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00:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:03 >> How you guys doing?
00:03 >> Good, good to be with you.
00:05 >> All right, questions?
00:06 >> What was it like for you to kind of get thrown into this fire?
00:08 You basically moved in and immediately preseason camp starts.
00:11 So what was that, just that stretch of time?
00:13 >> Everything moved really fast.
00:16 Obviously, you get here, you get here that weekend, right?
00:19 You start Monday, right?
00:20 So getting familiar with the place that you haven't really, don't really know,
00:25 people you don't really know.
00:27 Unfortunately for me, though, the guys in that building are some of the most
00:30 exceptional people I've met in my life.
00:32 They've been making this transition as hard as it has been,
00:35 as easy as it can be.
00:37 From finding where I need to be at to just every day on the football stuff.
00:42 So I mean, obviously it's tough, but at the end of the day,
00:45 we have great guys in that building.
00:48 We're just trying to make it as easy as it can be.
00:50 >> Who are some of the individuals that have helped you along the way?
00:53 >> Most of the older guys, really.
00:54 DJ Lundy, he's a big one.
00:57 He's quiet, he's a quiet guy.
00:59 But also, just in general, anything I ask, he's always, not just a fancy answer,
01:03 no answer.
01:04 He always gives me the things that I need.
01:06 And if anything, he's always telling me, if you need something, call me,
01:09 let me know.
01:10 I would say on the one day I was struggling with something in the playbook,
01:13 I called him up.
01:14 So that's what I'm talking about.
01:16 He's just a really good guy.
01:17 And then obviously D'Lo, Tito Maturi.
01:21 And then also some of the other guys, they're all going through the same thing
01:23 right now, they got here a month earlier than me.
01:25 But still, we're all going through the same thing.
01:27 So we're all kind of helping each other out.
01:29 DeMarco, Dylan, and Blake, we're all kind of going through the same thing.
01:34 So everybody's kind of helping each other out, and we all keep the same pace.
01:38 >> You've got a taste for college football, I have no question.
01:42 But you look to be more comfortable,
01:44 it seems like you're very comfortable with what they're doing here.
01:52 Can you talk about that?
01:55 How much experience did you get in your freshman?
01:58 And are you as comfortable as you were?
02:01 >> I'll tell you that, no, I'm not.
02:04 It's a grind, really, I'll tell you that.
02:06 But this is probably one of the most, from a football standpoint,
02:11 I'm not really into this kind of the side of what we do defensively.
02:17 This is one of the most exciting things I've ever been a part of,
02:19 to be able to do.
02:20 Just everything we do as far as where we lined up, what our assignment is,
02:25 it's really different than what I'm used to.
02:28 Western is kind of similar to what I did in high school, so
02:31 it's kind of an easier transition.
02:32 But here, this is night and day.
02:34 So I mean, obviously, it's been really tough, but I mean,
02:37 coaching is unbelievable.
02:38 As I said earlier, those older guys are making this, just the football part,
02:44 as hard as it has been, just easier.
02:48 So I can just get a feeling to play my game, and that's why I'm out there just
02:52 kind of running and doing my best.
02:54 I mean, once you are more comfortable in the system,
02:57 that allows you to play it silently, it allows you to play faster.
02:59 So I mean, I'm still getting there, right?
03:01 So obviously, everyone makes mistakes, everyone's kind of had that lapse in
03:04 judgment, or some stuff I still may not know yet.
03:06 But I mean, at the end of the day, you go full speed, and
03:09 everything kind of just sets itself up.
03:10 >> Can I take you back to high school?
03:13 What kind of a defense did you play in high school?
03:16 >> Yeah, so 4-3 base, here we run base, we run nickel,
03:20 we run a lot of stuff here.
03:22 Northwestern's kind of similar, you run 4-3 base, run a 4-2 nickel.
03:25 That's what I made out there for a month, so obviously,
03:26 they might have some more stuff.
03:27 But I think for my time there, I mean, 4-3 base, 4-3, 4-2-5,
03:31 kind of the simple stuff that I was kind of familiar with.
03:36 And then out here, we got the, I can't even go into all that,
03:40 how deep it is, it's a lot.
03:41 And it's different, it's definitely different, man.
03:44 Catch a lot day by day, and I'm not trying to bury myself in how deep it is.
03:51 It's a lot, and I'm gonna try and save myself from how hard it is.
03:55 And it's hard, but I'm taking my time with it.
03:58 It's gonna come, and I'm trying to trust that it will.
04:00 So I'm doing what I can, and taking it day by day.
04:05 >> They try to give you guys a young linebackers,
04:08 a chance to play beside a guy like TJ, a guy like K, and the older guys.
04:12 How beneficial is that when a play goes well, that they explain it to you, and
04:16 when a play goes wrong, they also explain it to you?
04:18 The way they go about kind of bringing you guys up with the help of your peers.
04:21 >> Yeah, it's huge.
04:23 It's kind of have that also presence.
04:24 I think Shannon does a great job of mixing this,
04:27 not just having this with the younger guys, kind of mix this up.
04:30 So I mean, I get to have a chance to play with D-Lo,
04:32 I get a chance to play with Luddy.
04:34 So I mean, it's kind of, it's super helpful when you have the older guy up there
04:38 who's always in your ear talking.
04:41 When some of the younger ones are just us in there,
04:42 we're kind of all trying to think about what we're doing.
04:44 Right, so there's not a lot of communication going on, but
04:47 the older guys, they're all like, that's what you got.
04:50 Like, getting us to talk, getting us to be vocal.
04:53 Right, now we're just between us, but talk to the D-line, what they got, right?
04:58 So that's what has been really, really helpful on the field and
05:03 off the field.
05:04 I mean, after each play, you got it, what do you see, right?
05:08 That's what you could do better, you did a great job on this, right?
05:10 Let's keep moving.
05:10 So, and that's the biggest thing also that they,
05:13 obviously they know we're gonna make mistakes, but also I think they do
05:15 just a great job of getting us in the mindset, just that next play attitude.
05:18 Which is the biggest thing for us.
05:20 >> On the other side of that, what's it like when you look around and
05:23 there's a bunch of juniors and seniors out there and guys that played so
05:27 much already, how do you handle those moments when you're surrounded by guys
05:32 that know what they're doing?
05:33 >> Yeah, you can look at it two ways.
05:35 Either that is like, I'm the only one out here who doesn't really know.
05:38 Or you can look at it as, I belong out here.
05:43 So my mindset is kinda like, everybody out here knows what they're doing and
05:47 so do I.
05:47 So even if I hear it, tell them I know.
05:51 I've got confidence in what I'm doing.
05:55 And if not, I'm just gonna have to hold it down right there and go.
05:58 We got one, what is this, what is that?
06:02 So I mean, those older guys, they're incredible.
06:05 Not even just the linebacker, Green, who's in the game with me sometimes.
06:09 He's great.
06:10 Just a lot of other guys that's been super, super helpful,
06:13 just from a defensive standpoint.
06:16 Just helping me line up where I need to be at, who my assignments are.
06:20 Everyone on the team's great.
06:22 >> Talk about this a little bit, but your first impressions of the culture here
06:24 when you got here, what was it like?
06:26 And what were your first impressions of the course?
06:28 >> Yeah, I love this place.
06:29 I'm a lot of tea.
06:31 Everyone here's great.
06:32 From coaches to the equipment staff, training staff,
06:36 everyone here is just super helpful.
06:38 Whatever you need, anything we can help you with, everyone here is super genuine.
06:41 Those are the players too.
06:45 They know, obviously, this is a pretty different circumstance than just being
06:49 a regular freshman walking in.
06:51 So they know it's kind of tough coming in here.
06:54 So everyone made this adjustment easier than it can be.
06:59 Obviously, it's still gonna be an adjustment.
07:02 But just everyone that's involved has been just really helpful.
07:06 I'm really grateful for it.
07:08 >> Florida State obviously recruited you out of high school.
07:10 When you did choose to enter the transfer portal,
07:12 how much did having those previous relationships kind of help you in finding
07:14 your next spot?
07:16 >> I mean, obviously, right, I knew Coach Shannon before.
07:19 I knew Coach Shannon in high school, I knew Coach Nerville in high school,
07:21 I knew Coach Fuller, I knew Coach Yacobian.
07:24 That's huge, right?
07:25 When you leave that situation, right, you kind of don't know what's next.
07:30 They pick up the phone and you see it's them.
07:34 I mean, it's like getting recruited all over again, right?
07:37 It's like high school all over again.
07:39 So I mean, once I got that call, I kind of knew where I was going.
07:44 >> You knew where you were going.
07:46 >> My goodness, yeah, being from Texas, it's hot down there, definitely humid.
07:51 And then obviously you get to go up north.
07:54 And I'll tell you, Chicago in the summer is amazing,
07:58 one of the nicest weather I've ever been a part of.
08:01 So I kind of got used to it.
08:02 And then, I mean, down here, this is a whole different ballgame.
08:04 I mean, I'm sweating right now just sitting here.
08:07 So I mean, this is definitely an adjustment.
08:09 I mean, I'm getting used to it.
08:10 I don't think I'll ever be used to it as I really want to be.
08:14 I feel like I'm just constantly just underwater.
08:18 This is how humid it is out here, but I mean, I got to deal with it.
08:22 >> As a big professional linebacker in class, is that good to have other guys
08:26 that are kind of going through some of the same thing?
08:28 >> Absolutely, definitely wouldn't want to be the only one going through this time.
08:34 I mean, you can look at it from a way as a less more competition.
08:36 I mean, competition makes the best of all of us, right?
08:38 So that's not really a, I would look at that as a hurdle,
08:41 look at it more of a starting opportunity to help you.
08:44 Not just help myself, but help each other out, right?
08:46 Cuz we're all playing for the state, right?
08:48 So we can only just help each other get better and help each other win.
08:51 >> Yeah, we asked Dylan this when we first talked to him,
08:54 which thing's more competitive, Texas high school football or
08:56 Florida high school football?
08:57 >> God, am I asking Texas high school football all day?
08:59 Come on, though.
09:01 >> Your academic ambitions here at Forest State, what do you think of that major?
09:07 >> A lot more variety here than where I was at.
09:11 So I mean, I've been in talks with it, I'm not really sure.
09:14 Right now I'm thinking more of a sports management.
09:18 That was in communications, but now I kind of have a more broader,
09:22 more specific type of avenue I can go to.
09:26 So I'm not in a real hurry to pick right now, but I've been limited,
09:30 maybe sports management, maybe some communications, something like that.
09:33 So, that's it.