Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - WEEKEND SPECIAL - Long Shot: The Kyle Dugger Story

Episode Date: October 31, 2020

Growing up, Kyle Dugger used to watch football for hours. He grew up on gridiron gladiators like Adrian Peterson, Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed and Eric Berry. It was that passion for the game he loved that pushed Dugger to become the highest-drafted Division II prospect in the NFL Draft in two decades. Not only that, but Dugger was New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s first draft pick of the post-Tom Brady era.This podcast explores how Dugger went from an undersized freshman running back just trying to make his high school varsity roster to a dominant safety winning the Cliff Harris Award and shining star at the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine.Locked On Presents: Long Shot – The Kyle Dugger Story also gives you an inside look at the NFL draft process from the perspective of the ultimate underdog who beat the system.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kyle Duggar has always loved football. At a young age, my parents told me I was sitting in front of the TV. When I was like a toddler, they'd leave the room and I'd come back and I'd sit in the same game. Full games, we started attending at a young age. I feel like I took interest in it as a kid. And that interest, it turned into a passion. I fell in love with it growing up. And it taught me different things about life. So that I continue to fall in love with it and have a passion.

Now Duggar doesn't have to. In April, the Lenore-Ryan University safety was taken in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft, 37th overall to the New England Patriots. Not only was Duggar the first player drafted by Bill Belichick in the post-Tom Brady Patriots era, but he was the highest drafted Division II prospect this century. You'd have to go back to 1999 when the Seahawks took Lamar King 22nd overall to find a higher drafted player. But how did this happen? I'm Cole Weinstein, and this is Locked On Presents Longshot, the Kyle Duggar story.

This is Locked On Presents, the new series featuring sports stories that change the games and teams we love to follow from the Locked On Podcast Network. To hear this podcast and more great sports stories, search and subscribe to Locked On Presents wherever you listen to podcasts. Kyle Duggar ended up playing in Division II for the same reason thousands of other athletes do. It was his only choice. As a freshman in high school, Duggar was 5'6", about 135 pounds, and just trying to earn some playing time. Playing time that wouldn't come until he started growing. By his senior year, Duggar was around 5'11 and had finally earned a starting defensive back job on the varsity roster.

He played well enough to receive three offers to continue at the next level, Berry College and Reinhardt University in his home state of Georgia, and his best and only Division II offer, Lenore Rhine. The home of the Bears is located in Hickory, North Carolina, about an hour's drive away from Charlotte, and it was Duggar's best shot at continuing his football career. Like most freshmen at Division II programs, Duggar was redshirted. In Power 5 college football, redshirting is a much more strategic decision.

Elite recruits can come in and make an immediate impact, even as true freshmen. In Division II, redshirting is a necessity. The level of recruit that a school like Lenore Ryan brings in is not ready physically or mentally to play college football. Coaches want as much time as possible to develop athletes in their system so by the time they are redshirt seniors, they're the best football player they can be. And Duggar bought in.

For a lot of players, it's just what you make of it. they're the best football player they can work, basically how bad I wanted it. Nothing was handed to Duggar in high school, so why would college be any different? What I was doing extra while the team was on the road playing, or what I was doing on weekends or Fridays because we didn't have a hard practice and things like that. A lot of freshmen weren't taken advantage of. They were inside looking for parties or looking for something to do, looking to hang out. And that was kind of something that really drove me, like, I was thinking next level. Even as a redshirt freshman at a Division II program

without a single drafted player since 2000, Duggar always kept his eyes on the prize, that dream of playing pro football like the stars he used to watch on TV as a toddler. There was a lot of times where I was working off of this space and God really kind of instilling an ethic in me and something kind of a me-gets-the-world mentality just, you know, telling me to keep working

because I can't really tell you exactly. If somebody asked me, what are you working towards? You know, I might have said to be the best face in the conference, but I feel like ultimately it was more than that. That work seemed to pay off as Duggar started all 10 games at defensive back during his redshirt freshman season. He was also named the South Atlantic Conference's Defensive Freshman of the Year after leading his team in turnovers as well as pass breakups. Duggar's three scores as a defensive and special teams player also put him at fifth that year for the most touchdowns accounted

for on the team. The rising star looked to build off that momentum in 2016, but was sidelined with a torn meniscus and forced to redshirt yet again, this time with a medical exemption. The injury could have devastated Duggar's confidence. Instead, it helped it. For me, I feel like that was super helpful. And even the year I missed, when I got hurt down on the sideline, I was able to kind of refocus myself, mentally get right, kind of humble myself,

and really see things from a different perspective. It gave Duggar a chance to be vocal. Being on the sideline for the first time and watching the whole season from the sidelines helped definitely with leadership and learning how to talk a little more because I was super, super quiet, even more, way more than I am now. But I was really quiet, and so it helped me learn how to kind of lead vocally and definitely was humbling for me. If Duggar's 2016 season was all about learning to get better off the field, 2017 was about getting back on the field and playing the game he loved.

The redshirt sophomore played every game that season and led the team in tackles as well as forced fumbles. The defensive back was also named second team all-conference. While he dabbled in it his freshman year, this was also Duggar's first real chance to show off his punt return skills. In fact, Duggar scored at least one punt return touchdown every year he played for Lenore Rhine. This includes his freshman year when he had only four return opportunities. Part returning is a skill set Duggar takes pride in and one he hopes he can utilize at the next level. If that would be possible for me to get on the field and show my abilities, then that's what I'd be happy doing. Duggar's return ability stems from his first love as a

football player. Before switching to defense his junior year of high school, he was a running back. Those years spent pounding the rock taught Duggar some valuable lessons that would come in handy as a returner and defensive back. When I get the ball in my hand, it's kind of like I know what to do with it, and I have that vision that I can take when I play at a younger age and able to actually incorporate that in how I play on the field. Being an undersized running back also taught Duggar a valuable lesson off the field. When I wasn't playing a lot in high school, when I was kind of trying to find a spot to play in,

I kind of realized, you know, I was going to have to work a little bit differently because I hadn't grown yet. I was in the late low, but I hadn't grown yet. So that's where I kind of developed a work ethic, doing extra and going overboard to be able to earn a spot or an opportunity to continue playing. At first, this newfound work ethic was just a means to an end, a necessity if this undersized, football-loving teen ever wanted to see significant playing time. But soon, it became part of his identity.

By the 2018 season, the 22-year-old redshirt junior had all the opportunities he could hope for. Duggar was a leader on defense and a key special teams threat amassing over 700 kick and punt return yards that season. But that work ethic, that stayed the same. Duggar worked like he was meant for greater things. There's a lot of times where I was working off of this space and God really is feeling an ethic in me and something, you know, kind of a me against the world mentality. greater things. There's a lot of times where I was working off of this faith and God really instilling an ethic in me and something, you know, kind of a me-against-the-world mentality just, you know, telling me to keep working because I can't really tell you exactly. If somebody asked me, what are you looking towards, you know, I might have said to be

the best faith in the conference, but I feel like ultimately it was more than that. It wasn't quite time for Duggar to earn national recognition as an NFL hopeful, but his redshirt junior year was when his play really started to pop. Duggar finished the season with 76 total tackles, a pair of forced fumbles, three fumbles recovered, and not to mention a career-high three interceptions. His over 530 punt return yards were also second in Division II that season, as well as a school record. The highlight of Duggar's return career, however, that came in October against Newberry when he scored not one, but two 60-plus yard touchdowns.

For his effort that season, Duggar was named first team All-South Atlantic Conference as both a returner and defensive back. Not only was he one of the best players in all of Division II, but his Bears finished with double-digit wins, something that hadn't happened since Duggar was a true freshman in 2014. Lenore Ryan would go on to lose in the quarterfinals to the eventual Division II national champions that year, the Valdosta State Blazers. This was the year that Duggar had been waiting for. All of the hard work that he had put in was finally about to pay off as Seahawks scout Ryan Florence discovered his junior year tape. Florence visited and worked out Duggar in March of 2019

and confirmed what the defensive back had been hoping to hear all his life. Kyle Duggar was draft worthy. Soon, every team had sent a representative through Hickory to check out the NFL hopeful. According to NFL.com, one AFC East team went five times. I wonder if it was the same AFC East team that drafted him. By August, Duggar had landed on the Senior Bowl watch list and had become a name football guys were talking about. Once the spotlight was on Duggar, however,

he took full advantage of it. On the fourth play of Lenore Ryan's 2019 season, Duggar returned an interception 30 yards to the house. In the next quarter, he picked off QB Jalen Jones again, this time returning the ball 63 yards, but no touchdown. The Bears would demolish St. Augustine's Falcons 68-7, and the NFL hopeful continued to prove exactly why he deserved a shot at living out his pro football dreams. In October, Duggar would set Lenore Ryan records one last time. In a game against the UVA Wise, he scored two punt return touchdowns before the eight-minute mark in the first quarter. In that game, Duggar also became Lenore Ryan's all-time punt return

yardage and touchdown leader. Duggar's college career was near its end, however. He would play in the next two games against Tusculum and Carson Newman before missing the rest of the season with a thumb injury. Two and a half weeks later, Duggar had accepted an invite to the Senior Bowl and had begun his preparation for the NFL Draft. Despite playing in only seven games his final season, Duggar was given the prestigious Cliff Harris Award for the best small school defensive player in the country. The award was selected by a committee that included Dallas Cowboy Pro Football Hall of Famers Roger Staubach, Mel Renfro, Gil Brandt, and of course, 2020 inductee himself, Cliff Harris. Here is Harris talking about Duggar at the award ceremony.

Kyle stood out. He was a really a great player that you could feel that he was one of these guys that is the best player in America in D2, D3, and NAIA on defense. For a small school prospect like Kyle Duggar, the knock against him will always be the level of competition he played against. Sure, he looked dominant against Division II offenses and zero-star recruits, but can that translate into success against the best football players in the world? The Senior Bowl would be his first chance to prove doubters wrong. That's what gets me going,

being able to know that I'm about to play against somebody that is going to expose me or I'm going to show him that I can dominate their level of competition. This is Locked On Presents, the new series featuring sports stories that change the games and teams we love to follow from the Locked On Podcast Network. To hear this podcast and more great sports stories,

search and subscribe to Locked On Presents wherever you listen to podcasts. The Senior Bowl is a college football all-star game. Every single player on both rosters is vying for a legitimate shot at getting drafted and making a team. Future NFL stars play this game every year, hoping for a chance to improve their draft stock. It's going to really put things in perspective and allow me to compete at the highest level to where nobody can really say, well, you're playing against small school guys, That wasn't the only reason Duggar was excited for the game. By the time the Senior Bowl rolled around in late January, it had been three months since Duggar had played in a football game.

Despite the time off, he wasn't worried about playing against the toughest competition of his young career. There's an adrenaline rush that comes from the physicality of a game like football. for a time or they even hit a whistle. You know, I'm going to be in my element as I feel like I'm at home. There's an adrenaline rush that comes from the physicality of a game like football, one that Duggar Lichen do another love of his. It's almost like first blood. Like when you play like a video game, first blood, that first lick, whether it be, you know, you might get hit,

you might get cracked, something might happen to you, but if you get contact and you feel, you know, that contact is going to get you ready to get your mind right, no matter how it comes. Darger loves football and all of the hitting that comes with it. He's a competitor, so it didn't matter that he hadn't played football in three months. Once that gridiron rush hits, he's ready to make plays. I feel like I'm at my best when I'm allowed to just play football. Not necessarily try to make me too mechanical, but just kind of have that goal or have that assignment.

And then just being allowed to play fast, get downhill, and make errors, and make a lot of plays just based off of playing. And that is why Kyle Duggar excelled at the Senior Bowl. All week in practice and during the game, Duggar showed up and played the sport he loved. The level of competition didn't faze him one bit. That said, Duggar didn't have his first big moment until day two of practice, the one that reminded him he was just playing football like he had his entire life. In a one-on-one drill against former Vanderbilt tight end Jared Pinckney, Duggar picked off a throw from future top 10 draft pick Justin Herbert.

And by game day on Saturday, Duggar was ready to show out. He led all players in tackles with seven, but maybe his most impressive moment in the game came when he got to showcase his pass coverage skills. It's halfway through the third quarter, and former Washington State quarterback Anthony Gordon has just reached the red zone. On second and long, the North team QB attempted to connect with former Dayton tight end

and future Saints fourth rounder Adam Troutman on a 20-yard pass. The toss was just ahead of Troutman, who attempted to make a one-handed catch but couldn't hold on as Duggar slapped his arm down, breaking up the pass. I was in a good position to where I could make a play on the ball. It wasn't necessarily the best decision to make a turnover, so I was kind of limited in what I could make a play on the ball. It wasn't necessarily a message to make a turnover. So I was kind of limited in what I could do. It was either, you know, gamble, try to go for an interception by undercutting it,

or just make a smart play and live to fight another day in that job. So I had to go with PBU on that play. But since being a T-child, we have an opportunity to pick that ball off. On the next play, Gordon threw a first-down strike to future Ravens sixth rounder James Prochet, who was on the side of the field opposite of where Duggar was covering the former Dayton tight end once again. Now just seven yards shy of the end zone, Gordon threw it right back to Troutman, who sprinted for the pile on, but was wrapped up and easily brought down short of

a touchdown by, you guessed it, Kyle Duggar. He got out fast on his route. He was a big body and used it well to leverage me to get this to where I could. He made a play I wanted to, but I wasn't able to keep him out of the end zone like he said. The North squad would score two plays later due to a coverage miscommunication involving Duggar and another defensive back. But it didn't matter.

If a great week of practice and a good first half of football wasn't enough to convince you that the Lenore Ryan prospect belonged, this drive did. Duggar's excellent technique and red zone defense proved he could excel even against NFL talent. And that's why I love the senior bowl. Great play is great play no matter where you were for college ball. That was just as true for Duggar as it was for former Dayton tight end Adam Troutman. He was definitely a big body. Coverhand was more so. Making sure I didn't gamble too much. Just made the shot of playing the play that I was available,

as opposed to, you know, attempting something like an interception and then end up with him. So it was definitely a good challenge and I think he did a good job. And that's another essential aspect of the Senior Bowl, getting to know future teammates and opponents. As a member of the South team, Duggar also got first-hand experience working with the Bengals coaching staff. The Bengals staff weren't the only NFL personnel working with Duggar that week either. out of play smarter, what they really wanted when they asked for certain things in the defense. So it was huge to me. The Bengals staff weren't the only NFL personnel working with Duggar that week either. I was able to talk to a lot of scouts.

I've talked to a couple since then, but I've just been curious to know my knowledge of the game and kind of just see what type of person I am. And I think it's been really well. All the interviews have gone pretty consistently and I felt comfortable. Not only did Duggar's football IQ serve him off the field in interviews, but it allowed him to create a game plan that led to success on it as well. That was something I did feel good about.

I didn't have any missed tackles. For me, that was making sure I do my job and not trying to do too much and wait for him to make a big hit and just be missing tackles. It was just another part of letting the game come to me and making sure I did my job on the play and having that mindset of doing what I was supposed to do at a high level

as opposed to trying to do too much. Duggar's strategy at the Senior Bowl was a simple one. Do your job and always make the easy play. Duggar led both teams in tackles and recorded a pass deflection because he didn't try to be flashy. He showed up on every play, and while it wasn't always impressive in the moment, his work spoke for itself on the stat sheet and to NFL teams. Kyle Duggar was a secret no more. And beyond just improving his draft stock,

Duggar missed being around the game he loves. And just kind of go over things, watch film, Duggar missed being around the game he loves. You know, along with just being able to touch the field again, being able to talk the game and just kind of go over things, watch film and things like that, it was a lot of fun. So I really enjoy all of that. The former Division II long shot left Mobile, Alabama a rising star. Duggar made Bruce Feldman's annual college football freaks list, and Peter Schrager called him both his favorite story and the wild card of the NFL draft.

The Lenore Ryan prospect was no longer an underdog. Instead, he was a growing commodity looking to cement his rising draft stock at the NFL Combine. If Duggar impresses scouts, both physically in workouts and mentally in interviews, he is a shot to be the first Division II player taken in the first three rounds of the draft since 2006. Working out in shorts instead of playing in pads takes a different type of preparation, however. And training for position drills and workouts come with their own unique challenge. My body is a little, it feels a little different in the way that it's more, you know,

work underneath it right now. It's like, you're getting to that point where it's getting kind of that grind where you're not as fresh as you once were. You know, you gotta kind of push through. My body's not as fresh as it is, but as long as progress, you know, it's a lot of progress in the know. We've done a lot of progress

in the work that we've been doing. Not just physical progress either. So we're doing a lot of board work and a lot of mock interviews just going through the questions and having me answer them to just get comfortable answering the questions correctly

and being efficient with my answers so I could get as many questions in and King can learn as much about me as possible. Just to answer those confidently, be able to get on the board confidently and show my knowledge. Duggar's physical gifts won't matter if he can't convince coaches and scouts

that he has the football IQ to run their defense. Every day is a grind, and a strong mental game plan is needed to succeed. Make sure I take advantage of these drills, check everything every day, check for the bends of it, really dig in and kind of focus on the tap of your hand to succeed. Duggar attacked his combine training with a singular focus, a focus to get better every day, whether in the classroom or, as he put it, to get those drills crispy.

This is Locked On Presents, the new series featuring sports stories that change the games and teams we love to follow from the Locked On Podcast Network. To hear this podcast and more great sports stories, search and subscribe to Locked On Presents wherever you listen to podcasts. With hard work comes confidence, and Durga was certainly confident about the numbers he was going to put up at the Combine. I'm going to reach in for a point 11-1. I'll be somewhere between there and the high 10-10, the high 10s. I'm definitely going to jump 11-1, though. That's my goal.

A lofty goal as well, one that less than 60 NFL prospects had achieved up to that point since 2000, which is as far back as public combine statistics go. Keep in mind, over 300 prospects compete in Indianapolis every year. Duggar beat his goal by an inch. His 11-foot, 2-inch broad jump put him at second best among all safeties at the combine. His next lofty goal, a 41-inch vertical. Since 2000, less than 130 prospects successfully jumped that high prior to Duggar's combine. Once again, he beat his goal by an inch. Duggar's 42-inch vertical was not only the best among all defensive backs, but it was tied for the second best out of any player at the combine. The only drill that Duggar oversold himself on? His 40-time. I'm looking to run in the 4.37 to 4.44 range, but my goal is the 4.3.

The Combine star would have to settle for a 4.49 time, only the sixth best among safeties that year. Duggar also measured the largest hand size and arm length of any defensive back, not to mention the longest wingspan of any safety. The Senior Bowl showed scouts what Kyle Duggar could be on a football field. The Combine showcased what a dominant athlete he already was. Both of them together, that cemented him as a day-two pick, a long time coming for the kid who used to watch football for hours as a toddler. I kind of thought of myself and just kind of laughed because it was such, I guess I would call it a dark period where I wasn't, I felt like I was, you know,

wasn't receiving any light in the aspect. And it was very difficult for me. And there wasn't a lot of attention. So now that things are the way they are, it's kind of something I laugh at because how quickly and how things change. I'm just really appreciative that I was able, that it was able to turn around for me.

Duggar has family to thank for that. A lot of times when I was going through that, that dark period in college and I was up at a school, Duggar has family to thank for that. The Duggar family is filled with athletes, so they knew exactly how to best support Kyle. Kyle's mother, Kim Oates Duggar, averaged a double-double in each of her four seasons playing college basketball at Fort Valley State. She's in the school's Hall of Fame. Kyle's older brother, Patrick, also played college hoops at LaGrange College. My brothers and sisters and my mom and my dad all had that work ethic. Once we figured out how to work, we were going to work. You know, it was more so just giving us a plan or giving us the ways of how we could get better. As a former first-team all-county point guard for Whitewater High School,

Kyle Duggar followed in his family footsteps of playing hoops while also picking up on skills that would help him on the gridiron. It allowed me to be able to use my instincts because I was kind of a defensive guy. up on skills that would help him on the gridiron. I was in the air, I was like, that's going to be my ball. If I'm in a position to make a play on it, I'll have a lot of confidence that I'll be able to. And I played a lot of that in basketball. Duggar also learned how to be a better football player by modeling his game after his favorite NFL stars. When I was growing up, I was a running back. I fell in love with Adrian Peterson. Probably the first guy I remember actually looking up on YouTube or something,

watching highlights and trying to, you know, stick my foot in the ground like them and learn how to shade like them. As I grew older, when I became the center back, I started to take a liking to Eric Berry. That's my favorite safety that I've watched with this generation, and he's been somebody that I've tried to model my game after. One of Duggar's favorite Eric Berry plays took place in a Week 11 matchup against the Chargers during the Chiefs' 2015 season. There was a screen, and he was the only defender over there, and it was a lead blocker, which I think a tackle would guard.

As opposed to just taking it inside or outside, he cut the lead blocker to O-lineman, and was able to crawl almost at a fast pace and make the tackle on the running back while he was on the ground. The Chiefs' website called Barry's tackle and Chargers receiver Stevie Johnson ninja-esque. All Barry needed to do was get a hold of one leg to make the play. In past coverage, Duggar also looked to former Raven Ed Reed in hopes of adding tricks to his game.

His instincts and the way he was able to play with the quarterbacks as opposed to them looking him off and doing different things, he was able to control them more than they were able to control him. So I feel like that's something I'm definitely looking to get to, but I feel like I definitely take time to learn, to develop, really to have your instincts and be able to control the move of the field like he did. That's something I definitely look forward to being able to hopefully get to at one point. In Steelers legend Troy Polamalu, Duggar admired his aggressiveness. He plays in a way where some people

will call it out of control, but he takes his shot and he takes it full speed. So he has a lot of time to shoot a guy's leg out coming down without slowing down at all. So things like that is something I've definitely tried to incorporate and try down at all. So things like that, that's something I've definitely tried to incorporate and tried to get better at because things like that are hard to teach and accept where it's just being a good player and maybe being a great player. A great player like Palomalu.

His instincts and the way he just played football, no matter how it was taught, but just really played at a high level and kind of threw his body around and did whatever was necessary. I try to take that kind of role. that goal or have that assignment. And then after that, just being allowed to play fast and downhill and make errors and make a lot of plays just based off plans. Duggar's creative spirit stretches far beyond the field, however.

During his time at Lenoir-Rhyne, he studied engineering in hopes of paving the way for a career in architecture once done with football. That same passion for creativity is also vital to his position. I'm a safety, so I kind of have to have an open mind as far as having a lot of information. And then there's the focus on one piece of that big picture, all of everything going on at one at a time. I feel like I'm at my best when I can just kind of play. An asset that Duggar admires in his football idols.

I feel like the best players that have played the safe position have been able to throw their own creativity to a scheme. So when he was free, when he was a free player, he was the most dangerous. Same with Troy Polamalu. I heard a lot of times that they would just put a defense around Troy and kind of let him just be free completely, completely free, even out of the middle of the field or up to the line of scrimmage

and kind of let him do whatever he wanted, kind of just use his football IQ and his instinctions and let him play football. I feel like a lot of the greats were able to do that, surrounded by defenses and coordinators that would allow them to do that. Shortly after Duggar's incredible combine performance, COVID-19 hit America and changed every aspect of modern life, including the NFL draft process.

No more pro day, no more private workouts with teams, just a lot of video calls. But that certainly didn't hurt Duggar's draft stock. On Friday, April 24th, with the fifth pick in the second round of the NFL draft, 37th overall, the New England Patriots selected Kyle Duggar, making him the first draft pick of the post-Tom Brady era. Once a 5'6", undersized freshman who just wanted to make the varsity football team,

Duggar was now the highest drafted Division II player in over two decades. Not only that, but Bill Belichick was now his head coach, the same man who worked with Rodney Harrison, Ty Loth, Teddy Bruschi, and of course, Lawrence Taylor. This quote might explain why Belichick liked him so much. I feel like a lot of the things, such as distractions and things like that, that doesn't really intrigue me,

or doesn't really, is not something I really am looking forward to being exposed to, I guess. I'm really looking forward to getting to see how my personality matches with all the excess time that I could be doing to study plays and kind of get better at football as opposed to where I'd be using it to do homework. I'm really looking forward to seeing how my personality

matches with the lifestyle that's gonna be coming up for me. In 2019, the Patriots' secondary allowed the least passing yards, passing touchdowns, and points of any NFL team, all while forcing the most interceptions. You could also call them Duggars' new coworkers. Yeah, I was really excited about that, just being able to be around guys

who are all on the same page, all are realizing that they want to play football at a high level, and they're all kind of thinking, win, win, get better, and really focusing on being pros. This top-ranked secondary was and is still led by Jason and Devin McCourty, Jonathan Jones, J.C. Jackson, and of course the reigning defensive player of the year, Stephon Gilmore. Not to mention former All-Pro Adrian Phillips, signed as a free agent this offseason. Duggar will go from being one of the most accomplished players

in Division II history to the young rookie and maybe the best secondary in football. He'll be surrounded by professionals. It's almost unbelievable to think that I would have the opportunity to literally work on my craft all day, focus on that. That'd be one of my main priorities. He loves football. He's loved it ever since he was a toddler,

sitting for hours in front of the TV watching games. And now it's a full-time career. Kyle Duggar is the face of the Patriots 2020 draft class. It's something I've been thinking about, you know, imagining talking to teammates about for the longest amount of time. is the face of the Patriots' 2020 draft class. Sounds like a Patri patriot to me. Long Shot, the Kyle Duggar story, was written, voiced, sound designed, and edited by Cole Weinstein for the Locked On Podcast Network.

Music by Zane Henderson. Thank you to the Little Rock Touchdown Club for their audio. A special thank you to Kyle Duggar for sharing his remarkable story with me, and of course, thank you for listening. Locked On Presents is a production of the Locked On Podcast Network,

a new series featuring sports stories that change the games and teams we love to follow. To hear more great sports stories, search and subscribe to Locked On Presents wherever you listen to podcasts.