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Speaker 1: Rodney Thomas, drafted by the Colts out of Yale in

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Speaker 1: the seventh round. Rodney Man, Congratulations, what's this feeling like?

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Speaker 1: What's this feeling like? Living out your dream? Hey, you're

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Speaker 1: going to the NFL? Has that sunk in yet? No?

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Speaker 1: I don't even think so. Yeah, it's real, real excited

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Speaker 1: just to even be in this position, to have my

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Speaker 1: name like be able to be called against a monkst

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Speaker 1: like a bunch of like a bunch of great other

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Speaker 1: athletes all working towards like the same goal in the end.

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Speaker 1: It just feels amazing just to be able to just

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Speaker 1: like I said, just to hear my name call like

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Speaker 1: on that screen. I just can't be more thankful. I

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Speaker 1: gotta know, how, how are you in the family? How

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Speaker 1: are you guys celebrating tonight? Not only right now, but

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Speaker 1: I'm sure into the wee hours. Definitely just a bunch

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Speaker 1: of a bunch of family time. Just trying to take

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Speaker 1: it all in, just realizing that basically, like everything like

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Speaker 1: we've been working for like since birth. Honestly, there's everything

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Speaker 1: coming into play leading up to this moment right here.

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Speaker 1: So it just really just trying to take it all

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Speaker 1: in a bunch of family, a bunch of friends around me.

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Speaker 1: It's just there's a real good atmosphere right now. And

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Speaker 1: also I think I have this right. You are the

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Speaker 1: first Ivy League player drafted here in two twenty two.

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Speaker 1: What does that mean to you? How much pride do

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Speaker 1: you take in that? I feel real good take you

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Speaker 1: take a lot of prior. There's a lot of a

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Speaker 1: lot of real good players in the IVY League itself.

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Speaker 1: I know we have a bunch of guys in the

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Speaker 1: past that have gotten chances in the league and that

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Speaker 1: I'm making making a name for themselves in the league,

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Speaker 1: and I just want to be able to play a

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Speaker 1: part in that and then just get some of the

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Speaker 1: eyes onto the IVY League yourself. Like I was saying,

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Speaker 1: it's a lot of good talent in there, a lot

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Speaker 1: of good football players in there. So hopefully just bring

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Speaker 1: some attention back to there and just help some other

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Speaker 1: guys underneath me get get their chance the same way

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Speaker 1: I do. Indeed, in two twenty one, you make a

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Speaker 1: position switch. You go from a linebacker to a defensive back.

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Speaker 1: You've dabbled in, uh you know, sak and cornerback. Why

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Speaker 1: why did you make that switch? Really? Just trying to

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Speaker 1: do whatever the team needed to secure some victories. I

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Speaker 1: know we had a couple a couple of injuries like

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Speaker 1: here and there in different spots, and coaches have just

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Speaker 1: asked me, have I been able to come down and

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Speaker 1: like switch positions just help out the team, And like

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Speaker 1: I said, just help out the team, help out just

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Speaker 1: secure victors, just doing anything that I'm asked anything to

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Speaker 1: get to win. So just trying to be available and

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Speaker 1: accessible to do anything that they need me at all times.

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Speaker 1: And how did that go? And and what was the

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Speaker 1: biggest challenge? I mean, that's that's a big leap going

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Speaker 1: from linebacker to the secondary. What hurdles did you have

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Speaker 1: to get over? Really just because I know they both

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Speaker 1: had came like kind of like late as far as

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Speaker 1: like when I made the switch, because I made that

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Speaker 1: linebacker switch after after like all like all the summer

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Speaker 1: and then like in camp and stuff like that, and

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Speaker 1: the same thing when I went back to the defensive

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Speaker 1: back position, it was it was like real late. I

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Speaker 1: think I made the switch during like the second week

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Speaker 1: of camp. So really just I just had to like

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Speaker 1: knuckle and just focusing on like on the playbook and

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Speaker 1: just make sure like I learned everything on the other

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Speaker 1: like in the new position, and just make sure I

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Speaker 1: learned all the new calls, all the new checks, all

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Speaker 1: the new reads. Is everything like that, So like there

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Speaker 1: would be no drop off. N I could gun range

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Speaker 1: this season full swing as if I played that position

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Speaker 1: all four years coming in. So basically, just like I said,

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Speaker 1: just just make your shros up on that playbook and

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Speaker 1: then now is it just a lot of time in

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Speaker 1: that play Yeah, indeed, and and and cornerback has has

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Speaker 1: that been discussed? Is that the main focus for you

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Speaker 1: with the Colts in the NFL position wise, Yes, they've

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Speaker 1: they've we've been talking about cornerback, uh and some pree safety.

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Speaker 1: So just uh just similar to uh, similar to school,

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Speaker 1: just wherever they need me. Uh's. So I'm gonna work

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Speaker 1: at and then that's where I'm gonna play a trying

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Speaker 1: to be the best best I can be for the

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Speaker 1: soon all right with that, I mean, what's your excitement

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Speaker 1: level to learn from a guy like Stefan Gilmore, NFL

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Speaker 1: Defensive Player of the Year, one of the best cornerbacks

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Speaker 1: of the last decade in the NFL. Now he's your

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Speaker 1: teammate exactly. I can't I can't wait. I'm hopefully don't

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Speaker 1: find me annoying. What I'm gonna be annoying? I want

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Speaker 1: to be beside him, just trying to learn from I

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Speaker 1: think his brain time. He's one of the greats in

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Speaker 1: the league, the best of what he does, one of

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Speaker 1: the best of what he does. So like, why why

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Speaker 1: would like I have this great opportunity to be in

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Speaker 1: the same room beside him, So why would I not

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Speaker 1: try to do and take as much as I can

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Speaker 1: from him and just try to add it to my game,

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Speaker 1: Just trying to develop myself as well. So he's probably

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Speaker 1: gonna think I'm annoy I'm trying to as this all

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Speaker 1: for good cause, because like I said, he's one of

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Speaker 1: the best of what he does. I just want to

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Speaker 1: prove and learn from him and take my game as

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Speaker 1: high as I can. You know what else is cool?

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Speaker 1: Another guy I'm sure you're gonna meet here very very soon,

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Speaker 1: Isaiah Rodgers for the Colts. He was a seventh oh yeah,

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Speaker 1: yeah for a seventh round guy, and now he's a

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Speaker 1: huge part of the secondary. I guess the moral of

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Speaker 1: the story is, hey, man, if you can play, doesn't

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Speaker 1: matter where you're drafted, doesn't matter matter where you come from.

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Speaker 1: With the Colts, I mean, everybody gets an equal shot.

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Speaker 1: As soon as you get in the building, they'll definitely

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Speaker 1: find you. They'll find you, no question about that. Hey,

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Speaker 1: before I let you go, I gotta ask you. There's

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Speaker 1: there's rivalries in every level, right the Colts and the Patriots, Colts, Titans, Colts,

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Speaker 1: Jack Mars inside the AFC. The Yale Harvard game, how

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Speaker 1: intense is it? No, it's just crazy. That game is

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Speaker 1: real crazy. You see you come out, you see like

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Speaker 1: especially the yellah. It was actually kind of crazy how

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Speaker 1: my time at Yale ended up because I actually never

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Speaker 1: played a Harvard Yale game. At Harvard, they were all

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Speaker 1: they were all in the Elbowl. As far as I

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Speaker 1: would like the COVID year and like different things like that,

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Speaker 1: we have played. We have played the game of them way,

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Speaker 1: so we really never had I never had a game

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Speaker 1: at their field actually, But as far as like just

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Speaker 1: the game in general, like you can just see it

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Speaker 1: and you can just feel like the atmosphere, like the

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Speaker 1: whole stadium shaking, like you're on the field, like your

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Speaker 1: ears are ringing, like it's just it's just a crazy

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Speaker 1: atmosphere is real fun to be a part of those

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Speaker 1: games for sure, and just be a part of a

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Speaker 1: tradition that's been going on for for so long. Just

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Speaker 1: being a part of that history. Yeah, that's that's all

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Speaker 1: my bucket list, man, to get to one of those

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Speaker 1: one day and just experience that. Yeah, you gotta come

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Speaker 1: out for sure. Maybe one of these days, Rodney Thomas,

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Speaker 1: maybe we'll go together. He is in the newest Indianapolis.

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Speaker 1: Could just let me know, let me know, bring you

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Speaker 1: right with me. You are the man. I can't wait

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Speaker 1: to meet you. It's good to meet you virtually here.

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Speaker 1: Best of luck and congratulation, definitely for sure, thank you,

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Speaker 1: thanks for having me on. Then, like I said, just

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Speaker 1: excited to get up. They're excited to be a part

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Speaker 1: of this team.