Green Light with Chris Long - DeVonta Smith! On Joining The Eagles & Playing For Coach Saban. Bruce Arians! On Winning Super Bowl LIV & Coaching Tom Brady.

Episode Date: May 7, 2021

(01:00) - Welcome & Layup Line. (05:17) - Recapping and Weighing in on the Aaron Rodgers Situation. (28:19) - DeVonta Smith on Becoming an Eagle, Experiencing Draft Night, Playing with the Alabama Wide Receivers, Recruiting and High School Football Camps and Playing For Coach Saban. (58:09) - Bruce Arians on Winning Super Bowl LIV, The Buccaneers Super Bowl Parade, Tampa's Successful Offseason and Coaching Tom Brady. Green Light Spotify Music: https://open.spotify.com/user/951jyryv2nu6l4iqz9p81him9?si=17c560d10ff04a9b Spotify Layup Line: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1olmCMKGMEyWwOKaT1Aah3?si=675d445ddb824c42 Green Light with Chris Long: Subscribe and enjoy weekly content including podcasts, documentaries, live chats, celebrity interviews and more including hot news items, trending discussions from the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA are just a small part of what we will be sharing with you. http://bit.ly/chalknetwork Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does the Philly culture mean to you from what you've heard and the people you've met there already? Just like the fans, I mean, like, that's the type of place you don't want to play with when you love football. So the fans are all into it. It's a place where, I mean, they die hard. They love football. I mean, when you love football and the fans love football, that's just a place you want to be. Happy Friday to you, I think, because this is going to be a fun show. Top Flight Show.

Valdosta, Georgia. Hello. Hello. Valdasta, Georgia, home of one Malcolm Mitchell, Super Bowl champion of the New England Patriots. Georgia Bulldog, terrific human being. Can I tell you something? Malcolm Mitchell, terrific human being.

Valdosta State, weren't they a powerhouse of sorts? They were a powerhouse at one point, like AA type ball. Right. Yeah. Like, definitely not like expensive uniforms, but they were kicking the shit out of everybody they played. Yeah. You want to lay the show out?

I'd love to. Two sensational guests in Devante Smith, wide receiver Philadelphia Eagles. Also, your pro comp. And Bruce Ariens, head coach Super Bowl champs, Tampa Bay Bucks. What they call it two-headed monster right there. That's a sick little guest lineup. And we're going to talk Aaron Rogers here before long, your boy, A Rod. This pod feels like a super team a little bit.

People are going to start saying this pod's unfair. all these great personalities assembled in one pod. Might be an ad read. Will there be an ad read in here? I might have an ad read somewhere in here. You're a big ad guy now, huh? I get back from vacation and you're like making deals. My young family was in the home.

I'm in my redacted Grand Cherokee in my garage recording ad reads into my mobile phone while you're on vacation. Yeah, I'm a 24-7, 365 sort of guy for this pot. And I would like to say there was about 10. Hello's on the end of that recording that Macon sent us. I wanted to give the Cowboy some options. You want to give them some options, huh? And I think you picked a fantastic hello fresh, hello.

Hey, that's for free, hello fresh. That's a free hello fresh plug right there. 28% cheaper than a trip to the grocery store. Man of the people, it's good to see you remember the ad read. Other business news, we got a new contract on the table for making. That's what my sources tell me. There's a contract. It's hot off the printer.

and just people going through it with a little like fine tooth comb. Yeah, fine tooth comb. Yeah, it might be on the table. It might be printed out. It might be hot. One thing that it's not as signed I've noticed by either party. Yeah, well, I mean, I didn't want to distract you before the pod, but I brought your chair out here. Oh, that might have been a touch over modulated.

Sorry to Cowboys. Sorry to the listeners. Oh, yeah. So I sat down in here and didn't even notice. that's how good it felt to be back home in this chair. So I moved the chair back into the room that making you so really like, but it's going to be gone soon. This is just a way to get you to sign the fucking contract and let's move on.

And by the way, Devante Smith, who you mentioned, if I might say so myself, really succinct, coherent layout of the show. He phoned in ahead of time and picked our layup line song. He did. And as per tradition, it was one. I have never heard of. It's called Three Pete by Little Wayne,

who you're a little bit familiar with, who had one of the best three album runs in the history of music. Carter, Carter 2, Carter 3, all in the formative years, our formative years. Yeah, finally somebody older than us. Yeah, he's older than us. Born in 1982.

Yep, he's older. God, Lil Wayne's getting old. Not to mention a few of the mixtapes in that little run were album quality, drought three, dedication two of the best of all time. When I met Little Wayne once at the Super Bowl, I told him how much I loved the Suffix, which is one of his mixtapes.

And he was extremely nice, but could not remember that mixtape. That's how many great mixtapes little Wayne has. And then he remembered it after like three seconds and I got a dap and that sort of thing. But when you got so many hits, you forget him. Little Wayne got married last month Congrats, Lil Wayne

Congrats Weezy baby Let's talk about Aaron Rogers Set the scene What's going on with the leaks And that sort of thing Taggone You went to high school in Chico

Where our guy Ace paints Oh shout out to Ace Yeah Maybe he knows Aaron Rogers Maybe he knows why Aaron Rogers is upset Well I mean where do we start Do we start his entire career Where the Packers draft

Only defensive players And his era parent or do we start draft day where Adam Schefter reports that Aaron Rogers wants out of Green Bay and now we're to the point where Devante Adams is tweeting hey

you never know what you got till it's gone sort of stuff Oh yeah I forgot about that tweet I'm paraphrasing And now Dave Paradise Put up a parking lot All hell is breaking loose today

With Shefti having to say Oh no I had the story for a while Just thought maybe draft day was the day was the day. Whoops, just picked draft day. But now the question is, what are we doing? I don't know what we're doing.

And I don't know where all the leaks are coming from. You know, somebody asked me last night, do you think the leaks came from Aaron Rogers? And to that, I would say wait a day because today, Adam Schaefter came out and was like, well, I kind of like manufactured those leagues draft day, which people have raised a question of ethics surrounding Adams' choice of timing.

also just like what he leaked purportedly. I think when it comes to those leaks before I heard what Schaefter said, I could easily see that coming from the player. It happens all the time coming from the player. It comes from the player's camp. You know, things come from teams all the time. I don't think that stuff is crazy. The Jerry Krause thing, which you heard, which was that reportedly Aaron Rogers and

teammates used to clown Brian G is what I'm going to call him or I'm going to let you say his last name. G is right. How do you say his last name? G. You can't say it either The one guy that's got you stumped It's a really inflammatory name

For like podcasters It's really hard to say that name Goot a cunt. He's in the group text making fun of The front office, the GM. You know, he's making fun of the people upstairs In a group text and he's calling himself Essentially Michael Jordan

And he's calling Brian G our boy Jerry Kraus And now if you've seen the last dance You know that's not a compliment I don't think necessarily he gave himself that metaphor to play with. I think it might have come from some teammates. But nonetheless, it's not really that out of the ordinary that people are flaming owners,

coaches, GMs, shit, anybody in a group text. Like a group text is an ugly place. Okay, so while I think it's totally normal and while I think although it's harsh, there are some real parallels with Brian G. and his handling of this situation and the talent he has in Aaron Rogers. I don't think

Aaron Rogers leaked that part. Somebody asked me if he leaked that part. I'm like, that would be a weird thing to leak yourself just because to me, if you're trying to get traded, you already intimidate the hell out of people. You know, GM number two, who's going to be making a move for 12, is saying himself,

do I want to be the next Jerry Krause? this guy is just like, he's bigger than me. Aaron Rogers is bigger than any guy in the front office in the NFL. Think about it. Name me a GM that's bigger than Aaron Rogers. Trader Dave Gettelman. Bill Belichick, that's about it. If you think about a guy who kind of doubles as a GM.

Bill's dog. Bill's dog. That's about it. I mean, like, seriously. So if you're a GM somewhere else, you're probably saying to yourself like, you hear that report, oh, man, that's kind of fucking scary. sure would like him in the building, but if he's going to be making fun of me downstairs and calling me Jerry Krause, that would suck. I don't think Aaron Rogers leak that. I do think there's a bit of

ghost writing going on when it comes to Brian G and Ian Rappaport. I mean, I read a couple of those tweets this week, and they look like they were written by our boy, Brian. G. There's actually an article on how to pronounce the Packers' GM's name. For the Goot part, think Goode a cheese and make sure you say the hard G instead of how some people pronounce it as if the G has an H sound. Like what the fuck? Nobody's pronouncing it Judah. I don't think that's what they're saying. Goot. It's Goot. Goot.

It's Goot. It's Goot. Yeah, like the cheese. Yeah, it's Gouda. And then next add the last name of the 1990s era Packers linebacker George Coons. But with a twist. This is the dumbest article I've ever seen. And then I think they take it back, though, because that would be Gouda. Gouda coonsed. I don't... Gouda coons. That's how you're supposed to say it.

But then don't they say there's an uh, not an ooh? No, it's Guta. Guta. Guta. Guta. Guta, like the cheese. Coonsed. Guta coonsed. Okay. Brian Gudecunst. Okay. They call him Brian G up there. I'm just going to call him Brian G. Brian looks like he's writing tweets for Ian Rappaport. Okay. Ian Rappaport's like, oh, well, two years ago when Jordan Love, they were trying to draft somebody else.

He basically said something to the effect. made some sort of excuse, say, we would have done this, like when there were other receivers on the board you could have took. I mean, like, you weren't handcuffed and had to take Jordan Love. It's the same thing this year with a leak coming out that, hey, they wanted to get, they wanted to snag Tony, your guy, right? You know, hey, we wanted him. Sorry. I mean, sorry, Aaron. Sorry Packers fans. We tried. Like, that shit doesn't work. And there's leaks coming from GMs in the front office as well. I mean, everything's posturing now in the NFL.

But if everybody's flying out to see Aaron this off season, like was one draft pick going to tip the scales? Oh, a receiver, I'm back. That leads me my next question, which is, is he justified, right? Like, do you think he's justified in being pissed off? People bring up the first rounders. All I'm saying is if you have Aaron Rogers and in offense that's been clicking for the better part of,

who knows, 13 years at this point. I mean, they're winning double-digit games, double-digit games a season, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, nine times since 2008. I mean, in part because they're adding talent to the defense. I understand weapons, et cetera. But they're improving the football team

with these draft picks for the most part, in most cases. So, yeah, I understand it's a bad look, drafting defense and a backup quarterback. But I also think the proof is in the pudding. I don't necessarily think that they have more Super Bowls if they're spending a first rounder on a wide receiver here there. Maybe so. But it's not like they're saying, hey, no thanks.

We're not going to pick a player here. They're trying to make the team better. And they know they have a Hall of Fame quarterback anchoring the offense. I think this is a really multifaceted discussion, multidimensional, whatever the best word would be. I mean, there are so many layers to this. I think part of like the current day issue for the Packers is bled into by, you know, everything that's happened running up to here

and has magnified, you know, perceived slights. You know, like your point is a good one, okay? They've been pretty freaking good. And they've scored a lot of points. They scored a lot of points last year. In fact, like, I've been the one harping on their defense. So I'm not trying to talk out of both sides of my mouth, but I do think there is an element here that people are missing.

And I think the background that you have to lay is this. Aaron Rogers, community college guy, right? Cal guy. Okay, there's no, like, powerhouse football spot, although I almost transferred there, Jeff Tedford in the days of Jeff Tedford. Did you ever know that? You knew that. I did not know that.

Yeah, three, four defense one year under Almond. grow. He was kicking my ass. I'm glad I stuck around. But he was a cow guy. We all remember the slide. You talk about the other day. I said, don't give the NFL like free B roll, depending on who you are, because they're going to play it in many cases long after you're in the league. And they'd still be playing it whether or not Aaron was in the league. Aaron Rogers sat for an eternity in that ugly suit. Soul patch. Yeah, the sole patch, you know, is a different look. He sat forever. And then when he gets to Green Bay, he's got, you know, Brett Favre to deal with, who was kind of an asshole to him.

And then the backdrop of this Jordan Love thing, which ultimately ripped the Band-Aid off, is from 2012 to 2021, they didn't draft a single wide receiver or a single running back in the first round. So this is one of those things that's like, in a vacuum, this situation is not a big deal. But it's a big deal to Aaron Rogers,

because he's dealt with this shit his whole life, his whole football life. He doesn't give a fuck that everybody's like, just be happy. Like that's not the way it works. Football players are insecure, okay? Great athletes are insecure, just like everybody else. Some are much more insecure.

I think Aaron Rogers is somewhat insecure and that's normal. I think insecurity can breed greatness. You have to be insecure to be great. You have to be afraid of failure. You have to be afraid of the next man taking your job. You have to be protective of yourself, of your career. That's the way he's, been trained to be his entire life through football. And football has reinforced that. And so,

like, listen, insecurity's normal. But when you mix bitterness with insecurity, that's what we have now. And if the question is, should Aaron Rogers be bitter? Yes, I do think he should be bitter. I do think he should be bitter about all those things I just listed. And because, you know, when you have insecurity, which is a staple of being a football player and has been reinforced by, like, the never as secure as it might feel from the outside situation that he's had in Green Bay, and you mix that with bitterness, which has been callous over time with him, you're going to have a guy that just doesn't give a fuck and wants to, and wants what he wants.

And I think that's the problem that the Packers have created for themselves. I really do. I think the Packers have created this problem. And to your point about, yeah, adding one more receiver, this, that, and the third, I get the fact that the defense is actually the squeaky wheel and they were really good offensively. I also think that Aaron Rogers, and you could say, well, he's got plenty of good players on offense.

I don't know who any of those guys are south of Devante Adams. But you and I both know when you play with Aaron Rogers and you play with an offense like that, everybody's better. Everybody's better. You know, so I think that he can be a little bit of a victim of his own greatness, where he makes people better, and then people are sitting around saying,

you got plenty of good players. Maybe you don't feel the strain he feels. You know what I mean? And additionally, when your defense has repeatedly been inconsistent, you get used to, I gotta do this shit myself, so yeah, I need more. And the point is, you talk about this trade. If he gets dealt, you could say,

well, hell, if he ends up in Denver and they gotta give up two firsts the next two years, what's the point? Because they don't even have the picks to secure the type of player he's been waiting to be secured in Green Bay. right so like from a from a certain angle a trade makes no sense you know if you're thinking for Aaron Rogers but it does if you just want to be valued if you just want to be wanted and I think

this is what this thing's about as much as the firepower on the field it's just show me that you actually give a fuck about me and and appreciate me for all I've done for this franchise listen he's won one Super Bowl just like like Brett Fav I know he wants that second I think he He wants it in Green Bay. Bart Starr played 16 years in Green Bay. Aaron Rogers, how many years he played in Green Bay? 16. These things are very important to him, I think.

And I think the time, like a lot of people say, I got a Super Bowl in my pocket, I'm playing with house money. He's not happy. He's not satisfied. And I think that's the type of guy you want. Just do something for him to let him know that you care about him. And also, know your personnel. Let's ask Bruce Ariens about this in a little bit.

a little bit. You know, Tom Brady gets a warning about possibly a Kyle Trask. Not that it's a big deal to him. Kellermond, Kirk Cousins, goes on and on.

I said this with Carson Wentz. Know the personality of your personnel like you know their skill sets. And I think that if you, you know, like any average football fan knows that Aaron Rogers is a icy motherfucker. He thrives on slights.

Don't give him another slight from insolette. the building and that's what they did with Jordan Love. And a lot of people are like, get over it, you're Aaron Rogers, Terry Bradshaw, who is a buddy of mine through my dad and I love Terry. I disagree with him. You know, when you consider what he's done there,

you're talking about a 37 year old who's slinging the ball around the best he's ever thrown it. The MVP, dude. Everything I just talked about has calloused over for this guy and I don't blame him. Yeah, the flip side, you go to a place like Denver, you have Cortland Sutton, KJ Hamler, Jerry Judy, okay. Your coach, and this is no disrespect, but your coach would be Vic Fangio versus a Matla Flore who seems to me like he's staying up all hours of the night. Thinking about offense.

Thinking about points. Yeah. Points, points, points. How are we going to score more? And it's, and it gets you to the NFC championship game. And you're close. You're right there. And while maybe you don't get the token receiver.

or whoever you want, and whoever's going to make you happier. And to your point, yeah, he's making Robert Tunian, Robert Tunian. Yeah, people the other day were like, and no disrespect to Robert Tunya, I think he's probably a really good player. But, like, you know, people are like, he had Tunian. I'm like, okay, I don't know.

I don't know. I just don't know. And like, yeah, it's an appreciation thing. This is a 16-year relationship. And I don't think he's ever for very long felt like, security if a guy comes up in a circumstance where he has to look over his shoulder he slid you know um he had to scratch and claw for his food with bret far up there and he had to wait that is part of his like the formative years you think about a child how a child grows up and like how that affects

them into adulthood like his football childhood has been fucked up dude so you got a guy who i don't blame him looks out for number one not in a not not unlike a way that he doesn't want to win or he puts himself over the he wants to win that super bowl man and he wants to do whatever it takes to get there and so i think i think it's about i think it's about feeling valued and i do think you know you look at all right let's start with the deal 2021 after this year you know it's essentially maneuverable for the packers so he wants some protection that's something i think most quarterbacks would want in this situation quarterbacks of his caliber would want that in any situation.

Okay, he's got three years left on his deal, but effectively, after this year, it's maneuverable. When you add the fact that you got the team's leverage sitting in your room, that changes the game. So don't tell me quarterbacks don't re-up three years early. You know who read up three years early? D-Hop last year, sight unseen in Arizona. Huge contract.

I know you might be thinking, well, that's different. Yeah, you're right. It is different. He's not the franchise quarterback. He's not the second best quarterback of all time, who's done his work in that very building. You make exceptions for your best players. You don't cut your nose off to spite your face.

And I'm not saying I know exactly what's going on behind closed doors there. But if you're Brian G and you have an opportunity to get a deal done, you get a deal done. You don't say, well, and I hope this isn't a pride thing with him or with them. We're sticking to the plan. We're sticking to the plan because you get confirmation bias because you made a pick. So you have to then say, well, I'm sticking to the fact that Aaron's going to fall off a cliff at 39. Project out how he's going to look at 43. Look at the ball come off his hand.

So I really think that Aaron Rogers, if you're projecting out, is going to help you into his 40s. And let's not get this loss in the sauce, Chris. Two offensive linemen and a receiver, a darn good one in Amari Rogers, drafted in rounds two through four. Yep. So yeah, first rounders. Okay, they have their own prime time Thursday night. But it's not like it's, hey, look at these seven defensive players were taken every year.

Yes. Amari Rogers is a very good college-wide receiver. Very good. Very good. Got it. Okay, but I'm just saying. You're not thinking that Equiminius St. Brown is thriving in other systems? I just don't know.

I just don't know. And I think that's the point. I think he's a little bit of a victim of his own. and greatness. And amidst all this, I mean, like, you know, ugly contract negotiations, wild leaks, this entire narrative, he's out there dressed like if Michael Scott was a magician at the Kentucky Derby. He doesn't give a fuck. He's smiling. He's having a good time. Like, Aaron Rogers is going to get what Aaron Rogers wants one way or another. Now, the only thing is, though, that if you talk this out to its logical end and the Packers just say, okay, you don't want to play

here, don't play here. Sit out for a year. You'll be 30, seven, 38 years old sitting around collecting dust. If there's anybody who can overcome that, it's him. But, you know, I think the Packers have a little bit of leverage being like, you're really going to pull a Carson Palmer? Like, you're really going to pull a Carson Palmer and run the risk of Jordan Love being serviceable. Maybe I've just missed it.

I feel like we didn't see Jordan Love on the sidelines this past year. Didn't see him throwing a ball? Didn't see him in practice? Isn't that weird? That is interesting. And maybe it's just because Aaron Rogers is this larger than life. and the camera's always tuned on him. I think they might have just not trying to get Jordan Love killed

because if Chris Collinsworth and L. Michaels panned over to him throwing a ball. Like you just never hear, you know who's looking really good in practice that Jordan Love? Are you warming up, motherfucker? Right. Like. Hey, Jordan, Aaron, never want to see a ball on your hands on the side of life. Like, literally. I'll give you three reps in practice, but I never want to see a ball in your hands on game day.

That might be it. That's the question. You, if you're Denver, if you're, I'm looking at the odds here, Green Bay minus 150, Denver plus 200, Raiders plus 600, Panthers plus 1100, dolphins, Washington, San Francisco still in the running according to Vegas for Aaron Rogers, if you're any one of these teams, and I know they're not all the same, but like, do you make that trade? It's impossible to say, I think, without knowing the cost. I don't know if the cost matters. I think the big question is like, Are you actually going to be better than the Packers?

Because the Packers came up short with the same brilliant quarterback. I think maybe one or two of those teams have better rosters outside the quarterback. And actually, interestingly, Washington, I think, has arguably a pretty damn close roster. They're doing a really good job of building that roster. But again, Scott Turner, is that like, you're talking about a dark horse in this group? Is that provocative to you?

Denver would be provocative to me. I think they've got a solid defense and they've got skill guys that probably some of the parts might exceed what they have in Green Bay. Now, Devante Adams is like two guys in and of himself, but you've got

Noah Fant, you've got Jerry Judy, you've got who else did you name over there? Sutton. Hamler. I mean, you have invested in young talent there. And again, you make that trade, no more young talent. Two first round picks, probably out the door. but it's the act, it's the intent.

It's like, do you value me? And I really think when you get down to it, Aaron really wants to make it happen in Green Bay. You hear his friends talk about it. John Coon talked about it, the longtime fullback up there. And it sounded like he was slanting it. And he's somebody who talks to Aaron a lot

and wouldn't like reveal his cards completely. But he was like, I think he wants to stay there. You know, they just have to support him or give him some security. Because when you do draft a Jordan Love, That speeds the clock up when he's gonna want a new deal. That's gonna increase the importance of surrounding him with weapons. You've created a walk-on-egshell situation.

When the awkwardness is high, look in the mirror, Packers, because you created this. At some point, Aaron's gonna have to make a decision, but I don't blame him for being bitter. It also seems though that he's in the driver's seat. He can de-escalate at any point. Yeah. I mean, he has people speaking his,

mind, it seems. He's the puppet master. Is he the puppet master? Because Schaefter just came out today. I was like, whoops? Or do you think he told Schaefter to backtrack on that? Come on, it's Adam Schaefter. It's not the first time he's gone rogue. Well, just like, I'm sure it's not Aaron himself, but Aaron's got people. Aaron's got people. You know who else has fucking people? Brian G. He's texting rap sheet, like copy, paste this tweet. I wanted to go get a receiver. Like, okay, dude, you didn't. You know what I mean? So, Anyways, Aaron Rogers is good for the game. Aaron Rogers is good for the game in Green Bay.

Come on, guys. That NSC title game, fourth quarter starts 28, 23 Tampa in Green Bay. I mean, they could be the Super Bowl champs with a couple different bounces. Yeah, no doubt about it. And we're sitting here talking about draft picks. Talking about draft picks? But I get it. The feelings are involved, and players have feelings, and players want to be fucking,

they want to be valued. Security and relationships would say, seem to be important to this cat. Is that fair? Yeah, probably. Like anybody, I like to know are my relationship secure. That's why we slit a contract across your desk. Talk about wanting to be valued.

I'd like to be valued, you know? You're getting valued, big boy. You're getting valued. I don't know if I can drop this receiver for you in the first. See, this is what I'm talking about. I'm with Aaron now. We're going to go to Denver. Well, let's go to Philadelphia first.

to talk to Devante Smith. All right, so full disclosure, again, to remind the people, Giants fan. Yep. But we have the best draft pick in the NFC East this year. Well, shoot, would have been a giant.

Had your Eagles not jumped up. You could have been a giant. But I got Devante Smith, Slim Reaper, whatever you want to call him. He's the next big thing in Philly. And I'm really excited. DeVante, how you doing? I'm good. Can't complain.

You definitely can't complain. You're about to play football in the best sports city in the country. First things first, Devante. As I warned you before, we had the combine here. My co-hosts here, Macon, you want to tell him your height and weight and why he, basically he thinks because you guys weigh the same that you might be comps. And I was wondering he wants to get where you are in life at 160 what pounds. 162, but look, I'm tired of the skinny shaming myself.

You and I are both very durable. Why does it matter how much we weigh? All right, 6.4 and a quarter over here. Yeah, 162. My vert was 14 inches and my 40 was 6.2. Oh, man. What do you think, Devante? What does he need to work on?

6.2? 6.2 seconds. Yep. Yeah, we for sure need to work on that. I think it was the start. The start was the problem. There was a lot of waste of movement. Chris kept laughing every time I started.

I didn't know whether to be standing up or on the ground. How do we fix the vert, Devante? 14 inches. When I saw it, I almost, I gasped. I can't too much help you without. All right. Well, hey, you're probably, what, 4, 3, 4, 4. Like, I'm not that much slower.

It's only 2 seconds. Two seconds. You know how quick two seconds is? Like, boom, that was two seconds right there. Yeah, dude. It doesn't look bad, though. No, it's not going to look that bad. we'll line him up deep third.

So that two seconds, he's got a two second head start. And then he'll meet you at like the hash like 30 yards down the field. So what you're saying is there's a chance, Devante, that he could be you one day with enough hard work. I believe in you. Thank you. I'll be a possession guy and you can run around the field scoring touchdowns. All right. So let me ask you this.

The Heisman's heavy, right? The trophy's really heavy. Yeah. Do you think he could hold the trophy up without dropping it? Yeah, you knew that. Thank you. What did you think of that whole night, man? Did you get an idea that you were going to win the whole thing?

Or did you know not until the end? Like, when do they tell you? It was at the end. I don't understand anything. I was going to win it. Who did you think it was going to win it? Matt. Okay.

Yeah. You and Mack and Waddle had like a real connection, right? Because I know they asked, and I'm not trying to get you here, but they asked about do you like catching balls from Mac or Tua? And I think some people were surprised when you guys answered. that like you really like catching balls from mac and that's not a shot at two of it like but there's something about you know working with mac that you guys really liked what was that about catching footballs from mac jones it was really just the overall

just connection that we had i mean like every day what it was the film room on the field getting like if you're working it was just like we had the connection so it was like it wasn't a time where like the connection wasn't there like everything always just flowed easily. What happens when you guys connection breaks down? Like how do you guys get back on the same page? Did that ever happen when you guys would have a rough game and you and that great group of receivers would have to sit down and you and Mac and work some things out? How do you get back on the same page? I would say it was probably like games where everybody just dropped eight. I mean, it's tough to try to throw the ball when people are just dropping everywhere.

So it was really just getting to the sideline and just just understanding that like we just got to take what they're going to give us. They ain't going to let us get that deep. So just take down the neat stuff and let us just do what we do. So you would prefer most game plans to be like the Ohio State game plan? I prefer a game plan. Just give me the ball. I was. I was watching that Ohio State game and I'm thinking when are they going to make an adjustment? What are you thinking like before you get dinged in that game? Really, it was just like they really just going to sit here and play a couple three the whole game. It's like, yeah, I'm not going to try to change nothing. I was shocked.

But like when I hear about you, I hear about like one of your biggest strengths is you're kind of like a coach on the field. I was reading that a lot of the times you stood out even among a group of really good receivers and really smart players because you would start to diagnose things early in the game and bring that to the sideline. Do you feel like that's a strength in your game that you have over some guys? Most definitely because it's not nothing that you can show me that I haven't seen. So just when I go out there and I see something, it can be like right then, I can be like, they're calling the play right now. I can tell Coach Sart, like, they run in this.

And then, like, he'll just change the plate right then. It would just go straight to it. So it was just like, just always been a step ahead to where, like, when you got to wait to the next series and do it, we can do with the next play because I know what's going to happen. Where did you get that from? Where do you think you got that from? Just studying the game. I mean, that's just the way I prepared the whole week, just coming in.

Sunday through Thursday just watching film every little thing that the defense is doing I'm trying to catch all of it What does playing in Philly mean to you man You've only been there I mean shoot you when you get drafted Like it's a big change in geography

And culture probably But like what does the Philly culture mean to you From what you've heard And the people you've met there already Just like the fans I mean like that's the type place you'll want to play When you love football So the fans are all into it.

It's a place where, I mean, they die hard. They love football. I mean, when you love football and the fans love football, that's just a place you want to be. Yeah. Not bad going from Tuscaloosa to Philadelphia. I mean, in all serious, and so it's two pretty damn good places to have football fans

and that sort of thing. But I think one of the things, and I don't know you, but I watch you. And, like, you know, you can kind of tell, you know how it is. you play with guys and you get good reads on people. My read on you is you outwork everybody. And I think that's going to be just such a great quality for a Philly athlete.

And you're going to have success in the field. But I think they're always going to love your blue-collar attitude. And I'm wondering where you got that from, you know. Where did that start for you? I would say that's been my whole life. I mean, I've always been the type of person to go out then and grind everything out. But I mean, like, I truly believe, like, the stuff you're doing practice is going to translate to the game. So, I mean, I go into practice every day, just trying to be the hardest working person on the team, just knowing that if I get it done in practice, just go translate to the game.

And practice is harder than the game, honestly, because at practice, they pretty much know everything you're going to do. Everything is kind of scripted. So it's like they playing the perfect coverage. Well, that's how it was in Alabama. They played the perfect coverage at practice. So it was like, if you can beat the perfect coverage, then I mean, like, in the game, it's going to be easy. People talk about your durability. People talk about you being, you know, lighter.

But people also acknowledge that you do work every day like it's game day. So, like, where's the durability issue? You know, if you're out there playing five, six games a week competitively and you don't break down, I don't see the problem. And I guess I wonder, I was looking, I was listening to your barber, your mentor. I was listening to you guys talking on that nice thing the Eagles did on draft. He was talking about seven on seven camps. When we were in 2003 and 2004, like the landscape of how you got recruited

and how you got your looks was so different, you know, and the camps weren't the same. And I heard him talking about you guys would go to camps and sleep in the car, like that type of thing. Just how competitive are those camps and how hard is it to get looks when you're from somewhere like you're from in rural Louisiana, you know what I mean?

I mean, like you said, it's small while I'm from, like, not coaches are not coming there without you coming to, like, camps and things. Like, camps are the new way to get recruited nowadays. Like, if you don't go to camps, unless it's somebody on your team that's going to camp and they bring them the scouts to the games, you're not really going to get the recognition you won't. So him just doing it, it was just like, this is what we got to start. And then it's like, once they start coming to the games, they're going to see. like you're going to perform you're going to do what you do same ways you go to camps and do what you do you just perform everything else going to take care of itself and i mean like the weight problem is always been net but just my main thing was i'm just keep working to what

like you you're going to have to offer me you're not just going to sit here and just be like all right i ain't fina he's too small it's going to be like all right he come he worked he grinding he beating the best of the best like i got to offer um that's kind of how it was at alabama i mean And at first, I didn't know, I didn't get their outfit at first because of my size. But I mean, like, every Alabama camp, I was there, always coming back. And it was just like, he keep coming back. He keep beating the best. He's just like, they had no choice but to offer me then.

So what goes into picking Alabama? Is it winning? Is it the best coaching? Because you're going into a room where there's Judy, rugs, waddle. I mean, there's a scenario where a lot of good, really good players don't see the field at Alabama. Was that challenge part of the draw for you? I kind of always knew I wanted to go to Alabama just because how it is around here is kind of like how it is at home. It's not, it's not much to do, but if you need to do something, you want to do something you can. And honestly,

like, none of us knew we was going there. Like, I knew Judy a little bit from camps, but I didn't really know him. I knew rugs a little bit, but I didn't really know him. So it was like, none of us knew we were going there. So it was just like when we all got there, it's just like we all had the mindset of like we're all happy for each other. But at the end of the day, it's business too. So like I'm going to do what I have to do to get on the field. But I'm going to support them too just because they're my teammates. They're the people that I'm going to walk with every day. But at the end of the day, it's like we all knew like we're going to put our head down and grind. But we all going to be happy for each other too. We're not going to be selfish with it.

We're going to help each other out to be the best version of us. But then again, like, Like, we're going to grind. It's going to be days where you trying to get a rep, and it's going to be like, nah, I need that real. Like, it was plenty of days like that. Like, I want to be in, I'd be like, nah, man, I need this with him. And we'll be sitting out there just arguing about the real. But it's just all of us are just trying to get better.

It's an interesting thing in a position group when you're in a really good group and you want everybody to succeed, but competitors want themselves to succeed first. That's the reality of being like, you walk a thin line, between being selfish and being selfless. Because you wanna be a great teammate, but you wanna take care of number one and you wanna win and you wanna beat your teammate.

You know, especially when it's time to compete and training camp and stuff. So I wonder how much each other you all knew at those camps. Did you guys track each other going into Bama? I would say me and Judy like, well we really like, realize like who each other was

was on a Miami camp. I mean, we went out then, we really just killed everybody. Like the whole camp, We were just killing people. And it was just like, we was happy. We was like enjoying it. And that's when we really got to know each other.

And then like once I hit him up. And I was like, I thought he was going to go to Florida. I was like, bro, you go to Florida? He was like, man, I don't know. And then it was just like he ended up signing. He was early enrolled. So like he was there. So I was at the spring game.

And I was just watching. And I was just like, like he did do. He legit. Yeah. So then come my sign the day, I was like, man, look, I'm gonna go on here. I'm gonna roll with it. I'm gonna go with it. And then I seen Rugg's hat sign.

And then it was just like, I ain't backing down from the competition. I'm gonna go. And I mean, like, playing time will come. Whoever gonna work the harder is gonna work out for who of is supposed to. Is there a story you have in your head somewhere about like the most competitive, something that illustrates how competitive these camps were? Because when I think about it, like, I never had to deal with that. Like, you know, like I got looks and, you know, my dad played.

So, you know, I did get the looks and I played at a school that's, you know, we live in a small town, but it's not, I'm not in the middle of Louisiana. Like, I just can't imagine the desperation that some guys are feeling like when your barber said sleeping in cars and shit. Like, I don't think about that. You know, like, there's no hotel rooms for a lot of these kids. People are coming from all over the place. What's the craziest story you heard about just how desperate it can be at these camps? I would say probably when I went to Georgia, Coach Pruitt was there. And he didn't want me to ram with, like, the top group.

So, like, my mentor was just sitting there the whole time. He was like, coach, I'm telling you, he going to kill whoever you put in front of him. And he was like, no, no, I'm not worrying about him. And then, like, I snuck in the line one time. And then it was like first played goal route. I just beat the dude. It was too easy. And then I ran down there and gave my mentor the ball.

And then he shouted. He was like, Coach Pruitt, I told you. And then like I just kept going back and just kept killing it. It was just like that's just how it was like when you're going to sit up there and doubt me like now I'm going to do whatever I have to do just to show you now. Like you can sit up there and try to make me go to the other feet. I'm going to find my way back in this line. Who's next man? Because I know match he's coming up next year.

And you guys are just going to continue this great tradition of wide outs. But who's a guy that we're not thinking about. It's going to be the next band of guy. I'll probably say Javon Baker. I mean, like, he sit there and he watches what everybody does, and he just, like, he soaks it all in. Yeah. But, like, he understood that, like, some people when they, when they see, like, they're behind me,

Rose, Judy, Waterham, they're like, I can sit up here and I can relax because, like, I know I ain't for the place because I'm behind them. But, like, he pushed me every day just because, like, he wanted to be in that spot. but being religiously it was like you behind a workhorse like I ain't gonna sit up in and let you take my job like you're gonna have to be working and try to take my job yeah so like but he kept me up like he kept pushing me just because like I knew he was right there I knew that he was watching me so it was just like I know he watching me so I always got to be doing the right thing and smart young players learn from other people's mistakes and successes they don't because if you wait you wait to learn on your own you don't have time

You don't have a window like this, especially in college. So, okay, Slim Reaper, which I think is a terrific nickname. But is it not Kevin Durantz? Okay, that's what I'm asking. I'm going to get there. I'm going to say, have him and Katie worked this out yet? No, but I mean, I've been trying to get in touch with him about it. I haven't heard that back yet.

Let's make that happen, man. All right, so who gave you the nickname Slim Reaper? I honestly don't know. It was a game and just, it was after one. touchdown somebody on the sidelines just said and I was like what don't be one of these guys that gives yourself a nickname you know you can't be giving yourself a nickname he's got this story in his backpack I don't know one time this guy on the sideline I don't remember uh it happened like that okay good uh number six in tuscaloosa do we have a jersey number yet oh yeah

six six again nice that's pretty clean and there's not a lot of competition there so the slim reaper obviously another like you know skinny guy thing do you get tired of the comps, man. And the comps are great. Like, listen, Isaac Bruce is an all-time legend, bro. Like, you know, I just missed him in St. Louis, got to play with Tori Holt. Those guys are great dudes and amazing players. Marvin Harrison was another great one. Is there somebody that, like, you play like that people just weren't getting? I always watch Kenan Island Devontay Adams. Those just the guys that, like, I've seen myself, like, doing the things that they do, just from a route running, the attention to details and the routes, the releases,

just all that. That's just what I see in myself. How do you get off press? Because that's one thing people always talk about is like, yes, but he's great against press. Like he knows how to get off press. So like, who gives the fuck about his weight? But like, what's the key to getting off press as a guy who might be outweighed by

a bigger corner? I was studying your opponent. I mean, like, you have to know what type of corner you're going against. Or you're going against a corner that likes to get hands on or a corner that likes to be patient. So you really just got to know who you're going against. and then just, when you watch film,

just seeing what they're uncomfortable with. And once you find what they're uncomfortable with, you just keep them uncomfortable in the game. Don't never let them get comfortable. You know what? There's some crossover with D-Line play, too, because of the hands, right? Like, you know, some of the movements you guys do.

Malcolm Jenkins used to always come over to the D-Line individual period and spend like 15, 20 minutes, and he's a safety, but he's working on handwork. Go over there with Fletcher and those guys, man. They'll do some handwork with, you know, add some more tools to your toolbox. Not that you need it, but they'll accept you. open arms. Who's the corner

you're really looking forward to playing? Well, I mean, Jalen Ramsey. Of course, I feel like he's on the top corners in the league. So that's most definitely the matchup that I'm looking forward to. Just somebody that you've been seeing on TV for a while, and it's just like

one day I just want to go up against him. The best. I mean, yeah, he's the guy. Yeah, I kind of wish Philly hadn't traded up at this point. Yeah, because you're starting to really like DeFontes And you already liked him, but now you really wish he was a giant. Speaking of, draft night, how does that work for you?

I mean, you see Jamar Chase go, your buddy Jalen Waddle, when Philly trades up. Yeah. Are you tipped off to that? At what point do you know it's going to be your name called? Honestly, I didn't know what to expect. I mean, after Water went, it was kind of like, okay, what a team is going to do not? I knew some teams were like looking for the cornerbacks and things like that. So I was just like, now I just got to see like what teams are going to go with.

But I mean like with those two guys going ahead of me, I mean, I'm happy for him. I mean, Jamar, he's from Louisiana too. So just being two Louisiana guys, I mean, I'm happy for him to be able to be in a position that he's in. I mean, water, we went to the same school. That's like my brother. So, I mean, happy for him too. But I wasn't too pressed about if I went from. first receive off or whatever because it's it's not about just like when you go it's about what you

do when you go so i mean like where i get drafted i wasn't too worried about i just i just needed the opportunity so but once um once philly traded up i was just like this this could possibly be it but i don't know but then like when i got the call it was just like okay they traded up for me like they see something they like nobody's going to trade up for you if they don't really want you So it was just like They see something they like I know that they really want me So like now I just

I got to return the favor Was there a team that would Like you felt like leading up That they might be the ones That went a different direction I thought Carolina was gonna Probably draft me Yeah

That's who I thought I knew of course the Giants But it was just all about You got to get to 11 I knew for sure that if I was there At 11 I was gonna go to the Giants and tell Gibral Peppers, you're just not a smiling motherfucker, dude. I'm not a smiling motherfucker.

There you're smiling now. But hey, listen, that's going to be a fun little, that's going to be a fun. Like the NFC East is back. It's coming back. It's coming back. I want to talk about Nick Saban. Because, like, man, that guy intrigues me a lot. There was a quote I read the other day, which, of course, I was going to read to you and I didn't bring my homework.

He said something the effect of, I'm not. not all football. I feel like some people just think I'm just a football guy and that's not true. Is he telling the truth? He's really not all football. I mean, like golfing, of course. Yeah, that's what I was going to say. He loves golf. Just, I heard he can, he can shoot a little bit in basketball. I ain't seen it myself, but I've heard. But, um, no, he's really not all football. I mean, like, outside of football, he's a, he's a great person. I mean, life after football, he, compares you for stuff like that. So he doesn't just get you in.

It's just strictly football. I mean, he prepares you for everything. Who's the guy who, like when you guys are about to win a national championship and you're doing the Gatorade thing, which you guys have gotten good at? What goes into that conversation?

Because he's not, he's legit, not real happy when he gets to house with Gatorade, is he? I don't know. I'm not being that conversation. I'm sitting there like, I'm not going to carry no Gatorade.

How tall a fellow is Nickson? Yeah, that's what I was going to ask. If he can get shots up, I mean, that's one thing, but... He's not tall. He's not tall at all. Everybody protects their height. Yeah, but, you know, if you got all those natties,

you're 10 feet tall, dude. Like, you're 10 feet tall in Alabama. What do you think his biggest pet peeves are that people might not know about, like, as a player? Because if you know one thing about your coach, you know what piss them off. I would say just not being disciplined, just like the small stuff like that.

Like, if you're not disciplined, like, He's going to be on you. He's going to do everything. Like, he'll do stuff just to test out if you're disciplined or not. But, like, that's just him. Like, that's, I think that's the majority of coaches. Like, they won't discipline people. I mean, like, if you're not disciplined,

then, like, things are not going to work out the way that you want to work out. What was the biggest test he ever gave you? I would probably say after the A&M game, I threw a punch. And then it was like, we had a meeting. and he was like, I think you have anger problems. And I was just sitting there like, man, you can't be serious. I'm like, you take me right now. I know you're not serious right now.

And then he had me meet with Dr. Rosen. And I was just sitting there. That man, Doc was talking. And Doc was like, yeah, I know that's not you. And I was like, yeah, I know you can just test me. There ain't no way. I mean, the angriest I've ever seen you is when you couldn't come back in the game in the national championship. Oh, I wouldn't say I was angry.

I think it was just more like my last play. All I can think about is like my last play, I dropped a pass. That's crazy. I didn't even think about it like that. You really wish you played for the Giants, man. How about, okay, because you went for almost like, I mean, you went for a buck, a couple bucks there that night. But you went for almost three bills against, was it LSU a couple years ago in the first half?

And I guess Jerry Judy was it before the game? Or who tweeted at you that said, I need 300? Oh, yeah. So Judy tweets that you, I need 300. Are you out there trying to get 300? Or are you just trying to get 300 every game? And what do you think happens? Like, in that second half,

if you actually went out there and tried to get as many yards as you could have, how many yards because you end up with? I mean, every game, I come into the game. Like, every time I touch the ball, I'm trying to scope. So, I mean, like, I look at it. Like, we didn't talk before games. We got, like, a little group message going on. So we talked, and we just,

just be sitting there. I just be like, man, I'm going to do this today. I'm going to do that. And like, everybody just be talking about what they're going to do. I mean, that's just how it is, the game that you're excited. Like, but, um, I mean, if I would have finished the game, just the way that we was locked in, the way that we was just sitting there, everything was just going to what we wanted. I mean, I ain't no telling what would happen. It's just crazy. I honestly think I, I know for sure I probably would have went for 300. Oh, but, um, no question. I don't know. Just the way everything was going, like, it was going to be something crazy. Who's the biggest asshole in the group chat? Because this is like you just brought up the

receiver group chat like D-line group chats are just brutal. Like we just, we're so mean to each other. Who's the biggest asshole in your group chat? Um, we all kind of assholes. It's the only way to be. It depends on what the, what the conversation is, but we all ask. Last question, you brought up Nick's shot out of all the receivers. Who's the best athlete outside of football? Who's the best athlete off the field? Me for sure. Okay, I like that.

Hey, Burrow, Chase, Tua Waddle, Jalen Hurts, DeVante Smith. Who's the best tandem? Yeah. Me and Jaylon. Who's the third best? Ah, I won't even make a answer. He says he's got to go. He's got to go.

Devante Smith, newest eagle. Oh, man, I can't wait to watch you play. Dude, they're going to love you. They're going to love you. Keep it up. And I'll see you up in Philly, ma'am. Appreciate it. All right, scale of 1 to 10, how bad do you wish Devante Smith was a giant? Maybe a 10.

Yeah. I'm telling you what, man, that kid seems awesome. But, dude, I mean, that's why interviews and getting to know players are so important and such an important part of the process. We'll take him. After talking to him? We'll take him. Holy smokes, yeah.

I don't care what the cost is. Give me Devante Smith. And I love the fact that you got to talk to your comp. Yeah, that felt good. Although you Google a Devante Smith, it's not saying like 175. Like did the getting picked at 10 pounds? Maybe. I felt like we were.

10 pounds of money. Yeah. Just 10 pounds of cash. So by the way, we're going to bulk you up. Yeah, that's the idea. So 180 in December. I'm not giving myself like a New Year's kind of deal. You want to just go a month early.

I want to be 180 in the month of December. Okay. But a, but a, but a... Stealth? Yeah, no, but a solid. 162, I'd like to be 180. We met yesterday in the gym. You and I met at a gym.

Yeah. And what do we come up with? Pop Quiz Hot Shot. Well, let me just start by, saying, coach, well done by you giving me two weeks of homework on my own. Thank you. Because after day one, I needed to build this base. Now the base is quite simple, 100 pushups in 10 sets of 10,

followed by what I previously called a plank and now I call a bridge. All right. And then I give myself a little break by doing glute. thrust of some sort? Yeah, you do glute thrust. I got a question about the glute thrust. Yeah. Because I've completed a cycle as of this morning.

Yeah. I was feeling it more in my quad and then a little in my hamstring, not so much in the glute itself. Well, I don't know that you have a glute yet. Fair. So you have to, you got to find that thing. Okay. Those two things there.

And I don't know how you're going to get that. But. So as a guy who historically has done 100 pushups in a sitting. Yeah. This was taxing. Yeah, dude. You're back. I have a question for you. You said 30 seconds of that bridge.

I noticed when you were doing them yesterday and showing me what to do, you didn't have a timer. I just count in my head or kind of do it until I'm fried a little bit. Yeah, see, I was 30 seconds on the nose every time, just a sort of guy I am. Well, if you keep it up for the next two weeks, you might be somewhere. I did have to break it up into twos. Two sets of 15 seconds. No, no, no, no. I'm sorry.

50, you know, and then 50. One pre-oomel nanners and blueberries and one post-old meal. Your meals look better, by the way. Thank you. Yeah. No problem. I'm eating bigger meals. I'm eating better things.

So while I feel a bit full in the face today, I do think we're on the right track. Well, I think the good news is, and we got Bruce Ariens coming up, maybe we can find you like a role in Tampa. Well, if I'm 6.3, sorry. Yeah. If I'm 6.3-180, I don't know, quarterback. Blaine Gabbard? I'm better than... Does Blaine Gabbard look like if Jake Tapper and Drew Bledso had a baby?

Yeah, I think that's about right. I don't have Blaine Gabbard like at the front of my mind, but that feels about right. But there's a picture here. Hold on. I want to show you. He reminds me of Drew Bledso, Jake Tapper. Yeah. Yeah, there's a little Jake the snake. in there too. Just a plumber? Yeah. Do you think?

A little bit. Hey, Blaine Gabbard has good lettuce. Oh, yeah. Great lettuce. Let me see the line. Guys don't, people don't give them enough credit. He could be hiding the line a little bit there. No, no, he's got great lettuce.

Great lettuce. Solid. Great good. Shout out. Let's talk to Bruce Ariens. We've got Super Bowl winning head coach, Bruce Ariens on the line. The champ. The champ.

He's a hokey, but it's okay. Yeah, maybe my top hokey. Top hokey. Okay, there you go. Coach, what's up, man? That's a hell of a compliment right there, brother. I like Bud Foster a lot, not to start this thing off on the wrong foot as well, but I think Bud and Bruce are my top too. Bud's a great dude, hell of a coach, great dude.

Making skin is crawling. Well, I associate Bud with a lot of UVA losses. Bruce, not so much. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe Tampa Bay Bucks more so with Bruce. It softens it a little bit. But nonetheless, he's a couple months off of Super Bowl championship. and coach congratulations we had you on last summer which feels like a world away um i know it probably

does it's a long year but you'd think about to that game when do you know it's over not until devon's interception at the end yeah yeah my home's can score 20 points so fast and uh when we finally got that last pick it was like okay it's over it's over now i guess i wonder what for you as you look back at your game planning your week of prep was different about that game that you didn't expect positively or negatively. I guess the weirdest thing, Chris, was we're out on our practice field looking across at the stadium we're going to play in. Yeah.

And are hanging all the Super Bowl banners and stuff. Even what was really weird, we're getting ready to play the Packers. And they're hanging all the Super Bowl stuff and they're working on the stadium. I'm saying, guys, don't look across the street. We ain't in that game. All right. If you think about that one, we'll get her ass beat. So that total different week of preparation.

having no media, you know, the media row and all the things that go with Super Bowl week. And we have about nine guys in a tent every day. That was it. You know, everybody thinks about Tom. Everybody thinks about you as far as like the leaders of that team, obviously the head coach and Hall fame quarterback. Who are the guys that didn't get enough credit as far as being leaders leading up to that game? I think you could take a bunch of guys off defense, you know, starting with Levante David,

the Domkinsu, Jason Pierre, Paul. even our young rookie, Antoine Winfield, you know, offensively, you got Mike Evans, Chris Calvin, we're blessed with so many guys that really care about each other and don't have an agenda, you know, other than winning. And I think that's what led to getting all these guys back. So you win, you come off the field, which probably feels like an hour or two later. Did you feel a release or a sense of accomplishment, which one? It was totally relief. know, we finally did it. And, you know, you start, the accomplishment thing is there's so many people

involved, you know, this coaching staff I have is unbelievable. The players we have, the commitment they made each other to beat the virus. And so, yeah, the accomplishment part, I didn't, no, it was just that we did it as a family. You know, I moved my daughter in ninth grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, I moved her 12th grade year, you know, so the things you go through as a coaching family. family, people don't realize. It's always getting fired around Christmas. Right. So like my daughter, she was in Starkville, then New Orleans and Tuscaloosa. And I left them on the Indian. She stayed in Tuscaloosa to graduate. So, you know, those moments, they all come together when you have that hug after the Super Bowl. So which move went over the worst for y'all in the Aryans family?

Oh, man, probably the first one. You know, the first one. You know, I thought we'd be at a Virginia It takes forever. I played there, started coaching there. I thought Jimmy Sharp was the best coach. Still figured he was one of the best I've ever known. Getting fired at your arm and moderate is hard, not knowing if I'm going into bar business or going to go into coaching business. Because I bartended my whole time of college. And so it was like, you know, Coach Sharp goes to Mississippi State. And I go down there and take a job. And we load up a youth hall and start driving in Mississippi. Could have been a bartender. Yeah, really close to it, brother.

Really close. That's not the worst gig in the world. It was also a very social job as well. This tattoo, man. Okay, so I haven't seen it in a couple months because I made a bunch of headlines. I'm not going to ask you to show us on the pod, but where is the tat? Is it like on your arm? Is it rib cage?

What are you doing? My left shoulder. I left just enough room to put one on my right shoulder this year. That's what I'm talking about. All right, well, that answers a question I have later, which is, How are we approaching 2021 from a mentality standpoint? But did that shit hurt, Coach? No, not at all.

That's what I'm talking about. Had a great artist, man. He was awesome. And two and a half hours, it was easy. Two and a half hour sit. Yeah. And now they tell you when you sit down for a tattoo, don't be drinking the night before and definitely don't come in with a buzz

because it thins your blood and you're going to be a bleeder. Was that something you had to be warned of in the aftermath of that Super Bowl? They didn't waste their time, brother. They did not waste their time. Get a napkin and keep wiping the blood up. I also think Florida is a big impulse tattoo state. Not that yours was impulse, but they're used to just, you know, getting the needle out and rolling.

Now, silversmiths all over the world were up in arms with the Tom Brady toss of the Lombardi. But you recently came out and said, hey, I'm the first thrower. I threw it to Brady's boat. Would you like to confirm that report that? came from your mouth. I really wouldn't consider it a throw. It was more of a wishbone pitch. Okay.

We didn't want to scratch his boat, so we couldn't do. We didn't get real, real close. You got a brand new, beautiful boat. So it was more of a long handoff. See, Silver Smiths are not going to be happy here because he's worried about the boat and not the Lombardi Trubbardi. Do you hear all those reports they were pissed off at Tom? Yeah, man, get over it.

Hey, PSA, Silver Smith. It's Tom Brady. It's going to be complete. Was Brady the drunkest player at that thing? Or was there an unsung hero that got overshadowed? There were quite a few. A lot of coaches, too. But, man, the boat parade was unbelievable.

You know, I was in two Pittsburgh parades that were great. They have 2,500 boats coming down the river. I mean, until I saw the aerial view, then I said, holy shit, that was dangerous. Yeah, a little bit. We did have Coast Guard and everybody else out there, but it was amazing to have both sides of the river filled with people and all the people. If you had a boat, man, there are people on paddle boards out there in the middle of that stuff.

So it was just an amazing parade. One of the biggest party animals I wanted to ask you about, my former teammate guy that I know you probably love at this point. But like when he showed up, Gronk, I don't feel like you got him when he showed up. That was me reading the tea leaves. Like, I don't think you got Gronk. Is that true or false? As far as knowing how to how to. Handling?

Yeah, like, like, did you, were you pushing for Gronk? Was Tom pushing for Gronk? I know you sign off on everything personnel-wise, but, like, it just felt like that didn't have your fingerprints on it initially, and you were probably, there was a little trepidation. Am I wrong? Yeah, I mean, I mean, dudes out of WWE, I mean, hadn't played in the year, and Tom swears he's ready to play, and he's in great shape. So, hey, I'm all for it, brother.

And, you know, it's the best fourth-round pick we got. Yeah, dude. Pretty good fourth-round pick. And like a lot of the reason why I felt like late in the year, you guys were able to morph into a team that a lot of Tom's DNA was in the Super Bowl. A lot of those throws he made to Gronk, they were just so vintage. And I feel like having that security blanket for him really helped. And then also having backs out of the backfield that can catch. I know you're probably really excited about, you know, pick up. Yeah, GEO next year. Talk to me about how important it is to have a receiver come out of the backfield and be able to catch in that offense. Yeah, I mean, it's just huge. You remember what David Johnson did for us in Arizona, you know, because he was a wide receiver in college. They turned into a big running back. It's such a, if you can keep people in base defense, say for us, 12 personnel is our deal,

and you've got to mismatch at running back who can go out wide match up on safety as a linebackers. See, I go back to when Ronnie Harmon and Todd McNair and all those halfbacks were the mismatches on the field back in the late 80s and early 90s, tight ends were tight ends. Your back was your matchup. So that philosophy has always been part of what we do. And I'm really excited to get Gio in here. Yeah, he's a nice player, man. And the one thing I really wanted to ask you about

because we got the Super Bowl talk off the top because I know what coaches are. They want to move on. But I'm thinking about that game. And I'm thinking, like, what a clean ball game you guys played, which is a testament for a team that was highly penalized a year before and that sort of thing is testament to you guys putting your head together and saying like we're going to clean this stuff up and through the year because it wasn't always pretty early on you guys play a really clean Super Bowl Kansas City's kind of all over the place and that happens but I could not get the October 8th game out of my head the entire season I thought the Bears game I was thinking to myself like I'm trying to think for Tom and I'm trying to think for you and I'm thinking like this has to be like the seventh circle of hell that one drive I think before that half there's like three penalties. Kalil Max breath is probably not great and it's in time.

High penalties, yeah. You know the drive. Yeah, very well. So take me in the locker room there or like on the sideline like where were you guys at mentality wise as a team and then also like how do you morph from that team to the team in the Super Bowl? Well, you know, one of the things we preach hard is bucks don't beat bucks. And for the first year, uh, we notoriously gave games away. beating ourselves. Right. And I think you have to learn how to win. Tom obviously brought that in, and I love when he snapped out on the sideline.

And because he'd beat me to it. Then I didn't have to go as crazy as I'd normally do. And, but after the game, we weren't leaving that locker room until we made a fucking commitment that this shit's stopping. All right. And we went from the most penalized team to the least penalized team the rest of the year. And it's just a commitment by the players. You just had to stop it.

And, you know, we can't have pre-snap penalties. A post-snap penalty might happen here or there. But we cannot, we cannot, we have to stop beating ourselves in critical downs. And we did it. It was amazing effort by the players because we, as coaches, we beat it into them nonstop for a year and a half. And Tom was a big part of that. Oh, yeah.

I mean, you know, just as a player, it helps so much when you have another player that can do your job in moonlight as the chewout guy. You know what I mean? Like, it can't be you all day long because, you know, you lose the room. And I think Tom is a huge tool just not for what he does on the field, but obviously, and you know, you see some people that watch on TV and they're like, he's yelling at Ryan Jensen. What an asshole. I'm like, I'm pretty sure Ryan Jensen's okay with it.

In fact, it's good for Ryan Jensen. You got to have a Ryan Jensen, but you also have a guy that reels him in and rains him in. Yep, yeah. I love the way Ryan plays, man. Yeah. And, you know, he's one of those marked guys. Every referee crew comes up and they got somebody there marked. And whether it be a guy that refs the pastor all the time or takes a shot here or there,

you know, Sue was that way for a long time. And I always tell the rest, hey, dude, he's going to play to the whistle. If he does some extracurricular, warn him or found him or penalizing, but he's going to play to the whistle. If you don't like finishing people off, then you shouldn't be in a business. I thought the Giants win on the road was extremely gutsy. When Mike caught that ball in the corner of the end zone, that key touchdown at the end of that Giants game,

I thought that was like a big moment for you guys. It felt like this is a gutsy road win where our assholes were probably tight the entirety of the game. And you've got a connection between two players who everybody thinks there's some rift between or they don't get each other. And I was like, okay, now we're rolling. But there's the skid.

And then there's the by week, which came in a perfect time. where was the actual turning point? Yeah, I think the second half, really the second quarter of the Kansas City game, the first Kansas City game. We spot them 17 points and they go off. But then for second, third and fourth quarters,

if we get that ball back, we win that game. Yeah. But Pat ran around and got a couple of first downs and ran out the clock. But we felt extremely confident. All right. So we lose the Rams by three,

It was the Chiefs by three. Forget the Saints game. That's one of those, you just burn it. So then it's like, all right, go to open day, week 13, dude, between protocols of COVID and the season, everybody's worn out mentally. It's a grind. And so it's like, hey, take the whole week off. I don't even want to see you. We're not practicing.

We're not meeting. We'll come back Monday and we'll talk about it. and we came back, and that's when I put up the playoff scenarios. Here's where we are. All right, you want to get in the playoffs? You're into playoffs because we play the Vikings. They're right behind us. If we lose to the Vikings, we're probably not getting in.

So I just kept putting it up there every week where we stood. You know, we ended up as the fifth seed going into the last game of the year, say, hey, we want to be the top seed that didn't win our division. And so it was just a matter of getting. focused for the playoffs. So when the playoffs started, and it was so different with no fans, you know, to go on the road was, it wasn't that hard. And, but yeah, that they, there was a refocused and a real amount of energy, mental energy after the, after the by week. You get to 11 and 5, you make the playoffs. And then in the middle of that game, you go,

punt, fumble, field goal. All of a sudden, it's 1816. and a guy named Taylor Heineke. I mean, are you thinking we have worked so hard, and this kid, I mean, Alex Smith had played the week before. No, disrespect Taylor Heineke, who's a nice player, also Virginia kid, O'DU. That's right. But does it just feel like, uh-oh, this is one of those games

where it's, there's only so much you can do? It's the Washington football team. We're on the road. It's late at night and it's Taylor Heineke. I mean, how do you prep like, how do you prep for a guy like that where there is very little tape on him? Yeah, that part was hard because we really thought Alex was going to play. And we were more geared to what Alex could do and didn't know how much Taylor could scramble.

And so, but there was never on the sideline, it was very calm. You know, we were blocking that front extremely well. And with our O line playing that good, I knew we're going to score enough points to win the game. It's just sooner or later defensively, we're going to figure this out. And we did late in the fourth quarter. Well, that's interesting. You said that. Like, you brought it up because I thought that.

That was one of the things like when you talk about gronk and people were like, well, he hasn't been the same guy of the numbers. I'm like, he's still blocking his ass off. And one of the premier games, if you just wanted to watch people up front get after a really good front, that was the game. I mean, and it wasn't just that, like,

well, I think Tom's really smart about picking his spots when he's gonna take four seconds to find a route, that type of thing and he could be frustrating to play against. But I figured snap to release had to be quick the way they weren't getting there. But actually Tom, Tom was going through his progressions and you guys blocked their asses up front.

So talk about like how you get a team ready to block a front like that mentality was. It starts with a running game. You know, we knew going in, we had to run the football and then maximize some play action where we use, you know, eight man, seven man protections

because we didn't feel like they could cover us if we were able to protect. And so we, we incorporate. a little more seven-man protection in that game. Like I said, Gronk blocked his ass off, as did the whole offensive line.

Donovan Smith was by far his best game and really accepted the challenge. And, you know, you've been in that team meeting room. And if coach calls your name out and say, you're wearing a hat this week, right? You're going to get prepared to play your best shit.

And he did. I was going to ask you, what do you think is tougher, you know, since we're in the playoffs here? You've lost to a team twice. and the Saints, you got to play them again, you beat them. And you've beaten a team handily, who's a very good football team, and you know it, and you play them again, and you beat

them handily again in the Packers. What's the tougher task for a head coach? I think for us in New Orleans, I thought going in, whoever won that game was going to win at all. Yeah. And because New Orleans is a really good football team. But we had a ton of confidence, defensively, especially going in, that we could squeeze those guys. And, um, You know, it was, I thought, a great game plan by Todd Bowles and executed to perfection. But getting Devin White back, he missed that Washington game. That was the only COVID guy we had. Yeah.

And, you know, he went to visit his horse. He loves those horses. Got COVID. And so he didn't have any symptoms, but man, he was, he was ready to rock and roll when we got down in New Orleans and it's his hometown area and all that stuff. So he brought an energy that we hadn't had in Washington. we didn't have in Washington. So that was a big part of it. But, you know, getting those turnovers early, setting the offense up.

But the biggest play at the whole playoffs was Antoine Winfield stripping cook of the ball. Because they go a three-point lead. They're going down. They might even have a six-point lead. They're going down again. He knocks that ball out. The whole thing changes. Yeah.

Is it actually difficult to beat a team three times in a season? Is that like a myth? And if so, why? because it sounds like just one of these dumb sports things we say. We say, but it's, yeah. Would you rather be 0 and 2 against the New Orleans team in the playoffs, or would you rather have the confidence that we've done this twice before? Yeah, I would have rather have the confidence,

but I don't want to be overconfident. Yeah. You know, and sometimes you can say, oh, we got these guys. And, you know, I think that's the worst thing to have rather than, And as long as you're not going in our third time, but we can't beat these guys. You know, just point out how we beat ourselves and that the one game was the first game of the year, we didn't even know what the hell we were doing. Offensively yet.

The other game was just a shit-to-bed game. So it's like they haven't really played us yet. So let's go play them. And, you know, when we left, I said no punks get on the plane. Yeah. We can't have any punks on the plane. Everybody got on the plane. Everybody got on the plane with their right set, with their jaw set.

There we go. And you guys changed a lot, right? You morph from that team, October 8th against the Bears to that team that was playing a clean football game and, you know, beating the, you know, like today's version of the greatest show on turf. I mean, I really think Kansas City is that impressive even without the tackles. Your look changed a lot too, Coach. You evolved over the year. You went from different face mask coverings. you had like different,

the sash. Just take us through. What drove the fashion decisions of one Bruce Ariens this year? The biggest thing with the mask is my damn glasses fogging up. I bet I got 25 products in the mail from people. Hey, this will fix your glasses. No, it doesn't. All right.

My shit, I can't see. I can't coach. So I'd always have mine down below my nose. And the league was, hey, tell coach you get his mask up. I said, tell the league to get some damn products and stop. my glasses boggling. But the belt pack, you know, I used to wear it around my waist, but I had to put it all so tight.

It was pinching on nerve. I had some nerve. I had a back surgery last year. So it was kind of pinching his nerve going down my leg. So I've got this great assistant strength coach who, she's amazing. And she said, coach, well, I just wear it over your shoulder, you know? So at the Raiders at half time, it's killing me. So I thought it over my shoulder, shit, the pain went away.

So I just start wearing it like a bullet pack and it was a lot easier to work too. And so yeah, that was really the story behind the sash. Oh, it's amazing. It's a great look. It's a great look. I didn't fully understand it. And I've been on the sideline for, you know, well over a decade. So I know what pretty much everything looks like on a sideline.

I was like, he's got some new shit. You do this like really unprecedented thing, you know, getting everybody back, which is really cool. And then I think the coolest thing you did was you waited until three days. after you son the last guy and you said, this is going to be the toughest camp of all time. You got them back and you didn't tell him camp was going to suck. Or maybe they knew. I wonder when you're getting ready for a year like this,

because I've been involved in one of those, because when I was in New England, then I left after. And I was really interested to see what it's like to repeat or what it's like to attempt to repeat. It's the hardest thing in sports. I think anybody in football knows that. And I think coaches sometimes can beat it over the head that like, hey, look out for that slump,

look out for that complacency, that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Now, if you say nothing about it, maybe your guys can't handle it and they're out there and it's a party all year. How do you tow that line as somebody who wants to get guys in the right mindset to repeat?

Well, we have a very, very physical camp as it is. And I would think if we didn't have this again, we wouldn't be ready. Right. It's kind of like you can measure yourself if we're going to be ready or not. Yeah. If we're practicing as hard as we did last year. Yeah.

And, you know, last year was such a unique, crazy situation. But we're tackling each other. We never tackling camp. But, you know, when I having any preseason games, we had to tackle somebody. Yeah. But we had, like, college scrimmages in the stadium. And I'd hold my breath every time somebody go out, you know, and because you got your starters going against your starters.

And so it's like, hey, that's enough. You know, that's enough. So I actually canceled the last one. I knew we were ready. So there's a good barometer, you know, to see if the team is ready. And they know it also. I start every practice, what I call the accountability sheet. So every mental error and every penalty I put up in front of the team.

So if you're on there too much, you either you're giving shit meat or don't run hot enough or you're too fucking dumb to play for us. All right? So that's the only answer to that question if you're up there eight times. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and the great thing is I think that's a real key.

Like when I was in New England, I really liked what Bill did is like at the beginning of our meetings, we'd all sit in that room. And, you know, like nothing gets your piss hot, like the threat of you being chewed out in front of Tom Brady for being out of your gap, you know, and there's a lot of gap variation in that defense.

But I'm just saying like, being in that room it's a big deal and i don't think enough coaches do that the importance of like holding each other accountable in the big room you know like i you've been places i'm sure where everybody just breaks down like immediately it's like good morning all right go with your coaches and i think that's really cool i mean uh i think that that that lights a fire yeah i mean i think accountability is the key word yeah i mean if it's not being accountable to me it's being accountable to the guy next to you, you know? And if you got five starting offensive linemen and one on that sheet five times, they got an issue. Right. And they take care of it in

their room, you know, so, but it also sends a message to the entire team. I used to love Larry Fitzgerald. I love him to death. And in my first year, he'd be up there and he'd get all pissed off and want to argue with me. I said, dude, I'm right. Don't, don't get on. So if he was up there maybe once every five weeks, oh, we'd have a hell of an argument because, coach, that's embarrassing. I said, don't get your ass up anymore. Yeah. And I love Larry.

He's one of all-time favorites. How's Tom as an arguer? Really good. Really good. But, no. Can the goat be wrong? The goat can be wrong, yeah? There's just one judge.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking. The goat can be wrong. Yeah. Well, the goat was wrong one time. How much shit did you give him about this? wants the smoke cleared. I'll let that time one go. Okay good good as good of you. Okay so you guys draft the Washington kid at the end of the first round who I like Joe trying the way I look at it like everybody you got to develop right but you guys don't have needs like that I mean I'm sure you have needs that

you know about that other people don't know about that you have your finger on the pulse that we don't but how do you draft when you do bring back all 22 guys what's your approach? Yeah you know future contracts those type of things, you know, getting guys in really critical positions in case of injury, you can't have enough pass rushers. And, you know, what we saw Joe was like, this guy's arrow was going so far up. He can improve so much. But he's a big, tall, bendy, twitchy guy. It looks like Godzilla.

And, you know, he's still got to learn how to take on blockers and stuff. But, man, can he rush a passer? He's just a natural bender. Yeah. I'm curious about pick 259. Mr. Irrelevant, did you feel a lot of pressure because you probably have 50 guys you draft, but only one of them is going to be drafted in the NFL draft. The rest are going to be undrafted free agents for the rest of their lives.

At 259, are you thinking, yikes, we're changing the course of somebody's life here? Yeah, I mean, what a dude, man. You talk about a story. I mean, his story is unbelievable. basically raising his brothers and sisters. You know, mom had problems. Dad had was in prison. And this guy, you know, we talk about big hair, don't care.

That's the way he plays, baby. He's a throwback. And he'll be a great special teams player, I think, and work his way into a nickel linebacker position. But, man, he plays fast and hard and smart and tough. Jason drafted Larry Izzo, and it's a very similar type of guy, man. Just loves to play. the game can run and hit.

You know, no OTAs this year for a lot of teams, but you look forward to this summer and you think what? I mean, you might not see a lot of guys. Do you think it's going to be consistent? What are you looking forward to? For us, having played so long, you know, our starters, they don't need, they need to be getting in shape. They don't necessarily need to be going through OTAs practicing.

But when you look back, to the, the, the, the, The year two players had no development last year. The rookies last year had no development. So you're looking at three years. Now this draft class, Joe opted out and didn't play last year. Right. So if they don't have any spring, they're going to get killed in training camp. Right.

I mean, they need spring ball. The spring ball is really for the young guys, you know, to bring and build your depth. I mean, when you play as long as we did in the February, I'm not going to ask our guys. I have actually scheduled one of the weeks taking it out. and move the mandatory minicamp up and just do six OTAs just so the young guys can rehash and learn from all the mistakes we made last year. Even Tom needs to go.

Everybody needs to be in here learning from what we did when we lost those games and did play at our best and learn from the good things. But there's not enough time in training camp to rehash last year because you're on to next year. So that's really what the spring is all about. It's rehashing last year. It doesn't have to be super physical of any kind. You shit, you can't be that physical anyway. But, you know, it's more to me developing of young players who've missed it for the last

three years. And like guys like us, like, you know, OTAs, even if you're older and you want to, you want to work on your rushes or your hand fits, like the way people practice in OTAs is fast. It's physical. It's just not, we're not tackling. We're not putting helmets on each other. But you want to come off and shock the tackle and set the air.

edge and work your feet and work your hands. Like you can do all that stuff in OTAs. So I do think if I had a choice, I might be there. And I'm not trying to say that because I got a coach on the line. Like no bullshit. You want a job? No. Okay.

Not unless somebody gets hurt after camp. So, Bruce, the last question I got for you is the conversation about knowing personnel, like knowing what your guys are like, right? Like they all have different personalities, different things, different buttons, etc. you talk to Tom about hey maybe we're going to draft Kyle Trask or something like that and you guys end up bringing back Blaine this year which is a big deal where do you stand on sharing with players like what the plan is of the organization I think there are certain guys you do that with you know just going through last year's free agency keeping mike evans

levante sue and those guys in the loop you know what we're thinking because I lean on them I make a lot of decisions on what they tell me how the locker room feels. Yeah. And so it's like, yeah, why wouldn't I tell Tom, hey, check out this little receiver, man. I love this dude. I think you're really like him. Or, hey, we're probably going to, if the right guy is there, we're going to take a quarterback, all right, and for the future. It's like, yeah, it's like if we're going to take a tackle, our line coach, we're probably going to take this guy, hey, man, we're probably going to take this guy to keep all the guys in the little.

I mean, because they need to take them under their wing. They got to come in. You know, that's the greatest thing I always say about Jerome Bettis. He taught Willie Parker out to take his job. And it helped us win a Super Bowl. It helped him go to Detroit in his hometown and win a Super Bowl. So true veterans need to take these young guys under their wing. And so if there's animosity when they're coming in, that ain't going to happen, you know.

but I think a true vet if this guy's going to help us win he's going to help him get ready this is an alley-up coach but it's something you deserve to be praised for you've got the most diverse staff in the NFL not only is that the right thing to do how has that benefited your team

oh I think it's tremendous you know I think Chris you agree you can't hear the same voice all the time you got to hear some voices that look like you yeah and and know where you came from and the respect factor, the teaching aspect, you can know all the football in the world, man. If you can't teach it, you can't coach.

And to hear it from African Americans or Tom Moore, who's 83 and forgot more football than most of us know, or Moralj Abaddafar or Lori Locus, a totally different way of teaching. But it's a great, they still can teach. Best teachers I ever had to learn from were women. So why can't they coach? They know what they're doing and pay their dues. They're hell-laces teachers. Yeah, and you just signed an AQ just joined your staff,

but also my old teammate, Thad Lewis, who is an all-time legend. I love that dude so much. I mean, when he was into Rams, I was like, man, he's a pretty decent quarterback, but I think he's going to make a great coach. He was like literally we used to talk about that. So another good one joining the Bruce Arian staff,

another couple good ones joining the Bruce Arian staff. I want to leave you on this. I want to leave him with something too. Can I leave you leave him first and now I'll leave him second? Okay, perfect. I'm just wondering if you're taking the Lombardi to Blacksburg since they're not used to seeing trophies around there. Last time I checked, 15 and 1 is pretty good. Hey, listen.

And 0 and 4 right here. One and one last two. Which is never getting rectified. That Commonwealth trophy has a name Virginia Tech on a lot. Hey, listen. If it fucking rings true, it rings true. I'm not even going to argue back with you. National titles.

Yeah, we got Natty's. That's all I was saying. But not in football. That's fair. That's fair as fuck. All right. So the last thing I want to leave coach with, we did a combine recently here, the Greenlight podcast combine, myself and MAKEN went out and competed in some drills.

You want to tell them your times to see if coach can find a place for you on the field and your measurables? Oh, sure. 6 foot 4, 162 pounds, 6.240, and a 14 inch vertical. What's your degree? Yeah. English. Yeah, there's probably a marketing job for you.

Somewhere in sales. Oh, you could sell. Glue guy, locker room guy. He's a glue guy. Coach Ariens, appreciate you coming on, man. It's always a pleasure talking with you. And congratulations. I was really happy for you guys, man.

You guys deserved it. What a year. Appreciate it, brother. Tell the family hi for me. Hey, big thanks, guys. Big thanks for sticking around. I mean, it's weird to thank you for listening to like an amazing podcast with two great guests and newly minted talent at Chalk Studios making Gunter under contract.

Bro, nah, Khan, I'm not under contract. Hey, I do want to say that if there's any veterans listening, apps are open for 2022 Conquering Killie. We had to take a year off this year because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic novel, of course, made it hard to travel to East Africa and climb the world's highest walkable mountain 19, 341 feet. You will have a great week

with pro football players, MMA fighters, basketball players, a bunch of interesting people and of course you, veterans leading the way. So check it out at waterboys.org slash kille.

If you are a veteran, hit us up and get in a lotto and you can climb that mountain with us. What about like me? You are just south of verified on Twitter. You're probably almost good to go. You get verified. You can go.

Okay. Cool. 2024. Big Cat says he's going to go at some point. Soft verbal commit. Yeah. Y'all take care.