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Speaker 1: Welcome into the Official Jets Podcast.

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Speaker 2: I Eat, Breathe, and Sleep The New York Jets.

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Speaker 1: My team that is a tightrope walk across Niagara Fall.

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Speaker 3: That's hard to do, say name of inches, So finding

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Speaker 3: that one little inch to be successful, it all matters.

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Speaker 4: The Official Jets Podcast is presented by Kendra Scott, the

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Speaker 4: jewelry company that's shining bright and doing good. Shop Game

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Speaker 4: Day Ready, jewelry styles and so much more at kendrascott

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Speaker 4: dot com.

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Speaker 1: Hey everybody. This week on the Jets will bark on

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Speaker 1: their first draft with GM Darren Mugy and head coach

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Speaker 1: Aaron Glenn. The organization will also celebrate the twenty fifth

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Speaker 1: anniversary of a franchise altering draft class. The Jets became

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Speaker 1: the only team in the Common Draft era to make

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Speaker 1: four first round picks. Bill Parcells and personnel director Dick

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Speaker 1: Haley drafted defensive end Shawn Ellis, edge John Abraham, quarterback

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Speaker 1: Chad Pennington, and tight on Anthony Becked. Ellis, a Tennessee product,

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Speaker 1: went number twelve overall. Abraham has starred South Carolina went

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Speaker 1: right behind at number thirteen. Pennington was taken eighteenth, and

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Speaker 1: Becked went twenty seventh. While the four first rounders were unprecedented,

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Speaker 1: the Jets also got a fifth ace in the two

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Speaker 1: thousand class when they selected wide receiver Lavernias Cols in

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Speaker 1: the third round. It was Woody Johnson's first draft as

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Speaker 1: an owner, and the Jets grab five players who would

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Speaker 1: line up in forty two playoff games for the Green

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Speaker 1: and White, plus five hundred and fifteen regular season contests.

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Speaker 1: On this very special installment of the Official dut podcast,

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Speaker 1: we look back at the jets historic two thousand draft class. CP.

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Speaker 1: Can you believe it's been twenty five years since you

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Speaker 1: were drafted?

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Speaker 3: Uh?

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Speaker 5: No, I cannot. That means that you know, some people

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Speaker 5: have kids in the in the league that I knew,

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Speaker 5: and it's crazy. We were talking about this the other day,

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Speaker 5: just to think about how fast twenty five years goes

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Speaker 5: by is unbelievable. But certainly a special time in my

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Speaker 5: life for sure.

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Speaker 1: What was the pre draft process like And did you

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Speaker 1: get an inkling during that time that hey, I might

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Speaker 1: be a Jet? You know what?

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Speaker 5: No inkling? Really, I only had the inkling once I

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Speaker 5: was drafted and thought back through the process. But really

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Speaker 5: all the talk was about Pittsburgh and San Francisco, and

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Speaker 5: so that was the two private workouts I had, and

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Speaker 5: a lot of the talk just around the media about that,

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Speaker 5: but I do remember having one of my formal interviews

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Speaker 5: with the Jets, and so that kind of once I

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Speaker 5: thought about that process after I was drafted, I said, Okay,

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Speaker 5: it makes sense. Al Grow also knew my head coach,

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Speaker 5: Bob Pruitt. Bob Pruitt worked for al Grow in college,

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Speaker 5: so there was a relationship there, so they could probably

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Speaker 5: gather the information they needed to make the decision on

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Speaker 5: whether or not to draft me.

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Speaker 1: What were your memories that interview as far as the

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Speaker 1: Jets talking to you and who was there, who were

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Speaker 1: the participants.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, good luck on me remembering that. I would you

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Speaker 5: do remember, Just it's probably in your own mind more

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Speaker 5: than it is anything. But it's it's a I don't

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Speaker 5: know if the right word is intense, but it's certainly

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Speaker 5: a professional environment, one of the first ones that you

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Speaker 5: know I was able to step into to truly have

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Speaker 5: an interview. But I was prepared. I feel like IMG,

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Speaker 5: who represented me at the time, prepared me for those

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Speaker 5: types of things, and we did some mack interviews and

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Speaker 5: things like that. But it's from top to bottom, whether

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Speaker 5: it be football, life, decision making everything in between, because

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Speaker 5: it's a huge decision for the organization to make and

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Speaker 5: they're trying to gather as much information as they can,

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Speaker 5: and so I just remember trying to be as honest

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Speaker 5: as I could and put my best foot forward as

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Speaker 5: far as who I was, not only as a football player,

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Speaker 5: but as a person.

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Speaker 1: Where were you draft day? It's round one, and who

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Speaker 1: were you with?

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Speaker 5: Yeah, so I was asked to come to New York,

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Speaker 5: but I just didn't that can go one way or

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Speaker 5: the other, especially during those times, and so I didn't

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Speaker 5: feel comfortable doing that. I didn't want to have an

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Speaker 5: Aaron Rodgers moment, so to speak. Uh you know where

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Speaker 5: you fall in all eyes are on you while you're

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Speaker 5: sitting there in the room, Because I really wanted to

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Speaker 5: be a celebration of one having the opportunity to be drafted.

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Speaker 5: That that's you know that we take that for granted,

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Speaker 5: that doesn't that's rare, and so I wanted to be

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Speaker 5: able to celebrate that, enjoy that moment, and then also

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Speaker 5: enjoy it with all of the people, both family and friends,

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Speaker 5: that I felt like had been a part of my

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Speaker 5: life and part of my development, and I just felt

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Speaker 5: like to be able to do that. The best way

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Speaker 5: to do that was go to Norse Lake in the

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Speaker 5: fall at Tennessee, where I spent my summers, rent a

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Speaker 5: houseboat and after draft, after I was drafted, to get

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Speaker 5: on the houseboat and go down the lake and have

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Speaker 5: a good time with family and friends. And so that's

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Speaker 5: what we did.

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Speaker 1: How many people were.

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Speaker 5: Oh, my goodness, I would say, Gosha, I would say

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Speaker 5: at least close to sixty at least. I mean, it

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Speaker 5: was packed, but it was a lot of fun.

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Speaker 1: So I know, you you don't have, you know, intimate

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Speaker 1: recollections of the pre draft interview, But how about the

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Speaker 1: call when you found out that you were actually getting drafted.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm completely surprised because I just didn't expect the Jets.

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Speaker 5: And here's the thing. I think Steelers had to pick

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Speaker 5: at eight and the forty nine Ers had to pick

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Speaker 5: at sixteen, so those two picks had already gone by.

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Speaker 5: So then you're sitting there thinking like, what's going on next?

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Speaker 5: And I think Sebastian Jenikowski was drafted right before me,

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Speaker 5: I believe, to the Raiders. So there's a lot of

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Speaker 5: things going on in your head, like, Okay, what's the

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Speaker 5: deal here. I did feel like I put myself in

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Speaker 5: a good position to be the first quarterback taken based

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Speaker 5: upon my senior Bowl performer as well as my combine

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Speaker 5: numbers and what I was able to do there, So

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Speaker 5: I felt good about that. It's just you never know

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Speaker 5: as far as these teams moving and shaking, as far

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Speaker 5: as you're trying to get who they want to get,

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Speaker 5: So you just it's a it's a very weird process,

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Speaker 5: I'll just tell you, because you're trying to enjoy the moment,

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Speaker 5: but at the same time, there's so many unknowns it's

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Speaker 5: hard to enjoy it until it happened. So once it happens,

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Speaker 5: it's just a huge sigh of relief.

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Speaker 1: Who was on the line from the Jets.

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Speaker 5: I remember al Grow being on the line, and then

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Speaker 5: I remember then going to talking to Victor Green, I

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Speaker 5: guess who was doing some draft day things, and I

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Speaker 5: don't know if that was back to back, but it's

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Speaker 5: pretty close after coach Grow had called me, so it was.

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Speaker 1: A different time back then. But your thoughts on going

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Speaker 1: to the Jets who had a proven, established quarterback in

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Speaker 1: Vinnie Tustaverdi, Well.

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Speaker 5: I've always believed then and I still believe now all

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Speaker 5: that from a development standpoint for quarterbacks coming into this league,

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Speaker 5: I think having a tested veteran that's number one willing

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Speaker 5: to work with you as a young player, which was

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Speaker 5: huge in my case because Vinnie was so professional about that,

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Speaker 5: but then two had been successful at his job and

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Speaker 5: at what he's been asked to do. I think that

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Speaker 5: was huge in my development. And so because and here's why,

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Speaker 5: as a young quarterback, you need to make mistakes behind

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Speaker 5: closed doors, and when you're thrown right into the starting lineup,

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Speaker 5: all of your mistakes are are out there for everyone

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Speaker 5: to see, and it's really hard to work through those mistakes.

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Speaker 5: Give yourself some grace why you're learning. They expect you

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Speaker 5: just to pick it up where you left off in college,

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Speaker 5: and that's just not the case. I don't care how

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Speaker 5: good you are.

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Speaker 1: And so.

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Speaker 5: To be able to make mistakes behind closed doors, to

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Speaker 5: be able to learn what it's like to be a professional.

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Speaker 5: That word professional is so much more than what people

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Speaker 5: give it credit to was huge for me in my development.

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Speaker 1: Did you know that history was at hand? Maybe after

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Speaker 1: you got back from being on the Lake, and he said, well,

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Speaker 1: not only did I get drafted today, but this is

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Speaker 1: the first time in NFL history where a team actually

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Speaker 1: had four first round picks, and they used them on

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Speaker 1: Sean Alis, Johnny Abraham, yourself of course, and then tight

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Speaker 1: d Anthony Beckt.

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Speaker 5: You know, at the time, right when it happened, didn't

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Speaker 5: think about it all, but once once we got up

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Speaker 5: to New York for mini camp and the four of

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Speaker 5: us were doing interviews and photo shoots and talking about it.

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Speaker 5: It's pretty remarkable. Really. First of all, I didn't think

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Speaker 5: it was going to happen. Typically, it just didn't happen. Right,

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Speaker 5: Historically speaking, they're going to use those picks to gain

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Speaker 5: more picks and to build the true depth of their

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Speaker 5: team and do it in a cost effective manner. But

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Speaker 5: you know, for Bill Parcells to have that type of

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Speaker 5: that's why he's a Hall of Famer. I mean, when

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Speaker 5: you look at it, the four of us played it

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Speaker 5: combined forty nine years. I mean, that's that's crazy. And

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Speaker 5: then when you put in Lavernius with that in the

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Speaker 5: third round, we're up to sixty. So it's amazing the

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Speaker 5: longevity that I think all of us were able to

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Speaker 5: create and I think it's a testament to Bill's vision,

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Speaker 5: to the Scouting Department's vision, to them really doing their

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Speaker 5: research and homework on what type of professionals we would

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Speaker 5: be and then having the professional fortitude to actually do it,

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Speaker 5: because most people would tell you not to do that,

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Speaker 5: and they did it.

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Speaker 1: Did you like to nickname the four Aces? And when

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Speaker 1: was that thrown upon you? Guys? And also we've made

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Speaker 1: Lavernious part of this here man, because do you consider

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Speaker 1: a guy who one of your favorite receivers of all time,

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Speaker 1: Lavernius Coles? Do you consider him a fifth Ace?

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Speaker 5: One hundred percent? He was the fifth Ace. I always

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Speaker 5: think of him as part of our group number one,

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Speaker 5: because he's such an integral part of what we were

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Speaker 5: able to accomplish. But when you really think about it,

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Speaker 5: I mean the that's got a steal. I mean that

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Speaker 5: if you take away some of the things that happened

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Speaker 5: to him in college, he is the first round draft pick.

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Speaker 5: I just think he slid just because some things are

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Speaker 5: out of his control. So you know, I definitely think

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Speaker 5: of him as part of our group. He's one of

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Speaker 5: my best friends and I love him to death.

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Speaker 1: Why was Parcells such a good program builder. You just

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Speaker 1: mentioned that he had the eye for talent, and he

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Speaker 1: lands for you guys in the first round, and he

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Speaker 1: comes back and gets Kohl's in the third round. But

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Speaker 1: it wasn't just that the Jets overall what set him apart,

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Speaker 1: because for my money, he's the best programmed builder in

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Speaker 1: the history of our league.

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Speaker 5: Well, I think that one of Bill's strong points is

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Speaker 5: that he understands that football is a people gain, and

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Speaker 5: so when you're putting the pieces of the puzzle together,

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Speaker 5: he puts them together based upon the people, not just

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Speaker 5: on number statistics things like that. And I think he

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Speaker 5: had a very unique way of finding the right people

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Speaker 5: to put together to build the team that he wanted

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Speaker 5: to build. That's very hard to do. A lot of

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Speaker 5: times people fall victim to numbers stats how high someone jumps,

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Speaker 5: how fast someone runs, instead of looking at the person

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Speaker 5: as a football player and some of those other tangibles

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Speaker 5: that really matter in a team sport. And then being

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Speaker 5: able to put all those pieces together in the right

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Speaker 5: areas is the next trick to that, and he was

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Speaker 5: very successful in doing that.

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Speaker 1: Well, Grow was your first coach, and then it was

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Speaker 1: herm Edwards. Of course, in two thousand and one. Terry

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Speaker 1: Bradway comes on board as GM in two thousand and one.

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Speaker 1: What kind of influence did Parcells have on your career

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Speaker 1: in that early going and how much did that carry through?

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Speaker 5: Yeah, I think you say, once a parsales guy, always

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Speaker 5: a parsales guy, and that's another key ingredient to his success.

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Speaker 5: I think anyone who has played for him or worked

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Speaker 5: with him, because I was able to work with him

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Speaker 5: again in Miami. Once you're in the fold in his

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Speaker 5: program and you prove to have the makeup that he's

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Speaker 5: looking for, you're with him for life because he can

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Speaker 5: trust that he knows what he's getting and that relationship

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Speaker 5: piece and that trust is really important, and so that's

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Speaker 5: what makes him successful in that regard. So although I

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Speaker 5: was only drafted by him and worked with him for

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Speaker 5: a year, I do think that one year moving into

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Speaker 5: coach Edwards era really helped me from a professional standpoint,

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Speaker 5: a mental toughness standpoint, really understanding what this whole idea

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Speaker 5: of being an NFL player was all about.

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Speaker 1: How would you describe your Jets' career without writing a book?

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Speaker 5: Yeah, right, I would just I would describe it as

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Speaker 5: resilient and really all eleven years. Uh, there's a resilience

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Speaker 5: all throughout that career when you look at it, when

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Speaker 5: you take a step back and look at it in

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Speaker 5: third person, I am really proud of my resilience. Uh.

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Speaker 5: There are some things that you just cannot control. And

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Speaker 5: when it comes to injuries, especially those type of injuries

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Speaker 5: with the shoulder and a dislocated hand, which is extremely rare,

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Speaker 5: you just can't control those. What you can control is

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Speaker 5: how you react to them, how you respond, how you

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Speaker 5: work through it, and how you try to still be available.

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Speaker 5: And so that's how I would describe it. I look

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Speaker 5: at my eight years in New York very fondly. I've

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Speaker 5: told you before that you know those memories of those

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Speaker 5: two weeks Green Bay at Indianapolis and O two o four,

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Speaker 5: going out and beating the Chargers, coming back in six

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Speaker 5: with a a coaching change, and being able to win

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Speaker 5: the comeback Player of the Year and lead our team

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Speaker 5: to playoffs. I mean, those are very fond memories for me.

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Speaker 5: And there's nothing like winning in New York when it's happening.

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Speaker 1: Those odd years were tough, but the even years, it

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Speaker 1: seemed like every time it was an even year, you

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Speaker 1: knew the Jets are gonna be making a run.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, I don't know. And it even happened that

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Speaker 5: way in Miami too, right, I mean eight, here we

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Speaker 5: go to the playoffs. I have no idea, you know.

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Speaker 5: And that people ask about, Okay, what's your regrets? The

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Speaker 5: only quote regret I have is coming back too early

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Speaker 5: from the first shoulder surgery. I feel like, and that's

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Speaker 5: such a hard thing to do as a competitor. You're

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Speaker 5: trying to be available to your team. As a competitor,

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Speaker 5: you're trying to beat deadlines. But when you're talking about

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Speaker 5: major injuries like that, shoulders, knees, all those different things,

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Speaker 5: time and patience is really really important. And so when

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Speaker 5: I look back upon that, I feel like, if I

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Speaker 5: would have taken some more time and been more patient,

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Speaker 5: maybe I wouldn't have had the second, second surgery, which

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Speaker 5: then wouldn't have led to the third and fourth. So

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Speaker 5: because those type of injuries, they're really hard to come

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Speaker 5: back from if you don't handle them correctly. And so

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Speaker 5: luckily that's because the resilience piece and great people around me,

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Speaker 5: I was able to fight through that and still compete

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Speaker 5: at a high level. But I would have loved to

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Speaker 5: have seen how I could compete it with a true

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Speaker 5: one hundred percent body, so to speak, and not always

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Speaker 5: having to deal with it with something like that.

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Speaker 1: Man, oh two was magical. I mean, every time I

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Speaker 1: talk to you, whether it's in person or you know,

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Speaker 1: on team's stream yard, I always think about oh two

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Speaker 1: and when you took that ball and the team got

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Speaker 1: hot and you really took the league by storm. It

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Speaker 1: was incredible. And to this day, I don't think Peyton

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Speaker 1: Manning was ever shut out throughout his professional career. But

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Speaker 1: you guys took them down forty one nothing in that

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Speaker 1: first round of the playoffs, and the preceding week there

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Speaker 1: was no roof on the stadium, because that's a good

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Speaker 1: thing because the roof probably would have came off at

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Speaker 1: forty two to seventeen victory over Green Bay.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, exactly. That was man, that was a magical time.

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Speaker 5: I just remember the energy in that stadium. I don't

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Speaker 5: know if I ever felt like that again. That energy

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Speaker 5: at those two weeks was just unbelievable. I mean, you

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Speaker 5: could just it was palpable. You could feel it, especially

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Speaker 5: when everyone learned that the Dolphins or the Patriots had

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Speaker 5: beaten the Dolphins, and so it was up to us.

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Speaker 5: If we win, we win the division. I mean, and

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Speaker 5: there was another historical moment. I mean, no team had

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Speaker 5: ever started out two and five and won a division,

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Speaker 5: so that was really sweet.

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Speaker 1: I consider you a cerebral assassin. So give me a

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Speaker 1: scotary report on each of those guys in the two

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Speaker 1: thousand draft class with the Jets that made such an

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Speaker 1: imprint on this organization, starting with Sean, and then we'll

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Speaker 1: go to John, then Backed, and look finally Lavernius.

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Speaker 5: Yeah. So with Sean, you first start with just his

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Speaker 5: his physical prowess, how strong he was at the point

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Speaker 5: of attack. You know, he had to adjust from a

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Speaker 5: four to three to a three four and then went

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Speaker 5: back to a four three, So he did a great

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Speaker 5: job of handling that. But then also I think his versatility.

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Speaker 5: Although he was strong at the point of attack, and

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Speaker 5: McCain was a great run stopper. He could rush the passer.

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Speaker 5: He had eight and a half sacks I believe his

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Speaker 5: rookie year out of a three four, which is hard

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Speaker 5: to do. So, uh, I just remember that, and then

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Speaker 5: you think about his longevity. I mean, for him to

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Speaker 5: be able to play at that type of level for

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Speaker 5: such a long period of time. Unbelievable. Look at John Abe,

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Speaker 5: you know, I think if he wouldn't have had the

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Speaker 5: injuries early in his career, he probably would have been

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Speaker 5: a jet longer. But then, you know, luckily for him

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Speaker 5: as well as you know, testament to him. I mean,

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Speaker 5: look at the career he had amount of sacks and

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Speaker 5: what type of pass rusher he became. And he was

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Speaker 5: always known, you know, to be that, and so that's

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Speaker 5: what he became, and he he was. He excelled at it.

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Speaker 5: You know. So his his rush ability off the edge,

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Speaker 5: his speed, his quickness. I mean, in today's game, he

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Speaker 5: would getness. Gracious, could you imagine what type player he

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Speaker 5: had been. He was one of those players that would

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Speaker 5: translate to today's game right twenty five years later, No, no,

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Speaker 5: no doubt about it. Uh. And then Anthony. You know

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Speaker 5: what really proud of Anthony about is first of all,

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Speaker 5: you know, he's the old school throwback. He became an

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Speaker 5: outstanding blocker at the point of attack as a tight

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Speaker 5: end and then could still help and and and be

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Speaker 5: productive in the past game. That's a lot of times

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Speaker 5: you don't see that anymore. You see one or the

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Speaker 5: other he could do both. Uh, and then you look

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Speaker 5: at his career how long he was able to play

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Speaker 5: and still be able to do it, and now look

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Speaker 5: what he's doing as a head coach. But think, I

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Speaker 5: think is awesome. He's just so versatile in that way.

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Speaker 5: We've become very close, you know, with with our families,

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Speaker 5: and so to be able to watch him and his

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Speaker 5: son Rocko kill it that I stayed. It's just really

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Speaker 5: cool to see full circle finally Lavernius. You know, with LC,

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Speaker 5: I don't know what it was. I just had a

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Speaker 5: natural feel for him. I just think sometimes you sometimes

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Speaker 5: it takes you as a quarterback some time to get

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Speaker 5: a feel for receiver and sometimes you just naturally have it.

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Speaker 5: With him, I just naturally had it. I think part

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Speaker 5: of that too was I just my trust in him.

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Speaker 5: When you watched him play, and I was able to

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Speaker 5: watch him play and be around him for two years

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Speaker 5: before we played together. You can see how physical he was.

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Speaker 5: He never got knocked off his spot. He was a

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Speaker 5: receiver that when the ball was in the air, you

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Speaker 5: knew good things were going to happen, and if something

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Speaker 5: bows gonna happen, he was going to do everything in

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Speaker 5: his possible in his power to keep it from happening.

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Speaker 5: So that gives you an extreme amount of confidence as

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Speaker 5: a quarterback to let ball go early, to put the

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Speaker 5: ball out front, to give him a chance because good

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Speaker 5: things are going to happen, and that trust was there.

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Speaker 5: So he played bigger than what his stature was. Obviously

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Speaker 5: people knew about his speed, but he played like a

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Speaker 5: six or FOURD type of receiver, and he was a

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Speaker 5: receiver that you you would like to see press coverage

381
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Speaker 5: against him than off covers because he was going to

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Speaker 5: create such separation because they could not be more physical

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Speaker 5: than him. So he was a lot of fun to

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Speaker 5: play with.

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Speaker 1: All right, let's end it here. You are a wildly

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Speaker 1: successful football coach yourself right now, You got your sons

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Speaker 1: crushing it. You are a busy man. But when it

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Speaker 1: comes to draft weekend in Green Bay, when it's actually

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Speaker 1: twenty five years later, are you going to think is

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Speaker 1: there gonna be a full circle moment where you're gonna

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Speaker 1: think about the memories, but you're also going to keep

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Speaker 1: your eye on the Jets because a guy who was

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Speaker 1: in your locker room when you enter the National Football

394
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Speaker 1: League was playing quarnerback for the Jets. That's Aaron Glenn Well.

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Speaker 5: It is a full circle moment in that regard twenty

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Speaker 5: five years and now a former teammate being the head coach.

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Speaker 5: I'm really excited for him. I think he has the

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Speaker 5: right makeup. I remember him as a player. Number one,

399
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Speaker 5: how professional he was. Number two, His competitive will and

400
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Speaker 5: fire was unbelievable. And the way he approached the game

401
00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:35,040
Speaker 5: is exactly how he approaches now as a head coach,

402
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Speaker 5: and so that doesn't surprise me. And so that's why

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Speaker 5: I think he'll be successful. So I will be leaning

404
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Speaker 5: in a little bit more to see how his program develops.

405
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Speaker 5: And I hope that we give him the time and

406
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Speaker 5: are patient enough to allow him to develop that program.

407
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Speaker 5: It's going to take time, it always does, to put

408
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Speaker 5: your stamp on it, get and to build the culture

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Speaker 5: that you see fit for your team as a head coach,

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Speaker 5: and I hope we give him the time and we're

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Speaker 5: patient enough with him to do that.

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Speaker 1: So you got a new quarterback here with the Jets,

413
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Speaker 1: Justin Fields, former first round pick twenty twenty one. Huh

414
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Speaker 1: what do you think about his fit here with the Jets?

415
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Speaker 1: And you talk about patients like he's now on his

416
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Speaker 1: third team, but Aaron has seen something in him where

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Speaker 1: he said, Okay, not only is he talented, but he's

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Speaker 1: going to have an opportunity to really play quarterback here

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Speaker 1: with this team.

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Speaker 5: Yeah. Number one, he is talented, There's no doubt about it.

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Speaker 5: Number Two, I respect him for how he's handled his situations.

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Speaker 5: You haven't seen him just go off the handles and

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Speaker 5: gripe and complain and do those types of things. So

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Speaker 5: I respect that. I think it shows a lot of

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Speaker 5: humility and a lot of courage to be able to

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Speaker 5: go through those situations that he's gone through. And so

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Speaker 5: I'm excited for his opportunity, really and I think he

428
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Speaker 5: has the ability and the potential to lead the Jets.

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Speaker 5: I really do, so it'll be interesting to see. I

430
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Speaker 5: think it always comes down to how everyone in that building,

431
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Speaker 5: both player and coach, work together to support him and

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Speaker 5: that as a staff, the development piece to his development

433
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Speaker 5: is intentional, purposeful, and the right path. That's really important

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Speaker 5: in our league, and it's different for every quarterback. We're

435
00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:25,560
Speaker 5: all different. We all bring certain things to the table,

436
00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:29,200
Speaker 5: and if we tap into those certain characteristics that each

437
00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:31,600
Speaker 5: one of us has, you can be successful, and so

438
00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,920
Speaker 5: I think the team can be successful with Justin Fields.

439
00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:39,720
Speaker 1: Well, we wish you continue lock and congratulations not only

440
00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:44,160
Speaker 1: to yourself but the tire two thousand Jets Draft class,

441
00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:47,480
Speaker 1: because we're going to be raising a glass for you

442
00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:48,280
Speaker 1: next weekend.

443
00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:49,800
Speaker 5: All right, thanks ea.

444
00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:54,000
Speaker 4: The Official Jets Podcast is presented by Kendra Scott, the

445
00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:57,440
Speaker 4: jewelry company that's shining bright and doing good shop game

446
00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:00,200
Speaker 4: day ready jewelry styles and so much more.

447
00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:04,480
Speaker 1: Anthony, Can you believe it's been twenty five years since

448
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,800
Speaker 1: that since that two thousand historic Jets draft class.

449
00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:11,680
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's hard to believe. You know, I didn't shave

450
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:13,679
Speaker 2: because I wanted the people to see the grades that

451
00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:17,280
Speaker 2: I have. I mean, it's it's been that long, right, Uh,

452
00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:20,439
Speaker 2: you know, just what an unbelievable day for me and

453
00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:23,680
Speaker 2: my family and uh, you know for all all four

454
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:27,200
Speaker 2: of us quite frankly, getting drafted and and putting something

455
00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:29,680
Speaker 2: you know, really good on on the field, you know,

456
00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:32,159
Speaker 2: a good product for by all four of us and

457
00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:35,520
Speaker 2: and the careers that we all had, and it's an

458
00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:36,800
Speaker 2: honor to be a part of that. You know, you

459
00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:39,080
Speaker 2: you're you're never going to see four first rounders again,

460
00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:43,680
Speaker 2: probably ever. And uh, it's kind of edged in stone

461
00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:46,920
Speaker 2: and and like I said, I just you know, it's

462
00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:49,840
Speaker 2: it's the memories are are fantastic, and you know, to

463
00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,919
Speaker 2: be a part of the organization still, Uh, to have

464
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:56,240
Speaker 2: that long lasting relationship is it's even better for me

465
00:24:56,440 --> 00:25:00,040
Speaker 2: because it meant that it was a meaningful time you

466
00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,840
Speaker 2: for myself, the organization, and you know, they still think

467
00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:07,199
Speaker 2: very highly of me now. So just really proud of

468
00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:07,720
Speaker 2: that moment.

469
00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:11,160
Speaker 1: I'm sure you were happy to be drafted, but were

470
00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:15,280
Speaker 1: you elated because young Anthony probably thought he should have

471
00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:16,840
Speaker 1: went earlier in the first round.

472
00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:20,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, you're right. I thought, I tell everybody this.

473
00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:23,479
Speaker 2: You know, Parcells told me he was drafted me in

474
00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:25,800
Speaker 2: one of those picks I thought I was going to go.

475
00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:28,000
Speaker 2: Was Chad what was he eighteen or seven? What was

476
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:28,360
Speaker 2: his pick?

477
00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:29,120
Speaker 1: He was eighteen.

478
00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:32,080
Speaker 2: Yeah, he was eighteen, So I thought I was going

479
00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:36,399
Speaker 2: eighteen because Chad wasn't supposed to be available. He told me,

480
00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:38,560
Speaker 2: you know, they got their taking care of some defensive

481
00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:41,520
Speaker 2: stuff early, and then I was like, okay, you know

482
00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:43,720
Speaker 2: that's where I'm going. And then you know, didn't happen.

483
00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:45,119
Speaker 2: So I was like, all right, clearly I'm going to

484
00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,160
Speaker 2: be the twenty seventh pick, and I tell the story

485
00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:50,360
Speaker 2: all the time. You know, that twenty seventh pick came,

486
00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:54,160
Speaker 2: and I believe I've never spoke or heard another story.

487
00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:57,080
Speaker 2: I'm the only first round pick that did not receive

488
00:25:57,119 --> 00:26:00,600
Speaker 2: a phone call prior to the commission coming up to

489
00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:03,960
Speaker 2: the stage and announcing their name. So in an act

490
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,080
Speaker 2: of anxiety and desperation and about seventy five people at

491
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:10,800
Speaker 2: a party all looking at the television together, I could

492
00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:12,920
Speaker 2: hear the whispers in the background, like what's going on.

493
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,560
Speaker 2: You know, the Jets are supposed to take them. There's

494
00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:17,800
Speaker 2: no phone. I had like this bat phone hardwired all

495
00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:19,640
Speaker 2: the way out to the yard. We had this big tent,

496
00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:23,720
Speaker 2: and I never got a call. So when Paul Taglabu

497
00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:25,719
Speaker 2: came up to the stage and announced my name, it

498
00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:29,120
Speaker 2: was like a roar you would never hear, you know, ever,

499
00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:32,439
Speaker 2: like in Unison. But yeah, it was kind of crazy.

500
00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:34,440
Speaker 2: I mean I was kind of like from the lowest point.

501
00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:36,320
Speaker 2: I was like literally depressed because I didn't know, like

502
00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:37,760
Speaker 2: who was going to pick me. I didn't talk to

503
00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:39,600
Speaker 2: any of the team. I was looking at the list,

504
00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,760
Speaker 2: like the next ten teams. I had no connection with

505
00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:46,360
Speaker 2: at all. So but you know, when I heard my name,

506
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:48,159
Speaker 2: it was sweet. But I did tell Chad. I was like,

507
00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:50,240
Speaker 2: it was either Chad or the Steelers. They owe me

508
00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:52,760
Speaker 2: about four million dollars because I thought I was going

509
00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:55,320
Speaker 2: to go eighteen and and I was like, man, we

510
00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:56,800
Speaker 2: need to put our money in a bucket and just

511
00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:59,159
Speaker 2: split it. But now I was listening, it was awesome,

512
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:01,480
Speaker 2: you know, to be a first on pick, to be

513
00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:04,720
Speaker 2: drafted in New York, it was it was a great honor,

514
00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:07,680
Speaker 2: a great privilege, privilege. You know, Green Bay took Bubba

515
00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:10,639
Speaker 2: Franks as a tight end. I think at fourteen I

516
00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:14,399
Speaker 2: was definitely a viable option there as well, and you

517
00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:16,160
Speaker 2: know they decided to go that route. Me and him

518
00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:20,680
Speaker 2: were really one two, you know throughout the league. And

519
00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:23,960
Speaker 2: you know, again it was it was good. Parcels kept

520
00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:26,200
Speaker 2: his word and I became a New York Jet.

521
00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:31,000
Speaker 1: Okay, before we get back to this scene at when

522
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,800
Speaker 1: you were drafted, when you actually arrived at Hofstra at

523
00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:37,880
Speaker 1: the campus of webew Bank, call, did you ask some

524
00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:41,840
Speaker 1: of the jets, hey, maybe Parcels himself. Why did I

525
00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:42,359
Speaker 1: get a call?

526
00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:45,280
Speaker 2: Well, they told they told me because the phone rang

527
00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,280
Speaker 2: immediately after the pick right. So that's when I got

528
00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:52,080
Speaker 2: my call. My agent coach grow Parcels were on the

529
00:27:52,119 --> 00:27:54,120
Speaker 2: call and my agent's like, well, what do you think

530
00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:55,800
Speaker 2: of that? I was like, you know, I mean, it

531
00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:58,600
Speaker 2: was exciting for the for that moment I got called,

532
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,320
Speaker 2: but I was when my name got called. But I

533
00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:03,680
Speaker 2: was kind of, you know, a little bit of anxiety

534
00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:05,879
Speaker 2: there at that moment. But it was cool. It's unique,

535
00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:08,720
Speaker 2: right again, you know, google it. I don't know, I

536
00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:11,720
Speaker 2: haven't heard anybody. Every draft I've watched for the last

537
00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:16,080
Speaker 2: twenty five years, e I've seen a phone in somebody's

538
00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:18,639
Speaker 2: ear with the camera on them and then all of

539
00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:21,560
Speaker 2: a sudden they hang it up. Everybody's hugging and kissing,

540
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:25,679
Speaker 2: and then their name gets announced on on on on

541
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:29,520
Speaker 2: the stage. So I didn't get that, you know, but listen,

542
00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:32,399
Speaker 2: it was It was fun and I guess you know,

543
00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:35,760
Speaker 2: it was to be unique is something that that you know,

544
00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:37,920
Speaker 2: kind of sets me apart. And it's a great story

545
00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:38,520
Speaker 2: that i'd always have.

546
00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:42,640
Speaker 1: Where were you during the draft? And you said how

547
00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:48,000
Speaker 1: many people were there? And what was that initial A

548
00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:51,120
Speaker 1: couple minutes like, yeah, you see tags on the TV,

549
00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:53,440
Speaker 1: you get the call, and then who did you talk

550
00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:54,880
Speaker 1: to in terms of family in front.

551
00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:58,360
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, you know my I as soon to be wife,

552
00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:00,520
Speaker 2: Dianne was with me, and then of course any five

553
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:04,680
Speaker 2: family and friends. We had a big got a big

554
00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:07,760
Speaker 2: tent set up in my parents' backyard. We had a

555
00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:10,800
Speaker 2: big one in big box, big screens TVs, you know,

556
00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:13,640
Speaker 2: extension court all the way to the TV, had the

557
00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:17,360
Speaker 2: phone out there. We put couches and TV put like food.

558
00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:19,800
Speaker 2: I mean, it was just it was awesome. Man. We're

559
00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:21,840
Speaker 2: all just hanging out having a good time.

560
00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:22,360
Speaker 5: You know.

561
00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:24,280
Speaker 2: We we we obviously knew we were going to be,

562
00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:27,280
Speaker 2: you know in that world, you know, top thirty five,

563
00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:31,080
Speaker 2: top forty picks. So it was, yeah, it was awesome, man.

564
00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:34,320
Speaker 2: Like it's like the pinnacle. Like I just I just

565
00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:36,640
Speaker 2: go back and think of all the doubt that there

566
00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:38,920
Speaker 2: was that there was in my career. You know, I

567
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:41,600
Speaker 2: wasn't the best player of my high school. I didn't

568
00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:45,280
Speaker 2: have any scholarship offers. I got one the week before

569
00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,080
Speaker 2: signing day, and you know they basically told me by

570
00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:51,120
Speaker 2: my junior and senior year, hopefully I'd be able to

571
00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:53,960
Speaker 2: you know, to mature, build my body up and contribute

572
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,360
Speaker 2: in some way to help the football team. So there

573
00:29:56,400 --> 00:29:58,800
Speaker 2: wasn't a lot of belief there in that moment. And

574
00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:02,080
Speaker 2: then ultimately to just develop and grow and learn and

575
00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:04,240
Speaker 2: be at a place where I could become, you know,

576
00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:06,200
Speaker 2: a really good tight end. And then all of a sudden,

577
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,960
Speaker 2: now going into your junior senior year, you're labeled as

578
00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:12,040
Speaker 2: one of the best in the in the country. It's

579
00:30:12,120 --> 00:30:14,480
Speaker 2: just it's it's gratifying. I just I made a lot

580
00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:19,800
Speaker 2: of sacrifices in college during my time there, and not

581
00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:21,840
Speaker 2: not even just trying to be in the in the NFL,

582
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:24,320
Speaker 2: just trying to be like a starter in college, to

583
00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:26,200
Speaker 2: be a great player, to develop my body was just

584
00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:28,600
Speaker 2: I was six five, one hundred and eighty five pounds

585
00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:30,240
Speaker 2: my senior year of high school. I just was not

586
00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:35,200
Speaker 2: ready physically to be a tight end. And you know,

587
00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:37,320
Speaker 2: just to develop myself and get to that moment, all

588
00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:40,440
Speaker 2: the people that helped me, and then it was really gratifying,

589
00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:42,000
Speaker 2: you know, to to in that strug. You go to

590
00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:44,240
Speaker 2: the Senior Bowl, you go the combine, all these things

591
00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:47,120
Speaker 2: start adding up and you you start checking the boxes

592
00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:48,719
Speaker 2: and all of a sudden, now you're like, yeah, this

593
00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:52,200
Speaker 2: guy's going in the first round. So just really awesome.

594
00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:54,280
Speaker 2: It's a it's a unique time in my life, and

595
00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:57,120
Speaker 2: it really just paved the way for everything that I've been,

596
00:30:57,560 --> 00:30:59,840
Speaker 2: that I've accomplished and done in my life. It built

597
00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:04,360
Speaker 2: up every relationship, it built every connection, It built anything

598
00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:07,600
Speaker 2: that I've done as a player, after as a player,

599
00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:10,640
Speaker 2: even now, it's all linked to that day. So just

600
00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:13,160
Speaker 2: an incredible, incredible time in my life.

601
00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,560
Speaker 1: Did you develop a relationship with Bill Parcells during the

602
00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:20,560
Speaker 1: pre draft process, because you each have your own unique story.

603
00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:24,480
Speaker 1: Sean told me he felt like he was gone up

604
00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:27,920
Speaker 1: to New York every other weekend to visit with the Jets.

605
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:31,840
Speaker 1: John Abraham said, I did not speak to Parcels at

606
00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:36,080
Speaker 1: all before I was drafted. Lavernius Coles remembers being drafted

607
00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:37,960
Speaker 1: in the third round. Parcel was getting on the phone

608
00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:40,600
Speaker 1: and saying, I'll see, listen, we did not draft you

609
00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:44,920
Speaker 1: to replace Keyshawn Johnson. You be concerned about special teams.

610
00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:48,840
Speaker 1: With that being said, what was your relationship like with

611
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:50,560
Speaker 1: him during that time?

612
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,720
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I took a visit, official visit to New York,

613
00:31:55,680 --> 00:32:00,760
Speaker 2: actually went to the Giants first, then the Jets, and yeah,

614
00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:03,160
Speaker 2: I remember I was taking a tour around hobster. I

615
00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:05,760
Speaker 2: mean it didn't take that long, right, But was walking

616
00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:09,760
Speaker 2: around the building and went into the weight room and

617
00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:13,800
Speaker 2: Parcels was on the treadmill by himself. You know, I

618
00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:15,840
Speaker 2: never saw him in person. You know, he was, you know,

619
00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:19,680
Speaker 2: bigger guy obviously, you know, the pace wasn't heavy. He

620
00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:24,400
Speaker 2: stops he saw me coming in and you know, turned around,

621
00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:26,880
Speaker 2: grabbed a towel and started talking to me and said, hey, listen,

622
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:29,040
Speaker 2: you know you want to be a jet right And

623
00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:31,320
Speaker 2: I said, hell, yeah, coach, you know, like and he

624
00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:33,720
Speaker 2: was He's like, well, we're taking you. You're the guy

625
00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:36,920
Speaker 2: we want, you know, not Bubba Franks, you this and that,

626
00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:38,960
Speaker 2: and I don't know what pick it's going to be,

627
00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:41,120
Speaker 2: but it's going to be soon, and you know we're

628
00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:42,480
Speaker 2: going to get you at one of those picks. I

629
00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:44,280
Speaker 2: was like, great. He's like, you know, just you know,

630
00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:48,480
Speaker 2: very complimentary, you know, very positive. You know. I was like, Oh,

631
00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:51,000
Speaker 2: this guy's a good dude. You know. I all the

632
00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:53,800
Speaker 2: stories you hear and then you know, and then we

633
00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:56,800
Speaker 2: could talk about after the fact. But you know, it

634
00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:59,840
Speaker 2: turned into a much different situation from a relationship standpoint.

635
00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:00,280
Speaker 5: For there.

636
00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:03,080
Speaker 2: He was very hard on me. I would definitely take

637
00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:05,160
Speaker 2: the opposite way in the building when I saw him,

638
00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:06,920
Speaker 2: not to walk by him, but he would find his

639
00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:08,320
Speaker 2: way to find to find me.

640
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:11,760
Speaker 1: But h man, it was to avoid him later on.

641
00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:15,120
Speaker 2: Yes, hell yeah, yeah, I was. You know, I just

642
00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:17,440
Speaker 2: I remember the first preseason game I played, and I

643
00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:20,680
Speaker 2: had like four catches a touchdown, and I just thought like, wow,

644
00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:23,200
Speaker 2: like I'm going to be a dude, like, you know,

645
00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:26,480
Speaker 2: it's against the Saints in our first preseason game. I

646
00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:28,480
Speaker 2: just remember. I don't even know. We had practice the

647
00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:30,320
Speaker 2: next day, which is crazy to even think. Right, we

648
00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:32,840
Speaker 2: were out in the field doing something and he was

649
00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:34,760
Speaker 2: on the other sideline. I was warming up. He called me.

650
00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:36,880
Speaker 2: He's like, hey, Beck, He called me over, and I

651
00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:39,280
Speaker 2: was like, you know, kind of walking over there, pretty confident,

652
00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:40,880
Speaker 2: you know, thinking like this guy is going to tell

653
00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:43,000
Speaker 2: me how how good of a pick I you know

654
00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:45,920
Speaker 2: I was, And he was right on and and he said,

655
00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:47,720
Speaker 2: you know, he was saying, basically, you know, he's like,

656
00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:50,840
Speaker 2: if you ever block like that again, you know on

657
00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:53,120
Speaker 2: film against a team, He's like, I'm going to send

658
00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:55,959
Speaker 2: your bluff beat beat beep, so fast back to West Virginia.

659
00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:56,320
Speaker 3: You won't know.

660
00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:58,239
Speaker 2: I'm like wow, like it was just it was kind

661
00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:01,080
Speaker 2: of an eye opening deal. I will say it was.

662
00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:03,040
Speaker 2: It was kind of like it changed me because I

663
00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:06,800
Speaker 2: was a little bit in that first round Aura. You know,

664
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:09,000
Speaker 2: I really was one of the first I was really

665
00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,200
Speaker 2: the first guy on the field of all four of us,

666
00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:13,680
Speaker 2: and you know, immediately and then Sewan obviously had a

667
00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:17,200
Speaker 2: bigger role, and then John sporadically was hurt and Chad

668
00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:19,400
Speaker 2: was waiting, so there was a lot of pressure on me.

669
00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,960
Speaker 2: I had a knee brace after the third week. I

670
00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:24,080
Speaker 2: had to play with that, so I was slow, and

671
00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:26,960
Speaker 2: I remember wizing Hunt be sitting in the office, you know,

672
00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:29,479
Speaker 2: we all watching film as tight ends, you know, during

673
00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:32,120
Speaker 2: the week, and then he let us go and the hey, Anthony,

674
00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:34,359
Speaker 2: you need to stay back, and he tip his hat

675
00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:37,040
Speaker 2: back and like, look, you got to give us more,

676
00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:39,959
Speaker 2: you know, your first round pick. And I'm thinking myself, okay, coach,

677
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:43,319
Speaker 2: I'm like everything was so fast on the field. Number one,

678
00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:45,120
Speaker 2: I had a knee brace on. I was trying to

679
00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:47,080
Speaker 2: learn this, you know, the NFL way. I was on

680
00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:50,240
Speaker 2: special teams and I was getting stingers on kickoff return

681
00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:53,040
Speaker 2: every week, so you know, so again, yeah, it was

682
00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:55,200
Speaker 2: tough time, but you know, I was embraced heavily by

683
00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:59,200
Speaker 2: by coach Barcels pre draft and then again that tough love, right,

684
00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:02,640
Speaker 2: I mean changed me that day. I kind of put

685
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:05,040
Speaker 2: my lunch pail workman hat on, and that's the way

686
00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:07,280
Speaker 2: I became for the rest of my career because I knew,

687
00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:10,520
Speaker 2: like the expectation level was not one side. It was

688
00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:12,279
Speaker 2: about being a complete tight end and I had to

689
00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:12,960
Speaker 2: work to get there.

690
00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:15,840
Speaker 1: What nickname did you like best for that class? So

691
00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:18,440
Speaker 1: it was talking to Sean about this earlier on the

692
00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:22,160
Speaker 1: podcast that he said, I'd like the four Horsemen, and

693
00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:24,840
Speaker 1: I know a lot of people all always referred to

694
00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:28,000
Speaker 1: you guys as the four Aces. And also, ab do

695
00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:31,480
Speaker 1: you consider it the five aces when you include Lavernius

696
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:33,520
Speaker 1: Coles in that two thousand draft class.

697
00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:36,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, we heard a lot of the four Aces. I

698
00:35:36,239 --> 00:35:39,760
Speaker 2: like that. Yeah, yeah, I mean, shoot, I mean throw Lavernia.

699
00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:41,719
Speaker 2: He could easily been a first round pick. I mean

700
00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:45,839
Speaker 2: there's no doubt about it. So yeah, I like that one.

701
00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:47,399
Speaker 2: That was a good one. That was the one I've

702
00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:49,759
Speaker 2: heard the most. Four Horsemen. You know, that's somebody else

703
00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:52,600
Speaker 2: has that right, Notre Dame or whoever. So that I

704
00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:54,800
Speaker 2: feel like I've never heard the four aces before. It

705
00:35:55,239 --> 00:35:59,120
Speaker 2: fits the suit well, So yeah, it was cool. It

706
00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:01,200
Speaker 2: was a good nickname. Heard it more after the fact

707
00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:04,759
Speaker 2: than actually during the fact. But but you know, every

708
00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:07,000
Speaker 2: time we go back in time, everybody's talking about you know,

709
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,080
Speaker 2: you always hear the four aces.

710
00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:13,839
Speaker 1: Why were you guys so individually successful and you talk

711
00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:18,000
Speaker 1: about longevity. I mean you think about how ichi you

712
00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:21,040
Speaker 1: produced throughout your career. That's quite rare.

713
00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:24,759
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll be honest with you. You know, I think

714
00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:28,080
Speaker 2: there was just a professionalism that we had to grow

715
00:36:28,160 --> 00:36:31,480
Speaker 2: up really fast. We had a veteran late a locker room.

716
00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:34,239
Speaker 2: I mean, you know my locker I was next to

717
00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:38,000
Speaker 2: Fred Baxter, Wayne Crebett and Vinnie Testa Verdi. I mean

718
00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:41,120
Speaker 2: you're talking about that was like thirty five years of experience.

719
00:36:41,719 --> 00:36:44,400
Speaker 2: Then you got Richie Anderson, and then Kevin mawi Is

720
00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:46,359
Speaker 2: across the way, and then the other side you got

721
00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:51,880
Speaker 2: ag and Marcus Coleman and Brian Cox and Moe Lewis

722
00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:55,520
Speaker 2: and and Shade Tree and all those guys. I mean, like, dude,

723
00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:57,520
Speaker 2: like there wasn't a lot of young guys in that

724
00:36:57,560 --> 00:36:59,319
Speaker 2: locker room. So it was like you better grow up

725
00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:01,680
Speaker 2: fast and learn how to do it or watch somebody

726
00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:05,440
Speaker 2: because you know you're gonna fall fall far. And and

727
00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:07,640
Speaker 2: you know it was not easy the first year for me.

728
00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:08,880
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, there was a lot, you know,

729
00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:10,719
Speaker 2: like I said, I had to play like I had

730
00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:12,799
Speaker 2: to be out there and and I was kind of

731
00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:15,640
Speaker 2: hurt throughout the year, and you know, I just there's

732
00:37:15,680 --> 00:37:18,120
Speaker 2: a lot of pressure. Man, things are moving fast, and

733
00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:21,839
Speaker 2: you know, the expectation level on a consistent basis, there

734
00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:23,279
Speaker 2: was a lot of push. And I love that it

735
00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:26,640
Speaker 2: may be a better player, a better person big long term,

736
00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:28,719
Speaker 2: but in that moment, man like I was always the dude,

737
00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:31,680
Speaker 2: right like you never no one ever critiqued you in

738
00:37:31,719 --> 00:37:33,359
Speaker 2: that in that kind of way, and you know you're

739
00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:35,600
Speaker 2: going against grown men every week. I mean different kind

740
00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:38,640
Speaker 2: of different, different kind of body types were playing defensive

741
00:37:38,719 --> 00:37:42,600
Speaker 2: end in the league than they are now, right So yeah,

742
00:37:42,640 --> 00:37:44,640
Speaker 2: it was, uh, you know, it was it was. It

743
00:37:44,719 --> 00:37:49,680
Speaker 2: was just a unique experience and uh you were forced

744
00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:52,680
Speaker 2: to be a pro right now because that that was

745
00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:54,680
Speaker 2: that was what our locker room was made up of.

746
00:37:56,560 --> 00:38:00,000
Speaker 1: You said it before. You are now the radio color

747
00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:03,279
Speaker 1: man for the New York Jets. You work alongside Bob

748
00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:06,080
Speaker 1: with Shoes in a long time play by play voice

749
00:38:06,239 --> 00:38:08,360
Speaker 1: of the Green and White. You play five seasons with

750
00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:12,240
Speaker 1: the Jets, one hundred and thirty three receptions for overall

751
00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:17,560
Speaker 1: eleven hundred yards and seventeen touchdowns five seasons. But in

752
00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:19,680
Speaker 1: many ways, I mean you live in a different place

753
00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:24,800
Speaker 1: you're coaching right now. In many plays, the Jets became

754
00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:26,480
Speaker 1: part of your family.

755
00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:31,480
Speaker 2: Why, yeah, you know, I mean there's like people like you, right,

756
00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:33,719
Speaker 2: I mean, you know all you got. There's so many

757
00:38:33,719 --> 00:38:36,319
Speaker 2: people in the business side that were interns or just

758
00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:40,120
Speaker 2: starting out that are all now upper level executives for

759
00:38:40,200 --> 00:38:44,080
Speaker 2: the organization. Of course, Woody he was the owner, who

760
00:38:44,120 --> 00:38:46,560
Speaker 2: was a rookie owner that year, right, So we all

761
00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:51,000
Speaker 2: came in together. So you know, those relationships stayed strong.

762
00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:52,560
Speaker 2: I mean, obviously I would have loved to have been

763
00:38:52,600 --> 00:38:54,640
Speaker 2: there and stayed there my entire career as a player.

764
00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:57,800
Speaker 2: You know, business is business, right, it just doesn't happen

765
00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,520
Speaker 2: that way. But able to reunite down the road, which

766
00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:03,480
Speaker 2: was Whi's even better. So, uh, there's just something in

767
00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:05,880
Speaker 2: my heart for New York and and the Jets organization,

768
00:39:06,080 --> 00:39:08,319
Speaker 2: and uh, you know, I know that they're desperately trying

769
00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:09,560
Speaker 2: to get back to where they want to be, and

770
00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:11,280
Speaker 2: I'm just glad to be a part of it in small,

771
00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:14,319
Speaker 2: some small way. Uh. You know, calling the games now

772
00:39:14,440 --> 00:39:17,400
Speaker 2: is is a unique privilege. You know, Marty Lyons is

773
00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:20,880
Speaker 2: a legend, and then obviously when he moved on, just

774
00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:25,000
Speaker 2: to get that call and get an opportunity again, it's

775
00:39:25,040 --> 00:39:27,960
Speaker 2: it's it's special, right. So I love the game of football.

776
00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:30,200
Speaker 2: I'm coaching, I'm around it. It's just something that's a

777
00:39:30,239 --> 00:39:33,040
Speaker 2: part of me now, my my my son plays. It's

778
00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:35,480
Speaker 2: there's just a lot around it that's really molded me

779
00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:38,400
Speaker 2: and made me who I am in different areas of

780
00:39:38,440 --> 00:39:41,120
Speaker 2: it now, but but as far as the player is concerned,

781
00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:43,480
Speaker 2: that's who I was in those in those years, you know.

782
00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:48,279
Speaker 2: So uh, you know, just just really gratifying, you know,

783
00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:50,279
Speaker 2: to to be a part of the organization still. I'm

784
00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:53,520
Speaker 2: thankful that they trust me in the same aspect to

785
00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:56,400
Speaker 2: go do those kind of things and and uh, and

786
00:39:56,400 --> 00:39:58,520
Speaker 2: you know, been through multiple coaches. You know, I was

787
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:01,400
Speaker 2: you know, doing shows with and you know when Todd

788
00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:03,040
Speaker 2: was there and prior. I mean, it's just you know,

789
00:40:03,520 --> 00:40:05,360
Speaker 2: there's a lot of history there as I watched that

790
00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:07,799
Speaker 2: team from Afar, even though I wasn't playing there or

791
00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:10,839
Speaker 2: retired and doing some other things. So and I will

792
00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:14,480
Speaker 2: say this, you know those seventeen touchdowns, now that's the

793
00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:17,879
Speaker 2: most since Mickey Schuler, dust Dustin Kell, Dustin Keller had

794
00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:20,640
Speaker 2: seventeen but wasn't able to eclipse me. So when we

795
00:40:20,680 --> 00:40:23,880
Speaker 2: talk about productivity in the end zone, it's been a

796
00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:26,279
Speaker 2: minute now since anybody's caught more than that. So I

797
00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:29,759
Speaker 2: take that. I take that in stride as well. It's

798
00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:32,759
Speaker 2: you know, it's it wasn't easy in that market. You know,

799
00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:34,920
Speaker 2: it's there's a lot of there's a lot of things

800
00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:37,279
Speaker 2: around you. You got to have some strong mentals. And

801
00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:38,560
Speaker 2: I just felt like, you know, I was able to

802
00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:43,000
Speaker 2: have a really good, uh successful time, and I was available,

803
00:40:43,239 --> 00:40:45,840
Speaker 2: I was I was very rarely injured, you know, except

804
00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:48,279
Speaker 2: that rookie year. I didn't miss a game. So take

805
00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:49,439
Speaker 2: a lot of pride in that as well.

806
00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:52,960
Speaker 1: Man Too bad people weren't playing Fantasy the way they

807
00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:56,160
Speaker 1: are now, otherwise they could have loaded up their rosters

808
00:40:56,160 --> 00:40:57,279
Speaker 1: with old number eighty eight.

809
00:40:57,360 --> 00:40:58,520
Speaker 5: Huh.

810
00:40:58,600 --> 00:40:59,959
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know I had a couple of those five

811
00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:02,959
Speaker 2: four touchdown seasons, So yeah, I mean, hell, they count

812
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:06,879
Speaker 2: for something, right those points. The yardage maybe not as much,

813
00:41:06,920 --> 00:41:08,680
Speaker 2: but those touchdowns. I know, I know there was a

814
00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:10,959
Speaker 2: little juice there early on in fantasy, that's for sure.

815
00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:15,120
Speaker 1: Hey, extra significance for you this weekend when you're talking

816
00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:20,400
Speaker 1: about the draft and twenty five years and now watching

817
00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:24,319
Speaker 1: what your team, your former team, the Jets, are going

818
00:41:24,400 --> 00:41:27,839
Speaker 1: to do with the guy who was in that locker room.

819
00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:31,000
Speaker 1: How cool is that that that locker room that you

820
00:41:31,239 --> 00:41:35,280
Speaker 1: entered at webew Bank Hall had Aaron Glennon and now

821
00:41:35,320 --> 00:41:38,040
Speaker 1: he's leading the team that you started with twenty five

822
00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:38,560
Speaker 1: years ago.

823
00:41:39,640 --> 00:41:43,640
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, just it's been an impressive run by him.

824
00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:48,440
Speaker 2: You know, I've watched him grow, you know, after football

825
00:41:48,480 --> 00:41:52,239
Speaker 2: as a as a young coach, a scout and work

826
00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:55,480
Speaker 2: his way up, pay his dues, learn and be part

827
00:41:55,520 --> 00:41:58,680
Speaker 2: of really good organizations. Go to an organization where he

828
00:41:58,719 --> 00:42:02,400
Speaker 2: finally got the able as a defensive coordinator and and

829
00:42:02,520 --> 00:42:06,480
Speaker 2: build something that was in shambles, I mean just complete shambles. Uh,

830
00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:10,200
Speaker 2: and and make it a championship, perennial championship contender. And

831
00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:13,080
Speaker 2: he's a big reason that happened in Detroit. And uh,

832
00:42:13,120 --> 00:42:15,200
Speaker 2: who knows what Detroit will look like moving forward. You know,

833
00:42:15,239 --> 00:42:18,000
Speaker 2: when you lose your coordinators and key pieces, you know,

834
00:42:18,040 --> 00:42:20,600
Speaker 2: it's it's it's difficult that the head coach obviously leads

835
00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:22,480
Speaker 2: the party and the ship, but you need great people

836
00:42:22,520 --> 00:42:24,600
Speaker 2: around you. And now you've got to go outside the

837
00:42:24,600 --> 00:42:27,200
Speaker 2: box a little bit. So. Uh So now Aaron gets

838
00:42:27,200 --> 00:42:30,239
Speaker 2: to do it. He's learned, he's he's he's got the

839
00:42:30,320 --> 00:42:34,440
Speaker 2: knowledge and now it's his show. So you know, similar

840
00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:36,200
Speaker 2: to me, I got it in a different way, and

841
00:42:36,200 --> 00:42:39,080
Speaker 2: and and and again. It's just like I just think

842
00:42:39,160 --> 00:42:41,719
Speaker 2: like communication has to be clear. I just think he's

843
00:42:41,719 --> 00:42:43,480
Speaker 2: really good at that. I feel like the messaging is

844
00:42:43,560 --> 00:42:47,520
Speaker 2: very direct. He has a great plan. There uh instant credibility,

845
00:42:47,640 --> 00:42:50,160
Speaker 2: you know, me being a former player. He's a former player,

846
00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:52,120
Speaker 2: he played at a high level. I just think there's

847
00:42:52,160 --> 00:42:56,760
Speaker 2: a there's a respect for that that that players really

848
00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:59,799
Speaker 2: look into a little bit more and deeper when when

849
00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:02,000
Speaker 2: words come out of your mouth and you say things

850
00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:04,680
Speaker 2: as a coach, because you've been through those things, you

851
00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:06,439
Speaker 2: you made it at the highest level. He's a first

852
00:43:06,560 --> 00:43:09,440
Speaker 2: round pick, he played a long time, multiple organizations, a

853
00:43:09,480 --> 00:43:12,520
Speaker 2: pro bowler, Like those are things that players now in

854
00:43:12,560 --> 00:43:15,920
Speaker 2: the league are trying to accomplish, So every nugget that

855
00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:19,279
Speaker 2: comes out of his mouth is vital and important. So, uh,

856
00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:21,120
Speaker 2: you know, now he gets to do the same thing.

857
00:43:21,160 --> 00:43:23,240
Speaker 2: He gets to build the staff, he gets to build

858
00:43:23,239 --> 00:43:26,040
Speaker 2: the team. Uh, he gets to put his plan into

859
00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:28,560
Speaker 2: place and grow and learn along the way as well.

860
00:43:28,719 --> 00:43:30,640
Speaker 2: You don't know it all until you get there, and

861
00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:33,279
Speaker 2: then you got to you gotta really, you know, just

862
00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:36,200
Speaker 2: hone into the to the day to day and continue

863
00:43:36,239 --> 00:43:37,960
Speaker 2: to embrace and do that. And I'm sure you know,

864
00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:39,520
Speaker 2: I can't wait to see his plan. I can't wait

865
00:43:39,520 --> 00:43:42,359
Speaker 2: to come through after our season and and come into

866
00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:45,279
Speaker 2: the to the building and camp and and during the

867
00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:47,759
Speaker 2: year when I'm calling the games and and be a

868
00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:49,680
Speaker 2: part of it. I think it's going to be great.

869
00:43:49,760 --> 00:43:51,840
Speaker 2: I think, you know, when you're looking for a leader

870
00:43:52,120 --> 00:43:55,680
Speaker 2: of men, I mean, he checks that box. So again,

871
00:43:55,719 --> 00:43:57,759
Speaker 2: I'm just really excited to see what the future lies

872
00:43:57,800 --> 00:43:59,839
Speaker 2: for this, for this team and this organization with him

873
00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:00,359
Speaker 2: at at home.

874
00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:04,200
Speaker 1: All right, listen here, if we have an opportunity to

875
00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:08,680
Speaker 1: have an adult beverage in two thy fifty and in

876
00:44:08,719 --> 00:44:11,800
Speaker 1: twenty five years, they're still talking about this being a

877
00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:16,360
Speaker 1: historic draft class. How do you want it to be remembered?

878
00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:20,319
Speaker 2: Well, you know, you have to follow up a little

879
00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:23,000
Speaker 2: bit to the last question. You know what it means

880
00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:26,000
Speaker 2: at twenty five years you know, Well, it's reminding me

881
00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:28,319
Speaker 2: that people still care and it matters, right, I mean,

882
00:44:28,600 --> 00:44:31,280
Speaker 2: we all had accomplished careers. You know, my son, my daughter,

883
00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:33,560
Speaker 2: my family, my friends get to see it. My players

884
00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:36,440
Speaker 2: now that don't believe that I was, you know, a

885
00:44:36,480 --> 00:44:38,480
Speaker 2: great player or whoever. I was like, oh, well that's

886
00:44:38,520 --> 00:44:40,960
Speaker 2: my coach, you know. So it's kind of cool. Man.

887
00:44:41,040 --> 00:44:45,040
Speaker 2: So fifty years from now, honestly, I honestly, I'm just

888
00:44:45,080 --> 00:44:46,719
Speaker 2: trying to be the same dude I was when I

889
00:44:46,719 --> 00:44:48,839
Speaker 2: got drafted my name was called that day. I take

890
00:44:48,880 --> 00:44:51,279
Speaker 2: a lot of pride in being me. I take a

891
00:44:51,280 --> 00:44:54,400
Speaker 2: lot of pride in being genuine. And if anything, you know,

892
00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:57,719
Speaker 2: if people forget me for being a player or a

893
00:44:57,800 --> 00:45:00,319
Speaker 2: coach or whatever it is, if they've engaged with me,

894
00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:03,400
Speaker 2: they know me. They got respect for me because I

895
00:45:03,480 --> 00:45:06,719
Speaker 2: treated them just like they wanted, you know, just like

896
00:45:06,760 --> 00:45:08,719
Speaker 2: I wanted myself to be treated. So that's how I

897
00:45:08,719 --> 00:45:11,000
Speaker 2: live my life. I'm not going to change from that.

898
00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:13,799
Speaker 2: Now we have a different relationship because we we've known

899
00:45:13,800 --> 00:45:16,879
Speaker 2: each other for so long. But I can honestly say,

900
00:45:16,920 --> 00:45:19,800
Speaker 2: like I don't know if there's any any bad blood

901
00:45:19,840 --> 00:45:22,840
Speaker 2: with me in anywhere, in any part of the Jets

902
00:45:22,920 --> 00:45:26,720
Speaker 2: building an organization anywhere. Right, So like the fan base,

903
00:45:26,760 --> 00:45:29,000
Speaker 2: I love them. You know, you're always going to hear good, bad,

904
00:45:29,120 --> 00:45:31,640
Speaker 2: and different. But I know in the moments that I

905
00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:34,160
Speaker 2: did great, they cheered for me, and that's important. I

906
00:45:34,239 --> 00:45:36,440
Speaker 2: know that even the ones that bowed me were the

907
00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:38,200
Speaker 2: ones that may be bad or the ones that hit

908
00:45:38,280 --> 00:45:40,680
Speaker 2: me up on accent like oh, you know, you were

909
00:45:40,719 --> 00:45:42,640
Speaker 2: one of the worst. I don't care. Like at one

910
00:45:42,719 --> 00:45:45,640
Speaker 2: point if they saw me I did some good, they

911
00:45:45,680 --> 00:45:48,440
Speaker 2: definitely cheered one time, So that's all that matters. So

912
00:45:48,520 --> 00:45:50,799
Speaker 2: I got that out of their blue heart or you know,

913
00:45:51,080 --> 00:45:54,040
Speaker 2: at some point. But fans are great. That's what's great,

914
00:45:54,080 --> 00:45:55,880
Speaker 2: I think. And starting in New York was awesome for

915
00:45:55,920 --> 00:45:58,239
Speaker 2: me because anywhere I went after that, quite frankly, like

916
00:45:58,960 --> 00:46:02,680
Speaker 2: you know, nothing was fake like media fan base is like,

917
00:46:02,800 --> 00:46:04,759
Speaker 2: you know, you got it in New York and it

918
00:46:04,880 --> 00:46:07,560
Speaker 2: made you or it crushed you, and it definitely made

919
00:46:07,560 --> 00:46:10,200
Speaker 2: me so fifty years from now, man, I just like

920
00:46:10,239 --> 00:46:12,319
Speaker 2: you know what I becked it's been a while, but

921
00:46:12,400 --> 00:46:14,719
Speaker 2: he's a good dude. That's kind of that's kind of

922
00:46:14,760 --> 00:46:15,680
Speaker 2: how I love to leave it.

923
00:46:16,239 --> 00:46:20,800
Speaker 1: Well, we'll be certainly toasting you next weekend. Man, congratulations,

924
00:46:20,840 --> 00:46:23,480
Speaker 1: spent a hell of a run, but fortunately there's a

925
00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:30,080
Speaker 1: lot more in store for you, and the Jets appreciate you. Levertius.

926
00:46:30,200 --> 00:46:34,560
Speaker 1: It's been twenty five years since the Jets historic two

927
00:46:34,600 --> 00:46:37,600
Speaker 1: thousand draft class. When you think about that, what goes

928
00:46:37,640 --> 00:46:38,200
Speaker 1: through your mind.

929
00:46:43,480 --> 00:46:45,759
Speaker 3: It's weird remember that it has been twenty five years

930
00:46:45,840 --> 00:46:48,520
Speaker 3: already because it went by so fast. I can't tell

931
00:46:48,600 --> 00:46:50,200
Speaker 3: it's been that long. But when you say it and

932
00:46:50,239 --> 00:46:51,920
Speaker 3: you look at the year and the date now, it

933
00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:54,760
Speaker 3: kind of resonates and said, man, it's really been twenty

934
00:46:54,760 --> 00:46:56,720
Speaker 3: five years for us since the day we got drafted.

935
00:46:56,880 --> 00:46:59,719
Speaker 1: As far as the pre draft process, what we were

936
00:46:59,800 --> 00:47:03,520
Speaker 1: in inactions like with teams and specifically the Jets.

937
00:47:04,440 --> 00:47:07,359
Speaker 3: If I'm not mistaken, I think I had lunch with

938
00:47:07,640 --> 00:47:10,320
Speaker 3: Dan Hayne and the officer coordinator at an olive gardener

939
00:47:10,320 --> 00:47:14,319
Speaker 3: here in Jacksonville. But that was the most interaction I

940
00:47:14,320 --> 00:47:16,040
Speaker 3: think I pretty much had with the New York.

941
00:47:15,960 --> 00:47:16,840
Speaker 2: Jets at that time.

942
00:47:19,360 --> 00:47:22,239
Speaker 3: Really had no clue that I had a chance of

943
00:47:22,280 --> 00:47:24,960
Speaker 3: going to New York other than there, and then I

944
00:47:24,960 --> 00:47:26,959
Speaker 3: thought Jacksonville was going to take me or RJ.

945
00:47:27,120 --> 00:47:27,480
Speaker 5: Sowerd.

946
00:47:27,800 --> 00:47:29,600
Speaker 3: So it was one of those days where, you know,

947
00:47:29,640 --> 00:47:31,440
Speaker 3: my agent told me he didn't know whether I was

948
00:47:31,480 --> 00:47:34,040
Speaker 3: going to get picked or not, but whatever place I went,

949
00:47:34,160 --> 00:47:35,960
Speaker 3: just make the best of the opportunity, because he said,

950
00:47:36,160 --> 00:47:37,600
Speaker 3: it ain't by way you're drafted, it is what you

951
00:47:37,640 --> 00:47:38,480
Speaker 3: do once you get there.

952
00:47:39,040 --> 00:47:41,640
Speaker 1: How about painting that picture? Though? At the Olive Garden?

953
00:47:41,680 --> 00:47:43,440
Speaker 1: What was that conversation like with Henny?

954
00:47:44,239 --> 00:47:46,280
Speaker 3: I mean, it was just really one of those real

955
00:47:46,560 --> 00:47:49,279
Speaker 3: nonchalant lunches where I think he just wanted to see

956
00:47:49,280 --> 00:47:52,040
Speaker 3: what type of kid I was, what my head was,

957
00:47:52,560 --> 00:47:54,520
Speaker 3: and if he was willing to come back to New

958
00:47:54,640 --> 00:47:56,759
Speaker 3: York and put his neck out there on the line

959
00:47:56,800 --> 00:47:59,280
Speaker 3: for them to give me an opportunity, because I'm pretty

960
00:47:59,280 --> 00:48:02,200
Speaker 3: sure mister Haley had to come back and say, look,

961
00:48:02,440 --> 00:48:04,439
Speaker 3: I think he's the great kid. I think he'll fit

962
00:48:04,480 --> 00:48:06,800
Speaker 3: well into the system and he won't give us any problems.

963
00:48:08,560 --> 00:48:12,040
Speaker 1: And why did you have to answer those questions? Because

964
00:48:12,080 --> 00:48:14,200
Speaker 1: a lot of people, I think right now are going

965
00:48:14,239 --> 00:48:16,880
Speaker 1: to be watching or listening and they don't know the

966
00:48:16,920 --> 00:48:20,880
Speaker 1: background of Lavernius coming out.

967
00:48:20,040 --> 00:48:22,000
Speaker 3: Well, coming out, you know, I got dismissed from Florida

968
00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:26,200
Speaker 3: State football team for taking a discount of bullits, so

969
00:48:26,320 --> 00:48:28,080
Speaker 3: it kind of just letting me down a path and

970
00:48:28,200 --> 00:48:30,480
Speaker 3: not knowing, I ended up going to Kender, Louisiana to

971
00:48:30,520 --> 00:48:34,239
Speaker 3: train with Tom Shaw back in the day. So my

972
00:48:34,440 --> 00:48:37,160
Speaker 3: future was in question because that was during the era

973
00:48:37,280 --> 00:48:39,880
Speaker 3: when Ray Lewis had got in trouble and the way

974
00:48:39,920 --> 00:48:42,680
Speaker 3: I received out of Carolina. So people was very skeptical

975
00:48:42,719 --> 00:48:46,600
Speaker 3: about drafting guys with questionable backgrounds, and teams were very

976
00:48:46,680 --> 00:48:49,000
Speaker 3: concerned and rightfully so, because they was making investments in

977
00:48:49,040 --> 00:48:51,040
Speaker 3: the players and they didn't want to draft a guy

978
00:48:51,080 --> 00:48:53,839
Speaker 3: that was going to cause them problems or tarnish their brain.

979
00:48:55,560 --> 00:48:59,200
Speaker 1: And it's ironic because you were in an all time

980
00:48:59,400 --> 00:49:04,120
Speaker 1: character player for the Jets throughout your career. Now, with

981
00:49:04,200 --> 00:49:09,279
Speaker 1: that being said, sixteenth or seventeenth receiver drafted in the

982
00:49:09,280 --> 00:49:10,480
Speaker 1: two thousand class, is that.

983
00:49:10,480 --> 00:49:13,480
Speaker 3: Right, Yes, sir, I mean, and I still remember it.

984
00:49:13,560 --> 00:49:14,920
Speaker 3: I mean, like I said, it was a lot of

985
00:49:15,000 --> 00:49:17,280
Speaker 3: names called before mine at the wide receiver a position.

986
00:49:17,400 --> 00:49:20,520
Speaker 3: But again, it wasn't about where I was drafted. I

987
00:49:20,560 --> 00:49:23,280
Speaker 3: think I was drafted to the place that fits me best,

988
00:49:23,719 --> 00:49:25,680
Speaker 3: and being there and getting a chance to play with

989
00:49:25,760 --> 00:49:29,800
Speaker 3: Vinnie and grow with Chad helped my career to do

990
00:49:29,960 --> 00:49:31,480
Speaker 3: what it was, and I'm just thankful I got an

991
00:49:31,480 --> 00:49:33,640
Speaker 3: opportunity to play in the Green and White.

992
00:49:33,920 --> 00:49:35,920
Speaker 1: But when you got the call from the Jets, your

993
00:49:35,960 --> 00:49:37,240
Speaker 1: initial reaction.

994
00:49:38,680 --> 00:49:40,480
Speaker 3: Uh, it was, it was, it was, it was. It

995
00:49:40,520 --> 00:49:42,360
Speaker 3: was bittersweet. It was one of those things. I was

996
00:49:42,400 --> 00:49:44,560
Speaker 3: glad the wait was over. But to get on the

997
00:49:44,640 --> 00:49:46,719
Speaker 3: phone with Coach Parcels and he's telling me he's not

998
00:49:46,840 --> 00:49:49,840
Speaker 3: drafting me to play wide receiver and that I'm not

999
00:49:49,880 --> 00:49:52,359
Speaker 3: there to replace Keishawn Johnson. It was one of those

1000
00:49:52,360 --> 00:49:53,759
Speaker 3: things where I had made up in my mind. I

1001
00:49:53,800 --> 00:49:54,960
Speaker 3: was like, I'm going to show them that I can

1002
00:49:55,000 --> 00:49:57,439
Speaker 3: play this position. And I had to say yes sir

1003
00:49:57,560 --> 00:49:59,560
Speaker 3: and no, sir, and agree with everything he said on

1004
00:49:59,560 --> 00:50:00,880
Speaker 3: the phone with in the back of my mind, I

1005
00:50:00,920 --> 00:50:02,560
Speaker 3: was telling myself, I'm gonna play wide receiver.

1006
00:50:05,239 --> 00:50:09,799
Speaker 1: The four first round picks showing out was John Abraham,

1007
00:50:10,440 --> 00:50:15,600
Speaker 1: Chad Pennyton, and Anthony Becked. When you came in with them,

1008
00:50:16,080 --> 00:50:18,960
Speaker 1: that was a historic class as far as unpressing it

1009
00:50:19,080 --> 00:50:22,239
Speaker 1: in four first round picks. Did you think that, hey,

1010
00:50:22,320 --> 00:50:25,920
Speaker 1: it is imperative for us to turn the tide around

1011
00:50:25,960 --> 00:50:26,799
Speaker 1: for this franchise.

1012
00:50:28,640 --> 00:50:31,160
Speaker 3: Well, I know they were doing pretty well before we

1013
00:50:31,200 --> 00:50:32,960
Speaker 3: got that. I think they had went to the AFC

1014
00:50:33,040 --> 00:50:36,279
Speaker 3: Championship maybe a year or two before that, And I

1015
00:50:36,320 --> 00:50:38,360
Speaker 3: know the expectations were high because a lot of the

1016
00:50:38,400 --> 00:50:43,279
Speaker 3: guys were returning, But I knew that we would have

1017
00:50:43,320 --> 00:50:46,279
Speaker 3: an opportunity to play and I think that year, if

1018
00:50:46,280 --> 00:50:50,359
Speaker 3: I'm not mistaken, we probably had probably thirteen rookies ended

1019
00:50:50,440 --> 00:50:53,800
Speaker 3: up making that roster, which was a lot of different

1020
00:50:53,800 --> 00:50:55,520
Speaker 3: bodies and a lot of new faces on the team,

1021
00:50:55,520 --> 00:50:57,919
Speaker 3: and I think we all contributed very well and gave

1022
00:50:57,960 --> 00:50:59,520
Speaker 3: them something, you know, to look forward to in the

1023
00:50:59,520 --> 00:51:00,839
Speaker 3: future because we were so young.

1024
00:51:02,360 --> 00:51:04,600
Speaker 1: How do you want that draft class, the Jets two

1025
00:51:04,640 --> 00:51:06,120
Speaker 1: thousand class to be remembered.

1026
00:51:07,560 --> 00:51:10,080
Speaker 3: It's one of the best draft drafts they've ever had.

1027
00:51:10,480 --> 00:51:13,440
Speaker 3: I mean the talent, the talent not only speech for ourselves,

1028
00:51:13,440 --> 00:51:15,839
Speaker 3: but the number of years that we all played. And

1029
00:51:15,880 --> 00:51:18,680
Speaker 3: I think what John Abraham didn't get to spend a

1030
00:51:18,719 --> 00:51:22,040
Speaker 3: lot of time his entire career with the Jets, but

1031
00:51:22,440 --> 00:51:25,080
Speaker 3: the years he was there he was so productive, bick

1032
00:51:25,200 --> 00:51:28,120
Speaker 3: Kat Sean Ellis was very productive. Chad, we know what

1033
00:51:28,200 --> 00:51:31,439
Speaker 3: he all did after we played, had a long career

1034
00:51:31,480 --> 00:51:33,960
Speaker 3: also himself, and then you had me in the third

1035
00:51:34,040 --> 00:51:36,799
Speaker 3: round that got ten years in. So I think our

1036
00:51:36,840 --> 00:51:39,440
Speaker 3: class speaks for itself, and I think the numbers and

1037
00:51:39,719 --> 00:51:42,480
Speaker 3: the amount of quality football that we put on the

1038
00:51:42,480 --> 00:51:45,360
Speaker 3: fields speech speech volumes, and not only that, but for

1039
00:51:45,640 --> 00:51:48,160
Speaker 3: Coach Parcels to give us all the chance and the

1040
00:51:48,200 --> 00:51:49,560
Speaker 3: opportunity to come in and play.

1041
00:51:50,680 --> 00:51:52,799
Speaker 1: What are some of your favorite memories of playing with

1042
00:51:52,800 --> 00:51:53,600
Speaker 1: the Green and White.

1043
00:51:55,400 --> 00:51:57,960
Speaker 3: I mean, there's so many gun ones, but again, the

1044
00:51:57,960 --> 00:52:00,000
Speaker 3: Monday Night Miracle, my rookie year to be a part

1045
00:52:00,160 --> 00:52:02,879
Speaker 3: or something that's exton stone and I think it's been

1046
00:52:02,880 --> 00:52:05,960
Speaker 3: on TV. It's one of the greatest games, greatest comeback

1047
00:52:06,000 --> 00:52:08,920
Speaker 3: games ever, especially for a Monday night game, and to

1048
00:52:08,920 --> 00:52:10,719
Speaker 3: be a part of that and to see how our

1049
00:52:10,719 --> 00:52:13,600
Speaker 3: fans left that night and then came running back into

1050
00:52:13,600 --> 00:52:17,000
Speaker 3: the stadium as we start coming back. I think I'll

1051
00:52:17,160 --> 00:52:19,759
Speaker 3: remember that till I probably can't remember anything else.

1052
00:52:21,239 --> 00:52:23,960
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you were part of a number of playoff

1053
00:52:24,000 --> 00:52:26,640
Speaker 1: teams as well with the Jets, and you actually had

1054
00:52:26,640 --> 00:52:27,919
Speaker 1: two stints with this team.

1055
00:52:29,040 --> 00:52:31,640
Speaker 3: Yes, sir, I told the guys, I'm like the straight cap.

1056
00:52:31,680 --> 00:52:34,359
Speaker 3: They fed and just kept coming back. So it's just

1057
00:52:34,360 --> 00:52:36,840
Speaker 3: great to be a part of such a great organization.

1058
00:52:37,480 --> 00:52:41,040
Speaker 3: The people were there, they welcomed me to fans really welcome.

1059
00:52:41,080 --> 00:52:42,759
Speaker 3: Then I just thank them. They still love me to

1060
00:52:42,760 --> 00:52:45,080
Speaker 3: this day, even every time I come back to New York.

1061
00:52:45,160 --> 00:52:48,440
Speaker 3: So I just look forward to putting on green and

1062
00:52:48,440 --> 00:52:51,440
Speaker 3: white every day. And you as you see, I got

1063
00:52:51,480 --> 00:52:53,880
Speaker 3: my Jets cap on because I look forward to it.

1064
00:52:53,880 --> 00:52:55,520
Speaker 3: And I watch the Draft every year and I get

1065
00:52:55,520 --> 00:52:57,640
Speaker 3: nervous for the guys that's coming there, like I'm about

1066
00:52:57,640 --> 00:52:58,560
Speaker 3: to get my name called