Packers Alumni Spotlight: Jayrone Elliott

Wayne Larrivee sits down with former Green Bay Packers linebacker Jayrone Elliott to talk about the inspirational coaches in his life (0:47), what he learned from Clay Matthews (4:14) and the memorable 2014 season (5:53).

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
For more than a century, the Green Bay Packers have
been a benchmark for football excellence. Thousands of players have
helped pave the way, and we're here to tell you
their stories. I'm Wayne Laravi. This is the Packers alumni
Spot White. The undrafted free agent road to the NFL

(00:26):
is a difficult journey. Outside linebacker jay Ron Elliott signed
with the Packers in twenty fourteen out of Toledo, but
he had the tools to succeed. You see, while growing
up in the Cleveland area, he had the good fortune
of being mentored by one of the legendary high school
coaches in the country, Ted Ginn.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Honestly, there's no me without Coach gam He's just everything
you just say. And Dan Moore just especially for the
community of Glenville, Cleveland. He does so much for the area,
but he touched so many different lives. It's almost like
he he has like almost over two thousand kids or
even more cause he he treats you just like in
that nature, no matter whether you play football or not.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
He cares about the person, He cares about your future.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
He cares about your family more than a win or
loss or uh ah, a opportunity for a sports opportunity,
but far as like him as a person, he's great.
I've known Coach Gains since I was in eighth grade
and from from that day on, like to this day,
we still in constant communication. I look at him as
a father figure. He's helped me tremendously far as getting

(01:32):
the opportunity to go to college. While in college, c
continue to push me to achieve my goals.

Speaker 3 (01:39):
And he's done that for so many other people.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
And I I can't really sit here and say how
much he means to people, Like it's more of those
things you when you see him in person, you.

Speaker 3 (01:48):
Can just feel it. You can just feel that experience,
feel that knowledge from him.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Yeah, I mean it's almost like he gives you a
perspective that a lot of w we get so involved
in football that we lose perspective that it's just a game.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Right absolutely, And that's the thing with Coach getting his
title as a head coach. But he he you rarely
even talk sports with him. You really talk about football, Hill,
It's more about life. He has a vision for you
from from eight, from eight grade eight all the way
up until your pension plan, you know what I mean.
So he has everything laid out for you. It's crazy

(02:24):
because he can see a vision for everybody.

Speaker 3 (02:26):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
And he started high school my sophomore year and it
was all boys school in the inner city of Cleveland,
and it was unheard of at that time.

Speaker 3 (02:34):
We wore blazers shirt and tied to.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
School, teaching us so much discipline, so many life lessons
like how to be how to have great character, how
to be a man, and just how to be a
good person overall, and just having those three quality of
traits take you so far in life.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
The good coaching continued at Toledo, where he played for
Matt Campbell, who's now the head coach at Iowa State.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
I'll be remiss if I didn't mention Matt Campbell, Like
I've been so blessed in my life to have great coaches,
great people in my life. But far as my mom,
my dad, my parents, d they're wonderful. But there's no
met without coach get And and Matt Campbell, Like those
two guys have changed my life in ways that I
can't even explain. And to this day, like just the

(03:20):
the the things they've taught me as a kid and
as a young adults is still carrying on to this day.
When I was in high school, my senior year, he
was at Bowling Green. That staff got fired. Two weeks
later he got a job at Toledo. A week later
he was at my high school getting trying to get
me to come to to Toledo.

Speaker 3 (03:37):
And I remember him from his Bowling Green Day's recruited me.

Speaker 2 (03:40):
Uh, he's a my Union product and just that that
camaraderie he's built with me and my family, and just
this it's he's he's also a father figured me as well.

Speaker 3 (03:51):
He's just a a great mentor. Uh.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
He does a great job of bringing a group of
a group of men together to achieve a common goal.
And he's just one of those guys who'll run throw
a wall.

Speaker 1 (03:59):
For well prepared by that strong coaching. Once in Green Bay,
I think he had played alongside one of his boyhood heroes,
Clay Matthews.

Speaker 3 (04:13):
For me, I was just like a kid in the
candy store every day, every every day. It was excited.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
Like for me personally, I've been around coach getting Matt Campbell,
two blue collar guys, and when you get to the NFL,
I landed in the most prestigious franchise in the sports
history in Green Bay. So coming here I felt like
I fit. I fit the mode here, but it was
still I could add more.

Speaker 3 (04:34):
To that and just walk up.

Speaker 2 (04:36):
I remember walking in the locker room, I'm seeing Julius Peppers,
Clay Matthews, Aaron Rodgers, and I was just so amazed
by that just to be a part, just to be
a part of a team with these guys. And for me,
I used to watch Clay Matthews videos before my college games,
like because he played so relentless, so much effort, the
hair once he flopped the hair around, go crazy. I

(04:57):
didn't have it here, but it was just that that mode,
that energy he brought. But yeah, just to be teammates
with a guy you grew up idolizing, it was something
I will never forget or take for granted. I didn't
take one day for granted, just being able to come
in his locker room and wear the G. And it's
so ironic because my high school was same exact G.
But is it red and black. So I just felt
like it was destined. The transition was. It was fun.

(05:18):
It wasn't as hard as people make it out to be.
But I just feel like my upbringing my up my background.
Having two great guys to shake me to who I
am really helped me out a lot.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
In twenty fourteen, he played on a great Packers team
that came so close to getting back to the super Bowl,
falling in the NFC Championship game at Seattle. But the
bond on that squad is what he will always remember
as a positive of that.

Speaker 2 (05:48):
Experience, as you see that the best team will always win,
but the tightest team usually wins.

Speaker 3 (05:55):
We were so tight, like we did everything together.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
Every day was in the building, somebody treatment watching extra
film and then once you leave the building, we were
all at m Morgan Burnett's house, Sam Barrington's house.

Speaker 3 (06:05):
Hahih, Clinton Dick's house, like we were all together.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
Like we all we did was hu hang out each
other and w we We were not kids, but we
were like still young, so we didn't really have families
at the time, so we were all just hanging out,
playing video games, in the playbooks, just just bouncing ideas
off each other, you know what I mean. So just
having that that tight camaraderie, uh, it made us play better.
And then I believe that was the famous R Relax

(06:29):
year from twelve and we started one or two.

Speaker 3 (06:33):
I remember we lost to Detroit.

Speaker 2 (06:35):
Uh maybe like twenty s twenty seven seventeen or something
like that was a close game, but they end up
beating us. And when when a rod said relaxed, y,
it just made us all, Okay, we got this, like
we we know we gotta do we we know what
these fans expect. And for us, it was just that
opportunity to go out there and play every day in
front of this crowd.

Speaker 3 (06:51):
It was just amazing and we just got in a row.

Speaker 2 (06:54):
I live in Dallas now and I got to hear
about the days Brian catch all the time, and I
still tell people like I honestly believed has called it.

Speaker 3 (07:01):
But we would have still got the ball back up
with less than two.

Speaker 2 (07:04):
Minutes left, and there was no way they were stopping
Aaron Rodgers around the cobb, you know what I mean.
Once we put Cob in the backfield, we had a
complete mismatch.

Speaker 1 (07:10):
So you know, I gotta tell you, Jay, I'm the
same way. People ask me about that all the time
and they say, yeah, okay, so he scores all that
would have meant because the way the Packers in the
second half your offense was moving the ball against their defense.
There's no question, no question that it just would have
been a more dramatic win.

Speaker 3 (07:28):
Yes, they counted the touchdown right. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (07:30):
I've seen so many dramatic wins in that stadium, and
I like you could have just added that on because
we were rolling. Like McCarthy did a great job of
innswering around the cob at running back, so that gives
you five weapons on offense and you're trying to stop
DeVante Adams.

Speaker 3 (07:45):
Jordi Nelson, Oh man, it was a lot. And then
we had Coon in.

Speaker 2 (07:49):
The backfield block and said it was just a lot
going on back there, so it was hard for them
to stop. But I feel like we got we started
rolling at the right time, and we were so motivated
to get back to Seattle. Played a great game for
fifty five minutes. That's the epitome of playing four quarters,
so we kind of we were celebrating.

Speaker 3 (08:06):
We were celebrating. It felt good because I think we was.

Speaker 2 (08:09):
Up in nineteen three or something like that, but two
minutes left, I mean six minutes left, so if we
executed a little bit better, we would have got what.

Speaker 3 (08:16):
We wanted to do.

Speaker 2 (08:17):
But that's just a life lesson in the sense right there.
So just continue to put your feet to the pavement
as you keep going on to the.

Speaker 3 (08:23):
Clock again, So regardless of the screen, regardless of the score.

Speaker 1 (08:26):
Yeah, you know, and the other thing about that game,
it just showed the bounce of the ball. I mean,
you know, as much as you guys prepare and everything else,
and coaches think they control this stuff when it gets
down to the playoffs in Super Bowl, a lot of
times it's something mystical, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (08:45):
Absolutely, because just in the sense that game it was
the slowest fifty five.

Speaker 3 (08:51):
Minutes in the world.

Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, and then the last four minutes or five minutes
overtime was like it was like a basketball run and
Marshall Lynch catches the wheel route, next player scores, Russell
Wister run around, throw a crazy two point version of
the other side of the field, the on side kick,
they get the ball back. All this kind of stuff
just happened so fast. It was just like you can't

(09:14):
pinpoint that on one thing.

Speaker 3 (09:15):
It was just a matter of we never stopped to bleeding,
you know what I mean. So it still haunts me
to this day.

Speaker 2 (09:22):
I don't think I'll ever forget it today.

Speaker 1 (09:28):
Jay Ron Elliott lives in the Dallas area where he
works with youth in football and basketball, imparting knowledge and
lessons he learned from the great coaches he played for
and the Hall of famers he played with in Green
Bay