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Speaker 1: Love on game game. It presents conversations with a legend.

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Speaker 1: Around him.

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Speaker 2: We hustle for around here, around he, We ground.

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Speaker 1: Around him. We hustle for living around here, and we

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Speaker 1: ground for a living.

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Speaker 3: It's up on Game presents conversations with a legend. And

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Speaker 3: we're looking far and wide. We're thinking, all right, where's

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Speaker 3: a legend? Where can we find a legend? We're at

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Speaker 3: MGM Grand in Las Vegas. We're looking around. There's legendary

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Speaker 3: pictures up on the wall. You've got epic battles in

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Speaker 3: the UFC. You go to you to use the bathroom.

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Speaker 3: There's boxing events that are being showcase and seen, concerts,

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Speaker 3: you name it. And then all of a sudden you

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Speaker 3: realize it's draft weekend.

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Speaker 1: Who better to talk to?

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Speaker 3: What better legend to talk about and to talk with

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Speaker 3: than the guy, the founding father of up on Game

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Speaker 3: presents the one and only LeVar Arrington sticks.

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Speaker 1: Wow, this is a firse. Yeah, you know.

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Speaker 2: Up a Game presents conversations with a legend being brought

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Speaker 2: in by the Jonas Knox, I appreciate you doing this

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Speaker 2: for me, obviously a tremendous favor for me to conduct

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Speaker 2: an interview for well my show.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean huge talent fee comes along with this.

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Speaker 3: But again we could talk about that off the air.

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Speaker 1: But how big are those shoes on your feet? Right? Well,

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Speaker 1: you know me not the biggest feet in the world.

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Speaker 1: I believe that there, or if you're not the biggest hands.

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Speaker 1: That's a good point.

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Speaker 3: But when you see the draft and you see the

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Speaker 3: first round play out as it did, and then you

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Speaker 3: see all of these guys accomplishing and reaching heights that

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Speaker 3: maybe some people in their life thought were never going

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Speaker 3: to be attainable, and then they get to this point

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Speaker 3: and they're getting to live it. What sort of memories

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Speaker 3: does that bring up for you? Either good bad emotional

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Speaker 3: seeing these guys get to go through what you went

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Speaker 3: through all those years ago.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, first and foremost, congratulations to all of

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Speaker 2: the draft picks. Whether you went where you wanted to

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Speaker 2: go or you did it, you got picked and and

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Speaker 2: that matters. And you know, one thing part of my memories,

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Speaker 2: I guess I would say one of my regrets is

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Speaker 2: I was so keyed up into the moment of being

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Speaker 2: this great football player and getting started that I didn't

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Speaker 2: take the time to really really like savor the moment

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Speaker 2: of accomplishing something so so you know, amazing. So for me,

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Speaker 2: I can always remember being at the draft and how

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Speaker 2: much family was at the draft and and just how

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Speaker 2: together we were, and and that was that. Those were

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Speaker 2: some cool memories because some of those people aren't even

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Speaker 2: here anymore, you know, they're not even living anymore.

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Speaker 1: And and I.

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Speaker 2: Can also just remember how proud my parents were, Like

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Speaker 2: the look they had when I looked up with my

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Speaker 2: phone ring and it was the team calling to draft me,

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Speaker 2: just to my first look was out my mother and

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Speaker 2: my father, and it was like, man, like, I don't

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Speaker 2: know if they feel what they feel is what I feel,

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Speaker 2: or I wish I could know what they were feeling

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Speaker 2: in that movement because we had gone through so much

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Speaker 2: to get to the point of where we were sitting

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Speaker 2: in the green room in New York and Radio City,

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Speaker 2: listening for the phone to ring and preparing to have

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Speaker 2: the draft take place. Now, I will say this, back then,

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Speaker 2: you could negotiate your contract pre draft, So negotiating pre

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Speaker 2: draft was interesting. Cleveland had called me the night before

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Speaker 2: and asked me, you know, did I want to be

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Speaker 2: a Cleveland Brown? And I'm you know, I politely told

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Speaker 2: them I would have no problem being a Cleveland Brown

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Speaker 2: if you pay me fourteen to sixteen million guaranteed up front.

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Speaker 2: I gotta get quarterback by because it's maybe the first

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Speaker 2: and only in last time that I'd get.

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Speaker 1: An opportunity to get paid.

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Speaker 2: So and if you know the story, I ended up

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Speaker 2: going number two overall in the draft, and and so

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Speaker 2: you know, I definitely can recall a lot of different things.

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Speaker 2: There were a lot of parties going on I was

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Speaker 2: invited to. It was like kind of like the height

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Speaker 2: of your popularity, so to speak, in the moment, and

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Speaker 2: I didn't do anything Jonas Like, I did not go

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Speaker 2: to any parties.

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Speaker 1: I just went to my room and went to sleep.

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Speaker 1: If you had to do it all over again, I

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Speaker 1: would have partied my ass off. I'd have party my

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Speaker 1: ass off.

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Speaker 2: And I would have hoped that there had been a

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Speaker 2: superstar actress in there or model or something that felt like,

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Speaker 2: you know, it was a good night to meet me

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Speaker 2: and me to have a good night to meet them.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that if I had a twenty twenty retrospect to

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Speaker 2: do it all over again, Yeah, I mean I would

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Speaker 2: have hoped that have met like like a singer or

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Speaker 2: or you know something to that effect. You know, leverage

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Speaker 2: your celebrity in the moment.

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Speaker 3: If you had one piece of advice to give these

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Speaker 3: guys now the day after they're getting drafted, say they

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Speaker 3: get drafted, whether it's a first round pick, a day

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Speaker 3: two guy, whatever, the day after, what is the conversation

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Speaker 3: you would have with them on on where how to steer.

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Speaker 2: That moving forward? Well, I still would say, enjoy the moment.

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Speaker 2: Don't don't don't be in such a rush to get

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Speaker 2: back to work. Enjoy the moment, because once you start

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Speaker 2: back to work, then now.

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Speaker 1: You need to get to work.

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Speaker 2: So take a day or two and really really take

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Speaker 2: in the magnitude of what just happened, because it's tremendous

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Speaker 2: to be in a position where you've been selected on

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Speaker 2: a on a scale to to represent a company that's

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Speaker 2: going to pay you a ton of money, and that

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Speaker 2: doesn't happen every day.

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Speaker 1: So that would be the first thing.

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Speaker 2: And then the second thing is make sure at that

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Speaker 2: point that you're done, when you're done with your your

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Speaker 2: celebration and your and your admiration of what you've been

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Speaker 2: able to accomplish, that you realize that it's going to

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Speaker 2: be harder at this next level than what it was

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Speaker 2: where you just came from. And and that's you gotta

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Speaker 2: you gotta take it into consideration that you have to

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Speaker 2: prepare yourself to be able to have success against grown

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Speaker 2: ass men, like men that have like wives and kids

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Speaker 2: and have been married for a long time.

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Speaker 1: I mean, it's funny.

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Speaker 2: The first one of my memories from when I first

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Speaker 2: got to Washington was I walked into the locker room

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Speaker 2: and Daryl Green is sitting in the locker room.

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Speaker 3: And I'm like, did you have touchy rolls in the socket?

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Speaker 1: He didn't. He didn't, but but they didn't make them faster.

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Speaker 2: So I go walking into the locker room like, man,

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Speaker 2: this is Darryl Greed, Like this is going to be

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Speaker 2: my teammate.

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Speaker 1: Like that's Darryl Green, the totty roll in.

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Speaker 2: My in my sock god, And I say to him,

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Speaker 2: what's up, man?

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Speaker 1: And I just remember saying.

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Speaker 2: Your your wife must be fine as all get out.

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Speaker 1: And he looked at me like.

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Speaker 2: He looked at me with one of the wildest looks,

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Speaker 2: like that's you're talking about my wife?

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Speaker 1: Why would you say that? Well, because that's what I

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Speaker 1: was thinking in my mind.

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Speaker 2: Darryl Greed is an NFL star in NFL legend. His

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Speaker 2: his wife. That's the first thing I'm thinking. I'm like,

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Speaker 2: girl crazy. I was girl crazy. Like so I'm like, man,

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Speaker 2: he's got to have a dope wife, you know, and

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Speaker 2: she is dope.

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Speaker 1: Shouts out to miss Jewel Greed. She is dope.

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Speaker 2: But what's crazy is that moment I realized immediately, you're

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Speaker 2: not in college anymore. So you're not talking to the homie.

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Speaker 2: You're talking to a professional that's a grown man that

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Speaker 2: comes to work. And some of them used to have

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Speaker 2: briefcases with their like their notepads for taking notes in

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Speaker 2: the meetings and stuff like that.

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Speaker 1: Like dudes was really coming to work in a business manner.

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Speaker 2: And I realized real quickly that that was I was

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Speaker 2: in a different place. This wasn't this wasn't just funding

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Speaker 2: games of being in college or being in high school.

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Speaker 2: And it's like the camaraderie still exists, but it certainly

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Speaker 2: changes in terms of how you engage one another and

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Speaker 2: how things work. I mean, Darryl Green was very very

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Speaker 2: He's very strong in his Christian beliefs and different things

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Speaker 2: like that. So on so many different levels, I turned

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Speaker 2: him off. I did not have a great first impression

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Speaker 2: with Daryl Greed.

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Speaker 3: I can't imagine why, but but you know, that was

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Speaker 3: the first thing that came to mind.

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Speaker 1: I regret it thougha that.

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Speaker 3: It's conversations with the legend up on Game Presents with

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Speaker 3: LeVar Arrington here sticks talking about just the draft process,

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Speaker 3: and one of the things you mentioned is you want

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Speaker 3: these guys to really take in just.

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Speaker 1: How important this moment is.

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Speaker 3: Just sort of the gravity of it all, Like understand

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Speaker 3: what's happening. You think you ever did because you look

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Speaker 3: you Plexico, Burus, tj Huschman, Zada, You guys lib a

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Speaker 3: world and a path that the one percent on planet

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Speaker 3: Earth ever get to live. You got drafted to play

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Speaker 3: in the most popular league that everybody's grown up holding

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Speaker 3: a football, everybody's grown up playing mad and everybody's grown

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Speaker 3: up watching football. But it's rarefied air when you get

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Speaker 3: to that point and it's such a chaotic time. It's

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Speaker 3: like your wedding day.

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Speaker 1: I remember my wedding day.

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Speaker 3: I didn't really even get to enjoy it that much

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Speaker 3: because you're you're talking to so many people and everything.

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Speaker 1: It's just kind of it's too much at once. Do

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Speaker 1: you think you took.

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Speaker 3: It in and appreciated it in the moment as much

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Speaker 3: as you should have.

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Speaker 2: No, I know I did it, and I do now,

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Speaker 2: but it's so far you're so far removed from it.

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Speaker 2: But in the moment, it's just things are moving so fast,

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Speaker 2: and now you realize this is another thing.

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Speaker 1: You realize you're about to get paid.

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Speaker 2: You know, you've been doing this whole thing for so

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Speaker 2: long without getting any type of compensation from it financially,

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Speaker 2: and then now you hear your name called and it's

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Speaker 2: like you're looking at your parents, you're looking at your siblings,

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Speaker 2: and you know you're taking it all in, and then

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Speaker 2: it comes to you.

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Speaker 1: It's like I'm about to get paid for real, like

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Speaker 1: for real legally like bro.

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Speaker 2: Like, like I'm about to be able to do whatever I.

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Speaker 1: Want to do, like and how I want to do it.

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Speaker 2: And I just started thinking to myself, you can't stop here,

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Speaker 2: like this can't be it, so you gotta keep going,

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Speaker 2: like I gotta figure out what is keep going me?

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Speaker 1: What does that look like?

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Speaker 2: I was I was just way too proactive instead of

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Speaker 2: just being able to just enjoy it like man, like

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Speaker 2: all right, I've been working since I was I played

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Speaker 2: football since I was eight years old. You know, I

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Speaker 2: told my mom I was going to retire her one

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Speaker 2: day and buy her a home, and I did. But

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Speaker 2: in that moment, it was like kind of like, for

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Speaker 2: all those years, everything that led up to getting to

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Speaker 2: that point, all the struggles, all the setbacks, you know,

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Speaker 2: all the triumphant moments, there were so many things that

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Speaker 2: in my mind, it's like, all right, now that I

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Speaker 2: made it as a pro, I can change things.

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Speaker 1: I can help youth in the inner city.

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Speaker 2: I just started thinking about so many different things Jonas,

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Speaker 2: and it was like, man, you just got drafted. You know,

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Speaker 2: now in my forties, I'll be thinking about it, like, man,

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Speaker 2: you got drafted, Like why are you making this about

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Speaker 2: everyone else? It's like sometimes I realized it's like sometimes

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Speaker 2: there are moments in your life where it's okay to

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Speaker 2: be selfish. Like I can recall when I had my kids,

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Speaker 2: it was okay to be selfish in that moment, Like, man,

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Speaker 2: look at this life. I'm being selfish in this moment,

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Speaker 2: Holy Molly, Like this is amazing to me. I wasn't

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Speaker 2: selfish in that moment. It was I almost felt like

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Speaker 2: it was for everything and everybody else, and I do.

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Speaker 2: I definitely I have some regrets as it applies to

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Speaker 2: how I went through my draft because it went so

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Speaker 2: fast and I was so into how everybody else felt

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Speaker 2: that I didn't even enjoy it for myself.

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Speaker 3: When did When did you actually the first time you

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Speaker 3: got to sit back and go.

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Speaker 1: I did it? Like?

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Speaker 3: Like you like you actually got that moment to where

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Speaker 3: you and and who knows, maybe it was after your

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Speaker 3: career was over. I mean, like that's totally plausible because

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Speaker 3: you grinded so hard for so long, but when you

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Speaker 3: actually took a step back almost like and and took

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Speaker 3: and looked at your life in totality and thought.

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Speaker 1: About I did it? Yeah, like like I'm a success.

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Speaker 2: It's wild because I still I still look at how

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Speaker 2: my career went, and although I didn't have the type

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Speaker 2: of pro career that I would have liked to have

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Speaker 2: had it, I find myself appreciating what I was able

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Speaker 2: to accomplish more now than I ever have. More now,

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Speaker 2: Like I felt like my pro career was a failure

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Speaker 2: and it made me feel really really like off balance

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Speaker 2: as to how I viewed myself as an applied to

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Speaker 2: play this game. Because every level that I played at,

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Speaker 2: I forced myself and I worked myself, and I did

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Speaker 2: so many things to try to be the best at

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Speaker 2: every level, and I did it.

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Speaker 1: I did it. I was the best at the youth level.

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Speaker 1: I was the best at the high school level. I

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Speaker 1: was the best at the college level.

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Speaker 2: But I wasn't the best, like like I should have

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Speaker 2: been to the capacity that I should have.

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Speaker 1: Been in the league, and that haunted me.

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Speaker 2: So I really kind of just, you know, I kind

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Speaker 2: of hesitate a lot of times to look at the

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Speaker 2: idea of the greatness that is connected to what my

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Speaker 2: career was, Like my draft moments. It's like people ask me,

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Speaker 2: what are your draft memories? And I can only remember

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Speaker 2: my family. There aren't very many memories that I have

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Speaker 2: because it moves so fast, and I was just worried

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Speaker 2: about everybody else. It was the wildest thing. I just

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Speaker 2: don't I don't remember having very many memories. I can

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Speaker 2: remember being in the hotel room the morning before and

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Speaker 2: my barber from home that cut my hair, first haircut

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Speaker 2: I ever got. My barber was their day. Shouts out

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Speaker 2: to the day's barber shot up the north side. He's

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Speaker 2: in the room and he's cut my air's like, man,

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Speaker 2: you did it, boy, you did it.

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Speaker 1: You know you did it? Boy, Like man, like you

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Speaker 1: did it.

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Speaker 2: And I'm just sitting there like I ain't done it yet,

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Speaker 2: I ain't done it yet, Like this just this is

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Speaker 2: just to stop, you know, this is this is stop

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Speaker 2: along the way. I ain't done it yet. And everything

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Speaker 2: that I've ever done is like you ain't done it yet,

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Speaker 2: you ain't done it yet. So when I think about

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Speaker 2: I kind of feel bad that I don't have better

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Speaker 2: draft memories. I can recall jumping in the car with Dresdner,

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Speaker 2: one of the owners at the time, and him and

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Speaker 2: Chris Samuels that got drafted with me, and we took

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Speaker 2: off to a private jet. Way is the first time

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Speaker 2: I ever flew on a private jet. We flew to Washington,

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Speaker 2: d C. I was basically on a helicopter. I was

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Speaker 2: on Dan Snyder's helicopter going over the city in the district,

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Speaker 2: the cities, went over the Washington Monument, went over to

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Speaker 2: and landed and did a tailgate party at fedexx Field

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Speaker 2: before all of the drafts, you know, before they were

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Speaker 2: even out of the first round of doing drafts. I

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Speaker 2: remember that and I just remember the excitement that the

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Speaker 2: fans had, and that's a good thing.

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Speaker 1: That's a good thing.

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Speaker 2: I just don't remember like a lot of details like

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Speaker 2: leading up to it.

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Speaker 1: It's kind of crazy.

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Speaker 3: It's an up on Game Presents with LeVar Arrington here

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Speaker 3: the sticks number two overall pick last question for you here?

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Speaker 3: So you grew up a diehard Pittsburgh Steeler fan? Yep,

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Speaker 3: all right now, people listening to this, everybody's got a

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Speaker 3: favorite football team and they probably can't fathom the idea

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Speaker 3: of playing for a different franchise and potentially competing against

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Speaker 3: a team that they grew up rooting for being a

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Speaker 3: fan of.

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Speaker 1: Deep down, where.

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Speaker 3: You disappointed you didn't end up with the Pittsburgh Steelers

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Speaker 3: or were you just so happy to be drafted number

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Speaker 3: two overall and knowing what it was going to do

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Speaker 3: for you financially.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I wasn't disappointed that I wasn't drafted by by

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Speaker 2: the Steelers, And I wasn't really thinking about the money

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Speaker 2: at the time either. I definitely he was looking at

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Speaker 2: it from the standpoint of I wanted to get drafted

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Speaker 2: to where I wanted to get drafted to, But I

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Speaker 2: wanted to get drafted as high as I possibly could,

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Speaker 2: So part of me the disappointment was I didn't go

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Speaker 2: number one. Honestly, if I'm being all the way honest,

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Speaker 2: if I'm keeping it a buck from the hip, I

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Speaker 2: was disappointed I didn't go number one, But I did

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Speaker 2: not want to go to Cleveland. I did not want

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Speaker 2: to go to Cleveland, and so the disappointment wasn't based

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Speaker 2: off of not being good enough to go number one.

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Speaker 2: I just I wish I could have gone number one

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Speaker 2: and got to a team that I wanted to go to.

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Speaker 2: I did end up negotiating my way into the team

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Speaker 2: that I wanted to go to. It's funny Cleveland ended

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Speaker 2: up making it to the playoffs before the Washington team

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Speaker 2: made it to.

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Speaker 1: The playoffs during that time period.

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Speaker 2: So but yeah, I wasn't disappointed that I didn't end

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Speaker 2: up going home jonas I really was. I was pumped

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Speaker 2: up because the Washington football team, the Redskins at the

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Speaker 2: time when they drafted me, had just played in the playoffs,

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Speaker 2: and to go number two overall to a playoff team

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Speaker 2: was that was like you got it. You're gonna get

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Speaker 2: the money, you're gonna get the Super Bowls, You're gonna

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Speaker 2: get You're gonna get the Pro Bowls, and that's gonna

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Speaker 2: lead to a Hall of Fame career, and you just

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Speaker 2: got to take every moment in because you never know

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Speaker 2: when the next moment is what they hold for you.

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Speaker 2: You could put your best foot forward, and I know

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Speaker 2: I did, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you're going

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Speaker 2: to get the results that you were anticipating you were

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Speaker 2: going to get, because my results were vastly different.

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Speaker 1: In the league than what they had been at every

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Speaker 1: other level.

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Speaker 2: So but it was, you know, when I got drafted,

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Speaker 2: it definitely opened my eyes and woke me up to

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Speaker 2: all of the things that I really really focused in

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Speaker 2: and doubt in on and really wanted to be, you know,

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Speaker 2: better than just good. I wanted to try to be exceptional.

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Speaker 2: And always tell guys, if you really, if you really

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Speaker 2: believe with all your might that you can do something,

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Speaker 2: that you can be something, then you got to let

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Speaker 2: your actions be be the sum, be the product of

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Speaker 2: what that belief is. And I'm like a living, living

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Speaker 2: testimony that it happens like it doesn't happen by accident,

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Speaker 2: doesn't happen by chance, It really happens if you live

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Speaker 2: that belief every single day because I continue to do it,

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Speaker 2: and it's such a great reference point, and the draft

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Speaker 2: represented just such a reference point of all the hard

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Speaker 2: work that leads to the results that you're seeking. And

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Speaker 2: then now in my life as a civilian, it's like

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Speaker 2: I take those same approaches and.

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Speaker 1: The results continue to still be the exact same thing.

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Speaker 2: You got to just believe things with all your might,

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Speaker 2: and you gotta go with you got to go after

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Speaker 2: it with all your might. So to me, probably one

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Speaker 2: of the biggest memories of the biggest things I learned

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Speaker 2: from the NFL Draft is is that if you put

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Speaker 2: it all all in there, if you if you go

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Speaker 2: all out, if you continue to really chase your dreams

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Speaker 2: and your goals, there will come a point in time,

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Speaker 2: whether you know it or not, there will come a

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Speaker 2: point in time where your your efforts will actually be

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Speaker 2: rewarded and acknowledge for all the things that you've done.

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Speaker 3: Amazing journey and an amazing weekend here live from Las

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Speaker 3: Vegas and the NFL Draft at MGM Grand The Bellagio

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Speaker 3: accommodations have been outstanding, and the path and and hopefully

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Speaker 3: the future for any of these draftees are going to

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Speaker 3: be outstanding. Conversations with eleven and excuse men eleven. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: well yeah that too. Yeah, conversation with eleven. Conversations with

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Speaker 3: a legend. It's up on Games Presents with the bar Arrington.

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Speaker 3: Just a phenomenal journey, phenomenal conversation. And hey, congrats again,

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Speaker 3: I know for this twenty two years later, but congrats

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Speaker 3: are going number two pal, you know, three name changes later.

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Speaker 3: But Washington, finally I figured out.

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Speaker 1: How about that? That really well, who knows what we'll see, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: we'll see, all right. I appreciate you doing this week, man,