Latest / The Driven Athlete / NFL Defensive Back Taylor Rapp On Earning A Starting Spot Through Relentless Preparation | Ep 127

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NFL Defensive Back Taylor Rapp On Earning A Starting Spot Through Relentless Preparation | Ep 127 · The Driven Athlete

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: If you're a driven, active person who wants to reach and pursue a higher quality life with some ambition, then guess what?
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: This podcast is for you.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: This is the Driven Athlete Podcast.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: What's up, y'all?
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's your main Dr.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: Kyle.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to the Driven Athlete Podcast.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: We got uh special guest Taylor Rapp with us, NFL um defensive back um with the Rams previously, um, and then with the Bills most recently.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um thanks for coming in, man.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: I know you're a busy dude.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, of course.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm happy to join.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, excited for this conversation.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so uh so you were with the Bills the past couple seasons.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, recently a free agent, yeah, and now talking to you know to teams and stuff.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: We got in contact because of your knee.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what and where are you from originally?
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: Tell people where you're from.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so uh a long way from here, uh, really across the country, West Coast.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um grew up in Washington State, um, in a small town, um, basically, I mean, super, super north in Washington, uh, almost right at the Canadian border, 20, 20 minutes from the Canadian border, uh small town called Bellingham.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, grew up there.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I was actually sorry, going back.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I was born in Atlanta, uh moved to Washington when I was three.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I really don't remember um Atlanta at all.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: But I guess I can consider something consider myself a southern boy.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: I was born a southern boy, but yeah, really don't remember it.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: But uh yeah, grew up basically my whole life in in Washington State.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Cool.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um crazy because that's like an absolute catty corner from where we are here, exactly absolute opposite ends of the states.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm literally about to do this move.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we're we're gonna spend a summer up in uh Washington.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh both both my wife and I families are uh both up there.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, we're about to do this next week.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: So it's uh it's gonna be a long trip.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and you see you'll be up there for like three months.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, two months.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: At least, yeah.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: At least, yeah, yeah.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: That's cool.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: But be closer to family, it's gonna be way more manageable.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like the weather would be nicer up there, you know.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: Right in the summer.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, blazing hot.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, all right.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: So you grew up in Washington.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: Did you play football growing up?
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: Like, when did you when did you start playing football?
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I would say probably flag football, you know, that's usually the first um like uh organized uh sport or football.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I would say probably five or six years old.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, yeah, yeah.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um started running around throwing to football, um, flag football, five or six years old.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, kind of did all the other sports too, soccer, baseball, basketball.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, kind of narrowed it down to baseball and football.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um after, I guess maybe elementary school, middle school.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, yeah, yeah.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then did you play baseball in high school as well?
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh just football.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: No, so I it's funny stories.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: I actually I baseball was my first love.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I love baseball.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, baseball was like my baby.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then I think one one summer actually before high school, my eighth grade uh summer, I was on a very competitive travel ball league um uh squad.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I know I'm I'm sure you you know down here uh in southern Florida, just you know how competitive uh baseball gets and travel ball gets.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Super competitive, super competitive.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so yeah, we were traveling, you know, all over the West Coast, um, tournaments every weekend, playing.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think I played 70, 80 games one summer that summer.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and just you know how how slow the game of baseball can be.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um and you know, I just it's it was tough to, you know, you you strike out, you have a bat at bat or bat at bat, and you know, you gotta go sit out in the field for two or three more innings until you you get another chance.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, it's it's to be good at baseball, you gotta, you know, three out of ten times, three you hit 300.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's a that's a great batting average.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, um, you know, that that just frustrated me.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the the pace of the game um frustrated me.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and just that summer, really, I got really burnt out.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and ended up just um, you know, deciding to kind of narrow it really down to football.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like I love football, like love running around, like love hitting people, love the the physical um aspects of the game.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and like, you know, you can mess up, have miss a tackle.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but 30 seconds you line up and you get another play, you get another chance.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's um, I think the pace of the game, the physicality, like I said, um, just kind of match my personality and matched like my passion and yeah, really, really developed like a love for the game um at that point and really kind of threw all cards in to really develop and and try to pursue playing college football.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: I I totally agree with you with the baseball.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I grew up playing baseball as well.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like, oh my gosh, but you know, have a bad at bat.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: And he's like, If I gotta wait like two at least two innings until I get another chance, and then I have to wait, and I get one shot and then you go wait another two innings.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas like football, and you get frustrated, you know.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: Where football you mess up or like something happens or whatever, the next play, you just like you just like smash, you just crush somebody.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: You crush somebody and then it just immediately goes away.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: You're good there, yeah.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: And you just keep playing, you know.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um, golf is very similar and that kind of thing where it's like you get frustrated and like you have one shot again, you get frustrated again, but like you can just at least get all your frustration out in one next play in football, right?
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: And then be good, you know.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so all right, so high school, you focused on football and you were like, I want to play college ball right away.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, I mean, I think I knew obviously in middle school, as you know, you got you kind of like the the um separation of of competitive, um, I guess your sports, you see your level of competition, you you kind of start to separate in middle school, I would say.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so in baseball and football, I would say that I I wanted to play both of them, but that one summer I was like, I I can't do this in baseball.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like, especially like you make it to the the the major leagues, like you gotta play 162 in one season.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like I can't imagine that.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like um, and so yeah, you know, I I think uh I I had the aspiration of playing college baseball, college football, but obviously after I gave up baseball, um kind of just narrowed it down to football.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: And like I said, I I kind of went all cards in.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I mean, if I were to really think about I didn't really have a high school social life, like I think I the amount of sacrifice and the amount of um effort and energy I put into trying to make it um in in football was I mean not not that I would like I regret it, but I'm I really I I sacrifice so much to so you're pretty dialed in in high school.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I would say so.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: I would say that's pretty I feel like it's pretty rare, like because I mean, like if you know 15-year-old kid um being like super focused and dialed in.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: That's a I th that's a rare thing, you know.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I I think it was um various reasons.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: I think there, um, you know, I think uh just seeing my older brother, he was you know, three years grade-wise, um, two and a half years older than me.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, we both growing up, we played baseball and football.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: We actually we what the that summer, we actually quit baseball.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: He was in high school.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: We quit baseball.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: He was going into a senior year.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: He was he was already like this is crazy because he was already getting calls from scouts and stuff, and he already had a scholarship to Washington State University to play baseball.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that one summer we came together and we're like, we we can't do this.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we're so sick of this, we're so uh exhausted.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and we both we both quit baseball that summer together.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: And oh man, I I can't I can't tell you how mad our dad was because I mean I I totally get it because the uh the sacrifice that they had to put in, the the financial sacrifice, how much money they put into travel ball, buying um, you know, gear, buying um, you know, paying for the the clubs, the the memberships at the at the batting cages, like I mean, I I I don't I don't um discredit their their uh their anger at all.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, but yeah, it was it was a it was a pretty rough summer.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: We both came together, we're like, we gotta do this.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like, bro, we gotta stop this.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: We gotta do this is this is we can't train this.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: We can't do this.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that's that's that's kind of a tangent, but um, yeah, we we both quit at the same time.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um my long story short, um seeing my brother, he he really tried to pursue football at the same time I did, but you already know, like uh recruiting wise, uh you have to really start you know, basically freshman year high school.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like, if you're not getting recruited by your sophomore year, you're already behind, right?
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I think he was a little late, and me seeing that kind of was like an eye-opener.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: And like I always say, like, uh, you know, if if the roles were reversed and his body was in my body, but I was the older one, he he would be in my position today.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: But just because he kind of started the process a little late, I think he would he caught the short end of the stuff.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: So he was good at football too.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: He was great at football, he was a great athlete.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like, honestly, he was as good as an athlete as me, if not better.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: What position was he?
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so he, I mean, he was all over, like, he played quarterback, like so.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: This is this is another tangent, but like our our high school team, Sea Home High School, uh in Bellingham, like we were we were horrible.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we don't we didn't win more than three games a season, never made the playoffs.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and so this is another reason why I feel like I had to go all in, all cards in, um, because no one really got recruited out of our city, our you know, upper northern uh part of Washington State.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, no one really got recruited from our high school either for football.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, cross country was like our biggest sport, most popular sport.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like the cross cross-country kids would like make fun of the football kids.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: When like you it like sounded, you you grew up in South Florida, like you were like, you know, usually the football team runs the school, right?
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's like the main focus.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's the main focus, right?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: But like at my school, it was like the cross country kids would like run the school and like make fun of the football jocks and stuff.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: So like it was it was backwards.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: So um, long story short, like I I feel like that's that's the reason that I feel like I had to go all cards in, that I had to sacrifice everything, my social life, um, you know, a lot of things in my uh high school life, um, that I kind of had to sacrifice to to make it, you know.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so your brother played a lot of positions.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, he's very athletic.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: What was his main one?
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Did he end up playing college football?
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: He did.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: So he he ended up walking on to Washington State.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, ended up, you know, he was he was trying to do engineering um at the same time playing football.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: So that's tough.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, his freshman season, he ended up um tearing his labrum.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: He had to get surgery.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so just after that, you know, just knowing, you know, obviously uh you at some point you gotta figure out, like, okay, um it is this really gonna be my path, or is this, you know, can I really make it in football, or should I really pursue um this major and like go all in in the career, you know?
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it came to that point where he was like, you know what, like I don't really know if, you know, my chances right now of of of making in football is you know, is is not as great as having this fallback on, you know, pursuing my engineering career and um you know going in all in on that.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: So that was a point he he kind of had to make that decision.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um he came to the crossroads and made that decision.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, he's had he's great, great job right now.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: He still lives up in up in Washington.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he's a structural engineer, um, makes a ton of money, buttload of money, um, has an immense amount of freedom, um, you know, rides his he mountain bikes, he rides his bike whenever he wants.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: He he kind of can create his own schedule and create his own hours.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: So, I mean, he's if if you know you were to tell him, you know, this would be your job when he was a senior in high school, you know, he he would jump on it.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: That would be his dream job.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: So he's he's doing great for himself.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: Great, yeah, yeah.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the uh what I was gonna say is like I feel like football, well, all sports too, but football is just so it's way more physical and unpredictable with like injuries and stuff.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that just staying healthy, yeah, the ability just to stay healthy and um just be able to just continue to to play, yeah, is like a major, you know, factor of someone's like career length.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: You always been super, it seems like been healthy.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, not knock on wood, you know, this year.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: And you're crushing it with you know the knee rehab, like you're you've been crushing it.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I would say um this year, separate other than I, you know, I had um labor and surgery as well, but like that was like a quarter of this rehab and how hard this um knee rehab has been.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like the lower leg, I I've never had like a long-term lower leg surgery, injury, rehab, and um man, it's it's it's been a journey, but uh, you know, you there's tremendous growth um always in adversity and tough things you go through.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, I I just I love attacking hard things and um overcoming adversity.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: Oh that's the best mindset, you know.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um with so then all right, so after that, you in high school you did well.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: When do you feel like uh when when were teams were reaching out to you in high school?
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, I would I would say I got my first my first offer um early my sophomore year.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um my first offer was like a lower FCS, Montana State.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but once I got that first one, usually, you know, you say once you get that first one, like they kind of start rolling because really it's like, okay, all the colleges are like, all the scouts, all the college coaches are like, oh, this guy doesn't have an offer, like we don't really know about him.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: But like once you get one offer, it's like, oh, this guy's legit.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like he got an offer from a legit college.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, they just start rolling in.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, I would there was a point, um, I think end of my sophomore year or junior year, like, you know, I I probably got, you know, uh five or six offers within a week, just because like I feel like once you get like your major first offer, like I got my my major first offer was from UW, University of Washington, the hometown team.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, major first offer from like a big D1 college.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: After that, like Stanford, Oregon, uh, you know, Nebraska, like all over the country, like, you know, they just offered like that, like and and literally quick as like a phone call, like from a you know, the DB coach, hey, we want to offer you, we love you, like, you know, you know, potentially get you out for a visit, but we want to extend uh an offer.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: Cool.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: So it was and that was your sophomore year.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, got some more junior year, but then I ended up committing.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I ended up shutting down my recruitment and knowing that, you know, I wanted to stay home um at UW and play in front of friend friends, family.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, that was that was very important to me.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: So that all right, so you decided it's sophomore year that you were gonna do Washington.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: Junior.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: Junior I committed, did the verbal commitment, whatever.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then I actually uh I graduated high school early, so I was able to um, they had this cool program where you can like kind of do community college, uh, your senior year.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like, so the first half of my senior year, um, I basically didn't do any high school um classes, and I was literally just doing all online classes at the local community college, which was amazing.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: That that that year was amazing.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like I was able to sleep in, like, um stay up late, train, like get, you know, just be crazy and and go all in, knowing that, you know, so I was really able to take advantage.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like that was the best schedule.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: That was that was really the time of my life right there.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like from senior years to college, those four years um were were the time of my life.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, no, I was I was able to graduate high school early.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: So um everyone else in my senior class still had the second semester to finish.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: By that time, I I graduated basically I graduated high school in December, and I was able to enroll at UW early, um, the January, the winter quarter before my incoming class.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I I was able to um basically do all winter workouts for three months, uh, participate in spring ball.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um so you're on you were on campus.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: I was on campus doing, I was in classes, um, you know, doing workouts, um, participated in spring football, which I mean that was that was really hard though, but I I really feel like that kind of separated me and was able to give me that leap.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: Cause like, I mean, I was basically a uh high school senior still competing with you know college seniors who I mean, John Ross that year, he ended up running a 4-2 and getting drafted first round, like Sydney Jones, Buda Baker, Kevin King, some of the guys who that year, my freshman year, went on, got drafted in the first two rounds of the NFL, um, NFL draft is um, you know, but being a high school senior, walking into that locker room and and having to go compete with those guys, like it was really, really hard.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I got thrown into the fire right away.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what were you feeling?
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I was intimidated.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like I was, I think I was a 17-year-old kid going against 20-year-olds, 20, 22-year-olds, 22-year-olds, grown men.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, that jump from high school to college, we talked about it all the time.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: The jump from college to NFL isn't necessarily a big jump.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: It it the game speed is a big jump, but from physic physical like uh attributes and uh traits, like the high school to college jump.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's you can still be underdeveloped at 17 years old as a high school senior, and there can be grown, grown men, 20, 21, 22, 23 years old, right?
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so that jump was just I mean, it was it was it was terrifying, honestly.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like I that first quarter that I was enrolled as an early and or early enrollee freshman, like I really like I had the most negative thoughts.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I was like, dang, like I don't know if I can do this.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I just don't I want to go home.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like I I'm gonna I wanna quit right now and I haven't even played a season.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: So um so what kept you there?
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, just I think my whole that's kind of my personality and my my drive, my mentality, my whole life is just like keep putting one foot in front of the other and just attack each day.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, eventually it'll it'll get better and it will it will become easier.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, that first quarter was rough, man.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know how tough winter workouts are.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like the strength coaches, like they try to break you.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, as a college strength coach, yeah, I I I still I still remember Tim Saha, like that was my head strength coach.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like, he he would just try to break everyone.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: And like seeing an early enrolly and freshman, he's still supposed to be a senior in high school, like he thinks he's the shit, right?
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, he's like, I promise, I don't think that.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: So man, um, you know, it was it was some really long days, really long nights, man.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, got through it.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I I mean, I I don't um I I don't take it for granted.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like that, that quarter and that that whole thrown in the fire, like that's what set me up for the rest of my life, for the rest of my career, for the rest of you know, uh my time on campus, really.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: So when you were uh doing the what was your workout schedule like at that?
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: Oh man, like 5 30 a.m.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: workouts.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I remember we we stay at Lander Hall, the the freshman dorms, um, and like the uh the dorms were like, I don't know, you could you could probably walk 30 minutes to the facility to the football stadium, but like we would all have to take the buses.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: So like you're up at 4 a.m.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: You're trying to hop on the bus, you're trying to time the buses, right?
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: You have the bus schedule, right?
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: You're trying to hop.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm surprised they even ran that early, but you're trying to hop on the campus buses to make it to the stadium.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it was what time was the bus?
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, what was your next bus?
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was like four, four fifty, four fifty-five, or something like that.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: You have to make it, and like sometimes you miss it and you gotta you gotta run, you gotta haul ass to the stadium.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like try to eat some real quick before a warm-up, uh, before the before the workout.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, you gotta get dressed, you gotta get in your locker room, gotta put on your you know, attire, your your gym equipment, um, be in the weight room before 5 30.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: If you're there at 5 31 or 5 30, like you know, you're you're probably doing up downs for the whole workout with the strength coach on the side.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's just oh brutal, man.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was brutal.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: But man, I those those days that those those early mornings was like is what what builds me for the rest of my life.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like to take on everything.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I totally I I believe you.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I believe you.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what were the what were the workouts like?
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um get there at five to 529, coaches like everybody line up.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, usually it depends on the day.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like if we're doing speed work or some field work, we usually start on the field, but like this is another, we had to go.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: This is separate than our stadium.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: We'd have to go to the indoor, which is like, you know, you got to walk on the field, then walk around campus.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so, like, that's even more time.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: You got to be on the in the indoor at 5:30, ready for warm-up.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: So that would even take more time.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, we we would do that probably twice, two or three times a week.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: Always start always on the indoor.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like, winter workouts were always like, okay, you know, this is after a season, you're always building the base, um, you know, build some capacity, try to you know, get back moving and stuff like that.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: But like the weight room stuff was like the most intense.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we were attacking weights, like front squat, back squat, deadlift, head.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: At least two or three Olympic lifts um every single day and like heavy as heck, you know, three reps, five rep maxes.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like the winter workouts were like notoriously like the ones that kind of you know drove people insane.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like they were really, really tough.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: And that that was that was the intention behind it.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: It was a weed out for you know, exactly, or you either rise or you get weeded out.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and and and to think like that's that was my first introduct introduction, you know, to everything.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: And like I'm still technically supposed to be a high school senior, like, you know, I was it was very intimidating and eye-opening, but man, you know, I I got through it.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so then the fall training camp in August started.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: So you already had some, you felt more comfortable.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, because you were used to the campus, the schedule, the coaches, and stuff.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: You had some pad, you put some pads on for spring.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you were competing.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: So then fall camp came around and you you felt more just prepared and yeah.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: I I basically, I mean, I didn't have a full season under my belt like a fall season, but like I basically had a full spring football, you know, a full um two quarters of of workouts uh on campus, like you said.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: You get to know um, you gotta know your teammates, you get to know, you get to learn the system, the defensive, the defensive scheme, um, all the plays and stuff like that.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: So like you're just light years ahead of your class coming in because they really come in that summer.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: They have a whole onboarding summer program for six weeks before fall camp.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: So, like what, June?
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they so as soon as they graduate from high school, they usually get on campus.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then basically six, seven, eight weeks of they they'd all do summer school, but like it was just basically five days a week, they would do they call it like UW leap program.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: So, like um if you're not in class, you're either working out or you're doing some uh you know development stuff with some of the development staff on uh in the athletic department and stuff like that.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: So basically your day is from I don't know, 6 a.m.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: workouts until you know four or five p.m., you know, study hall, um, it's just 6 a.m.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: to basically 5 p.m.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, for six, seven days or six, seven weeks through the summer.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, luckily I I didn't I didn't even have to do that because I was, I guess, excused because I was already on campus.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: I was already kind of introduced and all that stuff.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: So you what was your summer like then?
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_01: Was it just on campus workouts or just home?
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so on-campus workouts, um, they made me do summer school um just to get ahead.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I I did summer school, but I didn't have to do the you the the lead program.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: I just did the workouts with the regular team.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but man, yeah, I was I was light years ahead.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like by the time they got on campus, you know, their their eyes are wide, and man, it's like, oh, this this whole world.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like I've I've I've had five months basically already, I already had that introduction, that that that rough introduction.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and yeah, by the time fall camp came, like, you know, I could just see the guys, the the my my class um just struggling in in terms of like trying to figure out the defense, trying to figure out the plays, trying to figure out you know, everything.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: And and like I already felt like I got a full year under my belt.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: So um just light years ahead, you know.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: I was I was able to actually start my freshman year, um, like three or four games in.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: My DB coach, you know, he was like, Hey, we're gonna give you a start here.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: And man, my one of my first starts was against uh University of Stanford, and it was college game day.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: We played on a Friday night.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um was it at Stanford or had it?
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: No, at UW.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: So it was, I mean, and that that week my my coach was like, Hey, we're gonna give you a start.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we, you know, I I I trust you, I believe in you.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we're gonna give you a start.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: And like, man, this is like this was like my first introduction.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I I played in I played in a Super Bowl in the NFL, and I I still feel like this first game that I played at UW against Stanford was like the most nervous and most like uh overwhelming, overwhelming anxiety, just like craziness, right?
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, we ended up whooping their butts like 44 to 6, but like it was college game day, like they were ranked three, we were ranked four, like it was a top four matchup in the country, college game day.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: What year was this?
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: 20, so 2016.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: 2016.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yep, 2016.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, we went up whooping their butts.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Christian McCaffrey, like he was best best running back in Stanford, you know.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: I think we think we limited him to like 40 yards or something like that.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like wow, it was just um, yeah, that what that was the loudest stadium, loudest, loudest atmosphere I've ever heard.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I've played in major, major games.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: I played in the college football playoffs at um Mercedes-Dome um in Atlanta, like you know, Super Bowl, obviously, like nothing was like like that game.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: Really?
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was it was in.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: So before that start, um, you got some playing time earlier than that.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, just like as a as like a rotational backup.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um what was your first game where you dressed out?
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was it was the first game.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: We played Ruckers.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, usually in I don't usually in in major college football, like the big D1 programs would always open up their season playing like kind of smaller, smaller schools.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like I think, you know, the smaller schools, um, we end like I think the bigger university ends up like paying out the the the smaller schools to come out and like get their butts whooped or whatever, you know.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: So we ended up playing help us build our confidence.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: So like the first two games are like always FCS smaller schools.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: So we played Ruckers and like, you know, I was I don't think I got I I played special teams, obviously, started special teams, but like I wasn't necessarily like a full-time starter, so I wasn't on the defensive field until you know second half when like you know, we're up 40 to nothing.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, and then obviously play this the whole second half.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: But um for the first two games, that was kind of the same thing.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't remember who we played the second game, but lower FCS um school again, and then uh I think the third game or fourth game maybe was against Stanford.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, when I got the first start.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I was so you were dressing out, you're like, Yeah, I'm starting.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: Coach.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: When did the coach tell you?
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like that Monday or the Wednesday?
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so usually um our player off day was uh Monday.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: So we play on Saturdays, come in on Sunday for the lift, and then Monday was the player off day.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then Tuesday was like the first workday of the week, Tuesday through whatever Saturday um is the is the is the work week.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um and he told me the the the day off, the player off day.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like he's pretty sure like he called me in, you know, hey, like, you know, I'm I'm gonna start you.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like I I really think this is the best five DBs on the field.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, he actually moved uh Buda Baker, who was like a starting safety, he moved him down to nickel, play nickel, okay, um, and was able to have me play safety um for the season.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: And he just felt like, you know, just trying to get the best five DBs on the field.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, which, you know, that's that's what he thought.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so um, yeah, you know, ended up being uh, you know, uh I don't know, even back then, you know, I feel like I feel like I didn't build enough confidence in him, but obviously he saw he saw enough of me and he believed in me.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, that's that's kind of when the trajectory of my career kind of took off.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: What do you feel like you saw?
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like when, like just in practice?
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, like I felt like, you know, I felt like my whole freshman year of when I early enrolled, like I was just drowning and I was just trying to, you know, get you know, get my head uh above the water.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but obviously he saw something in me.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: He saw either the work ethic or um my resilience.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, he just he saw something in me.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: And man, I yeah, that's uh I just how many more games did you start after that, the freshman year?
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I mean the rest of the season.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you started the rest of the season?
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: Started the rest of the season, we uh we ended up making it to the college football playoff.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: It was the first year of they introduced like the college football playoff.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I guess, but like I guess that was when because now they have 12 teams in in the in the playoffs, and back then it was like four teams.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_00: So like it's a big controversy.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because like we ended up winning the Pac-12 championship, we beat Colorado, um, and then kind of like we were kind of right on the hump.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: We were like number five after we beat Pac-12 championship after we won the Pac-12 championship.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, it was always a big controversy because only four to four teams can make it, and all the obviously like the committee has to make the decision.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so after making the college football or winning the Pac-12 championship, um, you know, seeing like the whole, you know, everyone was like watching the committee, the the college football playoff show.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, we ended up getting getting uh the four rank.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, so we hadn't played Bama uh in the first round.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um and who else was in that year?
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so it was Bama, Clemson.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't know the third team, um, but I know so it was Bama, Clemson, and then I I forgot who the third team was, and then we were four.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: Four.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_01: Were you guys were you guys all watching the the committee show, like the selection show?
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was a pretty cool um I thought that'd be blast.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: Were you guys on the meeting room or what were you doing?
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even know.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: I I honestly think we weren't even together as a team.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: I think we were all just kind of watching because it was like it was during our um like bowl, I guess, like December, because like we already got out of school for winter winter quarters and stuff, and everyone's kind of on winter break.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, so we were kind of on winter break after we won the Pac-12 championship and uh kind of everyone on on their own, but obviously everyone watching, yeah.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, it would have been cool if we were all watching together and like just see the room erupt.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: But I uh I well, I'd imagine like there's a chance you don't get picked, so like everybody gather together, a huge meeting, meeting room, we're all gonna celebrate, and then you don't get picked.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, be kind of you know, kind of a bummer for sure.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, well, that's awesome.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's sick.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_01: So you guys played Bama, yeah.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_01: And was that the Mercedes?
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_01: Mercedes Dome um in Atlanta.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um what was that game like?
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that that was another game that was like, dang, because like I remembered this distinctly, like very vividly.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: We came out for warm-ups, and usually, you know, like you know how the football warm-ups is like how you know, uh 50-yard line, and then like your team is warming up on this side and like usually facing each other's back, right?
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, we're warming up here, DBs are in this corner, and I come out with like we're doing pat and go, you know, like some just some easy warm-ups and stuff.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm looking over there at the Bama sidelines and like, man, Kyle, like these these dudes were like aliens.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm looking over there, like, dude, everyone is like six, five, six, eight, like just animals, right?
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_00: And and I'm looking at our sidelines and like, man, we we don't match up.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like, this is like I remember that vividly because like we know we we got like some some walk-ons, some really small guys, like their their walk-ons are like starters on major, major d1 schools, right?
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like the man, I I just remember that moment.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was eye-opening, but like I we we actually ended up scoring on the first drive.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um amazing, yeah.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: Dante Pettis, uh Jake Browning threw threw him a uh touchdown in the corner end zone.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, we we kind of held our own, but like the second half, it just it it got away from us.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um that run game, and man, um yeah, what was it like defending their run game?
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, or in the receivers, yeah.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_00: I mean that the the whole that whole I mean that team was so talented.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, I remember their their running back, Bo Scarborough's like another Derrick Henry, like Derrick Henry 2.0.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: Man, he was like probably six, six four, six five, like 245, like rumbling, bumbling, like man, like to bring that guy down, like you gotta have like four or five, like gang tackle him.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like one one man isn't isn't taking him down.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_00: So um yeah, but you know, we we held our own.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_00: We you know, we're just very very happy how that year obviously played out individually for me, but then obviously like team-wise, like that's what really when we put UW back on the map, yeah.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: Of you know, like before, you know, for the last 10 years, um, kind of been struggling, you know, haven't been able to like really bring you know national dominance again.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um in that year, um, we were able to obviously make the college football playoff and kind of show that you know we're we're back.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_00: And uh really my first oh my my three years of playing college, I I I leave I left after three years, but my three years that I went were probably you know, we'll go down as like the three one of the three best years of UW football history.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, we made three um three huge bowl games.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, it was it was a great three years.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like I think we won 10, 11 games each year, only lost one or two one or two games each year.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_01: When you uh that's awesome.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that first game you started was like super intense and like college game day was there super loud playing Stanford.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Chris McCaffrey was on the running back.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, was there a same feeling looking in their sideline, being like, man, these guys are units?
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like, or was it like we match up good?
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_01: No, or was it the opposite?
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like, we're gonna crush them.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: No, honestly, I mean, I think I think I just had so much going on in my mind that I I I don't even really remember that part, but like I do remember when we played Bama, it was like that.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I don't I don't remember looking at the sidelines and being like, dang, like these guys are like physically like gifted, you know?
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_01: So then, all right, so you um, so you would say your sophomore year or even your freshman year high school, committing and being like, I'm just gonna go all in and commit and like sacrifice of you know, more social life in high school and just dial in.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, then you were doing well.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_01: That was a trajectory change.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_01: You got some offers, that one Montana State offer, then Trickle Effect got a bunch of offers, then accepted Washington.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then when in your freshman year of your senior high school last semester at Washington, that was a huge turning point.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_01: And the like a little confidence going into fall camp.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um enough for the coach to be like, yo, you can start.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_01: Let's have you start.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_01: And you're like, oh man, it's yeah.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_01: So that those were the turning points.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_01: You you hit the nail.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_01: And then after that sophomore year, you just kind of kept rolling with Yeah.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think I think after my freshman year, like, I mean, not not to like boast, but like I I I mean, I had I probably I so I like led our our whole team in interceptions.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_00: I had four interceptions that year.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like I had two interceptions uh in a huge game against uh SC, had two interceptions in Pac-12 championship.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um I had I won Pac-12 uh like freshman of the year.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, like I won the MVP of that Pac 12 championship game.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: Really?
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, like I it was like that's awesome.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: It was like a like really like that freshman year of like how I just kept stacking and like kept progressing was like the trajectory, like it, it could not be more perfect.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like so, like after my point is after that freshman year, uh my DB coach who you know like gave me the start, you know, he's he has many relationships.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_00: He put out a lot of um NFL guys.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he kind of sat me down in that offseason um after my freshman year and was like, hey, like I mean, you you're really like you you really got a chance to like be like a really uh a top guy coming out of the draft after you know three years.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like you leave early, like you did, you know, your freshman year, like you keep building on that, like you really got a shot.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_00: So like I think then I was like, dang, because like it was always been um just make it to college football.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: I just want to make it to college football, make it to major college football.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_00: And then once I got there, like I was just so in the fire that like I and like I told you, like I wanted to quit my freshman year when I was on campus early.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so like I playing in the NFL wasn't really a thought until I had that success and it everything came to fruition.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, dang, like I could really, I can really do this.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like I've kind of proven myself, and um, you know, all I really got like I I just had probably the best freshman year I could have ever had.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like, um, and so then you know, it was just kind of like more so like okay, like I already kind of have this um reputation.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_00: All I gotta do is kind of just basically refine it and and keep proving myself and and and you know, just stay healthy basically.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like you start, uh, your started the conversation was you know, everyone's favorite uh saying is your availability is your your best ability.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, totally.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: I mean that's that's it it cannot be more uh correct.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so what helped you the most to stay healthy?
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, I mean, I think just I think throughout my uh career since college, you really just every year you try to uh you know refine, tweak little things here and there, and it's always been a foundation of like taking care of your body, um sleeping, sleeping as every year is has become more prominent in terms of me realizing how important uh it actually is.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like sleep is like the best thing, like if you could combine it into a pill, it would be the best-selling supplement on the market, sleep.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, really dial in on my sleep, and like sleep is not easy, like there's so many different factors that go into sleep and strategies, and it takes effort, it takes sacrifice, like sacrifice like talk about social sacrifice.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like in high school, I had to sacrifice all that, but like really realizing how important sleep is and like try to sleep eight, nine, ten hours a night, you gotta sacrifice a lot.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta be able to say no to people, you gotta say no to your teammates who want to go out and party and stuff and um have fun, which college is about having fun, right?
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, finding that balance.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: But every year kind of has kind of um reshapened my um recovery strategies and protocols, um, and obviously eating healthy, putting the right things in your body.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but like really those three main pillars of you know, taking care of your body, putting stuff, putting good stuff in your body, eating wise, nutrition-wise, and then sleeping, yeah, as as as just kind of um progressed into um I guess more uh like more emphasis each year.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_00: More priority.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, more priority each year on those three three things.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously you can you you will work out like everyone's gonna work out, everyone has their trainers, everyone has a strength program, and those are great.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but like within those kind of the intentionality, um, and and I had to learn the hard way of honestly like kind of backing off and and over-training because like overtraining is just as bad as under training, right?
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_00: You think you're you're not doing enough, but when you're doing too much, your body's just in this state of like emergency, right?
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like you can't recover, you can't sleep properly, you your muscles can't recover, and that that puts your body at at high risk of injury.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, not sleeping um great before practice, not sleeping before, you know, uh not having a great week of sleep before game or stuff like that, like that, that'll that mean there's a bunch of literature studies, research out there that shows that that puts you at a high, high risk of injury and stuff like that.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_00: So totally um each year, just kind of being able to dial it in and kind of find tweaks here and there in the offseason, but um it's always it's always uh evolving, evolving uh journey.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, totally.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_01: So then uh so you did well sophomore year, did well junior year, then you decided I'm gonna enter the draft.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what was draft prep like?
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_01: Because you went into the combine, right?
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_00: So usually I think, you know, usually after you you declare for the draft, usually, you know, your top guy, you kind of have a good idea, like, hey, you're gonna get an invite to the combine, usually the top guys.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and actually, I think when you declare, if you declare as an underclassman before your senior year, you like send in a letter to, I don't even remember exactly how it works, but like you send in a letter, say, hey, my intention is to declare, like, what do you think?
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like they basically give you a draft grade.
• 43:01
  SPEAKER_00: The NFL does.
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so they say either, hey, we're gonna draft you, or like you, you think um, we think you're gonna be a first round pick or a top pick or a second round pick, or it's like, hey, go back to school, right?
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I mean, I I don't think I got go back to school, but like I didn't, I mean, usually they're pretty conservative because they want guys coming back and stuff.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_00: They don't want you like declaring early and stuff like that if you're if you're not gonna get drafted high, um, just to maximize your value and all that stuff.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_00: But like a lot of people just say screw it and just kind of bet on themselves, which I mean that's a whole nother thing.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_00: But um, I I don't think I got, I think I got like a second or third round grade, grade.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think I got go back to school, uh, but I also didn't get a first round grade.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but like, you know, there's you know, you hire agent after you declare and stuff, and you know, the agent has a lot of connections, you know.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_00: My D B coach had a lot of connections through through the league and NFL coaches and scouts and stuff, and so kind of just through, you know.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: Word of mouth and stuff like that.
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, you know, we think you're going to be first round or top two rounds, you know, at least, you know, top, you know, 60 pick or something like that, top 50 pick.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_00: So kind of uh after my junior year, I kind of had that idea of like, hey, you're gonna be a top 50 pick, like you got a good chance to actually go in the first round.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I was like, okay, like, you know, of course, like I'm gonna be a first rounder, like that's that's my goal.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, hired, ended up hiring my agent after junior declared all that stuff.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, they kind of they kind of have their uh ways of doing things in terms of like training-wise and stuff like that.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_00: Combine training, combine training is like literally is is crazy.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like you go out basically in the middle of nowhere.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like I went to uh Phoenix, Arizona at a Exos.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, Exos training.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's their like home base or other their main main facility.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, main facility in Phoenix.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_00: So went there uh with maybe like 30, 40, 50 other um draft draft class guys of that year, like all different positions, maybe like 10 DBs or something like that.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_00: But we'd all go there.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like my agent would pay for everything because like you know, they're basically the way the the structure, the the commission is like, okay, we get 2%, 2.5% or 3% of your earnings, right?
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_00: So um, if you're gonna be a top pick, usually they pay for everything, they pay for your training, they pay for your housing.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because they're all investing in you because they're investing because they're like, oh, I'm gonna get three percent of his contract, right?
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_00: Basically, so like, okay, we're gonna put in all this, like they give you stipend, like they give you, you know, uh basically spending money or like a signing bonus when you sign with them.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, I was like, that's kind of like your real first taste of money.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_00: Cause like I I wasn't a part of the NIL stuff that colleges nowadays.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_00: I wish I was, but yeah, um, yeah, nowadays it's like a wild, wild west.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, that was like my first taste of money.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, so they put you up in housing like for three months.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_00: You're basically training from January until the combine of um like March or April.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_00: So you go there and it's six days a week.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_00: And you do like three days.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_00: So like you have your first session at 8 a.m.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_00: They have all the food, shakes, supplements, all on site there.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_00: They prepare all that.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's amazing.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you hire nutritionists, like you do three physical sessions.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like, usually starts with speed work first thing in the morning when you're fresh early in the week.
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, weight room session later in the day, like big bench press.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, that's that's one of the biggest the because you don't do like a squat test of the combine, like it's the biggest weightlifting is the bench press.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, and then obviously the 40-yard dash, which is like the running.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_00: So um, it was it's basically it's the stupidest thing ever.
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_00: I I hate it because you're not training to be a football player, like you're training to literally like compete in three events that uh have some sort of translation to the game, but like not a lot.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it was um, you know, it's three months of basically three a days, and and they bring in like coaches, uh DB coaches.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_00: So you do go through footwork and stuff like that, you do skill sessions, you do running sessions with the the speed coaches, um, you do weight room sessions with the strength coaches, um, they bring in like ex-nfl um scouts or ex-NFL GMs because you got to do these interviews with teams, right?
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_00: You got to enter a room like this, you know, sitting across from the GM or the head coach or the DB coach, and everyone, every like it's it's crazy.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_00: The combine is like it's they they basically rent out a hotel and they empty out the hotel of the hotel beds, everything, and they just create a a huge room of desks and chairs, and the whole team is you have these formal interviews, and you walk into a room like this, and it's the GM, the head coach, um, the DB coaches, uh everyone around, like all the scouts are around you.
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's the whole room, the whole room.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_00: You're walking into a hotel room, and and you're basically just you're getting no, it's just you're and you're getting you're getting grilled from every angle, like asking craziest questions, like some of the weirdest questions, just like trying to like you know, pull you and like see if you it gets you reaction and stuff, but like like what I mean.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_00: I I I haven't had any crazy questions, but like I've I've heard of some some crazy, crazy questions.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but like going back to training, they we we my my agent would like or your agents would like hire X NFL GMs to come in and like prep you for for the interviews, the formal interviews.
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_00: And like you'd have to, you'd also have to like get on the board, like a big whiteboard, and like, hey, draw your defense and like do this adjustment, or like, you know, what about this?
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_00: What about this?
• 48:51
  SPEAKER_00: And they grill you, and you have to you have to be like and you have to like actually have legible handwriting on a whiteboard and like your hands are shaking because you're sitting in front of the whole basically the whole coaching staff and the GM, the head coach, right?
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_00: So like they they basically they so so you someone could get exposed.
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_00: Exposed.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_00: So like that's why I'm just saying, three months of basically like military training of like, but like after three months of doing that, you're basically doing it from 8 a.m.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_00: until 8 p.m.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_00: every single day for six days a week for three months.
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like, if you're not ready by then or if you're not feel comfortable, like you're doing something wrong.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_00: Your agent, your agent is not doing something right.
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_00: So um, yeah, I mean, that's but like basically it's three months of just hell of doing that, and like it it, I just thinking back on it, like it I think it made me a worse football player.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like just so like I didn't because like I wasn't out there like playing football or like it just you're basically preparing for the biggest interview of your life, which it was.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_00: And for what it served, it was yeah, whatever.
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_00: But like those three months were like probably some of the worst three months of my life.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_01: Like, is there anybody that you know that went through that that then crumbled and like yeah, I mean their draft stock dropped because oh yeah, oh yeah.
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's there's tons of stories out there.
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I I don't know of any teammates um individually that I know that like you know had really bad interviews, but like you hear all the time reports of guys having really bad interviews or like coming out of the combine, like teams are like their draft stock is way down, stuff like that, and just yeah, you you learn a lot.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I mean, a team, I mean, think about when they draft you, especially like in the first four or five rounds, like it's a huge financial um investment.
• 50:45
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, I I get it, they do their due diligence.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I remember when I because I got drafted by the Rams, they sent a security guard, security or their head of security, LA Rams security, to my high school.
• 51:00
  SPEAKER_00: And this was after I already like declared out of college.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_00: This was four years after high school.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_00: They sent a they sent a security guy to my high school to kind of like dig and like get dirt on who I was as a high school like student, and like if I was a bad kid, uh if I mess around, if I got in trouble a lot, you know, like basically to get all the dirt on me.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_00: Because uh yeah, I mean it's a huge financial investment.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_00: So they ended up drafting me, but like, yeah, they they sent like because my because one of my because my high school coach told me, hey, like, did you know that the Rams were saying this was like before the draft?
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, I just like the the Rams just sent like a security guy to like ask questions about you.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like he came on campus, so I was like, whoa, wow, that's that's kind of crazy.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_01: They are doing their due diligence, doing their due diligence for sure.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so you got drafted in the second round.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, which pick?
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh 61st.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_01: 61st?
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_01: All right, awesome.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, yeah, and it's but done, you've panned it out, done really well.
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so you were at the Rams, yeah.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what what is that the professional locker room and like training camp culture like compared to like and also strength?
• 52:13
  SPEAKER_01: So, like what's the locker room like compared to to college?
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh it was a huge difference, and I would say the biggest difference is like in college, you know, the camaraderie is like everyone's brothers, everyone loves each other, like everyone, and but like also the biggest difference is like everyone is relatively within three or four years of the same age.
• 52:34
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas like you enter an NFL locker room, like you're with some real vets who are 10, 12 years in, who are have been five time all pros and have 10-year-old sons and kids, right?
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_00: So, like the dynamic of like a college locker room where like everyone is kind of like in the same realm of life, yeah, dealing with the same stuff, doesn't necessarily have family, you know, like has the same responsibilities day to day.
• 53:00
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone's obviously has different backgrounds and stuff and has different troubles and stuff, but like you answer an NFL locker room, it's just it's it's very complex because you know, your your leader of your uh position group can be a 35-year-old with four kids, and they don't want to go to dinner or they don't want to hang out outside of the football facility because they got to go home and be a dad.
• 53:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
• 53:24
  SPEAKER_00: So um I think that's the biggest difference that I learned.
• 53:27
  SPEAKER_00: But like, I mean, it was I think with with the complexity, it adds a whole different, like, I don't know, uh good layers and and and and fun things, you know, because you you get to learn from guys who are 10 years in who have, you know, you you aspire to play 10 years, yeah, uh, and have the career that they have.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_00: So being able to pick their brains on, hey, like, how did you make it that far?
• 53:53
  SPEAKER_00: Or like, you know, what what what is your routine?
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and just be able to like kind of just pick their brains on like everything they do because they're pretty open to that conversation, or they're like, you know, like um, I got work to do, give me, leave me alone.
• 54:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I would say everyone's different, but like the majority of guys I dealt with are were great.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I came in as a rookie, and Eric Weddle, um, who's a all-time great safety, he'll probably go down in the hall of fame.
• 54:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he was like the vet guy safe at safety, and he took me under his wing right away.
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like he he, you know, and because like you hear stories of like older guys who are like kind of on the back end of their career and like their their production, their play has kind of declined.
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, you draft younger guys at your position, it's like, well, read between the lines, like they're kind of here to replace you, yeah.
• 54:45
  SPEAKER_00: So, like that dynamic can kind of get tricky because some older guys are not receptive and not really ready for that for that their career to kind of take over and like kind of hand it over to the young guys, and so that can kind of get a little tricky, but like like I said, I I mean Eric was great to me.
• 55:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I I've had great vets in my room on my teams, um, and just learning from them, being able to see how they do things and you know, uh steal things that they do and kind of add them to your routine and see if they work.
• 55:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I you know, not everyone's routine is gonna work for everyone else, right?
• 55:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, kind of just seeing what works for you, kind of testing them out and kind of just saying, hey, I can use this, or hey, like that's not really gonna work for me.
• 55:32
  SPEAKER_00: But like just being able to see a guy who has had so much success through the years that you aspire to have that career is like, man, they're doing something, right?
• 55:43
  SPEAKER_00: So like you try to take as you try to take as much as you can from them, you know.
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_00: What is what's some things that Eric said?
• 55:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I think just uh the routine was was probably one of his biggest things that like he was like a a uh such uh a psycho in terms of uh being uh doing his routine every single day and like going through the process of taking care of your body and everything that his older self had to do in terms of getting ready for practice after practice.
• 56:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like he would he would ice tub, I mean, ice tub, he would probably ice tub throughout the whole day before practice, after practice.
• 56:23
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's just he he was at 32, 33 years old, um, playing the NFL football league for you know 10, 11, 12 years.
• 56:31
  SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, ice ice tub was his big thing, sawning was his big thing, but like early workouts before everyone, like 6 a.m.
• 56:40
  SPEAKER_00: workouts, like we usually start the day at 8, 8, 8:30.
• 56:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like he'd come in um on two days during the week and he'd he'd get after it, like full sweat, like just lifting, you know, four plates, back squatting, like in the morning.
• 56:55
  SPEAKER_00: It just to he really felt like you had to lift heavy and you had to put your joints um in these positions uh in order to um play football and and stay injury free.
• 57:06
  SPEAKER_00: And like those were like like there were some I I really learned from him, like there's some non-negotiables that you have in your routine that you have to check off every single week or every single day.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a lot of fluff that everyone tries to add to the routine that's just like it's fancy and nice, but like really how much are you uh just like throughout the years of just like extra fluff of like, hey, do I really need to be doing this extra workout or extra exercise?
• 57:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, or hey, these are my huge main pillars and my four major non-negotiables that I need to hit today.
• 57:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna attack these and then I'm gonna move on.
• 57:48
  SPEAKER_00: Cause like when you I start adding extra fluff, it's like you start getting into all the details and then like your time gets wasted.
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it just clouds everything, clouds everything, right?
• 57:56
  SPEAKER_00: So um I I I the biggest thing I learned from him was just like creating a routine that works for you.
• 58:03
  SPEAKER_00: And like I said, not everyone's routine is gonna work for the so a non-negotiable checklist, yeah.
• 58:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so basically throughout the week, you kind of just hidden throughout the week, throughout the days of like non-negotiables that you feel like you have added to your routine that have paid huge dividends on in terms of performance, in terms of injury prevention, in terms of feeling fresh, in terms of whatever.
• 58:28
  SPEAKER_00: So when did the espresso shots routine come and play for you?
• 58:32
  SPEAKER_00: Oh man, I would I would say probably more prevalent since I became a dad, but uh man, no, I I I probably started drinking coffee um when I got into the NFL.
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I I really never drank it in in college or even high school.
• 58:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like I remember my parents, they had a very expensive espresso machine, they're huge coffee snobs.
• 58:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I never really drank it, but I think you you said you've developed into a more of a coffee snob.
• 58:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, definitely.
• 59:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I love my coffee.
• 59:02
  SPEAKER_00: I love my I love testing out different beans and stuff and grinding different beans, pulling my pulling different um, you know, espresso shots and stuff and making different drinks and stuff.
• 59:11
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I enjoy a good cup of coffee too.
• 59:13
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, you know, yeah, man, it's it's game changing.
• 59:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and and I mean, you know, you're you're a dad of three now.
• 59:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, like I'm I'm sure you're very caffeinated up during the days.
• 59:24
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, when when you need an extra pick me up, you know, some espresso, nothing hits like an espresso.
• 59:30
  SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, I'm I've I've had my fair share of uh uh espresso um over the past year.
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_01: What uh NFL game day compared to college game day of intensity and stuff, what what's what's the comparison?
• 59:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I would say nothing's like a college environment.
• 59:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like I will still I will stand on this um on this bridge all day.
• 59:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like I think my days at Mont Lake, uh Mont Lake is like where you know that that's what the uh I guess the area of the stadium at UW was.
• 1:00:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but like just 80,000 fans, um like in that Sanford game, like I was talking about, my my first start in my freshman year, like I really don't remember an environment or like a single game atmosphere ever, ever like that.
• 1:00:20
  SPEAKER_00: And like it could have been just because obviously I was a 17-year-old kid and my eyes were wider than you know, but wait, when'd you turn 18?
• 1:00:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um I guess I was 18 because I just I turned 18 December of my senior year.
• 1:00:39
  SPEAKER_00: So you got all right so you got- Yeah, I guess I guess I I guess I was so you were 18 and a half, yeah, yeah.
• 1:00:43
  SPEAKER_01: But okay, you just turned 18 though for your for that first January.
• 1:00:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:00:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:00:48
  SPEAKER_01: So all right, so college just it just felt more intense.
• 1:00:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I I would just say I don't know, uh, maybe like the fans are just more into it, more passionate um than NFL fans.
• 1:01:00
  SPEAKER_00: But like, I mean, not to say like NFL games, and I've been a part of amazing NFL atmospheres and um stadiums and stuff like that.
• 1:01:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like some of my favorite stadiums to play in and like Kansas City, like they have this crazy chant before the kickoff.
• 1:01:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I still remember it's like one of the coolest, coolest probably traditions ever.
• 1:01:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh playing at Green Bay, that historic Lambeau field, uh playing in the snow there, like against Aaron Rodgers.
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, man, like I've I've had some amazing like amazing, amazing.
• 1:01:30
  SPEAKER_00: I I mean I got a I got an interception off of Aaron Rodgers that game at Lambeau Field.
• 1:01:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like that, I mean, I got an interception off Patrick Mahomes.
• 1:01:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, I've I've been able to say I've had like some.
• 1:01:41
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, those guys are obviously Hall of Fame gold jackets, like one go go down as an all-time, and like being able to say you got an interception off them and like those historic uh fields atmospheres, like it's it's pretty, pretty amazing when you look back on it.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_00: How do y'all stay warm at Lambeau Field Reclosing?
• 1:01:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's a good question.
• 1:01:58
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of guys don't wear any sleeves.
• 1:01:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I I never wore sleeves.
• 1:02:01
  SPEAKER_00: I I I've been a huge believer in not really wearing sleeves.
• 1:02:03
  SPEAKER_00: So like they have this, like, I don't even know, like um, you know, when they when they have like wind chill, you know, like I learned this from like some vets in my first cold game.
• 1:02:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it's not Vaseline, but like you throw on like some I don't even know what's like called, but like it's like in this white bottle.
• 1:02:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's like a cream, yeah.
• 1:02:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's like a cream, and like you throw it on your skin, and it's like supposed to insulate your skin, and it does an incredible job.
• 1:02:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like interesting, and so guys in the locker room before they go out for warmups are like all lathering each other.
• 1:02:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like, this is so funny.
• 1:02:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like, oh that's funny, yeah.
• 1:02:35
  SPEAKER_00: So uh do you remember your first NFL game?
• 1:02:38
  SPEAKER_00: I do, I do, yeah.
• 1:02:39
  SPEAKER_00: It was uh, you know, I I I wasn't in starting role, but I was I was playing like dime, so I I'd come in on like third down and like I got probably like 30, 40 snaps that game.
• 1:02:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um we played out in Carolina uh against the Panthers.
• 1:02:53
  SPEAKER_00: We we won that game.
• 1:02:54
  SPEAKER_00: But um, yeah, that was that was my first taste of NFL football.
• 1:02:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, so it's it's always good to not, I guess, be like thrown into the fire and start like game one.
• 1:03:05
  SPEAKER_00: But like some guy, like some situations you have to, like if you drafted, you know, first round, like you you kind of have to, like that's an investment that they make.
• 1:03:12
  SPEAKER_00: But luckily, I'll fortunate enough in in my situation, like they had two starting safeties, um John Johnson and Eric Weddle.
• 1:03:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I they kind of had a plan for me to come in on passing downs, third downs, second and long and stuff and play dime, um, which was great.
• 1:03:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but actually, similar to my freshman year, I ended up starting after game five of my rookie season for the rest of the season.
• 1:03:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the other safety, John Johnson, JJ, he he ended up hurting the shoulder, got surgery.
• 1:03:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so it was me, me and Eric actually, as as the two starting safeties for you know the majority of the season, 12 12 games or so.
• 1:03:50
  SPEAKER_01: So do you remember that first start um comparative to like just with like um yeah, just being nervous or yeah, I mean honestly it wasn't it wasn't anything compared to that Stanford game in college.
• 1:04:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, I still remember that.
• 1:04:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I was terrified.
• 1:04:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like I remember that week of practice, like I was terrified.
• 1:04:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I remember I would call my mom, I'm like, I don't know, like Coach Lake.
• 1:04:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's my DB coach.
• 1:04:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like, Coach Lake, he he he said he's gonna start me this week.
• 1:04:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't know, we're playing Stanford, it's supposed to be college game day.
• 1:04:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, yeah, I don't really know.
• 1:04:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's awesome.
• 1:04:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I was just man, I was so so nervous.
• 1:04:31
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, luckily I was able to man get through it, and obviously it kind of took off from there, but yeah, it was it was night and day difference from my first NFL start.
• 1:04:41
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I was nervous, I had some butterflies, but like nothing like that stuff for game.
• 1:04:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what's the game like in NFL compared to college?
• 1:04:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh in what what sort of uh sort of aspect are you are you asking?
• 1:04:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like difference, like speed, strength, and yeah, I mean I'll uh the speed of the game is collisions, yeah.
• 1:05:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, physicality and speed of the game, huge difference.
• 1:05:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um skill-wise, not really, but like I would say the collisions, like some NFL running backs, you gotta tackle Derrick Henry.
• 1:05:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you don't really see a Derrick Henry in college, unless you know you go you're playing against him in college.
• 1:05:16
  SPEAKER_00: But um, you know, just every like I guess in college, it would be like, okay, you got to play, you're playing against a good team.
• 1:05:25
  SPEAKER_00: You you there's one dude on the other side who like you really got to worry about, who's like best star, right?
• 1:05:30
  SPEAKER_00: In NFL, it's like there's 11 dudes on the other side that you kind of like that.
• 1:05:35
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone's like that, right?
• 1:05:36
  SPEAKER_00: So the level of competition, the, the, the, um, the, the margin of error is is just that much smaller, right?
• 1:05:44
  SPEAKER_00: So um, man, it's it's it's a huge difference for sure.
• 1:05:48
  SPEAKER_01: Interesting.
• 1:05:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 1:05:49
  SPEAKER_01: All right, man.
• 1:05:49
  SPEAKER_01: Well, um, we gotta land the plane, but thank you.
• 1:05:52
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate you coming in, sharing these stories and stuff.
• 1:05:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's really cool.
• 1:05:54
  SPEAKER_01: Hopefully, inspiring other young athletes to dial in and like get their routines together and um Yeah, man, appreciate it.
• 1:06:00
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll be, you know, we'll be following up.
• 1:06:02
  SPEAKER_01: I know right now you're as a free agent, you've already gotten some you've been getting some calls and stuff and interests from teams.
• 1:06:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 1:06:07
  SPEAKER_00: So um, yeah, you know, I I uh I saw my surgeon, my orthopedic surgeon earlier this week, and you know, he he was able to kind of give me the medically uh clearance and and and kind of uh give me the green light to progress, I guess, to more football activities and kind of just giving the the NFL teams kind of the the memo and letter to that you're ready.
• 1:06:27
  SPEAKER_00: That yeah, that I'm ready that I'm kind of working for business.
• 1:06:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, few few teams out uh on the west coast.
• 1:06:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, so I'm from I'm originally from the West Coast and um, you know, I've I've been out in Buffalo the last few few years and you know, been I guess out here on the East Coast, and you know, maybe maybe we'll be going back out to the West Coast.
• 1:06:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
• 1:06:49
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome, man.
• 1:06:49
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you again, and uh, we're gonna do everything we can to get you to get you right.
• 1:06:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, man.
• 1:06:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh it's it's been a pleasure to be be on here.
• 1:06:55
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like we could talk for hours.
• 1:06:58
  SPEAKER_01: I love this stuff, yeah.
• 1:06:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, awesome, man.
• 1:07:00
  SPEAKER_01: Well, well, yeah, man, the best of luck.
• 1:07:01
  SPEAKER_01: And we're gonna we're gonna keep working with you.
• 1:07:03
  SPEAKER_00: For sure, man.
• 1:07:04
  SPEAKER_01: If you have any questions or anything, don't hesitate to reach out.
• 1:07:06
  SPEAKER_01: You can always reach out to us on on our phone number, our website, Instagram, whatever if you have any questions or comments um or issues that you want to that you want more answers on.
• 1:07:13
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll we'll catch you next time.