WEBVTT - OTB Sports: Randall Cobb 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.240 But I remember before that game, it was like right 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:06.960 before the trade deadline when we played the Factors, and 0:00:07.000 --> 0:00:09.000 I remember going out for warm ups is just like 0:00:09.119 --> 0:00:12.400 trying to go with everybody like please come get me, please, 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:16.840 let's go. Somebody I was going to like, I would 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:22.880 have to, like Mark Burphy like please, like Google everybody, 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:29.400 Uh like we can't. They couldn't do anything about that. 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:45.879 What's up. I'm Randall Cob for a Green Bay Packtor. Hello, 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:50.920 esteemed listeners. Yes, I'm talking to most of you. I'm 0:00:50.920 --> 0:00:54.480 glad you're here with me for another episode of Off 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:58.880 the Beat Sports. I am your host, Brian baum Gartner, 0:00:59.000 --> 0:01:03.360 and today I have a dear friend and an incredible 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:08.280 player from well my favorite football team. Randall Cobb of 0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:11.760 the Green Bay Packers, is in studio today. He is 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:16.280 now a professional wide receiver in the National Football League. 0:01:16.360 --> 0:01:20.600 But he was not a sports prodigy or even a 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:25.440 high school superstar, no, ma'am. Shockingly, he was a bench 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:28.680 warmer for a lot longer than you might think. We're 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:32.000 gonna get into that some of his favorite plays of 0:01:32.080 --> 0:01:35.920 all time and some of mine, and we'll even bring 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:38.800 up the dark Ages, by which, of course I mean 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:41.280 when he moved to Houston for a period of time. 0:01:41.720 --> 0:01:43.760 I don't like to think about it, but it's important 0:01:43.760 --> 0:01:47.400 to learn the mistakes of history so we don't repeat them, 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:56.160 you know. So here he is my pal, Randall Cobb, 0:01:55.880 --> 0:02:04.040 bub I love it, Bubble squeak on Bubble and squeaker 0:02:04.160 --> 0:02:18.720 cook at every month left over from the Natyo well 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:25.920 sing boom Terrerol Randolph, What is happening my man? How 0:02:25.919 --> 0:02:29.280 are you doing? I'm good. I wore the shirt, the 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:33.520 green and gold golf shirt today. I'm so excited to 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:35.840 talk to you. How have you been? And I'm great. 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:37.799 I'm great. I'm actually up here in Green day eight 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:42.040 right now, that's all. So you're there? Now? How long 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:44.120 have you been in June? You you get, you get 0:02:44.120 --> 0:02:46.320 a little more time and then you come back right yeah, yeah, 0:02:46.400 --> 0:02:50.520 so we uh, I've been up here for about five 0:02:50.680 --> 0:02:54.239 weeks now. We got mini camp next week and then 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:56.800 another week of Oats Gays and then we'll have a 0:02:56.840 --> 0:02:59.920 break before its training camp stars to late Tovive. Nice. 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:03.360 Are you excited? Oh yeah, oh yeah. Man. One of 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:06.519 the years, well believe at the time goes by fast. 0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:10.000 I actually found a picture of us from at a 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:17.160 bar in Green Day Saturday. Yes, I think you were 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:19.760 hurt though, Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I was out. 0:03:19.800 --> 0:03:23.080 I was that you were not playing the next day. 0:03:23.120 --> 0:03:25.200 I was not playing the next day. Let's let's make 0:03:25.200 --> 0:03:30.080 sure yes that is and that's accurate. We're not fudging. 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:34.079 I remember that night very very well. I'm so happy 0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:36.440 for you. I'm I want to go back a little 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:38.680 bit before we talk about the Packers. I want to 0:03:38.720 --> 0:03:43.240 talk about your early start in sports back in Tennessee. 0:03:43.280 --> 0:03:47.480 So you were born in Maryville and then grew up 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:54.440 in it's al Coha, right, alcohol, the Aluminium Company of America. Okay, Okay, 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:58.960 Now I read you were a letterman in football, basketball, 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:03.400 and track, So that means you were an athlete. Just 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:07.320 spoiler alert that that's what that means for you. Was 0:04:07.360 --> 0:04:10.400 it just about being in sport or did you have 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:15.320 a particular interest early on growing up? Uh? Not really. 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:18.119 You know, I started playing sports when I was four, 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:22.240 and from age five until my senior in high school, 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:25.159 I played year round. It was like football season ended 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:28.520 played in the basketball, basketball season ended straight into baseball, 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:31.400 Baseball season ended straight into football. And it was just 0:04:31.440 --> 0:04:34.640 this cycle that just every year. It just never ended, 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:37.200 and then like I got to the point where I 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:39.880 gave up baseball and then I started running tracks, which 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:43.120 track took place of baseball, and that was just me. 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:46.800 I just I love being outside. I love anything competitive, 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:50.640 like I just I love competing and having fun and 0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:55.080 you know, living life. Yeah, when did it transition from 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:58.120 this is what I do. I love sports, I love competing, 0:04:58.400 --> 0:05:02.520 to this is what I want to do in my life. 0:05:02.560 --> 0:05:06.200 Do you remember was there a moment? I would say 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:10.279 that moment for me was probably like my eighth grade year. 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:14.960 I remember being in middle school and hearing about a 0:05:15.080 --> 0:05:20.320 guy that went to Arrival School Maryville, where where I 0:05:20.360 --> 0:05:23.200 was born, I was born in He was going to 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:26.560 Auburn to play football in college. And I was like, 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:29.520 oh man, that's cool, Like he used to go to 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:31.720 college and he's get to playing in SEC. Like I 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:34.760 grew up ten minute school University of Tennessee. I used 0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:37.920 to sell hot dogs at the stadium as a kid, 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:41.120 you know, Like I used to go on Saturdays and 0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:44.840 grab my hot dog fill, walk around the stadium, walk 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:48.320 up those stairs in Newland Stadium selling hot dogs. And 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:52.080 my my dream was always like to play college football. 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:54.320 Like that was just like, oh man, this is amazing. 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:57.200 But I think whenever I heard like, oh, this guy's 0:05:57.200 --> 0:05:59.880 going to Auburn, that's an SEC school, like I would 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:01.800 go to school there. So in my mind, I was like, 0:06:01.920 --> 0:06:05.880 I'm transferring to Maryville. I'm going to Marrable High School. 0:06:05.920 --> 0:06:08.520 They had won a bunch of state championships. Alpha had 0:06:08.560 --> 0:06:11.640 had some success here and there, but you know, my 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:14.000 my cousin and my brother, they wanted to state championship 0:06:14.040 --> 0:06:17.039 in two thousands and you know, so it's like O 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:20.800 two oh three and I'm like, okay, well I want 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:22.800 to do this. So I'm gonna go where I know 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:26.000 a guy has done this. And the high school coach 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:28.520 at the time he came to me, it was like, hey, like, 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:30.640 I think you got a great opportunity here. If you 0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:34.240 stay here, I think we can make something happen. And 0:06:34.400 --> 0:06:37.000 uh so I stayed it out for we had a 0:06:37.040 --> 0:06:39.880 great high school team. We ended up my four years 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:42.599 of high school, we won four state championship and we 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:45.400 had my sophomore year like two guys from between that 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:49.320 division one. So it became a reality when I started 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:52.719 like seeing it happen right around me, and I was like, wow, 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:54.360 like this is this is a real thing like that 0:06:54.400 --> 0:06:57.280 could really like go to college. Yeah, now I want 0:06:57.320 --> 0:06:59.000 to talk to you a little bit about this. This 0:06:59.040 --> 0:07:02.479 guy Gary Ankin, right, this is this is your high 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:09.720 school coach. These statistics seem absolutely impossible. I mean, he 0:07:10.000 --> 0:07:17.720 won he won thirteen state championships in sixteen years at 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:21.720 Alcoha High School. But it wasn't just what was in 0:07:21.760 --> 0:07:26.440 the water in al CoA, because this dude won four 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:32.120 at Riverdale High School prior to that. And then this 0:07:32.240 --> 0:07:35.320 is not There's got to be something going on here. 0:07:35.440 --> 0:07:38.440 I mean, does he just does he just transferred to 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:40.760 the school, because then I heard he announced his retirement 0:07:40.960 --> 0:07:43.680 right this year, and then three weeks later announced he 0:07:43.720 --> 0:07:46.760 was going back to Boyd, Buchanan and Chattanooga. It sounds 0:07:46.800 --> 0:07:50.120 like he's moving where he knows the athletes are. That's 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:52.360 what I'm saying. I don't know this for a fact. 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:56.640 I don't know this for a fact. I'm not gonna 0:07:56.720 --> 0:08:00.760 say that, but I think he is very elective than 0:08:01.160 --> 0:08:03.760 you know, the jobs that he takes and the places 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:07.200 that he goes. He walked into a situation when he 0:08:07.240 --> 0:08:09.520 came to alcohol. So he wasn't my coach, My pfession 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:12.960 and sophomore year we had a coach, John who who 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:16.200 ended up going to Georgia and taking a job in Georgia. 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:19.560 So we had one two state championships already and he 0:08:19.640 --> 0:08:24.000 comes into the program, you know, back to back state championships. 0:08:24.440 --> 0:08:28.040 Going to my junior year, we had two receivers that 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:33.040 had five plus offers. We had myself at quarterback, who 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:36.640 I wasn't being highly recruited. Everybody didn't think I was 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:39.200 a quarterback, so I wasn't quite there yet. But we 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:41.439 had we had some players. We had a defensive ent 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:46.520 that was committed to Tennessee, had thirty plus offers. You know, 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:49.000 we had, we had some talent. So yeah, he I 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:51.680 think he knew very selective then where he's coming into. 0:08:51.920 --> 0:08:54.559 But I mean when you go when you go back 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:57.520 to my hometown and you asked people around there, there's 0:08:57.559 --> 0:08:59.800 a lot of talents, a lot of hidden gens coming 0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:01.719 out of there, and we put a lot of a 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:04.720 lot of guys in college and you know, some have 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:08.080 panned out. I'm the only one that's the NFL, but 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:13.920 hopefully in the years. Yeah, okay, so you you start 0:09:14.000 --> 0:09:16.560 thinking about eighth grade, maybe I could do this, maybe 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:20.000 I could play college ball. Was there a person or 0:09:20.160 --> 0:09:22.920 people that you feel like helped you to get there? 0:09:23.559 --> 0:09:27.360 For sure, there was a lot of people. I think 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:32.240 most importantly was my my dad. He was always there 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:36.160 to give me confidence and to instill the love of 0:09:36.200 --> 0:09:38.200 the game for me. You know, he had coached me 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:40.200 from when I was a kid up until middle school, 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:45.040 and having him kind of helped me see things from 0:09:45.040 --> 0:09:49.400 a different lens. I had a cousin, James Rayner. We 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:53.760 call the Stink I think. Uh. He ran track in college. 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:58.160 He was like a ten oh six hundred guys, so 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:00.840 he had speed and he had won Stage campionship in 0:10:00.960 --> 0:10:04.400 two thousand. He was a big influence in my time there. 0:10:04.559 --> 0:10:06.160 And then my coaches. You know, I had some I 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:09.000 had some great coaches that helped push me along and 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:12.679 gave me those opportunities. But yeah, my pops, I mean 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:15.160 I used to my junior year when it's my junior here, 0:10:15.200 --> 0:10:18.800 I went on all kind of trips, so to these 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:22.679 summer camps at different colleges, and I had coaches telling 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:25.280 me that I've never played you one. I had you know, 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:28.439 people telling me that I should move the corner or 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:31.760 safety like this. Like that. I wanted to I wanted 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:35.079 to play offense, so you know, I always saw myself 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:38.000 touching the ball. So yeah, so I think I had 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:41.480 a lot of people and also my teammates in high school. 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:45.520 You know, they were some crazy athletic guys, and you 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:48.240 go back to my hometown and asked them, I probably 0:10:48.280 --> 0:10:49.760 wouldn't be the one that they would think to be 0:10:49.800 --> 0:10:52.760 in this position now, because that's how good the guys 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:56.439 in front of me were, right, So like they they 0:10:56.480 --> 0:11:00.480 had situations with grades, not being able to get into college, 0:11:00.720 --> 0:11:03.600 so being able to learn from other people's mistakes and 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:07.559 also having a support system around me. Yeah, I understand 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:11.680 your folks. You give them a tremendous amount of credit 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:16.160 really for financially supporting your dream and to get you know, 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:22.320 allowing you the opportunity to participate in sports. That's awesome. Yeah, yeah, 0:11:22.320 --> 0:11:26.160 that was huge. I think that's the difference. Yeah. So, 0:11:26.920 --> 0:11:30.400 but you continue through high school to play the other sports? Now, 0:11:30.559 --> 0:11:33.760 was that to keep you active or were you still 0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:37.280 thinking were you good enough in track or in basketball 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:39.760 to to make a run there or no, no, I 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:44.600 wasn't good enough in football at that time. You gotta 0:11:44.640 --> 0:11:47.360 understand like I wasn't I wasn't seeing the field. My 0:11:47.440 --> 0:11:50.880 freshman and sophomore year, I didn't play until we were 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:54.000 up by forty, and I would come in for you know, 0:11:54.080 --> 0:11:58.160 the last offense, a series of the game or defensive 0:11:58.160 --> 0:12:03.240 series whatever. Playing my freshman soft you know, I don't 0:12:03.240 --> 0:12:07.079 think you understand how guilty were. But my junior year, 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:09.600 whenever I came into the starting role, that's kind of 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:12.640 where I started to flourish and really show what I 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:15.800 could do as a quarterback. And I played a little 0:12:15.800 --> 0:12:17.960 bit of defense. But no, I mean it was I 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:20.880 was a high school kid. It wasn't like the pros 0:12:20.960 --> 0:12:22.800 were like a real thing, you know what I mean. 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:26.040 It was like playing high school ball. Like my senior 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:28.079 year might be the last year I have a play sports. 0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:30.480 So in my mind, it was like, I'm just going 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:33.640 to have fun. I love playing basketball, continue playing basketball, 0:12:33.760 --> 0:12:36.760 ran track. I played. I just didn't put my senior 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:38.920 year high school, I didn't play basketball. And that's because 0:12:38.960 --> 0:12:42.920 I had already committed to Kentucky and I was planning 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:46.720 on training and preparing myself. So whenever summer school started, 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:49.240 I could go right up and started summer school at 0:12:49.240 --> 0:12:51.120 the end of school year. So talk to me a 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:54.120 little bit about the decision to go to Kentucky. Is 0:12:54.160 --> 0:12:56.920 that where you felt they wanted you the most or 0:12:56.960 --> 0:12:59.880 what was that opportunity for sure? So that was I 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:03.640 got offered by Middle Tennessee State University and then I 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:06.839 got offered by Tucky when the same week. Those were 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:10.120 my only two offer before my senior year. I committed 0:13:10.160 --> 0:13:14.880 to Kentucky. Fast forward to December, like two weeks before 0:13:15.000 --> 0:13:18.760 State Tennessee office, and I grew up there like you know, 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:21.160 of course, I can't say that. I never dreamed of 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:23.400 playing there. Like like I said, I sold hot dogs, 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:26.840 you know. I I thought that, like that's what was 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:29.240 going to happen. But again that's when that's when my 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:32.520 dad played a role. I went over to UT. I 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:37.040 went to Philip Former's office. He handed me to national 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:40.120 championship crystal ball and I'm holding it and he's telling 0:13:40.120 --> 0:13:43.199 me how great of a quarterback I am. They're gonna 0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:46.679 change their office for me. Is I'm gonna be the 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:49.920 the greatest player that ever come to University of Tennessee. 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:52.080 And we leave there and we get back in the 0:13:52.120 --> 0:13:55.160 car and my dad's like, so, what do you think 0:13:55.240 --> 0:13:57.760 I'm like, what do you team? What do you mean? 0:13:57.960 --> 0:14:01.719 Like I'm getting ready to what kind of question is that? 0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:06.000 And uh, you know, he goes on He's like, well 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:08.480 if you're if you're this great of a player, then 0:14:08.880 --> 0:14:10.920 you know he has the pastor of house every single 0:14:11.000 --> 0:14:14.000 night on his way home. I was like, yeah, okay, 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:16.480 It's like, well, why didn't you ever stop by? You're 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:18.480 just great of a player and he has all these 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:21.280 recruits that he goes and business them, and why wouldn't 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:25.000 he come to you a little sooner if it's great? 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:28.560 You know what I mean? So I was like, okay, 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:31.520 I'll see what you're saying, like and that that allowed me. 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:33.600 That was that was the first time that I was like, 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:37.080 you don't have to listen to what people say. You 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:40.120 have to see their actions and understand that their actions 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:42.520 beep louder than their words. Right. So that's why I 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:45.080 credit so much to my dad because he was there 0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:48.720 to help guide me and kind of showed me what 0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:51.640 was happening. And when when it came to Kentucky, I 0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:54.040 just had so much faith in the coach of staff. 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:56.040 They have been so honest with me, so forth right, 0:14:56.320 --> 0:14:58.880 we're gonna give you a chance at quarterback for most like, 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:01.000 if you're gonna read moved to receiver? You know, so 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:03.240 I just had a respect for a coaching staff and 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:07.880 made that decision. That's awesome. Well, I on a personal note, 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:11.000 as a fan of the University of Georgia, I'm really 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:15.120 glad you didn't join Philip Falmer Tennessee got those guys 0:15:15.200 --> 0:15:17.200 just always annoyed the hell out of me. I'll be 0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:43.280 honest with you. You do move to receiver your sophomore 0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:47.240 year at Tennessee. Was that tough for you after having 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:51.760 your hands on the ball on every play? Uh, to 0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:55.480 begin a transition to being a receiver? And and did 0:15:55.520 --> 0:15:58.400 you did you agree with or support that decision? Or 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:01.480 was that tough for you? It was tough in the beginning. 0:16:02.400 --> 0:16:05.200 I think that's where ego plays a role, right, It's like, no, like, 0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:07.440 this is what I set out to do, this is 0:16:07.440 --> 0:16:09.280 who I am, this is who I know I am, 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:11.280 I know what I can do, this, I'm going to 0:16:11.440 --> 0:16:15.560 do it. And then you know, again, that's where you 0:16:15.720 --> 0:16:17.600 have people in your life that play a role and 0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:21.000 help me see the bigger picture. And I had a coach, 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:25.040 my quarterback coach, Randy Sanders. You know, he said to 0:16:25.080 --> 0:16:27.120 me one day, he was like, hey, I want you 0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:30.080 to go look up how many quarterbacks have been drafted 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:32.440 that's under six feet? You know. So I went and 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:35.000 looked it up, and remember the name. It was like 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:37.080 Doug Flooty and a few other guys. I was like, 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:42.680 footy Breeze probably maybe Breeze says he's six ft. I 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:47.640 don't know, right, I don't know, but yeah, so I go, 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:49.400 I go and look that up and then I come 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:51.040 back to him and I tell him what I found, 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:52.720 and he says, now, I want you to go look 0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:55.320 up receivers has been drafted on the six foot. I 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:57.040 go and do that and come back and it's like 0:16:57.120 --> 0:17:00.120 over a hundred guys. And he's like, you could go 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:03.840 to the NFL, have a team plus your career if 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:06.520 you make this move. If you do it now, you'll 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:08.840 be able to learn get crassed for the of what 0:17:08.960 --> 0:17:11.280 you're trying to accomplish. You know, what the what the 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:14.880 position really means. And I just took that from there 0:17:14.920 --> 0:17:17.040 and it was like, ask you what you're saying. And 0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:20.800 you know, the NFL was always a goal, and uh, 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:24.000 I think you helped guide me into into making that 0:17:24.040 --> 0:17:27.760 decision a little bit easier. And that was your quarterback coach. 0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:32.080 That's my quarterback coach, Kentucky. Yeah, Randy Sanders, And I 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:36.080 think that it also was like we had to fourth 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:41.720 star quarterbacks still there. Like I mean, you threw like 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:45.960 five you throw five touchdowns as a quarterback, had a 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:51.399 few inter steps. It's just like so, but we we 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:54.639 still ran like the wildcat offense and uh you know 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:57.760 ran the ball at too. So yeah, do you do 0:17:57.800 --> 0:18:00.639 you like that? I mean there's still some plays in 0:18:00.680 --> 0:18:03.800 there for you, even even now where you play where 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:11.719 you're the wildcat. I did past it was yeah, you know, uh, 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:15.760 no one you know, run the front of between tackles, 0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:18.800 the kick off. It turns a little different now what 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:21.560 it was, you know when I first came to leave. Yeah, 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:24.960 you're old. You're not like me. You're aged. I just 0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:28.359 get younger every year. That's the difference. It's crazy in 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:33.160 my mind, I'm but my body says different. Yeah, well 0:18:33.200 --> 0:18:35.800 that's a crazy thing. I mean, you reference at night 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:39.919 and I probably met you right then, right pretty shortly 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:42.880 after you got drafted. That doesn't seem like that long 0:18:42.920 --> 0:18:47.040 ago to me, even now, nine ten years ago. No, 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:48.880 that was just it was a couple of years ago. 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:54.520 Well COVID, maybe it's four years You know, that's crazy. Yes, 0:18:55.320 --> 0:19:01.480 your junior year against the undefeated Auburn Universe City team, 0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:07.080 you score four touchdowns. Is that the game where the 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:12.879 light switch happens? No, you know, honestly I felt it 0:19:13.320 --> 0:19:19.040 my freshman year playing Georgia. Actually I was Stafford A. J. 0:19:19.280 --> 0:19:22.600 Green No Shan Marino. You know, we were we were 0:19:22.640 --> 0:19:26.679 going we were going back and forth with them, and 0:19:26.720 --> 0:19:29.560 they ended up going up on us late in the 0:19:29.680 --> 0:19:33.560 in the fourth quarter. I go into quarterback drive down 0:19:33.560 --> 0:19:37.320 the field. Well, what would be putting us in position 0:19:37.359 --> 0:19:40.800 the tide of games? And I had a great game, 0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:42.919 I think I think I had a couple of touchdowns 0:19:42.920 --> 0:19:47.600 that game, but I, you know, fourth quarter, two minute drive, 0:19:47.760 --> 0:19:49.560 take us all the way down the field. We get 0:19:49.560 --> 0:19:53.679 into the red zone and run a screen and I 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:56.520 can't see over the d live and try to throw 0:19:56.520 --> 0:19:58.720 a screen to the running back and throw a pick 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:03.600 to the D line. Uh. After that game, I was like, yeah, 0:20:03.640 --> 0:20:06.000 I was distraught because I you know, I lost the 0:20:06.040 --> 0:20:09.480 game after an interception the end the game to throw 0:20:09.560 --> 0:20:12.600 us out of possession of winning in my mind after 0:20:12.640 --> 0:20:14.400 that game. So I was like, and I just went 0:20:14.480 --> 0:20:17.560 toe to toe with guys that I know are league, Like, 0:20:18.280 --> 0:20:22.040 I'm playing against NFL caliber players and like I held 0:20:22.040 --> 0:20:24.439 my own. So in my mind, I was like, man, 0:20:24.520 --> 0:20:28.040 this could really be a reality. But any time, you know, 0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:31.320 and I think that was like my motivation was, you know, 0:20:31.359 --> 0:20:34.240 after playing in a game like that against SEC talent, 0:20:35.080 --> 0:20:37.080 you see that talent that you're going to play against 0:20:37.119 --> 0:20:39.280 and know that they're going to league, and it gives 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:42.439 you confidence. Yeah, and it's it's crazy, he's kind of 0:20:42.480 --> 0:20:46.639 thinking about you, you know, primarily being a quarterback there 0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:49.240 in the beginning. It's really two years. I think that's 0:20:49.280 --> 0:20:53.000 why I was asking about your junior year. You start 0:20:53.040 --> 0:20:57.360 getting a ton of attention and decide to leave college 0:20:57.440 --> 0:21:00.879 early to go to the NFL. All talk to me 0:21:00.880 --> 0:21:03.639 a little bit about that decision. Did you ever consider 0:21:03.920 --> 0:21:06.119 giving it one more go or once you knew you 0:21:06.160 --> 0:21:09.200 had the opportunity, was it was it go time? I did? 0:21:09.680 --> 0:21:12.440 I did? I love kids like I love my time there. 0:21:12.680 --> 0:21:16.120 It went by so fast. I thought about going back, 0:21:16.240 --> 0:21:18.840 but in the end, it was like I gotta make 0:21:18.840 --> 0:21:23.000 a business decision, right, Like I'm twenty years old and 0:21:23.600 --> 0:21:27.160 I just touched the ball in a season probably average 0:21:27.240 --> 0:21:30.600 twenty five touches a game. I was able to stay 0:21:30.640 --> 0:21:35.240 healthy and I'm playing in the SEC where so I 0:21:35.280 --> 0:21:37.760 feel like it's one of the more violent leaves. It's 0:21:37.760 --> 0:21:40.520 really tough on the body. And I was like, man, 0:21:40.520 --> 0:21:42.320 I don't know if I'm gonna get this opportunity again. 0:21:42.680 --> 0:21:45.480 And you know what, what more could I do as 0:21:45.480 --> 0:21:49.320 a team. We were losing a lot of players. We 0:21:49.359 --> 0:21:52.399 didn't know who's gonna have moving forward. I had the 0:21:52.440 --> 0:21:54.840 best season that I could have possibly had. I broke 0:21:54.880 --> 0:21:57.720 the SEC record for all perfect yards. I have like 0:21:57.720 --> 0:22:00.840 twenty three hundred yards. That season was like, I really 0:22:00.840 --> 0:22:02.720 don't know what personally I can put myself in a 0:22:02.720 --> 0:22:06.240 player position. And that was kind of the advice that 0:22:06.280 --> 0:22:08.359 I had got from some of the people whenever I 0:22:08.400 --> 0:22:11.480 started talking to agents, and I was kind of it 0:22:11.640 --> 0:22:13.640 for me. It was like, Okay, well, I gotta make 0:22:13.640 --> 0:22:17.200 this decision and make that joke. Right, do you make 0:22:17.240 --> 0:22:21.040 the decision? You declare for the draft, and there's a 0:22:21.040 --> 0:22:24.840 little team in a little town called Green Bay that 0:22:25.240 --> 0:22:30.920 wins the Super Bowl, right, and you you get drafted 0:22:31.160 --> 0:22:33.560 in the second round by the Packers coming off their 0:22:33.600 --> 0:22:37.000 Super Bowl and you know they're gonna be good talk 0:22:37.080 --> 0:22:40.920 to me about that day and finding out that that's 0:22:40.960 --> 0:22:44.359 the team that that that drafted you, ah man, it was. 0:22:44.480 --> 0:22:47.160 It was a crazy experience because I went to New 0:22:47.200 --> 0:22:49.440 York with the draft. I was there. I was there 0:22:49.480 --> 0:22:52.240 for the draft. My agent thought it was a chance 0:22:52.320 --> 0:22:55.399 I could go in the first round. And honestly, it 0:22:55.520 --> 0:22:57.679 was a free trip in New York that my family 0:22:57.720 --> 0:22:59.520 had never been in New York. So I was like 0:22:59.680 --> 0:23:04.280 gold through George, my mom and mom and dad and 0:23:04.520 --> 0:23:07.200 Stepplings and we all went to New York for the draft. 0:23:07.800 --> 0:23:10.119 It was an experience for us as a family. You know, 0:23:10.200 --> 0:23:12.680 they get to get to see the Big Apple, which 0:23:12.920 --> 0:23:16.280 that was everything. It was. It was unbelievable experience. But 0:23:16.400 --> 0:23:19.040 then like when the draft rose around, you know, as 0:23:19.119 --> 0:23:21.960 now it's into the second round, and I thought I 0:23:22.000 --> 0:23:24.920 was going to Baltimore. That was like five picks before 0:23:24.960 --> 0:23:27.520 green Bay, And then I thought I was going to Pittsburgh. 0:23:27.640 --> 0:23:30.239