Speaker 1: Drafted is a production of tree Fork Media, Clutch Sports Group,
Speaker 1: and I Heart Radio. What we did was put together
Speaker 1: this why Receiver big board, and we just made a
Speaker 1: war room in a dining room, and we've got stickies
Speaker 1: with the top thirty receivers. So every time a guy
Speaker 1: got picked, we put on the round what Picky was
Speaker 1: his name? What Timmy went to? And we had twenty
Speaker 1: eight slots right, and we had Dez his name and
Speaker 1: read welcome back to Drafted. I'm Steven Johnson. And this
Speaker 1: is episode seven of season three. The first round of
Speaker 1: the NFL Draft is over. Kelln Mahn and Dez Fitzpatrick
Speaker 1: are both still on the board, waiting for Day two
Speaker 1: of the draft to begin and their names to be called. Des.
Speaker 1: His father, Greg, has their living room draft board fully
Speaker 1: updated with the five receivers that were drafted in round one,
Speaker 1: along with velcro nameplates for the top twenty five receivers
Speaker 1: still undrafted. He's as ready as anyone for round two
Speaker 1: and three. This afternoon, Des, his mom, Wendy Fitzpatrick, describes
Speaker 1: the experience at her ex husband's house on that first night.
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, the war room and that is what
Speaker 1: he called it. Yet every wide receiver names already cut
Speaker 1: out in bell Crow with the teams, so those were
Speaker 1: already with the logo, with the helmet and the name
Speaker 1: of the teams. All of that was vehicle. So then
Speaker 1: we just were placing them one by one, every time
Speaker 1: a wide receiver. And then we will look at the
Speaker 1: batch that was left on the table of the remaining ones,
Speaker 1: and of course Destiny's name is still there. Des appeared
Speaker 1: relatively calm during the first round, even as those other
Speaker 1: receiver names went up the board and his name remained
Speaker 1: on the table. However, Greg's draft board didn't seem to
Speaker 1: ease his own nerves as much as he intended. Here's
Speaker 1: Wendy again, his father. He was pacing. He was pacing
Speaker 1: all through the house. So we okay, we have this
Speaker 1: many remaining wide receivers left. And yes, I'm like, Greg,
Speaker 1: would you please sit down. Just a lot of nervous
Speaker 1: energy going on. I think he was trying not to be,
Speaker 1: but it was obvious that he is, you know, like, no, no,
Speaker 1: I'm not no, no, no, I'm fine, And you're looking
Speaker 1: like you're a nervous wreck. You're a nervous wreck. It
Speaker 1: was very intense to say the least. As the second
Speaker 1: and third rounds approach, Clutch agent to Marius Bilbo calls
Speaker 1: Greg to check in on the Fitzpatrick's, perhaps with equal
Speaker 1: concern for father and son. Here's Greg on the phone
Speaker 1: responding about desert mental state. Man, if we got a
Speaker 1: real should environment, like I was telling you yesterday, Man,
Speaker 1: the environment that he set up at the crib is
Speaker 1: really fun, really chill. You know, he'll have an opportunity
Speaker 1: to just kind of be out of the way, you know,
Speaker 1: with his boys, and just to be kind of hanging
Speaker 1: out with his boys, you know what I mean. Sold. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so that people aren't you know every three minutes, you know,
Speaker 1: rubbing him on the bag, telling he's gonna be okay,
Speaker 1: and days don't run, you're gonna get paid, you know. Yeah.
Speaker 1: And then like I said, man, we got our little
Speaker 1: war room. Tell us connect my gems. But to receive
Speaker 1: I think I ain't thinking about the ship at this point, man,
Speaker 1: Like I ain't. Should I nothing I can do? Yeah, Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's a that's a great mindset, man. And like I said,
Speaker 1: the worry is just it's not what we need to be.
Speaker 1: You know. Obviously it's hard to because you got so
Speaker 1: much on the line, You've worked so hard, and you know,
Speaker 1: I always tell guys, this process has a way of
Speaker 1: making you think somebody is better than you, or you
Speaker 1: haven't done enough, or it's you're not good enough. But
Speaker 1: like I say, regardless of what pick you are, you're
Speaker 1: the only guy picked in that position for that year
Speaker 1: and you still gotta go pool. So thoughts with his mindset, Well,
Speaker 1: you got you know, I'll be available. I'll be sharing
Speaker 1: information with you, and I'm interested in my draft board.
Speaker 1: You receiver board, look look absolutely absolutely well. I appreciate you, man,
Speaker 1: and we'll be talking. Yep. Although Greg maybe coming across
Speaker 1: that's stressed or nervous death doesn't feel that way. He
Speaker 1: still seems to be composed at the moment. He explains
Speaker 1: his perspective going into the middle of the draft. I
Speaker 1: kept telling my dad, used asked me, like, you know,
Speaker 1: your dreams coming true, And I'm just kid telling him, like,
Speaker 1: you know, I feel like, regardless of if I'm a
Speaker 1: second rounder or seventh round or undrafted free agent, I
Speaker 1: truly feel in my heart that I did everything that
Speaker 1: I can do for me to go as high as possible.
Speaker 1: If my dad was just more anxious, like, Okay, I
Speaker 1: hope he gets a call, or I wonder where he's going,
Speaker 1: or you know, the rams talk to him a lot. Okay,
Speaker 1: the rams are up on the board. Okay, the rams
Speaker 1: on the cluck, let's see. And then okay, no, that's
Speaker 1: not you know, it's just the anxious in it. Round
Speaker 1: two is about to begin as guests arrived at the
Speaker 1: Fitzpatrick household in Michigan once again, and in San Antonio, Texas.
Speaker 1: Friends and families show up at the man residence for
Speaker 1: the second day, one of whom is Kellyn's grandma, Jacqueline
Speaker 1: Mont Smith, his dad's mother, who moves in for a
Speaker 1: hug on her grandson, Graham Graham Graham Graham's Graham grams,
Speaker 1: you decided, Oh yeah, I'm pretty excited. M How do
Speaker 1: you feel today? Feel normal? Good? How are you living?
Speaker 1: You're gonna are you gonna be nervous tonight? Sure you're nervous, sire,
Speaker 1: So you don't have to be nervous, okay. Kellen's grandma
Speaker 1: jokingly offers to bear the anxiety for the whole family tonight,
Speaker 1: but Kellen doesn't seem the need to take her up
Speaker 1: on that, as he said earlier this year. He's watching
Speaker 1: the draft at home just like he always does, and
Speaker 1: the main difference is just that his name will be
Speaker 1: called at some point. Meanwhile, in the living room, Kellen's dad,
Speaker 1: Kevin and Clutch Sports Groups Coral Silverberg make sure everything
Speaker 1: is set up for the virtual draft broadcast. So what's
Speaker 1: to win? Thirty one? So here I'll show you. Really,
Speaker 1: so this is a shot that is fins getting and
Speaker 1: they're just going to NonStop make me one of that.
Speaker 1: That's it. But they just want to make sure it's
Speaker 1: just the mom's family on the couch with back inside
Speaker 1: the house. Kellen opens the front door for another v
Speaker 1: I P guest. Man, Oh, waiting to see it. I
Speaker 1: know we've been Sharpen Airport for thirty minutes. Is Mark here? Yeah?
Speaker 1: This is jimbo Fisher, Kellen's head coach from Texas A
Speaker 1: and M A head coach, flying in for his players
Speaker 1: draft party. It's almost unheard of in major college football
Speaker 1: by this point in April. They're usually focused on recruiting
Speaker 1: for upcoming seasons, or preparing for summer training camp, or
Speaker 1: all the other endless demands on their time. So Jim
Speaker 1: coming here is a true Testament to the Bond Key
Speaker 1: and Kelen share circle were half an hour. Really. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was on the airport when we got appreciate we
Speaker 1: don't don't. How do you do don't? Yeah? Sorry your
Speaker 1: on you today. That's a great day man. You're watching yesterday? Yeah,
Speaker 1: we were sitting here watchings Pride. Uh like Washington picking
Speaker 1: a linebacker from Sucky, I want to say, and then
Speaker 1: the Saints picking the defensive end. Hello, good to see you,
Speaker 1: was saying. Washington, New Orleans and Minnesota. I know you
Speaker 1: talked to Minnesota, talked to Minnesota, talked to Gary and
Speaker 1: Clint and remember actaw Gary Hall of Fame thing, and uh,
Speaker 1: I'll tell you the other one cross off? Yeah really?
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah yeah, I wouldn't was they who? Uh
Speaker 1: that maybe one? Yeah? And Washington? You're at Minnesota and
Speaker 1: who'd you say that New Orleans special for Hill. I'm
Speaker 1: telling you, I've been to this thing, so damn well,
Speaker 1: whoever you don't, whoever did word, whoever hasn't. So they don't,
Speaker 1: they're they're so stay don't ever one they're scared the
Speaker 1: other one's gonna jump. Yeah. Who all came down with
Speaker 1: the team? Yeah, has right? There, chase worked out. As
Speaker 1: Callen and coach Fisher continued chatting, they see NFL Commissioner
Speaker 1: Goodell walked back onto the Cleveland stage over jackson jack
Speaker 1: Round two is officially open and Jacksonville has the first
Speaker 1: pick again. Kellen and his dad strategized based on what
Speaker 1: happened in round one and some additional intel they got
Speaker 1: from Kellen's agent. To Marius Bilbo, they said, no, dy
Speaker 1: Lynman and safeties were selected last night except the two
Speaker 1: hands from Miami. Gon'll be a lot of people, the
Speaker 1: Mars said, a lot of lots of demons of linemen
Speaker 1: going to night, a lot of secondary people going to
Speaker 1: don't safety back now ciscot Uh. The Marius were talking
Speaker 1: to one of the cold scouts and he said that
Speaker 1: the cold scouts said, Um, the best of this for me,
Speaker 1: like best teams would be in Minnesota or New Orleans.
Speaker 1: But so New Orleans takes that sixty, Washington picks that
Speaker 1: fifty one, and but Minnesota didn't have any second round picks.
Speaker 1: But they have multiple there for the third round and
Speaker 1: multiple four round so they may use some of those picks.
Speaker 1: You can give them a way to train into a
Speaker 1: second So we'll see Minnesota, New Orleans, Washington, and Denver
Speaker 1: are all reportedly interested in Kelly. However, four picks in
Speaker 1: the round two, Denver selects a running back instead of
Speaker 1: a quarterback, Lynman and other positions fly off the board,
Speaker 1: including two more wide receivers, but no Dez Fitzpatrick and
Speaker 1: no quarterbacks are selected. And despite Kellen's grandma trying to
Speaker 1: take on the nervousness for the whole family, Kellen's mom, Latitia,
Speaker 1: struggles with waiting and watching, especially as the weight of
Speaker 1: what's happening starts to finally sink in. I was definitely
Speaker 1: the most nervous, and I think if you were to
Speaker 1: look at the stream when the camera was on there,
Speaker 1: I probably did not move at all that night. I
Speaker 1: literally sat there. I don't think I really ate unless
Speaker 1: someone handed me something. I didn't have anything to drink
Speaker 1: other than having a water bottle that I was probably squeezing.
Speaker 1: But when you think about it, you know, we had
Speaker 1: an idea of the teens that we're looking for quarterbacks,
Speaker 1: so we kind of knew when it was like something
Speaker 1: was it was getting close, right, And so when you
Speaker 1: think about it, and you know, all you could think
Speaker 1: about is your child and how hard they have worked,
Speaker 1: you know, and all you want is the best for
Speaker 1: your kids in the end, no matter what all your ones.
Speaker 1: It's been emotional time for me over the last couple
Speaker 1: of months, and then we've had a lot of challengers. Also.
Speaker 1: It wasn't just a draft adding stress. The Mond family
Speaker 1: was also dealing with a family tragedy at the same time.
Speaker 1: My mother has always been very independent. She lived on
Speaker 1: her own, was driving at the age of eighty one,
Speaker 1: and on April eleven, m she suffered a stroke and
Speaker 1: based sickly was in the hospital and she was a
Speaker 1: huge m A and m van And although she was
Speaker 1: in the hospital on draft night, um, you know she
Speaker 1: she was watching the draft. As Latitia watched the draft unfold,
Speaker 1: she couldn't help but think of her mom in the hospital,
Speaker 1: also watching and rooting for Kellen. Sadly, latitious mom, Sylvia Gonzalez,
Speaker 1: passed away shortly after the draft ended. She was one
Speaker 1: years old. Kellen actually did get to speak to her
Speaker 1: a couple of days before the draft, and even though
Speaker 1: her speech was very short and it was very difficult,
Speaker 1: I'm so glad that he was able to talk to her,
Speaker 1: you know, that last time. Yeah, we'll be right back.
Speaker 1: Round two continues in Cleveland and on the television. In
Speaker 1: the mod household, Washington has a selection soon had to
Speaker 1: pick fifty one. This is where coach Fisher thinks Kellen
Speaker 1: will end up. So Kellen begins to get excited and
Speaker 1: narrate to his family in real time. We're gonna We're
Speaker 1: gonna see what Washingtonton does. One. I ain't trying to
Speaker 1: make you. Anxiety goes no call before, No, they call
Speaker 1: you after the pig see after the Giants pick Washington
Speaker 1: Parney checking balls a yesterday, I'll sitting right here and
Speaker 1: dad walked up behind me and he was it was
Speaker 1: Washington's pick, and like, you know, they needed a quarterback.
Speaker 1: I guess he's like just checking phones, just checking phones.
Speaker 1: The nerves are starting the show for Kellen's family, but
Speaker 1: not for him. Yeah, Washington's next, Okay. Gianna's uh, She's like, yeah,
Speaker 1: my anxiety is for the group. And I'm like, yeah,
Speaker 1: you're like your hand is taking to like that's why
Speaker 1: I keep putting my hand in my hair. On the
Speaker 1: draft broadcast, Washington announces their pick, an offensive tackle from Texas.
Speaker 1: The weight continues for Kellen, so, y'all, y'all, deciety can
Speaker 1: go down. Now. You know what's not me? You gotta
Speaker 1: be a QB. In the next three picks it Carolina Tennessee.
Speaker 1: They don't need the one. They might get one. UM four.
Speaker 1: Although he's tough to hear. That's coach Jimbo Fisher in
Speaker 1: the background commenting on a draft prospect on TV. Coach
Speaker 1: Fisher is talking about playing against him and what his
Speaker 1: stats were in a game that happened years ago. Apparently
Speaker 1: this sort of photographic football memory is the norm with him.
Speaker 1: Here's Kellen in the living room again, explaining another instance. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we we we mean like meetings and stuffing. He'd be like, hey,
Speaker 1: like pull up l s U two thousand four against Arkansas.
Speaker 1: We were going in the red drum. I'm like, dude,
Speaker 1: that was seventeen years ago. Where he keeps team free
Speaker 1: receiving players. Pick fifty seven, it's Dez Fitzpatrick's teammate and
Speaker 1: fellow Louisville wide receiver to tow out well. He's selected
Speaker 1: by the Los Angeles Rams, a team rumored to be
Speaker 1: interested in death. The pick surprises everyone in the Fitzpatrick family,
Speaker 1: and although Dez is happy and excited for his teammate.
Speaker 1: He also has been watching receiver after receiver get picked
Speaker 1: ahead of him. Here's his agent to Marius Bilbo on
Speaker 1: how does processes all of this. He took a lot
Speaker 1: of things in disrespect. And I think that Morsel went
Speaker 1: from going to Louisville, you know, having a great freshman
Speaker 1: year with Lamar Jackson and then kind of taking a
Speaker 1: back seat to some other names on roster or other
Speaker 1: guys who crossed the conference in the crawl the country.
Speaker 1: You know, he he really took a personal approach to this.
Speaker 1: Is that that I don't think I ever saw anyone
Speaker 1: outside of Jarvis Landry, you know, like I'm gonna write
Speaker 1: every receiver name that went in front of me. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna write their name down. I'm gonna keep it in
Speaker 1: my locker, and I'm gonna make sure when it's the
Speaker 1: last man standing, you know, my name is gonna be
Speaker 1: left on that list. And that's days And if he
Speaker 1: told you anything different, He's lines. We'll be right back
Speaker 1: back in San Antonio. The Chiefs are on the clock
Speaker 1: with pick number. Then two picks later the things will
Speaker 1: be up. And now that their longtime quarterback Drew Breeze retired,
Speaker 1: They've been rumored as an another likely landing spot for Kellen.
Speaker 1: He and his family discussed the Saints interest as the
Speaker 1: pick approaches. What are the Saints gonna do? Because I
Speaker 1: mean they called Jimbo after the meeting, like multiple coaches
Speaker 1: from and to Marrius. So if y'all have, like, if
Speaker 1: y'all have like food, and y'all tim and like you celebrate,
Speaker 1: are you gonna like throw it up? Yeah? Kellen is
Speaker 1: feeling optimistic because the Saints followed up their meeting with
Speaker 1: him by calling his coach, Jimbo and his agent to Marius,
Speaker 1: that kind of due diligence usually means the team wants
Speaker 1: to draft you. Surprisingly, the Saints take a linebacker from
Speaker 1: Ohio State instead. Feeling even more anxious, Kellen's mom, Letitia,
Speaker 1: keeps eyeing her son's phone. I kept asking Kellen, when
Speaker 1: will you be getting the call? Like, at what point
Speaker 1: do they make the call? And he said that once
Speaker 1: the clock starts for the next pick, that that was
Speaker 1: when they would call. So we're sitting and it's pick
Speaker 1: sixty four and it's Tampa Bay and we know that
Speaker 1: they're looking for a quarterback and so I'm just you know,
Speaker 1: trying to be you know, I always have a smile
Speaker 1: on my face and looking and looking and looking, and
Speaker 1: then all of a sudden, I see the pick is in,
Speaker 1: So I thought, darn it. Okay, so it's not pick
Speaker 1: sixty four. Okay, Now we're praying for sixty six because
Speaker 1: that's Minnesota. Pick sixty four belonged to the defending Super
Speaker 1: Bowl champs, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They needed a quarterback
Speaker 1: to back up Tom Brady, and they took one, selecting
Speaker 1: Florida quarterback Kyle Trask instead of Kellen. That marks the
Speaker 1: end of round two. Now Round three begins with Kellen
Speaker 1: and Dez still waiting and perhaps feeling a little more nervous.
Speaker 1: That's the second round in right now? Want the third round?
Speaker 1: Note Roun, Hello, this is yeah, a bunch of people,
Speaker 1: you know, technically a lot open right now? Yeah, yes, sir, awesome,
Speaker 1: I got you. He said you're going in Minnesota. Watch
Speaker 1: this up. That's Kellen's mom crying, and it's Coral Silverberg
Speaker 1: from Clutched Sports trying to clear a path for the
Speaker 1: draft broadcast because they'll be showing Kellen and his family
Speaker 1: on TV. When the pick Is announcement with the sixty
Speaker 1: six pick info track see Minnesota Viking select telling, Get
Speaker 1: Learning here, Serious, Graham, love you anything. That was Kellen's
Speaker 1: dad informing everyone they're about to get lit and that
Speaker 1: he isn't really sure what that means. Kellen describes the
Speaker 1: whirlwind moment from the phone call to hugging his grandma afterwards.
Speaker 1: I don't remember any day. I didn't necessarily know who
Speaker 1: was going to drive me or what was going on,
Speaker 1: so I didn't tell anyone I was on the phone.
Speaker 1: So whenever I said that, you know, people around me
Speaker 1: knew what there was, like people upstairs and everyone went crazy.
Speaker 1: Uh so, I mean it was, it was. It was
Speaker 1: a phenomenal feeling, and you know, I tell a lot
Speaker 1: of people that was probably one of the best feelings,
Speaker 1: um you know, that I've ever had. After ducking into
Speaker 1: another room to do interviews and media appearances, Kellen returns
Speaker 1: to the party to celebrate with friends and family. I
Speaker 1: was I was talking about to cry on everything with
Speaker 1: trut To crying around me everything. Yeah, what what's the
Speaker 1: weather like out there? Where I see? Kellen spent his
Speaker 1: entire life in Texas and Florida. So not surprisingly, he's
Speaker 1: already worried about the weather in Minneapolis. It's it's been
Speaker 1: it's been five in Minnesota. You can thank you for coming.
Speaker 1: The moment when Kelln's name was finally called impacted everyone
Speaker 1: at the party differently. Most cheered, some cried, and some
Speaker 1: just felt relief. Kellen's mom, Letitia, explains how watching the
Speaker 1: pick be announced opened her eyes to something much bigger
Speaker 1: than her son getting a new job as an NFL quarterback.
Speaker 1: When you looked around the room when and I'm gonna
Speaker 1: get emotional, but you know, there were there were so
Speaker 1: many family members. But when you looked at a friends
Speaker 1: and you see friends of Kellyn's that um, you know,
Speaker 1: you saw his coaches, his first coaches there, you saw
Speaker 1: Jimbo sitting on the couch. Um. It was such an
Speaker 1: incredible experience. You see his and m teammates, and you
Speaker 1: see kids that played middle school ball with him. It
Speaker 1: was amazing when you looked around the room to see
Speaker 1: who was really surrounding him, and they have all made
Speaker 1: an impact on Kellen and one thing that I thought
Speaker 1: was even the most special, and so many people commented
Speaker 1: on this. But after everything happened and he was drafted,
Speaker 1: and you know, we all started celebrating, and actually he was,
Speaker 1: you know, with my brothers and sisters, with your brothers
Speaker 1: and sisters, and just thanking them, thank you them for
Speaker 1: their support along the way, and it was just it
Speaker 1: was really it was really emotional. Shortly after all that,
Speaker 1: Kellen takes the microphone outside and addresses the crowd, m hey,
Speaker 1: real quick, everybody at real quick. Hey, I just want
Speaker 1: to just yeah, yeah, yeah, oh you you you wrote this. Hey.
Speaker 1: I just want to appreciate everybody for coming out here.
Speaker 1: Uh pretty much everyone who's in here I've been a
Speaker 1: part of a part of sometime I was a young kid,
Speaker 1: or just somebody I've met in college. So everyone who's
Speaker 1: been here has been a part of my support system.
Speaker 1: So I just want to say I love you'll, appreciate
Speaker 1: you all for coming out now, for telling yeah you
Speaker 1: can meet a microphone, y'all even get it back ground,
Speaker 1: for being out help of the family. Thank you for
Speaker 1: everybody come out. And this has always been a port
Speaker 1: And this is Kellen's dad, Kevin giving the speech. Now.
Speaker 1: It's been a lifelong dream of mind to have a
Speaker 1: child German. From the agent to starting les a quarterback
Speaker 1: always said I would never a true story. I would
Speaker 1: never ever change the damage blinds that were there from
Speaker 1: all the footballs we threw in this house. Mrs Mom
Speaker 1: would yell at us. We continue to do bit winds
Speaker 1: all throughout the house. I've promised you, I honestly God said,
Speaker 1: I would never change the blinds unless Kalman make it.
Speaker 1: We have blinds in our house here yet Uh there's
Speaker 1: been probably over a thousand footballs and hit the blinds
Speaker 1: from throwing, having him throwing practice in the house and
Speaker 1: heard yelling stop hitting the blinds. And we did it
Speaker 1: all the tw years he was a kid, whether he's
Speaker 1: three years old, four years old. I started, like I said,
Speaker 1: at too, throwing in their football. So we have a
Speaker 1: lot of damage blinds. But the deal was I would
Speaker 1: not change out the blinds in the house after we
Speaker 1: left him for a certain period of time until Kellen
Speaker 1: made it to the NFL. And now college is done
Speaker 1: and he made it to the NFL, so now I
Speaker 1: get a chance I can go buy new blinds. But
Speaker 1: it's kind of the symbol of her house for him
Speaker 1: because there's like been you know, limital blinds in the house.
Speaker 1: You know, window blinds and some have been up. But
Speaker 1: you know, it's not like the house is tacky or anything.
Speaker 1: But it was just the symbol of Kellen throwing the
Speaker 1: football in the house, hitting the windows so our dad
Speaker 1: make not making the catchupple ball he threw. So maybe
Speaker 1: that was it. But you know, we've been joking about
Speaker 1: this obviously for many, many years. Um, I actually want
Speaker 1: to keep the blinds because to me, you know, it
Speaker 1: reminds you of the journey that you've been on. Right,
Speaker 1: maybe more than anything else. That's what the NFL draft
Speaker 1: truly represents. It's the culminating moment of someone's entire life,
Speaker 1: from a two year old throwing a nerve ball with
Speaker 1: his dad, to a struggling college student dealing with the
Speaker 1: weight of perfection to a wide eyed NFL rookie with
Speaker 1: unlimited promise ahead. And it's that same zenith for his parents,
Speaker 1: seeing his friends from youth football, his cousins and college teammates,
Speaker 1: and even his coaches from out of town, all from
Speaker 1: different chapters of his life, all coming together to celebrate
Speaker 1: that little kid who lives in their memories. Next undrafted
Speaker 1: Jesus getting worried because you know when day three happens.
Speaker 1: It's like he could just start sliding. I don't want
Speaker 1: to have those feelings, so let me just try to
Speaker 1: block it out like it doesn't exist. People ask me
Speaker 1: what I wanted to do. I said NFL and they said, well,
Speaker 1: you gotta have a backup plan. So that night I
Speaker 1: couldn't sleep that night, and before I went to bed,
Speaker 1: I said, you okay, man, He goes yeah. I knew
Speaker 1: it wasn't gonna happen. It was at least fourteen hours
Speaker 1: a day of the time. You wake up at five
Speaker 1: am and I'm not getting home until seven at night.
Speaker 1: Then I have to do homework and then right back.
Speaker 1: As long as he keep showing up to his training sessions,
Speaker 1: We're gonna keep showing up to a training session. It
Speaker 1: was about putting everything I could put into this kid
Speaker 1: to where he can have what I didn't have. Drafted
Speaker 1: is a production of tree Ford Media, Clutch Sports Group,
Speaker 1: and I Heart Radio. The executive producers are Kelly Gardner,
Speaker 1: Lisa Amerman, Eric Slott, Eric Weiner, and sewn to Toone.
Speaker 1: The series is produced and written by Eric Winer. Garme
Speaker 1: Mamalu is our coordinating producer. Coral Silverberg is our associate producer.
Speaker 1: Tom Monahan is our senior audio engineer. The show is mixed, edited,
Speaker 1: and hosted by me Stephen Johnson, additional production help from
Speaker 1: Tim Shower and Hailey Mandelberg. For transcripts of the show
Speaker 1: and more information undrafted, go to Tree for dot fm,
Speaker 1: and for more podcasts. For my Heart, visit the I
Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.