Latest / Sooner or Later Sports / Coach Derrick Johnson Talks WHY Oklahoma for his sons! | Inside The Sooner Family | Coach Valai
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: It is time again for more of our inside the
- 0:03Speaker 1: Sooner family, and today I'm joined out from California coach
- 0:07Speaker 1: Derek Johnson, the father of twenty six defensive back recruit
- 0:12Speaker 1: Derek Johnson Junior. Coach Man, thanks for joining. How things going, man.
- 0:16Speaker 2: Things are going great. Appreciate you Coop for having me
- 0:18Speaker 2: on the show.
- 0:19Speaker 3: And uh, you know we're just gearing up for a
- 0:22Speaker 3: great senior season for uh Derek Junior. And uh yeah,
- 0:26Speaker 3: things are going very well, really super excited.
- 0:30Speaker 1: Now, you know we we we had you know, Reggie Powers,
- 0:33Speaker 1: uh you know Junior, which is Reggie Powers two. Now
- 0:36Speaker 1: Reggie Powers three is on the What do you what
- 0:39Speaker 1: do you call what do you call your son? Do
- 0:40Speaker 1: you call him D Junior? Or do you have any
- 0:43Speaker 1: you know, I guess intimate you know, nomenclatures for him.
- 0:47Speaker 2: No, he's he's more D two.
- 0:49Speaker 3: Uh you know, he's the second, so you know, and
- 0:52Speaker 3: I'm praying that one day he'll name his son to third.
- 0:55Speaker 2: Uh but yeah, no, we just called him D two.
- 0:58Speaker 2: D two is what.
- 1:03Speaker 4: Sounds good? Sounds good?
- 1:04Speaker 1: Well, man, you know we're gonna hop into a lot
- 1:08Speaker 1: of the stuff, you know around the recruiting. You know,
- 1:10Speaker 1: situation and you know that credit process. But man, you're
- 1:14Speaker 1: no fair shakes yourself. You were a big time d
- 1:18Speaker 1: one guy. Also started out at University of Washington, and
- 1:23Speaker 1: I hear that you were the unofficial Rose Bowl MVP,
- 1:26Speaker 1: and you know that was you know, kind of slided
- 1:28Speaker 1: from you. But tell me about your days play in
- 1:30Speaker 1: Washington and then days in the league.
- 1:32Speaker 2: You know, I was blessed.
- 1:34Speaker 3: I played for Rick new Heiseel, had some very good
- 1:37Speaker 3: defensive coordinators, Phil Snow, Tim Hunley, great defensive back coaches,
- 1:42Speaker 3: and Jimmy Lake and again Bobby Howeck who's now still
- 1:46Speaker 3: a college head football coach in Montana. You know, I
- 1:51Speaker 3: was blessed to be in a time where we had
- 1:54Speaker 3: a lot of NFL potential defensive backs that you dubbed.
- 1:58Speaker 3: So the competition was always high, super competitive, and we
- 2:03Speaker 3: won a lot of games, including a Rose Bowl in
- 2:05Speaker 3: two thousand and one.
- 2:09Speaker 4: Hey gotta gotta love the Rose Bowl wins.
- 2:11Speaker 1: And uh so, then, uh so you you went into
- 2:15Speaker 1: the draft, you get you were drafted. I mean, how
- 2:19Speaker 1: that whole process, you know, your time in the league.
- 2:21Speaker 1: You know, what were some of the highlights that that
- 2:23Speaker 1: that you enjoyed?
- 2:24Speaker 2: You know, I really fell in love with the process.
- 2:26Speaker 3: I think as my son enters collegiate football and all
- 2:31Speaker 3: these hopefuls the one day want I want to achieve
- 2:34Speaker 3: making making it to the NFL, I think the biggest
- 2:37Speaker 3: thing is is loving and enjoying the process, the whole
- 2:40Speaker 3: complete grind, academically, socially, spiritually, obviously athletically, trying to find
- 2:47Speaker 3: a way to navigate through all the distractions and still
- 2:50Speaker 3: be able to focus and then continue to be on
- 2:52Speaker 3: that pursuit to your dream. And you know my experience
- 2:56Speaker 3: was was was that? I mean I had one experience
- 3:01Speaker 3: from start to finish my NFL career.
- 3:05Speaker 2: Uh started with San Francisco coach Nolan's first.
- 3:07Speaker 3: Head coaching job, had Mike Singletary as a linebacker coach
- 3:11Speaker 3: at the time, very intense, super committed. We had Advance
- 3:17Speaker 3: Joseph was our defensive back coach. You know he's had
- 3:19Speaker 3: some opportunities coach and coordinating. Uh So, yeah, just been
- 3:23Speaker 3: a lot around, a lot of great men who have
- 3:26Speaker 3: been awesome mentors for me throughout my career.
- 3:32Speaker 4: Yeah.
- 3:33Speaker 1: Not not bad as as a Denver Broncos fan. You know,
- 3:35Speaker 1: we had Vance over there for a little while as
- 3:37Speaker 1: both DC and head coach at at different times. So,
- 3:40Speaker 1: I mean, those are some awesome names to to be
- 3:42Speaker 1: able to. I mean, starting even with just Rick nu
- 3:45Speaker 1: heisl like, I mean, that's still another guy that I
- 3:47Speaker 1: think gets a lot of doesn't get the necessary flowers
- 3:50Speaker 1: that he probably deserves. But it's a it's a pretty
- 3:53Speaker 1: cool deal. You you did the NFL for a short
- 3:57Speaker 1: while and then you know now you're now you're the
- 4:01Speaker 1: defensive coordinator out in California. Tell me a little bit
- 4:05Speaker 1: about like what was that process, Like, was that something
- 4:08Speaker 1: you just kind of hopped straight into or did you
- 4:10Speaker 1: kind of work your way up?
- 4:12Speaker 3: You know, I I you know, I'm a criminal criminal
- 4:15Speaker 3: justice major at heart. You know, I thought I was
- 4:17Speaker 3: going to be a US Marshall. I always had coaching
- 4:20Speaker 3: in the back of my mind, you know. I was
- 4:22Speaker 3: a student of the game, and I spent a lot
- 4:24Speaker 3: of time with my coordinators and my position coaches throughout
- 4:27Speaker 3: my collegiate and pro career.
- 4:28Speaker 2: So I always knew it was always in me. I
- 4:31Speaker 2: was an x's and o's guy.
- 4:33Speaker 3: And you know, kind of like today, you know, some
- 4:36Speaker 3: colleges call it the lab life after ball. You know,
- 4:40Speaker 3: I kind of felt like at the end of my career,
- 4:42Speaker 3: it was my opportunity to give back and kind of impact.
- 4:46Speaker 3: You know, what can I do to change people's lives?
- 4:48Speaker 3: What can I do to help them achieve their dreams?
- 4:51Speaker 3: And so I thought, what better way to do that
- 4:53Speaker 3: than high school football and take this beautiful piece of
- 4:57Speaker 3: raw clay and help continue to developed that person into
- 5:01Speaker 3: the player they want to become and give them an
- 5:03Speaker 3: opportunity to go play at the next level. Uh And
- 5:06Speaker 3: and so I think just being around my teammates, being
- 5:09Speaker 3: a team captain at the University of Washington, you know,
- 5:13Speaker 3: caring about others in their development and holding them accountable.
- 5:17Speaker 2: Uh I think coaching was just more.
- 5:19Speaker 4: Natural for me, right on, right on.
- 5:24Speaker 1: So somewhere along the lines, you you're blessed with with
- 5:28Speaker 1: a son you know, named him after your namesake. And
- 5:33Speaker 1: you know, obviously with that situation, you know, as an athlete,
- 5:36Speaker 1: you always they're looking for the day that that starts.
- 5:39Speaker 4: When did football start for for Junior?
- 5:43Speaker 2: So we started Junior.
- 5:47Speaker 3: When he was five on the Tiny Mites, Pop Warner bubbleheads.
- 5:52Speaker 3: We started him when he was five, and then the
- 5:54Speaker 3: three brothers right after I actually pulled them out of
- 5:57Speaker 3: football because I had I had an idea of how
- 6:01Speaker 3: to develop them naturally without forcing them into a particular sport.
- 6:07Speaker 2: So he started at five.
- 6:08Speaker 3: I pulled him out after his eighth grade, or his
- 6:10Speaker 3: eight when he was eight, pulled him out, jumped into baseball, basketball, soccer,
- 6:16Speaker 3: cross country, and track and field. So, you know, just
- 6:19Speaker 3: city league, go out, have fun, meet some friends, learn
- 6:23Speaker 3: how to work together, and started to develop those individual
- 6:27Speaker 3: unique skill sets to those sports and let them do
- 6:32Speaker 3: it naturally without having a personal trainer, without overtraining them
- 6:36Speaker 3: or pushing them into something they didn't want to become.
- 6:39Speaker 2: I wanted them to make a decision to play football.
- 6:41Speaker 3: So they excelled at everything soccer, baseball, basketball, obviously track
- 6:47Speaker 3: and field. So I felt like in that development process,
- 6:52Speaker 3: they were developing skill sets in each individual sports specifically
- 6:56Speaker 3: catered to those sports. But when you come back to football,
- 6:58Speaker 3: you bring it all back together. Happened to work out.
- 7:03Speaker 4: As well, Yeah, I mean that's all.
- 7:07Speaker 1: That's always it, right, So I mean, obviously you've got
- 7:10Speaker 1: all these training pieces with him, he is, you know,
- 7:13Speaker 1: learning some of the building blocks of just being an athlete.
- 7:17Speaker 1: You know, as a parent, it's always really, really hard
- 7:20Speaker 1: to let that process go, versus want more from the
- 7:24Speaker 1: process than what you're seeing. When was the first time
- 7:28Speaker 1: that you you were watching them out either playing or practicing,
- 7:31Speaker 1: and you thought, all right, we got something here.
- 7:35Speaker 3: Well after after our project in these other sports, I
- 7:39Speaker 3: was a head coach for seven years, so I missed
- 7:42Speaker 3: a lot of their youth sports. Mom mom takes credit
- 7:44Speaker 3: for all that. You know, I missed a lot of games.
- 7:46Speaker 3: I missed a lot of practices being a high school
- 7:49Speaker 3: head football coach. So around thirteen, I kind of felt
- 7:53Speaker 3: like it was a rough two month transition back into football.
- 7:57Speaker 3: I was like, oh, maybe maybe this didn't work out,
- 8:00Speaker 3: and it was like riding a bike within the second month.
- 8:04Speaker 3: I felt like they had some unique skill sets transitioning
- 8:09Speaker 3: in and out of breaks, hand eye coordination, competitive grid.
- 8:14Speaker 3: So I think around twelve thirteen, you know the sibling rivalry,
- 8:19Speaker 3: you know, the boys are all sixteen months apart. I
- 8:22Speaker 3: think that competitive grit and then naturally and instinctively.
- 8:26Speaker 2: Started to take over.
- 8:27Speaker 3: And they were getting into junior high school and they
- 8:30Speaker 3: were saying, hey, Dad, let's go. You're you're focusing on
- 8:33Speaker 3: all of these You're developing all these other kids. When
- 8:36Speaker 3: you're going to work with us, and so I think
- 8:38Speaker 3: that started around you know, twelve thirteen years old.
- 8:45Speaker 1: So you've got you got yourself an athlete growing. They
- 8:48Speaker 1: all want to be into this and recruiting, I mean
- 8:54Speaker 1: obviously that starts happening, you know, earlier and earlier and earlier.
- 8:57Speaker 1: Sometimes you'll see this freshman, you know, I think the
- 9:00Speaker 1: OU had guys at the camp here recently where dude
- 9:04Speaker 1: was going into his freshman year an offensive lineman just
- 9:06Speaker 1: already just looked like a It just looked like a
- 9:09Speaker 1: junior in high school. When did the recruiting, When did
- 9:14Speaker 1: the college dream start kind of manifesting?
- 9:17Speaker 3: So we transferred from Norco High School to Marrietta Valley
- 9:20Speaker 3: when I got my opportunity to become a coordinator, and
- 9:24Speaker 3: his sophomore season was one for the ages. I think
- 9:28Speaker 3: he did a really good job as a freshman. He
- 9:31Speaker 3: started all eleven games and a Division one and you know,
- 9:34Speaker 3: California is one, you know, one of the top, and
- 9:39Speaker 3: I mean we have some big time programs out here
- 9:41Speaker 3: and we play in Division one, Division two. So his
- 9:43Speaker 3: freshman year he was battle tested. I think he grew
- 9:45Speaker 3: a lot from freshman year to his sophomore year and
- 9:50Speaker 3: the secondary he was tasked with the hardest receiver, the
- 9:52Speaker 3: best receiver every week, and I felt like throughout the
- 9:55Speaker 3: season he grew and I think around week four, week five,
- 9:58Speaker 3: it kind of clicked for him. And so we started
- 10:01Speaker 3: getting a little bit of buzz with a University of
- 10:04Speaker 3: Utah offer right after his sophomore campaign. So and then
- 10:09Speaker 3: from there we started the off season training and he
- 10:11Speaker 3: ran track and you know, it kind of just took
- 10:14Speaker 3: off from there, all right.
- 10:16Speaker 1: So recruiting wise, let's go into kind of who was
- 10:20Speaker 1: the first person to to you know, take notice from
- 10:23Speaker 1: a college standpoint, Who was the first college that started
- 10:26Speaker 1: reaching out or maybe showed up at practice to to
- 10:29Speaker 1: see what Derek, you know, kind of was all about.
- 10:33Speaker 3: I was the University of Utah coach Shaw and his
- 10:37Speaker 3: you know, he's been there for a long long time
- 10:40Speaker 3: recruits the area really well, has a good eye for
- 10:44Speaker 3: what he's looking for, and I think he saw something
- 10:46Speaker 3: in my son, and he was the first one to evaluate.
- 10:50Speaker 3: And one thing that stuck out to him is he
- 10:53Speaker 3: didn't offer right away. He went back and watched every
- 10:57Speaker 3: single snap of his freshman tape and then rewatch his
- 11:01Speaker 3: sophomore season's tape from start to finish and had very
- 11:05Speaker 3: specific questions for DJ before he offered, And I thought
- 11:08Speaker 3: that was pretty awesome.
- 11:10Speaker 1: So obviously, uh, you know, when it's a D one
- 11:13Speaker 1: school that's showing up, Like, obviously there's some validation for
- 11:16Speaker 1: you as a parent kind of the process that you took.
- 11:19Speaker 4: Hey, you know, what did that mean to you?
- 11:21Speaker 1: For obviously, Utah is no fair shakes on Uh on defense,
- 11:26Speaker 1: I mean that's a pretty stout defense you're in and
- 11:28Speaker 1: year out, Like, how'd that make you personally feel?
- 11:32Speaker 2: You know?
- 11:33Speaker 3: You know, there's a there's a lot of kids out
- 11:35Speaker 3: there with a lot of talent and trying to piece
- 11:38Speaker 3: it all together with the football IQ. The mindset understanding
- 11:42Speaker 3: the game splits formation, recognition, understanding being a high school
- 11:47Speaker 3: kid being able to be a kid as well in
- 11:50Speaker 3: that pursuit. So I think I think they got it
- 11:54Speaker 3: right with their evaluation process of evaluating different parts of
- 11:59Speaker 3: DJ's game to send that offer. So, knowing what I know,
- 12:03Speaker 3: having gone through the process myself, I was able to
- 12:07Speaker 3: help prepare him for those things by being super critical in.
- 12:10Speaker 2: Our process and our pursuit to his craft, developing his.
- 12:13Speaker 1: Craft, so typically the question comes along and differently, but
- 12:18Speaker 1: since Utah is the kind of the first one to
- 12:20Speaker 1: show up, it kind of you knock the ball off
- 12:22Speaker 1: the t for me. But I mean, that's a big brand,
- 12:25Speaker 1: that's a big P four school. What was the next school?
- 12:29Speaker 1: What was the what was the first school that you
- 12:31Speaker 1: know they started reaching out and really starting, you know,
- 12:34Speaker 1: conversations that you're like, I mean, this is this is
- 12:37Speaker 1: the top of the top.
- 12:38Speaker 2: You know. U c l A.
- 12:42Speaker 3: The DC over there at Kaika is uh someone I
- 12:44Speaker 3: know very well, very dear to my heart. He was
- 12:48Speaker 3: a g A at the University of Washington my true
- 12:51Speaker 3: freshman year at U. Dub has worked his way through
- 12:54Speaker 3: the ranks and is doing a great job at U c.
- 12:56Speaker 2: L A right now.
- 12:57Speaker 3: And then also TCU Javolos to DC there and coach
- 13:02Speaker 3: Juice Brown there. I think they did a great job
- 13:06Speaker 3: on the interview process, our evaluation process of my son,
- 13:10Speaker 3: and then they jumped they jumped in all in and
- 13:14Speaker 3: you know that that communication you actually again at the
- 13:18Speaker 3: evaluation process. I think they took a liking early, but
- 13:22Speaker 3: also did their homework and research to continue to see
- 13:25Speaker 3: if it was a good fit for them. With my son.
- 13:28Speaker 3: So I thought that was awesome. So those were the
- 13:30Speaker 3: two next schools.
- 13:33Speaker 1: So I mean great, great names and obviously the relationships
- 13:38Speaker 1: that's that that's pretty awesome.
- 13:40Speaker 4: When when you're doing the Utah I mean that's a
- 13:45Speaker 4: little bit closer to home. Obviously U C. L A
- 13:46Speaker 4: Is right down the road.
- 13:48Speaker 1: TCU hops in and all of a sudden that probably
- 13:50Speaker 1: breaks the paradigm of like where he could potentially go
- 13:54Speaker 1: Oklahoma when Oklahoma starts pinging in obviously a little bit
- 13:57Speaker 1: more closer to TCU, just about a two hour drive.
- 14:01Speaker 1: What was Oklahoma like when they first entered the picture?
- 14:04Speaker 1: When did that start?
- 14:05Speaker 2: That started in January?
- 14:07Speaker 3: This January, Venables and the whole staff, defensive staff flew down,
- 14:13Speaker 3: which which is very hard to do.
- 14:16Speaker 2: You know, he's super busy, and.
- 14:20Speaker 3: You know, meeting at the school with the whole defensive
- 14:23Speaker 3: staff and them doing their thorough research on my son
- 14:28Speaker 3: and coming over to the West Coast specifically for a
- 14:30Speaker 3: few players, and and my son being one of them.
- 14:34Speaker 3: I knew it was it was pretty important, and it
- 14:36Speaker 3: was very serious. And I knew that they weren't just
- 14:40Speaker 3: jumping on a plane.
- 14:43Speaker 2: For nothing. I knew.
- 14:44Speaker 3: I knew it was important to them.
- 14:47Speaker 1: Now I'm gonna go a little little pivot here because
- 14:50Speaker 1: we like to kind of poke fun at BV. But
- 14:53Speaker 1: I mean usually BV walks in the room and he's
- 14:56Speaker 1: one of the most fit dudes in the room.
- 14:58Speaker 4: Lots of energy and stuff like that.
- 15:00Speaker 1: You you yourself, I mean, pretty in good shape obviously coming
- 15:03Speaker 1: off the NFL. You know in a D one career,
- 15:07Speaker 1: who's in better shape right now? BV or Derek Senior man.
- 15:12Speaker 2: BV might be in more shape than me, you know.
- 15:15Speaker 2: He he he's up.
- 15:16Speaker 3: At four thirty four, four am in the morning get
- 15:18Speaker 3: workouts in so so, uh.
- 15:21Speaker 2: He may be in a little more fit.
- 15:22Speaker 3: And he and his energy for him to put in
- 15:25Speaker 3: the hours he puts in sun up to sundown, extremely
- 15:31Speaker 3: in love with his drop, with his job, super connected
- 15:35Speaker 3: to his staff, to his family.
- 15:38Speaker 2: You know.
- 15:38Speaker 3: To have that kind of energy and to be on
- 15:41Speaker 3: that level all day, I think is amazing. And then
- 15:44Speaker 3: his passion just seeps out of his pores for his
- 15:47Speaker 3: care for not only his players, but for what he
- 15:51Speaker 3: does and for his profession. Uh So, I'm a big
- 15:55Speaker 3: energy guy. I feed off of good energy, and uh
- 15:58Speaker 3: he definitely brings that. I mean, he he made me
- 16:01Speaker 3: want to put on a helmet.
- 16:08Speaker 2: Most of us.
- 16:09Speaker 1: Well, then then you got I mean, obviously Derek was recruited.
- 16:13Speaker 1: I mean he's gonna be a defensive back. So you know,
- 16:15Speaker 1: there's there's a bebby of coaches, whether it's Hall or
- 16:18Speaker 1: whether it's coach for Lie. You know that are all
- 16:20Speaker 1: going to be in kind of that same conversation. You know,
- 16:23Speaker 1: what was your experience like with coach you know.
- 16:26Speaker 2: Super high Q, very very compassionate, all fully about development.
- 16:36Speaker 2: I think he again got the evaluation process right with
- 16:40Speaker 2: my son and what he does well and what he
- 16:43Speaker 2: can continue to help enhance and develop.
- 16:47Speaker 3: But constant communication, very thorough and super excited to have
- 16:53Speaker 3: an opportunity to you know, carry the torch and take
- 16:58Speaker 3: the baton and continue to develop DJ and the rest
- 17:01Speaker 3: of his defensive backs. And yeah, yeah, and his energy
- 17:06Speaker 3: is also up there with Coach VI's as well. So
- 17:09Speaker 3: I mean when you got some very passionate, very thorough
- 17:14Speaker 3: athletic in their rights, right, you know they're a little
- 17:18Speaker 3: they're still working out, super fit, super energetic. Just their
- 17:23Speaker 3: love and passion is just seeping through everything they do.
- 17:26Speaker 3: So you know, it was an awesome process to get
- 17:30Speaker 3: to work with it.
- 17:33Speaker 4: That's awesome. No, it is great.
- 17:37Speaker 1: Obviously our previous head coach a little bit closer to
- 17:40Speaker 1: home to you nowadays, and in those days, and then
- 17:44Speaker 1: they back end of Bob Stoops, the defense went from
- 17:48Speaker 1: something that Oklahoma was known for to something that Oklahoma
- 17:51Speaker 1: was known for for a different reason because it was
- 17:54Speaker 1: almost I mean, it was just very very lacking through
- 17:57Speaker 1: a lot of those years. But you go back to
- 18:00Speaker 1: you know, the the later half of the two thousand's,
- 18:02Speaker 1: you know, two thousand and eight, you know, go to
- 18:04Speaker 1: play Florid in the National Championship. You know, you win
- 18:07Speaker 1: thirteen to two in two thousand to when you know,
- 18:09Speaker 1: Oklahoma and defense were synonymous for so many years.
- 18:13Speaker 4: Now they you know, a lot of people are saying this.
- 18:15Speaker 1: Is going to be the best defense in the SEC,
- 18:17Speaker 1: potentially one of the best ones in the country. Is
- 18:22Speaker 1: that I mean that obviously has to make your job
- 18:24Speaker 1: easier and you know a little bit more comfortable knowing
- 18:27Speaker 1: that Brent Venables and wherever he's at, defense is really
- 18:30Speaker 1: really good.
- 18:31Speaker 4: So how do you talk with.
- 18:32Speaker 1: Derek Junior about you know, just you know, continuing a
- 18:36Speaker 1: legacy now because I mean, he necessarily doesn't have to
- 18:39Speaker 1: turn a program around.
- 18:40Speaker 4: He just has to you know, continue once it's his art, right.
- 18:42Speaker 3: I think, you know, he's setting a standard for the defense.
- 18:48Speaker 3: He knows what he wants it to look like, he
- 18:50Speaker 3: knows what he can look like. And I think for DJ,
- 18:54Speaker 3: I think it's very important for him to understand that
- 18:56Speaker 3: he is a piece to that puzzle. But it's not
- 19:00Speaker 3: only building that violent, elite, top notch defense, but it's
- 19:05Speaker 3: also sustaining it for many years to come. And so
- 19:09Speaker 3: I think they have a lot of talent on that
- 19:11Speaker 3: defense already, and DJ is going to have an opportunity
- 19:15Speaker 3: to learn from those older veteran players. And when he
- 19:18Speaker 3: gets an opportunity to compete and show what he can do,
- 19:21Speaker 3: then it's his job to continue to carry that torch
- 19:24Speaker 3: and be a great team player and perform at a
- 19:27Speaker 3: high level because the standard is set that way.
- 19:31Speaker 4: Yeah, you get into a lot a lot of people.
- 19:33Speaker 1: Like to hear, you know, some of the recruiting, the
- 19:35Speaker 1: official visit conversations, what those things were like.
- 19:38Speaker 4: So I want to kind of hop into that.
- 19:39Speaker 1: Let's go Oklahoma first, but you know, tell me a
- 19:42Speaker 1: little bit about your official visit kind of what it
- 19:46Speaker 1: what it was like hearing the talk over the phone
- 19:48Speaker 1: and when they came out to Cali to seeing what
- 19:50Speaker 1: it's like here at the palace, you know, Middle America, Oklahoma.
- 19:55Speaker 4: What was that visit like?
- 19:56Speaker 3: You know, I think from start to finish, you know,
- 19:59Speaker 3: I think those families will probably go into it with
- 20:02Speaker 3: a list of things that I'm looking for, and throughout
- 20:05Speaker 3: the weekend you're having side conversations with the family via
- 20:09Speaker 3: at the hotel on breaks are you know, walking through
- 20:13Speaker 3: places in and I think the staff from start to finish,
- 20:17Speaker 3: from the time we got off the plane to the
- 20:18Speaker 3: time we left, answered a lot of the questions we.
- 20:23Speaker 2: Were interested in in in getting to know.
- 20:27Speaker 3: I think they blew it out of the water with
- 20:29Speaker 3: a player panel, former player panel, having some of Oklahoma's
- 20:33Speaker 3: greats come back and allow the parents to ask questions
- 20:36Speaker 3: and just hear their experiences attending OU and then I
- 20:41Speaker 3: think top notch above all, bringing parents former players in
- 20:49Speaker 3: with no coaches in the room.
- 20:51Speaker 2: I think that's exceptional.
- 20:52Speaker 3: I think future parents had an opportunity to connect with
- 20:56Speaker 3: current parents and ask the questions that some parents may
- 21:01Speaker 3: feel like they're they're afraid to ask. So I think
- 21:05Speaker 3: that was a very intimate setting to where all the
- 21:09Speaker 3: parents in that room that day got all their answers
- 21:11Speaker 3: answered from parents, not from you know, someone at the
- 21:16Speaker 3: university being paid to do a job and sell a vision. Right,
- 21:21Speaker 3: you got to the core of the heart of these parents.
- 21:23Speaker 3: That's that kids are actually going through the experience currently.
- 21:28Speaker 2: So I thought that was awesome.
- 21:31Speaker 4: So you guys have to visit. You're seeing these things.
- 21:33Speaker 1: Obviously the food's great, but you still you still flew,
- 21:38Speaker 1: you know, four hours into the middle, you know, to Oklahoma.
- 21:43Speaker 4: Did you do you guys have any.
- 21:44Speaker 1: Reservations as far as him, you know, prior to the commitment,
- 21:48Speaker 1: did you guys have any of you know, him going
- 21:49Speaker 1: that far from home or was the right fit enough
- 21:52Speaker 1: to overcome that.
- 21:55Speaker 3: I think it was all about fit, you know. Ever
- 21:59Speaker 3: since the boys rate they've had three options in life
- 22:02Speaker 3: when they turn eighteen, and it's college, job, or military,
- 22:05Speaker 3: And so we've always been driven that way, coming from
- 22:09Speaker 3: a military family myself, so it's always been like, hey,
- 22:14Speaker 3: you know, I believe young men need to leave the
- 22:17Speaker 3: nest to become men, and it's my job to kind
- 22:20Speaker 3: of develop some of those skill sets and and their
- 22:22Speaker 3: coaches and their teachers and everyone else throughout their growth process.
- 22:27Speaker 2: But after that, I believe.
- 22:29Speaker 3: Everybody needs to fly and leave the nest and make
- 22:32Speaker 3: this what you know, make it their own. So we
- 22:35Speaker 3: were open to anywhere in the country. It was all
- 22:37Speaker 3: about opportunity and all about fit, and we went in
- 22:41Speaker 3: specifically for that.
- 22:42Speaker 2: There were a couple of schools that.
- 22:44Speaker 3: You know, it was very very hard decision, but I think,
- 22:49Speaker 3: you know, ultimately DJ felt like this place was was
- 22:52Speaker 3: a place that can help him grow mentally, spiritually, emotionally,
- 22:55Speaker 3: athletically and so and competitively too. His goals to play
- 23:00Speaker 3: in the NFL one day, so you know, let's go
- 23:03Speaker 3: play some sec ball.
- 23:07Speaker 1: So that I mean you lead in directly, because I
- 23:09Speaker 1: mean that's a big thing. Is Oklahoma being in the
- 23:11Speaker 1: Big twelve. You know, the Big Twelve when Ou and
- 23:14Speaker 1: Texas left, wasn't really known for a defensive, you know conference.
- 23:19Speaker 1: It was more offensive. But if you go back into
- 23:21Speaker 1: the two thousand and eight twenty ten, that area, like
- 23:24Speaker 1: Big twelve was the premiere conference with you know, you know,
- 23:28Speaker 1: great teams like Kansas State, uh, Texas, uh, you know Nebraska,
- 23:33Speaker 1: you know, before they made their move, but all those
- 23:35Speaker 1: you know, all those types of teams. I mean, but
- 23:39Speaker 1: it's a recency deal, right, So oh you in Texas
- 23:41Speaker 1: now head to the SEC.
- 23:43Speaker 4: How big of a deal was that.
- 23:44Speaker 1: Going against the best of the best of the best
- 23:46Speaker 1: week in and week out. I mean, you got even
- 23:48Speaker 1: you know, guys like Ryan Williams in different tiers for themselves,
- 23:52Speaker 1: but you know that DJ is going to be able
- 23:54Speaker 1: to go up against that. I mean, did that play
- 23:57Speaker 1: a big factor in you know, choosing Oklahoma conference affiliation?
- 24:01Speaker 3: You know, I think, you know, I think it did
- 24:07Speaker 3: in the sense that every day he's going to be
- 24:12Speaker 3: challenged to be competitive and do the right things in
- 24:15Speaker 3: all aspects of his life, in the classroom, in the
- 24:19Speaker 3: meeting room, in the weight room, on.
- 24:20Speaker 2: That practice field.
- 24:22Speaker 3: And you know, I think, oh, you provide that opportunity
- 24:26Speaker 3: for him to not get complacent, to continue to strive,
- 24:29Speaker 3: to have those hard to have those hard days, and
- 24:33Speaker 3: to learn and grow from those, to stay, you know,
- 24:38Speaker 3: in that constant pursuit to perfect perfection. You know, we're
- 24:41Speaker 3: all built imperfect, but it's the pursuit to that perfection
- 24:45Speaker 3: is what we're looking for. And I think to be
- 24:47Speaker 3: around elite Alpha, Mel's every day and every facet of
- 24:53Speaker 3: his life, coaching staff, equipment, training staff, and be held
- 24:58Speaker 3: to a standard that is, you have to put your
- 25:02Speaker 3: best foot forward every day and covering the best wide
- 25:05Speaker 3: receivers are some of the top wide receivers. Weekend week
- 25:09Speaker 3: out gives him an opportunity to help continue to pursue
- 25:12Speaker 3: his dream.
- 25:13Speaker 1: So most of the recruits, you know, it does a
- 25:18Speaker 1: small percentage of the fan base that actually follows recruiting,
- 25:21Speaker 1: follows the stars, follows the recruiting rankings. But those that do,
- 25:26Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's kind of hard for something to
- 25:28Speaker 1: come out of the middle of nowhere, and you know, being
- 25:30Speaker 1: somebody who follows it pretty closely. Uh you know, I
- 25:33Speaker 1: heard whispers of Derek, and then it seemed like the
- 25:38Speaker 1: whispers to commitment was a small, small period of time.
- 25:41Speaker 1: What was the the you know, the time of decision
- 25:44Speaker 1: when he finally said, Hey, this is what I'm going
- 25:47Speaker 1: to do. What was that process like and how that
- 25:50Speaker 1: come about?
- 25:52Speaker 2: To be honest with you, I don't I don't think
- 25:54Speaker 2: it was until the trip.
- 25:58Speaker 3: I think I think uh TCU did a phenomenal job.
- 26:02Speaker 3: The whole staff, and you know, from a father's perspective,
- 26:08Speaker 3: you know, that fit that was a fit as well.
- 26:12Speaker 3: So I think it was weighing on DJ on where
- 26:15Speaker 3: he needed to go or where he felt he needed
- 26:19Speaker 3: to go put his stamp and make a name for himself.
- 26:23Speaker 3: So I mean, I mean days after, but I think
- 26:27Speaker 3: he was excited and he was holding off on some
- 26:30Speaker 3: opportunities because he had to see what OU was really
- 26:35Speaker 3: about on that ov And I think the coaching staff
- 26:38Speaker 3: from start to finish. I think the whole staff at
- 26:41Speaker 3: the University of Oklahomas did that over that process. But
- 26:45Speaker 3: it was always one two, you know. And I think
- 26:50Speaker 3: it's solidified it by getting in that room and getting
- 26:52Speaker 3: questions answered and then seeing the direction of where the
- 26:56Speaker 3: program's headed and what they want to do with that
- 26:59Speaker 3: defense and then coach for while and his passion to
- 27:02Speaker 3: develop elite defensive backs and having a freshman All American
- 27:07Speaker 3: and giving people an opportunity to compete and win a job,
- 27:10Speaker 3: you know, just just all those things. Just the opportunity, right,
- 27:12Speaker 3: because that's all we can ask for, is an opportunity
- 27:15Speaker 3: when our numbers car We've got to do our job
- 27:17Speaker 3: right and seize the moment when we.
- 27:18Speaker 2: Get that call. So I think I think it's big
- 27:22Speaker 2: time football.
- 27:24Speaker 3: I think the pressure, which you know, I think we've
- 27:30Speaker 3: I've always built and raised my sons under pressure, you know,
- 27:33Speaker 3: and making right decisions and pressure.
- 27:35Speaker 2: I think there's not there's not a stage too big
- 27:37Speaker 2: for him.
- 27:38Speaker 3: I think he's been built that way, and so I
- 27:41Speaker 3: think he wants to go test his skill set and
- 27:42Speaker 3: see what he can do.
- 27:43Speaker 2: And I think, oh, you gives him an opportunity to
- 27:45Speaker 2: do that.
- 27:47Speaker 1: Well, obviously we're we're pretty excited, and you know, like
- 27:50Speaker 1: I said, to have his name kind of pop up
- 27:53Speaker 1: and just all of a sudden, there was a lot
- 27:55Speaker 1: of conversation. First thing I did is I went and
- 27:57Speaker 1: looked at like the measurable is a look at, you know,
- 28:00Speaker 1: some of the skills s because you know, we've got
- 28:02Speaker 1: recruiting rankings and we've got the stars and everything like that,
- 28:05Speaker 1: but sometimes those things don't catch a lot of the
- 28:09Speaker 1: the superstar guys. You know, we've got guys like Kenneth
- 28:11Speaker 1: Murray who was a three star, Robert Spears Jennings is
- 28:14Speaker 1: a guy that who's about to just absolutely blow up
- 28:17Speaker 1: on the scene. Eli Bowen seemed like just another guy,
- 28:21Speaker 1: and obviously he goes out and gets freshman all American accolades,
- 28:25Speaker 1: What what are the biggest strengths that you think that
- 28:27Speaker 1: you know, day one, Derek's going to be able to
- 28:31Speaker 1: to really really bring to the table.
- 28:35Speaker 2: You know.
- 28:35Speaker 3: I think I think for all freshmen coming in, you know,
- 28:38Speaker 3: and I went through this process as well. The first
- 28:41Speaker 3: thing is just getting acclimated. The speed is going to
- 28:44Speaker 3: be different. They're playing with grown men, grown young men, right,
- 28:48Speaker 3: So getting acclimated to the schedule they're going to be
- 28:51Speaker 3: up at five a m. Getting back to their dorm
- 28:53Speaker 3: room a PM. It's it's it's gonna be. And then
- 28:56Speaker 3: to juggle the academic side of that, you know, and
- 29:00Speaker 3: diving into the playbook, the terminology, and I think that's
- 29:02Speaker 3: where some people, you know, might need a red Schert year,
- 29:06Speaker 3: might need a year or two to develop and and
- 29:09Speaker 3: and grasp the concepts of a playbook so that they
- 29:12Speaker 3: can continue to showcase their skill set, you know, so
- 29:14Speaker 3: they're not playing hesitant and the reasons they're theirs because
- 29:17Speaker 3: they have the ability.
- 29:19Speaker 2: There's there's specific.
- 29:21Speaker 3: Things that kind of hinder some people's growth, and it
- 29:23Speaker 3: takes time and once they get it, they kind of
- 29:25Speaker 3: it clicks and and they become the players they were
- 29:28Speaker 3: when they were in high school. So so I think
- 29:30Speaker 3: what he does is his ability to win. I think
- 29:34Speaker 3: is his willingness to tackle and hit and get bodies
- 29:37Speaker 3: on the ground by any means. I think his football
- 29:40Speaker 3: i Q. You know, to understand formation, splits down in distance,
- 29:46Speaker 3: understand situations and and and what can hurt you?
- 29:50Speaker 2: Why this formation? You know?
- 29:51Speaker 3: I think those things are are great things and allow
- 29:56Speaker 3: which allow him to anticipate, right we don't ever guess,
- 29:59Speaker 3: but gives him an opportunity to get a competitive edge
- 30:03Speaker 3: based on splits, alignments, formations down the distance, situational things, packages,
- 30:08Speaker 3: you know.
- 30:09Speaker 2: So so I think he's got a high i Q.
- 30:11Speaker 3: I think he's over overly competitive, and he's very aggressive
- 30:15Speaker 3: and physical. He's got good good speed, will get faster,
- 30:20Speaker 3: can get faster, you know. But I think overall, I
- 30:24Speaker 3: think it would be his physical toughness. He's got range.
- 30:28Speaker 3: You can play in the nickel. He can also play
- 30:30Speaker 3: some safety. So he'll find a way to get on
- 30:33Speaker 3: the field when when he understands the system.
- 30:38Speaker 4: And I'm assuming that none of that football IQ came
- 30:41Speaker 4: from his father, right.
- 30:44Speaker 3: You can throw him on the white board. I have
- 30:46Speaker 3: video of him sitting sitting on the bench while mowing
- 30:49Speaker 3: the grass at seven years old, designing an offensive playbook.
- 30:53Speaker 2: He's just he's just.
- 30:54Speaker 3: One of those guys. So you know, he's he's been
- 30:58Speaker 3: on the white board since junior high school. And I
- 31:01Speaker 3: think he allows his teammates to play faster, especially the
- 31:04Speaker 3: linebacker and safety to his side, because his communicational skills
- 31:08Speaker 3: and understanding what they're going to get pre snap, you know,
- 31:14Speaker 3: so it helps us play faster. So it's been a
- 31:16Speaker 3: blessing to have him and the young players that we're
- 31:19Speaker 3: developing now get to see those things. And you know,
- 31:22Speaker 3: he's he's been in meeting rooms since he was he
- 31:26Speaker 3: was a kid, Junior college meeting rooms, high school meeting rooms,
- 31:29Speaker 3: you know, as he's writing his scooter right, So, you know,
- 31:33Speaker 3: I think the football IQ thing is going to help.
- 31:36Speaker 3: I think the physicality and the toughness, I don't. I
- 31:39Speaker 3: don't think those things will be an issue. I think
- 31:42Speaker 3: the adjustment to the speed of the game is going
- 31:45Speaker 3: to be something that everybody struggles with when they transition.
- 31:49Speaker 2: It happened for me from high school to college.
- 31:51Speaker 3: It took me two three weeks to kind of get
- 31:53Speaker 3: settled in and let it slow down. Sometimes it takes
- 31:55Speaker 3: people months. And also in the NFL, I don't think
- 31:58Speaker 3: I was completely settled in till probably week six, where
- 32:01Speaker 3: I'm like, man, I'm starting to see it again, you know.
- 32:04Speaker 3: So it took me like six games to say, oh man,
- 32:08Speaker 3: that's saw that one coming.
- 32:09Speaker 2: It's slowed down now.
- 32:10Speaker 3: So I think everybody that's going to be at everybody's pace.
- 32:14Speaker 3: And I think for him, I think it's going to
- 32:17Speaker 3: be his focus, his commitment to what he does on
- 32:20Speaker 3: his downtime. And I'm getting in the book and watching
- 32:25Speaker 3: film and you know, just getting acclimated and letting the
- 32:29Speaker 3: older guys lead, you know, and him observe, evaluate, and
- 32:33Speaker 3: then also continue to compete, respect the other guys, but
- 32:36Speaker 3: also compete.
- 32:39Speaker 2: Well.
- 32:39Speaker 1: Again, if you just tuning in or if you have
- 32:41Speaker 1: been watching, we have coach Derek Johnson, the father of
- 32:45Speaker 1: Derek Johnson Junior, twenty twenty six defensive back commit out
- 32:49Speaker 1: of Marietta and that is in California.
- 32:54Speaker 4: Coach, I mean, I appreciate you hopping in here today.
- 32:56Speaker 1: Let's have let's have some fun because affiliation are about
- 33:00Speaker 1: to be tested.
- 33:02Speaker 4: You know, you are a husky that's where you.
- 33:04Speaker 1: Were, so dogs there there you go, there you go,
- 33:08Speaker 1: what are we what are we feeling now that you're
- 33:10Speaker 1: going to have a second team? Uh that you you know,
- 33:13Speaker 1: you you now have a massive, massive heart.
- 33:15Speaker 2: For you know. I I so our whole our whole.
- 33:19Speaker 3: House is decked out in purple and gold, so to speak,
- 33:22Speaker 3: and red and gold with my time in San Francisco.
- 33:26Speaker 3: But we're playing cornhole the other day and the boys
- 33:30Speaker 3: are like, hey, Dad, we need new cornhole boards. Uh
- 33:33Speaker 3: you got these U dub cornhole boards out here in
- 33:35Speaker 3: the backyard. And uh so we're arguing over the boards,
- 33:38Speaker 3: right and so I'm saying, you know, we'll buy one
- 33:42Speaker 3: board and we'll put one on each side.
- 33:43Speaker 2: Right there you go, you know, yeah, we'll we'll, we'll,
- 33:46Speaker 2: we'll wreck it. But but I think all in fun.
- 33:50Speaker 2: You know.
- 33:50Speaker 3: I'm extremely excited for my my son to come in
- 33:53Speaker 3: a prestigious program as I did at the University of Washington,
- 33:58Speaker 3: enriched with tradition, and I think that his experience there
- 34:03Speaker 3: is going to allow him to be a great contributing
- 34:06Speaker 3: member to society, you know, life after ball.
- 34:08Speaker 2: So we're gonna have some fun with it. I'm gonna rock.
- 34:12Speaker 3: Oh you, I'm you dub at heart and you know,
- 34:16Speaker 3: when the Sooners are playing, I'm gonna have this. I'm
- 34:19Speaker 3: out of the jersey on when the Huskies are playing
- 34:21Speaker 3: and the Sooners are down, I'm throwing my dog stuff on.
- 34:25Speaker 2: You know, I'm you know, I'm a Husky for life.
- 34:28Speaker 1: Have you have you spoken to uh regi Powers the second? Yeah,
- 34:33Speaker 1: because he's a big you dub guy too.
- 34:36Speaker 3: Yes, yes, I haven't spoken to him yet, but you know,
- 34:39Speaker 3: you know, it's a blessing for our sons and and
- 34:41Speaker 3: I think that they're right in their story and it's
- 34:45Speaker 3: different than their fathers, you know. And yeah he he
- 34:49Speaker 3: uh you know when he asked me to start training,
- 34:52Speaker 3: I mean, you know, I told him that it's hard
- 34:55Speaker 3: father dad relationship developing. You you know, are you willing
- 34:59Speaker 3: to risk you know this dad father, you know, this
- 35:03Speaker 3: father son relationship to get you what you want? He
- 35:06Speaker 3: said he was all in. So he said he wanted
- 35:09Speaker 3: to be better than me. He says, you know, I'm
- 35:12Speaker 3: going to be a far better player than you were, dad.
- 35:14Speaker 3: And I said, okay, well let's get to work. So
- 35:16Speaker 3: you know that's gonna be exciting. And who gets he
- 35:18Speaker 3: gets to write his story at Oklahoma, which would be awesome, But.
- 35:22Speaker 1: I mean you kind of are halfway there with the
- 35:25Speaker 1: with with the forty nine ers.
- 35:26Speaker 4: You already got some love and some red in there.
- 35:28Speaker 1: So and you know, I don't I don't feel like
- 35:30Speaker 1: we really, you know, we really take that those those
- 35:34Speaker 1: Husky colors. There's nobody that are big rivals. But I
- 35:38Speaker 1: do want to ask big rival because obviously at Washington
- 35:41Speaker 1: you've got a couple different you know, get the Wazoo
- 35:44Speaker 1: piece right there. You know, you have the USC, But
- 35:49Speaker 1: now with OU you got Texas. So I got to
- 35:52Speaker 1: ask you, are there any seeds of hatred for the
- 35:55Speaker 1: burnt Orange and the Horns down that are that are
- 35:57Speaker 1: playing it in your heart?
- 35:58Speaker 4: Yet?
- 36:00Speaker 2: Uh?
- 36:02Speaker 3: And I have I have some friends that are are
- 36:05Speaker 3: Longhorn fans and they have season tickets, and you know,
- 36:10Speaker 3: you know, those rivalry games are very very important, and
- 36:13Speaker 3: we have one here in high school. We have an
- 36:15Speaker 3: intown rival and then a city rival the next city over,
- 36:19Speaker 3: and so those games are always exciting and to be.
- 36:25Speaker 2: You know, to now come into this rivalry.
- 36:28Speaker 3: And how important this football game is to both programs,
- 36:32Speaker 3: both states every year. You know, Yeah, I'm extremely excited
- 36:41Speaker 3: for the future and for ou and what we're gonna
- 36:44Speaker 3: do to.
- 36:44Speaker 2: Those Longhorns moving forward. It's gonna be pretty excited.
- 36:47Speaker 4: I love it. I love it. I love it.
- 36:49Speaker 1: Well, two more questions and then I'll let you get
- 36:51Speaker 1: back to your life. I know that you guys, you're
- 36:53Speaker 1: gonna be coming up here. I mean, you're in the
- 36:55Speaker 1: Cali time zone, so I'm like looking, I'm like, hey,
- 36:57Speaker 1: you got to.
- 36:58Speaker 4: Get to practice, but you're still too uh too ahead
- 37:01Speaker 4: of me, but are behind me?
- 37:02Speaker 1: But man, uh what games are you are you looking
- 37:07Speaker 1: to make?
- 37:08Speaker 4: I guess this year? Next year? Do you have any
- 37:11Speaker 4: plans to get down here and checking them out live?
- 37:14Speaker 2: Yeah? You know, we're our bye week.
- 37:16Speaker 3: Our bye week is the Michigan Week, So we plan
- 37:20Speaker 3: on coming out for the Michigan Week and then you know, uh,
- 37:23Speaker 3: we're going to try to figure out We're gonna try
- 37:25Speaker 3: to see three this year. I just I just think
- 37:29Speaker 3: getting there and allowing him to experience and see what
- 37:34Speaker 3: that feels like kind of gives him a little bit
- 37:36Speaker 3: more of an advantage of what what he can expect.
- 37:38Speaker 3: And you know, I don't want him being there for
- 37:42Speaker 3: the first time at a game when he's running out
- 37:44Speaker 3: of that tunnel, or when he's if he's red shirting
- 37:47Speaker 3: and standing on the sidelines trying to visualize himself being there.
- 37:51Speaker 3: So some of those those experiences would be good to
- 37:53Speaker 3: get out of the way. But we're really looking forward
- 37:55Speaker 3: to that Michigan game, very very big time game, big
- 38:00Speaker 3: game for both universities, and that stadium is going to
- 38:04Speaker 3: be rocking. So we'll definitely be there for the Michigan game,
- 38:06Speaker 3: and I think we're going to plan trips for two more.
- 38:09Speaker 3: I think we have some Thursday night varsity games this
- 38:12Speaker 3: year and we'll try to get out and fly out
- 38:15Speaker 3: on Friday if we do.
- 38:18Speaker 2: All right.
- 38:18Speaker 1: So now, even though I got to give it to
- 38:21Speaker 1: our brothers, down South, Texas is a much much better
- 38:25Speaker 1: place when it comes to un to the barbecue. But man, hey,
- 38:29Speaker 1: do you have any big food goals when you get here?
- 38:31Speaker 1: Is there anything that you really want to hit up
- 38:33Speaker 1: as far as like food or checking things out, maybe
- 38:36Speaker 1: checking out the thunder Arena.
- 38:38Speaker 3: You know what, I'm big, big on barbecue, So you know,
- 38:41Speaker 3: I need some good brisket.
- 38:43Speaker 2: I need some good brisket. I was there there was
- 38:45Speaker 2: a restaurant.
- 38:47Speaker 3: I think it was eighteen forty six tacos and something
- 38:51Speaker 3: very authentic, very good Mexican food there. But I'm going
- 38:56Speaker 3: to fall in love with all the barbecue restaurants in
- 39:00Speaker 3: the state of Oklahoma. So I am going to take
- 39:02Speaker 3: a tour. I'm gonna I'm gonna be guy for your area.
- 39:05Speaker 3: I'm gonna be guy. I'm gonna go try to check
- 39:07Speaker 3: out every restaurant I possibly can.
- 39:09Speaker 2: Oh, I try to find out where the best part
- 39:10Speaker 2: we cute.
- 39:12Speaker 4: I like it.
- 39:13Speaker 2: I like it.
- 39:13Speaker 4: Yeah, you'll have to hit us up.
- 39:14Speaker 1: We got a couple up here in Tulsa, so maybe
- 39:17Speaker 1: you can find a little four hour swing and you know,
- 39:19Speaker 1: check out some of the joints.
- 39:20Speaker 4: We got up here because they're they're they're really really
- 39:22Speaker 4: good too.
- 39:22Speaker 1: But yeah, uh and and then also, uh, you know
- 39:27Speaker 1: obviously when's uh when you know Derek does get here
- 39:29Speaker 1: and you know you head down to Texas, uh for
- 39:31Speaker 1: red River, then there's gonna be a lot of things
- 39:34Speaker 1: down there.
- 39:34Speaker 4: So uh, met people in the comments. Man, people will
- 39:37Speaker 4: hop in and let.
- 39:37Speaker 1: You know some some good joints to go check out
- 39:40Speaker 1: because you know, they're really awesome. So if you guys
- 39:42Speaker 1: got questions for Coach, you know, put them in the comments.
- 39:45Speaker 1: He'll be checking them out, you know, after the fact.
- 39:48Speaker 1: But man, coach, I appreciate you tremendously for joining me today.
- 39:51Speaker 1: And man, this has just kind of become a tradition
- 39:55Speaker 1: to kind of hear the heart and soul of you know,
- 39:57Speaker 1: some of the things behind the scenes with the family members.
- 39:59Speaker 1: And give me this. You you got a record prediction
- 40:03Speaker 1: for the team this year.
- 40:04Speaker 2: Yes, you could have call you put me on the spot.
- 40:10Speaker 4: I I think, hey, hey, I got the team. I
- 40:13Speaker 4: got the team going ten and two, So I'm gonna
- 40:15Speaker 4: let you do.
- 40:15Speaker 3: Yeah, you know what I I I'm really excited for
- 40:19Speaker 3: this team and what what coaches put together. I would
- 40:24Speaker 3: possibly say ten and two, nine and three, But definitely
- 40:30Speaker 3: the defense is gonna rock. The offense is gonna score
- 40:33Speaker 3: a lot of points this year. But I I got
- 40:36Speaker 3: him at ten and two as well. I have him
- 40:38Speaker 3: at ten and two as well, you know. But but
- 40:41Speaker 3: we don't like to it, you know. I would I
- 40:43Speaker 3: would love I would love twelve and h when I
- 40:46Speaker 3: was playing, you know, with the one seed in the
- 40:49Speaker 3: college playoffs, and I believe that all things are achievable.
- 40:54Speaker 3: But I but I definitely think national championship within the
- 40:58Speaker 3: next two.
- 40:58Speaker 2: To three years.
- 40:58Speaker 1: One, Hey, well we'd love we've you just gained a
- 41:04Speaker 1: lot of fans right there, because you know, that's a
- 41:07Speaker 1: twenty twenty five, twenty twenty six for two years that
- 41:09Speaker 1: were kind of a lot of people's uh you know,
- 41:11Speaker 1: radar for the opportunity. So a lot of folks are
- 41:14Speaker 1: gonna gonna love that piece. But uh, coach Man again,
- 41:18Speaker 1: I just appreciate you hopping in here. And uh, you know,
- 41:22Speaker 1: if you guys, like I said, you know, like these interviews,
- 41:25Speaker 1: you know fair, feel free share them with your friends.
- 41:27Speaker 1: Coach will be sharing them out to folks, letting them
- 41:30Speaker 1: see some of these bold predictions. But uh, summer camp
- 41:34Speaker 1: is going. We are day two today. Uh you've been
- 41:37Speaker 1: you've been checking out any Summer camp videos?
- 41:39Speaker 2: Yeah, so its be very good and look super explosive physical.
- 41:44Speaker 3: I'm excited to see, you know, and I think last
- 41:47Speaker 3: year there were a lot of injuries. I'm excited to
- 41:50Speaker 3: keep everybody healthy and watch these guys get after it.
- 41:53Speaker 3: I think this is a special OU team this season,
- 41:57Speaker 3: and they're coming back with a lot of the experience,
- 42:00Speaker 3: so I'm looking I'm looking forward to.
- 42:04Speaker 2: Rocking it. Down there. They're gonna do a great job.
- 42:10Speaker 4: All right.
- 42:10Speaker 1: So again, guys, thanks for tuning in today. Coach Derek
- 42:14Speaker 1: Johnson out of the the Define State of California. Coach again,
- 42:18Speaker 1: thanks for hopping in here. If you guys like this video,
- 42:21Speaker 1: hit the like button, hit the subscribe button, and obviously
- 42:24Speaker 1: sharing is caring, so feel free to share it out
- 42:26Speaker 1: to the friends. So coach Man, I appreciate you again,
- 42:29Speaker 1: thanks for coming down here with me.
- 42:32Speaker 4: Let's go baby, sooner, baby,