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Speaker 1: It's time once again to get to know a new

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Speaker 1: member of the Colts coaching staff inside the Colts Radio studio.

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Speaker 1: I'm Matt Taylor with JJ Stangovitz, and it's our honor

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Speaker 1: right now to be joined by Brian Bratton, the new

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Speaker 1: offensive quality control coach for the Indianapolis Colts. Coach Bratton,

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Speaker 1: good to see you. How are you? I'm good Man,

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Speaker 1: Good to see you, guys. Absolutely, So let's talk about

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Speaker 1: what attracted you to the Colts in Indianapolis. How did

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Speaker 1: you land this great position? Well, to be honest, relationships,

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Speaker 1: I have former relationships with Scott Milanovitch and Marcus Brady coach.

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Speaker 1: Milanovich was my offensive coordinator when I was in NFL

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Speaker 1: Europe in two thousand and six, and then Marcus Brady

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Speaker 1: and I were actually teammates, and then he coached my

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Speaker 1: position and went on to the offensive coordinator of our

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Speaker 1: team in Montreal. When I was in the CFL one

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Speaker 1: a couple of championships, yeah right, and won a couple

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Speaker 1: of great cups. Had had a good run up there

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Speaker 1: and great experience, and obviously when you're you're in a

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Speaker 1: place like that, you're having that kind of success you're

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Speaker 1: gonna have good, strong relationships and most Scott and Marcus

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Speaker 1: we were there for that that long run. So I

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Speaker 1: remember having a conversation with Jared Payton, who played with

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Speaker 1: the ol Man. Yeah, no, he's he's the best um.

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Speaker 1: And he told me that when he was playing with

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Speaker 1: Marcus in Montreal, and he was just like, this guy

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Speaker 1: is gonna be a head coach. He's gonna be an

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Speaker 1: offensive you know, coordinator someday in the NFL. Like he

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Speaker 1: really gets it. Like what do you remember about Marcus

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Speaker 1: back in the back in those days in the CFL

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Speaker 1: as a player, Well, he played quarterback obviously, and so

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Speaker 1: we were he was we were teammates for the first

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Speaker 1: two years and played quarterback. And what I remember was,

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Speaker 1: you know, we had a stud anthy co Vio, who

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Speaker 1: was who was a starter. But Marcus always was able

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Speaker 1: to go play in the like he prepared like the starter.

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Speaker 1: You know, you always hear that's how quarterbacks are supposed

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Speaker 1: to prepare when you're not the guy. But he prepared

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Speaker 1: like the starter. He knew everything that was going on.

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Speaker 1: He was always on time, he was always there, didn't

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Speaker 1: always have to say a lot, but you just knew like,

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Speaker 1: you knew that guy knew what was going on and

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Speaker 1: what he was doing. And I do remember, you know,

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Speaker 1: cal Vio got heard whatever, and Marcus would just go

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Speaker 1: in and throw for three hundred, do whatever, and it

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Speaker 1: was like nothing like you know, yeah, I can go

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Speaker 1: in and do this. But I just remember him always

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Speaker 1: being prepared. So you you know, he his playing career

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Speaker 1: ends and then he goes to coach wide receivers, which

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Speaker 1: is your position. He played quarterback. What do you remember

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Speaker 1: about how he was as like a wide receivers coach

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Speaker 1: coming in and coaching a position he hadn't played, and

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Speaker 1: how how did he command that room? Well, he had

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Speaker 1: no problem commanding in the room because we knew that

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Speaker 1: the guy was prepared. He knew his stuff, and so

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Speaker 1: he was gonna get us in the right spots. And

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Speaker 1: then I think the intricacies of the receiver position and

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Speaker 1: you just pick up over time of how to coach it.

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Speaker 1: But from day one when we came in, he knew

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Speaker 1: the big scheme of everything. He knew the concepts, he

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Speaker 1: knew exactly where we're supposed to be and what we

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Speaker 1: needed to do to get there. And I think it

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Speaker 1: was a seamless transition for him, and obviously it's gone

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Speaker 1: well where he's now nine years coaching the college game.

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Speaker 1: What have you learned or noticed at the NFL level

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Speaker 1: so far that's different or that it takes a little

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Speaker 1: bit of an adjustment. Well, it's different because of some

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Speaker 1: of the terminology and some of the things, but that's

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Speaker 1: gonna be different kind of wherever you go. I think

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Speaker 1: the biggest thing for me that I see is the volume.

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Speaker 1: I think you have the ability to do a lot more.

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Speaker 1: You just have more time. Right in college, guys are

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Speaker 1: going to school than they're lifting their weights, then they're

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Speaker 1: finally getting the meetings, then you got practice, you're trying

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Speaker 1: to cram it in. But here you've got all day.

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Speaker 1: You have an ample amount of time to get things done. Obviously,

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Speaker 1: everybody on this level skill wise is is up in

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Speaker 1: the upper echelon, and so you have more things that

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Speaker 1: you can do in more ways to get it done

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Speaker 1: than we would probably in college. How about just like

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Speaker 1: the access to film here in the NFL, Like just

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Speaker 1: the ease of going and saying, hey, I want to

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Speaker 1: make a cut up of this or a cutup of that.

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Speaker 1: How does that compare to the college level? Well, obviously,

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Speaker 1: you know, on the level I was at, we didn't

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Speaker 1: have as much access. You know, I was at FCS level, um,

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Speaker 1: and we didn't have that as much access, although we

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Speaker 1: were gaining some. But here you've had everything at your fingertips,

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Speaker 1: you know, the pro Football focus and the different things

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Speaker 1: where you could do a study real quick. I think

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Speaker 1: that's very valuable. Um. Those are the things that I

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Speaker 1: wish I would have always had. You know, it's kind

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Speaker 1: of a luxury now, but I think the PF you know,

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Speaker 1: the the tools for drawing and the tools for you know,

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Speaker 1: relaying the information to people. I think, you know, with

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Speaker 1: the technology pieces, it's amazing. And you talk about coming

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Speaker 1: from a special place, the FCS level, firming it's been

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Speaker 1: really good to you, right, I mean you you played there,

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Speaker 1: you coached there, You're in the Athletics Hall of Fame

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Speaker 1: back in two thousan eleven. How how tough was it

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Speaker 1: to leave there? It was tough. Uh. You know, I

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Speaker 1: knew for my career's sake and um, you know, this opportunity,

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Speaker 1: um that I had had to take it. I had

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Speaker 1: to step out. Um. I think the hardest thing is

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Speaker 1: the people, you know, Greenville, South Carolina. Firming University was

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Speaker 1: really really good to me and my family, and it

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Speaker 1: has been touched down there in two thousand and I

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Speaker 1: was still living there in twenty twenty two, so obviously

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Speaker 1: something was good. I think that's the biggest, biggest piece.

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Speaker 1: You know, there's really good people there. They care about you,

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Speaker 1: they want to see you succeed. And the coolest thing

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Speaker 1: about it is when I left, everybody was, you know,

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Speaker 1: very encouraging and supportive about what I've given to that

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Speaker 1: university and then you know, wanting to see me do well.

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Speaker 1: A lot of times we leave places people don't really

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Speaker 1: want you to succeed or they just kind of forget

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Speaker 1: about you. But there's been a ton of support and

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Speaker 1: a ton of encouragement, and that just goes to show you,

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Speaker 1: like what that relationship with firm And really means. What

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Speaker 1: do you want to bring to this role as a

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Speaker 1: quality control coach. I want to bring whatever it takes

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Speaker 1: to win a Super Bowl, you know, whatever that means.

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Speaker 1: And I know that, you know I'll be there doing information.

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Speaker 1: I know I'll be helping Reggie in the receiver room

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Speaker 1: and those guys. Whatever I can relay, whatever I can

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Speaker 1: deposit to help push us to the next level. You know,

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Speaker 1: that's what I want to bring. Um, I'm a winner.

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Speaker 1: You know we won in college, We've won, you know,

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Speaker 1: win in Canada, and I want to help however I

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Speaker 1: can to continue to that streak and win here. And

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Speaker 1: obviously there's a lot of guys here to have won,

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Speaker 1: and so I want to learn how to do it

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Speaker 1: on this level. You've had several jobs, I mean, wide

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Speaker 1: receivers coach, passing game coordinator, special teams coordinator at the

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Speaker 1: collegiate level. How has all that allowed you to get

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Speaker 1: ready for your role with the Colts, knowing you're going

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Speaker 1: to be kind of sprinkled across several different aspects of

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Speaker 1: the offense. I think it's just helped me be very

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Speaker 1: organized and be able to handle things that come my way,

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Speaker 1: not necessarily be flexible, but at the same time, just

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Speaker 1: learn how to navigate different areas and keep everything in

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Speaker 1: line and keep the main thing the main thing. I

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Speaker 1: think the more you can do, the better. That's how

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Speaker 1: I thought about as when I was a player, and

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Speaker 1: I think that's the same as the coach. The more

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Speaker 1: that you can do, the more you can contribute, and

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Speaker 1: then you can do whatever to help make the organization successful.

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Speaker 1: You spend a little bit of time with the Falcons

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Speaker 1: and the Ravens, you know, off season practice squad out.

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Speaker 1: How do those experiences color who you are as a

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Speaker 1: coach when you're talking about young men trying to make it,

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Speaker 1: whether it's at the college level now in the NFL level. Uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, knowing what it takes to make an NFL

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Speaker 1: roster and how much work you need to put in

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Speaker 1: for it. I think I'm just able to relate to them,

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Speaker 1: you know. I think that, Um, you know, I've been

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Speaker 1: in a lot of their shoes, haven't, you know, necessarily

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Speaker 1: been a first round draft pick. But I have been

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Speaker 1: a rookie, you know, and I've been through my first

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Speaker 1: camp and my first We've a right something, right, So

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Speaker 1: I think, you know, being able to relate to them,

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Speaker 1: knowing exactly what they're thinking, knowing some of the anxiety

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Speaker 1: of some of the things that are going to happen,

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Speaker 1: and um, what it takes to be successful, like what

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Speaker 1: are they looking for? You know? What are they not

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Speaker 1: looking for? You know? And um, hopefully I could be

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Speaker 1: an encouraging encouragement to them and kind of be that

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Speaker 1: guy that helps him out. You know, on the staff,

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Speaker 1: you've got guys like Reggie Wayne, like you talked about,

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Speaker 1: Marcus Brady, Frank Reich. You know, some pretty good guys

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Speaker 1: in terms of playing and coaching credentials. How collaborative have

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Speaker 1: you found the coaching staff, especially on offense to be

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Speaker 1: so far? It's been awesome, you know, to be able

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Speaker 1: to be in a room. And I don't say much

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Speaker 1: because I'm the guy who's trying to soak it all

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Speaker 1: in right now, but to be in a room and

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Speaker 1: here just the ideas go back and forth in the

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Speaker 1: different things, the minute details that we're trying to get right,

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Speaker 1: just to hear us talk and go through it and

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Speaker 1: change it. And there's no egos and everybody. We're just

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Speaker 1: all in it for the same thing. Yeah, And I

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Speaker 1: think that's awesome. And that's what I've noticed so far

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Speaker 1: being here. I'm sure it will continue. So I gotta

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Speaker 1: I gotta ask you. You mentioned NFL Europe. So your

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Speaker 1: year in two thousand and six with the Cologne Centurions.

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Speaker 1: I'm that team, quarterback Cliff Kingsbury, safety Bubba Ventrone. Your

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Speaker 1: head coach is Scott Milanovich. That you gotta have some

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Speaker 1: good stories from playing from playing with Bubba, from being

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Speaker 1: coached by with Milanovich, playing with Cliff Kingsbury, from that. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: well there's some stories we don't have to I'm probably though,

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Speaker 1: that's a thing, all right, what's your what's your favorite

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Speaker 1: Bubba Ventrone story from playing with him? Free man, I'm

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Speaker 1: trying to think it. Bubba just has always had energy. Man,

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Speaker 1: he had juice, you know, and I think you guys

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Speaker 1: know him. He got here. I mean, he had juice.

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Speaker 1: He's exactly the same guy. Um. You know, I just

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Speaker 1: remember us touching down there and uh, you know, it

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Speaker 1: was a it was a fun time. We got to

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Speaker 1: know each other pretty well. All those guys you can

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Speaker 1: get Like I said, when you get dropped into a

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Speaker 1: foreign country in the city you have no clue. You

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Speaker 1: get to be tight real quick. And so um. I

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Speaker 1: never forget when I was walking through the building when

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Speaker 1: I visited, I guess about a month ago, and he

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Speaker 1: just jumped out of his chair and gave me a hug.

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Speaker 1: That just shows you the relationship. You know, you just

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Speaker 1: pick up where you left off. It's great to have

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Speaker 1: you here, Brian, and it's it's a really neat football journey.

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Speaker 1: You've had to get to this point, and we're excited

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Speaker 1: to see where it takes you from here. I appreciate it,

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Speaker 1: I'm excited to let's go