Opening Camp with Austin Cannon

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Welcome back to the boundary
Corner podcast with Brian Segal.

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I'm Curtis Wilson.
Tonight.

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We have a very special guest,
former hokey offensive lineman

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and current Hanover Hawk
assistant football coach, Austin

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Cannon, Hey, Austin.
How you doing tonight?

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But pretty good man.
Are you doing?

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I'll can't complain.
Thanks for jumping on with us

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here.
No problem.

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Yeah man, we appreciate it.
How's uh, how's your day been

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has been long been up since 5:00
a.m. and, you know, just working

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getting ready for the season
now.

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Have you already started Camp up
in Hanover?

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Where is this?
There's a next week.

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Now we start Monday.
Day tomorrow.

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We finish up our summer workouts
with you know, big, squat Friday

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and conditioning the tradition
continues.

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Oh yeah, for sure.
Nice man.

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What y'all first game are y'all
playing Labor Day weekend as

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well or y'all little later than
that believe we got September

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1st or 2nd.
Okay.

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And we're home against Monica.
So okay.

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It's it's going to be a great,
great matchup, you know, that

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they had some players last year,
but you know, we'll see what

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they got.
You know, we have a lot of

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momentum coming in from that
spring season and you know, the

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guys are excited, the staff is
excited, so we're ready to go.

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So you were coaching in the
spring.

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I know you know you got a big
decision kind of as last season.

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Wrapped up was Was getting into
coaching kind of your plan in

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college, or was that something
to just kind of presented

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yourself, as you were kind of
taking those next steps?

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I mean, I knew all along I was
going to coach, you know, I kind

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of figured it out when it was my
senior year in high school.

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I started coaching Hanover
Warriors, like ten you.

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And, you know, I really enjoyed
it.

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And, you know, that kind of gave
me the ideals like, hey, I know

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football is going to end one
day.

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You and two for me to continue
to be involved in the game, you

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know, coaching was definitely,
you know, something in my

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future.
I do that man.

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Love it.
Love to hear that so that sounds

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like you've probably thought
about it even before that, which

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is unbelievable.
And now, you know, get a chance

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to go out there, you know, shape
from football here in the RV.

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A, but let me ask you this, what
is it like working for the head

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coach?
Of the Hanover Hawk Sam Rogers,

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you know, guy you obviously
probably played against in high

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school and then played with up,
jigna Tech.

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Yeah, you know, I mean, Sam's a
great guy, I mean, there's, you

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know, Hanover High School, you
know, they did a great job, you

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know, hiring him and you know
what, he's trying to do with

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that program and You know, it
it's unbelievable, you know,

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and, you know, I trust what he's
doing, you know, me and him have

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the same mentality, you know,
and kind of bringing that

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Virginia Tech mentality to that
program.

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And, you know, we're wired the
same way.

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And so just that cohesiveness
and that relationship, you know,

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I think it's awesome.
You know, I couldn't ask for a

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better head coach, you know, to
start on my coaching career.

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So, are y'all doing some similar
things that we're doing in

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Blacksburg?
Or is it kind of a mix of

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different philosophies and
schemes?

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I mean, you know, it's very
similar what we ran, you know,

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at Tech, you know, in terms of
like the spread offense and

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things like that and, you know,
he's brought like his own little

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twist, you know, some things
when you're, when he was in the

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league for a little bit, but
little bit of time, he was in

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there.
And you know it just his

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football IQ is like it's
impeccable, you know, and he's

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such a smart football player and
now football coach and you know,

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I'm kind of like learning the
ropes you know, in terms of the

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whole grand scheme of things
because you know for most of my

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life I was just worried about
that box that front seven, you

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know, I didn't really have to
worry about the defense like

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that.
But, you know, now I kind of

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have to You know, pay attention
to those things because, you

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know, I recently got, you know,
put on the role of the JV, you

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know, offensive coordinator.
So, you know, he's been working

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with me the past, you know, two
and a half months, you know, we

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meet every Thursday and he's
kind of teaching me all the

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passing Concepts and, you know,
we're talking about receivers,

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and dbe's defense of coverages
and all that kind of stuff.

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I was like, Okay.
We'll crash course, right?

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Yeah, little crap.
And so you know, I've been

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starting up on it and I'm
excited to take on that new role

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instead of new challenge.
And you know, I love new

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challenges, it was going to make
me grow and be a better football

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coach.
Well, man, I'm almost ready to

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have you back in like five or
six weeks.

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After you've called some of
those JV games, just to hear

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what's going on with your some
of your sheep.

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Yeah, so obviously today was
first day of fall camp for the

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Virginia Tech Hokies.
And you know, we're seeing the

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pictures, we're seeing everybody
seems happy today they want,

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right?
So me and Brian, we're talking.

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We wanted to kind of ask you as
a player.

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What was the part of the camp?
You look forward to the most but

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then what was the kind of what
was the dread day.

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What was the day?
You hit like day 7 and you know,

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date is this - like got to get
it over with but not looking

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forward to it.
So what was the favorite day,

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first?
Mmm.

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Favorite favorite day was.
Probably obviously, you gotta go

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with first day of pads.
There we go.

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You know, we open it up.
We always open it up.

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First aid pads with Hoagie
drill, you know, and it's a

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competition, you know, between,
right?

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Handbags linebackers and wide
receivers dbe's o-line d-line

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and you know, eventually you
know, Fuente will get us all in

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a circle, you know, and he'll
have the two bags in the middle

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and you know, he'll call out,
you know, specific guy from each

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side of the ball.
And, you know, and we'll go at

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it and, you know, we keep score,
they run off an offensive line,

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got got that winning record.
So there we go.

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A proud proud beyond the window.
You got to keep the pride there.

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Oh yeah, yeah, I'm a prideful
guy.

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So but yeah.
And you know, with the days that

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I dreaded it I would say more of
towards the end of Camp, okay.

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You know, when you're like so
close to the season, you know,

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like you can almost taste it and
you're like, all right, like

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I've been going up against the
same dude, you know, twice a

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day.
Yep.

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You know.
However many weeks and I'm just

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like, I want someone different.
That's definitely, you know,

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that part is what I dread the
most but you know I mean it

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flies by so fast.
We have a question here for one

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of our listeners tonight, hokey
Farm on OU, pharmacist Jeremy,

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shut up, maybe somebody that had
to go up against Silas one time.

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Who had who had to go up against
Silas?

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Yeah.
And Hoagie drill in the hook

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here?
Oh my gosh.

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I mean, you had a manual Belmar.
You had Yeah, Justice Reed.

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You got oh yeah.
Jared Hewitt.

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I mean, pretty much everybody
that you've seen play on the

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defensive line, you know, has
had a piece of Silas and let me

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tell you silas's thousand sighs.
I mean, that being a big boy

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Mount another man.
I so, so I want to ask this and

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if you don't want to talk about
former teammates, don't who is

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the person when for went they
would call their Name that

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you're sitting there like I
don't really want to go against

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him today and I know you as a
football player.

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Yall's mentality isn't like that
but I'm sure sometimes you heard

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a name and it was like I want to
do this drill down but got to go

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out there and fight it.
Oh man.

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I mean I'm I'm never you know
scared of any man but he

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answered the answer your
question.

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You know, I would I would
definitely have to go with Tim

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saddle.
I mean, we're just talk about

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big guys.
Like this is big.

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Yeah interview.
So Tim was always fun to go up

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against and you know it was
always a challenge but you know

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when you've gone and done maybe
about three or four hokey

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drills, you know and also you
get called into the the big

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circle and you gotta go up
against Tim saddle.

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It's like, come on man.
You know, there's always one

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dude that like you know, you
don't back away from it, you're

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not, you're not afraid of your.
Like I know I'm gonna feel this

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once I hit him, I know I am.
I mean, that's just, you know, I

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think he was what like 3:30.
Yeah, it's you're so like, you

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know, and he's obviously trimmed
down a lot.

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Since he's been in the league,
such a low center of gravity to

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like, you can't, you can't get
underneath.

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Neither like, no, and it's so
hard.

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And like, if you mess with your
hands, you know, if your hands

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go outside and I mean, you're
just screwed all that power, the

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low center of gravity, that
strength.

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I mean, you really have to have
your Technique down to a tee,

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you know, to compete with Tim.
So, That's good to know and

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obviously Tim really doing well
for himself and you had quite a

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few guys that were there during
your time there.

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So it's cool to hear those type
of stories from you with this.

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And and by the way, last year we
had John McLaughlin on, again,

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teammate of yours and it must be
in the line thing could Brian,

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if you don't recollect, it was
he it was it was some sort of

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drill.
He didn't like, was like, what

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do you look forward to first day
of pads?

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He was with you, it was near the
end.

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He's like, that's when you start
dreading it, because did insane,

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guys, but you're also hitting
your teammates.

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It's almost that feeling of.
I want someone across from me,

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that is not wearing maroon and
orange, and I want to take it

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out on them and love that
mentality because y'all are all

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Brothers day and it's finally,
we practice we're ready to go.

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But he kept saying, I can't wait
for my game.

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I can't wait for my game.
That's what he kept saying, like

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We're doing.
What is my game?

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Yeah, my game, you know, that's
really fun.

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And you know, we take it very,
very seriously.

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But in terms of like having a
physical toll on your body, it's

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like one of the easiest days out
of the camp schedule, you know,

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and it's but it's more mental
than anything, you know.

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It's basically like a dress
rehearsal from the right before

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we Get on the bus with the
Friday walkthrough to, you know,

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pretend, you know, we're getting
on the bus to how we're going to

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conduct Friday meetings and, you
know, Saturday morning meal for

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breakfast and, you know, kind of
like the pregame meal and

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pregame meetings, you know, kind
of pick me up talks and stuff

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like that.
And so, you know, it, that's

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what I love to how everything
was so organized.

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And, you know, how, Reyes, it
was, you know, and, you know, I

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think that's, you know, kudos to
coach Fuente and his staff and

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how they run things and you
know, and it's freaking awesome.

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Very nice to hear.
Well before we get to more with

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Austin, cannons night, we are
going to take a quick 30 second

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break from our digital sponsors.
All right, Austin.

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We're going to jump back in
here.

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You know, we talked a little bit
about Camp opening up kind of

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your favorite parts and of camp.
But let's talk a little bit more

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about some of the things from
2020 some of the unique

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challenges that covid presented
especially in regards to fall

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Camp.
What was the biggest difference

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about fall camp in 2020 compared
to your for previous camps with

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Hokies?
I mean, 2020 Camp was I was A

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easy, I would say it was easier
you know compared to the other

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Camp simply because of the whole
code stuff.

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Like the way it was formatted
and, you know, you couldn't

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really, you know, do as much,
you know, we were to limited,

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you know, back-to-back days and
then I got another day off stuff

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like that.
But when we got those two days

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in a row like, I mean, don't get
me wrong like we went after it.

221
00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:03,200
Okay. you know and we competed
and you know got ourselves

222
00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:08,800
better but I mean if you want to
compare to the previous four, I

223
00:15:08,808 --> 00:15:15,500
mean definitely the easiest but
also the longest like yeah so

224
00:15:15,500 --> 00:15:18,900
long and you know you talk about
you know you're getting kind of

225
00:15:18,900 --> 00:15:20,900
towards the end of camp and
you're dreading in you want to

226
00:15:20,900 --> 00:15:24,700
go up against somebody else will
like that was the ultimate test

227
00:15:24,700 --> 00:15:28,900
right there you know?
Because we were winding down

228
00:15:28,900 --> 00:15:31,600
towards the enemy camp.
You know, you had the

229
00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:35,200
conference's contemplating
whether to have a season or not

230
00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:37,400
you know then you had the Pac-12
and Big Ten.

231
00:15:38,300 --> 00:15:41,400
But then we knew that we were
having a season.

232
00:15:41,700 --> 00:15:47,200
All right, now that was a plus
dip, but then NC State had a

233
00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:51,200
breakout, right?
They had to postpone right?

234
00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:53,800
So we're getting up.
We're gearing up getting ready

235
00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:57,600
for NC State.
You know, still going through

236
00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:02,100
that camp schedule, but then I
got postponed.

237
00:16:02,700 --> 00:16:06,900
Then our, you know, our Focus
shifted to UVA because I was

238
00:16:06,900 --> 00:16:11,600
weak to They're all sudden
outbreak happened on Artie.

239
00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:15,500
You know him that we couldn't
really control.

240
00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:22,400
It was inevitable and so that
got postponed now.

241
00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,000
We're kind of doing some more
Camp stuff, you know.

242
00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,700
So like it kept on, getting
delayed the season kept getting

243
00:16:27,700 --> 00:16:32,700
delayed, so there we kind of
kept with that cam schedule and

244
00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:35,400
a kind of purgatory there for a
while.

245
00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:39,300
The yeah, I mean just it was Is
terrible.

246
00:16:39,500 --> 00:16:45,400
You know I was just like itching
to get the season started and it

247
00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:49,700
just felt like 2 months really,
you know, it was like a month

248
00:16:49,700 --> 00:16:54,400
and a half.
I know something coach Fuente

249
00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:59,000
mentioned in an interview with
textile on about a couple weeks

250
00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:00,900
ago.
He was saying there were times

251
00:17:00,900 --> 00:17:03,500
it Camp.
There were no bodies there

252
00:17:03,900 --> 00:17:08,500
because the protocols like you
guys were You know, you would

253
00:17:08,508 --> 00:17:11,900
have groups out like half of
this group's gone, ten players

254
00:17:11,900 --> 00:17:15,500
from this groups going, how
difficult is that from your

255
00:17:15,500 --> 00:17:18,800
perspective?
Now, as a coach, you know the

256
00:17:18,808 --> 00:17:23,000
saying, how do we do that last
year when we couldn't do certain

257
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:25,400
drills because we don't have
enough players on the field?

258
00:17:26,300 --> 00:17:30,300
Yeah, I mean there was times
where, you know, we had, you

259
00:17:30,300 --> 00:17:35,200
know, portions of our practice
kind of taken out because of the

260
00:17:35,300 --> 00:17:41,100
lack of numbers and I'd like to
give you an example you know of

261
00:17:41,100 --> 00:17:46,500
kind of how the next man up you
know philosophy was you know,

262
00:17:46,500 --> 00:17:54,500
used like we had We have bra
Kaufman and in Hawaii Zechariah

263
00:17:54,500 --> 00:17:59,000
who eat, you know, they had to
like Korn team for some reason,

264
00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,500
right?
And this is when quarantine was

265
00:18:01,500 --> 00:18:03,700
longer than when you got
infected or something.

266
00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:06,700
Yeah, crazy.
It was 10 days if you're

267
00:18:06,700 --> 00:18:09,200
infected and 14 if you weren't.
Yeah.

268
00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:12,600
It is contactors.
Yeah, I mean you can take what

269
00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:14,600
you want about all that stuff
but I think it's absolutely

270
00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:16,900
ridiculous.
I don't care if people disagree

271
00:18:16,900 --> 00:18:22,800
or agree with me or not but You
know, then I had to be put in

272
00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:27,300
its inner and, you know, I've
always snap during pre practice

273
00:18:27,300 --> 00:18:30,400
and, you know, I knew how to
play the position.

274
00:18:30,900 --> 00:18:33,500
So you know it wasn't nothing
surprising to me.

275
00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:40,000
But, you know, I I was in there
taking first team reps at Center

276
00:18:40,700 --> 00:18:45,300
and, you know, Cornell send bias
and Fuente.

277
00:18:45,300 --> 00:18:48,500
You know, they're telling me how
the offense didn't really skip a

278
00:18:48,500 --> 00:18:51,300
beat, you know, when I was in
there and, you know, that was

279
00:18:51,300 --> 00:18:54,400
good to hear.
But, you know, with me, I was

280
00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,800
just doing my job, you know,
doing the best I could for the

281
00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:04,300
team for myself and, you know,
so I mean, it's the best I can

282
00:19:04,300 --> 00:19:05,700
do that.
I mean, that's why I'm there,

283
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,600
you know, to be a great
teammate, great football player,

284
00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:11,700
and, you know, and just gave my
best.

285
00:19:11,700 --> 00:19:15,100
So, but like, yeah, in terms of
lack of numbers like we were

286
00:19:15,100 --> 00:19:19,600
missing, you know, our first to
Sinners, you know, firsthand

287
00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:24,300
second team centers, and you got
guys jumping around different

288
00:19:24,300 --> 00:19:27,100
positions.
You know, we couldn't really do

289
00:19:27,300 --> 00:19:30,700
like a full team, kind of like
scrimmage period.

290
00:19:32,500 --> 00:19:36,000
You know, sometimes and you
know, it did hurt us a little

291
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,600
bit, but it wasn't like a major
setback or anything.

292
00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:43,100
We found ways.
We worked around it and got the

293
00:19:43,100 --> 00:19:46,100
most work.
We could So, we had a little

294
00:19:46,100 --> 00:19:48,400
question here from, from a
listener here.

295
00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:51,400
Was there a significant amount
of like, cross-training like

296
00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:55,200
offense to defense?
Or was that more relegated to

297
00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:57,200
the skill positions versus the
line?

298
00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:01,000
Or was there any of that or was
it just next man up?

299
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:04,100
Even if that next man is a
walk-on or anything like that.

300
00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:08,900
I mean, you know, like you said,
it doesn't matter who it was.

301
00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:13,000
I mean, to, you know, have an
example for that question.

302
00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:18,600
You know, we had a Tyler
Matheny, you know, come in for

303
00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:23,900
Diablo, I believe ya versus
Duke, you know, and he freaking

304
00:20:23,900 --> 00:20:26,800
balled out and, you know, we
were so happy for him when he

305
00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:32,800
got that interception like that,
sideline erupt, you know and so

306
00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:38,700
does matter if you're, you know,
a walk-on scholarship guy, you

307
00:20:38,700 --> 00:20:45,400
know, you know 20-plus game
starter, you know You know, I

308
00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,700
got that rotates or barely
played like if you're in that

309
00:20:48,700 --> 00:20:52,500
depth chart like your name could
be called at any moment.

310
00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:57,000
So, you know, everybody, when
they went to practice, you know,

311
00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:00,800
they were, you know, knowing
that my name could be called

312
00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:04,100
like today or like in just like
that.

313
00:21:04,100 --> 00:21:07,800
Like an instant second.
So, everybody kind of took their

314
00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:09,900
job.
Seriously, we came to practice

315
00:21:09,900 --> 00:21:12,500
because you just never know when
your numbers going to be called.

316
00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:17,600
Okay, that makes sense.
So just to covid landscape in

317
00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:20,100
general, you know, what was the
hardest part to navigate?

318
00:21:20,100 --> 00:21:23,300
I mean you had I just sit here
and think about you had

319
00:21:23,300 --> 00:21:25,000
football, obviously super
important.

320
00:21:25,500 --> 00:21:28,700
You had your own health to worry
about, you have friends, you had

321
00:21:28,700 --> 00:21:30,100
class, you had family.
What was it?

322
00:21:30,100 --> 00:21:33,400
Like the piece that was the most
difficult part for you.

323
00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:37,000
Last year, going through just
something, no one had ever done

324
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:44,300
in their entire lives.
I mean, I think, you know, Early

325
00:21:44,300 --> 00:21:47,600
on when, when they kind of shut
everything down.

326
00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:54,300
You know, we were just about to
finish up winter workouts and,

327
00:21:54,900 --> 00:21:58,600
you know, we got sent off for
spring break and, you know,

328
00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:00,600
we're in the middle of spring
break and they were told and

329
00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:05,100
like, hey, like we're, we're
locked down now, like you guys

330
00:22:05,100 --> 00:22:08,600
might as well, just stay where
you're at or, you know, go home

331
00:22:09,500 --> 00:22:14,400
and, you know, We were sending
it and some workout videos and

332
00:22:14,900 --> 00:22:20,200
you know, just trying to do what
we could and I think that was

333
00:22:21,300 --> 00:22:25,200
hard because I'm like, dang I
like this could be my last

334
00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,200
season you know, or I was
thinking like this is my last

335
00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:32,500
season not knowing about the
extra year and all that stuff

336
00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:37,200
and I'm like this is how it's
going to go like there's no way.

337
00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:43,400
And then eventually I think it
was like July or so early.

338
00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:47,100
June was when we got to come
back and kind of be with the

339
00:22:47,100 --> 00:22:50,600
team again and see everybody.
And I think, you know, that kind

340
00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:54,600
of picked everybody up, you
know, in terms of morale and

341
00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:58,800
things like that.
But also the testing I mean,

342
00:23:02,100 --> 00:23:05,500
we're talking about.
Sometimes I think early on I was

343
00:23:05,500 --> 00:23:08,600
like twice a week, you know,
then eventually he got wrapped

344
00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:11,900
up to three times a week and
it's like I don't want A swab up

345
00:23:11,900 --> 00:23:18,100
my new one more time, man.
But yeah, that's gotta get old

346
00:23:18,100 --> 00:23:20,200
quick.
Yeah, I know it did it did.

347
00:23:22,300 --> 00:23:26,400
So but, you know, we had to do
what we had to do in order to

348
00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,400
play a football season and, you
know, that's what was important

349
00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:33,000
to us, you know, is to have a
season in play.

350
00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:36,700
And so, we had to do whatever
whatever we had to do to get it

351
00:23:36,700 --> 00:23:39,800
done and, you know, but it
sucked, you know.

352
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:45,100
Well, you know we're we're tough
guys so you know we just had to

353
00:23:45,500 --> 00:23:50,300
endure it and move on.
So I you were talking earlier

354
00:23:50,300 --> 00:23:52,400
about, you know, sending in the
workout videos.

355
00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:54,900
If I recall correctly weren't
you did you send them one

356
00:23:54,900 --> 00:23:56,600
pushing a truck?
Yeah.

357
00:23:56,600 --> 00:24:01,100
That yeah, that was my 98, Ford
Expedition.

358
00:24:03,500 --> 00:24:08,600
I mean that work out, you know,
it's been something of mine that

359
00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:10,600
I've done all throughout High
School.

360
00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:15,300
Me and Alec Everly.
You know we used to push, you

361
00:24:15,300 --> 00:24:18,300
know our trucks I used to have
his Chevrolet Silverado that

362
00:24:18,300 --> 00:24:22,600
wasn't my first vehicle and me
and him will go at night time

363
00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:26,400
and the parking lot at a lie
and, you know, put it in neutral

364
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:30,100
and knew he would steer and I'll
push and then we will switch.

365
00:24:30,100 --> 00:24:35,800
And so like always love, pushing
pushing the truck, it was a

366
00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:38,700
great workout.
And so, you know, I was like,

367
00:24:38,700 --> 00:24:42,600
you know what, I'm almost
hitting this in, and You know,

368
00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:46,400
in our, you know, got some
positive reviews.

369
00:24:47,300 --> 00:24:55,600
Some of them, some good for
jokes, but now, I love the

370
00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:59,500
square bodies.
But I mean right now I drop a

371
00:24:59,508 --> 00:25:02,800
Ford Edge end up getting getting
rid of the Expedition.

372
00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:05,900
It was getting a little worn out
but that's been all throughout

373
00:25:05,900 --> 00:25:10,900
college so I'm not complaining.
So my jump down here they want

374
00:25:10,900 --> 00:25:13,100
to know how far you would push
the truck in the in the parking

375
00:25:13,100 --> 00:25:14,900
lot.
So in the apartment like this

376
00:25:14,900 --> 00:25:19,600
parking lot behind, the school
is ginormous like easily over a

377
00:25:19,608 --> 00:25:24,600
hundred yards and if you pushed
it towards the varsity practice

378
00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:29,100
field, it had a slight incline
as Went farther and farther.

379
00:25:29,700 --> 00:25:36,000
So I would say probably about
almost close to about 200 yards

380
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:37,400
long.
Oh, wow.

381
00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:43,400
And so me and Alice would try to
go, you know, three times, you

382
00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:49,200
know, each so yeah, it was, it
was a killer workout but, you

383
00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:52,400
know, always loved it.
Shout out, Jacob on that

384
00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:54,100
question.
I was a great question.

385
00:25:54,100 --> 00:26:01,600
So, 600 yards of pushing the 98
for Expedition by Alston cannon

386
00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:07,200
in the at leat parking lot and
the r-va you mentioned it just a

387
00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:10,200
few minutes ago.
Austin, you didn't know about

388
00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:15,000
the extra year of Eligibility,
what kind of factors played into

389
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:17,300
your decision to kind of pass on
that opportunity.

390
00:26:17,300 --> 00:26:20,600
Because, you know, you could you
could be sitting back at Camp

391
00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:22,600
day one.
But instead you're about to get

392
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:24,700
ready for your first.
Task will go champ.

393
00:26:25,100 --> 00:26:29,700
Yeah, so Like I want to say this
right now, I mean it was the

394
00:26:29,700 --> 00:26:37,600
hardest decision of my life, you
know, to I wouldn't say to give

395
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:41,100
up because I didn't give up, I
gave everything I had to be game

396
00:26:42,900 --> 00:26:47,700
but to kind of close that
chapter and to open up a new

397
00:26:47,700 --> 00:26:51,800
one, I mean, it was kind of hard
to, you know, close that chapter

398
00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:56,100
but you know a few factors
played in, you know, I just

399
00:26:56,100 --> 00:27:00,400
turned 25.
Ivan may, you know, easily would

400
00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:02,300
have been the oldest guy in the
room.

401
00:27:03,500 --> 00:27:06,300
Fun fact, I'm actually older
than Darrell Smith.

402
00:27:08,700 --> 00:27:10,400
Yeah.
Which is, you know, surprises

403
00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:14,400
because he's going on near 77,
you got the doctor it to them.

404
00:27:15,700 --> 00:27:18,300
Yeah.
So, you know, I kind of laid

405
00:27:18,300 --> 00:27:23,900
that and, you know, I knew I had
five years, you know, two kids,

406
00:27:23,900 --> 00:27:28,200
everything that I had And you
know, I came out with a

407
00:27:28,208 --> 00:27:30,500
bachelor's degree and a
master's.

408
00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:34,800
So you know that was the most
important thing to me, you know,

409
00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:40,600
being a first-generation college
student and college athlete to

410
00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:45,400
kind of change the direction of,
you know, my family's future.

411
00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:48,600
You know, I take great pride in
that.

412
00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:55,000
And you know I also promised
myself freshman year when I got

413
00:27:55,000 --> 00:28:01,500
there in January of 2016 you
know I said if I don't have that

414
00:28:01,500 --> 00:28:05,800
burning passion you know when
you know we're on that winter

415
00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:09,000
break and you is getting close
to get back to work.

416
00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:12,500
You know, if I don't have that
burning passion, then I know

417
00:28:12,500 --> 00:28:18,500
it's time and you know, because
if I were to do something, I

418
00:28:18,500 --> 00:28:25,600
would give it 110%.
I'm ten toes in and, you know,

419
00:28:25,900 --> 00:28:29,700
it wouldn't be fair to me, or
the coaches or my teammates the

420
00:28:29,700 --> 00:28:34,700
program, everybody if I came
back and I was kind of 50/50 or

421
00:28:34,700 --> 00:28:36,500
I didn't give everything that I
had.

422
00:28:37,300 --> 00:28:41,400
So I was either going to do it
or not, do it at all and when it

423
00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:47,000
got closer you know the coaches
they were recruiting me more

424
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:50,300
than I've ever been recruiting
High School my life.

425
00:28:51,500 --> 00:28:57,600
So it's kind of it was kind of
neat and you know, just, you

426
00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:01,700
know, listening to them.
And you know I wanted to take

427
00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:04,200
everybody's opinion.
Everybody that was important to

428
00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:08,500
me but ultimately at the end of
the day it's what I decide.

429
00:29:08,700 --> 00:29:14,500
And so it was a kind of, you
know, heard the tone.

430
00:29:14,500 --> 00:29:18,400
Hey like I'm good.
I'm moving on.

431
00:29:19,100 --> 00:29:23,200
You know what?
Point a and Coach Vice and

432
00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:28,200
really that whole staff has done
for me as a football player and

433
00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:33,500
as a man like I'm in Forever,
you know, in debt to them, you

434
00:29:33,500 --> 00:29:36,800
know what Virginia Tech has done
for me forever in debt to, you

435
00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:38,800
know, the program, the
university.

436
00:29:40,300 --> 00:29:44,600
And, you know, I'm very blessed
to have gone to the best

437
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:49,700
university in the freaking
country and to get an education

438
00:29:49,700 --> 00:29:54,600
of world-class. ation and to
play for program that's, you

439
00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:59,700
know, known all around the
country is, you know, crazy

440
00:29:59,700 --> 00:30:03,400
people, you know, jumping up and
down Enter Sandman and having

441
00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:06,200
the best interest in college
football and just the

442
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:12,800
atmosphere, you know, it was
kind of hard to believe that you

443
00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:16,400
leave it on the Wayside and move
on but you know I'm happy where

444
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:21,800
I'm at right now you know and
kind of being Vol drowned,

445
00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:25,900
football, you know, thing that's
helped me a lot with coping with

446
00:30:26,500 --> 00:30:29,900
me not playing.
I think that's a lot of, you

447
00:30:29,900 --> 00:30:33,600
know, football coaches and they
get into coaching, you know,

448
00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:35,900
because they just love the game
of football and they don't know

449
00:30:35,900 --> 00:30:38,100
what their life would be like if
they didn't have it.

450
00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:42,500
So Yeah, it's hard to get rid of
that itch.

451
00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:47,300
It's always there.
Even, I mean, part of the reason

452
00:30:47,300 --> 00:30:49,600
that I love doing this, as any
kind of still, gives me an

453
00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:52,300
opportunity to be, you know, a
part of that world.

454
00:30:52,300 --> 00:30:56,800
So, you know, you never really
lose it once you once you get

455
00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:58,800
it.
So I definitely see that we had

456
00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:01,500
a, we had another listener.
He's got a question.

457
00:31:01,500 --> 00:31:04,600
He's, you know, we talked about
the your end time in Blacksburg.

458
00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:06,600
Let's talk about kind of what
led up to that.

459
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,000
What did you like about Fork
Union?

460
00:31:09,100 --> 00:31:13,300
The By the time you spent there.
Yeah, I mean, we hear about Fork

461
00:31:13,300 --> 00:31:17,900
Union, its military boarding
school all, dudes, and you know,

462
00:31:17,900 --> 00:31:21,800
you would think that would suck
but you know, it wasn't bad.

463
00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:25,800
I mean, it as long as you were,
you know, behaved and you were

464
00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:30,100
disciplined and things like
that, you know, it was easy,

465
00:31:31,900 --> 00:31:37,100
but, you know, coach human over
there, you know, he's a legend,

466
00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:43,600
you know, he He helped me get to
where I need to get to and

467
00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:46,800
without him, you know, I don't
know if I was, you know, going

468
00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:50,000
to be sitting here talking with
you guys with all this hokey

469
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,300
stuff in the background, you
know, and having the career that

470
00:31:53,300 --> 00:31:57,400
I had attack.
So you know it was it was a neat

471
00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:03,000
experience, very humbling
experience but you know I don't

472
00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:06,100
know what my life would be.
Like if I didn't kind of take

473
00:32:06,100 --> 00:32:09,300
that little detour to get to my
final destination.

474
00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:12,000
Destination.
So I shout out to coach

475
00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:16,200
schuiteman, you know?
He's a, he's a goat.

476
00:32:18,300 --> 00:32:22,100
Yeah, a lot of some of the the
tech grades have taken that path

477
00:32:22,100 --> 00:32:26,600
through Fork Union.
So, definitely kudos to coach

478
00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:29,300
Schumann there.
Let's, let's pivot a little bit

479
00:32:29,300 --> 00:32:32,900
here and talk about last year's
offensive line and kind of what

480
00:32:32,900 --> 00:32:34,700
this year's offensive line is
going to look like for the

481
00:32:34,700 --> 00:32:38,700
Hokies, you know, you were part
of arguably, definitely,

482
00:32:38,700 --> 00:32:42,500
probably one of Better offensive
lines in the last decade at

483
00:32:42,500 --> 00:32:45,800
Virginia Tech, you know, few
pieces have moved on, you know,

484
00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,600
one way or other there.
But kind of, what are your

485
00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:52,800
expectations for that unit for
2021, man?

486
00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:55,800
I mean, I don't think they'll
skip a beat.

487
00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:59,700
I mean, you got a lot of guys
were turned in, you know, Brock

488
00:32:59,700 --> 00:33:03,200
often arguably the best center
in the ACC.

489
00:33:04,500 --> 00:33:08,200
You know, top 10, top 15 in the
country.

490
00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:14,400
And you know you got lucita
Smith and you know Luke 2 Nu du

491
00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:20,400
he's come a long way and you
know I'm glad those guys are

492
00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:26,700
reaping the rewards, you know,
Silas Jazzy to and of course,

493
00:33:26,700 --> 00:33:32,500
old man juice you know, Jesus,
you know, there there's a lot of

494
00:33:32,508 --> 00:33:36,400
guys in there and that room that
have experience and you know,

495
00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:38,500
there's some veteran leadership
in that room.

496
00:33:39,500 --> 00:33:43,100
And they're going to bring those
young guys along and they're

497
00:33:43,100 --> 00:33:47,400
going to help those young guys
develop and leave that off as a

498
00:33:47,408 --> 00:33:50,900
lot of room better when they
found it, you know?

499
00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:54,900
So I'm very excited what they're
going to do.

500
00:33:54,900 --> 00:33:57,400
They're hard-working group, you
know, they're gonna, they're

501
00:33:57,400 --> 00:34:00,800
going to grind and they're going
to put the team on their back.

502
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:04,400
You know, the team goes as the
office of line goes.

503
00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,900
And, you know, so there's no
doubt in my mind that they're

504
00:34:07,900 --> 00:34:11,000
going to you know Kira.
Rolling on that vice squad train

505
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:14,500
for sure.
Right now speaking of the vice

506
00:34:14,500 --> 00:34:18,500
squad you know we've seen a lot
of Coach bikes you know he's one

507
00:34:18,500 --> 00:34:23,699
of those outspoken guys we saw
the video this year you know

508
00:34:23,707 --> 00:34:28,100
that pokévision did which was
great as great insight to it but

509
00:34:28,100 --> 00:34:31,300
we haven't seen as much
interaction from coach

510
00:34:31,300 --> 00:34:35,199
cornelison you know behind the
scenes coaching to inspect of.

511
00:34:35,199 --> 00:34:37,800
How do they compare to one
another and you know what

512
00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:40,500
something, maybe a little
different about Corn compared to

513
00:34:40,500 --> 00:34:45,000
coach device.
I mean they're very smart

514
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:49,900
coaches you know I know some
people have different opinions

515
00:34:49,900 --> 00:34:54,699
about Coach cornelison but you
know at the end of the day the

516
00:34:54,699 --> 00:34:58,100
guy knows what he's doing like
you wouldn't be in that position

517
00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:02,800
you know, if he didn't know what
he was doing, you know I kind of

518
00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:06,800
you know, had a Zoom meeting
with him not too long ago, you

519
00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:11,400
know, kind of pick his brain.
Since, you know, I got that JV

520
00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:13,700
offensive coordinator role, you
know, tired.

521
00:35:13,700 --> 00:35:21,200
Just you know, see his you know
way of seeing the game and, you

522
00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:26,100
know, always trusted corn with
everything he did with the

523
00:35:26,100 --> 00:35:31,000
offense.
And you know, but biases that

524
00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:34,000
more outgoing you know, very
well.

525
00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:40,300
Vocal if you know what I mean
you know funny as all get-out I

526
00:35:40,300 --> 00:35:45,700
would say it's him and Coach.
She best is like the funniest

527
00:35:45,700 --> 00:35:51,900
coaches you know on that staff.
But you know they really do care

528
00:35:51,900 --> 00:35:55,600
about the, you know, the players
and their development, you know,

529
00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:59,400
on and off the field and I mean
the whole staff does but you

530
00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:02,400
know, in terms of these guys,
you know, they're very smart

531
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:04,000
coaches, you know there they
know.

532
00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:10,200
They're doing core.
Nelson is kind of, you know I

533
00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:15,300
would say more like laid back at
that makes sense.

534
00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:19,000
What do you what do you like
talks to the you know offensive

535
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:22,500
unit on like Sunday meetings?
He was like all right men you

536
00:36:22,500 --> 00:36:27,500
know we had a good game or bad
game this week, you know, he

537
00:36:27,500 --> 00:36:31,900
puts it on himself and like
he'll take the bullets, you

538
00:36:31,900 --> 00:36:36,500
know, like every coach should
and But you know, they work so

539
00:36:36,500 --> 00:36:43,800
hard and you know, I appreciate
both of them a lot and but, you

540
00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:49,900
know, when when coach corn gets
mad like, he'll raise some hell

541
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:55,300
but you know, but vices, you
know, that constant, you know,

542
00:36:55,300 --> 00:36:59,700
fired up Mojo and he's got the
haircut and the bad words,

543
00:36:59,700 --> 00:37:03,300
having the sunglasses, he's
fired up, whether he's yelling

544
00:37:03,300 --> 00:37:05,400
at, you're joking with.
Yeah, oh yeah.

545
00:37:07,100 --> 00:37:11,000
You just want to talk about, you
know, Vice off the Record, you

546
00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:16,100
know about some I got some great
stories but taking you up on

547
00:37:16,100 --> 00:37:24,100
that by the way, great source of
advice and but yeah like Corners

548
00:37:24,100 --> 00:37:28,500
a little bit more Bill Belichick
like in terms of like talking

549
00:37:28,500 --> 00:37:33,500
town but then he'll also you
know get after you chew you out,

550
00:37:33,500 --> 00:37:37,900
you know if If you mess up but
yeah they're both great coaches

551
00:37:37,900 --> 00:37:41,900
and you know, they bring their,
you know, own style and

552
00:37:41,900 --> 00:37:45,100
personality, you know, and I
think it's kind of good to have

553
00:37:45,500 --> 00:37:48,800
different kinds of personality.
You know, different ways of

554
00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:55,300
coaching to the team.
So yeah, I mean great coaches

555
00:37:55,300 --> 00:37:58,900
but, you know, two different
personalities in my opinion.

556
00:37:59,900 --> 00:38:03,500
Gotcha, that makes sense to, I
mean we kind of get that but you

557
00:38:03,500 --> 00:38:07,400
know, not having quite seen as
much of of Coach cornelison.

558
00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:10,700
He's kind of good to you know,
give fans and things like that.

559
00:38:10,700 --> 00:38:12,100
So much some other perspectives
there.

560
00:38:12,100 --> 00:38:14,900
So that's why you wanted to
touch on that a little bit.

561
00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:18,400
Let's pivot a little bit too
little bit more about you.

562
00:38:19,700 --> 00:38:22,000
You know, you kind of came to.
You came to Virginia Tech as a

563
00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,200
preferred walk-on, but you
earned a scholarship while you

564
00:38:24,207 --> 00:38:28,200
were in Blacksburg.
What was that feeling like when

565
00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:29,500
coach?
Let you know you were

566
00:38:29,700 --> 00:38:35,400
Scholarship athlete.
I mean, I mean it's probably the

567
00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:40,000
most like achieving thing I've
ever done in my athletic career.

568
00:38:41,100 --> 00:38:46,400
You know, I was, you know, under
recruited you know basically for

569
00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:51,100
my height like I'm only 62.
You know I never really

570
00:38:51,100 --> 00:38:59,000
understood You know, why the
height thing was a huge issue?

571
00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:02,400
And when, when I was in the
recruiting process, you know,

572
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:05,200
I'm looking at the depth charts
of like every school that was

573
00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:08,500
interested in.
I saw Tech, you know, they had

574
00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:13,800
killed fairs college and are
Gallo where they're like, 6263

575
00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:17,900
guys and I'm like, okay, like if
text says I'm too short, then I

576
00:39:17,900 --> 00:39:20,200
know that's complete bullshit,
you know?

577
00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:25,900
And so, you know, that's That's
where I really what I got.

578
00:39:25,900 --> 00:39:31,900
And, you know, I got a
scholarship offer to JMU both in

579
00:39:31,900 --> 00:39:34,600
that kind of blew up.
And that's a whole different

580
00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:38,300
story with itself.
But then Shane Boomer Shane.

581
00:39:38,300 --> 00:39:41,700
Beamer recruited me and you
know, gave me the fur walk-on

582
00:39:41,700 --> 00:39:43,500
spot.
And you know, obviously I knew

583
00:39:43,500 --> 00:39:47,100
that Tech had a good history
with Walk-Ons and rewarding them

584
00:39:47,100 --> 00:39:51,400
for hard work and you know, and
being talented and getting out

585
00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:54,400
there on the field and you know,
heads again, you know, my boss

586
00:39:54,600 --> 00:39:57,800
Sam Rogers.
You know, it was an example of

587
00:39:57,800 --> 00:40:03,500
that it wasn't on there very
long but, you know, so I do

588
00:40:03,500 --> 00:40:06,000
that.
Like I had a shot, right?

589
00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:12,700
But then I was at for Union and
Beamer retires and then Here

590
00:40:12,700 --> 00:40:18,500
Comes This coach for Memphis who
I do nothing about, you know,

591
00:40:19,100 --> 00:40:22,200
and so I was with one day since
day one.

592
00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:25,600
I mean, talking about like,
January 2016.

593
00:40:25,600 --> 00:40:30,700
Like I was wouldn't like day one
and you know, Chicago on that

594
00:40:30,700 --> 00:40:34,700
Journey with him and that staff.
And you know, I gave everything

595
00:40:34,700 --> 00:40:37,600
I had and I knew I was like if I
do get it one day, like the

596
00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:41,200
trains not going to stop like
I'm not going to be satisfied.

597
00:40:41,500 --> 00:40:43,600
Yeah.
There's more things on my

598
00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:47,700
checklist that I need to check
off and but that was like the

599
00:40:47,700 --> 00:40:53,200
number-one thing and you know,
it was towards the end to camp.

600
00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:58,900
I want to say 2019 and, you
know, I'm kind of out of it, you

601
00:40:58,900 --> 00:41:03,500
know, it was a long day and, you
know, we're about to break out

602
00:41:03,500 --> 00:41:08,600
of this team meeting and
basically, kind of just close

603
00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:16,600
camp and he said, I need is
Shand, you know, Caleb Smith and

604
00:41:16,600 --> 00:41:20,500
Austin, canon in my office.
And initially, I'm thinking,

605
00:41:20,500 --> 00:41:24,200
hold up.
When you get Calling to the

606
00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:28,300
coach's office.
It's usually not a good thing,

607
00:41:28,400 --> 00:41:30,200
you know, most of the time.
It's not a good thing.

608
00:41:30,500 --> 00:41:33,900
So I'm like, what did I do?
I don't know what I did.

609
00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:38,600
There was a kind of anxiety that
kind of, you know, Panic for a

610
00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:42,900
quick second and then he paused
and then he said to sign your

611
00:41:42,900 --> 00:41:46,300
scholarships and the whole team
team meeting room erupted.

612
00:41:46,300 --> 00:41:50,100
And you know, I'm getting
swamped by a bunch of teammates

613
00:41:50,100 --> 00:41:54,700
and hugs and high-fives and you
know it took me a little bit to

614
00:41:54,700 --> 00:41:57,900
kind of realize and process like
what the hell is going on.

615
00:41:58,300 --> 00:42:02,400
And you know, when I sat down in
front of flint and his office to

616
00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:07,400
sign a piece of paper, I mean
the pain was just shaking my

617
00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:11,200
hand because I'm like holy crap.
I cannot believe I'm doing this

618
00:42:11,700 --> 00:42:15,500
because when I had my little
Signing Day you know his head

619
00:42:15,500 --> 00:42:18,300
like a Word document saying like
I was going to Virginia Tech and

620
00:42:18,300 --> 00:42:22,800
like just signed it for the
photo op and all that stuff but

621
00:42:22,800 --> 00:42:29,500
to actually Lee, do it for real?
I mean, I was like, pinch me, I

622
00:42:29,508 --> 00:42:35,400
think I'm Dreaming right now and
you know it was you know my

623
00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:40,900
parents were on their 25th
wedding anniversary vacation now

624
00:42:40,900 --> 00:42:44,500
in St.
Martin and somehow someway I got

625
00:42:44,500 --> 00:42:47,200
a hold of them and you know I
just broke down crying in my

626
00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:51,300
car, you know?
And they couldn't believe it and

627
00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:57,000
you know, it just it was surreal
it was a surreal moment.

628
00:42:57,100 --> 00:42:58,600
And you know I'll never forget
it.

629
00:42:59,500 --> 00:43:03,500
Well I'm sitting here thinking
about he says is Canon Caleb

630
00:43:03,600 --> 00:43:06,200
going to be in my office like
how long did he wait?

631
00:43:07,100 --> 00:43:11,300
Like that's your the there was a
pregnant pause.

632
00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:14,500
Yeah.
Like it was probably just solid

633
00:43:14,500 --> 00:43:17,100
like close to like 10 seconds,
you know.

634
00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:23,900
Like it was like I mean it could
have been shorter but when you

635
00:43:23,900 --> 00:43:27,000
hear your name called you know
that again like that.

636
00:43:27,100 --> 00:43:32,400
Panic sets in and what did I do?
Yeah, long pauses longer than

637
00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:36,800
you think or, you know, then it
actually was and and then he

638
00:43:36,800 --> 00:43:42,900
said it and I mean, it was it
was awesome like it was awesome.

639
00:43:43,200 --> 00:43:45,300
That's all.
Alright.

640
00:43:45,300 --> 00:43:48,100
So we're going to do a couple
little fun questions here.

641
00:43:48,900 --> 00:43:50,900
The first one is real simple.
Yes or no.

642
00:43:50,900 --> 00:43:54,600
Answer two words.
Tots rails.

643
00:43:56,300 --> 00:43:59,200
Yes.
Yeah, there we go.

644
00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:01,300
Now, man.
Yes.

645
00:44:01,800 --> 00:44:07,400
But for, for my rookies out
there, to all my young Hoagies,

646
00:44:07,400 --> 00:44:11,700
we were just turning 21, you
have two things to do, all

647
00:44:11,700 --> 00:44:13,200
right?
When you turn 21 the first

648
00:44:13,200 --> 00:44:18,100
place, you go to his tights.
The first thing you order is a

649
00:44:18,107 --> 00:44:23,400
rail and I should say, three
third thing, don't get too many

650
00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:24,400
of those.
Oh no.

651
00:44:25,500 --> 00:44:27,200
Oh no!
No, no, no.

652
00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:33,300
You know, I love me some Jack
Daniels.

653
00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:36,900
But, you know, hey, nice toss
rail.

654
00:44:36,900 --> 00:44:39,500
Would, you know, would be nice
right now, too.

655
00:44:40,800 --> 00:44:43,900
So yeah.
Yes, to Todd's rails be smart.

656
00:44:43,900 --> 00:44:45,100
And that's the first thing you
go.

657
00:44:45,100 --> 00:44:49,000
To when you turn 21, Todd's
rails will sneak up on you.

658
00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:53,200
It will, you do me like, this
isn't bad in like I'm doing

659
00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:58,800
great and all of a sudden boom
and Oh okay.

660
00:44:59,100 --> 00:45:01,000
All right.
Well I was drinking this in

661
00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:03,300
downtown.
I got a little sponge leg going

662
00:45:03,300 --> 00:45:07,100
on.
I'm Braun.

663
00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:11,500
You got a question for ya.
So I mean you got well

664
00:45:11,500 --> 00:45:13,400
acquainted with the restaurants
in Blacksburg.

665
00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:17,000
I'm sure while you were there.
What was the go-to spots for

666
00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:20,600
like the linemen lunches or like
the victory, Beals after a big

667
00:45:20,600 --> 00:45:26,900
win?
You know, my senior Year, you

668
00:45:26,900 --> 00:45:31,000
know me and you know, couple
guys, you know, we went to know

669
00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:35,300
certain places.
I know Bull and Bones was one of

670
00:45:35,300 --> 00:45:41,500
them we had Blacksburg Tavern,
that's really good.

671
00:45:41,500 --> 00:45:44,600
If you haven't been there go
there they have some really

672
00:45:44,600 --> 00:45:46,700
great food.
Check that out.

673
00:45:46,700 --> 00:45:53,800
I've been there yet but It's not
but this place though is like

674
00:45:54,300 --> 00:45:57,100
the holy Mecca.
All right, and it's not even in

675
00:45:57,100 --> 00:46:03,700
Blacksburg, it's like right
outside, you know, Home Place.

676
00:46:05,200 --> 00:46:08,800
RP Homeplace, you know, sucks
that they had to close because

677
00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:13,900
covid but as 0 line, you know,
the entire office line we will

678
00:46:13,900 --> 00:46:18,900
go there, you know, Late July
Kylie, right before camp.

679
00:46:18,900 --> 00:46:22,700
And, you know, it's kind of
like, you know, southern comfort

680
00:46:22,700 --> 00:46:25,500
food Fried Chicken, you know,
turkey and mashed potatoes,

681
00:46:25,500 --> 00:46:30,600
green beans and the roles but it
was like endless amount like

682
00:46:30,600 --> 00:46:33,900
they just kept coming, you know,
until you're like okay I'm done.

683
00:46:35,100 --> 00:46:39,300
And you could just see this the
servers and the Cubs and all

684
00:46:39,300 --> 00:46:41,700
that stuff and like when they
know that office of line and

685
00:46:41,700 --> 00:46:45,900
showed up if they start you know
sweating you know it's like all

686
00:46:45,900 --> 00:46:47,900
gonna be a long next hour and a
half.

687
00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:52,300
Yeah we would actually get the
Freshman.

688
00:46:52,300 --> 00:46:54,600
Oh I'm and it's kind of like a
little initiation.

689
00:46:55,100 --> 00:46:59,000
It will get the bowl of gravy
that you important your mashed

690
00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:03,500
potatoes and each one would have
to take like a humongous gulp of

691
00:47:03,500 --> 00:47:08,500
it, you know, out of them.
All so it, you know, our chicken

692
00:47:08,500 --> 00:47:11,700
gravy like in Super Troopers,
they were treated maple syrup.

693
00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:13,200
Yeah.
Yeah.

694
00:47:14,100 --> 00:47:17,600
So yeah.
You know, that that's a, you

695
00:47:17,600 --> 00:47:20,900
know, a thing that offensive
line has done for a long time

696
00:47:20,900 --> 00:47:24,600
and you know, it's unfortunate
that, you know, that police had

697
00:47:24,600 --> 00:47:28,800
to shut down, you know, because
of certain circumstances.

698
00:47:28,800 --> 00:47:32,800
But yeah, I'm sure they're going
to find somewhere else to kind

699
00:47:32,800 --> 00:47:38,100
of hold that tradition and But
yeah, that one for sure is like

700
00:47:38,400 --> 00:47:40,600
Top Notch.
All right, I'm off.

701
00:47:41,100 --> 00:47:44,100
I don't know if you know about
this place you ever been to

702
00:47:44,100 --> 00:47:45,800
Tanglewood ordinary out and
Goochland.

703
00:47:46,700 --> 00:47:50,800
Hmm, you need to go there
because it's almost exactly like

704
00:47:50,800 --> 00:47:55,100
Homeplace its Southern southern,
cooking food?

705
00:47:55,400 --> 00:48:00,900
Family-style biscuits fried
chicken, pork roast green and

706
00:48:00,900 --> 00:48:03,900
they continuously bring it out
to you.

707
00:48:04,700 --> 00:48:06,800
And they don't stop.
So if you need to take your

708
00:48:06,800 --> 00:48:08,800
often Sublime and I know it
might be a hike from

709
00:48:08,800 --> 00:48:12,800
Mechanicsville angle ordinary,
I'm good.

710
00:48:13,100 --> 00:48:15,500
I recommend it.
I've been there several times.

711
00:48:16,800 --> 00:48:21,800
Um also I want to kind of hit
kind of hit some with you here,

712
00:48:21,800 --> 00:48:27,400
you know, you've been very, very
open about, you know, Your

713
00:48:27,400 --> 00:48:31,000
battles with anxiety depression,
end.

714
00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:35,400
We've seen, you know, Simone
biles last week, Naomi Osaka and

715
00:48:35,400 --> 00:48:38,000
other folks as well, but those
two are really brought to life.

716
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:42,100
Ton, you know what message do
you have for athletes out there

717
00:48:42,100 --> 00:48:45,000
listening?
You know, about who are

718
00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:48,800
experiencing these mental health
issues from your perspective and

719
00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:50,800
you know what sort of advice
would you like to get him?

720
00:48:51,500 --> 00:48:56,300
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's
okay not to be okay.

721
00:48:57,900 --> 00:49:01,600
You know, there's like this
stigma, you know, especially

722
00:49:01,600 --> 00:49:04,800
with football players, you know,
you're you're tough, you showed,

723
00:49:04,800 --> 00:49:09,500
no, emotion things like that.
And I think that's, you know,

724
00:49:09,700 --> 00:49:14,200
kind of been pushed for as long
as football has been around.

725
00:49:14,200 --> 00:49:17,900
And you know there's been guys
that have battled anxiety and

726
00:49:17,900 --> 00:49:20,200
depression but never really
talked about it because they

727
00:49:21,200 --> 00:49:25,200
were scared or you know they
fear that they will be viewed as

728
00:49:25,200 --> 00:49:29,000
soft.
And you know, I always believed

729
00:49:29,000 --> 00:49:34,300
that, you know, when God made
us, you know, he gave us a

730
00:49:34,300 --> 00:49:38,300
motion, right?
He gives the emotion to love to

731
00:49:38,300 --> 00:49:41,800
grieve to be happy to be sad and
if we didn't have those

732
00:49:41,800 --> 00:49:44,500
emotions, then we would be
robots, you know, we're not

733
00:49:44,500 --> 00:49:49,200
robots.
So it's, you know, it's okay not

734
00:49:49,200 --> 00:49:52,400
to be okay.
But, you know, most importantly

735
00:49:53,000 --> 00:49:56,900
you have to speak up about what
you're going through.

736
00:49:57,000 --> 00:49:59,400
Through, you know, you can't
bottle everything up.

737
00:49:59,400 --> 00:50:01,700
And that's the mistake that I
made.

738
00:50:02,200 --> 00:50:06,800
You know, I had all these huge
events kind of happen in such a

739
00:50:06,800 --> 00:50:11,100
short amount of time that, you
know, I just felt like, I

740
00:50:11,107 --> 00:50:14,400
couldn't handle it, any longer,
and I didn't really talk about

741
00:50:14,400 --> 00:50:19,100
it.
And, you know, I try to, you

742
00:50:19,100 --> 00:50:22,800
know, in my own life and, you
know, I think a couple days here

743
00:50:22,800 --> 00:50:26,800
I think will be the five-year
anniversary of that moment, you

744
00:50:26,800 --> 00:50:28,900
know?
I still got the scar on my thigh

745
00:50:29,400 --> 00:50:33,900
and, you know, it's kind of like
a daily reminder of where I've

746
00:50:33,900 --> 00:50:38,100
been, you know, the lowest point
in my life to where I am right

747
00:50:38,100 --> 00:50:40,900
now.
And, you know, I'm very blessed

748
00:50:40,900 --> 00:50:44,400
to be sitting here with you guys
right now because five years

749
00:50:44,400 --> 00:50:48,100
ago, you know what, if I didn't
make it out?

750
00:50:50,200 --> 00:50:54,800
And so to all those athletes
that, you know, have a lot on

751
00:50:54,800 --> 00:50:59,400
their mind and on their plate,
you know, find somebody talk to,

752
00:50:59,900 --> 00:51:04,000
you know, whether it's your
friends, your family, you know,

753
00:51:04,000 --> 00:51:08,500
they're not going to view you as
soft or anything different.

754
00:51:08,500 --> 00:51:10,800
Right?
Because you know, their true

755
00:51:10,800 --> 00:51:12,900
friend, they're going to care
for you.

756
00:51:12,900 --> 00:51:15,900
No matter what your family is
going to support you and love

757
00:51:15,900 --> 00:51:22,800
you, no matter what.
And so you to kind of get this

758
00:51:22,800 --> 00:51:27,000
snowball going terms of talking
about mental health, you know,

759
00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:31,900
it's a two-way street, you know,
the athletes or anybody has to

760
00:51:31,900 --> 00:51:34,700
go out there and be open about
it.

761
00:51:34,700 --> 00:51:38,100
Be willing to be open about it.
And, you know, on the other

762
00:51:38,100 --> 00:51:42,200
side, you know, if you're a
friend or family member and use

763
00:51:42,400 --> 00:51:45,800
kind of notice, you know,
something is kind of off about

764
00:51:45,800 --> 00:51:50,100
your friend or your family Or,
you know, build them like hey,

765
00:51:50,600 --> 00:51:53,900
are you doing okay, like I'm
here for you.

766
00:51:55,700 --> 00:51:58,500
You know, just be a listening
ear, you know, you might not

767
00:51:58,500 --> 00:52:02,300
have all the answers and the
best advice in the world and

768
00:52:02,300 --> 00:52:05,400
that's totally.
Okay, but just be a listening

769
00:52:05,400 --> 00:52:10,800
ear and, you know, just be, you
know, create an environment

770
00:52:10,800 --> 00:52:15,400
where these people that are
struggling mentally, you know,

771
00:52:15,500 --> 00:52:21,300
have their voices be heard So
that's my advice to anyone that

772
00:52:21,300 --> 00:52:28,100
who's, you know, secretly time,
battling mental issues.

773
00:52:28,400 --> 00:52:32,600
You know, I encourage them to go
talk to a family member or

774
00:52:32,600 --> 00:52:38,600
friend, or even, you know, a
counselor therapist and it's,

775
00:52:39,100 --> 00:52:43,700
you know, for me personally, I
think it's a lot better when I

776
00:52:43,700 --> 00:52:46,600
go and I talk about what I'm
feeling.

777
00:52:46,600 --> 00:52:51,700
What I'm Being in kind of get it
off my chest rather than yeah.

778
00:52:52,200 --> 00:52:54,000
You know what, this, not a big
deal to anybody.

779
00:52:54,000 --> 00:52:58,400
Like, you know, I just keep it
to myself because, you know,

780
00:52:58,900 --> 00:53:03,100
life was going to be hard.
You know, the real world is is

781
00:53:03,100 --> 00:53:04,300
hard.
It's cruel.

782
00:53:04,400 --> 00:53:09,600
It will beat you down to your
knees, but you know what's

783
00:53:09,600 --> 00:53:13,400
worse, is, you know, battling
yourself, you know, you versus

784
00:53:13,400 --> 00:53:17,400
you and, you know, you're going
to need that support system.

785
00:53:17,600 --> 00:53:21,900
Them and that support system is
there, you know, but you just

786
00:53:21,900 --> 00:53:26,100
got to go out there and be
willing to you know, use that

787
00:53:26,100 --> 00:53:29,400
support system.
Yeah and I feel like football

788
00:53:29,400 --> 00:53:32,700
even more so than probably some
other sports you know when we

789
00:53:32,707 --> 00:53:35,100
talk about you know not being
okay.

790
00:53:35,200 --> 00:53:39,900
Like that has always seemed like
to be focus on, okay.

791
00:53:39,900 --> 00:53:43,800
Well you know you need some time
because you have an injury, your

792
00:53:43,800 --> 00:53:47,100
concussed, but you let the
mental health aspect.

793
00:53:47,100 --> 00:53:50,500
Never Really gets talked about
the way it should, and I feel

794
00:53:50,500 --> 00:53:52,800
like that's, that's an
unfortunate situation because it

795
00:53:52,800 --> 00:53:56,300
does kind of condition people to
either try to deal with it

796
00:53:56,300 --> 00:53:58,800
themselves and bottle it up like
you were talking about there,

797
00:53:59,300 --> 00:54:02,400
Mmm.
Yeah, you know?

798
00:54:04,900 --> 00:54:13,400
I think it was just it was hard
for me because, you know, I was

799
00:54:13,400 --> 00:54:17,500
always viewed as that, you know,
that tough guy, you know, on the

800
00:54:17,508 --> 00:54:22,400
field, you know, and, you know,
all to feel, you know, I'm a guy

801
00:54:22,400 --> 00:54:24,700
that can talk to anybody, you
know.

802
00:54:25,900 --> 00:54:30,200
And hang out and you've laid
back kind of guy, but, you know,

803
00:54:30,200 --> 00:54:33,200
I never really talked about my
personal issues.

804
00:54:34,200 --> 00:54:38,700
And, you know, and I regretted
that, you know, looking back on,

805
00:54:38,700 --> 00:54:43,300
I regretted it because then I
wouldn't have had that that

806
00:54:43,300 --> 00:54:48,800
event happened, you know, five
years ago and but you know, you

807
00:54:48,800 --> 00:54:54,400
live and you learn.
But you know, I'm glad that

808
00:54:54,400 --> 00:54:58,900
mental health is being He talked
more and more now and you know,

809
00:54:58,900 --> 00:55:07,000
it it goes beyond, you know,
being you know, this stereotype

810
00:55:07,600 --> 00:55:09,500
of being a tough guy and all
that kind of stuff.

811
00:55:09,500 --> 00:55:11,400
Like your mental health comes
first.

812
00:55:12,800 --> 00:55:17,100
So, you know, I'm glad that this
discussion of mental health is

813
00:55:17,100 --> 00:55:20,600
being brought into the spotlight
especially, you know, with all

814
00:55:20,600 --> 00:55:23,500
that Olympic stuff happening
with biles.

815
00:55:25,700 --> 00:55:29,000
Also, you just said some in.
And if that doesn't happen to

816
00:55:29,000 --> 00:55:35,300
you, five years ago, you want an
advocate now, and for someone

817
00:55:35,300 --> 00:55:37,400
like you who's going into
coaching, it's going to be

818
00:55:37,400 --> 00:55:39,100
around a lot of young people,
man.

819
00:55:40,600 --> 00:55:43,600
I think you're going to have
kids, just feel so comfortable

820
00:55:43,600 --> 00:55:47,900
coming up to you knowing he went
through it, he speaks out about

821
00:55:47,900 --> 00:55:49,900
it.
He constantly tells us hey

822
00:55:49,900 --> 00:55:51,300
something's going on.
Come to me.

823
00:55:51,800 --> 00:55:56,800
I'm your person in dude.
It takes a man.

824
00:55:58,200 --> 00:56:01,500
To talk about the stuff you've
talked about and to be so open

825
00:56:01,500 --> 00:56:06,000
with it and I applaud you too
because there's a lot of us not

826
00:56:06,000 --> 00:56:10,800
strong and I think your
influence and you know I'm going

827
00:56:10,800 --> 00:56:13,500
to say for the whole RBA your
coaching up in Hanover but I

828
00:56:13,508 --> 00:56:17,400
think your story is going to get
to other parts of the r-va and

829
00:56:17,400 --> 00:56:20,400
I'm going to you know I just
applaud you man.

830
00:56:21,200 --> 00:56:22,800
That's a blank.
Thank you.

831
00:56:23,200 --> 00:56:27,200
All right now before we close up
here tonight you have some guys

832
00:56:27,200 --> 00:56:29,200
you want to kind of Shoutout to
real quick.

833
00:56:29,600 --> 00:56:33,800
Yeah, football camps.
Yeah, south of Hanover High

834
00:56:33,800 --> 00:56:36,400
School, man.
We're about to get ready to go.

835
00:56:37,300 --> 00:56:40,200
We're excited to play some
football in the fall, not in the

836
00:56:40,200 --> 00:56:43,400
spring.
And here we go back.

837
00:56:43,400 --> 00:56:45,200
Where it's supposed to be?
Yeah.

838
00:56:46,000 --> 00:56:49,200
And, you know, shout out to my
boys, alligator, Burly and Nick

839
00:56:49,200 --> 00:56:52,100
Clark.
You know, they run their own

840
00:56:52,100 --> 00:56:56,800
sports was Sports Performance.
Jim Siege performance in

841
00:56:56,800 --> 00:57:00,900
Mechanicsville.
Right off the 301 behind the

842
00:57:00,908 --> 00:57:06,300
Wawa and also their Hogs
Academy, you know, if you're

843
00:57:06,400 --> 00:57:11,400
young offensive lineman and you
want to get better, go to them,

844
00:57:11,800 --> 00:57:16,700
you know, they're doing a great
job with that and, you know,

845
00:57:16,800 --> 00:57:20,600
they're the best place for, for
then, in our VA.

846
00:57:20,600 --> 00:57:23,400
So, shout out to them, go to
them, get better.

847
00:57:26,800 --> 00:57:30,800
Awesome, man.
Well Austin, we appreciate you

848
00:57:30,800 --> 00:57:34,500
joining us tonight and that is
going to wrap up this episode of

849
00:57:34,500 --> 00:57:37,100
The Boundary Corner podcast.
I'm Curtis Wilson.

850
00:57:37,500 --> 00:57:41,000
I'm Brian Sigler.
Visit our website at boundary

851
00:57:41,000 --> 00:57:44,700
corner, be t.com and listen to
all of our episodes while you're

852
00:57:44,700 --> 00:57:45,900
there.
Don't forget to follow us on

853
00:57:45,900 --> 00:57:49,200
Twitter, Facebook, subscribe on
YouTube to our account.

854
00:57:50,100 --> 00:57:55,400
Also, so, Props your favorite
podcast Spotify, Amazon Apple,

855
00:57:55,400 --> 00:57:58,400
we are on all of them.
If you're looking to join, the

856
00:57:58,400 --> 00:58:01,500
Hokie club and achieves the
reach for excellent campaign.

857
00:58:02,100 --> 00:58:05,600
Please visit boundary corner be
t.com forward slash giving to

858
00:58:05,600 --> 00:58:10,400
get started is always we let our
buddy Jason long down in the nrb

859
00:58:10,400 --> 00:58:13,800
play as out this weekend
Saturday he will be at The

860
00:58:13,800 --> 00:58:17,100
Grandin Village farmers market.
So go check our boys out.

861
00:58:18,600 --> 00:58:21,500
Catch him on Spotify and apple
music as well.

862
00:58:22,300 --> 00:58:25,800
We thank you all for listening
and watching tonight and as

863
00:58:25,800 --> 00:58:27,800
always let's go Hokies