Josh Metellus with PA #92Noon!

Vikings Safety Josh Metellus sits down with PA at TCO Studios in Eagan!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
There, Welcome back. Final hournine to noon yesterday we were on site
Twin Cities Orthopeutics Performance Center in Eganand extended chat with the head coach,
Kevin O'Connell. That's podcastable with thefree iHeart radio app. But after the

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show, Viking safety Josh Mattellis jumpedinto the radio studios like I got to
talk with PA, so extended conversationwith the safety Josh Mattelis started out with
PA simply saying, Hey, howyou doing. I've been great, bauh,
how you been good? Good tosee you and good to see you
at the state there too, andyou're walking around all happy and everything.
Is it? It's that at theearly stages of off season workouts, it

(00:47):
is it great to get back hereand see people you haven't seen for a
while, but maybe with whom youplayed last year. So many new people
like like, you're a happy guy, You're a nice guy. I'm and
a very good football player. Butnevertheless, it's not always a grind,
is it. This is like agood time of the year. Yeah,
this is the time of the yearwhere you know, you start to build

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those relationships, those foundations that youlean on, you know, knee deep
in December or January. You know, you start to build those relationships right
now. You know, you startto go to the bowling alley, go
to basketball games, you know,shout out to the Timberwolves making it to
the playoffs. But you know,you start to do things like that,
just learning guys, learning guys outsidethe building, going to coaches houses,

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learning guys, you know, whatthey like to do outside of football,
and then that builds that relationship thatyou lean on throughout the season. Now,
the Timberwolves in the playoffs you mentionedor are you an NBA fan?
Yep, i am. I'm abig Timberwolves fan too. Yeah, me
too. Okay, So now you'refifth year from Michigan. Okay, but
you're by way of North Miami,right, Pembroke Pines up North Miami,

(01:52):
pember Pine. It's Pembrook or Pembroke, Pembrooke, got it. Okay,
So you're probably not a Pistons fanfrom the world. Probably a Heat fan,
right. Yeah, I'm a bigHea fan of Dwayne Waye's favorite player
growing up, loved way We callit Wade County from Day County, but
we call it Wade County. Youknow, he brought city championship in six

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when I was when I was akid, and then did it a game
when bron and Boss came into town. So yeah, growing up, that
was like my superhero when it cameto basketball. And Dwayne Wade obviously a
Joe F. But I'm glad yousaid that about the Heat because there's a
player for the Miami Heat who remindsme of you, and he's one of
my all time favorite players. Hewas here for a minute, Jimmy Butler.

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Jammi, Okay, now, Jimmy, Jimmy is a Joe F.
And maybe you'll get Djoe F too, that'd be great. But what I'm
saying, he's scrappy and he doesthe non obvious and he has something to
him that we all saw in youlast year where you gotta be careful,
you know, because Okay, Jimmy'sleft may not be as good as the
right. Go ahead, go ahead, and you know, disrespected. Oh

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He's gonna go left and dunk onyou. You know what I'm saying.
I mean, jim My nickname forhim is the Bulldog. He's so top.
Jimmy Butler, man, He's he'sa fantastic player. Yeah, in
the mindset I think you know istrust everything. You know. I think
that's the superpower, you know,to have that that overwhelming confidence and that
overwhelming just feistiness in those moments thatyou know the team needs you most.

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That's that's the guy want to be, you know, I want to be
the guy the team leans on whenyou know you need something you know to
happen. You know, no matterwhat it is. You know, he
can play defense, he can gotake that still to ignite the team.
He go dunk on you, goleft, go dunk on you, like
I said, and you know,just the multiple. Yeah, he's I
really look up to his game aswell, really his mindset and how he
approaches it. All Right. Sowith the Timberwolves, who begin their series

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against the Sun Saturday, I'm kfam. It's like when you play a football
game. Now it's more of ateam game than basketball. As to get
to b S, to get toCS, to get to D just for
a play to work basketball, We'regoing to isolate Jimmy and BAM's gonna set
the pick. We're going to dothis with Tyler and then all of a
sudd and there goes the lane andyou score. And I'm not disrespecting basketball.

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It's hard to play. But likefor the Wolves, so they're going
to face the Suns, who beatthem three times this year by fifteen and
a half points per game. Andyou know, even the state of hockey
and and you know, hockey fanswho don't follow the NBA would know the
name Kevin Durant, maybe Devin Booker, probably not Bradley Beal, but he's
out of Washington and he's a badassballer. So when you come into games

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and the names on the other teamare holy cow, these guys are beating
us X amount of times over threeyears, Like like gi have not trick
yourself. But when you're playing likethe Chiefs last year. Okay, the
Chiefs or the forty nine ers bothgames here, one one should have arguably
should have won the other. Howdo you look at that when the team's
fullest superstars? Yeah, you startto uh, I think that's a good

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question. I think you start tojust look within and you know, you
start naming off like in that time, all right, damn they got Trent
speaking of the forty nine ersyas,then I look got the nail. You
know what kind of thing. Youknow, you start to oh, we
got we got Harrison Smith. Youknow, we had Jordan Hicks. You
know, we had we had multipleguys who I knew and I had trusting

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to make a place. Yeah,they got us before, but you know,
new day, new opportunity, youknow, different game plans. You
know, I like and said itbest. You know, he said,
oh they have KD they have Hesaid, we got Jaden. You know,
we we know what Jaden's able todo on the defensive end, and
his teammate trust is that he findshe finds comfort in that and not the
discomfort and oh we lost three timesalready this year. You know, we

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find comfort in knowing that you gotguys on your team like Rudy who can
stop anybody on the court at atime. So that that that's all it
is. You know, as acompetitor, you know, you your teammates
are the ones you know you findyour comfort and your trusting, you know,
because those are the guys you goto battle the war with. So
that's that's all it is. Well, So so that's what a wonderful,
wonderful explanation, because think about thatChiefs game. Okay, tooth and nail

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with the team that's gonna win theSuper Bowl, and you get all squared
away for Pacheco and mahone and aand Kelsey and all that, and then
it's Justin Watson making a massive catch. There you go, look at the
Suns, get all squared get allsquared away for KD and Booker and Bradley
Beal. Oh, Grayson Allen shootingfifty five percent, hitting four to three

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pointers a game against he averages twentya game against the Wolves. Good for
Grayson, but into the series.In Phoenix's four losses up to the end
of the season, Grayson Allen shotthirty two percent, like ten percent from
three. So like the secondary typeplayers that's that you can't sleep they are.

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They're so frequently the stars, youknow what I mean. Teams have
great six minutes, so you knowthose guys would come in and you know,
change the game any give him moment. So with the offseason workout in
the early stages, with what you'redoing with conditioning, you know, hopping,
skipping, stretching, just a bunchof different things in the field house.

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What what do you look to toaccomplish this time of the year,
I think, Uh, you know, on the field is a lot of
fundamentals. You know, for one, physical conditioning. That's what Flow likes
to say, a lot uh physicalphysical conditioning proceeds all else. So you
know, we're trying to you know, build that foundation so that way,
you know, when we're on along drive in the fourth quarter, we're

(07:23):
able to you know, buck upin the offense. You know, it's
feeling good that they're about to score. So uh, that's that's what you
know, this this part is about. It's building that foundation, building those
relationships I talked about on the fieldas well, when we slow things down,
being able to talk to each otherin ways you know that we can
understand later when the bullets are flying. And then uh, it's about you
know, just building the culture.You know, we got a lot of

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new players, you know, andwe lost a lot of players, so
it's all about you know, findingwho the leaders are going to emerge as
and who are the guys you know, you know you can lean on and
depend on and just build that brotherhoodand that culture so that we have something
to bank on in August. SoJosh Mittellas is our guest fifth year from
Michigan. All right, so withwith everything, all of us radio people

(08:09):
in TV mockcrafts whole thing. Youknow, it's the Drake May, Jaden
Daniels, JJ McCarthy. Then youget Panies and Nicks and just all people
talk about quarterbacks. A because theVikings have two picks in the first round.
B because the guy who probably willstart the season is on a one
year deal. And thirdly because thisis a super legitimately deep quarterbacks draft.

(08:31):
Or you're throwing me for a loophere right And I would never ask you
even if you knew what are theygoing to do? That's just not me.
However, you're throwing me off thisway. You're from Michigan, which
means we have a McCarthy, youknow, come on, come on,
bring in that wolf of Raine.You roll in here wearing tar heel baby
blue with your sweatshirt. And whenwe were talking about basketball, you didn't

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say McDaniels, you said Jaden.You got me all messed up right now.
Jive's a week away, man.That's the goal to throw any mix
ups I can out there, youknow, trying to, you know,
as much as I can, becauselike you said, I don't I don't
know anything, but it's good toact like you do sometimes. Right do

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you did you ever come up witha name for for that podcast? And
are you doing the podcast? Thepodcast is still in effect? Oh you're
doing it? Uh? Are you'reyou're planning it's getting it's getting there.
Okay, but the name actually wealmost we almost thought of a name.
There's another one that jumped up thelist had a name, so it can

(09:33):
make them. We have to rightnow on the list. I'm hoping to
get the podcast going, or youwant to keep them. I got to
keep them from when with Josh firstfirst day come out. Well, we'll
put the name out, but right, okay, we got a couple still
in effect though. My suggestion whenI wrote this down was Matelli matters.
Matells matters. Okay. I likethat. Well, you got your name

(09:56):
in it, so that's going topull people in for the hits and consequently
the advert you do matter, butMetellus matters like matters of the World or
the NFL. Metellus matters. Ilike it. You use it, we'll
see. It's a grand for theidea. Yeah, but it goes up
every week. Put yourself down everyweek you put yourself down the list.

(10:18):
The other guy told me he's freefor the first of one. Greattell's matters
for us Metellus matters might be betterthan the other two names. You're not
sharing. It's no the suggestions abrand, that's how And I know you've
got a contract into the season,but it's every week it goes up a
grand, so it's an hour wait, an hour wait, I'll take you

(10:41):
the best. And you're also quitestylish, you know the way you're dress,
dress and everything so stylish. Youcan't see him at vikings dot com
right now or certainly see him onthe radio k f M with when when
this is playing. But props toyou man, You're you're bringing cargo pants
back into style, trying to.I mean it's like, you know,
I wore short to the State Fairtwo years ago, cargo shorts like with

(11:03):
the big pockets. I mean,it's like people are just teasing me and
they're out of style. How abouthow about brom fifty seven, There were
cargoes to a game this year anda nice style of outfit to bring them
back just for you. With thesejack these are more like sweats, These
are like cargo swets. If youfeel the material, they're actually pretty comfy
because you know, you're sitting aroundto me and all day you want to
send it, right. But Imean when you have the big pockets like

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you do with cargo shorts or thesepajama these cargo pajamas you're trying to put
into style, is you put toomuch stuff in the pockets, it wears
down the pants and then now you'rethinking about exactly and and I don't want
that to Nobody wants that to impactyour quick twitch when you're out there hitting
people and stuff like that. That'swhy I keep the bag. You know
what I mean, your your divisionis getting good in a hurry. I

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mean that division is like you know, hey, George, it's like what
what Flores and you guys did toJordan Love at lambeau Field. Well that's
yout when watching it back, thatshould be a felony and forty eight states,
But that wasn't him at the end, you know, right, and
the Bears like Montes sweat. Imean, he's he's been a good player,
Holy colity, really good. Wegot there? How about that?

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And he got paid and same thingfor you too. And you know people
shouldn't have to bring this up.But like when people get a certain deal,
it doesn't always go from seven tonine to ten. Sometimes it goes
the other way because they got money. Yeah, like Montes and you you
know, both of you guys gotexponentially better. Is that prideful in that

(12:31):
somebody's given me an opportunity? I'mplaying more than I've ever played. Somebody
believed in me really for the firsttime professionally and gave me this. It's
important to me and my family andmy name to go show you what I
can do. Yeah, it's pridecompetitive nature, I like to call it.
I'm a very competitive person within outsidethe world everything. So it's always

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about how can I be better?Can I better myself? So you know
it was you know, you getyou get the reckoning and from the you
know, the people upstairs. Youknow, they put some trust into you.
They say we want you on theteam and build stuff around you.
And then you know it's all aboutcan you do it on the field?
Can you do it again? Youknow, you showed you can be this
kind of catalyst for the team.You know, can you take it up

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a step? And uh, youknow they're challenging me. I'm challenging myself.
And at the end of the day, you know, it's all about
can you be better? And that'swhat I tell myself. Can I be
better every day, even if it'sa little bit, if it's a lot
of bit, Can I just keepgetting better? You? You know,
when I first met you, youknow, whether I'm going practice, squad,
special teams, chip looking for mychip chair and chance. Always humble,

(13:37):
never at least to what I wouldknow. I'm certainly not, you
know, super behind the scenes here, but always accepting of your lot in
life. And it's not you guysaren't screwing me. It's my job to
work through it. Even if youwere getting a raw deal. That that's
just an approach that you've had thatI've always appreciated to your humility, but

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things really and props to the organization. And you you know before you played
a dast you got your deal beforethe season, right, I mean,
that's that's brilliant. I mean that'sphenomenal to not see what they've what we
saw last year and be like,no, we got to have him for
next X amount of years and todo it and then you came through with
it. So the expectations by you, I would imagine in the team are

(14:20):
to be even better this year,continue to improve. But there's always going
to be a moment for you whereif and then you know, don't take
this the wrong way, if youever get a little high on your horse
or you know, it's you're everon the wrong side of man. I'm
really good at this. There's alwaysgoing to be a moment with you.
I'll never forget. And and youknow this, this being in your heart

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is such a humbling moment. It'sthe last game against the Bears of the
thirteen win season twenty twenty two,when you got the C, when they
gave you captain C. Well,see was that your first time getting in
That was my Okay, So I'mon the sideline praying with players and coaches
and just doing what I do.You're running around and I stopped you and

(15:07):
we chatted for a little bit,and I think we prayed. And the
things you said to me about whatgoes into wearing the sea and being a
captain just over forty five seconds.Obviously I've never forgotten, so I'm bringing
it up now. But that's like, you know, because your season last
year was the bomb and it's goingto get better. It is, but
then you can go back to thatmoment, you know, where what things

(15:30):
weren't necessarily then exactly how they arenow, including the contract and just the
reverence for somebody believing you are ofthe leadership variety enough to where that does.
See. Yeah, that was justa big moment in my football life.
I think I took a big jumpafter that. And I think that
was the second or second to lastgame of the year. We played the

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Giants in the playoff game next week. But you know, even though the
season to end how we wanted to, for me, being able to get
that seal much hiss know without andlike for me, it was more like,
you know, a guy like HarrisonSmith who's playing a thousand snaps a
year, he gets to see onhis chest. You know, he's putting
in that work for the team.You know, guys are seeing it.
You know, he's being a leaderby example. A guy like me,

(16:12):
you know, who was really justa leader pretty much through word. Yeah,
I play special teams. That's aone play phase. We get a
lot of kick fair catches and stufflike that. You know, for me,
for my impact to be felt onthe team throughout the years. You
know, it was just it wasn'tjust that year, you know, the
year's leading up, the three yearsleading up to just that moment of me
actually getting to see on my chest. You know, it just confirmed a

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lot of the work that I putin for myself. And you know,
from that point, I just neverlooked back. You know, I knew
it would pay off eventually. Comingup Saturday, April twentieth, I'm honored
to be part of an event fora third consecutive year called a Rise with
the Guys. It's like Race Churchand Eden Prairie. Tony Dungee has a
lot to do with it. Butour theme this year we came up with
is special. It's about specialist.So Matthew Slater's coming in, He's special.

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Daven Tyree Okay, helmet catch inthe Super Bowl. Yeah, but
you know what, he'm playing thatmuch and was just a bad believe special
teamer and CJ. Ham's coming byreally good special teamer. Really, but
the the you know, the themewith that is that of acceptance. And
I mean Matthew when he came outof UCLA wanted to play every snap as

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a receiver, David Tyree from Syracuse, Josh Mattellis from Michigan. C J.
Ham from August stand up dynamite runningback. But the reality hits sometimes
that you have to accept your lotin life, whether you like it or
not. But what are you goingto do with it? And that's you
know what special teamers do. Andand just lastly here with special teams,

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the new kickoff situation, it's weird. I mean, it just looks weird,
but we're we're all going to seeit together and see all works.
Do you think it's going to benefitthe return teams or the coverage teams.
I think it's gonna be really hardfor the coverage teams. Actually, I
think it's going to benefit the returnteams. One because like this is the
National Football League. You know,you give guys enough time to do something,

(18:03):
they're going to become good at it. So you know, you get
you know, you do the mathof how many fair catches we have?
You turn those two more, youknow, returns. You know throughout the
season, a seventeen game season,turn that to twenty two of you you
know, going to the super Bowlor you know whatever game. How many
games it is you turn that intohowever many reps you get to do that.
You take guys who are professional athletes, they're gonna be able to,

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you know, master it. SoI think, you know, you have
electric guys like Cana who you know, you give them a ball enough times'sund
he's bound to score a touchdown andthen now you just shorten that for him
and you give them more opportunities todo so, you know, I think
it's going to Skyrocke, you know, for especially like the really good ones.
You know, you still got Cordellplaying, so you know, guys
like him, who's the greatest rightnow to ever do it? You know,

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it's just you give guys more opportunities, more great things that happen.
Lastly, I promise is do youdo you know what your hierarchy is or
like your ranking for famous people forCharles Flannagan high School, I mean,
you know, I don't know.I was, well, you're in there.
I would say I'm up top five, yeah, top yeah, top,

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Well it depends on what's analyza likethis, Devin Bush super famous.
Did you play with Devin? Yeah? I did all four years at high
school. Sure, years at Michiganyears. Okay, So there's one.
Are you an m M A fan? I am Jim Ailers? Okay?
Is it Alors? Is it Alors? J A L E R s Okay,
big time? Okay, m MA guy went to Charles Flannagan High

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School. Uh, there's a femalename in there that we'll leave her out.
Who is it? Who's who's thefemale? Oh? I mean she
she she does films that not everybodycan say. Okay, okay, was
ending like that? Okay, okay, but anyway, a little pump,
little pump. Okay, who's morefamous? You're okay little pump? Definitely

(19:56):
it's little Yeah. He's the numberone the list. He's number one on
the one. He's number one onthis Little Pomp. You got all his
albums, he's no. No.I would say the kids know him more
than when than they would be.Yeah, I thought he was number one
too. I would say he's numberone, okay one put myself in that
two or three keps. Well,there's another rapper and I didn't write down
his style of rap conceited. Oh, freestyle. He's a freestyle the freestyle

(20:19):
guy. Right? Who is he? Oh? He's good? He actually
is good. They're not a headof I wouldn't say he's a heading,
but it depends what area. Ifyou go in that New York uh up
there Brooklyn area, they probably knowhim a lot, the freestyling over there,
so they probably know him more thanthey would know me. But you
go yeah, back around from yeahwell, and also where you were in
the middle. I mean, yougo and end up at uh at some

(20:41):
ann arbor bar at midnight, They'reall going to be running up to you,
not conceited. I wasn't at thebook a restaurant that stays open,
basket piece of house. Yeah,I appreciate you, love our chats.
Thank you. That's Viking Safety.Josh mittelis with PA yesterday, recorded after
our show at Twin City's Orthopedics PerformanceCenter in Egan and played back just now.

(21:04):
It'll be podcastable free iHeartRadio app afterthe show as well. Final a
couple of segments nine to noon aroundthe Corner, including your talkbacks. We've
asked for him a couple of differenttimes. I got a bunch of talkbacks
on deck. One of you willbe winning a pair of passes to next
week's Mille led Vikings draft party nextThursday at us Bank Stadium. You'll get
to see the first the first roundFrenzy unfold in person with Pa and Charch

(21:30):
and Ben leeber Pete Persich on stage. We got the smoke machine, we
got bright lights, we got beverages. It'll be a blast at us Bank
Stadium next Thursday as part of theDraft Party. So your talkbacks around the
corner and an opportunity to win somecash the fan. Along with big deck
dot Com, you want to giveyou a chance to win. Put a
grand in your hand National Cash Contest. Use the keyword win at KFA dot

(21:52):
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