WEBVTT - 1-on-1 with Jahan Dotson | Episode 6 0:00:01.639 --> 0:00:12.360 Welcome to the Commanders Today Podcast. I'm Julie Donaldson. Welcome 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:16.040 to the Commanders Today Podcast. I'm Julie Donaldson. The first 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:18.840 three rounds of the NFL Draft have officially wrapped, and 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:21.599 the Commanders welcome new additions to both sides of the ball. 0:00:22.040 --> 0:00:24.439 Washington traded their first round pick to the New Orleans 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:27.639 Saints in exchange for the sixteenth overall pick and both 0:00:27.720 --> 0:00:31.400 a third and fourth round selection. With the sixteenth overall pick, 0:00:31.480 --> 0:00:35.080 the Commanders drafted wide receiver John Dotson out of Penn State. 0:00:35.440 --> 0:00:37.360 I had the chance to sit down with Dotson after 0:00:37.360 --> 0:00:41.120 his arrival in Ashbourne. John, Welcome to Washington. Now. We 0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:43.479 got to talk last night, but now you're here, You've 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:45.960 been able to see the facility, meet some of the coaches. 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:49.640 How is it settling in for you? Yeah, it's crazy, 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:54.000 honestly a dream come true. Just taking it all in, 0:00:54.600 --> 0:00:59.880 being here, getting picked last night, flying here today, being 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:03.080 with my family. It's honestly amazing. It's a dream come true. 0:01:03.160 --> 0:01:05.000 And you said you were kind of surprised, you weren't 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:07.679 sure who was going to select you or where you're 0:01:07.680 --> 0:01:10.360 going to be selected. What have you learned so far 0:01:10.480 --> 0:01:12.840 from the coaching staff of what they say of why 0:01:12.959 --> 0:01:17.000 you were their guy. Yeah, they said they've been looking 0:01:17.000 --> 0:01:18.600 at me for a while now and they just kind 0:01:18.640 --> 0:01:20.440 of wanted to keep it a secret. Didn't want all 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:23.440 the teams knowing that they were interested in me and 0:01:23.520 --> 0:01:26.520 basically telling me that I'm a versatile receiver who can 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:28.440 do a lot of things, who can compliment guys who 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:31.320 are in the receiver room right now, and someone who 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:33.080 can be a vertical threat down the field, and then 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:36.280 adding special teams value is always good. Okay, so you're 0:01:36.360 --> 0:01:38.000 just led me write into it. Let's get straight into 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:41.600 your game. Then, Yeah, they do line you up inside outside? 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:45.520 Where do you feel more comfortable though doesn't matter. I 0:01:45.560 --> 0:01:47.280 feel like it doesn't matter to me, to be honest 0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:49.320 with you. I feel more comfortable of being able to 0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:52.160 go inside and outside. So being able to show my 0:01:52.320 --> 0:01:55.000 versatility and show the different things that I can do 0:01:55.040 --> 0:01:57.160 on the football field is something that plays right into 0:01:57.200 --> 0:01:59.120 my game. Your coach Rivera says you have. One of 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:00.840 the things he loves about was you have this great 0:02:00.880 --> 0:02:03.800 catch radius. You're five to eleven. Let's just state the 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:06.640 obvious um. You know, typically to go up and be 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:09.040 able to do that against some other taller dbs is 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:11.560 not easy. Maybe your height, How do you play bigger 0:02:11.600 --> 0:02:14.880 than your size? Yeah, just kind of having a it's 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:17.960 more of a mentality thing, kind of having that dog mentality. 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:21.760 I'm like, I've been the youngest of eight cousins, so 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:25.640 pretty much growing up getting bullied and picked on. It 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:28.400 kind of raised me to be the man I am 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:32.760 today and just overcome my fears and overcome challenges in 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:35.560 my life. So being able to do those things. I 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:38.160 look at tall tasks as just things that I want 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:40.240 to accomplish. I know you haven't had much time, but 0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:42.000 then have you been able to go and thank all 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:44.280 your cousins say hey, this is for you picking up 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:47.800 me when I was three years old. Now right, Literally 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:50.359 they were all there last night, so I feel like 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:52.160 I kind of got the last laugh a little bit. 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:55.239 But it's been pretty cool. Yeah. We normally always see 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:56.919 you with a football and hands. In fact, I was 0:02:56.960 --> 0:02:59.720 anticipating here, but as he walks up, he you toss 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:01.240 it up or to your best friend that's here with 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:03.440 you as well. It's great to be surrounded by good people. 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:10.400 Why is that the football? Yeah, honestly, it feels like 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:12.880 It's like a little piece of me that like always 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:16.160 feels like home wherever I bring it, no matter what, 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:19.240 something that I can just resort back to, and it's 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:20.919 kind of just a way for me to just get away. 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:23.480 I can kind of be my be by myself, just 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:25.280 chilling and I could be throwing the ball up in 0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:27.079 the air. Kind of feels like I'm just getting away 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:30.720 from everything. We've seen some pretty athletic one handed grabs 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:34.239 as well. Is there anything or psychology or science to 0:03:34.360 --> 0:03:36.040 you always having the ball in your hand that maybe 0:03:36.080 --> 0:03:39.240 helps you be able to do that in the game. Yeah, 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:42.640 there's definitely probably some some type of study that me 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:44.840 always having football in my hands has helped me with 0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:48.480 being able to make those crazy acrobatic catches. But I 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:50.920 would honestly say most of it is just guy giving ability, 0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:53.760 just thanking the man above for kind of blessing me 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:57.400 and touching me. So just thanking him and being able 0:03:57.440 --> 0:03:59.440 to do these things is a dream come true. A 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:01.440 lot of people do say that one of the best 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:04.200 traits of your game is you do have good hands. Yeah, 0:04:04.800 --> 0:04:07.240 you're also got some good speech to you as well. 0:04:07.440 --> 0:04:09.600 We talk a lot Santana Moss as one of our guys. 0:04:09.920 --> 0:04:11.800 He'll be around a good bit he talks about. He said, Man, 0:04:11.840 --> 0:04:14.440 he is always open, and you're good at running routes 0:04:14.440 --> 0:04:16.800 and doing that. What do you pride yourself most on 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:19.760 in your game? Yeah, definitely my route running. Yeah, taking 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:22.800 pride in that is big for me. Just because I'm 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:25.440 not a bigger guy, I can't just rely on my 0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:29.240 side to get open. So Um, making sure that I'm 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:32.599 precise in the little details of route running it's huge 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:34.560 for me, and it's gonna be able to make me 0:04:34.640 --> 0:04:37.240 create separation against guys who are just as good as 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:39.240 me and have just as much as athleticism as me. 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:42.360 So taking pride in those little details of route running 0:04:42.400 --> 0:04:44.359 is really big. You know. I asked him last night 0:04:44.360 --> 0:04:46.520 because you said that you kind of enjoy like, kind 0:04:46.520 --> 0:04:49.080 of manipulating your defenders a little bit Nasum and said, 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:50.920 what does that mean? What goes into that? And he says, 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:53.400 it means he's a smart kid first off, right, because 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:56.039 you're able to know how they're playing you on certain 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:58.200 reads and certain things to be able to change it 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:00.360 up a little bit. You're also one of the best 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:02.200 when it comes to the nine six percentile when playing 0:05:02.279 --> 0:05:04.400 in the zone. You don't have time to see that. 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:06.279 You have to be able to recognize it when you're 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:10.320 on the run. Right, Where do these smarts come from? Yeah, 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:13.719 I would definitely say my experience at Penn State. Coming 0:05:13.720 --> 0:05:17.520 from a small high school, you don't see big time football. 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:19.640 You're kind of out there, just kind of free for all, 0:05:19.760 --> 0:05:22.880 just playing and kind of lending your natural abilities take over. 0:05:22.920 --> 0:05:24.760 But once I got to Penn State, as you know, 0:05:24.800 --> 0:05:26.520 when you get to when you move up the ranks, 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:28.600 you kind of get guys who are just as good 0:05:28.640 --> 0:05:30.760 as you, get just as athletic as you, and you 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:33.200 got to find a little advantage and the film the 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:36.000 film room was big for me. Getting in there with 0:05:36.279 --> 0:05:38.600 Sean Sean Clifford, a guy who I got to play 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:40.920 three years with is my quarterback, and just seeing the 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:43.880 things that he sees. He's a very intelligent football player, 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:46.880 so just learning from him, learning how to watch film 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:50.520 and learn the nuances of defenses and what they're trying 0:05:50.520 --> 0:05:52.560 to do to you. It helps me manipulate my defender. 0:05:52.680 --> 0:05:54.599 Everybody kind of wants to also be able to find 0:05:54.640 --> 0:05:57.360 a way to identify of who you will be as 0:05:57.360 --> 0:05:59.760 a player, so they go to kind of former guys. Right. Yeah, 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:01.480 we've heard coach m ar so you're remind them a 0:06:01.520 --> 0:06:03.440 little bit of Deshaun Jackson and and that of it too, 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:06.360 was kind of playing bigger than your size. Um of 0:06:06.400 --> 0:06:09.920 Steve Smith when he was with Carolina. We've heard Tyler Lockett. Um. 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:12.200 People even here are saying, you know, Terry McLaurin, And 0:06:12.240 --> 0:06:13.480 that's just kind of a lot of it too, I think, 0:06:13.560 --> 0:06:16.520 is how you you're carrying yourself. Um. And Terry's kind 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:18.200 of that guy that's kind of like nitty gritty as well, 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:20.520 Like he goes up and he prides himself on those 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:23.719 fifty fifty balls. Who do you model your game after? 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:25.640 Or what do you think when you hear those names 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:28.760 doing the success that they've had. Yeah, it's definitely pretty 0:06:28.800 --> 0:06:32.320 cool to hear the names that are that I'm mentioned with, 0:06:33.000 --> 0:06:36.080 especially Terry mclauren. Uh, talking to a lot of people 0:06:36.120 --> 0:06:39.520 in the in the building and just noticing how how 0:06:39.760 --> 0:06:42.600 I'm picturing my head Terry McLaren is, I can't wait 0:06:42.640 --> 0:06:46.120 to meet him. Uh. It's honestly like this was kind 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:48.120 of meant to be a little bit. He's kind of 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:50.320 a guy who who goes about his work. Quiet guy 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:52.599 who goes about his work and I'm the exact same way, 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:54.920 So just honestly can't wait to meet him, can't wait 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:57.760 to learn from him and take his song. He's beloved here, 0:06:57.839 --> 0:06:59.800 So you're gonna fit right in line with the Burgundy 0:06:59.839 --> 0:07:01.880 and gold. Um, and what you're going to contribute to 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:03.960 on the field. What do people need to know about 0:07:03.960 --> 0:07:06.839 you off the field though? Yeah? Um, I'm a quiet kid, 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:10.600 quiet laid back kid who just likes having fun, honestly, 0:07:10.960 --> 0:07:15.920 really easygoing. U loves to play video games. Um, yeah, 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:18.880 just can't wait to I'm excited for this moment, So 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:21.600 can't wait to get in the community and really uh 0:07:21.960 --> 0:07:23.680 just be a part of it. And you have some 0:07:23.760 --> 0:07:26.280 family here as well that lives in Potomac. They told 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:29.000 you anything to expect about your move here, Maybe where 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:32.240 you want to look, Yeah, not too much. Knowing that 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:34.640 I'll be able to somewhere, be able to go outside 0:07:34.680 --> 0:07:36.880 my front door and yell and hear their name will 0:07:36.920 --> 0:07:40.040 be pretty cool. But um, haven't really thought about a 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:42.720 living situation too much, But just excited to be here 0:07:42.760 --> 0:07:44.560 in the moment right now. And we now know it's 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:47.760 that number one Jersey that's a bold move, man, that's 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:50.520 a bold move. That's a bold move, and I honestly 0:07:50.560 --> 0:07:53.920 can't wait for it. Feeling like the perfect it was 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:56.840 a perfect opportunity to first pick ever for the commanders 0:07:57.640 --> 0:07:59.280 and just be able to being able to wear that 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:03.040 number one jersey. It's gonna be pretty cool. Welcome, Glad 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:05.600 to have you here, and let me just finish with this. 0:08:05.760 --> 0:08:08.080 Doug Williams picked you up on the flight. Yeah, there 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:10.720 is so much rich history with this franchise. You are 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:13.720 now a part of that history and a new chapter 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:17.520 being that first commander drafted. Um, it's important for us 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:20.280 to tie our history with today. What did you get 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:24.880 take from talking with Doug to know the importance of 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:28.880 you being here and being now the first commander? Yeah, 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:32.800 definitely talking with Doug was amazing, honestly, just getting on 0:08:32.840 --> 0:08:35.600 the flight with him, talking to him about what it 0:08:35.679 --> 0:08:37.400 is to be a commander, what it is to be 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:40.240 a part of this organization, and what it means to 0:08:40.320 --> 0:08:43.680 the city. Um, it's it's amazing. I can't wait for 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:46.320 this opportunity and I can't wait to talk with him 0:08:46.360 --> 0:08:48.880 even more about it. So, um, just looking forward, looking 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:51.040 forward to it as coach On Rivera said, you're here 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:54.200 to help change the trajectory of this franchise. Welcome, glad 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:56.880 to have you. Thank you. Be sure to tune into 0:08:57.040 --> 0:09:00.079 Washington Football Today weeknights five thirty and ten pm on 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:03.280 NBC Sports Washington. And while you're at it, be sure 0:09:03.280 --> 0:09:06.320 to follow at Commanders on all social media platforms for 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:08.520 the latest news on the team. Thanks for listening.