On this week’s new episode of Rams Revealed, inside linebacker Shaun Dolac sits down with J.B. Long to discuss his hardworking journey to the Los Angeles Rams, growing up near Buffalo with his siblings who influenced his passion for football, and more.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to Rams revealed everyone as you know, LA
looking to bounce back from that disappointing loss at home
as they go on the road to face the Baltimore Ravens.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
And we were fortunate to sit down.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
With Sean Dolac today for a variety of reasons, in
part because we know the Rams are banged up at
linebacker as they get set for Week six, and also
talk about a moment to have a little perspective and
to be able to overcome some adversity.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Man, no one's done that better than Sean on and
off the field.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Well, welcome Sean. Or should we call you Dale? I
hear that's the name around here?
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Yeah, that's that's the name Nate gave me, you know,
first coming in here. So little backstory Dale Doback from
Step Brothers. They didn't like it at first, but being
a rookie you got no choice and then it kind
of just fell into place with everybody. You know, sometimes
I think that's what you know, some of my teammates
think my name is But no, it's pretty fun and
(00:57):
it's cool to you know, have that, you know in
the locker room.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Do you like the movie?
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Oh? Yeahs A fantastic movie. All right, you know, a
little little quick snip. My mom found out that I
was called Dale through the podcast with Nate and she
was she thought it was hilarious. She thought it was
She's like, I love step brothers. And then fast forward
a Tennessee game, they come within a sign that says
happy Birthday, Dale, and you know, I had to get Nay,
(01:22):
got his attention and like he went over there and
it was just it's so funny.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Happy twenty fourth by the way, that was in September. Yeah, okay, excellent.
Well we got to get you connected with John c.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Rally.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Now that's the next step in the cross. That'd be
pretty cool. How was your mini by weekend? Your open
weekend in the National Football League few and far between.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
I know, yeah it was. It was pretty good. You know,
you know, hopefully I wish we could have got the
w We want it a lot better, but you know,
things happened, and you know, I got to spend a
little time at Universal Studios with my girlfriend and you know,
seeing the horror houses over there. So that was a
little good time together. But overall it was pretty good.
Halloween guy, I'd say so, I like you know, scary movies,
(02:00):
but you know, really time, but any favorites, Halloween, Michael
Myers stuff, just the classic older ones.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Not for me.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Don't like scary movies, don't like chocolate Halloween, not my things.
We're gonna breeze right past. That's fine. Back to the football.
Might have had the victory if that bumble had stood.
Tell me about that team's play and the opportunity you created.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Yeah, no, just just first off, you know, Cardi is
doing a fantastic jo I'm gonna kickoff, and you know
that gives us an advantage, that gives me a head
start on making plays like that, and you know, going
into it, square the runner up and I kind of
gave him a good hit and then you know, just
went for the ball at natural instinct and it came
out and then you know, hurt a whistle and I
(02:43):
was kind of like, there's no way they blew the
dead already, and it happened, and it was a little
frustrating at the moment, but you know, you know, things
happen and you just got to get over it. You gotta,
you know, adapt and overcome. You've made a great first
impression in the kicking game.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
This week.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I wonder if there might be more on your plate.
I understand that Mars banged up. How do you prepare
for the possibility of stepping into some defensive reps in Baltimore?
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Yeah, the preparation doesn't change each week. I you know,
have my preparation that just you know, stays the same
and going into this week is not going to change.
You know, you gotta watch film. You got to watch
the opponent's offense and just analyze it and just take
little snippets from you know, whether it's offensive line, the
running back or any tales that you can see and
use it for my game and when it comes to
(03:25):
you know, if I get the opportunity to play against Baltimore,
I'm gonna make sure that I prepare the right way
and you know, show it.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
What if you don't know who the quarterback is going
to be, especially when one of them is MVP caliber.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Yeah, it's gonna you know, probably change up the game
plan a little bit going into the game. But you
know he's got to adapt and see what happens, all.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Right, when he's not giving you nicknames like Dale, what
about Nate Lambman And as a fellow underrafted linebacker.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
The path that he's carved in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Yeah, it's it's amazing just to watch his journey in itself.
You know a lot of similarities between him and I,
you know, especially him coming undrafted to Atlanta and working
himself up the depth chart there as well over the years.
It just shows that you know, he's done it. You know,
Troy Reader has done it, and Omar has done it.
Like all the guys that are in our locker room,
they're all undrafted guys already, and anybody that you know,
(04:09):
I could ask questions too, you know, I know Nate's
may you know, might not have the answer at the time,
but he's gonna find it. Helped me out and allow
me to adapt and just you know, looking up to
him and all the guys in our linebacker room, you know,
it just makes me better.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
How did you make this team?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
The hard work, the it's the culmination of throughout even
the my younger years, and just working for this moment,
just staying consistent with my approach to the daily, my
daily disciplines, the process, and just and just believing in
myself and making sure that if I continue to step
one get better one one day at a time, you
(04:43):
know it's gonna work out, and that's what it did.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
What did it feel like preseason game number three to
be in street clothes knowing that you were on the roster.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
It was awesome. It was a feeling of just accomplishment
and just all that preparation and all that hard work
that I've done since being little, and you know, all
the people who've believed in me just shown that, you know,
I've made it, and I've done it. I've done what
I've set out to achieve. But then also just realizing
like now I got a new responsibility. I got fifty
(05:15):
two to fifty three other guys who believe in me,
and a coaching staff and an organization and fans who
trust me to you know, whenever I step on that
field to get the job done, and to hold myself
accountable each and every day to make sure I'm doing
what it takes to help us win.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
One of those people who clearly believed in you your position,
coach Greg Williams. I remember going back to the spring
him saying publicly that you know, Sean could teach anyone the.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Defense right now.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
What kind of work did you put in how'd you
study up so quickly?
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Yeah, I think just that's just part of my game.
And I think the rams saw that during the draft
process and during watching my college film. Every every little
film study that I do or practice rep it all,
it's all takes account for. And I'm going to put
everything I have into study in the film, studying the reps,
studying the play calls. And that's what I did during
(06:03):
OTA's You know, I got the play right, like I
even I think I asked them before I even got here.
Hey do you think I get the playbooks start studying
all that stuff. He's like, yeah, to wait, you get here,
sign some things and then we'll get it to you.
So oh yeah, like right right when I first day
got that, got the game plan or got the playbook,
you know, did what I could just study just hours
and hours, write stuff down, memorized things, and and just
(06:24):
get the reps throughout practice to make sure that I
solidify things.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
You're a long way from home, aren't you, geographically?
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Yeah? I think I take a day or day or
so to drive back home. But no, it's pretty cool
out west.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
They say, upstate New York. It's it's more western New York.
Isn't it up up and West West Seneca all the
way up against Lake Erie. Yeah, it was like growing
up there.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
It was good, smaller town Westneca. I went to Western
East High School where I was able to you know,
I have two older brothers and three older sisters and
stepsister who also just you know where we grow up.
It's a smaller town and you know a lot of
the we're football family or athletic family. So growing up
it was competitive all around in sports and who gets
(07:07):
to the who eats all their food first or something
something little like that, and it was It's so cool
just to have siblings in a family who support me
so much.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
That's like the shadow of Orchard Park, isn't it. Yeah,
that's that's Bill's mafia territory.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
But it is, that is Bill's mafia. Orchard Parks. You
know where the stadium is and where to get all
your people, but Bill's Mafia travels from all over all over.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Did you break any tables growing up?
Speaker 3 (07:30):
I don't think I broke any tables, but I've definitely
been a part of a lot of table breaks, so
they're they're fun, but you know, I don't partake.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
You know, we do a lot of things really well
here in Los Angeles, as I'm sure you're learning by
the day. Yeah, I don't know that wings Buffalo Wings
are necessarily on that list.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Are you craving? Are you in withdrawal?
Speaker 3 (07:52):
I think there's been a couple of days where I'm like, man,
I could because like I'll see like either somebody post
on it on like their Instagram story or like social media,
like a couple of buddies back at home. I'll eat
at at one of the like the typical like Barbell
back in Buffalo or something like that. And man, those
wings look fantastic, But we have our fair share here
in the facility and they're they're pretty good.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
But part of the reason I put that out there
because someone will inevitably show up in the comments section
and tell me that I'm wrong, and I want to
be wrong. I want to know where the better wings
are locally so that we can hit those spots.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Yeah, Buffalo is it's hard to beat. I'm not gonna lie.
They just make it to you know, their specialty.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
I heard you say something earlier West Seneca East. Did
you misspeak or what's going on there with the directionality?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Of your high school.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
You know, that's that's just the way it is. WESTNI
like East. We also there's WESTN like West that's our
rival high school. So it's you know, that's what you get.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Do you have any sense of the musical alumni from
your neck of the woods, No pressure if not.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I didn't either.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
But whether it's uh Goo Goo Dolls or oh yeah, okay,
you know.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Some other metal bands?
Speaker 3 (08:58):
I do you remember they're from Buffalo?
Speaker 1 (09:00):
About music, I guess, and that neck of the words
in football, but you were all ball. In fact, as
a senior, you rushed for a school record nearly two
thousand yards while you're wrapping up one hundred and fifty
seven tackles your senior season. When did you give up
the offensive side of the football and focus on being
a linebacker?
Speaker 3 (09:17):
That was tough, definitely, after senior year, just realizing I
think defense is where I want to go, and you know,
I like hitting people, like making the ooze and the
crowd and stuff like that. So I just took that
route and decided to give up the offense of the ball.
Hurt a little bit, but you know, deep down in
my heart, I know you can still tote the rock all.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Right, So it might be a goal line package short
yardage in there for you.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Sooner rather than later, Coach McVeigh, I'm ready, you know anytime.
I like that.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
What is the art of a tackle?
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Because I know you became a record setting tackler at Buffalo.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Yeah, if you had to break it down and teach
it or the core tenants.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Man, you guess, just just be aggressive. You got to
be aggressive. You gotta want to get you gotta want
to be the first one to the ball. And whenever
you get a hold of the ball, carry you got
to wrap it up every time. Just wrap up the tackle,
whether it's a limb, any any any body part, you
got to wrap up and make sure you secure the tackle.
But what I've been able to possess in my game,
(10:09):
you know, growing and learning from other guys, is that
punch that Nate like obviously Nate hasn't. That's that's a
game change of play. You know, whenever you're coming in
for a tackle, you always want to be aware of
a sixth punch and just get in, get the ball out,
you know. And that's what I've been able to learn
from him, and that's what I've been able you know,
to take.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Explain to me how someone whose record setting on both
sides of the football doesn't have an FBS offer coming
out of high school.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Yeah, that's that's that's a good question. I think part
of it was, you know, late bloomer in high school.
I think a lot of guys get offer a sophomore,
maybe junior, senior, sophomore year, I think they start coming
out sophomore year, didn't get any offers, like you said,
junior or nothing, and then senior year. I think I
kind of really popped on the film. But I think,
(10:55):
you know, some coaches, you know, didn't think it was
good enough level competition in New York, and I think
that was a big, big reason why. But you know,
it is what it is, and you know, I think
it's it's kind of built me to who I am today.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Is that part of why you did the prep year
to have another season to prove yourself.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
To college coaches?
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Yeah, I think taking a prep school route, you know,
another belief in myself and just knowing that, I think
I worked so hard and I deserve, you know, to
earn an FBF FBS offer. So that's the rout I check.
I went to Milford Academy ended up doing pretty good there,
earned earned a offer from UH Bryant University, which is FCS,
(11:35):
so it was it was still a Division one offer,
but you know, my heart was like FBS, like, that's
that's really the goal that I want for myself, and
I thought it was achievable. New is achievable. And then
that's where I decided to you know, talk a family,
myself and my faith and just know that I think
walking on university at Buffalo, you know, gives me the
best chance and you will see what happens.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
What happened was by I guess the next summer you
had earned a scholarship. What do you remember about that
camp and that level of validation. It comes with all
sorts of things, right, yeah, the gear, the food, the treatment,
but like just the affirmation that okay, I can't do
this exactly.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Yeah, I think so we'll backtrack to my freshman year.
It was there was a play in the in the
spring game where it's kind of like my identity started
because of play in the spring game where a ball
the ball carrier took it out outside zone. Everybody bit
that way. He turned it up and ran it all
the way down on the sideline, like opposide of the field,
and at that point, like I'm running so fat, I'm
(12:33):
trying to catch him and I caught him on the
one yard line. Next day in film, coach brings it up,
this is the type of effort I want to see
the starters do They kind of just showing that, and
I'm like, huh, I think this is This is gonna
be my identity because that's that's who I am. That's
how I play every snap of down is I'm going
to give it my all, every single play. I'm not
going to give up on a play ever. And then
transition to the next year, you know, continue in that mindset.
(12:55):
New coaching staff came in and you know, four days
in the fall camp they offered me the scholar ship
and it was It was one of the best days
of my career.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
There are plenty more to come, though, I mean, just
a few resume bullet points here led the nation and
solo tackles in twenty two, total tackles in twenty four,
your program's first consensus All American. But then your college
career is over, and how.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Many All Star Game invites do you have?
Speaker 3 (13:19):
None?
Speaker 1 (13:20):
How many Combine invites then get one. Where'd you do
your pro day University of Buffalo?
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Was that like here we go again?
Speaker 3 (13:30):
Yeah, it was kind of just like a you know this,
you know, you wouldn't want it any other way, you know,
because there's so much stuff that I had to go through,
the adversity, everything I had to overcome, and it's like,
I guess I'm used to this stuff, you know, so
it's like I can handle it. So I was able
to do the proa at UB and you know, put
up the numbers I put up, and you know, I
(13:52):
thought I had a pretty good day, and you know,
if good things were going.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
To happen, I can think of a few other ways
you might have wanted it to go. But good on
you for.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Sticking to your story. I mean that was in the end, right.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
You know, you want things to go certain ways. You
hope to you know, you know, get a combine and
if you hope, you go Senior Bowl as a showcase
you're building in front of these top notch guys or
whatever it may be. But you know, at that point,
I'm like, all right, that's just this is where the
cards fell.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
I'm just gonna play them even though you liked your numbers,
were you fairly certain you would go undrafted?
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Honestly, I didn't think I was going to go undrafted
at that point. I mean, obviously there's a there was
in the back of my mind like, okay, my agents
were telling me, you know, you can go un drafted
still maybe be a late round. You could anywhere from
maybe fifth to undrafted. Guy. So here in the fifth
I'm like, okay, a little hopeful, but you know, obviously,
you know, it didn't work out how I thought it would,
(14:44):
But at the same time, it's kind of how I
thought it would.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
You know sometimes players in the representatives will say it's
actually better to fall beyond that seventh round, have a
little bit of agency over where we get. Actually, was
that your story and how did your path to LA materialize?
Speaker 3 (14:59):
Yeah, it was kind of exactly what my agents and
I talked about, you know, throughout the whole draft process,
especially on draft Day when it was getting close to sixth,
seventh round and I still didn't get a call or
anything talking about that. And then you know, throughout the
seventh round, we're looking at teams obviously trying to pick
excuse me, the best situation, you know that for me
to make the team and and just showcase my talents.
(15:23):
And then I was obviously, you know, approached by the
Rams really showing their interest in me. Honestly, they called
me about five, six, seven times, and that that struck
something in my heart. And just knowing that, you know,
if this team's reached out to me that much, maybe
they really do want me on their team, Maybe they
see something in me. And you know, I give a
lot a lot of credit to the scouts and to
Ted Monagau who really approached me. But yeah, it was
(15:45):
it's been been great and it's been a great decision
for me.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
You mentioned some siblings along the way, maybe give us
the full rundown, but especially those older brothers probably influential
in your football life.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Oh yeah, for sure. I mean those those two guys,
Ian and John, they've started football about five or six
years old, is just like I did. And watching them,
I was like, you know, I want to play football too,
Like just just watching them grow into into football players
and then seeing them like I kind of want to
I want to be better than them. So I think
that they that path that they carved allowed me to
(16:18):
you know, be where I am, so I owe a
lot to them and a lot of my family as well.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Take me back to the winter of twenty fourteen.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Yeah, my dad was diagnosed with es Savage's cancer, and
that was that was tough to hear, you know, my
mom and him coming in and just talking about it
and saying, you know, but the way my mom approached it,
you know, the mindset of you know, we're going to
beat this thing and and go through life, you know,
(16:50):
just like the other day, just continue to just to
live our lives and cherish moments together. It was hard
just on the family, and being a i think thirteenth
fourteen year old kid, it was hard to comprehend a
little bit, not knowing how the situation of the pan out.
Just seeing that and just kind of continuing your daily life.
(17:10):
It was. It was tough on the family when you
look at it now, and my mom, you know, just
just realizing how much she had to do for my
dad just to just to make sure that he was
not suffering in pain or or suffering just to you know,
be around us. They had so many different cancer treatments
they had to go to. They went to Roswell Park
(17:32):
up in Buffalo, New York Cancer Institute, and you know,
for about a year he was doing chemo treatments, doing
doing well, and they ended up you know, basically clearing
him of the of the cancer in his throat, and
they had a month or two later he ended up
having pain, I think in his kidneys and they end
up saying, oh, yeah, it's kind of traveled into your kidneys,
(17:56):
which was a shocker. Didn't really see it coming, and
they didn't give him I guess much time left at
that point, and they ended up traveling to Atlanta where
they got to another hospital and try to get more chemo,
chemotherapy and more treatment, but ultimately it got really bad
(18:16):
to where he had to be in hospice care and
and that point I just remember being home and my
sisters or my sister Beyonda coming in and saying we
had to go to hospital because he wasn't doing well.
And then that that night or a couple of nights later,
he ended up passing away, which was really hard on
(18:37):
just obviously the family and just knowing that my dad's
gone and not knowing where life's going to take me
at that point, and you know, being being so young,
it's like you just kind of confused and don't know
what else to do. So that was that was just
one struggle and one adversity that you know, our family
(18:59):
had to overcome.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
You're fifteen at the time or take Yeah, I just
want to pause here and give you the chance to
offer any perspective guidance to those who are struggling with
cancer themselves or have their family social network rocked by
something that you've experienced.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Yeah, I would just say, just just keep fighting and
just just never give up, never give up. Hope. There's
gonna be days where it's it's really dark and you
feel like giving up, man, but just keep going because
there's there's gonna be days where there is light at
the end of the tunnel, and no matter what happens,
just continue to move one foot in front of the
other and cherish, cherish every part of life that you
(19:39):
know you have with family, with friends, because you never know,
and just just be grateful, be blessed, and just continue
to live the life that you want to live.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
How does your father's legacy impact your football performance?
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Yeah, just just knowing that that guy that it's been,
you know, the teacher of the game for me and
my brothers, and just knowing that how much he loved
the game, and how much he loved watching his sons
and daughters just play sports in general. Man, it's just
knowing that he's up there smiling and he's proud of me,
(20:18):
and just knowing that everything I do, you know, there's
nothing I can do that will disappoint him, because you know,
he loved us so much as a family, and I'm
just so thankful to learn so much from him and
just just be a blessing or an inspiration to others
that maybe going through the same thing that I went
(20:40):
through as a young kid, or or going through now.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
I'm sure you thought of him in your NFL dream
finally came true. I don't know that, because I watched
the amazing piece the Rams did as part of Crucial
Catch weeked brought tears to my eyes again this morning,
getting ready to sit down with you.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
You. I know you're proud of me, Dad, I know
you're part of me. I'm going with a day to
day love play for you. Look like for all the
people who are doubted, all the people who are at overlooked,
all the people that just one as bad as I.
Jul I love you, Lord.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
I thank you Lord, But unfortunately that's not the only
tragedy that you suffered. Tell us about your friend Andrew.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Yeah, back in December twenty twenty three, Andrew Kochanski, one
of my childhood best friends and really close family friend
growing up, took his life. Just just struggling mentally. But man,
this kid was was really special, not to just my family,
(21:46):
but to a lot of people back in Buffalo. He
was a kid that a lot of people leaned on
and just talking and anytime he walked into a room,
he would light up the room just by his smile,
just by his jokes, just by everything that that he said,
you know, and the love that he gave to others.
It was infectionous and and you just couldn't help but
(22:08):
just just cherished the moments you have with him. And
that day was was was a hard day because you know,
it was it was just a dark day. And I
can remember I was with my brother at the time
in Utah actually going on an official visit for for
(22:28):
different college, and you know, we were we were with
him in the in those final moments that talking with him, honestly,
and it was a hard day because we were just
confused and crying and not understanding you know why. But
(22:53):
like I said before, mental health, it's it's mental health
is a serious thing and a lot of people struggle
with it. And I think a lot of people put
their mental health to the back burner to try to
make sure somebody else is okay or try to you know,
lighting up somebody else's day, and but in reality, they're
going through something just as equal to you, or something worse.
(23:17):
But they're just good as hiding, just better at hiding it.
And I think that's what Andrew did, was he was
really good at just hiding what he was going through
by portraying the light towards other people. And you know,
I just, you know a lot, I wish a lot
of times that you know, there's something I could have
done to help him and just call him more or
(23:38):
do stuff like that, but you know, it's it's not
going to change anything now, and you know, I just
want to just say that, you know, if you're struggling,
it's okay, it's okay to not be okay. It's okay
to talk to somebody, talk to friends, and just just
check up on people.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Thank you for disclosing all of that and speaking to
such hardships so eloquently. I want to be transparent with
our audience. We don't schedule these conversations necessarily around Omar
is injured. Let's go grab the next linebacker up, but
it does fall at initiating time to be sitting here
with you when I think our fan base is downright furious, right,
(24:16):
it's probably sat through just a sour weekend because of
the results on the football field. And I want them
to know about the people inside the helmet and the
things that you've actually endured and maybe the perspective that
that gives you and teammates like you as you look
to bounce back from a rivalry loss and go try
it again in Baltimore. Like, how does your depth of
(24:38):
experience life experience inform the ups and downs of the
football life.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Yeah, you know, you have ups and downs in life.
You have ups and downs in football. And like I
said before, you've got to be able to adapt. You
got to be able to overcome, you know, anything that
life goes at your way. And just like you said,
like last game, we got to be able to adapt
and fix some things that we did wrong on all
three phases. And it starts with myself, and it starts
with the guys who are playing in the game. And
(25:08):
you know, you never know what's gonna happen in the game,
and like I said, you just got to adapt and
and figure it out. And that's what we're looking to do.
You know, this week against Baltimore, we got to We're
pissed off, honestly, the guys in the locker room and
and you know, like a lot of fans and like
we all saw in the film, it wasn't our best football.
But this is the NFL and we got to come
(25:29):
ready each and every week and we got to prepare
the right way every time. And you know that's what
that's what I'm gonna do, and I know that's what
a lot of guys are gonna do.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
What would you like aspiring athletes to learn from your
journey to the NFL.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
Yeah, it's not over until you say it's over. Continue
to push forward. Just just never give up. Believe in yourself.
You know, there's there's a quote that that I hear
all that or that I've I've heard before, and it's
you know, God had a purpose for you long before
(26:04):
the opinions of others have formed, and that just means
you know, God's gonna have a purpose for you. Go
go live out that purpose. Don't believe or don't listen
to anything. The critics or the people that say negative
things about you. Don't listen because there's always going to
be somebody who hates to see you succeed. And as
long as you continue to push forward, as long as
(26:25):
you continue to fuel the fire with all the doubters,
with all non believers, man, you can you can reach
the sky man and continued. And that's what I've just,
you know, built my success on is all the people
who continue to doubt me, all the people who continue
to say, you're not going to make it to the NFL.
You're not going to do this, You're not going to play.
Oh you're not gonna you're gonna get limited reps like, oh,
(26:47):
you just made it just because this so and so
got hurt or something like that. No, I don't care
what you're saying. I put in the work, I've done
what it takes to be here, and I'm going to
continue to do what it takes to be here and
play here. And you're gonna see that on tape. You're
gonna see that by the way I play, just how
fast I played, the effort I play with, and the
resiliency that I'm going to play each and every down.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Because you're such a fan of the sport and come
from a football family, are you ever starstruck either looking
around your own locker room or across the field at
some of the guys that you share a profession with.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Currently, I thought I would be, but honestly not really,
you know, just because like I've been playing this game
for so long and I've wanted to make it to
the NFL for so long that I've kind of put
all that to the side to really focus on what
I need to do and how I can improve this
football team and how I can I prove as a
(27:41):
player myself. So I think, you know, I think when
I look back, like after the season or something like that,
maybe just be like, oh, that's Matt Stafford, that's DeVante,
Like I've grew up watching these guys. I think stuff
like that will click soon, But right now I'm just
worried about, you know, what I can do to help
this football team win, and you know, just being me.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Before I let you go, I thought of one more
nickname thing did I remember this from the preseason correctly
that you called jarqust Hunter Big Country, Big Country?
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Did you come up with that?
Speaker 3 (28:09):
No, I think G Money came up with that one. Yeah,
that's a good one in our linebacker room. But hey,
he's that's Big Country now. When he gets the rock,
he's he's running downhill and you know he's man. Is
one of my favorite guys on the team, and you
know he's a good dude and that that nickname fits
him well.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
The future is bright for the Los Angeles Rams, with
Big Country and Dale leading the way on both sides
of the ball.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Thanks for your time.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
I appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Good this week.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
Thank you,
Welcome back to Rams revealed everyone as you know, LA
looking to bounce back from that disappointing loss at home
as they go on the road to face the Baltimore Ravens.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
And we were fortunate to sit down.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
With Sean Dolac today for a variety of reasons, in
part because we know the Rams are banged up at
linebacker as they get set for Week six, and also
talk about a moment to have a little perspective and
to be able to overcome some adversity.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Man, no one's done that better than Sean on and
off the field.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Well, welcome Sean. Or should we call you Dale? I
hear that's the name around here?
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Yeah, that's that's the name Nate gave me, you know,
first coming in here. So little backstory Dale Doback from
Step Brothers. They didn't like it at first, but being
a rookie you got no choice and then it kind
of just fell into place with everybody. You know, sometimes
I think that's what you know, some of my teammates
think my name is But no, it's pretty fun and
(00:57):
it's cool to you know, have that, you know in
the locker room.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Do you like the movie?
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Oh? Yeahs A fantastic movie. All right, you know, a
little little quick snip. My mom found out that I
was called Dale through the podcast with Nate and she
was she thought it was hilarious. She thought it was
She's like, I love step brothers. And then fast forward
a Tennessee game, they come within a sign that says
happy Birthday, Dale, and you know, I had to get Nay,
(01:22):
got his attention and like he went over there and
it was just it's so funny.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Happy twenty fourth by the way, that was in September. Yeah, okay, excellent.
Well we got to get you connected with John c.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Rally.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Now that's the next step in the cross. That'd be
pretty cool. How was your mini by weekend? Your open
weekend in the National Football League few and far between.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
I know, yeah it was. It was pretty good. You know,
you know, hopefully I wish we could have got the
w We want it a lot better, but you know,
things happened, and you know, I got to spend a
little time at Universal Studios with my girlfriend and you know,
seeing the horror houses over there. So that was a
little good time together. But overall it was pretty good.
Halloween guy, I'd say so, I like you know, scary movies,
(02:00):
but you know, really time, but any favorites, Halloween, Michael
Myers stuff, just the classic older ones.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Not for me.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Don't like scary movies, don't like chocolate Halloween, not my things.
We're gonna breeze right past. That's fine. Back to the football.
Might have had the victory if that bumble had stood.
Tell me about that team's play and the opportunity you created.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Yeah, no, just just first off, you know, Cardi is
doing a fantastic jo I'm gonna kickoff, and you know
that gives us an advantage, that gives me a head
start on making plays like that, and you know, going
into it, square the runner up and I kind of
gave him a good hit and then you know, just
went for the ball at natural instinct and it came
out and then you know, hurt a whistle and I
(02:43):
was kind of like, there's no way they blew the
dead already, and it happened, and it was a little
frustrating at the moment, but you know, you know, things
happen and you just got to get over it. You gotta,
you know, adapt and overcome. You've made a great first
impression in the kicking game.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
This week.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I wonder if there might be more on your plate.
I understand that Mars banged up. How do you prepare
for the possibility of stepping into some defensive reps in Baltimore?
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Yeah, the preparation doesn't change each week. I you know,
have my preparation that just you know, stays the same
and going into this week is not going to change.
You know, you gotta watch film. You got to watch
the opponent's offense and just analyze it and just take
little snippets from you know, whether it's offensive line, the
running back or any tales that you can see and
use it for my game and when it comes to
(03:25):
you know, if I get the opportunity to play against Baltimore,
I'm gonna make sure that I prepare the right way
and you know, show it.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
What if you don't know who the quarterback is going
to be, especially when one of them is MVP caliber.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Yeah, it's gonna you know, probably change up the game
plan a little bit going into the game. But you
know he's got to adapt and see what happens, all.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Right, when he's not giving you nicknames like Dale, what
about Nate Lambman And as a fellow underrafted linebacker.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
The path that he's carved in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Yeah, it's it's amazing just to watch his journey in itself.
You know a lot of similarities between him and I,
you know, especially him coming undrafted to Atlanta and working
himself up the depth chart there as well over the years.
It just shows that you know, he's done it. You know,
Troy Reader has done it, and Omar has done it.
Like all the guys that are in our locker room,
they're all undrafted guys already, and anybody that you know,
(04:09):
I could ask questions too, you know, I know Nate's
may you know, might not have the answer at the time,
but he's gonna find it. Helped me out and allow
me to adapt and just you know, looking up to
him and all the guys in our linebacker room, you know,
it just makes me better.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
How did you make this team?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
The hard work, the it's the culmination of throughout even
the my younger years, and just working for this moment,
just staying consistent with my approach to the daily, my
daily disciplines, the process, and just and just believing in
myself and making sure that if I continue to step
one get better one one day at a time, you
(04:43):
know it's gonna work out, and that's what it did.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
What did it feel like preseason game number three to
be in street clothes knowing that you were on the roster.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
It was awesome. It was a feeling of just accomplishment
and just all that preparation and all that hard work
that I've done since being little, and you know, all
the people who've believed in me just shown that, you know,
I've made it, and I've done it. I've done what
I've set out to achieve. But then also just realizing
like now I got a new responsibility. I got fifty
(05:15):
two to fifty three other guys who believe in me,
and a coaching staff and an organization and fans who
trust me to you know, whenever I step on that
field to get the job done, and to hold myself
accountable each and every day to make sure I'm doing
what it takes to help us win.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
One of those people who clearly believed in you your position,
coach Greg Williams. I remember going back to the spring
him saying publicly that you know, Sean could teach anyone the.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Defense right now.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
What kind of work did you put in how'd you
study up so quickly?
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Yeah, I think just that's just part of my game.
And I think the rams saw that during the draft
process and during watching my college film. Every every little
film study that I do or practice rep it all,
it's all takes account for. And I'm going to put
everything I have into study in the film, studying the reps,
studying the play calls. And that's what I did during
(06:03):
OTA's You know, I got the play right, like I
even I think I asked them before I even got here.
Hey do you think I get the playbooks start studying
all that stuff. He's like, yeah, to wait, you get here,
sign some things and then we'll get it to you.
So oh yeah, like right right when I first day
got that, got the game plan or got the playbook,
you know, did what I could just study just hours
and hours, write stuff down, memorized things, and and just
(06:24):
get the reps throughout practice to make sure that I
solidify things.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
You're a long way from home, aren't you, geographically?
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Yeah? I think I take a day or day or
so to drive back home. But no, it's pretty cool
out west.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
They say, upstate New York. It's it's more western New York.
Isn't it up up and West West Seneca all the
way up against Lake Erie. Yeah, it was like growing
up there.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
It was good, smaller town Westneca. I went to Western
East High School where I was able to you know,
I have two older brothers and three older sisters and
stepsister who also just you know where we grow up.
It's a smaller town and you know a lot of
the we're football family or athletic family. So growing up
it was competitive all around in sports and who gets
(07:07):
to the who eats all their food first or something
something little like that, and it was It's so cool
just to have siblings in a family who support me
so much.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
That's like the shadow of Orchard Park, isn't it. Yeah,
that's that's Bill's mafia territory.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
But it is, that is Bill's mafia. Orchard Parks. You
know where the stadium is and where to get all
your people, but Bill's Mafia travels from all over all over.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Did you break any tables growing up?
Speaker 3 (07:30):
I don't think I broke any tables, but I've definitely
been a part of a lot of table breaks, so
they're they're fun, but you know, I don't partake.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
You know, we do a lot of things really well
here in Los Angeles, as I'm sure you're learning by
the day. Yeah, I don't know that wings Buffalo Wings
are necessarily on that list.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Are you craving? Are you in withdrawal?
Speaker 3 (07:52):
I think there's been a couple of days where I'm like, man,
I could because like I'll see like either somebody post
on it on like their Instagram story or like social media,
like a couple of buddies back at home. I'll eat
at at one of the like the typical like Barbell
back in Buffalo or something like that. And man, those
wings look fantastic, But we have our fair share here
in the facility and they're they're pretty good.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
But part of the reason I put that out there
because someone will inevitably show up in the comments section
and tell me that I'm wrong, and I want to
be wrong. I want to know where the better wings
are locally so that we can hit those spots.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Yeah, Buffalo is it's hard to beat. I'm not gonna lie.
They just make it to you know, their specialty.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
I heard you say something earlier West Seneca East. Did
you misspeak or what's going on there with the directionality?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Of your high school.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
You know, that's that's just the way it is. WESTNI
like East. We also there's WESTN like West that's our
rival high school. So it's you know, that's what you get.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Do you have any sense of the musical alumni from
your neck of the woods, No pressure if not.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I didn't either.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
But whether it's uh Goo Goo Dolls or oh yeah, okay,
you know.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Some other metal bands?
Speaker 3 (08:58):
I do you remember they're from Buffalo?
Speaker 1 (09:00):
About music, I guess, and that neck of the words
in football, but you were all ball. In fact, as
a senior, you rushed for a school record nearly two
thousand yards while you're wrapping up one hundred and fifty
seven tackles your senior season. When did you give up
the offensive side of the football and focus on being
a linebacker?
Speaker 3 (09:17):
That was tough, definitely, after senior year, just realizing I
think defense is where I want to go, and you know,
I like hitting people, like making the ooze and the
crowd and stuff like that. So I just took that
route and decided to give up the offense of the ball.
Hurt a little bit, but you know, deep down in
my heart, I know you can still tote the rock all.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Right, So it might be a goal line package short
yardage in there for you.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Sooner rather than later, Coach McVeigh, I'm ready, you know anytime.
I like that.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
What is the art of a tackle?
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Because I know you became a record setting tackler at Buffalo.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Yeah, if you had to break it down and teach
it or the core tenants.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Man, you guess, just just be aggressive. You got to
be aggressive. You gotta want to get you gotta want
to be the first one to the ball. And whenever
you get a hold of the ball, carry you got
to wrap it up every time. Just wrap up the tackle,
whether it's a limb, any any any body part, you
got to wrap up and make sure you secure the tackle.
But what I've been able to possess in my game,
(10:09):
you know, growing and learning from other guys, is that
punch that Nate like obviously Nate hasn't. That's that's a
game change of play. You know, whenever you're coming in
for a tackle, you always want to be aware of
a sixth punch and just get in, get the ball out,
you know. And that's what I've been able to learn
from him, and that's what I've been able you know,
to take.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Explain to me how someone whose record setting on both
sides of the football doesn't have an FBS offer coming
out of high school.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Yeah, that's that's that's a good question. I think part
of it was, you know, late bloomer in high school.
I think a lot of guys get offer a sophomore,
maybe junior, senior, sophomore year, I think they start coming
out sophomore year, didn't get any offers, like you said,
junior or nothing, and then senior year. I think I
kind of really popped on the film. But I think,
(10:55):
you know, some coaches, you know, didn't think it was
good enough level competition in New York, and I think
that was a big, big reason why. But you know,
it is what it is, and you know, I think
it's it's kind of built me to who I am today.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Is that part of why you did the prep year
to have another season to prove yourself.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
To college coaches?
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Yeah, I think taking a prep school route, you know,
another belief in myself and just knowing that, I think
I worked so hard and I deserve, you know, to
earn an FBF FBS offer. So that's the rout I check.
I went to Milford Academy ended up doing pretty good there,
earned earned a offer from UH Bryant University, which is FCS,
(11:35):
so it was it was still a Division one offer,
but you know, my heart was like FBS, like, that's
that's really the goal that I want for myself, and
I thought it was achievable. New is achievable. And then
that's where I decided to you know, talk a family,
myself and my faith and just know that I think
walking on university at Buffalo, you know, gives me the
best chance and you will see what happens.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
What happened was by I guess the next summer you
had earned a scholarship. What do you remember about that
camp and that level of validation. It comes with all
sorts of things, right, yeah, the gear, the food, the treatment,
but like just the affirmation that okay, I can't do
this exactly.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Yeah, I think so we'll backtrack to my freshman year.
It was there was a play in the in the
spring game where it's kind of like my identity started
because of play in the spring game where a ball
the ball carrier took it out outside zone. Everybody bit
that way. He turned it up and ran it all
the way down on the sideline, like opposide of the field,
and at that point, like I'm running so fat, I'm
(12:33):
trying to catch him and I caught him on the
one yard line. Next day in film, coach brings it up,
this is the type of effort I want to see
the starters do They kind of just showing that, and
I'm like, huh, I think this is This is gonna
be my identity because that's that's who I am. That's
how I play every snap of down is I'm going
to give it my all, every single play. I'm not
going to give up on a play ever. And then
transition to the next year, you know, continue in that mindset.
(12:55):
New coaching staff came in and you know, four days
in the fall camp they offered me the scholar ship
and it was It was one of the best days
of my career.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
There are plenty more to come, though, I mean, just
a few resume bullet points here led the nation and
solo tackles in twenty two, total tackles in twenty four,
your program's first consensus All American. But then your college
career is over, and how.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Many All Star Game invites do you have?
Speaker 3 (13:19):
None?
Speaker 1 (13:20):
How many Combine invites then get one. Where'd you do
your pro day University of Buffalo?
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Was that like here we go again?
Speaker 3 (13:30):
Yeah, it was kind of just like a you know this,
you know, you wouldn't want it any other way, you know,
because there's so much stuff that I had to go through,
the adversity, everything I had to overcome, and it's like,
I guess I'm used to this stuff, you know, so
it's like I can handle it. So I was able
to do the proa at UB and you know, put
up the numbers I put up, and you know, I
(13:52):
thought I had a pretty good day, and you know,
if good things were going.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
To happen, I can think of a few other ways
you might have wanted it to go. But good on
you for.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Sticking to your story. I mean that was in the end, right.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
You know, you want things to go certain ways. You
hope to you know, you know, get a combine and
if you hope, you go Senior Bowl as a showcase
you're building in front of these top notch guys or
whatever it may be. But you know, at that point,
I'm like, all right, that's just this is where the
cards fell.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
I'm just gonna play them even though you liked your numbers,
were you fairly certain you would go undrafted?
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Honestly, I didn't think I was going to go undrafted
at that point. I mean, obviously there's a there was
in the back of my mind like, okay, my agents
were telling me, you know, you can go un drafted
still maybe be a late round. You could anywhere from
maybe fifth to undrafted. Guy. So here in the fifth
I'm like, okay, a little hopeful, but you know, obviously,
you know, it didn't work out how I thought it would,
(14:44):
But at the same time, it's kind of how I
thought it would.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
You know sometimes players in the representatives will say it's
actually better to fall beyond that seventh round, have a
little bit of agency over where we get. Actually, was
that your story and how did your path to LA materialize?
Speaker 3 (14:59):
Yeah, it was kind of exactly what my agents and
I talked about, you know, throughout the whole draft process,
especially on draft Day when it was getting close to sixth,
seventh round and I still didn't get a call or
anything talking about that. And then you know, throughout the
seventh round, we're looking at teams obviously trying to pick
excuse me, the best situation, you know that for me
to make the team and and just showcase my talents.
(15:23):
And then I was obviously, you know, approached by the
Rams really showing their interest in me. Honestly, they called
me about five, six, seven times, and that that struck
something in my heart. And just knowing that, you know,
if this team's reached out to me that much, maybe
they really do want me on their team, Maybe they
see something in me. And you know, I give a
lot a lot of credit to the scouts and to
Ted Monagau who really approached me. But yeah, it was
(15:45):
it's been been great and it's been a great decision
for me.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
You mentioned some siblings along the way, maybe give us
the full rundown, but especially those older brothers probably influential
in your football life.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Oh yeah, for sure. I mean those those two guys,
Ian and John, they've started football about five or six
years old, is just like I did. And watching them,
I was like, you know, I want to play football too,
Like just just watching them grow into into football players
and then seeing them like I kind of want to
I want to be better than them. So I think
that they that path that they carved allowed me to
(16:18):
you know, be where I am, so I owe a
lot to them and a lot of my family as well.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Take me back to the winter of twenty fourteen.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Yeah, my dad was diagnosed with es Savage's cancer, and
that was that was tough to hear, you know, my
mom and him coming in and just talking about it
and saying, you know, but the way my mom approached it,
you know, the mindset of you know, we're going to
beat this thing and and go through life, you know,
(16:50):
just like the other day, just continue to just to
live our lives and cherish moments together. It was hard
just on the family, and being a i think thirteenth
fourteen year old kid, it was hard to comprehend a
little bit, not knowing how the situation of the pan out.
Just seeing that and just kind of continuing your daily life.
(17:10):
It was. It was tough on the family when you
look at it now, and my mom, you know, just
just realizing how much she had to do for my
dad just to just to make sure that he was
not suffering in pain or or suffering just to you know,
be around us. They had so many different cancer treatments
they had to go to. They went to Roswell Park
(17:32):
up in Buffalo, New York Cancer Institute, and you know,
for about a year he was doing chemo treatments, doing
doing well, and they ended up you know, basically clearing
him of the of the cancer in his throat, and
they had a month or two later he ended up
having pain, I think in his kidneys and they end
up saying, oh, yeah, it's kind of traveled into your kidneys,
(17:56):
which was a shocker. Didn't really see it coming, and
they didn't give him I guess much time left at
that point, and they ended up traveling to Atlanta where
they got to another hospital and try to get more chemo,
chemotherapy and more treatment, but ultimately it got really bad
(18:16):
to where he had to be in hospice care and
and that point I just remember being home and my
sisters or my sister Beyonda coming in and saying we
had to go to hospital because he wasn't doing well.
And then that that night or a couple of nights later,
he ended up passing away, which was really hard on
(18:37):
just obviously the family and just knowing that my dad's
gone and not knowing where life's going to take me
at that point, and you know, being being so young,
it's like you just kind of confused and don't know
what else to do. So that was that was just
one struggle and one adversity that you know, our family
(18:59):
had to overcome.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
You're fifteen at the time or take Yeah, I just
want to pause here and give you the chance to
offer any perspective guidance to those who are struggling with
cancer themselves or have their family social network rocked by
something that you've experienced.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Yeah, I would just say, just just keep fighting and
just just never give up, never give up. Hope. There's
gonna be days where it's it's really dark and you
feel like giving up, man, but just keep going because
there's there's gonna be days where there is light at
the end of the tunnel, and no matter what happens,
just continue to move one foot in front of the
other and cherish, cherish every part of life that you
(19:39):
know you have with family, with friends, because you never know,
and just just be grateful, be blessed, and just continue
to live the life that you want to live.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
How does your father's legacy impact your football performance?
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Yeah, just just knowing that that guy that it's been,
you know, the teacher of the game for me and
my brothers, and just knowing that how much he loved
the game, and how much he loved watching his sons
and daughters just play sports in general. Man, it's just
knowing that he's up there smiling and he's proud of me,
(20:18):
and just knowing that everything I do, you know, there's
nothing I can do that will disappoint him, because you know,
he loved us so much as a family, and I'm
just so thankful to learn so much from him and
just just be a blessing or an inspiration to others
that maybe going through the same thing that I went
(20:40):
through as a young kid, or or going through now.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
I'm sure you thought of him in your NFL dream
finally came true. I don't know that, because I watched
the amazing piece the Rams did as part of Crucial
Catch weeked brought tears to my eyes again this morning,
getting ready to sit down with you.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
You. I know you're proud of me, Dad, I know
you're part of me. I'm going with a day to
day love play for you. Look like for all the
people who are doubted, all the people who are at overlooked,
all the people that just one as bad as I.
Jul I love you, Lord.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
I thank you Lord, But unfortunately that's not the only
tragedy that you suffered. Tell us about your friend Andrew.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Yeah, back in December twenty twenty three, Andrew Kochanski, one
of my childhood best friends and really close family friend
growing up, took his life. Just just struggling mentally. But man,
this kid was was really special, not to just my family,
(21:46):
but to a lot of people back in Buffalo. He
was a kid that a lot of people leaned on
and just talking and anytime he walked into a room,
he would light up the room just by his smile,
just by his jokes, just by everything that that he said,
you know, and the love that he gave to others.
It was infectionous and and you just couldn't help but
(22:08):
just just cherished the moments you have with him. And
that day was was was a hard day because you know,
it was it was just a dark day. And I
can remember I was with my brother at the time
in Utah actually going on an official visit for for
(22:28):
different college, and you know, we were we were with
him in the in those final moments that talking with him, honestly,
and it was a hard day because we were just
confused and crying and not understanding you know why. But
(22:53):
like I said before, mental health, it's it's mental health
is a serious thing and a lot of people struggle
with it. And I think a lot of people put
their mental health to the back burner to try to
make sure somebody else is okay or try to you know,
lighting up somebody else's day, and but in reality, they're
going through something just as equal to you, or something worse.
(23:17):
But they're just good as hiding, just better at hiding it.
And I think that's what Andrew did, was he was
really good at just hiding what he was going through
by portraying the light towards other people. And you know,
I just, you know a lot, I wish a lot
of times that you know, there's something I could have
done to help him and just call him more or
(23:38):
do stuff like that, but you know, it's it's not
going to change anything now, and you know, I just
want to just say that, you know, if you're struggling,
it's okay, it's okay to not be okay. It's okay
to talk to somebody, talk to friends, and just just
check up on people.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Thank you for disclosing all of that and speaking to
such hardships so eloquently. I want to be transparent with
our audience. We don't schedule these conversations necessarily around Omar
is injured. Let's go grab the next linebacker up, but
it does fall at initiating time to be sitting here
with you when I think our fan base is downright furious, right,
(24:16):
it's probably sat through just a sour weekend because of
the results on the football field. And I want them
to know about the people inside the helmet and the
things that you've actually endured and maybe the perspective that
that gives you and teammates like you as you look
to bounce back from a rivalry loss and go try
it again in Baltimore. Like, how does your depth of
(24:38):
experience life experience inform the ups and downs of the
football life.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Yeah, you know, you have ups and downs in life.
You have ups and downs in football. And like I
said before, you've got to be able to adapt. You
got to be able to overcome, you know, anything that
life goes at your way. And just like you said,
like last game, we got to be able to adapt
and fix some things that we did wrong on all
three phases. And it starts with myself, and it starts
with the guys who are playing in the game. And
(25:08):
you know, you never know what's gonna happen in the game,
and like I said, you just got to adapt and
and figure it out. And that's what we're looking to do.
You know, this week against Baltimore, we got to We're
pissed off, honestly, the guys in the locker room and
and you know, like a lot of fans and like
we all saw in the film, it wasn't our best football.
But this is the NFL and we got to come
(25:29):
ready each and every week and we got to prepare
the right way every time. And you know that's what
that's what I'm gonna do, and I know that's what
a lot of guys are gonna do.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
What would you like aspiring athletes to learn from your
journey to the NFL.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
Yeah, it's not over until you say it's over. Continue
to push forward. Just just never give up. Believe in yourself.
You know, there's there's a quote that that I hear
all that or that I've I've heard before, and it's
you know, God had a purpose for you long before
(26:04):
the opinions of others have formed, and that just means
you know, God's gonna have a purpose for you. Go
go live out that purpose. Don't believe or don't listen
to anything. The critics or the people that say negative
things about you. Don't listen because there's always going to
be somebody who hates to see you succeed. And as
long as you continue to push forward, as long as
(26:25):
you continue to fuel the fire with all the doubters,
with all non believers, man, you can you can reach
the sky man and continued. And that's what I've just,
you know, built my success on is all the people
who continue to doubt me, all the people who continue
to say, you're not going to make it to the NFL.
You're not going to do this, You're not going to play.
Oh you're not gonna you're gonna get limited reps like, oh,
(26:47):
you just made it just because this so and so
got hurt or something like that. No, I don't care
what you're saying. I put in the work, I've done
what it takes to be here, and I'm going to
continue to do what it takes to be here and
play here. And you're gonna see that on tape. You're
gonna see that by the way I play, just how
fast I played, the effort I play with, and the
resiliency that I'm going to play each and every down.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Because you're such a fan of the sport and come
from a football family, are you ever starstruck either looking
around your own locker room or across the field at
some of the guys that you share a profession with.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Currently, I thought I would be, but honestly not really,
you know, just because like I've been playing this game
for so long and I've wanted to make it to
the NFL for so long that I've kind of put
all that to the side to really focus on what
I need to do and how I can improve this
football team and how I can I prove as a
(27:41):
player myself. So I think, you know, I think when
I look back, like after the season or something like that,
maybe just be like, oh, that's Matt Stafford, that's DeVante,
Like I've grew up watching these guys. I think stuff
like that will click soon, But right now I'm just
worried about, you know, what I can do to help
this football team win, and you know, just being me.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Before I let you go, I thought of one more
nickname thing did I remember this from the preseason correctly
that you called jarqust Hunter Big Country, Big Country?
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Did you come up with that?
Speaker 3 (28:09):
No, I think G Money came up with that one. Yeah,
that's a good one in our linebacker room. But hey,
he's that's Big Country now. When he gets the rock,
he's he's running downhill and you know he's man. Is
one of my favorite guys on the team, and you
know he's a good dude and that that nickname fits
him well.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
The future is bright for the Los Angeles Rams, with
Big Country and Dale leading the way on both sides
of the ball.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Thanks for your time.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
I appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Good this week.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
Thank you,
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