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Speaker 1: Hi, everybody pleased to be joined out by Alex Highsmith

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Speaker 1: to check in and see how the rookie season went

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Speaker 1: and what's happening now in the off season. So Alex

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Speaker 1: just explained to us where you are and if you

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Speaker 1: are enjoying some much needed downtime after a crazy uh

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Speaker 1: year of going through college, the draft, and playing in

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Speaker 1: your first NFL season. Yeah, So so right now I'm

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Speaker 1: in Charlotte, North Carolina. You know, I'm just uh have

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Speaker 1: a good training training place and on training here, um

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Speaker 1: like Norman and so um this is a good spot

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Speaker 1: for me, you know because uh, you know, I'm from

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Speaker 1: Wming to North Carolina and Shrowsborg went to school and

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Speaker 1: so you know, being this area right now, you know,

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Speaker 1: I feel like I'm very focused and I have, um,

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Speaker 1: you know, a good source of physical therapy and massage

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Speaker 1: therapist and a good good training center. So I've got

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Speaker 1: everything I need um here in this area. So it's

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Speaker 1: been exciting to be here and um decided to just

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Speaker 1: to get the work and start training. Have you had

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Speaker 1: a chance to just take a minute and sit down

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Speaker 1: and you know, realize you went through your first season

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Speaker 1: in the NFL and obviously you didn't know any different,

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Speaker 1: but it was very different and they're obviously a lot

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Speaker 1: of different things that everybody had to go through with

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Speaker 1: the pandemic. Yeah, and it was definitely on the wild

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Speaker 1: first year for me, you know, being the league definitely

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Speaker 1: wasn't normal. Um, but you know it was good, you know,

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Speaker 1: to be able to reflect on the year, Um, after

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Speaker 1: after we got done, so after going back home and

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Speaker 1: seeing all my family, you know that I hadn't been

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Speaker 1: able to see him because of COVID, was just it

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Speaker 1: was just really special. And so it's just awesome to

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Speaker 1: be able to reflecting that way, you know, on the

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Speaker 1: on the year as a whole. How did your exit

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Speaker 1: interviews go with the coaches before you left Pittsburgh for

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Speaker 1: the off season. I mean I felt like they went well, Um,

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Speaker 1: you know, they just you know told me, we know

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Speaker 1: where UM just kind of evaluat to my play on

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Speaker 1: this year. You know, I feel like, you know, I've

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Speaker 1: got lots of room to grow. Um. You know, I

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Speaker 1: know that I could be a much better player going

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Speaker 1: in a year two. And that's what um, you know

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Speaker 1: they're looking for and that's what I'm looking for, is

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Speaker 1: to make that that that jump in that lead from

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Speaker 1: yere one year two and so you know, large started

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Speaker 1: working and so I'm so excited to be able to

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Speaker 1: um make that jump for next year. Do you set

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Speaker 1: goals for yourself to make that jump knowing that that

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Speaker 1: coach Tomlins a big stickler for that making the big

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Speaker 1: year to year to jump. Yeah, I mean I do. UM,

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Speaker 1: I definitely do set goals for myself. But you know me,

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Speaker 1: I've always been a process driven guy, you know, UM

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Speaker 1: me being you know, walk on in college. You know,

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Speaker 1: I know that, UM, the trusting the process and you know,

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Speaker 1: fall in love the process is the most important thing.

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Speaker 1: You know. I can set goals for myself and I do,

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Speaker 1: but I gotta do what I can day to day,

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Speaker 1: a weekend, week out just to be the best that

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Speaker 1: I can be to achieve those goals. So for me,

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Speaker 1: it's just really about you know, and trusting the process.

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Speaker 1: You know, I was just doing what a um you

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Speaker 1: gotta do every day just to to achieve those goals.

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Speaker 1: I know you were mad that you had an interception

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Speaker 1: before you had a sack. Is there anything when you

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Speaker 1: look back you think like, okay, that was good or

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Speaker 1: maybe something that you weren't happy with when you evaluate

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Speaker 1: your season. Um, yeah, you know, I I do so

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Speaker 1: I high standard for myself and so you know I

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Speaker 1: know that, Um, you know, I can definitely be more

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Speaker 1: productive and that's what I'm looking to do this year.

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Speaker 1: But you know, I never would have guessed that my

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Speaker 1: first interception when it came before my first SEC, but um,

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Speaker 1: it was was pretty cool. But you know, I mean

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Speaker 1: I'm just we're kin and excited to just get more

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Speaker 1: of those, um this upcoming year. What was it like

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Speaker 1: working with t J. Watt and Bud Dupree. I know

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Speaker 1: you were excited about it heading in, but now that

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Speaker 1: you actually had a chance to do it and maybe

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Speaker 1: think about what you learned from them. Yeah, just like

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Speaker 1: you said, you know, as soon as I got drafted

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Speaker 1: by the Steward, you know, I knew that, you know,

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Speaker 1: I was gonna be able to learn from you the

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Speaker 1: best edge of rush duo in the league. And so

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Speaker 1: just being able to learn from them and uh, um

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Speaker 1: just improve my game with them was just awesome. You know.

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Speaker 1: I just tried to watch remember before I came and

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Speaker 1: when we were in COVID and all we could do

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Speaker 1: is watch film and I have those virtual means you know,

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Speaker 1: I was always watching watching the games and watching how

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Speaker 1: they how they rushed the pastor and always reaching out

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Speaker 1: to them and for advice and stuff like that. So

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Speaker 1: it's just been awesome to be able to learn from

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Speaker 1: both of them, you know, because both of them are

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Speaker 1: just two of the best what they do. How do

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Speaker 1: you guys stay in touch right now during the off season?

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Speaker 1: Is everyone kind of doing their own thing or do

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Speaker 1: you guys still keep in touch a little bit through

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Speaker 1: text or whatever right now? Yeah, I know we're still

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Speaker 1: keep in touching out through texts and stuff like that,

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Speaker 1: different group messages and stuff like that. But you know,

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Speaker 1: a lot of guys are different places. But you know,

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Speaker 1: I like, you know, everyone has a good spot where

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Speaker 1: they're at, and that um, they're gonna be able to

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Speaker 1: come back, ready, you know, she she's We're able to

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Speaker 1: come back. Is there anything you learned about yourself just

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Speaker 1: going through this entire process of your rookie your your

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Speaker 1: rookie season. Um, it's kind of SLF question. Um, you know,

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Speaker 1: I just say, uh, I just learned about myself, you know,

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Speaker 1: just um to always be ready, you know, um, just

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Speaker 1: uh to always be ready, you know, to hear my

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Speaker 1: name calling. And that's um, the thing I know about me.

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Speaker 1: You know, I feel like I'm prepared and all that

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Speaker 1: I do. And so you know, as soon as I

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Speaker 1: got here, you know, you know, they told me I

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Speaker 1: was gonna be right coming right out to the gate,

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Speaker 1: you know, playing touch teams and stuff like that, and so, um,

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Speaker 1: just knowing them to always be ready, you know. And

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Speaker 1: that's one thing that you know, I wanted a bout myself.

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Speaker 1: You know that I'm I'm well prepared and all that

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Speaker 1: I do, and so that's what I just want to

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Speaker 1: continue to be