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Evan Engram on team buying in, foundation of something special | The 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: Union with Jaguars senior writer John Osan. All Right, welcome
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: in to this week's Ozone podcast. And uh, you know,
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: I won't even delay while I'm excited about this guest.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: It's Jaguars tight End Evan Ingram. Evan, you were in here,
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: I think it was May, right after your first signed
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: and we were just talking before we came on the
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: air how much it's changed in six or seven months.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: And I guess what strikes me is you do intro interviews,
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: which that was when we sat down for this podcast,
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: and you sort of talk about how it might be,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: and it seems like for you, for the team so far,
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: this I guess has to have exceeded your expectations on
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: how well it could have gone. For sure. I was, Uh,
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: it's it's actually just looking at it just been a
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: crazy arc um and crazy like kind of a roller coaster.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Um you know coming in Uh, just just completely new scenery, UM,
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: new personnel, new people. Um that we're very welcoming. That
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: made it very easy. Um and uh, but it still
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: was a lot of adjustment and um you know going
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: into spring, um, just still new new offense, new coaching
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: staff here. You know what I mean, it's a culture
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: change that was beginning, um under Doug and uh and
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: and what Doug and Trent we're building UM. And then
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: you know, the beginning of the season was promising. We
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: you know, we win two out of three, uh, and
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: then we hit this really really tough skid. Um that
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: what we're learning so much where we're getting close. You know,
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: we're we're looking in the mirror, we're trying to get better.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: We're trying to finish these games. And then um, as
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: soon as really as soon as you know, people started
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: you know, counting this out again. People were saying that
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: this is you know, the same old Jacksonville Jaguars. Uh.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: You know, we we figured it out, and you know,
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: we're we're still not done. We're still not there. But UM,
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: it's been it's been a very crazy art. I tell
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: every every chance I get, UM, I say how blessed
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: I am, UM, just to you know, be in a
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: situation like this, be on a team like this that
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: has been through so much but are still fighting for
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: their life and you know, fighting and sacrificing everything, um
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: to you know, to finish the job. And you know
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: it's Saturday night is creeping up on us. We're right,
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: we're ready to go. I've been around a lot of teams,
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: and I've been around been around a light of Jaguars
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: teams that have been two and five, two and six,
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: and they say the same things you guys did. Hey,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: this isn't over yet. Our goals are still in front
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: of us. And then and the season ends, and and
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: the goals weren't reached. What do you think it was
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: about this team? And again, I'm not saying the season
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: is over because but you've played your way into such
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: a special opportunity. What was it about this team? He
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: was able to do that? From that? Uh, basically a
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: depth at two and six. Um, none, none of the
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: nobody on the team quit like, um, nobody was, you know,
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: ready for it to be over. I've been I've been
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: in this situation. I've been in that situation many times
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: over the five years I've been in the league. And um,
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: some of those losses were just like heartbreaking and backbreaking,
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: and um, you know there's a there's a shift in
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: the locker room that can happen in a very negative way.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: And uh, that's when you that's when you start seeing
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: disconnect and that's when everything really starts slide down hill.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: There was zero percentage of that in this locker room.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: UM and I and I give credit to the guys,
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: you know, the even the young guys that really haven't
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: learned their way into the league, and then the guys
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: that have been around something like that, UM give credit
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: to them. But the coaching staff, Doug and UM just
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: you know, their energy throughout through that adversity. UM never
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: wavered either. So UM just and it was a culture
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: that you know, that that that we bought into that
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: kept us going. And I asked you about Doug in
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: a minute, but it strikes me that something you just said,
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: by this team sticking together, the free agent class that
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: you were a part of, I've been around a lot
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: of free agent classes that by the end of the
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: season you feel like, Okay, this guy just doesn't fit this,
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: this didn't work. And you've seen it. You've been in
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: the NFL where free agents come in and it's just
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: it just doesn't work. Almost none of that with this class,
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: and guys not only that, have become leaders yourself. Christians
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: A Jones Foyer, I guess do you guys feel that
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: as well. And how was it that you were able
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: to fit in so quickly and become the core of
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: the team. Yeah. I think if you really dive deep
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: into every you know, definitely every free agent, UM, you
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: know signing of the class, every single one of us
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: had a chip on our shoulder. UM. You know, we
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: we had something to you know, prove to ourselves mainly
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: UM and uh and obviously and obviously proved to this
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: organization that that gave that given us opportunity. UM. I mean,
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: look you look at Christian Who's who has been a
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: who has been a I mean a dynamic weapon in
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: this league since he entered it. Um just got his
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: first thousand yard season. He's been close all his career.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: And and you know what the headlines were saying when
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: when we when we signed him. And then you look
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: as a the same same thing, UM coming in and
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: having a hunt and fifty yard games and posting three
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: touchdown performances. Um. You know, nobody ever saw that happening.
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: And then four years the league leading tackler, UM two
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: years in a row, really shoot probably three he's been
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: up there, and UM, and still there's dollars so like
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: I just think everybody that came in, UM had a
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: chip on our shoulder. And uh and we that's I
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: feel like that's how we connected. UM. And and even
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: though I still here had a chip the shoulder. Uh.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: You know. And again I give credits a the Doug
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: and the coach and staff to what they came in
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: and brought. UM. It just ignited everybody's motivation for sure.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: And once you know, once we felt that structure, once
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: we felt um, you know what what they're trying to
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: build here, UM, culture wise, scheme wise, UM, it's you know,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: everybody was it was. It was easy to buy you.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: I had asked you this, I think in the locker
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: room a couple of weeks ago, and it was something
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: you discussed to several people. There was the game where you, uh,
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: you caught the pass and all of a sudden, Day
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: and Christian are blocking for you. Uh yeah. Now it's
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: pretty rare to have a tight end catch a pass,
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: and and and and the lead blockers of the wide receivers.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: But it's something that you and I talked about, the
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: selflessness among the receivers on this team. UM. I think
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: a lot of receivers say they are part of a
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: selfless room, but to actually be part of a office
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: receiver room, is that pretty rare? Yeah, it's And like
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: I said, it's it's it's the character of those guys, like, yeah,
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: it's it's really rare to see that, because I mean
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: they almost laughed when I asked him, you have been
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: a part of it before, and he's like, yeah, yeah,
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: you don't see it. You don't see it. But just
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: it's just who they are. Like I can't even I
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: can't even give you sit here and try to give
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: you this schematically, you know that the offense is built
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: like it's just who they are, and they empty the
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: tank every single player. Um, and they when they're giving
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: a job, they're going to do it. And uh and
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: that's that's that's why this offense is so successful. And
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: that's why it's we're once we're clicking, we're hard to
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: stop because you know, anybody could could blow the field
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: up and everybody's everybody around that performance is bought into
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: the role and bought into executing their job. And um,
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: you know that it's just wherever however the dice falls, Um,
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: that's that's who's gonna have a big game. But I
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: think I think, I think we're still just scratching the
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: surface as offense. So um, it's nothing but just the
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: character of the guys in in that room and that
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: in the entire offensive room. Um, Um, top down, you
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: came here, I think when we talked in May and
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: now when you were on the podium talking in your
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: intro pressor the big reason he came here was because
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: it dug not only because of how he used the
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: tight ends, but because of what you had heard about
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: him as a coach. Um. I assume he's lived up
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: to everything you can imagine in terms of setting a culture,
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: setting a turnaround. Just talk about him a little bit. Yeah,
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: I think the biggest thing um for me, uh, that
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: you know I noticed about Doug was how he responded
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: in the most of her times of the season. Because
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure he's been in locker rooms that have
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: disconnected before. I'm pretty sure he's been in locker rooms
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: that even as a player like and like he no
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: the slippery slopes of struggles in the season. Um, and
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: so I think that obviously helps him um a lot,
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: you know, in these situations and along his successful career
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: UM as a head coach, UM, that's you know, that's
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: what stood out to me just as soon as you know,
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: as we were kind of on that skid. Uh. You
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: know it was I was very observant and um of
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: just the people around me and myself, UM, and of
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: our coaching staff and Doug and I mean, uh, just
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: never quitting. Just just uh, just things that you know
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: we could listen to and here um and know that like,
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: all right, we we we have a head coach that's
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: that's still fighting for us, that's still fighting for himself,
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: for his family, for his for his loved ones. And
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: like I think I think that's the biggest thing that
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: we all felt, especially especially myself. So UM, I think
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: you know, you can really uh you know, you can
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: really um in this league. You you can judge a
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: man on how he comes to work when when tom's
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: are really tough. And you know, Doug was was the headman.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: He was an ultimate leader with full with optimism, with
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: compassion um for love of the team UM and motivation
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: and hunger and that that just you know, that just
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: jumped out to us in that team meeting room UM
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: and even on the field. So when it started clicking,
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: you can and you can feel that motion through him too.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: That you know that, Uh, that that that hard work
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: paying off for him too, and like that's that's that's
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: just the mark of a great leader and a great
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: team team builder. Um, you came here and you were
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: very public about it that you wanted to be here
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: because of how he used tight ends. Uh. It certainly
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: seems like that has lived up to everything you thought.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: Um this offense tight end friendly or is it just
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: friendly to people who catch the ball? I think it's
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: I think it's both. I definitely think it's both. Um
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: it's uh, you know, Doug Is obviously has a history
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: of um, you know, having a tight and friendly offense. UM.
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: But I mean just the offensive minds that that are
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: around him, UM have I feel like I've created another
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: another level to it. Um and uh, and they're not
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: just it's not just an offense that can get tight
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: ends involved. It's an offense that could that could exploit um,
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: their tight ends best attributes. Um. They you mean you
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: look at you turn on Chris man Hurt's film. Um,
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: they put him in perfect positions to execute the best
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: thing that he used at And that's that's in the
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: run game. That's that's that's um. That's doubles blocking. That's
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: that's base blocking. That's that's tag block. That's man handling.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: D N. You turn on Chris manher film, he's man
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: handling grown men um and you you turn on you
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: turn on my tape. I'm getting the ball in space. Uh,
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: it's uh, it's underneath stuff. It's it's misdirection, stuff, motions.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: I'm just putting the defense in the bind um and uh,
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: you know they're using my speed, they're using my explosiveness.
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: You're not man handling grown man out there. Hey, I'm
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: you turn on the table. I'm in the ring game too.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: Not I'm not on Chris Marhos level, but I'm definitely
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: taking notes and getting something. You're taking some pride in
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: this year always I've always taken pride that and even
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: even that, they've put me in positions to where I
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: can be successful in the run game. They're not gonna
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: put me somewhere where they know and this is not
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: even strong suit. Let's throw him down there and then
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: have him lead block on on his own, uh scheme,
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: and like they don't. They put me in great positions
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: and and then that builds confident. So when they do
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: when they are kind of ready to graduate me to bigger,
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: bigger opportunities are bigger, UM task in the run game,
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: I have more confidence and and that's been the biggest
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: thing that's grown. I'm over the season, just my confidence.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: So it's easy for a coach to come in and say, well,
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: tight End should be able to do X, go do it,
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: but to actually see where the strengths are. They are
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: very meticulous from where they are putting Um their talents
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: at use um and I think you know and even
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: and even Dan and Luke, I mean Dan is um.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: Dan pops off, pops on the screen, pops up on
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: the screen every time he entered the entwer of the game.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: U every every opportunity I feel like he's gotten this year.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: He's made a big play UM. And then you got
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: Luke Fair that comes in and is learning so much
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: under Chris and and and really observing Chris's role. And
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: Lucas are strong due to Lucas has made a lot
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: of great blocks this year too. So UM, I think
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: we have just have a really dynamic room and they
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: understand our our talents and what we're good at, and
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: they put us in the positions to do that. I
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: had asked you in the locker room a couple of
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: weeks ago about Trevor's progress, and your response to me
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: was that you were surprised, and you said, surprise it
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: took that long. But your point was you saw it
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: in this kid right when you got here, and and
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: you knew that you were going to see eventually. What's
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: going on now? What made you so confident when he
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: was struggling a little bit early and what's the ceiling
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: for him? Uh? One his accountability, UM, you know he
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: uh when his you know, his his about his tough
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: days that he had. Um, he was you know, he
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: was very um open about looking in the mirror, how
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: can he get better? Um, not making any excuses um.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: And showing up as the same teammate, as the same
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: leader every single day. UM. I was in I had
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: Eli for two or three years and it was a
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: rough time in New York for him at the end
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: of his career, which was really undeserving. And Elot was
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: the same man, same teammates, similar to every single day.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: So once once I kind of got a gist of that,
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: I was like, he has the intangibles to be the
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: great leader that his talent um that his talent requires.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: But I mean his talent is I mean it's special.
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: It's really special because he does he does things that
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: he makes mistakes and he won't see that mistake again.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: He'll learn, he learns from his mistakes and um, and
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: he in My favorite part about his game is just
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: his swagger, like his confidence. Even in even in the
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: verse times that that he's had this year, Um, he
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: still had that swagger. Like every week, you know, he's
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: in control of the huddle. He's he's out there maybe
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: saying some comments to the other team, like he's gonna
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: let you know when we're driving down the field and
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: we're having fun, Like I mean you get you get.
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: You get a guy in the huddle leading a huddle
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: like that with that amount of talent um, That is
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: what just turned. I mean the sky is pretty advanced stuff. Yeah, yeah,
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: it's ah. And I mean what he went through last year,
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: you know, he he'll probably sit up here and not
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: making any excuses for everything that happened last year, but
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: I mean that was that was that was a rough
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: rookie rookie environment. So um, just all those combined um
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: and just you know, just the teammate that he is. Um,
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: I saw from the jump, but even through every thing
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: that we've been through this year, is it's really promising
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: for him, and um, it's still be mind blowing. He's
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: only twenty four and uh, he's because he doesn't carry
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: himself that way, not only talent when you talk to him,
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: he carries himself like yar quarterback. Yeah, not not at all. Yeah,
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: And I mess around about my age and I just
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: turned twenty eight, and I'm like, I'm getting up there
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: and i just know how much I've learned and how
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: much I've grown in the past four years. And he
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: still has all of that ahead of him. And how
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: fast he's growing now. It's, Um, the skuy's a limit
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: for him. And you know, you look around the league
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: at all the you know these young quarterbacks started at
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: the top of the game right now. Um, Trevor is
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: just getting started and he has um he has, if
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: not more talent than a lot of guys, a lot
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: of you guys in the league. Cause I'm sure you
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: saw Eli doing stuff in the huddle with the line
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: of scrimmage, changing stuff that you can only do when
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: you're thirty thirty five years old. Because you've seen it.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: For Trevor hadn't hit that yet for sure, and he's
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: going to he's he's getting like he's already, he's already,
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: he's already. Uh, he's already entered that playing field. And
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: it's a lot of our big plays are when he
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: I see something and he you know, he's not afraid,
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: and and that coaches are doing a great job with
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: him too. Um So Uh, it's been fun playing with him.
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: It's been fun. It's been really fun working with him.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: All right. So you gamble on yourself in the off season.
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: It's a big thing. I imagine couldn't have I'm not
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: talking contract with you, but I imagine the gamble on
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: yourself came up bout as big as it could. I mean,
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: you've gotta be ecstatic with the decision. Uh. I. I
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: just give glory to guy on that. Um he Uh,
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: he's brought me through a lot. And you know that
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: there was it was it was even um, there wasn't
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: any doubt for me coming in this year. It was
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: just okay, like it's we got a nice little uphill
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: clomb um. And I just give credit to him and
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: and the people around me. Uh, just from my fiance
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: a UM, peace at home. Uh, my my trainers, UM
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: in the off season that prepared me for this season.
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: That my trainers that are preparing me through the season. UM,
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: my friends that are supporting me, my family that's supporting
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: me in the team, and my teammates. UM in the
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: organization top down. UM, I just I give credit to
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: you know, guide the people around me. And we're not done.
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: We're not done and uh there's still a lot more
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: work to do and a lot more fun to have.
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: I know, you never know the future. So I'm not
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: gonna ask you the unfair question will you be here
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: next year? But how much do you want to be
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: a part of this going forward? Yeah? You know, I
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: I definitely feel like I've found a home. Um, and
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: I found uh something that is being built. It's it's
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: it's being built on a very special, very good foundation.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: So UM, A lot of a lot of those things
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: out of my control and uh and you know that
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: that time will come. But UM, I really enjoy uh Jacksonville,
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: really enjoyed the organization. I'll enjoy the fan base. Cannot
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: wait to see them Saturday night. UM, and how they
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: how they come and respond and show up for us. So, um,
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: really special place and uh you know been some some
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: really good prayers are being said about about the future
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: for sure. Actually the bigness of this moment on Saturday,
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: I assume as the biggest game of your NFL career. Yeah,
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: I you know, just talk about being involved with that.
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: How how I guess ready and excited? Are you about it? Yeah?
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: I mean if you honestly, if you probably asked me, uh,
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: you know, how would I feel, um going into this
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: week at the big end of the season, with everything,
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: if with everything on the line, how would you how
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: would you feel? I would probably say, Oh, I'll be
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: worked up, be nervous, you know, beat my emotions will
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: be rising. Um. I really think we found we've we
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: found a really great process here in our in our preparation,
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: um and especially you know the over the last month
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: and there's a little run, there's run that we're on.
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: We found a great, great process to prepare for our
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: opponents and to prepare for these big games. And it
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: just it just takes all the the you know, the nervousness,
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: the the anxiety you know, out of the game we're
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: playing and we go out there and we we We
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: obviously have a job and we know what we has
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: to be done and it has to be executed. But
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: we're having fun, um, and we're gonna have fun on Saturday.
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: So we've had a great week of preparation and UM,
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: I just love the way the guys have showed up
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: this week. The energy, the focus, UM, and it's it's
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: gonna be it's gonna be a great environment for us
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: about and have fun and um and when the division
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: Championship the last thing we do on this I call
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: it the other Zone five. Your last binge watch? I know, yeah,
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: well last bene watched me and my fiance started game
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: and thrown from started finish. We've we've we've both seen
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: it before. It's a h it was it was, but
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: we mean we were we we flew through it. We
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: got through it. It was nice. Have you started on
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: a Yeah, they're all so. She she washed it before
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: we did that, and I wanted to watch through. Um,
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: I wanted to watch through the full series of Game
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: of Thrones before the House of Dragons. So whenever the
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: off season gets here and we'll we'll run through House.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: I got you. What's your pregame song? Pregame song. Uh.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: This this year has been Yeva's Heartbreak by Drake and
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: it's it's a very kind of slow, uh slow R
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: and B song, but um, it's kind of my meditation song.
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: I meditate, you know, you know, I think about some
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: of the people I love and before I got and play.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: It's it's been a good routine from you. Best tight
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: end you ever saw, best titan I've ever seen, Tony Gazalez.
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: We came to Atlanta. I grew up in Atlanta, big
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: Falcons fan. Um and uh he came to Atlanta and
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: he started just watching him play, watching him and Matt Ryan, Uh,
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: you know, build their relationship and um and have success
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: on the field. Uh. Um, he kind of was he
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: would kind of, he's kind he kind of started my
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: receiver tight end your dreams. So Tony Geason Man New
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: York Media. Good or evil? I'm not I'm not gonna
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: say good. I'm not gonna say evil. I think they're
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: just very uh they're very antsy too. Uh gentic conclusions Yeah, perfect, perfect.
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: Who's most responsible for you being here? Yeah? My parents
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: for sure. Talking about your parents, what they've meant Toke? Um, Yeah,
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: we've as we've been through some We've been through some
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: stuff as a family. UM. And as as I've gotten older, UM,
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: I've realized some of the things that they experienced where
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: my sister and our kids, UM, that they're not easy
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: as parents. Uh. And unfortunately my parents separated when we
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: were at a young age, but it was a kind
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: of a mutual thing and they were still the greatest
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: parents ever. UM, but they both kind of went through
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: some things that you don't really understand until you become
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: of age as an adult. And UH, I would say
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: me and my sister have never noticed. UM, we never
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: we never longed for anything, We never felt like we
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: were missing on anything. UM. My parents are the two
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: greatest people in the world. UM. And just full of compassion,
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: full of love, full of sacrifice, and the way they
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: raised my sister and I. UM, just how beautiful of
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: the soul my sister has. And then I have a
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: beautiful person she is, and how impactful she is in
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: her own way. UM. And you know how I am
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: probably on carrying myself on the stage I've been blessed with. UM.
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: There there's just no shot. UM, there's just no shot
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: that I'm in the seat and my sister is where
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: she is without those two. Evan fantastic stuff in a
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: big week like this, I appreciate you kind and taking
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: time to do this under the fans appreciate it as well.
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: Thank you again for joining the ozone podcast my pleasure.
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: I appreciate it.