Speaker 1: Welcome into the Official Jets Podcast.
Speaker 2: I Eat, Breathe, and Sleep The New York Jets.
Speaker 1: My team that is a tightrope walk across Niagara Fall.
Speaker 3: That's hard to do, say name of inches, So finding
Speaker 3: that one little inch to be successful, it all matters.
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Speaker 1: Hey everybody. This week on the Jets will bark on
Speaker 1: their first draft with GM Darren Mugy and head coach
Speaker 1: Aaron Glenn. The organization will also celebrate the twenty fifth
Speaker 1: anniversary of a franchise altering draft class. The Jets became
Speaker 1: the only team in the Common Draft era to make
Speaker 1: four first round picks. Bill Parcells and personnel director Dick
Speaker 1: Haley drafted defensive end Shawn Ellis, edge John Abraham, quarterback
Speaker 1: Chad Pennington, and tight on Anthony Becked. Ellis, a Tennessee product,
Speaker 1: went number twelve overall. Abraham has starred South Carolina went
Speaker 1: right behind at number thirteen. Pennington was taken eighteenth, and
Speaker 1: Becked went twenty seventh. While the four first rounders were unprecedented,
Speaker 1: the Jets also got a fifth ace in the two
Speaker 1: thousand class when they selected wide receiver Lavernias Cols in
Speaker 1: the third round. It was Woody Johnson's first draft as
Speaker 1: an owner, and the Jets grab five players who would
Speaker 1: line up in forty two playoff games for the Green
Speaker 1: and White, plus five hundred and fifteen regular season contests.
Speaker 1: On this very special installment of the Official dut podcast,
Speaker 1: we look back at the jets historic two thousand draft class. CP.
Speaker 1: Can you believe it's been twenty five years since you
Speaker 1: were drafted?
Speaker 3: Uh?
Speaker 5: No, I cannot. That means that you know, some people
Speaker 5: have kids in the in the league that I knew,
Speaker 5: and it's crazy. We were talking about this the other day,
Speaker 5: just to think about how fast twenty five years goes
Speaker 5: by is unbelievable. But certainly a special time in my
Speaker 5: life for sure.
Speaker 1: What was the pre draft process like And did you
Speaker 1: get an inkling during that time that hey, I might
Speaker 1: be a Jet? You know what?
Speaker 5: No inkling? Really, I only had the inkling once I
Speaker 5: was drafted and thought back through the process. But really
Speaker 5: all the talk was about Pittsburgh and San Francisco, and
Speaker 5: so that was the two private workouts I had, and
Speaker 5: a lot of the talk just around the media about that,
Speaker 5: but I do remember having one of my formal interviews
Speaker 5: with the Jets, and so that kind of once I
Speaker 5: thought about that process after I was drafted, I said, Okay,
Speaker 5: it makes sense. Al Grow also knew my head coach,
Speaker 5: Bob Pruitt. Bob Pruitt worked for al Grow in college,
Speaker 5: so there was a relationship there, so they could probably
Speaker 5: gather the information they needed to make the decision on
Speaker 5: whether or not to draft me.
Speaker 1: What were your memories that interview as far as the
Speaker 1: Jets talking to you and who was there, who were
Speaker 1: the participants.
Speaker 5: Yeah, good luck on me remembering that. I would you
Speaker 5: do remember, Just it's probably in your own mind more
Speaker 5: than it is anything. But it's it's a I don't
Speaker 5: know if the right word is intense, but it's certainly
Speaker 5: a professional environment, one of the first ones that you
Speaker 5: know I was able to step into to truly have
Speaker 5: an interview. But I was prepared. I feel like IMG,
Speaker 5: who represented me at the time, prepared me for those
Speaker 5: types of things, and we did some mack interviews and
Speaker 5: things like that. But it's from top to bottom, whether
Speaker 5: it be football, life, decision making everything in between, because
Speaker 5: it's a huge decision for the organization to make and
Speaker 5: they're trying to gather as much information as they can,
Speaker 5: and so I just remember trying to be as honest
Speaker 5: as I could and put my best foot forward as
Speaker 5: far as who I was, not only as a football player,
Speaker 5: but as a person.
Speaker 1: Where were you draft day? It's round one, and who
Speaker 1: were you with?
Speaker 5: Yeah, so I was asked to come to New York,
Speaker 5: but I just didn't that can go one way or
Speaker 5: the other, especially during those times, and so I didn't
Speaker 5: feel comfortable doing that. I didn't want to have an
Speaker 5: Aaron Rodgers moment, so to speak. Uh you know where
Speaker 5: you fall in all eyes are on you while you're
Speaker 5: sitting there in the room, Because I really wanted to
Speaker 5: be a celebration of one having the opportunity to be drafted.
Speaker 5: That that's you know that we take that for granted,
Speaker 5: that doesn't that's rare, and so I wanted to be
Speaker 5: able to celebrate that, enjoy that moment, and then also
Speaker 5: enjoy it with all of the people, both family and friends,
Speaker 5: that I felt like had been a part of my
Speaker 5: life and part of my development, and I just felt
Speaker 5: like to be able to do that. The best way
Speaker 5: to do that was go to Norse Lake in the
Speaker 5: fall at Tennessee, where I spent my summers, rent a
Speaker 5: houseboat and after draft, after I was drafted, to get
Speaker 5: on the houseboat and go down the lake and have
Speaker 5: a good time with family and friends. And so that's
Speaker 5: what we did.
Speaker 1: How many people were.
Speaker 5: Oh, my goodness, I would say, Gosha, I would say
Speaker 5: at least close to sixty at least. I mean, it
Speaker 5: was packed, but it was a lot of fun.
Speaker 1: So I know, you you don't have, you know, intimate
Speaker 1: recollections of the pre draft interview, But how about the
Speaker 1: call when you found out that you were actually getting drafted.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm completely surprised because I just didn't expect the Jets.
Speaker 5: And here's the thing. I think Steelers had to pick
Speaker 5: at eight and the forty nine Ers had to pick
Speaker 5: at sixteen, so those two picks had already gone by.
Speaker 5: So then you're sitting there thinking like, what's going on next?
Speaker 5: And I think Sebastian Jenikowski was drafted right before me,
Speaker 5: I believe, to the Raiders. So there's a lot of
Speaker 5: things going on in your head, like, Okay, what's the
Speaker 5: deal here. I did feel like I put myself in
Speaker 5: a good position to be the first quarterback taken based
Speaker 5: upon my senior Bowl performer as well as my combine
Speaker 5: numbers and what I was able to do there, So
Speaker 5: I felt good about that. It's just you never know
Speaker 5: as far as these teams moving and shaking, as far
Speaker 5: as you're trying to get who they want to get,
Speaker 5: So you just it's a it's a very weird process,
Speaker 5: I'll just tell you, because you're trying to enjoy the moment,
Speaker 5: but at the same time, there's so many unknowns it's
Speaker 5: hard to enjoy it until it happened. So once it happens,
Speaker 5: it's just a huge sigh of relief.
Speaker 1: Who was on the line from the Jets.
Speaker 5: I remember al Grow being on the line, and then
Speaker 5: I remember then going to talking to Victor Green, I
Speaker 5: guess who was doing some draft day things, and I
Speaker 5: don't know if that was back to back, but it's
Speaker 5: pretty close after coach Grow had called me, so it was.
Speaker 1: A different time back then. But your thoughts on going
Speaker 1: to the Jets who had a proven, established quarterback in
Speaker 1: Vinnie Tustaverdi, Well.
Speaker 5: I've always believed then and I still believe now all
Speaker 5: that from a development standpoint for quarterbacks coming into this league,
Speaker 5: I think having a tested veteran that's number one willing
Speaker 5: to work with you as a young player, which was
Speaker 5: huge in my case because Vinnie was so professional about that,
Speaker 5: but then two had been successful at his job and
Speaker 5: at what he's been asked to do. I think that
Speaker 5: was huge in my development. And so because and here's why,
Speaker 5: as a young quarterback, you need to make mistakes behind
Speaker 5: closed doors, and when you're thrown right into the starting lineup,
Speaker 5: all of your mistakes are are out there for everyone
Speaker 5: to see, and it's really hard to work through those mistakes.
Speaker 5: Give yourself some grace why you're learning. They expect you
Speaker 5: just to pick it up where you left off in college,
Speaker 5: and that's just not the case. I don't care how
Speaker 5: good you are.
Speaker 1: And so.
Speaker 5: To be able to make mistakes behind closed doors, to
Speaker 5: be able to learn what it's like to be a professional.
Speaker 5: That word professional is so much more than what people
Speaker 5: give it credit to was huge for me in my development.
Speaker 1: Did you know that history was at hand? Maybe after
Speaker 1: you got back from being on the Lake, and he said, well,
Speaker 1: not only did I get drafted today, but this is
Speaker 1: the first time in NFL history where a team actually
Speaker 1: had four first round picks, and they used them on
Speaker 1: Sean Alis, Johnny Abraham, yourself of course, and then tight
Speaker 1: d Anthony Beckt.
Speaker 5: You know, at the time, right when it happened, didn't
Speaker 5: think about it all, but once once we got up
Speaker 5: to New York for mini camp and the four of
Speaker 5: us were doing interviews and photo shoots and talking about it.
Speaker 5: It's pretty remarkable. Really. First of all, I didn't think
Speaker 5: it was going to happen. Typically, it just didn't happen. Right,
Speaker 5: Historically speaking, they're going to use those picks to gain
Speaker 5: more picks and to build the true depth of their
Speaker 5: team and do it in a cost effective manner. But
Speaker 5: you know, for Bill Parcells to have that type of
Speaker 5: that's why he's a Hall of Famer. I mean, when
Speaker 5: you look at it, the four of us played it
Speaker 5: combined forty nine years. I mean, that's that's crazy. And
Speaker 5: then when you put in Lavernius with that in the
Speaker 5: third round, we're up to sixty. So it's amazing the
Speaker 5: longevity that I think all of us were able to
Speaker 5: create and I think it's a testament to Bill's vision,
Speaker 5: to the Scouting Department's vision, to them really doing their
Speaker 5: research and homework on what type of professionals we would
Speaker 5: be and then having the professional fortitude to actually do it,
Speaker 5: because most people would tell you not to do that,
Speaker 5: and they did it.
Speaker 1: Did you like to nickname the four Aces? And when
Speaker 1: was that thrown upon you? Guys? And also we've made
Speaker 1: Lavernious part of this here man, because do you consider
Speaker 1: a guy who one of your favorite receivers of all time,
Speaker 1: Lavernius Coles? Do you consider him a fifth Ace?
Speaker 5: One hundred percent? He was the fifth Ace. I always
Speaker 5: think of him as part of our group number one,
Speaker 5: because he's such an integral part of what we were
Speaker 5: able to accomplish. But when you really think about it,
Speaker 5: I mean the that's got a steal. I mean that
Speaker 5: if you take away some of the things that happened
Speaker 5: to him in college, he is the first round draft pick.
Speaker 5: I just think he slid just because some things are
Speaker 5: out of his control. So you know, I definitely think
Speaker 5: of him as part of our group. He's one of
Speaker 5: my best friends and I love him to death.
Speaker 1: Why was Parcells such a good program builder. You just
Speaker 1: mentioned that he had the eye for talent, and he
Speaker 1: lands for you guys in the first round, and he
Speaker 1: comes back and gets Kohl's in the third round. But
Speaker 1: it wasn't just that the Jets overall what set him apart,
Speaker 1: because for my money, he's the best programmed builder in
Speaker 1: the history of our league.
Speaker 5: Well, I think that one of Bill's strong points is
Speaker 5: that he understands that football is a people gain, and
Speaker 5: so when you're putting the pieces of the puzzle together,
Speaker 5: he puts them together based upon the people, not just
Speaker 5: on number statistics things like that. And I think he
Speaker 5: had a very unique way of finding the right people
Speaker 5: to put together to build the team that he wanted
Speaker 5: to build. That's very hard to do. A lot of
Speaker 5: times people fall victim to numbers stats how high someone jumps,
Speaker 5: how fast someone runs, instead of looking at the person
Speaker 5: as a football player and some of those other tangibles
Speaker 5: that really matter in a team sport. And then being
Speaker 5: able to put all those pieces together in the right
Speaker 5: areas is the next trick to that, and he was
Speaker 5: very successful in doing that.
Speaker 1: Well, Grow was your first coach, and then it was
Speaker 1: herm Edwards. Of course, in two thousand and one. Terry
Speaker 1: Bradway comes on board as GM in two thousand and one.
Speaker 1: What kind of influence did Parcells have on your career
Speaker 1: in that early going and how much did that carry through?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think you say, once a parsales guy, always
Speaker 5: a parsales guy, and that's another key ingredient to his success.
Speaker 5: I think anyone who has played for him or worked
Speaker 5: with him, because I was able to work with him
Speaker 5: again in Miami. Once you're in the fold in his
Speaker 5: program and you prove to have the makeup that he's
Speaker 5: looking for, you're with him for life because he can
Speaker 5: trust that he knows what he's getting and that relationship
Speaker 5: piece and that trust is really important, and so that's
Speaker 5: what makes him successful in that regard. So although I
Speaker 5: was only drafted by him and worked with him for
Speaker 5: a year, I do think that one year moving into
Speaker 5: coach Edwards era really helped me from a professional standpoint,
Speaker 5: a mental toughness standpoint, really understanding what this whole idea
Speaker 5: of being an NFL player was all about.
Speaker 1: How would you describe your Jets' career without writing a book?
Speaker 5: Yeah, right, I would just I would describe it as
Speaker 5: resilient and really all eleven years. Uh, there's a resilience
Speaker 5: all throughout that career when you look at it, when
Speaker 5: you take a step back and look at it in
Speaker 5: third person, I am really proud of my resilience. Uh.
Speaker 5: There are some things that you just cannot control. And
Speaker 5: when it comes to injuries, especially those type of injuries
Speaker 5: with the shoulder and a dislocated hand, which is extremely rare,
Speaker 5: you just can't control those. What you can control is
Speaker 5: how you react to them, how you respond, how you
Speaker 5: work through it, and how you try to still be available.
Speaker 5: And so that's how I would describe it. I look
Speaker 5: at my eight years in New York very fondly. I've
Speaker 5: told you before that you know those memories of those
Speaker 5: two weeks Green Bay at Indianapolis and O two o four,
Speaker 5: going out and beating the Chargers, coming back in six
Speaker 5: with a a coaching change, and being able to win
Speaker 5: the comeback Player of the Year and lead our team
Speaker 5: to playoffs. I mean, those are very fond memories for me.
Speaker 5: And there's nothing like winning in New York when it's happening.
Speaker 1: Those odd years were tough, but the even years, it
Speaker 1: seemed like every time it was an even year, you
Speaker 1: knew the Jets are gonna be making a run.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, I don't know. And it even happened that
Speaker 5: way in Miami too, right, I mean eight, here we
Speaker 5: go to the playoffs. I have no idea, you know.
Speaker 5: And that people ask about, Okay, what's your regrets? The
Speaker 5: only quote regret I have is coming back too early
Speaker 5: from the first shoulder surgery. I feel like, and that's
Speaker 5: such a hard thing to do as a competitor. You're
Speaker 5: trying to be available to your team. As a competitor,
Speaker 5: you're trying to beat deadlines. But when you're talking about
Speaker 5: major injuries like that, shoulders, knees, all those different things,
Speaker 5: time and patience is really really important. And so when
Speaker 5: I look back upon that, I feel like, if I
Speaker 5: would have taken some more time and been more patient,
Speaker 5: maybe I wouldn't have had the second, second surgery, which
Speaker 5: then wouldn't have led to the third and fourth. So
Speaker 5: because those type of injuries, they're really hard to come
Speaker 5: back from if you don't handle them correctly. And so
Speaker 5: luckily that's because the resilience piece and great people around me,
Speaker 5: I was able to fight through that and still compete
Speaker 5: at a high level. But I would have loved to
Speaker 5: have seen how I could compete it with a true
Speaker 5: one hundred percent body, so to speak, and not always
Speaker 5: having to deal with it with something like that.
Speaker 1: Man, oh two was magical. I mean, every time I
Speaker 1: talk to you, whether it's in person or you know,
Speaker 1: on team's stream yard, I always think about oh two
Speaker 1: and when you took that ball and the team got
Speaker 1: hot and you really took the league by storm. It
Speaker 1: was incredible. And to this day, I don't think Peyton
Speaker 1: Manning was ever shut out throughout his professional career. But
Speaker 1: you guys took them down forty one nothing in that
Speaker 1: first round of the playoffs, and the preceding week there
Speaker 1: was no roof on the stadium, because that's a good
Speaker 1: thing because the roof probably would have came off at
Speaker 1: forty two to seventeen victory over Green Bay.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, exactly. That was man, that was a magical time.
Speaker 5: I just remember the energy in that stadium. I don't
Speaker 5: know if I ever felt like that again. That energy
Speaker 5: at those two weeks was just unbelievable. I mean, you
Speaker 5: could just it was palpable. You could feel it, especially
Speaker 5: when everyone learned that the Dolphins or the Patriots had
Speaker 5: beaten the Dolphins, and so it was up to us.
Speaker 5: If we win, we win the division. I mean, and
Speaker 5: there was another historical moment. I mean, no team had
Speaker 5: ever started out two and five and won a division,
Speaker 5: so that was really sweet.
Speaker 1: I consider you a cerebral assassin. So give me a
Speaker 1: scotary report on each of those guys in the two
Speaker 1: thousand draft class with the Jets that made such an
Speaker 1: imprint on this organization, starting with Sean, and then we'll
Speaker 1: go to John, then Backed, and look finally Lavernius.
Speaker 5: Yeah. So with Sean, you first start with just his
Speaker 5: his physical prowess, how strong he was at the point
Speaker 5: of attack. You know, he had to adjust from a
Speaker 5: four to three to a three four and then went
Speaker 5: back to a four three, So he did a great
Speaker 5: job of handling that. But then also I think his versatility.
Speaker 5: Although he was strong at the point of attack, and
Speaker 5: McCain was a great run stopper. He could rush the passer.
Speaker 5: He had eight and a half sacks I believe his
Speaker 5: rookie year out of a three four, which is hard
Speaker 5: to do. So, uh, I just remember that, and then
Speaker 5: you think about his longevity. I mean, for him to
Speaker 5: be able to play at that type of level for
Speaker 5: such a long period of time. Unbelievable. Look at John Abe,
Speaker 5: you know, I think if he wouldn't have had the
Speaker 5: injuries early in his career, he probably would have been
Speaker 5: a jet longer. But then, you know, luckily for him
Speaker 5: as well as you know, testament to him. I mean,
Speaker 5: look at the career he had amount of sacks and
Speaker 5: what type of pass rusher he became. And he was
Speaker 5: always known, you know, to be that, and so that's
Speaker 5: what he became, and he he was. He excelled at it.
Speaker 5: You know. So his his rush ability off the edge,
Speaker 5: his speed, his quickness. I mean, in today's game, he
Speaker 5: would getness. Gracious, could you imagine what type player he
Speaker 5: had been. He was one of those players that would
Speaker 5: translate to today's game right twenty five years later, No, no,
Speaker 5: no doubt about it. Uh. And then Anthony. You know
Speaker 5: what really proud of Anthony about is first of all,
Speaker 5: you know, he's the old school throwback. He became an
Speaker 5: outstanding blocker at the point of attack as a tight
Speaker 5: end and then could still help and and and be
Speaker 5: productive in the past game. That's a lot of times
Speaker 5: you don't see that anymore. You see one or the
Speaker 5: other he could do both. Uh, and then you look
Speaker 5: at his career how long he was able to play
Speaker 5: and still be able to do it, and now look
Speaker 5: what he's doing as a head coach. But think, I
Speaker 5: think is awesome. He's just so versatile in that way.
Speaker 5: We've become very close, you know, with with our families,
Speaker 5: and so to be able to watch him and his
Speaker 5: son Rocko kill it that I stayed. It's just really
Speaker 5: cool to see full circle finally Lavernius. You know, with LC,
Speaker 5: I don't know what it was. I just had a
Speaker 5: natural feel for him. I just think sometimes you sometimes
Speaker 5: it takes you as a quarterback some time to get
Speaker 5: a feel for receiver and sometimes you just naturally have it.
Speaker 5: With him, I just naturally had it. I think part
Speaker 5: of that too was I just my trust in him.
Speaker 5: When you watched him play, and I was able to
Speaker 5: watch him play and be around him for two years
Speaker 5: before we played together. You can see how physical he was.
Speaker 5: He never got knocked off his spot. He was a
Speaker 5: receiver that when the ball was in the air, you
Speaker 5: knew good things were going to happen, and if something
Speaker 5: bows gonna happen, he was going to do everything in
Speaker 5: his possible in his power to keep it from happening.
Speaker 5: So that gives you an extreme amount of confidence as
Speaker 5: a quarterback to let ball go early, to put the
Speaker 5: ball out front, to give him a chance because good
Speaker 5: things are going to happen, and that trust was there.
Speaker 5: So he played bigger than what his stature was. Obviously
Speaker 5: people knew about his speed, but he played like a
Speaker 5: six or FOURD type of receiver, and he was a
Speaker 5: receiver that you you would like to see press coverage
Speaker 5: against him than off covers because he was going to
Speaker 5: create such separation because they could not be more physical
Speaker 5: than him. So he was a lot of fun to
Speaker 5: play with.
Speaker 1: All right, let's end it here. You are a wildly
Speaker 1: successful football coach yourself right now, You got your sons
Speaker 1: crushing it. You are a busy man. But when it
Speaker 1: comes to draft weekend in Green Bay, when it's actually
Speaker 1: twenty five years later, are you going to think is
Speaker 1: there gonna be a full circle moment where you're gonna
Speaker 1: think about the memories, but you're also going to keep
Speaker 1: your eye on the Jets because a guy who was
Speaker 1: in your locker room when you enter the National Football
Speaker 1: League was playing quarnerback for the Jets. That's Aaron Glenn Well.
Speaker 5: It is a full circle moment in that regard twenty
Speaker 5: five years and now a former teammate being the head coach.
Speaker 5: I'm really excited for him. I think he has the
Speaker 5: right makeup. I remember him as a player. Number one,
Speaker 5: how professional he was. Number two, His competitive will and
Speaker 5: fire was unbelievable. And the way he approached the game
Speaker 5: is exactly how he approaches now as a head coach,
Speaker 5: and so that doesn't surprise me. And so that's why
Speaker 5: I think he'll be successful. So I will be leaning
Speaker 5: in a little bit more to see how his program develops.
Speaker 5: And I hope that we give him the time and
Speaker 5: are patient enough to allow him to develop that program.
Speaker 5: It's going to take time, it always does, to put
Speaker 5: your stamp on it, get and to build the culture
Speaker 5: that you see fit for your team as a head coach,
Speaker 5: and I hope we give him the time and we're
Speaker 5: patient enough with him to do that.
Speaker 1: So you got a new quarterback here with the Jets,
Speaker 1: Justin Fields, former first round pick twenty twenty one. Huh
Speaker 1: what do you think about his fit here with the Jets?
Speaker 1: And you talk about patients like he's now on his
Speaker 1: third team, but Aaron has seen something in him where
Speaker 1: he said, Okay, not only is he talented, but he's
Speaker 1: going to have an opportunity to really play quarterback here
Speaker 1: with this team.
Speaker 5: Yeah. Number one, he is talented, There's no doubt about it.
Speaker 5: Number Two, I respect him for how he's handled his situations.
Speaker 5: You haven't seen him just go off the handles and
Speaker 5: gripe and complain and do those types of things. So
Speaker 5: I respect that. I think it shows a lot of
Speaker 5: humility and a lot of courage to be able to
Speaker 5: go through those situations that he's gone through. And so
Speaker 5: I'm excited for his opportunity, really and I think he
Speaker 5: has the ability and the potential to lead the Jets.
Speaker 5: I really do, so it'll be interesting to see. I
Speaker 5: think it always comes down to how everyone in that building,
Speaker 5: both player and coach, work together to support him and
Speaker 5: that as a staff, the development piece to his development
Speaker 5: is intentional, purposeful, and the right path. That's really important
Speaker 5: in our league, and it's different for every quarterback. We're
Speaker 5: all different. We all bring certain things to the table,
Speaker 5: and if we tap into those certain characteristics that each
Speaker 5: one of us has, you can be successful, and so
Speaker 5: I think the team can be successful with Justin Fields.
Speaker 1: Well, we wish you continue lock and congratulations not only
Speaker 1: to yourself but the tire two thousand Jets Draft class,
Speaker 1: because we're going to be raising a glass for you
Speaker 1: next weekend.
Speaker 5: All right, thanks ea.
Speaker 4: The Official Jets Podcast is presented by Kendra Scott, the
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Speaker 1: Anthony, Can you believe it's been twenty five years since
Speaker 1: that since that two thousand historic Jets draft class.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's hard to believe. You know, I didn't shave
Speaker 2: because I wanted the people to see the grades that
Speaker 2: I have. I mean, it's it's been that long, right, Uh,
Speaker 2: you know, just what an unbelievable day for me and
Speaker 2: my family and uh, you know for all all four
Speaker 2: of us quite frankly, getting drafted and and putting something
Speaker 2: you know, really good on on the field, you know,
Speaker 2: a good product for by all four of us and
Speaker 2: and the careers that we all had, and it's an
Speaker 2: honor to be a part of that. You know, you
Speaker 2: you're you're never going to see four first rounders again,
Speaker 2: probably ever. And uh, it's kind of edged in stone
Speaker 2: and and like I said, I just you know, it's
Speaker 2: it's the memories are are fantastic, and you know, to
Speaker 2: be a part of the organization still, Uh, to have
Speaker 2: that long lasting relationship is it's even better for me
Speaker 2: because it meant that it was a meaningful time you
Speaker 2: for myself, the organization, and you know, they still think
Speaker 2: very highly of me now. So just really proud of
Speaker 2: that moment.
Speaker 1: I'm sure you were happy to be drafted, but were
Speaker 1: you elated because young Anthony probably thought he should have
Speaker 1: went earlier in the first round.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, you're right. I thought, I tell everybody this.
Speaker 2: You know, Parcells told me he was drafted me in
Speaker 2: one of those picks I thought I was going to go.
Speaker 2: Was Chad what was he eighteen or seven? What was
Speaker 2: his pick?
Speaker 1: He was eighteen.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he was eighteen, So I thought I was going
Speaker 2: eighteen because Chad wasn't supposed to be available. He told me,
Speaker 2: you know, they got their taking care of some defensive
Speaker 2: stuff early, and then I was like, okay, you know
Speaker 2: that's where I'm going. And then you know, didn't happen.
Speaker 2: So I was like, all right, clearly I'm going to
Speaker 2: be the twenty seventh pick, and I tell the story
Speaker 2: all the time. You know, that twenty seventh pick came,
Speaker 2: and I believe I've never spoke or heard another story.
Speaker 2: I'm the only first round pick that did not receive
Speaker 2: a phone call prior to the commission coming up to
Speaker 2: the stage and announcing their name. So in an act
Speaker 2: of anxiety and desperation and about seventy five people at
Speaker 2: a party all looking at the television together, I could
Speaker 2: hear the whispers in the background, like what's going on.
Speaker 2: You know, the Jets are supposed to take them. There's
Speaker 2: no phone. I had like this bat phone hardwired all
Speaker 2: the way out to the yard. We had this big tent,
Speaker 2: and I never got a call. So when Paul Taglabu
Speaker 2: came up to the stage and announced my name, it
Speaker 2: was like a roar you would never hear, you know, ever,
Speaker 2: like in Unison. But yeah, it was kind of crazy.
Speaker 2: I mean I was kind of like from the lowest point.
Speaker 2: I was like literally depressed because I didn't know, like
Speaker 2: who was going to pick me. I didn't talk to
Speaker 2: any of the team. I was looking at the list,
Speaker 2: like the next ten teams. I had no connection with
Speaker 2: at all. So but you know, when I heard my name,
Speaker 2: it was sweet. But I did tell Chad. I was like,
Speaker 2: it was either Chad or the Steelers. They owe me
Speaker 2: about four million dollars because I thought I was going
Speaker 2: to go eighteen and and I was like, man, we
Speaker 2: need to put our money in a bucket and just
Speaker 2: split it. But now I was listening, it was awesome,
Speaker 2: you know, to be a first on pick, to be
Speaker 2: drafted in New York, it was it was a great honor,
Speaker 2: a great privilege, privilege. You know, Green Bay took Bubba
Speaker 2: Franks as a tight end. I think at fourteen I
Speaker 2: was definitely a viable option there as well, and you
Speaker 2: know they decided to go that route. Me and him
Speaker 2: were really one two, you know throughout the league. And
Speaker 2: you know, again it was it was good. Parcels kept
Speaker 2: his word and I became a New York Jet.
Speaker 1: Okay, before we get back to this scene at when
Speaker 1: you were drafted, when you actually arrived at Hofstra at
Speaker 1: the campus of webew Bank, call, did you ask some
Speaker 1: of the jets, hey, maybe Parcels himself. Why did I
Speaker 1: get a call?
Speaker 2: Well, they told they told me because the phone rang
Speaker 2: immediately after the pick right. So that's when I got
Speaker 2: my call. My agent coach grow Parcels were on the
Speaker 2: call and my agent's like, well, what do you think
Speaker 2: of that? I was like, you know, I mean, it
Speaker 2: was exciting for the for that moment I got called,
Speaker 2: but I was when my name got called. But I
Speaker 2: was kind of, you know, a little bit of anxiety
Speaker 2: there at that moment. But it was cool. It's unique,
Speaker 2: right again, you know, google it. I don't know, I
Speaker 2: haven't heard anybody. Every draft I've watched for the last
Speaker 2: twenty five years, e I've seen a phone in somebody's
Speaker 2: ear with the camera on them and then all of
Speaker 2: a sudden they hang it up. Everybody's hugging and kissing,
Speaker 2: and then their name gets announced on on on on
Speaker 2: the stage. So I didn't get that, you know, but listen,
Speaker 2: it was It was fun and I guess you know,
Speaker 2: it was to be unique is something that that you know,
Speaker 2: kind of sets me apart. And it's a great story
Speaker 2: that i'd always have.
Speaker 1: Where were you during the draft? And you said how
Speaker 1: many people were there? And what was that initial A
Speaker 1: couple minutes like, yeah, you see tags on the TV,
Speaker 1: you get the call, and then who did you talk
Speaker 1: to in terms of family in front.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, you know my I as soon to be wife,
Speaker 2: Dianne was with me, and then of course any five
Speaker 2: family and friends. We had a big got a big
Speaker 2: tent set up in my parents' backyard. We had a
Speaker 2: big one in big box, big screens TVs, you know,
Speaker 2: extension court all the way to the TV, had the
Speaker 2: phone out there. We put couches and TV put like food.
Speaker 2: I mean, it was just it was awesome. Man. We're
Speaker 2: all just hanging out having a good time.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 2: We we we obviously knew we were going to be,
Speaker 2: you know in that world, you know, top thirty five,
Speaker 2: top forty picks. So it was, yeah, it was awesome, man.
Speaker 2: Like it's like the pinnacle. Like I just I just
Speaker 2: go back and think of all the doubt that there
Speaker 2: was that there was in my career. You know, I
Speaker 2: wasn't the best player of my high school. I didn't
Speaker 2: have any scholarship offers. I got one the week before
Speaker 2: signing day, and you know they basically told me by
Speaker 2: my junior and senior year, hopefully I'd be able to
Speaker 2: you know, to mature, build my body up and contribute
Speaker 2: in some way to help the football team. So there
Speaker 2: wasn't a lot of belief there in that moment. And
Speaker 2: then ultimately to just develop and grow and learn and
Speaker 2: be at a place where I could become, you know,
Speaker 2: a really good tight end. And then all of a sudden,
Speaker 2: now going into your junior senior year, you're labeled as
Speaker 2: one of the best in the in the country. It's
Speaker 2: just it's it's gratifying. I just I made a lot
Speaker 2: of sacrifices in college during my time there, and not
Speaker 2: not even just trying to be in the in the NFL,
Speaker 2: just trying to be like a starter in college, to
Speaker 2: be a great player, to develop my body was just
Speaker 2: I was six five, one hundred and eighty five pounds
Speaker 2: my senior year of high school. I just was not
Speaker 2: ready physically to be a tight end. And you know,
Speaker 2: just to develop myself and get to that moment, all
Speaker 2: the people that helped me, and then it was really gratifying,
Speaker 2: you know, to to in that strug. You go to
Speaker 2: the Senior Bowl, you go the combine, all these things
Speaker 2: start adding up and you you start checking the boxes
Speaker 2: and all of a sudden, now you're like, yeah, this
Speaker 2: guy's going in the first round. So just really awesome.
Speaker 2: It's a it's a unique time in my life, and
Speaker 2: it really just paved the way for everything that I've been,
Speaker 2: that I've accomplished and done in my life. It built
Speaker 2: up every relationship, it built every connection, It built anything
Speaker 2: that I've done as a player, after as a player,
Speaker 2: even now, it's all linked to that day. So just
Speaker 2: an incredible, incredible time in my life.
Speaker 1: Did you develop a relationship with Bill Parcells during the
Speaker 1: pre draft process, because you each have your own unique story.
Speaker 1: Sean told me he felt like he was gone up
Speaker 1: to New York every other weekend to visit with the Jets.
Speaker 1: John Abraham said, I did not speak to Parcels at
Speaker 1: all before I was drafted. Lavernius Coles remembers being drafted
Speaker 1: in the third round. Parcel was getting on the phone
Speaker 1: and saying, I'll see, listen, we did not draft you
Speaker 1: to replace Keyshawn Johnson. You be concerned about special teams.
Speaker 1: With that being said, what was your relationship like with
Speaker 1: him during that time?
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I took a visit, official visit to New York,
Speaker 2: actually went to the Giants first, then the Jets, and yeah,
Speaker 2: I remember I was taking a tour around hobster. I
Speaker 2: mean it didn't take that long, right, But was walking
Speaker 2: around the building and went into the weight room and
Speaker 2: Parcels was on the treadmill by himself. You know, I
Speaker 2: never saw him in person. You know, he was, you know,
Speaker 2: bigger guy obviously, you know, the pace wasn't heavy. He
Speaker 2: stops he saw me coming in and you know, turned around,
Speaker 2: grabbed a towel and started talking to me and said, hey, listen,
Speaker 2: you know you want to be a jet right And
Speaker 2: I said, hell, yeah, coach, you know, like and he
Speaker 2: was He's like, well, we're taking you. You're the guy
Speaker 2: we want, you know, not Bubba Franks, you this and that,
Speaker 2: and I don't know what pick it's going to be,
Speaker 2: but it's going to be soon, and you know we're
Speaker 2: going to get you at one of those picks. I
Speaker 2: was like, great. He's like, you know, just you know,
Speaker 2: very complimentary, you know, very positive. You know. I was like, Oh,
Speaker 2: this guy's a good dude. You know. I all the
Speaker 2: stories you hear and then you know, and then we
Speaker 2: could talk about after the fact. But you know, it
Speaker 2: turned into a much different situation from a relationship standpoint.
Speaker 5: For there.
Speaker 2: He was very hard on me. I would definitely take
Speaker 2: the opposite way in the building when I saw him,
Speaker 2: not to walk by him, but he would find his
Speaker 2: way to find to find me.
Speaker 1: But h man, it was to avoid him later on.
Speaker 2: Yes, hell yeah, yeah, I was. You know, I just
Speaker 2: I remember the first preseason game I played, and I
Speaker 2: had like four catches a touchdown, and I just thought like, wow,
Speaker 2: like I'm going to be a dude, like, you know,
Speaker 2: it's against the Saints in our first preseason game. I
Speaker 2: just remember. I don't even know. We had practice the
Speaker 2: next day, which is crazy to even think. Right, we
Speaker 2: were out in the field doing something and he was
Speaker 2: on the other sideline. I was warming up. He called me.
Speaker 2: He's like, hey, Beck, He called me over, and I
Speaker 2: was like, you know, kind of walking over there, pretty confident,
Speaker 2: you know, thinking like this guy is going to tell
Speaker 2: me how how good of a pick I you know
Speaker 2: I was, And he was right on and and he said,
Speaker 2: you know, he was saying, basically, you know, he's like,
Speaker 2: if you ever block like that again, you know on
Speaker 2: film against a team, He's like, I'm going to send
Speaker 2: your bluff beat beat beep, so fast back to West Virginia.
Speaker 3: You won't know.
Speaker 2: I'm like wow, like it was just it was kind
Speaker 2: of an eye opening deal. I will say it was.
Speaker 2: It was kind of like it changed me because I
Speaker 2: was a little bit in that first round Aura. You know,
Speaker 2: I really was one of the first I was really
Speaker 2: the first guy on the field of all four of us,
Speaker 2: and you know, immediately and then Sewan obviously had a
Speaker 2: bigger role, and then John sporadically was hurt and Chad
Speaker 2: was waiting, so there was a lot of pressure on me.
Speaker 2: I had a knee brace after the third week. I
Speaker 2: had to play with that, so I was slow, and
Speaker 2: I remember wizing Hunt be sitting in the office, you know,
Speaker 2: we all watching film as tight ends, you know, during
Speaker 2: the week, and then he let us go and the hey, Anthony,
Speaker 2: you need to stay back, and he tip his hat
Speaker 2: back and like, look, you got to give us more,
Speaker 2: you know, your first round pick. And I'm thinking myself, okay, coach,
Speaker 2: I'm like everything was so fast on the field. Number one,
Speaker 2: I had a knee brace on. I was trying to
Speaker 2: learn this, you know, the NFL way. I was on
Speaker 2: special teams and I was getting stingers on kickoff return
Speaker 2: every week, so you know, so again, yeah, it was
Speaker 2: tough time, but you know, I was embraced heavily by
Speaker 2: by coach Barcels pre draft and then again that tough love, right,
Speaker 2: I mean changed me that day. I kind of put
Speaker 2: my lunch pail workman hat on, and that's the way
Speaker 2: I became for the rest of my career because I knew,
Speaker 2: like the expectation level was not one side. It was
Speaker 2: about being a complete tight end and I had to
Speaker 2: work to get there.
Speaker 1: What nickname did you like best for that class? So
Speaker 1: it was talking to Sean about this earlier on the
Speaker 1: podcast that he said, I'd like the four Horsemen, and
Speaker 1: I know a lot of people all always referred to
Speaker 1: you guys as the four Aces. And also, ab do
Speaker 1: you consider it the five aces when you include Lavernius
Speaker 1: Coles in that two thousand draft class.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we heard a lot of the four Aces. I
Speaker 2: like that. Yeah, yeah, I mean, shoot, I mean throw Lavernia.
Speaker 2: He could easily been a first round pick. I mean
Speaker 2: there's no doubt about it. So yeah, I like that one.
Speaker 2: That was a good one. That was the one I've
Speaker 2: heard the most. Four Horsemen. You know, that's somebody else
Speaker 2: has that right, Notre Dame or whoever. So that I
Speaker 2: feel like I've never heard the four aces before. It
Speaker 2: fits the suit well, So yeah, it was cool. It
Speaker 2: was a good nickname. Heard it more after the fact
Speaker 2: than actually during the fact. But but you know, every
Speaker 2: time we go back in time, everybody's talking about you know,
Speaker 2: you always hear the four aces.
Speaker 1: Why were you guys so individually successful and you talk
Speaker 1: about longevity. I mean you think about how ichi you
Speaker 1: produced throughout your career. That's quite rare.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll be honest with you. You know, I think
Speaker 2: there was just a professionalism that we had to grow
Speaker 2: up really fast. We had a veteran late a locker room.
Speaker 2: I mean, you know my locker I was next to
Speaker 2: Fred Baxter, Wayne Crebett and Vinnie Testa Verdi. I mean
Speaker 2: you're talking about that was like thirty five years of experience.
Speaker 2: Then you got Richie Anderson, and then Kevin mawi Is
Speaker 2: across the way, and then the other side you got
Speaker 2: ag and Marcus Coleman and Brian Cox and Moe Lewis
Speaker 2: and and Shade Tree and all those guys. I mean, like, dude,
Speaker 2: like there wasn't a lot of young guys in that
Speaker 2: locker room. So it was like you better grow up
Speaker 2: fast and learn how to do it or watch somebody
Speaker 2: because you know you're gonna fall fall far. And and
Speaker 2: you know it was not easy the first year for me.
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, there was a lot, you know,
Speaker 2: like I said, I had to play like I had
Speaker 2: to be out there and and I was kind of
Speaker 2: hurt throughout the year, and you know, I just there's
Speaker 2: a lot of pressure. Man, things are moving fast, and
Speaker 2: you know, the expectation level on a consistent basis, there
Speaker 2: was a lot of push. And I love that it
Speaker 2: may be a better player, a better person big long term,
Speaker 2: but in that moment, man like I was always the dude,
Speaker 2: right like you never no one ever critiqued you in
Speaker 2: that in that kind of way, and you know you're
Speaker 2: going against grown men every week. I mean different kind
Speaker 2: of different, different kind of body types were playing defensive
Speaker 2: end in the league than they are now, right So yeah,
Speaker 2: it was, uh, you know, it was it was. It
Speaker 2: was just a unique experience and uh you were forced
Speaker 2: to be a pro right now because that that was
Speaker 2: that was what our locker room was made up of.
Speaker 1: You said it before. You are now the radio color
Speaker 1: man for the New York Jets. You work alongside Bob
Speaker 1: with Shoes in a long time play by play voice
Speaker 1: of the Green and White. You play five seasons with
Speaker 1: the Jets, one hundred and thirty three receptions for overall
Speaker 1: eleven hundred yards and seventeen touchdowns five seasons. But in
Speaker 1: many ways, I mean you live in a different place
Speaker 1: you're coaching right now. In many plays, the Jets became
Speaker 1: part of your family.
Speaker 2: Why, yeah, you know, I mean there's like people like you, right,
Speaker 2: I mean, you know all you got. There's so many
Speaker 2: people in the business side that were interns or just
Speaker 2: starting out that are all now upper level executives for
Speaker 2: the organization. Of course, Woody he was the owner, who
Speaker 2: was a rookie owner that year, right, So we all
Speaker 2: came in together. So you know, those relationships stayed strong.
Speaker 2: I mean, obviously I would have loved to have been
Speaker 2: there and stayed there my entire career as a player.
Speaker 2: You know, business is business, right, it just doesn't happen
Speaker 2: that way. But able to reunite down the road, which
Speaker 2: was Whi's even better. So, uh, there's just something in
Speaker 2: my heart for New York and and the Jets organization,
Speaker 2: and uh, you know, I know that they're desperately trying
Speaker 2: to get back to where they want to be, and
Speaker 2: I'm just glad to be a part of it in small,
Speaker 2: some small way. Uh. You know, calling the games now
Speaker 2: is is a unique privilege. You know, Marty Lyons is
Speaker 2: a legend, and then obviously when he moved on, just
Speaker 2: to get that call and get an opportunity again, it's
Speaker 2: it's it's special, right. So I love the game of football.
Speaker 2: I'm coaching, I'm around it. It's just something that's a
Speaker 2: part of me now, my my my son plays. It's
Speaker 2: there's just a lot around it that's really molded me
Speaker 2: and made me who I am in different areas of
Speaker 2: it now, but but as far as the player is concerned,
Speaker 2: that's who I was in those in those years, you know.
Speaker 2: So uh, you know, just just really gratifying, you know,
Speaker 2: to to be a part of the organization still. I'm
Speaker 2: thankful that they trust me in the same aspect to
Speaker 2: go do those kind of things and and uh, and
Speaker 2: you know, been through multiple coaches. You know, I was
Speaker 2: you know, doing shows with and you know when Todd
Speaker 2: was there and prior. I mean, it's just you know,
Speaker 2: there's a lot of history there as I watched that
Speaker 2: team from Afar, even though I wasn't playing there or
Speaker 2: retired and doing some other things. So and I will
Speaker 2: say this, you know those seventeen touchdowns, now that's the
Speaker 2: most since Mickey Schuler, dust Dustin Kell, Dustin Keller had
Speaker 2: seventeen but wasn't able to eclipse me. So when we
Speaker 2: talk about productivity in the end zone, it's been a
Speaker 2: minute now since anybody's caught more than that. So I
Speaker 2: take that. I take that in stride as well. It's
Speaker 2: you know, it's it wasn't easy in that market. You know,
Speaker 2: it's there's a lot of there's a lot of things
Speaker 2: around you. You got to have some strong mentals. And
Speaker 2: I just felt like, you know, I was able to
Speaker 2: have a really good, uh successful time, and I was available,
Speaker 2: I was I was very rarely injured, you know, except
Speaker 2: that rookie year. I didn't miss a game. So take
Speaker 2: a lot of pride in that as well.
Speaker 1: Man Too bad people weren't playing Fantasy the way they
Speaker 1: are now, otherwise they could have loaded up their rosters
Speaker 1: with old number eighty eight.
Speaker 5: Huh.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know I had a couple of those five
Speaker 2: four touchdown seasons, So yeah, I mean, hell, they count
Speaker 2: for something, right those points. The yardage maybe not as much,
Speaker 2: but those touchdowns. I know, I know there was a
Speaker 2: little juice there early on in fantasy, that's for sure.
Speaker 1: Hey, extra significance for you this weekend when you're talking
Speaker 1: about the draft and twenty five years and now watching
Speaker 1: what your team, your former team, the Jets, are going
Speaker 1: to do with the guy who was in that locker room.
Speaker 1: How cool is that that that locker room that you
Speaker 1: entered at webew Bank Hall had Aaron Glennon and now
Speaker 1: he's leading the team that you started with twenty five
Speaker 1: years ago.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, just it's been an impressive run by him.
Speaker 2: You know, I've watched him grow, you know, after football
Speaker 2: as a as a young coach, a scout and work
Speaker 2: his way up, pay his dues, learn and be part
Speaker 2: of really good organizations. Go to an organization where he
Speaker 2: finally got the able as a defensive coordinator and and
Speaker 2: build something that was in shambles, I mean just complete shambles. Uh,
Speaker 2: and and make it a championship, perennial championship contender. And
Speaker 2: he's a big reason that happened in Detroit. And uh,
Speaker 2: who knows what Detroit will look like moving forward. You know,
Speaker 2: when you lose your coordinators and key pieces, you know,
Speaker 2: it's it's it's difficult that the head coach obviously leads
Speaker 2: the party and the ship, but you need great people
Speaker 2: around you. And now you've got to go outside the
Speaker 2: box a little bit. So. Uh So now Aaron gets
Speaker 2: to do it. He's learned, he's he's he's got the
Speaker 2: knowledge and now it's his show. So you know, similar
Speaker 2: to me, I got it in a different way, and
Speaker 2: and and and again. It's just like I just think
Speaker 2: like communication has to be clear. I just think he's
Speaker 2: really good at that. I feel like the messaging is
Speaker 2: very direct. He has a great plan. There uh instant credibility,
Speaker 2: you know, me being a former player. He's a former player,
Speaker 2: he played at a high level. I just think there's
Speaker 2: a there's a respect for that that that players really
Speaker 2: look into a little bit more and deeper when when
Speaker 2: words come out of your mouth and you say things
Speaker 2: as a coach, because you've been through those things, you
Speaker 2: you made it at the highest level. He's a first
Speaker 2: round pick, he played a long time, multiple organizations, a
Speaker 2: pro bowler, Like those are things that players now in
Speaker 2: the league are trying to accomplish, So every nugget that
Speaker 2: comes out of his mouth is vital and important. So, uh,
Speaker 2: you know, now he gets to do the same thing.
Speaker 2: He gets to build the staff, he gets to build
Speaker 2: the team. Uh, he gets to put his plan into
Speaker 2: place and grow and learn along the way as well.
Speaker 2: You don't know it all until you get there, and
Speaker 2: then you got to you gotta really, you know, just
Speaker 2: hone into the to the day to day and continue
Speaker 2: to embrace and do that. And I'm sure you know,
Speaker 2: I can't wait to see his plan. I can't wait
Speaker 2: to come through after our season and and come into
Speaker 2: the to the building and camp and and during the
Speaker 2: year when I'm calling the games and and be a
Speaker 2: part of it. I think it's going to be great.
Speaker 2: I think, you know, when you're looking for a leader
Speaker 2: of men, I mean, he checks that box. So again,
Speaker 2: I'm just really excited to see what the future lies
Speaker 2: for this, for this team and this organization with him
Speaker 2: at at home.
Speaker 1: All right, listen here, if we have an opportunity to
Speaker 1: have an adult beverage in two thy fifty and in
Speaker 1: twenty five years, they're still talking about this being a
Speaker 1: historic draft class. How do you want it to be remembered?
Speaker 2: Well, you know, you have to follow up a little
Speaker 2: bit to the last question. You know what it means
Speaker 2: at twenty five years you know, Well, it's reminding me
Speaker 2: that people still care and it matters, right, I mean,
Speaker 2: we all had accomplished careers. You know, my son, my daughter,
Speaker 2: my family, my friends get to see it. My players
Speaker 2: now that don't believe that I was, you know, a
Speaker 2: great player or whoever. I was like, oh, well that's
Speaker 2: my coach, you know. So it's kind of cool. Man.
Speaker 2: So fifty years from now, honestly, I honestly, I'm just
Speaker 2: trying to be the same dude I was when I
Speaker 2: got drafted my name was called that day. I take
Speaker 2: a lot of pride in being me. I take a
Speaker 2: lot of pride in being genuine. And if anything, you know,
Speaker 2: if people forget me for being a player or a
Speaker 2: coach or whatever it is, if they've engaged with me,
Speaker 2: they know me. They got respect for me because I
Speaker 2: treated them just like they wanted, you know, just like
Speaker 2: I wanted myself to be treated. So that's how I
Speaker 2: live my life. I'm not going to change from that.
Speaker 2: Now we have a different relationship because we we've known
Speaker 2: each other for so long. But I can honestly say,
Speaker 2: like I don't know if there's any any bad blood
Speaker 2: with me in anywhere, in any part of the Jets
Speaker 2: building an organization anywhere. Right, So like the fan base,
Speaker 2: I love them. You know, you're always going to hear good, bad,
Speaker 2: and different. But I know in the moments that I
Speaker 2: did great, they cheered for me, and that's important. I
Speaker 2: know that even the ones that bowed me were the
Speaker 2: ones that may be bad or the ones that hit
Speaker 2: me up on accent like oh, you know, you were
Speaker 2: one of the worst. I don't care. Like at one
Speaker 2: point if they saw me I did some good, they
Speaker 2: definitely cheered one time, So that's all that matters. So
Speaker 2: I got that out of their blue heart or you know,
Speaker 2: at some point. But fans are great. That's what's great,
Speaker 2: I think. And starting in New York was awesome for
Speaker 2: me because anywhere I went after that, quite frankly, like
Speaker 2: you know, nothing was fake like media fan base is like,
Speaker 2: you know, you got it in New York and it
Speaker 2: made you or it crushed you, and it definitely made
Speaker 2: me so fifty years from now, man, I just like
Speaker 2: you know what I becked it's been a while, but
Speaker 2: he's a good dude. That's kind of that's kind of
Speaker 2: how I love to leave it.
Speaker 1: Well, we'll be certainly toasting you next weekend. Man, congratulations,
Speaker 1: spent a hell of a run, but fortunately there's a
Speaker 1: lot more in store for you, and the Jets appreciate you. Levertius.
Speaker 1: It's been twenty five years since the Jets historic two
Speaker 1: thousand draft class. When you think about that, what goes
Speaker 1: through your mind.
Speaker 3: It's weird remember that it has been twenty five years
Speaker 3: already because it went by so fast. I can't tell
Speaker 3: it's been that long. But when you say it and
Speaker 3: you look at the year and the date now, it
Speaker 3: kind of resonates and said, man, it's really been twenty
Speaker 3: five years for us since the day we got drafted.
Speaker 1: As far as the pre draft process, what we were
Speaker 1: in inactions like with teams and specifically the Jets.
Speaker 3: If I'm not mistaken, I think I had lunch with
Speaker 3: Dan Hayne and the officer coordinator at an olive gardener
Speaker 3: here in Jacksonville. But that was the most interaction I
Speaker 3: think I pretty much had with the New York.
Speaker 2: Jets at that time.
Speaker 3: Really had no clue that I had a chance of
Speaker 3: going to New York other than there, and then I
Speaker 3: thought Jacksonville was going to take me or RJ.
Speaker 5: Sowerd.
Speaker 3: So it was one of those days where, you know,
Speaker 3: my agent told me he didn't know whether I was
Speaker 3: going to get picked or not, but whatever place I went,
Speaker 3: just make the best of the opportunity, because he said,
Speaker 3: it ain't by way you're drafted, it is what you
Speaker 3: do once you get there.
Speaker 1: How about painting that picture? Though? At the Olive Garden?
Speaker 1: What was that conversation like with Henny?
Speaker 3: I mean, it was just really one of those real
Speaker 3: nonchalant lunches where I think he just wanted to see
Speaker 3: what type of kid I was, what my head was,
Speaker 3: and if he was willing to come back to New
Speaker 3: York and put his neck out there on the line
Speaker 3: for them to give me an opportunity, because I'm pretty
Speaker 3: sure mister Haley had to come back and say, look,
Speaker 3: I think he's the great kid. I think he'll fit
Speaker 3: well into the system and he won't give us any problems.
Speaker 1: And why did you have to answer those questions? Because
Speaker 1: a lot of people, I think right now are going
Speaker 1: to be watching or listening and they don't know the
Speaker 1: background of Lavernius coming out.
Speaker 3: Well, coming out, you know, I got dismissed from Florida
Speaker 3: State football team for taking a discount of bullits, so
Speaker 3: it kind of just letting me down a path and
Speaker 3: not knowing, I ended up going to Kender, Louisiana to
Speaker 3: train with Tom Shaw back in the day. So my
Speaker 3: future was in question because that was during the era
Speaker 3: when Ray Lewis had got in trouble and the way
Speaker 3: I received out of Carolina. So people was very skeptical
Speaker 3: about drafting guys with questionable backgrounds, and teams were very
Speaker 3: concerned and rightfully so, because they was making investments in
Speaker 3: the players and they didn't want to draft a guy
Speaker 3: that was going to cause them problems or tarnish their brain.
Speaker 1: And it's ironic because you were in an all time
Speaker 1: character player for the Jets throughout your career. Now, with
Speaker 1: that being said, sixteenth or seventeenth receiver drafted in the
Speaker 1: two thousand class, is that.
Speaker 3: Right, Yes, sir, I mean, and I still remember it.
Speaker 3: I mean, like I said, it was a lot of
Speaker 3: names called before mine at the wide receiver a position.
Speaker 3: But again, it wasn't about where I was drafted. I
Speaker 3: think I was drafted to the place that fits me best,
Speaker 3: and being there and getting a chance to play with
Speaker 3: Vinnie and grow with Chad helped my career to do
Speaker 3: what it was, and I'm just thankful I got an
Speaker 3: opportunity to play in the Green and White.
Speaker 1: But when you got the call from the Jets, your
Speaker 1: initial reaction.
Speaker 3: Uh, it was, it was, it was, it was. It
Speaker 3: was bittersweet. It was one of those things. I was
Speaker 3: glad the wait was over. But to get on the
Speaker 3: phone with Coach Parcels and he's telling me he's not
Speaker 3: drafting me to play wide receiver and that I'm not
Speaker 3: there to replace Keishawn Johnson. It was one of those
Speaker 3: things where I had made up in my mind. I
Speaker 3: was like, I'm going to show them that I can
Speaker 3: play this position. And I had to say yes sir
Speaker 3: and no, sir, and agree with everything he said on
Speaker 3: the phone with in the back of my mind, I
Speaker 3: was telling myself, I'm gonna play wide receiver.
Speaker 1: The four first round picks showing out was John Abraham,
Speaker 1: Chad Pennyton, and Anthony Becked. When you came in with them,
Speaker 1: that was a historic class as far as unpressing it
Speaker 1: in four first round picks. Did you think that, hey,
Speaker 1: it is imperative for us to turn the tide around
Speaker 1: for this franchise.
Speaker 3: Well, I know they were doing pretty well before we
Speaker 3: got that. I think they had went to the AFC
Speaker 3: Championship maybe a year or two before that, And I
Speaker 3: know the expectations were high because a lot of the
Speaker 3: guys were returning, But I knew that we would have
Speaker 3: an opportunity to play and I think that year, if
Speaker 3: I'm not mistaken, we probably had probably thirteen rookies ended
Speaker 3: up making that roster, which was a lot of different
Speaker 3: bodies and a lot of new faces on the team,
Speaker 3: and I think we all contributed very well and gave
Speaker 3: them something, you know, to look forward to in the
Speaker 3: future because we were so young.
Speaker 1: How do you want that draft class, the Jets two
Speaker 1: thousand class to be remembered.
Speaker 3: It's one of the best draft drafts they've ever had.
Speaker 3: I mean the talent, the talent not only speech for ourselves,
Speaker 3: but the number of years that we all played. And
Speaker 3: I think what John Abraham didn't get to spend a
Speaker 3: lot of time his entire career with the Jets, but
Speaker 3: the years he was there he was so productive, bick
Speaker 3: Kat Sean Ellis was very productive. Chad, we know what
Speaker 3: he all did after we played, had a long career
Speaker 3: also himself, and then you had me in the third
Speaker 3: round that got ten years in. So I think our
Speaker 3: class speaks for itself, and I think the numbers and
Speaker 3: the amount of quality football that we put on the
Speaker 3: fields speech speech volumes, and not only that, but for
Speaker 3: Coach Parcels to give us all the chance and the
Speaker 3: opportunity to come in and play.
Speaker 1: What are some of your favorite memories of playing with
Speaker 1: the Green and White.
Speaker 3: I mean, there's so many gun ones, but again, the
Speaker 3: Monday Night Miracle, my rookie year to be a part
Speaker 3: or something that's exton stone and I think it's been
Speaker 3: on TV. It's one of the greatest games, greatest comeback
Speaker 3: games ever, especially for a Monday night game, and to
Speaker 3: be a part of that and to see how our
Speaker 3: fans left that night and then came running back into
Speaker 3: the stadium as we start coming back. I think I'll
Speaker 3: remember that till I probably can't remember anything else.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you were part of a number of playoff
Speaker 1: teams as well with the Jets, and you actually had
Speaker 1: two stints with this team.
Speaker 3: Yes, sir, I told the guys, I'm like the straight cap.
Speaker 3: They fed and just kept coming back. So it's just
Speaker 3: great to be a part of such a great organization.
Speaker 3: The people were there, they welcomed me to fans really welcome.
Speaker 3: Then I just thank them. They still love me to
Speaker 3: this day, even every time I come back to New York.
Speaker 3: So I just look forward to putting on green and
Speaker 3: white every day. And you as you see, I got
Speaker 3: my Jets cap on because I look forward to it.
Speaker 3: And I watch the Draft every year and I get
Speaker 3: nervous for the guys that's coming there, like I'm about
Speaker 3: to get my name called