WEBVTT - The Dave Pasch Podcast - Justin Pugh 0:00:04.800 --> 0:00:07.680 Welcome to the Dave Pash Podcast. I'm your host Arizona 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:12.039 Cardinals an ESPN broadcaster Dave pass. This week, we discuss 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:16.040 the Arizona Cardinals twenty twenty two season with Justin Pew 0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:19.919 Cardinals offensive lineman. Justin was a first round draft pick 0:00:19.960 --> 0:00:23.759 out of Syracuse, the highest drafted player since Dwight Freeney, 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:26.200 had a good run with the Giants and now entering 0:00:26.280 --> 0:00:29.040 year five with the Cardinals. But Justin might be in 0:00:29.080 --> 0:00:32.240 a new position in twenty twenty two. He's played primarily 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:35.440 left guard. Will he be a center this fall? The 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:38.120 fact that Justin's even here is maybe a little bit 0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:40.519 of an upset. He thought about retiring last year. I 0:00:40.560 --> 0:00:42.320 lied to everyone last year. Instead, I was gonna be 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:43.800 my last one and now I'm going to take it 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:46.239 one year at a time and go from there. So 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:48.559 I'm happy. I'm glad to be back, I'm healthy, I 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:51.560 feel good. We'll get into that and much more, including 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:55.440 his thoughts on Kyler Murray, Kyler's growth, and what Kyler 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:58.600 can become in twenty twenty two. We are presented by 0:00:58.600 --> 0:01:01.240 bet MGM, the official sports betting partner of the Arizona 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:05.120 Cardinals and by Hila River Hotels and Casinos. Sign up 0:01:05.120 --> 0:01:08.720 for BETMGM today using code cards one thousand and get 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:11.360 your first bet risk free up to one thousand dollars. 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:14.640 New customer offer paid in free bets. Visit betmgm dot 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:18.119 com for terms and conditions twenty one and over Arizona only, 0:01:18.280 --> 0:01:22.080 Please gamble responsibly. Gambling problem called one eight hundred. Next 0:01:22.120 --> 0:01:26.560 step and now our conversation with Cardinal's offensive lineman Justin Pugh. 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:32.800 So Justin, let's not bury the lead. You and I 0:01:32.880 --> 0:01:34.880 both went to Syracuse. I mean, that's the big story here. 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:37.160 That's what people really want to hear is about your 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:41.360 experience attending what we know fondly is the Harvard of 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:44.000 Central New York. Yeah. I mean it's a lot of 0:01:44.000 --> 0:01:46.720 pressure on me, especially doing a podcast, knowing that we 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:50.000 come from the media, the best media school and in 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:51.760 the US, so the pressure is on me as a 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:53.720 football player to live up to that standard that you 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:56.520 and others have trailblaze. So well, well, I heard your 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:59.000 press conference the other day and you handled yourself pretty well. Man. 0:01:59.000 --> 0:02:00.600 So I don't know if it because you were talking 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:04.360 about potentially retiring, So I don't know if broadcasting is 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:06.440 something you've considered it all? Did you consider it when 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:08.679 you're in school at all? I considered it for a 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:11.800 short time there. I've done a little bit of interning 0:02:11.800 --> 0:02:13.399 in the real estate world, and I liked that a lot. 0:02:13.880 --> 0:02:16.359 I've thought about maybe trying to do both, so we'll see. 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:18.760 I haven't done the broadcast boot camp or anything like 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:21.639 that yet, but doing things like this and getting out 0:02:21.680 --> 0:02:23.280 there and being in front of people, it's tougher as 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:25.639 an offensive lineman. If I was a quarterback, they just 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:27.280 hand me a six figure job and put me on 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:29.080 Sunday Night Football. You don't really have to do too 0:02:29.160 --> 0:02:31.200 much as an offensive lineman. You really got to be 0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:33.799 good at your job when you're doing it, and it's 0:02:33.800 --> 0:02:35.720 a lot tougher because you don't have that name recognition. 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:40.440 You're right. I've worked with coaches, quarterbacks, currently working with 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:43.320 a former defensive lineman, Dusty Dvorchik, who was All American 0:02:43.400 --> 0:02:46.280 at Oklahoma, played for the Bears. Worked for a while 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:49.480 with Chris Spielman, who obviously played linebacker. So I don't 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:51.760 think you have to be somebody that's a quarterback or 0:02:51.760 --> 0:02:55.000 a coach. Those have traditionally been the best analyst, and 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:59.359 obviously the name and the face recognition, so that draws 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:01.880 the big buck. But you can still do pretty well 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:04.519 in this business as an offensive life. I think I 0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:07.280 might be better off behind the scenes, doing real estate, 0:03:07.560 --> 0:03:09.920 just having some good conversations at a golf course after 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:12.680 around and giving my true opinion, because because a lot 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:15.720 of times now you gotta watch what you say. I mean, 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:17.600 you say one thing and you're canceled in a heartbeat. 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:19.880 So I might just keep myself out of the out 0:03:19.880 --> 0:03:22.200 of the limelight for a while once I'm done. When 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:25.359 you were at Syracuse, Dick McPherson was still alive, the 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:29.079 long time head coach there and coach the Patriots for 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:31.040 a while. Did you get a chance ever to talk 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:33.320 with coach mac a little bit? He came and talked 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:35.800 to the team I played with both well, his one grandson, 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:38.280 Macki McPherson, who was the starting center while I was there, 0:03:38.840 --> 0:03:41.160 So that was really my big interaction with the family. 0:03:41.480 --> 0:03:43.520 And then Doug Morone, is my head coach, had played 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:46.080 under McPherson, so he carried on a lot of those traditions, 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:50.120 a lot of those style of coaching points, the hard 0:03:50.200 --> 0:03:53.760 nose running laps doing updowns before games. Everyone's looking at 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:56.680 as funny while we're doing updowns. But meanwhile we go 0:03:56.720 --> 0:03:58.920 from the worst team in college football my freshman year 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:00.920 to the co Biggies champs my last year. So Doug 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:04.000 Marone had something figured out. I thought he was gonna 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:06.400 try to make his way back up there, but it 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:09.240 wasn't meant to be. So I went to Syracuse and 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:11.800 then went back to be their play by play guy. 0:04:11.840 --> 0:04:13.880 When you were there, Matt Park was the play by 0:04:13.920 --> 0:04:17.760 play guy. There was a guy in between us, Mark Johnson, 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:21.000 who did play by play. The year that the basketball 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:22.839 team won the national championship was a year after I 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:27.159 got this job, was the Melo Syracuse National Championship. But 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:29.080 when I was the play by play guy in football, 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:33.839 coach Mac was the analyst, and he would swear on 0:04:34.000 --> 0:04:38.000 the air every game, dropping f bombs. But he could 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:40.640 get away with it because he's a legends Central New York. 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:42.600 I mean they eat that up. You go. You go 0:04:42.640 --> 0:04:45.360 anywhere in Central New York, you're gonna either have a 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:48.159 Dick McPherson parking spot reserved for him when I was there, 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:50.400 or be him. It was with those two guys. Any 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:52.479 good restaurant you went to, they had this spot right 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:55.040 out front. Those guys were legends. They could almost say anything. 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:56.960 It's almost like Charles Barkley now you can get away 0:04:56.960 --> 0:04:59.120 with He can say whatever he wants and the people 0:04:59.120 --> 0:05:02.000 are gonna love him. Paul Pasqualoney, who was a longtime 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:04.640 coach there, who I think is at Florida now, but 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:07.120 he coach in the NFL for a while too. Coach 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:09.040 Mac used to go to all the meetings. He just 0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:11.120 sit in the back and he didn't know how to 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:14.200 answer his cell phone at the time. I think Mac 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:16.760 was probably in his late seventies, and his phone went off. 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:18.279 He didn't know the ringer was on in the middle 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:20.120 of a meeting and Coach P. I don't know if 0:05:20.120 --> 0:05:23.599 you've heard stories about Coach P. Quentin Harris, who is 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:25.359 part of the front office here, played for him and 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:27.840 has great stories about just getting yelled and screamed at 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:30.960 by Coach P. So he starts yelling and screaming throughout 0:05:30.960 --> 0:05:34.280 the auditorium. Who's that? Whose phone is that? And it 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:36.760 was Mac and Matt and he was all okay, like 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:38.200 it was as soon as he saw that it was 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:41.680 Coach mac he started apologizing, Yeah, I was sorry, Yeah, exactly. 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:46.120 Speaking of Paul Pasqualoney, George de Leone was a coach 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:49.520 for Syracuse for a long time. Offensive line coach coach 0:05:49.560 --> 0:05:52.480 in the NFL. Passed away a couple months ago. I 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:55.440 don't know if you ever heard about coach Deleone, but 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:57.280 he did a really good job with offensive lineman for 0:05:57.320 --> 0:05:59.640 a long time at both the college and professional level. 0:05:59.720 --> 0:06:01.840 I never had a chance to interact with them because 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:06.000 when I had first gotten there Greg Robinson, who also 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:09.839 passed away, I'm pretty sure as as of late. I 0:06:09.920 --> 0:06:12.480 committed to him my junior year and that staff had 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:14.960 came in and kind of replaced Paul Pascaloney coast Leone. 0:06:15.440 --> 0:06:16.800 It was kind of a new regime. And then when 0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:19.640 I committed to him, they all got fired. Doug Marone 0:06:19.720 --> 0:06:21.640 came in, so there was that gap in Syracuse where 0:06:21.640 --> 0:06:23.880 it was a little bit different. Daryl Gross came in. 0:06:23.920 --> 0:06:26.640 We kind of had that USC influence. We were trying 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:29.520 to be maybe a little bit too flashy for the 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:31.600 central New York and we got back to our roots 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:33.600 with morons. I didn't have a chance to really interact 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:36.640 with a lot of those legendary coaches. Will Hicks, who 0:06:36.640 --> 0:06:38.200 was the strength coach while I was there, was the 0:06:38.240 --> 0:06:41.000 one person that was the consistent throughout those eras and 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:43.000 he helped bridge that gap. And he's still there now. 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:44.880 He worked with a lot of the alumni and he 0:06:44.960 --> 0:06:47.240 bridges a lot of those older players with the newer 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:49.120 generation and he's done a great job of doing that. 0:06:49.560 --> 0:06:53.280 Will Hicks actually my first day with the Cardinals in 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:56.200 two thousand and two, I met Steve Kime and Steve's 0:06:56.200 --> 0:06:57.719 like we had a mutual front. It was Will Hicks 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:01.680 because I think Will was Steve's strength coach at NC State, 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:03.360 and that's kind of how I ended up with the Cardinals. 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:05.360 So when I was going through free agency, Hicks he 0:07:05.400 --> 0:07:08.240 called me up and he says, Hey, Steve Kim called 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:09.840 me and he's wondering, look type of guy you are. 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:11.840 He's like, I put my standard approval on you. I 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:13.360 know your work ethic, I know who you are as 0:07:13.360 --> 0:07:16.320 a man. So him and my guy Jay Glazer were 0:07:16.360 --> 0:07:18.160 kind of two people that knew Kime and got me 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:20.800 connected and made this place feel like home. Because once 0:07:20.840 --> 0:07:22.520 I met Kim, it was like talking to myself. We 0:07:22.600 --> 0:07:25.320 get along real well. Speaking of that. So you had 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:30.840 talked recently at a press conference about disappointment with your 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:33.640 contract a couple of years ago, things working out now 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:36.520 to come back this year. How did that go down? 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:40.400 How close were you to retiring when we were you 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:42.360 thinking in the middle of last season, Hey, this is 0:07:42.360 --> 0:07:44.440 going to be it? Or was it something that happened 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:47.480 after the season? Then? How did you start those conversations 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:50.040 up with Steve again? Yeah, so I think before last 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:54.520 year you know we're going Actually two years ago comes 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:56.400 to me, I'm going into my fourth season with the Cardinals. 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:58.440 I have no guarantees left on my deal. Our deals 0:07:58.440 --> 0:08:01.280 aren't like baseball, where it's fully guaranteed. You sometimes have 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:03.880 two years of guarantees and three years of guarantees. So 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:06.280 going into the fourth year, I didn't have any guarantees left. 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:09.600 COVID had just happened, the cap was going down, and 0:08:09.640 --> 0:08:11.560 I knew there was gonna be a squeeze. Thirty year 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:13.800 old guys who haven't made a Pro Bowl aren't all pros. 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:15.960 I mean, I knew I'm gonna be collateral damage at 0:08:15.960 --> 0:08:18.360 that point. Still, really quality starter can go out there 0:08:18.360 --> 0:08:20.280 and play good football. There's not many left guards out 0:08:20.280 --> 0:08:22.960 there that I think are better than me. And com 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:24.520 comes to me and he's like, look, you're to take 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:26.120 a pay cutter or have to release you. And it's 0:08:26.160 --> 0:08:27.720 not like they don't want me here. We would love 0:08:27.720 --> 0:08:30.120 to have you. It's just that with the cap going down, 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:31.960 we have to make some tough decisions and then here's 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:33.719 the number we can be at. If you can meet 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:36.840 us there, we'll keep you on the roster. So I 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:38.600 said to my age and I was like, there's two 0:08:38.600 --> 0:08:41.040 options here. I mean, either I take the deal or 0:08:41.080 --> 0:08:44.120 I retire. I'm not playing for another team. And he's like, well, 0:08:44.200 --> 0:08:45.640 let me just go out and see what else is 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:48.240 out there. Everyone else is going through the same things. 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:49.640 It's not like I'm gonna go to another team and 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:51.240 all of a sudden the Cardinals having no money because 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:54.720 of COVID, but X team is gonna be flushed with cash. 0:08:54.800 --> 0:08:58.760 So I thought about before last year retiring and I 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:02.320 never had thought or question playing football. Like I said 0:09:02.320 --> 0:09:04.040 in my press content, I was, you know, you get 0:09:04.040 --> 0:09:06.200 a scholarship, I'm going to school for free. You get 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:08.160 yourrafted in the first round. Of course you're gonna play. 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:10.880 Cardinals give you a big contract. There's no reason at 0:09:10.920 --> 0:09:13.880 any point to question playing football. You really have to 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:16.000 question your love when you're when you get a pay 0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:18.040 cut or they say, hey, you're not one of the 0:09:18.080 --> 0:09:22.120 top guys to quote unquote top guys anymore, and you're 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:23.760 gonna kind of fill a role for this team. We 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:25.400 need you to play left car You're you're gonna take 0:09:25.400 --> 0:09:27.000 a thirty three percent pay cut. There's gonna be a 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:29.440 bunch of incentives to even get to that point. And 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:31.160 I really had a question, and then I, you know, 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:34.160 am angry. At first. I want to say, screw the Cardinals. 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:35.920 I'm gonna go somewhere else. And then you stick back 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:38.920 and you're like, these guys changed my life four years ago. 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:41.240 I love being here. I love being part of this team. 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:43.800 My family didn't get to come to any of those 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:46.400 games with COVID the year before, so I didn't get 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:48.160 to say goodbye with them. I didn't think it was 0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:50.400 gonna be my last game, so I decided to come 0:09:50.440 --> 0:09:52.600 back and play one more so during the season last year, 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:54.440 I thought, you know what, I got to say goodbye 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:56.160 of the game. The last game of the season. I 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:58.520 had about thirty friends and family out to it and 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:00.800 everyone was under the impression the hey, this probably would 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:03.360 be it because going into the offseason, I think, again, 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:05.200 they're gonna come to me with a deal that I 0:10:05.200 --> 0:10:07.360 don't want to take. And it got to a point 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:08.760 where I just texted come and I said, Hey, if 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:10.400 you want me to play next year, this is the number, 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:14.000 this is how it's going to be, and me and him, 0:10:14.000 --> 0:10:15.800 he's like, all right, i'll call you back tomorrow and 0:10:15.840 --> 0:10:17.360 he has talked a bit well, and then we got 0:10:17.360 --> 0:10:20.200 the deal done. So I lied to everyone last year 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:21.599 and said it was gonna be my last one, and 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:23.240 now I'm gonna take it one year at a time 0:10:23.720 --> 0:10:25.760 and go from there. So I'm happy. I'm glad to 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:28.560 be back. I'm healthy, I feel good, and that's the 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:30.240 main part. If I didn't feel good or couldn't go 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:31.880 out there and play my best, because last year I 0:10:31.920 --> 0:10:34.439 played my best football, and I think going forward, I'm 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:37.000 going to continue to get better and better. I've kind 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:39.400 of got that veteran savvy going right now, so we'll see. 0:10:39.440 --> 0:10:41.360 I think it one year at a time. What weight 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:43.480 did you play at last year? Like two eighty five 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:45.480 to eighty And now we played the Rams the first 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:47.040 time we played the Rams. I was two hundred and 0:10:47.080 --> 0:10:49.320 seventy eight pounds in that Rams game. So everyone's telling 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:50.720 me I'm too skinny right now, and I'm like, I'm 0:10:50.720 --> 0:10:52.800 four pounds off of the whitest I played at last year, 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:54.959 and put my film on. If you think it's a problem, 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:57.400 put my film on. And the Cardinals obviously watched the 0:10:57.400 --> 0:10:59.920 film and they're still paying me. So something. I gotta 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:03.400 get the way back up. But there's there's in our offense. 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:06.000 We go so fast, and the way I play it 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:08.079 lends itself. I'm a very aggressive player now. I was 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:09.800 opposed to sitting back and kind of just being like 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:14.240 a garbage can. You talked about Aaron Donald. Somebody has 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:16.400 to block Aaron Donald. And in that game, you guys, 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:18.760 did you blocked him? He didn't make it. I don't 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:21.200 remember if he had any pressures in that game, the 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:23.800 first game in LA and then obviously things changed the 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:26.160 game here and in the playoffs. What do you think 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:28.679 was different? And I'm sure you've been asked this a 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:31.920 ton for not just the offensive line, but the offense 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:35.600 in general as the season went along, not just obviously 0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:38.960 losing DeAndre Hopkins a big deal. But what else happened. Yeah, 0:11:39.000 --> 0:11:40.719 I mean, obviously Kyler went down, I got hurt. I 0:11:40.720 --> 0:11:42.679 didn't play in that Monday night game against the Rams. 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:46.800 I was still I came back the following week. We 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:49.520 have to be better in the biggest situations. We have 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:51.400 to do all the little things right, because that is 0:11:51.400 --> 0:11:54.280 what loses you those big games, the Green Bay game 0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:56.920 where you know we're eight and no we're driving down 0:11:56.920 --> 0:11:58.679 to beat him, and we and we have little mishaps 0:11:58.679 --> 0:12:00.319 and didn't come down to that last play game. It 0:12:00.400 --> 0:12:02.760 came down to earlier in the game where we're putson 0:12:02.840 --> 0:12:05.000 around out there and we fall into a little hole 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:07.640 and have to make this miraculous comeback. When you play 0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:10.200 in those biggest on those biggest stages, in the most 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:12.160 important games, where everything's on the line, you have to 0:12:12.200 --> 0:12:14.520 execute at the highest level. We were able to get 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:16.640 by a lot of times last year just being more 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:19.240 talented than everyone we were on the field with. When 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:21.400 you get late in the season, guys are dinged up, 0:12:21.440 --> 0:12:24.079 you're not as healthy as you want to be. It's 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:26.120 the little plays. It's doing the little things right where 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:28.320 no one even knows you're supposed to make that block 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:30.400 or you're supposed to, you know, make that check, things 0:12:30.440 --> 0:12:32.240 like that. That's what wins those games. And that's where 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:33.720 we have to get better. And if we don't take 0:12:33.760 --> 0:12:35.960 those steps, it's gonna be the same result. What do 0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:38.240 you think your role is going to be this year? 0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:41.920 Because with Rodney Hudson not here, there's been talk that 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:44.640 maybe you know, Rodney's retired, he's not coming back. We 0:12:44.640 --> 0:12:47.200 don't know for sure. Is your role going to be 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:49.560 center or are you gonna have to play both guard 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:53.120 and center. I don't know. I've never played center before 0:12:53.120 --> 0:12:55.719 in my career, but I've seen guys play center late 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:58.680 into their careers. Guard is a much more I want 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:00.280 to say much more. I mean playing on of line 0:13:00.360 --> 0:13:02.960 is physical throughout, but guard, with the amount of pulling 0:13:02.960 --> 0:13:06.400 and trapping and you're one on one more often, Center, 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:10.920 mentally is just is so much tougher. And in our offense, 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:12.360 the center makes a lot of the calls. That's why 0:13:12.360 --> 0:13:15.520 we've prioritize that position every offseason. You see we had 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:17.439 a Q Shipley and Mason Cole that went out and 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:20.880 got Rodney Hudson. We clearly value that position. So for me, 0:13:20.920 --> 0:13:22.880 it's like if I'm gonna keep taking pay cuts a guard. 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:24.400 Maybe I should move to center and see if I 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:26.120 can do that, because if I can play center at 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:28.920 a high level, obviously we prioritize that. So for me 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:30.880 as a business decision, it might make the most sense 0:13:30.920 --> 0:13:33.360 for me to play center. But I'll do whatever's best 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:35.360 for the team. I've played guard. Playing guards like riding 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:36.480 a bike for me, and you can put me out 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:38.000 there and I know what I gotta do, so to 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:40.040 get some reps at center and see how that shakes out. 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:43.120 It's interesting, it's fun, it makes you break a mental sweat, 0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:45.040 and I learn a little bit more. Oh maybe better 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:46.640 if I want to be a broadcaster, because you gotta 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:48.439 learn coverages and do all those things. So at the 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:51.360 very least it's going to help my broadcasting career. So 0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:54.920 help the listener that doesn't really understand what a center 0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:58.599 goes through mentally, and that you're learning through minicamp, and 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:01.439 I assume will learn even more here between now and 0:14:01.520 --> 0:14:04.400 training camp. What are some of the differences from a 0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:07.000 tackle which you've played in the NFL, to guard, which 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:10.520 you've played mostly and then being a center mentally mentally, 0:14:10.559 --> 0:14:13.160 the tackle doesn't is worried about blocking the best pass 0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:15.840 rusher on the defense. Like that's why, I mean, everyone's 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:17.560 seen the movie The Blindside. Hey, we're gonna put you 0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:19.360 out there and you're gonna block Vall Miller. You're gonna 0:14:19.360 --> 0:14:22.840 block Khalil Mack. The guard is a little bit more 0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:25.440 physical because the tackle on third down earns his money 0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:27.520 and we're a passing league, so let's not joke about it. 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:29.680 The tackle is the hardest physical position to play on 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:32.840 the field, Like any position, they're going backwards by the 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:34.960 best athlete on the field is rushing out on full speed. 0:14:35.440 --> 0:14:37.560 At guard. These guys inside are getting better and better. 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:39.320 I mean, Aaron Donald may go down is the best 0:14:39.320 --> 0:14:42.560 defensive player of all time, and we gotta blockhin. Then 0:14:42.560 --> 0:14:43.840 we got a pool and block eyes. You have to 0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:46.000 be able to be versatile movement space, and there's a 0:14:46.040 --> 0:14:48.560 lot of collisions At guard center. You're getting up and 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:52.040 you're getting everybody aligned. So the guard just relays whatever 0:14:52.040 --> 0:14:53.920 the center tells him to the tackle, and that's kind 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:56.680 of the end of the communication. At center, you're looking 0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:58.800 at safety rotation, trying to see where they're bringing the 0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:01.720 pressure from, and working with the quarterback to get everyone 0:15:01.720 --> 0:15:04.240 on the same page. Once you id the defense and 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:06.160 get everyone blocking the right guy, then you have to 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:08.000 get the cadence from the quarterback and make sure all 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:11.080 that's going well. The best centers and quarterbacks are constantly 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:12.840 changing up their cadence. I mean, you look at Aaron 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:16.000 Rodgers and Green Bay. He's he's running a masterclass on it. 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:18.400 And that's that's the nuance of playing that position that 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:20.760 I'm not there yet, I'm, you know, trying to learn now. 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:23.120 But Rodney Hudson and mastered that as well. There's a 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:25.360 clip in Tennessee where playing the Titans Week one, Rodney 0:15:25.400 --> 0:15:28.520 Hudson realizes that they're bringing a zero pressure, changes the 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:30.760 mic point and we start working to a different player. 0:15:30.800 --> 0:15:33.440 We score a touchdown. The little things like that is 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:36.640 what you know, goes beyond what you can see on film. 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:38.480 You have to be out there and know, like, hey, 0:15:38.480 --> 0:15:40.760 what scheme are we running? What are you supposed to do? 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:43.520 Oh wait, you saw this coverage switch. It's all about 0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:47.360 safety rotation and changing a mic point, scoring us a touchdown. 0:15:47.440 --> 0:15:49.480 So doing things like that, it's what makes the center 0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:52.480 position so unique and so important. What are the conversations 0:15:52.520 --> 0:15:55.520 like with Kyler when you're playing center, So he'll come 0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:57.080 up and he'll give you the play, and then you're 0:15:57.200 --> 0:15:59.320 iding and getting us on the right page. So Kyler 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:00.800 will come up and Hill just give you, Hey, here's 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:02.960 a run play to the left. Now you have to see, hey, 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:05.880 is the safety capping the linebacker? When I said capping 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:09.000 the linebacker? Is the safety hovering behind the linebacker, which 0:16:09.040 --> 0:16:12.320 then gives the linebacker an ability to trigger and blitz. Okay, well, 0:16:12.440 --> 0:16:14.880 he's potentially able to blitz. We have to work to him. 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:17.280 As an offensive line. We have to put the offensive 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:20.560 blockers on the potential blitzers or rushers from the defense. 0:16:20.600 --> 0:16:23.240 And so once Kyler gives you the play, uid get 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:24.880 it's all on the right page. If they ever out 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:27.440 number hey Kyler, let's check this. Or Kyler will be like, hey, 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:29.520 we got too many numbers over here to the left. 0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:31.120 Let's switch it and run a play to the right. 0:16:31.520 --> 0:16:33.320 And that's one of those things where you're working together 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:35.400 to get the offense and the best play, and the 0:16:35.400 --> 0:16:37.640 center has to do a good job of helping Kyler, like, hey, 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:39.200 let's check that out of this. This is not a 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:41.600 good look we're running. We have four blockers and they 0:16:41.640 --> 0:16:44.360 have five blitzers where we don't have enough. It's just 0:16:44.400 --> 0:16:48.040 simple football math. It's even though the Syracuse graduation, we 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:50.720 can figure that one out. I'm still figuring out. I 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:52.120 didn't go to a Look, I didn't go to class 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:56.080 very often at Syracuse. So give me a sense of 0:16:56.200 --> 0:16:59.800 Kyler's growth in terms of understanding all those things from 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:02.080 year one to what you saw last year to maybe 0:17:02.080 --> 0:17:04.640 some of the things you've noticed through mini camp. Yeah, 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:05.919