Speaker 1: I get everybody. I'm Dan Horde, and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast, the where Everybody Knows your name. Addition,
Speaker 1: as we introduce you to five Bengals rookies, three draft picks,
Speaker 1: and two players who will try to make the team
Speaker 1: or the practice squad as undrafted free agents. The Bengals
Speaker 1: Booth Podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals. Download Ultimate Bengals
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Speaker 1: it now on the App Store and Google Play. And
Speaker 1: here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest
Speaker 1: edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,
Speaker 1: or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's
Speaker 1: the greatest thing since getting to play a small part
Speaker 1: in a Cincinnati Playhouse production. Several weeks ago, my friend
Speaker 1: Blake Robinson, the artistic director of the Cincinnati Playhouse, asked
Speaker 1: me if I would be interested in lending my voice
Speaker 1: to one of their productions. It's called Schoolgirls or the
Speaker 1: African Mean Girls play and I got to record the
Speaker 1: part of an American TV host. The show runs through
Speaker 1: May twenty seconds. So if you go and a voice
Speaker 1: sounds familiar, now you know why. Okay, let's get to football.
Speaker 1: The Bengals open the rookie minicamp on Friday morning, and
Speaker 1: I thought it would be fun to do a series
Speaker 1: of brief getting to know you interviews with a cross
Speaker 1: section of players. I talked to five of them for
Speaker 1: roughly five minutes each, and I'll play the interviews in
Speaker 1: no particular order. Up first, offensive lineman Cordell Volson, the
Speaker 1: fourth round draft pick out of North Dakota State. He
Speaker 1: grew up playing nine man football in high school. His
Speaker 1: hometown in North Dakota has a population of just twenty six,
Speaker 1: but the small town kid is now a big man.
Speaker 1: Had six six, three hundred and fifteen pounds. Cordell, what
Speaker 1: of the last couple of weeks been like since you
Speaker 1: were drafted? It's been great. Um, you know, got got
Speaker 1: the uh, got got a team issued iPad, and um,
Speaker 1: you know, started to learn learn the terminology and and
Speaker 1: what they're teaching here. Um, so I was awesome to
Speaker 1: apply that to my training and what I was working on.
Speaker 1: And and you know, once once that call, um, you know,
Speaker 1: happened a couple of Saturdays goes. It was a great
Speaker 1: feeling and I was I was ready to get to work.
Speaker 1: I couldn't get here soon enough. Did you take any
Speaker 1: time to celebrate or were you applying yourself right away? Yeah?
Speaker 1: It was shoot Saturday. The phone didn't stop ringing. So
Speaker 1: that was about the I was about the only little
Speaker 1: break I had. And then uh went back went back
Speaker 1: to Fargo Sunday. Um and just just got back to work. Um,
Speaker 1: lifting away. It's in drill work and conditioning and and
Speaker 1: getting ready for for next week. We're standing in front
Speaker 1: of your locker, you're wearing Bengals gear, and you're on
Speaker 1: the practice field today. Does it all seem real now?
Speaker 1: I guess you know, I get asked that question a lot, um,
Speaker 1: But you know, for me, it's it's every day. It's
Speaker 1: just coming and competing and and playing football, you know,
Speaker 1: because because I mean, yeah, it's at the highest level
Speaker 1: the you're playing against the best players in the world,
Speaker 1: But you know, it's it's just football, um, you know.
Speaker 1: And that's I'm not trying to downplay the competition or
Speaker 1: the level or anything like that, but but you still
Speaker 1: have your your basic fundamentals and technique that you know,
Speaker 1: you need to continue to improve on and you know
Speaker 1: those those are what's going to put you in position
Speaker 1: to win. Chatting with Cordell Bolson, there's been a lot
Speaker 1: of talk around here in the last year about or
Speaker 1: winning culture. Bengals obviously went to a super Bowl, he
Speaker 1: won four national championships, you know about winning cultures? Correct,
Speaker 1: I'd like to think so, yeah, yes, yeah, what stands
Speaker 1: out about that? What allowed your teams in college to
Speaker 1: achieve that way? You know, I think I think it's
Speaker 1: just it's just a culture. It's um, you know, guys
Speaker 1: buying into what we're trying to accomplish. Um, And just
Speaker 1: you know, the biggest thing that I experienced a y
Speaker 1: she was just a people. Um, you know, people cared
Speaker 1: about each other. It was always about putting the team first.
Speaker 1: And and uh, you know that's that's definitely what makes
Speaker 1: a winning culture. The Bengals have an opening at left guard.
Speaker 1: Do you go into training camp thinking my goal is
Speaker 1: to try to win that job. Yeah, I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: I think as a competitor, every every day you're showing
Speaker 1: up competing to win that job. And and you know,
Speaker 1: you can't can't control what happens and in four months.
Speaker 1: But you can control what happens today. So just just
Speaker 1: continuing every day to show up with the right right attitude,
Speaker 1: in the right mindset to put yourself in position to
Speaker 1: you know, reach those goals for sure. So this is
Speaker 1: the first time we're seeing each other face to face.
Speaker 1: You are a big strong man. Were you always the
Speaker 1: biggest kid? Is this from the work you did and
Speaker 1: your family's shop? How did you grow to this size
Speaker 1: and strength? I was always kind of the the bigg
Speaker 1: this kid growing up. But um, you know I was
Speaker 1: came out of high school and I was two hundred
Speaker 1: and fifty pounds, so you know I was I was skinny. Um,
Speaker 1: but um, you know, getting to end this u and
Speaker 1: getting developed by by coach Kramer or strength coach there,
Speaker 1: he's he does a phenomenal job. And uh, you know,
Speaker 1: I think I've always been you know, farm strong or
Speaker 1: whatever you call it, you know, but um, because growing up,
Speaker 1: I mean in high schools that didn't have personal train
Speaker 1: or any of that stuff. But um, you know, my
Speaker 1: brother and I would go and go and lift weights
Speaker 1: to our school, you know, just make our own regiment.
Speaker 1: And I mean we didn't know what we were doing,
Speaker 1: but we were just throwing some later on. But definitely,
Speaker 1: you know, growing up the way I grew up definitely
Speaker 1: helped me develop into you know, who I am as
Speaker 1: far as work ethic and and you know, strength wise
Speaker 1: and just just a mindset in itself. Were their tasks
Speaker 1: as a kid that you know, we built up strength
Speaker 1: and Louis going to jim and lifting weights. Yeah, definitely, Um,
Speaker 1: you know, shoot, it was it was everything. Um. You
Speaker 1: know my old man he would have a stacking railroad ties, Um,
Speaker 1: you know, picking rocks, I mean, whatever it was. You know, Um,
Speaker 1: we're always we're always doing physical labor with their hands,
Speaker 1: you know, Um, putting in pipe um, you know, whatever
Speaker 1: it would be, you know, shoveling down in holes. I mean,
Speaker 1: whatever it was. You know, there's a lot of stuff
Speaker 1: that went into, uh, you know, me developing into who
Speaker 1: I am. Now. You're right in the practice field for
Speaker 1: about an hour with Frank Pollock. What were your impressions? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I the sample size that I've had so far with
Speaker 1: Coach Pollock has been great. Um, you know, I love
Speaker 1: playing for him. Um, just just continue to build that
Speaker 1: relationship and continue to learn from him. He spent nearly
Speaker 1: a decade playing in the NFL. How much credibility does
Speaker 1: he gain in your eyes from that? Yeah? I think
Speaker 1: that Uh you know, shoot, he's, like you said, he
Speaker 1: played in the NFL, now he's an NFL coach. I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, he knows the position inside out. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: sort of sort of play for someone like that, that
Speaker 1: is that is going to put you in the in
Speaker 1: the right spots and and teach you the right things,
Speaker 1: and and nobody's teaching based on his own personal experience.
Speaker 1: It's huge. You know. I'm definitely looking forward to continue
Speaker 1: to learn from him. All Right, So you're here in Cincinnati, now,
Speaker 1: is there anything you are looking forward to seeing? Is
Speaker 1: there a restaurant that you're looking forward to trying? Anything
Speaker 1: stand out? You know, I guess honestly, I haven't really
Speaker 1: paid too much attention to that. Everyone talks about the
Speaker 1: Skyline Chile, but you know, for the most part, I'm
Speaker 1: just looking forward to getting around the guys and playing ball.
Speaker 1: Congratulations on being drafted. That in and of itself is
Speaker 1: an extraordinary accomplishment. Welcome to Cincinnati, Thank you, excited to
Speaker 1: be here. Updext another offensive lineman, and this one has
Speaker 1: Cincinnati ties. Desmond Noel played offensive and defensive line under
Speaker 1: Tom Bolden at Cole Rane High School before his college
Speaker 1: career took him to three different schools, Ohio University, Fort
Speaker 1: Scott Community College, and Florida Atlantic, where he played for
Speaker 1: the last three years. The Bengals attended his pro day
Speaker 1: and signed Desmond as an undrafted free agent after the draft.
Speaker 1: We're in the locker room with Desmond Noel. Of all
Speaker 1: the guys in the locker room this weekend, this might
Speaker 1: mean the most to you, Is that correct? I would
Speaker 1: say so. I would say so. I'm blessed and grateful
Speaker 1: to be in this position to play for my own city.
Speaker 1: So definitely means a lot to me. Did I hear
Speaker 1: correctly that you sought out Bengals scouts at your pro
Speaker 1: day to express the desire to get a chance to
Speaker 1: play for Cincinnati? Yeah, definitely. I mean my whole thought
Speaker 1: process before the pro day was the final Bengal scout
Speaker 1: for sure. So I met up with Steven top to
Speaker 1: the whim he liked me to morrow pro day. So
Speaker 1: and here we are. So Stephen Rodessovic is that scout?
Speaker 1: How did you find out he was the Bengals guy?
Speaker 1: Was he wearing gear day or did you ask you? Now?
Speaker 1: He was wearing gear and I approached so him. I
Speaker 1: walked up to him, so yeah, traded to contact info
Speaker 1: Kepta and such with him. You know, he locked me. So, yeah,
Speaker 1: we're chatting with Desmond Noel. So tell me about growing
Speaker 1: up in Cincinnati going to Coleraine. Were you a big
Speaker 1: Bengals fan whole life? Yeah, I've always been a big
Speaker 1: Bengals fan, you know, throughout the whole history, you know,
Speaker 1: good up and down all that. I've always been a
Speaker 1: huge Bengals fan. So yeah, you gotta stick with your team,
Speaker 1: you know, through the ups and down. So it's crazy,
Speaker 1: you know, like I've always thought, like when I was
Speaker 1: growing up, I you know, I have a legitimate shot
Speaker 1: going to the league, but you know, it never really
Speaker 1: grasped me that it could be my own city. So
Speaker 1: it's pretty surreal, you know, and it's it's just a
Speaker 1: huge blessing. Again. What was the Bengal Super Bowl Round
Speaker 1: like for you as a fan last year? Absolutely crazy?
Speaker 1: I mean, no, nobody could really believe. We knew he
Speaker 1: had the talent, you know, we finally got there. I Mean,
Speaker 1: it was just nuts. It was crazy, surreal, surreal? Are
Speaker 1: you going to be like a fanboy with Joe Burrower?
Speaker 1: It said, okay, to be teammates maybe at first, maybe
Speaker 1: at first, but yeah, hopefully I can get a good
Speaker 1: relationship with him down the road. Yeah. So what's been
Speaker 1: the reaction like for family and friends when they learned
Speaker 1: that you were going to be signing with Cincinnati. I mean,
Speaker 1: I've been getting hit up from everybody as soon as
Speaker 1: I got the call. After the drive, I got so
Speaker 1: much support from my city. It's really all love and
Speaker 1: I'm really happy that it turned out like that. So
Speaker 1: how about the opportunity here? Obviously the Bengals have had
Speaker 1: a lot of turnover on the offensive line. What was
Speaker 1: your thought process and trying to sign with a team
Speaker 1: where you could have a chance to make the roster
Speaker 1: of the practice squad. Yeah, I mean I just thought
Speaker 1: coming here was just a great opportunity all around. Like
Speaker 1: I said, I got to support It's my own city.
Speaker 1: You know, there's opportunities for death pieces on the line.
Speaker 1: You know. I met with the coach, coach Bullock a
Speaker 1: few times. You know, he's a great coach, coaching you
Speaker 1: up technically, but also just on a personal level. So
Speaker 1: I feel like this is a great opportunity all around.
Speaker 1: Like that's why I say, I'm so blessed to be
Speaker 1: You're right in the practice field with him for about
Speaker 1: an hour today. Did anything stand out about his coaching
Speaker 1: in that hour long period? Obviously very technical, you know,
Speaker 1: he breaks it down to a science almost, which is
Speaker 1: what I really like, what I'm used to. So yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: So have any of your fellow rookies realized that you're
Speaker 1: from Cincinnati and started to hit you up for advice? Definitely?
Speaker 1: You know, I told him. We got a group chat
Speaker 1: and I said, you know, I'm from Cincinnati. So if
Speaker 1: anybody needs me to show them around, take them to
Speaker 1: the food spots. You know, I'll do that. You know,
Speaker 1: I'll show anybody around. So yeah, it's been really cool
Speaker 1: where you're Some of your go to is where where
Speaker 1: will you take guys? So I think the first place
Speaker 1: is definitely Skyline. We definitely got to get everybody to
Speaker 1: the Skyline and see how they like it. You know,
Speaker 1: it might be hit or miss. We'll see, you know,
Speaker 1: I won't get offended, but you know, so we'll go
Speaker 1: there first, probably get everybody there, all right, Well, if
Speaker 1: you take a bunch of alignments. Skyline is going to
Speaker 1: be very happy because they'll put it down. Congratulations, this
Speaker 1: is great. Best of luck with the Bengals. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Before we get to our next rookie,
Speaker 1: we remind you that The Bengals Booth podcast is presented
Speaker 1: by Ultimate Bengals, the free to play fantasy football game.
Speaker 1: This past season, Ultimate Bengals awarded a weekly winner during
Speaker 1: the course of the year with tickets, autographed merchandise, and
Speaker 1: money can't buy experiences all up for grabs. Find Ultimate
Speaker 1: Bengals in the app Store and Google Play. In the
Speaker 1: third round of this year's draft, the Bengals selected defensive
Speaker 1: lineman Zach Carter, who had eight sacks last year for
Speaker 1: the Florida Gators. The plan is to start him inside
Speaker 1: is a three technique, but the Bengals also think that
Speaker 1: Carter has the versatility to be an edge rusher. He's
Speaker 1: six four, two eighty seven with a frame to possibly
Speaker 1: get even bigger. All right, you're in the locker room,
Speaker 1: you're in front of your locker you just got off
Speaker 1: the field with your rookie teammates. Does it all feel real? Now?
Speaker 1: They feel real? Now as real as it gonna get. No.
Speaker 1: At first, what night I got drafted, you know, and
Speaker 1: they really kicking. Yeah, I would tell them my parents.
Speaker 1: I would like, it doesn't feel real. Yeah, I would
Speaker 1: like I feel real when I get there. And we
Speaker 1: got here yesterday and as soon as I hit the
Speaker 1: field hitting me, so you know it's real. Now, what
Speaker 1: have the last few weeks been? Like? The last few
Speaker 1: weeks been hunting? It na be honest, Like, you know what,
Speaker 1: once you get that call, it's like everything changes forever.
Speaker 1: Phone's been blowing up. I'm sorry. I'm sorry to everybody
Speaker 1: I couldn't respond to. It's like it's like really excessive.
Speaker 1: But you know, last few weeks after I've been AFO,
Speaker 1: I got drafted. I honestly, I just I took a
Speaker 1: few days off and I got right back to work
Speaker 1: because I knew I was headed here soon. So you know,
Speaker 1: it's been crazy, but it's calmed down now. I think
Speaker 1: all of your friends and family understand if you didn't
Speaker 1: get back to them right away because of all it's
Speaker 1: taking place. Have you started studying the Bengals defense at all?
Speaker 1: I have they sent us out? I passed down and
Speaker 1: I've actually I had a chance to look at a
Speaker 1: little bit before I got up here, and then now
Speaker 1: that I got now that I'm here, start watching film
Speaker 1: with coach and learning deeper. It sounds like one of
Speaker 1: the things they like about you is that they think
Speaker 1: you can really be versatile. I guess that's kind of
Speaker 1: a theme for most of the rookies that they drafted.
Speaker 1: But do you consider that a strength most definitely. I
Speaker 1: take pride in that. That's one thing my coach used
Speaker 1: to preach to me in college, Like he used to
Speaker 1: move me around and they used to like to create
Speaker 1: mismatches with me across the line, and I was like,
Speaker 1: sometimes it used to be like, Coach, I just want
Speaker 1: to focus on one spot, and he like, just trust me,
Speaker 1: is that it's gonna pay off in the long run,
Speaker 1: and then pay it off. I love I love being
Speaker 1: versus two him. Wasn't a particularly hardcore workout out there
Speaker 1: this morning, But did anything stand out just from interacting
Speaker 1: with Coach Hobby for the first time, Yeah, Coach Hobby.
Speaker 1: Coach Hobby is a great He's a great coach. I
Speaker 1: had the opportunity to play for him coming out of
Speaker 1: high school. He was recruiting me hard to Clempson, but
Speaker 1: I ended up going to Florida, so it's kind of
Speaker 1: it came back all full circle. Like now I'm back
Speaker 1: with him, so just being out there with him. He's
Speaker 1: a great guy, great coach. No, he's gonna coach me hard.
Speaker 1: I want to be coach hard. So I'm excited. Did
Speaker 1: he remind you of that? Did he say now I've
Speaker 1: got you? Yeah? He did. He said something at the
Speaker 1: combine Actually, like when I had my former my formal
Speaker 1: meeting with him was like never know, and they came
Speaker 1: and gotten. So you know, so Monday, you'll be practicing
Speaker 1: with all of the guys. The veterans will be here,
Speaker 1: at least most of the veterans. Are you looking forward to,
Speaker 1: you know, seeing the guys that you've been watching on
Speaker 1: that iPad since being drafted? Most definitely, I look at it.
Speaker 1: I look at it as a blessing and an opportunity
Speaker 1: to be able to learn from the vets. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: try to soak up everything I know because you know,
Speaker 1: I'm starting from the bottom again basically, so you know,
Speaker 1: I'm excited to learn from those guys. Anything about Cincinnati
Speaker 1: that you're eager to see a restaurant that you've heard about,
Speaker 1: destination anything like that. Oh, man, I've been. I tweeted
Speaker 1: that night I got drafted, or the day I tweeted
Speaker 1: something about, you know, like top five food places in Cincinnati,
Speaker 1: and I got a lot of comments. You know, it's
Speaker 1: obviously everybody's saying skyline. I don't know. Some people saying
Speaker 1: don't go, some people say stay away, some people say
Speaker 1: it's amazing. So I guess I gotta try it for
Speaker 1: myself and see what you think. Well, you definitely have
Speaker 1: to try it. It's a requirement of living in Cincinnati.
Speaker 1: But you know there are fine dining options as well
Speaker 1: that that you want to try. I'm gonna try. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm looking for some I'm looking for some more you know,
Speaker 1: some more places. So I'm may explore. You know, I
Speaker 1: figure that go to one of Jeff Ruby steakhouses in order,
Speaker 1: the Joe Burrow. The Joe Burrow. Yeah, the Joe Burrow.
Speaker 1: It's a steak that's a steakhout. Shout out to Joe.
Speaker 1: That's a big deal. You got a steak name. That's
Speaker 1: a big deal. Career. But as the DM and now
Speaker 1: I got drafted, I've seen people mentioning Ruby. So I
Speaker 1: went on Twitter a dm them he got. He got
Speaker 1: back to me asap, so I'm gonna I'm gonna go
Speaker 1: check him out soon. That's a savvy move on your party.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I'm trying to make it's all about life,
Speaker 1: is all about connections, so you know, I restyled trying
Speaker 1: to build build connections. Welcome to Cincinnati. Great to have
Speaker 1: you on the team, he said, thank you. I suspect
Speaker 1: that Zach Carter is going to enjoy his first trip
Speaker 1: to one of Jeff Rubies steakhouses. Up next, one of
Speaker 1: the three defensive backs selected in this year's draft, speedy
Speaker 1: safety Tyson Campbell, who ran up four three six forty
Speaker 1: at the Combine and was a three time captain at
Speaker 1: the University of Toledo. You're in front of a Bengals locker,
Speaker 1: in the locker room, you're out in the practice field
Speaker 1: or earlier today. Does it all feel real now? No?
Speaker 1: If if feel extremely real, just being out there with
Speaker 1: the guys, and at the end of day, everybody's just
Speaker 1: normal people. For everybody, We've been playing a game with
Speaker 1: football forever, so we're just doing that at the highest
Speaker 1: level now. It was just pretty pretty sweet. So it's
Speaker 1: just the same game, but just at a higher level.
Speaker 1: So it's it's a blessing to be here for a
Speaker 1: Describe the last two weeks, man. So after I got
Speaker 1: the call, it was just like a musserrere feeling, and
Speaker 1: we celebrated with my family and friends. And then me
Speaker 1: and my friend Sam will Maat he got drafted to
Speaker 1: play at Toledo two. He got dropped to the forty
Speaker 1: nine ers. So, I mean we've been roommates our whole life,
Speaker 1: so our whole career to lead us. And once we
Speaker 1: got the call and got drafted, we celebrated together and
Speaker 1: we got right back to work. Man. Then we were
Speaker 1: working out. We just working a training every day since then.
Speaker 1: And I'm here. We're chatting with Tyson Anderson. I saw
Speaker 1: some footage on the Internet of the post draft celebration.
Speaker 1: It looked like a block party celebrating disaccomplishment. Yeah, it was.
Speaker 1: It was that was all my all my family in France,
Speaker 1: some church members, some little League coaches, my cousins that
Speaker 1: all grew up with, my aunts and uncles was all there.
Speaker 1: My sister, her friends was all there. So it was
Speaker 1: all family in France. So have you started looking at
Speaker 1: the Bengals defense? I know they sent rookies iPads with
Speaker 1: footage on it. Did you go right to work trying
Speaker 1: to learn some of the nuances. Yeah, for sure, Me
Speaker 1: and coach coach Rob the safetyes coach, we didn't met
Speaker 1: met met and then um, just kind of just getting
Speaker 1: the foundation of the defense and slowly start to just
Speaker 1: build off of that foundation that we said. Dak Hill
Speaker 1: is to your right. I think I'm sitting in Cam Taylor,
Speaker 1: the BRIT's chair here in the locker room. Have you
Speaker 1: guys started to bond the three rookie defensive backs that
Speaker 1: were selected this year. No, Yeah, we for sure starting
Speaker 1: to bond. Me and backs. We've been joking around, listen
Speaker 1: to music and just kind of just getting annoy each other.
Speaker 1: The last couple of days short, a couple of days
Speaker 1: we've don't be here, So yeah, we for sure to
Speaker 1: start the bond and kind of get to know each
Speaker 1: other and get a feel for each other. After you
Speaker 1: guys were drafted and we started reading about you and
Speaker 1: learning about you, the thing that stands out to me
Speaker 1: is just the first utility. It seems like all three
Speaker 1: of you guys could play about three or four positions. Yeah,
Speaker 1: for sure enough for all of us. We all play corner,
Speaker 1: we all can play nicol, we all have to play safety.
Speaker 1: So I mean, I just give our the defensive coaches
Speaker 1: more tools to work with and a little tool about.
Speaker 1: So you just want to add on to the great
Speaker 1: defensive gate Championship decents that they already got here and
Speaker 1: just continue to add value to ourselves for real in
Speaker 1: the AFC right now. In addition to Joe Burrow, you've
Speaker 1: got Patrick Mahomes, Joy Shall and Russell Wells and Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 1: The list goes on and on and on. Our defensive backs,
Speaker 1: like you, guys, what's required in this dand age? You know?
Speaker 1: I mean, you gotta be able to First, you gotta
Speaker 1: be able to run. You gotta be to move sidline
Speaker 1: to siline fast. You gotta be be versatile. You gotta
Speaker 1: beard of guard tight ends, you gotta rid of guard
Speaker 1: running backs. You got a bard of guard slot receivers,
Speaker 1: because I mean, we're playing a game of spread, spread,
Speaker 1: so the ball will get thrown around everywhere, and you
Speaker 1: gotta be able to tackle. So I mean, that's pretty
Speaker 1: much what we gotta do. We gotta be able to
Speaker 1: guard multiple positions or that's a big tight end or
Speaker 1: a five ten shifty receiver. We gotta be able to
Speaker 1: do it all. So that's kind of what the game's
Speaker 1: and revolved around and turned into. You'll be practicing with
Speaker 1: the Vets next week. What are you looking forward to
Speaker 1: about that? Just learning from him, for I'm just big
Speaker 1: on just kind of add tools in my tool box
Speaker 1: and all they some of them in the NFL for
Speaker 1: five years, three years, seven years, so just getting some
Speaker 1: knowledge from them and just trying to ask up tomorrow
Speaker 1: my little tool of tricks. All Right, you told the
Speaker 1: Sun draft night growing up in Toledo you're Steelers guy.
Speaker 1: As it started to change, it already changed, and we
Speaker 1: see in week one, so it's gonna be like a movie.
Speaker 1: For Yeah, when you saw that schedule come out home
Speaker 1: game against Pittsburgh in Week one, what was your reaction?
Speaker 1: But I was just kind of laughing for my friends
Speaker 1: and sent into the group message with like, dang, where
Speaker 1: you've been sharing for the stillers of whole life and
Speaker 1: now because we all on some of my friends Browns fans,
Speaker 1: some of them Ravens fans, so we all grew up
Speaker 1: like just talking to jump to each other. But now
Speaker 1: I'm a Benga, so that's all out the window now.
Speaker 1: So that's one of the That's the main thing that
Speaker 1: I remember, just my friends just talking jump now that
Speaker 1: I'm about to play the team I grew over before,
Speaker 1: my whole love five primetime games. Three more games. That's
Speaker 1: starting that big four twenty five in the afternoon window
Speaker 1: with huge TV audiences. How exciting was that when you
Speaker 1: saw the schedule come out? No, it was exciting, But
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, I'm just whatever. The
Speaker 1: time the game started don't matter. It's all about the
Speaker 1: how you prepare from Monday to Sunday, how you prepare
Speaker 1: for Sunday to Sunday. So don't the game time don't
Speaker 1: really matter. It's just all about how you prepare to
Speaker 1: lead up to the game. For Toledo's only a few
Speaker 1: hours away. Have you spent much time in Cincinnati before? Uh? No,
Speaker 1: I've been to Cincinnati one other time just to celebrate
Speaker 1: New Year's with my friends, and that's the only time
Speaker 1: I've been here. So I drove through because I got
Speaker 1: family in Looysville, Kentucky, So we drive through all the
Speaker 1: time I passed the stadium, but this is my first
Speaker 1: time being this close to the stadium obviously, So that's
Speaker 1: about the timeline has mentioned since when you drove by
Speaker 1: it on the bridge looking to the left in the past,
Speaker 1: did you think, man, I'd like to play in that
Speaker 1: place someday. I for sure thought it, but I didn't
Speaker 1: never never know my hard work, with hard work would
Speaker 1: leave me to where I'm at for real. Suit this
Speaker 1: is living out a dream for real. Is there anything
Speaker 1: about Cincinnati restaurant someplace to sightsee that you're looking forward
Speaker 1: to now that you're here? Just so far? And I
Speaker 1: was coming in the Cincinnati Zoo. I know the Clido Zoo.
Speaker 1: We got a real nice zoom and I like our zoo,
Speaker 1: so I want to see how it compared to the
Speaker 1: Solido Zoo. I've been there, to the Toledo z You
Speaker 1: do have a hell of a z Yeah, it's great,
Speaker 1: for sure, great we got Yeah, I ain't never been
Speaker 1: in other zoo, but they say our zoo is one
Speaker 1: of the best in the world, and I'm gonna compare it,
Speaker 1: so we go. See. I used to be a minor
Speaker 1: league baseball announcer. I've done many Toledo mud hand games
Speaker 1: in the past, but the Toledo Zoo you're right outstanding,
Speaker 1: and Cincinnati does have a very good one. Okay, we
Speaker 1: go see'na be there soon, Tyson. Welcome to Cincinnati. Congratulations
Speaker 1: and we look forward to seeing you play. Yes, sir,
Speaker 1: thank you. My fifth and final conversation is with the
Speaker 1: winner of the Patrick Mannelly Award last year. What's the
Speaker 1: Patrick Manneley Award? You say it goes to the best
Speaker 1: long snapper in college football? Cal Ada Midas was the
Speaker 1: long snapper at pit for the last five seasons and
Speaker 1: was the only long snapper invited to the Senior Bowl.
Speaker 1: Clark Harris has been the Bengals long snapper for thirteen
Speaker 1: years and has never had an unplayable snap. But he'll
Speaker 1: turn thirty eight in July and Adamidas will compete for
Speaker 1: the job in training camp. Cal welcome to Cincinnati and
Speaker 1: the rookie mini camp. How real does it seem now
Speaker 1: that you're in an NFL locker room and you're out
Speaker 1: there practicing of your fellow rookies today. Yeah, it's definitely
Speaker 1: a photo a lot more real today. It was good
Speaker 1: to get out there and actually start snapping some balls
Speaker 1: and put on a jersey and you know, lace the
Speaker 1: spikes up and get to work a little bit. You know,
Speaker 1: Coach Simmons is definitely seems like the best in the business.
Speaker 1: So I'm already learning a ton and just really excited
Speaker 1: to be out there getting to work. What have you
Speaker 1: heard about him, because obviously here in Cincinnati we regard
Speaker 1: him as arguably the best special teams coordinator in the NFL.
Speaker 1: But did you hear that in the pre draft process? Absolutely,
Speaker 1: you know, that's something it seems like the special teams
Speaker 1: coordinators in the NFL, it's a pretty tight knit community
Speaker 1: for the most part, and you know, across the board
Speaker 1: and you know, my agent as well, everyone knew coach
Speaker 1: Simmons and knew what he was about and definitely that
Speaker 1: he's a great guy to play for and a guy
Speaker 1: that I'm just going to learn a ton from. So
Speaker 1: it's definitely something I was aware of throughout the process.
Speaker 1: We're chatting with long snapper cal Adamitas. Based on everything
Speaker 1: I read, you were considered the top long snapper in
Speaker 1: the draft class this year. You're invited to the Senior Bowl.
Speaker 1: Did you expect to get drafted? You know, I was
Speaker 1: definitely hoping to Every kid dreams that hearing their name called,
Speaker 1: but you know, and going into college as a walk on.
Speaker 1: So I'm, you know, the undrafted free agent. That's the
Speaker 1: NFL equivalent of a you know, preferred walk on. So
Speaker 1: it worked once the first time, so I'm hoping it
Speaker 1: works again this time. And you know, it did work
Speaker 1: out great because it did give me the opportunity after
Speaker 1: the draft finished up to really look at my top
Speaker 1: options and see, you know, where it's going to be
Speaker 1: the best of it for me. And it was just
Speaker 1: a gut feeling about Cincinnati, you know, that was the
Speaker 1: talk I had with my agent as well. Um, there
Speaker 1: are other good options, but I just had a gut
Speaker 1: feeling and I knew coach Simmons was the best, so
Speaker 1: I wanted to be a part of it, elaborate on
Speaker 1: the gut feeling. Obviously, Clark has been very successful and
Speaker 1: has been here for a long time, but he is
Speaker 1: getting up there in years. Absolutely, I mean, he's he's
Speaker 1: absolutely one of the best guys in the NFL, if
Speaker 1: not the best, you can just see from his resume.
Speaker 1: So that's why it's great, you know, as a young
Speaker 1: snapper obviously I want to win that position. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: compete with him every day, but you know, to play
Speaker 1: with a guy like that, I'm gonna learn so much
Speaker 1: and you know, without a doubt, I'm going to improve,
Speaker 1: you know, tenfold by the time camp comes around, and
Speaker 1: by camps over even more so. So that's just a
Speaker 1: great opportunity to play with a guy like that. And
Speaker 1: then also just the culture that seems as being built
Speaker 1: here in Cincinnati is just exciting because that pit, you know,
Speaker 1: we we I feel like I took place in building
Speaker 1: a culture there, winning and you know, seeing this opportunity
Speaker 1: to come and be a part of something special here
Speaker 1: as well with a young explosive team just was a
Speaker 1: great opportunity. Darren told me he recruited you hard. Did
Speaker 1: it feel like that was the case? You know, I
Speaker 1: definitely got to spend a lot of time with him,
Speaker 1: which was something that really helped draw me here as well,
Speaker 1: because when it came to the other teams I was
Speaker 1: talking to, he was the one coordinator that I've spoken to,
Speaker 1: you know, in person and to him specifically, not just
Speaker 1: you know, assistance and whatnot, consistently throughout the process. And
Speaker 1: you know, the recruiting. Part of it's over now now,
Speaker 1: you know. Now I worked for him and I hope
Speaker 1: to you know, put food on his table. But it's
Speaker 1: an exciting thing to be a part of. How did
Speaker 1: you become a long snapper? Yeah, so I I was
Speaker 1: a tight end fullback in high school and then my
Speaker 1: senior year had a couple of injuries. I was being
Speaker 1: recruited as a you know, D one double, a maybe
Speaker 1: D two tight end type of guy. And then after
Speaker 1: a few injuries that kind of shut down that process.
Speaker 1: Pitt had given me a preferred walk on to snap
Speaker 1: there and kind of ran with that, and yeah, that
Speaker 1: was really And then give my dad credit. He was
Speaker 1: the one who first way back, you know, probably junior
Speaker 1: year of high school, said hey, you should learn to snap.
Speaker 1: This is something they're starting to put guys on scholarship
Speaker 1: to do. So get my dad credit for that. But
Speaker 1: also my tight end dreams getting shut down was another factor.
Speaker 1: So you are sporting a relatively short hair due these days.
Speaker 1: I've seen pictures from your pit days and I understand
Speaker 1: that when you had long hair you used it for
Speaker 1: a good cause. Can you explain what that was all about? Absolutely? So,
Speaker 1: with some of the you know name image likeness rule
Speaker 1: changes in the NC double A. I was able to
Speaker 1: take part in the fundraiser called Cow's Kids where we
Speaker 1: raised money for the fight against pediatric cancer with Children's
Speaker 1: Hospital of Pittsburgh and basically just put it out there.
Speaker 1: Are our media team at pitt did a great campaign
Speaker 1: and just really got the word out there and shoot
Speaker 1: children's hospitals definitely something that people always rally behind in
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh's as I'm sure they're doing in Cincinnati as well.
Speaker 1: And you know, it was great that we were having
Speaker 1: a great season as well, built the excitement around it.
Speaker 1: And it's crazy a few games there was like a
Speaker 1: twenty thousand dollars increase in donations just because we had
Speaker 1: a big win. So it's give a lot of credit
Speaker 1: to my teammates for helping us win ball games. That
Speaker 1: definitely helped raise money for a good cause. So you
Speaker 1: cut it and that helped raise six figures. Yeah, so
Speaker 1: we reached my goal of ninety four thousand dollars and
Speaker 1: after the season we cut my hair, but the final
Speaker 1: tally was one hundred twenty one thousand. If I had hair,
Speaker 1: I'd be happy to give it for a similar cause,
Speaker 1: So is there anything about Cincinnati that you're looking forward
Speaker 1: to seeing, a restaurant that you've heard about, a destination,
Speaker 1: anything now that you're here. Absolutely well, you know, I've
Speaker 1: definitely heard of Skyline Chili. I've heard a Greater's ice
Speaker 1: Cream as well, So need to definitely try those both out. Um,
Speaker 1: But also have a good friend back it was a
Speaker 1: part of my church in Pittsburgh who's from since and
Speaker 1: he's definitely gonna show me around town and and you know,
Speaker 1: help you get me acquainted. So looking forward to spend
Speaker 1: some time with him and just getting to know all
Speaker 1: the guys here as well that are here for you know,
Speaker 1: the summer and getting ready for the season. Now, welcome
Speaker 1: to Cincinnati. Best of luck, Thank you, Hude. Hell's Jude
Speaker 1: is the perfect way to wrap up this edition of
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Speaker 1: to the Bengals Booth podcast