This week we are joined by Hokies cornerbacks coach and defensive recruiting coordinator Derek "Cheetah" Jones. During our discussion with Coach Jones we cover everything from his position group, his philosophy on coaching and recruiting, his relationship with the staff, and how he feels about this team heading into the 2024 campaign.
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Music.
And welcome back to the Boundary
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Corner Podcast along with my
partners, Brian Siegler and
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Jonathan Talley.
I am Curtis Wilson and this
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episode is brought to you by
Doctor Jeremy Counts down at the
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Main Street Pharmacy in
Blacksburg, VA, Your friendly
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neighborhood pharmacy three O 1
S Main St.
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Blacksburg.
Gentlemen, gentlemen, how are.
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Y'all this evening.
Hey guys, back-to-back weeks of
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recording going live with the
crew here, man, it's going to be
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a fun night tonight.
And we got, we got them stacked
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wall to wall pretty much until
the start of the season, but
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this was going to be a lot of
fun.
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Yeah, I was just going to say
back-to-back, back-to-back weeks
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mean we getting closer to the
season.
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You got to go through that
offseason grind, man.
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It's rough, but we then almost
made it.
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We're about to get in the fall
camp.
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Little bit of news right quick
before we get to the big thing.
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We went to the doctor again,
took my son to the doctor for
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his checkup.
Got some disturbing news.
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Leg is leg is healing great.
Everything's fine.
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But looking at growth plates, he
ain't got much more to grow and
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he's distraught.
He's at about 6 foot.
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They told him he might have two
more inches.
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That's it.
No.
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NO65 for you, buddy.
Deuce.
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Deuce is good.
I'm 62, so I was like, you may
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you may get to where I'm at, you
may not, I thought.
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Right here.
So he was a little, he was a
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little distraught by with that,
but.
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What you say to him, you ain't
going to never be bigger than
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me, son.
Let me just say that, right?
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You're never going to.
Be you're never going to be as
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big and as pretty as me so.
Our forward is not in your
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future.
Yeah, man, just hey, take what?
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Take what?
The Lord give you He faster than
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me though, so he eyes.
Oh man, it's it's already pre
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show y'all pre show?
Let's go ahead.
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What's up?
Kevin, we got a bunch of people
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joining us tonight.
Y'all the the, the pre show was
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great.
So we're going to go ahead and
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bring him in here because we we
got to start talking some more.
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We've already had a bunch of fun
with him already.
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Pokey Nation, welcome your
cornerback coach The Cheetah.
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Derek Jones.
Coach Jones, how are you
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tonight, Sir?
I'm doing good guys, man.
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How's everybody out there at
Hokie Nation doing?
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We live in the dream, coach, we
live in the dream.
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Having you on tonight's a lot of
fun.
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We're ready to get it going
again.
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Like Curtis said, the pre show,
I mean you weren't you were
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spending a lot of gems right
there.
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We're going to get some more
coming out for Hokie Nation now,
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so just excited to have you on
board.
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Hey man, I'm glad you guys
invited me on.
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Let's do it.
Let's do it.
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Well, first of all, we discussed
it beforehand, but we're going
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to do it here in public.
Happy anniversary to you and
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Missus Jones 24 years just a few
days ago, give out a big round
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of applause.
And so Coach Jones, you were
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explaining to us, y'all had this
wonderful, your wife planned a
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wonderful anniversary vacation,
right?
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It's more like an annual
vacation than an anniversary
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vacation.
Whatever works.
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Yes you did.
We've done some travelling here
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in the last four weeks and I'm
glad to be back home.
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Yeah, it looks like you were,
you were on the move.
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You told us you were you were
out there doing like a little
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bit of tour of the South, took a
little couple trips there, got
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to see Coach Pross spot down in
Alabama, a little bit of
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everything, right?
Yeah, man, it it was.
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I mean, like as soon as the the
vacation started, she had it
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planned and we went to
Mississippi to visit her folks.
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And then we flew to Granada for
six days with seven other
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coaching couples, something that
we do every two years.
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And we came back from Granada,
flew in the Memphis T, Memphis,
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TN and drove directly to coach
prize house down in Orange
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Beach.
We've been going down
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vacationing with him and Amy
probably the last eight years or
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so at their place there and went
through Atlanta to see one of my
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former players just had a brand
new baby.
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And then we drove to South
Carolina to see my family and we
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went to Charlotte to celebrate
the anniversary.
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And then we went back to the
Raleigh Durham area to see some
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people.
And she finally allowed me to
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come back home a couple days
ago.
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He is back home it's it's good
to again it's good to have you
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here so y'all did a lot of
traveling a lot of stuff so and
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it seems just from your social
media you love summer.
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Why wouldn't you it's a low down
time.
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We know you're still out there
recruiting, but.
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What is?
What's?
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What's the big one fun summer
thing you like to do every year?
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Is it is it that vacation or is
it something else?
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You know, I usually like looking
forward to getting to reconnect
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with friends.
And one thing that those
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vacations do is allow me to get
back to the Memphis, TN area in
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Mississippi where I have a lot
of college teammates.
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And you know, we get together
and just sit back and act like
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we back in those old days again.
And, you know, that's something
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you can't put a price tag on.
And, you know, we don't recruit
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that area much here at Virginia
Tech.
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So that's the only time I really
get to see those guys.
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So I would say that's the one
thing I look forward to because
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we all close to our 50s now, so
we're not getting any younger.
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Definitely, definitely.
Well, yeah, I'm going to go
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back.
Can y'all hear me Good.
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So one, one thing, I don't know
if y'all heard this, Hokey
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Nation coach Cheetah said.
He was in Alabama.
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So I don't want to hear no more
hillbilly jokes and bad Internet
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jokes, all right, because people
take vacations and come to
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Alabama so y'all need to relax.
But we going we going to go to
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the next question Coach.
I kind of know the answer, but
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everybody in Hokie Nation wants
to know where did you come up
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with the cheetah wings?
Where did that come from?
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You know, I'm a wing fanatic and
have been for a long time.
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And my two favorite wings were
lemon pepper wings and the
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traditional Buffalo wing.
And what I started doing is I
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like to cook.
I cook at home a lot myself and
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I like to make wings at home a
lot myself.
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And So what I started doing many
years ago was just taking the
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Buffalo wing and sprinking lemon
pepper on it.
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And you know, with my nickname
being Cheetah and that being the
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brand of my players, why not
call it a cheetah wing?
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Because once you put the lemon
pepper on it, you see the little
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black spot.
And so everywhere I go, I'm kind
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of a creature of habit.
Everywhere I coach, I kind of
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got one place that I go and
that's just kind of my hangout.
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So fortunate for me, every place
I've been over the course of the
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last 15 years, I've had a spot
that would make those for me.
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But ironically, when I got here
to Virginia Tech, I was living
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in the Residence Inn pretty
much.
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And I've known Coach Foster for
a while through the profession,
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and he welcomed me when I got
here.
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And he just told me he's like,
you know, here's a place you can
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go to do this.
Coach Foster's wife, Jesse,
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actually sold me my house.
So we were interacting with them
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quite a bit and Coach Foster
told me about PKS.
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He says it stays open late if
you get back in town late
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recruiting.
But he says it's never going to
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be many people in there this
time of year.
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You can go in there, watch TV,
you know, and get yourself
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something to eat.
So I go in there one night and I
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look at the menu and they don't
have lemon pepper on the menu as
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a sauce.
They have Buffalo.
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So me being the person I am, I
always ask if you have lemon
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pepper because a lot of times
they have spices back there that
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they don't have.
And I asked the bartender, you
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know, could he make me a Buffalo
wing sprinkle with lemon pepper?
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And he's like, let me go back
here and ask him.
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And he went back there and he
came back.
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He says, yes, they can do that
for you.
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So I got the wings, took them
back to the room.
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You know, just being new to
Hokie Nation, I took a picture
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of them and it's the first time
I'd ever done that.
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I took a picture of them, I
thought nothing of it, ate them.
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They were really good.
And I posted it.
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Cheetah Wing thought nothing of
it, no big deal.
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Had no idea that anybody was
even going to know what I was
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talking about.
And to my surprise, I woke up
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the next day and it had gone
viral.
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And that was the birth of the
original Cheetah Wing here in
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Blacksburg there.
You go.
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Think about Hokie Nation, if
they see something out there
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that they can latch onto you
going you going to get it
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popping a little bit on the on
the timeline there for sure.
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All right.
Definitely.
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All right, can I ask another
question real quick because you
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say you like to cook.
I I'm going to take wings out of
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it because that sounds like
that'd be your go to.
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You invite us three over to your
home this fall after a game.
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What are you cooking us?
It depends on if we cook it on
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the grill, if we cook in in the
kitchen, if we cook it in the
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grill, if we cook it on the
grill outside.
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I'm going to make ribs.
I like my ribs.
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I come from a long family of BBQ
people in South Carolina, so I
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take a great deal of pride in
that.
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If we're cooking on the inside
of the house, I'm probably going
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to make you guys some of my
homemade meatballs.
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I make meatballs, I put them in
gravy and I accessorize them
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with a variety of different
vegetables.
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Good hearty meal.
He said he he said he
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accessorize them with special.
That man is the real deal.
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Let me put y'all on some game
two right quick before we go to
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the next question, because
Cheetah has to be pretty
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diplomatic so he can't say some
things that I can say, but I'm
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going to tell y'all listeners on
here.
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It is a black people staple to
get lemon pepper hot wings.
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If you go to, if you are in any
town, you may need to have your
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gun on you because some of these
wing spots are a little bit
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crazy.
You find your wings to go and
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you go in there and you ask for
lemon pepper hot all flats fried
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hard.
That's how that's what you got
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to get.
That's what.
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That's your order.
You know, most people won't
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realize this, but I'll I'll let
it out if you see me at any
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point in time with my book bag.
I have lemon pepper in that book
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bag.
I make my own cheetah wings
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because some places don't have
lemon.
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Pepper but.
I refuse to be denied.
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You know they make orange pepper
now, right?
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Too.
Yeah.
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OK, that's all I want to ask.
And, and, and you got to keep it
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with you because you can't, you
can't like take a chance if
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they're going to go go skimp on
you with the lemon pepper.
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So you got to like, all right,
they're here.
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But I got to, I got to throw a
little bit more on top here.
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You got to finish it.
Well, well, the thing about
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lemon pepper is too now they're
different brands.
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Lemon lemon pepper is kind of
like gasoline.
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So, you know, some brands are
better than others.
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Here we go.
And like restaurant, call it how
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it is.
You know, restaurants try to
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profit.
So they'll give you sometimes
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that powdery lemon pepper.
I don't want that.
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I want the thick lemon pepper.
So I will sometimes ask to see
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the lemon pepper to see what it
looks like.
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And if it's too powdery I'll
just make my own.
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You got a go to brand?
No, not really.
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I usually just look at it and
look at the thickness.
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Yeah, yeah, I got one more food
question.
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This one was just sent to me,
Coach, they said, do you?
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00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:47,680
They said Do you make your own
dry rub?
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00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:50,680
No, I haven't made my own dry
rub.
225
00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:53,320
I haven't.
I haven't tapped into making my
226
00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:54,760
own seasonings.
Yet.
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00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:57,600
OK, got you.
That man's busy recruiting.
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00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:00,800
He ain't got time to do it.
I can't experiment with this.
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00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:02,920
I'll buy them.
I I know what they look like.
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00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:05,600
I know how I want them to be.
Haven't really played around
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00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:08,200
with that yet.
All right, so we, we, we talked
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00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,600
about PKS.
What's what's your other go to
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00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:12,720
food spots in Blacksburg since
you've been there?
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00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:17,120
Man, I like Bull and Bones, you
know, good place to go.
235
00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:19,000
Got to know the owners pretty
well there.
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00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:22,080
I love Farmhouse.
You know, that's a big date
237
00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:25,320
night spot for several of us
coaches going there.
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00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:28,000
And I'm a big Waffle House guy,
man, I've been a Waffle House
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00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:31,080
guy for a long time.
But you know, Mcadoo's another
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place.
I'm one of those people, man, I
241
00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:35,040
love going.
I love small college towns
242
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because those people support you
and so I try to give back to
243
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them.
So if I like the cuisine, I'll
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00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:42,960
walk in.
You know, the Brazilian
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00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,440
steakhouse over there, I think
they have a really good steak.
246
00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,880
I don't really understand what a
lot of the sides are, but the
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00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:50,760
meat is good.
You know, as far as there,
248
00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:53,520
you've got, you know, a couple
different pizza places here in
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00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:55,040
town.
But I I try to spread the wealth
250
00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,200
out pretty good there.
We go that's pretty awesome.
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00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:00,720
Well, we talked a lot of meat,
but we going to get to the meat
252
00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:02,920
of the of the questions with
coach Cheetah here.
253
00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:07,240
We're going to talk a little
football so we know you got a
254
00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:11,360
couple of guys in that room. 2
names that stand out is Dorian
255
00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:15,080
and and Mansour for this year.
We know those young men have
256
00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:17,160
made a name for themselves under
your tutelage.
257
00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:21,320
Can you tell us kind of what has
been your favorite thing with
258
00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:23,600
them or your favorite thing
about them since you've been
259
00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:27,440
coaching them, those two guys?
Yeah, without a doubt.
260
00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:31,400
You know, talking about Dorian,
the thing I like about Dorian is
261
00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:35,320
his competitive nature.
I mean, he is the highly, highly
262
00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,600
competitive guy and that's the
number one characteristic that
263
00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:42,120
you got to have in our position,
specifically for the style of
264
00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:45,360
defense that we play.
We play a lot of man coverage.
265
00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:47,160
So you got to be built a certain
way.
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00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:49,960
You've got to be very
competitive.
267
00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:54,120
You've got to be a person that
understands a lot of things that
268
00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:56,520
are necessarily not in the game
plan that you've got to do to
269
00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:59,040
elevate your game.
But I think it's competitive
270
00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:02,600
nature drives them to do the
things that he has to do away
271
00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,680
from the field, away from
practice, to elevate his game.
272
00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:08,720
And he's the guy that the rest
of the guys in the room feed off
273
00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:10,920
of because he's always going to
be the first one out there.
274
00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:15,160
He's always going to be the one,
you know, challenging not only
275
00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:18,400
himself but the other guys in
the room to be more competitive.
276
00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:21,040
And that stuff is contagious.
And when you talk about
277
00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:24,440
Monsieur, it will be mentality.
You know, Monsieur was thrown in
278
00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:27,280
the fire by me very early in his
career.
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00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:31,560
And so, you know, he caught a
lot of heat from me in that
280
00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:33,760
sense.
I'm I'm a very honest coach.
281
00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:38,520
If you are not mentally tough,
if you don't like honesty, if
282
00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:40,880
you don't like the truth, you
don't struggle playing for me.
283
00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:45,600
And, you know, he's been a day
one page one guy that has
284
00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:48,040
received a lot of that and he
just handles it.
285
00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:51,240
He just takes it in.
He never back talks, he never
286
00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:54,400
gets frustrated and it
transitions to his ball game,
287
00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:58,840
You know, So I think that's one
of the things about him and you
288
00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:02,440
see it in the physical way that
he plays on the football field.
289
00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:05,360
So those are the two things that
you got to have when you a
290
00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:08,400
cornerback.
And one of them has a very
291
00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:11,240
highly elevated level of it and
the other has the other highly
292
00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:13,440
elevated level of it.
Can I ask this?
293
00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:16,960
We've got a couple questions,
but what is it about the
294
00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:19,760
physical part of their games?
Like what is it that really like
295
00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:23,000
when you stepped foot,
especially actually both of
296
00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,800
them, because the year you got
here, Dorian had been here for a
297
00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:28,720
couple years, Mansour was in
that freshman class.
298
00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:31,120
What was it physically?
Was it footwork?
299
00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:33,960
Was it the way they did press?
What did you like immediately
300
00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:35,760
physically?
Because obviously the mindsets
301
00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:39,200
are there for both of them.
Well, the thing about Dorian was
302
00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:42,720
just, you know, he had all the
measurables and intangibles of a
303
00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:45,880
corner, you know, and just the
things that he did naturally the
304
00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:47,920
first time I coached him.
You're looking at this guy and
305
00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:49,400
say, you know, this guy bends
well.
306
00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:52,400
This guy changed directions
really well, You know, being
307
00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:54,320
able to play the ball down
field.
308
00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,520
That's just a lot of things that
you can't coach that he had.
309
00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:00,640
And Monsieur, you know, he
actually started with us as a
310
00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:03,240
safety.
We, we, we was a safety
311
00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,440
initially.
And he got hurt, you know, when
312
00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:09,080
he first got here.
So we didn't get to see him do a
313
00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:12,240
whole lot.
And he transitioned over to me
314
00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:14,280
at corner.
And to be honest with you guys,
315
00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:17,320
the first time I saw Muscle
Delane make a tackle was in the
316
00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:20,360
North Carolina game because he
couldn't do anything because he
317
00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:23,040
had a shoulder injury.
So we kind of threw him out that
318
00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:25,640
sight unseen and he was ready
for the moment.
319
00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:27,880
I think he made the first two
tackles that he was in for the
320
00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,000
ball game and you know it.
It's continued since then, but
321
00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:33,920
Muscle likes contact.
You know, he has the mentality
322
00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:36,920
of a safety playing corner.
And you know, that's just what
323
00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:38,520
you see every day in practice as
well.
324
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:42,880
Yeah, I love hearing corners
that like to hit a little bit.
325
00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:46,560
I mean, that's a that's a
hallmark of the Hokies.
326
00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:49,120
So have having somebody like
that, having that mentality in
327
00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:51,480
that room, you'd love to hear
that.
328
00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:54,320
Let's talk a little bit about
some of the younger Cheetahs
329
00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:56,360
though.
So we got Dante, we got Braylon.
330
00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:00,040
They played in 13 and 12 games,
respectively.
331
00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,160
Getting kind of run in your unit
on special teams, some a little
332
00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,560
bit watching these guys kind of
go through the process now that
333
00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:08,119
they're a little bit further
along.
334
00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:12,119
What are some of those areas of
growth that you've seen since
335
00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:13,720
this time last year for those
two?
336
00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:17,720
You know, first and foremost,
both of the guys I think
337
00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:21,440
understand the position better
than they did when they first
338
00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,359
got here.
And a lot of that credit goes to
339
00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:26,560
the guys that are playing in
front of them, you know, being
340
00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:29,760
able to pour into them.
And anytime you've got guys that
341
00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:33,280
you can watch do things the
right way, it makes a huge
342
00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:35,520
difference.
And they're blessed to have
343
00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:37,120
that.
You know, unfortunately for
344
00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:41,720
those guys, they were young last
year and, you know, probably a
345
00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:44,400
victim of the guys being in
front of them being such good
346
00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:46,360
players.
You know, we were having some
347
00:17:46,360 --> 00:17:49,280
struggles early in the year, so
we wasn't pulling away from a
348
00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,480
lot of people.
So it's very hard to pull guys
349
00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:55,600
with the talent level of Munsu
and Dorian out of the ball game
350
00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,120
and put unproven, untested guys
in when you're trying to win
351
00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:02,040
ball games.
And because, you know, we kind
352
00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,280
of overhauled that room, we
didn't have a lot of guys that
353
00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:06,960
have been here with playing
experience.
354
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,920
You know, the one guy that we
had last year, you know, to
355
00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:13,000
buffer a little bit was Derek
Canton and he gave us, you know,
356
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:15,920
that third body guy.
So those guys probably didn't
357
00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,880
get the number of snaps that you
would like them to have gotten.
358
00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:20,440
But we didn't have another
choice.
359
00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:23,240
You know, we were preparing them
for the future because you can't
360
00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:25,920
go into a season just saying
you're going to have two healthy
361
00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,640
corners expecting to do what we
do on defense.
362
00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,480
You got to have guys that if
something to one of those guys,
363
00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:35,960
and we saw that in year one when
Dorian Strong got hurt that year
364
00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:39,040
one play away from not being
able to do the things that you
365
00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:41,360
want to do on defense if you
don't have the people to do it.
366
00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:45,640
And our defense is geared around
having corners that can do what
367
00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,400
we do because if we can't play
man coverage, we're not going to
368
00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:50,520
be very good.
And that's one of the things
369
00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:53,600
that, you know, during the first
year that we were here, we just
370
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:56,560
didn't have the guys to be able
to do the things that we wanted
371
00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:58,880
to do.
So we've got to bring those guys
372
00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:02,360
along and those older guys are
really helping in that process.
373
00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:05,720
Awesome.
And let let me ask this because
374
00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:08,040
it's kind of a little bit of a
piggyback off that question
375
00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:11,320
because you talked about doing
what you want to do.
376
00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:14,440
And when we had JC Price on, he
talked about the one thing that
377
00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:17,400
kind of got the defense and the
rhythm last year is when you
378
00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:21,400
were able to go a lot more man
coverage as the season went on.
379
00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:24,920
And that kind of started racking
up those tackles for loss,
380
00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:27,240
racking up those sacks.
And then that reciprocal
381
00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:31,720
relationship between pressure on
the quarterback man coverage
382
00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,600
given those those defensive
lineman time to get to the
383
00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:36,880
quarterback.
Talk a little bit about that and
384
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:39,760
how that kind of helped the
growth of your room last year?
385
00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:42,400
Yeah, it makes all the
difference in the world, and
386
00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:46,800
that's been my background
basically since I've been in the
387
00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,040
profession.
I played college football for a
388
00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:52,400
guy named Jolie Dunn at Ole Miss
at Ole Miss, and you know, we
389
00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:54,120
played a lot of 0 in man
coverage.
390
00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:56,600
You know, we had the number one
defense in the nation one year
391
00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:00,880
just because those things marry
up When you can take away access
392
00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,680
throws from quarterbacks and
access throws or hitches, slants
393
00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,360
in the three-step drops because
you're playing soft coverage,
394
00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:10,520
you limit a lot of what they can
do when you get up there and you
395
00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:12,880
take away a lot of the route
side of the route tree.
396
00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:15,640
You make the quarterback hold
the ball, which buys time for
397
00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:17,360
the defensive line to be able to
get there.
398
00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,480
And the other thing you do is
you make the quarterback have to
399
00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:23,880
be perfect and throwing when you
play zone and when you play off,
400
00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:27,480
everything is timing.
The receiver runs five step
401
00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:30,760
turns around the ball is there.
Well, if you in his face that
402
00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,840
windows not going to be there.
And the one thing that offenses
403
00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:37,880
are not going to do a whole lot
is take shots down the field,
404
00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:40,400
because if you take shots down
the field too often and you
405
00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:44,760
don't hit them, that gets you
behind in the snap count, gets
406
00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:48,680
you behind in everything.
And so now if you're backed up
407
00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:51,720
and you try to throw 2 take off
routes, you have to punt the
408
00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:53,280
ball from there.
You're giving the other team
409
00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:56,440
good field position.
So it really limits a lot of
410
00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:58,800
what the offense can do when you
can do that.
411
00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:01,800
But it's just we're married in
that sense.
412
00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:04,840
You know, the defensive line
loves that we can do that and we
413
00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:09,000
love it.
They can get there. 100% let me
414
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,080
ask this because you know, they
kind of they did like you said,
415
00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:14,240
you wanted to get a more snaps
last year.
416
00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:17,640
But what have you seen in the
three phases so far this year?
417
00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:20,760
The growth, what have you seen
from both Braylon and Dante and
418
00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,680
the growth they've taken because
they did play a lot of freshmen
419
00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,200
from some people's eyes, because
some people will say they didn't
420
00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:29,680
red shirt.
They were out there every single
421
00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:31,880
game just about.
So what have you seen them
422
00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:36,800
really grow with in these really
actually in really the last 365
423
00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:39,920
days almost?
You know, maturity being number
424
00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:43,040
one, I always tell my guys it
takes a certain level of
425
00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:47,000
maturity to excel at this level.
And I've seen each one of those
426
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:50,600
guys do that.
And maturity covers the large
427
00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:52,880
window.
You know, maturity and knowing
428
00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:55,920
how to go watch film.
Maturity and disciplining
429
00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:58,600
yourself to do the things that
you have to do when you're not
430
00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:02,560
forced to do it to get yourself
better understanding, not being
431
00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:06,560
afraid to ask questions.
And I think both of those guys
432
00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:09,960
have a vast knowledge of the
game that they didn't have, you
433
00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:13,560
know, when they came here.
The more snaps they get, the
434
00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:14,800
better they're going to get at
it.
435
00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:17,560
And so, you know, we were really
able to make some headway to
436
00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:20,360
spring.
Dante and Braylon both got a
437
00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:24,280
chance to run a lot of reps with
the ones.
438
00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:26,920
Braylon's working a lot with the
safeties.
439
00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:30,080
Because what we want to do with
our secondary is we don't want
440
00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:32,320
to be one-dimensional.
You know, we have corners and we
441
00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:35,600
have safeties, but the whole
cheetah concept is about a guy
442
00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:37,720
that's versatile.
We want to be able to get our
443
00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:41,360
best football players on the
field and you'll see if at any
444
00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:44,040
point in time we get in trouble,
You guys know very well that we
445
00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:47,560
can stick monsoon delay in that
safety and pick right up right
446
00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:50,160
there.
So we want to develop guys like
447
00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:54,400
Braylon and Dante into being
versatile players because when
448
00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,280
you're a good player and you
young and you have really good
449
00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:00,240
players in front of you, you
want to be able to do more than
450
00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,440
one thing.
But that's a lot to put on a
451
00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:06,200
true freshman to ask the guy to
do a lot of different things.
452
00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:09,400
But we were able to spring to be
able to put both of those guys
453
00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,440
at multiple positions.
And when you play safe, you
454
00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:15,280
learn more about corner and when
you play corner you learn more
455
00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:17,960
about safety.
So it just helps you all of our
456
00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:20,600
overall portfolio as far as a
football player.
457
00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:24,160
Nice.
Love hearing it, Coach.
458
00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:26,360
Let's talk about another one of
those young guys.
459
00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:28,760
Let's talk about Josh Clark.
We talked a little bit about him
460
00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:33,120
in the pre show and he showed
out in the spring game and kind
461
00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:35,520
of throughout spring practice.
We heard his name a few times
462
00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:38,720
being mentioned.
By all accounts, how invaluable
463
00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:40,560
is it?
Not only that, you got him on
464
00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:44,320
campus for both the winter
phase, spring ball and now the
465
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:49,320
summer phase.
And for him, or not just for
466
00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:52,720
him, but for any of those guys
coming in early, how big of an
467
00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:56,080
advantage is that for him?
It makes a huge difference
468
00:23:56,080 --> 00:24:01,240
because those guys come in with
time to be able to learn from
469
00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:04,560
their teammates, time to be able
to get reps.
470
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:07,280
It's almost like having a season
before you season.
471
00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:10,360
And fortunate for him, he came
in by himself.
472
00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:13,920
So he got a lot of reps that you
know, that the year before I
473
00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:18,560
think we had like five corners,
you know, so you know, with each
474
00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:21,040
other.
Whereas now Josh is by himself.
475
00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:22,840
So he got a chance to get a lot
of reps.
476
00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:26,000
I was able to sprinkle him in
there with the two some, you
477
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:27,640
know, sprinkle him in there with
the threes.
478
00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:31,120
But also, when you come in by
yourself, you're the baby of the
479
00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:35,560
group, so everybody in the room
is pouring into you, as opposed
480
00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:38,440
to when that group came in
before, it was five of them
481
00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,480
sitting in there and Dorian's
turning around looking, and he's
482
00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,360
trying to tell every last one of
them something to spend time
483
00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:46,400
with him.
So Josh kind of gets all the
484
00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:49,240
attention to himself.
So that's been real beneficial
485
00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:51,680
to him.
But Josh is a uniquely mature
486
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,560
kid, and that's one of the
things that you have to look for
487
00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:57,760
in the recruiting process.
The recruiting process isn't
488
00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:01,880
just about ability.
It isn't just about how fast is
489
00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,600
the guy or how good of a
football player is, how mature
490
00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:08,040
is he?
And in today's world, we have to
491
00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,920
look at guys in the recruiting
process and say how much
492
00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,400
attention does he need?
How much attention does he like?
493
00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:15,880
How much does he want?
How coachable is it?
494
00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:19,280
Is this a guy that's going to be
able to conform the discipline
495
00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:21,800
or is he a guy that's going to
say, I don't want to be
496
00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:23,160
disciplined, I'm going in the
portal.
497
00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,600
You have to dig deep nowadays in
ways you didn't have to, to find
498
00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:30,160
out the total makeup of this guy
and what he's abiding.
499
00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:33,160
Josh was just the guy that
checked all the boxes, you know,
500
00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:36,520
and it comes from his family,
comes from a great family, very
501
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,760
athletic family, couple
brothers, played college
502
00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:41,720
football.
One of his brothers was at UNC
503
00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:45,360
playing when I was at Duke.
One of the sisters played
504
00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:48,480
basketball at Duke.
I think mom played basketball.
505
00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:53,880
So very athletic, family, but
very mature in the sense of how
506
00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:57,520
he came into the meeting room as
a freshman and absorbed
507
00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:01,960
information and asked questions.
And we do a lot of exercises in
508
00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:05,040
our room of being transparent.
And, you know, one of the things
509
00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:07,400
I like to do is I like for my
players to be honest with each
510
00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:10,080
other.
And the only way that Josh Clark
511
00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:14,040
is ever going to be honest with
Dorian Strong about something
512
00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,320
that he can do to be a better
captain or a better player is
513
00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:18,880
for me to put them in those
positions.
514
00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,480
And you know, Josh was just one
of those guys day one, page one,
515
00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:25,560
you know, whether it's Monsoor
standing up there, whether it's
516
00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:28,960
Dorian standing up there, Josh
spoke his mind and what he felt
517
00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:31,960
that those guys needed to
improve on in order to be better
518
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,600
leaders for him.
And that's just who he is as a
519
00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:37,160
person.
So being able to get here gives
520
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:40,280
us an opportunity to get him
some reps, but to also find out
521
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:43,320
those things I just told you
about him, which lets us know as
522
00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:46,560
we're making preparations where
we can use him as the season
523
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:49,720
approaches.
Well, coach, you're getting so
524
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:51,920
good at this thing, man.
Did you answer any questions
525
00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:54,920
before I even ask them?
So one of my questions that I
526
00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:57,280
was going to ask was going to
talk about what you look for in
527
00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:00,600
recruiting and checking boxes.
But man, you hit that nail on
528
00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:02,160
the head.
So I'm going to kind of jump to
529
00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:04,880
something else before we get
ready to take a break.
530
00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:07,480
This is kind of off the off the
cuff.
531
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,440
When you came in and saw you
played college ball, you said
532
00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:12,600
you played at Ole Miss, correct?
Yes.
533
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:14,080
And you were at DB.
What?
534
00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:17,720
What number did you wear?
Oh, oh, when I first got to
535
00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:20,920
college I wore #24.
OK, that's a good number.
536
00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:25,560
That's a real good number.
So #24 Dorian Strong is it?
537
00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:27,720
And we love Dorian.
We love Dorian store.
538
00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:29,840
He's been at Virginia Tech a
long time.
539
00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:33,520
What did you think when you
walked in that in that room and
540
00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:36,080
you said, OK, who's my guy?
And they said this is your guy
541
00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:39,960
right here, Dorian Strong.
And he had #44 on what did you
542
00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,040
think about that number?
Coach on the cornerback.
543
00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:47,360
You know, for, for me, I always
believe that the player makes
544
00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:48,880
the number.
The number doesn't make the
545
00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:53,320
player.
And, you know, weirdly, I won an
546
00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:55,800
award at Ole Miss called the
Chucky Mullins Award in my
547
00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:59,440
senior year.
And it was #38 Chucky Mullins
548
00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:04,960
from Russellville, AL, got
paralyzed on a football game at
549
00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:08,600
Ole Miss making a tackle,
eventually passed away.
550
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,720
And they traditionally give that
number to the best defensive
551
00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:16,200
player #38 was not a desirable
number, but they made it
552
00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:18,720
desirable.
And so even now, when I tell
553
00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,440
people I wore #30 in Canadian
college, people that don't
554
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:24,480
understand what it means, they
kind of look at me weirdly.
555
00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,640
So me and Dorian kind of had a
little something in common, you
556
00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,680
know, with that 44.
But really and truly, when I saw
557
00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:33,720
him wearing #44 man, I looked at
it as a confidence thing.
558
00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:36,920
You know, I think a lot of guys
want numbers because they're
559
00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:38,800
sexy.
I think a lot of guys want
560
00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,480
numbers because they're popular,
because other people wore them.
561
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:44,320
But it says a lot about your
confidence when you put on
562
00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:45,840
something that nobody else is
wearing.
563
00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:48,440
I mean, the guy's wearing a
linebacker number and he's one
564
00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:49,680
of the best corners in the
country.
565
00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:50,760
I'll take.
It.
566
00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:51,480
There you go.
Right?
567
00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,840
Exactly.
Yeah, and it is it, like I said,
568
00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:56,640
I, I, I agree with you.
It says something about the
569
00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:58,360
character there.
So that that's definitely a
570
00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:00,080
point.
I mean, you know, there's a lot
571
00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:03,600
of numbers that some of those,
you know, cornerbacks that
572
00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:05,880
they've played for the Hokies
that went on to do bigger
573
00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:09,520
things, made very popular and 44
was not one of them.
574
00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:14,600
So taking that on and making
that his thing and, and now he's
575
00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:17,560
taking that that big step where
he's getting a lot of that same
576
00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:20,960
type of conversation that those
guys got in the past too.
577
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:22,080
So.
Man.
578
00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:25,200
When Dorian, when Dorian first
got here, we was like, get him
579
00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:31,240
out of that 44 please.
And now, but but now it's like,
580
00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:33,560
man, you know what?
We might need to get somebody
581
00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:37,320
else in that 44 when he decides
to leave because he's he's done
582
00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:39,080
that number proud.
I got to give him his props,
583
00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:42,880
man, He has he has earned
everything that he has got, and
584
00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:46,600
it is so awesome to see that kid
to come in with what he was
585
00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:49,760
recruited and the rankings did.
I know rankings don't matter,
586
00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:52,560
but the rankings they put on
them and offers that he had to
587
00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:56,080
come in and then you look at his
name up there as one of the top
588
00:29:56,960 --> 00:30:00,160
one of the top BBS, one of the
top players in the country.
589
00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:01,760
Man, it's just awesome to see
his story.
590
00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:03,680
So I thought I'd.
Take this break.
591
00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:05,200
We got to get Dwight in here
real quick.
592
00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:11,320
Yeah, on this. 1.
Coach, have you been able to
593
00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:15,040
check out Chickasi spot in the
757?
594
00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:18,480
No, I know you told me about
that, but God, but I hadn't had
595
00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:21,320
a chance to go back there.
But it is definitely on my To Do
596
00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:23,000
List when we get back on the
recruiting trail all.
597
00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:25,920
Right.
We'll make a note of that.
598
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:28,000
We'll make a note of that.
The other thing about the
599
00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:30,880
numbers thing is right now,
because we mentioned it, it's
600
00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:31,880
44.
It's 44.
601
00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:34,080
My goodness.
And what he's doing with it,
602
00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:37,400
it's going to be some kid that
comes in, I'm sure with you in a
603
00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:40,840
few years, it's going to want a
number that doesn't fit DBS.
604
00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:43,920
So it's probably going to be
that influential effect
605
00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,280
downstream where I want 47 and
you can.
606
00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:50,560
And you're going to be like, you
do you, son, because like you
607
00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:54,760
just said, be confident in it.
And like like, I think you make
608
00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:57,640
a great point.
The other thing is, I'm sure
609
00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:00,160
there were some people fooled
the first time they saw 44
610
00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,040
coming out on the boundary side
and being like.
611
00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:05,760
Is.
That a linebacker over there.
612
00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:09,680
What are they doing?
If I'm, if I'm, if I'm a
613
00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:12,720
quarterback, I'm throwing that
44 all day at. 1st.
614
00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:15,720
Until he do.
Until he do what?
615
00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:16,960
Dorian Strong.
So it was.
616
00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:21,720
Bait.
I think the I think the weirdest
617
00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:26,080
part about it was when I got
here, Dorian wasn't very big and
618
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:29,360
it looked a little bit awkward
seeing 44 on that little body.
619
00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:33,200
But hey, he made it his and I'm
OK with it.
620
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:34,440
He picked up a little weight
now.
621
00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:39,240
He didn't got to be a, he didn't
got to be a right size good man.
622
00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:42,120
All right, real quick.
We've got more with Derrick
623
00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:45,520
Jones, but we are going to take
a quick break from our partners
624
00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:49,320
over at Main Street Pharmacy.
I can probably save you a lot of
625
00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:51,840
money and I can take a lot
better care of you.
626
00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:54,600
That's pretty much it.
My name is Jeremy Counts and I'm
627
00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:56,880
a pharmacist.
I own and operate Main Street
628
00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:58,360
Pharmacy here in downtown
Blacksburg.
629
00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:01,040
My brother's a pharmacist, I'm a
pharmacist, my uncle's a
630
00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:02,360
pharmacist, my dad's a
pharmacist.
631
00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:05,560
I remember he would give me
M&M's to count in little pill
632
00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:07,360
counters.
This is something I've always
633
00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:11,280
done, and I'm just lucky that
what I know so well is something
634
00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:13,720
that I can do and feel good
about it and get back to people.
635
00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:16,240
Pharmacies are your frontline
defense.
636
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:19,520
Pharmacy's job is to make sure
you're getting optimal care for
637
00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:22,960
the lowest price possible.
Also, we take the pressure off
638
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:25,080
of emergency rooms.
I'll tell people immediately
639
00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:26,880
when they need to go to the
doctor, or I'll tell them if
640
00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:28,480
they just need a cream over the
counter.
641
00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:31,480
If there's something that isn't
commercially available, if it's
642
00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:34,160
something that's not available
in a certain strength or a
643
00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:36,200
certain form or anything like
that, we'll make it.
644
00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:38,600
TaylorMade medications.
Some of those options save
645
00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:41,280
people a lot of money.
What motivates me, I get to take
646
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:42,760
care of people and limit
Blacksburg.
647
00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:48,440
That's all neat.
All righty and we are back
648
00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:51,520
again.
Coach Derrick Jones joining us
649
00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:56,320
tonight and coach, I want to
kind of talk about some coaching
650
00:32:56,320 --> 00:33:00,440
staff and we've already hit this
and now you and coach pry y'all
651
00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:04,200
obviously go a long way back
together looking through y'all's
652
00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:08,280
history, y'all coach together in
Memphis 2007.
653
00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:10,720
Obviously you talked about
Memphis earlier today.
654
00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:15,040
I was on the Tommy W the old
Clemson coach, but how did that
655
00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:16,280
look because it was only one
year?
656
00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:21,200
How did that relationship grow
and come over the years and lead
657
00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:25,760
up to where, when Coach Pride
takes the job December of 2021,
658
00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:30,240
he picks up that phone and calls
you and says I want you to leave
659
00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:34,120
the cornerback room at Virginia.
Tech, you know, well, the
660
00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:37,880
relationship started actually
before our time at Memphis, OK
661
00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:42,360
Coach Pride was coaching at
Louisiana Lafayette under Ricky
662
00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:45,560
Bussell, and I was the
quarterback coach at Murray
663
00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:48,600
State.
And, you know, coaching kind of
664
00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:51,720
goes, you know, you got a job
open, you generally ask buddies
665
00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:53,520
if they know somebody to fit a
position.
666
00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:56,400
And Coach Pryor asked around.
He's looking for a cornerback
667
00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:58,720
coach.
Somebody gave me my name and he
668
00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:00,240
called me.
We had a few preliminary
669
00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:05,000
conversations and he called me
back one day and he was like, we
670
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,280
want to fly you down.
What?
671
00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:12,960
Strangely, I had torn my ACL
coaching in a football game.
672
00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:16,719
You know, at Murray State we had
that old carpet turf at the time
673
00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:20,320
and being hyperactive, I'm
running down the sideline.
674
00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:23,880
One of my guys picked the ball
off and I got to about the 25
675
00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:25,880
yard line where I know I
couldn't go up past it.
676
00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:29,600
I didn't want to get a penalty.
And I tried to abruptly stop and
677
00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:33,000
snap my knee.
You know, real bad athlete
678
00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:36,800
moment for me right there.
And so I'm immobile.
679
00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:40,440
I can't move.
I just recently had surgery and
680
00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:44,000
I had this water cast on so I
couldn't get on a plane.
681
00:34:44,719 --> 00:34:47,480
And I talked to him about it.
He told me.
682
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:50,560
He called me back and he said,
well, is it OK if I fly out to
683
00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:52,480
see you?
Well, I don't think he
684
00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:54,440
understands how bad I'm hurt at
the time.
685
00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:59,320
And so he flies into Nashville,
TN, drives to Murray, KY.
686
00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:03,840
I drives to my house and my wife
goes to the door and brings them
687
00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:07,320
into my living room.
And I am like on a couch with my
688
00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:10,560
leg elevated.
And, you know, a quarterback
689
00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:12,560
coach is not just like ADB
coach.
690
00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:15,480
You know, most people want their
cornerback coaches to be able to
691
00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:18,000
actually demonstrate.
You know, you can't coach
692
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:20,480
corners off of a board.
You can't coach corners off of
693
00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:22,440
film.
You have to be able to show
694
00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:24,640
them, you know, the things that
you want them to do.
695
00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:29,240
Well, my poor wife has never
been an athlete, definitely
696
00:35:29,240 --> 00:35:33,480
never been a cornerback.
So strangely, I am on the couch
697
00:35:33,720 --> 00:35:38,760
trying to get this job and I am
trying to get my wife, who's
698
00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:41,280
never played a sport in her
life, to demonstrate the
699
00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:44,760
cornerback drills.
Well, Needless to say, with me
700
00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:49,120
being immobilized and him not
knowing if I really knew what I
701
00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:51,120
was talking about, I didn't get
that job.
702
00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:56,120
But Coach Pryor and I just
stayed friends and stayed in
703
00:35:56,120 --> 00:35:58,320
contact.
And Fast forward a couple years
704
00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:01,920
later, I'm coaching at the
Universe at University of
705
00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:06,600
Memphis and we have a job come
open and Coach West comes to us
706
00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:10,320
and he's like, you know, I'm
looking for either a linebacker
707
00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:12,840
or AD line coach.
You know, I just want the best
708
00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:16,320
coach.
If y'all got any names that you
709
00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:19,520
want to give me, let me know.
Well, I knew that Coach Pry had
710
00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:24,000
a pass in both D line play and
linebacker play and so I gave
711
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:26,680
Coach W his name.
They had preliminary
712
00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:30,480
conversations, flew Coach Pryin
on the interview, and he ends up
713
00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:34,960
getting the job.
And they moved us into a house
714
00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,160
together.
I think they hired four or five,
715
00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:41,240
five new coaches that year.
And they told us that we all
716
00:36:41,240 --> 00:36:44,000
have to stay in this house
together and that if your
717
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:46,800
significant other came to visit,
they would get you a hotel room.
718
00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:48,720
But when she left, you had to go
back to the house.
719
00:36:48,720 --> 00:36:52,480
So we named it the Frat House.
So we basically became roommates
720
00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:56,400
in 2007 and we lived together
for about 5 months and really
721
00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:59,400
became friends.
And then him and Amy were dating
722
00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:01,840
at the time and shortly
thereafter got married.
723
00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:06,200
And we just started a tradition
of every year because I had gone
724
00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:09,800
to Duke at the time and they
were still at Memphis, and then
725
00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:13,720
they left there and went on to
Georgia Southern.
726
00:37:13,720 --> 00:37:16,520
So we just made a pact that
every year at the National
727
00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:18,520
Convention, we were going to get
together.
728
00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:21,960
And so we always would get to
the National Convention on
729
00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:25,520
Saturday, and we'd get together
and go out to dinner somewhere
730
00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:28,280
and just have a good time.
And we literally did that for
731
00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:32,480
over a decade.
And so Coach Pry called me about
732
00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:35,520
a job opportunity a couple of
different times when he was
733
00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:38,400
coaching, you know, because, you
know, we really became good
734
00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:41,680
friends.
And weirdly, during the
735
00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:43,720
pandemic, you know, nobody could
do much.
736
00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:47,440
So we got a group chat and we do
small little things together,
737
00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:50,000
maybe get on the phone and have
a date night over the phone
738
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:51,240
because you couldn't go
anywhere.
739
00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:56,280
And so me and my wife went out
one night in Texas and Coach
740
00:37:56,280 --> 00:37:59,320
Price sent a message in the
group chat that the four of us
741
00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:01,880
had.
And he said, hey, man, nice
742
00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:03,760
shirt.
I said, appreciate it.
743
00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:06,920
He said, one of us needs to get
a head coaching job so we can
744
00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:10,680
start to do date night together.
I said, well, I agree.
745
00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:14,440
And I swear, man, it wasn't. 2
weeks later Coach Pride called
746
00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:18,440
me and he said, man, I think I
got a shot at the Virginia Tech
747
00:38:18,440 --> 00:38:20,400
job.
I need to be able to give them
748
00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:24,400
some names and some people I
bring with me, you know, as I'm
749
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:27,560
going into these interviews And
without a second thought, you
750
00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:29,760
know, I was actually in
negotiations with a couple other
751
00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:33,000
people about a couple other jobs
and without a second thought,
752
00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:34,520
man, I said if you get it, I'm
with you.
753
00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:37,440
And he called me back a couple
days later and said he was
754
00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:39,120
having, I think his third
interview.
755
00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:43,920
And actually I was at a dinner
for our seniors and I never told
756
00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:45,440
my wife about this courtship at
all.
757
00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:47,320
She had no idea this was going
on.
758
00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:51,200
And so Coach Fry and Amy called
me and told me he got the job
759
00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:54,240
and officially offered me the
job and I officially accepted.
760
00:38:54,240 --> 00:38:56,120
But still we didn't tell my
wife.
761
00:38:56,480 --> 00:39:00,240
And so I invited my wife to come
pick me up from the place I was
762
00:39:00,240 --> 00:39:02,280
at.
I told my wife, actually, I
763
00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:04,040
couldn't drive.
I needed her to come get me.
764
00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:06,600
And she was fussing at me
talking about why you couldn't
765
00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:08,080
drive.
I was like, I lost my keys.
766
00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:11,440
I just make it up.
Stuff came to the restaurant
767
00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:14,120
man, and we got her own
FaceTime.
768
00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:17,200
So it was a really special
moment for us as four really
769
00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:20,240
close friends, for me to tell
her in that moment that we were
770
00:39:20,240 --> 00:39:22,400
going to go work with some
really good friends of ours.
771
00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:24,120
And I hadn't regretted one
moment of it.
772
00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:27,000
That's an awesome.
Story that is an awesome.
773
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:30,120
Story I I, I love that it
started with Rick and Russell
774
00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:34,800
too like that just feels kind of
like meant to be for for for
775
00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:37,440
that that connection.
So I, I really like that.
776
00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:40,560
I didn't know about that piece
of it, so man.
777
00:39:42,120 --> 00:39:44,000
Yeah, well, he's, he's a good
friend, man.
778
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:47,600
But he's a, he's a really good
head coach and I would not have
779
00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:52,280
joined him at this stage in my
career if I didn't 100% believe
780
00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:54,520
in him.
I mean, I knew what he was as a
781
00:39:54,520 --> 00:39:56,360
leader.
I knew who he is as a man.
782
00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:58,480
I know how players gravitate to
him.
783
00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:02,200
I know how coaches are going to
want to work for him, which is
784
00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:06,040
evident by not seeing one person
leave our staff this past year.
785
00:40:06,240 --> 00:40:08,200
I think that's probably the one
thing that people don't
786
00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:11,960
understand in the coaching
profession, how in demand good
787
00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:15,280
coaches are.
And any time you see a program
788
00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:18,600
keep their entire staff
together, that says volumes
789
00:40:18,600 --> 00:40:20,720
about the guy that's sitting at
the head of the table.
790
00:40:20,720 --> 00:40:23,760
So I think bright things are on
the future for us.
791
00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:29,760
I think Tally stepped out on
this for just a second.
792
00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:31,600
So I'm going to take over this
next one here.
793
00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:36,080
You know, we we got we got the
prod details in there and like I
794
00:40:36,080 --> 00:40:38,040
said, just just awesome to hear
that story.
795
00:40:38,720 --> 00:40:41,840
You also got a partner in the
back end there with the with the
796
00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:46,840
D block, one of the Ogs of DBU
at Virginia Tech, Pearson Prelo.
797
00:40:48,840 --> 00:40:51,000
He was one of the first, you
know, he was the first time
798
00:40:51,240 --> 00:40:53,600
college coach when you guys kind
of got together when y'all
799
00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:57,160
started in 2022.
What's it been like to watch his
800
00:40:57,160 --> 00:41:00,240
maturation in the profession
over the last couple years?
801
00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:02,880
You know, it's, it's been
awesome, man.
802
00:41:03,080 --> 00:41:07,160
Pearson is a very, very bright
football coach.
803
00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:09,920
And you're talking about a guy,
even though he hadn't coached a
804
00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:13,720
whole lot, you're talking about
a guy who had a 12 plus year NFL
805
00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:17,360
career, been around some really,
really good football coaches.
806
00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:20,400
And when you play that long in
that league, you have to have
807
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:23,400
knowledge of the game and it
easily transitions.
808
00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:25,640
But the other thing about
Pearson, he's a good teacher.
809
00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:28,880
You know, seeing him on the
board, seeing him with this
810
00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:32,360
guys, making them understand, it
just comes natural for it.
811
00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:35,480
And some guys just have that,
you know, some guys can coach
812
00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:37,400
for 20 years and just not be
good at it.
813
00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:40,280
And some guys can do it for one
year and you just know they have
814
00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:44,280
that it factor and he has that.
And the other portion of it,
815
00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:46,080
man, he's become a really good
friend of mine.
816
00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:48,080
We we really don't do much
without each other.
817
00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:51,760
And I think you have to have
that in the secondary because we
818
00:41:51,760 --> 00:41:53,960
have to be aligned.
We have to be on the same page.
819
00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:56,120
I don't think you have to hang
out together as much as we do,
820
00:41:56,120 --> 00:41:58,640
but we do, you know, we go to
lunch together pretty much every
821
00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:00,240
day and we hang out together
every day.
822
00:42:00,240 --> 00:42:03,120
And me and Pearson will be on
the road recruiting and we may
823
00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:05,520
talk to each other on the phone
while we're driving for an hour
824
00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:09,000
and a half, two hours, you know,
So it's been and a real joy.
825
00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:13,000
And Jeff Pearson having the
connection that he has to so
826
00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:17,480
many other great defensive backs
in Virginia Tech players.
827
00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:19,520
That's a huge recruiting peace
force.
828
00:42:19,720 --> 00:42:21,960
You know, like I played at the
University of Mississippi.
829
00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:24,720
So I know of a lot of guys, but
I don't know them.
830
00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:29,240
Pearson has direct contact to a
lot of these guys that we can
831
00:42:29,240 --> 00:42:32,360
get involved in the recruiting
process to help us, you know,
832
00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:34,520
whether they're from certain
areas, we're recruiting and
833
00:42:34,680 --> 00:42:36,440
young men can identify with
them.
834
00:42:36,640 --> 00:42:39,360
And that means a lot, you know,
because young men want to go
835
00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:41,880
where they can identify that
people that have done things
836
00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:47,000
they want to do, have done.
I'm going to ask this, and this
837
00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:49,640
is kind of the Pearson piece and
kind of being at Virginia Tech,
838
00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:54,720
because you've coached a long
time, you played, when you see
839
00:42:54,720 --> 00:42:57,520
the amount of defensive backs,
I'm going to put defensive backs
840
00:42:57,520 --> 00:43:00,400
in general that have come
through Virginia Tech and the
841
00:43:00,400 --> 00:43:04,640
level of what they played, you
know, how does that feel?
842
00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:07,600
Because you know, you walk
through, you got D Hall, you see
843
00:43:07,640 --> 00:43:09,880
other names and there's other
names and probably some guys,
844
00:43:09,880 --> 00:43:14,640
you know, and it's like this
isn't one of those places where
845
00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:18,240
people don't look at the DBS.
It's front and center.
846
00:43:19,840 --> 00:43:22,040
How does that feel?
Because I'm sure you've had
847
00:43:22,040 --> 00:43:25,120
interactions with some of those
guys since being down there and
848
00:43:25,120 --> 00:43:30,880
knowing that in a way it's and
then you've already started it.
849
00:43:31,040 --> 00:43:36,040
If you continue in that legacy
of this GroupMe and you and
850
00:43:36,040 --> 00:43:39,320
Pearson's group, it's what this
school is known for.
851
00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:43,920
Yeah, man, it was definitely one
of the things that attracted me
852
00:43:44,160 --> 00:43:48,240
to this job.
And even though at the time you
853
00:43:48,240 --> 00:43:50,600
didn't have a lot of guys that
were being nationally
854
00:43:50,600 --> 00:43:54,400
recognized, I knew it was the
place that you could get the
855
00:43:54,440 --> 00:43:57,440
best caliber defensive backs in
the country to come play.
856
00:43:57,800 --> 00:44:01,280
You know, I was on the other
sideline for 12 years and I was
857
00:44:01,280 --> 00:44:04,480
in a lot of those recruiting
battles and I didn't mean didn't
858
00:44:04,480 --> 00:44:07,600
win a lot of those, you know,
when I was doing that.
859
00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:11,040
So I had first hand experience
with a lot of these guys and,
860
00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:13,640
you know, just recruiting
against Virginia Tech in the
861
00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:16,280
past.
And when you see a kid get that
862
00:44:16,280 --> 00:44:19,720
Virginia Tech offer, you'd
almost cringe because you know
863
00:44:19,720 --> 00:44:22,560
that all your work and all your
hours and all your time's
864
00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:26,120
probably now in vain.
And I can honestly say that now
865
00:44:26,280 --> 00:44:28,840
when I'm recruiting the
defensive back, I don't worry
866
00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:31,520
about anybody else in America
offering them because I feel
867
00:44:31,520 --> 00:44:34,720
like we've got something to
offer that not many other people
868
00:44:34,720 --> 00:44:38,240
in America have to offer.
And I think at this point in my
869
00:44:38,240 --> 00:44:43,800
career, I'm finally at a place
to where I can maximize my
870
00:44:43,800 --> 00:44:48,160
ability to coach and to develop
with the top caliber athletes in
871
00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:50,440
America, and I'm excited for the
future.
872
00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:55,080
Yeah, that was a great question,
Curtis, man, I, you know, I
873
00:44:55,080 --> 00:44:57,880
wasn't even thinking about that
and looking at it like that, but
874
00:44:58,280 --> 00:45:00,840
kind of does go hand in hand
with what what I was going to
875
00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:05,760
ask though now, because when you
think about your your position
876
00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:08,640
group and then we're going to
flip over to the offense.
877
00:45:09,320 --> 00:45:12,280
Virginia Tech's been known for
some some great BB runs.
878
00:45:12,960 --> 00:45:17,400
We haven't been known for a lot
of hot powered offense wide
879
00:45:17,400 --> 00:45:20,960
receiver groups.
So now I feel like we have that,
880
00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:24,560
you know, I feel like that the
nation has taken a taken a a
881
00:45:24,560 --> 00:45:27,640
look at what Virginia Tech has
in that wide receiver room.
882
00:45:27,640 --> 00:45:30,080
And we know iron sharpen iron
sharpens iron.
883
00:45:30,960 --> 00:45:34,040
So those practices is what we
want to talk about.
884
00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:38,080
Like how intense are those
practices between like your guys
885
00:45:38,080 --> 00:45:40,280
and that wide receiver group and
also with the coaches?
886
00:45:40,280 --> 00:45:43,760
Like are y'all friendly with
each other to get that growth or
887
00:45:43,800 --> 00:45:46,440
y'all competing like the like
the young men are competing?
888
00:45:47,400 --> 00:45:50,240
You know, I think it kind of
goes both ways.
889
00:45:50,240 --> 00:45:54,440
You know, Fun Tail and I are
really close, so we all get back
890
00:45:54,440 --> 00:45:58,080
and forth because we understand
that it gets our young men
891
00:45:58,080 --> 00:46:01,000
going.
And so you know, but Funtell and
892
00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:05,240
I have a unique way or not.
Not only do we sell it to our
893
00:46:05,240 --> 00:46:06,760
players, we sell it in
recruiting.
894
00:46:06,760 --> 00:46:09,880
And I'll get to that a little
bit later, but you know, we've
895
00:46:09,880 --> 00:46:14,000
got a lot of guys in that
receiving core that are just as
896
00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:17,000
good as anything that these guys
are going to see any Saturday.
897
00:46:17,400 --> 00:46:21,480
And you don't get good in games,
you get good in practice.
898
00:46:22,040 --> 00:46:25,240
You know, you look at the amount
of games that you play, how many
899
00:46:25,240 --> 00:46:27,840
snaps you play, how many targets
come your way.
900
00:46:28,160 --> 00:46:30,560
It's not a large, large number
when you tally it up at the end
901
00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:34,760
of the year, but in order to get
yourself to where you can play
902
00:46:34,760 --> 00:46:38,440
the way Dory and Strong played
this year, you have to have guys
903
00:46:38,440 --> 00:46:43,200
like Cohen, Felton and Gosnell
to be able to get you sharp on a
904
00:46:43,200 --> 00:46:46,400
daily basis.
And we have very competitive
905
00:46:46,480 --> 00:46:48,960
Pascal sessions in one-on-one
sessions.
906
00:46:49,200 --> 00:46:52,080
But we also do a lot of
individual drills together.
907
00:46:52,080 --> 00:46:55,280
And you know, it's one thing for
me to have my DBS trying to
908
00:46:55,280 --> 00:46:57,920
demonstrate stuff to each other.
We're not receivers.
909
00:46:58,720 --> 00:47:02,400
It's a whole different animal
when you can bring a guy that
910
00:47:02,520 --> 00:47:05,520
may not be as good as the guys
you're going to play on Saturday
911
00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:09,200
that you're working against.
So that instills confidence.
912
00:47:09,400 --> 00:47:13,880
You know, young guys like
Braylon Thomas Williams, Dante
913
00:47:13,880 --> 00:47:17,400
Lovett, Kristen Williams, being
able to go against guys like
914
00:47:17,400 --> 00:47:21,360
Jalen Lane and Cohen Felton,
Ollie Jennings, it only makes
915
00:47:21,360 --> 00:47:24,200
those guys better.
So it's been really good to have
916
00:47:24,200 --> 00:47:27,000
that competition.
And the other piece of it is one
917
00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:30,160
thing I always sell in the
recruiting process to both
918
00:47:30,160 --> 00:47:32,520
receivers and defensive backs is
what I just said.
919
00:47:33,520 --> 00:47:36,960
You have to be knowledgeable of
the receivers coach.
920
00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:39,640
If you play corner, you need to
be knowledgeable of him.
921
00:47:40,040 --> 00:47:42,560
And the reason you need to be
knowledgeable of the receivers
922
00:47:42,560 --> 00:47:48,480
coach is you need to know his
ability to coach, to develop and
923
00:47:48,480 --> 00:47:52,240
to recruit that position because
as I said earlier, you're going
924
00:47:52,240 --> 00:47:54,680
to get good in practice, not in
the games.
925
00:47:55,240 --> 00:47:58,600
And any receivers that we bring
in here, they need to be
926
00:47:58,600 --> 00:48:02,400
knowledgeable as me, as the
coach and of Pearson because
927
00:48:02,600 --> 00:48:06,160
they need to know our ability to
be able to recruit, coach and
928
00:48:06,160 --> 00:48:08,120
develop the guys they're going
to be going again.
929
00:48:08,680 --> 00:48:13,520
And so I am always talking to
young men on the phone about
930
00:48:13,520 --> 00:48:17,280
what Funtail Mimes brings to the
table as a coach and a
931
00:48:17,280 --> 00:48:21,040
recruiter, you know, because I
want to add that aspect of it
932
00:48:21,040 --> 00:48:23,240
and it just gives us a little
bit more ammunition in the
933
00:48:23,240 --> 00:48:26,440
recruiting process.
I love hearing that because it's
934
00:48:26,440 --> 00:48:29,120
like you're not just recruiting
guys.
935
00:48:29,120 --> 00:48:31,720
I'm going to get you better.
We're going to get you better
936
00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:33,760
collectively.
We're going to get you better
937
00:48:33,760 --> 00:48:35,960
because of the guys that you're
going to line up against and
938
00:48:35,960 --> 00:48:38,720
practice every day.
No doubt about it.
939
00:48:39,680 --> 00:48:43,000
Let me ask this and it kind of
is going that iron shopping on
940
00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:45,720
iron.
I am assuming y'all film these
941
00:48:45,720 --> 00:48:48,440
scrimmages.
Do you guys sit as a collective
942
00:48:48,680 --> 00:48:53,080
unit and just watching And then
and I know it's different
943
00:48:53,080 --> 00:48:56,840
positions and everything, but
you know someone like Stu Hall
944
00:48:56,840 --> 00:49:01,280
who's a tight end coach, hey,
hey, hey cheetah, so and so is
945
00:49:01,280 --> 00:49:03,840
kind of doing something with his
legs when y'all were playing
946
00:49:03,840 --> 00:49:06,520
this type coverage.
Do y'all do things like that on
947
00:49:06,520 --> 00:49:09,360
a daily basis?
Yes, indeed.
948
00:49:09,360 --> 00:49:12,600
You know, because we're one
family and even though we're
949
00:49:12,600 --> 00:49:15,160
competing against our offense
and they're competing against
950
00:49:15,160 --> 00:49:18,120
us, we know ultimately to get to
where we got to go, we got to
951
00:49:18,120 --> 00:49:20,200
compete at the highest level
possible against our
952
00:49:20,200 --> 00:49:22,760
competition.
So that's just part of coaching.
953
00:49:23,240 --> 00:49:27,120
You know, it's JC Price's job to
be able to tell me if he sees
954
00:49:27,120 --> 00:49:28,520
something that one of my guys
doing.
955
00:49:28,960 --> 00:49:32,520
Or it's JC Price's job to be
able to tell Ryan Crook if his
956
00:49:32,520 --> 00:49:35,400
guard is tipping that he's
pulling a certain type of way.
957
00:49:35,720 --> 00:49:38,880
It's my job to be able to tell.
Fun tell minds that one of his
958
00:49:38,920 --> 00:49:41,840
receivers gets down deeper in
his stance when he's getting the
959
00:49:41,840 --> 00:49:43,680
ball as opposed to when he's
not.
960
00:49:44,040 --> 00:49:47,000
Or every time he goes to get the
ball, he's doing something with
961
00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:49,840
his gloves.
These are things that I study
962
00:49:50,200 --> 00:49:53,320
that Fun Tell may not study.
So naturally I've got to be be
963
00:49:53,320 --> 00:49:56,240
able to go tell him that about
his guy so that he can make
964
00:49:56,240 --> 00:49:58,280
those corrections.
So that's just a normal part of
965
00:49:58,280 --> 00:49:59,920
coaching, I think, on every
coaching staff.
966
00:50:01,840 --> 00:50:03,720
Nice.
Something else I want to bring
967
00:50:03,720 --> 00:50:06,040
up and these two going to be
getting on me after the call.
968
00:50:06,040 --> 00:50:08,760
Like, you keep asking more
questions than we put out there.
969
00:50:08,760 --> 00:50:12,120
Like, well, you know.
It's all good.
970
00:50:12,160 --> 00:50:13,520
I'll let it slide.
I'll let it.
971
00:50:13,520 --> 00:50:17,000
Slide Curtis, I know you got all
night, so this is good, but let
972
00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:19,000
me ask this because, you know,
we threw his name up here a
973
00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:22,560
little while ago and he's one of
me and Brian's best friends.
974
00:50:22,560 --> 00:50:25,080
Tally's gotten to know him over
the last couple years, Coach
975
00:50:25,080 --> 00:50:28,480
Compton.
But how important has it been
976
00:50:28,480 --> 00:50:33,800
for not only this staff, but for
you with those coaching clinics
977
00:50:33,800 --> 00:50:35,360
where you're teaching?
Because Because Robbie made a
978
00:50:35,360 --> 00:50:36,720
joke.
Robbie's a bigger guy, but he
979
00:50:36,720 --> 00:50:40,880
made a joke here talking about
40 year old ��350.
980
00:50:40,880 --> 00:50:42,360
Trying to demonstrate ain't
great.
981
00:50:42,440 --> 00:50:45,200
But how important are those
clinics to get those high school
982
00:50:45,200 --> 00:50:47,320
coaches in there and to show
them your techniques?
983
00:50:47,680 --> 00:50:51,520
And then just in general for the
high school relation piece, how
984
00:50:51,520 --> 00:50:53,280
is how?
Big is that Ben?
985
00:50:53,480 --> 00:50:56,480
Because Coach probably was not
shy about it the day he stepped
986
00:50:56,480 --> 00:50:59,680
on that.
The state is ours in the
987
00:50:59,680 --> 00:51:05,600
region's going to become ours.
It's invaluable because high
988
00:51:05,600 --> 00:51:09,080
school coaching relationships
are where you get the
989
00:51:09,080 --> 00:51:12,360
information that you need.
We spend a lot of time
990
00:51:12,360 --> 00:51:15,800
recruiting, but you got to think
of how big of an investment it
991
00:51:15,800 --> 00:51:20,320
is to say that you're going to
trust the kid to come in and be
992
00:51:20,400 --> 00:51:24,080
who you need him to be.
To develop the culture of a
993
00:51:24,080 --> 00:51:26,320
program.
You've got to have high school
994
00:51:26,320 --> 00:51:29,280
coaches that you trust.
You got to have high school
995
00:51:29,280 --> 00:51:32,280
coaches that are going to be
honest with you, and you've got
996
00:51:32,280 --> 00:51:35,160
to get to know them to make sure
those things are happening.
997
00:51:35,520 --> 00:51:38,120
But you also got to have
relationships with high school
998
00:51:38,120 --> 00:51:41,640
coaches, so they're OK bringing
young men to campus that may not
999
00:51:41,640 --> 00:51:44,440
have rides.
You got to be have relationships
1000
00:51:44,440 --> 00:51:48,240
with high school coaches.
That information that's true for
1001
00:51:48,240 --> 00:51:51,520
information so you don't waste
your time in recruiting, you
1002
00:51:51,520 --> 00:51:54,200
know, things like that.
One of the big parts about
1003
00:51:54,200 --> 00:51:59,080
taking this job for me was it
put me back into a lot of the
1004
00:51:59,080 --> 00:52:01,760
recruiting areas I've had for a
long time at other schools I've
1005
00:52:01,760 --> 00:52:05,080
been at.
When I went to Texas, that was
1006
00:52:05,080 --> 00:52:08,000
one of the things that I found
out during the pandemic.
1007
00:52:08,480 --> 00:52:11,960
I went to the Texas Tech right
when the pandemic hit.
1008
00:52:12,240 --> 00:52:15,880
I didn't know a lot of Texas
coaches well, kids can't visit
1009
00:52:15,880 --> 00:52:19,280
campus.
We can't go to schools.
1010
00:52:19,560 --> 00:52:22,560
High school coaches are going to
send their kids where where they
1011
00:52:22,560 --> 00:52:26,160
know people.
I'm on Zooms like this, talking
1012
00:52:26,160 --> 00:52:29,600
to guys I don't know about,
turning their kids over to me,
1013
00:52:30,400 --> 00:52:34,000
you know, that was hard.
And these coaches are sending
1014
00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:38,280
their players at a time that was
very critical to coaches they
1015
00:52:38,280 --> 00:52:40,920
trust.
Well, it was a lesson for me.
1016
00:52:40,920 --> 00:52:43,880
So I had a couple of different
job opportunities when I took
1017
00:52:43,880 --> 00:52:47,520
this one, but this was the one
that basically put me back home.
1018
00:52:47,920 --> 00:52:50,200
I've recruited the same
recruiting areas that I've
1019
00:52:50,200 --> 00:52:53,840
always had, with the exception
of the area that I have in
1020
00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:57,600
Virginia, and that was pretty
easy for me because of the power
1021
00:52:57,600 --> 00:52:59,640
of social media.
You know, most of the schools
1022
00:52:59,640 --> 00:53:02,760
that I walked into, the coaches
knew who I was because of my
1023
00:53:02,760 --> 00:53:05,120
Twitter presence.
But one of the first things
1024
00:53:05,120 --> 00:53:10,840
Coach Pry told me, because it
was me, Coach Pry, JC Price and
1025
00:53:11,280 --> 00:53:14,800
Sean Quinn the first day that we
were out and we went straight to
1026
00:53:14,800 --> 00:53:18,360
the 757 and he said, man, every
time you get out, I want you to
1027
00:53:18,360 --> 00:53:20,520
come over here because we have
done a good job here.
1028
00:53:20,960 --> 00:53:24,520
And we walked into Warwick High
School and there was a custodian
1029
00:53:24,520 --> 00:53:27,520
in the hall where he stopped and
he looked at us and he was like
1030
00:53:27,520 --> 00:53:29,760
Virginia Tech.
He's like, we hadn't seen a
1031
00:53:29,760 --> 00:53:32,240
coach in Virginia Tech around
here in five or six years.
1032
00:53:32,920 --> 00:53:35,520
And I went over to Hampton High
School and I heard the same
1033
00:53:35,520 --> 00:53:37,800
thing.
I went to Denby High School, I
1034
00:53:37,800 --> 00:53:40,640
heard the same thing.
And I'm like, you know, this
1035
00:53:40,640 --> 00:53:43,320
isn't going to be as hard as
possible because all we got to
1036
00:53:43,320 --> 00:53:46,120
do is what we're supposed to do.
And, you know, I've developed
1037
00:53:46,120 --> 00:53:47,960
relationships with a lot of
these coaches.
1038
00:53:48,640 --> 00:53:52,480
A huge plus has been having
Funtell minds on staff because
1039
00:53:52,480 --> 00:53:55,000
everybody knows Funtell.
You know, he's from Virginia.
1040
00:53:55,280 --> 00:53:58,280
He's coached at like 30-5
different schools in the state
1041
00:53:58,280 --> 00:54:01,000
of Virginia.
You walk into a school with him,
1042
00:54:01,000 --> 00:54:03,080
the janitors know him, the
principals know him, the
1043
00:54:03,080 --> 00:54:06,440
secretaries know him.
So it's been really good, you
1044
00:54:06,440 --> 00:54:10,400
know, just to develop those
relationships and Coach Fry kind
1045
00:54:10,400 --> 00:54:13,800
of limited what we were doing in
recruiting, just recruiting our
1046
00:54:13,800 --> 00:54:16,560
footprint.
And that's been very strong for
1047
00:54:16,560 --> 00:54:20,880
us because when you only recruit
a certain radius, you get to go
1048
00:54:20,880 --> 00:54:24,520
to these places more times.
We're not spending a lot of time
1049
00:54:24,520 --> 00:54:27,880
away from our footprint.
So we're showing our faces in a
1050
00:54:27,880 --> 00:54:31,240
lot of these schools over and
over and over again and that's
1051
00:54:31,240 --> 00:54:34,120
paid dividends for us.
Yeah, it seems like when you
1052
00:54:34,120 --> 00:54:36,200
guys are stepping out of the
footprint, it is a very
1053
00:54:36,200 --> 00:54:39,440
deliberate step.
Otherwise you're.
1054
00:54:40,240 --> 00:54:43,040
You're staying staying kind of
where where the bread butters
1055
00:54:43,040 --> 00:54:44,320
made.
Yeah.
1056
00:54:44,360 --> 00:54:47,040
You know, if, if it makes sense
for us to go outside of the
1057
00:54:47,040 --> 00:54:50,040
footprint, you know,
relationships that we may had.
1058
00:54:50,280 --> 00:54:53,280
You know, you may have a guy
that's a legacy at Virginia Tech
1059
00:54:53,280 --> 00:54:56,600
that has a son, or you may have
a coach that you know very well
1060
00:54:56,600 --> 00:54:59,160
that has a kid that just wants
to come to Virginia Tech.
1061
00:54:59,480 --> 00:55:02,080
Those are exceptions.
And naturally, once you get to
1062
00:55:02,080 --> 00:55:05,400
the transfer portal, you have to
be a little bit more broad, but
1063
00:55:05,400 --> 00:55:07,680
not now that you're dealing with
a different type of maturity
1064
00:55:08,400 --> 00:55:10,480
when you're dealing with that
and you know a little bit more
1065
00:55:10,480 --> 00:55:14,160
about some of these guys, that's
more like NFL free agency than
1066
00:55:14,160 --> 00:55:16,920
it is the recruiting piece.
But I think you guys also know
1067
00:55:16,920 --> 00:55:19,440
we've taken a lot of guys out of
the transfer portal that are
1068
00:55:19,440 --> 00:55:23,400
Virginia guys as well.
So we're still trying to stay
1069
00:55:23,400 --> 00:55:25,640
close.
And what I've come to find out
1070
00:55:25,640 --> 00:55:29,920
in a small amount of time, the
further away from home guys go,
1071
00:55:30,240 --> 00:55:32,320
the more likely they ought to
try to go back home.
1072
00:55:33,280 --> 00:55:36,840
And that's just a trend that's
coming with nil now because a
1073
00:55:36,840 --> 00:55:42,000
lot of guys that are close to
the net get marketing deals or
1074
00:55:42,000 --> 00:55:45,200
as guys that may not be close to
not getting those mom and pop
1075
00:55:45,200 --> 00:55:46,840
deals.
And that's just the part of the
1076
00:55:46,840 --> 00:55:48,240
business that we're in right
now.
1077
00:55:48,680 --> 00:55:50,320
Tal, you were about to say
something there.
1078
00:55:50,400 --> 00:55:52,440
Go ahead, man.
You know, just real quick, man,
1079
00:55:52,440 --> 00:55:55,080
I mean, we've talked about it a
couple times and then in spaces
1080
00:55:55,080 --> 00:55:58,040
with guys like, you know, Dwight
being in there with us just
1081
00:55:58,040 --> 00:56:02,440
talking about recruiting and you
know, looking at looking at how
1082
00:56:02,440 --> 00:56:04,560
coaches recruit, of course coach
Jones knows.
1083
00:56:05,600 --> 00:56:07,400
No, they've they've got pretty
good at this thing.
1084
00:56:07,400 --> 00:56:10,640
But we had some people whenever
you guys first got here would be
1085
00:56:10,640 --> 00:56:13,760
like, why are they going to, you
know, this school you just
1086
00:56:13,760 --> 00:56:16,440
mentioned Warwick, what work
don't have no players, you know,
1087
00:56:16,600 --> 00:56:19,080
3-2 years ago, three years ago,
why would they go to this
1088
00:56:19,080 --> 00:56:21,360
school?
Well, you know, not the name,
1089
00:56:21,360 --> 00:56:24,440
any names, but you Fast forward
and then this school pops up
1090
00:56:24,440 --> 00:56:27,640
with a four-star guy or five
star or three star guy that
1091
00:56:27,640 --> 00:56:30,000
everybody's on and be like, Oh
yeah, you remember when the
1092
00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:33,120
coaches went there three years
ago, you know, and started
1093
00:56:33,160 --> 00:56:37,120
building that relationship.
So now you get into those those
1094
00:56:37,120 --> 00:56:40,320
battles and get into those
recruiting talks with those high
1095
00:56:40,320 --> 00:56:43,360
level players because of a a
relationship that you developed
1096
00:56:44,080 --> 00:56:47,240
3-4 years ago.
So I mean it was it, it was
1097
00:56:47,240 --> 00:56:50,600
great to see.
We don't have to go a lot into,
1098
00:56:50,960 --> 00:56:53,640
you know, the regime that was
here before you guys, but it was
1099
00:56:53,640 --> 00:56:56,000
great to see when you guys came
in how y'all hit the ground
1100
00:56:56,000 --> 00:56:58,720
running.
Just being active on social
1101
00:56:58,720 --> 00:57:02,200
media, man, it, it, you know,
being willing to talk to people,
1102
00:57:02,200 --> 00:57:05,560
being willing to go in and talk
to a custodian in a school
1103
00:57:05,560 --> 00:57:10,160
because I feel like sometimes so
certain people get, you know, I
1104
00:57:10,160 --> 00:57:12,800
guess a, a place of power, a
position of power, like a head
1105
00:57:12,800 --> 00:57:14,680
coach.
And they feel like they're above
1106
00:57:14,680 --> 00:57:15,880
that.
You know, they feel like they
1107
00:57:15,880 --> 00:57:19,400
don't have to speak to a
custodian when they go in
1108
00:57:19,400 --> 00:57:21,240
somewhere.
They don't have to go talk to
1109
00:57:22,480 --> 00:57:25,920
the, the Barber on the corner.
But that may be the way that you
1110
00:57:25,920 --> 00:57:29,120
get into a family.
So again man, kudos to you guys
1111
00:57:29,120 --> 00:57:32,000
for what you've done and how you
guys have built relationships
1112
00:57:32,560 --> 00:57:34,520
and we starting to see dividends
from it.
1113
00:57:35,680 --> 00:57:39,080
Yeah, it's been good, man.
And just a general recruiting
1114
00:57:39,080 --> 00:57:43,000
practice in itself.
When you go into schools, often
1115
00:57:43,080 --> 00:57:47,360
you get to know more people and
you're trying to find out about
1116
00:57:47,360 --> 00:57:49,520
these young men.
You know, in the world of the
1117
00:57:49,520 --> 00:57:52,400
transfer portal now you better
know as much about these young
1118
00:57:52,400 --> 00:57:56,560
men as you could possibly know.
And so when I go in, I know what
1119
00:57:56,560 --> 00:57:59,200
the coach is going to say.
But as I'm leaving that school,
1120
00:57:59,840 --> 00:58:03,040
I may ask the principal, I may
ask that security guard at the
1121
00:58:03,040 --> 00:58:05,160
front.
I go into lunch rooms and ask
1122
00:58:05,400 --> 00:58:08,000
the lunch room.
Ladies in certain areas know
1123
00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:11,520
everybody in town.
And so you're asking them and
1124
00:58:11,520 --> 00:58:14,360
they may tell you something
simple as this, where you need
1125
00:58:14,360 --> 00:58:16,800
to get to his grandma.
Well, how would I have known
1126
00:58:16,800 --> 00:58:20,280
that if Sister Teresa hadn't
have told me this in the
1127
00:58:20,280 --> 00:58:23,000
lunchroom?
So you're just equipping
1128
00:58:23,000 --> 00:58:26,480
yourself with more knowledge by
talking to people, but you want
1129
00:58:26,480 --> 00:58:28,400
people to be ambassadors for you
as well.
1130
00:58:29,120 --> 00:58:33,880
So my mom always told me, don't
be the person to ask for
1131
00:58:33,880 --> 00:58:37,120
something when you need it.
Speak to people when you don't
1132
00:58:37,120 --> 00:58:39,080
want anything.
And it's no different when it
1133
00:58:39,080 --> 00:58:41,800
comes to recruiting.
Go into the school, establish
1134
00:58:41,800 --> 00:58:43,640
these relationships.
Because the other thing you
1135
00:58:43,640 --> 00:58:46,120
don't know in this profession,
you don't know who's going to
1136
00:58:46,120 --> 00:58:48,760
end up where.
Coaches move around in high
1137
00:58:48,840 --> 00:58:50,880
school, they move around in
college, they move around in the
1138
00:58:50,880 --> 00:58:53,680
NFL.
So you better make sure that
1139
00:58:53,680 --> 00:58:56,880
you're covering your base for
anything that may take place,
1140
00:58:56,880 --> 00:58:59,440
whether it's three years, four
years or five years later.
1141
00:58:59,680 --> 00:59:01,360
And it's your job.
It's not hard to do.
1142
00:59:02,480 --> 00:59:05,080
And, and you talked about, you
know, it, it being important
1143
00:59:05,080 --> 00:59:07,560
what other people you're
thinking and, and how they
1144
00:59:07,560 --> 00:59:10,840
present you to those players.
You know, I've always been told,
1145
00:59:10,840 --> 00:59:15,640
like I act in a way where when
you're not in the room, those
1146
00:59:15,640 --> 00:59:17,080
people are talking good about
you.
1147
00:59:18,480 --> 00:59:20,480
And it and.
It sounds like that's the
1148
00:59:20,480 --> 00:59:22,240
mentality that y'all are
bringing to that, that
1149
00:59:22,240 --> 00:59:25,480
relationship building as well.
Treat people like you should and
1150
00:59:25,480 --> 00:59:27,200
they're going to talk about you
when you're not around.
1151
00:59:28,160 --> 00:59:30,680
And the other piece of it is, I
mean, you're talking about going
1152
00:59:30,680 --> 00:59:32,720
to high schools in the state of
Virginia.
1153
00:59:33,200 --> 00:59:36,480
You know how many educators we
run into in schools that are
1154
00:59:36,480 --> 00:59:39,720
teachers that are assistant
principals that went to Virginia
1155
00:59:39,720 --> 00:59:41,680
Tech.
And one of the first things I do
1156
00:59:41,680 --> 00:59:44,080
when I go into a school is say,
do we have any Hokies?
1157
00:59:44,400 --> 00:59:47,680
Well, Miss Smith is a Hokie.
Will you take me by a classroom?
1158
00:59:48,120 --> 00:59:51,640
You know, those things carry a
lot of weight because now this
1159
00:59:51,640 --> 00:59:53,840
lady is teaching this guy in
chemistry that I'm trying to
1160
00:59:53,840 --> 00:59:56,160
recruit.
You know, it just makes the
1161
00:59:56,160 --> 00:59:58,120
difference.
Then you do things like that.
1162
01:00:00,600 --> 01:00:02,880
Oh, 100%.
I mean, and it's all it's all
1163
01:00:02,880 --> 01:00:07,360
about that.
It's that whole just constantly
1164
01:00:07,360 --> 01:00:10,240
building relationships tally and
sales Cali something you always
1165
01:00:10,240 --> 01:00:14,000
were talking about and you know,
through our years, it's
1166
01:00:14,000 --> 01:00:19,640
relationships.
You know, how did three guys who
1167
01:00:19,720 --> 01:00:25,080
did not go to Virginia Tech, you
know, love the school, but over
1168
01:00:25,080 --> 01:00:27,360
the last couple years we have
we're having the pleasure of
1169
01:00:27,360 --> 01:00:30,240
interviewing you tonight.
We had the chance to interview
1170
01:00:30,240 --> 01:00:34,200
Coach Pry relationships,
creating relationships, having
1171
01:00:34,200 --> 01:00:36,920
good conversations with people.
You know, make sure we got to
1172
01:00:36,920 --> 01:00:39,160
talk to you out at Hardywood.
You and Gunter.
1173
01:00:39,160 --> 01:00:41,520
We mean me and Brian said in 15
minutes and talk to y'all and
1174
01:00:41,520 --> 01:00:44,480
y'all took the time to talk to
us, got in, blow us off.
1175
01:00:45,120 --> 01:00:46,960
Y'all didn't look for the next
person to talk to.
1176
01:00:47,080 --> 01:00:49,680
Y'all talked with us because we
had a genuine conversation and
1177
01:00:49,680 --> 01:00:53,040
it's awesome to see.
All right, we're going to keep
1178
01:00:53,040 --> 01:00:54,400
rolling.
I'm sure some more questions
1179
01:00:54,400 --> 01:00:56,040
will come up from my crazy
brain.
1180
01:00:56,040 --> 01:00:58,760
But I do want to ask this
because we are.
1181
01:00:58,760 --> 01:01:01,440
You told us a little while ago.
We're one week away from the
1182
01:01:01,440 --> 01:01:05,800
kids reporting for fall camp.
Few days after that they'll get
1183
01:01:05,800 --> 01:01:08,480
the practices going up.
For this week.
1184
01:01:08,680 --> 01:01:11,320
We also know that right now
you're home alone.
1185
01:01:11,600 --> 01:01:17,240
So do you have a ritual that you
do leading up to fall camp?
1186
01:01:17,240 --> 01:01:20,160
Do you have anything like here's
my week?
1187
01:01:20,160 --> 01:01:21,280
This is everything I want to
get.
1188
01:01:21,280 --> 01:01:24,480
Done.
No, I don't really have a ritual
1189
01:01:24,480 --> 01:01:29,560
I do leading up to fall camp,
but fall camp is my time to go
1190
01:01:29,560 --> 01:01:31,560
on a diet and get my body in
shape.
1191
01:01:31,960 --> 01:01:35,800
If anything else, you know,
sadly, because we take these
1192
01:01:35,800 --> 01:01:40,400
whirlwind vacations right before
camp, you know, my body and
1193
01:01:40,400 --> 01:01:43,040
everything else, blood pressure
and all that stuff a little bit
1194
01:01:43,040 --> 01:01:46,680
out of whack, you know.
So training camp, you know, it's
1195
01:01:46,680 --> 01:01:50,160
structured.
I'm around exercise equipment.
1196
01:01:50,440 --> 01:01:53,800
And so I take that time every
year to make sure that I get my
1197
01:01:53,800 --> 01:01:57,120
body in good enough shape to be
able to withstand the late
1198
01:01:57,120 --> 01:01:59,720
nights and the long hours.
But more than anything else,
1199
01:01:59,720 --> 01:02:02,720
just to find the balance.
So if I've got any ritual, I
1200
01:02:02,720 --> 01:02:06,120
look forward to getting myself
in the state so that I can still
1201
01:02:06,120 --> 01:02:09,040
at 50 years of age, be able to
somewhat demonstrate the drills
1202
01:02:09,040 --> 01:02:11,920
I need to demonstrate to Josh
Clark and the young guys that
1203
01:02:11,920 --> 01:02:14,000
I've got.
I don't want y'all to read about
1204
01:02:14,000 --> 01:02:15,920
me past, not from an asthma
attack or nothing out.
1205
01:02:16,400 --> 01:02:17,440
There, there you go.
There you.
1206
01:02:17,440 --> 01:02:20,880
Go I like hearing that.
I like, you know, you talked
1207
01:02:20,880 --> 01:02:22,920
about being, you know, on the
road for a month.
1208
01:02:22,920 --> 01:02:29,400
I can't imagine like four weeks
worth of, you know, Rd. meals,
1209
01:02:29,440 --> 01:02:32,040
different meals at different
restaurants, you know, all that
1210
01:02:32,040 --> 01:02:33,880
stuff that.
I mean, the man, the man said he
1211
01:02:33,880 --> 01:02:36,200
carried around lemon pepper.
You know how much sodium that
1212
01:02:36,200 --> 01:02:39,320
thing got in it.
Of course, of course he going to
1213
01:02:39,320 --> 01:02:42,720
go get back, right?
You want to look up, so you talk
1214
01:02:42,720 --> 01:02:44,480
about blood pressure.
You go look at the back of that
1215
01:02:44,480 --> 01:02:46,040
lemon pepper.
I promise.
1216
01:02:46,040 --> 01:02:48,280
You no doubt about.
It and that's what coach to
1217
01:02:48,280 --> 01:02:49,560
coach to get that lemon pepper
out of here.
1218
01:02:49,640 --> 01:02:53,000
Yeah, Oh yeah, true, true.
You can do the salt free with
1219
01:02:53,000 --> 01:02:57,600
Miss Dash.
So I got to yeah, you get you
1220
01:02:58,200 --> 01:02:59,960
get a little pepper, you get a
little pepper.
1221
01:02:59,960 --> 01:03:03,440
Not much lemon with Miss Dash.
So I didn't try it too though.
1222
01:03:03,960 --> 01:03:05,920
But yeah, coach, we're going to
go, you know, keep it rolling
1223
01:03:05,920 --> 01:03:08,120
here.
Back in June, we talked with
1224
01:03:08,120 --> 01:03:11,720
Coach Pry and he just talked
about managing the expectations
1225
01:03:11,720 --> 01:03:14,400
for the season.
What are you doing with your
1226
01:03:14,400 --> 01:03:17,640
group to just, you know, to
manage these expectations?
1227
01:03:17,920 --> 01:03:22,160
Because us as as fans, every
year we're going, we're going to
1228
01:03:22,160 --> 01:03:23,480
be hype.
We're going to throw the hype
1229
01:03:23,480 --> 01:03:27,680
train on, but now it's more than
just hokey nation and hokey
1230
01:03:27,680 --> 01:03:29,880
fans.
Like national media is picking
1231
01:03:29,880 --> 01:03:31,840
up things.
You know what I'm saying, people
1232
01:03:31,840 --> 01:03:34,960
that we don't even have TikTok
personalities, but this is a
1233
01:03:34,960 --> 01:03:36,360
team.
And then now you got the the
1234
01:03:36,360 --> 01:03:41,000
video game that came out and you
got video, video game experts
1235
01:03:41,000 --> 01:03:43,880
like this is a fun team to play
with because they got this, this
1236
01:03:43,920 --> 01:03:45,520
myth.
So how you get?
1237
01:03:45,520 --> 01:03:48,160
How do you handle those
expectations for your group?
1238
01:03:49,080 --> 01:03:53,880
You know, for me it's not that
big of a deal for my group.
1239
01:03:54,160 --> 01:03:58,360
I coach corners.
And so your day one page one
1240
01:03:58,360 --> 01:04:01,360
training as a corner is don't
let your highs get too high,
1241
01:04:01,360 --> 01:04:02,760
don't let your levels get too
low.
1242
01:04:03,200 --> 01:04:05,360
I mean, you can make a great
player at corner and be the
1243
01:04:05,360 --> 01:04:08,880
reason you lose a ball game, you
know, and everybody understands
1244
01:04:08,880 --> 01:04:11,440
that.
So it's just a natural mentality
1245
01:04:11,440 --> 01:04:14,000
that I instill on a daily basis
with my guys.
1246
01:04:14,000 --> 01:04:17,520
So it's really not that big of a
deal that they're starting to
1247
01:04:17,520 --> 01:04:20,640
read a lot of positive things
about themselves because they're
1248
01:04:20,640 --> 01:04:23,520
taught not to listen too much to
the cheers because the boos will
1249
01:04:23,520 --> 01:04:26,840
also come in a sense.
And that's just how you have to
1250
01:04:26,840 --> 01:04:29,080
train corners from a mentality
standpoint.
1251
01:04:29,440 --> 01:04:33,040
But I think Coach Pride himself
does a really good job at that.
1252
01:04:33,440 --> 01:04:36,720
You know, even our first year
here, things were not going
1253
01:04:36,720 --> 01:04:39,640
well.
Coach Pride's entire message to
1254
01:04:39,640 --> 01:04:44,000
the team on a consistent basis
has been don't listen to the
1255
01:04:44,000 --> 01:04:45,680
noise, don't listen to the
noise.
1256
01:04:46,080 --> 01:04:49,240
We believed what we were doing.
We were confident in what we
1257
01:04:49,240 --> 01:04:51,320
were doing, but we knew it was
going to take some time.
1258
01:04:51,920 --> 01:04:54,520
You know, we didn't come in here
thinking we were going to wave a
1259
01:04:54,520 --> 01:04:58,080
magic wand and all of a sudden,
you know, go win 12 ball games.
1260
01:04:58,440 --> 01:05:02,480
We've all been in situations
like this with veteran coaches,
1261
01:05:02,480 --> 01:05:05,840
but we were 100% confident in
what we were doing and how we
1262
01:05:05,840 --> 01:05:08,320
were going about doing it.
And you have to teach the team
1263
01:05:08,320 --> 01:05:11,920
to be the same way.
And anything we've done last
1264
01:05:11,920 --> 01:05:15,080
year doesn't matter.
We've done nothing this year.
1265
01:05:15,080 --> 01:05:19,500
And my guys understand that.
I tell my guys all the time, pre
1266
01:05:19,500 --> 01:05:22,920
season rankings mean nothing.
Whether you're ranked high or
1267
01:05:22,920 --> 01:05:25,960
whether you're ranked low, it
doesn't make a difference if
1268
01:05:25,960 --> 01:05:28,680
you're ranked pre season, all
ACC.
1269
01:05:28,720 --> 01:05:32,840
If you're not post season, all
AC, post season all ACC matters.
1270
01:05:33,120 --> 01:05:35,480
So my guys are going to
understand that from the first
1271
01:05:35,480 --> 01:05:38,640
day that I coached him, I don't
care about what nobody says
1272
01:05:38,640 --> 01:05:41,000
about you, good or bad.
So I don't want you to care
1273
01:05:41,000 --> 01:05:42,760
about what nobody said about
you, good or bad.
1274
01:05:42,960 --> 01:05:45,960
You keep your head down, you
keep working and you grind, and
1275
01:05:45,960 --> 01:05:48,040
your production will speak for
itself.
1276
01:05:48,160 --> 01:05:50,800
You don't have to tell people
how good you are, and you don't
1277
01:05:50,800 --> 01:05:52,520
have to explain to people that
you're not bad.
1278
01:05:53,360 --> 01:05:55,360
Curtis, we found somebody else
that doesn't give a shit about
1279
01:05:55,360 --> 01:05:59,720
pre season.
If you ever wanted to get Brian
1280
01:05:59,720 --> 01:06:04,400
Ziegler on a tangent for 15
minutes, talk to him about pre
1281
01:06:04,400 --> 01:06:06,800
season, AP, pre season coach
rankings.
1282
01:06:06,960 --> 01:06:09,680
He sit at the break room in our
own workplace and he'd go off on
1283
01:06:09,680 --> 01:06:11,200
somebody 15 minutes.
It was great.
1284
01:06:11,600 --> 01:06:13,560
OK, I want to ask you though.
Go ahead.
1285
01:06:14,600 --> 01:06:18,920
You know, it's, it's good
because people love football and
1286
01:06:18,920 --> 01:06:23,360
people want something to read
about that feeds the frenzy.
1287
01:06:23,680 --> 01:06:27,000
You know, I think it's really
good for fans to get that
1288
01:06:27,000 --> 01:06:29,440
perspective.
But when you actually play the
1289
01:06:29,440 --> 01:06:33,160
sport or you coach the sport,
that's the last thing you care
1290
01:06:33,160 --> 01:06:34,600
about because you haven't done
anything.
1291
01:06:34,960 --> 01:06:39,680
You know, I mean, every year you
look at it, there's never been a
1292
01:06:39,680 --> 01:06:43,280
preseason top 25 that ended up
the way that it it was in the
1293
01:06:43,280 --> 01:06:45,880
preseason, not one time.
I don't know that to be true,
1294
01:06:45,880 --> 01:06:47,400
but I promise you that's never
happened.
1295
01:06:47,680 --> 01:06:49,600
Pretty sure it's never happened.
Yep.
1296
01:06:49,800 --> 01:06:53,400
And and my, my thing was always
it's good for the fans.
1297
01:06:53,400 --> 01:06:55,800
It's great for the fans because
it builds the hype and gets
1298
01:06:55,800 --> 01:06:58,240
everybody going.
When you started making it a
1299
01:06:58,240 --> 01:07:02,680
part of the process of post
season play and stuff like that,
1300
01:07:02,680 --> 01:07:06,640
I'm like, you're biasing what
that's what what the what the
1301
01:07:06,680 --> 01:07:08,880
what's going to end up at the
end because of what you had at
1302
01:07:08,880 --> 01:07:10,880
the beginning.
Don't want to be wrong.
1303
01:07:10,880 --> 01:07:14,080
Let at least September play out,
maybe even half of October or
1304
01:07:14,080 --> 01:07:17,280
most of October before you start
talking about OK, well, here's
1305
01:07:17,280 --> 01:07:19,560
the good teams, and here's the
teams that aren't quite there
1306
01:07:19,560 --> 01:07:21,640
yet, and here's the teams that
don't belong at all.
1307
01:07:22,400 --> 01:07:26,680
But it's like anything else, man
Everything sales and you know,
1308
01:07:26,680 --> 01:07:29,560
those Athlons, Lindsay's
magazines, somebody's grabbing
1309
01:07:29,560 --> 01:07:32,560
them off the shelf.
Somebody's making money up and
1310
01:07:32,560 --> 01:07:35,720
somebody's punching a website to
read about what somebody thinks
1311
01:07:36,000 --> 01:07:39,200
other teams are going to finish.
I hope my guys aren't wrapped up
1312
01:07:39,200 --> 01:07:42,320
into that.
You know, You know, it's nice to
1313
01:07:42,320 --> 01:07:45,240
maybe go to the magazine and
grab a picture, but I think my
1314
01:07:45,240 --> 01:07:48,400
guys are trained pretty well not
to pay that much attention.
1315
01:07:48,440 --> 01:07:50,440
You know, your family can pay it
attention.
1316
01:07:50,440 --> 01:07:53,000
It's good for them to be able to
pass around at the grocery store
1317
01:07:53,000 --> 01:07:55,920
and things like that, but we got
to stay focused on the task at
1318
01:07:55,920 --> 01:07:58,000
hand.
And it's funny hearing you talk
1319
01:07:58,000 --> 01:08:01,000
about cornerbacks where it's
like as an offensive lineman, we
1320
01:08:01,000 --> 01:08:02,760
had the opposite, you know,
problem.
1321
01:08:02,760 --> 01:08:05,840
I think you, like you guys had
to stay even keeled because
1322
01:08:06,280 --> 01:08:09,200
you're you're one big player,
one bad play away from having
1323
01:08:09,200 --> 01:08:11,240
your name out there.
And then it's offensive lineman.
1324
01:08:11,240 --> 01:08:14,160
We got to stay even keeled
because we're anonymous.
1325
01:08:14,160 --> 01:08:17,560
And anytime we screw up, that's
the only time we're not
1326
01:08:17,560 --> 01:08:21,520
anonymous.
I can tell you from having
1327
01:08:21,520 --> 01:08:24,479
played corner, and even though
it's been a long, long time ago,
1328
01:08:25,240 --> 01:08:27,640
once you've been beaten, you're
humble.
1329
01:08:29,640 --> 01:08:31,960
I don't care.
I don't care what else happens
1330
01:08:31,960 --> 01:08:35,479
in your career once you've been
beaten and you've had that
1331
01:08:35,479 --> 01:08:38,880
feeling of having to get down
and try to block APAP and take
1332
01:08:38,880 --> 01:08:42,279
that job to the sideline.
You don't want that to happen no
1333
01:08:42,279 --> 01:08:43,920
more.
So you're not going to get too
1334
01:08:43,920 --> 01:08:46,760
hyped about much of anything
because you have to do the
1335
01:08:46,760 --> 01:08:49,760
things that you have to do not
to get that feeling anymore.
1336
01:08:49,760 --> 01:08:52,600
That's a horrible feeling and
not many people want that
1337
01:08:52,600 --> 01:08:55,040
feeling.
Not at all.
1338
01:08:55,479 --> 01:08:57,040
Coach, I want to ask you
something real quick because we
1339
01:08:57,040 --> 01:09:00,319
know you do have a book out
there, but I always see the the
1340
01:09:00,319 --> 01:09:04,520
#apw and I know that's one of
your mentalities, but where did
1341
01:09:04,520 --> 01:09:06,640
it come from?
The always play to win.
1342
01:09:07,600 --> 01:09:11,640
You know, I may always play to
win up in high school.
1343
01:09:11,640 --> 01:09:13,720
Actually, I mean, it actually
started.
1344
01:09:13,720 --> 01:09:16,200
I used to have a little select
slogan in high school.
1345
01:09:16,880 --> 01:09:20,319
I it was, I play to win.
I would always say that I played
1346
01:09:20,319 --> 01:09:21,840
to win.
I played to win and it's just
1347
01:09:21,840 --> 01:09:23,960
confidence, something very
simple.
1348
01:09:24,399 --> 01:09:29,600
And strangely, when I got to
Duke, we didn't have anything to
1349
01:09:29,600 --> 01:09:31,359
stand on.
I mean, we hadn't won a lot of
1350
01:09:31,359 --> 01:09:34,200
ball games.
There was not a lot of morale in
1351
01:09:34,200 --> 01:09:36,319
the room.
And social media was just
1352
01:09:36,319 --> 01:09:38,840
starting to come into play.
It was Facebook, there was no
1353
01:09:38,840 --> 01:09:42,279
Twitter, there was no Instagram.
But I wanted to be able to come
1354
01:09:42,279 --> 01:09:48,319
up with something that would
identify my brand as a coach, as
1355
01:09:48,319 --> 01:09:52,920
a recruiter with young men.
Everybody was coming up with
1356
01:09:52,920 --> 01:09:56,880
hashtags.
And so Always Play to Win had
1357
01:09:56,880 --> 01:10:00,200
always been my motto.
So I just put it into a little
1358
01:10:00,200 --> 01:10:02,440
equation with the A to Peter Two
and the West.
1359
01:10:02,960 --> 01:10:07,720
And then it transitioned into a
company and a foundation on once
1360
01:10:07,720 --> 01:10:09,760
I wrote the book.
And we've been able to do a lot
1361
01:10:09,760 --> 01:10:12,160
of things since that, but it
simply stands for Always Play to
1362
01:10:12,160 --> 01:10:15,480
Win.
There's somebody out there
1363
01:10:15,680 --> 01:10:17,040
loving your mentality, coach
one.
1364
01:10:17,280 --> 01:10:20,640
Of our I, I love that you kind
of had that mentality going back
1365
01:10:20,640 --> 01:10:23,440
to your high school days out.
And I love that it started with
1366
01:10:23,920 --> 01:10:26,320
a way to kind of get that
self-confidence boost, that
1367
01:10:26,320 --> 01:10:30,000
confidence going into those big
time situations where a lot of
1368
01:10:30,000 --> 01:10:32,600
times you know that that
confidence is what you fall back
1369
01:10:32,600 --> 01:10:36,160
on and how you stay even keeled
through those processes, those
1370
01:10:36,160 --> 01:10:38,840
ups and downs of a game, those
ups and downs of the season.
1371
01:10:39,360 --> 01:10:43,040
So I love that we're kind of
wrapping up here.
1372
01:10:43,040 --> 01:10:45,320
I'm, I don't know if anybody
else has anything they want to
1373
01:10:45,320 --> 01:10:48,040
throw in there, but I, I wanted
to kind of this will be my, this
1374
01:10:48,040 --> 01:10:49,600
will be my last one that I'll
throw at you.
1375
01:10:51,000 --> 01:10:54,880
Can you sum up kind of what's
what, what you feel about this
1376
01:10:54,880 --> 01:10:58,560
season, this team and and maybe
even specifically your unit in
1377
01:10:58,560 --> 01:11:02,840
one word, how you feel heading
into this season?
1378
01:11:03,800 --> 01:11:07,480
Easily hungry.
I'm hungry is the word.
1379
01:11:07,840 --> 01:11:11,000
And I would say that, you know,
because I've witnessed it.
1380
01:11:11,320 --> 01:11:13,440
You know, I've seen the way
these guys have worked in the
1381
01:11:13,440 --> 01:11:16,480
offseason.
I've seen how these guys have
1382
01:11:16,480 --> 01:11:21,280
responded to the noise.
I saw how we didn't lose anybody
1383
01:11:21,600 --> 01:11:24,600
major in the portal.
I saw how our coaching staff
1384
01:11:24,600 --> 01:11:28,000
stayed intact.
I know the belief and I know
1385
01:11:28,000 --> 01:11:31,400
everybody understands.
Now we have a shot to fulfill a
1386
01:11:31,400 --> 01:11:34,280
lot of the things that we
believe we can fulfill.
1387
01:11:34,480 --> 01:11:36,880
But you got to be hungry.
Nothing's going to be handed to
1388
01:11:36,920 --> 01:11:38,840
you.
There's a lot of good football
1389
01:11:38,840 --> 01:11:42,200
teams on our schedule.
There are no easy games on our
1390
01:11:42,200 --> 01:11:44,640
schedule, despite what
predictions there are.
1391
01:11:44,920 --> 01:11:49,120
But I think this team is really
hungry to prove to themselves
1392
01:11:49,120 --> 01:11:52,520
and the rest of the world that
we are a National Football
1393
01:11:52,520 --> 01:11:54,240
power.
Nice.
1394
01:11:55,240 --> 01:11:57,080
I love that.
I love that.
1395
01:11:57,320 --> 01:12:01,040
And that, that was the word I
was hoping you were going to say
1396
01:12:01,520 --> 01:12:03,040
when, when I when I put that
question.
1397
01:12:03,040 --> 01:12:04,080
Together I put it.
Together.
1398
01:12:04,080 --> 01:12:06,560
I wrote it back.
I didn't, I didn't, I didn't let
1399
01:12:06,560 --> 01:12:09,240
anybody else know about.
I was like, I hope he says
1400
01:12:09,240 --> 01:12:13,080
hungry because that because
that's what I'm seeing and and I
1401
01:12:13,080 --> 01:12:15,240
think that's Hokie nation.
That's what we want this team to
1402
01:12:15,240 --> 01:12:18,800
be is still hungry to kind of
take that next step, continue
1403
01:12:18,800 --> 01:12:21,800
reaching for those goals that I
know you guys have and coach
1404
01:12:21,800 --> 01:12:25,680
pride talked about it at ACC
media day today that are a lot
1405
01:12:25,680 --> 01:12:29,600
bigger than, you know, just, you
know, getting back to a bowl
1406
01:12:29,600 --> 01:12:32,960
again or just winning 10 games.
You know, the the, the
1407
01:12:32,960 --> 01:12:36,280
expectations are up there for
what you can accomplish and
1408
01:12:36,280 --> 01:12:38,200
being hungry to accomplish that
is important.
1409
01:12:39,160 --> 01:12:42,440
One of the things I've learned
in my coaching career and
1410
01:12:42,440 --> 01:12:45,960
playing career is that if you
don't expect to win
1411
01:12:45,960 --> 01:12:48,280
championships, you're not going
to win championships.
1412
01:12:49,080 --> 01:12:50,640
And that's the bottom line of
it.
1413
01:12:50,640 --> 01:12:53,120
You know, if you expect to get
to a bowl game and that's your
1414
01:12:53,120 --> 01:12:55,040
expectation, that's what's going
to happen for you.
1415
01:12:55,320 --> 01:13:00,080
And there's no harm in saying
our goal is to win A
1416
01:13:00,080 --> 01:13:03,200
championship, not saying it's
going to happen, but that has to
1417
01:13:03,200 --> 01:13:05,160
be the goal in order for us to
reach it.
1418
01:13:05,440 --> 01:13:09,120
Because if that's not your goal,
you're not pushing yourself to
1419
01:13:09,120 --> 01:13:11,640
the limit to reach that.
And that's just the mindset.
1420
01:13:13,240 --> 01:13:14,920
Oh yeah, definitely.
Love that coach.
1421
01:13:14,920 --> 01:13:17,120
Love that man.
I know you're getting ready to
1422
01:13:17,120 --> 01:13:20,120
get out of here, so I'm all I'm.
I got one more I'm going to
1423
01:13:20,120 --> 01:13:21,600
throw at you.
I know you've been busy.
1424
01:13:21,600 --> 01:13:23,480
I know you've been ripping and
running.
1425
01:13:24,120 --> 01:13:28,640
We got to see a couple of our
guys go to ACC Media day and we
1426
01:13:28,760 --> 01:13:31,240
had Dorian representing your
your group of guys.
1427
01:13:31,240 --> 01:13:34,760
Did you get to see his outfit?
Yeah, man, I saw his blue suit
1428
01:13:34,760 --> 01:13:37,080
yesterday when he picked it up.
Man, I, I told him that's
1429
01:13:37,120 --> 01:13:39,400
impressive, you know?
So I was going to ask you.
1430
01:13:39,400 --> 01:13:42,160
I was going.
To ask you, Playboy myself, I
1431
01:13:42,160 --> 01:13:44,400
like that.
I was hoping you was going to
1432
01:13:44,400 --> 01:13:46,760
say you got to see it, so I was
going to ask you to rate.
1433
01:13:47,040 --> 01:13:50,800
Rate his drip coach one of the
team where you think he was at.
1434
01:13:51,440 --> 01:13:53,160
I will give him a 10 on that one
man.
1435
01:13:53,160 --> 01:13:56,520
I mean, it takes it takes
confidence to step out in
1436
01:13:56,520 --> 01:13:59,000
something like that.
I know that person because I do
1437
01:13:59,000 --> 01:14:00,800
it all the.
Time, I think he looks.
1438
01:14:01,360 --> 01:14:04,640
It's almost like a father
watching his son blossom into
1439
01:14:04,640 --> 01:14:06,920
something else.
So when I saw that suit
1440
01:14:06,920 --> 01:14:08,680
yesterday, I was like, that's my
guy.
1441
01:14:09,280 --> 01:14:12,480
Yeah, yeah, I've seen it.
I was like, OK, he look, he
1442
01:14:12,480 --> 01:14:16,240
looks like a cornerback, like he
looks like ADB, you know what
1443
01:14:16,240 --> 01:14:17,800
I'm saying?
Because the DBS like you got to
1444
01:14:17,800 --> 01:14:19,920
be a little bit flamboyant.
You got to talk a little junk
1445
01:14:19,920 --> 01:14:23,080
like when I seen him with that
suit on, I was like, Yep, that's
1446
01:14:23,200 --> 01:14:25,360
that's what he looked like.
So I got to ask coach what he
1447
01:14:25,600 --> 01:14:27,480
what he thought about that.
So that's.
1448
01:14:27,480 --> 01:14:30,880
All I got when I go to buy a
blazer suit and I say what would
1449
01:14:30,960 --> 01:14:33,320
somebody else not wear?
That's what I want.
1450
01:14:34,960 --> 01:14:37,520
Give me two of them.
Exactly.
1451
01:14:39,760 --> 01:14:41,840
Brian, you got anything else for
coach tonight?
1452
01:14:42,280 --> 01:14:46,240
I think I'm all set, brother.
Man, coach, this has been an
1453
01:14:46,240 --> 01:14:48,360
entertaining hour and 15
minutes.
1454
01:14:48,480 --> 01:14:54,320
We thank you so, so much for
giving us your time because we
1455
01:14:54,320 --> 01:14:56,960
know you do not have much of it
leading up to these last few
1456
01:14:56,960 --> 01:14:59,560
weeks of summer before you hit
the fall camp.
1457
01:15:01,360 --> 01:15:04,000
And, and it's been a pleasure.
This is the second time me and
1458
01:15:04,000 --> 01:15:08,920
Brian has gotten to talk to you.
The the everything that come
1459
01:15:09,000 --> 01:15:13,760
y'all, I'm going to just say
this in person re show during
1460
01:15:13,760 --> 01:15:17,280
the show, the man that y'all see
putting stuff out on social
1461
01:15:17,280 --> 01:15:21,560
media, all this stuff, the
sayings, the quotes, you're
1462
01:15:21,600 --> 01:15:25,520
always had to your mentality
Every time I love, I still love
1463
01:15:25,520 --> 01:15:27,520
reading it.
It's a great time to be a hokey.
1464
01:15:29,120 --> 01:15:32,360
No doubt about it man, and I
appreciate y'all having me on
1465
01:15:32,400 --> 01:15:35,680
and man, I just want to say the
Hokey Nation, man, we appreciate
1466
01:15:35,680 --> 01:15:38,200
you guys.
The one thing that's been stable
1467
01:15:38,200 --> 01:15:41,920
since we started here is the
support of the fans and Hokey
1468
01:15:41,920 --> 01:15:43,480
Nation and that's been big for
us.
1469
01:15:43,680 --> 01:15:47,600
You guys have no idea what it
means for me to be able to go
1470
01:15:47,600 --> 01:15:51,600
into a high school or go into a
household and sell to kids that
1471
01:15:51,600 --> 01:15:53,640
they're going to be able to play
in front of one of the best
1472
01:15:53,640 --> 01:15:56,280
atmospheres in all the sports,
not just college football.
1473
01:15:56,760 --> 01:16:01,720
That's big, and it's big, big
that for our social media
1474
01:16:01,720 --> 01:16:06,360
presence that there's so much
positivity from Hokey Nation on
1475
01:16:06,360 --> 01:16:09,160
social media.
I don't think a lot of fan bases
1476
01:16:09,160 --> 01:16:12,880
understand how much you can hurt
a program with negativity.
1477
01:16:13,280 --> 01:16:16,200
You know, I've been at a couple
of places where people would
1478
01:16:16,200 --> 01:16:21,280
just go on to the official
website and attack the coaching
1479
01:16:21,280 --> 01:16:22,880
staff.
That's not helping us.
1480
01:16:23,280 --> 01:16:27,520
That's not helping us to grow
because why do parents want to
1481
01:16:27,520 --> 01:16:31,320
send their place to a fan base
that's unsupportive, you know,
1482
01:16:31,760 --> 01:16:34,760
And those are the things that we
don't have to worry about with
1483
01:16:34,760 --> 01:16:37,680
Hokey Nation, man.
So hats off to all of you.
1484
01:16:38,160 --> 01:16:40,680
We love you.
Y'all are a weapon, Y'all are
1485
01:16:40,680 --> 01:16:43,200
the 12th man and let's go win
some football games.
1486
01:16:43,520 --> 01:16:44,960
Yes, Sir.
Y'all.
1487
01:16:45,120 --> 01:16:48,040
Thank you, Coach Jones for that.
That is going to wrap up this
1488
01:16:48,040 --> 01:16:51,680
episode of the Boundary Corner
Podcast brought to you by Main
1489
01:16:51,680 --> 01:16:54,000
Street Pharmacy.
I'm Curtis Wilson.
1490
01:16:54,520 --> 01:16:56,840
I'm Brian Siegler.
Jonathan Talley.
1491
01:16:57,960 --> 01:17:01,640
It's a great time to be a hokey.
This is Coach Derek Cheetah
1492
01:17:01,720 --> 01:17:03,520
Jones.
Visit our website,
1493
01:17:03,520 --> 01:17:07,080
boundarycornerbt.com to check
out all of our episodes.
1494
01:17:07,240 --> 01:17:08,880
While you're there, follow us
everywhere.
1495
01:17:08,880 --> 01:17:10,960
We're on Twitter, we're on
Facebook, Instagram.
1496
01:17:10,960 --> 01:17:12,680
We have a YouTube channel as
well.
1497
01:17:13,120 --> 01:17:16,320
Any podcast source you can think
of, Brian bumps it to them.
1498
01:17:16,320 --> 01:17:18,400
It'll be there tomorrow morning
if you want to listen to this
1499
01:17:18,400 --> 01:17:21,800
again.
As always, we let our buddy
1500
01:17:21,800 --> 01:17:24,600
Jason Long who is down in the
Roanoke area.
1501
01:17:25,160 --> 01:17:30,240
He plays us in, he plays us out.
Take a look at him, Jason Long,
1502
01:17:30,320 --> 01:17:33,400
music.com.
Check him out for all of his
1503
01:17:33,400 --> 01:17:37,320
stuff, connections to his
Facebook page, his YouTube
1504
01:17:37,320 --> 01:17:39,800
sites, and in the next few weeks
here.
1505
01:17:40,080 --> 01:17:42,040
He's got a few things going on
down in Roanoke.
1506
01:17:42,040 --> 01:17:45,200
I want to pump these out.
He is going to be at the West
1507
01:17:45,200 --> 01:17:47,720
End Farmers Market on August
6th.
1508
01:17:48,200 --> 01:17:51,840
He is going to be at the Waxena
City Tap Room on August 7th at
1509
01:17:51,840 --> 01:17:54,320
6:30 to 8:30.
He will be playing at the
1510
01:17:54,320 --> 01:17:57,480
Roanoke Taco Fest in September
as well.
1511
01:17:57,480 --> 01:18:01,360
I kind of laughed at that.
But again, we thank you all for
1512
01:18:01,360 --> 01:18:03,000
listening.
Thank you all so much in the
1513
01:18:03,000 --> 01:18:05,640
chat tonight.
A lot of chatter out there, and
1514
01:18:05,640 --> 01:18:08,520
as always, let's go.
Okie.
1515
01:18:45,630 --> 01:18:45,710
The.
00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:50,590
Music.
And welcome back to the Boundary
2
00:00:50,590 --> 00:00:54,550
Corner Podcast along with my
partners, Brian Siegler and
3
00:00:54,550 --> 00:00:57,030
Jonathan Talley.
I am Curtis Wilson and this
4
00:00:57,030 --> 00:01:00,910
episode is brought to you by
Doctor Jeremy Counts down at the
5
00:01:00,910 --> 00:01:04,720
Main Street Pharmacy in
Blacksburg, VA, Your friendly
6
00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:08,480
neighborhood pharmacy three O 1
S Main St.
7
00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:11,800
Blacksburg.
Gentlemen, gentlemen, how are.
8
00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:16,200
Y'all this evening.
Hey guys, back-to-back weeks of
9
00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:20,240
recording going live with the
crew here, man, it's going to be
10
00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:23,480
a fun night tonight.
And we got, we got them stacked
11
00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:25,800
wall to wall pretty much until
the start of the season, but
12
00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:26,960
this was going to be a lot of
fun.
13
00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:30,600
Yeah, I was just going to say
back-to-back, back-to-back weeks
14
00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:32,360
mean we getting closer to the
season.
15
00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,400
You got to go through that
offseason grind, man.
16
00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:37,720
It's rough, but we then almost
made it.
17
00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:40,040
We're about to get in the fall
camp.
18
00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:43,920
Little bit of news right quick
before we get to the big thing.
19
00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:47,120
We went to the doctor again,
took my son to the doctor for
20
00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:49,320
his checkup.
Got some disturbing news.
21
00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:53,000
Leg is leg is healing great.
Everything's fine.
22
00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,360
But looking at growth plates, he
ain't got much more to grow and
23
00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:59,280
he's distraught.
He's at about 6 foot.
24
00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,400
They told him he might have two
more inches.
25
00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:03,480
That's it.
No.
26
00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:05,680
NO65 for you, buddy.
Deuce.
27
00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:10,440
Deuce is good.
I'm 62, so I was like, you may
28
00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:12,760
you may get to where I'm at, you
may not, I thought.
29
00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:16,600
Right here.
So he was a little, he was a
30
00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:18,280
little distraught by with that,
but.
31
00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:20,520
What you say to him, you ain't
going to never be bigger than
32
00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:21,760
me, son.
Let me just say that, right?
33
00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:23,680
You're never going to.
Be you're never going to be as
34
00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,760
big and as pretty as me so.
Our forward is not in your
35
00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:29,000
future.
Yeah, man, just hey, take what?
36
00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:31,160
Take what?
The Lord give you He faster than
37
00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:37,240
me though, so he eyes.
Oh man, it's it's already pre
38
00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:40,960
show y'all pre show?
Let's go ahead.
39
00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:43,400
What's up?
Kevin, we got a bunch of people
40
00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:48,280
joining us tonight.
Y'all the the, the pre show was
41
00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:50,600
great.
So we're going to go ahead and
42
00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,080
bring him in here because we we
got to start talking some more.
43
00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,360
We've already had a bunch of fun
with him already.
44
00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:01,400
Pokey Nation, welcome your
cornerback coach The Cheetah.
45
00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:04,680
Derek Jones.
Coach Jones, how are you
46
00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,360
tonight, Sir?
I'm doing good guys, man.
47
00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:09,280
How's everybody out there at
Hokie Nation doing?
48
00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:12,760
We live in the dream, coach, we
live in the dream.
49
00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:14,600
Having you on tonight's a lot of
fun.
50
00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:16,680
We're ready to get it going
again.
51
00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:19,320
Like Curtis said, the pre show,
I mean you weren't you were
52
00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:20,600
spending a lot of gems right
there.
53
00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:22,920
We're going to get some more
coming out for Hokie Nation now,
54
00:03:22,920 --> 00:03:24,400
so just excited to have you on
board.
55
00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:26,920
Hey man, I'm glad you guys
invited me on.
56
00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:28,480
Let's do it.
Let's do it.
57
00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:31,000
Well, first of all, we discussed
it beforehand, but we're going
58
00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,880
to do it here in public.
Happy anniversary to you and
59
00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:39,680
Missus Jones 24 years just a few
days ago, give out a big round
60
00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:43,200
of applause.
And so Coach Jones, you were
61
00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:47,400
explaining to us, y'all had this
wonderful, your wife planned a
62
00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,720
wonderful anniversary vacation,
right?
63
00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:54,880
It's more like an annual
vacation than an anniversary
64
00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:55,800
vacation.
Whatever works.
65
00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:58,520
Yes you did.
We've done some travelling here
66
00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,680
in the last four weeks and I'm
glad to be back home.
67
00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:06,800
Yeah, it looks like you were,
you were on the move.
68
00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:11,280
You told us you were you were
out there doing like a little
69
00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,960
bit of tour of the South, took a
little couple trips there, got
70
00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:17,760
to see Coach Pross spot down in
Alabama, a little bit of
71
00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:20,320
everything, right?
Yeah, man, it it was.
72
00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:24,040
I mean, like as soon as the the
vacation started, she had it
73
00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:28,480
planned and we went to
Mississippi to visit her folks.
74
00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:32,440
And then we flew to Granada for
six days with seven other
75
00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:34,920
coaching couples, something that
we do every two years.
76
00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:38,520
And we came back from Granada,
flew in the Memphis T, Memphis,
77
00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:43,200
TN and drove directly to coach
prize house down in Orange
78
00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:44,640
Beach.
We've been going down
79
00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:47,240
vacationing with him and Amy
probably the last eight years or
80
00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:51,160
so at their place there and went
through Atlanta to see one of my
81
00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:54,240
former players just had a brand
new baby.
82
00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,280
And then we drove to South
Carolina to see my family and we
83
00:04:57,280 --> 00:04:59,360
went to Charlotte to celebrate
the anniversary.
84
00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:01,680
And then we went back to the
Raleigh Durham area to see some
85
00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:03,360
people.
And she finally allowed me to
86
00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:04,680
come back home a couple days
ago.
87
00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:09,640
He is back home it's it's good
to again it's good to have you
88
00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,920
here so y'all did a lot of
traveling a lot of stuff so and
89
00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:15,840
it seems just from your social
media you love summer.
90
00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:18,800
Why wouldn't you it's a low down
time.
91
00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:20,680
We know you're still out there
recruiting, but.
92
00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:22,320
What is?
What's?
93
00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:25,200
What's the big one fun summer
thing you like to do every year?
94
00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:27,600
Is it is it that vacation or is
it something else?
95
00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:32,240
You know, I usually like looking
forward to getting to reconnect
96
00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:34,720
with friends.
And one thing that those
97
00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:39,880
vacations do is allow me to get
back to the Memphis, TN area in
98
00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:42,360
Mississippi where I have a lot
of college teammates.
99
00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:46,200
And you know, we get together
and just sit back and act like
100
00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:48,800
we back in those old days again.
And, you know, that's something
101
00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:51,760
you can't put a price tag on.
And, you know, we don't recruit
102
00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:54,120
that area much here at Virginia
Tech.
103
00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:56,480
So that's the only time I really
get to see those guys.
104
00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,200
So I would say that's the one
thing I look forward to because
105
00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,120
we all close to our 50s now, so
we're not getting any younger.
106
00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,040
Definitely, definitely.
Well, yeah, I'm going to go
107
00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:07,960
back.
Can y'all hear me Good.
108
00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:12,880
So one, one thing, I don't know
if y'all heard this, Hokey
109
00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:15,760
Nation coach Cheetah said.
He was in Alabama.
110
00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:19,120
So I don't want to hear no more
hillbilly jokes and bad Internet
111
00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,840
jokes, all right, because people
take vacations and come to
112
00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:26,720
Alabama so y'all need to relax.
But we going we going to go to
113
00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:30,360
the next question Coach.
I kind of know the answer, but
114
00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:33,760
everybody in Hokie Nation wants
to know where did you come up
115
00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,080
with the cheetah wings?
Where did that come from?
116
00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:42,240
You know, I'm a wing fanatic and
have been for a long time.
117
00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:45,480
And my two favorite wings were
lemon pepper wings and the
118
00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:49,640
traditional Buffalo wing.
And what I started doing is I
119
00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:52,400
like to cook.
I cook at home a lot myself and
120
00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:54,920
I like to make wings at home a
lot myself.
121
00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,480
And So what I started doing many
years ago was just taking the
122
00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:00,920
Buffalo wing and sprinking lemon
pepper on it.
123
00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:04,000
And you know, with my nickname
being Cheetah and that being the
124
00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:06,400
brand of my players, why not
call it a cheetah wing?
125
00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:08,880
Because once you put the lemon
pepper on it, you see the little
126
00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:11,960
black spot.
And so everywhere I go, I'm kind
127
00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:14,040
of a creature of habit.
Everywhere I coach, I kind of
128
00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:17,280
got one place that I go and
that's just kind of my hangout.
129
00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:21,200
So fortunate for me, every place
I've been over the course of the
130
00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:24,120
last 15 years, I've had a spot
that would make those for me.
131
00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:29,640
But ironically, when I got here
to Virginia Tech, I was living
132
00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:31,600
in the Residence Inn pretty
much.
133
00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:34,440
And I've known Coach Foster for
a while through the profession,
134
00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:36,040
and he welcomed me when I got
here.
135
00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:38,600
And he just told me he's like,
you know, here's a place you can
136
00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,680
go to do this.
Coach Foster's wife, Jesse,
137
00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:44,280
actually sold me my house.
So we were interacting with them
138
00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:47,760
quite a bit and Coach Foster
told me about PKS.
139
00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:50,240
He says it stays open late if
you get back in town late
140
00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:52,200
recruiting.
But he says it's never going to
141
00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:53,720
be many people in there this
time of year.
142
00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,360
You can go in there, watch TV,
you know, and get yourself
143
00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:59,520
something to eat.
So I go in there one night and I
144
00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:02,960
look at the menu and they don't
have lemon pepper on the menu as
145
00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:04,680
a sauce.
They have Buffalo.
146
00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:09,400
So me being the person I am, I
always ask if you have lemon
147
00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:11,880
pepper because a lot of times
they have spices back there that
148
00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:14,760
they don't have.
And I asked the bartender, you
149
00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:18,360
know, could he make me a Buffalo
wing sprinkle with lemon pepper?
150
00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:20,040
And he's like, let me go back
here and ask him.
151
00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:22,040
And he went back there and he
came back.
152
00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:23,640
He says, yes, they can do that
for you.
153
00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:26,480
So I got the wings, took them
back to the room.
154
00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:29,520
You know, just being new to
Hokie Nation, I took a picture
155
00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:31,480
of them and it's the first time
I'd ever done that.
156
00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,120
I took a picture of them, I
thought nothing of it, ate them.
157
00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:37,080
They were really good.
And I posted it.
158
00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:39,760
Cheetah Wing thought nothing of
it, no big deal.
159
00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:43,000
Had no idea that anybody was
even going to know what I was
160
00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,720
talking about.
And to my surprise, I woke up
161
00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:47,160
the next day and it had gone
viral.
162
00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:50,920
And that was the birth of the
original Cheetah Wing here in
163
00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:52,760
Blacksburg there.
You go.
164
00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:55,840
Think about Hokie Nation, if
they see something out there
165
00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:58,120
that they can latch onto you
going you going to get it
166
00:08:58,680 --> 00:09:01,040
popping a little bit on the on
the timeline there for sure.
167
00:09:01,680 --> 00:09:02,320
All right.
Definitely.
168
00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:04,840
All right, can I ask another
question real quick because you
169
00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:08,080
say you like to cook.
I I'm going to take wings out of
170
00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:09,880
it because that sounds like
that'd be your go to.
171
00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:13,680
You invite us three over to your
home this fall after a game.
172
00:09:13,680 --> 00:09:17,400
What are you cooking us?
It depends on if we cook it on
173
00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:20,600
the grill, if we cook in in the
kitchen, if we cook it in the
174
00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:22,520
grill, if we cook it on the
grill outside.
175
00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:25,040
I'm going to make ribs.
I like my ribs.
176
00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:29,600
I come from a long family of BBQ
people in South Carolina, so I
177
00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:31,440
take a great deal of pride in
that.
178
00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:35,000
If we're cooking on the inside
of the house, I'm probably going
179
00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:37,640
to make you guys some of my
homemade meatballs.
180
00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:42,440
I make meatballs, I put them in
gravy and I accessorize them
181
00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:44,080
with a variety of different
vegetables.
182
00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:47,960
Good hearty meal.
He said he he said he
183
00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:52,840
accessorize them with special.
That man is the real deal.
184
00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:55,400
Let me put y'all on some game
two right quick before we go to
185
00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:58,200
the next question, because
Cheetah has to be pretty
186
00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:02,000
diplomatic so he can't say some
things that I can say, but I'm
187
00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:03,800
going to tell y'all listeners on
here.
188
00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:10,360
It is a black people staple to
get lemon pepper hot wings.
189
00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:13,360
If you go to, if you are in any
town, you may need to have your
190
00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,000
gun on you because some of these
wing spots are a little bit
191
00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:18,720
crazy.
You find your wings to go and
192
00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:22,840
you go in there and you ask for
lemon pepper hot all flats fried
193
00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:25,320
hard.
That's how that's what you got
194
00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:26,600
to get.
That's what.
195
00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:29,760
That's your order.
You know, most people won't
196
00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:34,680
realize this, but I'll I'll let
it out if you see me at any
197
00:10:34,680 --> 00:10:38,880
point in time with my book bag.
I have lemon pepper in that book
198
00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:42,960
bag.
I make my own cheetah wings
199
00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:44,720
because some places don't have
lemon.
200
00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,480
Pepper but.
I refuse to be denied.
201
00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:50,640
You know they make orange pepper
now, right?
202
00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:52,960
Too.
Yeah.
203
00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:55,760
OK, that's all I want to ask.
And, and, and you got to keep it
204
00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:58,280
with you because you can't, you
can't like take a chance if
205
00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:00,880
they're going to go go skimp on
you with the lemon pepper.
206
00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:02,440
So you got to like, all right,
they're here.
207
00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:04,280
But I got to, I got to throw a
little bit more on top here.
208
00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:06,360
You got to finish it.
Well, well, the thing about
209
00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,120
lemon pepper is too now they're
different brands.
210
00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:11,480
Lemon lemon pepper is kind of
like gasoline.
211
00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:13,600
So, you know, some brands are
better than others.
212
00:11:13,680 --> 00:11:17,320
Here we go.
And like restaurant, call it how
213
00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:18,720
it is.
You know, restaurants try to
214
00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:20,760
profit.
So they'll give you sometimes
215
00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:22,960
that powdery lemon pepper.
I don't want that.
216
00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:26,920
I want the thick lemon pepper.
So I will sometimes ask to see
217
00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:28,480
the lemon pepper to see what it
looks like.
218
00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:30,160
And if it's too powdery I'll
just make my own.
219
00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:35,800
You got a go to brand?
No, not really.
220
00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:38,200
I usually just look at it and
look at the thickness.
221
00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:42,560
Yeah, yeah, I got one more food
question.
222
00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:45,400
This one was just sent to me,
Coach, they said, do you?
223
00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:47,680
They said Do you make your own
dry rub?
224
00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:50,680
No, I haven't made my own dry
rub.
225
00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:53,320
I haven't.
I haven't tapped into making my
226
00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:54,760
own seasonings.
Yet.
227
00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:57,600
OK, got you.
That man's busy recruiting.
228
00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:00,800
He ain't got time to do it.
I can't experiment with this.
229
00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:02,920
I'll buy them.
I I know what they look like.
230
00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:05,600
I know how I want them to be.
Haven't really played around
231
00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:08,200
with that yet.
All right, so we, we, we talked
232
00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,600
about PKS.
What's what's your other go to
233
00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:12,720
food spots in Blacksburg since
you've been there?
234
00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:17,120
Man, I like Bull and Bones, you
know, good place to go.
235
00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:19,000
Got to know the owners pretty
well there.
236
00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:22,080
I love Farmhouse.
You know, that's a big date
237
00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:25,320
night spot for several of us
coaches going there.
238
00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:28,000
And I'm a big Waffle House guy,
man, I've been a Waffle House
239
00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:31,080
guy for a long time.
But you know, Mcadoo's another
240
00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:32,720
place.
I'm one of those people, man, I
241
00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:35,040
love going.
I love small college towns
242
00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:39,320
because those people support you
and so I try to give back to
243
00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:41,400
them.
So if I like the cuisine, I'll
244
00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:42,960
walk in.
You know, the Brazilian
245
00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,440
steakhouse over there, I think
they have a really good steak.
246
00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,880
I don't really understand what a
lot of the sides are, but the
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00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:50,760
meat is good.
You know, as far as there,
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00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:53,520
you've got, you know, a couple
different pizza places here in
249
00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:55,040
town.
But I I try to spread the wealth
250
00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,200
out pretty good there.
We go that's pretty awesome.
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00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:00,720
Well, we talked a lot of meat,
but we going to get to the meat
252
00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:02,920
of the of the questions with
coach Cheetah here.
253
00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:07,240
We're going to talk a little
football so we know you got a
254
00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:11,360
couple of guys in that room. 2
names that stand out is Dorian
255
00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:15,080
and and Mansour for this year.
We know those young men have
256
00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:17,160
made a name for themselves under
your tutelage.
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00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:21,320
Can you tell us kind of what has
been your favorite thing with
258
00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:23,600
them or your favorite thing
about them since you've been
259
00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:27,440
coaching them, those two guys?
Yeah, without a doubt.
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00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:31,400
You know, talking about Dorian,
the thing I like about Dorian is
261
00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:35,320
his competitive nature.
I mean, he is the highly, highly
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00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,600
competitive guy and that's the
number one characteristic that
263
00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:42,120
you got to have in our position,
specifically for the style of
264
00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:45,360
defense that we play.
We play a lot of man coverage.
265
00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:47,160
So you got to be built a certain
way.
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00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:49,960
You've got to be very
competitive.
267
00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:54,120
You've got to be a person that
understands a lot of things that
268
00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:56,520
are necessarily not in the game
plan that you've got to do to
269
00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:59,040
elevate your game.
But I think it's competitive
270
00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:02,600
nature drives them to do the
things that he has to do away
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00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,680
from the field, away from
practice, to elevate his game.
272
00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:08,720
And he's the guy that the rest
of the guys in the room feed off
273
00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:10,920
of because he's always going to
be the first one out there.
274
00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:15,160
He's always going to be the one,
you know, challenging not only
275
00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:18,400
himself but the other guys in
the room to be more competitive.
276
00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:21,040
And that stuff is contagious.
And when you talk about
277
00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:24,440
Monsieur, it will be mentality.
You know, Monsieur was thrown in
278
00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:27,280
the fire by me very early in his
career.
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00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:31,560
And so, you know, he caught a
lot of heat from me in that
280
00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:33,760
sense.
I'm I'm a very honest coach.
281
00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:38,520
If you are not mentally tough,
if you don't like honesty, if
282
00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:40,880
you don't like the truth, you
don't struggle playing for me.
283
00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:45,600
And, you know, he's been a day
one page one guy that has
284
00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:48,040
received a lot of that and he
just handles it.
285
00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:51,240
He just takes it in.
He never back talks, he never
286
00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:54,400
gets frustrated and it
transitions to his ball game,
287
00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:58,840
You know, So I think that's one
of the things about him and you
288
00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:02,440
see it in the physical way that
he plays on the football field.
289
00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:05,360
So those are the two things that
you got to have when you a
290
00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:08,400
cornerback.
And one of them has a very
291
00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:11,240
highly elevated level of it and
the other has the other highly
292
00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:13,440
elevated level of it.
Can I ask this?
293
00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:16,960
We've got a couple questions,
but what is it about the
294
00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:19,760
physical part of their games?
Like what is it that really like
295
00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:23,000
when you stepped foot,
especially actually both of
296
00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,800
them, because the year you got
here, Dorian had been here for a
297
00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:28,720
couple years, Mansour was in
that freshman class.
298
00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:31,120
What was it physically?
Was it footwork?
299
00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:33,960
Was it the way they did press?
What did you like immediately
300
00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:35,760
physically?
Because obviously the mindsets
301
00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:39,200
are there for both of them.
Well, the thing about Dorian was
302
00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:42,720
just, you know, he had all the
measurables and intangibles of a
303
00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:45,880
corner, you know, and just the
things that he did naturally the
304
00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:47,920
first time I coached him.
You're looking at this guy and
305
00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:49,400
say, you know, this guy bends
well.
306
00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:52,400
This guy changed directions
really well, You know, being
307
00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:54,320
able to play the ball down
field.
308
00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,520
That's just a lot of things that
you can't coach that he had.
309
00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:00,640
And Monsieur, you know, he
actually started with us as a
310
00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:03,240
safety.
We, we, we was a safety
311
00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,440
initially.
And he got hurt, you know, when
312
00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:09,080
he first got here.
So we didn't get to see him do a
313
00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:12,240
whole lot.
And he transitioned over to me
314
00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:14,280
at corner.
And to be honest with you guys,
315
00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:17,320
the first time I saw Muscle
Delane make a tackle was in the
316
00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:20,360
North Carolina game because he
couldn't do anything because he
317
00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:23,040
had a shoulder injury.
So we kind of threw him out that
318
00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:25,640
sight unseen and he was ready
for the moment.
319
00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:27,880
I think he made the first two
tackles that he was in for the
320
00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,000
ball game and you know it.
It's continued since then, but
321
00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:33,920
Muscle likes contact.
You know, he has the mentality
322
00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:36,920
of a safety playing corner.
And you know, that's just what
323
00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:38,520
you see every day in practice as
well.
324
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:42,880
Yeah, I love hearing corners
that like to hit a little bit.
325
00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:46,560
I mean, that's a that's a
hallmark of the Hokies.
326
00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:49,120
So have having somebody like
that, having that mentality in
327
00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:51,480
that room, you'd love to hear
that.
328
00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:54,320
Let's talk a little bit about
some of the younger Cheetahs
329
00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:56,360
though.
So we got Dante, we got Braylon.
330
00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:00,040
They played in 13 and 12 games,
respectively.
331
00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,160
Getting kind of run in your unit
on special teams, some a little
332
00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,560
bit watching these guys kind of
go through the process now that
333
00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:08,119
they're a little bit further
along.
334
00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:12,119
What are some of those areas of
growth that you've seen since
335
00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:13,720
this time last year for those
two?
336
00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:17,720
You know, first and foremost,
both of the guys I think
337
00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:21,440
understand the position better
than they did when they first
338
00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,359
got here.
And a lot of that credit goes to
339
00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:26,560
the guys that are playing in
front of them, you know, being
340
00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:29,760
able to pour into them.
And anytime you've got guys that
341
00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:33,280
you can watch do things the
right way, it makes a huge
342
00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:35,520
difference.
And they're blessed to have
343
00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:37,120
that.
You know, unfortunately for
344
00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:41,720
those guys, they were young last
year and, you know, probably a
345
00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:44,400
victim of the guys being in
front of them being such good
346
00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:46,360
players.
You know, we were having some
347
00:17:46,360 --> 00:17:49,280
struggles early in the year, so
we wasn't pulling away from a
348
00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,480
lot of people.
So it's very hard to pull guys
349
00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:55,600
with the talent level of Munsu
and Dorian out of the ball game
350
00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,120
and put unproven, untested guys
in when you're trying to win
351
00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:02,040
ball games.
And because, you know, we kind
352
00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,280
of overhauled that room, we
didn't have a lot of guys that
353
00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:06,960
have been here with playing
experience.
354
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,920
You know, the one guy that we
had last year, you know, to
355
00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:13,000
buffer a little bit was Derek
Canton and he gave us, you know,
356
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:15,920
that third body guy.
So those guys probably didn't
357
00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,880
get the number of snaps that you
would like them to have gotten.
358
00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:20,440
But we didn't have another
choice.
359
00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:23,240
You know, we were preparing them
for the future because you can't
360
00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:25,920
go into a season just saying
you're going to have two healthy
361
00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,640
corners expecting to do what we
do on defense.
362
00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,480
You got to have guys that if
something to one of those guys,
363
00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:35,960
and we saw that in year one when
Dorian Strong got hurt that year
364
00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:39,040
one play away from not being
able to do the things that you
365
00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:41,360
want to do on defense if you
don't have the people to do it.
366
00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:45,640
And our defense is geared around
having corners that can do what
367
00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,400
we do because if we can't play
man coverage, we're not going to
368
00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:50,520
be very good.
And that's one of the things
369
00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:53,600
that, you know, during the first
year that we were here, we just
370
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:56,560
didn't have the guys to be able
to do the things that we wanted
371
00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:58,880
to do.
So we've got to bring those guys
372
00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:02,360
along and those older guys are
really helping in that process.
373
00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:05,720
Awesome.
And let let me ask this because
374
00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:08,040
it's kind of a little bit of a
piggyback off that question
375
00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:11,320
because you talked about doing
what you want to do.
376
00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:14,440
And when we had JC Price on, he
talked about the one thing that
377
00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:17,400
kind of got the defense and the
rhythm last year is when you
378
00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:21,400
were able to go a lot more man
coverage as the season went on.
379
00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:24,920
And that kind of started racking
up those tackles for loss,
380
00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:27,240
racking up those sacks.
And then that reciprocal
381
00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:31,720
relationship between pressure on
the quarterback man coverage
382
00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,600
given those those defensive
lineman time to get to the
383
00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:36,880
quarterback.
Talk a little bit about that and
384
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:39,760
how that kind of helped the
growth of your room last year?
385
00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:42,400
Yeah, it makes all the
difference in the world, and
386
00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:46,800
that's been my background
basically since I've been in the
387
00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,040
profession.
I played college football for a
388
00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:52,400
guy named Jolie Dunn at Ole Miss
at Ole Miss, and you know, we
389
00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:54,120
played a lot of 0 in man
coverage.
390
00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:56,600
You know, we had the number one
defense in the nation one year
391
00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:00,880
just because those things marry
up When you can take away access
392
00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,680
throws from quarterbacks and
access throws or hitches, slants
393
00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,360
in the three-step drops because
you're playing soft coverage,
394
00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:10,520
you limit a lot of what they can
do when you get up there and you
395
00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:12,880
take away a lot of the route
side of the route tree.
396
00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:15,640
You make the quarterback hold
the ball, which buys time for
397
00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:17,360
the defensive line to be able to
get there.
398
00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,480
And the other thing you do is
you make the quarterback have to
399
00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:23,880
be perfect and throwing when you
play zone and when you play off,
400
00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:27,480
everything is timing.
The receiver runs five step
401
00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:30,760
turns around the ball is there.
Well, if you in his face that
402
00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,840
windows not going to be there.
And the one thing that offenses
403
00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:37,880
are not going to do a whole lot
is take shots down the field,
404
00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:40,400
because if you take shots down
the field too often and you
405
00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:44,760
don't hit them, that gets you
behind in the snap count, gets
406
00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:48,680
you behind in everything.
And so now if you're backed up
407
00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:51,720
and you try to throw 2 take off
routes, you have to punt the
408
00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:53,280
ball from there.
You're giving the other team
409
00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:56,440
good field position.
So it really limits a lot of
410
00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:58,800
what the offense can do when you
can do that.
411
00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:01,800
But it's just we're married in
that sense.
412
00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:04,840
You know, the defensive line
loves that we can do that and we
413
00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:09,000
love it.
They can get there. 100% let me
414
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,080
ask this because you know, they
kind of they did like you said,
415
00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:14,240
you wanted to get a more snaps
last year.
416
00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:17,640
But what have you seen in the
three phases so far this year?
417
00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:20,760
The growth, what have you seen
from both Braylon and Dante and
418
00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,680
the growth they've taken because
they did play a lot of freshmen
419
00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,200
from some people's eyes, because
some people will say they didn't
420
00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:29,680
red shirt.
They were out there every single
421
00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:31,880
game just about.
So what have you seen them
422
00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:36,800
really grow with in these really
actually in really the last 365
423
00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:39,920
days almost?
You know, maturity being number
424
00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:43,040
one, I always tell my guys it
takes a certain level of
425
00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:47,000
maturity to excel at this level.
And I've seen each one of those
426
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:50,600
guys do that.
And maturity covers the large
427
00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:52,880
window.
You know, maturity and knowing
428
00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:55,920
how to go watch film.
Maturity and disciplining
429
00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:58,600
yourself to do the things that
you have to do when you're not
430
00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:02,560
forced to do it to get yourself
better understanding, not being
431
00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:06,560
afraid to ask questions.
And I think both of those guys
432
00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:09,960
have a vast knowledge of the
game that they didn't have, you
433
00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:13,560
know, when they came here.
The more snaps they get, the
434
00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:14,800
better they're going to get at
it.
435
00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:17,560
And so, you know, we were really
able to make some headway to
436
00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:20,360
spring.
Dante and Braylon both got a
437
00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:24,280
chance to run a lot of reps with
the ones.
438
00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:26,920
Braylon's working a lot with the
safeties.
439
00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:30,080
Because what we want to do with
our secondary is we don't want
440
00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:32,320
to be one-dimensional.
You know, we have corners and we
441
00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:35,600
have safeties, but the whole
cheetah concept is about a guy
442
00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:37,720
that's versatile.
We want to be able to get our
443
00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:41,360
best football players on the
field and you'll see if at any
444
00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:44,040
point in time we get in trouble,
You guys know very well that we
445
00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:47,560
can stick monsoon delay in that
safety and pick right up right
446
00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:50,160
there.
So we want to develop guys like
447
00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:54,400
Braylon and Dante into being
versatile players because when
448
00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,280
you're a good player and you
young and you have really good
449
00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:00,240
players in front of you, you
want to be able to do more than
450
00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,440
one thing.
But that's a lot to put on a
451
00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:06,200
true freshman to ask the guy to
do a lot of different things.
452
00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:09,400
But we were able to spring to be
able to put both of those guys
453
00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,440
at multiple positions.
And when you play safe, you
454
00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:15,280
learn more about corner and when
you play corner you learn more
455
00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:17,960
about safety.
So it just helps you all of our
456
00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:20,600
overall portfolio as far as a
football player.
457
00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:24,160
Nice.
Love hearing it, Coach.
458
00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:26,360
Let's talk about another one of
those young guys.
459
00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:28,760
Let's talk about Josh Clark.
We talked a little bit about him
460
00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:33,120
in the pre show and he showed
out in the spring game and kind
461
00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:35,520
of throughout spring practice.
We heard his name a few times
462
00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:38,720
being mentioned.
By all accounts, how invaluable
463
00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:40,560
is it?
Not only that, you got him on
464
00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:44,320
campus for both the winter
phase, spring ball and now the
465
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:49,320
summer phase.
And for him, or not just for
466
00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:52,720
him, but for any of those guys
coming in early, how big of an
467
00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:56,080
advantage is that for him?
It makes a huge difference
468
00:23:56,080 --> 00:24:01,240
because those guys come in with
time to be able to learn from
469
00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:04,560
their teammates, time to be able
to get reps.
470
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:07,280
It's almost like having a season
before you season.
471
00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:10,360
And fortunate for him, he came
in by himself.
472
00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:13,920
So he got a lot of reps that you
know, that the year before I
473
00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:18,560
think we had like five corners,
you know, so you know, with each
474
00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:21,040
other.
Whereas now Josh is by himself.
475
00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:22,840
So he got a chance to get a lot
of reps.
476
00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:26,000
I was able to sprinkle him in
there with the two some, you
477
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:27,640
know, sprinkle him in there with
the threes.
478
00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:31,120
But also, when you come in by
yourself, you're the baby of the
479
00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:35,560
group, so everybody in the room
is pouring into you, as opposed
480
00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:38,440
to when that group came in
before, it was five of them
481
00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,480
sitting in there and Dorian's
turning around looking, and he's
482
00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,360
trying to tell every last one of
them something to spend time
483
00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:46,400
with him.
So Josh kind of gets all the
484
00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:49,240
attention to himself.
So that's been real beneficial
485
00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:51,680
to him.
But Josh is a uniquely mature
486
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,560
kid, and that's one of the
things that you have to look for
487
00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:57,760
in the recruiting process.
The recruiting process isn't
488
00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:01,880
just about ability.
It isn't just about how fast is
489
00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,600
the guy or how good of a
football player is, how mature
490
00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:08,040
is he?
And in today's world, we have to
491
00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,920
look at guys in the recruiting
process and say how much
492
00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,400
attention does he need?
How much attention does he like?
493
00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:15,880
How much does he want?
How coachable is it?
494
00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:19,280
Is this a guy that's going to be
able to conform the discipline
495
00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:21,800
or is he a guy that's going to
say, I don't want to be
496
00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:23,160
disciplined, I'm going in the
portal.
497
00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,600
You have to dig deep nowadays in
ways you didn't have to, to find
498
00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:30,160
out the total makeup of this guy
and what he's abiding.
499
00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:33,160
Josh was just the guy that
checked all the boxes, you know,
500
00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:36,520
and it comes from his family,
comes from a great family, very
501
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,760
athletic family, couple
brothers, played college
502
00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:41,720
football.
One of his brothers was at UNC
503
00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:45,360
playing when I was at Duke.
One of the sisters played
504
00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:48,480
basketball at Duke.
I think mom played basketball.
505
00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:53,880
So very athletic, family, but
very mature in the sense of how
506
00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:57,520
he came into the meeting room as
a freshman and absorbed
507
00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:01,960
information and asked questions.
And we do a lot of exercises in
508
00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:05,040
our room of being transparent.
And, you know, one of the things
509
00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:07,400
I like to do is I like for my
players to be honest with each
510
00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:10,080
other.
And the only way that Josh Clark
511
00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:14,040
is ever going to be honest with
Dorian Strong about something
512
00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,320
that he can do to be a better
captain or a better player is
513
00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:18,880
for me to put them in those
positions.
514
00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,480
And you know, Josh was just one
of those guys day one, page one,
515
00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:25,560
you know, whether it's Monsoor
standing up there, whether it's
516
00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:28,960
Dorian standing up there, Josh
spoke his mind and what he felt
517
00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:31,960
that those guys needed to
improve on in order to be better
518
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,600
leaders for him.
And that's just who he is as a
519
00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:37,160
person.
So being able to get here gives
520
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:40,280
us an opportunity to get him
some reps, but to also find out
521
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:43,320
those things I just told you
about him, which lets us know as
522
00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:46,560
we're making preparations where
we can use him as the season
523
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:49,720
approaches.
Well, coach, you're getting so
524
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:51,920
good at this thing, man.
Did you answer any questions
525
00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:54,920
before I even ask them?
So one of my questions that I
526
00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:57,280
was going to ask was going to
talk about what you look for in
527
00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:00,600
recruiting and checking boxes.
But man, you hit that nail on
528
00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:02,160
the head.
So I'm going to kind of jump to
529
00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:04,880
something else before we get
ready to take a break.
530
00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:07,480
This is kind of off the off the
cuff.
531
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,440
When you came in and saw you
played college ball, you said
532
00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:12,600
you played at Ole Miss, correct?
Yes.
533
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:14,080
And you were at DB.
What?
534
00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:17,720
What number did you wear?
Oh, oh, when I first got to
535
00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:20,920
college I wore #24.
OK, that's a good number.
536
00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:25,560
That's a real good number.
So #24 Dorian Strong is it?
537
00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:27,720
And we love Dorian.
We love Dorian store.
538
00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:29,840
He's been at Virginia Tech a
long time.
539
00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:33,520
What did you think when you
walked in that in that room and
540
00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:36,080
you said, OK, who's my guy?
And they said this is your guy
541
00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:39,960
right here, Dorian Strong.
And he had #44 on what did you
542
00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,040
think about that number?
Coach on the cornerback.
543
00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:47,360
You know, for, for me, I always
believe that the player makes
544
00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:48,880
the number.
The number doesn't make the
545
00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:53,320
player.
And, you know, weirdly, I won an
546
00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:55,800
award at Ole Miss called the
Chucky Mullins Award in my
547
00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:59,440
senior year.
And it was #38 Chucky Mullins
548
00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:04,960
from Russellville, AL, got
paralyzed on a football game at
549
00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:08,600
Ole Miss making a tackle,
eventually passed away.
550
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,720
And they traditionally give that
number to the best defensive
551
00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:16,200
player #38 was not a desirable
number, but they made it
552
00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:18,720
desirable.
And so even now, when I tell
553
00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,440
people I wore #30 in Canadian
college, people that don't
554
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:24,480
understand what it means, they
kind of look at me weirdly.
555
00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,640
So me and Dorian kind of had a
little something in common, you
556
00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,680
know, with that 44.
But really and truly, when I saw
557
00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:33,720
him wearing #44 man, I looked at
it as a confidence thing.
558
00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:36,920
You know, I think a lot of guys
want numbers because they're
559
00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:38,800
sexy.
I think a lot of guys want
560
00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,480
numbers because they're popular,
because other people wore them.
561
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:44,320
But it says a lot about your
confidence when you put on
562
00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:45,840
something that nobody else is
wearing.
563
00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:48,440
I mean, the guy's wearing a
linebacker number and he's one
564
00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:49,680
of the best corners in the
country.
565
00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:50,760
I'll take.
It.
566
00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:51,480
There you go.
Right?
567
00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,840
Exactly.
Yeah, and it is it, like I said,
568
00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:56,640
I, I, I agree with you.
It says something about the
569
00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:58,360
character there.
So that that's definitely a
570
00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:00,080
point.
I mean, you know, there's a lot
571
00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:03,600
of numbers that some of those,
you know, cornerbacks that
572
00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:05,880
they've played for the Hokies
that went on to do bigger
573
00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:09,520
things, made very popular and 44
was not one of them.
574
00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:14,600
So taking that on and making
that his thing and, and now he's
575
00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:17,560
taking that that big step where
he's getting a lot of that same
576
00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:20,960
type of conversation that those
guys got in the past too.
577
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:22,080
So.
Man.
578
00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:25,200
When Dorian, when Dorian first
got here, we was like, get him
579
00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:31,240
out of that 44 please.
And now, but but now it's like,
580
00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:33,560
man, you know what?
We might need to get somebody
581
00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:37,320
else in that 44 when he decides
to leave because he's he's done
582
00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:39,080
that number proud.
I got to give him his props,
583
00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:42,880
man, He has he has earned
everything that he has got, and
584
00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:46,600
it is so awesome to see that kid
to come in with what he was
585
00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:49,760
recruited and the rankings did.
I know rankings don't matter,
586
00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:52,560
but the rankings they put on
them and offers that he had to
587
00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:56,080
come in and then you look at his
name up there as one of the top
588
00:29:56,960 --> 00:30:00,160
one of the top BBS, one of the
top players in the country.
589
00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:01,760
Man, it's just awesome to see
his story.
590
00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:03,680
So I thought I'd.
Take this break.
591
00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:05,200
We got to get Dwight in here
real quick.
592
00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:11,320
Yeah, on this. 1.
Coach, have you been able to
593
00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:15,040
check out Chickasi spot in the
757?
594
00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:18,480
No, I know you told me about
that, but God, but I hadn't had
595
00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:21,320
a chance to go back there.
But it is definitely on my To Do
596
00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:23,000
List when we get back on the
recruiting trail all.
597
00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:25,920
Right.
We'll make a note of that.
598
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:28,000
We'll make a note of that.
The other thing about the
599
00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:30,880
numbers thing is right now,
because we mentioned it, it's
600
00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:31,880
44.
It's 44.
601
00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:34,080
My goodness.
And what he's doing with it,
602
00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:37,400
it's going to be some kid that
comes in, I'm sure with you in a
603
00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:40,840
few years, it's going to want a
number that doesn't fit DBS.
604
00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:43,920
So it's probably going to be
that influential effect
605
00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,280
downstream where I want 47 and
you can.
606
00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:50,560
And you're going to be like, you
do you, son, because like you
607
00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:54,760
just said, be confident in it.
And like like, I think you make
608
00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:57,640
a great point.
The other thing is, I'm sure
609
00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:00,160
there were some people fooled
the first time they saw 44
610
00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,040
coming out on the boundary side
and being like.
611
00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:05,760
Is.
That a linebacker over there.
612
00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:09,680
What are they doing?
If I'm, if I'm, if I'm a
613
00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:12,720
quarterback, I'm throwing that
44 all day at. 1st.
614
00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:15,720
Until he do.
Until he do what?
615
00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:16,960
Dorian Strong.
So it was.
616
00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:21,720
Bait.
I think the I think the weirdest
617
00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:26,080
part about it was when I got
here, Dorian wasn't very big and
618
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:29,360
it looked a little bit awkward
seeing 44 on that little body.
619
00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:33,200
But hey, he made it his and I'm
OK with it.
620
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:34,440
He picked up a little weight
now.
621
00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:39,240
He didn't got to be a, he didn't
got to be a right size good man.
622
00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:42,120
All right, real quick.
We've got more with Derrick
623
00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:45,520
Jones, but we are going to take
a quick break from our partners
624
00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:49,320
over at Main Street Pharmacy.
I can probably save you a lot of
625
00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:51,840
money and I can take a lot
better care of you.
626
00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:54,600
That's pretty much it.
My name is Jeremy Counts and I'm
627
00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:56,880
a pharmacist.
I own and operate Main Street
628
00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:58,360
Pharmacy here in downtown
Blacksburg.
629
00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:01,040
My brother's a pharmacist, I'm a
pharmacist, my uncle's a
630
00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:02,360
pharmacist, my dad's a
pharmacist.
631
00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:05,560
I remember he would give me
M&M's to count in little pill
632
00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:07,360
counters.
This is something I've always
633
00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:11,280
done, and I'm just lucky that
what I know so well is something
634
00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:13,720
that I can do and feel good
about it and get back to people.
635
00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:16,240
Pharmacies are your frontline
defense.
636
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:19,520
Pharmacy's job is to make sure
you're getting optimal care for
637
00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:22,960
the lowest price possible.
Also, we take the pressure off
638
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:25,080
of emergency rooms.
I'll tell people immediately
639
00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:26,880
when they need to go to the
doctor, or I'll tell them if
640
00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:28,480
they just need a cream over the
counter.
641
00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:31,480
If there's something that isn't
commercially available, if it's
642
00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:34,160
something that's not available
in a certain strength or a
643
00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:36,200
certain form or anything like
that, we'll make it.
644
00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:38,600
TaylorMade medications.
Some of those options save
645
00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:41,280
people a lot of money.
What motivates me, I get to take
646
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:42,760
care of people and limit
Blacksburg.
647
00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:48,440
That's all neat.
All righty and we are back
648
00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:51,520
again.
Coach Derrick Jones joining us
649
00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:56,320
tonight and coach, I want to
kind of talk about some coaching
650
00:32:56,320 --> 00:33:00,440
staff and we've already hit this
and now you and coach pry y'all
651
00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:04,200
obviously go a long way back
together looking through y'all's
652
00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:08,280
history, y'all coach together in
Memphis 2007.
653
00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:10,720
Obviously you talked about
Memphis earlier today.
654
00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:15,040
I was on the Tommy W the old
Clemson coach, but how did that
655
00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:16,280
look because it was only one
year?
656
00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:21,200
How did that relationship grow
and come over the years and lead
657
00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:25,760
up to where, when Coach Pride
takes the job December of 2021,
658
00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:30,240
he picks up that phone and calls
you and says I want you to leave
659
00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:34,120
the cornerback room at Virginia.
Tech, you know, well, the
660
00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:37,880
relationship started actually
before our time at Memphis, OK
661
00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:42,360
Coach Pride was coaching at
Louisiana Lafayette under Ricky
662
00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:45,560
Bussell, and I was the
quarterback coach at Murray
663
00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:48,600
State.
And, you know, coaching kind of
664
00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:51,720
goes, you know, you got a job
open, you generally ask buddies
665
00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:53,520
if they know somebody to fit a
position.
666
00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:56,400
And Coach Pryor asked around.
He's looking for a cornerback
667
00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:58,720
coach.
Somebody gave me my name and he
668
00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:00,240
called me.
We had a few preliminary
669
00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:05,000
conversations and he called me
back one day and he was like, we
670
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,280
want to fly you down.
What?
671
00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:12,960
Strangely, I had torn my ACL
coaching in a football game.
672
00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:16,719
You know, at Murray State we had
that old carpet turf at the time
673
00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:20,320
and being hyperactive, I'm
running down the sideline.
674
00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:23,880
One of my guys picked the ball
off and I got to about the 25
675
00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:25,880
yard line where I know I
couldn't go up past it.
676
00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:29,600
I didn't want to get a penalty.
And I tried to abruptly stop and
677
00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:33,000
snap my knee.
You know, real bad athlete
678
00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:36,800
moment for me right there.
And so I'm immobile.
679
00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:40,440
I can't move.
I just recently had surgery and
680
00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:44,000
I had this water cast on so I
couldn't get on a plane.
681
00:34:44,719 --> 00:34:47,480
And I talked to him about it.
He told me.
682
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:50,560
He called me back and he said,
well, is it OK if I fly out to
683
00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:52,480
see you?
Well, I don't think he
684
00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:54,440
understands how bad I'm hurt at
the time.
685
00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:59,320
And so he flies into Nashville,
TN, drives to Murray, KY.
686
00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:03,840
I drives to my house and my wife
goes to the door and brings them
687
00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:07,320
into my living room.
And I am like on a couch with my
688
00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:10,560
leg elevated.
And, you know, a quarterback
689
00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:12,560
coach is not just like ADB
coach.
690
00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:15,480
You know, most people want their
cornerback coaches to be able to
691
00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:18,000
actually demonstrate.
You know, you can't coach
692
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:20,480
corners off of a board.
You can't coach corners off of
693
00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:22,440
film.
You have to be able to show
694
00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:24,640
them, you know, the things that
you want them to do.
695
00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:29,240
Well, my poor wife has never
been an athlete, definitely
696
00:35:29,240 --> 00:35:33,480
never been a cornerback.
So strangely, I am on the couch
697
00:35:33,720 --> 00:35:38,760
trying to get this job and I am
trying to get my wife, who's
698
00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:41,280
never played a sport in her
life, to demonstrate the
699
00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:44,760
cornerback drills.
Well, Needless to say, with me
700
00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:49,120
being immobilized and him not
knowing if I really knew what I
701
00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:51,120
was talking about, I didn't get
that job.
702
00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:56,120
But Coach Pryor and I just
stayed friends and stayed in
703
00:35:56,120 --> 00:35:58,320
contact.
And Fast forward a couple years
704
00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:01,920
later, I'm coaching at the
Universe at University of
705
00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:06,600
Memphis and we have a job come
open and Coach West comes to us
706
00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:10,320
and he's like, you know, I'm
looking for either a linebacker
707
00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:12,840
or AD line coach.
You know, I just want the best
708
00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:16,320
coach.
If y'all got any names that you
709
00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:19,520
want to give me, let me know.
Well, I knew that Coach Pry had
710
00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:24,000
a pass in both D line play and
linebacker play and so I gave
711
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:26,680
Coach W his name.
They had preliminary
712
00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:30,480
conversations, flew Coach Pryin
on the interview, and he ends up
713
00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:34,960
getting the job.
And they moved us into a house
714
00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,160
together.
I think they hired four or five,
715
00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:41,240
five new coaches that year.
And they told us that we all
716
00:36:41,240 --> 00:36:44,000
have to stay in this house
together and that if your
717
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:46,800
significant other came to visit,
they would get you a hotel room.
718
00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:48,720
But when she left, you had to go
back to the house.
719
00:36:48,720 --> 00:36:52,480
So we named it the Frat House.
So we basically became roommates
720
00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:56,400
in 2007 and we lived together
for about 5 months and really
721
00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:59,400
became friends.
And then him and Amy were dating
722
00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:01,840
at the time and shortly
thereafter got married.
723
00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:06,200
And we just started a tradition
of every year because I had gone
724
00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:09,800
to Duke at the time and they
were still at Memphis, and then
725
00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:13,720
they left there and went on to
Georgia Southern.
726
00:37:13,720 --> 00:37:16,520
So we just made a pact that
every year at the National
727
00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:18,520
Convention, we were going to get
together.
728
00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:21,960
And so we always would get to
the National Convention on
729
00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:25,520
Saturday, and we'd get together
and go out to dinner somewhere
730
00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:28,280
and just have a good time.
And we literally did that for
731
00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:32,480
over a decade.
And so Coach Pry called me about
732
00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:35,520
a job opportunity a couple of
different times when he was
733
00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:38,400
coaching, you know, because, you
know, we really became good
734
00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:41,680
friends.
And weirdly, during the
735
00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:43,720
pandemic, you know, nobody could
do much.
736
00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:47,440
So we got a group chat and we do
small little things together,
737
00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:50,000
maybe get on the phone and have
a date night over the phone
738
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:51,240
because you couldn't go
anywhere.
739
00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:56,280
And so me and my wife went out
one night in Texas and Coach
740
00:37:56,280 --> 00:37:59,320
Price sent a message in the
group chat that the four of us
741
00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:01,880
had.
And he said, hey, man, nice
742
00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:03,760
shirt.
I said, appreciate it.
743
00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:06,920
He said, one of us needs to get
a head coaching job so we can
744
00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:10,680
start to do date night together.
I said, well, I agree.
745
00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:14,440
And I swear, man, it wasn't. 2
weeks later Coach Pride called
746
00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:18,440
me and he said, man, I think I
got a shot at the Virginia Tech
747
00:38:18,440 --> 00:38:20,400
job.
I need to be able to give them
748
00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:24,400
some names and some people I
bring with me, you know, as I'm
749
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:27,560
going into these interviews And
without a second thought, you
750
00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:29,760
know, I was actually in
negotiations with a couple other
751
00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:33,000
people about a couple other jobs
and without a second thought,
752
00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:34,520
man, I said if you get it, I'm
with you.
753
00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:37,440
And he called me back a couple
days later and said he was
754
00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:39,120
having, I think his third
interview.
755
00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:43,920
And actually I was at a dinner
for our seniors and I never told
756
00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:45,440
my wife about this courtship at
all.
757
00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:47,320
She had no idea this was going
on.
758
00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:51,200
And so Coach Fry and Amy called
me and told me he got the job
759
00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:54,240
and officially offered me the
job and I officially accepted.
760
00:38:54,240 --> 00:38:56,120
But still we didn't tell my
wife.
761
00:38:56,480 --> 00:39:00,240
And so I invited my wife to come
pick me up from the place I was
762
00:39:00,240 --> 00:39:02,280
at.
I told my wife, actually, I
763
00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:04,040
couldn't drive.
I needed her to come get me.
764
00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:06,600
And she was fussing at me
talking about why you couldn't
765
00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:08,080
drive.
I was like, I lost my keys.
766
00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:11,440
I just make it up.
Stuff came to the restaurant
767
00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:14,120
man, and we got her own
FaceTime.
768
00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:17,200
So it was a really special
moment for us as four really
769
00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:20,240
close friends, for me to tell
her in that moment that we were
770
00:39:20,240 --> 00:39:22,400
going to go work with some
really good friends of ours.
771
00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:24,120
And I hadn't regretted one
moment of it.
772
00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:27,000
That's an awesome.
Story that is an awesome.
773
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:30,120
Story I I, I love that it
started with Rick and Russell
774
00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:34,800
too like that just feels kind of
like meant to be for for for
775
00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:37,440
that that connection.
So I, I really like that.
776
00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:40,560
I didn't know about that piece
of it, so man.
777
00:39:42,120 --> 00:39:44,000
Yeah, well, he's, he's a good
friend, man.
778
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:47,600
But he's a, he's a really good
head coach and I would not have
779
00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:52,280
joined him at this stage in my
career if I didn't 100% believe
780
00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:54,520
in him.
I mean, I knew what he was as a
781
00:39:54,520 --> 00:39:56,360
leader.
I knew who he is as a man.
782
00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:58,480
I know how players gravitate to
him.
783
00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:02,200
I know how coaches are going to
want to work for him, which is
784
00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:06,040
evident by not seeing one person
leave our staff this past year.
785
00:40:06,240 --> 00:40:08,200
I think that's probably the one
thing that people don't
786
00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:11,960
understand in the coaching
profession, how in demand good
787
00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:15,280
coaches are.
And any time you see a program
788
00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:18,600
keep their entire staff
together, that says volumes
789
00:40:18,600 --> 00:40:20,720
about the guy that's sitting at
the head of the table.
790
00:40:20,720 --> 00:40:23,760
So I think bright things are on
the future for us.
791
00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:29,760
I think Tally stepped out on
this for just a second.
792
00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:31,600
So I'm going to take over this
next one here.
793
00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:36,080
You know, we we got we got the
prod details in there and like I
794
00:40:36,080 --> 00:40:38,040
said, just just awesome to hear
that story.
795
00:40:38,720 --> 00:40:41,840
You also got a partner in the
back end there with the with the
796
00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:46,840
D block, one of the Ogs of DBU
at Virginia Tech, Pearson Prelo.
797
00:40:48,840 --> 00:40:51,000
He was one of the first, you
know, he was the first time
798
00:40:51,240 --> 00:40:53,600
college coach when you guys kind
of got together when y'all
799
00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:57,160
started in 2022.
What's it been like to watch his
800
00:40:57,160 --> 00:41:00,240
maturation in the profession
over the last couple years?
801
00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:02,880
You know, it's, it's been
awesome, man.
802
00:41:03,080 --> 00:41:07,160
Pearson is a very, very bright
football coach.
803
00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:09,920
And you're talking about a guy,
even though he hadn't coached a
804
00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:13,720
whole lot, you're talking about
a guy who had a 12 plus year NFL
805
00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:17,360
career, been around some really,
really good football coaches.
806
00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:20,400
And when you play that long in
that league, you have to have
807
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:23,400
knowledge of the game and it
easily transitions.
808
00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:25,640
But the other thing about
Pearson, he's a good teacher.
809
00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:28,880
You know, seeing him on the
board, seeing him with this
810
00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:32,360
guys, making them understand, it
just comes natural for it.
811
00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:35,480
And some guys just have that,
you know, some guys can coach
812
00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:37,400
for 20 years and just not be
good at it.
813
00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:40,280
And some guys can do it for one
year and you just know they have
814
00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:44,280
that it factor and he has that.
And the other portion of it,
815
00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:46,080
man, he's become a really good
friend of mine.
816
00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:48,080
We we really don't do much
without each other.
817
00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:51,760
And I think you have to have
that in the secondary because we
818
00:41:51,760 --> 00:41:53,960
have to be aligned.
We have to be on the same page.
819
00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:56,120
I don't think you have to hang
out together as much as we do,
820
00:41:56,120 --> 00:41:58,640
but we do, you know, we go to
lunch together pretty much every
821
00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:00,240
day and we hang out together
every day.
822
00:42:00,240 --> 00:42:03,120
And me and Pearson will be on
the road recruiting and we may
823
00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:05,520
talk to each other on the phone
while we're driving for an hour
824
00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:09,000
and a half, two hours, you know,
So it's been and a real joy.
825
00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:13,000
And Jeff Pearson having the
connection that he has to so
826
00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:17,480
many other great defensive backs
in Virginia Tech players.
827
00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:19,520
That's a huge recruiting peace
force.
828
00:42:19,720 --> 00:42:21,960
You know, like I played at the
University of Mississippi.
829
00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:24,720
So I know of a lot of guys, but
I don't know them.
830
00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:29,240
Pearson has direct contact to a
lot of these guys that we can
831
00:42:29,240 --> 00:42:32,360
get involved in the recruiting
process to help us, you know,
832
00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:34,520
whether they're from certain
areas, we're recruiting and
833
00:42:34,680 --> 00:42:36,440
young men can identify with
them.
834
00:42:36,640 --> 00:42:39,360
And that means a lot, you know,
because young men want to go
835
00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:41,880
where they can identify that
people that have done things
836
00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:47,000
they want to do, have done.
I'm going to ask this, and this
837
00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:49,640
is kind of the Pearson piece and
kind of being at Virginia Tech,
838
00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:54,720
because you've coached a long
time, you played, when you see
839
00:42:54,720 --> 00:42:57,520
the amount of defensive backs,
I'm going to put defensive backs
840
00:42:57,520 --> 00:43:00,400
in general that have come
through Virginia Tech and the
841
00:43:00,400 --> 00:43:04,640
level of what they played, you
know, how does that feel?
842
00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:07,600
Because you know, you walk
through, you got D Hall, you see
843
00:43:07,640 --> 00:43:09,880
other names and there's other
names and probably some guys,
844
00:43:09,880 --> 00:43:14,640
you know, and it's like this
isn't one of those places where
845
00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:18,240
people don't look at the DBS.
It's front and center.
846
00:43:19,840 --> 00:43:22,040
How does that feel?
Because I'm sure you've had
847
00:43:22,040 --> 00:43:25,120
interactions with some of those
guys since being down there and
848
00:43:25,120 --> 00:43:30,880
knowing that in a way it's and
then you've already started it.
849
00:43:31,040 --> 00:43:36,040
If you continue in that legacy
of this GroupMe and you and
850
00:43:36,040 --> 00:43:39,320
Pearson's group, it's what this
school is known for.
851
00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:43,920
Yeah, man, it was definitely one
of the things that attracted me
852
00:43:44,160 --> 00:43:48,240
to this job.
And even though at the time you
853
00:43:48,240 --> 00:43:50,600
didn't have a lot of guys that
were being nationally
854
00:43:50,600 --> 00:43:54,400
recognized, I knew it was the
place that you could get the
855
00:43:54,440 --> 00:43:57,440
best caliber defensive backs in
the country to come play.
856
00:43:57,800 --> 00:44:01,280
You know, I was on the other
sideline for 12 years and I was
857
00:44:01,280 --> 00:44:04,480
in a lot of those recruiting
battles and I didn't mean didn't
858
00:44:04,480 --> 00:44:07,600
win a lot of those, you know,
when I was doing that.
859
00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:11,040
So I had first hand experience
with a lot of these guys and,
860
00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:13,640
you know, just recruiting
against Virginia Tech in the
861
00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:16,280
past.
And when you see a kid get that
862
00:44:16,280 --> 00:44:19,720
Virginia Tech offer, you'd
almost cringe because you know
863
00:44:19,720 --> 00:44:22,560
that all your work and all your
hours and all your time's
864
00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:26,120
probably now in vain.
And I can honestly say that now
865
00:44:26,280 --> 00:44:28,840
when I'm recruiting the
defensive back, I don't worry
866
00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:31,520
about anybody else in America
offering them because I feel
867
00:44:31,520 --> 00:44:34,720
like we've got something to
offer that not many other people
868
00:44:34,720 --> 00:44:38,240
in America have to offer.
And I think at this point in my
869
00:44:38,240 --> 00:44:43,800
career, I'm finally at a place
to where I can maximize my
870
00:44:43,800 --> 00:44:48,160
ability to coach and to develop
with the top caliber athletes in
871
00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:50,440
America, and I'm excited for the
future.
872
00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:55,080
Yeah, that was a great question,
Curtis, man, I, you know, I
873
00:44:55,080 --> 00:44:57,880
wasn't even thinking about that
and looking at it like that, but
874
00:44:58,280 --> 00:45:00,840
kind of does go hand in hand
with what what I was going to
875
00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:05,760
ask though now, because when you
think about your your position
876
00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:08,640
group and then we're going to
flip over to the offense.
877
00:45:09,320 --> 00:45:12,280
Virginia Tech's been known for
some some great BB runs.
878
00:45:12,960 --> 00:45:17,400
We haven't been known for a lot
of hot powered offense wide
879
00:45:17,400 --> 00:45:20,960
receiver groups.
So now I feel like we have that,
880
00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:24,560
you know, I feel like that the
nation has taken a taken a a
881
00:45:24,560 --> 00:45:27,640
look at what Virginia Tech has
in that wide receiver room.
882
00:45:27,640 --> 00:45:30,080
And we know iron sharpen iron
sharpens iron.
883
00:45:30,960 --> 00:45:34,040
So those practices is what we
want to talk about.
884
00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:38,080
Like how intense are those
practices between like your guys
885
00:45:38,080 --> 00:45:40,280
and that wide receiver group and
also with the coaches?
886
00:45:40,280 --> 00:45:43,760
Like are y'all friendly with
each other to get that growth or
887
00:45:43,800 --> 00:45:46,440
y'all competing like the like
the young men are competing?
888
00:45:47,400 --> 00:45:50,240
You know, I think it kind of
goes both ways.
889
00:45:50,240 --> 00:45:54,440
You know, Fun Tail and I are
really close, so we all get back
890
00:45:54,440 --> 00:45:58,080
and forth because we understand
that it gets our young men
891
00:45:58,080 --> 00:46:01,000
going.
And so you know, but Funtell and
892
00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:05,240
I have a unique way or not.
Not only do we sell it to our
893
00:46:05,240 --> 00:46:06,760
players, we sell it in
recruiting.
894
00:46:06,760 --> 00:46:09,880
And I'll get to that a little
bit later, but you know, we've
895
00:46:09,880 --> 00:46:14,000
got a lot of guys in that
receiving core that are just as
896
00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:17,000
good as anything that these guys
are going to see any Saturday.
897
00:46:17,400 --> 00:46:21,480
And you don't get good in games,
you get good in practice.
898
00:46:22,040 --> 00:46:25,240
You know, you look at the amount
of games that you play, how many
899
00:46:25,240 --> 00:46:27,840
snaps you play, how many targets
come your way.
900
00:46:28,160 --> 00:46:30,560
It's not a large, large number
when you tally it up at the end
901
00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:34,760
of the year, but in order to get
yourself to where you can play
902
00:46:34,760 --> 00:46:38,440
the way Dory and Strong played
this year, you have to have guys
903
00:46:38,440 --> 00:46:43,200
like Cohen, Felton and Gosnell
to be able to get you sharp on a
904
00:46:43,200 --> 00:46:46,400
daily basis.
And we have very competitive
905
00:46:46,480 --> 00:46:48,960
Pascal sessions in one-on-one
sessions.
906
00:46:49,200 --> 00:46:52,080
But we also do a lot of
individual drills together.
907
00:46:52,080 --> 00:46:55,280
And you know, it's one thing for
me to have my DBS trying to
908
00:46:55,280 --> 00:46:57,920
demonstrate stuff to each other.
We're not receivers.
909
00:46:58,720 --> 00:47:02,400
It's a whole different animal
when you can bring a guy that
910
00:47:02,520 --> 00:47:05,520
may not be as good as the guys
you're going to play on Saturday
911
00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:09,200
that you're working against.
So that instills confidence.
912
00:47:09,400 --> 00:47:13,880
You know, young guys like
Braylon Thomas Williams, Dante
913
00:47:13,880 --> 00:47:17,400
Lovett, Kristen Williams, being
able to go against guys like
914
00:47:17,400 --> 00:47:21,360
Jalen Lane and Cohen Felton,
Ollie Jennings, it only makes
915
00:47:21,360 --> 00:47:24,200
those guys better.
So it's been really good to have
916
00:47:24,200 --> 00:47:27,000
that competition.
And the other piece of it is one
917
00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:30,160
thing I always sell in the
recruiting process to both
918
00:47:30,160 --> 00:47:32,520
receivers and defensive backs is
what I just said.
919
00:47:33,520 --> 00:47:36,960
You have to be knowledgeable of
the receivers coach.
920
00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:39,640
If you play corner, you need to
be knowledgeable of him.
921
00:47:40,040 --> 00:47:42,560
And the reason you need to be
knowledgeable of the receivers
922
00:47:42,560 --> 00:47:48,480
coach is you need to know his
ability to coach, to develop and
923
00:47:48,480 --> 00:47:52,240
to recruit that position because
as I said earlier, you're going
924
00:47:52,240 --> 00:47:54,680
to get good in practice, not in
the games.
925
00:47:55,240 --> 00:47:58,600
And any receivers that we bring
in here, they need to be
926
00:47:58,600 --> 00:48:02,400
knowledgeable as me, as the
coach and of Pearson because
927
00:48:02,600 --> 00:48:06,160
they need to know our ability to
be able to recruit, coach and
928
00:48:06,160 --> 00:48:08,120
develop the guys they're going
to be going again.
929
00:48:08,680 --> 00:48:13,520
And so I am always talking to
young men on the phone about
930
00:48:13,520 --> 00:48:17,280
what Funtail Mimes brings to the
table as a coach and a
931
00:48:17,280 --> 00:48:21,040
recruiter, you know, because I
want to add that aspect of it
932
00:48:21,040 --> 00:48:23,240
and it just gives us a little
bit more ammunition in the
933
00:48:23,240 --> 00:48:26,440
recruiting process.
I love hearing that because it's
934
00:48:26,440 --> 00:48:29,120
like you're not just recruiting
guys.
935
00:48:29,120 --> 00:48:31,720
I'm going to get you better.
We're going to get you better
936
00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:33,760
collectively.
We're going to get you better
937
00:48:33,760 --> 00:48:35,960
because of the guys that you're
going to line up against and
938
00:48:35,960 --> 00:48:38,720
practice every day.
No doubt about it.
939
00:48:39,680 --> 00:48:43,000
Let me ask this and it kind of
is going that iron shopping on
940
00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:45,720
iron.
I am assuming y'all film these
941
00:48:45,720 --> 00:48:48,440
scrimmages.
Do you guys sit as a collective
942
00:48:48,680 --> 00:48:53,080
unit and just watching And then
and I know it's different
943
00:48:53,080 --> 00:48:56,840
positions and everything, but
you know someone like Stu Hall
944
00:48:56,840 --> 00:49:01,280
who's a tight end coach, hey,
hey, hey cheetah, so and so is
945
00:49:01,280 --> 00:49:03,840
kind of doing something with his
legs when y'all were playing
946
00:49:03,840 --> 00:49:06,520
this type coverage.
Do y'all do things like that on
947
00:49:06,520 --> 00:49:09,360
a daily basis?
Yes, indeed.
948
00:49:09,360 --> 00:49:12,600
You know, because we're one
family and even though we're
949
00:49:12,600 --> 00:49:15,160
competing against our offense
and they're competing against
950
00:49:15,160 --> 00:49:18,120
us, we know ultimately to get to
where we got to go, we got to
951
00:49:18,120 --> 00:49:20,200
compete at the highest level
possible against our
952
00:49:20,200 --> 00:49:22,760
competition.
So that's just part of coaching.
953
00:49:23,240 --> 00:49:27,120
You know, it's JC Price's job to
be able to tell me if he sees
954
00:49:27,120 --> 00:49:28,520
something that one of my guys
doing.
955
00:49:28,960 --> 00:49:32,520
Or it's JC Price's job to be
able to tell Ryan Crook if his
956
00:49:32,520 --> 00:49:35,400
guard is tipping that he's
pulling a certain type of way.
957
00:49:35,720 --> 00:49:38,880
It's my job to be able to tell.
Fun tell minds that one of his
958
00:49:38,920 --> 00:49:41,840
receivers gets down deeper in
his stance when he's getting the
959
00:49:41,840 --> 00:49:43,680
ball as opposed to when he's
not.
960
00:49:44,040 --> 00:49:47,000
Or every time he goes to get the
ball, he's doing something with
961
00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:49,840
his gloves.
These are things that I study
962
00:49:50,200 --> 00:49:53,320
that Fun Tell may not study.
So naturally I've got to be be
963
00:49:53,320 --> 00:49:56,240
able to go tell him that about
his guy so that he can make
964
00:49:56,240 --> 00:49:58,280
those corrections.
So that's just a normal part of
965
00:49:58,280 --> 00:49:59,920
coaching, I think, on every
coaching staff.
966
00:50:01,840 --> 00:50:03,720
Nice.
Something else I want to bring
967
00:50:03,720 --> 00:50:06,040
up and these two going to be
getting on me after the call.
968
00:50:06,040 --> 00:50:08,760
Like, you keep asking more
questions than we put out there.
969
00:50:08,760 --> 00:50:12,120
Like, well, you know.
It's all good.
970
00:50:12,160 --> 00:50:13,520
I'll let it slide.
I'll let it.
971
00:50:13,520 --> 00:50:17,000
Slide Curtis, I know you got all
night, so this is good, but let
972
00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:19,000
me ask this because, you know,
we threw his name up here a
973
00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:22,560
little while ago and he's one of
me and Brian's best friends.
974
00:50:22,560 --> 00:50:25,080
Tally's gotten to know him over
the last couple years, Coach
975
00:50:25,080 --> 00:50:28,480
Compton.
But how important has it been
976
00:50:28,480 --> 00:50:33,800
for not only this staff, but for
you with those coaching clinics
977
00:50:33,800 --> 00:50:35,360
where you're teaching?
Because Because Robbie made a
978
00:50:35,360 --> 00:50:36,720
joke.
Robbie's a bigger guy, but he
979
00:50:36,720 --> 00:50:40,880
made a joke here talking about
40 year old ��350.
980
00:50:40,880 --> 00:50:42,360
Trying to demonstrate ain't
great.
981
00:50:42,440 --> 00:50:45,200
But how important are those
clinics to get those high school
982
00:50:45,200 --> 00:50:47,320
coaches in there and to show
them your techniques?
983
00:50:47,680 --> 00:50:51,520
And then just in general for the
high school relation piece, how
984
00:50:51,520 --> 00:50:53,280
is how?
Big is that Ben?
985
00:50:53,480 --> 00:50:56,480
Because Coach probably was not
shy about it the day he stepped
986
00:50:56,480 --> 00:50:59,680
on that.
The state is ours in the
987
00:50:59,680 --> 00:51:05,600
region's going to become ours.
It's invaluable because high
988
00:51:05,600 --> 00:51:09,080
school coaching relationships
are where you get the
989
00:51:09,080 --> 00:51:12,360
information that you need.
We spend a lot of time
990
00:51:12,360 --> 00:51:15,800
recruiting, but you got to think
of how big of an investment it
991
00:51:15,800 --> 00:51:20,320
is to say that you're going to
trust the kid to come in and be
992
00:51:20,400 --> 00:51:24,080
who you need him to be.
To develop the culture of a
993
00:51:24,080 --> 00:51:26,320
program.
You've got to have high school
994
00:51:26,320 --> 00:51:29,280
coaches that you trust.
You got to have high school
995
00:51:29,280 --> 00:51:32,280
coaches that are going to be
honest with you, and you've got
996
00:51:32,280 --> 00:51:35,160
to get to know them to make sure
those things are happening.
997
00:51:35,520 --> 00:51:38,120
But you also got to have
relationships with high school
998
00:51:38,120 --> 00:51:41,640
coaches, so they're OK bringing
young men to campus that may not
999
00:51:41,640 --> 00:51:44,440
have rides.
You got to be have relationships
1000
00:51:44,440 --> 00:51:48,240
with high school coaches.
That information that's true for
1001
00:51:48,240 --> 00:51:51,520
information so you don't waste
your time in recruiting, you
1002
00:51:51,520 --> 00:51:54,200
know, things like that.
One of the big parts about
1003
00:51:54,200 --> 00:51:59,080
taking this job for me was it
put me back into a lot of the
1004
00:51:59,080 --> 00:52:01,760
recruiting areas I've had for a
long time at other schools I've
1005
00:52:01,760 --> 00:52:05,080
been at.
When I went to Texas, that was
1006
00:52:05,080 --> 00:52:08,000
one of the things that I found
out during the pandemic.
1007
00:52:08,480 --> 00:52:11,960
I went to the Texas Tech right
when the pandemic hit.
1008
00:52:12,240 --> 00:52:15,880
I didn't know a lot of Texas
coaches well, kids can't visit
1009
00:52:15,880 --> 00:52:19,280
campus.
We can't go to schools.
1010
00:52:19,560 --> 00:52:22,560
High school coaches are going to
send their kids where where they
1011
00:52:22,560 --> 00:52:26,160
know people.
I'm on Zooms like this, talking
1012
00:52:26,160 --> 00:52:29,600
to guys I don't know about,
turning their kids over to me,
1013
00:52:30,400 --> 00:52:34,000
you know, that was hard.
And these coaches are sending
1014
00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:38,280
their players at a time that was
very critical to coaches they
1015
00:52:38,280 --> 00:52:40,920
trust.
Well, it was a lesson for me.
1016
00:52:40,920 --> 00:52:43,880
So I had a couple of different
job opportunities when I took
1017
00:52:43,880 --> 00:52:47,520
this one, but this was the one
that basically put me back home.
1018
00:52:47,920 --> 00:52:50,200
I've recruited the same
recruiting areas that I've
1019
00:52:50,200 --> 00:52:53,840
always had, with the exception
of the area that I have in
1020
00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:57,600
Virginia, and that was pretty
easy for me because of the power
1021
00:52:57,600 --> 00:52:59,640
of social media.
You know, most of the schools
1022
00:52:59,640 --> 00:53:02,760
that I walked into, the coaches
knew who I was because of my
1023
00:53:02,760 --> 00:53:05,120
Twitter presence.
But one of the first things
1024
00:53:05,120 --> 00:53:10,840
Coach Pry told me, because it
was me, Coach Pry, JC Price and
1025
00:53:11,280 --> 00:53:14,800
Sean Quinn the first day that we
were out and we went straight to
1026
00:53:14,800 --> 00:53:18,360
the 757 and he said, man, every
time you get out, I want you to
1027
00:53:18,360 --> 00:53:20,520
come over here because we have
done a good job here.
1028
00:53:20,960 --> 00:53:24,520
And we walked into Warwick High
School and there was a custodian
1029
00:53:24,520 --> 00:53:27,520
in the hall where he stopped and
he looked at us and he was like
1030
00:53:27,520 --> 00:53:29,760
Virginia Tech.
He's like, we hadn't seen a
1031
00:53:29,760 --> 00:53:32,240
coach in Virginia Tech around
here in five or six years.
1032
00:53:32,920 --> 00:53:35,520
And I went over to Hampton High
School and I heard the same
1033
00:53:35,520 --> 00:53:37,800
thing.
I went to Denby High School, I
1034
00:53:37,800 --> 00:53:40,640
heard the same thing.
And I'm like, you know, this
1035
00:53:40,640 --> 00:53:43,320
isn't going to be as hard as
possible because all we got to
1036
00:53:43,320 --> 00:53:46,120
do is what we're supposed to do.
And, you know, I've developed
1037
00:53:46,120 --> 00:53:47,960
relationships with a lot of
these coaches.
1038
00:53:48,640 --> 00:53:52,480
A huge plus has been having
Funtell minds on staff because
1039
00:53:52,480 --> 00:53:55,000
everybody knows Funtell.
You know, he's from Virginia.
1040
00:53:55,280 --> 00:53:58,280
He's coached at like 30-5
different schools in the state
1041
00:53:58,280 --> 00:54:01,000
of Virginia.
You walk into a school with him,
1042
00:54:01,000 --> 00:54:03,080
the janitors know him, the
principals know him, the
1043
00:54:03,080 --> 00:54:06,440
secretaries know him.
So it's been really good, you
1044
00:54:06,440 --> 00:54:10,400
know, just to develop those
relationships and Coach Fry kind
1045
00:54:10,400 --> 00:54:13,800
of limited what we were doing in
recruiting, just recruiting our
1046
00:54:13,800 --> 00:54:16,560
footprint.
And that's been very strong for
1047
00:54:16,560 --> 00:54:20,880
us because when you only recruit
a certain radius, you get to go
1048
00:54:20,880 --> 00:54:24,520
to these places more times.
We're not spending a lot of time
1049
00:54:24,520 --> 00:54:27,880
away from our footprint.
So we're showing our faces in a
1050
00:54:27,880 --> 00:54:31,240
lot of these schools over and
over and over again and that's
1051
00:54:31,240 --> 00:54:34,120
paid dividends for us.
Yeah, it seems like when you
1052
00:54:34,120 --> 00:54:36,200
guys are stepping out of the
footprint, it is a very
1053
00:54:36,200 --> 00:54:39,440
deliberate step.
Otherwise you're.
1054
00:54:40,240 --> 00:54:43,040
You're staying staying kind of
where where the bread butters
1055
00:54:43,040 --> 00:54:44,320
made.
Yeah.
1056
00:54:44,360 --> 00:54:47,040
You know, if, if it makes sense
for us to go outside of the
1057
00:54:47,040 --> 00:54:50,040
footprint, you know,
relationships that we may had.
1058
00:54:50,280 --> 00:54:53,280
You know, you may have a guy
that's a legacy at Virginia Tech
1059
00:54:53,280 --> 00:54:56,600
that has a son, or you may have
a coach that you know very well
1060
00:54:56,600 --> 00:54:59,160
that has a kid that just wants
to come to Virginia Tech.
1061
00:54:59,480 --> 00:55:02,080
Those are exceptions.
And naturally, once you get to
1062
00:55:02,080 --> 00:55:05,400
the transfer portal, you have to
be a little bit more broad, but
1063
00:55:05,400 --> 00:55:07,680
not now that you're dealing with
a different type of maturity
1064
00:55:08,400 --> 00:55:10,480
when you're dealing with that
and you know a little bit more
1065
00:55:10,480 --> 00:55:14,160
about some of these guys, that's
more like NFL free agency than
1066
00:55:14,160 --> 00:55:16,920
it is the recruiting piece.
But I think you guys also know
1067
00:55:16,920 --> 00:55:19,440
we've taken a lot of guys out of
the transfer portal that are
1068
00:55:19,440 --> 00:55:23,400
Virginia guys as well.
So we're still trying to stay
1069
00:55:23,400 --> 00:55:25,640
close.
And what I've come to find out
1070
00:55:25,640 --> 00:55:29,920
in a small amount of time, the
further away from home guys go,
1071
00:55:30,240 --> 00:55:32,320
the more likely they ought to
try to go back home.
1072
00:55:33,280 --> 00:55:36,840
And that's just a trend that's
coming with nil now because a
1073
00:55:36,840 --> 00:55:42,000
lot of guys that are close to
the net get marketing deals or
1074
00:55:42,000 --> 00:55:45,200
as guys that may not be close to
not getting those mom and pop
1075
00:55:45,200 --> 00:55:46,840
deals.
And that's just the part of the
1076
00:55:46,840 --> 00:55:48,240
business that we're in right
now.
1077
00:55:48,680 --> 00:55:50,320
Tal, you were about to say
something there.
1078
00:55:50,400 --> 00:55:52,440
Go ahead, man.
You know, just real quick, man,
1079
00:55:52,440 --> 00:55:55,080
I mean, we've talked about it a
couple times and then in spaces
1080
00:55:55,080 --> 00:55:58,040
with guys like, you know, Dwight
being in there with us just
1081
00:55:58,040 --> 00:56:02,440
talking about recruiting and you
know, looking at looking at how
1082
00:56:02,440 --> 00:56:04,560
coaches recruit, of course coach
Jones knows.
1083
00:56:05,600 --> 00:56:07,400
No, they've they've got pretty
good at this thing.
1084
00:56:07,400 --> 00:56:10,640
But we had some people whenever
you guys first got here would be
1085
00:56:10,640 --> 00:56:13,760
like, why are they going to, you
know, this school you just
1086
00:56:13,760 --> 00:56:16,440
mentioned Warwick, what work
don't have no players, you know,
1087
00:56:16,600 --> 00:56:19,080
3-2 years ago, three years ago,
why would they go to this
1088
00:56:19,080 --> 00:56:21,360
school?
Well, you know, not the name,
1089
00:56:21,360 --> 00:56:24,440
any names, but you Fast forward
and then this school pops up
1090
00:56:24,440 --> 00:56:27,640
with a four-star guy or five
star or three star guy that
1091
00:56:27,640 --> 00:56:30,000
everybody's on and be like, Oh
yeah, you remember when the
1092
00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:33,120
coaches went there three years
ago, you know, and started
1093
00:56:33,160 --> 00:56:37,120
building that relationship.
So now you get into those those
1094
00:56:37,120 --> 00:56:40,320
battles and get into those
recruiting talks with those high
1095
00:56:40,320 --> 00:56:43,360
level players because of a a
relationship that you developed
1096
00:56:44,080 --> 00:56:47,240
3-4 years ago.
So I mean it was it, it was
1097
00:56:47,240 --> 00:56:50,600
great to see.
We don't have to go a lot into,
1098
00:56:50,960 --> 00:56:53,640
you know, the regime that was
here before you guys, but it was
1099
00:56:53,640 --> 00:56:56,000
great to see when you guys came
in how y'all hit the ground
1100
00:56:56,000 --> 00:56:58,720
running.
Just being active on social
1101
00:56:58,720 --> 00:57:02,200
media, man, it, it, you know,
being willing to talk to people,
1102
00:57:02,200 --> 00:57:05,560
being willing to go in and talk
to a custodian in a school
1103
00:57:05,560 --> 00:57:10,160
because I feel like sometimes so
certain people get, you know, I
1104
00:57:10,160 --> 00:57:12,800
guess a, a place of power, a
position of power, like a head
1105
00:57:12,800 --> 00:57:14,680
coach.
And they feel like they're above
1106
00:57:14,680 --> 00:57:15,880
that.
You know, they feel like they
1107
00:57:15,880 --> 00:57:19,400
don't have to speak to a
custodian when they go in
1108
00:57:19,400 --> 00:57:21,240
somewhere.
They don't have to go talk to
1109
00:57:22,480 --> 00:57:25,920
the, the Barber on the corner.
But that may be the way that you
1110
00:57:25,920 --> 00:57:29,120
get into a family.
So again man, kudos to you guys
1111
00:57:29,120 --> 00:57:32,000
for what you've done and how you
guys have built relationships
1112
00:57:32,560 --> 00:57:34,520
and we starting to see dividends
from it.
1113
00:57:35,680 --> 00:57:39,080
Yeah, it's been good, man.
And just a general recruiting
1114
00:57:39,080 --> 00:57:43,000
practice in itself.
When you go into schools, often
1115
00:57:43,080 --> 00:57:47,360
you get to know more people and
you're trying to find out about
1116
00:57:47,360 --> 00:57:49,520
these young men.
You know, in the world of the
1117
00:57:49,520 --> 00:57:52,400
transfer portal now you better
know as much about these young
1118
00:57:52,400 --> 00:57:56,560
men as you could possibly know.
And so when I go in, I know what
1119
00:57:56,560 --> 00:57:59,200
the coach is going to say.
But as I'm leaving that school,
1120
00:57:59,840 --> 00:58:03,040
I may ask the principal, I may
ask that security guard at the
1121
00:58:03,040 --> 00:58:05,160
front.
I go into lunch rooms and ask
1122
00:58:05,400 --> 00:58:08,000
the lunch room.
Ladies in certain areas know
1123
00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:11,520
everybody in town.
And so you're asking them and
1124
00:58:11,520 --> 00:58:14,360
they may tell you something
simple as this, where you need
1125
00:58:14,360 --> 00:58:16,800
to get to his grandma.
Well, how would I have known
1126
00:58:16,800 --> 00:58:20,280
that if Sister Teresa hadn't
have told me this in the
1127
00:58:20,280 --> 00:58:23,000
lunchroom?
So you're just equipping
1128
00:58:23,000 --> 00:58:26,480
yourself with more knowledge by
talking to people, but you want
1129
00:58:26,480 --> 00:58:28,400
people to be ambassadors for you
as well.
1130
00:58:29,120 --> 00:58:33,880
So my mom always told me, don't
be the person to ask for
1131
00:58:33,880 --> 00:58:37,120
something when you need it.
Speak to people when you don't
1132
00:58:37,120 --> 00:58:39,080
want anything.
And it's no different when it
1133
00:58:39,080 --> 00:58:41,800
comes to recruiting.
Go into the school, establish
1134
00:58:41,800 --> 00:58:43,640
these relationships.
Because the other thing you
1135
00:58:43,640 --> 00:58:46,120
don't know in this profession,
you don't know who's going to
1136
00:58:46,120 --> 00:58:48,760
end up where.
Coaches move around in high
1137
00:58:48,840 --> 00:58:50,880
school, they move around in
college, they move around in the
1138
00:58:50,880 --> 00:58:53,680
NFL.
So you better make sure that
1139
00:58:53,680 --> 00:58:56,880
you're covering your base for
anything that may take place,
1140
00:58:56,880 --> 00:58:59,440
whether it's three years, four
years or five years later.
1141
00:58:59,680 --> 00:59:01,360
And it's your job.
It's not hard to do.
1142
00:59:02,480 --> 00:59:05,080
And, and you talked about, you
know, it, it being important
1143
00:59:05,080 --> 00:59:07,560
what other people you're
thinking and, and how they
1144
00:59:07,560 --> 00:59:10,840
present you to those players.
You know, I've always been told,
1145
00:59:10,840 --> 00:59:15,640
like I act in a way where when
you're not in the room, those
1146
00:59:15,640 --> 00:59:17,080
people are talking good about
you.
1147
00:59:18,480 --> 00:59:20,480
And it and.
It sounds like that's the
1148
00:59:20,480 --> 00:59:22,240
mentality that y'all are
bringing to that, that
1149
00:59:22,240 --> 00:59:25,480
relationship building as well.
Treat people like you should and
1150
00:59:25,480 --> 00:59:27,200
they're going to talk about you
when you're not around.
1151
00:59:28,160 --> 00:59:30,680
And the other piece of it is, I
mean, you're talking about going
1152
00:59:30,680 --> 00:59:32,720
to high schools in the state of
Virginia.
1153
00:59:33,200 --> 00:59:36,480
You know how many educators we
run into in schools that are
1154
00:59:36,480 --> 00:59:39,720
teachers that are assistant
principals that went to Virginia
1155
00:59:39,720 --> 00:59:41,680
Tech.
And one of the first things I do
1156
00:59:41,680 --> 00:59:44,080
when I go into a school is say,
do we have any Hokies?
1157
00:59:44,400 --> 00:59:47,680
Well, Miss Smith is a Hokie.
Will you take me by a classroom?
1158
00:59:48,120 --> 00:59:51,640
You know, those things carry a
lot of weight because now this
1159
00:59:51,640 --> 00:59:53,840
lady is teaching this guy in
chemistry that I'm trying to
1160
00:59:53,840 --> 00:59:56,160
recruit.
You know, it just makes the
1161
00:59:56,160 --> 00:59:58,120
difference.
Then you do things like that.
1162
01:00:00,600 --> 01:00:02,880
Oh, 100%.
I mean, and it's all it's all
1163
01:00:02,880 --> 01:00:07,360
about that.
It's that whole just constantly
1164
01:00:07,360 --> 01:00:10,240
building relationships tally and
sales Cali something you always
1165
01:00:10,240 --> 01:00:14,000
were talking about and you know,
through our years, it's
1166
01:00:14,000 --> 01:00:19,640
relationships.
You know, how did three guys who
1167
01:00:19,720 --> 01:00:25,080
did not go to Virginia Tech, you
know, love the school, but over
1168
01:00:25,080 --> 01:00:27,360
the last couple years we have
we're having the pleasure of
1169
01:00:27,360 --> 01:00:30,240
interviewing you tonight.
We had the chance to interview
1170
01:00:30,240 --> 01:00:34,200
Coach Pry relationships,
creating relationships, having
1171
01:00:34,200 --> 01:00:36,920
good conversations with people.
You know, make sure we got to
1172
01:00:36,920 --> 01:00:39,160
talk to you out at Hardywood.
You and Gunter.
1173
01:00:39,160 --> 01:00:41,520
We mean me and Brian said in 15
minutes and talk to y'all and
1174
01:00:41,520 --> 01:00:44,480
y'all took the time to talk to
us, got in, blow us off.
1175
01:00:45,120 --> 01:00:46,960
Y'all didn't look for the next
person to talk to.
1176
01:00:47,080 --> 01:00:49,680
Y'all talked with us because we
had a genuine conversation and
1177
01:00:49,680 --> 01:00:53,040
it's awesome to see.
All right, we're going to keep
1178
01:00:53,040 --> 01:00:54,400
rolling.
I'm sure some more questions
1179
01:00:54,400 --> 01:00:56,040
will come up from my crazy
brain.
1180
01:00:56,040 --> 01:00:58,760
But I do want to ask this
because we are.
1181
01:00:58,760 --> 01:01:01,440
You told us a little while ago.
We're one week away from the
1182
01:01:01,440 --> 01:01:05,800
kids reporting for fall camp.
Few days after that they'll get
1183
01:01:05,800 --> 01:01:08,480
the practices going up.
For this week.
1184
01:01:08,680 --> 01:01:11,320
We also know that right now
you're home alone.
1185
01:01:11,600 --> 01:01:17,240
So do you have a ritual that you
do leading up to fall camp?
1186
01:01:17,240 --> 01:01:20,160
Do you have anything like here's
my week?
1187
01:01:20,160 --> 01:01:21,280
This is everything I want to
get.
1188
01:01:21,280 --> 01:01:24,480
Done.
No, I don't really have a ritual
1189
01:01:24,480 --> 01:01:29,560
I do leading up to fall camp,
but fall camp is my time to go
1190
01:01:29,560 --> 01:01:31,560
on a diet and get my body in
shape.
1191
01:01:31,960 --> 01:01:35,800
If anything else, you know,
sadly, because we take these
1192
01:01:35,800 --> 01:01:40,400
whirlwind vacations right before
camp, you know, my body and
1193
01:01:40,400 --> 01:01:43,040
everything else, blood pressure
and all that stuff a little bit
1194
01:01:43,040 --> 01:01:46,680
out of whack, you know.
So training camp, you know, it's
1195
01:01:46,680 --> 01:01:50,160
structured.
I'm around exercise equipment.
1196
01:01:50,440 --> 01:01:53,800
And so I take that time every
year to make sure that I get my
1197
01:01:53,800 --> 01:01:57,120
body in good enough shape to be
able to withstand the late
1198
01:01:57,120 --> 01:01:59,720
nights and the long hours.
But more than anything else,
1199
01:01:59,720 --> 01:02:02,720
just to find the balance.
So if I've got any ritual, I
1200
01:02:02,720 --> 01:02:06,120
look forward to getting myself
in the state so that I can still
1201
01:02:06,120 --> 01:02:09,040
at 50 years of age, be able to
somewhat demonstrate the drills
1202
01:02:09,040 --> 01:02:11,920
I need to demonstrate to Josh
Clark and the young guys that
1203
01:02:11,920 --> 01:02:14,000
I've got.
I don't want y'all to read about
1204
01:02:14,000 --> 01:02:15,920
me past, not from an asthma
attack or nothing out.
1205
01:02:16,400 --> 01:02:17,440
There, there you go.
There you.
1206
01:02:17,440 --> 01:02:20,880
Go I like hearing that.
I like, you know, you talked
1207
01:02:20,880 --> 01:02:22,920
about being, you know, on the
road for a month.
1208
01:02:22,920 --> 01:02:29,400
I can't imagine like four weeks
worth of, you know, Rd. meals,
1209
01:02:29,440 --> 01:02:32,040
different meals at different
restaurants, you know, all that
1210
01:02:32,040 --> 01:02:33,880
stuff that.
I mean, the man, the man said he
1211
01:02:33,880 --> 01:02:36,200
carried around lemon pepper.
You know how much sodium that
1212
01:02:36,200 --> 01:02:39,320
thing got in it.
Of course, of course he going to
1213
01:02:39,320 --> 01:02:42,720
go get back, right?
You want to look up, so you talk
1214
01:02:42,720 --> 01:02:44,480
about blood pressure.
You go look at the back of that
1215
01:02:44,480 --> 01:02:46,040
lemon pepper.
I promise.
1216
01:02:46,040 --> 01:02:48,280
You no doubt about.
It and that's what coach to
1217
01:02:48,280 --> 01:02:49,560
coach to get that lemon pepper
out of here.
1218
01:02:49,640 --> 01:02:53,000
Yeah, Oh yeah, true, true.
You can do the salt free with
1219
01:02:53,000 --> 01:02:57,600
Miss Dash.
So I got to yeah, you get you
1220
01:02:58,200 --> 01:02:59,960
get a little pepper, you get a
little pepper.
1221
01:02:59,960 --> 01:03:03,440
Not much lemon with Miss Dash.
So I didn't try it too though.
1222
01:03:03,960 --> 01:03:05,920
But yeah, coach, we're going to
go, you know, keep it rolling
1223
01:03:05,920 --> 01:03:08,120
here.
Back in June, we talked with
1224
01:03:08,120 --> 01:03:11,720
Coach Pry and he just talked
about managing the expectations
1225
01:03:11,720 --> 01:03:14,400
for the season.
What are you doing with your
1226
01:03:14,400 --> 01:03:17,640
group to just, you know, to
manage these expectations?
1227
01:03:17,920 --> 01:03:22,160
Because us as as fans, every
year we're going, we're going to
1228
01:03:22,160 --> 01:03:23,480
be hype.
We're going to throw the hype
1229
01:03:23,480 --> 01:03:27,680
train on, but now it's more than
just hokey nation and hokey
1230
01:03:27,680 --> 01:03:29,880
fans.
Like national media is picking
1231
01:03:29,880 --> 01:03:31,840
up things.
You know what I'm saying, people
1232
01:03:31,840 --> 01:03:34,960
that we don't even have TikTok
personalities, but this is a
1233
01:03:34,960 --> 01:03:36,360
team.
And then now you got the the
1234
01:03:36,360 --> 01:03:41,000
video game that came out and you
got video, video game experts
1235
01:03:41,000 --> 01:03:43,880
like this is a fun team to play
with because they got this, this
1236
01:03:43,920 --> 01:03:45,520
myth.
So how you get?
1237
01:03:45,520 --> 01:03:48,160
How do you handle those
expectations for your group?
1238
01:03:49,080 --> 01:03:53,880
You know, for me it's not that
big of a deal for my group.
1239
01:03:54,160 --> 01:03:58,360
I coach corners.
And so your day one page one
1240
01:03:58,360 --> 01:04:01,360
training as a corner is don't
let your highs get too high,
1241
01:04:01,360 --> 01:04:02,760
don't let your levels get too
low.
1242
01:04:03,200 --> 01:04:05,360
I mean, you can make a great
player at corner and be the
1243
01:04:05,360 --> 01:04:08,880
reason you lose a ball game, you
know, and everybody understands
1244
01:04:08,880 --> 01:04:11,440
that.
So it's just a natural mentality
1245
01:04:11,440 --> 01:04:14,000
that I instill on a daily basis
with my guys.
1246
01:04:14,000 --> 01:04:17,520
So it's really not that big of a
deal that they're starting to
1247
01:04:17,520 --> 01:04:20,640
read a lot of positive things
about themselves because they're
1248
01:04:20,640 --> 01:04:23,520
taught not to listen too much to
the cheers because the boos will
1249
01:04:23,520 --> 01:04:26,840
also come in a sense.
And that's just how you have to
1250
01:04:26,840 --> 01:04:29,080
train corners from a mentality
standpoint.
1251
01:04:29,440 --> 01:04:33,040
But I think Coach Pride himself
does a really good job at that.
1252
01:04:33,440 --> 01:04:36,720
You know, even our first year
here, things were not going
1253
01:04:36,720 --> 01:04:39,640
well.
Coach Pride's entire message to
1254
01:04:39,640 --> 01:04:44,000
the team on a consistent basis
has been don't listen to the
1255
01:04:44,000 --> 01:04:45,680
noise, don't listen to the
noise.
1256
01:04:46,080 --> 01:04:49,240
We believed what we were doing.
We were confident in what we
1257
01:04:49,240 --> 01:04:51,320
were doing, but we knew it was
going to take some time.
1258
01:04:51,920 --> 01:04:54,520
You know, we didn't come in here
thinking we were going to wave a
1259
01:04:54,520 --> 01:04:58,080
magic wand and all of a sudden,
you know, go win 12 ball games.
1260
01:04:58,440 --> 01:05:02,480
We've all been in situations
like this with veteran coaches,
1261
01:05:02,480 --> 01:05:05,840
but we were 100% confident in
what we were doing and how we
1262
01:05:05,840 --> 01:05:08,320
were going about doing it.
And you have to teach the team
1263
01:05:08,320 --> 01:05:11,920
to be the same way.
And anything we've done last
1264
01:05:11,920 --> 01:05:15,080
year doesn't matter.
We've done nothing this year.
1265
01:05:15,080 --> 01:05:19,500
And my guys understand that.
I tell my guys all the time, pre
1266
01:05:19,500 --> 01:05:22,920
season rankings mean nothing.
Whether you're ranked high or
1267
01:05:22,920 --> 01:05:25,960
whether you're ranked low, it
doesn't make a difference if
1268
01:05:25,960 --> 01:05:28,680
you're ranked pre season, all
ACC.
1269
01:05:28,720 --> 01:05:32,840
If you're not post season, all
AC, post season all ACC matters.
1270
01:05:33,120 --> 01:05:35,480
So my guys are going to
understand that from the first
1271
01:05:35,480 --> 01:05:38,640
day that I coached him, I don't
care about what nobody says
1272
01:05:38,640 --> 01:05:41,000
about you, good or bad.
So I don't want you to care
1273
01:05:41,000 --> 01:05:42,760
about what nobody said about
you, good or bad.
1274
01:05:42,960 --> 01:05:45,960
You keep your head down, you
keep working and you grind, and
1275
01:05:45,960 --> 01:05:48,040
your production will speak for
itself.
1276
01:05:48,160 --> 01:05:50,800
You don't have to tell people
how good you are, and you don't
1277
01:05:50,800 --> 01:05:52,520
have to explain to people that
you're not bad.
1278
01:05:53,360 --> 01:05:55,360
Curtis, we found somebody else
that doesn't give a shit about
1279
01:05:55,360 --> 01:05:59,720
pre season.
If you ever wanted to get Brian
1280
01:05:59,720 --> 01:06:04,400
Ziegler on a tangent for 15
minutes, talk to him about pre
1281
01:06:04,400 --> 01:06:06,800
season, AP, pre season coach
rankings.
1282
01:06:06,960 --> 01:06:09,680
He sit at the break room in our
own workplace and he'd go off on
1283
01:06:09,680 --> 01:06:11,200
somebody 15 minutes.
It was great.
1284
01:06:11,600 --> 01:06:13,560
OK, I want to ask you though.
Go ahead.
1285
01:06:14,600 --> 01:06:18,920
You know, it's, it's good
because people love football and
1286
01:06:18,920 --> 01:06:23,360
people want something to read
about that feeds the frenzy.
1287
01:06:23,680 --> 01:06:27,000
You know, I think it's really
good for fans to get that
1288
01:06:27,000 --> 01:06:29,440
perspective.
But when you actually play the
1289
01:06:29,440 --> 01:06:33,160
sport or you coach the sport,
that's the last thing you care
1290
01:06:33,160 --> 01:06:34,600
about because you haven't done
anything.
1291
01:06:34,960 --> 01:06:39,680
You know, I mean, every year you
look at it, there's never been a
1292
01:06:39,680 --> 01:06:43,280
preseason top 25 that ended up
the way that it it was in the
1293
01:06:43,280 --> 01:06:45,880
preseason, not one time.
I don't know that to be true,
1294
01:06:45,880 --> 01:06:47,400
but I promise you that's never
happened.
1295
01:06:47,680 --> 01:06:49,600
Pretty sure it's never happened.
Yep.
1296
01:06:49,800 --> 01:06:53,400
And and my, my thing was always
it's good for the fans.
1297
01:06:53,400 --> 01:06:55,800
It's great for the fans because
it builds the hype and gets
1298
01:06:55,800 --> 01:06:58,240
everybody going.
When you started making it a
1299
01:06:58,240 --> 01:07:02,680
part of the process of post
season play and stuff like that,
1300
01:07:02,680 --> 01:07:06,640
I'm like, you're biasing what
that's what what the what the
1301
01:07:06,680 --> 01:07:08,880
what's going to end up at the
end because of what you had at
1302
01:07:08,880 --> 01:07:10,880
the beginning.
Don't want to be wrong.
1303
01:07:10,880 --> 01:07:14,080
Let at least September play out,
maybe even half of October or
1304
01:07:14,080 --> 01:07:17,280
most of October before you start
talking about OK, well, here's
1305
01:07:17,280 --> 01:07:19,560
the good teams, and here's the
teams that aren't quite there
1306
01:07:19,560 --> 01:07:21,640
yet, and here's the teams that
don't belong at all.
1307
01:07:22,400 --> 01:07:26,680
But it's like anything else, man
Everything sales and you know,
1308
01:07:26,680 --> 01:07:29,560
those Athlons, Lindsay's
magazines, somebody's grabbing
1309
01:07:29,560 --> 01:07:32,560
them off the shelf.
Somebody's making money up and
1310
01:07:32,560 --> 01:07:35,720
somebody's punching a website to
read about what somebody thinks
1311
01:07:36,000 --> 01:07:39,200
other teams are going to finish.
I hope my guys aren't wrapped up
1312
01:07:39,200 --> 01:07:42,320
into that.
You know, You know, it's nice to
1313
01:07:42,320 --> 01:07:45,240
maybe go to the magazine and
grab a picture, but I think my
1314
01:07:45,240 --> 01:07:48,400
guys are trained pretty well not
to pay that much attention.
1315
01:07:48,440 --> 01:07:50,440
You know, your family can pay it
attention.
1316
01:07:50,440 --> 01:07:53,000
It's good for them to be able to
pass around at the grocery store
1317
01:07:53,000 --> 01:07:55,920
and things like that, but we got
to stay focused on the task at
1318
01:07:55,920 --> 01:07:58,000
hand.
And it's funny hearing you talk
1319
01:07:58,000 --> 01:08:01,000
about cornerbacks where it's
like as an offensive lineman, we
1320
01:08:01,000 --> 01:08:02,760
had the opposite, you know,
problem.
1321
01:08:02,760 --> 01:08:05,840
I think you, like you guys had
to stay even keeled because
1322
01:08:06,280 --> 01:08:09,200
you're you're one big player,
one bad play away from having
1323
01:08:09,200 --> 01:08:11,240
your name out there.
And then it's offensive lineman.
1324
01:08:11,240 --> 01:08:14,160
We got to stay even keeled
because we're anonymous.
1325
01:08:14,160 --> 01:08:17,560
And anytime we screw up, that's
the only time we're not
1326
01:08:17,560 --> 01:08:21,520
anonymous.
I can tell you from having
1327
01:08:21,520 --> 01:08:24,479
played corner, and even though
it's been a long, long time ago,
1328
01:08:25,240 --> 01:08:27,640
once you've been beaten, you're
humble.
1329
01:08:29,640 --> 01:08:31,960
I don't care.
I don't care what else happens
1330
01:08:31,960 --> 01:08:35,479
in your career once you've been
beaten and you've had that
1331
01:08:35,479 --> 01:08:38,880
feeling of having to get down
and try to block APAP and take
1332
01:08:38,880 --> 01:08:42,279
that job to the sideline.
You don't want that to happen no
1333
01:08:42,279 --> 01:08:43,920
more.
So you're not going to get too
1334
01:08:43,920 --> 01:08:46,760
hyped about much of anything
because you have to do the
1335
01:08:46,760 --> 01:08:49,760
things that you have to do not
to get that feeling anymore.
1336
01:08:49,760 --> 01:08:52,600
That's a horrible feeling and
not many people want that
1337
01:08:52,600 --> 01:08:55,040
feeling.
Not at all.
1338
01:08:55,479 --> 01:08:57,040
Coach, I want to ask you
something real quick because we
1339
01:08:57,040 --> 01:09:00,319
know you do have a book out
there, but I always see the the
1340
01:09:00,319 --> 01:09:04,520
#apw and I know that's one of
your mentalities, but where did
1341
01:09:04,520 --> 01:09:06,640
it come from?
The always play to win.
1342
01:09:07,600 --> 01:09:11,640
You know, I may always play to
win up in high school.
1343
01:09:11,640 --> 01:09:13,720
Actually, I mean, it actually
started.
1344
01:09:13,720 --> 01:09:16,200
I used to have a little select
slogan in high school.
1345
01:09:16,880 --> 01:09:20,319
I it was, I play to win.
I would always say that I played
1346
01:09:20,319 --> 01:09:21,840
to win.
I played to win and it's just
1347
01:09:21,840 --> 01:09:23,960
confidence, something very
simple.
1348
01:09:24,399 --> 01:09:29,600
And strangely, when I got to
Duke, we didn't have anything to
1349
01:09:29,600 --> 01:09:31,359
stand on.
I mean, we hadn't won a lot of
1350
01:09:31,359 --> 01:09:34,200
ball games.
There was not a lot of morale in
1351
01:09:34,200 --> 01:09:36,319
the room.
And social media was just
1352
01:09:36,319 --> 01:09:38,840
starting to come into play.
It was Facebook, there was no
1353
01:09:38,840 --> 01:09:42,279
Twitter, there was no Instagram.
But I wanted to be able to come
1354
01:09:42,279 --> 01:09:48,319
up with something that would
identify my brand as a coach, as
1355
01:09:48,319 --> 01:09:52,920
a recruiter with young men.
Everybody was coming up with
1356
01:09:52,920 --> 01:09:56,880
hashtags.
And so Always Play to Win had
1357
01:09:56,880 --> 01:10:00,200
always been my motto.
So I just put it into a little
1358
01:10:00,200 --> 01:10:02,440
equation with the A to Peter Two
and the West.
1359
01:10:02,960 --> 01:10:07,720
And then it transitioned into a
company and a foundation on once
1360
01:10:07,720 --> 01:10:09,760
I wrote the book.
And we've been able to do a lot
1361
01:10:09,760 --> 01:10:12,160
of things since that, but it
simply stands for Always Play to
1362
01:10:12,160 --> 01:10:15,480
Win.
There's somebody out there
1363
01:10:15,680 --> 01:10:17,040
loving your mentality, coach
one.
1364
01:10:17,280 --> 01:10:20,640
Of our I, I love that you kind
of had that mentality going back
1365
01:10:20,640 --> 01:10:23,440
to your high school days out.
And I love that it started with
1366
01:10:23,920 --> 01:10:26,320
a way to kind of get that
self-confidence boost, that
1367
01:10:26,320 --> 01:10:30,000
confidence going into those big
time situations where a lot of
1368
01:10:30,000 --> 01:10:32,600
times you know that that
confidence is what you fall back
1369
01:10:32,600 --> 01:10:36,160
on and how you stay even keeled
through those processes, those
1370
01:10:36,160 --> 01:10:38,840
ups and downs of a game, those
ups and downs of the season.
1371
01:10:39,360 --> 01:10:43,040
So I love that we're kind of
wrapping up here.
1372
01:10:43,040 --> 01:10:45,320
I'm, I don't know if anybody
else has anything they want to
1373
01:10:45,320 --> 01:10:48,040
throw in there, but I, I wanted
to kind of this will be my, this
1374
01:10:48,040 --> 01:10:49,600
will be my last one that I'll
throw at you.
1375
01:10:51,000 --> 01:10:54,880
Can you sum up kind of what's
what, what you feel about this
1376
01:10:54,880 --> 01:10:58,560
season, this team and and maybe
even specifically your unit in
1377
01:10:58,560 --> 01:11:02,840
one word, how you feel heading
into this season?
1378
01:11:03,800 --> 01:11:07,480
Easily hungry.
I'm hungry is the word.
1379
01:11:07,840 --> 01:11:11,000
And I would say that, you know,
because I've witnessed it.
1380
01:11:11,320 --> 01:11:13,440
You know, I've seen the way
these guys have worked in the
1381
01:11:13,440 --> 01:11:16,480
offseason.
I've seen how these guys have
1382
01:11:16,480 --> 01:11:21,280
responded to the noise.
I saw how we didn't lose anybody
1383
01:11:21,600 --> 01:11:24,600
major in the portal.
I saw how our coaching staff
1384
01:11:24,600 --> 01:11:28,000
stayed intact.
I know the belief and I know
1385
01:11:28,000 --> 01:11:31,400
everybody understands.
Now we have a shot to fulfill a
1386
01:11:31,400 --> 01:11:34,280
lot of the things that we
believe we can fulfill.
1387
01:11:34,480 --> 01:11:36,880
But you got to be hungry.
Nothing's going to be handed to
1388
01:11:36,920 --> 01:11:38,840
you.
There's a lot of good football
1389
01:11:38,840 --> 01:11:42,200
teams on our schedule.
There are no easy games on our
1390
01:11:42,200 --> 01:11:44,640
schedule, despite what
predictions there are.
1391
01:11:44,920 --> 01:11:49,120
But I think this team is really
hungry to prove to themselves
1392
01:11:49,120 --> 01:11:52,520
and the rest of the world that
we are a National Football
1393
01:11:52,520 --> 01:11:54,240
power.
Nice.
1394
01:11:55,240 --> 01:11:57,080
I love that.
I love that.
1395
01:11:57,320 --> 01:12:01,040
And that, that was the word I
was hoping you were going to say
1396
01:12:01,520 --> 01:12:03,040
when, when I when I put that
question.
1397
01:12:03,040 --> 01:12:04,080
Together I put it.
Together.
1398
01:12:04,080 --> 01:12:06,560
I wrote it back.
I didn't, I didn't, I didn't let
1399
01:12:06,560 --> 01:12:09,240
anybody else know about.
I was like, I hope he says
1400
01:12:09,240 --> 01:12:13,080
hungry because that because
that's what I'm seeing and and I
1401
01:12:13,080 --> 01:12:15,240
think that's Hokie nation.
That's what we want this team to
1402
01:12:15,240 --> 01:12:18,800
be is still hungry to kind of
take that next step, continue
1403
01:12:18,800 --> 01:12:21,800
reaching for those goals that I
know you guys have and coach
1404
01:12:21,800 --> 01:12:25,680
pride talked about it at ACC
media day today that are a lot
1405
01:12:25,680 --> 01:12:29,600
bigger than, you know, just, you
know, getting back to a bowl
1406
01:12:29,600 --> 01:12:32,960
again or just winning 10 games.
You know, the the, the
1407
01:12:32,960 --> 01:12:36,280
expectations are up there for
what you can accomplish and
1408
01:12:36,280 --> 01:12:38,200
being hungry to accomplish that
is important.
1409
01:12:39,160 --> 01:12:42,440
One of the things I've learned
in my coaching career and
1410
01:12:42,440 --> 01:12:45,960
playing career is that if you
don't expect to win
1411
01:12:45,960 --> 01:12:48,280
championships, you're not going
to win championships.
1412
01:12:49,080 --> 01:12:50,640
And that's the bottom line of
it.
1413
01:12:50,640 --> 01:12:53,120
You know, if you expect to get
to a bowl game and that's your
1414
01:12:53,120 --> 01:12:55,040
expectation, that's what's going
to happen for you.
1415
01:12:55,320 --> 01:13:00,080
And there's no harm in saying
our goal is to win A
1416
01:13:00,080 --> 01:13:03,200
championship, not saying it's
going to happen, but that has to
1417
01:13:03,200 --> 01:13:05,160
be the goal in order for us to
reach it.
1418
01:13:05,440 --> 01:13:09,120
Because if that's not your goal,
you're not pushing yourself to
1419
01:13:09,120 --> 01:13:11,640
the limit to reach that.
And that's just the mindset.
1420
01:13:13,240 --> 01:13:14,920
Oh yeah, definitely.
Love that coach.
1421
01:13:14,920 --> 01:13:17,120
Love that man.
I know you're getting ready to
1422
01:13:17,120 --> 01:13:20,120
get out of here, so I'm all I'm.
I got one more I'm going to
1423
01:13:20,120 --> 01:13:21,600
throw at you.
I know you've been busy.
1424
01:13:21,600 --> 01:13:23,480
I know you've been ripping and
running.
1425
01:13:24,120 --> 01:13:28,640
We got to see a couple of our
guys go to ACC Media day and we
1426
01:13:28,760 --> 01:13:31,240
had Dorian representing your
your group of guys.
1427
01:13:31,240 --> 01:13:34,760
Did you get to see his outfit?
Yeah, man, I saw his blue suit
1428
01:13:34,760 --> 01:13:37,080
yesterday when he picked it up.
Man, I, I told him that's
1429
01:13:37,120 --> 01:13:39,400
impressive, you know?
So I was going to ask you.
1430
01:13:39,400 --> 01:13:42,160
I was going.
To ask you, Playboy myself, I
1431
01:13:42,160 --> 01:13:44,400
like that.
I was hoping you was going to
1432
01:13:44,400 --> 01:13:46,760
say you got to see it, so I was
going to ask you to rate.
1433
01:13:47,040 --> 01:13:50,800
Rate his drip coach one of the
team where you think he was at.
1434
01:13:51,440 --> 01:13:53,160
I will give him a 10 on that one
man.
1435
01:13:53,160 --> 01:13:56,520
I mean, it takes it takes
confidence to step out in
1436
01:13:56,520 --> 01:13:59,000
something like that.
I know that person because I do
1437
01:13:59,000 --> 01:14:00,800
it all the.
Time, I think he looks.
1438
01:14:01,360 --> 01:14:04,640
It's almost like a father
watching his son blossom into
1439
01:14:04,640 --> 01:14:06,920
something else.
So when I saw that suit
1440
01:14:06,920 --> 01:14:08,680
yesterday, I was like, that's my
guy.
1441
01:14:09,280 --> 01:14:12,480
Yeah, yeah, I've seen it.
I was like, OK, he look, he
1442
01:14:12,480 --> 01:14:16,240
looks like a cornerback, like he
looks like ADB, you know what
1443
01:14:16,240 --> 01:14:17,800
I'm saying?
Because the DBS like you got to
1444
01:14:17,800 --> 01:14:19,920
be a little bit flamboyant.
You got to talk a little junk
1445
01:14:19,920 --> 01:14:23,080
like when I seen him with that
suit on, I was like, Yep, that's
1446
01:14:23,200 --> 01:14:25,360
that's what he looked like.
So I got to ask coach what he
1447
01:14:25,600 --> 01:14:27,480
what he thought about that.
So that's.
1448
01:14:27,480 --> 01:14:30,880
All I got when I go to buy a
blazer suit and I say what would
1449
01:14:30,960 --> 01:14:33,320
somebody else not wear?
That's what I want.
1450
01:14:34,960 --> 01:14:37,520
Give me two of them.
Exactly.
1451
01:14:39,760 --> 01:14:41,840
Brian, you got anything else for
coach tonight?
1452
01:14:42,280 --> 01:14:46,240
I think I'm all set, brother.
Man, coach, this has been an
1453
01:14:46,240 --> 01:14:48,360
entertaining hour and 15
minutes.
1454
01:14:48,480 --> 01:14:54,320
We thank you so, so much for
giving us your time because we
1455
01:14:54,320 --> 01:14:56,960
know you do not have much of it
leading up to these last few
1456
01:14:56,960 --> 01:14:59,560
weeks of summer before you hit
the fall camp.
1457
01:15:01,360 --> 01:15:04,000
And, and it's been a pleasure.
This is the second time me and
1458
01:15:04,000 --> 01:15:08,920
Brian has gotten to talk to you.
The the everything that come
1459
01:15:09,000 --> 01:15:13,760
y'all, I'm going to just say
this in person re show during
1460
01:15:13,760 --> 01:15:17,280
the show, the man that y'all see
putting stuff out on social
1461
01:15:17,280 --> 01:15:21,560
media, all this stuff, the
sayings, the quotes, you're
1462
01:15:21,600 --> 01:15:25,520
always had to your mentality
Every time I love, I still love
1463
01:15:25,520 --> 01:15:27,520
reading it.
It's a great time to be a hokey.
1464
01:15:29,120 --> 01:15:32,360
No doubt about it man, and I
appreciate y'all having me on
1465
01:15:32,400 --> 01:15:35,680
and man, I just want to say the
Hokey Nation, man, we appreciate
1466
01:15:35,680 --> 01:15:38,200
you guys.
The one thing that's been stable
1467
01:15:38,200 --> 01:15:41,920
since we started here is the
support of the fans and Hokey
1468
01:15:41,920 --> 01:15:43,480
Nation and that's been big for
us.
1469
01:15:43,680 --> 01:15:47,600
You guys have no idea what it
means for me to be able to go
1470
01:15:47,600 --> 01:15:51,600
into a high school or go into a
household and sell to kids that
1471
01:15:51,600 --> 01:15:53,640
they're going to be able to play
in front of one of the best
1472
01:15:53,640 --> 01:15:56,280
atmospheres in all the sports,
not just college football.
1473
01:15:56,760 --> 01:16:01,720
That's big, and it's big, big
that for our social media
1474
01:16:01,720 --> 01:16:06,360
presence that there's so much
positivity from Hokey Nation on
1475
01:16:06,360 --> 01:16:09,160
social media.
I don't think a lot of fan bases
1476
01:16:09,160 --> 01:16:12,880
understand how much you can hurt
a program with negativity.
1477
01:16:13,280 --> 01:16:16,200
You know, I've been at a couple
of places where people would
1478
01:16:16,200 --> 01:16:21,280
just go on to the official
website and attack the coaching
1479
01:16:21,280 --> 01:16:22,880
staff.
That's not helping us.
1480
01:16:23,280 --> 01:16:27,520
That's not helping us to grow
because why do parents want to
1481
01:16:27,520 --> 01:16:31,320
send their place to a fan base
that's unsupportive, you know,
1482
01:16:31,760 --> 01:16:34,760
And those are the things that we
don't have to worry about with
1483
01:16:34,760 --> 01:16:37,680
Hokey Nation, man.
So hats off to all of you.
1484
01:16:38,160 --> 01:16:40,680
We love you.
Y'all are a weapon, Y'all are
1485
01:16:40,680 --> 01:16:43,200
the 12th man and let's go win
some football games.
1486
01:16:43,520 --> 01:16:44,960
Yes, Sir.
Y'all.
1487
01:16:45,120 --> 01:16:48,040
Thank you, Coach Jones for that.
That is going to wrap up this
1488
01:16:48,040 --> 01:16:51,680
episode of the Boundary Corner
Podcast brought to you by Main
1489
01:16:51,680 --> 01:16:54,000
Street Pharmacy.
I'm Curtis Wilson.
1490
01:16:54,520 --> 01:16:56,840
I'm Brian Siegler.
Jonathan Talley.
1491
01:16:57,960 --> 01:17:01,640
It's a great time to be a hokey.
This is Coach Derek Cheetah
1492
01:17:01,720 --> 01:17:03,520
Jones.
Visit our website,
1493
01:17:03,520 --> 01:17:07,080
boundarycornerbt.com to check
out all of our episodes.
1494
01:17:07,240 --> 01:17:08,880
While you're there, follow us
everywhere.
1495
01:17:08,880 --> 01:17:10,960
We're on Twitter, we're on
Facebook, Instagram.
1496
01:17:10,960 --> 01:17:12,680
We have a YouTube channel as
well.
1497
01:17:13,120 --> 01:17:16,320
Any podcast source you can think
of, Brian bumps it to them.
1498
01:17:16,320 --> 01:17:18,400
It'll be there tomorrow morning
if you want to listen to this
1499
01:17:18,400 --> 01:17:21,800
again.
As always, we let our buddy
1500
01:17:21,800 --> 01:17:24,600
Jason Long who is down in the
Roanoke area.
1501
01:17:25,160 --> 01:17:30,240
He plays us in, he plays us out.
Take a look at him, Jason Long,
1502
01:17:30,320 --> 01:17:33,400
music.com.
Check him out for all of his
1503
01:17:33,400 --> 01:17:37,320
stuff, connections to his
Facebook page, his YouTube
1504
01:17:37,320 --> 01:17:39,800
sites, and in the next few weeks
here.
1505
01:17:40,080 --> 01:17:42,040
He's got a few things going on
down in Roanoke.
1506
01:17:42,040 --> 01:17:45,200
I want to pump these out.
He is going to be at the West
1507
01:17:45,200 --> 01:17:47,720
End Farmers Market on August
6th.
1508
01:17:48,200 --> 01:17:51,840
He is going to be at the Waxena
City Tap Room on August 7th at
1509
01:17:51,840 --> 01:17:54,320
6:30 to 8:30.
He will be playing at the
1510
01:17:54,320 --> 01:17:57,480
Roanoke Taco Fest in September
as well.
1511
01:17:57,480 --> 01:18:01,360
I kind of laughed at that.
But again, we thank you all for
1512
01:18:01,360 --> 01:18:03,000
listening.
Thank you all so much in the
1513
01:18:03,000 --> 01:18:05,640
chat tonight.
A lot of chatter out there, and
1514
01:18:05,640 --> 01:18:08,520
as always, let's go.
Okie.
1515
01:18:45,630 --> 01:18:45,710
The.