Latest / The Irish Steelers Podcast / From Latrobe: Keeanu Benton, Nick Herbig on their time in Ireland and hopes for the season

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From Latrobe: Keeanu Benton, Nick Herbig on their time in Ireland and hopes for the season · The Irish Steelers Podcast

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: I must welcome to everybody into the Irish Series podcast.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: We are sitting here deep in La Tropes in Benzon College,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: sitting beside two fun faborites, lots of fun favorites of
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Irish anel fans, Irish theaters fans, Kiani Benson, Nick herbig
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: thank you for joining me. I know you have an
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: off ded tomorrow, so I appreciate you coming on after practice. Kanu.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Just first off, this place, I really really want to
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: illustrate this for people at home. You know, you guys
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: come here, you stay here, you live together. It's like
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: a real family for a few weeks. What's it like
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: being here for training camp in seeing Benson College.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel like there's nothing like it. You know,
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: you're building a camaraderie with guys you might not know
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: as well or get to talk to as much during
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: the season. So coming to training camp and you grinding
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: together and you're putting in their work together, and then
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: afterwards you can have dinner and talk talk stuff about
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: it or figure out improvements and stuff.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: So I feel like it's a huge advantage horse Nick.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: When you walk down the steps and you see the
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: fans and they're screaming your knee in. What's it like
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: both before and after practice? Because the support the fans
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: here a couple from around the world, it's just a
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: phenomenal one.
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: I mean, it doesn't matter what day of the week
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: it is. You know, the fans are always here and
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: they're always loud, they're always ready, that's for sure. You know,
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: it's awesome. We got the best fans in the world.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: I think you have an idea of what we're gonna
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: mention here. Obviously we gotta go back nearly a year
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: night to Dublin and neck gonna start with you, like,
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: it's probably not comparable, but you know, you're from an
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: island in Hawaii and multiple islands, small islands, you know,
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: proud of where you're from, I'm sure, and I think
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: it's very similar for us as well. What was it
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: like visiting Ireland, presuming for the first time.
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah, oh that was yeah, that was my first time
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: out of country. So that's the first time I used
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: my passport in my life. So Ireland got the first stamp.
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: It was awesome. I had a great time. Had Againnes'ser two.
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: You know, I went to post game post game, uh,
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: you know, I got some great food the food was phenomenal.
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: I really wasn't expecting that. No, no disrespect, but I
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: was not expecting that the food was so good. Everything
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: was honestly better than what I could have imagined.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: And I'm gonna put you on the spot. I thought
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: it was a year ago and any favorite dish if
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: you're saying the fa was phenomenal.
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: I had this this burger with these like crispy It
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: was like hash bounds but I don't even know, No,
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: it was hash. It was potatoes, but I don't know
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: how they made it. It was like it looked like
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: a French toast stick, but it was a potato d junk.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: Was guy, There's probably we could probably sit here for
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: like two hours talking that weekend, but you're buying all
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: the atmosphere where you lines off to that game, not
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: total when you're getting on the bus. Was just phenomenal.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: And Keanu, you had one of the half socks and
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: you were part of a big part of that defensive
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: pressure and that was a big, big defensive performance. What
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: was it like? And Watstion's out in your mind when
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: you think box Dot day in Cool Park.
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I was talking stuff to the boys
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: before like, just if I get a sack, I'm gonna
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: do the Conor McGregor and tell me right. You know,
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: So I got one, or I thought I had one
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: that they marked for me at first, and then TJ
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: ended up taking that one, and then I ended up
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: getting two more and we shared one as well. But yeah,
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: I feel like it was awesome. The energy was there
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: and then once you know, they come in bunches. So
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: once once I got one and I was getting in
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: the batfield, I felt unstoppable.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: I know you watched County a lot of these games
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: that are Astley. I'm sure at your own time we're
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: surprised that one the amount of staters fans that were there,
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: and two for me, the noise was phenomenal. Yeah, it
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: was incredible.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: I mean I don't think I was surprised because even
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: when we on the road, you know, anywhere we go,
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: we got still the friends everywhere, and they they show
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: up full fledged and even away games feel at home.
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: How did you find I think your your album matters
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: coming to build the next year as well. How did
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: you find the travel and did you enjoy the aspect
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: or was there any difficulty there or did you just
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: enjoy the experience. It was always like a mini trailing company,
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: you guys.
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it was a great experience. Like I say all
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: the time, like football has taken me in my family
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: places that I never thought I would go, especially being
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: where I'm from.
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: Uh.
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: You know, made some of the best friends I've ever
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: had in my life along this journey. And you know,
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: it allows me to see the world. I got to
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: travel and do things that you know, a five year old,
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: ten year old Nick would have never thought. So I'm
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: nothing but grateful for that.
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: You're a genius because the next question literally says, Nick,
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: how proud of you to represent this organization.
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: I'm beyond proud and thankful. I'm glad that I'm still there.
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: I've said this many times. I feel like I was
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: born to be here, So I'm excited to see what
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: the future holds.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah. We for fans at home that are listening, obviously,
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: we all know there's a new regime, a new management
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: this year, but still the same goal exists to go
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: and win. Obviously, how you sell Lombardi hopefully in La
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: Toachwood in February twenty twenty seven. For fans at home,
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: what is the difference being like so far in the
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: training camp, and so one prime example is we're having
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: earlier camps. Can you maybe talk to Riding some of
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: the differences and just how you find it so far?
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: The biggest difference, I feel like it's just I feel
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: like we're getting more more reps and it's not as
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: intense as of now. But we're gonna be picking that
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: up next week. But I feel like we're gonna have
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: a productive camp. We've been getting reps for the older
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: guys and the young guys. One twenty or something like that.
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: We got yesterday one hundred and twenty reps. I've never
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: seen that before in my life. But I'm trusting the
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: process and we're.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: Working Nick and new defensive coordinator and Patrick Graham. I know,
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: I know at the time it's talking only a few
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: days in the camp, but onces have been like, you know,
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: learning and sort of taking advice for him.
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: Yeah, he has a lot of knowledge of the game,
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: but he's been in it a while. He's seen a
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: lot of things. He's been at the highest of highs,
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: the lowest of low's. Uh So, I think somebody like
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: that has character. I mean, it kind of helps mold
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: them into who they are, and I think, you know
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: a lot of us are still kind of figuring him out,
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: you know, not just as a coach, but as a
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: person and likewise with us, you know, he's figuring us
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: out as players and people and just seeing what makes
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: us tick, what makes us go a little extra harder
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: or have that extra edge to us. So that's why
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: that's what La trobe is for, to figure that out
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: about each other. But I love the direction we're headed
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: and he definitely brings the energy.
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: So bringing the energy and making history as well. You
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: guys both played in the first ever NFL doubling game
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: last year, which means a lot to staters fans in Ireland.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: I'm sure we have a few stears fans in France,
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: but you're gonna think the same this year. I mean,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: Keanu another game internationally. How's your friends, bim? No, we horrible?
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Have you say horrible?
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: I think it's horriblay, I think are you excited? Had
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: he been to France before? No, okay, I have not.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: I mean lots of the opportunity and feel free to
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: jump in this as well. The opportunity go and play
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: the Scens and the Scens obviously have marketer rights in
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: France in that first game, the opportunity is going you know,
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: potentially with that game will be something else, wasn't it.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: It's gonna be fun to go again in a broad
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: and witness something, isn't it.
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Like I said before, like I never thought I
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: would be doing that, going to a foreign country, let
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: alone playing a football, proper professional football game. So you know,
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: it kind of doesn't feel real sometimes.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: It's yeah, because now sometimes in college some guys get
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: the chance, but like ninety five don't. So it's it's
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: cool for you guys to experience that I would like. Obviously,
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: when maybe talking about the France game closer to the
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: time this season, is there a country outside of Franz
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: or Iron that you lads would like to play and
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: if you had the pech one around the world or
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: you very much like get a dark board and just
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: stick it and go in Mexico City.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: I like Mexico City when I went there, and we
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: have a lot of fans in Mexico, and I think
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: it would be awesome to play there.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: You Mexico.
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think just the dart on the board and let's.
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: Go, let's go. Yeah, I love that this girl somewhere
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: to try and get back to Arden something would be
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: great over the next few years. Would you lots to
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: be happy to go back to Dublin if you if
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: it was a nice hypothetically, I.
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: Think you go on a golf trip there too. I'm
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: a huge golfer. So we take the boys over there
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: and go hit a little anybody's watching this, I want
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: to split some g's and hit some t's, you.
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: Know, right, just finishing offlads, And you had coach and
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: obviously Mike McCarthy. What's it like working with him so far?
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: Because you know, I said it Yester to the guys,
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: but to see his passion, his emotion Nick when he
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: was announced on his pass conference, I mean almost ahad
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: home watching.
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I think you just you go out
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: here and see all these fans and little kids like
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: he was one of those growing up. Like he's born
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: and raised Pittsburgh guy. So this is all he knows
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: is black and gold. Regardless of the teams he's coached,
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: I think, and the journey he's been on, I think
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: this is always his home, you know. So being able
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: to come back and have a chance to lead us
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: to another super Bowl. I mean that's got to mean
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: more than any amount of money or anything else in
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: the world.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: Dallas Colleyboys, Green Bead Pockers, and line of Pittsburgh studiors,
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: that's one hell of a CV count wants to be
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: like learning from coach mccarfrey so far.
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I grew up in Wisconsin, so just
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: seeing him be a Green Bay coach and how everybody
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: admired him and respected him. It's my turn to get.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: My opinion on him.
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: And it's been nothing but great right now. You know
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: he's he's a little bit of an offensive coach. Yeah,
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: but still when you when you go up and ask
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: questions talk to him, he's a pretty reasonable guy.
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: Finally, maybe a sentence each outside of houstling a Lombardi
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: winning the division this year and gett into the playoffs
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: and win and all that. What's one personal goal you
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: lads have this year to develop yourselves in the NFL?
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: Or is there a goal that you can share with
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: us that you'd like to develop on this year?
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: Yeah?
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: Me, personally, I won't. I won't at least eight eight
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: to ten secs. I want to get after that passer
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: a lot more this year.
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: For sure.
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: I think I want to be Defensive Player of the Year.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: I can't wait to watch this black rob you get
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: it in February time. And I did want to add
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: just one quick thing. In in Ireland, we said what's
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: the crack? Like how are you doing? When we said, like,
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: who's the most crack? Who's the most fun? Right? So
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: in your opinion, lots, who's the most crack, who's the
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: most fun in the locker room?
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: I gotta go Coons. Coons is a good time. I
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: hate to admit it.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Coons, I'm gonna say bench GRONI he he always
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: got something this say in locker room and it's quiet,
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: even if it throws you off a little bit.
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: He He's a character for sure.
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: On behalf of Steelers fans in Ireland. Keana, good luck
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: this year. It's gonna fly in and I know there's
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: so many people in Ireland, the UK, Europe that are
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: gonna fly to Paris and get those tiles out and
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: you're gonna have a fantastic time. Good luck learning French
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: over the next few weeks and we'll speak to you soon.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: Thank you very much, Thank you,