The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Bonus exclusive: New Jets starting QB Mike White joins Kalyn Kahler on the QB2 series

Episode Date: November 25, 2022

The Athletic's Kalyn Kahler's QB2 series profiles some of the most interesting guys in the league: backup quarterbacks. In this edition, Kalyn sits down with Mike White to discuss his journey from backup Mike White, to Mike "Effing" White. And with Zach Wilson benched, he's a backup no more.Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the Athletic Football Show. Hey, everybody. I'm Kailen Kailer, senior NFL writer for The Athletic. Welcome to QB2, the show where we talk to only my favorite players in football, the backup quarterbacks. The backups are rarely the focus of any team. So here on this show, this is where we celebrate them and give them their moment to tell us all of their stories and their knowledge.

QB2 is also a loose term because these guys shift up and down the death chart throughout their careers. And today's guest knows firsthand what it's like to go viral as a backup quarterback thrust into that starting role. Last season, he became a Jets fan favorite when he threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns and upset the Bengals in week 8th. He was named the ASC offensive player of the week. And in that win, he became the only quarterback in the NFL to throw for 300 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start. The Jets even sent his jersey to the pro football hall of fame. He was drafted in the fifth round by the Cowboys in 2018, and he joined the Jets practice squad the following season. He was actually the catalyst for my unnatural interest in backup quarterbacks because when he took the field last season, everybody was like, wait, who is this guy?

So welcome to the show, Mike effing white. How are you, Mike? Good. How are you? Quite an introduction. I know. It's always fun to write these introductions because, you know, as I said before, like you guys are rarely the focus. so you never get to hear all of your kind of career achievements and where you've been summed up in, you know, one paragraph like that. So it's always really fun to do that. Right. Yeah, no, it was kind of weird to hear. Yeah, you're like, I'm uncomfortable.

Yeah, exactly. So you're coming off the biweek right now. What does a QB2, how does the QB2 spend his biweek? Well, I personally spent my biweek. I went back home to Tampa, Florida. That's where my wife and I live. My wife was actually in town with our, our twins, Millian Maddox. So I went home, spent some time with them, and then they flew back up here with me yesterday. So I just enjoyed the family.

We went to the zoo a couple of times. And I went to my wife's cousin's football game. So they got to, the twins got to go see their first high school football game. So it was fun. Oh, nice. Very nice. So I want to start with you, obviously, kind of when you entered all of our consciousness in the NFL, which is last season,

week seven against the Patriots, Zach Wilson gets hurt. You immediately come in the game. You move the Justin to the end zone with a touchdown pass to Corey Davis. What are the steps to enter a game when your starter gets hurt? Can you kind of walk us through like,

what do you do first? What do you do second? How do you get to me? Right. So you see Zach get tackled as he does any other play. And then you wait and you're like, all right, he's not getting up. And then you see the doctors rush onto the field.

And then next thing, you know, there's Vito Contento. One of our equipment guys is handing me a ball like, hey, go warm up. So I'm throwing, warming up with our equipment manager. And then Connor McGovern is coming over to me real quick. And I'm getting snaps with him. So it all kind of happened so fast. And we had happened to got, we got a pass interference call. So we're down in the red zone.

So like we're rolling. As soon as Zach got up and they helped them off the field, like you're into it. So you kind of kind of give the line your cadence in the huddle. like, hey, this is what my cadence sounds like, so they can, they can hear it for the first time, and then you kind of just go. So personally, I like that better because there's, you just, you get thrust it. So just kind of instincts and stuff to kick in, whereas if you're, like, the next week when I was announced to starter, you have the entire week. Yes, it's nice to get reps and knowing you're the guy and you're getting all the practice reps with the starters and you're

throwing routes with them and all that good stuff. But you do have the entire week building up to it that you can get in your own head if you let it. It kind of like, all right, this is your first start. Like, I really hope it goes well. Like all that. Whereas the first game, when you go in midgame, it's just, boom, you're in it. So you don't really have time to do that. You're just worried about, like you said, just executing the offense, like moving the,

moving the offense down the field and keeping our team in it. It's a really good point. I was going to ask you if you ever feel like in the moment. where you have to enter a game on expectantly. Like, is it possible to ever feel prepared? Or is it just kind of like a, you know what? Eff it, like winging it. Let's go. Yolo.

Is it kind of like that? No, you definitely are prepared just because you are in the meetings and you're in the installs. You might not physically be getting the reps, but you're still, like me personally after practice, I'm sure tons of backups do the same. You take the script and the routes that you might have not gotten reps in in practice and keep a couple guys after practice. practice, maybe a couple like twos or P squad guys and throw those routes. And while you're not

getting it with the ones, you're still getting those reps and feeling the muscle memory of it. So you do have that. So you're not as prepared as a starter, but it's not like you're going in blind. Like you should know exactly what the reeds are and what the play is trying to accomplish and all that good stuff. When you say, you know, you and Connor McGover and get together to do some snaps and then you you tell the offensive line like, the huddle. This is what I sound like. When, so that was week seven.

So when is the last time that that, you know, starting offensive line would have heard your cadence? That seems probably sometime during probably OT or training camp when Zach, I think Zach, they had like a contract issue or something and he missed the first two days. So I took, I took reps with the ones for the first two training camp practices. that's probably the last time they heard it. But as a backup, it's your job to make your cadence as similar as possible to the starter for that reason. But then again, everybody's their own human, so no one's going to sound identical.

So you try to the best your ability to keep that cadence similar for that reason. And what, like you played behind now, Zach Wilson, Deck Prescott when you were in Dallas. Right. Do you either one of them have a harder one to mimic or, you know, I guess is there anyone in your career that you've been like, this is actually difficult their rhythm here? No, not too bad. I would say maybe a little voice inflection with Dak because he's got that thick Louisiana accent. I used to like I used to like to poke fun out with him. But no, besides that, it's pretty, it's pretty cut and dry.

And you don't actually try to like mimic that southern accent. Oh, no, no. Or do you go that far? I would sound absolutely ridiculous if I tried to do that. That's awesome. Is it hard? So obviously, you know, you're in your fifth season now last year was your fourth year. And that was the first time that you had gotten real regular season action in your career.

So when you are kind of biding your time, you know, obviously waiting for the right sequence of events to occur where you get a chance to play in the regular season, is it hard to stay positive? Like what how is your mindset as you're, you know, in your fourth year still waiting for that moment? Yeah, I would definitely say there's there's definitely roller coasters as a backup quarterback's journey. And like you said, you can go from being the three to be in P squad, to being the two, just getting your your chance and then going back to the two, then to a three. And it's just there's so many different paths a backup can take. So it is definitely mentally taxing that you have to always stay positive and know that crazy. things happen in this league and you got to be ready for your shot because when you do get your

shot, that's your chance to prove to not only the team you're playing on, but the rest of the league, like, hey, this guy can't get it done if he had to play. And that's how you can get out of this league quickly too, is if you go in and you're not ready and you're not prepared and that opportunity kind of passes you by and teams and stuff will move on, like, all right, this guy kind of can't cut it. So you, you know, had instant success. you upset the Bengals in your first start last season. And we've seen that that happen, you know, in different seasons in the NFL. You had your moment last year.

You know, we saw Bailey Zappi and Cooper Rush this year. You know, I had Kyle Allen on a previous episode and he did the same thing. And so I'm wondering, like, is there a phenomenon? Like, is there, how would you describe that? Like, you know, when, like, an interim coach comes in and, like, usually the team wins because it's somebody different and guys are, you know, It's a new energy. Like, is there the same thing with, like, a backup quarterback entering?

How would you describe it? That is interesting. I've never really thought of it. I wouldn't say there's too much of maybe an interim head coach, maybe, because you have a different voice in the locker room and all that good stuff. But I wouldn't say too much for back. Guys, it really comes down to if you have your team's respect or if the locker room respects you and they'll rally around you and things of that nature.

I don't know. It's very interesting. Because I'm sure there's instances of where it's gone south for some guys, too. Right. The start hasn't been what they hoped it would be. So that's, I've never thought about it. That's a very interesting question, but it's definitely fun. It's definitely fun to watch.

Yeah. Let me know what you find out. I'll have to pull the actual stats and the data. Like, okay, what is the record for these guys on their first game when they come in? Exactly. That would be interesting to look up. So do you still get recognized in public now? Yeah.

What's the weirdest or most memorable moment where someone has been like, Mike, why? Oh, man. Last year at some point, I think this was later in the season, maybe even the last week or so. I'm walking in the mall by myself. Like, I'm on the phone with my wife because I had to run in air and grab or something. And these like three high school kids from like, I'm on like the bottom floor. They're on like the second floor over on the.

other side and they just spotted you yeah they're just like f and white like that the mike f and white thing really really caught fire last year and that's i couldn't go anywhere without someone somewhere telling me that how do you feel about that nickname like are your kids your kids are like toddlers um you know can they are they allowed to hear profanity oh they're they're they're like 14 months right now but there's definitely going to be someday where no i love i love it i think it's awesome and i thank Ty Johnson all the time because that's who really started it. Yeah. And it's, it's funny. It's, it's, it's good. It's catchy. It's definitely, um, taking on a life of its own. But I think it's, I think it's funny. Yeah. So, so a lot is made of the New York market, right? Whenever,

and I think about Daniel Jones a lot when I think about this, like, whenever a quarterback is drafted into New York, you know, everyone's like, can he handle the criticism? Like, is he going to be tough enough to, you know, play in this market where there are huge expectations? and the media is a little bit tougher. So I wonder for you, you know, you came in, you became a favorite, people loved you. And then, you know, your last start that you get, I believe, you know, didn't go well for you.

You had a few interceptions. Joe Flacco ends up starting the next game. So, and I think Robert Sala, even in a press conference, was like, you guys, like saying to the New York media, like, we need to be nicer, you know, like you guys loved Mike. And then, you know, you threw him into the trash, essentially. He had like a quote that was, that was, was like that. So I wonder from your perspective going through that, you know, how would you,

how would you describe what it's like to play in New York? Is that, is it fair to say, you know, it is harder than other places? I mean, I'm playing in the NFL is hard in general. And now if you're going to, if you're going to start really putting into, like putting a lot of weight into what the media says, then yeah, New York can feel like it's piling on top of you when, when things aren't going well. But another thing, too, in New York, when things are going well and you're winning, like this, this place is unbelievable. Like the energy in the stadium, the fans, like they're, they're top notch. So if you're going to play that game, like you said, it can go one of two ways, you can feel really good about yourself when things are going well and you can read into it

and pump your ego up or things aren't going well and then you start to get kind of pissed off at what's getting said about you. So me personally, just kind of roll with it. I don't, I don't put too much weight into what they're saying. And I try not to look at it good or bad just because, like I said, you can fall down a rabbit hole when things aren't going well. And you can get really down on yourself. And when things are going well, you can kind of get complacent in a big ego. And then you'll get knocked back down to size real quick. Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. So take me inside the Jeff quarterback room. There's four of you. Yeah, Zach. You're now QB2. Joe Flacco, as we mentioned earlier. and Chris Dreveller, who I believe is on the practice squad. What is the dynamic in there?

Can you kind of like walk me through everybody's specific roles and how you interact with each other? Oh, man. There is nothing I love more than talking about the quarterback room. Yeah. I don't want to diss any of the previous quarterback rooms I've been in because I have been lucky to be in some awesome quarterback rooms with some great football minds.

I mean, starting off with Dak and Kellan Moore and Cooper Rush, like that was an awesome room, especially my, first room. I learned a lot about kind of what it's like to be a pro and how the dynamics of a quarterback room work. But I really feel like this year's quarterback room is one of the most special ones I've been around. It's I genuinely enjoy coming into work and just sitting in the room and just and just shooting the breeze with them and just talking about everything that's going on in the world. And we all share like me and Joe share our kid stories. And obviously Zach's not in that aspect of life yet. And strebs, streves on his way that.

there slowly approaching though but yeah it's it's awesome i mean joe's obviously the the the old grizzly veteran in the room that that has his old war stories that that he likes to tell us and uh zax the young guy's like the young pup just going through life and and and then strev is like me and strever like right kind of perfectly in the middle like we've we've we came out the same year so we have our our like experiences but nothing like joe and obviously a little more than Zach. And then Strev also has his Canada stories, which we all love hearing about and how he's,

he shows us these pictures. Yes, this is a story. He showed us the other day. So when he won the Grey Cup, he's got this like fur coat with a cowboy hat. I'm pretty sure he had some type of chain, no shirt on and jean shorts. Oh my God.

You're in Winnipeg. Right. And sometime in the winter. So it's like probably negative five degrees. And he still got like his hand. ankle taped from the game three days ago. So they're, though people in Winnipeg will dress their kids like him for Halloween. And he gets tagged on it in social media. So he's like a living legend up there. But it's just,

it's, it's fantastic. But it's an awesome, awesome dynamic. I mean, me, Strev and Joe, we start every morning. We'll go and get like a sauna session in. And then we'll go like cold plunge. Like that's kind of become our thing. So every morning for about 30 minutes, we'll just sit in the sauna, shoot the, shoot the breeze, hang out. It's a really, really, really good dynamic. And Zach's obviously, Zach's doing his own deal, like doing his treatment and getting ready to play. So we don't, we don't have the stress he has.

So we get to go do a little sauna cold plunge in the morning. I love that. And I, my colleague who covers the Jets for us at the athletic Zach Rosenblatt, he wrote a story about the QB room this summer. That was really good. And he said that you, I think you had told him that usually in the offseason, the group chat will die. And this one last year did not.

It just kept going strong. Yep. Is there a name of the group chat? No, we don't have a name. We need to have a name. We should. That's a great point. I'll probably put that on our sauna to-do list tomorrow.

But yeah, the group chat kept going on it. Like I said, normally it's like, it's no, it will. It's just kind of when the season dies, everybody kind of goes into their own off-season world. and then when we reconvene the group chattel fire back up for but last year i mean between us quarterbacks obviously strev wasn't in it yet but like micha floor rob calibries like we were so we would talk about what play like the playoff games like oh did you guys see this play or like someone i'll send pictures of me like up at like two in the morning with my kids who were really young and like

talking about oh i really love offseason this is the best meanwhile i'm i'm itching to get back in the quarterback room so no it was That's just, it shows how close the crew, not even just the quarterbacks, but the coaches, too. Like, we're a real tight-knit group. Yeah. And is there someone, like, do you ever have to mute the group chat? Is anybody really annoying in there? No.

No. Sending like, sending me. No, we're actually, it's pretty, it's. So it normally for the most part kind of starts with either LaFleur will start, like LaFleur will send something and then they'll send us off on a tangent. and I'll be the first to message in there sometimes. Zach rarely. Joe never, Joe never starts.

Joe never starts. That doesn't surprise me. Exactly. It's pretty on brand for Joe. Yeah. I mean, if you can get like three or four consecutive responses from Joe, it's either a really interesting topic. Yeah.

He's really, really bored. Because between, like, he's just not a big phone guy. And then he's got five kids at home. Right. and all running around doing crazy stuff. So if you can get him to respond four times, it's pretty. Or if you can get him to, like, laugh at something, that's like, from the think of it, I don't think he's ever like, he likes messages a lot.

He's never put, like, the laughing light, like, you know what I mean? Like Joe laughed at, whatever. Right. Uh-huh. We haven't gotten one of those yet. So I think the first person to get one of those from Joe needs to have, like, some type of reward. Like a, like, there needs to be, like, a trophy made. Exactly.

Yeah. 100%. Oh, my God. well. That's so funny. We have. I remember. So we got a trophy. We got to get a trophy made. And now we got to get a group chat. Name the group chat. Yeah. All right. This is good. It's funny because when I saw you guys after the upset win in Green Bay,

Joe was like standing there like completely unfazed and like you and like you and like you know like yeah, remember this play. I remember that. And he was just like, so it was like hilarious. I'm like this is definitely just his personality, I think. No doubt. So, you know, what's interesting is that Sala during training camp has said, I feel like we have three quarterbacks. Like we have three starters in our quarterback room. You know, and obviously like you all have had the chance to do that for the Jets. So, I mean, he is correct and just saying that flat out. But there is also, you know, an adage that says, if you have two quarterbacks, you have none.

And I'm sure you've heard that before. What, you know, do you think it is possible? to have a successful quarterback room where there are multiple guys who are at the talent level to be starters? I do think so. I think it's just what type of guys they are as far as like their inner makeup. Like are they, do they have a huge ego and do they get really kind of jealous and mad if they're not the guy or if everybody, not at the end of the day, everybody in the NFL, I don't care what they say. In their heart, they believe they're a starter. Right. Now, it's can you embrace the role that you're in for the betterment of the team?

Right. And that's when you get a really good quarterbacking, which is, I think, what we have. And I just think that's really what it comes down to, is if, yes, I know I have what it takes to be a starter in this league. So does Joe. Obviously, Zach does because he is, and I'm sure so does Treveller. So now are you going to wear that on your face every day and get all mad and not help the start or no? Is that? At least me personally, that's not what I'm going to do. That's not what I'm about. And we all love Zach and we want to see Zach have success. So we're going to do whatever it takes to help the room and help Zach get prepared, knowing if the roles were reversed, I'm sure the same exact thing would happen, whether it's Joe starting or Stravel starting or myself. So I think that's, it is possible when you have the right dudes.

And I think we have the right dudes in the room. Absolutely. So speaking of Zach, you know, he, gets hurt in the preseason on a scramble when he maybe should have just run out of bounds. I was talking to Case Keenom, who is paired with Josh Allen and Buffalo. And, you know, it's another quarterback who does a lot of scrambling and puts himself into some scary situations. Do you guys, and Case told me, yes, it incentivized Josh to slide.

Like, he has come up with kind of a system of motivation for him there. Do you guys have to do the same with Zach? Like, who is the voice of reason for Zach being like, bro? oh, like, stay healthy. Yes. It's definitely a collective effort from all of us. Yeah. Because that is, and it's tough because that is one of Zach's superpowers is extending the play.

And he's so talented at that. He makes the first one miss almost every time. And he doesn't panic when they get close because he knows, for the most part, he can make a miss. So it's the second and third one. Like, all right, dude, you made the first one miss. That was awesome. That was sweet. That was a sick play.

Like, like, let's protect ourselves a little bit because I told him, I go, dude, I'm sure Case is in the same, in the same boat. Because I know Josh real well, and we're really good friends. Yeah. He loves running the ball. He almost invites it. Like, he loves the contact of it, which is great. And I'm sure it fires up his guys.

But knowing as a backup, like, I'm sure Case, every time he scrambles, it's like, his heart's like, boom, bobo, yeah. Okay, all right, he's good. And I told Zach, he goes, Zach, man, sometimes you are one of the more stressful people but it'll be a backup for it because it's just like, dude, you're out there. Like, and to his credit, he makes a lot of plays. So, like, I don't want to take that aspect away from him. Right.

Like, before he goes out, I always try to tell him, like, yo, keep leading us, make good decisions. Protect yourself. Like, please, protect yourself. That's amazing. That's so great. Yeah, I was going to ask you, I'm like, it must actually be more stressful to be behind somebody who plays like that because you really do need to be ready, like, at any point. That's so fascinating.

So you were recently promoted a couple weeks ago from QB3 to QB2. What is that like? Is it just a very simple conversation? Like what are those, you know, how do you find out about that? What goes on in the room behind the scenes? Oh, well, Coach Sala called me and let me know that they were making that move. And I think he talked to Joe as well. And that's kind of really the end of it is just nothing changed in the room.

You know what I mean? Like I said, our number one goal is getting the starter ready. So whether it's me dressing up on game days or Joe, like, it's our roles don't really change. You know what I mean? So I, which I think is a, as a, is a testament to how close knit and good of a QB room we have. Yeah. And when that happens, he said, you know, he wanted, it's because he knows how Joe plays. Salah said, he's like, yeah, I know what Joe, what we have in Joe, but I, if the opportunity arises, I do want to say, you know, see more from Mike. So does that, I don't know, does that sort of like lift the stakes for you or the stakes are already high no matter what? Yeah, no, the stakes are definitely as a backup quarterback. Like I said earlier, is when you get your shot, you got to capitalize on it because that's that's your resume. Whenever you get preseason is preseason and there is some weight put into that. But when you get live action versus ones versus one, what's your tape say? And so yeah, I don't think it adds any more stress because like you said, the stakes are already high enough when you're going into a game.

So, yeah, I don't kind of stress myself out over that. Yeah. And I wanted to ask you, so when you first got to New York, the coaching staff was totally different. It was Adam Gase and his staff. And then, you know, Sala comes in last season for the 2021 season. You survived a coaching staff change. What are your tips for surviving that for us?

other quarterbacks out there. Oh, man. I mean, it's just, it's so, you just got to hold yourself to a standard every day and know that everyone's always watching. And I'm sure it helped that we kept the same front office. So they, they knew me and knew what, what I was capable of and how I handled myself in the quarterback room and, and all that good stuff, kind of the off the field stuff that you don't really, unless you're around, like the coaching staff, but you don't really know. So you feel like they can watch practice tape. They can watch preseason film and all that good stuff. But they don't know how you are in the room.

So unless they ask the guys who are here. So I'm sure Coach Sal and his staff asked Joe D. And all them like, hey, how is he in the room? Is he going to be able to help the young guy? All that good stuff. So yeah, I think it's just you got to know as a backup quarterback that it's not just what you do on the field. It's how you carry yourself every day around the facility.

If you're there for the start or if you're willing to help, do whatever, whatever you need to, to support the guy. And that year, or the 2020 year was, you know, a bad season in New York. It's two and 14. Franchise worst, 0 and 13 start. And now, obviously, things are going well for this team. You guys are in a good spot mid-season. Can you kind of juxtapose that year 2020 versus how it is now?

I mean, you kind of went into how great it can be when you're winning here. but like how bad, how miserable was it to be part of a team where it's just like you can't win? Yeah, it's no one wants to be a part of an 0-13 start. And I promise you it wasn't for lack of dedication or preparation or trying, like trying, you know what I mean? Like everyone was working their tails off trying to win it. Just the chips didn't fall our way a lot that year. And it's frustrating for everyone involved because this. There's so much preparation and so much hard work and dedication put in,

weekend and week out to win on Sundays. And when it doesn't happen, it's, it's tough. It's frustrating whether it's, whether you're 13 and 0 and then you lose one week, it's just as frustrating if you're 0 and 13 and you lose one week. So it wasn't the greatest, but you can learn from it. And if you use it the right way as motivation, because there's some of the guys here that were a part of that as well. And you know you don't want to be a part of that again.

And it kind of adds that extra fuel to the fire. Yeah. And then just have a couple more for you. So, you know, having played with, you know, a first round pick in Sam Darnold in New York. And now Zach Wilson is another first rounder. Obviously, it didn't work with Sam and they moved on from him after three seasons. What have you seen in terms of the pressure that a first round quarterback faces? Obviously, that is not your position.

But, you know, from having been around these guys and Wilson is kind of in the middle of that, you know, proving himself and establishing himself part of his career. So what have you seen in terms of the pressure for a guy who has drafted that high? Yeah, I mean, it's like you said, I personally don't know. I just don't guys that do. I know from Sam's aspect, I thought Sam handled it great. And same was Zach. Like they handled it. I couldn't handle it any better than them.

And it's, they, they keep their nose to the, to the ground. They focus on football, which I think is the key. Like, you just got to focus on your job, know that, that, yes, you appreciate the fan support. And they're awesome. And they're the reason we have such a great league. But at the end of the day, the opinions that really only matter are what's in this building and what's in the locker room. And I think they both, Sam did and, and Zach does such a good job of is knowing, like, all right, what are, what am I, teammates think of me first and foremost. And then what do my coach and staff think? And let me,

let me make that to focus. Like, do my teammates respect me? Do they want to go play for me and do my coaches? Am I doing what my coaches say? And then let the rest take care of itself and block out that noise. I think they do, they did a great. Sam did. Zach does a great job of that. So this last one I want to ask you is a non-Jet's question, but I noticed, you know, when I was researching you and looking at your draft process, the Patriots worked you out. And the Patriots, to me, are a fascinating team when it comes to quarterbacks in later rounds of the draft, because they have kind of established a pattern in a history of drafting a lot of guys in the later rounds, kind of where you were taken in the draft, no rounds like four through seven. And then

really developing them, flipping them for trade value, these guys end up getting starting jobs elsewhere. So I wonder what it was like for you working out for the Patriots. And that that process. Like, did you notice maybe they have a different way of scouting quarterbacks or valuing quarterbacks? Like, what did you take away from that? I thought it was at the at the combine, I met with with with with them for very briefly, maybe 10 minutes and I wouldn't say it was anything out of the ordinary. But Nick Casario, who's in Houston now, who is in New England, came to Western Kentucky before my pro day. And we sat down the night before. for probably two, two and a half hours just on the, yeah, on the whiteboard.

Interviewing, starting me with the interview, then going on the whiteboard, and then going back to the interview, and then going back to the whiteboard, having to regurgitate everything he said. And I wouldn't say it was any groundbreaking stuff. I'm sure there's behind the scene stuff that we'll never know about that they do, that they believe in. But yeah, like you said, they've had some success. I think the biggest thing for me when I was getting interviewed and then you think about it,

you're like, all right, well, what if I do end up in New England? You're like, wow, I'd be in the same quarterback room as Tom Brady. And then you start to like, whoa, like just the mystique of it. I think is what is what the biggest thing as a guy interviewing, like getting ready to go through the draft process. It's just the mystique of the Patriots, especially back when I was getting interviewed and with Tom Brady and all the success they had. I think that's the biggest thing is it's just like the smoking mirrors of it. Yeah. And then last thing I'll ask you, I like to end on this question.

What do we misconstrue about the role of the QB2 or, you know, for three or four? You know, what do we misconstrue or what do we not fully understand about the role of the backup court event? I would say, I think the thing that doesn't get talked about a whole lot, just the position in general doesn't get talked about a whole lot unless someone's playing. and I think everyone knows that we don't really get a ton of reps in the week with the guy. So I think that's been pretty publicized and people know that. But I would say it's the off-the-field stuff that people don't really understand. There's a lot that's asked of you, like, in the meeting room, I often feel like, hey, like, make sure you, like, I always try to, like, be a sounding board for Zach or help him or whatever I can do to make his life easier because, like, we're all.

friends, we're all tight, and we all want to see Zach have success. So I think that's the biggest thing is a lot more goes into it off the field than you think. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Awesome. Well, Mike White, Mike effing White. Thank you so much for joining me today on QB2. Thanks everybody for watching, and we'll see you again next time. This was the Athletic Football Show.