Latest / The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network / Ep. 8: From beat writer and player to life-long friends | Boselli: A Podcast Series

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Ep. 8: From beat writer and player to life-long friends | Boselli: A Podcast Series · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: The Hall of Fame, will would truly be the high
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: speed of little arner I can have as a as
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: a football player. Welcome to a celebration of Jacksonville Jaguars
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: left tackle Tony Vasselli's induction in the National Football League
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Hall of Fame. What makes it even more special for
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: me is I want to represent this organization and this
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: fan base because I know it's important to them as well.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: For them to care that much means a tonue to me.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Join Jaguars dot Com senior writer John Hosier as he
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: sits down with the people who know Tony both professionally
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: and personally. CBS Sports senior writer Pete Frisco. Pete and
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: I covered the Jaguars together from the reason that's pertinent,
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: that spans pretty much all of Tony Baselli's career, and uh,
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Tony and Pete particularly have a relationship that goes back
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: twenty three years now, which is unbelievable to me to
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: say it's been that long. Uh, Pete, First of all, welcome,
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: and I appreciate you doing this as always. Has it
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: really been that long? It's been longer than that. Actually, Yeah,
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: it's a well, and it started off I mean, uh,
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: for fans who don't know, uh, Pete, the first store,
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: I gotta ask you, Pete, and I know it well,
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: but I love hearing you tell it. Before anybody in
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: Jacksonville knew who Tony Boselli was outside a few college
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: football fans. Uh, you've figured out they were drafting him.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: And there's a story that goes where the Jaguars. I
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: think we could reveal it after twenty seven years. Now
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: got you the tape to watch Tony and so the
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: the t you could kind of prep fans for who
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: this guy was because it wasn't necessarily gonna be a
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: popular pick. This was not a quarterback. This was an
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: offensive tackle. It was an often not off the wall
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: football people got it. But take me through that story, Pete. Well,
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: was you know Tom Coughlin wanted to take Tony Boselli
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: and it wasn't, like you mentioned, it was not going
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: to be a sexy pick. I mean, it just wasn't.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: It's a left tackle, and we know the value of
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: the position, but when you're building a franchise, everybody takes quarterback, quarterback, quarterback,
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: And so Coughlin got me a VHS tape and I
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: had that for a long time. I don't know what
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: I did with it, but it was a VHS tape.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: That's how logo was of Tony against Baylor, and Baylor
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: had Scotty Lewis. It's relative because he was a good player,
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: and it was and he was and he was one
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: of those guys Tony just took to heart and dominated
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: I wrote the story saying, look, it looks like they're
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: gonna pick this guy. This is why it makes sense
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: that that that that that, and you gotta get the
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: left tackle the quarterback. They you know, they they're gonna
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: get one some other way. And by that time they
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: had already gotten Burline right and and and uh and
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: then Brunel came in the trade, so Brie him in
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: the trade I think a couple of days before the draft, dude,
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: but it was still gonna be Berlin. So it's uh,
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: there's so many great stories that won't be able to
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: get to him all in this time. But for you,
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: pete Um, you've covered the legal long time we both have.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: You've got to know a lot of players just from
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: a personal point of view, because a lot of Jaguars
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: fans know you and feel like they know the relationship
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: between you and Tony um for me. I know this
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: is a special time and you know as be the
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: last time we talked this possibly about Tony, but I
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: don't know that I'll cover another story quite like him.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: I flew out to Colorado and he was a rookie.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: I got to know his family, have seen the whole
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: process of him getting there. I now call him a friend.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: I once called him an interview subject. How special is
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: this for you to see him in? It's really special?
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: And hey, because I really and like you, I consider
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: him a friend. I admire him as a guy, and
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: he's a good person and and as good a person
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: as a good of players he was. He was a
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: great player. He's a better person and I think that matters.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: I mean, he and you know I I joke around
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: when we do the Monday Show and I rip him
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: and tease him and everything else. And and that's all
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: part of getting to know him. And the relationship started
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: as writer and player, and you saw it. I mean,
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: and I had to work to develop a relationship with
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: him and ultimately did because he understood that I do
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: the work and he respected me and I respected him,
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: and he was Oh, and you know this John, he
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: was great. He could always go over to his locker
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: and pull him aside. There aren't a lot of guys
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: that were like this, and and you could pull him
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: aside and say, hey, what do you think about this guy?
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: That guy, this guy? And he tell you and he said, no,
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: he can play, he can't, he won't. He'll be a
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: problem for me. And I think that's why we formed
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: that relationship from a football standpoint, and it kind of
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: grew out of that. Now he had his moments where
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: he wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy at that locker and
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: pranks on me. And remember they played ranks and put
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: up to no pri and he played along with all
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: of it because he had to because they were a unit.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: And and look, that was all part of the fund
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: for me. And it helped build the relationship with him.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: And it was good because he was so close with
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: Mark Brunell. And and you know Mark Brunell early in
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: his in his career had an issue with me for
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: whatever reason, and he'd be the first to tell you, well,
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: I mean he didn't he got out of the pocket
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: too soon. I still ripped guys for that. But as
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: that evolved, he saw my relationship with Tony kind of
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: come together. Mark kind of trusted me a little bit
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: more in that relationship grew. So um, I think you know,
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: Tony was as crazy as it sounds. As a rookie,
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: you noticed he was kind of the guy they looked
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: to in that longer room. He's a leader, he was
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: one of their guys. And so I think he kind
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: of led Brunelle, and Brunell became when he became, and
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: I think he led that whole locker room. And so
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: that's kind of like our relationship how it started, uh,
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: and then it grew after he stopped playing book all
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: and and now we worked together on Monday nights, and
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: I love it. I mean, it's so much fun to
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: work with him, John, because you know this, he takes
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: it as much as he gives it. And that's the
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: sign of a guy who can hear, you know, like
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: I take it. I give it as much as anybody.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: You know that, but I can take it like I
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: give an example, I was in Vegas for the draft,
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: and I'll tell this story I told you before, and
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: I'm walking through the airport getting ready for my flight.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: By the way, my red eye had been delayed twenty
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: four hours, so I wasn't exactly the warm and fuzzy guy.
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: And I look over, I see this mountain of a
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: man buying cookies at the cower. I got a specially,
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: so I wander over to him. I go, you better
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: not eat. Does you want to be in shape? That
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: all name? And he looked back and he goes ah,
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: And he had, by the way, he had about six
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: of them in that bag. Of course he didn't. He
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: finished him before the fight. Story. Yeah, why he's picking
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: up before he even turned around. He was. That's why
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: the relationship, and that's why the relationship is what it is.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: And you know that you gave it to him to
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: he could take it, and that's the that's the he
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: takes it and it slides off him. He gives it
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: right back to you and slides off you. That tells
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: you you have a good relationship. So you said, I
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: think it's interesting, Uh too people, though not every NFL
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: player you cover, uh, in fact, striking a few of them. Frankly,
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: I love the game the way he did. You know,
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: I've always found maybe I had a sixty players in
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: a locker room, you might find five or six who
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: really watch it and really study it and really know
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: about other teams. Um, he was certainly that guy from
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: a very young age, maybe even even as a rookie
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: he came in. He loved it, man, I mean he uh.
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: And that's why I always thought, uh, and maybe this
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: is more of an a side. I was in Indie
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: when Tony had to stop playing, so I didn't really
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: get to know him again for about ten more years.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: But I always thought that how cruel it was for
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: a guy who really loved the sport, even beyond finances,
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: which it certainly cost Tony Untold millions to have stopped playing.
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: But I've got to know him a little bit later.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: It ripped him apart to not be able to be
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: on the field because it was so much of who
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: he was, and he loved it so much. He did.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: He loved the game. And you mentioned, you know how
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: much he loved the game and how much he knew
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: the game, John, I mean you know, he he knew
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: the game. He knew other players and and other other
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: what they could do and what they couldn't do. And
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: I've told you this before because you worked with him
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: and you do him in Indy. Peyton Manning was the
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: best at that. I mean he he knew every player
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: in the league, it doesn't matter where he was, who
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: he was, and Tony was right there with him. And
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: I mean Tony was fantastic. And he could talk about
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: guys on other teams and what they could do and
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: what why they would do this, and what they should do,
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: and talked about when he had to play against the
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: Blitzburg defense and what they needed to do. He always
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: offered perspective on the game because he knew the game,
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: and like you said, because he loved the game. And
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: and there aren't many guys like that. It's surprising to
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: a lot of fans to hear that, But that's not
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: the way it is. I mean there and and I
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: think as we get I'm gonna sound like old man
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: who walked eight miles through the snow to go to school.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: But as we get through more and more past those times,
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: I think we're seeing less and less of that. There's
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: s those guys, don't geta be wrong. There's still a
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: lot of guys, but with social media being what it
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: is and everything else, I think their focus gets away
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: from it a little bit more. The you know, the
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: drive and desire to be great is still there. I'm
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: not ever gonna take that away from guys because I
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: think that's still there. But the the ability to talk
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: about other players on other teams and dissect the league,
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: that's kind of gone away, and Tony was one of
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: the best at it. There's such high point moments and
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: we were fortunate to be there for both them. We're
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: both there for Bruce Smith and I can remember looking
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: at each other in the second half and saying, he's
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: killing him and it was obvious. The Derek's the Derrick
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: Thomas game when he shut out Derrick Thomas a week
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: after Derek had seven sacks. Um, what else stands out
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: to you, Pete, I mean, any other games, any other
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: moments at as he was into the hall. I know
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: it's been a while, but we were fortunate to see
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: him all. Yeah. I think, you know, the the Jason
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: Taylor game stands out a little bit because he called
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: him out. Remember, come on, get some come and get
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: something that was that was not like him. I mean,
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: he was a feisty player, but to put that, you know,
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: out there because from that was a Monday night game
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: and he put it out there for everybody to see,
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: and I think that one stands out. Bruce Smith's the
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: game of games when you talk about it, I mean,
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: the guy was the defensive player of the year. He
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: could not be blocked that season. Tony couldn't sleep that week.
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: They were going to single him up in the first
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: player in the game. He threw him to the ground.
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: He said, okay, here I go. It's me and him
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: and I can handle him. And he did. He dominated him. Now,
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: Bruce Smith got a half a sack in that game
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: when he kind of sliced inside on the guard, but
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: Tony handled him in all the one on one situations.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: He blocked him in the run game. And that's that's
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: another thing that was always unfair to Tony because dr
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: Z put that out there that Tony wasn't a good
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: run blocker. Remember that. It was It was garbage. It
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: was not true. He was a good run blocker. He
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: was a great past protector, one of the best I've
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: ever seen with my own two eyes, if not the best,
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: but he was a good run blocker two And for
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: for dr Z to put that out there at that time,
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: it kind of hurt him a little bit. It wasn't right. So,
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: but that game is the I mean, Bruce Smith just
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: got thrown around, you know, defensive player in the year.
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: He just dominated him from start to finish, and and
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: Tony wasn't sure if he could and one play in
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: he knew he could. And that's that tells you about
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: him as a player. It's incredibly rare too, you know,
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: for offensive lineman, Dave, I haven't have an opportunity like that.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: I it was storybook and sort of to speak to
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: what you just said, Uh, I've already spoken to Leon
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: seriously for this series and he said the same thing
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: you did. Leon sort of pride him, prided himself rightfully
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: so and being a tough run blocking brawler. Uh. And
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: Leon said today, you know, Tony was the same way.
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: I mean, Tony had the reputation because he was a
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: great pass blocker. Uh. Maybe people think of him as finesse.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: I don't know. I mean I never thought of him
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: that way, but maybe that's the perception. Tony Boselli was
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: not finesse, not at all, John, not one bit. I mean,
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: he just moved so effortlessly in past protection that they
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: kind of took that and ran with it. You know.
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: You know, it's funny you mentioned we talked about the
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: great games against you know, Bruce Smith, the great games
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: against the great game against Jason Tell or Derrick Thomas
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: when he had what he has seven sacks the two
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: weeks before, a week before that week before, and the
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: legendary story is Phil Sims tells the story. Looked at cauflan,
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: he said, how are you going to handle him in
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: the production meeting and Coughlin said, my guy, and he did.
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: He got nothing easily to member the wars too, And
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: Tony will be the first one to tell you about
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: the wars, the Mike McCreary wars. Those are legendary and
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: people don't remember those, and they should because Mike McCrary
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: was a great player. Doesn't never get the dow he
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: deserves it being the player he was for those Ravens defenses.
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: And Tony said, he's the toughest guy he ever blocked,
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: Not Bruce Smith, not Derrick Thomas, Mike McCrary, who was
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: a tough, hard nosed, physical player. So those battles were
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: always tough, nasty, physical wars and and they were fun
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: to watch and look, McCreary probably got some off of Tony.
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: But McCreary was a good player. Tony was a great player,
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: and they both had that that tough nastiness about him.
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: I tell you he's striking. To me, I keep reading
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: these stats. Uh, I forget where it was that Tony
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: gave up X number of sacks eighteen sixteen seventy. I
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: don't remember that many. I mean he uh, it was
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: always striking. I know he gave up to to John Randall.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: And in the famous fifty four teen game. Do you
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: remember that game? Though? You remember? That game was Jonathan
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: Quinn game, and it was they were dead. They were
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: disaster from the word get go. And Tony said he'd
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: be the first one to tell you he came into
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: that game no when they were going to get their
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: butts be because I was a good Vikings team, right,
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: and he knew it. And he said he didn't play
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: for he wasn't prepared to play. And they got beat
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: They got beat up, and John Randall to this day
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: will say Tony won that good because he doesn't. Really.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: That wasn't who he was that night, but he had
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: a rough COVID. Plus I like to joke around that
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: Brunell ran into about twelve of those sacks. Well, I'm kidding, Mark,
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: I'm kidding Mark. What And Pete always asked this because
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: we worked together five or six years and you probably
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: know as much about why players are good and bad,
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: uh than any uh reporter I've been around. What was that? Hey?
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: What was striking to me, Pete is how good he was.
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: Quickly he came out and he's stonewalled Sean Jones and
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: there in the first game he ever played. He was
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: never bad. He may have been a pro bowler's first year,
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: he didn't make it, but um, what was it about
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: it made him so good? Well? I think it was
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: the technique as much as anything. I mean, he he
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: came in looking like a pro. You know that's we
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: see always offensive linemen come into the league and they
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: don't know how to use their hands and kind of
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: in unison with their feet, and Tony knew how to
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: do that from the word get go. And maybe never
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: realized I got spoiled that, I got spoiled Andy covering
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: Peyton Manning because I covered Tony. I didn't realize it
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: was my first NFL game, I covered Tony Beselli five
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: games in. I never realized how hard it is what
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: you're talking about, and how rare it is until after
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: I stopped covering. You don't see that right out of
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: the gate, You really don't. And and you know what
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: it's He played at USC, which had the reputation for
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: putting out offensive linemen after offensive lineman. I remember Anthony Munos,
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: so I think to this day, um, it was the
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: best I've ever seen. And Tony's right there with him,
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: But he's the best I've ever seen played the position
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: of left tackle. And I saw Anton Unis play left
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: tackle in college when I was at Arizona State, and
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: Keith van Horn was the right tackle. And then after
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: after Muns there was Todd Harlow who was the first
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: round pick and kind of he was ahead of Tony
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: and played before Tony and and so there was always
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: the tradition at USC, and they were taught the right way.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: It kind of trickled down. It was. It was really
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: and if I'm not mistake, and Hudson how might have
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: been the offensive line coach at USC way back then.
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: The whole offensive Roy Foster and and and Brad Buddy
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: and all these guys, they were all first round picks
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: all the way through they always work and Ron way back.
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: But I mean, you look about greatness at a school
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: for offensive lineman and Tony kind of learned to play
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: the position there. And when he came to the NFL,
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: his technique was sound, his feet were outstanding. He moved
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: like a basketball player, and you always want that at
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: a left tackle position. You want a guy who can
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: move like a basketball player. And he was a basketball
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: player at one point. Remember, he's a guy who grew
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: into his body, and a lot of times the guys
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: would grow into their body. They're better athletes than a
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: guy who's just a big clunk, you know. Big big
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: guy has been big his entire life an athlete. He
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: was an athlete who grew into his body. And that's
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: why his feet in his hands were so outstanding. How
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: it sounds silly, because he he was great, he had
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: to retire so young. He could have played four or
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: five six more years at a high level, had he
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: played all fourteen of what he probably should have played.
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: Would he be remembered Moono's Walter Jones, I think he'd
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: be in that bunch to me, Walter Jones as best
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: I saw. But to me, Tony would be in that
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: I guess the Rushmore conversation. Had he played it out, Oh,
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: he would be in the Rushmore conversation. Uh. The only
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: thing that holds him back from being in the Rushmore
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: conversation is length of career. Um, like I said, mun
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: knows to me is the best. Uh, Walter Jones right there.
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: And I think it's interesting that Walter Jones emulated Tony.
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: That's what he says that that he learned to play
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: watching Tony, and so yeah, he would be in the conversation.
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: It's sad what they did to his shoulders. I mean,
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: my gosh, I mean, you know, that's a whole another aside,
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: but I mean, the guy's career was ruined by bad
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: shoulder surgeries, and and you hate to see that because
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: he was in the prime. That was the prime of
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: his career. You're talking about an offensive lineman who could
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: have played, like you said, another what seven eight years
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: and probably played at a really high level for another
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: five at least. And that's the tragedy of his career. Look,
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: if that were the case, if he had played his
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: entire career healthy, we'd have been having this podcast, in
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: this conversation a long time ago. We've been having a
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: five years after he after retire. I thought, Pete, one
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: of the most amazing things I saw. I think you
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: covered a lot of this season and then and you
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: were gone by the end. He tears his a c
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: L in January of ninety or in January of two thousand,
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: at the end of the ninety nine season, comes back.
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: Uh in a in a time where it wasn't guaranteed
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: that you came back immediately, you came back from a
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: c L. I'm not over exaggerating it, but he started
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: every game. Has told me since that for the first
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: four or five weeks he was playing on one leg,
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: gets back, gets right, makes the Pro Bowl the year
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: after a c L surgery, and that was really his
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: last Pro Bowl season. He had the shoulder stuff. He
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: was out I think by weeks six or weeks seven
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: of the next year. But that season to me, not
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: as dominant, but showed you, even on one leg, the
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: guy was a Pro bowler and he had to play
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: because didn't. Leon tears a c L in the painting
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: camp that it was an a c L. But Leon
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: was done. It was interesting in my conversation with Leon
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: this morning, I remind at him the Jaguars great years
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: started in ninety six when those two started playing together
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: and ended in ninety nine in Leon's last game when
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: those two weren't the right and left tackle. Those were
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: the glory years of Leon. When did Leon his training
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: camp two thousand? Right? So he was done. That was
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: the end of him. Yeah, he was done. So And
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: you know, one would have been the saddest thing of
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: all of that is had they gone to the Super Bowl,
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: and Tony would have been a part of it. Remember,
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: because they played that whole playoff run without him. People
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: don't realize that he was heard regular season finale against
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: the Bengals, right, Yeah, and he didn't. He didn't play
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: the playoffs series, in the playoff games. And that's the
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: amazing thing about how good they were. They didn't even
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: have their best player on the field. He wasn't even
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: on the field. And and that would have been in
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: hindsight had they because I still think if they had
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: beaten the Titans, they would have beat the Rams. And
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: if they had done that, he would have been a
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: part of it. He would have been sitting out why
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: his team with a super Bowl And you know that
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: would have aided him because we would have had fodder
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: for years and years, and oh favor they didn't need
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: and uh, speak to this, Pete, and I'll let you
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: go after this. But I always maintain what a remarkable
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: thing it was and is and how cool it is.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: In this sense, they clearly drafted into be the cornerstone.
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: He was the first pick and franchise history number two
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: overall left tackle cornerstone position. Then you know, we've all
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: seen in the draft that's all well and good, doesn't
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: always work out. He lived up to it, and more
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: than live up to it. The rarity is to me,
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: when I think of those early Jaguars teams, I think
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: Tony Baselli and Tom Coffin. No knock on Fred, no
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: knock on Jimmy, no knock on Mark. I love those guys.
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: But Bisselli is the guy when I looked back. Maybe
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: it's because he was the first pick and then to
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: eventually be the first player in franchise history in the
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: Hall of Fame. I it usually doesn't work out that way,
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: does it. No, it doesn't. So I mean, look it's
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: it's it's great for the city because so I remember
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: when he was picked in the passion for when he
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: actually was the first player. You remember. Leading into it,
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: it wasn't great fanfare, but when he was picked, everybody
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: loved them. He was Tony. They loved the selling. He
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: was their guy. He was there first. He's the first guy.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: And to see him have the career he had and
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: then despite the fact that got cut short, still get
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: into the Hall of Fame as the first player in
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: team history to do it. That's special and it will
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: be a special It's gonna be a special um ceremony.
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: I know the city at Jackson is gonna go nuts
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: for it. Um. And you know, I went to the
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: owners meetings this year and guys, I hadn't seen a
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: couple of years because of COVID writers and stuff. Came
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: up to me, they go, leave us alone, you got
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: him in, Leave me alone, you got him in. And
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: I go, oh, Fred Taylor time now, guys. So you
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: know what, very similar arguments can be made there, Pete. Yeah,
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: And they're going to get made and and and I
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: think we'll be doing a podcast for Fred Taylor soon
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: talking about his Hall of Fame career because he's gonna
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: get in eventually get in. He was a great player,
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: and Tony is the first he should be the first,
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: and I think it's gonna be a great summer to
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: watch him get inducted into the whole thing. Will you
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: be able to make it? I'll be there, Okay, I
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: will be there. Look, it's gonna be Tony Boselli and
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: Leroy Butler, who I've known for years, both going in
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: in the same summer. I will be there. Fantastic, Well, Pete,
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: I could go on forever. Remember we were sitting next
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: to each other when Tony and Angie walked in and
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: Angie was wearing a red outfit with miss California hair,
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: and I I can distinctly remember seeing that moment and thinking,
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: this is the first day the rest of those kids alives,
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: and just wondering how it would work. I mean, we're
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: sitting in that meeting room down the end of the hall,
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: recovered the draft, and so many memories like that, the
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: flashback you forgot. You forgot one memory that I will
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: never let him forget, by the way, with that sending
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: the private plane to get him in Steven's point because
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: he had a boo boo on his knee. Remember career
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: ending boo booo, didn't it? Do you remember? Oh? Yeah? Yeah,
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: and it's a I think that was the one time
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: he ever blew me off for an interview because I
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: caught him coming out of h I had gotten sent
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: over to wherever they were doing his x rays. He
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: was like, okay, talk wrote no osure. He apologized to
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: me later because it was all calls. But everybody else
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: who got injured had to go back to Jacksonville got
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: the coach. That's right, Well, Pete, I feel like I
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: should congratulate you forgetting him in. They know it A
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: big part of it. Uh, big part of the process
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: you are. But I know it comes across in this podcast.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: As much as we tease Tony, the relationship you guys
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: have had over the years, I know there's a lot
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: of pride and I know you're happy about this. I
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: can't thank you enough to join us and sharing your
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: thoughts and uh, I'm looking forward to celebrating the Canton. Yeah,
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: I can't wait. Looking forward to it, Johnnyoe, take careful,
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: m