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Rookie Diary With Mac McWilliams: "I Feel Like I Can Definitely Make This My Second Home" · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

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  Speaker 1: What's happened in Eagles fans Andrew deiceco here, Eagles beat
• 0:03
  reporter for Insidethebirds dot Com. Welcome into my rookie Diary
• 0:07
  series with cornerback Mac McWilliams. Each week, I'll talk to
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  Mac to hear his insight and perspective on his first
• 0:14
  season in Midnight Green. We hope you enjoy all right, Max.
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  Speaker 2: So let's start with this.
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  Speaker 3: Your first name is to carry it right and to
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  carry on, to carry on?
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  Speaker 2: How did how did you end up converting it to Mac?
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  At what point did you and did anybody call you that?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah?
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  Speaker 5: To be real, I ain't get started like folks and
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  start calling me like Mac until I got into hospital.
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  Speaker 4: I would always grow up like I.
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  Speaker 5: Had a nickname dudhah so like du Da so like
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  everybody used to call me that, just my nickname. More,
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  once I got to high school, I guess everybody's start
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  calling me Mac. I got a older brother named Fish, Well,
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  his nickname is fish, so they get fish Soudwich.
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  Speaker 4: They that's his nickname, Fish Soundwich.
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  Speaker 5: So I guess they started calling me Mac once they
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  seen it that he was my older brother and that
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  he was going big, like going to hot.
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  Speaker 4: Calling and thing. He had a lot of offers. So
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  in high school they started calling me back and I
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  just ran with it after that.
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  Speaker 2: So what did dude, where did that come from?
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  Speaker 4: My mom and my grantage, they used to call me that.
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  Speaker 5: Uh, I I was little, I was always I was
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  like one of the bad kids. So like an it's time,
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  like something bad was gonna happen, or they wanted something,
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  they wanted to see something bad happen to like get him, dude,
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  to get them do to and and they just ran
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  with it.
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  Speaker 3: So your brother fish was a defensive tack or we
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  got to play with him at ua b race?
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  Speaker 4: What was that?
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  Speaker 2: How competitive was that?
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  Speaker 4: Growing up?
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  Speaker 2: Your brother's defensive tackle, your defensive back? What kind of
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  battles did you guys?
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  Speaker 4: Old man? We bout it every day growing up.
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  Speaker 5: Uh, we were separate because we was we had the
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  same dad, different moms, But once we got together, we
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  was all class. We class we always class heads. We
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  used to race all the time. He used to be
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  faster than me growing up. Actually really he actually was
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  official counter fair. So uh we raced every day and
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  made sure I competed with him. Then once we got
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  to high school, I didn't get to go to high
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  school with him. We we literally was uh across the
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  him like you jump a fence, and that's his high school.
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  So we always used to look at each other across
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  the gate, tell each other how we gonna do each
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  other when we see him on Friday night lights and
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  things like that.
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  Speaker 4: So it was fun and I love it.
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  Speaker 2: At what point did you start to beat him in
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  those races?
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  Speaker 4: Uh?
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  Speaker 5: Definitely when we got to high school. He he gained
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  a little bit of little weight, you know, uh converted
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  D type cause you wasn't playing running back. You know,
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  he was a a great running back and things like that.
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  Speaker 4: Uh.
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  Speaker 5: Literally, so once he got to high schol and think
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  they converted him to D tackle.
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  Speaker 4: He gained a couple pounds and they.
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  Speaker 3: Y had the rest of his Well what do you
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  What are your memories of growing up in Pennsylcola, Florida.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah, it was a lot of great memories, you know, said,
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  I would definitely say it's a well known well I
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  wouldn't say well known city, but the guys, the folks
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  that lived there, I say, we all family s.
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  Speaker 4: Prinsic Colon is so small. Everybody knows everybody so you.
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  Speaker 5: Know, just having the good memories, you know, having the
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  great friends, great parents, co parents, everything, It was a blessing.
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  Speaker 2: You went to Pine Florest High School.
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  Speaker 3: You played with Martin Emerson and Devin Witherschil.
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  Speaker 2: What was that secondary like and how competitive were you
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  guys as.
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  Speaker 5: A trial same thing as my brother man. We used
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  to go at it every day of practice. We never
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  let it receives catch balling us. We made sure I
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  receive a call to bottom enough. We made sure the
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  other guy ran all the way down like it was
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  like three hundred yards. We had a fence down there,
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  so every time or see we had to catch a ball,
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  we used to run all the way down there to
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  the fence. So you know, just getting that thrilled in
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  that excitement. You know, them guys was a big time
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  coming out of high school.
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  Speaker 4: Especially Martin Emerson.
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  Speaker 5: He was having sec D one since he was in
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  a freshman in high school. So you know, just looking
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  at all the scouts come in, it was a dream
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  to do this.
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  Speaker 2: You were a defensive back, but you also returned.
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  Speaker 3: Punts if I'm correct on that definitely did you get
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  a chance to do that in college?
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  Speaker 2: Get a chance to do it even in the training camp.
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  Speaker 5: I did it in college a little bit, but I
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  didn't have like any returns I can s.
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  Speaker 4: I can kind of one hand how many re uh
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  returns I had, and in call U think had like
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  two or three. Yeah. Yeah, I was really a fair
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  catch guy.
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  Speaker 5: Well, especially when I got a UAV we we really
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  wasn't the return uh punt return team.
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  Speaker 4: So make sure I got a good field physician for
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  the offense.
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  Speaker 2: Now I'm taking you back to April.
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  Speaker 3: Now, what was your Do you remember draft night?
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  Speaker 2: Draft Dad? Oh, lord, and and they kind of set
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  the scene for us.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah. Well, I I said, I was in dester that night.
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  Speaker 5: But the morning I woke up, I knew I I
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  knew it was. I knew today that they was gonna
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  be the day that I got drafted. But I was
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  thinking the whole other days too, I was gonna get drafted.
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  So you know, I just woke up with.
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  Speaker 4: Him until that.
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  Speaker 5: I prayed before I I uh, I got up out
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  the bed, you know, asked God to you know, come
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  through with everything that he's always done for me, you know,
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  have all my my family members there and everything like that.
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  And once I got that car, the rest is history. Man,
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  I appreciate all the staff members. Uh Howie Nick for
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  you know, drafted me and you know just believing in me.
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  Speaker 2: Did you have any pre draft interaction with Vegas?
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  Speaker 4: I definitely did it.
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  Speaker 5: That's at the recent ball I talked to him, but
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  like once we got to the Stone.
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  Speaker 4: Combine, I didn't have like that and informals or nothing
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  like that way.
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  Speaker 3: So what did you know anything about Philadelphia before you
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  got us?
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  Speaker 5: I definitely I know a little bit because uh they
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  I definitely did a zoone call with him with coach Roy. Yeah,
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  I did a zoone call. We touched up a little
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  bit and they definitely said I was one of the
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  guys that they liked him.
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  Speaker 2: Hop about the city of Philadelphia and the fans. Did
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  you know anything about that?
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  Speaker 4: No? I did not know until I got here.
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  Speaker 2: Well what's that?
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  Speaker 3: I mean, you got a chance to see them in
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  the preseason and you also got a chance to see
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  the turnout for open practice. What are your initial impressions?
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  Speaker 4: Man?
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  Speaker 5: I love it, man, I ain't allow of feeling philadefinitely.
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  I feel like I can definitely make this my second home.
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  A great crowd, great fans, they die hard about this football,
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  and you can definitely tell is.
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  Speaker 3: There a particular defensive back who's really been a resource
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  to you that's kind of showing you the ropes throughout
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  the summer.
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  Speaker 4: I definitely say all of them.
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  Speaker 5: You know, me and Drew coming in being on the
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  rookie dbs, so you know, uh, Coop Quinnon, even when
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  JB came in, Uh door, you know an autumn guy.
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  You know, they they didn't been in the game for
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  a little bit and now so you know, just critiquing
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  myself and just getting a little a little tip from them,
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  you know, just to improve my game.
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  Speaker 2: What do you like it defense?
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  Speaker 4: Uh? What they get to the bar man, they get
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  to the ball. They want the ball. They gonna do
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  anything for.
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  Speaker 3: What are some of the demands of playing the nickel
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  role that maybe a lot on the outside wouldn't help.
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  Speaker 5: You Gotta be physical, Uh definitely, because you know you
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  got bigger old alignment and things like that. You got
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  slide receiver that's trying to get up all you. That's
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  I define, definitely say the main point is just being
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  physical in knowing where your health is. You gotta have
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  a little bit of IQ playing in the nickel, But
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  once you get the whatever, It's all football at the end.
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  Speaker 4: Of the day.
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  Speaker 3: Defensive coordinator Vic Vangil has offered, you know, praise whenever
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  your name has come up this summer. What have your
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  interactions been with him and how do you see your fit.
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  Speaker 2: Within the defense?
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  Speaker 4: I love covid H.
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  Speaker 5: I definitely say I still got a long way to go.
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  I definitely appreciate him praising me and things like that,
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  but I'm just taking everything day by day. Coach Vic,
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  he has a great he has a great scheme that
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  he got for us, and I'm just out here trying
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  to complete and just be the best I can be.
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  Speaker 2: We talked a little bit about this yesterday.
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  Speaker 3: But your size, Yeah, playing on the outside, what is
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  your approach when when you and you've cross trained outside,
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  but what your approach when you're on the perimeter against
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  bigger wide receivers.
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  Speaker 5: Oh yeah, definitely get my hands on, try to slow
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  they tracked down, you know, big guy.
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  Speaker 4: They like to push off, like I was said, So just.
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  Speaker 5: Making sure I get my hand placement right and being
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  physical at the top of the rock.
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  Speaker 2: Is that something that you had to work at or
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  is that.
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  Speaker 3: Just come natural to physicality? The you know, playing bigger
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  than your side.
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  Speaker 5: I definitely say a little bit of both. You know,
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  it's always thing that you can improve on. But long
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  as long as you got that heart in the wheel
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  to and the desire to go out there and compete
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  at the highest level and then ship.
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  Speaker 3: Or how about the cross training mac We talked about
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  this yesterday, but for the sake of this, you spent
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  the first part of camp doing nickel and then you
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  transitioned outside. And as a young player, was that was
• 8:24
  that a heavy work club?
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  Speaker 2: Was that was that sort of lofty or how did
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  you approach that?
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  Speaker 4: No?
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  Speaker 5: I definitely couldn't approach it at that way. I did
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  a little bit of hot in college with it. I
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  just say at the NFL level, you know, it's more
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  schemed up, and you know, you gotta think a little
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  bit more. So just having that little knowledge that I
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  have from going into college and transfer to the NFL,
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  you know, that's just that definitely helped me a little bit.
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  Speaker 3: What were the hours like when you're sort of trying
• 8:51
  to crash course study into playing the outside after learning inside.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah, it was definitely a long, a long process. Loan studying,
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  long night studying. But long as you got the heart
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  to do it. Man, if you just love for me,
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  you you're gonna go out there.
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  Speaker 4: You're gonna do whatever it.
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  Speaker 2: Takes, last one for you, last one for you.
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  Speaker 3: Have you given any thought to what it's gonna feel
• 9:09
  like going through the channel one Thursday night.
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  Speaker 4: I haven't gotten the thought yet. I'm just waiting for
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  it to come. Appreciate it.