Speaker 1: Drafted is a production of Tree Fork Media, Clutch Sports Group,
Speaker 1: and I Heart Radio. At this point, it's just crazy
Speaker 1: to look back, and you know, my dad always talks
Speaker 1: about he had me thrown the ball at the age
Speaker 1: of two. Welcome back to Drafted. I'm Steven Johnson and
Speaker 1: in this sixth episode of season three, we're rejoining Kellen Matt,
Speaker 1: the Texas A and M quarterback we got to know
Speaker 1: last episode for his draft party in San Antonio, Texas.
Speaker 1: So it's just kind of amazing looking back at all
Speaker 1: the work that I've put in, and you know, nineteen
Speaker 1: years of throwing the football, almost twenty and it's coming
Speaker 1: down to a two thousand draft. You know, a couple
Speaker 1: of days, Kellen is talking about how surreal it is
Speaker 1: that the first round of the NFL Draft is finally
Speaker 1: about to kick off after an entire lifetime of working
Speaker 1: to get to this day. In this episode, will also
Speaker 1: be following along with Louisville receiver Does Fitzpatrick as he
Speaker 1: attempts to make that life changing jump from college player
Speaker 1: to NFL professional And like Kelen, Des and his family
Speaker 1: will be hosting their own draft party this weekend. And
Speaker 1: like Kelln's father, does his dad will be playing a
Speaker 1: leading role, starting with an early morning workout before the
Speaker 1: draft festivities begin. My dad did tell me just now
Speaker 1: when he woke me up, me and my little brother
Speaker 1: are gonna have to work out later today, does His father.
Speaker 1: Greg wakes his two sons up and takes them to
Speaker 1: a nearby field in Pontiac, Michigan, where this highly touted
Speaker 1: receiver starts doing drills. All right, come on, all right,
Speaker 1: next drill. M Let's make sure you're work at your
Speaker 1: head and your shoulders and each heads. Okay. This is
Speaker 1: Greg Fitzpatrick Des, his father and a former defensive back
Speaker 1: and coach every Hence, I want you in now, but
Speaker 1: I don't. I want you to keep your balance right,
Speaker 1: nice white beast shoulders in head, okay, because that's what
Speaker 1: I want you to work on, like super active shoulders
Speaker 1: in head at the top of your route. Yeah, so
Speaker 1: it's gonna be okay. Greg has always played this role
Speaker 1: for his two sons, Des and Christian, teaching them the
Speaker 1: fine points of the receiver position while also constantly working
Speaker 1: to make his boys mentally tough. Das explains the NFL coaches,
Speaker 1: You know, when I was interviewing with teams and stuff
Speaker 1: and asked about like, uh, you know, hard coaching. How
Speaker 1: do you think hard coach? And I'm just like, I
Speaker 1: don't think anybody gets worst of my dad, so I'm
Speaker 1: gonna good with hard coach. He's always like, what am
Speaker 1: I ever wrong? Days, and I'm just like, oh my gosh.
Speaker 1: Although Greg did all of the coaching, des his mom,
Speaker 1: Wendy Thinkspatrick also played a very active role in her
Speaker 1: son's life, but her position for Team Fitzpatrick was primarily
Speaker 1: on defense. I was the parent who helped him get
Speaker 1: out of some of the situations with his dad. I
Speaker 1: was that parent. Those are palm trees blowing in the
Speaker 1: wind behind Wendy because she now lives in Tampa Bay.
Speaker 1: She relocated sometime after she and Gregg split up. And
Speaker 1: Desmond as a mama's boy. Um, he will admit that,
Speaker 1: and he his dad, UM just wanted the best for
Speaker 1: him and saw his skills and knew that could be
Speaker 1: a dream for him. But then Desmond sometimes, as being
Speaker 1: a young kid, was lazy and didn't want to go
Speaker 1: to football practice. So here's mom making up excuses from
Speaker 1: to keep him from going. When his extra homework tonight,
Speaker 1: he can't go tonight All the time. I was that
Speaker 1: person who had to convince dad that he needs a
Speaker 1: break or he wants to do something other than football.
Speaker 1: Desri calls one specific instance when he was a little kid.
Speaker 1: I remember I was like nine or ten years old,
Speaker 1: and that was the first time, you know, my legs
Speaker 1: were hurting after the work, got like actually feeling sore.
Speaker 1: And and you know, he grew up obviously in the
Speaker 1: eighties playing football with the hard nose and stuff, and
Speaker 1: the technology was completely different. So he was just like, okay,
Speaker 1: well we can get into ice bath. And I didn't
Speaker 1: know anything about it a for that obviously, I put
Speaker 1: one ft in there. I was like, oh no, he
Speaker 1: gotta made me get in there. I was crying, and
Speaker 1: he's just like, don't you gotta do it, man, Hey,
Speaker 1: little man, you gotta do to make your body feel better.
Speaker 1: And you know, it's just that kind of thing is
Speaker 1: people would laugh, people think he's crazy, but you know,
Speaker 1: that's probably why I love ice pass. Now, given the
Speaker 1: intensity of Greg's predraft workout on the field today, Daz
Speaker 1: will likely end up in an ice bath once again
Speaker 1: before round one begins. Tonight. Don't get lazy I mean work,
Speaker 1: work those calls. Huh drop drop it, yeah, drop your weight,
Speaker 1: give me some hand and shoulders, hand shoulders, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: right over ahead, huh. I gotta work on not looking
Speaker 1: with my with my with my chin, with my chink.
Speaker 1: That's gonna open up the shoulder. That's dead. Talking about
Speaker 1: the positioning of his chin while running a route. Moving
Speaker 1: the angle of his chin then causes his shoulder to
Speaker 1: turn and open ever so slightly. This could slow him
Speaker 1: down or give away the route to the defensive back.
Speaker 1: This is the level of detail he and his father
Speaker 1: work on day after day. It wasn't always a willing
Speaker 1: and collaborative effort, though. Here's des his mom Wendy again.
Speaker 1: Des Man fought, you know, against them. That's just being
Speaker 1: a regular kid growing up. But I would honestly say
Speaker 1: high school, maybe say eleventh tefth grade, I think shorty
Speaker 1: starts setting in. And Desmond finally realized that his dad
Speaker 1: just wanted the best for him and saw his skill
Speaker 1: set and saw that he could be bigger than probably
Speaker 1: what Desmond sometimes realized. Much like Kellen Mon's dad, Kevin
Speaker 1: des his father also had an unshakable belief in his
Speaker 1: son's potential from an early age, and so Greg did
Speaker 1: everything he could to help his son maximize that potential,
Speaker 1: including coaching and training him. Here's Greg and why he's
Speaker 1: been focused on giving his son the shot he never had. Desmond.
Speaker 1: I don't never forget. Even when he's a baby, his
Speaker 1: mom would have him in a turn scene. I have
Speaker 1: a football in his hand, right and I call that
Speaker 1: says his football in his hand, And I mind you
Speaker 1: and everyone's thinking, Okay, he's that crazy, that's dad. But no,
Speaker 1: he loved football. You know, he loved football at an
Speaker 1: early age. He just took to it. And it wasn't
Speaker 1: some master plan where I just said I didn't make it,
Speaker 1: my kids gonna make it. No, no, no no, Now, he
Speaker 1: loved the game so much that I just started coaching him.
Speaker 1: And the first thing that came to my mind was, well,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm coaching my receiver. He's gonna be tall
Speaker 1: and thin like I was, and you know he will
Speaker 1: probably be splitting image of me. And by the time
Speaker 1: he was nine years old, I saw a couple of
Speaker 1: things balance wise and just how he can just see
Speaker 1: things and anticipate things. And I just told myself at
Speaker 1: that point, you know, what if I coached him and
Speaker 1: continuously coach him. By the time he hits high school,
Speaker 1: he'll decide whether he wants it or not. Right, you
Speaker 1: can't want it for him right when I get to
Speaker 1: high school. And this kid is so much more athletic
Speaker 1: than I am, and he's gonna be way better than
Speaker 1: I if I support him wholeheartedly throughout his entire journey,
Speaker 1: like the ups the downs, And if I commit myself
Speaker 1: to where I committed myself to my own career, he's
Speaker 1: got a shot at making it because he's twice the
Speaker 1: athlete I ever could have been. Greg's own football career
Speaker 1: got a late start, and he had to travel a
Speaker 1: much more difficult road to reach any kind of success.
Speaker 1: He walked on as a receiver in college and got
Speaker 1: moved to defensive back after college ended. He didn't get
Speaker 1: drafted and had to will his way to training camps.
Speaker 1: I've got a shot for a couple of teams in Canada,
Speaker 1: Cincinnati Bengals. Was in their camp for a little bit
Speaker 1: and play a little bit in a reading football. Late.
Speaker 1: I wasn't that good and I was just a try
Speaker 1: hard guy, you know, super athletic, and I worked really,
Speaker 1: really hard because I'm an effort guy. Every walk on
Speaker 1: is an effort guy. Right. My dad had a same
Speaker 1: growing up when I was, you know, little and stuff,
Speaker 1: that effort is free. Yeah. Effort is literally like the air,
Speaker 1: like anybody can have it, anybody has access to it.
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter what your skill level is. It doesn't
Speaker 1: matter if you're tall, short, it doesn't matter if you're
Speaker 1: black and white. You know, effort is free. And you
Speaker 1: know how how hard you work, how you know how
Speaker 1: much efter you've put forth on something, That's what's gonna
Speaker 1: determine success. I've always tried to pride myself in always
Speaker 1: being the hardest worker on whatever organization I'm on and
Speaker 1: everything from that's kind of just how I grew up.
Speaker 1: Greg became obsessed with passing on the importance of effort
Speaker 1: and focusing on developing skill and technique because he saw
Speaker 1: these attributes firsthand from one of the greatest to ever
Speaker 1: play at the sport. Here's Greg again. One of my
Speaker 1: stops immediately when I came out of school was with
Speaker 1: the San Francisco forty Niners. I got called into the
Speaker 1: mini camp that was the year after they won the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl, and I just remember the very first day
Speaker 1: at one on ones. I want to jump out there
Speaker 1: and and and go go against Jerry Rice. And I
Speaker 1: remember Tim McKay are grabbing me by the jersey. He goes,
Speaker 1: oh no, rug no, no, no, no, no, you can't
Speaker 1: go against that guy. It's like the hell you, man,
Speaker 1: I can't go against this guy. He goes down. No, no, no,
Speaker 1: coaches don't want rook. He's going against Jerry. I go
Speaker 1: why you know, why not? He goes, First of all,
Speaker 1: I don't want anybody stepping out the back of Jerry's
Speaker 1: foot and hurting Jerry's. Secondly, we all want your ego crushed.
Speaker 1: And I'm thinking, I screw that man. I covered this guy.
Speaker 1: Jerry Rice is widely regarded as the best wide receiver
Speaker 1: of all time. He holds about one NFL records. The
Speaker 1: NFL Network named him the greatest football player in history,
Speaker 1: and Greg intended to cover him one on one. We'll
Speaker 1: be right back des His dad, Greg is lobbying to
Speaker 1: cover Jerry Rice one on one at forty Niners training camp.
Speaker 1: The coaching staff stays firm on their rule that no
Speaker 1: rook can go up against him, partly to protect Jerry
Speaker 1: and mainly to protect the rookies self esteem. Here's a
Speaker 1: Greg again. Jerry Rice was I'll never forget, was off
Speaker 1: coverage and Jerry ran a curl and I had never
Speaker 1: seen a guy start and stopped so fast and run
Speaker 1: his route, just a simple curl route, and he got
Speaker 1: in and out of his break so fast. I was
Speaker 1: just totally amazed. So I just started watching Jerry. Anytime
Speaker 1: I didn't have a rep, I was watching Jerry, you know,
Speaker 1: and I was just amazed at how good he was.
Speaker 1: And I figured out because you know, I planned at
Speaker 1: a small school, and you know, coaching was only so good, right,
Speaker 1: And I remember being in camp and saying myself, after
Speaker 1: only four days of mini camp with the forty niners, damn,
Speaker 1: if I want to know half the stuff that I
Speaker 1: just learned in four days, I probably had twenty interceptions
Speaker 1: at Central State University. And that made me realize how
Speaker 1: important coaching was and how important technique was. When it
Speaker 1: came to the skill position, right, they called him skilled
Speaker 1: position for a reason, And watching Jerry, I instantly realized
Speaker 1: why he was so much better than everyone else. It
Speaker 1: was basically his skill. You know, the guy wasn't bigger
Speaker 1: more athletic, stronger, anything, faster. He was just way more
Speaker 1: freaking skilled than everybody else on that field. Jerry Rice
Speaker 1: played at six ft two two d pounds and read
Speaker 1: a four point seven forty yard dash. On paper, those
Speaker 1: are all average measurables or worse, and yet he ended
Speaker 1: up with nearly one NFL records, three Super Bowl rings,
Speaker 1: and two m v P Trophies. Greg took this lesson
Speaker 1: from the all time great and as soon as he could,
Speaker 1: tried to pass it down to death. Seven years old,
Speaker 1: the first time ever playing organized tackle foot, I was
Speaker 1: kind of taller than everybody else think and everybody else
Speaker 1: at the age, and I wanted to be a running back,
Speaker 1: but you know, just my size, they put me out
Speaker 1: tight end my first practice. I told my dad. I
Speaker 1: was like, they putting me a tight end. Like I
Speaker 1: want to play running back. I want to play receiver.
Speaker 1: He's like, Okay, well, we're gonna use this year as
Speaker 1: You're gonna be the best blocker on the team and
Speaker 1: I'm gonna teach you how to block and this is
Speaker 1: the foundation of football. And you're kind of distressed, like
Speaker 1: if you're not blocking for you the other ten then
Speaker 1: once you're turning at the bar, you don't expect for
Speaker 1: them to block for you. So Dad began learning the
Speaker 1: craft and skill portion of plane wide receiver at an
Speaker 1: age when most kids were still learning how to put
Speaker 1: on their paths. Greg began with the least glamorous part
Speaker 1: of the job, blocking. I told him, I said, listen, man,
Speaker 1: I want you to be the best blocker on the team.
Speaker 1: He was like, Dad, but I've been running back. Why
Speaker 1: can I play renny back? Everybody? I'm the best running dude. Listen,
Speaker 1: You're not gonna play running back this year. So I
Speaker 1: want you to be the best blocker on the team.
Speaker 1: So I taught him how to block. I tell him
Speaker 1: how to move his feet, shoot his hands, get underneath
Speaker 1: the pads, leverage, and just that hustle part right block
Speaker 1: your guy, get up to the next level. So he
Speaker 1: just he learned how to block as seven. Most fans
Speaker 1: only see the person making the big play in football,
Speaker 1: like the long touchdown run or the amazing catch from
Speaker 1: the receiver. Those highlights are only possible if the other
Speaker 1: players on offense are blocking their defenders and doing that
Speaker 1: job well enough to create time for the guy getting
Speaker 1: the ball. Greg understood this on a deep level, and
Speaker 1: so he decided this would become his son's calling card.
Speaker 1: From seven years old all the way up through college.
Speaker 1: That's been one of the things that he's always known.
Speaker 1: You don't block, you don't play at receiver. You don't block,
Speaker 1: you don't play. Going into the NFL Draft, one of
Speaker 1: the criticisms on Dez is that he's a jack of
Speaker 1: all trades and a master of none. He's a complete
Speaker 1: player and arguably the best block receiver, good at everything
Speaker 1: without being flashy. It's a similar critique to the one
Speaker 1: we heard in the first few episodes about Alabama offensive
Speaker 1: lineman Alex Leatherwood. That's one reason why his draft range
Speaker 1: is hard to predict. Another reason is that his road
Speaker 1: from highly sought after high school recruit to NFL prospect
Speaker 1: took some precarious turns. Here's his mom, Wendy Fitzpatrick, again
Speaker 1: on the challenges death face getting to draft day. Most
Speaker 1: of his high school years he was being courted by
Speaker 1: Louisville's scouts and the coaches, which was great. Built a
Speaker 1: great relationship early on, and they would text him and
Speaker 1: encourage him, Hey, you have a high school game this Friday.
Speaker 1: Good job you got this, I know you're gonna do well,
Speaker 1: And they did that on a regular basis, weekly basis,
Speaker 1: so over time they just built that strong relationship. And
Speaker 1: his first year when he arrived, like early on, they
Speaker 1: the coaching stand or the scouts that he really build
Speaker 1: those relationships over those years, they all left, so he
Speaker 1: really in his mind didn't know anyone else, so he
Speaker 1: felt a little abandoned a little bit. I think with
Speaker 1: that he kind of took that kind of hard des
Speaker 1: arrived at Louisville only to find out that the coaches
Speaker 1: he'd grown closest with had moved on to other schools.
Speaker 1: And unfortunately, this is a somewhat common occurrence in college football.
Speaker 1: Coaches get offered a better career opportunity or more money
Speaker 1: and then make a decision about their job. It's really malicious, however,
Speaker 1: for the eighteen year olds who choose where to go
Speaker 1: to college for four years, at least partially based on
Speaker 1: the coaches they want to work with, they can't help
Speaker 1: but feel somewhat betrayed. That's trying to put it behind
Speaker 1: him though, and continue to work hard going into the season. Eventually,
Speaker 1: this season, Opener arrived and his family drove into town
Speaker 1: for the game. Here's Wendy once more. We were actually
Speaker 1: there at the first game. They come out of the
Speaker 1: tunnel and the family was there, and we didn't see
Speaker 1: him come out, and so we're looking and looking for Desmond,
Speaker 1: not saying that he didn't know prior to, but I
Speaker 1: think he was just so I don't know exactly when
Speaker 1: he was told, and so it was just a devastating
Speaker 1: moment for him. And we didn't see him come out,
Speaker 1: so we were just worried and oh my god, where's Desmond.
Speaker 1: So we started calling him, why isn't he here? Uh?
Speaker 1: And then we were told he answered his phone and
Speaker 1: he told us he was red shirt. So I don't
Speaker 1: know if he knew, Honestly, I don't know if he
Speaker 1: knew prior to, was embarrassed or just his feelings was heard,
Speaker 1: just the devastation, I'm not quite sure. At some point
Speaker 1: des was informed he wouldn't be an eligible player for
Speaker 1: his freshman year and what after. Redshirt. This meant he
Speaker 1: could practice but not compete in games. Players usually opt
Speaker 1: for this option when they aren't ready for major college football.
Speaker 1: It preserves a year of eligibility while giving them extra
Speaker 1: time to get physically stronger and study the playbook and
Speaker 1: offense for a whole year. This isn't exactly how does
Speaker 1: his experience occurred, though, at least according to his dad,
Speaker 1: he didn't know he was going to be rest short
Speaker 1: and they never told him. And you know, every coach
Speaker 1: has their way of doing things, so I won't criticize
Speaker 1: the coaches, coach and staff, but you know he had
Speaker 1: to sit and watch and he was grinding his butt off.
Speaker 1: So his rast shot year was really tough on him.
Speaker 1: And you know, I got admit I had to talk
Speaker 1: him off of the ledge a couple of times because
Speaker 1: he was just sad. Then the next season does finally
Speaker 1: gets the opportunity to play, even though he still doesn't
Speaker 1: get to start, he excels in an explosive offense with
Speaker 1: Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson as well as star offensive
Speaker 1: tackle Mackay Beckton, who shined on the field, and in
Speaker 1: season one of drafted, Dez puts up forty five receptions
Speaker 1: for nearly seven yards and nine touchdowns, huge numbers first
Speaker 1: first college season, especially since he wasn't one of the
Speaker 1: starting receivers. Yet he had a great year and he
Speaker 1: was happy then Lamar left so that following year, I
Speaker 1: think it was two thousand eighteen when things just didn't
Speaker 1: go well, you know, and it was just a downward spiral.
Speaker 1: Des and the team struggle. Soon to be NFL m
Speaker 1: v P. Lamar Jackson is no longer on offense and
Speaker 1: soon to be NFL probo cornerback JR. Alexander is no
Speaker 1: longer on defense, and on top of that, Louisville's head
Speaker 1: coach Bobby Petrino wrestles with the loss of his father,
Speaker 1: and most troubling for Dez, he's still not starting on offense.
Speaker 1: That still wasn't a starting. He had to kind of
Speaker 1: wait in line behind the guy, and I just told him, like,
Speaker 1: do lesson, suck it up, wait your turn. The grind
Speaker 1: still doesn't stop. You love football and you don't want
Speaker 1: this to end anytime soon. So no matter how bad
Speaker 1: things are going on around you, you still have football.
Speaker 1: The team only wins two games that season, and then
Speaker 1: coach Patrino is let go, here's Dez. I mean, obviously
Speaker 1: it kind of sucks that, you know, I like coaching training.
Speaker 1: Obviously he's the one who recruited me hard going into
Speaker 1: Lovell and all I know is that playbook and those
Speaker 1: coaches around me and everything, and I just wanted to
Speaker 1: the coach's staff are recruited me to be there. The
Speaker 1: new coaching staff comes in and Dez feels like he's
Speaker 1: starting over once again. Does his mom Wendy weighs in
Speaker 1: on the string of obstacles for her son. He felt
Speaker 1: that the rug was pulled from underneath him. And now
Speaker 1: with then building a relationship with Katrino and now Patrino
Speaker 1: leaving him, he just felt that he was just there
Speaker 1: by himself initially. Now Daz has to learn a new
Speaker 1: playbook and a new system under a new coach he
Speaker 1: never signed up to play for. And on top of that,
Speaker 1: the offense will be built around running, not passing and receiving.
Speaker 1: Almost immediately, Greg knew he'd have to talk Daz off
Speaker 1: the ledge once more. And then when a new coaching
Speaker 1: staff came in, that was tough because all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: that went from him planning on planning this sophisticated passing
Speaker 1: offense that Bobby Petrino had to the new coaching staff
Speaker 1: coming in, and the offense was pretty simple and it
Speaker 1: kind of revolved around the running game and the slot receiver,
Speaker 1: and then Des is like, what the hell are you serious?
Speaker 1: So now you know I waited all this time for
Speaker 1: my turn and now it's not my turn again. Right.
Speaker 1: But it's like, okay, well, Dick amber are You're gonna
Speaker 1: be doing a lot of blocking because you really don't
Speaker 1: have a choice, you know what I mean, You really
Speaker 1: don't have a choice. In a run heavy offense like
Speaker 1: the new Louver system, wide receivers primarily block. So even
Speaker 1: though that isn't the fun or glamorous part of playing receiver,
Speaker 1: like catching touchdowns were making the big plays, it happens
Speaker 1: to be the skill DEAs has been practicing since he
Speaker 1: was seven years old. It's the first thing Greg ever
Speaker 1: taught him to do on the football field, and not surprisingly,
Speaker 1: Greg encouraged Deaz to accept his new role and excel
Speaker 1: at it. Here's Des. I was talking to my dad
Speaker 1: a lot about it, and he's just like, you know,
Speaker 1: all you can do is get with the program. Leave
Speaker 1: And he asked me if you want to leave, and
Speaker 1: I was like, no, I love Louisville and he said, okay,
Speaker 1: so then you know what you gotta do and I
Speaker 1: was like, yeah, I guess I just gotta get with
Speaker 1: the program, and uh, that was tough to just cut
Speaker 1: it out those last two years, knowing that his expectations
Speaker 1: for just football had kind of had kind of taken
Speaker 1: a sharp left, and he knew that all he could
Speaker 1: do is grin and barrett. But at the end of
Speaker 1: the day, it's all about football, and if you love
Speaker 1: the game, your work hard no matter what the situation is.
Speaker 1: My goal was just to make sure that he was
Speaker 1: mentally and emotionally tough enough to still believe that he
Speaker 1: was going to reach his goal. And so does recommits
Speaker 1: himself to Louisville and to his oldest friend blocking. He
Speaker 1: puts up forty three receptions for eight hundred and thirty
Speaker 1: three yards and three touchdowns, almost as productive as his
Speaker 1: first grade season with Lamar Jackson. And also he blocks
Speaker 1: a lot. Looking back, I just I look at it
Speaker 1: as a blessing at the time, and of course it
Speaker 1: was like a curse, but it's really it was truly
Speaker 1: a blessing to see grew up. He grew from there,
Speaker 1: des grew into a potential early to mid around draft pick,
Speaker 1: and now that draft day is finally here, he's ready
Speaker 1: to put the college drama behind him. And start his
Speaker 1: new chapter in the NFL. H We'll be right back.
Speaker 1: We're only four hours until the start of the NFL draft,
Speaker 1: So Clutch agent to Marius Bilbo Dallas, his client dees
Speaker 1: to touch base on the latest rankings and their draft strategy.
Speaker 1: Des doesn't answer, so Damarius rolls on to the next call. Hey,
Speaker 1: what's that in the bro that's Des? His dad, Greg answering,
Speaker 1: I see, I probably should have gave a team's your
Speaker 1: number for the draft day? Call? Man, what is that?
Speaker 1: I just called him? Oh he's out eating people. Okay, okay, cool,
Speaker 1: I'll let him. I'll let him have that, Dan. So
Speaker 1: he gets the pre draft jetas out and uh and
Speaker 1: and and then like I said, man, we got our
Speaker 1: fellers connect my jams, but to receive I ain't thinking
Speaker 1: about at this point. Nothing could Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's
Speaker 1: a that's a great mindset man. Like I said, the
Speaker 1: worry is just it's not what we need to be.
Speaker 1: You know, obviously it's hard to because you got so
Speaker 1: much on the line, You've worked so hard, and you know,
Speaker 1: I always tell guys, this process has a way of
Speaker 1: making you think somebody is better than you, or you
Speaker 1: haven't done enough or you're not good enough. But right
Speaker 1: this is that Greg's outraged because scouts and analysts almost
Speaker 1: never bring up the Senior Bowl, and not only did
Speaker 1: that playing it, he was named the co offensive MVP
Speaker 1: alongside quarterback Allen Mind. That made it a great showcase
Speaker 1: for his receiving skills in addition to the blocking he's
Speaker 1: known for. But it doesn't seem the beginning any traction
Speaker 1: and conversations about its draft status. Here's Bilbo again now
Speaker 1: in the car, continuing their conversation. I felt like, I
Speaker 1: felt like even you as the dad, you had that
Speaker 1: underdog mentality going in this thing. Like you know, Man,
Speaker 1: he went to the Senior but he did everything he
Speaker 1: was supposed to do. He ran fast, he tested well,
Speaker 1: he went to the Senior Bowl, he won offensive m
Speaker 1: v P. And you know, I got a lot of
Speaker 1: that from Keller Man's dad too, you know. And when
Speaker 1: you really look at it, and everybody wants to go higher,
Speaker 1: everybody wants to go first round. But ultimately that first
Speaker 1: contract is not even close to what that second deal
Speaker 1: is gonna be. Like I told him, it's no more
Speaker 1: study Hall, it's no more class. This is your job.
Speaker 1: You got an opportunity if you love football this much
Speaker 1: and you love money that much, and you got a
Speaker 1: chance to play a lot of football and make a
Speaker 1: lot of money. Playing a lot of football and making
Speaker 1: a lot of money are two goals shared by almost
Speaker 1: every NFL prospect. First, they need to get picked, though,
Speaker 1: and in two hours, thirty two players will have that
Speaker 1: dream become a reality. In Round one in San Antonio, Texas,
Speaker 1: Kellen Mond is hoping he's about to become one of
Speaker 1: the thirty two players picked in the first round. But
Speaker 1: before that can happen, he has to finish setting up
Speaker 1: for the virtual draft party at his parents house. Unloaded
Speaker 1: ice right now, there is your last How many bags
Speaker 1: is this? Thirty bags of ice? I'd love to see it.
Speaker 1: He's talking to his sisters Karina and Kana as he
Speaker 1: unload supplies for the night. Here's Kellen's mom, Latisha on
Speaker 1: the growing guest list. When we first talked about it,
Speaker 1: it started really small, and you know, because of COVID
Speaker 1: and we were trying to respect the rules that we
Speaker 1: literally started making a list of everyone that he had invited,
Speaker 1: that we had invited, and all of a sudden, it
Speaker 1: started getting bigger and bigger and bigger. But Kelvin kept saying,
Speaker 1: you know, this is a once in a lifetime like literally,
Speaker 1: this is never ever going to happen again, Like we
Speaker 1: may not ever go be invited to someone's draft party.
Speaker 1: It just it's never gonna happen. They realized that in
Speaker 1: many ways, this is going to be the summation of
Speaker 1: Kellen's entire existence on this planet, and the lenient COVID
Speaker 1: protocols in Texas don't put any limits on their invites.
Speaker 1: So Kellyn's dad, Kevin, took the party planning handoff and
Speaker 1: ran with it, spilling the party into their backyard to
Speaker 1: keep a majority of it outdoors. So Kevin, I will
Speaker 1: tell you, is an incredible party planner. He planned everything
Speaker 1: from beginning to and we did I mean we even
Speaker 1: had a red carpet. We were not once in a lifetime.
Speaker 1: We were not going to say no to any ideas.
Speaker 1: So we sat around the table, the entire family, and
Speaker 1: started making a list of all the different ideas. One,
Speaker 1: as I mentioned, was the red carpet, and it was like, look,
Speaker 1: you pull that money out of savings, you forget the budget,
Speaker 1: and you just go And that's exactly what happened now.
Speaker 1: Kellen's dad, Kevin, is outside finishing the makeshift bar and
Speaker 1: laying out the red carpet for the entrance, while inside,
Speaker 1: Kelen focuses on soaking up the moment. This is exactly
Speaker 1: what I worked for, and this is what I trained
Speaker 1: my whole whole entire life. So it's just crazy to
Speaker 1: look back. And you know, my dad always talks about
Speaker 1: he had me thrown the ball at the age of two,
Speaker 1: So it's just kind of amazing looking back at all
Speaker 1: the work that I put in and nineteen years of
Speaker 1: throwing the football, almost twenty and it's coming down to
Speaker 1: a two thousand one draft, you know, a couple of days.
Speaker 1: Those days are finally here. And Kellen tries to process
Speaker 1: this as he talks to his sister Karina. Who's going
Speaker 1: to be the most nervous tonight. Who's going to be
Speaker 1: the most nervous to night? Definitely Mom, And then I
Speaker 1: say Kanaka and then see, I don't think dads is
Speaker 1: like will be like nerves, Like it's just like excitement
Speaker 1: and like anticipation. Yeah. As the final hours take down
Speaker 1: and guests arride at the mont House, Kellen takes stock
Speaker 1: of his friends and family who have come to support him. Uh,
Speaker 1: there's like five teammates, a couple of their girlfriends, friends
Speaker 1: and uncles. I heard he was, I don't know about
Speaker 1: my coach might be here. A few teammates, friends of
Speaker 1: the family, coaches, and his relatives make their way to
Speaker 1: the draft party, and all the excitement and anticipation leads
Speaker 1: up to the moment NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell takes the
Speaker 1: stage declaring the two thousand one NFL Draft officially open.
Speaker 1: Jacksonville selects Trevor Lawrence first overall, and three quarterbacks go
Speaker 1: one to three. It's a promising start for Kellen being
Speaker 1: picked early. Heisman Trophy winner Devote Smith goes to the
Speaker 1: Eagles that picked ten, Alex Leatherwood goes to the Raiders
Speaker 1: that pick seventeen. Ten more picks pass, and then the
Speaker 1: final two selections of round one are made. Five quarterbacks
Speaker 1: and five receivers are drafted on the first day. None
Speaker 1: of those are named Kellen Mond or Desmond Fitzpatrick. The
Speaker 1: second round of the draft will begin in less than
Speaker 1: twenty four hours, and both Daz and Kelen will be
Speaker 1: inviting everyone back to their houses for Day two. His
Speaker 1: agent to Marius Bilbo sums up the situation for his clients.
Speaker 1: You know, you always expect the best, but prepare for
Speaker 1: the worst. And I mean hearing your name call on
Speaker 1: the weekend, in which a handful of guys in the
Speaker 1: world that are gonna hear their name called. I wouldn't
Speaker 1: say it's the worst situation, you know, regardless around you're
Speaker 1: going in. But these guys have put so much into
Speaker 1: their craft, and again it's sad that they're judged by
Speaker 1: pick our number around. But Kellen was one of those guys.
Speaker 1: He knew the first round talk was intriguing, but that
Speaker 1: there was a slim and no possible to him going
Speaker 1: in the first round. As the seventh or eighth ranked quarterback.
Speaker 1: Kellen now expects to hear his name called on Day two.
Speaker 1: Even still, at this point in his journey, the old
Speaker 1: Kellen mind might be getting apprehensive or at least a
Speaker 1: little nervous. So how's the new and improved post quarantine
Speaker 1: at peace with the universe, Kelly and man feeling I
Speaker 1: did everything I needed to do it At this point,
Speaker 1: it's just you know, whatever team wants me is gonna
Speaker 1: pick me, and that's about it. Just me being a
Speaker 1: fan of football. I'm just gonna be watching and then eventually,
Speaker 1: you know I'm gonna get a call. So I just
Speaker 1: happened to be in the draft this year. Next I'm drafted.
Speaker 1: What we did was put together. This is why received
Speaker 1: her big bore, and we just made a war room
Speaker 1: in the dining room. It doesn't say Fitzpatrick, uh, fifth round,
Speaker 1: pick one whatever. It just says fits Patrick get a
Speaker 1: football number. I was definitely the most nervous, and I
Speaker 1: think if you were to look at the stream when
Speaker 1: the camera was on there, I probably did not move
Speaker 1: at all. I don't remember anything. It was such an
Speaker 1: incredible experience. You see his an M teammates, and you
Speaker 1: see kids that played in middle school ball with him,
Speaker 1: and they have all made an impact. I just want
Speaker 1: to appreciate everybody for coming out here. Just want to
Speaker 1: say I love you, I'm a note, and then all
Speaker 1: of a sudden, I see the pick is in. Drafted
Speaker 1: is a production of tree Fort Media, Clutch Sports Group,
Speaker 1: and I Heart Radio. The executive producers are Kelly Garner,
Speaker 1: Lisa Ammerman, Eric Slott, Eric Weiner, and Shaun to Tone.
Speaker 1: The series is produced and written by Eric Winer. Garme
Speaker 1: Mamalu is our coordinating producer. Coral Silverberg is our associate producer.
Speaker 1: Tom Monahan is our senior audio engineer. The show is mixed, edited,
Speaker 1: and hosted by Me Stephen Johnson, additional production help from
Speaker 1: Tim Shower and Hayley Mandelberg. For transcripts of the show
Speaker 1: and more information undrafted, quote a tree for dot fm,
Speaker 1: and for more podcasts from My Heart, visit the I
Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
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