 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:27.200 You know, being a kid from Minnesota, he wanted to 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:30.240 play for the Golfers, right, but as so often happens 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:32.480 with a lot of these kids from the Midwest, you know, 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:35.840 there's only so many Division one schools. Wisconsin only has 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:38.599 one Minnesota, you know, certainly it's it's kind of the 0:04:38.640 --> 0:04:42.840 Gophers are bust out there, and he was pretty content 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:45.240 to go to Eastern Michigan. He was gonna play quarterback. 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:48.919 He eventually finds up and he finally impresses them. He 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:51.039 gets that opportunity, and like, how many times have we 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:53.560 heard this story where a guy a laid offer, a 0:04:53.600 --> 0:04:57.039 potential walk on, they come into a camp, they earn 0:04:57.120 --> 0:05:00.000 their keep, and then by their senior year they're featured player. There. 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:03.040 The guy that's on FaceTime being passed around the team huddle, 0:05:03.600 --> 0:05:05.720 that's Kamal Martin. I think you got a good feel 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:08.599 talking to his defensive coordinating his position coach of what 0:05:08.720 --> 0:05:11.760 exactly he meant to that team and why so many 0:05:11.760 --> 0:05:14.000 people feel like he'll be successful at the next level 0:05:14.040 --> 0:05:16.839 because of the way that he approaches this game. Yeah, 0:05:16.920 --> 0:05:19.280 his desire to play for the Minnesota Gophers was high. 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:21.880 He's from Burnsville, Minnesota, which is a suburb of the 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:24.960 Twin Cities. He was an all state player, a two 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:27.240 way player offense and defense. As you said, he was 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:30.040 a quarterback. And Joe Rossi told me this wasn't just 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:32.599 a high school athlete who was, you know, plugged in 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:35.039 at quarterback because he was the best athlete on the team. 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:38.240 He was a legitimate quarterback. And not just Eastern Michigan, 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:42.000 but other MAX schools Mid American Conference schools were offering 0:05:42.080 --> 0:05:45.680 him as a quarterback and uh. But he went to 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:51.080 a final summer football camp in Minneapolis, a Gophers football camp, 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:53.720 and by the end of that they had worked him 0:05:53.720 --> 0:05:56.039 out on defense and uh, and they made him an offer. 0:05:56.080 --> 0:05:59.320 And so he he threw the whole quarterback future into 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:02.200 the into the trash can, so to speak, and said, Hey, 0:06:02.240 --> 0:06:04.880 I'm gonna play linebacker for the University of Minnesota. And 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:07.800 he couldn't be happier with how it worked out, unfortunately 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:10.839 for him, wasn't able to play in that final bowl 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:14.559 game for the Gophers. But moving on to the sixth round. 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:17.520 Here three offensive lineman the Packers drafted in the sixth round, 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:20.760 and you got a chance to talk with not only 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:24.040 John Runyan Jr. From the University of Michigan, the Packers 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:28.200 pick there, but also his father, John Runyan Sr. Who's 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:31.719 got quite the pedigree as both a former National League 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:34.880 Football player and a member of the United States House 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:38.040 of Representatives. Now he's involved with the NFL at the 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:42.080 league level when it comes to reviewing film and disciplinary 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:45.120 issues and things like that. So, um, tell us your 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:49.320 favorite anecdote that you got out of that that wonderful 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:52.240 piece to put together on Packers dot Com on the runyons, 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:54.280 be sure to check that one out, folks. Yeah, and 0:06:54.279 --> 0:06:55.960 and certainly you had to edit it and go through 0:06:55.960 --> 0:06:57.640 all of it. There were so many stories and it 0:06:57.800 --> 0:07:00.839 could have been even longer than it was with with 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:02.920 not only him, but also Gaven Fonte, who was his 0:07:03.000 --> 0:07:05.200 high school football coach. He's now actually at Temple. He 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:08.320 ended up getting assistant job at Temple for all of 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:11.240 his efforts and state championships and what he did at St. Joseph's. 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:13.600 But the story that I think I liked the most 0:07:14.160 --> 0:07:16.400 was it had to been the Ohio State stories, so 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:19.680 I knew it's great. I wish you would have had 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:21.640 the photo. He doesn't have the photo anymore. But anyway, 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:24.880 if you didn't read the story, basically St. Joseph's Prep, 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:27.680 this was a it's a private school in North Philadelphia. 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:32.440 The school where Runyan Jr. Was going to basically funnel 0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:36.120 into in their township didn't offer football. He at that 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:39.200 point knew we wanted to play football. His mom ended 0:07:39.240 --> 0:07:42.160 up finding his mom. Lauretta found St. Joseph's Prep actually 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:44.600 asked Gave and Fonte to come out and watch her 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:46.640 son play to see if you know, potentially he could 0:07:46.640 --> 0:07:49.520 play for him. And by the way, he could. Uh. 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:52.400 And every year they go out and they do different 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:55.800 types of service events at different area colleges or you know, 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:57.880 even traveling a little bit. So they went to Ohio 0:07:58.000 --> 0:08:01.720 State the football camp, get it's done, and all the 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:04.800 kids who were volunteering their time, they're offered to take 0:08:04.840 --> 0:08:08.559 a photo with Urban Meyer, the then Buckeys coach, newly 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:11.760 minted at that point. And if you know anything about 0:08:11.760 --> 0:08:15.440 the Runyan family. They are staunched Michiganders. I mean, they 0:08:15.520 --> 0:08:19.280 are mazing blue all the way. So John Junr. Does 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:22.520 take his opportunity. He goes and he takes the photo 0:08:22.600 --> 0:08:26.160 with Urban Meyer, shakes his hand and is completely covered 0:08:26.240 --> 0:08:30.400 in Michigan year. It is a phenomenal portrait. Gavin Fonte 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:32.120 was the one that told me that anecdote. At first, 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:34.200 he was laughing about it as he mentioned it just 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:37.320 a true testament not only to the Runyans and how 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:39.360 much you know that that means to him, but also 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:42.760 John Jr. And you know so many times you hear 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.480 these stories, Mike, and and rightfully so. Kids look up 0:08:45.520 --> 0:08:47.360 to their father's I looked up obviously to mine. I 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:51.199 know you do to yours. And it's understandable why John 0:08:51.280 --> 0:08:53.840 Junior would have been motivated to play football, But John Sr. 0:08:53.920 --> 0:08:55.880 Never made it about that if he if his kid 0:08:56.360 --> 0:08:58.960 wanted to go and become a businessman or just get 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:01.079 out of sports altogether, would have been fine with that. 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:03.640 But the fact of the matter was is John Jr. 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:06.600 Was around football as a young man. As a child, 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:09.240 it got ingrained in him. He ended up becoming a 0:09:09.240 --> 0:09:12.240 pretty darn good offensive lineman. And while so many people 0:09:12.320 --> 0:09:14.920 may think that that last name, but what that carries 0:09:14.960 --> 0:09:17.640 a fifteen year pro, a Pro Bowl or a guy 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:20.199 that was very notorious in his time for his physicality. 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:23.800 John Jr. He has some of those traits, but he's 0:09:23.840 --> 0:09:25.960 not his father, and he came to terms with that 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:29.320 very early on. And I think that explains why he's 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:31.640 made it as far as he did and why he 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:33.959 believes now at the next level he can thrive because 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:35.960 he's not trying to live up to his dad's legacy. 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:38.360 He's trying to create one of his own. Yeah, and 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:40.800 that's certain. That's a that's a challenge for anybody in 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:44.000 that spot. Um and not just the fact that his 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:47.080 father played in the NFL, but was was an established pro, 0:09:47.360 --> 0:09:51.400 was was very well known across the league. Um had 0:09:51.640 --> 0:09:53.719 had a reputation for being, you know, one of the 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:57.160 ultimate tough guys in the NFL and playing in one 0:09:57.160 --> 0:09:59.000 of the tough towns as they say, you know, in 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:02.959 Philadelphia with fans and and how they feel about their team. 0:10:03.040 --> 0:10:07.120 So not a not an easy shadow to uh to 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:10.719 walk behind as far as John Jr. Is concerned. But 0:10:11.000 --> 0:10:13.320 he's been doing in his whole life, right, So why 0:10:13.520 --> 0:10:16.480 why that against him? Now he's he certainly comes across 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:20.440 as a as a very confident, self assured young man. Yeah, 0:10:20.440 --> 0:10:22.439 and his dad was incredibly hands off. I mean when 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:25.880 he handed him over to the St. Joe's UH coaching staff, infante, 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:27.839 he let them coach. If they asked him a question, 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:29.600 he would answer it, but he wasn't gonna step on 0:10:29.600 --> 0:10:33.079 any toes. And John Junior feels like that is ultimately 0:10:33.120 --> 0:10:35.200 what allowed him to not only stay with the game 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:37.520 and and have the love for it that he does, 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:40.079 but also have the passion for it because he found 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:41.920 it on It's on his own. I mean, he saw 0:10:42.040 --> 0:10:44.800 things and he was around it, but it was ultimately 0:10:44.920 --> 0:10:47.559 his own passion that allowed him to persevere. I mean 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:50.360 the Michigan thing, Mike, he committed there the end of 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:52.839 his sophomore season. He had two more years of high school. 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:54.959 It was like a one year starter at that point, 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:57.760 and but he knew he wanted to play at Michigan. 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:00.640 He had deep ties family wise on his dad side 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:03.600 to Ann Arbor and Flint. This is a big thing 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:05.600 for the young man. So now coming to the NFL, 0:11:05.960 --> 0:11:07.760 he is a sixth round pick, but I think if 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:09.840 you talk to a lot of people around him, the 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:11.920 feeling was he probably would have ended up being an 0:11:11.960 --> 0:11:16.320 interior offensive lineman, but opportunities on Michigan's offensive line allowed 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:19.160 him to start at right tackle. His first ever start 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:20.559 was at right tackle in a bowl game. In the 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:22.440 following year, he became the starting left tackle and he 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:25.480 stayed there the last two seasons. So he's up for it. 0:11:25.640 --> 0:11:29.240 He's flexible, he's extremely athletic. I mean, that's one thing 0:11:29.280 --> 0:11:31.760 that stands out. He doesn't have his dad's overall size, 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:34.840 but I mean he ran basically a five flat forty time. 0:11:35.240 --> 0:11:37.200 There's some real athleticism there. And when you look at 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:39.600 the zone blocking scheme, this is a young man that 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:41.520 the Packers feel pretty confident is going to be able 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:44.280 to fit the prototype of Matt Lafleur's offense. Yeah. I 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:46.480 really wish we could have gotten to see that photo 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:51.560 of him in Yeah, there's there's no way back in 0:11:51.600 --> 0:11:54.160 the day that Woody Hayes would have even agreed to 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:57.000 have that photo taken. I just that that's my, uh 0:11:57.400 --> 0:11:59.880 my gut feeling when you go back to the rival 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:02.840 days of Woody Hayes and Bo schem Beckler at those 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:06.480 two universities. He wasn't and he wasn't even committed at 0:12:06.480 --> 0:12:08.680 that time to Michigan yet It's just that's how much 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:10.880 they loved the Wolverines. That's how much he loved that 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:13.880 school that he was willing to already basically right off 0:12:13.880 --> 0:12:15.679 any chance he had him going to Ohio State at 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:18.600 that juncture of his football career. Yeah. Well, to other 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:22.160 offensive lineman the Packers drafted in the sixth round, Simon 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:25.680 Stepinac from Indiana, Jake Hansen from Oregon. I got a 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:29.760 chance to talk to coaches from those schools as well, 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:33.599 and um with Stepanek. It was interesting and I'll apologize 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:35.920 right now. I believe on one of our early shows 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:39.920 after the draft, I pronounced Simon's last name incorrectly, So 0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:45.080 hopefully I have it right now, buddy. But yeah, But anyway, 0:12:45.120 --> 0:12:48.560 I did talk with with offensive line coach Darren Hiller 0:12:49.120 --> 0:12:52.959 from Indiana, and I asked him just because the thing 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:56.800 that stands out about Stepanac, now, this is another young man, unfortunately, 0:12:56.840 --> 0:12:59.000 who did not get to finish his college career in 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:01.959 a bowl game. He ends up injuring his knee during 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:06.400 bowl prep. After Indiana had finished its regular season. Hiller 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:08.680 told me that Stepanak was playing some of the best 0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:11.600 ball of his career, The Big Old Oaken Bucket Rivalry 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:15.240 with Perdue, which ends Indiana's regular season with some of 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:18.080 the best film that he had out there. But then 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:22.480 he suffers a pretty significant knee injury during bowl preps, 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:25.120 so he can't go to the bowl game. And then 0:13:25.160 --> 0:13:28.040 of course everything with regard to the pre draft process, 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:30.520 maybe the Senior Bowl, the Combine, all that is thrown 0:13:30.600 --> 0:13:34.640 up in the air, and Stepanac tells Hillary. He says, well, 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:36.680 I'm gonna go to the combine and I'm at least 0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:39.400 gonna do the bench press. So I'm gonna figure out 0:13:39.440 --> 0:13:41.800 a way to do the bench press. Well, Stepanek has 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:43.680 to have surgery on the knee in the first week 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:47.160 of January, so the combine is about six or seven 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:50.360 weeks after that. Now, the bench press, of course, it's 0:13:50.520 --> 0:13:53.520 it's an upper body exercise, you know, chest and triceps 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:57.240 and shoulders and all that. But as Hiller described to me, 0:13:57.760 --> 0:14:00.360 you still have to have kind of your feet landed 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:03.040 on the ground to uh, you know, to to be 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:06.400 able to to have the stability to give everything you've 0:14:06.400 --> 0:14:09.600 got on the bench press. Well, Stepan Act, less than 0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:13.840 two months removed from reconstructive surgery on his knee, he 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:17.120 does thirty seven reps of two or twenty five pounds 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:20.440 on the bench press at the combine, which ends up 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:23.440 being one of the top totals of any lineman offensive 0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:27.280 war defensive lineman in Indianapolis. And Hiller told me, he said, 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:29.960 you know, if he had been healthy, if it hadn't 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:32.600 been for having the surgery in early January, and if 0:14:32.600 --> 0:14:34.880 he had actually been able to prep as much as 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:37.800 he wanted to for the bench press, because this kid, 0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:40.360 you know, been a workout warrior his whole life. He 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:42.600 thinks he would have been somewhere in the forties as 0:14:42.640 --> 0:14:45.640 far as his reps at two on the bench press. 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:47.440 That kind of blew me away. West. I mean, I 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:50.280 was never somebody who did a whole lot of weightlifting 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:52.880 in my career as a baseball player and a golfer 0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:56.400 in in my college days. But man, oh man, forty 0:14:56.480 --> 0:14:59.360 some reps on the bench are you kidding me? I mean, so, anyway, 0:14:59.400 --> 0:15:01.840 it was it was interesting to to hear the story 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:05.000 from the offensive line coach. Take away everything else, right, 0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:08.840 take away. This is NFL and guys trying to get drafted. 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:11.680 Just a human being putting up two and twenty five 0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:15.440 pounds thirty seven times? Uh that that? Oh wait, that 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:17.480 never ceases to amazing me. I mean, honestly, I think 0:15:17.520 --> 0:15:19.760 the most on the entire roster right now is what 0:15:19.840 --> 0:15:22.280 is it Corey Linsley with thirty six. I think Corey 0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:26.920 had Yeah, Corey had the Lancaster, but that that would 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:28.720 put him right up there, and that wasn't even him 0:15:28.720 --> 0:15:31.200 at his best. Let's this is the thing I loved 0:15:31.200 --> 0:15:33.200 about it, and I love the quote that Hiller gave 0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:35.280 you about it, basically saying that he needs to you know, 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:37.240 you don't think about your legs, you don't think about 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:38.720 your knees, but you have to be basically bolted to 0:15:38.760 --> 0:15:41.400 the ground in order to do that exercise. The thing 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:44.960 I love about that draft pick, Mike Um this is 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:47.480 a long term one. Brian Goodkin set it from the beginning. 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:50.040 I mean, the Packers are under no disillusion right now 0:15:50.080 --> 0:15:52.320 that that's Simon Stepanek. Whenever they get here is just 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:53.760 gonna be good to go, and he'll be running and 0:15:53.800 --> 0:15:56.040 everything will be fine. He's the young man's gonna need 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:58.600 some time to get back. But these are the type 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:00.400 of guys that you want to look at in the 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:03.160 potential six rounds, especially when you have that many draft picks, 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:05.880 as the Packers did in those later rounds, because there's 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:08.240 going to be time. The Packers have a really deep, 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:12.360 uh you know, fertile crop of you know, offensive lineman 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:15.600 behind their starting five right now. So they're not asking 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:17.160 this guy to come in and win a starting job 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:19.400 right away. They're asking him to heal. They're asking him 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:22.200 to rehab. Yeah. Well, one other one to get to today, 0:16:22.200 --> 0:16:24.480 and that's Jake Hansen, the center from Oregon, and it 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:28.360 was I had a really good conversation with Oregon's head coach, 0:16:28.480 --> 0:16:31.800 Mario Cristo Ball and uh fortunately it worked out to 0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:33.360 be able to catch up with him on the phone. 0:16:33.440 --> 0:16:39.200 He was the offensive coordinator originally for Oregon. He went 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:42.480 there from Alabama when he'd been working for Nick Saban 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:44.720 and then he became the head coach at Oregon. So 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:47.560 he had a really good perspective on Hansen's career. And 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:50.040 the story I really liked that he told is that 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:53.400 he said he he still remembers getting on the plane 0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:56.320 when he was gonna fly from Alabama to Oregon. He 0:16:56.400 --> 0:16:58.760 was gonna start his new job as offensive coordinator for 0:16:58.800 --> 0:17:01.640 the Ducks. He's got his iPad and he's looking at 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:05.240 the film of the sixteen season. This is heading into 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:08.879 when he gets the job at Oregon. He's looking at 0:17:08.880 --> 0:17:11.720 film of the offense for the sixteen season to see 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:13.760 what he's got. Right, who were the players that he's 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:16.720 got coming back? Well, lo and behold, he's got a 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:20.040 freshman quarterback named Justin Herbert who ends up being drafted 0:17:20.119 --> 0:17:24.040 sixth overall in this most recent draft. So all his 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:27.119 film obviously stood out, but he also noticed two guys 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:29.880 on the offensive line. He had a red shirt freshman 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:32.280 at guard and Shane Lemieux, and he had a red 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:37.000 shirt freshman at center in Jake Hansen, And both of 0:17:37.040 --> 0:17:39.360 those guys jumped off the film as well. And he's 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:42.439 he was talking about how he was really excited seeing 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:44.280 that on the film, knowing like, all right, I've got 0:17:44.280 --> 0:17:48.480 a quarterback and to offensive lineman that I can use 0:17:48.600 --> 0:17:51.040 to install my new offense because it was gonna be 0:17:51.119 --> 0:17:53.320 this whole new playbook and everything like that. And he 0:17:53.359 --> 0:17:56.320 could tell from watching that film, and he mentioned with 0:17:56.359 --> 0:17:59.120 Hansen specifically the way Hanson as a red shirt freshman 0:17:59.200 --> 0:18:02.480 is making calls, directing traffic, doing all those kinds of 0:18:02.520 --> 0:18:05.879 things that a center does for his freshman quarterback, taking 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:08.159 the snaps. He knew he was gonna have no problem 0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:11.359 installing that offense and getting things going because of those guys. 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:14.119 Hansen was a big piece of that. And by the 0:18:14.160 --> 0:18:16.720 time Hanson's career at Oregon ended, he star. He had 0:18:16.720 --> 0:18:20.600 started forty nine games at center for the Ducks, and 0:18:20.600 --> 0:18:23.639 then the Packers draft him in the sixth round and 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:26.199 Shane Lemieu, the guard that played next to him for 0:18:26.200 --> 0:18:28.760 those four years, was drafted just one round earlier. I 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:30.919 believe it was by the New York Giants. Yeah, what 0:18:30.960 --> 0:18:34.639 a cool story Hanson is. And and certainly he's a 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:36.800 guy that I don't think he's just gonna flash, right, 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:40.679 He's just he's a down in, true blue collars center 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:43.520 that has a lot of experience, much like Stepanek did 0:18:43.960 --> 0:18:46.920 coming out of Indiana. So you understand why sometimes these 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:49.359 guys last until the fifth and sixth round. But that 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:51.560 doesn't mean that they can't play, and it doesn't mean 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:53.159 that they can't come in and win a job in 0:18:53.200 --> 0:18:56.480 the NFL. It's just sometimes guys just don't have that 0:18:56.520 --> 0:18:59.840 type of like awe factor, especially on the interior offensive line. 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:01.760 And the thing I took away from your story with 0:19:01.840 --> 0:19:03.959 Kristal Ball too, is that you kind of touched on it. 0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:06.440 But this is a guy that, even at a young age, 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:10.760 was capable of communicating an offense and capable of setting 0:19:10.800 --> 0:19:14.040 up an offensive line for success. That's so important because 0:19:14.080 --> 0:19:16.399 we don't know whether or not Jake Hanson's gonna end 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:18.680 up being a center in the National Football a He 0:19:18.720 --> 0:19:20.280 could be a left guard, could be a right guard, 0:19:20.680 --> 0:19:23.800 but he has that experience and you saw it last year. 0:19:23.800 --> 0:19:26.879 Mike Elton Jenkins was a center his last two years 0:19:27.119 --> 0:19:30.080 at Mississippi State. But he comes in here and he 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:33.000 has that background, he has that knowledge, and he ends 0:19:33.040 --> 0:19:35.080 up becoming a really good starter for the Packers and 0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:39.479 all rookie left guard right off the bat. So with Hanson, 0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:42.480