Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody, I'm Dan Horden.
Speaker 2: Thanks for downloading The Bengals Booth podcast. The Just the
Speaker 2: two of Us addition featuring a very special conversation with
Speaker 2: rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton and his mentor, former Bengals
Speaker 2: pro bowler TJ. Hushman Zada. The Bengals Booth Podcast is
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Speaker 1: It's the greatest.
Speaker 2: Thing since a History of Rock Music in five hundred
Speaker 2: Soft that's the name of a podcast that started in
Speaker 2: twenty eighteen that I recently discovered and began listening to.
Speaker 2: The host is an Englishman named Andrew Hickey, and his
Speaker 2: research into the history of each song is simply mind boggling.
Speaker 2: Andrew is up to song number one seventy four, which
Speaker 2: is a two part episode about I Heard It through
Speaker 2: the grape Vine. I haven't listened to that one yet,
Speaker 2: but I've picked out a few songs that I like
Speaker 2: and have enjoyed learning the backstory behind them. I will
Speaker 2: give you one warning, some of the episodes are really long.
Speaker 2: But if you like rock and roll and want to
Speaker 2: learn how some great songs came into existence, check out
Speaker 2: A History of Rock Music in five hundred Songs. Oh
Speaker 2: and there's one other good thing about the podcast. The
Speaker 2: host doesn't attempt to sing. Now, let's get to football.
Speaker 2: For several years now, the NFL has had former players
Speaker 2: announce picks during the NFL Draft in an effort to
Speaker 2: connect the game's legends with the next generation of stars.
Speaker 2: This year, Barry Sanders, Warren Moon, and Jim Plunkett were
Speaker 2: among the all time greats on the stage, and when
Speaker 2: the Bengals were on the clock in the third round,
Speaker 2: former Pro Bowl wide receiver TJ. Hushman Zada stepped to
Speaker 2: the mic.
Speaker 3: So this pick means This pick means something to me
Speaker 3: as I've been training this kid for a long time
Speaker 3: and now he's going to be drafted by the Bingles.
Speaker 1: So with the eightieth pig in a twenty twenty four.
Speaker 3: NFL draft, the Cincinnati Bingles select Jermaine Burton, wide receiver Alabama.
Speaker 2: That night, it struck me as a remarkable coincidence that
Speaker 2: the Bengals selected a player that Hushman Zada had been
Speaker 2: working with for four years, but it wasn't really a coincidence.
Speaker 2: Before the draft, TJ was among several people that the
Speaker 2: Bengals reached out to to learn more about Burton. Nobody
Speaker 2: questions Jermaine's talent, but there were some questions about his
Speaker 2: Adamude and Hushman's out to help convince the Bengals that
Speaker 2: Burton will thrive in Cincinnati. I think you'll feel the
Speaker 2: same way after listening to the conversation that I had
Speaker 2: with the two of them.
Speaker 1: DJ.
Speaker 2: Let's go back to draft night. You're waiting in the
Speaker 2: wings to announce the Bengals third round pick. Somebody hands
Speaker 2: you a card and you see the name Jermaine Burton,
Speaker 2: this guy you've worked with for the last four years.
Speaker 2: What was your reaction.
Speaker 3: I was shot, man, I was shot because you don't
Speaker 3: expect any of that to happen. And so when I
Speaker 3: saw the name, I look at the car and I'm like, wait, wait, wait,
Speaker 3: ain't no way. And so I was backstage and I
Speaker 3: actually got video of it, me and Me and May
Speaker 3: got on FaceTime when I was backstage, and literally as
Speaker 3: I'm getting ready to walk out, I'm like, I'm gonna
Speaker 3: call you after I gotta go announce it.
Speaker 1: Like it literally went that way.
Speaker 3: And it's good though, because I I've known Maine. I
Speaker 3: actually met him when he he was at Calabasas Hogh,
Speaker 3: but we didn't really know each other.
Speaker 1: We met, but I didn't really know him. He didn't
Speaker 1: know me.
Speaker 3: Then he came out when he was with Georgia worked
Speaker 3: with me a day or so, didn't really know him
Speaker 3: either then. And then it was a couple of years
Speaker 3: ago where we really like honed in and spent a
Speaker 3: lot of time together and like I got to know Maine.
Speaker 1: A lot, not not from a just as a person
Speaker 1: and as a man. You know, it's a time.
Speaker 3: I mean, we didn't have conversations of things outside of football.
Speaker 3: So when I saw that, I was happy for him
Speaker 3: because we had to talk prior to the draft. You know,
Speaker 3: it doesn't matter where you go, it's what you do
Speaker 3: when you get there.
Speaker 1: And Maine has a Maine is the first round talent,
Speaker 1: and everybody know that.
Speaker 3: He know that he's the first round talent, and so
Speaker 3: if he plays up to his ability and his talent,
Speaker 3: the Bengals got a steal for sure. But yeah, when
Speaker 3: I saw his name, was shocked. Man, I couldn't believe it.
Speaker 2: So Jermaine, let me go back to the timeline. Before
Speaker 2: the rest of us saw TJ on TV announce the pick,
Speaker 2: you had received the phone call from the Bengals and
Speaker 2: face timed him right.
Speaker 4: Mm hmm, that's where life went down. Yeah. No, so
Speaker 4: I got the call and then TJ called me.
Speaker 1: I got video.
Speaker 3: I got video, like somebody from the NFL actually recorded.
Speaker 1: Me talking to him and he sent me that video.
Speaker 3: It's pretty like it's a pretty neat behind the scenes
Speaker 3: type of thing because he recorded it.
Speaker 1: And yeah, it was crazy.
Speaker 5: Yeah, no, they had they gave me the call and
Speaker 5: to be to be like, to be completely honest, of
Speaker 5: I wasn't even in the room with the rest of
Speaker 5: my family and friends. I was actually sitting Uh. I
Speaker 5: was actually sitting in the other room on the bed
Speaker 5: alone and I was just thinking to myself because I
Speaker 5: was just saying I was slipping, and it was just
Speaker 5: me like so much reality was hitting me at once,
Speaker 5: and I was like, this draft process is real, deal
Speaker 5: like and so all.
Speaker 4: I could just think is just that, like, bro, like
Speaker 4: what Like?
Speaker 5: I didn't know what was going on because I know
Speaker 5: my telling, I know myself, and I know who I
Speaker 5: am as a person. So when I was just when
Speaker 5: I was just slipping and you know, I'm seeing a
Speaker 5: lot of other guys go before me, it was just
Speaker 5: it was sparking a lot of hunger in me, honestly.
Speaker 5: So at that point, after past that second, past all
Speaker 5: that stuff, I didn't care if I went four, fifth, sixth,
Speaker 5: I didn't care anymore. I just wanted a team to
Speaker 5: call me. And so yeah, when I was just sitting down,
Speaker 5: I looked at the I remember, before I got off
Speaker 5: and went into the room, I looked at the next
Speaker 5: few picks. It said something like Denver this this it
Speaker 5: was like three. I didn't I didn't see the Bengals
Speaker 5: coming up. So I'm sitting in the room and I'm
Speaker 5: just sitting I'm like, man, like, bro, what I'm like, Bro,
Speaker 5: I'm like I thought this always all about talent, Like.
Speaker 4: I'm like, bro, what they what they got going on?
Speaker 5: Like I'm just sitting there this just mad at myself,
Speaker 5: like and out of nowhere. I just a I see
Speaker 5: the Cincinnati, Ohio number called me and I'm like what.
Speaker 4: I'm like, bro, Bingles got a pick coming up? Like
Speaker 4: I'm like, hold on, bro.
Speaker 5: Like so I sat up straight and I answered the
Speaker 5: phone and it was Zach Taylor and I was just
Speaker 5: sitting there and I'm just like, oh my God, like
Speaker 5: I'm like bet so.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so this is where I'm at. You feel me.
Speaker 5: I honestly feel like I couldn't have went into a
Speaker 5: better position. I just think it's crazy how God really
Speaker 5: works out things. And I don't care what pick I
Speaker 5: could have been anywhere first second or anything. I feel
Speaker 5: like if I would have known I was going to
Speaker 5: this team right here at that pick, I would have
Speaker 5: picked that from the jump, and especially after, you know,
Speaker 5: knowing what I know now and being here and knowing
Speaker 5: how this you know, team really operates an organization as
Speaker 5: a whole. So yeah, this I can't even explain what
Speaker 5: like how this situation is for me.
Speaker 4: I'm blessed and you know, I wouldn't rather be nowhere
Speaker 4: else PJ.
Speaker 2: Hearing him describe that weight, did that sound familiar? Obviously
Speaker 2: you had to wait even longer.
Speaker 1: It's frustrating. But at the end of it doesn't matter, man,
Speaker 1: Like it don't.
Speaker 3: There's gonna be some guys that were drafted in the
Speaker 3: first round that can't play.
Speaker 1: We all know that second round the same.
Speaker 3: But it's gonna be some guys drafted after Maine that
Speaker 3: everybody's gonna say, why didn't he get drafted higher? It's
Speaker 3: an inexact science. Jermaine's in the perfect spot. You would
Speaker 3: a quarterback that's one of the best in the league.
Speaker 3: You would you would a group of offensive coaches and
Speaker 3: Zach Taylor and picture that they understand how to put
Speaker 3: guys in positions to be successful. And so it's on
Speaker 3: you now, and so it's on Maine to make sure
Speaker 3: he's in a type of shape he understands the offense.
Speaker 3: And it was crazy because after he got drafted, we
Speaker 3: get on the field and uh, I was shocked, Like
Speaker 3: we going through fourmations. I'm yelling at the fourmations and
Speaker 3: he just lining up.
Speaker 1: Like bow bow bow. I'm like, damn, you know this.
Speaker 3: Already like, and so he was locked in as soon
Speaker 3: as they drafted and they sent him the playbook and
Speaker 3: no lock. We got on the field and he was
Speaker 3: able to line himself up and he had just got
Speaker 3: the playbook. So I said, okay, it means something like that.
Speaker 3: That right there showed me he was investing in himself.
Speaker 3: And so all he gotta do is make the plays.
Speaker 3: You got the quarterback, you got other receivers and Jamar
Speaker 3: and t that's gonna take a ton of attention. And like,
Speaker 3: when y'all see this boy on this boy is born
Speaker 3: to play.
Speaker 1: He's way faster than the forty times that he ran.
Speaker 3: I don't know what he was thinking and what he
Speaker 3: was doing, but he's so explosive, he's big and so
Speaker 3: like he's one of the top receivers in the country
Speaker 3: coming out of high school. He was one of the
Speaker 3: top receivers in the country in college. When you look
Speaker 3: at his yards per catch, to me, it's where you go.
Speaker 3: And if you can go play with Joe Burrow, I
Speaker 3: would walk from Cincinnati to California if I could do that,
Speaker 3: or vice versas California. If I can't, Joe Burrow gonna
Speaker 3: be my quarterback. Well, let me get this backpack and
Speaker 3: some water. I'm gonna go ahead and hit this freeway walking.
Speaker 3: That's that's how much I would want to play with Joe.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and let alone and let alone, you know, despite
Speaker 5: the fact that you've been playing with Joe in a
Speaker 5: side guys like t and Jamar Like like when I
Speaker 5: tell you, this entire team is like, Bro, that's so it.
Speaker 4: Bro, this whole team is amazing.
Speaker 5: Like every person I met, every VET I met, was
Speaker 5: completely just welcoming and you know, just was just instantly
Speaker 5: just took me in and was like you know what's good,
Speaker 5: like we know, we happy.
Speaker 4: To have you this worklet's this, this that, And you.
Speaker 5: Know, honestly, I didn't expect that, like cause you know,
Speaker 5: going into the league, you go, you know, you expect
Speaker 5: some bets to like try to like on some freshman
Speaker 5: freshman you're a college type deal like, and it was.
Speaker 4: Like, Bro, it was the complete opposite.
Speaker 5: Like so I've got nothing but complete different vibes from everybody.
Speaker 5: So I'm actually I'm cool with some vets. Now, you know,
Speaker 5: we've to change numbers. We've talked about some certain things,
Speaker 5: and Bro, I didn't expect that not one bit at all.
Speaker 4: I'm expecting some Vest to even just walk by like yeah,
Speaker 4: I'm like, man, but I ain't get none of that.
Speaker 5: I'm walking by Vest, I'm like he not, he not,
Speaker 5: He's not finna say nothing. It was good little bro
Speaker 5: like this and that this, and that you need anything,
Speaker 5: holler at me. I'm like what, I'm like that, like okay, cool,
Speaker 5: so bro, everything and stuff like that.
Speaker 4: Because the more comfortable I am with.
Speaker 5: My team bro, the more comfortable I am playing so
Speaker 5: and especially after knowing everybody's ways, so I feel like
Speaker 5: it's different from when you want to feel with these guys.
Speaker 5: When you get to know their why too, and why
Speaker 5: they're playing and what their motive is, you know, it's
Speaker 5: a it's a different feeling because.
Speaker 4: Now you know why they're playing.
Speaker 5: Now you know that you got to stay on them too,
Speaker 5: because now you know their situation. So now you know
Speaker 5: that whatever this going on, this going on, they came
Speaker 5: from this, they came from that. So now you know
Speaker 5: that you can push them from a certain limit now
Speaker 5: instead of just being like okay, that's just my teammate,
Speaker 5: like cool, Like now I know your why, So even
Speaker 5: if I see you slipping up or even if I
Speaker 5: see you not this this and that, I can get
Speaker 5: on you because I know your motive now and it's
Speaker 5: like I know how bad you want this and I
Speaker 5: know how bad.
Speaker 4: You need it.
Speaker 5: So it's it's a complete difference in that and that
Speaker 5: makes a big difference for me as well.
Speaker 4: So I just I've connected with this team on in ways.
Speaker 5: I didn't think I was going to at a at
Speaker 5: so early, and you know, even though it's still so early,
Speaker 5: but you know, this is exactly the path I visioned
Speaker 5: I wanted to take, but I just didn't expect it.
Speaker 4: So, Uh, everything's great, PJ.
Speaker 2: When you announced the pick, you said, this pick means
Speaker 2: something to me. Are you invested in his success in Cincinnati?
Speaker 1: He knows that.
Speaker 3: Like listen, me and Maine have had conversations, like prior
Speaker 3: to the dread, Like I had a couple people call
Speaker 3: me and say, listen, I know you training your Maine. Uh,
Speaker 3: this is what we've heard and I'm not going to
Speaker 3: go into the team and I'm not going to go
Speaker 3: into what was what was said to me. And we
Speaker 3: had a conversation with this team. I did, and I
Speaker 3: kind of told him who I believe Jermaine and is
Speaker 3: a person and what they were saying, whether it was
Speaker 3: right or wrong, And so I told Mayine this, like, listen,
Speaker 3: you know, you write your own story. People can say
Speaker 3: this Orda, You write your own story. And you know,
Speaker 3: at times the conversation wasn't a smooth conversation because Jermaine's
Speaker 3: a man and I'm a man, and you know we
Speaker 3: may disagree at times.
Speaker 1: It's always gonna.
Speaker 3: Remain respectful, but you know, the tone made raise here
Speaker 3: or there, and we had a conversation. And so when
Speaker 3: I said that, it meant something because we had just
Speaker 3: had this conversation about what people perceive you to be,
Speaker 3: whether you agree with him or not. Perception is reality,
Speaker 3: but you can change that perception and I'm gonna try
Speaker 3: to help you change that perception.
Speaker 1: And for now to for it to.
Speaker 3: Be with the Bengals, it was like, well, this is
Speaker 3: even better, and so that probably was it. Like it's
Speaker 3: what like I grew up a Cowboys fan, I'm not
Speaker 3: a Cowboys fan, Like the Bengals are my favorite team
Speaker 3: and that that's who I root for, and so I
Speaker 3: can root for the team that I root for it
Speaker 3: now and.
Speaker 1: Really, really really genuinely.
Speaker 3: Want to see Maine succeed because he's with a team
Speaker 3: that I root for and I'm personally knowing.
Speaker 2: So it's no secret some of the things that were
Speaker 2: out there before the draft temperamental, maybe some maturity issues,
Speaker 2: things along those lines. Have you specifically tried to help
Speaker 2: Jermaine with that stuff?
Speaker 3: We talk about like, aren't we all temperamental? Really, let's
Speaker 3: just be honest. Everybody's temperamental. Who was just even killed
Speaker 3: at all times? And so I don't I want an
Speaker 3: athlete that doesn't care. Can we harness you know that?
Speaker 3: Can we control that? If you can play sports at
Speaker 3: a high level, at some point in time, you have
Speaker 3: to be able to control yourself. So he can do that.
Speaker 3: And so I want somebody that cares. I want somebody
Speaker 3: when things aren't going the way they anticipate them to go,
Speaker 3: I want them to I wanted to bother you. Now
Speaker 3: you can't let it control you, but it should bother you.
Speaker 3: And so I didn't see that with him. And when
Speaker 3: I train guys, I talked to him crazy. I don't
Speaker 3: disrespect him, but I kind of talked to him kind
Speaker 3: of crazy.
Speaker 1: Again, He's never never approached me that way, and so
Speaker 1: it was.
Speaker 3: When teams do that, it's kind of disheartening because you
Speaker 3: you you are affecting somebody's future.
Speaker 1: If you don't want to draft a kid, just don't
Speaker 1: draft them. But it's funny.
Speaker 3: I met with a team not too long ago, and
Speaker 3: I said, man, it sounds really crazy and it's really.
Speaker 1: Cocky, but it's not. And Maine knows. It's from the guys.
Speaker 1: There's not one guy, not one guy that I trained
Speaker 1: that hasn't gone to the league and done very very well.
Speaker 1: Not just okay, everybody that I've trained has done very
Speaker 1: very well.
Speaker 3: Eventually I'm gonna get that one. But as of now,
Speaker 3: I'm bad in a thousand and it's really about me.
Speaker 3: It's the kids that I'm training are just so good
Speaker 3: they make me look good.
Speaker 2: So, Jermaine, if my math is correct, you were six
Speaker 2: years old when TJ set the Bengals record for most
Speaker 2: catches in a season and went to the Pro Bowl
Speaker 2: one hundred and twelve catches in one season. Did you
Speaker 2: know anything about his career when you two guys started
Speaker 2: working together.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I knew. I knew.
Speaker 5: I knew quite a lot because you know him and
Speaker 5: Oho two really great receivers, and you know, it.
Speaker 4: Was so much online about everything.
Speaker 5: I used to see so many kind of videos and
Speaker 5: all kinds of stuff from practice to gain film and
Speaker 5: to interviews and even after I got training with him
Speaker 5: and stuff like that, Like I go home sometimes and
Speaker 5: I even look up some stuff like I want us,
Speaker 5: I want to know more and see more. And it
Speaker 5: was just funny because after everything I'm like looking up
Speaker 5: and after seeing the kind of player that he was,
Speaker 5: it just matched up with him so perfectly. I was like, Bro,
Speaker 5: everything I'm seeing right now just matches him. And it
Speaker 5: was just funny to see because when you're working out
Speaker 5: with TJ, you know, he you know, when we're just training,
Speaker 5: we're not just everything.
Speaker 4: It's not always just football.
Speaker 5: You know, it's not always just just oh, we're not
Speaker 5: just doing straight drills, just straight drills, just straight drills.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 5: In between that, you know, we tend to take about
Speaker 5: five to ten minutes and we'll we'll talk real life sometimes,
Speaker 5: and you know, it's always good. You know, hear coming
Speaker 5: from TJ. Because TJ's been through a lot and he
Speaker 5: knows a lot. He knows a lot of people, so
Speaker 5: it's always some knowledge that TJ drops on you uh,
Speaker 5: other than football when training with him. So and it's
Speaker 5: a lot of stuff that we have shared and told
Speaker 5: tweet and like.
Speaker 4: You know, spoke on.
Speaker 5: But I'll lead that to the exclusiveness of just knowing TJ,
Speaker 5: because that's just you know, that's just how he is.
Speaker 5: And so it's a lot of stuff that you know,
Speaker 5: he's put me on Game two and told me and
Speaker 5: this and this and that that I never shared because,
Speaker 5: like I said, I just leave that up to this
Speaker 5: exclusiveness of knowing him and training with him. So you know,
Speaker 5: everything is just appreciated from him, and you know, we
Speaker 5: still have a lot of work to put in, tons
Speaker 5: of work to put in. And you know, it was
Speaker 5: really just a connection from the jump because I really
Speaker 5: noticed that TJ really cared about you know, what was
Speaker 5: even being said and all the like, like how he said,
Speaker 5: how we had those conversations and how he did come
Speaker 5: to me.
Speaker 4: And I still.
Speaker 5: Remember that day, you know, when I came there and
Speaker 5: he was, you know, telling me what was being told
Speaker 5: about me and you know, everything and what was being
Speaker 5: shared and he and the next thing.
Speaker 4: He said after that was I'm going to help you
Speaker 4: fix that and like literally just like that.
Speaker 5: And you know, we had another conversation after that, and
Speaker 5: that conversation really went far with me because it hit
Speaker 5: me differently because you you know how connected well connected
Speaker 5: TJ is. So when he's telling you something like this,
Speaker 5: regardless you like it or not, it's true. So regardless
Speaker 5: of how I felt about it, and regardless of what
Speaker 5: what what was being said, it was one hundred true.
Speaker 5: So I sat there and I was like, you know what,
Speaker 5: I'm finna just bro, I'm taking everything in. I'm finna
Speaker 5: listen to exactly what he's saying, and I'm gonna see
Speaker 5: where it takes me. And it changed me a lot.
Speaker 5: And you know, like I said, every like that's that's appreciated.
Speaker 5: And you know, I'm blessed to even work with TJ
Speaker 5: and to know him and have a relationship with him.
Speaker 4: And you know, this is a good.
Speaker 3: Work that day, man, because it was what was you
Speaker 3: it was it was wrong. Yeah, we had it was
Speaker 3: a good work out that day, by the way.
Speaker 4: It was a good work out.
Speaker 5: So we put it out yoh yeah, but it's always
Speaker 5: good work man.
Speaker 4: But yeah, dude, that that that that that that.
Speaker 5: Day specifically meant a lot to me because that was
Speaker 5: the day that, you know, because after he told me
Speaker 5: all of that, his next words was, I'm gonna help
Speaker 5: you fix that.
Speaker 4: Like we don't fix that like, and you know, that's
Speaker 4: exactly what happened. So it's all good.
Speaker 2: I can hear in your voice that you appreciate somebody
Speaker 2: who shoots you straight mm hm. You don't want somebody
Speaker 2: to shutarcoat things, right, Yeah.
Speaker 4: No, especially especially in the manner of this is what
Speaker 4: it is. Boom boom boom boom boom.
Speaker 5: Now we're fixing it, not this, you know, uh nah famn,
Speaker 5: this is what's being said. This is what we're doing
Speaker 5: to fix it, like and that was just that. And
Speaker 5: that's how TJ is with everything he talks about, Like,
Speaker 5: he shoots it straight to you, and you know, it
Speaker 5: makes it easy regardless if you like it or not.
Speaker 4: And I feel like the part that really helps you
Speaker 4: more is how he shoots it to you.
Speaker 5: Because a lot of people could bring something to you
Speaker 5: and they could say it and go around this curve
Speaker 5: and about how they do it. With TJ, it hits
Speaker 5: you differently because of how straight up, how straight up
Speaker 5: it is, so that it strikes you more and it's
Speaker 5: like it makes you think about it more. It doesn't
Speaker 5: make you think about like I still okay, it's all good,
Speaker 5: Like it's not that bad. Like nah, it's like, bro,
Speaker 5: this is what's being said, like this is your future,
Speaker 5: this is your career, Like do.
Speaker 4: You want to be looked at as this? Do you
Speaker 4: want this?
Speaker 1: Like?
Speaker 5: Okay, so now we got to change this, like and
Speaker 5: you know that that was the moment where I really
Speaker 5: accepted at the fact that what was being told and
Speaker 5: what was being said about me, it might not have
Speaker 5: been true to like to myself, but at the end
Speaker 5: of the day, if this is how people view you,
Speaker 5: this is what you're gonna be viewed as.
Speaker 4: So regardless of if I was like, man, it's not you.
Speaker 4: I don't care, that's not me. That's not me. Bro,
Speaker 4: it's like, fam, Like what are you just gonna do
Speaker 4: to fix it?
Speaker 5: So you know something, it is a bullet you gotta
Speaker 5: bite and you know, change it regardless if it's not,
Speaker 5: if it's true or not. And that was that's that
Speaker 5: was a maturean step I took, uh because you know,
Speaker 5: like I said, no matter what you just perception is
Speaker 5: the reality.
Speaker 2: More With TJ and Germaine in a moment. But first,
Speaker 2: here's a quick reminder that the Bengals Booth podcast is
Speaker 2: brought to you by pay Core, proud to be the
Speaker 2: Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof
Speaker 2: Fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business and community
Speaker 2: to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best
Speaker 2: Care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official
Speaker 2: healthcare provider of the Bengals. TJ I told Jermaine recently
Speaker 2: that when I watched his college film, he reminded me
Speaker 2: of former Panthers and Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith. The
Speaker 2: physicality when the balls in the air, it belongs to him.
Speaker 2: The toughness. Do you like it or is there a
Speaker 2: better comp that's you know, I.
Speaker 3: Mean Steve is a little more compact. Mains is a
Speaker 3: lot taller than than Steve, a lot taller. But the toughness, yeah,
Speaker 3: you know, because Steve ain't no punking Steve at all,
Speaker 3: and then you ain't punking Maine either, And so the
Speaker 3: the personality aspect of it, yes, the explosiveness, yes, it's.
Speaker 1: Really hard to like.
Speaker 3: Receivers are better man like when when you try to
Speaker 3: start comparing receivers to of today to receivers back back
Speaker 3: in the day.
Speaker 1: The receivers are just better.
Speaker 3: They're they're they're bigger, they're faster, they're better route runners
Speaker 3: or quicker, they know more, and so it's hard to
Speaker 3: really compare. Now you can the physical traits, yeah, the explosiveness, yes,
Speaker 3: I can see that. The the the personality of when
Speaker 3: the game starts, I'm gonna talk my and it don't
Speaker 3: matter if you want to talk back.
Speaker 1: Then it is what it is. But I'm not I'm
Speaker 1: not backing down for sure.
Speaker 3: And so that perspective of it with him and Steve
Speaker 3: and explosive it is. Yeah, we're out running a little
Speaker 3: different just because of the body types.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: But as I'm saying this, I'm actually trying to think
Speaker 3: of who I could compare Jermaine. To give me some time,
Speaker 3: and it's gonna take some time for me to kind.
Speaker 1: Of figure that one out.
Speaker 2: It'll come to you at some point. I want to
Speaker 2: circle back to what you were saying earlier, TJ about
Speaker 2: Jermaine having the opportunity to begin his career with Joe
Speaker 2: Burrow as his quarterback. Jamar Chas and T. Higgins also
Speaker 2: part of the wide receiver crew. Your breakout season in
Speaker 2: the NFL was your fourth year when Carson Palmer got
Speaker 2: his chance to be the starting quarterback. Suddenly, you know,
Speaker 2: your stats jumped through the roof. Do we underestimate the
Speaker 2: impact of you know, having to have a guy like
Speaker 2: that for a wide receiver to take off.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think is mutually beneficial both When I
Speaker 1: go back to.
Speaker 3: My career, I was hurt a lot my first three
Speaker 3: years in the league. Hamstring and groins my first three years.
Speaker 3: And then Marvin was like, you get hurt again. He
Speaker 3: didn't say it in these words, but basically, you get
Speaker 3: hurt again, your ass is gone. And so I had
Speaker 3: to figure something out and it just so happened to
Speaker 3: coincide that I got Peter Ward broke he broke his leg,
Speaker 3: and when Doug broke his leg, I got an opportunity
Speaker 3: to play and the rest is history.
Speaker 1: But a quarterback, it helps. But to me, football is
Speaker 1: a ultimate team game. When you have.
Speaker 3: Eleven guys and then everybody's relying on each other, you
Speaker 3: have to have everybody doing their job at a high level.
Speaker 3: If it doesn't if the old line don't block, doesn't
Speaker 3: matter who the quarterback in the receiver r No, if
Speaker 3: I dropped the ball, doesn't.
Speaker 1: Matter that the old line block.
Speaker 3: Well, you know, if I'm open, the quarterback makes a
Speaker 3: bad throw or he makes a great throw on it.
Speaker 3: I mean everything that has to work perfectly in a
Speaker 3: game of football just to have a successful play.
Speaker 1: And you want to do that snap after snap after snap.
Speaker 1: And so.
Speaker 3: Between Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen you can mix
Speaker 3: and match. Ever, those are the top three quarterbacks in
Speaker 3: the league. If you can go into the league with
Speaker 3: one of those three is your quarterback, you're winning. You're
Speaker 3: a winning And so for Jamaine, he has a chance
Speaker 3: to change his family's fortune through the game of football,
Speaker 3: and he has a head start, a bigger head start
Speaker 3: than a lot of others, because you got Joe as
Speaker 3: your quarterback. And so my job to help him is
Speaker 3: to maximize that because the game of football is going
Speaker 3: to enable him to put his family in a position
Speaker 3: they've never been in. And I'm gonna be on his
Speaker 3: ass to make sure he don't pick that up.
Speaker 2: So, Jermaine, I've noticed in the first few practices that
Speaker 2: we've been allowed to watch, when the quarter come out
Speaker 2: to warm up, the four quarterbacks are off to the
Speaker 2: side before the team stretches. Even you always catch Joe
Speaker 2: Burrow's passes, his idea, your idea. How did that come about?
Speaker 2: And is there something to it?
Speaker 5: Honestly, it's kind of funny because usually we'll go out there,
Speaker 5: the rookies will go out there, and we'll put through
Speaker 5: like a few drills before the rest of the guys
Speaker 5: come out. So I noticed that on a certain time.
Speaker 5: So we get out there at ten point fifty. I
Speaker 5: still don't know the exact time Joe and the other
Speaker 5: quarterbacks come out, but I know it's around the time
Speaker 5: that when we finish these drills, about like three to
Speaker 5: five minutes later, the quarterbacks are walking out and they
Speaker 5: start warming up.
Speaker 4: So I was like, Bro, every time I see none
Speaker 4: walk on the field, I'm warming up with.
Speaker 5: I was I'm the one that's catching this back and bro,
Speaker 5: because the ones that was catching the passes.
Speaker 4: With the equipment guys. So I'm like, and you know,
Speaker 4: the equipment guys will put on glosondo stand right and now.
Speaker 5: I'm like, oh, I'm I'm like, bro, hold on, let me,
Speaker 5: I got let me get I got that.
Speaker 4: I got you gay like I got it. So yeah,
Speaker 4: I made it. I made it, you know, as standard
Speaker 4: to myself.
Speaker 5: As soon as I see nine steps on the field,
Speaker 5: the warm up, I warm up with him.
Speaker 2: When you hear that, TJ, what do you think.
Speaker 3: Smart, Hey, you want that quarterback to feel comfortable throwing
Speaker 3: you the ball.
Speaker 1: I mean it's it's very simple.
Speaker 3: And so the sooner you can get that that feeling
Speaker 3: of comfort and that that trust, it's more of a trusting.
Speaker 1: And the crazy thing is with with Jamar and t
Speaker 1: not being there you.
Speaker 3: Used to, You're gonna build up trust a lot, a
Speaker 3: lot faster than you normally would. And so for his talent,
Speaker 3: gonna his talent is gonna carry it. You see that,
Speaker 3: you see the exposion as you see the size. Now
Speaker 3: it's building the trust of the quarterback, of the coaches,
Speaker 3: and your and everybody else, your teammates. Once you start
Speaker 3: to do that, now we're starting to run downhill instead
Speaker 3: of working up here.
Speaker 2: Jermaine, I'm glad you mentioned coming out early because I've
Speaker 2: noticed that as well. It's you and Cale Burgess, undrafted
Speaker 2: wide receiver from Sunny Cortland where Dan Pitcher went to college.
Speaker 2: You two guys are out early every single time with
Speaker 2: the wide receivers coach Troy Walters, it looks like working
Speaker 2: on your releases. Is that what you're getting extra work on?
Speaker 4: Uh? Yeah. Also I look at it, it's more more
Speaker 4: of a warm up. You know, I'm a rookie.
Speaker 5: Uh, I want to go into every practice already ready.
Speaker 5: I want to go into every practice like as soon
Speaker 5: as something happens, I'm just.
Speaker 4: Ready to go. I'm just ready to go. So, yeah,
Speaker 4: we work on releases.
Speaker 5: Yeah, we work on this, We work on that, We
Speaker 5: work on some catching, but more so the fact I
Speaker 5: just really to me, it's just more of the move around,
Speaker 5: move around before we actually start practice, because whenever practice
Speaker 5: do start, I don't want to make it look like
Speaker 5: I'm starting like. I don't want to make it look
Speaker 5: like I'm just now starting like. I want to make
Speaker 5: it seem like I'm already, like I'm I've been moving
Speaker 5: like so when.
Speaker 4: We're doing whatever and whatever, like you know, I just
Speaker 4: want to be.
Speaker 5: Ready to go at all times, and I just want
Speaker 5: to show them that, you know, I'm just a guy
Speaker 5: that's ready to go, you know, from a from a
Speaker 5: energy standpoint, from a from a just mindset, standpoint.
Speaker 4: I'm just I'm ready for whatever.
Speaker 5: So you know that's why I'm able to just hurry
Speaker 5: up and just go over there as soon as Joe
Speaker 5: comes out and just catch passes from him, even though
Speaker 5: it's like twenty passes or fifteen passes, like, bro, whatever,
Speaker 5: how many, how many ever passes he needs the warm
Speaker 5: up because sometimes he needs fifteen, sometimes he will get twenty,
Speaker 5: like so whatever, I don't care, I need it all.
Speaker 5: It don't matter if this soft love five yard pass
Speaker 5: is like, Bro, you see me right here, we're good like,
Speaker 5: and I'll just throw it back and that's just how
Speaker 5: it goes. So uh and that has kind of actually
Speaker 5: built a better connection between me and him because you know,
Speaker 5: it's we've exchanged words in between those moments, but uh,
Speaker 5: you know yeah, and I feel like day by day,
Speaker 5: you know, I feel like he's gotten more comfortable with
Speaker 5: explaining stuff to me. You know, the first few days
Speaker 5: it was just you know, us getting a feel of
Speaker 5: through me running routes and through how he how he throws.
Speaker 5: Now is okay on this route if you get a
Speaker 5: man right here, if you get man on this play,
Speaker 5: try to wrap him before you break out, Like now,
Speaker 5: it's becoming that. And rather than let me see how
Speaker 5: this dude runs routes and let me see how I
Speaker 5: can throw to him, or let me see how he
Speaker 5: throws the ball, is we.
Speaker 4: Got that, I know how, I know how he likes
Speaker 4: to throw the ball.
Speaker 5: Now I know how what kind of quarterback he is
Speaker 5: now is so now that we got that feel out
Speaker 5: the way now is all right? Now we're into the
Speaker 5: playbook standpoint of how he likes stuff and how he
Speaker 5: does things. And he's a real detailed quarterback and a
Speaker 5: timing quarterback. Joe doesn't need to throw bullet passes because
Speaker 5: he's so detailed on timing that from split to depth
Speaker 5: to coverages that he's so detailed on timing that the
Speaker 5: ball is going to just be there based off time.
Speaker 5: And so he could throw it just how he could
Speaker 5: throw a perfect ground like just pluckable ball rather than
Speaker 5: having it just hurry up and squeeze something and like
Speaker 5: some like a bullet if the time it works out, great,
Speaker 5: it doesn't have.
Speaker 4: To be a bullet pass.
Speaker 5: It's just boom goes to his progressive step, step drop
Speaker 5: back whatever, boom And yeah, he's amazing, bro, I'm not
Speaker 5: gonna lie. He's a he's he's wired different, and it's
Speaker 5: it's it's so, it's crazy, it's crazy.
Speaker 4: I can't. I can't a lie to you.
Speaker 2: A couple more questions before we wrap this up. You've
Speaker 2: had this relationship with TJ now for four years, but
Speaker 2: in recent weeks you've started a formal relationship with Chad
Speaker 2: Johnson as well. Has that added to your feeling of
Speaker 2: connectivity to the Bengals franchise.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it was kind of funny because before he came
Speaker 5: out to practice the day before, I was on a scooter.
Speaker 4: I went to Kroger because Kroger.
Speaker 5: Sat I got like this little chicken in this little
Speaker 5: already heated up for you. You can just grab it and
Speaker 5: like feel me and go. So I went up there
Speaker 5: before bed.
Speaker 4: Like it was like seven or something like that.
Speaker 5: So I'm like, I'm like, I hopped on a little
Speaker 5: bird scooter, went up to the Kroger, and then I'm
Speaker 5: on my way back and like, as I'm pulling him
Speaker 5: to the hotel, I see him standing by this car.
Speaker 4: Who is this?
Speaker 5: Like, who did you sitting next to this? Rose Rory
Speaker 5: is like, I'm like did He turned around and he.
Speaker 4: Was like what's up baby. It was like, you're like
Speaker 4: a pleasure man, It's a pleasure to meet you this that.
Speaker 4: I'm like, man, it's a.
Speaker 5: Pleasure to beat you. Man Like it's good brod he like,
Speaker 5: And then we chopped it up. You know, he was
Speaker 5: telling me about his soccer tournament. He down here competing
Speaker 5: in for a soccer tournament for a million dollars and uh,
Speaker 5: you know, he.
Speaker 4: Takes soccer real serious. Bro He's He's hilarious. You know.
Speaker 5: I thought it was crazy to meet him in person.
Speaker 5: He told me he was gonna be at practice the
Speaker 5: next day.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 4: So I came home.
Speaker 5: I made sure I put my jersey in my bag,
Speaker 5: and I was like, yeah, they signed him off, so.
Speaker 4: But no, yeah it was great. You know. O Jo
Speaker 4: hopped in there and did a couple of drills with us,
Speaker 4: you know, and yeah, it was great. That practice was amazing.
Speaker 4: You know, that was a I didn't take that for granted.
Speaker 5: I was enjoying the moment because I thought that was
Speaker 5: that was a moment for me.
Speaker 2: TJ. Did his voice just sound like Chad to you?
Speaker 1: It did to me.
Speaker 3: Little bit when when Man got drafted, Chad literally he
Speaker 3: called me he was like, so you're training, tell me
Speaker 3: about him like he wanted, Like he don't ps. He
Speaker 3: called me and was like, tell me about him. So
Speaker 3: we actually got on the phone and I was kind
Speaker 3: of telling Chad about Maine, and so I mean, Chad alive.
Speaker 1: This is me.
Speaker 3: Uh, when you think of the Bengals, you think of
Speaker 3: a few people.
Speaker 1: The first person you think of is Chad.
Speaker 3: When you say the Cincinnati Bengals, everybody is gonna think
Speaker 3: Chad first.
Speaker 1: And so.
Speaker 3: When I think Cincinnati or anybody says the Bengals, they
Speaker 3: always think Chad.
Speaker 1: I don't call Chad Ocho because I just I can't
Speaker 1: do that. I call other people will refer to him
Speaker 1: as Ocho. But you think Chad, and then you probably
Speaker 1: think me. And so.
Speaker 3: That to me when when man got caught, he called
Speaker 3: me tell me about it. And so then for Main
Speaker 3: and a meeting, we both gonna try to give him
Speaker 3: all we can give him. I'll spend a lot more
Speaker 3: time with Maine and Chad will, but I'm gonna try.
Speaker 3: Like this summer, this is probably gonna be one of
Speaker 3: our best summers of training because of what I got planned,
Speaker 3: the things that we're gonna do a lot of one
Speaker 3: on ones, a lot of seven on seven with a
Speaker 3: lot of NFL guys to just make sure we ready
Speaker 3: to go and we locked in for when training camp
Speaker 3: comes around.
Speaker 2: What is your biggest piece of advice for Jermaine for
Speaker 2: his rookie year in the NFL.
Speaker 1: Oh, that that's very simple. Man. Effort. We can always
Speaker 1: control that. Always control the effort we give.
Speaker 3: We may not like the results or what comes from it,
Speaker 3: but we always give it.
Speaker 1: Are off, we give it, are off, We walk out
Speaker 1: with our heads. Oha. I love it.
Speaker 2: This has been awesome. I really appreciate you guys taking
Speaker 2: time to do this with me. I know Bengals fans
Speaker 2: are really going to enjoy it.
Speaker 1: Jermaine.
Speaker 2: We're so excited to have you in Cincinnati being part
Speaker 2: of this franchise. And if you have TJ. Hushman Zadat
Speaker 2: stamp of approval, which you obviously do, then we know
Speaker 2: the Cincinnati Bengals got a great wide receiver in this
Speaker 2: year's draft. Yes, sir, take care, guys, Thanks again.
Speaker 1: Gonna make it happen. We gonna make it happen.
Speaker 3: As soon as Mini camp over with, we gonna get
Speaker 3: back to work. So y'all, no worries, Yes, Erski, no care.
Speaker 1: That's going to do it.
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