WEBVTT - Travis Kelce 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.600 Hello, Welcome to another edition of Club Shasha. I am 0:00:02.600 --> 0:00:05.520 your host, Shannon Sharp, also the proprietor of Club Shasha. 0:00:05.840 --> 0:00:08.760 The guy that's coming by today for drink and conversation, 0:00:09.400 --> 0:00:11.840 is one of the most swagging alicious guys in all 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:14.600 the NFL. He's definitely the most swaggon alicious tight end. 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:17.160 He's a Super Bowl champ, six time Pro Bowl, two 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:21.040 time first Team All Pro, and he has five consecutive 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:25.239 one thousand yard receiving seasons. The Great Travis Kelt all 0:00:25.320 --> 0:00:29.840 my life, the grinding all my life, sacrifice, hustle beg pricing, 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:33.720 one slice, got the bron dice swath all my life. 0:00:33.760 --> 0:00:36.600 I've been grinding all my life, all my life, the 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:41.760 running all my life, sacrifice, hustle beg prices, one a slice, 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:44.680 got the dice to swap all my life. I've been 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:49.839 running in all my life. Nephew, what's going on? Uh? 0:00:50.040 --> 0:00:52.160 What's going on? Shannon? Man, it's a it's a pleasure. 0:00:52.200 --> 0:00:53.720 I told you right before, A man, it's a pleasure 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:55.480 to be on here. Man. You were You're one of 0:00:55.520 --> 0:00:59.120 the goats that that laid out this platform of success 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:01.280 for a young tight end like myself to come through 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:04.319 on and I appreciate deeply for it. Man, Man, I 0:01:04.360 --> 0:01:06.200 really appreciate you coming on. I know it was kind 0:01:06.200 --> 0:01:08.039 of last minute. We kind of threw this thing together. 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:09.640 I reached out to you and ask you could you 0:01:09.680 --> 0:01:12.360 do it? You say, brouh, no problem. Let me get 0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:14.600 back to you within a day. Here we are doing 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:17.959 this interview. First of all, I want to congratulate you. 0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:21.800 Congratulate you on a great regular season. At the start 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:24.120 of your season, tell me what are your thought process? 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:26.240 What are your goals? How do you go about laying 0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:28.080 out this is what I want to accomplish in a 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:31.839 given season. Well, I think the biggest thing about setting 0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:33.800 goals is you have to review. You have to you 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:35.800 have to study yourself. You have to figure out how 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:38.880 do I get better, how to where at what points 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:41.080 of my game can I have more success to help 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:43.319 the team out. And the biggest thing for me was 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:45.920 I had I had way too many drops. I had 0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:48.720 way too many routes that I did not get open 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:50.280 on which I had a feel that I could have 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:52.520 gotten open on it. So that's helping our path, that's 0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:54.440 helping out the offense move the ball down the field. 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:57.600 In terms of first downs. I wanted to do more 0:01:57.920 --> 0:01:59.880 more in terms of that, and then touchdowns. I wanted 0:01:59.920 --> 0:02:03.480 to put more touchdowns up. I thought anything in single 0:02:03.520 --> 0:02:06.080 digits just isn't enough. I'm not doing enough for my team. 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:12.519 So individually, you said, you set you know, goals for yourself, Uh, statistically, 0:02:12.560 --> 0:02:14.079 but at the end of the day, I mean, winning 0:02:14.080 --> 0:02:15.920 every single game was It was the biggest thing on 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:19.400 my mind. I felt like our team was good enough offensively, 0:02:19.480 --> 0:02:21.960 defensively and special teams wise to go out there and 0:02:22.040 --> 0:02:25.000 uh and win every single game. And so far, we're 0:02:25.120 --> 0:02:28.520 very close to that. But we're we're working for the 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:30.720 number one goal, which is to get another Super Bowl. Man. 0:02:31.360 --> 0:02:34.000 When when when I hear you talking, you say about drops. 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:36.360 And I've always looked at guys, guys that catch a 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:38.520 lot of passes, done a great run after the catch, 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:41.560 they're gonna have drops because they're always looking to make 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:44.280 that big play. And you consider yourself not only just 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:47.200 a typical tight end, you are a big play. I'm 0:02:47.200 --> 0:02:49.839 gonna need a hundred yards. I need touchdowns to get 0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:52.480 down the fielding. Sometimes you have to take you off 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:54.560 the ball. You're like, okay, I got this. In turn 0:02:54.600 --> 0:02:56.760 and try to locate that defender as soon as possible. 0:02:57.040 --> 0:02:59.239 Oh yeah, I mean, you know, it's it's all focused. 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:01.920 And then what comes with that is understanding and being 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:04.120 aware of the things around you. So knowing what coverage 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:07.320 it is, knowing where your head is coming from, increases 0:03:07.639 --> 0:03:09.400 when you get the ball to be able to split 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:12.280 the fenders and get north. Little stuff like that. It's 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:14.360 being more aware so you can focus on the football, 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:16.720 you know, and uh and and put in the work 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:19.120 with the quarterbacks to make sure that you guys are 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:21.800 on the same pages in terms of what they like 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:23.799 to see or where they like to see. You feel 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:27.000 the voids depending on what the defense is presenting. So 0:03:27.040 --> 0:03:29.280 it's just making sure you're on It's a team game, 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:32.760 right Stop trying to either help pull the fenders to 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:35.320 help guys get open or at the same time be 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:37.520 able to get the ball north as fast as possible. 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:42.280 But I think having having drops it in themselves or 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:44.480 any excuse of all, it is just lack of focus. 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:47.560 And over the course of my career, I've really tried 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:51.000 to hone in on on staying focused throughout the course 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:53.280 of the game and not letting the game become too 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:55.880 much trap them been several tight ends to have a 0:03:56.000 --> 0:03:59.520 hundred kids seasons, have a hundred catch in a season. 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:02.000 You're the only tight end that's ever done it twice. 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:04.839 And to do it coming off of Super Bowl, when 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:06.600 a lot of times people have what they call a 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:09.920 Super Bowl hangover. How were you able to stay focused 0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:12.480 and like, Okay, yes I want a super Bowl, Yes 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:14.640 my team want a super Bowl. But I can come 0:04:14.680 --> 0:04:17.160 back and I can be better, even better than last year, 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:20.640 and help this team repeat. I would like to think 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:23.960 of it as what are you trying to be? Are 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:27.600 you always chasing greatness? You know? And when and when 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:30.280 this greatness stop? It never stops. So as long as 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:32.360 I'm putting on these pads, I'm finding a way to 0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:36.159 get better and better every single year. With that being said, 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:39.120 I'm in an extremely fortunate situation. I'm sure you turn 0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:41.520 on the film and you watch the film and you, 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:44.039 you know, might have wished you had the opportunities that 0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:45.720 I was getting. I mean, it is what it is. 0:04:45.760 --> 0:04:48.160 I'm getting the ball thrown to me like I am 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:51.320 a wide receiver, and I understand tight ends don't get 0:04:51.360 --> 0:04:53.680 that across the league. And it took a lot of 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:57.600 a lot of guys before my time, yourself, Tony Gonzalez. 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:00.840 The list goes on. I mean the list goes on. 0:05:00.920 --> 0:05:03.440 But it took guys like that to gain the trust, 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:05.839 for coaches to be able to implement a guy like 0:05:05.920 --> 0:05:08.680 me in their game plan and be able to get 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:11.360 me the ball as much as possible. Like that, I'm 0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:13.640 very fortunate to be able to have coach read And 0:05:13.680 --> 0:05:15.440 then on top of that, one five is back there 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:18.600 slicing up the defense anyway you can and taking an 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:22.719 advantage of matchup. So NonStop, just trying to make sure 0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:25.240 that I'm there for my teammates and always chasing greatness. 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:29.640 Travel When I look at your stats, like I said, 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:33.000 you have five consecutive one thousand yard receiving seasons, over 0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:37.520 fourteen hundred yards receiving season and given year two years 0:05:37.520 --> 0:05:41.080 in what you call for a hundred receptions. When I 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:43.799 first got into the league, that was reserved for the elite, 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:48.080 elite wide receivers. The Jerry Rice is my brother, Chris Carters. 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:51.720 There are very few receivers that could put up those 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:55.040 numbers that you're putting up as a tight end. Do 0:05:55.120 --> 0:05:59.359 you understand what you're doing and how special it actually 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:04.600 is I'm not gonna lie, honestly, I'm just appreciative of 0:06:04.640 --> 0:06:06.520 the opportunity and I just go to work every single 0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:09.280 day thank for for the opportunity that I have to 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:12.240 play this position in this offense and get this much 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:15.800 trust from the coaches, from the from the offensive personnel 0:06:16.600 --> 0:06:18.760 to be able to you know, have that success for 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:22.800 the team. And I see that. I'm not blind. I 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:26.240 see what's going on across the NFL and what history 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:28.960 has told us, and the tight end position has been 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:31.880 very It's been put in a bubble for a long 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:34.920 long time, and I feel like, uh, it is such 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:38.640 a mismatch all over the field if used correctly and 0:06:38.680 --> 0:06:41.000 if and if the tight end has enough pride to 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:46.840 take his ownership in his craft, that is, knowing the 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:49.800 entire offense, having the responsibility of doing that, make it 0:06:49.880 --> 0:06:52.760 sure your on time and prompt for your other teammates. 0:06:53.680 --> 0:06:56.720 I'm definitely thankful that I get this opportunity every single 0:06:56.800 --> 0:07:01.120 day to put up these numbers. Man, when I look 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:04.159 at the evolution of the tight end position, the guys 0:07:04.160 --> 0:07:07.760 are getting bigger. Dude. I played basically my whole career 0:07:07.800 --> 0:07:13.040 at about two twenty five, two twenty eight you guys play, 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:19.240 you are out there, said two twenty. I was that 0:07:19.880 --> 0:07:22.400 most of my career. I played between two two twenty 0:07:22.440 --> 0:07:25.280 five and two twenty eight. When they first moved me 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:31.000 to tight end, I weighed two twelve. They were ragged on. 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:33.680 I had to get in, I had to get in 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:36.920 the weight room, start pumping, spied. But when I look 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:39.520 at the evolution of the tight end, the guys have 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:44.840 gotten more angular six five six six, two forty five 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:48.360 to two sixty five as a p and you guys 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:51.760 are not really the receivers you got like basketball player. 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:55.200 You guys are like a power forward or a small forward. 0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:58.480 Talk about what your ability at being six five and 0:07:58.480 --> 0:08:02.480 a half two fifty five. I'll say this, I was 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:04.920 always I was always tall and lanky, and then when 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:07.400 I got to when I got to college, I really 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:09.920 put on the way okay, and it was it was. 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:13.320 It was definitely party way. It wasn't it was. It 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:15.960 was a whole lot of kega. It wasn't a weight 0:08:16.080 --> 0:08:18.480 room weight. It wasn't that way room weight. It was 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:21.080 one of those you got the body taking a picture 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:22.480 of the body in the weight room, and you can 0:08:22.520 --> 0:08:26.360 tell I ain't been in the way room too much. Yeah, 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:28.920 so so moving the tight end obviously, you find out 0:08:28.960 --> 0:08:30.600 real soon that you got to get in the weight room. 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:32.200 You have to be able to protect the shoulders. You 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:34.720 have to be able to get the leg strength to 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:37.080 be able to drive block somebody, not just once, but 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:39.960 when it's played fifteen down on the goal line. You 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:41.800 have to be able to train yourself to be able 0:08:41.840 --> 0:08:45.240 to do stuff mentally and go beyond. And that's why 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:48.240 I really found a love for this game because growing 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:49.920 up and you can see it in the way I played, 0:08:50.040 --> 0:08:53.240 basketball is my favorite sport. You could throw in hockey 0:08:53.280 --> 0:08:54.520 and stuff like that when I was a kid. But 0:08:54.559 --> 0:08:57.280 one when I really started taking sports seriously in high school, 0:08:57.280 --> 0:09:01.160 basketball too over everything. And I I was one of 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:03.400 those like you just said, that's small forward, power forward. 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:05.080 If I had a bigger guy, I'd take him out 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:07.040 of the wing. If I had a smaller guy, I'd 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:09.760 take him down into the post. And that's exactly what 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:11.920 I did onto the football field. If I had a 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:15.599 smaller guy, I've been fortunate enough to coach Reid is 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:19.400 kind of giving me and placed me into these opportunities. 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:20.960 If I got a smaller guy who kind of played 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:22.720 more of a big body kind of rolling. If I 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:25.320 got a bigger guy, use my speed and my agility 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:27.640 and my wiggle to to be able to maneuver around him. 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:31.280 And when you see my routesh, it's almost like I 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:34.840 got a basketball in my hand, and my handles were suspect. 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:38.040 That's why. That's why I'm on the football and we suspect. 0:09:38.320 --> 0:09:41.000 But I always had the ability to make plays see 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:44.760 the floor, and I think that that helped out tremendously. 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:47.280 Being in the quarterback room my first couple of years 0:09:47.280 --> 0:09:51.280 of college helped out tremendously. Understanding what the quarterback was thinking, 0:09:51.320 --> 0:09:53.199 so I could be on the same page as him, 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.120 timing when the ball needs to be out, in terms 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:59.640 of leverages, what guys are doing defensively, in terms of 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:03.839 how they're playing their leverage, and really just seeing the 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:06.439 field instead of just being in this lane of running 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:09.080 a paper route, you know. And from there, I've just 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:11.160 been able to have success with him and just keep 0:10:11.240 --> 0:10:14.280 going up and up. I always tell guys coming into 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:17.120 the coming into the league, or young guys playing tight end, 0:10:19.600 --> 0:10:23.000 be an artist. Yeah, there's they're they're on on paper. 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:26.240 You're gonna have a certain route, you're gonna have a slant, 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:29.800 you're gonna have a corner route. Being an artist though, 0:10:29.880 --> 0:10:33.800 the quarterback creativity creativity, you have to be able to 0:10:33.840 --> 0:10:36.360 be an artist out there and paint that picture for 0:10:36.400 --> 0:10:39.200 the quarterback as long as you're on time and where 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:42.320 you need to be you how you go about that 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:46.360 is on the and that's where you really, uh, your 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:50.720 athleticism take shape, and that's your identity. And and man, 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:52.880 I can't I can't tell you how much that's helped 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:55.520 me out in terms of being being a tight end, 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:57.880 because there's times, well I'll leave a game and a 0:10:57.880 --> 0:10:59.400 guy I'll come up with me and say, listen, man, 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:01.960 the whole game, I didn't know which way you were going, right, 0:11:02.040 --> 0:11:04.679 That's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to manipulate 0:11:04.760 --> 0:11:08.040 your mind that I'm doing something else all the time, 0:11:08.080 --> 0:11:12.640 so it keeps the defense at a reactionary position. You played, 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:14.840 you say, for the better part of your career growing 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:18.640 up you were a college quarterback. And but for you 0:11:18.720 --> 0:11:22.480 to transition to tight end, now, I did play one year. 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:24.640 I played tight end one year of high school, played 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:26.839 tight end one year of college. So it was really 0:11:26.880 --> 0:11:28.800 a natural transition for me to go from a big 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:31.400 wide receiver down to the tight end position, but for 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:34.880 your mindset to be a quarterback quarterback and the number 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:37.599 glamor position. You got your little jersey tug. Then you 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:39.960 got your little towel. You know you created, you know 0:11:40.040 --> 0:11:43.239 you look at all good everybody to change your mindset 0:11:43.320 --> 0:11:46.480 to know, I gotta get grinding. I got TAM's on now. 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:48.679 Ain't no more nice sneaks on out here. I got 0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:51.240 to get grinding because I might have to block thirty 0:11:51.240 --> 0:11:53.480 times a game. But also I got to have the 0:11:53.520 --> 0:11:56.839 ballot the ballet to be able to catch ten fifteen malls. 0:11:56.880 --> 0:11:59.160 If I need to tell me about the transition that 0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:01.719 you had to go through, well it's it's definitely a 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:03.840 different mindset and the and the reason, the biggest reason 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:07.360 why I think I made the transition so comfortably is 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:09.880 because I owned it. I didn't. I didn't go to 0:12:09.920 --> 0:12:11.920 that position. I see a lot of guys transition to 0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:15.120 that position and think to themselves, I'm still really a 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:21.280 wide exactly exactly, so they see I'm moving to tight 0:12:21.360 --> 0:12:23.319 end because they think I can't run routes. No, your 0:12:23.320 --> 0:12:27.839 body type is just that much more student for this position. Right, 0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:30.079 But this isn't that much more shooting for this position, 0:12:30.080 --> 0:12:33.680 and guys, guys don't just attack me personally. I knew 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:36.199 I wasn't a quarterback. I wasn't the guy who was gonna, 0:12:37.440 --> 0:12:40.000 you know, on the suit and tie and keep a 0:12:40.080 --> 0:12:42.640 clean cut. I was the I was the rebel. Right, 0:12:42.720 --> 0:12:44.680 So then it is what it is. I've learned a 0:12:44.720 --> 0:12:47.400 lot through being that guy in and I've become a 0:12:47.440 --> 0:12:50.520 lot more mature throughout my career and throughout my life 0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:53.440 because I've understood that that I was that guy. But 0:12:54.160 --> 0:12:57.040 transitioning into the tight end room. I grew up playing hockey, 0:12:57.080 --> 0:12:59.280 I grew up playing lacrosse, all these physical sports. I 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:01.000 was a little brother, so I was getting beat up 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:03.120 on by guys that were two years older than me. 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:06.200 And everything that I did, I had that that ability 0:13:06.280 --> 0:13:08.440 to be able to get knocked down and feel comfortable 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:10.360 with all I can get back up and still and 0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:14.600 still do my job. And when you transition, you're gonna 0:13:14.640 --> 0:13:17.200 have You're gonna have failure. You're gonna have that failure 0:13:17.280 --> 0:13:19.480 to just you don't know what you don't know, right, 0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:21.840 you know that you know going into a block in 0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:24.160 terms of the half placement. I didn't had no idea 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:28.120 what heading hands and driving your feet and uh, you know, 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:30.920 getting on the track I did. I didn't understand any 0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:34.800 of this transitioning into this when when I'm being taught this, 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:38.959 it's all starting to make sense. Right as I got 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:41.040 in the weight room, I was able to stay on 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:43.320 my blocks, be able to have success with them, the 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:47.320 fundamentals that I was being taught and and it just 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:52.319 skyrocketed from there. But the transition into tight end transition 0:13:52.400 --> 0:13:54.719 into anything in life, you have to be aware that 0:13:54.760 --> 0:13:57.600 you're gonna hit that versus right, he's gonna set in 0:13:57.720 --> 0:13:59.960 because it's it's the battle of the unknown. You just 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:02.319 don't know that you don't know these things, and you 0:14:02.400 --> 0:14:04.679 have to go through something to be able to figure 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:08.480 them out. And honestly, I fell in love with that. 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:10.320 I fell in love with the grind. I fell in 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:14.520 love with the ability to persevere through, you know, screwing 0:14:14.600 --> 0:14:16.600 up something at one point in time and then coming 0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:18.800 back to the next play and having success knowing that 0:14:19.200 --> 0:14:21.160 you know, this is what happened last time, this is 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:23.720 what I have to do this time. It sounds like 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:25.640 to me, your attitude played a huge part and you 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:28.920 being able to transition as smooth and as effortless lee 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:31.600 as you did. Because I remember when Dan Reeves they 0:14:31.640 --> 0:14:34.000 asked me to transition from a big wide receiver to 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:36.000 tight end. The only thing I ask him, am I 0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:38.160 gonna get an opportunity to play? Because at that time 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:40.600 I was barely playing like five or six nats on offense. 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:43.560 I was mainly a special teams player. But the hardest 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:47.680 part was not being able to be to see success instantly. 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:50.880 Guys were just throwing me around, you know, trying to 0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:53.120 get off blocks. I'm like, man, all this space, you 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:55.600 try to, they shove you down into the offensive tackle, 0:14:55.880 --> 0:14:58.440 you run into the defensive lineman. So it's like, man, 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:00.200 am I ever gonna be good at this? And all 0:15:00.240 --> 0:15:02.200 of a sudden you just keep working, You get better 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:04.400 and better, You get better and better, and then all 0:15:04.400 --> 0:15:07.280 of a sudden you're like, how I could be a 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:10.360 wide received by that catching ten passes twenty pass a year. Well, 0:15:10.400 --> 0:15:13.320 I could be a tight end that here eight ball 0:15:13.400 --> 0:15:14.960 the year. Yeah, I think I like this with a 0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:19.240 little better. What you did was you found success in 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:21.720 the routine that you were having. So whether the routine 0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:24.320 was practice, every single day, or getting in the weight 0:15:24.400 --> 0:15:26.440 room being able to you know, lift weights and get 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:29.160 stronger so you can take on these d linemen, earth, 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:32.560 these linebackers. And and that's the biggest thing is is 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:36.160 finding and trusting that routine a success. I was coming in, 0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:38.680 I was going to practice once I moved to the 0:15:38.720 --> 0:15:40.720 tight end. I was going to practice ten minutes early, 0:15:41.120 --> 0:15:43.680 just to get my head and hands on somebody, just 0:15:43.680 --> 0:15:47.240 just to get that that feeling of drive, blocking, rolling 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:50.800 the hips and lifting somebody. Yep, those little things over 0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:54.040 the course of time become so routine that it just 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:56.760 it's natural on the field. And when you have your 0:15:56.800 --> 0:15:59.760 fundamental so natural that you don't have to think about, 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:02.960 that's when you can really really take advantagementally of what's 0:16:02.960 --> 0:16:06.040 going on out there on the field. And as you know, 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:11.280 this game is mental. Really, it really is an understanding 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:13.000 down in the distance area of the field. And that's 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:15.680 what I tellgether, Like, guy, how do you get beat inside? 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:18.360 You know it's thirty one, you know it's fourth and one. 0:16:18.560 --> 0:16:20.880 You know he's gonna try and cross your face. Don't 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:24.480 let him, Indian, don't let him cross your face. Listen 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:26.520 that you know we're out here to manipulate man my 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:31.000 life getting tricks. Every tight end you go back through 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:34.640 through eras, all the tight ends had another guy that 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:37.760 was very comfortable to them. We go back to the 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:40.640 you know, sixties, you got Mac and Dicka. You come 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:42.960 to the seventies and eighties, you got Killing Winslow and 0:16:42.960 --> 0:16:46.520 Ozzy Newsome. Myself, Ben coached Gonzo, and then it was 0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:51.080 Gonzo Winton and Antonio Gates. Then it was Gronk and 0:16:51.200 --> 0:16:55.119 you and Kittle. You and Kittle have a very interesting relationship. 0:16:55.920 --> 0:16:58.280 You broke the record and then he comes let later 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:01.400 today he rebrakes it. Now you take it back. You 0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:03.720 guys have been going back and forth, back and forth. 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:06.960 Talk to me about your relationship with Kidd Man. He's 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:11.359 he's unbelievable man, unbelievable guy on the field, off the field. 0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:14.800 Can't say enough good things about him. Uh, and then 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:17.600 especially what he can do with the football in his hands. 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:20.080 I think that. I mean, obviously, his blocking is second 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:22.960 to nobody that I've played a position. But on top 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:24.640 of on top of that, when he gets the ball, 0:17:24.640 --> 0:17:27.720 man he turns into like the Tasmanian devil man. He 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:31.680 just it's like he's a maniac and uncontrolled maniac and 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:34.600 uh and it's just it's awesome to see see him 0:17:34.640 --> 0:17:37.160 grow throughout the league, knowing that he was a fifth 0:17:37.240 --> 0:17:38.960 round pick, the guy that really had to work for 0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:41.840 his way, uh to and gaining the trust of his 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:45.879 coaches and his team. And yeah, I just think that 0:17:46.400 --> 0:17:49.280 as as a tight end kind of union that we 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:52.200 have man showing love to to fellow tight ends and 0:17:52.320 --> 0:17:55.440 being being excited for their success. Man, it only helps 0:17:55.480 --> 0:17:58.720 out guys in the other positions around the league. And 0:17:59.200 --> 0:18:02.840 right now five is doing the same. France is setting 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:05.520 up These are these up and coming guys that don't 0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:10.720 even know that that he's laying out the groundwork for them. 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:13.480 And we just keep raising the bar, you know, you 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:15.400 just keep raising the bar. You see what a guy 0:18:15.480 --> 0:18:17.720 across from you is doing in it. And it's it's 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:21.040 a competitive world. You know. I'm not I'm I'm somebody 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:25.240 who won't see me getting anything conflicting outside of football. 0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:28.960 But once it comes to being competitive, man, I'm gonna 0:18:28.960 --> 0:18:30.520 compete my tail off and I'm gonna be in your 0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:35.560 grill the whole game. You talk about your relationships. You 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:39.439 got Patrick Mahomes who has a ninety nine rating in Madden. 0:18:39.880 --> 0:18:42.040 You have a ninety nine rating in Madden you're the 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:44.240 only You're the only team to have two guys on 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:47.200 one team with nine and nine rating, and Tyree has 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:50.840 a ninety eight rating. He talks about your relationship, he 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:53.560 should have been ninety nine before the year started. Many 0:18:54.160 --> 0:18:56.959 his most unstoppable player in the National Football League. If 0:18:56.960 --> 0:18:59.639 you don't have two guys on him on every past 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:02.280 CONDI it's liable to be a touchdown. And I'm not 0:19:02.320 --> 0:19:05.119 just I'm talking about one of those daggers that you 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:07.120 know what I mean, the sixty yard and seven yard 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:10.320 bombs that just take the wind out of here. And 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:12.760 what he can do all I mean, the most dynamic 0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:15.359 football player I've ever seen. Talking about track speed. There's 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:17.480 been plenty of guys that have ran four twos in 0:19:17.480 --> 0:19:20.400 the National Football League, but this guy, what he can 0:19:20.440 --> 0:19:22.760 do with the ball in his hands outside of just 0:19:22.800 --> 0:19:26.040 his speed, be able to hit somebody with a hesitation 0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:29.560 and hit the sideline, being able to route up a 0:19:29.640 --> 0:19:34.040 cornerback who has to They have to have to take 0:19:34.080 --> 0:19:36.040 off the top of the deeva, they have to play 0:19:36.160 --> 0:19:38.800 deep for him to be able to understand how teams 0:19:38.800 --> 0:19:41.920