Speaker 1: We're presented by went Bett. Betty is the team sport
Speaker 1: bet together at went Back. Eric Ellen here inside at
Speaker 1: the studio, joined by New Jet safety Jordan's Whitehead. How
Speaker 1: has the adjustment been going coming back to the Northeast.
Speaker 1: You know it's been it's been pretty good. Um, being
Speaker 1: in New York, it's uh, it's a different Like I'm
Speaker 1: from Pittsburgh. It's a little difference, bigger. Um, it's a
Speaker 1: lot more people. You know, the fan base is crazy. Um,
Speaker 1: but you know, becoming part of this defense, just like
Speaker 1: what I've been getting used to with the coaches and
Speaker 1: you know, a gatting used to the players. We've been
Speaker 1: communicating and trying to you know, get on the same page.
Speaker 1: And I've been having a lot of fun, you know
Speaker 1: with the guys on the back end and um, you
Speaker 1: know c J and Quincy just kind of just running
Speaker 1: the thing in the middle. Uh. It's been really exciting
Speaker 1: just to see the similarities, Um, of the great defenses
Speaker 1: that we could be. I love that you just said
Speaker 1: the fan base is crazy. What do you know about them?
Speaker 1: And why are you already saying well, starting off my
Speaker 1: first event when we did uh Draft night, I think
Speaker 1: you had the stadium Draft night. Um, you just had
Speaker 1: you had the Giants and Jets fans in the stadium,
Speaker 1: but how crazy like the Jets fans coming up, how
Speaker 1: many people there were, Um, just for that night. It
Speaker 1: was just like you know, you get that in college.
Speaker 1: You had a little signing events during camping all that things.
Speaker 1: But it was a lot of fans and just a
Speaker 1: lot of people that knew who you were. Especially for
Speaker 1: me and DJ sitting next to each other coming in
Speaker 1: New had a lot of love for us. What do
Speaker 1: you think about the talent on the field that you've
Speaker 1: seen here the spring, because he talked to the media
Speaker 1: not too long ago and you said this could be
Speaker 1: one of the best secondaries I've played on the national
Speaker 1: football Like, oh yeah, when I said that, I really
Speaker 1: meant it. Just because Um, the death that we have
Speaker 1: here at safety for sure, Um. And then just knowing
Speaker 1: the corners we had brought, you know, two corners in um,
Speaker 1: DJ Reid, who had been playing amazing in the last
Speaker 1: couple of years in the NFL, and then you draft
Speaker 1: the player at number four saw us. You know, it's
Speaker 1: just a lot of You've got a lot of confidence
Speaker 1: with that. And then you have Bryce Hall got a
Speaker 1: lot of reps last year, a lot of good snaps. Um,
Speaker 1: it's just like just you feel good going in the
Speaker 1: game where you know you can have three solid quarters
Speaker 1: right now that that has starting, Um experiencing Brice and
Speaker 1: then saw U. This young guy, but he's ready to work.
Speaker 1: He's the fourth pit. He better be ready to you know,
Speaker 1: playing he is. He's been showing a lot um and
Speaker 1: pressing guys up and making a lot of plays. So
Speaker 1: what's the story behind number six? Because we're just talking
Speaker 1: about it before. I look at the defensive backfield now
Speaker 1: and it's almost all single digits across the board. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So my favorite numbers three. That goes back to when
Speaker 1: I was a little young little league and then I
Speaker 1: got to college and three was taken, so I went
Speaker 1: to nine. Um, so fast forward to now upside down
Speaker 1: to nine and six you know, so that's kind of
Speaker 1: where I'm at now. It's a multiple three. Um, I
Speaker 1: was thirty three but I was taking so it's just
Speaker 1: kind of sixes. I like six too, so it's a
Speaker 1: good solid number. Yeah, it's gonna ask you that look good,
Speaker 1: feel good right for sure? And when you're taking a
Speaker 1: look at yourself as far as a photograph or maybe
Speaker 1: in video. We're putting them up, putting up some highlights.
Speaker 1: What do you think about the six? I'm loving it.
Speaker 1: My friends hit me back home like you look good
Speaker 1: in the six, and I'm like, I wish I had three,
Speaker 1: but the six has grown on me. Yeah. And there
Speaker 1: is somebody who wears thirty three here with the Jets. Yeah.
Speaker 1: If you talk about not approaching him right going with
Speaker 1: a new number. So I had asked him, but he
Speaker 1: said it was a childhood number. So I respected that. Um,
Speaker 1: that's kind of the field. I was going forward three,
Speaker 1: But I respect somebody that says a childhood number really
Speaker 1: means a lot to them. Um. Can you talk about
Speaker 1: the dogs in the secondary? You mentioned DJ and m MOD.
Speaker 1: DJ seems like a real intense dude, no matter what's
Speaker 1: gonna happen, right right. Yeah. You know DJ at to
Speaker 1: every play, he's correcting it or he's I'm gonna make
Speaker 1: the next play like that's just his mindset. Um, he
Speaker 1: shows it every day. Um, and just watching him from
Speaker 1: the past, you know, I used to keep up with
Speaker 1: a lot of dbs around the lead and just I
Speaker 1: used to see him making a lot of plays. Like
Speaker 1: he's like me, not a big, super big guy, but
Speaker 1: he's scrappy and he's all he's fighting every Why is
Speaker 1: he effective on the outside because Jordan's most guys who
Speaker 1: are five ft nine playing cornerback in the National Football League.
Speaker 1: You know, people are gonna say he's got to be
Speaker 1: an inside guy, right yeah, just um, you know he
Speaker 1: got the mindset for sure, but then his quickness and
Speaker 1: his ability to just cover and um, you know his spinash.
Speaker 1: He he doesn't give up on plays. That's gonna take
Speaker 1: him a long way. He understands the game. You're very smart.
Speaker 1: So that's probably helping him a lot too because he
Speaker 1: comes to me with you know, that's like safety is
Speaker 1: usually go to the corners. He's coming to me. Um,
Speaker 1: just every day there's something new. So so C. J.
Speaker 1: Mosley was Mosley was sitting in the seat not too
Speaker 1: long ago doing a podcast and I brought up Sauce
Speaker 1: and he said, we're calling on my mind? What do
Speaker 1: you what do you call on him? So mars his name.
Speaker 1: They can play on Sunday. But but size or Ama.
Speaker 1: He made a couple of plays this past week. Um,
Speaker 1: and he's just shown what he's capable of one, so
Speaker 1: that's his standard. And um, once he makes some more
Speaker 1: players doing camp, he's gonna get that that nickname Sauce
Speaker 1: from the whole team. So maybe you we'll start calling
Speaker 1: him Sauce. So you guys might calm Sauce Week one
Speaker 1: against the Baltimore Ravens September eleven, in which will be
Speaker 1: a frenzied environment Life Stadium. What do you like about him?
Speaker 1: Coming out number four overall selection? So he's gonna have
Speaker 1: a lot of pressure on him externally. Um, but people
Speaker 1: talk about, yes, he's got swagger, but he's also soaking things.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, that's one thing about him. He's uh, he's
Speaker 1: very like football savvy. Um, he got that confidence. Just
Speaker 1: that's him. You look at him, you tell he got confidence.
Speaker 1: But he's very knowledgeable. He's coachable. Um from me, I'm
Speaker 1: telling him something that I think and he's I got
Speaker 1: you in the next play. He's doing it so not
Speaker 1: just from what I've seen I know in the meeting rooms.
Speaker 1: I'm not with him all the time, but I'm sure
Speaker 1: he's just he's soaking up information. The way he's playing,
Speaker 1: you could tell that he's been studying. Um, he's picking
Speaker 1: up very fast. What's unique about him in terms of
Speaker 1: not just what he brings to the table physically, but
Speaker 1: also the intangibles. Yeah yeah, like his size, Um, you know,
Speaker 1: superpower like they were saying, that's what Coach Alla says
Speaker 1: is pressing, Like get on the line of scrimmage, you
Speaker 1: get a guy on the line, get up during pressing.
Speaker 1: That's your superpower. So just I would say for him
Speaker 1: for that, that's gonna be his advantage. You know, he's
Speaker 1: gonna do a great job of pressing guys up and
Speaker 1: just letting him know that this is his island over there. Okay,
Speaker 1: so we know cornerback got a lot better here in
Speaker 1: the off season. Safety tremendous facelift and you're at the
Speaker 1: center of that. What do you want to say about
Speaker 1: this group that people don't know? Right? Um? So, and
Speaker 1: coming in I didn't really um know too much yes
Speaker 1: about you know them Jet safety play just from being
Speaker 1: what Tampa on my own team. Um, it was hard.
Speaker 1: And then when I got here, I started watching film
Speaker 1: and then I'm like, okay, Alja out there and making plays,
Speaker 1: you know, Ashton making a lot of plays. I don't
Speaker 1: have had a lot of guys changed them. But those
Speaker 1: guys were out there the most. And I've seen Ashton
Speaker 1: playing a line and I'm he's pretty good. And then
Speaker 1: this week at camp, UM, he's just been showing the
Speaker 1: coaches and showing the players like what he's capable of.
Speaker 1: You know, he's having a great um O t a camp,
Speaker 1: a lot of a lot of pigs, a lot of
Speaker 1: production on the ball, and UM, he's just smart player.
Speaker 1: He does everything, UM he's told to do. So what
Speaker 1: I think from these this guy, these guys is like
Speaker 1: they got a great coach. We got a great coach
Speaker 1: at M coaching us. Um, he's very hard on us,
Speaker 1: very detailed, and that goes a long way. Um from
Speaker 1: when I first got in the league, that's been the
Speaker 1: main priority, just little details and M sticks on that
Speaker 1: all day every day. Is the same person throughout the day.
Speaker 1: And the guys that they have. Jason Pennock, I played
Speaker 1: with that, my boy, he was that corner. Uh, and
Speaker 1: they moved into safety last year, so I didn't really
Speaker 1: know too much about what he could do at safety
Speaker 1: and then watching them now being with him every day
Speaker 1: watching film, Uh, he's very smart and just you know,
Speaker 1: he knows the game and once he learns how to
Speaker 1: really just do the little things that being in that
Speaker 1: safety position instead of corner, and he's gonna take it
Speaker 1: to the next level. He's long range, e very athletic.
Speaker 1: And then the Marcus Joiner you know, vetting Rent in
Speaker 1: the room. Uh, he's coaching me up, teaching me a
Speaker 1: lot of new things. Um. I get to see him
Speaker 1: on film, and I watched him in the past, just
Speaker 1: you know, being uh, being older than me, I looked
Speaker 1: up to. We got the same agent, so I really
Speaker 1: got the divel in when I was younger and watching
Speaker 1: him and the way he plays, He's like me, you're
Speaker 1: not the biggest guy. He's gonna hit you. He's gonna
Speaker 1: go after the ball. And he he plays man and
Speaker 1: man very good as a safe for a safety you know,
Speaker 1: he's not Safety's gonna play a lot of man. But
Speaker 1: if you watch him, he sticks on receivers like a nickel.
Speaker 1: Do you think that's a missing owner about this defense?
Speaker 1: I know you haven't taken a snap under Robert sala Yeah,
Speaker 1: but everybody thinks San Francisco Seattle play zone all the time,
Speaker 1: where Salad says, hey, we play a little bit more
Speaker 1: man than you guys might think. Yeah, just from being
Speaker 1: doing situational football now you will see a lot of
Speaker 1: man and uh still mixing in his zone. They could
Speaker 1: do a great job of mixing. The coverage is up though,
Speaker 1: but just on certain situations you know what you're getting,
Speaker 1: you know where where to run and uh you gotta
Speaker 1: be ready to really a sticky man and man and
Speaker 1: um lockdown. You gotta have a lot of confidence playing
Speaker 1: man and that's what you know. We're growing at um
Speaker 1: getting confidence and then you know, taking our techniques and
Speaker 1: just proving them. Want to feel how much can you
Speaker 1: and LaMarcus compliment each other a lot? You know, we
Speaker 1: similar players and we could do similar things. Um, you
Speaker 1: know when we get into camp more and find the
Speaker 1: strengths and our weaknesses, get to play with you short
Speaker 1: more get chemistry. Um, we will all this tell a
Speaker 1: little bit more. But just from talking, I could just
Speaker 1: tell how like sere, what we both are just you know,
Speaker 1: being able to interchange that free safety, strong safety. Yeah,
Speaker 1: do you hate the term box safety because when people
Speaker 1: talking about Jordan White had Yes, we know you can
Speaker 1: thrive in a box, right, But you just talked about
Speaker 1: being interchangeable with Marcus and the books did use you
Speaker 1: in different situations, and I think that Robert Salad Jeff
Speaker 1: all Bricker gonna continue to do that. Here do you
Speaker 1: not like that terms? So there was a where I
Speaker 1: didn't like the term box safety because it's like limiting
Speaker 1: you like, oh, he's a linebacker, he can't cover. But
Speaker 1: for me, I tried myself in now as all right,
Speaker 1: I'm box safety, but yeah, I'm gonna be the best
Speaker 1: in the run, best box safety in the run, and
Speaker 1: then I'm also be able to cover um, you know,
Speaker 1: tight ends. And then last year I was flexed out
Speaker 1: a little bit on the U Z receiver plan zone
Speaker 1: a little bit. So you know, I don't take People
Speaker 1: will say box safety, but if you watch the whole game,
Speaker 1: you would know that it's not just the box safety
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Speaker 1: talking about the way TV used to last year and
Speaker 1: the Todd Bowls former Jets head coach the defensive coordinate
Speaker 1: and Tampo is now the head coach there and how
Speaker 1: did you develop underneath them? Yeah, so he actually taught
Speaker 1: me a lot. Um you know just when he when
Speaker 1: they came in that coaching staff Tar Bowls. Uh, he
Speaker 1: met with me and he he taught me a lot
Speaker 1: because it was the same defense that they ran here
Speaker 1: with the Jets. So I used to watch the Jets
Speaker 1: jabal items I used to watch and how he played, um,
Speaker 1: you know, the box safety position, a strong safety position
Speaker 1: and to coach Bowls taught me run reads and coach
Speaker 1: with put my safety coach given a lot of credit.
Speaker 1: Taught me a lot of safety reads and run reads
Speaker 1: like linebackers do, which safeties usually don't get to learn.
Speaker 1: And we spent a lot of time with that, um,
Speaker 1: so we worked together. So it was really it was
Speaker 1: pretty big, and that's why we were probably the number
Speaker 1: you know one run defense a couple of years, just
Speaker 1: because of how deep detail we really were. And then
Speaker 1: taking it here, I really feel like it's kind of similar.
Speaker 1: It's not the same eight man front, but um, it's similar.
Speaker 1: You guys work together with the backers. These work with backers,
Speaker 1: and once you get all on the same page, it's
Speaker 1: gonna make a dominant run defense. And I was reading
Speaker 1: about it, he said that, or you've mentioned that, TV
Speaker 1: said I gotta talk more. Yes, was that natural for you?
Speaker 1: Because I've talked to you a few times since you signed,
Speaker 1: and you're a pleasant dude. People get along with you
Speaker 1: in the building. You can see that your team's uh
Speaker 1: teammates gravitate towards you. But was that not natural for
Speaker 1: you at first? So when I first got in the league,
Speaker 1: it was kind of more. I was, I'm like shy,
Speaker 1: just letting everything happen. Um. But when he got there,
Speaker 1: he and walked through talk talk talk if not running
Speaker 1: the back what what did you see you that say
Speaker 1: anything to play? Kind of like that? So walk through
Speaker 1: in in the film room taught me to talk more.
Speaker 1: So it definitely stuck with me. And every day doing
Speaker 1: walk through, I could just remember walk through him just
Speaker 1: you know, behind me, moving me, just saying talk and
Speaker 1: then stuff still sticks me to this day. And they're
Speaker 1: big one it here. So I'm trying to get everybody
Speaker 1: in the room to get on that same type of
Speaker 1: communication level. When it takes you a long way. You
Speaker 1: gotta be verbal and communicate both on the field and
Speaker 1: in the classroom. But this is a new team, years old,
Speaker 1: four season the National Football League, new team, new system.
Speaker 1: Do you find yourself absorbing a little bit right now
Speaker 1: and knowing that, hey, once we get to the summer
Speaker 1: and get through a preseason game or two, I'm even
Speaker 1: gonna be talking more. Oh definitely, we'll be talking more
Speaker 1: when I understand the defense completely. Um, right now, just
Speaker 1: knowing they're becoming great defense, you gotta talk. There's gotta
Speaker 1: be somebody calling out every call, um reiterating the emotions.
Speaker 1: You know, you just gotta keep on talking. So that
Speaker 1: that's why I pry myself on you know, first intend
Speaker 1: what personnel it is. I'm saying that every snap, just
Speaker 1: a just to let the guys know around me, like
Speaker 1: giving them a little tenants up like this is might
Speaker 1: go on and it's helping me out. I say, they
Speaker 1: give me the call. CJ gives a call, I say
Speaker 1: my rules in my head to tell their safety. Just
Speaker 1: overre on the same page, and it takes you a
Speaker 1: long way. If I don't know the call, he knows it.
Speaker 1: It's gonna help us out. Everybody knows we played the
Speaker 1: wrong thing. Everybody plays the same thing. They're on the
Speaker 1: same page. It could work out with that being said.
Speaker 1: Mostly is a mic linebacker. How close do you guys
Speaker 1: have to be YouTube specifically? Right? Yeah, so you know
Speaker 1: after if I don't know something, because I'm new to
Speaker 1: this and he knows it like the back of his head,
Speaker 1: I'm asking him questions all the time. Um, it could
Speaker 1: be a little thing just like do you want me
Speaker 1: to say? Do you want me to do this? Just
Speaker 1: so because it's like, you know, he it's his defense.
Speaker 1: He's been a part of it. So I'm trying to
Speaker 1: see what he wants and he's doing a great job.
Speaker 1: Just communicated with me back what he expects and then
Speaker 1: I'm just giving my points into I just I used
Speaker 1: to watch him a lot with the ravens Obama. I
Speaker 1: used to watch so I know the type of player
Speaker 1: he is. I know you smash mouth, You're gonna run
Speaker 1: you down, hit you, the type of players. So you know,
Speaker 1: I like that, and I just try to follow the league.
Speaker 1: You do follow the league, and you mentioned that a
Speaker 1: couple of times. Who do you study in terms of
Speaker 1: your position safeties out there that you like, not necessarily
Speaker 1: running the same system, but the guys that you appreciate
Speaker 1: their game for sure. So for me, when I first,
Speaker 1: like I said, Jamal Adams from studying that tape, his
Speaker 1: aggressiveness um to be able to take on blocks and
Speaker 1: get to the quarterback tackles for lost all that. I
Speaker 1: used to study him a lot. Buddha baker Um, just
Speaker 1: his physicality, his speed, how he closes on tackles. There's
Speaker 1: a lot of guys like I usually I love watching
Speaker 1: Troy paulamalu um old tape, just the way he plays,
Speaker 1: you know, all around player, tackle loo interceptions. And then
Speaker 1: just another guy that could go back to my old team,
Speaker 1: Antoine Winfield Um younger than me, but just how he plays,
Speaker 1: um detailed guy. I enjoy watching him play. The other
Speaker 1: thing that we haven't talked about is you're effective rushing
Speaker 1: the pastor blitzing. Is that something you envisioned doing a
Speaker 1: little bit here? Oh for sure. Yeah, we had a
Speaker 1: lot of blitzes down of a tall bowls. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: Brick does a great job of you know this guy
Speaker 1: defenses and you're gonna get a free shot. And uh,
Speaker 1: just to show them when we get pads on, UM,
Speaker 1: really show the show the coaches what I can do.
Speaker 1: And that's probably one of my strengths. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: coming downhill like that. I'm definitely looking forward to it. Well,
Speaker 1: you're known as a big hitter. Um, I wanted to
Speaker 1: ask you there are a couple of hits that have
Speaker 1: stood out as far as your careers to this day.
Speaker 1: So yeah, we played in Division with the Panthers, the Saints,
Speaker 1: the Falcons. But my favorite running backs watching playing was Kamara,
Speaker 1: you know, it was McCaffrey. So I would every time
Speaker 1: we played them twlice the year. I have a target
Speaker 1: like a chick with my shotter, Like I need to
Speaker 1: get a good hit on them. So my best games
Speaker 1: will come against the Saints and the Panthers, and I
Speaker 1: would I would before the game be wanting to get
Speaker 1: a clean shot, clean safe shot on the running back
Speaker 1: and McCaffrey, camar and I had a couple of tags
Speaker 1: with them, and the game moves so fast. What's it
Speaker 1: like in that split second for half a second when
Speaker 1: you know you're gonna have an opportunity for a big leg,
Speaker 1: You know, it's it's a great feeling after um, you
Speaker 1: stop them short. I had a couple of Mike Thomas
Speaker 1: third a short hit him short of the snakes, get
Speaker 1: up and you know it's a it's a good feeling.
Speaker 1: One thing I can say about those big hits though
Speaker 1: sometimes they hurt a little bit. Get up. You gotta
Speaker 1: act like they don't. You celebrate it, get back to
Speaker 1: the signline. You're like, all right, that kind of I
Speaker 1: hit him, But you know I felt it too. How
Speaker 1: much you guys stressed and takeaways out here, because you
Speaker 1: mentioned Ashton before he picked up two in his many days.
Speaker 1: We're taping here in the spring, it's mid June. With
Speaker 1: that being said, for this defense to go to the
Speaker 1: next level, get more takeaways, and then also from your
Speaker 1: perspective when you have to hold back from the hit
Speaker 1: and maybe say, hey, I got a chance to get
Speaker 1: to the ball. Yeah, that's a big thing in my
Speaker 1: game that I'm trying to uh tune up a little bit.
Speaker 1: You know, Um that ball is in error. Defensive player
Speaker 1: of misset need to be go get the ball. Sometimes
Speaker 1: you get sold out in about to knock this guy out. You, Um,
Speaker 1: you don't potential to the ball as much. So, uh,
Speaker 1: the ball gets you points. The ball get you win.
Speaker 1: So that's the biggest thing. And uh, you know, having
Speaker 1: as many dropped the interceptions I have my career, I'm
Speaker 1: going for the ball only I can't even count. It's
Speaker 1: too many. I there's too many. Is that why you're
Speaker 1: playing on the defensive side of the ball, you know, Colors,
Speaker 1: I was running back, so yeah, I once I got
Speaker 1: any receptions, but I got I got some tosses and
Speaker 1: things like that. Tom Brady, you were a team and
Speaker 1: at his What did you take away from that experience?
Speaker 1: You know, just really how to take practice like a game,
Speaker 1: rap every every rep you get. And you know it's
Speaker 1: like he was so dialed in and so cretic, like
Speaker 1: he criticizes you know, it was it was I would
Speaker 1: say on his offensive players, he would really be hard
Speaker 1: on them if they didn't run the right route. Um.
Speaker 1: It was constructive though, So I took that as you know,
Speaker 1: it's not it's just practices walk through. It's walk through,
Speaker 1: but you need to pay attention, you need to be
Speaker 1: dialed in. The walk throughs weren't walk through they were
Speaker 1: jog throughs, you know. And I was the first time,
Speaker 1: like I saw that on offensive side. So it carries
Speaker 1: over here. They do it here too, but it was
Speaker 1: just that was first new for me. How he just
Speaker 1: so detailed and everything he does. Team meeting, the head
Speaker 1: coach is talking about a defensive player and he's taking notes.
Speaker 1: So I kind of just took like, all right, maybe
Speaker 1: one day he's or he's gonna be playing against that guy.
Speaker 1: Now he knows his weakness, or he's gonna be on
Speaker 1: the same team as him, and now he knows, like
Speaker 1: you know, So it's just little things like that. I
Speaker 1: paid attention to a lot of that stuff. Did you
Speaker 1: ever get in this zero I talked to him, Uh,
Speaker 1: asked him about just what he reads um with his
Speaker 1: keys before the snap, and you know, he told us
Speaker 1: that he breathes the safeties pretty much most of the
Speaker 1: time as the safeties he's reading and I just show
Speaker 1: me that really, if you disguise and play around with
Speaker 1: the quarterback, it can mess everything up. So I'm trying
Speaker 1: to just implement that in my game a little bit more. Um,
Speaker 1: that's gonna come a repetition. Let's go back to Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1: What's the connection with Thurrell first cousin. Yeah, he's just
Speaker 1: star Grandma's Grandma's um. No, at his draft when I
Speaker 1: was younger, went to like high school basketball games. Remember
Speaker 1: going to his games. Was at his draft party, um
Speaker 1: that night. So it was just like a lot not
Speaker 1: a lot of memories when I was younger with him,
Speaker 1: but you know, he would be around. He was a
Speaker 1: busy guy at Pig going to college. I remember just
Speaker 1: asking for his practice jersey at pick twenty five and
Speaker 1: I had that. I used to wear that like it was,
Speaker 1: you know, with the greatest jersey ever boll it is.
Speaker 1: But but it was just like little things. I can
Speaker 1: remember growing up just watching them playing basketball football games. Um,
Speaker 1: how good a basketball player was Riff he was. He
Speaker 1: was real good. They everybody said that was his best
Speaker 1: board at home. Um, I don't remember. I was just young.
Speaker 1: I just remember like, yeah, he had a lot of
Speaker 1: I think he had a couple offers with basketball. I
Speaker 1: remember he's always dunking. You know. He had a great
Speaker 1: great Hawks, great defense. To be from Pittsburgh El Equippa specifically,
Speaker 1: can you talk about out what the expectation is. There's
Speaker 1: pretty much nothing to do. There's sports. You know, it's
Speaker 1: football or basketball, um all day. And when you grow up,
Speaker 1: it's like our little league is like the super Bowl,
Speaker 1: Like they take it so serious. My uncle was the coach.
Speaker 1: You know, he's argue with other coaches after the game
Speaker 1: because it's just so serious. Like and um, growing up, Um,
Speaker 1: we're working out, me and my cousin, my three cousins.
Speaker 1: His dad's getting us up. We're working out. We're doing
Speaker 1: football drills, basketball drills, whatever season it is, and just
Speaker 1: that mentality being from wester p A. Um, it's it's
Speaker 1: tough nosed football. You know, it's cold out, it's snow,
Speaker 1: and you know you're running the ball really know, like
Speaker 1: in high school, we didn't pass too much. It's just
Speaker 1: you running the ball, you're tackling. That's kind of just
Speaker 1: like my mode to this day is like, you know,
Speaker 1: if it's a run, I'm coming at full speed to
Speaker 1: tackle you. And if I'm running back, you know, I'm
Speaker 1: trying to chuck you, running you over. It's kind of
Speaker 1: just mindset there. What was your favorite sports? Run off?
Speaker 1: It was always football, it was it was baseball, then
Speaker 1: I went to football. I stopped baseball young but it
Speaker 1: was just too slow, too boring, and then I fell
Speaker 1: in love with football. I would say, I would say
Speaker 1: pretty much when I got the ninth grade. When I
Speaker 1: was younger, I used to play and I was good
Speaker 1: at it. But when I got to like high school,
Speaker 1: I really I really took it serious. But you said
Speaker 1: in the mindset like there was never shining away because
Speaker 1: there's there's people you know they're good at athletes, but
Speaker 1: when they get around contact, things changed. There was never
Speaker 1: an episode for you when you were younger, but like,
Speaker 1: I know, if that good. When I was five years old,
Speaker 1: my first year ever, I was in between soccer and
Speaker 1: football and I had I had the farm Church strap,
Speaker 1: you know, the the week one I know you Patty,
Speaker 1: and I was like it might have been a corner
Speaker 1: and they had this big guy coming to block me.
Speaker 1: Like three plays in a row hitting me, and I
Speaker 1: was like, you know what, my mom want a sideline,
Speaker 1: was like, I'm done crying, walked off the field. I
Speaker 1: went to my soccer game. I think my mom said
Speaker 1: I had like two or three goals, and I said,
Speaker 1: I quit that year of football and I sat out
Speaker 1: the whole next year. My uncle trying to get me
Speaker 1: back to play, and finally I came back when I
Speaker 1: was seven. We won the championship and I just kind
Speaker 1: of like a like, all right, I'm playing football now. Um.
Speaker 1: Knowing as a thumper, how much you pride yourself on
Speaker 1: setting the tone or maybe turning momentum. There are times
Speaker 1: during games where it could be slipping where you might
Speaker 1: say to yourself, Hey, I gotta do something right right.
Speaker 1: So yeah, definitely before the game, like pre game and
Speaker 1: then going into the first job. I try to bring
Speaker 1: the energy. Um, just the you know it's it's it's
Speaker 1: easy to start off slow, that's u It happens a lot.
Speaker 1: So you just need guys. They see that first hit early.
Speaker 1: It turns up the guys like just a defensive mindset.
Speaker 1: Somebody gets hit, everybody's hyped up, ready to go in.
Speaker 1: You get a quick three and out changed the whole game.
Speaker 1: So that's just my thing. Starting off fast I was
Speaker 1: our thing um last year, starting fast, and that's just
Speaker 1: it really stuck with me in practice. Start fast and um,
Speaker 1: you know you're going down and then you need a
Speaker 1: momentum switch and you get a big hit, big fumble
Speaker 1: or something like that. It changed the game. Momentum is real.
Speaker 1: You watch the NBA Finals now, like the momentum is real.
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Speaker 1: the Pistil sports Book and gave me a partner up
Speaker 1: the New York Jets office up to the change in
Speaker 1: terms of conditions at winbet dot com. Must be twenty
Speaker 1: one of the older president of New Jersey. If you're
Speaker 1: someone you know has a gambling problem called one hundred
Speaker 1: two seven zero seven one one seven. How would you
Speaker 1: describe what this team is right now? You know everyone
Speaker 1: in a long time definitely has a lot of talent
Speaker 1: and new pieces like yourself, draft picks, you got free
Speaker 1: agents who wanted the National Football League. What do you
Speaker 1: see her? I see a bunch of guys like this
Speaker 1: is from O. T A S. The phase Phase one.
Speaker 1: They work, Um, you know every day there's not special
Speaker 1: team drills. They're working defensive drills, offense drills, they're working
Speaker 1: weight room lifts. Are like it's like a college atmosphere.
Speaker 1: The way the guys work. Um, they take it serious,
Speaker 1: like this O t AS. We've been missing for a
Speaker 1: couple of years, so um, this is like kind of
Speaker 1: new for me too. And then now I see it's
Speaker 1: like we're in season, we're dialed in. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: we're doing drills, we're doing seven or seven And it's
Speaker 1: kind of good to start this early because I'm just
Speaker 1: thinking about last year just working out on my own.
Speaker 1: But now it's like they're actually getting better in football sense.
Speaker 1: And I think these guys here, like like you said,
Speaker 1: I haven't been winning, but I think they got a
Speaker 1: chip on their shoulder, and I could see I see
Speaker 1: that the guys know that the pieces they have in
Speaker 1: this room. I'm telling the guys honestly, like we have
Speaker 1: the pieces, Like there's not a drop off from the
Speaker 1: last team I was in. And that's just the truth
Speaker 1: from the guy's working, the guy's making plays, and um,
Speaker 1: you know, I just I really believe in this team
Speaker 1: going a long way. What do you tell dudes when
Speaker 1: they ask you about playoffs? When I ask you about
Speaker 1: the postseason football, Yeah, that it's it's a different level
Speaker 1: with the intensity goes up. Um, And that's kind of
Speaker 1: like when I'm trying to get to this first game,
Speaker 1: Like you take that the playoff atmosphere. Playoffs entirely from
Speaker 1: the first game. You know you can. You can, you
Speaker 1: can win a lot. Um, you just gotta take it.
Speaker 1: When week at the time and you take one game,
Speaker 1: I guess the playoff game you lose, you're done. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know that changed your mindset, That changes how you work,
Speaker 1: and you know that changes the outcome of the game.
Speaker 1: We got a little bit of ways until it happens.
Speaker 1: But September eleven, Baltimore coming to town. You talked about
Speaker 1: that fan base. You talked to be about being around,
Speaker 1: Um them, what do you think the environment's gonna be
Speaker 1: like it my life? Oh, it's gonna be crazy for sure. Um.
Speaker 1: New York September eleven, first game versus ravens Lamar Jackson
Speaker 1: coming to town. Um, you know you can't ask him
Speaker 1: than that. That's that's you know, that's a definitely uh
Speaker 1: circle on my calendar. Um, I'm excited just to be
Speaker 1: with the Jets new team. I mean, I'm excited to
Speaker 1: be in New York. You know what about week for
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh's circling that one? On accounting, I'm definitely circling that one.
Speaker 1: That's that's a hometown team, that's a you know, childhood team. Uh.
Speaker 1: Got a bunch of friends on that team too, and
Speaker 1: then Saint Pittsburgh a lot of family will be there.
Speaker 1: So I'm definitely gonna, you know, play to my best
Speaker 1: ability that game. Have you started hitting guys up for
Speaker 1: tickets yet? I haven't. I haven't. Um, you know, my
Speaker 1: for me since I was in college, I don't handle tickets.
Speaker 1: My mom does it. She's real, She's she handles a lot.
Speaker 1: She's the best mom you know out there. And uh,
Speaker 1: I let her hand over. At what point did you know, Hey,
Speaker 1: the NFL was realistic for you? You know, I really
Speaker 1: always had that dream since I was since I was younger,
Speaker 1: came back and won the championship. When I was seven,
Speaker 1: I had to dream of going to NFL. Of course,
Speaker 1: Durell being um just you know, family, and I always
Speaker 1: had that mindset. And that's just where I'm from. That's
Speaker 1: the mindset everybody thinks you're going to the NFL, you know.
Speaker 1: And uh, when I got to college and I was
Speaker 1: at Corner and our dudes, because our duzy put me
Speaker 1: the safety, I really had the first game and I
Speaker 1: really decided like, Okay, I gotta take this series because
Speaker 1: this is the first step we do three years here
Speaker 1: that could be the first step to go into the NFL.
Speaker 1: And um kind of college is when it really got
Speaker 1: a first, Like my first offers comment, I started thinking more.
Speaker 1: But when I got to college, um, I really became
Speaker 1: like reality, what's gonna be next for you? You finished
Speaker 1: mandatory mini camp? And then what you gonna do this summer?
Speaker 1: How do you get away? And then as on the
Speaker 1: other side of the coin, they're like, hey, it's coming,
Speaker 1: I gotta be ready, you know, quick vacation, get it
Speaker 1: out the way. But now like having O t A
Speaker 1: is gets that get your feet in the water kind
Speaker 1: of like, Okay, the season is coming up, you know.
Speaker 1: Um so now my mamset is on football. I'm like,
Speaker 1: I'm dialed in. I'm gonna take a week off and
Speaker 1: then I'm gonna get back to work. Um, just because
Speaker 1: i know, like what we could be special here and
Speaker 1: when the seasons comes, it's it's locked in. You're locked
Speaker 1: in for six months and you know those wins they count,
Speaker 1: and um, it's various. It's your job. You take it serious.
Speaker 1: And I just think, um, the last couple of years,
Speaker 1: you know, not being able to have these f t
Speaker 1: as and coming in later, a lot of guys don't
Speaker 1: really put the work in that they need to, just
Speaker 1: because just you're at home relaxing. It's easy to be relaxed.
Speaker 1: And uh, I don't know, I just feel I feel
Speaker 1: different this year being on a new team, being with
Speaker 1: these guys. I'm feeling feeling a great energy. What's something
Speaker 1: we might not know about Jordan Whitehead but we should hmm,
Speaker 1: let me see. All right, all right, I'm just gonna
Speaker 1: go with when I was in high school, I had
Speaker 1: two gymnastics. Um, I just wanted to learn how to
Speaker 1: go back back to back flip. And then you know,
Speaker 1: I got put in a class with a bunch of
Speaker 1: little girls and like kindergarten, first grade and it was
Speaker 1: just my mom. That was the funniest thing and all.
Speaker 1: It took it for like a month and I was
Speaker 1: with those kids, and like, I learned my back talk,
Speaker 1: but I was just experienced that I go back to that.
Speaker 1: I'll never forget just the type of time. It was
Speaker 1: like what I was doing at the time, it was
Speaker 1: funny to me, but now I look back and it
Speaker 1: was like it was It's kind of cool just to
Speaker 1: get that experience maybe after an interception again in the past.
Speaker 1: So hopefully that's coming someone. We're gonna be looking forward
Speaker 1: to that. Jordan's appreciate the time. I had a lot
Speaker 1: of fun. Thank you. I appreciate it.