November 4, 2025 • 24 mins
Los Angeles Rams tight end Terrance Ferguson sits down with J.B. Long on the newest episode of Rams Revealed to talk about overcoming adversity in his childhood, learning from veterans in the tight end room, getting married, and owning 2 dogs.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We'll talk about a perfect week to talk tight ends
as Los Angeles goes to San Francisco for a rematch
of this rivalry against George Kittle and the San Francisco
forty nine ers, right at a moment where LA is
leaning into its two and three and even four tight
end identity more than they ever have under Sean McVay.
So let's get to know the top pick of this class,
Terrence Ferguson on this edition of Rams Reveal, We're going
(00:29):
to be with you, Terrence, been looking forward to this
for a long time. How did it feel to pull
the momentum that you and the Rams had in London
through the by and to get another win at Sofi Stadium.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yeah, it felt amazing. You know.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
I think the team's doing a good job of just
getting better each week, and I think we're just kind
of putting everything together, playing compilment in football, and so
I think it feels good for that little bye week,
get our bodies back, but still to have that momentum
and right into the next game and keep it rolling.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
So, yeah, what was your favorite player? Maybe a couple
of your favorite plays from the sixth win.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
M I don't know if I had a favorite play.
I had a lot of them, Like obviously third down catch.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
I feel like I ran a pretty good route there,
and to move the sticks was pretty cool. I like
getting in there in thirteen personal when we run the
ball and we've got the all the tight ends working
in combination with a couple of those how to move
the sticks as well.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
So I think those are kind of the fun ones.
You're out there with you know.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Your other tight ends, and everyone's communicating and.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
So it's fun.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
I know our audience likes that too. It's resurgence of
the tight end identity. Tell us more about the genesis
of that, like how you've built on that here at
the midway point of the season, where you know, for
a franchise that's lived in eleven for now the better
part of nine years, you and your teammates are maybe
changing that narrative.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Yeah, you know, I think it just speaks to one
the coaching staff, Coach McVeagh and coach Lafour and how
much trust they have in our room and just the
talent and the depth in our room for them to
roll all four of us out there, you know, like
we all switch in and out in the thirteen stuff,
the eleven, the twelve, and for us to people roll
at thirteen guys in their confident in it. They obviously
(02:02):
are great coaches, and they dial ups and stuff for.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Us to be able to move and be in.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
That, be able to expand out of it, and they
just keep adding to it, which is cool. But I
think just the depth of the room and just you know,
them having the trust to put Roll thirteen out there
and do a lot of cool things in it.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
So quick side, but I just want to specify because
I want to be inclusive of our audience. Eleven personnel
back one tight end, twelve, two tight ends, thirteen three.
We've been seeing more and more of that as we go.
But personally, how does it feel to be really integrated
into a weekly game plan now? It wasn't always the
case in the early months of the season, but to
be a part of every game plan now as.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
A RAM, Yeah, it's such a blessing.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
You know, a lot of his patients and trusting the
process and coach has done a great job and everyone
in the organization has done a great job of getting
me ready for this, and you know, and making sure
that I've been taking my practice reps, getting better at
each practice rep. And I think in today's age, like
everyone wants everything now you know you come, you want anything.
(03:00):
Now you got phones, everything kind of happens faster. So
for every they've had a plan from day one and
just trusting those guys, trusting God God's timing. So it's
been it's been such a blessing one to be a
part of this team because.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
It's amazing team we have.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
You know, you look around the league and some of
the rookies that are playing a lot more, getting more opportunities,
and they're losing games or you know, I'd rather win games,
and that's me on special teams just doing something or
getting the guys water. I'd rather win games because that's
that's what it's about.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
So awesome quote that'll be used, that will be pulled.
For sure. You remind me a little bit of Dion
Sanders last week. Did you hear his comments about our
instant gratification culture? I didn't, but okay, probably better because
I can't bring them up on this show. Yeah, but
for you and they'll know what I'm talking about. Even
given what you just said, which was very mature, I
gave you total commendation for that when you're inactive as
(03:50):
a bro. When was the last time, you know, for
non health related reasons, you were sidelined without a helmet?
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Yeah, I don't never, honestly, even just coming here, this
first time I've ever played Scout in my life.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
So okay, was that humbling?
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Yeah, one hundred percent. It's definitely eye opening.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
You know, I've gone through life and I've been blessed
enough to be a good player no matter what I
was an elementary school, high school, college even you know,
I played right away as a freshman, was able to
come and impact the team, and so coming and playing
Scout team, being inactive, not suiting up is.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Definitely humbling for sure. You know, it's kind of welcome
to the NFL moment a little bit, but it's definitely
I see it as a blessing.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
You know. It's more time to get ready, more time
to get those reps. Those Scout team reps are against
the ones defense, you know, So I see it that way,
and they've kind of preached it to me, like those
are those are important reps.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Now that you're in the game plan, forgive the question,
but I can ask, like, what took so long on
behalf of the audience right as the first pick of
this class. They wanted to see you right out of
the shiet. I know there was a summer injury, but
was a matter of proving it to you know, coach
Huff or to Sean or to Matthew, Like, what steps
did you have to take to earn the opportunity that
you now seem to be stepping into.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Yeah, I don't know if I can give you the
full answer there, I don't.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
I've just kind of put my head down and worked
and done what they've asked me to do and excel
the things I excel at naturally, and then also working
on stuff I don't excel at naturally on the Scout team,
whatever reps I got, just trying to make the most
of it, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
So I don't know if that is something.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
They've seen of me, just you know, doing what I
was supposed to do and get better each week and
we can make.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
The most of my reps.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
I think that's probably a better question for someone else, honestly.
So I just put my head down, dude, I'm told
and try to just make as many play as I
can go out there and have fun.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Okay, So the next question may or may not be related,
but we love the hot mic moment at the line
of scrimmage from the winner of the Saints. I think
you've seen it or heard, you know. Stafford's there. It's
third down and two from your own forty and you
and Davis Allen are off to the side. They were
attached to the line of scrimmage. He was barking at
one of you. Yeah, to make an adjustment.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
He's barking at me.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
You know, there's a lot of stuff going on, and
we have a lot of moving parts obviously with the
personnels and stuff, and a little rookie miss kind to
get on the ball, not not be off. Can't have
two people off the ball on one side. So he
made sure of it, got me on the ball. We
got our yards and moved on.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Yeah, how did that make it make its way to
your desk? Who made you aware that that had?
Speaker 3 (06:15):
So my wife, My wife sent it to me with
a little funny meme saying this you like, obviously she
knew was me, but just kind of making fun of me.
And she's she's the best, you know, being able to
have someone there that will call you on stuff, but
also makes a lot of jokes about certain stuff and
we have lighthearted conversations. Where's that or me being inactive
some weeks. You know, she's boken at me if I
(06:37):
say I'm sore, and she's like, you didn't even play
this week. So she's she's a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
All right, Let's go down that tangent then for a second,
because what a year for you. You're getting married, You're becoming
a pro. What have you learned off the field about
being a husband?
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Yeah, we've lived together for a while and been together
for a while, so I want to say it's like
anything brand new that I've learned, but just you know,
putting her first and being able to make some sacrifices,
whether that's we have two dogs that wake up six
six o'clock, does the matter of the day where we're at,
no matter what, So sometimes letting her sleep and just
doing stuff for her and being a servant, you know.
(07:17):
But it's a lot of fun, man, It's a lot
of fun being married to someone that's your best friend.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
And it's been such a blessing.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Too many more years to get that's awesome. Brag on
your dogs a little bit. Tell us about them.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Yeah, we got We've got two dogs, two miniature labordoodles,
Obi and O So. And they're they're a lot of
fun too. They've they bring her a lot of joy,
a lot of joy to me, you know, when you
have a dog come home and they're happy to see
no matter what.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
And they've been good to us.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
We've had them for a couple of years now and
they're a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
All Right, we'll circle back to more family stuff in
just a second, but let's get back to the football.
How have you benefited from the example set by I'll
call them the upper classmen in your tight end room.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
No, that's such a blessing.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
You know, you get a room like that and the
guys are one better men off the field as well.
Uh I learned a lot of things from all those
guys off the field and on the field. And just
being able to have people in your circle that you
trust you can learn from. It's such a blessing and
it's such it's such a big part of my development.
I feel like, you know, having a guy like Higgs
who you can ask anything.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
He's been He's at.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
It all, whether that's off the field, career stuff or
on the field and a certain look. He's he's seen
it all. And there's a lot of tape that we
pull up of some Higgs stuff that you know, it's
it's old and so being able to learn from those
guys though all of them, Davis Golby, it's it's truly
a blessing.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Yeah. Ten of Matthew's twenty four completions against New Orleans
were to the tied end room. Can Higgs teach you
anything in terms of the end zone celebration material that
he's working with? Yeah, another good one yesterday.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Yeah, he's I was joking, he's he's full of uh,
great celebrations every time. I don't even know how he
comes up with them, and he says he just does
him on the spot, there's no practice, and this is
kind of the swag he has. So I definitely got
to take some notes because I'm on one trick pony
most of the time.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
I was going to say, how did you feel about
hitting paid it for the first time in London? Would
you do anything differently?
Speaker 2 (09:08):
No? I don't think so.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
I kind of caught it, gave my glory to God
like I always do, and that will stay the same,
But we were going to do a USA celebration all
through the tight ends.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
We're gonna put up the USA with the hands. I
did drop the ball to go for the celebration.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Everyone kind of just rushed the field though, so we
didn't really have any time. But I did drop the
ball and everyone yelled at me, pick up the ball.
Pick up the ball for the first touchdown. So everything
kind of went black after that.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
I was just going to say, I couldn't have faulted you.
I blacked out the whole.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
I did go for the celebration because we had planned
it and we were gonna do like USA with the
little hand signals.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
But because we're in thirteen person.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
That football talked away somewhere safe, I hope.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Yeah, it is to.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Many more of those as well. So two part question
about like your personal growth and improvement. What do you
think you can dig into this year right and what
do you think is in store for your first full
off season. A lot of you know, rookies say that
first full off season going into year two is where
they really make the leap. So at your position, especially
where so much is expected of you, how much can
(10:09):
you do between now? In January and hopefully February, and
then what leap might be in store for you as
you evolved as an NFL tight end.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Yeah, I think that's I love that, just that we
have that much time and you have a full off
season to be able to get better at things. You know,
in college, it's a little different. You have a lot
of the strength conditioning stuff that you got to mandatory
be at. It's kind of on your own set and
you can kind of pick and choose and build the
off season. And there's a lot of things, like you said,
(10:35):
tight end, you have to do so much, especially in
this offense. You have to pass protect, you have to
run block, you have to run routes, and all of
those have intristacies that like you know, there's offensive lignment
for a reason they do that every time, and there's
receivers and we're kind of the mix.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Of both of those.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
And so I would say definitely the blocking there, I
can always get better at that kind of newer I
don't want to say newer in the position, but this
is fifth year playing tight end, So.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Just some of those little intristies of blocking that I'd
like to get better at.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Some of the route stuff too, like just being able
to open that route tree. They've asked me to do
a lot of cool things running routes wise and to
be able to expand on that and the off season
will be really cool.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
So to the blocking, it's not for lack of willingness
or stature. I mean you're built for this, right, no
one you know.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
There's just there's obviously technique and everything is especially as
the tight end you're blocking.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Usually the best athletes on the field, I would say it,
and the edges of the defensive ends.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Those guys are strong, fast, athletic, quick twitch. So the
balance of being able to bring it, I want to say,
it's definitely not the willingness or the stature, but just
some of the technique stuff and clean it up and
getting after it.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Sure you referenced your college days a little bit. I
think Oregon's at Iowa this week and a big one.
You and Alric have any words before.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
We just I thought it was this week for some reason.
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
They get two buys in college now, which is different.
But he said something to me, and we'll probably have
something dialed up.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Duck's gonna prevail the big.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Yeah, Ducks are gonna they're gonna roll.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
They got at Iowa, Minnesota, usc AT U DUB But
you and Dylan Gabriel keeping in touch. I know he
made an appearance at your special date this summer.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Yeah, I definitely keep up in touch with him whenever.
Just give him a call or I've just seen how
he's doing, so I definitely keep up with him.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Very cool. How do Dan Lanning and Sean McVay compare.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
They're very similar in a lot of ways.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Actually, I would say obviously Dan Lanning defensive guy coach
Bevey offensive guy. I'd say that's kind of a big difference.
But they're both young, full of full of a lot
of energy, and they bring the same thing. And I
think the biggest thing is like they care so much
about the people in the building. Is not always they're
obviously amazing at the XS and nose and that's that's
(12:50):
what they're there for, but they also care about the people.
They make sure it's a space you want to be at,
and I think they do both a great job of that.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
And so I've been blessed to have those guys.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
As coaches, and you know, just continue to have great
coaches in your corner. It's it's it's huge, and I
think it's great for development and being able to have
those guys.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Not everyone gets that opportunity.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
One of the Eugene driven topic. Okay, uniforms. I know
how special they are out there and how many kits
they have. What was your favorite? Do you have one?
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Probably the we did a throwback twenty twenty four, retro
like throwback with the actual like Donald duck on it
is and those were pretty cool, just kind of like
the throwback and they're just clean uniforms.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
But there's so many pick from.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
I got like twenty five jerseys in my closet that
I gotta keep, and talking to some of the guys,
they're always jealous about what we got and all the
gear we get.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
So how about here? Do you have a favorite Rams uniform?
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (13:47):
I think I just like the blue in the yellow pants.
I think just the classic blue blue blue.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
So what you wore against the Saints.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
Yeah, I think that is kind of a more classic ish.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Yeah, it's a good starting point. Many more to come.
Let's talk week ten. Just touch on San Francisco a bit,
not schematically, but you know, for your your recollection of
the loss against the Niners earlier this season, and what
you might take away from that.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
You know, we played him in a good game, and
I think we made a lot of mistakes that we
can clean up. That's always our focus is how we
can control what we can control, you know, and so
there's a lot of things that we can clean up
and make that game better in our favor.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Obviously, that's that's what you always want.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
But I think there's a lot of things we left
out there last time we played those guys, So we're looking.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Forward to anything on George Killy's kind of the gold
standard at your position, something you aspire to there.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Maybe, Yeah, I think just the way he's a workhorse,
the way he works in the run game and then
also running rounds. He's very explosive and gets to his
point as fast as possible. So I think he kind
of has some cool things that he does. I watched
them of his day for sure, first.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Time I can recall going to San Francisco with the
possibility of throwing more tight ends at them than they
can throw at us. You know, this show, as I
told you before we started, is about getting to know
you off the field. As well. Thank you for bringing
us inside your home now with your wife and your
kids being the dogs. What about you know, going back
to your upbringing, where should we start in terms of
(15:13):
your blue collar Colorado roots? What do you remember about
what brought you to where you are now?
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Yeah? I think that kind of hits it. Blue collar.
My dad's work super hard for everything that we've got.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
You know, he's worked concrete, landscaping, roofing, you name it.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
He's done.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
He's done all the blue collar jobs under the sun.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
And that's kind of how I's raised.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
All my family, all my brothers work blue collar jobs.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
My two of my brothers working age of BAC. One
of them is a.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
Plumber, one of them's electricians. So that's kind of how
we were raised. Is you know, get up, grab your
lunch pail, go to work every day and hard work
works is kind of something my dad's always taught me.
Very humble, very hard working man, and he's always provided
for a big family and done a lot to get
us to where we are now and have have kids
(16:00):
that said mess up to build a different generation of
our family.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Yeah, big family. How many siblings are we talking here?
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Terms?
Speaker 3 (16:06):
We got two older brothers, two younger brothers, so all boys,
five boys of them. And then we've always kind of
I got a lot of extended family that's lived with
us at some points. My grandma's lived with us. My
uncle is pretty much my dad's raised him, so he's
pretty much like a brother. And just we've always been
a close knit family. Whether that's the cousins or anybody
(16:27):
in there, it's always kind of all for one.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
And yeah, I've heard you reference some of the adversity
that that your parents' generation faced and how it's informed
your perspective on life to the extent that you're comfortable
disclosing some of that. What specifics can you offer us?
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Yeah, you know, we had some financial struggles as a family.
My dad worked super hard and at one point we
kind of got not kicked out of our house, but
we couldn't pay the rent. They kind of raised the
rent on us and couldn't pay it. So we moved
in with my aunt who was close with us, and uh,
we moved in a one bedroom there's four or five
(17:04):
of us one bedroom, lived on a cot.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
I had a Nike box with my stuff stuffed in
and that's kind of all we had.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
And we had each other, and so there's definitely some
financial struggles. But you asked me, you ask my brothers,
my family. That's some of the probably not my dad,
but some of the best times of our life. You know,
we're all there together and I just leaned on each
other knowing that we're gonna get through it. My dad
obviously worked super hard to get us out of that
circumstance and make sure that we had our own place
and had a room.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
And but it's.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Always been definitely a financial struggle. And my dad works
hard for all of his money. But there's a lot
of people in our family and a lot of things
that whether it's playing sports or anything like that, my
dad's always made sure, uh we need, we have.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
What we need.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
So and he's been instrumental in your football career too.
What has he meant as a coach not just a
father figure.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
Yeah, he's uh, he's a coach. And sometimes we joked
about it. He's a coach first. Sometimes uh no, but
he's a he's a great, a great coach. He's always
He's coached me pretty much my whole career until college.
He was the high school coach, different position, but was
always on the staff and he's cared so much about
I couldn't catch when I started playing football, and he
(18:13):
took me outside, throwing bullet passes at me, hit me
in the face, tell him crying, and you know, until
I caught the ball, you know, And it was hard
lessons and.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
He's hard on us, but it was all out of love.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
He's a great father and done so much, whether that's
making sure we had all the equipment we wanted or needed,
and making sure we were there practice early, doing extra
stuff and just kind of integrated that into my life
and of how to approach things, you know, and it
kind of boils down to hard work, works and making
sure you get extra work when you can.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
So yeah, I mean there's echoes of Aaron Donald and
things that you're saying, his ethos that I think, you know,
this place is saturated in. It must be such a
point of pride for your father to see you have
soft hands on Sundays and making catches and getting vertical
like you are, knowing the roots of Yeah, that all started.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
It's pretty funny cause I couldn't catch, and he wouldn't
let me play any position. This was I was cat
he wanted me to catch, and I played defensive end.
I couldn't catch, and I played, I played center. He
wouldn't let me play anything other than in the box
and the trenches. So I was a defensive end and
he was getting mad at me not being able to catch.
And so, uh, he definitely takes pride in it, and
(19:19):
uh he he loves us.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
See it translates to Sundays Terrence.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
How about your mother and how her life journey has
informed your perspective on now being a professional football player.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Yeah, I understand my mom's. Mom's been great. She's a
such a loving mother.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Uh, she's kind of you know, you have a hard
dad that's work hard, and you got the mom that's
kind of it's been stay at home mom, take care
of the kids, make sure we get to practice, make sure.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
We get to school. So I had a I'd said
the best of both worlds in that way. Uh.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
She's had some troubles in in her past as well,
and you know there there's kind of a lot of
that in my family history. And I think the biggest
thing is you met her, you'd never know any of this.
She's a god fearing woman. Both my mom and dad
but she's God fearing woman. I think that's kind of
the big thing, is just seeing her and her story
(20:07):
and then knowing some of her past and how much
God has changed her, and how much God has changed.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
My whole family.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
And being able to follow Christ and be able to
see the change that can happen when you follow follow
the Bible and you follow Jesus and you have Him
in your life. I think it's so transformative. And being
able to see that firsthand with my family, family members,
my mom included, and just seeing the trajectory that you
can get put on.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Whether how low you are or how high you are,
you know you always can be used in God's kingdom.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
So yeah, I'm hearing you through the lens of a
father right with a couple of young boys. Myself and
I spend so much of my day not wanting my
shortcomings to rub off on them, right, or my mistakes
to be passed down to them. From your standpoint, as
a child of parents who are admittedly imperfect as we
all are, what do you think the key was to
(21:00):
not have that go down a different path and maybe
an unproductive one instead of the one that you're on.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Yeah, I think it go point back to God. You know,
they're just they've done a great job of raising us
in the church, and just kind of that what Jesus
has done for us and the sacrifice and being able
to have those second opportunities and he died on the
cross for us to be able to have those opportunities
to be go back at it again, you know, get
up the righteous man false six times gets upseven.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
So just being able to see them.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
And be open about it and not fully hide everything
from us. But you know, they have showed us everything
that they've had, mistakes wise, and what.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
They've become now.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
And I think that's huge for us when we were kids,
being able to see our parents and the growth that
they've had, and they've always been loving, been there for
us no matter what. So I think at the end
of the day, they love us to the ends meet,
and so I think that's kind.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Of what prevails.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
I don't get the sense that you're someone who's necessarily
motivated by money because you found joy in that Nike.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Shoe box, right exactly.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
But if you are fortunate enough to have a long
sustained career in this business, you're gonna come out ahead. Financially,
what would it mean for you to give back and
to support those loved ones in your life and maybe
have not always had that luxury.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Yeah, I think that's a big part of it too.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
I would say I wanna be truly motivated by money,
but I definitely am just seeing where I've came from,
and like I said, we had great times and as
kids and family and that because we're together and as
a kid, you don't really think too much about the money.
But I know on the other end, my dad had
those struggles and that's a lot on him. So to
be able to change the trajectory of my family, my
(22:39):
family to come and be able to help out my
parents as well, and just kind of everyone in my
family who's worked so hard and they continue to get
up and work really hard for what they their money,
and be able to just whenever I can help out
and give back to those guys. Cause whether that's my
brothers today, like they they do so much for me,
whether that's just hopping on the game and you know,
(23:01):
just chopping it up, it's always a good time with
them or with my parents as well.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
So anyone yet to see you play that you're hoping
to bring to a game sooner rather than later.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
I don't think so.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Because my oldest brother has made a game, I'd like
him to get out to a game. Maybe one of
my uncles, who was kind of like our brother, he
hasn't made.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
A game, but they're out there almost.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Every game they can make, and we try to make
it happen for them to make as many games as
they can.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
So my mom and dad have been out to quite
a few games.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
All my brothers, the oldest has made a game. My
wife's family, they've made some of the games.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
I like.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Some of their siglingers come out too, because they're always fun.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Well, here's to so many opportunities. And thank you not
just for your time, but for your transparency of course.
You know these are things that I think help our
fan base celebrate not just your touchdowns, but your backstory too.
And we obviously want a long, long journey here in
Los Angeles for you at the top pick of this
draft class. So glad you're part of the mix now
making plays on the field, and thanks for giving us
(24:02):
a chance to get to know you off the field
as well.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
I really appreciate it. M h m hm.
We'll talk about a perfect week to talk tight ends
as Los Angeles goes to San Francisco for a rematch
of this rivalry against George Kittle and the San Francisco
forty nine ers, right at a moment where LA is
leaning into its two and three and even four tight
end identity more than they ever have under Sean McVay.
So let's get to know the top pick of this class,
Terrence Ferguson on this edition of Rams Reveal, We're going
(00:29):
to be with you, Terrence, been looking forward to this
for a long time. How did it feel to pull
the momentum that you and the Rams had in London
through the by and to get another win at Sofi Stadium.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yeah, it felt amazing. You know.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
I think the team's doing a good job of just
getting better each week, and I think we're just kind
of putting everything together, playing compilment in football, and so
I think it feels good for that little bye week,
get our bodies back, but still to have that momentum
and right into the next game and keep it rolling.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
So, yeah, what was your favorite player? Maybe a couple
of your favorite plays from the sixth win.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
M I don't know if I had a favorite play.
I had a lot of them, Like obviously third down catch.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
I feel like I ran a pretty good route there,
and to move the sticks was pretty cool. I like
getting in there in thirteen personal when we run the
ball and we've got the all the tight ends working
in combination with a couple of those how to move
the sticks as well.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
So I think those are kind of the fun ones.
You're out there with you know.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Your other tight ends, and everyone's communicating and.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
So it's fun.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
I know our audience likes that too. It's resurgence of
the tight end identity. Tell us more about the genesis
of that, like how you've built on that here at
the midway point of the season, where you know, for
a franchise that's lived in eleven for now the better
part of nine years, you and your teammates are maybe
changing that narrative.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Yeah, you know, I think it just speaks to one
the coaching staff, Coach McVeagh and coach Lafour and how
much trust they have in our room and just the
talent and the depth in our room for them to
roll all four of us out there, you know, like
we all switch in and out in the thirteen stuff,
the eleven, the twelve, and for us to people roll
at thirteen guys in their confident in it. They obviously
(02:02):
are great coaches, and they dial ups and stuff for.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Us to be able to move and be in.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
That, be able to expand out of it, and they
just keep adding to it, which is cool. But I
think just the depth of the room and just you know,
them having the trust to put Roll thirteen out there
and do a lot of cool things in it.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
So quick side, but I just want to specify because
I want to be inclusive of our audience. Eleven personnel
back one tight end, twelve, two tight ends, thirteen three.
We've been seeing more and more of that as we go.
But personally, how does it feel to be really integrated
into a weekly game plan now? It wasn't always the
case in the early months of the season, but to
be a part of every game plan now as.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
A RAM, Yeah, it's such a blessing.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
You know, a lot of his patients and trusting the
process and coach has done a great job and everyone
in the organization has done a great job of getting
me ready for this, and you know, and making sure
that I've been taking my practice reps, getting better at
each practice rep. And I think in today's age, like
everyone wants everything now you know you come, you want anything.
(03:00):
Now you got phones, everything kind of happens faster. So
for every they've had a plan from day one and
just trusting those guys, trusting God God's timing. So it's
been it's been such a blessing one to be a
part of this team because.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
It's amazing team we have.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
You know, you look around the league and some of
the rookies that are playing a lot more, getting more opportunities,
and they're losing games or you know, I'd rather win games,
and that's me on special teams just doing something or
getting the guys water. I'd rather win games because that's
that's what it's about.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
So awesome quote that'll be used, that will be pulled.
For sure. You remind me a little bit of Dion
Sanders last week. Did you hear his comments about our
instant gratification culture? I didn't, but okay, probably better because
I can't bring them up on this show. Yeah, but
for you and they'll know what I'm talking about. Even
given what you just said, which was very mature, I
gave you total commendation for that when you're inactive as
(03:50):
a bro. When was the last time, you know, for
non health related reasons, you were sidelined without a helmet?
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Yeah, I don't never, honestly, even just coming here, this
first time I've ever played Scout in my life.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
So okay, was that humbling?
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Yeah, one hundred percent. It's definitely eye opening.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
You know, I've gone through life and I've been blessed
enough to be a good player no matter what I
was an elementary school, high school, college even you know,
I played right away as a freshman, was able to
come and impact the team, and so coming and playing
Scout team, being inactive, not suiting up is.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Definitely humbling for sure. You know, it's kind of welcome
to the NFL moment a little bit, but it's definitely
I see it as a blessing.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
You know. It's more time to get ready, more time
to get those reps. Those Scout team reps are against
the ones defense, you know, So I see it that way,
and they've kind of preached it to me, like those
are those are important reps.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Now that you're in the game plan, forgive the question,
but I can ask, like, what took so long on
behalf of the audience right as the first pick of
this class. They wanted to see you right out of
the shiet. I know there was a summer injury, but
was a matter of proving it to you know, coach
Huff or to Sean or to Matthew, Like, what steps
did you have to take to earn the opportunity that
you now seem to be stepping into.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Yeah, I don't know if I can give you the
full answer there, I don't.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
I've just kind of put my head down and worked
and done what they've asked me to do and excel
the things I excel at naturally, and then also working
on stuff I don't excel at naturally on the Scout team,
whatever reps I got, just trying to make the most
of it, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
So I don't know if that is something.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
They've seen of me, just you know, doing what I
was supposed to do and get better each week and
we can make.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
The most of my reps.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
I think that's probably a better question for someone else, honestly.
So I just put my head down, dude, I'm told
and try to just make as many play as I
can go out there and have fun.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Okay, So the next question may or may not be related,
but we love the hot mic moment at the line
of scrimmage from the winner of the Saints. I think
you've seen it or heard, you know. Stafford's there. It's
third down and two from your own forty and you
and Davis Allen are off to the side. They were
attached to the line of scrimmage. He was barking at
one of you. Yeah, to make an adjustment.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
He's barking at me.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
You know, there's a lot of stuff going on, and
we have a lot of moving parts obviously with the
personnels and stuff, and a little rookie miss kind to
get on the ball, not not be off. Can't have
two people off the ball on one side. So he
made sure of it, got me on the ball. We
got our yards and moved on.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Yeah, how did that make it make its way to
your desk? Who made you aware that that had?
Speaker 3 (06:15):
So my wife, My wife sent it to me with
a little funny meme saying this you like, obviously she
knew was me, but just kind of making fun of me.
And she's she's the best, you know, being able to
have someone there that will call you on stuff, but
also makes a lot of jokes about certain stuff and
we have lighthearted conversations. Where's that or me being inactive
some weeks. You know, she's boken at me if I
(06:37):
say I'm sore, and she's like, you didn't even play
this week. So she's she's a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
All right, Let's go down that tangent then for a second,
because what a year for you. You're getting married, You're becoming
a pro. What have you learned off the field about
being a husband?
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Yeah, we've lived together for a while and been together
for a while, so I want to say it's like
anything brand new that I've learned, but just you know,
putting her first and being able to make some sacrifices,
whether that's we have two dogs that wake up six
six o'clock, does the matter of the day where we're at,
no matter what, So sometimes letting her sleep and just
doing stuff for her and being a servant, you know.
(07:17):
But it's a lot of fun, man, It's a lot
of fun being married to someone that's your best friend.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
And it's been such a blessing.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Too many more years to get that's awesome. Brag on
your dogs a little bit. Tell us about them.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Yeah, we got We've got two dogs, two miniature labordoodles,
Obi and O So. And they're they're a lot of
fun too. They've they bring her a lot of joy,
a lot of joy to me, you know, when you
have a dog come home and they're happy to see
no matter what.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
And they've been good to us.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
We've had them for a couple of years now and
they're a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
All Right, we'll circle back to more family stuff in
just a second, but let's get back to the football.
How have you benefited from the example set by I'll
call them the upper classmen in your tight end room.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
No, that's such a blessing.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
You know, you get a room like that and the
guys are one better men off the field as well.
Uh I learned a lot of things from all those
guys off the field and on the field. And just
being able to have people in your circle that you
trust you can learn from. It's such a blessing and
it's such it's such a big part of my development.
I feel like, you know, having a guy like Higgs
who you can ask anything.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
He's been He's at.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
It all, whether that's off the field, career stuff or
on the field and a certain look. He's he's seen
it all. And there's a lot of tape that we
pull up of some Higgs stuff that you know, it's
it's old and so being able to learn from those
guys though all of them, Davis Golby, it's it's truly
a blessing.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Yeah. Ten of Matthew's twenty four completions against New Orleans
were to the tied end room. Can Higgs teach you
anything in terms of the end zone celebration material that
he's working with? Yeah, another good one yesterday.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Yeah, he's I was joking, he's he's full of uh,
great celebrations every time. I don't even know how he
comes up with them, and he says he just does
him on the spot, there's no practice, and this is
kind of the swag he has. So I definitely got
to take some notes because I'm on one trick pony
most of the time.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
I was going to say, how did you feel about
hitting paid it for the first time in London? Would
you do anything differently?
Speaker 2 (09:08):
No? I don't think so.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
I kind of caught it, gave my glory to God
like I always do, and that will stay the same,
But we were going to do a USA celebration all
through the tight ends.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
We're gonna put up the USA with the hands. I
did drop the ball to go for the celebration.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Everyone kind of just rushed the field though, so we
didn't really have any time. But I did drop the
ball and everyone yelled at me, pick up the ball.
Pick up the ball for the first touchdown. So everything
kind of went black after that.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
I was just going to say, I couldn't have faulted you.
I blacked out the whole.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
I did go for the celebration because we had planned
it and we were gonna do like USA with the
little hand signals.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
But because we're in thirteen person.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
That football talked away somewhere safe, I hope.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Yeah, it is to.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Many more of those as well. So two part question
about like your personal growth and improvement. What do you
think you can dig into this year right and what
do you think is in store for your first full
off season. A lot of you know, rookies say that
first full off season going into year two is where
they really make the leap. So at your position, especially
where so much is expected of you, how much can
(10:09):
you do between now? In January and hopefully February, and
then what leap might be in store for you as
you evolved as an NFL tight end.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Yeah, I think that's I love that, just that we
have that much time and you have a full off
season to be able to get better at things. You know,
in college, it's a little different. You have a lot
of the strength conditioning stuff that you got to mandatory
be at. It's kind of on your own set and
you can kind of pick and choose and build the
off season. And there's a lot of things, like you said,
(10:35):
tight end, you have to do so much, especially in
this offense. You have to pass protect, you have to
run block, you have to run routes, and all of
those have intristacies that like you know, there's offensive lignment
for a reason they do that every time, and there's
receivers and we're kind of the mix.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Of both of those.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
And so I would say definitely the blocking there, I
can always get better at that kind of newer I
don't want to say newer in the position, but this
is fifth year playing tight end, So.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Just some of those little intristies of blocking that I'd
like to get better at.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Some of the route stuff too, like just being able
to open that route tree. They've asked me to do
a lot of cool things running routes wise and to
be able to expand on that and the off season
will be really cool.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
So to the blocking, it's not for lack of willingness
or stature. I mean you're built for this, right, no
one you know.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
There's just there's obviously technique and everything is especially as
the tight end you're blocking.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Usually the best athletes on the field, I would say it,
and the edges of the defensive ends.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Those guys are strong, fast, athletic, quick twitch. So the
balance of being able to bring it, I want to say,
it's definitely not the willingness or the stature, but just
some of the technique stuff and clean it up and
getting after it.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Sure you referenced your college days a little bit. I
think Oregon's at Iowa this week and a big one.
You and Alric have any words before.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
We just I thought it was this week for some reason.
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
They get two buys in college now, which is different.
But he said something to me, and we'll probably have
something dialed up.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Duck's gonna prevail the big.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Yeah, Ducks are gonna they're gonna roll.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
They got at Iowa, Minnesota, usc AT U DUB But
you and Dylan Gabriel keeping in touch. I know he
made an appearance at your special date this summer.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Yeah, I definitely keep up in touch with him whenever.
Just give him a call or I've just seen how
he's doing, so I definitely keep up with him.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Very cool. How do Dan Lanning and Sean McVay compare.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
They're very similar in a lot of ways.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Actually, I would say obviously Dan Lanning defensive guy coach
Bevey offensive guy. I'd say that's kind of a big difference.
But they're both young, full of full of a lot
of energy, and they bring the same thing. And I
think the biggest thing is like they care so much
about the people in the building. Is not always they're
obviously amazing at the XS and nose and that's that's
(12:50):
what they're there for, but they also care about the people.
They make sure it's a space you want to be at,
and I think they do both a great job of that.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
And so I've been blessed to have those guys.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
As coaches, and you know, just continue to have great
coaches in your corner. It's it's it's huge, and I
think it's great for development and being able to have
those guys.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Not everyone gets that opportunity.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
One of the Eugene driven topic. Okay, uniforms. I know
how special they are out there and how many kits
they have. What was your favorite? Do you have one?
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Probably the we did a throwback twenty twenty four, retro
like throwback with the actual like Donald duck on it
is and those were pretty cool, just kind of like
the throwback and they're just clean uniforms.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
But there's so many pick from.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
I got like twenty five jerseys in my closet that
I gotta keep, and talking to some of the guys,
they're always jealous about what we got and all the
gear we get.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
So how about here? Do you have a favorite Rams uniform?
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (13:47):
I think I just like the blue in the yellow pants.
I think just the classic blue blue blue.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
So what you wore against the Saints.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
Yeah, I think that is kind of a more classic ish.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Yeah, it's a good starting point. Many more to come.
Let's talk week ten. Just touch on San Francisco a bit,
not schematically, but you know, for your your recollection of
the loss against the Niners earlier this season, and what
you might take away from that.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
You know, we played him in a good game, and
I think we made a lot of mistakes that we
can clean up. That's always our focus is how we
can control what we can control, you know, and so
there's a lot of things that we can clean up
and make that game better in our favor.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Obviously, that's that's what you always want.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
But I think there's a lot of things we left
out there last time we played those guys, So we're looking.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Forward to anything on George Killy's kind of the gold
standard at your position, something you aspire to there.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Maybe, Yeah, I think just the way he's a workhorse,
the way he works in the run game and then
also running rounds. He's very explosive and gets to his
point as fast as possible. So I think he kind
of has some cool things that he does. I watched
them of his day for sure, first.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Time I can recall going to San Francisco with the
possibility of throwing more tight ends at them than they
can throw at us. You know, this show, as I
told you before we started, is about getting to know
you off the field. As well. Thank you for bringing
us inside your home now with your wife and your
kids being the dogs. What about you know, going back
to your upbringing, where should we start in terms of
(15:13):
your blue collar Colorado roots? What do you remember about
what brought you to where you are now?
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Yeah? I think that kind of hits it. Blue collar.
My dad's work super hard for everything that we've got.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
You know, he's worked concrete, landscaping, roofing, you name it.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
He's done.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
He's done all the blue collar jobs under the sun.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
And that's kind of how I's raised.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
All my family, all my brothers work blue collar jobs.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
My two of my brothers working age of BAC. One
of them is a.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
Plumber, one of them's electricians. So that's kind of how
we were raised. Is you know, get up, grab your
lunch pail, go to work every day and hard work
works is kind of something my dad's always taught me.
Very humble, very hard working man, and he's always provided
for a big family and done a lot to get
us to where we are now and have have kids
(16:00):
that said mess up to build a different generation of
our family.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Yeah, big family. How many siblings are we talking here?
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Terms?
Speaker 3 (16:06):
We got two older brothers, two younger brothers, so all boys,
five boys of them. And then we've always kind of
I got a lot of extended family that's lived with
us at some points. My grandma's lived with us. My
uncle is pretty much my dad's raised him, so he's
pretty much like a brother. And just we've always been
a close knit family. Whether that's the cousins or anybody
(16:27):
in there, it's always kind of all for one.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
And yeah, I've heard you reference some of the adversity
that that your parents' generation faced and how it's informed
your perspective on life to the extent that you're comfortable
disclosing some of that. What specifics can you offer us?
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Yeah, you know, we had some financial struggles as a family.
My dad worked super hard and at one point we
kind of got not kicked out of our house, but
we couldn't pay the rent. They kind of raised the
rent on us and couldn't pay it. So we moved
in with my aunt who was close with us, and uh,
we moved in a one bedroom there's four or five
(17:04):
of us one bedroom, lived on a cot.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
I had a Nike box with my stuff stuffed in
and that's kind of all we had.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
And we had each other, and so there's definitely some
financial struggles. But you asked me, you ask my brothers,
my family. That's some of the probably not my dad,
but some of the best times of our life. You know,
we're all there together and I just leaned on each
other knowing that we're gonna get through it. My dad
obviously worked super hard to get us out of that
circumstance and make sure that we had our own place
and had a room.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
And but it's.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Always been definitely a financial struggle. And my dad works
hard for all of his money. But there's a lot
of people in our family and a lot of things
that whether it's playing sports or anything like that, my
dad's always made sure, uh we need, we have.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
What we need.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
So and he's been instrumental in your football career too.
What has he meant as a coach not just a
father figure.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
Yeah, he's uh, he's a coach. And sometimes we joked
about it. He's a coach first. Sometimes uh no, but
he's a he's a great, a great coach. He's always
He's coached me pretty much my whole career until college.
He was the high school coach, different position, but was
always on the staff and he's cared so much about
I couldn't catch when I started playing football, and he
(18:13):
took me outside, throwing bullet passes at me, hit me
in the face, tell him crying, and you know, until
I caught the ball, you know, And it was hard
lessons and.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
He's hard on us, but it was all out of love.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
He's a great father and done so much, whether that's
making sure we had all the equipment we wanted or needed,
and making sure we were there practice early, doing extra
stuff and just kind of integrated that into my life
and of how to approach things, you know, and it
kind of boils down to hard work, works and making
sure you get extra work when you can.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
So yeah, I mean there's echoes of Aaron Donald and
things that you're saying, his ethos that I think, you know,
this place is saturated in. It must be such a
point of pride for your father to see you have
soft hands on Sundays and making catches and getting vertical
like you are, knowing the roots of Yeah, that all started.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
It's pretty funny cause I couldn't catch, and he wouldn't
let me play any position. This was I was cat
he wanted me to catch, and I played defensive end.
I couldn't catch, and I played, I played center. He
wouldn't let me play anything other than in the box
and the trenches. So I was a defensive end and
he was getting mad at me not being able to catch.
And so, uh, he definitely takes pride in it, and
(19:19):
uh he he loves us.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
See it translates to Sundays Terrence.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
How about your mother and how her life journey has
informed your perspective on now being a professional football player.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Yeah, I understand my mom's. Mom's been great. She's a
such a loving mother.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Uh, she's kind of you know, you have a hard
dad that's work hard, and you got the mom that's
kind of it's been stay at home mom, take care
of the kids, make sure we get to practice, make sure.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
We get to school. So I had a I'd said
the best of both worlds in that way. Uh.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
She's had some troubles in in her past as well,
and you know there there's kind of a lot of
that in my family history. And I think the biggest
thing is you met her, you'd never know any of this.
She's a god fearing woman. Both my mom and dad
but she's God fearing woman. I think that's kind of
the big thing, is just seeing her and her story
(20:07):
and then knowing some of her past and how much
God has changed her, and how much God has changed.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
My whole family.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
And being able to follow Christ and be able to
see the change that can happen when you follow follow
the Bible and you follow Jesus and you have Him
in your life. I think it's so transformative. And being
able to see that firsthand with my family, family members,
my mom included, and just seeing the trajectory that you
can get put on.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Whether how low you are or how high you are,
you know you always can be used in God's kingdom.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
So yeah, I'm hearing you through the lens of a
father right with a couple of young boys. Myself and
I spend so much of my day not wanting my
shortcomings to rub off on them, right, or my mistakes
to be passed down to them. From your standpoint, as
a child of parents who are admittedly imperfect as we
all are, what do you think the key was to
(21:00):
not have that go down a different path and maybe
an unproductive one instead of the one that you're on.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Yeah, I think it go point back to God. You know,
they're just they've done a great job of raising us
in the church, and just kind of that what Jesus
has done for us and the sacrifice and being able
to have those second opportunities and he died on the
cross for us to be able to have those opportunities
to be go back at it again, you know, get
up the righteous man false six times gets upseven.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
So just being able to see them.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
And be open about it and not fully hide everything
from us. But you know, they have showed us everything
that they've had, mistakes wise, and what.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
They've become now.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
And I think that's huge for us when we were kids,
being able to see our parents and the growth that
they've had, and they've always been loving, been there for
us no matter what. So I think at the end
of the day, they love us to the ends meet,
and so I think that's kind.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Of what prevails.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
I don't get the sense that you're someone who's necessarily
motivated by money because you found joy in that Nike.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Shoe box, right exactly.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
But if you are fortunate enough to have a long
sustained career in this business, you're gonna come out ahead. Financially,
what would it mean for you to give back and
to support those loved ones in your life and maybe
have not always had that luxury.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Yeah, I think that's a big part of it too.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
I would say I wanna be truly motivated by money,
but I definitely am just seeing where I've came from,
and like I said, we had great times and as
kids and family and that because we're together and as
a kid, you don't really think too much about the money.
But I know on the other end, my dad had
those struggles and that's a lot on him. So to
be able to change the trajectory of my family, my
(22:39):
family to come and be able to help out my
parents as well, and just kind of everyone in my
family who's worked so hard and they continue to get
up and work really hard for what they their money,
and be able to just whenever I can help out
and give back to those guys. Cause whether that's my
brothers today, like they they do so much for me,
whether that's just hopping on the game and you know,
(23:01):
just chopping it up, it's always a good time with
them or with my parents as well.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
So anyone yet to see you play that you're hoping
to bring to a game sooner rather than later.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
I don't think so.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Because my oldest brother has made a game, I'd like
him to get out to a game. Maybe one of
my uncles, who was kind of like our brother, he
hasn't made.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
A game, but they're out there almost.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Every game they can make, and we try to make
it happen for them to make as many games as
they can.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
So my mom and dad have been out to quite
a few games.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
All my brothers, the oldest has made a game. My
wife's family, they've made some of the games.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
I like.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Some of their siglingers come out too, because they're always fun.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Well, here's to so many opportunities. And thank you not
just for your time, but for your transparency of course.
You know these are things that I think help our
fan base celebrate not just your touchdowns, but your backstory too.
And we obviously want a long, long journey here in
Los Angeles for you at the top pick of this
draft class. So glad you're part of the mix now
making plays on the field, and thanks for giving us
(24:02):
a chance to get to know you off the field
as well.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
I really appreciate it. M h m hm.
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