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Speaker 1: I had a defensive end. Aj Epinessa joins us live

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Speaker 1: on the line right now. Hello a J. John Murphy

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Speaker 1: here and Steve Tasker there. Good to happy with us here, congratulations,

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Speaker 1: I mean fixed by the bills. Thank you, thank you

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Speaker 1: for having me. What was it like to hear your

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Speaker 1: name called tonight? What what did it feel like? It

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Speaker 1: was surreal? I mean it was amazing. Um, me and

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Speaker 1: my family were here together in the house and um,

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Speaker 1: it just blew up everyone Jim screaming, hugs, kissing. It

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Speaker 1: was amazing and I wouldn't have wanted to spend it

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Speaker 1: with anyone else, and you would when the first when

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Speaker 1: this process first started, you were thought to be a

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Speaker 1: really high first rounder. Were you disappointed at all that

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Speaker 1: you had to stretch it today two before you were selected? Um,

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Speaker 1: I mean yeah for a little bit, um, but not

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Speaker 1: necessarily I guess the number. Um, but the team. No,

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Speaker 1: I'm very happy and very excited and um blessed to

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Speaker 1: be a part of organization like this and what they're building. Um.

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Speaker 1: And it's just it's very humble and I'm very I'm

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Speaker 1: very excited. That's all I can really say. If it's

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Speaker 1: so exciting, I really can't wait a j How much

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Speaker 1: contact did you have with the Buffalo Bills prior to

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Speaker 1: you're being selected tonight? Um, we didn't have a whole lot. Um.

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Speaker 1: I talked to Cook Washington a little bit. Um, we

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Speaker 1: had a couple of phone calls. Um, but that was

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Speaker 1: really about to the extent of it, other than at

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Speaker 1: the at the combine. And how much have you had

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Speaker 1: since you were picked about two hours ago or so

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Speaker 1: or an hour and a half ago anyway? Yeah, what

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Speaker 1: have they told you about what to expect when things

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Speaker 1: get going here in Buffalo? Um? They haven't. They haven't

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Speaker 1: really bombarded me too much tonight. Um, because they know

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Speaker 1: it's a little crazy out here. Um. But tomorrow when

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Speaker 1: things start get rowing and everything uh starts to move. Um,

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Speaker 1: I mean I'll find out more then. But I mean

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Speaker 1: I'm really looking forward to it. We're going to start

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Speaker 1: being in contact more and starts um scheming probably and

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Speaker 1: the miokouts and stuff like that, and it'll start being

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Speaker 1: a milk preparation. Where you where did you get the

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Speaker 1: word from? Where you staying right now in the off

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Speaker 1: season and or and now that you know college is over,

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Speaker 1: they're not really holding classes. Where did you watch the

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Speaker 1: draft from and who with Yeah, I'm currently in my hometown,

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Speaker 1: UM in Glen Carbon, Illinois. I'm about fifteen minutes outside

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Speaker 1: the city of Saint Louis, UM, and I'm here with

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Speaker 1: my siblings here, Sam, Yesta and Andrea. Who is Um.

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Speaker 1: She's not a real sibling, but she's like an adopted one,

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Speaker 1: kind of a j fin Sa, the Bill's first pick,

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Speaker 1: joins us on the line. We had your former coach

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Speaker 1: at Iowa, Kirk Forenza, on last hour. AJ. He told

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Speaker 1: us that you're the kind of guy that normally doesn't

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Speaker 1: wind up at Iowa. That guys that with your athleticism

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Speaker 1: and your your ability usually don't go to Iowa. What

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Speaker 1: was it that took you to uh? Iowa played for

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Speaker 1: the Hawkeyes a as a college player. Um, Well, so

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Speaker 1: my dad played there in the mid nineties. Um, and

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Speaker 1: I grew up a huge IWA Hawkeye fan. And I

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Speaker 1: grew up just loving them black and gold. UM, staying

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Speaker 1: true to who I was all the way through. And UM,

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Speaker 1: I mean I believe black and Gold to the day

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Speaker 1: I die. And I'm very proud to be and IWA Hawkeye. Um.

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Speaker 1: But the real really helped me go there is it

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Speaker 1: felt like home. Um. I love coach parents, I love

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Speaker 1: coach Doyle, UM, and they've done nothing but some support

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Speaker 1: me and everything I do since you in and Iowa.

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Speaker 1: I'm very blessed to have coaches like them. But we

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Speaker 1: talked to coach Frensie said that your first couple of

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Speaker 1: years that Iowa, you were really a third down kind

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Speaker 1: of a pass for us specialist. And it wasn't until

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Speaker 1: this past year that you actually got on the field first, second,

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Speaker 1: and third down. They left you on the field for

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Speaker 1: all for the entire defensive series. How did that change

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Speaker 1: your approach? And did you like that? Bet? Do you

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Speaker 1: like playing the run that kind of thing? How did

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Speaker 1: that affect you and your play? Um? Yeah, I mean

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Speaker 1: I guess it just was more snapped. So conditioning just

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Speaker 1: had to be better. Um. I feel like I can

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Speaker 1: play the run, and I feel like I can rushed

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Speaker 1: the passer. But um, conditioning was probably the biggest factor

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Speaker 1: early on in the season, and just kind of building

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Speaker 1: up and then improving as the year goes on is

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Speaker 1: really what I was really focused on, being improvement driven.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, my first two years, I was mainly third

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Speaker 1: down and we had some really good guys in front

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Speaker 1: of me, some veteran guys, and just learning from them.

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Speaker 1: Being a sponge m was what really helped me grow

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Speaker 1: as a player. One of the things JJ about playing

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Speaker 1: every down is you can't just be a pass rusher.

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Speaker 1: And you know, I was reading one analysis that had

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Speaker 1: you as the best run defender among all defensive ends

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Speaker 1: and available in this year's draft. Was at a different

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Speaker 1: level you got to as a run defender this year

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Speaker 1: with IOWA? Or did you change your game at all?

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Speaker 1: I wouldn't say I changed my game at all, No,

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Speaker 1: but just kind of playing what we preached IOWA, being

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Speaker 1: very technique sound and fundamentally sound and being improvement driven.

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Speaker 1: So every single day just trying to prove on on

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Speaker 1: something and just playing and doing what I do is

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Speaker 1: and I feel like I play heavy handedly and just

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Speaker 1: kind of you know, controlling offensive lineman and set edges

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Speaker 1: and helping the defense as much as possible, and so

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Speaker 1: just just kind of growing as an overall football player

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Speaker 1: is what I would say. I know you've said that.

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Speaker 1: You know you the Bills, Sean McDermott and Brandon Bean

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Speaker 1: are building something here in Buffalo. What do you know

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Speaker 1: about the Bills organization, and what do you think of

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Speaker 1: What have you thought about it now before you became

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Speaker 1: a member of it, Now that you're a draft pick

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Speaker 1: of the Buffalo Bills, what do you think about the

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Speaker 1: team before tonight? I honestly don't know much about Buffalo,

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Speaker 1: the city, or or the Bills or an organization. I

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Speaker 1: don't know much, but I know that, um, this year

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Speaker 1: they had a pretty good run. Um they played it

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Speaker 1: really well, especially on defense, and from what the coaches

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Speaker 1: have told me, I mean, they really want to be

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Speaker 1: after the quarterback of four guys consistent pressure and it's

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Speaker 1: something that I feel me maybe I can contribute to

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Speaker 1: and it's um uh, something that I'm looking forward to. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: they don't. They haven't anyway, for a couple of years.

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Speaker 1: They've been a good defense. AJ they haven't had to

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Speaker 1: manufacture pass rush pressure. They need more pressure, but they

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Speaker 1: haven't like artificially manufactured it with blitz is they count

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Speaker 1: on guys up front to rush the passer. That's got

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Speaker 1: to be a good sign for a defensive a defensive alignment,

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Speaker 1: a defensive end like yourself. Huh, Yeah, I mean it's exciting.

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Speaker 1: I mean, just putting us out there and letting us

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Speaker 1: rush the passer and do what we need to do.

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Speaker 1: It's um it kind of you know, takes the chains

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Speaker 1: off a little bit, whether you're thinking about having a

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Speaker 1: stunt or something like that. Um, and we can really

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Speaker 1: just rush the pasture how um, how we feel and

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Speaker 1: maybe through the alignment or around them whatever you've got

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Speaker 1: to do. But it's for guys working together up frontum

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Speaker 1: and just building prussure. And I mean, I'm just extremely excited.

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Speaker 1: Let's see, Aja, how are you surviving the quarantine and

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Speaker 1: I hope your family and friends and everybody are healthy.

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Speaker 1: How you doing so far with kind of the disruption

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Speaker 1: in this whole process this year? Yeah, I mean it's different. Um,

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Speaker 1: but me and my family were out here and we're

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Speaker 1: working every day. My parents work and me and my

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Speaker 1: brother got weights every single day and so um, we're

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Speaker 1: trying to stay busy. Um. But I mean our family

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Speaker 1: is very close and so I mean me and my

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Speaker 1: youngest brother been playing mad and every single day and um,

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Speaker 1: me and my other brother, like I said, lift weights

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Speaker 1: and um, we're just I mean we're we're a big family.

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Speaker 1: We're a big happy group. Because I guess I would

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Speaker 1: say we're very close and we do a lot of

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Speaker 1: things together, um and so um. That togetherness makes it

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Speaker 1: a lot of you do to be home a lot

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Speaker 1: more enjoyable. I think you're gonna like the atmosphere here.

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Speaker 1: It's kind of a family atmosphere here, wouldn't you say, Stephen, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I think you're gonna fit in really well. I think

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Speaker 1: you're gonna this is a locker room that's very tight.

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Speaker 1: It's a culture that has really brought out the best

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Speaker 1: in the in the players both young and old here

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Speaker 1: on the ruster and and uh aj not for nothing, um,

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Speaker 1: but I think it would. You'd be hard pressed to

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Speaker 1: find a better place for a young football player to

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Speaker 1: land than the Buffalo Bills organization right now. It's you're

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Speaker 1: gonna thrive in it. And congratulations a j And that

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Speaker 1: comes from a guy from Steve Tasker there who came

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Speaker 1: here and what eighty five eighty six Steve and never

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Speaker 1: left right your old family here. Yeah, I'm I'm still

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Speaker 1: living here. We've been really I came here with my

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Speaker 1: wife and a dog and now we have five kids,

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Speaker 1: six grandkids, and I have different dogs. So there you go.

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Speaker 1: It's been great. You'll love it here. I know you will,

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Speaker 1: and you're gonna find out. This is a perfect landing

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Speaker 1: spot for a defensive lineman from Iowa. Oh sounds great.

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Speaker 1: I'm very excited. We're excited today, have you aj Thanks

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Speaker 1: for coming on in the show with us tonight. We

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Speaker 1: really appreciate it. Thank you, thank you for having me