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Speaker 1: It's how hard to go out to eat with Brandon

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Speaker 1: because he orders like so much food it might take

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Speaker 1: up half the table. Got Seys and Steve Smith trying

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Speaker 1: to come through there, you roll blocked them once or twice. Man,

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Speaker 1: you're gonna have a war on your hand. I couldn't

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Speaker 1: have wrote the script in my dreams. Man. Welcome into

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Speaker 1: the Lounge. II and Ryan Mink and I'm Garrett Downing

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Speaker 1: and we want to wish everyone out there are very

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Speaker 1: happy Thanksgiving. Thanks for listening to us. Maybe you've got

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Speaker 1: a little downtime, no work, you know, maybe you're getting

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Speaker 1: the getting some prep done for the Thanksgiving meal, or

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Speaker 1: watching a little bit of football, and you just want

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Speaker 1: to Maybe you want to listen to Downing his voice

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Speaker 1: and just fall asleep into your Thanksgiving nap. That's a

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Speaker 1: great way if everyone needs to take a little nap

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Speaker 1: here during the middle of Thanksgiving, the Lounge is the

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Speaker 1: perfect place to come. We're really insulting ourselves people to sleep,

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Speaker 1: But today we have a very special guest. This guy

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Speaker 1: is not gonna put us to sleep. He's definitely not

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Speaker 1: going to put us to sleep. We are happy to

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Speaker 1: be joined by Ravens Rookie undrafted free agent defensive tackle

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Speaker 1: Michael Pierce. So we had Joe Flacco on the podcast

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Speaker 1: last week. Now we have undrafted rookie defensive lineman Michael Pierce.

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Speaker 1: So in terms of star power, we're going up. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: we're on the ascent. We're on the ascent here, alright.

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Speaker 1: So Michael, let me get this. Let's get straight to

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Speaker 1: the point here. You're three nine pounds. Thanksgiving is today, Okay,

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Speaker 1: this is coming out Thanksgiving, so we want to get

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Speaker 1: into a little turkey talk. Let's say we come with

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Speaker 1: a hard hitting questions here. Start out with that. Yet,

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Speaker 1: what are your Thanksgiving plans? All right? Thanksgiving? Actually have

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Speaker 1: a cousin and aunt who live out no one's meals actually,

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Speaker 1: so I'm gonna go over day and try to steal

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Speaker 1: as much food as I possibly do. You have to

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Speaker 1: make something to bring? Is it like pot luck kind

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Speaker 1: of style? No? I hope not. My mom's sending me

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Speaker 1: a sweep potato pie in the mail, so I'm I'm

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Speaker 1: gonna slide that with me, and that should be. That's

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Speaker 1: just advice. If you're cooking something on Thanksgiving, what are

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Speaker 1: you making? I love gumbo? I'm not. I'm i haven't

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Speaker 1: really made it per se by myself, but I watched

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Speaker 1: my mom enough to you know what I'm saying, hook

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Speaker 1: a little bit of Thanksgiving and that's what I'm gonna say.

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Speaker 1: My mom from New Orleans. So so gumbo is every day,

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Speaker 1: yeah Christmas, you know, ye, gumbo and they make it,

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Speaker 1: they throw it down. So yeah, that that's kind of

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Speaker 1: maybe like a more southern, kind of French type thing

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Speaker 1: from New Orleans. But yeah, they are gumbo. Um of

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Speaker 1: course you get the turkey and address and all that

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Speaker 1: good stuff. But yeah, I'm a big gumbo fan. So

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Speaker 1: we on our last episode of this podcast, Garrett and

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Speaker 1: I held a Thanksgiving draft right in which we had

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Speaker 1: different dishes Thanksgiving dishes, and we took turns and had

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Speaker 1: a draft. Yes, we had ten to pay from, you know,

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Speaker 1: we had we predetermined what those ten were, and then

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Speaker 1: we each went back and forth and decided, so go ahead,

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Speaker 1: give him, well, give him the two line out still

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Speaker 1: say who's this, who's yep, and we'll let him decide

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Speaker 1: who's is better. Yeah, alright, So one of them has turkey,

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Speaker 1: mashed potatoes, gravy stuffing, salad, and pumpkin pie. That's one

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Speaker 1: the other one has sweet potato, cast role dinner rolls,

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Speaker 1: cranberry sauce, green beans, and beer slash wine. So one

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Speaker 1: isn't dry? So which one are you taking? A bye?

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Speaker 1: So here's the funny thing. We've been battling this. We've

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Speaker 1: been having this discussion with so many people that was mine. Okay,

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Speaker 1: we've been having this discussion we just about everybody around

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Speaker 1: the building since we did this draft, and there's nobody

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Speaker 1: that's even considered taking his. Would you? It's terrible? Yeah,

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Speaker 1: there's there's the substances you're lacking a little. You have

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Speaker 1: to have a glass of wine and a few beers

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Speaker 1: on Thanksgiving? Yeah you got you got what? Dude? You

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Speaker 1: got a three nine pound guy? Here? You got a

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Speaker 1: plethorays I can't substitute the turkey and dressing, right, Yeah

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Speaker 1: I could. I could see the one, but oh man,

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Speaker 1: you're even you're leaving me hunger. Cranberry sauce is not

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Speaker 1: substituting for stuffing. Here's the thing. Here's the thing. I

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Speaker 1: put a lot of thought into this since the drafting, right,

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Speaker 1: and I think on the Ozzie newsm of Thanksgiving drafts. Okay,

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Speaker 1: it's best player available Okay, you're not drafting for need.

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Speaker 1: You're drafting for need right, which is to have a

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Speaker 1: nice balanced meal. Okay, if you stack up each thing

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Speaker 1: side by side, mine is the best player. It's like,

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Speaker 1: why would you sign Michael Pierce as an undrafted rookie

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Speaker 1: if you already have Brandon Williams. Well, it's because best

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Speaker 1: player available. No, that's why you take him. Check this out.

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Speaker 1: You gotta think about like this. Thanks you're thinking like warm.

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Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, homey comfort food that you

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Speaker 1: may be lacking on a little bit. That's why dinners warm,

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Speaker 1: step tatd Castle seem tad Castle is a vegetable and

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Speaker 1: the dessert. Yeah, but stuffing. You know, you sit back

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Speaker 1: and watch football. You want to feel full, you know,

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Speaker 1: relax with your family, take a quick nap in between half.

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Speaker 1: So that's why I'm rolling with my man. That's a

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Speaker 1: big boy. He knows all right, he's got a cover.

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Speaker 1: Makes a good point. Makes a good point. So who

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Speaker 1: do you think eats more on Thanksgiving? You were Brandon Williams. Hm,

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Speaker 1: that's debatable. I've seen Brandon put down some food and

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Speaker 1: I heard a lot of stories, so I may have

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Speaker 1: to go with him. I may well. Uh actually last

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Speaker 1: week I think I was talking to l G and

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Speaker 1: Cap and they were telling me how it's hard to

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Speaker 1: go out to eat with Brandon because he orders like

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Speaker 1: so much food it might take up half the table,

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Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. So, uh, yeah, of course

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Speaker 1: we both big guys. I've only I we went to

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Speaker 1: eat Jacksonville week, but we went to like a Brazilian steakhouse.

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Speaker 1: That's a good choice. Yeah, we both ate quite a bit,

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Speaker 1: but we don't do it too much, you know, the

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Speaker 1: day before the game. But I'll probably say about what

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Speaker 1: and what maybe a little more side maybe depending on

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Speaker 1: what it is. Well, that's why he's listed as one

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Speaker 1: pound heavier than you. He's a three year three So

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Speaker 1: we had branded on the podcast. We were talking to

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Speaker 1: him about weight room, you know, accomplishments. He said, he

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Speaker 1: claims he's the strongest guy. Walker said, you're pushing in

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Speaker 1: that you're close. Are you still giving him the nod?

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Speaker 1: Because if we saw the video of you squatting sevens.

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Speaker 1: This is the thing. I can't knock him until I

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Speaker 1: see him in person, you know, in season. You know,

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Speaker 1: we do enough to keep your body, you know, strong,

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Speaker 1: and everything, but I actually want to work out with him.

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Speaker 1: It's off season and we're gonna test him out. We

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Speaker 1: need to get cameras in there for that one. Sure.

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Speaker 1: So he saw the video of you doing the seven

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Speaker 1: all right, So here's my question, what does your body

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Speaker 1: feel like? How so are you and for how long

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Speaker 1: after squatting seven hundred? I played three kickball games like

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Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago, and I think I'm just

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Speaker 1: now recovering from the soreness that I felt from doing that. Man,

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Speaker 1: I can't even equate that to him. Ain't really. Uh

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Speaker 1: we did that, and actually we had to run right

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Speaker 1: after that. I only made and we ran one ten

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Speaker 1: is actually we're supposed to do ten. I made two

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Speaker 1: in my back like game out, I believe it. I

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Speaker 1: had to pull me out. So Yeah, my my legs

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Speaker 1: were hurting for like a week. Uh. That's definitely something

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Speaker 1: you don't want to do before running, obviously, but you

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Speaker 1: know it's strain. The conditioning coach in college, he's awesome.

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Speaker 1: Uh yeah, I don't think they planned on me going

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Speaker 1: that heavy. Yeah. I kind of, you know, surprised him

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Speaker 1: a little bit with that. But how did that happen?

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Speaker 1: Is that one of the situations where like all all

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Speaker 1: your boys are like, come on, man, just put another

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Speaker 1: fifty on there. Yeah. Yeah, they normally we had max day,

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Speaker 1: of course, but they normally cut me off around like

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Speaker 1: six fifty. I did six fifty like twice pretty easily,

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Speaker 1: and then it's like we know we're gonna go for it.

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Speaker 1: So I wanted to try seven hundred. I've been a

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Speaker 1: big weightlifting fan. I heard Brandon Minty want to try

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Speaker 1: World Strongest Man. I actually held the tattoo on me,

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Speaker 1: so yeah, the logos tattooed on me. So that's something

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Speaker 1: I'm always been interested in. It's everything lined up that

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Speaker 1: day for me to do what I did, and uh yeah,

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Speaker 1: so it was pretty awesome day. So quick google check

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Speaker 1: on my part says the world record for a squat

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Speaker 1: is one thousand, one hundred and two pounds, so you

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Speaker 1: got a little room to grow. So thousand that's like

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Speaker 1: two garrets lifting two A quick math, I don't think

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Speaker 1: that's too amazing. So he's basing your weight off that

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Speaker 1: meal you exactly, So, Mike, we do we do story

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Speaker 1: time around here, right, and one story wanted you to

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Speaker 1: tell is from the rookie Talent Show, which kind of

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Speaker 1: got a little publicity this year because of Steve Smith's

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Speaker 1: costumes that he had shipped in very interesting. Yeah, what

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Speaker 1: did you have to do for the show? We all

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Speaker 1: had to get up and sing what what costumes did

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Speaker 1: I have? Let's see, let's see. I think I was

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Speaker 1: a monk. If I'm not mistaken, I had a little Yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 1: a very very large month overside monk. I don't think

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Speaker 1: they make those besides whatever that's said, but yeah, I

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Speaker 1: was a monk. Uh saying usher you remind me. I'm

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Speaker 1: not a very good singer, but I got enough enough

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Speaker 1: into the song where everybody's saying along, clapped along, and

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Speaker 1: we gotta done. Yeah that's the key, right, You gotta

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Speaker 1: kind of get some audience participation with it. You gotta

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Speaker 1: get them involved. Oh they're not involved, gonna be You're

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Speaker 1: gonna start over the next day, probably pick another song.

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Speaker 1: So I only had one song memorized. That was the

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Speaker 1: song I figured everybody might know they could sing along too,

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Speaker 1: so we made it work. Can you can you tell us?

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Speaker 1: On the On topic of the Rookies, there's a wing

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Speaker 1: of the locker Room now that has been dubbed MLK Boulevard,

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Speaker 1: and this is kind of for people listening. You know,

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Speaker 1: I've never been in the locker room. It's kind of

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Speaker 1: tucked around the corner. And uh and now reporters, we

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Speaker 1: you know, we're kind of warn that we can't come

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Speaker 1: down there to do interviews. They're running security that I

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Speaker 1: think Judon's running Secure. He's the head of secure. Tell

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Speaker 1: us about m okay, how this star, tell us about this.

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Speaker 1: We'll see all of our rookies except maybe a few

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Speaker 1: are on that block. And they kind of made a

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Speaker 1: joke we got tucked him off. This is the hood.

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Speaker 1: You know, these are the less visible guys. You tuck

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Speaker 1: y'all off in the back somewhere. So uh yeah, we

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Speaker 1: kind of just took it and kind of ran with it, honestly.

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Speaker 1: Uh you know, we want to take pride and everything

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Speaker 1: we do, so we kind of shut down the rookie

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Speaker 1: section for the older guys. Didn't go very well. You know,

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Speaker 1: you got sys and Steve Smith trying to come through there.

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Speaker 1: You roll blocked him once or twice. Man, you're gonna

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Speaker 1: have a war in your hands. Uh yeah, we we

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Speaker 1: tried that unsuccessfully. Man. We had some misplaced book bags

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Speaker 1: and keys and phones and stuff. So we kind of

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Speaker 1: slowing it down. But it was just like a little

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Speaker 1: thing to mess with the older guys. They enjoyed it.

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Speaker 1: We enjoyed this. I didn't really. I thought this was

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Speaker 1: just for reporters. So you were messing with the fat Yeah,

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Speaker 1: we'll see. It's a lot easier to mess with reporters

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Speaker 1: that it is. Yeah. I wasn't. Hey, we all were

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Speaker 1: group so, but you were quite on board with that point.

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Speaker 1: I wasn't the first to say that. So when one

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Speaker 1: guy in a we all got involved. We have fun.

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Speaker 1: We thought we got away with it, of course, and

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Speaker 1: at the end of the day, Steven says had the

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Speaker 1: last laugh, and that was about it. Did your car

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Speaker 1: keys go missing? Or did you I was smart enough

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Speaker 1: to hide my boot bag once I kind of got

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Speaker 1: word that they were going to retaliate. Uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: I think I think like a couple of my shirts

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Speaker 1: from missing, Like nothing too serious, but yeah, we had

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Speaker 1: we had somebody's car moved. I can't say who aware

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Speaker 1: it was, but we had some stuff missing. So, uh,

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Speaker 1: that's something we tried. I don't think we were trying

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Speaker 1: it again into something. There was something fun, just something

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Speaker 1: fun to mess with the guy. That's a note of self.

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Speaker 1: Don't try to get into a prank war with Smith.

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Speaker 1: That's a battle that you're not gonna win. Yeah, never again.

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Speaker 1: So so we do want to talk a little bit

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Speaker 1: of football here with you, and uh, I want to

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Speaker 1: go back to kind of your start, you know, your

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Speaker 1: football start, and you started at Tulane de Lean first

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Speaker 1: and then Sanford, which for people listening at home, Sandford's

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Speaker 1: a private university in Birmingham, Alabama, and it's got like

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Speaker 1: three thousand kids there. It's a real small So how

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Speaker 1: did you end up? I guess, Hey, why did you

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Speaker 1: transfer from Tulane there? Uh? Well, I went to Tulane.

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Speaker 1: My dad played running back in Tulane. Yeah, so it

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Speaker 1: was always a big dream of his and mine as

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Speaker 1: well to go to Tulane and play there. Uh. We

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Speaker 1: didn't have a great two seasons. My first two years

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Speaker 1: they were going four games and two years had a

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Speaker 1: coaching change in the middle of my freshman year. Guy

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Speaker 1: was really fond up by the name of Bob Toledo.

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Speaker 1: Uh that really really impacted me. Uh. Then I kind

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Speaker 1: of felt like I might be better, you know elsewhere. Uh.

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Speaker 1: They had some They had a great year after I left,

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Speaker 1: actually went to a Bowl game, but I chose to

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Speaker 1: go to Sanford close to home. Had great friends there,

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Speaker 1: Jacquos guitar and a couple of guys who are in

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Speaker 1: the NFL. So, uh, yeah, one of my best friends

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Speaker 1: was there. Uh it's a nice place to get my

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Speaker 1: you know, get my live my life together, get my academics,

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Speaker 1: get my faith together. So that's a that's a chance

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Speaker 1: I took and it worked out for me. When you're

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Speaker 1: at Sanford, you know, it's not like you're at a

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Speaker 1: school where it's just this natural pipeline of guys going

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Speaker 1: into the NFL every single season. You know, you men,

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Speaker 1: sure there are some guys in the league, but it's

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Speaker 1: not You're not at an Alabama or high state where

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Speaker 1: there's putting guys through the four guys in the league

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Speaker 1: every single year. At what point did it become kind

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Speaker 1: of clear to you that, all right, maybe I'm at

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Speaker 1: a small school, but I think I'm gonna have a

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Speaker 1: legitimate shot to make it to the league. Well, the

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Speaker 1: year I actually transferred to have a guy by the

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Speaker 1: name of Nick Williams. He went to the Combine Draft

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Speaker 1: in the seven round by Pittsburgh. He's actually with Miami.

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Speaker 1: He played them next week, big defensive tackle. So I

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Speaker 1: saw him. My best friend quoas guitar. He had like

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Speaker 1: three All American years at Sanford. Uh play with him

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Speaker 1: my resturt sophomore year in junior season, he went in

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Speaker 1: the second round. So uh. Once I saw Nick, got

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Speaker 1: met with him. I've worked out with those guys religiously,

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Speaker 1: who wanted to learn everything I could from those guys.

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Speaker 1: Saw him get drafted, and I watched Quasky get drafted.

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Speaker 1: I knew it was possible, but it was up to

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Speaker 1: me to put the work in just like those guys did.

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Speaker 1: So um watched one of my great friends, Jeremy Towns,

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Speaker 1: he went undrafted. Actually went to Buffalo made in the

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Speaker 1: year for like a year and a half. So every

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Speaker 1: time those guys were back in town, I wanted to

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Speaker 1: work with him, called him. You know what I'm saying.

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Speaker 1: They kept my spirits up. It's definitely tough envisioning yourself

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Speaker 1: coming from those smaller schools, just because you have a

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Speaker 1: limited amount of looks and you just never know. So

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Speaker 1: uh yeah, I just wanted to put myself in the

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Speaker 1: best position, whether it was me getting drafted to being

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Speaker 1: a free agent. I just wanted to be ready. So

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Speaker 1: you mentioned your education, that's all. You got your degree

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Speaker 1: in public administration, which to me, I read that and

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Speaker 1: I think, all right, he's setting himself up for a

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Speaker 1: board nine to five deaths job. Yeah, kind of kinda.

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Speaker 1: So you did better than that, Yeah, yeah, yeah, I

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Speaker 1: did all right. Man. I liked I like public administration. Honestly,

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Speaker 1: it's a mix between business and uh we have like politics.

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Speaker 1: So I learned. I learned a good bit. Uh over

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Speaker 1: my course of my three years at Sanford. Uh, I

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Speaker 1: enjoyed all the classes. Uh. I want to do grad

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Speaker 1: school at some point. School to do grad school and

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Speaker 1: finishing public man stration, and hopefully I wanted to come

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Speaker 1: become like an athletic director university. So that's where my

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Speaker 1: eyes are after I'm doing football. Right, It's very cool. Well,

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Speaker 1: you got a nice start, you got a nice first

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Speaker 1: gig before you go on to become an athletic. I'm

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Speaker 1: enjoying this game. So what's it like for you during

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Speaker 1: the draft? You know, you talked about like you could

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Speaker 1: envision yourself. You saw some of your teammates get drafted.

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Speaker 1: Did you feel like you were definitely going to get

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Speaker 1: drafted or what was it like for you? I didn't know,

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Speaker 1: to be honest. I actually took a pre draft visit

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Speaker 1: up here and I met with all the coaches, Coach P's,

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Speaker 1: coach Ozzy, and coach Hardball and everybody. I also went

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Speaker 1: to Buffalo, so, um, I know one of my best

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Speaker 1: friends that's on that was on my team. Now he

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Speaker 1: went in the second round this past year, James brad Berry.

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Speaker 1: He went to the Combine, the Senior Bowl and all

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Speaker 1: that different stuff. So I knew we weren't on the

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Speaker 1: exact same level. And you know, me being six foot,

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Speaker 1: you know, that's kind of a measurable issue. So with

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Speaker 1: that being said, I knew it was gonna be iffy. Uh.

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Speaker 1: You know, some people had me projecting the late round,

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Speaker 1: but you never know, he had like a terribly deep

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Speaker 1: defensive tackle draft right this year. So I just prayed

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Speaker 1: on it. Uh, just crossed my fingers, watched it. Uh

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Speaker 1: that with what it was, and when I got my

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Speaker 1: chance to come here, I was just as happy as

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Speaker 1: I got drafted. All I wanted was an opportunity. Man

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Speaker 1: was that? Yeah? Was that draft day a sad day?

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Speaker 1: Because sometimes you hear guys talk about it. It's like,

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Speaker 1: you know, draft is a great experience, and you have

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Speaker 1: other guys say draft day is a pretty miserable it's

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Speaker 1: oh my goodness, that was probably I felt like the

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Speaker 1: worst day of my life, to be honest. When Coach

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Speaker 1: Hardball gave me the call after, I was happy, but

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Speaker 1: he could tell like I was kind of upset. But uh,

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Speaker 1: like I told him on the phone, you know, everything

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Speaker 1: happened for a reason, and I'm blessed to have the opportunity.

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Speaker 1: And when I get here, my foot hits the ground,

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Speaker 1: I'm here to work. We're gonna get it done. So

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Speaker 1: Coach Hardball is actually the one that calls you. Did

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Speaker 1: you have your phone because sometimes there's these undrafted guys

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Speaker 1: that having a number of teams that are calling them.

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Speaker 1: Did you have some other teams that were calling or yeah,

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Speaker 1: I had a lot of teams calling me. Uh, my

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Speaker 1: phone did not stop ringing from even in the seventh round.

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Speaker 1: People were calling me saying, you know, we might we're not.

347
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Speaker 1: We're out draft picks, but we only bring you in.

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Speaker 1: You know. I unfortunately had a visit here, saw the scheme,

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Speaker 1: met with Coach Peace, Coach Cullin, Drew and all those

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Speaker 1: guys and got pretty comfortable and what they were telling

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Speaker 1: what they were going to be asking me to do. Uh,

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Speaker 1: you know, this is probably one of the best places.

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Speaker 1: They developed cree agents like nobody nowhere else. So uh,

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Speaker 1: they laid that out for me from the get go,

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Speaker 1: even if they didn't have playing the draft me. They

356
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Speaker 1: told me exactly, you know, this is what we've done.

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Speaker 1: You know, you had those kind of guys. Uh, their

358
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Speaker 1: names escaped my mind. Start Scott and all those guys.

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Speaker 1: You know, zach Or's amazing. I was shocked he didn't

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Speaker 1: get drafted. I had no idea until I got in here,

361
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Speaker 1: but uh, yeah, man, they developed guys like no other,

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Speaker 1: so I knew if if I had a fair chance,

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Speaker 1: they gave me a fair chance, I had my shot.

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Speaker 1: So I'm blessed to be here. You know, was that

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Speaker 1: call from hardball actually, because I can't imagine every head

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Speaker 1: coach is calling you when you're you know, your phone's ringing.

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Speaker 1: It's not necessarily every head coach was. It was that

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Speaker 1: call kind of a recruiting pitch, and did that kind

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Speaker 1: of say to you, all right, the head coach is

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Speaker 1: calling me. I might as well give us some serious

371
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Speaker 1: thought if he's putting the time and to call me. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I was actually shocked. He called me, uh that same

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Speaker 1: day earlier and say, you know, we might not you

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Speaker 1: know we have we don't have any picks in the seven.

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Speaker 1: We're gonna end at six, but we definitely want you

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Speaker 1: to be a Raven and we'll see how everything goes. Uh.

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Speaker 1: They stayed in contact with me throughout the draft, and

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Speaker 1: uh yeah, for him to call me, I knew they

379
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Speaker 1: were really serious about me and I was gonna get

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Speaker 1: a fair shot. And that's all I really asked for.

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Speaker 1: What kind of happens? I mean, you know that Brandon

382
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Speaker 1: Williams is here, they had drafted Carl Davids in the

383
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Speaker 1: third round before. Does that play into your thinking at all?

384
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Speaker 1: Or you just like whatever? Man, I'm just gonna win

385
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Speaker 1: a job. To be honest, it's the NFL, man, everybody

386
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Speaker 1: every team has great talent, maybe not as much as

387
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Speaker 1: we have, very very deep but uh yeah, man. That

388
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Speaker 1: all I asked him was would I have a fair

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Speaker 1: chance we have a fair shot of getting any reps

390
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Speaker 1: in camp? He assured me that I would, and uh,

391
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Speaker 1: you know, you can't run from competition, man, Um, I

392
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Speaker 1: knew being here would only make me better. Regardless of

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Speaker 1: if I didn't make the team, I might hang on

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Speaker 1: somewhere else, depending on you know, everything. When in the preseason.

395
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Speaker 1: But yeah, man, I saw those guys on the on

396
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Speaker 1: the list, of course. But you can't run from competition

397
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Speaker 1: in NFL. Man, You're gonna be behind the eight ball

398
00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:10,480
Speaker 1: when you're undrafted anyway, So you might as well, you know,

399
00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:12,840
Speaker 1: learn from the best. Why you can't. You bring up

400
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Speaker 1: the preseason game and that that fourth game was a

401
00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:19,439
Speaker 1: pretty monster game for you, specifically the sack strip touchdown.

402
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Speaker 1: Did you think before that game did you think you

403
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Speaker 1: were on the right side of the bubble? Uh? I

404
00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:28,280
Speaker 1: felt that I had done pretty well. Uh. You know,

405
00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:30,399
Speaker 1: you stay in contact, your means what every day with

406
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Speaker 1: coach calling those guys, you get your grades back, you

407
00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:35,199
Speaker 1: see you doing well. But when you when you're in

408
00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:37,680
Speaker 1: that in that preseason mode, you never know for sure.

409
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Speaker 1: So I just wanted to go in and put everything

410
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Speaker 1: I had on the table. That's the last shot, man,

411
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Speaker 1: So you don't have anything to lose at that point.

412
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Speaker 1: You gotta go and let leave everything on the field.

413
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Speaker 1: That's exactly what I did, and you had a bunch

414
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Speaker 1: of family in the States that that game was in

415
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Speaker 1: New Orleans. Man, after you get that touchdown, you're running off.

416
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Speaker 1: I remember your celebration. That was a great celebration. I mean,

417
00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:00,600
Speaker 1: so many guys are so high before you. You're just

418
00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,320
Speaker 1: like running off the field with the ball. I mean,

419
00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:05,800
Speaker 1: are you thinking at that point, like, you know what?

420
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Speaker 1: I think I just made the team, like for sure.

421
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Speaker 1: To be honest, I was so tired. I ran. I

422
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Speaker 1: had the ball in my hand. I was like, I

423
00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:16,320
Speaker 1: have to keep this ball. That's the first thing, you know.

424
00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:19,040
Speaker 1: I pointed to this guy, thank god, and man I

425
00:20:19,119 --> 00:20:24,200
Speaker 1: ran over there. I actually had got some oxygen out

426
00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:26,639
Speaker 1: again because we're about to play defense. So I was

427
00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,480
Speaker 1: on the on the on right back up on the field.

428
00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:32,640
Speaker 1: So uh yeah, man, I was elated. I didn't even

429
00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:34,360
Speaker 1: have time to worry about I think I just made

430
00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:36,159
Speaker 1: the team. And I was just so happy that that

431
00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:38,840
Speaker 1: would play once in a lifetime play for me. You

432
00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:40,879
Speaker 1: don't really see too many of those agirls had plays

433
00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,119
Speaker 1: like that, So uh yeah, man, I was happy. I

434
00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:45,840
Speaker 1: was just so happy. I couldn't control myself. So we

435
00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:47,760
Speaker 1: asked you about the drafting experience. The other kind of

436
00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,080
Speaker 1: big day for an undrafted guy or really a guy

437
00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:52,440
Speaker 1: that's kind of on that roster bubble is the cutdown day.

438
00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:54,720
Speaker 1: Talk to me about what that day was like. Are

439
00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:56,760
Speaker 1: you do you know at any point are you just

440
00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:59,520
Speaker 1: waiting to get a call one way or the other? Uhum,

441
00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:02,320
Speaker 1: we had practice that day in regardless if you made

442
00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:04,960
Speaker 1: a team or not, we were in practice, and uh,

443
00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:10,560
Speaker 1: I was nervous, beyond belief barely. Remember my son is

444
00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:15,240
Speaker 1: you don't know, you have no idea, You have no idea.

445
00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:17,640
Speaker 1: You just go out there. It's it's not a very

446
00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:21,360
Speaker 1: very strenuous practice. You're just refreshing everything, correcting things from

447
00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:24,320
Speaker 1: the past game. And uh, yeah, I was so nervous. Man.

448
00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:26,800
Speaker 1: I was like, Lord, if I walked through this building

449
00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:28,800
Speaker 1: and they cut me, I gotta deal with it. And

450
00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:31,160
Speaker 1: if not, I'll be great and we'll be ready to roll.

451
00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:33,840
Speaker 1: But yeah, you have practice. You don't know. Uh, you

452
00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,439
Speaker 1: sit through the film and all that coach Culin actually

453
00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:38,679
Speaker 1: pulled us all aside everybody who made a team, you know,

454
00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:41,840
Speaker 1: Willie and those guys too. So up until that point,

455
00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:44,280
Speaker 1: I had no idea. But once I found out, man,

456
00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:48,720
Speaker 1: I didn't sleep at the night before at all. So yeah,

457
00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:50,600
Speaker 1: once I found out, I didn't have to wait till

458
00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,639
Speaker 1: five o'clock, thank god. As soon as I got to

459
00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:55,560
Speaker 1: the hotel, Man, I put my feet up and I

460
00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:59,760
Speaker 1: slept nine pm, woke up, got something to eat, put

461
00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:01,680
Speaker 1: my back in the film, and try to get ready

462
00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:04,760
Speaker 1: for Buffalo. So it was your first call. I called

463
00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:08,679
Speaker 1: my dad. Uh. That was That was my uh, my

464
00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,359
Speaker 1: my rock during this whole process. Man talked to him

465
00:22:11,359 --> 00:22:13,440
Speaker 1: through the ups and downs. You know, when you first

466
00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:15,159
Speaker 1: get here, you got the drafted guys in front of you,

467
00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:17,720
Speaker 1: don't get too many reps. So he definitely helped me

468
00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:19,600
Speaker 1: keep my mind up along with the vets, you know,

469
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:21,960
Speaker 1: they keep it up too. But yeah, my dad was

470
00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:25,040
Speaker 1: My dad was everything for me going through this process.

471
00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:27,480
Speaker 1: How emotional was that phone call? Man? It was. It

472
00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:30,320
Speaker 1: was very emotional. I did not cry, but I found

473
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,840
Speaker 1: myself on the edge. He did not either. That's really strong.

474
00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,560
Speaker 1: So I don't think even if he did cry, only

475
00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:39,600
Speaker 1: here doing on the phone with me. So yeah, man,

476
00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:42,560
Speaker 1: that was that was. That was an amazing day. Uh.

477
00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:46,320
Speaker 1: The season has flown by. It seems like it was yesterday,

478
00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:48,439
Speaker 1: to be honest, but uh, Yeah, man, that was an

479
00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:50,800
Speaker 1: emotional phone call and we were all happy. My mom

480
00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:54,080
Speaker 1: was jumping and screaming and all that stuff. So yeah, man,

481
00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:56,760
Speaker 1: I got that off my chest, got some sleep, and

482
00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:58,960
Speaker 1: you got ready to the Buffalo. So so you talked

483
00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:01,760
Speaker 1: to you about your dad being a running back. You

484
00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:04,359
Speaker 1: got a little running back in years, Well, it's true.

485
00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:07,680
Speaker 1: Let's go a couple of touchdowns first, a little bit,

486
00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:10,560
Speaker 1: and now you're on the field. Even how many times

487
00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:12,760
Speaker 1: have you gotten in? I got in once, just once.

488
00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:16,560
Speaker 1: They put me on go line. I'm gonna kickoff return

489
00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:19,760
Speaker 1: uh in the wedge. But yeah, man, that that was awesome.

490
00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:23,320
Speaker 1: That's something I never thought. You know, you never had

491
00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:25,680
Speaker 1: those thoughts. You know, they put me in a full

492
00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:28,360
Speaker 1: back and I get to block in the NFL, you know,

493
00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:31,000
Speaker 1: me making the team was awesome. Me playing in the

494
00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,520
Speaker 1: first game, you know, and then I had I started

495
00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:35,520
Speaker 1: last week. Man, this stuff is going so fast. But

496
00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:37,720
Speaker 1: you never just think, you know, these people would trust

497
00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:39,720
Speaker 1: me to play pull back on the goal line, you know,

498
00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:43,960
Speaker 1: we like it needs to even crazy Listen when they

499
00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,000
Speaker 1: said that, I was like, really, you know you could

500
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,119
Speaker 1: block somebody. I was like, yeah, I'd definitely being to

501
00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:50,680
Speaker 1: block somebody don't hear anything for a couple of days,

502
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:52,520
Speaker 1: go to ball comes to me. It's like, all right,

503
00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:54,359
Speaker 1: we're gonna put this in. Go over here, you know.

504
00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:56,080
Speaker 1: They tell me a little bit, and I was like, whoa,

505
00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:59,200
Speaker 1: let's this is really going to happen. So I run

506
00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:01,960
Speaker 1: through the players the times that one after practice and

507
00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,280
Speaker 1: all that stuff, and we should know. We ran to

508
00:24:04,359 --> 00:24:07,960
Speaker 1: play man and that that was crazy awesome experience. I

509
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:10,479
Speaker 1: couldn't man, I was it was awesome. Man. The next

510
00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:12,760
Speaker 1: step you gotta start campaigning for the ball. Now you've

511
00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:15,640
Speaker 1: got the box. Yeah, you gotta start saying, hey, guys,

512
00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:17,280
Speaker 1: you know I can carry the ball here a little bit.

513
00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:20,520
Speaker 1: Uh yeah, we we can. We can work on that

514
00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:22,640
Speaker 1: a little bit later. I got a couple of stuff

515
00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:26,200
Speaker 1: I need to clean up on defense. Do you have

516
00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:28,719
Speaker 1: a big band celebration like what you do after your

517
00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:33,200
Speaker 1: two touchdowns in college? I don't even remember. I feel

518
00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:37,639
Speaker 1: like every big man like I did not see college.

519
00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:41,720
Speaker 1: You can't really celebrate NFL, and especially out on my team.

520
00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:44,280
Speaker 1: My coach was pretty old school with that stuff. So

521
00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:46,720
Speaker 1: uh yeah, I just I think I just gave everybody

522
00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:48,840
Speaker 1: a hug on the oldline, and I kind of kept

523
00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:51,119
Speaker 1: the ball and you know, ran off. But yeah, they

524
00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:53,440
Speaker 1: don't do all that show boating and stuff from college

525
00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:56,800
Speaker 1: flag you quick, so you kind of mentioned it. I mean,

526
00:24:56,840 --> 00:25:01,080
Speaker 1: but just the your rise has been incredible, I mean,

527
00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:04,400
Speaker 1: just going undrafted all that stuff. But I mean, you're

528
00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:07,040
Speaker 1: getting a lot of runtime out there ahead of drafted

529
00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:09,600
Speaker 1: guys that are on this team right now. Making plays

530
00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:13,159
Speaker 1: of two sacks this year. I mean, how unreal is

531
00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:14,960
Speaker 1: it in your mind when you kind of look back

532
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,280
Speaker 1: at where you were a year ago and whatnot to

533
00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:21,240
Speaker 1: where you are now. Man, this is very surreal. Man. Um.

534
00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:23,639
Speaker 1: I talked to my boys from back at school. I

535
00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:26,359
Speaker 1: talked to even the guys here. Man Willie, you know Willie,

536
00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,080
Speaker 1: he's uh he got hurt. But uh yeah, man, it's

537
00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:32,560
Speaker 1: just came a long way. Uh. I couldn't have like

538
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:34,840
Speaker 1: I put it on Instagram. Actually I couldn't have wrote

539
00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:38,560
Speaker 1: the script in my dreams. Man. Uh from being out

540
00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:42,399
Speaker 1: there not getting drafted. Uh, seeing everybody get drafted that

541
00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:45,640
Speaker 1: that hurt extremely bad. But I knew if I got

542
00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:48,359
Speaker 1: my chance, I'd be able to play. And uh I

543
00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:50,879
Speaker 1: got that chance and I didn't look back, just like

544
00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:53,280
Speaker 1: everybody told me not to do. And uh, I just

545
00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:55,960
Speaker 1: followed Timmy and Brandon's lead the whole way. They've they've

546
00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:59,560
Speaker 1: been great for me, man, And all I can say is, Man,

547
00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:02,400
Speaker 1: I'm blessed. Man, That's all I can say. To be honest, however,

548
00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:04,000
Speaker 1: you been able to do it though, I mean that's

549
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:06,840
Speaker 1: a question. Yeah, Like what is it about you you

550
00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:09,679
Speaker 1: feel like that has made you have so much that success?

551
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:11,760
Speaker 1: I don't know, to be honest, I've been blessed with

552
00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:13,880
Speaker 1: a unique skill set. You know, I'm a shorter guy.

553
00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,160
Speaker 1: I'm really strong, but I can also move pretty well

554
00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:19,520
Speaker 1: from my size. Uh So that's that's been going for me.

555
00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:22,919
Speaker 1: And uh, really, I just I just want to be great. Uh.

556
00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:25,600
Speaker 1: You know, you'd be a fool to sit behind Brandon

557
00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:27,760
Speaker 1: and Timmy and not soak up everything that they have.

558
00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:29,480
Speaker 1: You know, you've got two guys who should be in

559
00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:32,120
Speaker 1: the Pro Bowl. I'm sure they will be, but uh,

560
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:34,159
Speaker 1: you've got great guys in front of you, got SIGs

561
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:36,879
Speaker 1: in the locker room. You come to an organization who's

562
00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:40,200
Speaker 1: famous here, like Kelly Gregg, great nose guards like that there,

563
00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:42,560
Speaker 1: Arthur Jones, of course, a Loti not maybe a Hall

564
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:45,200
Speaker 1: of Famer one day and you see all those names

565
00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:47,639
Speaker 1: on the wall. I grew up. I watched Ray Lewis

566
00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:50,199
Speaker 1: and all his speeches and everything. Man. You you just

567
00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:52,000
Speaker 1: come here and you just want to work, man, and

568
00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:54,800
Speaker 1: everybody is the same way. You got Zach Or he's undrafted. Man,

569
00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:57,320
Speaker 1: this dude is doing amazing things. You know. I got

570
00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:00,399
Speaker 1: a guy from home, my hometown, c J. Mosley bowlis

571
00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:03,280
Speaker 1: first year. So uh, once you get on the field, man,

572
00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:05,600
Speaker 1: there's no limit on what you can do. It's what

573
00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,200
Speaker 1: you make of it. So um, that's exactly what I'm

574
00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:10,600
Speaker 1: trying to do. I'm maximizing every snap I get and

575
00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:12,600
Speaker 1: I don't take anything for granted. I just worked my

576
00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:15,360
Speaker 1: tail off every day and follow the line behind Brandon, Timmy,

577
00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:18,919
Speaker 1: it's been a great start. Juggernaut. Is that your nickname

578
00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:22,600
Speaker 1: to Juggernaut? Who came up with that one? Yikes? That

579
00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:28,600
Speaker 1: might have been LG and Brandon. Yeah, I forgot to

580
00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:30,639
Speaker 1: mention his name. He's been a big mentor for me too,

581
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:32,679
Speaker 1: so a big time shout the LG. But yeah, they

582
00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:34,879
Speaker 1: saw me running through guys a little bit in a

583
00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:38,000
Speaker 1: preseason camp and uh knocking those bag down pretty hard.

584
00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:40,440
Speaker 1: He's like, man, you run through a wall like the Juggernaut.

585
00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:43,399
Speaker 1: So hey, it's worked for me. Uh, I continue to

586
00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:47,159
Speaker 1: play pretty decently, so I'll take it. Well, not a

587
00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:51,159
Speaker 1: bad nickname, Juggernaut. Thank you so much for joining us

588
00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:55,560
Speaker 1: well as mouth good is out. Just fantastic interview. The

589
00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:57,760
Speaker 1: only problem is decide with you over the Thanksgiving to

590
00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:01,119
Speaker 1: beat that's really that's the only knock on him. Like

591
00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:03,919
Speaker 1: I've said to Michael, and We've had this conversation with

592
00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:05,760
Speaker 1: a lot of different people, I think that was the

593
00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,439
Speaker 1: easiest side to come down on any debate. I can

594
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:10,880
Speaker 1: imagine it's pretty simple, and I think that you would

595
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:13,280
Speaker 1: admit at some point. You probably won't say it to me,

596
00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:15,760
Speaker 1: but you know that you just totally screwed up that draft.

597
00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,720
Speaker 1: Well you finally come clean and admit it never exactly

598
00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,159
Speaker 1: everyone knows it. Again. You can email us at the

599
00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,200
Speaker 1: lounge at Raven's dot NFL dot net and if there's

600
00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:27,679
Speaker 1: anybody crazy enough to side with make on this Thanksgiving draft.

601
00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:31,480
Speaker 1: I only wish you the best this Thanksgiving, so thank

602
00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:34,040
Speaker 1: you so much for listening, and once again leave us

603
00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:36,919
Speaker 1: a rating and review on iTunes. Hit us up on

604
00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:40,080
Speaker 1: email at the Lounge at Raven's NFL dot net, and

605
00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:43,800
Speaker 1: we'll be back after a big dubs, Big dubs right,

606
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:46,479
Speaker 1: counting on that, count on that over the Cincinnati Bengals