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Making Monsters: Getting to Know Chicago Bears Skyler Thomas · 2nd City Gridiron

• 0:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right, welcome back to another episode of Making Monsters, I'm Taylor Doll.
• 0:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: We're joined now by Coach Rod Chan's current coach for the UConn football team, congrats on that win coach.
• 0:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: But obviously, formerly with the Coach of Co defensive coordinator, Oregon State, which is why we're here today to talk Skylar Thomas, but thanks for taking the time and chatting with me today.
• 0:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: Appreciate you, have fun.
• 0:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Super excited.
• 0:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I love these stories.
• 0:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: He was an undrafted free agent and is making the 53 man roster.
• 0:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think those are always cool.
• 0:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: You could see through the preseason how much he battled to get on this team and make that 53 man roster.
• 0:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: So could us to him for that.
• 0:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I wanted to start with your your time with him.
• 0:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: When you got to Oregon State, he was coming off a season ending injury that he had the previous seat year.
• 0:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then
• 0:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: 2024 had a really good season there so chat a little bit about that time that offseason for him at first when you showed up at Oregon state and he was probably still re-having a little bit getting back into the flow of being on the football field.
• 1:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think the first thing first scholars and amazing human being.
• 1:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: I say this all the time.
• 1:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: He's probably one of the amazing people I've ever been around.
• 1:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I don't say that loosely, you know, I've been in the game 14 years, but, you know, scholars have perlated that made me a better man, a better person.
• 1:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I think that's rare as a coach that you get that at this level.
• 1:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, you mentioned he came off injuries.
• 1:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: That year that he was the injury.
• 1:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: He spent time in the box.
• 1:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, I'm charting plays that helping the coaching staff out.
• 1:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then when I got the job, I got the job maybe two days before spring ball started.
• 1:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: So,
• 1:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: I really didn't know the defense when we hit the grass, and Scott was kind of teaching me the defense as we went along.
• 1:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, hey, Coach, we did this way.
• 1:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: Hey, this is why we did it that way.
• 1:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's, you know, the coordinator at that time, you know, I had previous experience working together.
• 1:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: So he and I would kind of communicate in the language that I can understand and in Scotland was getting me up the depth of what would actually have been going on in the scheme previously.
• 2:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, he's got a great respect for who he is as a person.
• 2:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: He is a person that truly does everything one way, which is the best of his ability.
• 2:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: Never was time where he wasn't the first person in the building.
• 2:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: The first person in the meeting room.
• 2:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: If I send a group text message, he's the first person to respond to that.
• 2:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, at the 3.89 GPA as a student athlete, as you guys know he's married.
• 2:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: you know I mean of life altogether and that's what created to us family is mom and dad they're both did a great job kind of working together to raise him and and those characteristics you know kind of showed up and who he was as a person on a day-to-day basis I told his mom and I hey look you know I got to come sit down and you know talk to you about what you did with him because you know in terms of the human being I've never been around the better one in terms of football space
• 2:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: As we love hearing that, I know that's a big thing Ryan Polls and Ben Johnson are both very adamant about having hard workers, good people, good humans.
• 2:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think being able to hear you say that, I think is huge.
• 2:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: When you talk about the football side of things, when he spent all five years at Oregon State, you don't see that much anymore.
• 3:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: Either one a player sticking with one school throughout that time.
• 3:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, with the portal and stuff, you see a lot of movement.
• 3:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: So he spoke early on why he chose Oregon State.
• 3:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: And he went through that or his entire college career.
• 3:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I do want to talk about the just his actual play because when you see what he did started corner back when he first got to Oregon State, I think ended up switching to safety but we played nickel back so a very versatile player in that sense, but when you were there 24 or 25, how did you guys use Skylar in that backfield?
• 3:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think obviously, you know, he came in as a corner, long body.
• 3:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, obviously, that's about to continue to develop.
• 3:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, obviously, he has a physical streak to them.
• 3:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, they can get physical and play in the box.
• 3:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: But he also has some coverage components that have some redeeming qualities as well.
• 3:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: For us, we were always a defense that, you know, we fit the box with our safety.
• 3:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I feel safety.
• 3:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: He's always had versatile to play in the field.
• 3:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: or to the boundary, but for him, you know, he's always been closing the post for us or playing that quarters as well on cover four.
• 3:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: So he got the personal tool back, you know, just in terms of him, we just didn't ever know, for me, I didn't know how big he would get, you know, because the certain times would be 2018 and sometimes it would be 2012.
• 4:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: So you just never knew you know where it's what wait was gonna flush away so getting around on my memories and always guys gonna stay you know what I mean I say you know so at some point he's gonna move but then you see him handle himself see him communicate I'm seeing him get everybody aligned on the same page
• 4:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: And, you know, it's him flying around.
• 4:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: He's got a physical ministry tool in that.
• 4:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: He's a nicest person you would ever meet outside of the football field.
• 4:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: But when he crosses those lines, he's kind of becoming a character.
• 4:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: And, you know, he's really trying to take your head off.
• 4:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, just some, the redeeming quality for him.
• 4:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: One, the communication piece, getting everybody lined up.
• 4:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: That can't be, you know, compromised.
• 4:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's just who we is, and it's valuable.
• 4:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I believe somebody has a reason why he's on that roster.
• 4:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, just in terms of being able to process the defense, get everyone else on the same page and get them aligned.
• 4:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's always been something that's been a high-cute football player.
• 4:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you asked the right person the questions and not just to pertain to his responsibility.
• 4:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: Hey, how did it hold entire defense works?
• 4:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: Where's my help?
• 4:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: Gonna be where we vulnerable in that defense.
• 5:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: He was always thirsty for that type of information to the point where sometimes I couldn't ask him a question.
• 5:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: Because you knew all the answers to the questions and that sometimes that can limit the ability of the room, the rest of the room that grow.
• 5:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: But he always was someone that's from a mental standpoint.
• 5:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right?
• 5:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: He understood it the first time.
• 5:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: He wasn't the guy that made the same mistake twice.
• 5:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: And we can live without it the errors of physical.
• 5:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, the mental errors kind of take a little bit more of a toll on us as coaches.
• 5:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's what Dennis Allen is when you look at Dennis Allen defenses who are obviously the defense coordinator for the bears that the nickel corner position is very important in his defenses when you talk about the coverage when you talk about against run defense he likes to blitz there's all of those things are those things that all you feel like Skylar can do at the next level.
• 5:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: Definitely, you know, he's showing it on tape.
• 5:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, for us, we were using that primary blitz or a lot of times on third down.
• 5:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, I think the matchups will be friendly for him.
• 5:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, especially if he's facing off against tight ends and things, so he feels good enough to be at the point with those guys.
• 5:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: And he just has some quickness to stay with the small bodies as well.
• 6:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: But I do think those things marry up to his skillset very well.
• 6:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: What they want to use him in a dime package and play him in the box.
• 6:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: He can cover tight ends and go and blitz it, right?
• 6:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: And contain the quarterback.
• 6:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I think he's got a lot of redeeming qualities and versatility to work within this game.
• 6:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: Is there one position or a way to use him that you would say you would hope Chicago leans into that a little bit like his biggest strength?
• 6:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, I think the physicality part of, I think it's a good blister.
• 6:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think it has versatility on 30 downs that, you know, if you want to sub-package them and, you know, play a material in the box, I think you can do that as well.
• 6:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, if you want to be the dime backer, you know, I mean on the inside as well.
• 6:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, I think you can cover well with good and deep defense in terms of being a post- Safety.
• 6:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, I think it's got a good feel for that, but I just think it's biggest quality.
• 6:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, and I think sometimes we think it's a bad thing, it's just a brain.
• 6:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, yes, you got to have the physical tools right to play in the National Football League.
• 6:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's obvious, but I think the separation becomes how he prepares for his work.
• 6:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: How serious he is about his work.
• 6:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: He's not going to be a goddess, chasing him around at night time.
• 6:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, he's not going to be that, you know, that's not who he is as a person as a man.
• 7:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I think, you know, what he likes in in physical ability, I think the redeeming qualities in who he is as a person.
• 7:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think those things permeate throughout the locker room that had a final face that you want in your locker room.
• 7:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, he's coming to a team that has as pretty set and well at least offensively, which is crazy because in the past, it's always been the bears have been a defensive team, but you get Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson and Roman Dunes, a Lutheran bird and all these guys who just have immense talent and all of a sudden this offense looks like they could score a lot of points, but the defense was an issue last year at times, it was just kind of injury started piling up and you have young guys coming out there and trying to
• 7:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: you know, make themselves a little bit more known.
• 7:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so he's coming into a room where I really truly think he has a chance to battle for one of those starting positions.
• 7:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think something like that, the way you talk about him, his mindset makes it feel like he feels he could probably do that himself.
• 7:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we won and be able to battle out there.
• 7:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: Uh, I would not put anything in past, um, you know, when you have someone that dedicated to their craft, and um, I say a lot of times that he's on autopilot, because as coaches, we always say it's a little coaching term that we always say, how you do any things, how you do everything, right?
• 8:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: We hit it all across the country, but that's what we're trying to implement in players, but you rarely see that right in every area of their life, but this is somebody who genuinely shows that right in every fast stuff is life, right?
• 8:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: How are you prepared for school, dominated the classroom?
• 8:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: you know, how you prepare for the meeting room dominated the meeting room.
• 8:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, my expectation, you know, this is no surprise that we're having this conversation.
• 8:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, um, drafted, undrafted, I kind of felt like his redeeming quality is how he got guys online.
• 8:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: Because this value in that, especially when you got a lot of new bodies on the field, trying to gel within the new system.
• 8:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: When someone learns it, making absolutely get everyone else aligned that comes to stress down to everyone else in the room.
• 8:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: And that's just something that he's been able to do, you know, over the course of his career.
• 8:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: But Oregon State were a big and meeting with everyone together, all five positions because we ran a 425 scheme, so that allowed us to teach people multiple positions, and it also allowed you to learn what other people's positions, what their responsibilities may have been.
• 9:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I think the room structure kind of helped him out a bit as well.
• 9:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: But, you know, he leaves with his brain, man, I'll tell you, but if he gets his hands on you, some bads will happen as well.
• 9:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: I love that.
• 9:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: I always say because we have like, when you have those players who are kind of just like Teddy bears off the field and I use the bear reference because there's Chicago bears and then on the on the field it's a whole different level and you could see even from watching his tape you saw that even through the precies and I know you got to watch it and it's the eye test, but when you look at all the grades PFF grades he was one of the highest graded rookies that throughout the precies and and that just shows you could see that right away when he is on the field.
• 9:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: The misproset.
• 9:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hey guys!
• 9:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Football season is back.
• 9:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: We finally made it.
• 9:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: Just a few days away from the Patriots in the Seahawks kicking off the season on Wednesday night and that brings us to a bet you can not lose.
• 9:50
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• 9:54
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• 9:58
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• 10:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: and let's kick the season off with the dub, but don't worry, this is not the only my bookie lock of the season.
• 10:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll be having them all season long, just make sure that you get in and lock that in before kick off on Wednesday night for this first one of the year.
• 10:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: But on anything, anytime, anywhere.
• 10:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: Must be 21 or older, 18 or older in selector.
• 10:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: Stictions, terms and conditions apply gambling problem, calling it 100
• 10:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: The misprecession is that he's such a nice guy, you know what I mean?
• 10:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: To the point where when I first met him like this can't be who he is, like this guy baked.
• 10:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, but he is genuine and a great person and I can say, I can get emotional talking about who he is as a person and man, just him checking in on who I am, making sure I'm good as a person and not just as a football coach, but you know, those type of people man that the world makes room for him.
• 11:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, regardless of what the field may be, the world makes room for good people.
• 11:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: And he's one of the best I've been around.
• 11:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm happy you've been able to talk to him since camp started.
• 11:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah.
• 11:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: So we kind of checked in several times, you know, uh, throughout camp, um, you got to have another play in camp with him, uh, my calling checked on Dante, Manning and Doc, it told me how well Skyler was doing, so that was my cuticle hit call Skyler.
• 11:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm very touched with a lot of the guys that I'm close with.
• 11:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: in the past.
• 11:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: I still think they still need coaching.
• 11:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: They still need mentorship, even though they're adults.
• 11:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I've just been blessed to have great relationship skills with players when they feel blessed enough, or they even want to talk to me, you know, still to me.
• 11:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: But he's somebody we talk very frequently when I find out he made the roster.
• 11:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: We talk later on that date.
• 11:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: But he's awesome, his wife's the chorus, she's awesome as well.
• 11:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: I just think he's gonna be a great addition for it and not only the team, and I think once you get some speed in the ground, you know, I think you're making a pack in the community as well.
• 12:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's I know bears fans are excited.
• 12:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: You get to that point where the roster cuts when it's getting to 53 man is a little sad when you follow these players so closely throughout camp because you do kind of start to get to know their personalities and you know that not everybody can make it.
• 12:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's a numbers game sometimes so.
• 12:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: seeing these stories.
• 12:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: The bears actually kept for undrafted free agents, which doesn't happen often, just to it shows 11 guys they kept from this draft class.
• 12:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: So that's a lot of guys and a lot of youngness that they like, but I think that kind of is a testament to how well they worked this off season.
• 12:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: For people that don't know that first year that you were with him, he played all 12 games that year.
• 12:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mentioned coming off the
• 12:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: injury from the year before, but he had 81 tackles for Spumble 2, Fumble Recovery is an interception, 9 pass break-ups.
• 12:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Those are just all those stats that you start reading about him and you're like, man, this guy kind of feels like he gravitates towards the ball.
• 12:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: No doubt, you know, he was able to play multiple spots, you know, we put him at Phil's Haiti boundary safety, blitz him a lot, he was productive, probably had a few passes that that was in his hands that ended up on the ground that he'd probably like to have back, but he consistently flashed, you know, I just think the right system right coaching staff, you know, he was just thrive man, I think
• 13:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: Again, I think it's biggest value is going to be how you effects others.
• 13:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I think that's the trait that sometimes in collegiate sports or professional sports that gets a little bit lost sometimes in fans might see something, hey, why didn't we keep this guy where we kept that guy because they don't know within the meeting room, right?
• 13:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's the guy that's really kind of holding the strings together and keeping the glue going if that makes sense.
• 13:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: I want to ask about a few other players before I let you go because you've been coaching for a while.
• 13:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: You've been Southern Utah or again, you're at, even Mississippi, it was Minnesota, you're at for a little bit.
• 13:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: I was trying to remember all the places.
• 13:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: One of, honestly, my favorite players that I was really bummed to not make the team this year, Charles Smith, he's been with the Bears for a little bit and has some injuries issue.
• 13:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think that's the only reason he's not on the team because that kid can ball.
• 13:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, no doubt, man, I look at it now.
• 13:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: I didn't think about it until you missed it, but you know, had opportunities to be around practicing when he was a young football player.
• 14:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: And obviously the being from the state of Utah, we didn't know much about it, at least for me, you know, because most of my work on the career was not done in the state of Utah.
• 14:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: But that experience there, not only let me to meet Braxton, but also, you know, there was this, you know, these two football players about 40 miles down the road, you know, at this low high school in St. George.
• 14:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: And these two probably these in kids were pretty good.
• 14:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: The dad was the coach and he was a little crazy or how he coasted him.
• 14:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: But I've been seeing, I've known Penae Sools since Penae was in the sophomore high school.
• 14:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: I've known Noah since he was in the eighth grade.
• 14:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: And Gabe, as his father's been a great tool for us when I was in recruiting there.
• 14:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: And he stepped back and coached a little bit now, but he's always been involved in their lives, man.
• 14:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: And great people, great family.
• 14:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: to be around the day.
• 14:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, for such a long time, and I got a chance to be around him for good periods.
• 14:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: And obviously, coaching on the deep inside of ball, you know, had a lot of experience.
• 14:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, coaching with no other men, so I know my little story about, I know I just remember 17 years old first game, right?
• 14:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: First game playing against Frick and Stanford.
• 14:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: He goes in there.
• 15:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: He knocks the hell out of a Frick and, you know, I mean, guard.
• 15:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: He's 17 years old.
• 15:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm like, hey, guys.
• 15:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: This dude's not going to be a super, very long, he knows this in terms of that.
• 15:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: So just to see those those relationships that we had, young in their careers, and just to see their career, and to articulate right to the national football league, I think that's been very pleasing, right?
• 15:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: I've got those ain't but Smith some time with Terrell, we call him T-Town.
• 15:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's your time.
• 15:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, we call them tea time, and obviously, you know, as you kid us from Atlanta, Atlanta is my recruiting area, and I also coast high school football in Atlanta, so, you know, that year, you know, that tea that I did coast to where we had at Benjamin St. Juice, who's with the Packers now, yeah, and one of those junior, you know, in that, and now, I know, I know that's around, just kind of going through some of the guys who have a second there, Rumi.
• 15:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, Terrell was a young player within that day.
• 15:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: I knew then, hey man, this dude has some real speed, then you affect the football game a lot.
• 15:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, he's come a long way, man.
• 15:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's good to see some of those guys.
• 15:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: Hopefully, you know, he lasts somewhere on his feet.
• 15:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, he keeps the moving, but I've been very fortunate, you know, the coach and really good football players.
• 16:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: Cause it ain't the coach, you know, I mean, the coach is the players that really make the thing go.
• 16:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, I'm just blessed to be in that situation.
• 16:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's really cool as I was going through the list.
• 16:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: I was like, man, like, Braxton's, you know, are starting left tackle at this point in time, and then Noah's, one of the, you know, he'll be out there and our linebacker core.
• 16:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of movement of how many linebackers we use at different times, obviously.
• 16:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I talked to his dad last year when he ended up making the roster, because he was technically on the team, but he got injured and pre-seasoned.
• 16:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know he didn't coach with you, but we had a couple of souls and then the other soul and with the lion, so there's a lot of familiarity there.
• 16:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: But the oldest, the oldest is gay.
• 16:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: All right, then it was need five.
• 16:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: Then it was Peney and Noah.
• 16:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: So you know, I've got a chance to see all of those kids come through, man, and gave this wife to my great job, raising great people.
• 16:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, talk about some athletes and that family.
• 16:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: Probably one of the most athletic offensive linemen.
• 16:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think you got to be pretty cool, and I know.
• 16:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you.
• 16:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know I asked his dad.
• 16:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: I was like, who do you root for?
• 16:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's like, everybody.
• 16:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Just root for them all.
• 17:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: They got to be experienced, man.
• 17:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, I think there was times at the Oregon where we played
• 17:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: where we played both sons, you know, we played, we played Nephilim, you said Utah, and we played Nevada, and we gave the oldest, right, was there as well.
• 17:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: So it was always fun to kind of see them balance, balance act, where the double shirts, right?
• 17:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 17:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's a cool halfway, this is one of the bad.
• 17:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, those are great people, man.
• 17:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: I've been blessed.
• 17:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: Good parents, man.
• 17:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's just let you coach the car and don't ask a bunch of questions.
• 17:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know what I mean?
• 17:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: Hey, coach.
• 17:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: Just make them a better man and coach them hard.
• 17:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I had a chance to see, you see, gay coaches on science, you know, with my home to eyes and anything.
• 17:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: Now anybody ever coach them hard was nothing compared to what he did.
• 17:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's a deal.
• 17:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, he would say he was like man he was like I was hard on them, but you know, like look where they are now a couple more that you didn't coach, but you coach against without you.
• 17:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm sure there's a million honestly because just how how in depth you've been with the college football programs.
• 17:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: But a couple recent the bears just spent the first round pick on Dylan Theneman you said you played him twice actually when he was at Purdue.
• 17:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then also when he was at Oregon, but the bears get him, you know, late in that first round he's going to be.
• 18:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: a starter right away at that safety position.
• 18:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: Unfortunately, we lose Kobe Bryant for the season.
• 18:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: So the rookie has a lot on his shoulders this year.
• 18:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, you can see that even that Purdue team of the roster wasn't as good.
• 18:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: But you can tell me how much trust a lot of faith in him.
• 18:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: And sometimes, man, you get in the situation where you play in for a different roster, a different past rush, right different systems usually a little bit differently.
• 18:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then, obviously, you can get some production.
• 18:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: So obviously, you know, being at Purdue and, you know, being coach at Oregon, but then in those guys, I'm pretty sure, you know, he's done the extension job.
• 18:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: I was kind of bringing them up and speeding football stuff and this football IQ.
• 18:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: And just some of the stuff was translated over.
• 18:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, I know they were going to pretty robust system over that Oregon.
• 18:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: So he should be able to handle some of the installs that's coming out of this in terms of, you know, from a mental standpoint.
• 18:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: But he was the guy that was good and deep defense.
• 18:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: Obviously he flashed in tackling as well.
• 18:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: But he's got a versatile skill set that, you know, I think the translates well in the national football league would be safe healthy.
• 18:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then the final two, uh, one of your rivals when you were at Oregon, Washington, we got a Kyler Gordon and Aroma Dunes a on this team both played at Washington.
• 19:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think the one year was like, COVID year, so it ended up that game didn't end up happening, but I think that next year you were able to play against both of those guys any familiarity with them at all?
• 19:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, you know, um, you know, with the Washington, and you always had to watch those guys because I was there was going to get in process.
• 19:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, 12 personnel and let those guys roll, you know, just turns of the vertical ability, right?
• 19:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Especially when they have pennies there, you know, it's in terms of being recorded back.
• 19:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, obviously, we know those guys were deep threats, that we want to make sure that we keep the ball in front of us, man, because they shown it consistently and schematically that way is that they can kind of.
• 19:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, undress some things right there in coverage.
• 19:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, those guys have vertical ability to take the top off the coverage, use that, that'll translate, you know, long as you can get off press coverage, you know, kind of going forward and asking the football league.
• 19:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: But both two guys that can take the top off obviously have dangers, you know, if you give them a step, they can take it a long way.
• 19:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, just for us, we wanted to make sure that we keep the top on the coverage and make some different techniques.
• 19:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: We're not with playing press on them, you know, I'm in a playing off because what we did want to do is just give one of them over the head.
• 20:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right, or just playing straight up different coverage, man, but they're two great players.
• 20:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: Obviously, that we had to deal with has some success versus them, you know, in certain places, and you know, some places they did well.
• 20:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right, Coach, well, I really appreciate your time.
• 20:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: I love all the different connections you have.
• 20:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: So there's some bears you can chair for this year if you'd like.
• 20:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, man.
• 20:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: I really appreciate you.
• 20:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: No problem.
• 20:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Anything for scum.
• 20:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right.
• 20:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: Have a good day.
• 20:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, man.