Latest / The Sean O'Connell Show / Zane Beadles on being part of the 2026 Crimson Club Hall of Fame class, Confidence level in Jordan Gross as OL coach + more

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Zane Beadles on being part of the 2026 Crimson Club Hall of Fame class, Confidence level in Jordan Gross as OL coach + more · The Sean O'Connell Show

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  Speaker 1: This is the Sean O'Connell show. You were home of
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  Speaker 1: the best inside of your utes.
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  Speaker 2: Let's get back to oc from the Murdoch Chevrolet Studio
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  Speaker 2: of ESPN seven hundred and ninety two to one half
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  Speaker 2: am our two on a Friday, Riles in for Sean Today.
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  Speaker 1: Great to be with you.
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  Speaker 2: RTT Siancia picked six previews in about a half hour
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  Speaker 2: to talk Big twelve and Utah football. We'll also talk
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  Speaker 2: to Sarah Todd des rehtt News about the Jazz summer
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  Speaker 2: and what's been going on with the jazz and her
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  Speaker 2: thoughts on Darren Peterson and what looks forward to this year.
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  Speaker 2: Our next guest though, perfect timing for him today as
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  Speaker 2: we talk a little bit about questions about Utah's offensive line,
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  Speaker 2: but timing even better because yesterday it was announced he
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  Speaker 2: was going into the Crimson Club Hall of Fame this fall.
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  Speaker 2: One of the great offensive linemen in Utah football history.
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  Speaker 2: Of course, some know him as a Hillcrest High School legend,
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  Speaker 2: many know him more as a Utah legends. Ame Beatles
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  Speaker 2: joining us from the great state of Florida. Right, smack
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  Speaker 2: dab in the middle where it's hot and Huet I'm
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  Speaker 2: sure today in Orlando.
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  Speaker 1: What's up, Zame.
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  Speaker 3: It is hot and humid, that's for sure.
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  Speaker 4: But I just started driving through our afternoon thunderstorms.
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  Speaker 3: So that that'll help cool things off.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, doing well.
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  Speaker 2: How you doing, Bill, I'm doing fantastic. Congratulations by the
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  Speaker 2: way on getting named too, and you'll be inducted later
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  Speaker 2: this year with another good class to the Crimson Club.
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  Speaker 1: Hall of Fame.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you very much, huge, huge honor. You know
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  Speaker 3: when when Mark Carlan called me the other day and
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  Speaker 3: let me know, you know.
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  Speaker 4: Something that I've always thought about, you kind of dreamed about,
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  Speaker 4: and for it to be here and becoming to fruition
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  Speaker 4: really excited about it.
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  Speaker 2: It's it's an honor that kind of puts you. It's
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  Speaker 2: put you in in great, great company with the other
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  Speaker 2: greats that have played at your alma mater as well.
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  Speaker 2: But could you have ever thought when you went back
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  Speaker 2: to those early days of the Kyle Whittingham era and
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  Speaker 2: playing a little offensive line with some of those fellows,
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  Speaker 2: that this would be the end result?
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely not.
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  Speaker 4: I distinctly remember my true freshman year coming into training camp,
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  Speaker 4: getting into the season, you know, being on the scout team.
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  Speaker 4: I red shirted that year, and you know, I needed
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  Speaker 4: some time to develop. But I remember calling my dad
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  Speaker 4: telling him that I'm never going to play here.
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  Speaker 3: These guys are way too big and strong. I'm just
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  Speaker 3: not good enough.
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  Speaker 4: And but you know, kept my head down, kept working
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  Speaker 4: hard and and got better and here we are.
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  Speaker 1: When did you have when did the light bulb go on? Zaye?
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  Speaker 2: When was that time where you thought, you know, were
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  Speaker 2: that those doubts that you had in your head when
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  Speaker 2: you were talking to your dad? When did it kind
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  Speaker 2: of change? When did you say like, Okay, I'm okay,
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  Speaker 2: I can play with these guys.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I mean the next year, you know,
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  Speaker 4: I kind of got thrust into a position and the
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  Speaker 4: expectation was like, hey, we want you to compete for
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  Speaker 4: a spot here, you know, my red shirt freshman year.
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  Speaker 4: And you know, I've kind of always just been that
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  Speaker 4: way where I just you know, I throw myself into
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  Speaker 4: the central and I you do the best that I
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  Speaker 4: can do, and that's.
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  Speaker 3: All I can worry about and we'll see what comes
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  Speaker 3: out the other side.
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  Speaker 4: And uh did that And you know, going into the
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  Speaker 4: opener that year on the road in the Rose Bowl
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  Speaker 4: against UCLA, it.
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  Speaker 3: Was my first start and you know, just kind of
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  Speaker 3: never looked back from there.
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  Speaker 2: All about West second team is a sophomore, but that
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  Speaker 2: that that what everybody remembers is the eight team and
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  Speaker 2: how special that team was. You guys had a bunch
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  Speaker 2: of dudes that had played together. A lot of you
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  Speaker 2: guys had played together for quite a while. Up front
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  Speaker 2: that year. I always asked the four guys because they
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  Speaker 2: were you know, they were they had that great year
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  Speaker 2: before at eleven and two year where Alex took over
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  Speaker 2: and coming in they had the the you know, the
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  Speaker 2: confidence of Urban Meyer. I don't remember that same buzz
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  Speaker 2: coming into that eight season. You guys knew you were
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  Speaker 2: going to be pretty good. When did you know you
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  Speaker 2: were really good?
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  Speaker 4: I think we kind of I don't know that we
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  Speaker 4: knew for certain going into that season. And to your point,
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  Speaker 4: you know, the step and season wasn't like you know,
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  Speaker 4: it wasn't like the three season, that's for sure, But
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  Speaker 4: you know, I think the team had kind of gone
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  Speaker 4: through a transition from Urban to Kyle and you know
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  Speaker 4: started to take on his kind of you know, his
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  Speaker 4: type of program and his attitude and different things. You know,
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  Speaker 4: we're progressing, but I think internally you know, we knew
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  Speaker 4: we had.
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  Speaker 3: A chance, We knew we.
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  Speaker 4: Had some special We had a good group that played
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  Speaker 4: together and a lot of great leaders on that eight team.
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  Speaker 4: So I think internally we expected to be very good
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  Speaker 4: that season. And then you know, I think early in
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  Speaker 4: that season, the way that we were playing, and you know,
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  Speaker 4: go on the road to Michigan and win that game,
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  Speaker 4: it was like, all right, here we go.
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  Speaker 2: Great teams and teams that have great seasons, as you know,
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  Speaker 2: sometimes have to gut wins out. Sometimes they're not always pretty.
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  Speaker 2: That's why there's no style points. It's just about wins
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  Speaker 2: and losses on the scoreboard. You guys had some of
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  Speaker 2: those games, not everything again like four team where they
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  Speaker 2: blew the doors off of everybody. You guys had to
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  Speaker 2: win some close games. That TCU game is one of
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  Speaker 2: everybody always points to, but you had some other ones too.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, we did New Mexico.
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  Speaker 4: It's one that pops out for me that year, you know,
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  Speaker 4: kind of similar and I think it was the exact
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  Speaker 4: exact same score that TCU game, if I remember correctly.
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  Speaker 4: But yeah, to your point, I mean, even in the
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  Speaker 4: Michigan game, right, I think that was the final There
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  Speaker 4: was like twenty five to twenty three or something like that.
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  Speaker 4: You know, the close, close games, and you know we
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  Speaker 4: were able to be on the right side of those
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  Speaker 4: games throughout that whole season.
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  Speaker 2: Zame Beatles our guests here on ESPN seven Hunter the
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  Speaker 2: shan O'condo Show, Bill Riley sitting in today for Sean
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  Speaker 2: He's going into the Crimson Club Hall of Fame. I'll
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  Speaker 2: tell you about the rest of the class coming up
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  Speaker 2: in just a bit here. How did Utah football prepare
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  Speaker 2: you for the next level?
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  Speaker 1: Zaying? How how prepared were.
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  Speaker 2: You when the Broncos took you and you began your
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  Speaker 2: career in Denver and obviously played nine great years. We
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  Speaker 2: hear from people all the time, especially in the trenches
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  Speaker 2: and sometimes at the defensive backspot too, that when NFL
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  Speaker 2: guys draft Utah players, they know what they're getting. What
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  Speaker 2: was it that Kyle and his staff did that got
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  Speaker 2: you ready for the next level?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah? Well, well, first of all, you know, I've said
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  Speaker 4: this all along and firmly believe it and will continue
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  Speaker 4: to say it. Had I gotten to any other program,
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  Speaker 4: you know, I don't think I would have gone on
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  Speaker 4: to play professionally and had the career that I had
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  Speaker 4: in the NFL. So you know, I owe a lot
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  Speaker 4: to that coaching staff and and the way that they
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  Speaker 4: developed me and developed players and and you know, not
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  Speaker 4: only physically, but mentally.
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  Speaker 3: And and just preparation wise in general. So I just
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  Speaker 3: want to make that comment.
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  Speaker 4: You know, the way that Kyle you know, ran the program,
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  Speaker 4: and and Doug Alisaiah.
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  Speaker 3: In the in the you know, the the weight room,
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  Speaker 3: and it was just very you know, you you knew.
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  Speaker 4: Exactly what the expectation was, and you knew that if
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  Speaker 4: you didn't meet the expectation, you weren't going to see
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  Speaker 4: the field, and it was up to you, right and
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  Speaker 4: very much treated you like young.
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  Speaker 3: Men, and you know.
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  Speaker 4: Until you proved that you couldn't be treated that way.
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  Speaker 4: And you know, that's the way that the NFL is, right,
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  Speaker 4: If you can't perform on the field, they're going to
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  Speaker 4: go find somebody else that can. And so just kind
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  Speaker 4: of having that attitude and having that kind of expectation
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  Speaker 4: just prepares.
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  Speaker 3: You well for the next level, you know.
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  Speaker 4: And then the physicality and the hard work and the
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  Speaker 4: toughness and and just the things that the programs throughout instills.
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  Speaker 3: And guys, you know, just translates very well to the
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  Speaker 3: next level.
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  Speaker 2: So you and I talked about this when you were
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  Speaker 2: guests on my podcast a few months back on the
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  Speaker 2: Crimson Corner, but maybe a lot of the people listening
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  Speaker 2: in today didn't catch that episode. One of the big
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  Speaker 2: questions this year, and rightfully so about Utah, is they've
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  Speaker 2: got to replace five offensive line, five starters.
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  Speaker 1: Now.
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  Speaker 2: They have a bunch of guys that have played Zane,
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  Speaker 2: they didn't they weren't starters, but they have played over
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  Speaker 2: four or five years of football. With Utah and some
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  Speaker 2: other talented guys coming in, what's the biggest challenge Jordan
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  Speaker 2: Gross has in getting five new starters together. Even if
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  Speaker 2: they've played, they haven't necessarily played together. What's Jordan's biggest
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  Speaker 2: challenge there over the next you know, forty eight days
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  Speaker 2: before the opener, you.
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  Speaker 4: Just said it right there, it's getting them to play together, right,
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  Speaker 4: o line, Unlike any other position on the football field,
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  Speaker 4: truly is for any one of those guys to be successful,
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  Speaker 4: all five need to be working together, right That's just
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  Speaker 4: the nature of the position and being able to you know,
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  Speaker 4: put the right guys in the right spots, have them,
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  Speaker 4: you know, get reps with each other and gel with
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  Speaker 4: each other and communicate well with each other.
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  Speaker 1: That that may be one of the.
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  Speaker 4: Biggest factors in that communication factor, but it is. It's
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  Speaker 4: it's just you know, relentless effort in getting that unit
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  Speaker 4: to play as one and play together and you know, uh,
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  Speaker 4: no know the strengths and weaknesses and and uh, you know,
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  Speaker 4: be able to be in a position to be successful
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  Speaker 4: as an entire unit.
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  Speaker 2: How much can practice help or do you really have
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  Speaker 2: to have game reps to really get together?
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  Speaker 3: Well?
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  Speaker 4: Practice absolutely can help. I mean, you know, game reps.
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  Speaker 4: There's no substitution for game reps. But I know, uh,
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  Speaker 4: you know, coach Scalley and and the coaching staff is
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  Speaker 4: going to be hyper focused and always has been and
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  Speaker 4: always will be on trying to replic replicate the game
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  Speaker 4: as much as possible in practice, right and and but
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  Speaker 4: it's it's got to be a mindset from the players too, right.
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  Speaker 4: They need to go out there and say, you know what,
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  Speaker 4: I'm treating this as a game. Every rep that I
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  Speaker 4: go out there, I'm playing absolutely full speed, you know,
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  Speaker 4: against a good defense.
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  Speaker 3: And and uh, you know, the expectation.
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  Speaker 4: Across the board, across the team should be like, hey,
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  Speaker 4: we're going to play as hard as we can and
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  Speaker 4: try to simulate games as much as we probab we can,
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  Speaker 4: so we can all make each other better.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know that they're completely set, but I think
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  Speaker 2: coming out of Spring they have a pretty good idea.
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  Speaker 2: If you were in Jordan's shoes and Kevin mcgiven the
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  Speaker 2: offensive coordinator shoes, how far into fall, if you weren't
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  Speaker 2: starting on day one of fall camp with your five,
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  Speaker 2: how quickly would you like to have your five together
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  Speaker 2: a week in?
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  Speaker 3: I mean as quickly as possible. Right.
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  Speaker 4: It takes what it takes at the end of the day, right,
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  Speaker 4: and if it's not right, you know, you think you
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  Speaker 4: got to a lineup going into it and it just
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  Speaker 4: doesn't feel right, or you need to make a tweak
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  Speaker 4: here there, that's what you got to do. But the
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  Speaker 4: quicker that you can kind of get that that group
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  Speaker 4: settled in, I mean, the more reps they're going to
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  Speaker 4: be able to get together, the more they're going to
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  Speaker 4: kind of understand like, hey, you know, the focus is
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  Speaker 4: on preparing as a unit here, not you know, individual competition. Now,
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  Speaker 4: there's always going to be individual.
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  Speaker 3: Competition, you know, I don't want to shy away from that.
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  Speaker 1: But the more that you can be in.
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  Speaker 4: The mindset of like, hey, this is this is where
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  Speaker 4: we're gonna be, you know, along the line, and and
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  Speaker 4: here's how we're going to work together, and you know,
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  Speaker 4: let's focus on refining and fine tuning that. Uh, the
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  Speaker 4: more reps you can get with with that, the better.
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  Speaker 2: I asked a couple of months ago, I'll ask for
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  Speaker 2: this audience here that may not have caught the podcast.
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  Speaker 2: What do you what do you make of the hiring
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  Speaker 2: of Jordan Gross to be the new offensive line coach.
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  Speaker 1: I think it's awesome.
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  Speaker 4: Man. You know, I don't know Jordan that well, but
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  Speaker 4: my senior year I was able to connect with him
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  Speaker 4: and a few times throughout my senior season and get
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  Speaker 4: some advice, you know, on that transition and going to
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  Speaker 4: the next level. And obviously you know, watching him on
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  Speaker 4: the field and and the way that he went about
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  Speaker 4: his business and the type of player that he was,
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  Speaker 4: you know, very intelligent player and and you know, maximize
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  Speaker 4: his ability.
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  Speaker 3: And you know, excited to see.
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  Speaker 4: Him as a coach now and and pass on uh
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  Speaker 4: not only the knowledge but the mindset and the added
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  Speaker 4: dude and and the things that he played with uh
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  Speaker 4: onto to his group is exciting.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know if last things I know you've got
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  Speaker 2: to run. I don't know if I've ever asked you,
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  Speaker 2: do you identify as a Bronco, a Jaguar, a Niner,
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  Speaker 2: or a Falcon? Probably not a Falcon because you only
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  Speaker 2: spent them one year there, But you had good, good
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  Speaker 2: stops in all those places. But if you're if if
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  Speaker 2: someday they want to they want to put you into Canton,
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  Speaker 2: that's the next hall of fame you've got to get into.
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  Speaker 2: Which hat are you wearing, Zane? Are you wearing the Broncos,
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  Speaker 2: the Jaguars? Are the Niners hat?
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  Speaker 4: Well, I don't think we're gonna have to worry about
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  Speaker 4: that because I don't think that's that that piece of things.
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  Speaker 3: Is ever gonna happen.
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  Speaker 4: Uh But uh, you know, I I am very much
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  Speaker 4: a mutt in that sense, I guess you would say.
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  Speaker 4: But you know I was in Denver the longest, uh,
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  Speaker 4: you know, by by one hundred percent.
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  Speaker 3: You know, it's four years there, two years than any
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  Speaker 3: other location.
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  Speaker 4: Had the most personal success and team success there in Denver,
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  Speaker 4: So you know, if there had to be one it'd
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  Speaker 4: definitely be Bronco.
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  Speaker 2: Well, that hurts me to my soul just a little
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  Speaker 2: bits a long time in a lifelong Chiefs fan. But
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  Speaker 2: as I told Garrett Bowles, I can root for my
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  Speaker 2: team but still root for people that I like a lot,
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  Speaker 2: and I rooted for you when you were a Bronco.
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  Speaker 1: So I'm glad you had that success.
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  Speaker 2: I know you spent some time in Jacksonville where I
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  Speaker 2: covered that team too, But more than anything else, I'm
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  Speaker 2: just happy that I'm going to get to see you
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  Speaker 2: in September for the Hall of Fame induction class. Congratulations again, Zane,
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  Speaker 2: I'll talk to you soon.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely. Thanks Bill, take care and.
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  Speaker 1: We'll see you there all right.
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  Speaker 2: Zane Beatles with us member of the Utah Athletics Hall
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  Speaker 2: of Fame class for twenty twenty six, first Team All
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  Speaker 2: American and by the Football Writers Association of America College
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  Speaker 2: Football News, and my guy Phil Steele back in two
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  Speaker 2: thousand and nine was second Team All American by Si
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  Speaker 2: Walter Camp Sporting News. First of all, he is a
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  Speaker 2: great person, and Zane's always been a great person and
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  Speaker 2: a Utah guy and a Hillcrest High School Salt Lake
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  Speaker 2: City guy.
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  Speaker 1: But so happy for him,