Latest / The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network / Dawuane Smoot reflects on 6 years & pushing through tough moments | O-Zone Podcast

Transcript

Dawuane Smoot reflects on 6 years & pushing through tough moments | O-Zone Podcast · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

0:08
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Ozone Podcast, presented by by Star Credit
0:13
Speaker 1: with Jaguars senior writer John Osan. All Right, welcome into
0:17
Speaker 1: this week's Ozone podcast. And I tell a story first, Um,
0:22
Speaker 1: the first time two or three years ago when I
0:24
Speaker 1: had this guest PR David Wolf came to me and said, Hey,
0:27
Speaker 1: we're gonna get you this guy. And I was like,
0:30
Speaker 1: all right, I don't know him that well, but we'll
0:32
Speaker 1: see in three years. Since, I have to be honest,
0:35
Speaker 1: he has turned into my favorite guest on the Ozone podcast.
0:38
Speaker 1: I always look forward to talking to him. You want
0:40
Speaker 1: some movie. I appreciate you joining us that I cannot
0:42
Speaker 1: wait to talk to you today. Appreciate you room for
0:45
Speaker 1: fining me on again. I mean, I've kind of stumbled up.
0:48
Speaker 1: You don't favorite. You don't feel the same way, dude,
0:50
Speaker 1: I'm not the favorite interview, right, Brian, somebody like that.
0:54
Speaker 1: Every time we've come away here, we always have a
0:55
Speaker 1: good time. Thank you during the first year, so I
0:59
Speaker 1: thank we did during COVID the first year. So first
1:02
Speaker 1: of all, family life everything good. Yeah, everything's great. I
1:06
Speaker 1: mean family, I mean, that's that's the number one thing
1:09
Speaker 1: in my life. It's it's great. Right now. Everything's going
1:11
Speaker 1: really well. Family sizes for sure. And have you have
1:15
Speaker 1: you been struck because there was obviously the huge news
1:19
Speaker 1: when you played doctor with the delivery. Have you been
1:23
Speaker 1: struck by how much people remember that story and reach
1:27
Speaker 1: out and sort of feel like they know you all
1:29
Speaker 1: bet sometimes when they talk to you. Yeah, I mean
1:31
Speaker 1: I'm really shocked at me and they know my wife
1:33
Speaker 1: when they know me, and they just know her as
1:36
Speaker 1: like the hero woman that delivered the baby thirty minutes.
1:39
Speaker 1: But yeah, I'm just I'm still shocked. We just did
1:41
Speaker 1: an update story a couple of weeks ago for like
1:43
Speaker 1: the year anniversary from you know, my daughter should just
1:46
Speaker 1: turned a year now walking around talking and stuff now,
1:48
Speaker 1: So yeah, that would be fantastic when she's older to
1:51
Speaker 1: be able to share that story with her will be unbelievable.
1:53
Speaker 1: One I can show her on multiple different channels her
1:56
Speaker 1: work story. You were a celebrity, probably your celebrity dinner
2:00
Speaker 1: A right, Um, tell me about this team. You've been
2:04
Speaker 1: around as long as anybody except for Shatley and By
2:08
Speaker 1: and By I guess a day or two. Cam Um,
2:12
Speaker 1: give me your perspective on this team, on where it
2:15
Speaker 1: is and sort of what your messages to him is
2:18
Speaker 1: a vet right now, Um what you gotta stay together.
2:20
Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's been a whole bunch of ups
2:22
Speaker 1: and downs this year, but the one thing that that's
2:24
Speaker 1: been consistent is we've been in every single one of
2:26
Speaker 1: these games. We'll be the loss by three points, are
2:29
Speaker 1: less than a touchdown. I mean that that's different from
2:31
Speaker 1: any other year. I mean usually whatever we're down, we
2:33
Speaker 1: kind of get loved and we don't really know where're at.
2:35
Speaker 1: But like we have, we have a lot to look
2:37
Speaker 1: forward to. I mean, as long as we're able to
2:39
Speaker 1: finish the games you know that that we're playing in
2:42
Speaker 1: and actually win a couple more, you know, for like,
2:45
Speaker 1: we'll be in a good place. That's a real thing.
2:47
Speaker 1: And I mean we've talked about as so much in
2:49
Speaker 1: the media that fans sort of zone out on it
2:52
Speaker 1: and you say, hey, they've been close, they've had close games.
2:55
Speaker 1: But as players, you guys can feel that that these
2:57
Speaker 1: are all six games, all six losses, not just close scores.
3:02
Speaker 1: But my guesses it feels to you guys after games
3:04
Speaker 1: of and that was one that got away and it
3:07
Speaker 1: hasn't been like that in the past. Yeah, it hasn't.
3:09
Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's been a lot of it's been
3:11
Speaker 1: a roller coast at last six years. I mean I
3:13
Speaker 1: been through three different coaching changes and all the different things,
3:15
Speaker 1: all the turmoil. But this year, I feel like it's
3:18
Speaker 1: a lot of positive. It's a lot of good things going.
3:20
Speaker 1: And you mentioned it. Um. We talked a lot in
3:23
Speaker 1: the offseason about the culture change around here, even with
3:26
Speaker 1: the record. Are you still feeling that, Oh yeah, definitely.
3:29
Speaker 1: I mean the culture changes has been since day one,
3:32
Speaker 1: since since uh Duck came in. He really instilled that
3:36
Speaker 1: in this immediately, like we had to come on win
3:38
Speaker 1: and the way we practiced too, like we practice hard,
3:40
Speaker 1: we make sure that we're preparing to win each week.
3:42
Speaker 1: And that's the thing that was that he kept saying,
3:44
Speaker 1: we had to prepare to win Monday through Friday. We
3:47
Speaker 1: have to prepare, I mean, And that's that's something that's
3:50
Speaker 1: been different from other coaches. For sure. Always said that
3:54
Speaker 1: coaches okay, as long as they're hearing his message. And
3:57
Speaker 1: it really seems like you guys hear what he's saying
4:02
Speaker 1: and buy into the direction. Uh whatever word I'm getting at,
4:07
Speaker 1: but what he wants you guys buy into. Yeah. Yeah,
4:10
Speaker 1: we definitely. I feel like we've we've all bought bought in,
4:12
Speaker 1: and I mean it shows them on the field as
4:14
Speaker 1: well too. We just gotta be able to figure out
4:16
Speaker 1: how to win, that's all it is. I mean, we
4:18
Speaker 1: have to learn how to win and you know, take
4:20
Speaker 1: advantage of the opportunities out are in front of us.
4:22
Speaker 1: What does that mean, learn how to win? I would
4:25
Speaker 1: definitely say just uh in critical situations, being able to
4:28
Speaker 1: you know, win those critical situations two or three plays
4:31
Speaker 1: where you know, maybe like a fourth down we have
4:33
Speaker 1: to win that, Like fourth and one, we have to
4:35
Speaker 1: win that. Or you know, maybe we you know, kick
4:37
Speaker 1: a field goal instead of going four or fourth down.
4:39
Speaker 1: Just the little things that we can you know, be
4:41
Speaker 1: better at. You've seen some stuff in the NFL six. Yeah,
4:46
Speaker 1: I mean it's uh, it's funny to be talking to
4:49
Speaker 1: somebody who's in a six year as the season vet.
4:52
Speaker 1: But you are would smooth two thousand seventeen. Believe the
4:58
Speaker 1: stories you told them now, No, definitely, he smoothed it
5:03
Speaker 1: out of the seventeen. Was just a little curly headed boy,
5:05
Speaker 1: just didn't know what was going on, kind of just
5:07
Speaker 1: trying to figure it out. You know, in front of
5:09
Speaker 1: a bunch of all pros like Malik and Kliss. I mean,
5:12
Speaker 1: I had no idea what my career was going to be,
5:14
Speaker 1: but you know, kind of just make shift in my
5:17
Speaker 1: own career and make sure to my own way in
5:18
Speaker 1: the NFL. And it's been good. A couple of questions
5:20
Speaker 1: on those lines as the VET, You've seen so many
5:25
Speaker 1: guys come through, and I was thinking a second ago,
5:29
Speaker 1: do you even bother meeting everybody now? Or you're just like, Okay,
5:34
Speaker 1: once he's been here a couple of months, I'll get
5:36
Speaker 1: to know this cat. I mean, it kind of depends
5:39
Speaker 1: on the person. I mean, I know what Tray fine.
5:40
Speaker 1: When he first came in, we and we hit it off.
5:42
Speaker 1: I mean I kind of called him my my rookie
5:45
Speaker 1: is we've really hit it off and kind of tooking
5:47
Speaker 1: him under my wing and kind of, you know, introduced
5:50
Speaker 1: him to everything. But I mean usually whenever guy's come in,
5:53
Speaker 1: I'm usually laid back kind of guy. I don't necessarily
5:56
Speaker 1: go and like hey, you know and be that guy
5:58
Speaker 1: that usually come to me. So did you come close
6:01
Speaker 1: to naming every defensive line my teammate you've had? Yeah,
6:05
Speaker 1: I can ask you to. Yeah, I feel like I can,
6:08
Speaker 1: like especially across the defensive line, like I usually know
6:10
Speaker 1: everyone you guys get tight. So, um, was there ever
6:14
Speaker 1: a time, and now we've talked about in this podcast
6:17
Speaker 1: before tough times for you in seventeen eighteen, even in
6:20
Speaker 1: the nineteen a little bit, um maybe more eighteen. Was
6:25
Speaker 1: therever a time during all that where you wondered if
6:27
Speaker 1: you were going to make it? Yeah? I would say
6:30
Speaker 1: going into my third year it was a questionableut. I
6:34
Speaker 1: mean it was I think it was. It was like
6:35
Speaker 1: after the last preseason game, and it was a lot
6:37
Speaker 1: of a lot of things in the media like is
6:39
Speaker 1: he gonna make it? Is he not going to make out?
6:41
Speaker 1: On the bubble? You know, I don't really know what
6:43
Speaker 1: my career was gonna hold, but um, I mean I
6:45
Speaker 1: had some good vets around me to kind of keep
6:47
Speaker 1: me on on a straight and narrow you know, and
6:49
Speaker 1: I kind of figured it out, figured out my place
6:51
Speaker 1: on on third down, and I just ran with it.
6:54
Speaker 1: And I was gonna ask you what changed on that
6:55
Speaker 1: because since then, I believe it or not, since then,
6:59
Speaker 1: when the lights sort of came on, that's phrase you
7:02
Speaker 1: want to use. No Jaguar since then has more sacks
7:05
Speaker 1: than you, which which is you know, it hasn't been
7:10
Speaker 1: fifteen sacks a year, but it's been six and five
7:12
Speaker 1: and this year you're on pace for six or seven
7:14
Speaker 1: solid numbers. Um, what changed? How are you able to
7:18
Speaker 1: sort of become a guy who really wouldn't get on
7:21
Speaker 1: the field to being very consistent even you're not getting sacks,
7:23
Speaker 1: you're getting pressure, you're there, you're making plays. I would
7:26
Speaker 1: say my off season, my off season training it dad
7:28
Speaker 1: definitely changed and how serious I took the game with
7:31
Speaker 1: you know, the birth of my son as well too,
7:33
Speaker 1: how serious I took everything at that point, Um, completely
7:36
Speaker 1: figured out my regiment of how to you know, train
7:39
Speaker 1: as an NFL player. And with the help of Jason Smith,
7:42
Speaker 1: Fair Rising, grind in Town, lunch Park. Um, we really
7:46
Speaker 1: we've we created a little system and it's it's helped out.
7:49
Speaker 1: You know, we've kept we've kept that six sack you know, Mark,
7:53
Speaker 1: and we've been trying to meet that each year. Now
7:55
Speaker 1: this year and you're getting six twice and five and
7:57
Speaker 1: a half once. I'm sure you know the numbers. Yeah,
8:00
Speaker 1: six point five this year? Is that mean obviously bigger
8:03
Speaker 1: than that. But is that something that you think about
8:05
Speaker 1: or it's a benchmark. I mean it's always I'm always
8:08
Speaker 1: minimal six sacks, but gotcha. I mean that that was
8:11
Speaker 1: my best year. I'm trying to beat my best, you know,
8:13
Speaker 1: so each year I'm trying to just make that and
8:15
Speaker 1: then anything else. It's just like you know, like on
8:18
Speaker 1: top now the stat I just gave you, well you
8:21
Speaker 1: you use that on Josh Allen that you've got more
8:23
Speaker 1: sacks in the last three years. I'll definitely what I
8:29
Speaker 1: think we talked the first time we talked um about
8:32
Speaker 1: what Jacksonville has come to mean to you. And I've
8:35
Speaker 1: been pretty public about loving the city, loving the area.
8:38
Speaker 1: Uh in six years, what has the city come to
8:42
Speaker 1: mean to you? There's a community because you're a guy
8:44
Speaker 1: they've really embraced. I definitely feel like it's it's just
8:47
Speaker 1: a community part of it. I mean, it's such a
8:49
Speaker 1: big opportunity here in Jacksonville to build, you know. I mean,
8:52
Speaker 1: like you can see in the downtown is building every
8:54
Speaker 1: They're building new things every day. And you know over
8:56
Speaker 1: there where I live near like San Marco, Saint Nicholas
8:59
Speaker 1: as well too, Like we really invested into the community.
9:01
Speaker 1: Me and my wife, we bought our house. You know,
9:03
Speaker 1: we have business here. We have our own daycare here
9:05
Speaker 1: as well too that we're getting so, I mean, it's
9:07
Speaker 1: really become like like home for me. I mean, I
9:10
Speaker 1: don't see myself leaving. I don't. I don't. Always said.
9:12
Speaker 1: Once guys start figuring out that you can live in
9:15
Speaker 1: San Marco and Riverside, that's when you know you've been
9:18
Speaker 1: around a while because usually they all got to the beach,
9:20
Speaker 1: they go out to uh you know, uh, the newer places.
9:24
Speaker 1: But you're an old school guy like me, right, Yeah,
9:26
Speaker 1: it's it's it's a lot of hidden gyms they really
9:28
Speaker 1: don't know about in San Marco. You can get a
9:30
Speaker 1: big place on the water a little to nothing. Back
9:33
Speaker 1: in the day, in the mid nineties, I lived in
9:35
Speaker 1: San Marco. I can no longer for because I don't
9:38
Speaker 1: play in the NFL, But obviously you see yourself staying
9:42
Speaker 1: here after football. How long do you want to play?
9:46
Speaker 1: Are you reaching that point? Or Am I asking that
9:49
Speaker 1: question way too soon? I feel like it's it's a
9:51
Speaker 1: little too soon right now. I know I've talked, you know,
9:53
Speaker 1: I've spoken to my wife about it as well to
9:55
Speaker 1: me I mean, I'm going for the tenure in Mark,
9:58
Speaker 1: but you never know, I might go farther than that.
10:00
Speaker 1: We'll see. Are you a better player now? I mean,
10:03
Speaker 1: obviously you're a better player now that when you're a rookie.
10:05
Speaker 1: But where are you better and how have you matured?
10:10
Speaker 1: I guess I would say my um my patients with
10:13
Speaker 1: the game. I mean, just letting things come to me
10:14
Speaker 1: instead of me chasing, um me, knowing when and where
10:18
Speaker 1: to pick my spots, you know, especially inside being a
10:20
Speaker 1: rushmore inside. I know that you know, guards are usually
10:25
Speaker 1: not they don't usually expect this mismatch inside. And I'm
10:28
Speaker 1: a little bit faster, you know, I'm able to use
10:30
Speaker 1: my hands down there, and I'm able to kind of
10:31
Speaker 1: take advantage of those things. And you know, me rushing
10:34
Speaker 1: on the outside as well too, I'm able to do both,
10:37
Speaker 1: you know, like I've I've gotten better in both for sure.
10:40
Speaker 1: A couple of final questions one on Trayvon one the
10:42
Speaker 1: defensive line room. But you mentioned being close to Trayvon.
10:47
Speaker 1: What have you tried to be to him in terms
10:50
Speaker 1: of a mentor in terms of the guide? Uh, I
10:53
Speaker 1: guess tell me about that relationship. Well, first I try
10:55
Speaker 1: to be as realator. He was asking around like where
10:59
Speaker 1: to live, things like that, trying to tell him all
11:02
Speaker 1: about San Marco and everything like that. But I'm just
11:04
Speaker 1: trying to be you know, the show to lean on,
11:06
Speaker 1: you know, if there's anything that he needs, you know,
11:08
Speaker 1: any any problem that he has, you know, someone to
11:09
Speaker 1: talk to. More than anything, just trying to help him
11:11
Speaker 1: with the game as well to trying to help him
11:13
Speaker 1: with his hand placement and things like that. To speed
11:15
Speaker 1: of the game and you know, how how things change
11:17
Speaker 1: and how long the season is, I mean, and also
11:20
Speaker 1: how to take care of your body. You know, the
11:22
Speaker 1: season is very long, and for a rookie it feels
11:24
Speaker 1: like forever. And it's unbelievable. At you all's position, I've
11:27
Speaker 1: always back in the day, we were talking to log
11:31
Speaker 1: Himan about this, how different the game is in the
11:34
Speaker 1: NFL in terms of what you guys have to do
11:35
Speaker 1: with your hands and in terms of techniques. Most rookies
11:39
Speaker 1: have no clue what you have to do in terms
11:43
Speaker 1: of fundamentals with hands and with movies do that. It's
11:46
Speaker 1: it's hard, I mean, it's very hard. It's it's kind
11:48
Speaker 1: of like one of those things you don't figure out
11:50
Speaker 1: until your second or third year. But everything just has
11:53
Speaker 1: to be on time, like you have to throw your
11:55
Speaker 1: move on your third second step depending on who you're
11:58
Speaker 1: going against. And that comes with film studies too, And
12:00
Speaker 1: that's all the difference in the world, all the difference.
12:03
Speaker 1: Tell me what the defensive line room, it seems like
12:07
Speaker 1: a room that is jelling and I guess with art
12:11
Speaker 1: and being around a room with some personality, right, Yeah,
12:14
Speaker 1: definitely are and as a character, he's a glue that
12:17
Speaker 1: kind of keeps us all together. I mean we we eat,
12:20
Speaker 1: eat lunch together, we do everything together. Me Josh, Trapline
12:23
Speaker 1: and Arn't as well. You know, we just we just
12:25
Speaker 1: kind of jailed and immediately from day one, and you know,
12:27
Speaker 1: we're just building on a relationship every day. Final general question,
12:31
Speaker 1: mindset of this team going forward, Where do you feel
12:33
Speaker 1: like you're at? Uh? I mean, I feel like this
12:36
Speaker 1: cliche listening to Trevor earlier today, where we're just we
12:39
Speaker 1: we have everything in front of us, literally, we have
12:41
Speaker 1: everything in front of us. Just with a f C.
12:43
Speaker 1: We see people only have three or four wins, you
12:45
Speaker 1: know stuff for the outliners people have six. But we're
12:48
Speaker 1: we're right there. I mean we have. We have a lot,
12:50
Speaker 1: a lot of things in front of us and our division.
12:51
Speaker 1: We're still third in our division despite our six losses.
12:54
Speaker 1: So I feel like if we turn it around now,
12:56
Speaker 1: I mean, we can be in a playoff round before
12:58
Speaker 1: we know the final thing. I'm sure you know what's coming.
13:01
Speaker 1: The ozone five five five of our quick questions has
13:08
Speaker 1: some fun with you now a year later? What's your
13:12
Speaker 1: last binge watch? My last binge watch? What was it? Um? Atlanta? Actually, man,
13:18
Speaker 1: my wife has been watching a lot now. Um, it's
13:22
Speaker 1: like all five. No, I'm not sure. I've asked this
13:25
Speaker 1: for what's the best binge watch? The best being watch?
13:28
Speaker 1: Bench watch one you like the most? Mm hmm yeah, power,
13:33
Speaker 1: I will say, yeah, I will go. I'm gonna go
13:35
Speaker 1: a power Okay, all right. The last song you listen
13:38
Speaker 1: to this more un away? My last song? What was it?
13:42
Speaker 1: It was an earth wind and fire song? What was it?
13:44
Speaker 1: Old school? Yeah? I like that. What sport would you
13:53
Speaker 1: have played? You're not played football? I would have ran trick?
13:57
Speaker 1: Really yeah? Yeah? I was actually really good at track.
13:59
Speaker 1: Was your event? Four ins or hurdles? One ten hurdles
14:02
Speaker 1: and shot put into that's athletic yeah, thanks. All right,
14:08
Speaker 1: what other career do you think you'll try or would
14:12
Speaker 1: you have liked to have tried every football? Um? I
14:15
Speaker 1: think that for me, I'm really invested into real estate,
14:19
Speaker 1: So I mean I feel like if I wouldn't never
14:21
Speaker 1: went along his Trayvon comes around. Yeah, Um, if I
14:26
Speaker 1: would never went to NFL, I would have definitely got
14:27
Speaker 1: my real estate license and try to, you know, create
14:30
Speaker 1: my own firm, own brokerage. Because well too, So what's
14:33
Speaker 1: your favorite NFL play? Even favorite NFL play he was
14:37
Speaker 1: like against m I would say it was my actually
14:42
Speaker 1: my first, my first sack against Marcus Mariotta. You got
14:45
Speaker 1: spent back, came back and chased him down. Yeah, so
14:50
Speaker 1: now did you chase him down? Did you have an
14:51
Speaker 1: edge on him? Not? Actually? Actually actually I came came back,
14:55
Speaker 1: spent spent back on the guard, and he tried to
14:57
Speaker 1: run out of there, right right, You got his heal
15:01
Speaker 1: go on. I always enjoy this. I can't thank you
15:03
Speaker 1: for taking the time. I know it's busy during the season,
15:05
Speaker 1: but thank you for joining the ozone podcast once again.
15:08
Speaker 1: Thank you for bringing me off. Sure