WEBVTT - 2x First Team All-Pro LB From The Colts Darius Leonard Joins Shawne Merriman 0:00:01.600 --> 0:00:06.120 Are you ready for this? Sean Merriman A one hand effect. 0:00:06.240 --> 0:00:10.719 Boom boom boom, out go the light. This is Lights 0:00:10.720 --> 0:00:15.319 Out with Sean Merriman. What's up, guys, We're back again 0:00:15.360 --> 0:00:19.360 with another Lights Out podcast with me Sean Merriman. Uh. 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:21.840 And this is cool, really really cool for me actually 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:24.520 because it's one of the youngest, brightest stars. Men that 0:00:24.640 --> 0:00:27.479 feel um with a hell of a nickname. You know, 0:00:27.520 --> 0:00:30.760 I'm I'm gonna sucker for nicknames, um, but this one's 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:35.240 pretty cool maniat Darius Lenard. Uh, just a tremendous talent. 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:38.040 This dude can get after it, man, and he's had 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:41.280 a lot of success early on. But more importantly, he's 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:44.159 his personality is is infectious and we talk about it. 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:47.680 We're gonna get into it and how he motivates other 0:00:47.720 --> 0:00:50.320 people and just people want to be around him. I'm 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:52.479 also going to hit him with some Philip Rivers questions too, 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.040 you know, I gotta do that. Uh. So here we go, 0:00:55.600 --> 0:01:00.600 Darius Lenard, what's up? Man? Are you what? Bro? What's 0:01:00.640 --> 0:01:04.720 going on? No? I'm chilling man. So I seen you 0:01:04.840 --> 0:01:08.480 was No, No, you was in uh South Carolina at first. 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:10.840 Right now you're in Tampa. Yeah, man, I trained the 0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:14.600 Tampa for the all season. Were you training that um 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:17.560 at your Murphy your Murphy performance down here in Tampa, 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:22.080 like in the Windshore area? How far is that from? 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:24.880 Is that? Is that? How farther from like the im 0:01:24.920 --> 0:01:27.479 G capdel the IROG Academies in Sarasota right now, it's 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:29.440 just a little bit out Yeah, that's a little bit 0:01:29.480 --> 0:01:33.040 out there. But you're from You're from Southwood, South Carolina. 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:37.000 We've yeah, South Carolina. So you know it's funny. Oh my, 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:39.280 I got a lot of family down there in Charleston. 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:43.480 So if you see some Merriman's out there, I'm not 0:01:43.600 --> 0:01:48.920 a ten. That's all family. That's what's up, man. So 0:01:48.960 --> 0:01:51.000 what's what's going on? Man? How you how are you feeling? 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:53.200 You know, after after the season, did you have h 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:56.520 you have anything done? Show? Shoulder's knees. Everything came out good. 0:01:57.000 --> 0:01:59.600 Everything came out good, Thank god. Man. So I'll just 0:01:59.800 --> 0:02:01.720 just and chilling, trying to realize and get the body 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:05.120 right before I started again. When uh you know, so, 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:07.480 so I just seen probably I think no, wasn't it 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:10.480 wasn't this morning. It was last night that you were 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:13.880 talking about Cam. So because the reas. I brought that 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:15.840 up because the whole surgery deal. And I try to 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:19.840 explain to people that, um, when you have a surgery, 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:21.840 it takes a minute to come back from. Like I 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:24.440 don't care what you have. You got a knee, a shoulder, 0:02:25.120 --> 0:02:27.160 like what when? And I had for my case, I 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:30.239 had achilles. So that took a whole twelve fourteen month 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:32.600 before I even was back to normal. So what do 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:34.120 you what do you mean by that? You think Cam 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:36.880 on ball lot this year? Oh? Man, yeah, man, I 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:40.359 just you know, I see Cam. You know, he's better. 0:02:40.360 --> 0:02:42.119 He's the balls and he came to to the league. Man, 0:02:42.880 --> 0:02:45.120 all the hate that he gets, and you know he's 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:47.280 out playing a lot of quarterbacks that get get a 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:50.359 lot of praises. And you know it's crazy that you know, 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:52.440 they said he had a down year last year. But 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:54.080 that was the reason why Tom Brady wanted to lead 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:56.440 the Patriots. Now you look at the Patriots offense. Now, 0:02:56.480 --> 0:02:58.840 they didn't have too many weapons that Camp could throw too. 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:01.120 CAMRA's running the ball morning, he was throwing the ball. 0:03:01.200 --> 0:03:05.320 And now that you know, you see pregnancy yesterday getting 0:03:05.360 --> 0:03:07.520 all these weapons. Man, So I'm you know, I know 0:03:07.560 --> 0:03:09.880 what cam capable. You know, I've seen it. You know, 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:12.200 I mean I grew up you know, I grew up 0:03:12.200 --> 0:03:14.120 in South Carolina, so you know the Panthers right there. 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:16.440 So I mean, I've seen him on TV all the time, 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:19.200 and he's a monster. Man. I just had I just 0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:21.079 got mad respect for him. And he's back against the 0:03:21.120 --> 0:03:23.640 wall right now. And you know when people back against 0:03:23.639 --> 0:03:25.520 the wall, they gotta come out swinging. And I just 0:03:25.680 --> 0:03:27.040 I mean, I see the way he works, and I 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:30.160 just know you got confidence in him. That's that's dope. Man. 0:03:30.240 --> 0:03:32.919 And speaking of quarterbacks, you played with my boy man Phil, 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:40.640 uncle Phil Phil. So you know, people people always asked 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:44.280 asked me about playing with Philip right, and you know 0:03:44.360 --> 0:03:46.080 I played with him from all those years. But you 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:48.840 got a chance to play with him, and I say, man, 0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:51.600 this is one of the best dudes to be around, 0:03:51.640 --> 0:03:53.320 Like you just want to be a Runners dude. He's 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:56.880 gonna fight, he's gonna talk back to you. And even 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:58.880 on the defense side of the ball, that just that 0:03:59.160 --> 0:04:02.960 always gave energy. And I'm like, you know, we're bawling out. 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:05.680 We had all those winning years. You look on the 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:08.080 offenside of the ball, man, and Philip over there yapping 0:04:08.160 --> 0:04:10.240 with you. He's over there and the dogs fight with you. 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:12.080 What was it like, man when he came in the 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:15.240 locker room, And how was that experience? Man? For one, 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:18.279 you know, he's just that ultimate competitive you know, no 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:20.880 matter what we did for his cornhole boards or you know, 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:24.040 just in pregnant, just you know, just competing and shooting basketball, 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:26.760 everything he did he wanted to win. So when he 0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:28.640 came out to the field, I mean that was easy 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:31.800 because I'm gonna trash talking here, trash talking. So I 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:34.360 know that if he's talking trash, I gotta talk trash 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:36.640 and we gotta step up defensively to stop him. So 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:38.360 I mean we we kind of work hand in hand. 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:40.160 And then you know he's like he's smartness, Like he's 0:04:40.200 --> 0:04:42.599 so smart man, just like trying to learn the game 0:04:42.640 --> 0:04:45.480 from you know, and you know, for a young linebacker 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:48.520 like me his seventeam season, you know, just trying to 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:50.520 you know, ask him a lot of questions, see what's up. 0:04:50.600 --> 0:04:52.960 And you know, not too many quarterbacks are willing to 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:54.920 sit down, you know, talk to a deep as a 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:57.120 guy to teach them really the game. You know, on 0:04:57.240 --> 0:04:59.120 the field, that guy like Man with any question. You 0:04:59.200 --> 0:05:01.480 got a guy cute. You know, if we out there 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:03.359 on the field, we're playing, I mean we're playing in 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:05.640 the game. Man, we out there, if somebody comes to 0:05:05.640 --> 0:05:07.960 the sideline, you know he's trained them right there on 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:10.240 the sideline. Man. And it's it's crazy because not a 0:05:10.279 --> 0:05:13.000 lot of quarterbacks going to sit there and have the 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:15.800 defense back as much as um Philip did. And that's 0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:17.720 that's what makes you want to go out and you 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:19.080 know you want to go out and play. You want 0:05:19.120 --> 0:05:20.440 to go out and sid you gotta get you got 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:22.359 the Baltimore because if you get in the ball, you 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:24.520 know he's gonna find a way to score. And you 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:26.520 know you just just love being his teammate and just 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:28.840 love him as a person as well. You got any 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:33.800 cool stories because me like Phil notice everything. I don't 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:35.480 know if if this happened with you guys, but we 0:05:35.600 --> 0:05:39.360 just have freestyle Fridays um in the locker room. And 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:42.800 so Phil like he could sit he could sit down 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:45.080 with anybody, right. He'll come over there the offensive lineman, 0:05:45.120 --> 0:05:46.760 he'll come over the d line, he'll come over the 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:50.520 dbs like he's around everybody. But one thing that the 0:05:50.640 --> 0:05:52.599 Phil did was he could pick up on anything. So 0:05:52.600 --> 0:05:56.719 we'll have a freestyle Fridays, whatever the latest uh rap 0:05:56.800 --> 0:05:58.919 song or whatever that was hot on the radio at 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:01.240 the time. Feel it would kind of pick it up. 0:06:01.680 --> 0:06:03.640 And so I remember a time we were sitting there 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:06.760 in the meeting room and we were just kind of 0:06:06.800 --> 0:06:10.240 watching film and we hear somebody coming down the hallway rapping. 0:06:11.120 --> 0:06:17.680 So I'm like, it was Phil Philip Rivers. He did 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:19.640 the same thing with us, because you know, he did 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:22.000 it all the time. And you know the song, h 0:06:22.279 --> 0:06:25.600 I put a new budge that's all here, Like he 0:06:25.760 --> 0:06:27.360 walked down the hall and thinking that the whole time. 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:32.840 You like, I can't get it out of my my head. See, 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:36.400 I'm glad somebody else see it, because nobody believe me. 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:39.599 Nobody believe me when I told him, I said, feels 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:43.080 like that man likes It's just something about him always 0:06:43.120 --> 0:06:45.400 make you want to be around. Like you said before, 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:47.880 I want to play for him. And so I'm glad. 0:06:47.960 --> 0:06:50.400 You know, he came there four years. You know, everybody 0:06:50.400 --> 0:06:52.120 got a chance of experience that. But no, now y'all 0:06:52.120 --> 0:06:55.160 got a new a new quarterback in there, you know, 0:06:55.320 --> 0:06:57.640 And what was what was the reception when when he 0:06:57.680 --> 0:06:59.120 got there when it was when it was kind of 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:01.880 put out there in the media. Uh, you're talking as 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:05.920 in the Carson of Phillips. That's in Carson. Sorry, Carson man. 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:08.440 You know we're where the coach, coach frant you know, 0:07:08.480 --> 0:07:11.360 he called he called me the day before or something 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:13.160 like that, and you know, he said, that's what we're 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:16.720 gonna do. And you know, I believe in everything the 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:18.680 front office doing. You know, if they're gonna bring the guys, 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:20.120 and I know they're gonna bring in the right guys 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:22.480 in the locker room. And I played against Carson in 0:07:22.560 --> 0:07:24.240 two thousand and eight team a Rikie season and that 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:25.960 was his first game back from his A C l 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:28.800 Andree and he came in and he played. He played well. 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:32.320 And you know he's been every ever since I saw him. 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:35.320 You know, he's been playing great. And then you see him, 0:07:35.440 --> 0:07:37.840 um that Super Bowl run. I mean, he was an 0:07:37.960 --> 0:07:40.640 m VP candidate before he before he towards me in 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:43.160 Now he's coming back home with Frank Wright, you know, 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:46.840 his offensive minding coordinator. So I'm definitely looking forward to 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:49.440 you know, everybody just working on in you know everybody. 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:51.800 Sometimes you know, you need that new beginning and hopefully 0:07:51.840 --> 0:07:53.840 you know, when he comes in, you know we're gonna 0:07:53.920 --> 0:07:55.640 I mean, nothing gonna be easy. We gotta come in, 0:07:55.680 --> 0:07:57.680 we gotta work hard, and you know, hopefully you know 0:07:57.720 --> 0:08:00.440 he lead his offensive to the right direction, that's um, 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:03.000 to the playoffs and win the Super Bowl. Did you 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:04.840 did you get a chance to write to him yet? 0:08:04.840 --> 0:08:06.600 Did you you guys get a chance to speak on 0:08:06.600 --> 0:08:09.080 the phone or meet up yet or anything yet? Um? 0:08:09.120 --> 0:08:11.360 You know, once, I mean once everything got a fistal. 0:08:11.400 --> 0:08:12.720 You know I shot him at tenism, but you know, 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:14.360 I just welcome then tell him that, you know, if 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:16.440 you ever do anything, you know, I'm here and just 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:20.040 looking forward to you know the process. You know what 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:23.520 it's dope, man is um So when you told me that, uh, 0:08:23.560 --> 0:08:27.320 I think we met right. Uh tell me that tell 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:28.960 me that story, man, because I need to hear it. 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:31.560 That's that's kind of crazy to me. Well, when I 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:33.280 when I grew up, you know, my brother got drafted 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:36.480 in a No. Seven to sen Diego, So you know, 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:39.679 I grew up South Merriman fan, So you know I 0:08:39.720 --> 0:08:41.160 wanted to you know, I wanted to meet you. I 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:45.600 remember y'all played against Jacksonville and Jacksonville maybe oh seven 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:48.319 or maybe oh eight, and you know, just coming out 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:50.480 of locker room and after the game, you know, you 0:08:50.520 --> 0:08:53.080 came out to the family station and like you walked 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:54.640 right up to me, gave me an autograph. You know, 0:08:54.720 --> 0:08:56.560 it was every since then. It was like damn you know, 0:08:57.160 --> 0:08:59.440 big Sean Merriman fan. It was just it was just 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:02.760 pretty dope. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:05.559 lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at 0:09:05.559 --> 0:09:08.920 Fox Sports Radio dot com and within the I Heart 0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:12.520 Radio app search f s R to listen live. You know, 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:15.080 when I when I hear stuff like that, man, it's 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:16.880 cool for me. But at the same time, I'm like, man, 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:19.040 I'm old as hell, you know what I'm saying, Like 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:21.120 like it would be clicking into me because I don't 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:23.400 feel old. But you know, I had a d k 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:25.680 on a few weeks ago, and you know he told 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:28.000 me something similar to that. I'm like, man, because we 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:30.280 all we all got our guys. We watched me growing up, right, 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:32.880 I remember, um, you know, like LaVar Arrington was with 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:35.440 my with my favorite one of my favorite players, and 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:38.360 so you get these dudes around and and from where 0:09:38.360 --> 0:09:39.840 I come from, we don't have. We didn't. We didn't 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:42.839 have the opportunity to meet pros and meet other guys 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:45.240 stuff like that. You you you know, your bro played, so 0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:47.360 you came across guys all the time. So me, that 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:51.960 was that was super dope. And then too one of 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:54.440 my one of my favorite things about you manage your nickname. 0:09:54.600 --> 0:09:58.079 I always I wanted to because I think they were 0:09:58.080 --> 0:10:01.080 doing uh it was NFL Network because somebody did something 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:02.600 when they had a whole piece on it and I 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:06.080 heard about it, but they didn't explain everything. Um, but 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:08.679 how how did you initially come up with that? Because 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:11.360 I love nickname me having lights out? How did you 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:14.600 come up with that nickname? Oh man? It was actually 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:18.599 in two thousand and two thousand and seventeen, I was 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:21.240 playing against Clemson and I ended the game with like 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:24.360 nineteen tagos to TFLs and the block field goal. And 0:10:24.720 --> 0:10:26.520 I came back on camp and somebody said you played 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:29.400 like a screen maniac. And you know, once they said it, 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:31.440 you know, I stuck with it, and it was kind 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:33.880 of my persona now because you know, I'm I'm like 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:36.800 the most polite person you ever mean, you know, I've 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:39.640 never always been humble whenever we like talk down to anybody, 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:42.800 But then between the white lines, it's just a switch. 0:10:43.360 --> 0:10:45.880 You Now, I'm I'm that competitor. I want to I 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:47.600 want to make every player, I want to make every talking. 0:10:47.679 --> 0:10:50.200 But that's when that maniac mindset come in. You gotta 0:10:50.280 --> 0:10:51.760 you gotta put out your hair on Friday. You know, 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:54.199 that's when you when you watch the game. Now, that's 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:56.600 so many players who to play on the other side 0:10:56.640 --> 0:10:58.679 of the field. You know, they don't want no parts 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:01.200 of it. And for me, you know, my mindset is 0:11:01.559 --> 0:11:05.200 every picture that's taken with a ball carrier got the 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:07.439 ball in their hand, five three need to be in 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:10.400 that picture. So that's that's that's just my mindset. I 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:12.880 think that's what that that many minds say that that 0:11:13.200 --> 0:11:16.600 persona and that's where it came from. That's you know 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:19.719 what's uh the really the good thing about that, For one, 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:20.920 you can live up to it because a lot of 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:22.760 these cats get nicknames. And the same thing happened to 0:11:22.840 --> 0:11:24.840 my sophomore in high school. I knocked out for four 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:27.360 dudes in the game and I had twenty students come 0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:29.160 run up to me like, oh, you knocked those guys 0:11:29.240 --> 0:11:31.400 lights out, And I was like yeah, call me lights 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:34.240 out and it kind of just stuff, but also too, man, 0:11:34.280 --> 0:11:37.440 I think that you know, your energy is infectious to 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:39.400 the type, to the rest of the defense. You know 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:41.079 what I'm saying. Like when whenever I see you, you 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:45.320 always around guys and you always either motivating them or 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:47.400 getting on them or just sometimes meet that pick up 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:49.040 in practice because you know how to get man like, 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:52.199 especially on training camp, you look him like, Man, I 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:55.719 ain't trying to anybody, anybody to say that they're trying 0:11:55.760 --> 0:11:57.480 to go out to practice and they feel good every day. 0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:03.960 It's a damn lie like, but yeah, I got to man, 0:12:04.040 --> 0:12:06.360 because for one, you know, it's a it's an honor 0:12:06.440 --> 0:12:08.880 to it to be there. You know, I know it's tough, 0:12:09.040 --> 0:12:11.120 but you know you gotta enjoy what you do. I mean, 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:13.680 you can have a nine in five center the desk 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:15.880 all day every day. So if I can come out 0:12:15.920 --> 0:12:18.960 there with that great attitude, that great energy, you know, 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:21.320 it rubs all because I mean, you know how it's pressed. Sorry, 0:12:21.360 --> 0:12:24.000 everything sluggage. If I go out there and streaming from 0:12:24.000 --> 0:12:26.280 the time I walk out of the locker room and 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:28.640 to the to the last horn blows, and I'm just 0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:31.360 full of energy. There's no way that somebody else is 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:33.520 not gonna pick up that same energy, especially if I'm 0:12:33.559 --> 0:12:36.120 out here talking trash, compete and with the offices of guys. 0:12:36.400 --> 0:12:38.599 Now my deep is guy gotta step up because of 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:40.120 the office guy is gonna step up and say, Okay, 0:12:40.120 --> 0:12:42.160 we gotta shut this guy up. So it's just, you know, 0:12:42.360 --> 0:12:44.320 for one, it's the competitive nature in me. You know, 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:46.640 they just talk. Then for me, I'm just I'm blessed 0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:49.120 in so many ways that you know, I gotta have fun. 0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:51.160 You know, not too many people can say, you know, 0:12:51.320 --> 0:12:53.400 I play an NFL. You know, I'm I'm gonna starting 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:56.680 guy on the NFL. So I just enjoy what I do. Man. 0:12:57.320 --> 0:12:59.640 What's next though? Man? Because one thing I learned, like 0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:02.160 my early on in my career is when you have 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:04.600 a lot of success earlier, you get on people rid 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:07.000 off like at first, you know, they probably know you know, 0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:08.760 they probably know about you. They watch the film like, 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:11.280 oh this this dude can go. But when you had 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:13.240 the type of success all pro program and when you 0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:16.000 have all this stuff happening to you early, you start 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:17.880 to get on people radar. What do you what do 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:21.640 you see teams gonna end up doing now because everything 0:13:21.720 --> 0:13:23.800 changed my first year, in my second and my second 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:26.520 and my third. You get on the maps, many're like, okay, yeah, 0:13:26.520 --> 0:13:28.240 we need to do this. What do you see teams 0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:32.120 doing now that they didn't do before? Man, you know 0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:34.960 it started. It started about mid way my second season, 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:37.120 and you see a lot of teams on the first 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:39.040 beginning of the game, they're going to sideline and sideline. 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:41.920 They want to see me sprint sideline and sideline. And 0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:43.760 then towards the end of the game or the end 0:13:43.760 --> 0:13:45.280 of the quarter, the end of the half, you know, 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:46.960 they said, we're gonna run right at them. We're gonna 0:13:47.000 --> 0:13:48.960 make sure there's two or three bloggings in front of 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:51.920 him so he can't make a play. So I mean, 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:54.480 you just make sure that you know I stayed patient, 0:13:54.640 --> 0:13:56.120 you know, because a lot of cats and I gotta 0:13:56.160 --> 0:13:57.480 make a play. I gotta make a play, But you 0:13:57.480 --> 0:13:59.240 gotta believe in the other team guys on the field, 0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:00.840 so you didn't. I gotta make sure that I can 0:14:00.880 --> 0:14:02.480 tell you to just do my job and don't try 0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:04.480 to make a play, and just sit there and wait 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:07.640 till it's my opportunity to make a play. So just 0:14:07.800 --> 0:14:10.200 making sure that you know when teams go side on 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:13.679 the sideline, don't get don't get fed up. Don't get 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:15.439 fed up. Said, Okay, this is all I'm doing, you know, 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:17.560 just I'm just out here running the round. But if 0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:20.000 you're doing your job, that's that's all that matters. Who 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:22.600 who's one of the favorite you guys you love watching 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:24.880 up growing up? Like who if? You if you can 0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:28.000 mock because I you know, I hate when somebody said, 0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:29.760 oh yeah, he played like this player all you know, 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:31.760 because nobody don't. I don't want to be compared to anybody. 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:34.640 I'm sure you don't either. But who who was one 0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:36.760 of your guys many you watched growing up? Man of 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:39.400 your game? After I don't believe it or not, man 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:42.680 um I started. I started on the offensive side of 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:44.280 the ball, so I was a big Reggie Bush fan. 0:14:44.440 --> 0:14:48.360 Like when I got you played offense, win I played. 0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:50.480 I played offense all the way through high school. I 0:14:50.480 --> 0:14:54.000 got recruited to play receiver and linebacker. And when I 0:14:54.000 --> 0:14:56.440 went to South Carolina State, I actually started off as 0:14:56.440 --> 0:15:00.360 a receiver and then you know, um that because I 0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:03.080 went in probably like one eighty at the time, so 0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:04.800 they were like, you know, in uh in the spring, 0:15:04.800 --> 0:15:06.880 we gonna try your linebacker. So I went to linebacker 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:09.560 and started making plays, and I never seen an office 0:15:09.560 --> 0:15:13.960 again until my my junior year. They gave me one rep. Um, 0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:17.960 you're begging for that rep though, was you asking? Of course, listen, 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:20.080 this is what I did every so every day my 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:24.000 junior year, I seen my head coach, Jabrill Pepper's highlights 0:15:24.000 --> 0:15:26.760 every day they said, okay, you know, I'm gonna give 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:29.080 you opportunity. And then he gave me the opportunity. You know, 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:32.359 I ran the post route, you got past the safety touchdown, 0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:36.040 hold on, you scored on when that one opportunity you 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:39.080 had that? Yes, sir, yes, sir, against Savannah State two 0:15:39.080 --> 0:15:43.080 thousands and seventeen. That's so man. So are you are 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:45.240 you lobbying now for them to give you any office 0:15:45.280 --> 0:15:48.960 of time? Of course, of course you know what you've 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:51.560 been doing. I joke. I joke with him all the time, 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:53.000 you know, just saying, you know, just throw me and 0:15:53.040 --> 0:15:54.320 throw the ball up to me. And I said, you know, 0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:56.520 I'm a big guy, big target. You know, you put 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:57.920 me in the ren zone, put me the rens on, 0:15:58.000 --> 0:15:59.160 let me go up and get because you know I 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:01.800 played basketball I was jumping about forty one for two 0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:05.160 wins vertical. I have long arms on physical so I mean, 0:16:05.200 --> 0:16:07.040 I mean, you see my Instagram handle, it's missed the 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:09.160 hop flight. I mean I was going around. I was 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:13.320 dugging first. Come on, man, come on now a little. 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:16.280 I'm not I'm not talking about the football players because 0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:19.200 when people ask me about playing basketball, I'm like, Okay, 0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:21.000 I was Ben Wallace. I was gonna give you ten 0:16:21.120 --> 0:16:24.000 and twelve boards and blocks. Becauld you who I was like. 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:26.320 I was like I was like a baby Brown. When 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:28.920 Broun came in the league when he first really couldn't shoot, 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:31.000 but he was bigger, and he was just you know, 0:16:31.160 --> 0:16:33.800 driving to the whole dugging on everybody, going to post, 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:35.880 doing work in the post and after the great mid range. 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:37.920 And that's what I can say to myself was because 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:40.480 I was I was, I was like a I was 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:42.160 like a four. But when I went to one a 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:44.080 high school, but you know, they put me at a five. 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:46.840 But so every big man they that was quick, they 0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:49.880 couldn't they couldn't guard me down there. Hey man, I 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:52.960 gotta see those highlights, you know, I gotta see something 0:16:53.000 --> 0:16:54.600 because you know, a lot of cash but like even man, 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:57.320 I played basketball in high school and I did this, 0:16:57.360 --> 0:16:59.520 and now I'm looking for those highlights somewhere on YouTube, 0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:01.200 you young off. So I know they got my legs 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:03.960 out there. They really don't, man, only only highlights. I 0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:07.520 got a basketball because I mean we we was in 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:12.280 my high school, it was football and baseball that got 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:14.080 the most love, you know what I'm saying. So when 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:16.960 it came to basketball, man, it was to a point 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:19.480 where one year we put stats in, the next year 0:17:19.480 --> 0:17:21.200 we don't put stats in. So I mean they really 0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:24.679 didn't really care about basketball. Man. We we just started 0:17:24.720 --> 0:17:27.640 now and really saying, Okay, we gotta show basketball more love. 0:17:27.680 --> 0:17:30.159 And now you know we're we're making basketball bigger and 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:32.960 late view. But they don't have too many hot I 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:35.399 don't have one highlight, and it does mean my maybe 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:37.720 my probably my tener called I looked like I was 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:40.720 real small, so it's probably in my tent gree year. UM, 0:17:41.040 --> 0:17:44.360 but I think it stats up in the and UM 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:48.360