WEBVTT - Ep. 7: Dennis Harrah on playing alongside some of the all-time greats 0:00:03.920 --> 0:00:06.440 Welcome to Rams Iconic, a podcast where we catch up 0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:09.560 with the players that have made this franchise so special. 0:00:09.600 --> 0:00:11.760 I'm DeMarco Farr and I'm thrilled to be your tour 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:15.120 guide for this and every episode. My next guest played 0:00:15.200 --> 0:00:18.919 thirteen of his seasons in Horns. Played all thirteen of 0:00:19.000 --> 0:00:22.120 his seasons in Horns. He was the eleventh overall pick 0:00:22.160 --> 0:00:25.320 in the nineteen seventy five draft, a six time Pro bowler, 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:27.760 three of those Pro Bowls, and you have to tell 0:00:27.800 --> 0:00:30.400 me this came in years eleven, twelve, and thirteen, So 0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:33.160 at the end he was great. He was great all through, 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:35.360 but he was even better at the ns amazing. He 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:37.120 was one of the anchors of the offensive line to 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:40.320 help lead the Rams to six NFC West titles. His 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:44.760 nickname was herk As in Hercules, which is great. That's 0:00:44.760 --> 0:00:48.559 a great name. Please welcome in Ram's legend Dennis Harra 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:51.600 and good looking dude. What's up, Dennis. I am glad 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:56.400 to be on today's world and doing a zoom is 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:02.240 it's a little of it out of my wheelwell so 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:04.240 to speak. But you know what, I'm glad to be 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:06.040 on and glad to be a part of it, and 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:11.119 I'm just so happy that the Los Angeles Rams are 0:01:11.160 --> 0:01:13.440 back home. I keep saying that, and now it's been 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:15.760 a few years now, but I'm telling you, I'm just 0:01:16.600 --> 0:01:19.560 When I went to Saint Louis to me the divorce 0:01:19.680 --> 0:01:22.840 was final, I was just I was pretty It was tough. 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:26.160 It was tough. I used to see pictures of you guys, 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:29.039 the guys that came before us, and you know, I 0:01:29.080 --> 0:01:31.000 came in in ninety four. It was a little bit different. 0:01:31.000 --> 0:01:33.679 I guess, you know, attendance was down and the move 0:01:33.800 --> 0:01:36.000 was imminent. But when you're a rookie, you don't know 0:01:36.040 --> 0:01:37.959 these things. You just trying to put one foot in 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:40.160 front of the other. But I would see pictures of 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:42.760 you guys, and you in particular, man, it looked like 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:46.480 you guys were just having a blast playing football, winning 0:01:46.520 --> 0:01:48.760 games and just living that so cal life. Man, that 0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:50.960 must have been fun back then, you know what it was, 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:55.160 It was fun. I had a very blessed career to 0:01:55.280 --> 0:01:57.280 be able to play for the Los Angeles Rams for 0:01:57.400 --> 0:02:01.600 thirteen years, and you know it was it was a 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:03.320 lot of great times, a lot of a lot of 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:05.720 great times in the locker room, a lot of laughs, 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:08.880 and we just enjoyed each other. The offensive line stayed 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:11.720 together for a long period of time, and that was 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:13.639 back in the era or two where there was there 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:16.560 was no free agency, you know. I mean basically, you 0:02:16.639 --> 0:02:19.120 stayed with that team until somebody cut you, and that 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:21.200 was pretty much you had. Every now and then somebody 0:02:21.240 --> 0:02:25.000 got traded, but very, very seldom did anybody get traded. 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:29.080 And you know, you just you had a bond. To me, 0:02:29.240 --> 0:02:31.760 it's hard for me to believe guys can bond today 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:35.160 like we did back then because we spent so much 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:38.320 time together, years together, and now these guys come in 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:41.160 and you'll have I think when the Rams won the 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:42.880 Super Bowl to one year, I think you had ten 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:45.640 different guys come in on defense. How does that happen? 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:48.480 I mean, you know, I can't imagine being able to 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:53.600 just have that camaraderie deal going in that short period 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:56.359 of time. You know, I just got off the phone 0:02:56.480 --> 0:02:58.760 or just got off a zoom with Jackie Slider and 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:01.639 you guys you had I'm sorry you had to deal 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:05.200 with that. Hey, I'm sorry you had to deal with 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:09.720 Jackie Slater. Yeah, but the truth didn't in him. The 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:14.120 truth didn't in him. The truth Hey, he just hey, 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:17.800 he just full of it. I'm just see, this is 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:20.400 what I didn't get from from when I came in. 0:03:20.560 --> 0:03:23.119 He was eighteen years in. He was in his eighteenth year. 0:03:23.200 --> 0:03:27.360 So we automatically respected. I need some Reggie, some some 0:03:27.440 --> 0:03:32.760 Jackie Slater stories. Eighteen years in his eighteenth here nineteen 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:42.440 he was stealing. He was stealing. Hey, hey, hey, Jackie, 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:46.600 a story one of my number one, his rookie year. Okay, 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:51.080 we had just finished training camp Merlin Olsen, my hero, 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:55.520 jack young blood, the Duke of football. Hey, one of 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:59.080 the greatest men of all times. All the guys decided 0:03:59.120 --> 0:04:03.400 to have a get together and Huntington Beach. So we Hey, 0:04:03.640 --> 0:04:06.840 all those guys back then had their broncos and there, 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:09.240 you know, had had you know, all their matsio, four 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:11.640 wheel drives and everything. So we're out there on the 0:04:11.680 --> 0:04:14.040 beach and Honeyton Beach. We're sitting there around the fire, 0:04:14.080 --> 0:04:16.919 and all of a sudden, we see we see a 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:20.320 car coming and see out coming. Hey, we look out 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:24.159 there and there's old Jackie Ray Jackie Ray Slater in 0:04:24.240 --> 0:04:29.520 his Delta eighty eight. Hey, from Ready in Mississippi, Buddy 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:32.960 Man Delta eighty eight and Jackie used to sit in 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:35.520 the middle of the front seat. You know, he put 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:38.000 his left arm, you know, he got the lean going, 0:04:38.960 --> 0:04:41.840 He got the lean going. And here he comes. We're 0:04:41.880 --> 0:04:45.159 all out on the beach with the four wheel drives 0:04:45.160 --> 0:04:48.880 and Jackie Ray from Marindian, Mississippi sees all of us 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:51.880 out on the beach and we and we look at him, 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:54.640 go oh, no, he's gonna drive the car on the beach. 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:58.359 And we're waving, waving him down, waving him down. And 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:01.279 what does Jackie Ray do? Hey, he put that big 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:03.400 old hand up and he thought we were waving at 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:06.839 him to say how jack He took it Delta eighty 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:09.360 eight And soon as that back tyre hit the sand, 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:14.640 it buried right in the sand, right there, Delta eighty eight, 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:18.720 right on the beach and Huntington Beach. And so that hey, 0:05:19.000 --> 0:05:23.440 we died laughing. We had so many ball players. We 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:25.520 picked up at Delta eighty eight and put it back 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:28.040 on the concrete. You guys looked at the car out 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:30.719 of the sand. We lifted the car out of the sand, 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:34.040 put it back on the concrete, and Jackie Ray goes, 0:05:34.080 --> 0:05:38.080 I thought y'all were waving me to come on anyway, 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:42.200 So I hope. Hey, I played beside Jackie for twelve years, Yeah, 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:46.200 twelve years, you know, and we have become I mean 0:05:46.279 --> 0:05:48.760 not only we were a great teammate, I mean great 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:53.160 teammates together. We become friends for life. And uh, you know, 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:57.560 him being from Mississippi, me being from West Virginia. You know, 0:05:57.600 --> 0:06:01.400 you always talk about all these racial divides and this 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:04.880 and that. To me, he's he's my best friend and 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:08.680 love of life. He just everything, and just the camaraderie 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:13.640 and and and what we had is very very special 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:16.960 in my heart to me. You know, it's it's your brothers. 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:19.839 I mean, it's it's it doesn't matter about skin, that's 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:21.920 you and me versus them. And we got to move 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:24.520 to football, and it's Yes, this is what I love 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:27.440 most about football, about team sports, but football in particular, 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:29.680 it's I don't care what you look like. Can you 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:31.960 help us get better? Can you help us win? Hey, 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:34.240 that's all we care. Hey, we're old here to battle, 0:06:34.279 --> 0:06:37.159 We're out here to battle. And you learn we're all 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:40.520 different and whatever, you know, just but it just you know, 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:43.160 I hear so much about the you know, the negativity 0:06:43.160 --> 0:06:44.760 on one side or the other it's just I'm so 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:47.600 sick and tired of hearing it. We're all brothers. We're 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:50.480 all brothers together for a common goal, and that is 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:52.840 to win, and we learn how to do it and 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:57.600 we just and to me is the greatest. You wish 0:06:57.640 --> 0:07:00.240 everybody in this world could go through what we did 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:03.520 to realize that we are all here for one common 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:06.240 goal and you know, to get along and to uh, 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:09.480 you know, to win and whatever it is, whatever your 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:11.680 job is, and that so but it's just it's just 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:13.480 too bad. We're just dealing with so much of the 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:16.800 negativity now. And that was a great, great time then, 0:07:17.240 --> 0:07:20.920 great era, and and I do miss a lot of it. 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:23.600 But I missed the locker room and the guys, guy's 0:07:23.640 --> 0:07:26.120 messing with each other's amen to that. You know what 0:07:26.320 --> 0:07:29.360 I think we're onto something. That's what this country needs 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:32.040 is a good two a day practice. It's a good 0:07:32.040 --> 0:07:36.720 training camp. Hey, just total stress as some man just 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:39.360 about ready to just kick your button. You look at 0:07:39.360 --> 0:07:41.120 the other buddy, You go, man, you might have to 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:46.120 give me a hand here. You might. Hey, Hey, as 0:07:46.200 --> 0:07:49.840 Jackie Ray used to say every time coming out of 0:07:49.880 --> 0:07:52.360 the huddle, if it was if it was a pass protection. 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:54.920 He said, Hey, don't forget to give me a look. Now, 0:07:55.120 --> 0:07:58.160 give me a look. Give me a look. Hey, I 0:07:58.280 --> 0:08:00.480 go with Jackie. I got somebody over top of me. 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:02.280 He said, don't worry about that. He said, you give 0:08:02.320 --> 0:08:07.640 me a look. So, if you got at Tech, you 0:08:07.720 --> 0:08:10.520 really got beat by any means. He expected you to 0:08:10.600 --> 0:08:12.680 get a hand out on him and do everything you 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:15.920 could to help him out. And that's the way we were. 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:19.000 We all helped each other out and we're working together. Well, 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:22.600 you brought up West Virginia, So how did a West 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:26.160 Virginia kid get down to Miami? Well, then a better 0:08:26.240 --> 0:08:32.240 question is how did the West Virginia kid live in Hey? 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:34.520 How did the West Virginia kid? Well? I had a 0:08:34.520 --> 0:08:38.760 scholarship offered to Marshall as a scholarship offered a Virginia Tech. 0:08:39.480 --> 0:08:42.920 And unfortunately, one of the horrific things that happened and 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:46.800 in my lifetime, was that we were coming home from 0:08:46.800 --> 0:08:48.800 a wrestling match and we heard that there was a 0:08:48.840 --> 0:08:52.840 plane crash. Wow, and everyone was killed. With that's a movie, 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:54.760 we are Marshall. I had to sign a letter and 0:08:54.800 --> 0:09:01.840 tent to go to Marshall, and unfortunately, the whole team coaches, alumni, doctors, 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:05.840 everybody were killed in that plane crash. It was it 0:09:05.920 --> 0:09:10.679 was a horrible time for West Virginia and UH and 0:09:10.920 --> 0:09:14.839 uh in Marshall University, it was just horrible. And and 0:09:15.200 --> 0:09:18.800 they were gonna, you know, just they were gonna let 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:21.640 freshmen start back then, which they couldn't. So, you know, 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:23.520 they told me that, you know, you're probably going to 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:26.200 come in and start, and uh, I was just going. 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:28.760 You know, I knew I was not ready for that. 0:09:29.200 --> 0:09:31.839 I just knew I wasn't ready. And and my coach 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:35.040 knew a coach from at the University of Miami that 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:38.920 acts was from West Virginia, and uh, you know, I know, 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:42.079 I know here we go, that West Virginia deal. But anyway, anyway, 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:46.160 so he offered me a scholarship to the University of Miami. 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:50.240 Playing in Miami, it's it's tough. It's a tough place 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:53.600 to play. Yeah, yeah, you know, between you know, between 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:56.000 laying out at the pool and going to the beach. 0:09:56.360 --> 0:10:03.120 I hey, I'm beat my self up. You know. Well wait, 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:06.280 did you say you wrestled? You're a wrestler? Uh, you 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:09.160 know what I was. I wrestled a little bit in 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:12.280 high school. I was. It was not, I was not 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:17.520 very It's I think somebody somebody should, uh, every person, 0:10:17.640 --> 0:10:20.520 every athlete should wrestle at least one year or alive. 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:25.520 Just what your body control. It teaches you and just 0:10:25.520 --> 0:10:29.959 just your own personal self protection and how tough a 0:10:30.120 --> 0:10:32.800 sport that is. That's the hardest thing I've ever done 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:36.719 in my life. I would compare that to two of 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:39.760 days at the University of Miami, which was the most 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:42.400 brutal thing that I'd ever been through. Well it was real, 0:10:42.480 --> 0:10:46.000 actually three of days. But uh, but wrestling is a very, 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:50.000 very tough sport. Under who who was your coach in 0:10:50.040 --> 0:10:53.440 Miami University of Miami, Well, basically it was fran Kersey 0:10:53.559 --> 0:10:56.199 and then fran Kursy went to Kentucky and then Pete 0:10:56.200 --> 0:10:58.679 Elliott took over, and Pete Elliott ended up running the 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:02.479 Pro Football Hall of Fame like twenty years inside. Oh yeah, 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:06.000 he came from Michigan, So it wasn't it wasn't coaches 0:11:06.080 --> 0:11:08.160 that you might have heard about or whatever. But basically 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:11.199 Frank Kersey was there, and uh, but it was brutal. 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:14.320 I mean it was. He came in there, we did 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:18.360 three days and full contact and it was. It was 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:21.319 one if you talked to Ted Hendricks, yeah, who was 0:11:21.400 --> 0:11:24.800 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The two days 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:26.960 at the University of Minam we were the toughest things 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:30.040 we ever did in any years of our playing football, 0:11:30.200 --> 0:11:33.440 thirteen years with the Rams whatever. The University Minam was 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:35.880 the toughest thing I'd ever gone through. I just talked 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:37.600 to Jackie, and like I said, Jackie was the guy 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:41.440 that kind of, uh kind of welcomed me to the NFL. 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:44.360 He taught me what practice is about at this level. 0:11:44.400 --> 0:11:47.160 So and it just it was just an absolute horror 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:48.720 show what he was doing back. They mean, he had 0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:50.760 eighteen years experience on me, you know what I mean. 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:54.400 But you came in and I'm glad somebody told me this. 0:11:54.600 --> 0:11:58.480 You came in when Merlin Olsen was still playing. So 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:01.920 you got your teeth wet or your teeth cut under 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:05.040 Merlin Olsen. What was that like back in the day, 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:10.199 Merlin Merlin never bought me a beer. He never bought 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:13.160 me a PEPSI I had to play against Merlin and 0:12:13.280 --> 0:12:16.400 practice every day. I was the first round draft choice, 0:12:16.440 --> 0:12:19.360 came in, you know, I was you know, I was 0:12:19.400 --> 0:12:22.160 a big weightlifting guy and all this kind of stuff, 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:25.120 and then I had to practice against Merlin every day, 0:12:25.400 --> 0:12:27.360 so they're you know, beating on me, trying to get 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:29.600 me to do whatever. But it just I did. Merlin 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:33.760 was in like his fourteenth year and he wanted nothing 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:37.320 to do with me trying to beat on him. So 0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:42.120 I would say, if anything, that Merlin disliked me as 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:46.120 much as anybody on the team. I mean, you know, 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:48.560 I had to practice against him every day, and that 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:50.520 was you know, and you're trying to do what the 0:12:50.600 --> 0:12:53.960 coaches want, and you're trying to protect him because you 0:12:54.040 --> 0:12:58.480 respect him so much. And it was, you know, especially 0:12:58.559 --> 0:13:01.840 being a rookie, you know, it was a tough It 0:13:01.920 --> 0:13:04.520 was tough marching orders for me to try to figure 0:13:04.559 --> 0:13:07.640 out how I could, you know, because you know, later 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:09.920 on in your career you learn how to brother in law. 0:13:10.160 --> 0:13:11.920 You know. I call it, you know, I call it 0:13:12.000 --> 0:13:14.280 brother in law practice, you know, because I'll even look 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:16.720 and go brother in law because that means I'm coming out, 0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:19.360 I'm gonna look like I'm gonna hit hard. Well, let's 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:22.199 fake through this and just get through the play and 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:24.599 do it that way. And I didn't know brother in 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:27.640 law at the time, and he definitely didn't want me 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:31.319 to be his brother in law. So yeah, that anyway, 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:37.640 But Merlin just just being around him was just between him, 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:43.079 Jack Jumblood, Larry Brooks, Isaiah Robertson, hawksall Reynolds. We're talking 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:49.240 just you know, hey, you know, just unbelievable defense. We 0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:52.160 had an unbelievable defense, and we had check marks. They 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:56.079 used to call him was a three h three downs 0:13:56.080 --> 0:13:58.920 in a ball of dust. I'm three yards in a 0:13:58.920 --> 0:14:01.199 cloud of dust, as in a cloud of deaths. And 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:03.520 then I'll get it out. I've had a little head 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:07.800 injury here, so I couldn't. I just got it written down, 0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:10.760 thank you, thank you. I meant to have that in 0:14:10.840 --> 0:14:16.160 my notes anyway. Man. Needless to say, our defense back 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:20.200 then was unbelievable. And then, like I said that, Merlin 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:23.800 was a leader and totally everybody respected him and I 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:27.040 respected him very much too, and sorry that he's gone 0:14:27.040 --> 0:14:31.680 to Yeah, just tremendous. And in our d Line meeting 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:35.240 room when I was in Anaheim, Merlin his picture was 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:37.720 right behind me, and Deacon was staring at me from 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:40.640 the left. So these are the guys that we had 0:14:40.640 --> 0:14:42.360 to look at or had looking at us. While we're 0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:44.720 going through and watching film. It was amazing. So I 0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:48.280 get you there, twenty one oh five. Does that number 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:51.880 stand out to you? Twenty one oh five? Yeah, hey, 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:54.240 I'm glad they're not gonna ask me any hard questions, 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:57.040 you know. And at two thousand, one hundred and five 0:14:57.120 --> 0:15:00.360 yards and that's Eric Dickinson, I got, you know what, 0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:02.080 I see that in my ring on right now. I 0:15:02.120 --> 0:15:04.520 got to two thousand, one hundred and five yard ring 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:07.400 from from Eric and Vince Ferragamo at the time, and 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:11.800 Dickerson was phenomenal and you know, everybody wanted to be 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:16.120 around him anyway. Needless to say, Eric is also has 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:19.880 become as to me as a friend for life. Is 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:23.840 absolutely a friend for life and just such such a 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:26.640 great person and a caring person. I'm asked with him 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:28.920 all the time about how friendly is now since he's 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:32.200 working for the RAMS. But but this is my two thousand, 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:35.840 one hundred and five ring. I got look at that 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:39.760 that Eric gave me, and that so uh okay, that 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:43.840 answers a question. But my other thing was now Eric 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:48.000 still when we broke a single season russy record, we 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:50.520 did that. The next year we were supposed to get 0:15:50.560 --> 0:15:55.840 a thousand dollars a pair of cowboy boots a thousands 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:59.080 than in that day, back in the days nineteen eighty five, 0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:01.240 there's supposed to be a thous thousand dollars. Yeah, well, 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:06.040 needless to say, he got traded, and needless to say, 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:09.480 I never got my thousand dollars cowboy boots, and I'm 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:12.320 still looking for those this day. What in the world 0:16:12.800 --> 0:16:16.560 what we want to make that happen? What in the world, 0:16:17.160 --> 0:16:20.640 what in the world, Yeah, make that happen. Yeah, I was, 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:23.080 that's another question. Like I said, I hope you were. 0:16:23.680 --> 0:16:26.960 You guys the guys up front were properly thanked for 0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:29.800 Eric carrying the football for twenty one hundred and five yards. 0:16:29.800 --> 0:16:32.040 I mean, it doesn't happen without you guys up front. 0:16:32.160 --> 0:16:35.160 And like I said, just playing with Eric, just getting 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:37.880 known and giving him a little seam, he could make 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:43.160 it happen. Fantastic running back, great person. And uh as 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:46.760 far as like I said, the compensation, one day, one day, 0:16:46.800 --> 0:16:49.640 I'll know he'll come clean and give me those boots. 0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:52.280 No doubt you said you were a five hundred pound 0:16:52.280 --> 0:16:54.320 bench presser. Did you say that or did somebody told 0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:59.440 me that you did bench five ve twenty. I did 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:02.920 five any my senior in college and uh, you know 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:05.760 that was that was the big deal. And and and 0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:09.320 I had a four eight forty and defense five twenty 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:11.840 did that and that was one of the things that 0:17:12.320 --> 0:17:15.879 helped me. But I've always been, uh, I've always been 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:19.120 a weight room guy, and that and that was back 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:22.040 when is that six on each side? Is that twelve 0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:26.440 five five five and the twenty five and think it is? 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:31.879 And that interesting? Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was a that 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:34.399 was pretty good lift in the day. That's a pretty 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:38.399 good lift now. That was way now in today's NFL. Well. 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:40.960 And again, so I was, like I said, I stayed 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:43.280 in the weight room. And that's from from all the 0:17:43.320 --> 0:17:46.800 way from my sophomore year, hey, all the way through 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:50.119 I eat it through high school airywhere my high school 0:17:50.119 --> 0:17:53.200 coach game gave me a key to the weight room. 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:55.080 I mean because I can't. I wanted to be there 0:17:55.119 --> 0:17:58.359 so much and stayed late that my high school const 0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:01.000 gave me a key to the weight room when I 0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:02.760 was when I was, he really gave you. I know 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:04.520 a lot of people say that, but they really gave 0:18:04.560 --> 0:18:06.440 you a key. No, I actually gave me a key 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:09.040 to the weight room in West Virginia, you know. So anyway, 0:18:09.080 --> 0:18:12.560 so wow, anyway, and that's that's pretty tough to give 0:18:12.640 --> 0:18:14.960 kids something in West Virginia, fade, they wouldn't steal it, 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:19.240 no doubt. Well, you know, I just I told Jackie 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:21.480 I had a great time watching him and Reggie White, 0:18:21.520 --> 0:18:23.600 go at it. If I could pick a dream match, um, 0:18:24.359 --> 0:18:29.680 you versus Aaron Donald in your era, Well, I'm glad 0:18:29.720 --> 0:18:34.560 you're dreaming of that. To me, it's more of a nightmare, hey, 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:38.160 him for you, I know, i'd have to be telling 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:40.479 Zach you ready to give me a look? Hey, give 0:18:40.520 --> 0:18:45.080 me a look, you know what? Hey? To me, it 0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:49.080 would be, uh, it would You'd have to get your 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:51.280 mind right. You gotta get your mind right and that. 0:18:51.480 --> 0:18:53.880 So it would have been an honor to not whatever. 0:18:54.000 --> 0:18:57.199 I mean, I would have I hard to tell you 0:18:57.200 --> 0:19:02.600 how to give it? Hell? Now what? And that's all 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:04.520 I can say, because I know my heart what I 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:10.080 would do, right, Hey, Hey, it's you know how I 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:12.320 can I don't even want to go there with that. 0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:15.320 Other than the fact though it is he is phenomenal 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:19.760 and I love watching him, and hey, he's he's one 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:24.480 of the greatest anywhere you can. Absolutely. Hey, we do 0:19:24.640 --> 0:19:27.600 this thing on this pod. Uh. It's called my favorite play, 0:19:27.720 --> 0:19:31.240 and we have you guys, look back from your favorite play, 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:34.680 one that stands out. If you can remember one from 0:19:34.720 --> 0:19:37.919 any playoff game, regular season, practice, training camp. What have 0:19:38.000 --> 0:19:40.240 you your favorite play? Take us through it and try 0:19:40.280 --> 0:19:46.280 to describe it as best you can. Okay, my favorite play. 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:51.160 This one brought me back to reality. I've got big 0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:55.440 Claude Humphries, defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons. I've got 0:19:55.560 --> 0:19:59.479 doctor John Williams. Big Doctor John Williams is a tackle 0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:02.400 they call a play where I got a double read. 0:20:02.480 --> 0:20:05.280 I got a linebacker on me to that outside backer. 0:20:05.440 --> 0:20:09.160 If he doesn't come, I help, I help Doctor Williams. Well, 0:20:09.200 --> 0:20:11.400 all of a sudden, Big Claude Humphries is right there. 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:15.280 My linebacker doesn't come, My other linebacker doesn't come, and 0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:19.240 I go after Claude humphries knee. Big John's hold him up. 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:25.880 Claude Humphries. He says a couple explicit words to me, 0:20:26.040 --> 0:20:28.600 and he says, if you ever do that again to me, 0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:34.800 I will knock you out. So, being the young brilliant 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:38.600 man from West Virginia, I had a couple explicits for him, 0:20:38.880 --> 0:20:41.320 and I go back to the huddle and James Harris 0:20:41.440 --> 0:20:45.359 was a quarterbacker, and James Harris, of all things, the 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:48.639 last play of the half. Next play, he calls the 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:51.440 same play. All of a sudden, I gotta I said, 0:20:51.440 --> 0:20:53.280 what am I gonna do? Am? I? I said, I 0:20:53.320 --> 0:20:55.359 hope a linebacker comes because I don't want to have 0:20:55.400 --> 0:20:58.359 to try to cut Claude again. So next thing, you know, 0:20:58.600 --> 0:21:01.720 both linebackers don't come, and I go after Claude's knee 0:21:01.800 --> 0:21:05.560 again and Austin and I look up and it's an interception. 0:21:05.920 --> 0:21:08.560 Oh boy, oh man, Here I go, Here I go. 0:21:08.840 --> 0:21:11.359 I got the cut off angle. I'm working it. I 0:21:11.440 --> 0:21:14.040 got the cut off angle. I'm got him. I got him, 0:21:14.080 --> 0:21:18.000 I got him, and bam. That's the last thing I remember. 0:21:19.200 --> 0:21:23.920 The next thing I remember is seeing feet walked by me, 0:21:24.359 --> 0:21:29.040 and all of a sudden, George menisfee buck bus cemmonia 0:21:29.119 --> 0:21:33.320 cap in my nose and I'm looking up and I'm 0:21:33.400 --> 0:21:36.359 looking up at the sky and I see George's face 0:21:36.480 --> 0:21:39.480 right there, and I said, George, what in the hill happened? 0:21:40.000 --> 0:21:45.399 He said, Claude Humphries just knocked your ass out and 0:21:46.240 --> 0:21:49.480 I went, Oh, my goodness. So I got myself together, 0:21:49.640 --> 0:21:54.280 and needless to say, I never cut Claude Humphries again 0:21:54.840 --> 0:21:58.200 in that game. And then ay after the game was over, 0:21:58.280 --> 0:22:00.480 I went looking for Claude. He was up. I went 0:22:00.520 --> 0:22:02.880 all the way up his tunnel and I pecked him 0:22:02.920 --> 0:22:04.920 on the shoulder and tore. He turned around and looked 0:22:04.920 --> 0:22:07.600 at me, and I said, Claude, I said, first of all, 0:22:07.960 --> 0:22:12.679 I want to apologize, And second of all, you're a 0:22:12.760 --> 0:22:19.520 man of your word. Did you really put some the 0:22:19.560 --> 0:22:24.280