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Auburn OL Coach Tyler Hudanick - Post-Transfer Portal · The Auburn Undercover Podcast

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  Atlanta, Georgia.
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  >> Man, one thing I do remember is Derek
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  Brown's big butt across from me. Um,
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  >> it was a cool day. Cool day obviously
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  being on the side of the field that I
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  was on. Um, it was,
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  as KB with coach Burns would tell you,
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  it was a a heck of a year for Auburn at
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  that time and a let down going into that
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  game where I think there was two
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  different levels of motivation for two
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  teams at that time. But it was a cool
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  day. I remember that defense was coming.
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  They were there was talent all over that
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  place. All over that defense.
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  >> I remember uh it was Joe Joe Holland.
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  That was the def.
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  Yeah, they were they were uh they were
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  intimidating. We were
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  >> we were ready for them that day, but
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  they uh they were good up front.
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  >> I remember that. That was a cool day.
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  You guys saw us going up against uh
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  Derek Car I mean Derek Brown or um
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  >> Derek Brown
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  >> was a young guy.
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  >> Trying to think who 91 would have been.
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  He was a young guy at the time. Derek I
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  think was a sophomore.
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  >> Um Nick
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  >> Nick
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  freshman I think at the time he was
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  special. We knew or at least we thought
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  going into that game the linebacker 35 a
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  little bit shorter guy he was a heavy
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  hitter. Um, I can't remember, man. But
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  that was a cool day. Cool day for for
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  where I was and kind of sprung us on to
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  13 more wins after that the following
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  year.
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  >> Do you think you'd be a place like this
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  9 years later?
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  >> Man, it's crazy. It's surreal. Um,
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  obviously being around really good
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  people and coach and KB and always KB's
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  always talked about how cool this place
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  was. when we worked together at at
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  Tennessee and then being together this
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  past year at South Florida and he would
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  always talk about this place and how
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  special it was. And be honest with you,
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  it's all happened fast where I say I
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  could imagine being here. Um, I don't
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  know if I would have it would have been
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  this fast, but it's a cool place for
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  sure. I'm excited to be here.
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  >> Yeah, it's got to be got to be something
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  uh really special to have as many folks
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  that you've worked with all coming here
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  at the same time. Yeah, obviously being
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  one having camaraderie of your team from
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  player to player, but being on a staff
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  that's been together, at least on the
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  offensive side of the ball. You know,
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  Coach Gish and I have been together.
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  This will be year year seven, I think.
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  Um, where we've been together, Coach
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  Gordon, our offensive coordinator, we've
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  been together now, this will be year
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  four, um, season four coming together.
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  And then KB and I spent time together at
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  Tennessee, spent time together at South
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  Florida, and now here. So, it's it helps
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  you get started, helps you get get going
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  um kind of get through that even as a
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  staff get through that transition period
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  so much quicker because you're kind of
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  all on the same page. It's been good.
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  So,
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  >> Tyler, you inherited just three guys
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  when you got here, right? What was that
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  like? And what do you think about those
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  those three
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  >> man? Those three kids, I I give them all
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  the credit in the world for sticking
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  sticking through and being here. Um
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  those three specifically, Kale, Tai, and
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  and Jacobe. Um they've been bright
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  bright spots in that room just through
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  these first couple weeks. Um yeah, it's
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  the the unique piece or I want to say I
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  don't want to say the cool piece, but
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  the unique piece I've had some
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  experience of doing this before. When we
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  got to South Florida, the room was in a
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  similar situation where we had to go
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  take a handful of guys out of Porter,
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  sign a big first high school class just
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  like we did here. Um, so way more
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  confident doing it this time around than
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  than the first time. But it's it's a
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  it's a group of of personalities. I
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  think we took took the right approach of
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  trying to go get guys that have played
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  college football before. Um, obviously
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  we're able to bring two guys with us
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  from South Florida that knew our system.
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  One of them being a center that that guy
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  and what we do is uber important. Um,
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  full best. Um, it's been super super
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  easy for our transition. Um, he's been
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  helping the guys in the room. Same with
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  Cole Skinner. Learn it and then going to
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  get a couple other guys that have have
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  played a bunch of college football. Um,
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  and then we had to build it from the
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  bottom up from the depth side of things
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  too where you had to get some add some
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  young guys into that room from uh, you
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  know, freshman sophomore class that I
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  think we got the right guys there and
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  then this freshman class that we brought
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  in the 26 class as talented as as they
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  come. Really excited about all of them.
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  Um, four of them came at the midyear.
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  There'll be one more that comes in May.
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  Um, but
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  I think more I've been in this game and
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  been in what we've done. If you got
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  tough, smart dudes that love football up
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  front, you can you can go win with them.
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  Um, which is what we had at South
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  Florida this past year is may not have
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  had the highest rated recruit or the
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  biggest or the tallest O line, but you
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  had dudes that were tough and smart and
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  love playing for each other. And I think
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  that was a big reason why we were really
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  successful on offense to be honest with
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  you. Coach Gulich and and uh and Joel
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  both have talked about the importance of
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  of the two coals, but especially having
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  your ranker there at center. Just, you
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  know, just talk a little bit about them
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  understanding not just what you're going
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  to do game day, but every all the
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  preparation, everything leading up to
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  it.
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  >> Yeah, I think what we do offensively is
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  unique enough where that position has to
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  be trained. um and the experience he
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  has, it's it's different than most
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  offenses in the sense of how fast we
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  play. But I think having him from the
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  camaraderie he has with the with the
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  other guys that came from the last place
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  and more importantly the camaraderie he
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  has with the quarterback with Byum. Um I
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  think that gives him Byum a hair more
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  confidence that he's got a center there,
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  the guys he's been catching the snap
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  from for the past two years. Um but he's
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  a leader. Cole's a an alpha as they come
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  in terms of he's not afraid to speak up
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  when it's not right, he'll speak up when
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  it is right. He's worked himself into
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  that to be honest with you. When I got
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  to South Florida, Cole Best was a guy
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  that was young in a depth position. Um,
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  never really knew how much he was going
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  to really see the field to be honest
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  with you. And everything he's earned or
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  everything he's gotten he's earned. Um,
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  he's he's a he's a workhorse. But, uh,
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  talking from the strength and
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  conditioning staff to the medical staff,
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  like having him here in a bunch of
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  different facets from how he runs the
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  locker room to how he runs the weight
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  room, it's been a huge help for them
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  even too in the transition of
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  establishing a culture, which talk about
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  all the time in the O line room that not
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  only are we protecting the team,
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  protecting the franchise, protecting the
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  quarterback, we're also setting a
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  culture for the program, right? when
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  things don't go well in a in a game or
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  in a day, they're going to look at this
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  group first. Um, and he believes that.
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  He understands that that he's he's
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  level-headed from a he's high energy,
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  but he's he knows no matter how bad or
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  good it could be going, he's got to be
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  the same guy every day. and establishing
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  that, especially with the young group
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  that we have, those guys being able to
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  see a guy like that, um, day in and day
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  out, just from a cultural standpoint
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  along with being the football player
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  that he is, I think will speak and will
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  help this program for years to come.
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  They got those young guys got the right
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  guy to look up to, which is really
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  rewarding and, um, makes me feel better,
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  makes me sleep better at night that the
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  the guys coming up in the in the ranks
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  will have the right guy to look up to.
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  Tyler, what does that process look like?
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  You you mentioned taking over at USF.
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  You had a similar rebuild along the
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  offensive line. What does spring look
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  like when you have so many new guys?
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  When you have a brand new starting five
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  on the O line, only a couple guys have
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  ever played with each other. You're
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  trying to get everybody in the system, I
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  guess. Just what are what are kind of
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  your overall thoughts on how you get an
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  offensive line group to gel in in spring
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  practice?
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  >> I think you you're trying to figure out
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  what you have to a certain degree.
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  Obviously, us evaluating and being super
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  thorough in our evaluation process in
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  the portal and the high school ranks of
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  what you think you have. Um, but I don't
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  think you truly know until you get to go
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  see those guys do the stuff that you do,
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  right? um figuring out what exactly to
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  the finite detail what they're good at,
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  what their strengths are, what their
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  weaknesses are, and trying to continue
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  to build the offense around them um is
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  really what I believe this offseason,
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  spring, summer is about, where you can
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  hopefully have have your identity
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  figured out before you ever get to
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  training camp, especially up front. Um,
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  not saying that every job's going to be
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  penciled in or by that point, but um, at
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  least have a good understanding of what
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  what your strengths and weaknesses are
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  in the in the O line room from a from a
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  skill set standpoint.
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  >> What did you guys see particularly out
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  of those two tackles? I you added more
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  than just those two guys, but kind of
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  the the flashier ones, Joe Simmons from
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  from James Madison and Stanton Raml from
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  Michigan State. What made those kind of
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  the the bookends that y'all wanted to go
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  after pretty early on in the portal
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  process? Yeah. So Stanton um recruited
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  the hell out of him when I was at
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  Tennessee. Um Coach Golish was a big
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  part of that too. So we had familiarity
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  with the family. We actually were
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  signing his little brother at South
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  Florida as a Dlineman. So kept in touch
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  with the family a bunch and just always
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  checked in on how Stanton was doing and
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  I knew um when he hit the portal that
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  being closer to home was something that
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  I think he wanted and he wanted to to
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  play in the SEC. He wanted to play in
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  the best of the best. Um, you know, he's
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  got his years are numbered with how many
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  he's got left and he uh he wants to go I
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  think prove to himself more than anybody
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  that he could go do it at this level.
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  Um, and I just from what I saw in him,
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  he's uber athletic. He's polished in a
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  lot of ways from just feeling natural
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  movements as an O lineman. He plays
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  hard. Um, you talk about one thing we
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  look forward is dudes that play hard and
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  are tough. That's him. Um, from a skill
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  set standpoint. And then Big Joe, um, a
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  guy that came on later on in his career.
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  You know, Stanton started early on in
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  his career. Was his captain as a
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  sophomore. Joe really this past year,
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  James Madison is when he really got his
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  fair share of being the main guy at
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  tackle. Um, and seeing him compete
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  against like opponents that you'll play
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  in this league was impressive. Um, he is
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  big as as they come. um athletic, got
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  great length up top, which some of those
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  traits that we look for from a body
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  standpoint at tackle he has. Um but same
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  thing, the thing that hopped off the
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  chart or hopped off the tape at me the
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  most watching him was how hard he
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  played. Whether it was good, bad, or
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  ugly, he was playing through the wick of
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  the whistle. He was playing hard, which
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  we're going to pride ourselves on out
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  efforting people in this room. And those
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  two dudes that above anything is that
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  that's what you saw on tape. girl. Think
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  of