September 21, 2020 • 39 mins
History has shown that the next NFL star can come from anywhere — and from any pick in the draft. DRAFTED, narrated by Keegan-Michael Key, takes a raw, honest look at what it takes to go from childhood dreamer to college star to entering the 2020 NFL draft. In the midst of this historic year and during an unprecedented pandemic, we follow eight athletes who recorded themselves in the days leading up to and through the draft, experiencing the big moment at home and surrounded by family. In the premiere episode, superstar OSU teammates Chase Young and Jeff Okudah, along with undersized Wake Forest cornerback Essang Bassey, are introduced. Over the course of DRAFTED's 12 episodes, we will hear all of their stories of sacrifice and humility, as well as what inspires them.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Drafted as a production of tree Fort Media, Clutch Sports Group,
and I Heart Radio. The first pick in the two
thousand twenty draft, and I finally got big calls for
I'm Ready. Let's Go, I'm kigging Michael Key, and welcome
to Draft It, where eight elite college football players tell
their own stories as they try to make the leap
(00:22):
from campus to the NFL. Over the next twelve episodes,
these athletes will mike themselves up and give us a raw,
honest look at what it takes to go from childhood
dreamer to college star to this year's NFL Draft. Let's go,
I'm Ready. No producers, directors or light shining down, no cameras.
This is unfiltered, real life, real emotion unfolding in real time.
(00:47):
We'll share in the moment when all their hard work
does or does not pay off, with millions of dollars
and countless years of sacrifice on the line. We'll hear
from their parents, I'm so grateful to God that he
came into our family, siblings. Just in the get go,
he just knew what he wanted to be an NFL athlete.
Teammates and coaches providing a rare candid look at what
it really takes to make it to the National Football League.
(01:09):
Every day I've been put in my body since six
The NFL Draft has been established to increase the competition
between teams by allowing the worst performing team to pick
the best available player. It is a fresh start for
the teams and the players, and the stakes couldn't be higher.
Teams make or break their future in the draft. The
(01:31):
cornerstones are franchises and Hall of Fame. Players can be
discovered at any point, not just in the prestigious first
round where millionaires are made. By far the biggest week
of my life, this is not the team that I
thought I would end up home. This year was unique
NFL Draft, unprecedented in the history of the sport. One
of the highlights of these players young lives happened during
(01:53):
the COVID pandemic we're all experiencing, and soon afterward, unrest
unfolded around the country. On the heels of Colin Kaepernick
becoming one of the faces of the new civil rights movement,
comes a new generation wrestling with a significant racial divide.
The league, through its commissioner, recently changed course, announcing its
(02:13):
openness to all forms of public protest. The athletes you'll
hear from are now living in a new normal, leaping
into public view with a new found platform as members
of the National Football League and taking on the responsibility
that comes with that. In April, they couldn't travel to
Vegas to receive their jersey from Roger Goodell or walk
across the stage at the moment they were picked and
(02:34):
here cheering fans. Instead, these athletes watched from a more
intimate setting, their homes in their hometowns Helenny. It is
here we find one of the best athletes in this class,
Chase Young, a defender so disruptive, opposing coach Lane Kiffin
claimed there are only ten guys like him in the world.
(02:56):
Others say he's a generational talent, but that was in college.
Now Chase has a new world to conquer, starting one
week from today at the draft. Because I used to
tell you, if you can twilt, I feel like that
little three today break help my muscles recover. I'm a
(03:19):
savage bad For the past year, Chase Young has listened
to the media tout him as a rare find with
potential to become one of the NFL's most prolific playmakers
on the defensive side of the ball. Of those defensive players,
(03:42):
as you mentioned, some studs that will be at the
top of the board in any draft year. It doesn't matter.
You're always gonna have Chase Young at or near the
top of that list with his pass Russia bloody. So
if you're looking for immediate NFL success, you fits the
description Nick and Joey Bosa Boots had insta. Chase has
(04:02):
the same elite skills and now has the same high
expectations to change the course of a game and a
franchise in the blink of an eye. Chase Young Ohio State,
let's get after it. If he is a football god,
if he is Bruce Smith combined with j Wine. But
he might live up to the Chase Young expectations. And
(04:23):
I think this guy's got my goods in them. At
six five inches, his long stride quickly eats up turf
and gets him to the opposing quarterback astonishingly fast. At
nearly two hundred and seventy pounds, his strength over powers
would be blockers. What he brings to the table is
in very high demand. I feel like my playing style,
I feel like I'm all around the physics end just
(04:45):
meaning that I believe I do it all. I can
play in the round game. I can rush to pastor
I can drop, I can cover a tight end back
if need be. I feel like I bring aggressiveness and
and just dog like mentality to the game of fo ball.
But that's I'm definitely try to carry to the next level.
Defensive line and associate head coach Larry Johnson recruited Chase
(05:08):
to Ohio State and work with him to develop the versatile,
disruptive defender we know today. Jay said, I are really
close and I started doing a recruiting process, and I
think what happened Chase and I was a real real conversation,
what do you want? What do you want to be?
How great a player he wants to be? And then
the more I gave him, the more you wanted. So
you knew you got a guy who was really talented,
(05:31):
but he's also a guy's very hungry. Most fans don't
see the work and dedication it takes to go from
that tall, fast, athletic eighteen year old recruit into a
nearly unblockable force of nature standing atop the draft. The
athletes we all call a natural are often the guys
spending the most time in the weight room, watching film
(05:51):
and constantly working to improve themselves. This big boat of
high school was arm over, chopped down and run. That
was a smooth and if that didn't work and he
was stuck, and when he got in trouble, he would
go back to that move. It's a freshman he goes
and trying to get knocked out into the sidelines, and
that's the chase. We're not using the high school movie.
We're not doing that. We have to get rid of
that thing. Telling a highly recruited player to get rid
(06:14):
of their most successful move doesn't always sit well. Habits
are hard to break, and some top players can get
by on their athleticism alone. And of his freshman year
going into spring football when we had more time to
spend one on one, just trying to continue to build
his two bucks. So what I would do is cut
those clips out, showing to him and said, this is
why it doesn't work at this level, and this is
(06:36):
why these techniques were Let me show you the boast's
brother doing the exact same thing. I'm telling you, we're
gonna train you to do it. Let me show it
to your live in situations see it and we'll spend
hours of watching video tape just how to be a
great player. And I think best the moment it's sold him,
like god, man, this this really works, coach, And the
one sophomore year he was a totally different player. But
(06:56):
I think, as we say at the house, stayble, coach
day is really drinking the kool a. My sophomore year,
you know I was sipping it. But after season that winning,
that's springing that summer, you know I was drinking. Guy,
that's all the time. So I think it goes out
to coach j extra work with him, film study got
real detailed and real specific and everything that he's asked
me to do. I mean he changed from a software
(07:17):
to junior like night and night, and that's what you
want to see happen. But he really did. It took
a bigger jump because he had the techniques so early
and he just worked on it. And that's something people
don't realize. Chase really wants to be the best, and
I think that took him through his high school career
obviously con for his college career. Despite missing two games
due to suspension last season, Young broke the Ohio state
(07:38):
single season sack record and led the nation with sixteen
and a half quarterback takedowns. He became the first defensive
player since two thousand and twelve to be named a
finalist for the Heisman Trophy, but in the end lost
out to Joe Burrow, a player he's competing with to
(07:59):
be the top pick. He be the number one overall pack,
I think he should be a numbering draft pick, and
I think he will be the number one draft pick. Um.
He is the most dominant player at his position in
all of college football. Mock draft boards and pundits have
the phenomen going either first overall to Cincinnati, number two
to Washington, or third to the Detroit Lions. But what
(08:19):
does all this hype and the prospect of being picked
in the top three mean to Chase in his family
as they await the draft from home and do like
this shirt dog o, huh uh yeah, don't fit you.
(08:46):
You're gonna be good in the minute. You're gonna be
good in a minute. To be patient, be patient. You're
gonna be fine in a minute. You're gonna be able
to buy me and sure right now in quarantine, it's
all about being patient and focusing on what the young
(09:07):
playmaker can control. I just celebrated my twenty one birthday
with my family and a few friends and just chilling
the house. And I'm just just spend some time together,
spending time with his friends and family, waiting for his
name to be called, preparing his body for the upcoming season.
He said, block out the noise, and we said, basically,
(09:28):
do what we do. Basically what's at three or five?
Getting shown chap getting my ship back. Yeah, I'm telling
you that first we get cat when I'm good and
I'm when I'm with it. It's a rap, no, I
(09:49):
know that. You know they told me. You know what
they said though they said, hey, nah, that's it. Say
he na full centistra cool, cool, but analystle some mind
(10:16):
and then general say order pass where he's got likens.
He's like, I'm sure Chase break to Tama. Chase's former
Ohio state teammate, Nick Bosa, led all rookies with nine
sacks last season. Already he's setting his sights on surpassing that,
going after the rookie record for sacks set by Javon
(10:38):
Curse at fourteen and a half. It's this dogged pursuit
of greatness and his pursuit of opposing quarterbacks that led
to Chase's nickname the Predator. He's gonna be expected to
be Jadeveon Clowney's gonna be expected to be Miles Garrett
to Leo Mack that great outside passed Russia. And if
he's picked first overall by the Bengal, Chase will play
(11:01):
only a few hours from Ohio States campus. If you
go second to Washington, Young will play home games just
twenty minutes away from the community he grew up in
Upper Marlboro, Maryland. It will definitely be honored. You know,
that's the team I've been growing up watching my whole life,
and um, you know, to be able to go play, uh,
you know, for him right in my backyard will definitely
(11:22):
definitely be a blessing just because you know, my family
will be close and uh, he come to see me play.
Chase's family has played a major role in his life,
sharing their work ethic, commitment to detail, and even their athleticism.
Young's father, Greg was a basketball player at his uncle
Bernard Joseph, played defensive end for Virginia Tech. Families were
big for me. Um, you know, just people that you
(11:45):
know that that that always have your back, and you
know I try to keep those people as close as possible.
I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them. You know,
they raised me, made me, help me become the man
I am today on end on the field, and they
he deserved to, you know, be a little priderful because
they were key people, but to help me get to
swear on the day. And you know, I can't say
(12:07):
I will be here without him. Growing up in Maryland,
he had a lot of off field interests while attending St.
Vincent Pelate High School, getting money with you. He was
a talented singer and musician. As I grew up, my
mom will put me in course um and things like that,
(12:28):
so you sound pretty good. But as he got older,
the Predator knew his true calling wouldn't involve his voice
or instruments. I had a lot of James would just
be one of the best football players ever to put
a game. My dream was to be and one of
the best players in high school, the best play in
state in Maryland. They all came to reality. As the
(12:49):
draft approaches, Chase carries heavy expectations teams and fans and
visioned greatness from him, and the bar is as high
as it can be. I hear a lot of teams
um that are are interested wherever I go. I'm gonna
put my best be four. Some prospects struggle under the
weight of this immense pressure. Some even break completely. It's
(13:10):
twenty one year old Chase ready for what the football
world and tens of millions of dollars in salary will
soon demand. Does he fear not living up to fans
who expect an immediate game changing talent whereas journey will
take him? We don't know. But what we do know
is that journey begins the moment in the draft when
his name is finally called. She got someunthing that they
(13:31):
are no, she be my nuh uh h, I don't
(13:52):
want to be a Life as the Predator is a
very different experience from what most draft hopeful Let's go through.
For the hundreds of prospects not at the top of
the NFL draft food chain, the process is filled with doubt, anxiety,
and what can feel like a never ending series of questions.
(14:14):
We'll be right back. Huh hey is saying, yeah, Hey,
this is Birch Trud the lines. How are you doing
how are you. I'm doing good? And did I say
that right? I don't want to. I've got a funny name,
(14:35):
so I don't mess up your name. No, yeah, you did.
You're good? Okay, all right, well now i'll be quick.
I'm sorrying across the late. So is this number going
to be your draft day number two? Yes? Yes, okay,
it's easy. Um, all right? Have you had any injuries
since the Senior Bowl? No? Um? And he also instances
most like Forest guys do, but in the alstiled incidence. No, no, okay,
(15:02):
I answer all right. No, I appreciate the time, man,
And good luck this weekend. I know it's been a
nice long four month interview, but it'll be good to
have a team to be working towards somebody, so no doubt. Yeah,
good luck with this process though, and good luck this weekend.
All right, thanks fare meet, He sang Bassie, an undersized
(15:24):
five ft ten cornerback from wake Forest who's projected to
be drafted in the mid to late rounds next week.
I'm me saying, you're saying Bassie from Columbus Georgia. Uh, Georgia, boy,
Columbus Georgia sits about one miles southwest of Atlanta, in
a state where high school games and college recruiting are
particularly fierce. A lot of people question my size. I'm
(15:46):
smaller guy or whatever, But you know, that's never ever
mattered to me when I was playing ball, Like, I
never even knew my size was an issue in my
game until this whole draft process started, because I've always
been the type of player to you know, attack anybody
who's who linds up in front of me. It's never
never backed down from anything. Despite the upcoming draft being
touted as the year of the wide receiver, with a
(16:08):
dozen top rated pass catchers expected to be selected in
the first two rounds, someone has to cover all these
new weapons in the league on defense, and so it's
a sayings athleticism, aggressive nose for the ball, and four
four six speed that caught the attention of scouts. It
is four seasons in the a c C he totaled
two hundred and twenty seven tackles, five interceptions, and forty
(16:31):
five broken up passes, lofty numbers for someone playing his position.
My hope on draft day is that my name gets
called flat out. That's my biggest concern and for my
family to you know see, see that happened for me
and you know know that all the support they put
into me and I was worth it that feeling for
them as well. For many players, the journey to the
(16:52):
NFL is a group effort. It's a collective dream about
more than just a career playing football. This is especially
true for a saying span L. They're Nigerian immigrants, which
isn't too unusual in the NFL. But their story is
about to go get my brother to make sure he
(17:12):
comes out to eat dinner. So a lot of times
when he's hungry, you know, he doesn't he can't communicate
that he's hungry. So we you know, we kind of know. Uh,
he suffers from autism. He has autism. Um, he's been
in the house with us, living with us, you know,
my whole life. I've seen him grow up and you
(17:35):
know I had to kind of take care of him
being the younger brother my whole life. You're gonna sit
with him. Let me give you a naphtew make sure
because he might end up just not eating the you
can make sure he is the yeah, at least the
rank here You're yeah, I'm you are there. You go
(18:16):
so I'm almost saying he's not allowed upstairs for a
minute because he was kind of jumping around screaming the
other day and he like accidentally bumped in one of
our cabinets and broke one of the cabinets. So she's
still kind of mad about that. So he's very, very hyperactive.
When people think of autism, you know, they think of
(18:38):
like functional, they can do this that. But he, you know,
he's I'm sure you can probably hear he's down there
like yelling and screaming, doing his own thing. But now
I love him, and he's actually a big reason why
I play football and one of the things that that
keeps me going. So, you know, everybody in my family
(18:59):
kind of talking. My brothers in medical school because of
my brother. My dad's a doctor obviously takes care of
people every day. My mom as a teacher, she special ed,
you know, that's kind of her thing. Um sisters and nurse,
so everybody's kind of has those, you know, keep him
in mind with their careers and with me being the
athlete of the family. You know, he can't play sports
(19:21):
organized sports, so that's kind of you know how I
expressed my you know, thinking of him. You know how
how the impact he has on me just you know,
I played because he can't, and I eventually want to
be able to take care of him, you know, give
him the best care that he needs. And you know,
it's really cool to see how my whole family kind
of rallies around him, and you know, he impacts all
(19:45):
of us so much so and I know football and
this this path I'm on and everything I'm doing. Uh,
that's kind of been one of the main driving factors
for well. The Saying's brother has been an inspiration pulling
him towards his NFL dream. He's not alone. A other
fource He's also been pushing the Sayings journey forward from
behind the scenes. My biggest fan is definitely my mom.
(20:07):
Definitely my mom. For the past two years, actually three years,
she made it to like every football game home in
a way. Um she she like takes off work. She'll
take off work on the Friday and comes to come
to the game. Hi, good afternoon. My name is Omar
Bassie um A San Bassie's mother. I always have mixed
(20:28):
feelings when I talk about this because San was the
baby of the family and personally I wanted a girl
I already had two boys before him. So when the
dad told me it was another um male, I was like, oh,
But then I immediately asked God for forgiveness because I
(20:48):
was a little bit worried on how to raise three
males in the same home. Um. I kind of initially
had a mixed feelings, but I'm so grateful to God
that he came into a family. She's always been been
my biggest fan. She's always been the one that went
to all my games in Little League Peewee. She took
(21:08):
me to all my math tournaments, my whatever I was
doing in school. She was on me from my academic stuff.
She was always at my awards ceremonies. She keeps all
my trophies, everything I have. So it's definitely my mom
that I'll say is my number one fan. Football is
(21:29):
his life. That was his statement, And if this is
what it is, we have no choice. You've done all
that we expected of a child. However, I never had
any point in time let him slack with the education.
His high school coaches will tell you how many times
I've tried him to take him off whenever he had
(21:50):
a beat, I mean, or he didn't turn an assignment.
I just didn't want him to think football is it.
I've always tried to make him under Then you have
to have something to lean back on in case this
doesn't work. There's a saying in sports that you can't
teach size. For the Chase Youngs of the world, this
works in their favor. For many others, like a saying
(22:12):
it raises a lot of doubt, teams have been known
to shy away from smaller players for fear of injury,
that their production won't translate, or that they simply can't
match up with bigger, stronger opponents. Eight of the top
receivers expected to be drafted this year or at least
four to six inches taller than a saying that alone
puts his draft ability in serious jeopardy. We'll be right back.
(22:43):
Hold so our according stuff, am I just hold on.
If there's one prospect who never doubted his place in football,
it's Jeff Okuda. Jeff was Chase Young's teammated stayed and
a well known cornerback prospect, Jevo Kuta one Dallas, Texas,
(23:05):
Ohio State University cornerback. This is the same position as
saying place and Jeff's role on defense isn't all he
and his sister Karen have in common with a Saying. Hi,
this is Karen and Kuda um So Jeffrey Ni where Nigerian.
Both our parents are Nigerian, so my mom was born
in Nigeria and we have that background. That's how we
(23:26):
were raised. With both Jeff and a Saying being brought
up by Nigerian immigrants and both playing cornerback, it's difficult
not to compare the two. Jeff played three years in college,
the Saying played four. On paper, Saying's collegiate stats dwarf
Jeff's on field accomplishments, but stats can be deceiving, especially
for NFL draft picks. My family calls me Jeff, but
(23:48):
you know, Ohio State, everyone's like, you know, Jeff's a
little bit boring. One of the colleges was like like today,
you're not gonna be Jeff, You're gonna be halfan you know, soday,
and everyone started going crazy and then everyone start saying
freef a and then from there it just kind of
grew having the fans. They just loved it so stuck
with it. I don't know, it's strange hearing everyone call
(24:09):
him Jeff for half and all this stuff. I've just
always known him as my baby brother. Like it's weird
to see him come as far as he has. I've
just always known him as someone who I have to
protect and just someone who I just feel need to
do everything for. The days of his older sister needing
to protect little brother Jeff are long gone. Jeff is
now six ft one, two d and five pounds and
(24:30):
an almost certain top ten pick in the NFL Draft.
His career stats are low eighty eight tackles, three interceptions,
twenty one passes broken up. Due to a shocking reason,
he is good at football. He is so good in fact,
opposing teams essentially choose not to play against him. Most
opponents simply didn't attempt to pass to the receivers he defended,
(24:50):
an extraordinary sign of respect in football. I think I
worked really hard on just um. I mean, people always
just saying that, you know, just being a five star
and all that, Uh, things are kind of easy. Five
star recruits are the top rated players coming out of
high school into college. This year, across the entire country,
(25:11):
only twenty eight players received the five star distinction. I know,
for me, just behind the scenes, I put a lot
of work even to to become a five star, to
to go to a house stay be successful. So a
lot lot of sacrifices have been made. I'm gonna record
while we just run for a little bit by talking
(25:32):
like you're just talking types just they wanted those have
like like everyday lifestyle type ship ready tricky as terrain.
All right, I'm fly running uphill, but dagon for all
(25:56):
types of swing? Is it running up with it? Like
we walk into the hill, He's still there. Twice second,
(26:16):
here's Jeff's former college defensive coordinator and associate head coach,
Greg Siano on those sacrifices. It was nothing uncommon in
the middle of end of February to drive in and
be doing something Saturday afternoon as a coach, and then
you hear some some noise and you walk out there
and he's out there working technique with one of his buddies,
you know, at a time when most college kids are
(26:37):
laying around playing video games. I mean, he was just
that driven. I just remember Jeffrey from the get go
saying I love football and I want to be NFL star.
At the end of the day, I'm I'm gonna know
that I've made it when I can take care of
my mom and myself. So just from the get go,
he just knew what he wanted it was to be
an NFL um athlete. You can just tell he was
someone that how the goal that he wanted to achieve.
(26:57):
And it was I guess strange seeing it in like
a sixth grader when I would see it, But now
that we're at this point, I just think it's so crazy.
So how has this sixth grader come within one week
to fulfilling his prophecy? How did middle school Jeff turn
into Jeff the five star recruit? What was so unique
about his family and upbringing? And like the Ebo, which
(27:18):
is what my parents are at the Ebo mindset in
the way as you go to school, you know miss
school you get as the Ebo are an ethnic group
native to southern Nigeria. This is the culture Jeff and
Karen's mom Marie grew up in and like is saying,
in his household, Jeff and Karen were raised with the
same high expectations in the Ebo. There's no such thing
(27:39):
as like a B or a C. Like why are
you're going to school to get as to be a doctor,
to be a pharmacist, to be a nurse, to be
some type of accountant, and what other points is there
for you to go to university than to be those
set things. I don't really think football or some type
of sport is like a career to most let's say
(27:59):
Nigerian something like that, Like that's not a job, that's
a hobby, it's not a job. And that's a lot
of times where Jeffrey and I were kind of like
in our own mindset, free speed way of thinking, which
kind of we got into trouble for that here and
there for being so different. But remember him telling my
mom he was gonna go to the NFLM I know,
it gives me chills just to think about. I remember
when he would say something that he wants to do
(28:20):
and regardless of what it will come to you as
like a cost or work not, he'll just go ahead
and fight for that. I'm just so proud of him.
Jeff's level of focus is nearly unprecedented in college football.
Over the last two seasons, no opposing player topped fifty
receiving yards against him in a game this season. He
didn't have a single holding or past interference penalty, and
(28:42):
he was only beat for one touchdown the entire year.
He wasn't perfect that, he certainly was close. I think
it's just my technique. Um. I try to consider myself
a technician because I know that. I mean, when all
when everyone's athleticism fades away, it's like all you're left
with is your technique. So try to sharpen my sword
every chance that I can get. It's not only technique
(29:03):
and physical ability that separate Jeff as a dominant player.
He's as mentally strong as anyone in the draft, thanks
in part to the few people he could lean on
the most. Just thinking about who has stand out to
me is just my aunt Jane. Um, what she did
something I'll forever be appreciative of her. For. My name
(29:24):
is Jane Bubudo. I am Jeff And so Jeff was
a student of mine in middle school. He happened to
be having a problem at the time. I happened to
be in the office when the teacher that I was
having like a like a mouth altercation. And so the
(29:45):
teacher came into report to the dean and say, hey, um, Jeffrey,
kuda no distracting my classroom. This was an eighth grade
you know. He had like we had an African last name,
and me being Nigerian, I took like more interest to
know why, you know, this child was acting the way
teacher had described it to be acting. I said, hey,
(30:05):
what's going on with you? He he kind of told
me what was going on with him. He didn't have
I think a novel in the class or a textbook
or something, and and he felt a teacher was calling
him out. So I said, okay, can you tell me
why you don't have this textbook or this novels? And
he said, because we can't afford it because of how
(30:30):
sick the mom Marie was. What Jane didn't know then
is that Jeff's mom, Marie, had been in and out
of the hospital since Jeff was two years old. And
I said, okay, what do your parents do? And he said,
my mom does not have a job. And he said,
my mom is a nurse. And I said, okay, your
(30:51):
mom is a nurse. How come she doesn't, you know,
kind of help out, you know. And then at that
point he broke down and said crying, and he said,
my mom has cancer and I said that crying too.
I purchased the book for him. I called my husband
and said, hey, I had this story today that just
breaks my heart, you know, and there's no where I
(31:13):
can come home if I don't go find this lady
and find out where she is. So I reach out
to the mom almost immediately, and the mom I just
kind of told me her story and told me she
was very sick, she was alone and all that. From
that moment forward, Jane Obodon became aunt Jane, a permanent
fixture in Jeff and Karen's lives and their eventual guardian
(31:36):
and caretaker later in life, though they had some issues
to sort out. First. Jeff loves football. Jeff thinks eat
and reads football. I wasn't a football fan. I didn't
like football. So when Jeff came to me nine grade
and said, hey, Auntie, I wanted to support me, and
I said, oh my god. I said, Jeff, I don't
like that sport is violent, you know, all the head injuries.
(31:59):
And I remember him saying that and Janity to support me.
I'm gonna put my best in this spot, and I'm
not going to disappoint you. Every d one school out there,
it's gonna offer this scholarship. That's my goal. Man. I'm
going to walk towards it. But reactually, I think in
terms of jeffything you want to be an NFL athlete
was just yeah, okay, that was me when I was younger.
(32:23):
It was okay, if we all want to be things,
blah blah blah. And I know like we hear that,
like kids say, I want to be a doctor, I
want to be a firefight and stuff like that. But
I think it wasn't until high school that I really
start to see what everyone else was seeing in terms
of technique, inform and just drive, like this kid was
actually wanting to be an NFL athlete. Um, I guess
(32:45):
I realized how good he was. I just say maybe
between his sophomore and his junior year. So when the
scholarship started coming in, that's when I kind of understood
how special he was and how much walk he had
put in to this game. So he also likes to
please me. I know that he likes to make me happy.
(33:06):
I told him that he he's great to have to
be up so we can get his Stanford scholarship. By
time Stanford Kim, and I think he already had like
fifteen do you want schools and including Ohio State here
again it's former Ohio State defensive coordinator and associate head
coach Greg Siano. He was part of the team trying
to recruit Jeff the first couple of times that I
(33:27):
went to his high school to see him practice at
South Grand Prairie High School. I mean, you watch him
when they were doing one on one pass coverage. He's
just an intense competitor. He has great length and really
really fine speed. He he wants to be the best
he can be, striving for perfection, and that jumps out
at you very quickly. When you're watching practice. You just
(33:49):
got the sense that he was a guy that was
a special player, and that if we could somehow lure
him out of the state of Texas and get him
to come to Ohio State, that that would be a
real big feather in our camp at Ohio State. Over time,
Jeffanette Jane narrowed down the choice to two schools. So
he called me and said, hey, you know, we got
(34:10):
the Stanford scholarship, and I was very happy. I tried
very hard at the time to make him see the need,
you know. I said, hey, so you can play football
at Stanford and it's great academy. I said it's almost
a half million education for free. Jeffrey, how could you
not want that? He had the grades, he had, the
g p A, he had everything. Jeff is very intelligent.
(34:31):
If it wasn't a football player, he might as well
be a doctor or an engineer. I tried very much
convincing to go to Stanford, and I said, how can
you choose Ohio State over Stanford? He said, if I
go to Stanford, I know it would be easy for
me to start. He said, Ohio State has a lot
of five star recrewits. I will have to to put
(34:54):
in the work to get on the field at Ohio State.
Under Stanford is a good school ANTI but I don't
think Stanford has what it takes to prepare me. I
want to be a professional football play and I think
Ohio State would be prepenny for that. Former os U
coach Siano one of the things that I think attracted
Jeff so much was a lineage of cornerback play that
(35:17):
was pretty special. Right, So Jeff came there expecting to
be the next of a line of really fine corners.
He was going to be able to play top level
football against great competition, not only on Saturdays in the
big ten conference, but also within his own program every
day in practice, and that was something that was very
(35:38):
important to Jeff. That he had an environment where he
could be the best that he could be. And that's
what attracted me to him. So I think the combination
of of maybe not quite a Stanford education, but a
good education coupled with elite level football in an elite
level football conference, that was something that Jeff couldn't pass up.
(35:59):
It's very intention now, he's very deliberate. He knows what
he's doing. So at some point he said, Auntie, if
you keep insisting that I go to Standford, I will,
but I want you to know that if I don't
pan out to be what I always dreamed to be,
it will break my heart. So at that point my
(36:21):
husband and I said, you know what, will let him
go to wherever he wants to go because he does
not cease to amaze us, my husband and I and
the whole family, and will always come back. And said,
oh my god, Jeff's right, or Jeffer was right. It's
almost like he sat down and just kind of credited
where he was going to be. This kid told me
(36:42):
when he was a freshman. He said, Auntie, just going
and support me. Every single d one school in America
is gonna want me. I'm gonna work that hart and
I'm gonna make it happen. It's just amazing for a kid,
no his age, He's a child now, This eleven year
(37:04):
olds fateful predictions are one week away from finally becoming true,
proving himself right to aunt Jane once again, this time
on the biggest stage in football, draft Day, the whole
draft day experience. So I obviously that's a real big
blessing because his guys have put in the same amount
of work, But I mean, they don't have the same
(37:25):
chance to, you know, get drafted, So I haven't really
seen it as a pressure thing. The question is how
high will Jeff be chosen and what happens after he
reaches the goal he set so long ago. Can he
maintain his laser focus? Has it become an ingrained, unalterable
part of who Jeff Okuda is When you can when
you play cornerback at the House State, the standard is
(37:46):
be a lockdown cornerback, So on anything less than that,
it's kind of seen as a disappointment and the eyes
of the guys who played before. So I think when
you have hardhself to that standard, then UM, going first
round or just getting drafted high, it kind of just
comes along with it, even if you weren't striving for that. UM,
listen to me a moment. I never forget coming up
(38:09):
on this season of drafted, But I just got to
my retreat house that I'm going by NFL draft thing
at I'll be fully expected you to be a top
teaming for the top seven tick. I get butterflies in
my I mean I actually started to cry. I was
crying because I felt like I did something wrong. I
just had to be strong. You know, having your dad
as a coach is no walk in the park at all.
(38:31):
We used to have to walk around with his birth
certificate because they couldn't believe he was the age and
the size that he was. I remember, just as a
little kid. This is something I've been dreaming him out,
like a promise to myself. You wanna be the best,
you gotta be the best. You gotta go take it,
you gotta take what you want. I'm so excited to
ask you here. Let me go before I'm ready to go.
(38:57):
Let's go. Ye. And that's what drafting means me It's
a Chance. Drafted as a production of tree Fort Media,
Clutch Sports Group, and I Heart Radio. The executive producers
(39:20):
are Kelly Garner, Lisa Ammerman, Eric slot, Seawan to Tone
l Key, and me Keegan Michael Key. The series is
produced and written by Eric Winer. Jared Brom is our
coordinating producer. Tom Monahan is our senior audio engineer. Mixed
and edited by Steven Johnson, additional production help from Tim Shower,
June Rosen, and Hayley Mandelberg. For transcripts of the show
(39:42):
and more information on Drafted, go to tree Fort dot fm,
and for more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the
I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows.
Drafted as a production of tree Fort Media, Clutch Sports Group,
and I Heart Radio. The first pick in the two
thousand twenty draft, and I finally got big calls for
I'm Ready. Let's Go, I'm kigging Michael Key, and welcome
to Draft It, where eight elite college football players tell
their own stories as they try to make the leap
(00:22):
from campus to the NFL. Over the next twelve episodes,
these athletes will mike themselves up and give us a raw,
honest look at what it takes to go from childhood
dreamer to college star to this year's NFL Draft. Let's go,
I'm Ready. No producers, directors or light shining down, no cameras.
This is unfiltered, real life, real emotion unfolding in real time.
(00:47):
We'll share in the moment when all their hard work
does or does not pay off, with millions of dollars
and countless years of sacrifice on the line. We'll hear
from their parents, I'm so grateful to God that he
came into our family, siblings. Just in the get go,
he just knew what he wanted to be an NFL athlete.
Teammates and coaches providing a rare candid look at what
it really takes to make it to the National Football League.
(01:09):
Every day I've been put in my body since six
The NFL Draft has been established to increase the competition
between teams by allowing the worst performing team to pick
the best available player. It is a fresh start for
the teams and the players, and the stakes couldn't be higher.
Teams make or break their future in the draft. The
(01:31):
cornerstones are franchises and Hall of Fame. Players can be
discovered at any point, not just in the prestigious first
round where millionaires are made. By far the biggest week
of my life, this is not the team that I
thought I would end up home. This year was unique
NFL Draft, unprecedented in the history of the sport. One
of the highlights of these players young lives happened during
(01:53):
the COVID pandemic we're all experiencing, and soon afterward, unrest
unfolded around the country. On the heels of Colin Kaepernick
becoming one of the faces of the new civil rights movement,
comes a new generation wrestling with a significant racial divide.
The league, through its commissioner, recently changed course, announcing its
(02:13):
openness to all forms of public protest. The athletes you'll
hear from are now living in a new normal, leaping
into public view with a new found platform as members
of the National Football League and taking on the responsibility
that comes with that. In April, they couldn't travel to
Vegas to receive their jersey from Roger Goodell or walk
across the stage at the moment they were picked and
(02:34):
here cheering fans. Instead, these athletes watched from a more
intimate setting, their homes in their hometowns Helenny. It is
here we find one of the best athletes in this class,
Chase Young, a defender so disruptive, opposing coach Lane Kiffin
claimed there are only ten guys like him in the world.
(02:56):
Others say he's a generational talent, but that was in college.
Now Chase has a new world to conquer, starting one
week from today at the draft. Because I used to
tell you, if you can twilt, I feel like that
little three today break help my muscles recover. I'm a
(03:19):
savage bad For the past year, Chase Young has listened
to the media tout him as a rare find with
potential to become one of the NFL's most prolific playmakers
on the defensive side of the ball. Of those defensive players,
(03:42):
as you mentioned, some studs that will be at the
top of the board in any draft year. It doesn't matter.
You're always gonna have Chase Young at or near the
top of that list with his pass Russia bloody. So
if you're looking for immediate NFL success, you fits the
description Nick and Joey Bosa Boots had insta. Chase has
(04:02):
the same elite skills and now has the same high
expectations to change the course of a game and a
franchise in the blink of an eye. Chase Young Ohio State,
let's get after it. If he is a football god,
if he is Bruce Smith combined with j Wine. But
he might live up to the Chase Young expectations. And
(04:23):
I think this guy's got my goods in them. At
six five inches, his long stride quickly eats up turf
and gets him to the opposing quarterback astonishingly fast. At
nearly two hundred and seventy pounds, his strength over powers
would be blockers. What he brings to the table is
in very high demand. I feel like my playing style,
I feel like I'm all around the physics end just
(04:45):
meaning that I believe I do it all. I can
play in the round game. I can rush to pastor
I can drop, I can cover a tight end back
if need be. I feel like I bring aggressiveness and
and just dog like mentality to the game of fo ball.
But that's I'm definitely try to carry to the next level.
Defensive line and associate head coach Larry Johnson recruited Chase
(05:08):
to Ohio State and work with him to develop the versatile,
disruptive defender we know today. Jay said, I are really
close and I started doing a recruiting process, and I
think what happened Chase and I was a real real conversation,
what do you want? What do you want to be?
How great a player he wants to be? And then
the more I gave him, the more you wanted. So
you knew you got a guy who was really talented,
(05:31):
but he's also a guy's very hungry. Most fans don't
see the work and dedication it takes to go from
that tall, fast, athletic eighteen year old recruit into a
nearly unblockable force of nature standing atop the draft. The
athletes we all call a natural are often the guys
spending the most time in the weight room, watching film
(05:51):
and constantly working to improve themselves. This big boat of
high school was arm over, chopped down and run. That
was a smooth and if that didn't work and he
was stuck, and when he got in trouble, he would
go back to that move. It's a freshman he goes
and trying to get knocked out into the sidelines, and
that's the chase. We're not using the high school movie.
We're not doing that. We have to get rid of
that thing. Telling a highly recruited player to get rid
(06:14):
of their most successful move doesn't always sit well. Habits
are hard to break, and some top players can get
by on their athleticism alone. And of his freshman year
going into spring football when we had more time to
spend one on one, just trying to continue to build
his two bucks. So what I would do is cut
those clips out, showing to him and said, this is
why it doesn't work at this level, and this is
(06:36):
why these techniques were Let me show you the boast's
brother doing the exact same thing. I'm telling you, we're
gonna train you to do it. Let me show it
to your live in situations see it and we'll spend
hours of watching video tape just how to be a
great player. And I think best the moment it's sold him,
like god, man, this this really works, coach, And the
one sophomore year he was a totally different player. But
(06:56):
I think, as we say at the house, stayble, coach
day is really drinking the kool a. My sophomore year,
you know I was sipping it. But after season that winning,
that's springing that summer, you know I was drinking. Guy,
that's all the time. So I think it goes out
to coach j extra work with him, film study got
real detailed and real specific and everything that he's asked
me to do. I mean he changed from a software
(07:17):
to junior like night and night, and that's what you
want to see happen. But he really did. It took
a bigger jump because he had the techniques so early
and he just worked on it. And that's something people
don't realize. Chase really wants to be the best, and
I think that took him through his high school career
obviously con for his college career. Despite missing two games
due to suspension last season, Young broke the Ohio state
(07:38):
single season sack record and led the nation with sixteen
and a half quarterback takedowns. He became the first defensive
player since two thousand and twelve to be named a
finalist for the Heisman Trophy, but in the end lost
out to Joe Burrow, a player he's competing with to
(07:59):
be the top pick. He be the number one overall pack,
I think he should be a numbering draft pick, and
I think he will be the number one draft pick. Um.
He is the most dominant player at his position in
all of college football. Mock draft boards and pundits have
the phenomen going either first overall to Cincinnati, number two
to Washington, or third to the Detroit Lions. But what
(08:19):
does all this hype and the prospect of being picked
in the top three mean to Chase in his family
as they await the draft from home and do like
this shirt dog o, huh uh yeah, don't fit you.
(08:46):
You're gonna be good in the minute. You're gonna be
good in a minute. To be patient, be patient. You're
gonna be fine in a minute. You're gonna be able
to buy me and sure right now in quarantine, it's
all about being patient and focusing on what the young
(09:07):
playmaker can control. I just celebrated my twenty one birthday
with my family and a few friends and just chilling
the house. And I'm just just spend some time together,
spending time with his friends and family, waiting for his
name to be called, preparing his body for the upcoming season.
He said, block out the noise, and we said, basically,
(09:28):
do what we do. Basically what's at three or five?
Getting shown chap getting my ship back. Yeah, I'm telling
you that first we get cat when I'm good and
I'm when I'm with it. It's a rap, no, I
(09:49):
know that. You know they told me. You know what
they said though they said, hey, nah, that's it. Say
he na full centistra cool, cool, but analystle some mind
(10:16):
and then general say order pass where he's got likens.
He's like, I'm sure Chase break to Tama. Chase's former
Ohio state teammate, Nick Bosa, led all rookies with nine
sacks last season. Already he's setting his sights on surpassing that,
going after the rookie record for sacks set by Javon
(10:38):
Curse at fourteen and a half. It's this dogged pursuit
of greatness and his pursuit of opposing quarterbacks that led
to Chase's nickname the Predator. He's gonna be expected to
be Jadeveon Clowney's gonna be expected to be Miles Garrett
to Leo Mack that great outside passed Russia. And if
he's picked first overall by the Bengal, Chase will play
(11:01):
only a few hours from Ohio States campus. If you
go second to Washington, Young will play home games just
twenty minutes away from the community he grew up in
Upper Marlboro, Maryland. It will definitely be honored. You know,
that's the team I've been growing up watching my whole life,
and um, you know, to be able to go play, uh,
you know, for him right in my backyard will definitely
(11:22):
definitely be a blessing just because you know, my family
will be close and uh, he come to see me play.
Chase's family has played a major role in his life,
sharing their work ethic, commitment to detail, and even their athleticism.
Young's father, Greg was a basketball player at his uncle
Bernard Joseph, played defensive end for Virginia Tech. Families were
big for me. Um, you know, just people that you
(11:45):
know that that that always have your back, and you
know I try to keep those people as close as possible.
I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them. You know,
they raised me, made me, help me become the man
I am today on end on the field, and they
he deserved to, you know, be a little priderful because
they were key people, but to help me get to
swear on the day. And you know, I can't say
(12:07):
I will be here without him. Growing up in Maryland,
he had a lot of off field interests while attending St.
Vincent Pelate High School, getting money with you. He was
a talented singer and musician. As I grew up, my
mom will put me in course um and things like that,
(12:28):
so you sound pretty good. But as he got older,
the Predator knew his true calling wouldn't involve his voice
or instruments. I had a lot of James would just
be one of the best football players ever to put
a game. My dream was to be and one of
the best players in high school, the best play in
state in Maryland. They all came to reality. As the
(12:49):
draft approaches, Chase carries heavy expectations teams and fans and
visioned greatness from him, and the bar is as high
as it can be. I hear a lot of teams
um that are are interested wherever I go. I'm gonna
put my best be four. Some prospects struggle under the
weight of this immense pressure. Some even break completely. It's
(13:10):
twenty one year old Chase ready for what the football
world and tens of millions of dollars in salary will
soon demand. Does he fear not living up to fans
who expect an immediate game changing talent whereas journey will
take him? We don't know. But what we do know
is that journey begins the moment in the draft when
his name is finally called. She got someunthing that they
(13:31):
are no, she be my nuh uh h, I don't
(13:52):
want to be a Life as the Predator is a
very different experience from what most draft hopeful Let's go through.
For the hundreds of prospects not at the top of
the NFL draft food chain, the process is filled with doubt, anxiety,
and what can feel like a never ending series of questions.
(14:14):
We'll be right back. Huh hey is saying, yeah, Hey,
this is Birch Trud the lines. How are you doing
how are you. I'm doing good? And did I say
that right? I don't want to. I've got a funny name,
(14:35):
so I don't mess up your name. No, yeah, you did.
You're good? Okay, all right, well now i'll be quick.
I'm sorrying across the late. So is this number going
to be your draft day number two? Yes? Yes, okay,
it's easy. Um, all right? Have you had any injuries
since the Senior Bowl? No? Um? And he also instances
most like Forest guys do, but in the alstiled incidence. No, no, okay,
(15:02):
I answer all right. No, I appreciate the time, man,
And good luck this weekend. I know it's been a
nice long four month interview, but it'll be good to
have a team to be working towards somebody, so no doubt. Yeah,
good luck with this process though, and good luck this weekend.
All right, thanks fare meet, He sang Bassie, an undersized
(15:24):
five ft ten cornerback from wake Forest who's projected to
be drafted in the mid to late rounds next week.
I'm me saying, you're saying Bassie from Columbus Georgia. Uh, Georgia, boy,
Columbus Georgia sits about one miles southwest of Atlanta, in
a state where high school games and college recruiting are
particularly fierce. A lot of people question my size. I'm
(15:46):
smaller guy or whatever, But you know, that's never ever
mattered to me when I was playing ball, Like, I
never even knew my size was an issue in my
game until this whole draft process started, because I've always
been the type of player to you know, attack anybody
who's who linds up in front of me. It's never
never backed down from anything. Despite the upcoming draft being
touted as the year of the wide receiver, with a
(16:08):
dozen top rated pass catchers expected to be selected in
the first two rounds, someone has to cover all these
new weapons in the league on defense, and so it's
a sayings athleticism, aggressive nose for the ball, and four
four six speed that caught the attention of scouts. It
is four seasons in the a c C he totaled
two hundred and twenty seven tackles, five interceptions, and forty
(16:31):
five broken up passes, lofty numbers for someone playing his position.
My hope on draft day is that my name gets
called flat out. That's my biggest concern and for my
family to you know see, see that happened for me
and you know know that all the support they put
into me and I was worth it that feeling for
them as well. For many players, the journey to the
(16:52):
NFL is a group effort. It's a collective dream about
more than just a career playing football. This is especially
true for a saying span L. They're Nigerian immigrants, which
isn't too unusual in the NFL. But their story is
about to go get my brother to make sure he
(17:12):
comes out to eat dinner. So a lot of times
when he's hungry, you know, he doesn't he can't communicate
that he's hungry. So we you know, we kind of know. Uh,
he suffers from autism. He has autism. Um, he's been
in the house with us, living with us, you know,
my whole life. I've seen him grow up and you
(17:35):
know I had to kind of take care of him
being the younger brother my whole life. You're gonna sit
with him. Let me give you a naphtew make sure
because he might end up just not eating the you
can make sure he is the yeah, at least the
rank here You're yeah, I'm you are there. You go
(18:16):
so I'm almost saying he's not allowed upstairs for a
minute because he was kind of jumping around screaming the
other day and he like accidentally bumped in one of
our cabinets and broke one of the cabinets. So she's
still kind of mad about that. So he's very, very hyperactive.
When people think of autism, you know, they think of
(18:38):
like functional, they can do this that. But he, you know,
he's I'm sure you can probably hear he's down there
like yelling and screaming, doing his own thing. But now
I love him, and he's actually a big reason why
I play football and one of the things that that
keeps me going. So, you know, everybody in my family
(18:59):
kind of talking. My brothers in medical school because of
my brother. My dad's a doctor obviously takes care of
people every day. My mom as a teacher, she special ed,
you know, that's kind of her thing. Um sisters and nurse,
so everybody's kind of has those, you know, keep him
in mind with their careers and with me being the
athlete of the family. You know, he can't play sports
(19:21):
organized sports, so that's kind of you know how I
expressed my you know, thinking of him. You know how
how the impact he has on me just you know,
I played because he can't, and I eventually want to
be able to take care of him, you know, give
him the best care that he needs. And you know,
it's really cool to see how my whole family kind
of rallies around him, and you know, he impacts all
(19:45):
of us so much so and I know football and
this this path I'm on and everything I'm doing. Uh,
that's kind of been one of the main driving factors
for well. The Saying's brother has been an inspiration pulling
him towards his NFL dream. He's not alone. A other
fource He's also been pushing the Sayings journey forward from
behind the scenes. My biggest fan is definitely my mom.
(20:07):
Definitely my mom. For the past two years, actually three years,
she made it to like every football game home in
a way. Um she she like takes off work. She'll
take off work on the Friday and comes to come
to the game. Hi, good afternoon. My name is Omar
Bassie um A San Bassie's mother. I always have mixed
(20:28):
feelings when I talk about this because San was the
baby of the family and personally I wanted a girl
I already had two boys before him. So when the
dad told me it was another um male, I was like, oh,
But then I immediately asked God for forgiveness because I
(20:48):
was a little bit worried on how to raise three
males in the same home. Um. I kind of initially
had a mixed feelings, but I'm so grateful to God
that he came into a family. She's always been been
my biggest fan. She's always been the one that went
to all my games in Little League Peewee. She took
(21:08):
me to all my math tournaments, my whatever I was
doing in school. She was on me from my academic stuff.
She was always at my awards ceremonies. She keeps all
my trophies, everything I have. So it's definitely my mom
that I'll say is my number one fan. Football is
(21:29):
his life. That was his statement, And if this is
what it is, we have no choice. You've done all
that we expected of a child. However, I never had
any point in time let him slack with the education.
His high school coaches will tell you how many times
I've tried him to take him off whenever he had
(21:50):
a beat, I mean, or he didn't turn an assignment.
I just didn't want him to think football is it.
I've always tried to make him under Then you have
to have something to lean back on in case this
doesn't work. There's a saying in sports that you can't
teach size. For the Chase Youngs of the world, this
works in their favor. For many others, like a saying
(22:12):
it raises a lot of doubt, teams have been known
to shy away from smaller players for fear of injury,
that their production won't translate, or that they simply can't
match up with bigger, stronger opponents. Eight of the top
receivers expected to be drafted this year or at least
four to six inches taller than a saying that alone
puts his draft ability in serious jeopardy. We'll be right back.
(22:43):
Hold so our according stuff, am I just hold on.
If there's one prospect who never doubted his place in football,
it's Jeff Okuda. Jeff was Chase Young's teammated stayed and
a well known cornerback prospect, Jevo Kuta one Dallas, Texas,
(23:05):
Ohio State University cornerback. This is the same position as
saying place and Jeff's role on defense isn't all he
and his sister Karen have in common with a Saying. Hi,
this is Karen and Kuda um So Jeffrey Ni where Nigerian.
Both our parents are Nigerian, so my mom was born
in Nigeria and we have that background. That's how we
(23:26):
were raised. With both Jeff and a Saying being brought
up by Nigerian immigrants and both playing cornerback, it's difficult
not to compare the two. Jeff played three years in college,
the Saying played four. On paper, Saying's collegiate stats dwarf
Jeff's on field accomplishments, but stats can be deceiving, especially
for NFL draft picks. My family calls me Jeff, but
(23:48):
you know, Ohio State, everyone's like, you know, Jeff's a
little bit boring. One of the colleges was like like today,
you're not gonna be Jeff, You're gonna be halfan you know, soday,
and everyone started going crazy and then everyone start saying
freef a and then from there it just kind of
grew having the fans. They just loved it so stuck
with it. I don't know, it's strange hearing everyone call
(24:09):
him Jeff for half and all this stuff. I've just
always known him as my baby brother. Like it's weird
to see him come as far as he has. I've
just always known him as someone who I have to
protect and just someone who I just feel need to
do everything for. The days of his older sister needing
to protect little brother Jeff are long gone. Jeff is
now six ft one, two d and five pounds and
(24:30):
an almost certain top ten pick in the NFL Draft.
His career stats are low eighty eight tackles, three interceptions,
twenty one passes broken up. Due to a shocking reason,
he is good at football. He is so good in fact,
opposing teams essentially choose not to play against him. Most
opponents simply didn't attempt to pass to the receivers he defended,
(24:50):
an extraordinary sign of respect in football. I think I
worked really hard on just um. I mean, people always
just saying that, you know, just being a five star
and all that, Uh, things are kind of easy. Five
star recruits are the top rated players coming out of
high school into college. This year, across the entire country,
(25:11):
only twenty eight players received the five star distinction. I know,
for me, just behind the scenes, I put a lot
of work even to to become a five star, to
to go to a house stay be successful. So a
lot lot of sacrifices have been made. I'm gonna record
while we just run for a little bit by talking
(25:32):
like you're just talking types just they wanted those have
like like everyday lifestyle type ship ready tricky as terrain.
All right, I'm fly running uphill, but dagon for all
(25:56):
types of swing? Is it running up with it? Like
we walk into the hill, He's still there. Twice second,
(26:16):
here's Jeff's former college defensive coordinator and associate head coach,
Greg Siano on those sacrifices. It was nothing uncommon in
the middle of end of February to drive in and
be doing something Saturday afternoon as a coach, and then
you hear some some noise and you walk out there
and he's out there working technique with one of his buddies,
you know, at a time when most college kids are
(26:37):
laying around playing video games. I mean, he was just
that driven. I just remember Jeffrey from the get go
saying I love football and I want to be NFL star.
At the end of the day, I'm I'm gonna know
that I've made it when I can take care of
my mom and myself. So just from the get go,
he just knew what he wanted it was to be
an NFL um athlete. You can just tell he was
someone that how the goal that he wanted to achieve.
(26:57):
And it was I guess strange seeing it in like
a sixth grader when I would see it, But now
that we're at this point, I just think it's so crazy.
So how has this sixth grader come within one week
to fulfilling his prophecy? How did middle school Jeff turn
into Jeff the five star recruit? What was so unique
about his family and upbringing? And like the Ebo, which
(27:18):
is what my parents are at the Ebo mindset in
the way as you go to school, you know miss
school you get as the Ebo are an ethnic group
native to southern Nigeria. This is the culture Jeff and
Karen's mom Marie grew up in and like is saying,
in his household, Jeff and Karen were raised with the
same high expectations in the Ebo. There's no such thing
(27:39):
as like a B or a C. Like why are
you're going to school to get as to be a doctor,
to be a pharmacist, to be a nurse, to be
some type of accountant, and what other points is there
for you to go to university than to be those
set things. I don't really think football or some type
of sport is like a career to most let's say
(27:59):
Nigerian something like that, Like that's not a job, that's
a hobby, it's not a job. And that's a lot
of times where Jeffrey and I were kind of like
in our own mindset, free speed way of thinking, which
kind of we got into trouble for that here and
there for being so different. But remember him telling my
mom he was gonna go to the NFLM I know,
it gives me chills just to think about. I remember
when he would say something that he wants to do
(28:20):
and regardless of what it will come to you as
like a cost or work not, he'll just go ahead
and fight for that. I'm just so proud of him.
Jeff's level of focus is nearly unprecedented in college football.
Over the last two seasons, no opposing player topped fifty
receiving yards against him in a game this season. He
didn't have a single holding or past interference penalty, and
(28:42):
he was only beat for one touchdown the entire year.
He wasn't perfect that, he certainly was close. I think
it's just my technique. Um. I try to consider myself
a technician because I know that. I mean, when all
when everyone's athleticism fades away, it's like all you're left
with is your technique. So try to sharpen my sword
every chance that I can get. It's not only technique
(29:03):
and physical ability that separate Jeff as a dominant player.
He's as mentally strong as anyone in the draft, thanks
in part to the few people he could lean on
the most. Just thinking about who has stand out to
me is just my aunt Jane. Um, what she did
something I'll forever be appreciative of her. For. My name
(29:24):
is Jane Bubudo. I am Jeff And so Jeff was
a student of mine in middle school. He happened to
be having a problem at the time. I happened to
be in the office when the teacher that I was
having like a like a mouth altercation. And so the
(29:45):
teacher came into report to the dean and say, hey, um, Jeffrey,
kuda no distracting my classroom. This was an eighth grade
you know. He had like we had an African last name,
and me being Nigerian, I took like more interest to
know why, you know, this child was acting the way
teacher had described it to be acting. I said, hey,
(30:05):
what's going on with you? He he kind of told
me what was going on with him. He didn't have
I think a novel in the class or a textbook
or something, and and he felt a teacher was calling
him out. So I said, okay, can you tell me
why you don't have this textbook or this novels? And
he said, because we can't afford it because of how
(30:30):
sick the mom Marie was. What Jane didn't know then
is that Jeff's mom, Marie, had been in and out
of the hospital since Jeff was two years old. And
I said, okay, what do your parents do? And he said,
my mom does not have a job. And he said,
my mom is a nurse. And I said, okay, your
(30:51):
mom is a nurse. How come she doesn't, you know,
kind of help out, you know. And then at that
point he broke down and said crying, and he said,
my mom has cancer and I said that crying too.
I purchased the book for him. I called my husband
and said, hey, I had this story today that just
breaks my heart, you know, and there's no where I
(31:13):
can come home if I don't go find this lady
and find out where she is. So I reach out
to the mom almost immediately, and the mom I just
kind of told me her story and told me she
was very sick, she was alone and all that. From
that moment forward, Jane Obodon became aunt Jane, a permanent
fixture in Jeff and Karen's lives and their eventual guardian
(31:36):
and caretaker later in life, though they had some issues
to sort out. First. Jeff loves football. Jeff thinks eat
and reads football. I wasn't a football fan. I didn't
like football. So when Jeff came to me nine grade
and said, hey, Auntie, I wanted to support me, and
I said, oh my god. I said, Jeff, I don't
like that sport is violent, you know, all the head injuries.
(31:59):
And I remember him saying that and Janity to support me.
I'm gonna put my best in this spot, and I'm
not going to disappoint you. Every d one school out there,
it's gonna offer this scholarship. That's my goal. Man. I'm
going to walk towards it. But reactually, I think in
terms of jeffything you want to be an NFL athlete
was just yeah, okay, that was me when I was younger.
(32:23):
It was okay, if we all want to be things,
blah blah blah. And I know like we hear that,
like kids say, I want to be a doctor, I
want to be a firefight and stuff like that. But
I think it wasn't until high school that I really
start to see what everyone else was seeing in terms
of technique, inform and just drive, like this kid was
actually wanting to be an NFL athlete. Um, I guess
(32:45):
I realized how good he was. I just say maybe
between his sophomore and his junior year. So when the
scholarship started coming in, that's when I kind of understood
how special he was and how much walk he had
put in to this game. So he also likes to
please me. I know that he likes to make me happy.
(33:06):
I told him that he he's great to have to
be up so we can get his Stanford scholarship. By
time Stanford Kim, and I think he already had like
fifteen do you want schools and including Ohio State here
again it's former Ohio State defensive coordinator and associate head
coach Greg Siano. He was part of the team trying
to recruit Jeff the first couple of times that I
(33:27):
went to his high school to see him practice at
South Grand Prairie High School. I mean, you watch him
when they were doing one on one pass coverage. He's
just an intense competitor. He has great length and really
really fine speed. He he wants to be the best
he can be, striving for perfection, and that jumps out
at you very quickly. When you're watching practice. You just
(33:49):
got the sense that he was a guy that was
a special player, and that if we could somehow lure
him out of the state of Texas and get him
to come to Ohio State, that that would be a
real big feather in our camp at Ohio State. Over time,
Jeffanette Jane narrowed down the choice to two schools. So
he called me and said, hey, you know, we got
(34:10):
the Stanford scholarship, and I was very happy. I tried
very hard at the time to make him see the need,
you know. I said, hey, so you can play football
at Stanford and it's great academy. I said it's almost
a half million education for free. Jeffrey, how could you
not want that? He had the grades, he had, the
g p A, he had everything. Jeff is very intelligent.
(34:31):
If it wasn't a football player, he might as well
be a doctor or an engineer. I tried very much
convincing to go to Stanford, and I said, how can
you choose Ohio State over Stanford? He said, if I
go to Stanford, I know it would be easy for
me to start. He said, Ohio State has a lot
of five star recrewits. I will have to to put
(34:54):
in the work to get on the field at Ohio State.
Under Stanford is a good school ANTI but I don't
think Stanford has what it takes to prepare me. I
want to be a professional football play and I think
Ohio State would be prepenny for that. Former os U
coach Siano one of the things that I think attracted
Jeff so much was a lineage of cornerback play that
(35:17):
was pretty special. Right, So Jeff came there expecting to
be the next of a line of really fine corners.
He was going to be able to play top level
football against great competition, not only on Saturdays in the
big ten conference, but also within his own program every
day in practice, and that was something that was very
(35:38):
important to Jeff. That he had an environment where he
could be the best that he could be. And that's
what attracted me to him. So I think the combination
of of maybe not quite a Stanford education, but a
good education coupled with elite level football in an elite
level football conference, that was something that Jeff couldn't pass up.
(35:59):
It's very intention now, he's very deliberate. He knows what
he's doing. So at some point he said, Auntie, if
you keep insisting that I go to Standford, I will,
but I want you to know that if I don't
pan out to be what I always dreamed to be,
it will break my heart. So at that point my
(36:21):
husband and I said, you know what, will let him
go to wherever he wants to go because he does
not cease to amaze us, my husband and I and
the whole family, and will always come back. And said,
oh my god, Jeff's right, or Jeffer was right. It's
almost like he sat down and just kind of credited
where he was going to be. This kid told me
(36:42):
when he was a freshman. He said, Auntie, just going
and support me. Every single d one school in America
is gonna want me. I'm gonna work that hart and
I'm gonna make it happen. It's just amazing for a kid,
no his age, He's a child now, This eleven year
(37:04):
olds fateful predictions are one week away from finally becoming true,
proving himself right to aunt Jane once again, this time
on the biggest stage in football, draft Day, the whole
draft day experience. So I obviously that's a real big
blessing because his guys have put in the same amount
of work, But I mean, they don't have the same
(37:25):
chance to, you know, get drafted, So I haven't really
seen it as a pressure thing. The question is how
high will Jeff be chosen and what happens after he
reaches the goal he set so long ago. Can he
maintain his laser focus? Has it become an ingrained, unalterable
part of who Jeff Okuda is When you can when
you play cornerback at the House State, the standard is
(37:46):
be a lockdown cornerback, So on anything less than that,
it's kind of seen as a disappointment and the eyes
of the guys who played before. So I think when
you have hardhself to that standard, then UM, going first
round or just getting drafted high, it kind of just
comes along with it, even if you weren't striving for that. UM,
listen to me a moment. I never forget coming up
(38:09):
on this season of drafted, But I just got to
my retreat house that I'm going by NFL draft thing
at I'll be fully expected you to be a top
teaming for the top seven tick. I get butterflies in
my I mean I actually started to cry. I was
crying because I felt like I did something wrong. I
just had to be strong. You know, having your dad
as a coach is no walk in the park at all.
(38:31):
We used to have to walk around with his birth
certificate because they couldn't believe he was the age and
the size that he was. I remember, just as a
little kid. This is something I've been dreaming him out,
like a promise to myself. You wanna be the best,
you gotta be the best. You gotta go take it,
you gotta take what you want. I'm so excited to
ask you here. Let me go before I'm ready to go.
(38:57):
Let's go. Ye. And that's what drafting means me It's
a Chance. Drafted as a production of tree Fort Media,
Clutch Sports Group, and I Heart Radio. The executive producers
(39:20):
are Kelly Garner, Lisa Ammerman, Eric slot, Seawan to Tone
l Key, and me Keegan Michael Key. The series is
produced and written by Eric Winer. Jared Brom is our
coordinating producer. Tom Monahan is our senior audio engineer. Mixed
and edited by Steven Johnson, additional production help from Tim Shower,
June Rosen, and Hayley Mandelberg. For transcripts of the show
(39:42):
and more information on Drafted, go to tree Fort dot fm,
and for more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the
I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows.
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