WEBVTT - #279 Packers Unscripted: More combine chatter 0:00:00.840 --> 0:00:20.599 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.680 I am Mike Spofford. He is wes hodka Witz. We're 0:00:23.720 --> 0:00:26.760 coming to you here from our studios at lambeau Field 0:00:27.000 --> 0:00:30.520 and West. Still plenty of items from the Scouting Combine 0:00:30.560 --> 0:00:33.040 to talk about our long trip from last week. We 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:35.920 obviously covered a lot of topics while we were there, 0:00:35.920 --> 0:00:38.440 but still more to talk about since we've been back, 0:00:38.520 --> 0:00:40.720 and the one we definitely have to hit on is 0:00:40.880 --> 0:00:45.280 the linebacker from u c F, Shaq Griffin. I don't 0:00:45.320 --> 0:00:50.680 remember there ever being a story this good from the combine. 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:52.680 I mean, what this guy is doing and the fact 0:00:52.680 --> 0:00:54.760 that he almost wasn't even invited to be there, and 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:57.600 yet he ends up becoming the story of the week 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:01.320 in Indie. H just remarkable. What what Shack Griffin is 0:01:01.360 --> 0:01:04.800 doing here. Three week reasons why I love this story. One, 0:01:04.840 --> 0:01:07.000 I mean, if you if you know anything about him, 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:09.319 he does not have a left hand. When he was 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:12.679 four years old, he was born with a condition that 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:15.280 caused great amount of pain in it, you know, under 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:18.360 development it. Eventually they had it amputated when he was 0:01:18.400 --> 0:01:23.639 four years old. His twin brother, Quill is already playing 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:25.960 for the Seattle Seahawks. He was a draft pick last year, 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:29.680 and it's funny just hearing their banter back and forth 0:01:29.680 --> 0:01:33.360 in chakuom Shack. He actually was like tweeting out right 0:01:33.400 --> 0:01:35.640 after he ran the forty and four point three eight, 0:01:35.680 --> 0:01:37.479 he's somebody needs to do like one of those synchronized 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:39.800 things where it's me versus my brother. I mean, his 0:01:40.000 --> 0:01:43.720 personality is just remarkable. It's off the charts. He was, 0:01:43.800 --> 0:01:46.720 by far, I think, the most compelling guy at the podium, 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:49.760 and he talked with the media before he even went 0:01:50.120 --> 0:01:51.920 and did that forty. It was after he did the 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:55.000 twenty bench reps using a kind of a prosthetic that 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:58.080 helped him with that as well. He wanted to do 0:01:58.240 --> 0:02:01.840 six his max was eleven. He did, and and the 0:02:01.920 --> 0:02:04.120 thing I think that that ties this all together, that 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:06.920 just makes it such an incredible story, is the fact 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:09.959 that he said, you know, his whole goal through this thing. 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:12.600 People say, well, you can't do this, you can't do that. 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:15.320 You can't play in the NFL with one arm one hand, 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:17.600 Well you, And then his rebuttal to that was, well 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:19.520 you can't play in the NFL with two hands. What 0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:22.360 does that say about you, I mean the journey this 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:24.560 young man has been on to get to this point 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:26.600 and then to show out the way he did during 0:02:26.600 --> 0:02:30.240 the combine. I I don't know, you'd have to go back. 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:33.360 I'm sure there's something in history that has been up 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:35.280 there with it. But this is one of the most 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:37.840 compelling things that I've that I've seen in my And 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.000 you know, these guys, these young guys, they all get 0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:42.600 excited for the combine. Everybody's got the nerves going, you 0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:45.680 got the adrenaline going. But you just wonder how much 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:48.480 adrenaline is going through Shatt Griffin when, as you said, 0:02:48.560 --> 0:02:51.880 his previous max on the bench was eleven reps of 0:02:51.880 --> 0:02:55.040 two pounds and he did twenty. And then he goes 0:02:55.080 --> 0:02:57.360 out there for his first forty yard dash and runs 0:02:57.360 --> 0:02:59.799 a four three eight And just to put that in perspective, 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:04.000 that's the fastest combine forty yard dash time by a 0:03:04.040 --> 0:03:07.000 linebacker in fifteen years. Two thousand and three was the 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:11.400 last time that somebody a linebacker ran a sub for four. 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:15.560 So it's it's amazing. This guy almost wasn't invited to 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:19.000 the combine. He was a late invite, and everybody's talking about, oh, 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:21.200 somebody will take a chance on him in the sixth 0:03:21.280 --> 0:03:23.959 or seventh round of the draft. Now you start to wonder, 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:26.639 you know, could he actually be drafted on the second 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:28.760 day of the draft, maybe maybe as high as a 0:03:28.880 --> 0:03:31.240 third rounder, which when you look at his tape, you 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:33.360 look at the college tape and what he's done, I 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:35.480 know they're going to be questions. I raised him on 0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:37.760 on an earlier show before he had gone through all 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:41.040 these workouts at the combine. He only he only has 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:44.080 the one hand. You're trying, you're talking about trying to 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:46.720 tackle a guy like a se Kwan Barkley, who is 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:50.600 as dynamic and athlete to to come through the draft. 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.280 He's going to be probably the number one overall pick, 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:56.480 but certainly within the top two or three picks. How 0:03:56.520 --> 0:04:00.200 does the guy missing a hand, missing the lower part 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:02.880 of one arm tackle a guy like say Kwan Barkley 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:06.520 in the open field. But you know, I'm not saying that, 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:08.400 I'm I'm not saying that I'm trying to throw out 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:10.720 all these doubts about him. I'm kind of done doubting. 0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:13.040 I mean, now it's like I want to see it 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:15.160 get out there and play. Let's go seriously, after that 0:04:15.200 --> 0:04:17.200 I mean, how but how can anybody doubt him. I mean, 0:04:17.240 --> 0:04:19.000 it's not like he just tested out the world too. 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:20.960 He was incredibly productive. I think he was a former 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:24.520 Defensive Player of the Year in the American Athletic Conference too. 0:04:24.560 --> 0:04:26.440 I mean, this is a guy that has been productive 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:29.839 at every level of football he's played. The reason I'm 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:31.760 really happy that he was able to get to the 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:35.080 combine is it's a leving level playing field. Whatever you 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:38.000 want to say about what these numbers mean, how much 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:40.760 it really translates to football, you can have that debate. 0:04:41.240 --> 0:04:44.680 But there's a difference, Michael, between doing this in Indianapolis 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:47.800 and doing this at UCFS pro day, because if it 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:50.560 happens at a pro day, people are always like, yeah, 0:04:50.720 --> 0:04:53.640 who is timing it? It's not automatic. I mean things, 0:04:54.080 --> 0:04:56.680 you know, the old Ohio State effect on forty times. 0:04:56.680 --> 0:04:59.479 I mean stuff like that, this guy did it, and 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:01.160 he didn't front of the scouts. He did in front 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:04.080 of NFL personnel people. And if he's willing and he's 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:07.600 able to do this in the highest pressure packed situation, 0:05:07.839 --> 0:05:09.359 a player is going to find himself in the pre 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:12.120 draft process. What's this guy gonna do when he's on 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:14.960 the field on Sunday. Yeah, what's your sense of where 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:17.240 he might go in the draft now? Is he still 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:19.719 is it still just going to be at the end 0:05:19.760 --> 0:05:22.480 of the day a six seventh round pick, the shine 0:05:22.520 --> 0:05:25.640 from the combine all wear off, or are these workout? 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:27.800 Is is this going to propel him up to either 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:30.920 be an early Day three pick or possibly even a 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:33.680 late Day two picks. Well, first off, I think what 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:36.719 this did is it definitely guarantees he's getting drafted. I 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:39.239 think there was some question about if you could potentially 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:40.840 be a late rounder, if he's gonna be a priority 0:05:40.839 --> 0:05:43.520 free agent, just because it concerns that you just outlined 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:45.880 he's definitely getting picked. Now. He talked about what that 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:48.320 moment's gonna be like for him, how his brother was 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:51.080 all calm and collected. He's not going to be like that. 0:05:51.200 --> 0:05:53.240 Whenever it happens, He's going to be through the roof. 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:55.680 There will be no I don't want to say no humility, 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:58.800 but there's definitely gonna be no hiding his emotions. Now, 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:01.560 the question is where is going to be Uh, That's 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:03.920 something that NFL executives are going to have to answer. 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:08.000 It's tough. Mike second day Draft picks second and third round. 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:10.200 It's tough to get into that category. You've got to 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:12.359 be one of the top hundred prospects in the draft 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:14.400 to do it. I think it definitely is going to 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:17.200 put him in that conversation for fifth and six. But 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:20.119 you see it every year, man, there's always one team 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:21.839 that finds a player they like and they're willing to 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:23.679 take him a little earlier, and he could potentially sneak 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:25.680 into those middle rounds. I think that you see f 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:27.400 pro day is probably gonna go a long way and 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:30.200 determining invalidating a lot of the things that he did 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:32.120 at the combine. Yeah, if he can, if he can 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:34.119 match some of those things that he did, at least 0:06:34.120 --> 0:06:36.440 not fall off in terms of the testing where it 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:38.880 isn't just oh he had all this adrenaline going, you know, 0:06:38.920 --> 0:06:42.040 and whatnot? He does that again. Yeah, but a great 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:44.839 story for sure. With that, excuse me, we'll toss to 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:47.320 a break back with more on Packers Unscripted. Read after this. 0:07:04.320 --> 0:07:07.960 Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford here, Wes Hodkuwitz 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:10.400 over there, and weston one of our shows from Indie. 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:13.960 We talked quite a bit about the Wisconsin Badgers top 0:07:14.000 --> 0:07:17.280 tight end Troy fu mcgali. He's considered, you know, a 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:19.760 mid round draft pick, I guess I would say in 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:24.320 this upcoming draft. But he was one of six Wisconsin 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:28.200 Badgers at the Combine, and three of those other five 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:32.480 are all linebackers. And I'm talking about Jack Sitchy, Leon Jacobs, 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:35.040 and Garrett Dooley. You had a chance to sit down 0:07:35.040 --> 0:07:38.240 with them when they met with the media. Sounded like 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:42.200 three old college teammates who were enjoying a little reunion 0:07:42.600 --> 0:07:45.160 off the football field. Yeah, first and foremost, if Garrett 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:47.520 Dooley can find his way to Green Bay, Wisconsin after 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:50.760 this draft process, I know the media would be very happy. Really, 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:53.560 I've by far probably one of my favorite interviews at 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:56.600 the Combine. Just a very gregarious guy came the long 0:07:56.720 --> 0:07:58.440 way to get to where he is, which is a 0:07:58.440 --> 0:08:00.760 common theme, it seems like with a lot of these 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:04.280 Badger's prospects. But what the NFL actually did on Saturday, 0:08:04.320 --> 0:08:06.440 they put them all at the same table, Leon Jacob, 0:08:06.480 --> 0:08:09.560 Scarrett Dooley, Jack Cichy. They were all there, um and 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:11.920 there's only so many media people from Green Bay, so 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:13.920 you pretty much got one on one time with all 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:15.800 of them if you wanted them. Uh. And it was 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:18.880 interesting going back with Dooley and in replaying this past 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:21.040 season and what it was like for them and what 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:24.000 those linebackers and what that defense went through when it 0:08:24.120 --> 0:08:26.760 was told to them that Jack Cichy would miss the 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:30.280 season with that torn a c L a deflating moment 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:34.280 for those guys, and really, uh, it took time, he said, 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:36.120 It took a good week for them to really compose 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:38.400 themselves again and be like, all right, we're not gonna 0:08:38.400 --> 0:08:40.640 have our leader, We're not going to have that emotional 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:42.680 presence out there on the field. We all have to 0:08:42.720 --> 0:08:45.160 elevate our games. And you're talking about a defense that 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:48.160 was already preparing because they weren't going to have Vince 0:08:48.160 --> 0:08:50.400 Bagel and t J. Watt at two of those key 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:53.280 linebacker spots because they had been drafted. And then all 0:08:53.320 --> 0:08:56.360 of a sudden, the bell Cow guy you know coming 0:08:56.400 --> 0:08:58.839 back was Jack Cichy and now he's out as well. Yeah, 0:08:58.880 --> 0:09:00.959 And Citchi even said to it was difficult for him. 0:09:00.960 --> 0:09:03.520 His dad actually got him a journal right after the 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:05.560 injury happened, and that allowed him to gather some of 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:06.800 his thoughts and he said that was one of the 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:08.640 things that end up leading to him writing that Players 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:11.960 Tribute piece, kind of reflecting on his time in Madison, 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:14.559 the fact he only did play twenty four games due 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:17.600 to injury, but Sichi ended up becoming basically a pseudo 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:20.680 coach with the defensive staff throughout the course of this season, 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:23.720 and you saw guys like Dooley who a year earlier 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:26.960 had started his first game in the big house, uh, 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:29.000 you know, and and really had to just kind of 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:31.920 find his way as a starting outside linebacker. He has 0:09:31.960 --> 0:09:34.720 seven and a half sacks to lead the defense during 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:38.559 his final year. Leon Jacobs, which basically played every position 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:41.800 that the badgress could offer him throughout his five years 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:46.120 and including fullback. Well, he ends up moving in starting 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:49.679 outside linebacker opposite Dully and is pretty productive there. The 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:52.839 numbers sacks wise probably weren't there, but his athleticism is 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:55.199 through the roof, and Dully even said he's the kind 0:09:55.200 --> 0:09:57.480 of guy that's just built in a lab, which ended 0:09:57.559 --> 0:09:59.880 up being pretty much proven correct with the reps that 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:01.440 he did on the bench. I think it was twenty 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:03.920 six and then also his forty time, which was sub 0:10:03.960 --> 0:10:06.840 four or five. A lot of athleticism there. So all 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:09.640 these guys are trying to now make their way in 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:12.760 the NFL and find a way into that conversation. But 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:15.319 one thing that definitely helped them, they said after being 0:10:15.360 --> 0:10:17.920 away from each other for really two months after they 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:20.160 got done with that Bowl game, getting back together, being 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:22.679 able to rekindle a lot of those relationships, and as 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:25.240 Dooley said, to be able to be in Indianapolis trying 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:28.400 to really audition for an NFL team, There's no way 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:30.480 better way to do it than with your best friends. Yeah. 0:10:30.520 --> 0:10:32.800 And two other Badgers who were at the combine both 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:36.960 defensive backs, cornerback Nick Nelson and safety Natrelle Jamerson. But 0:10:37.000 --> 0:10:41.600 I think the most maybe intriguing one other than Fumgali 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:45.120 with with his pedigree and what he accomplished over his 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:47.920 career heading into the draft, the intriguing one to me 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:50.720 is sitchy. And I'm not saying that. You know, he 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:53.880 would have been talked about, you know, like a Miles Jack, 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:56.400 one of these top linebackers who then you know, had 0:10:56.440 --> 0:10:58.720 this serious knee injury and then you wonder where his 0:10:58.800 --> 0:11:02.600 draft stock is. But he didn't really get a chance 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:06.000 to be the guy at Wisconsin. You know, as I mentioned, 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:08.880 Vince Bagel and t J. Watt both get drafted, and 0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:11.200 and you know, two thousand seventeen was supposed to be 0:11:11.280 --> 0:11:13.920 Jack Cichy as the center of attention, so to speak, 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:17.240 on a very good Wisconsin defense, and that didn't happen. 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:20.840 So you just wonder, you wonder what that does. You know, 0:11:21.160 --> 0:11:24.000 I would I would have thought, uh, you know, for 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:26.720 whatever my opinion is worth that Jack Cichy, if everything 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:31.679 goes according to plan in he's probably a mid round 0:11:31.760 --> 0:11:34.920 draft pick now coming with the injury and everything. You 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:37.360 wonder if he's going to get drafted, will somebody take 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:39.320 a flyer on him, so to speak, in the sixth 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:42.280 or the seventh round. But there's one thing, one thing 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:45.320 about him, you know, with what he's done and coming 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:47.920 back from the knee injury and everything, he's certainly it's 0:11:47.920 --> 0:11:49.600 certainly not going to be for a lack of effort 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:52.000 and a lack of work. He's done what it takes 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:54.440 to to try to put himself in the best position possible. 0:11:54.600 --> 0:11:57.720 As Julie said, people gravitate towards him, whether he was 0:11:57.760 --> 0:11:59.559 acting as a coach, whether he was on the field, 0:11:59.559 --> 0:12:01.920 whatever he was doing people wanted to be like Jack Cichy, 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:03.559 and it's the reason why I dually said if he 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:06.000 could take any teammate into the NFL with him, it 0:12:06.000 --> 0:12:08.199 would for sure be Citchy. Now I was talking with 0:12:08.280 --> 0:12:10.120 him a little bit, he mentioned he feels like he's 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:14.000 right now. He's hoping to Actually he only really did 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:16.200 the bench press at the combine. I think he did 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:18.240 nineteen reps of that. He's hoping to be able to 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:20.920 do more drills during the Wisconsin Pro Day, which will 0:12:20.920 --> 0:12:23.640 be coming up later this month. He estimated that he's 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:25.840 not that far away from being able to run potentially 0:12:25.840 --> 0:12:28.839 of forty, but only time will tell. His biggest goal 0:12:29.280 --> 0:12:32.520 is basically by mid May end in May, to be 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:34.880 ready to go and to be able to start contributing 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:37.800 uh and once training camp comes around, show that he's 0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:40.360 he's going to be healthy. The one benefit, it's an 0:12:40.360 --> 0:12:43.000 incredibly big silver lining, but the fact it did happen 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:45.680 in August, it's given him seven months to recover and 0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:48.440 and hopefully for his perspective, can keep him in the 0:12:48.440 --> 0:12:50.960 conversation for playing this season. Yeah. Well, one of these 0:12:51.200 --> 0:12:54.400 Wisconsin Badger stories very interesting to follow. But with that 0:12:54.480 --> 0:12:56.160 we will throw it to a break back with more 0:12:56.200 --> 0:13:18.000 on Packers Unscripted right after this. Welcome back to Packer's Unscripted. 0:13:18.040 --> 0:13:20.679 Mike Spofford next to West, hod Kwits and West. I 0:13:20.720 --> 0:13:22.240 know in our last show we talked quite a bit 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:26.079 about the cornerback position, but we didn't address the safeties, 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:28.520 and I think it's worth mentioning a couple of these guys, 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:30.800 especially the ones who were being talked about at the 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:34.240 top of the draft, because it's almost as though they're 0:13:34.280 --> 0:13:37.520 not safeties anymore there. You know, when you're talking about 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:42.000 Alabama's Minca Fitzpatrick, Florida States Derwin James, probably the first 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:43.880 two safeties that are going to go off the board, 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:48.640 you're talking about super versatile, hybrid type players. They can 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:50.960 play deep safety, they can play in the box, they 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:54.480 can play slot cornerback. I'm sure the hybrid linebacker thing 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:57.880 would would be right up there, Alley. You know, they 0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:00.280 can blitz off the edge if called upon, They can 0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:03.520 cover one on one, whether it's tight ends or wide receivers. 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:07.280 These guys are are the type that are becoming incredibly 0:14:07.400 --> 0:14:10.960 valuable in the NFL. And you can see just you know, 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:13.800 not just because of the athletic ability, but overall their 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:16.280 what they show on tape and all these different things 0:14:16.320 --> 0:14:18.880 that they do for their college teams and for their 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:21.800 college defenses. It just it just elevates their draft stock. 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:25.000 I mean both Fitzpatrick and James. You're talking about potential 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:27.520 top ten picks here. Yeah, and for that reason, because 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:30.400 versatility and those hybrid traits are so difficult to find, 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:32.680 and being able to have people that not only can 0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:35.840 do that athletically but understand all those different concepts and 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:38.400 in various things are being asked to him. Fitzpatrick has 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:40.640 a really good background in this. I mean he had 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:42.480 to already do some of this in his jew. You know, 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:44.480 the year before, which I believe would be a sophomore 0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:48.520 year at Alabama, Eddie Jackson goes down. He was playing star. 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:51.240 Then he has to go and play safety. This year, 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:53.880 they just played him everywhere that they wanted to. Uh. 0:14:53.880 --> 0:14:56.720 He has great speed, great intangibles, and a real knack 0:14:56.760 --> 0:14:58.640 for football. I mean the Scutting report I saw. I 0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:01.840 think with NFL draft scout loves ball, lives ball was 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:04.080 their number one strength with him, and you could get 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:05.600 a sense of that you were talking to him. I mean, 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:09.040 how much it really means to him to play this game. 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:11.400 And you look at it league wide. Now, Mike the 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:13.640 top defense in the league. They have somebody like that, 0:15:13.720 --> 0:15:16.520 the Tyron Matthews, I mean, the Mike, the Mark Barrens, 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:20.760 just guys that do everything for a defense in Fitzpatrick 0:15:20.840 --> 0:15:23.160 and and obviously a lot of these guys have these traits, 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:25.040 but it really is the golden era I think for 0:15:25.080 --> 0:15:27.520 safety is being able to have this amount of versatility, 0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:30.240 and not only that but also value. Now. Yeah, and 0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:32.120 and that that's what I mean when I talk about 0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:34.880 the value because in a sense, what we're seeing in 0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:37.080 terms of the draft stock of players like this is 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:41.200 it's a shift. Obviously, there's value in versatility because because 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:43.800 of injuries, out of necessity, you know, coaches love to 0:15:43.840 --> 0:15:46.920 be able to move different guys around. These type of guys, 0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:49.920 we're not talking about, you know, versatility just for the 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:53.520 sake of versatility. We're talking about them being a defensive 0:15:53.560 --> 0:15:56.520 coordinator's chess piece on the board, sort of like Clay 0:15:56.560 --> 0:16:00.160 Matthews is sometimes for the Packers. Certain pass rushers become, um, 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:03.960 you know, those chess pieces for defensive coordinators. These hyper 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:07.240 athletic safeties for for lack of a better phrase, these 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:09.920 are the guys who might be developing into those those 0:16:10.000 --> 0:16:12.880 next those next chess pieces for de coordinators, don't you 0:16:12.920 --> 0:16:16.000 think quivocally? And then looking at Derwin James stats, just 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:19.760 bringing them up four point seven forty four point four 0:16:19.920 --> 0:16:23.600 seven forty four seven will be a little different UHT 0:16:23.960 --> 0:16:26.160 vertical twenty one reps on the bench press? Are you 0:16:26.280 --> 0:16:30.240 kidding for a safety for for a guy that's six three? Yeah, 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:32.200 I mean that's gonna get a lot of teams thinking 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:34.600 and being able to find these type of guys and 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:37.280 develop them. It's not easy, you know, it's gonna take 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:39.480 some time, and sometimes guys are able to come in 0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:41.880 and adapt to it sooner than others. But with both 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:44.480 of them coming from these Power five conferences and in 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:47.560 programs that have such a history in developing these kind 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:49.160 of players, I think it's going to help them out 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:51.480 in the long run. But I think hearing both of 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:53.560 them talk and hearing a lot of these safeties talk 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:56.480 this week, and every single person is selling themselves on 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:58.760 being able to play both safety spots, being able to 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:01.280 play the slot cornerback positions, and if you need me 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:03.960 in the box, I'll be there. It's just that those 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:07.280 type of intangibles that when you look now and you 0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:09.199 get a prospect, you have a guy come in, you 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:11.119 don't just have to say, all right, well he feels 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:14.639 that whole that's where he's gonna play, No, because sometimes 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:17.440 you have a Morgan Burnett already there ha ha, Clinton Dick. 0:17:17.520 --> 0:17:20.080 Sometimes guys need to do other things. And I think 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:22.160 that's one of the things that makes it most enticing 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:24.320 to look at these type of players is because it 0:17:24.400 --> 0:17:26.840 isn't just one position, it's four or five. Yeah, no 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:28.840 doubt about it. With that, we're gonna go to another 0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:31.399 break back with more on Packers Unscripted right after this 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:53.040 Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford in this chair, 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:55.239 West Hodkowitz in that one, and West before we go 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:57.399 another defensive back, and I don't mean to beat the 0:17:57.440 --> 0:18:01.040 subject to death, but yeah, another guy that we do 0:18:01.119 --> 0:18:04.680 need to talk about, though, and that is Duke Dawson 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:10.000 from the University of Florida, Gainesville, the Gators and maybe 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:13.760 a name that that fans don't necessarily recognize, but there's 0:18:13.800 --> 0:18:17.200 a pretty neat Packer connection with with Mr Dawson. Tell 0:18:17.240 --> 0:18:20.600 Us about there is he's god brothers with Nick Collins, 0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:24.560 the former Packers safety, three time Pro bowler, obviously was 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:27.239 on his way to having a pretty you can make 0:18:27.280 --> 0:18:29.639 an argument for a Hall of Fame type career at 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:31.760 the time of that neck injury. But he's grown up 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:34.960 with Nick Collins in his life. He basically considers him 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:38.320 his blood brother. With just how close their families are. 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:41.400 I believe the tie in is that his mother or 0:18:41.440 --> 0:18:44.000 collins mother is his godmother. I forget all that works, 0:18:44.040 --> 0:18:46.879 but regardless, this is a guy that has trained with 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:49.600 Nick Collins. He watched every single one of his games 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:52.360 when he played from the Packers from beginning, middle and end, 0:18:52.680 --> 0:18:55.560 and obviously that includes Super Bowl forty five, which is 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:59.320 one of probably the marquis moments of Collins' career. Doubt 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:01.560 and he he joked about this too a little bit 0:19:01.560 --> 0:19:03.840 because his original plan when he was getting ready to 0:19:03.840 --> 0:19:05.720 go out and you know, attempt to you know, make 0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:08.280 this a college career, he was thinking he might end 0:19:08.359 --> 0:19:10.520 up at like a one double a school like Collins did, 0:19:10.560 --> 0:19:13.240 like a Bethune Cookman or something like that. And then 0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:16.760 the big school started calling the Alabama's the big schools 0:19:16.800 --> 0:19:19.440 in the South. He also joked that his whole goal 0:19:19.480 --> 0:19:21.240 in life when he was younger, as he always wanted 0:19:21.240 --> 0:19:23.000 to play at Florida State. I don't know if he 0:19:23.000 --> 0:19:24.760 looked at his bio or not, like he played at 0:19:24.760 --> 0:19:27.520 Florida instead, had a chance to go down there, visit 0:19:27.560 --> 0:19:30.879 that campus and decided to switch his allegiances and it 0:19:30.880 --> 0:19:32.560 turned out pretty well for him during his time with 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:35.200 the Gators. Yeah, what what are you hearing? What's the 0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:38.960 scuttle butt so to speak on just how highly rated 0:19:38.960 --> 0:19:41.360 a prospect here? Yeah, So what's interesting is he's kind 0:19:41.359 --> 0:19:43.399 of similar that he plays a much he has he 0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:46.400 said he plays a much different position from from Collins, 0:19:46.640 --> 0:19:48.840