May 13, 2025 • 29 mins
Learn the ins and outs of being a professional athlete with the Titans Rookie class. Titans Radio’s Rhett Bryan hosts a pannel discussion with Titans Greats Keith Bullock, Kevin Dyson, Jeavon Kearse, Delanie Walker and Brett Kern.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
This is the OTP.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
I'm Amy Wells.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
The NFL Draft is in the rearview mirror, and so
is Rookie Mini Camp. And look, we could talk about
the practices that we saw, but there'll be more time
for that down the line. Beyond the practice, there are
a lot of other things that rookie players participate in
during their time in Rookie Mini Camp. We've told you
about the History Lesson and listen. If you haven't heard
(00:35):
Mike Keith give the history of the Tennessee Titans, go
right now and download last year's edition of the OTP.
It's called History Lesson. It is a must listen for
all Titans fans, absolutely mandatory. So this year we added
a new twist. After the rookies learned about the history
of the franchise, we brought in some Titans legends and
(00:58):
really they're more like superstars to really break down what
it means to be a pro and to wear the
two tone blue. These guys are the ones to talk to,
you know. Here on the OTP we like to take
you behind the scenes. So here's the alumni players, the
legends imparting their wisdom on the new guys. Kevin Dyson,
(01:19):
Javon Curse, Keith Bullock, Delaney Walker, and Brett Kern all
joined Titans Radio's Ret Brian right here on the OTP.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
It's important for you guys to meet who had that
uniform one before you and be able to, you know,
ask a question or two. But I'm gonna start with
a panel question for each of you. What are some
of the pitfalls for you guys to avoid in the
first year that you're in the league or any year
that you were in the NFL.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
First and foremost, y'all saw a video. We went from
analog to digital real quick. I felt, oh, real quick.
Oh now, But I think one of the things is
being worried about outside noise. Y'all live in the area
that we didn't necessarily live in where the social media
and everythings. It was enough expectation being a first round pick.
I happened to be the first pick of the city.
He was the first Titans pick, and the expectation already
(02:14):
comes with being the first round pick anyway, And the
expectation is there, and now you got to find a
way to knock out that noise on worry about what's
in this building that is the pitfall that gets a
lot of guys because and you've seen it, you've heard it,
and you maybe even done it in college yourself, where
you worried about You want to be perfect, You want
to be the greatest you can be, especially when you
(02:35):
get to this level. Everybody wants a Hall of Fame career.
Everybody wants to be to the pinnacle. You want to
win the championships and be recognized for your skill set.
But it's so easy to get caught up because of
what the guy in Jacksonville is doing, with the guy
in k C is doing, with the guy in La
is doing. It's so easy when you say, man, I
got that same kind of talent. I'm not getting the ball.
I'm not doing this. They're not They're not calling these
(02:57):
calls for me. Don't worry about that. The most important
thing is when you get your opportunities to make the
most of it and be what you need to be
for the team that you're on right now.
Speaker 5 (03:06):
Another pitfall is get your family affairs in order, Like,
get all that stuff in order, because I'm sure as
soon as that weekend passed, the draft weekend, y'all phones
probably started blowing up. If it didn't blow up yet,
it's gonna blow up. And people are gonna swear they're
the ones that put the football in your hand. They're
the one that took you to your first practice, your
first game, which.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Is all lies, all lies, all lies.
Speaker 5 (03:28):
But just get all that stuff in order because it's
gonna be a distraction. So just yeah, just you know,
you've got a financial guy, or a family member, mom, unt, somebody,
cousin or somebody, have somebody to be the person to
be no person, because they gonna come at y'all like
they gonna come at y'all, hall Cam. I know they
came with you before you even got drafted. I know
they was already coming at you anyways, man. But y'all
(03:50):
just got to just get that stuff, get it situated,
get it in order, because it can become a distraction
as well.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
I'll have another one.
Speaker 6 (03:58):
I would say, the company you keep, they never remember
the person you with. It's always your name, even if
you didn't do it, they remember your name. So only
hang out with people who has your best interest. Right now,
you made you set. Only thing that can end it
is you or your family, your friends that you keep
with you because they think they're you, and they do
(04:19):
things that put you jeopard out is your career. Don't
let it happen. Keep guys that you know who gonna
look out for your best interest. Make sure that you
keep the company that's going to look out for you.
Trust me, this is big because the NFL, they don't
care what your friend did, but you was with them.
So now you gotta fight that case. You gotta worry
(04:39):
about that because your name is the one that's gonna
be going about on the bottom of ESPN, not your friends,
not your family.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Dan Dada, Da Dada, that's your name. You ain't had
nothing to do with it. Remember that.
Speaker 7 (04:52):
I would say, realize where you're at right right now
on this space. You're a professional. You're a football player.
If this is where you want to be, handle your business.
You are a professional football player. Getting your playbook, learn
the ropes, learn everything you need to do to stay
in this game. I'm sorry, stay in this business as
(05:13):
long as you can. You know, I played here for
ten years, played one hundred and twenty seven straight games.
Toward my ACL I was gone, went to New York
and you know I'm battling injuries, trying to get on
the field, But the coaches around the building they always
say good morning, pro, good afternoon pro. They just kept
(05:34):
calling me a pro. I'm like, I wasn't even concerned
with that. I just wanted to get on the field.
But then I realized I carried myself like a professional,
and it just transferred when I went somewhere else, unfamiliar,
laying unfamiliar people that weren't familiar with me, but they're
familiar with a professional. Is that's why we're all up here?
We're professionals.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
I think another question I'm going to ask the panel
here that is important because you guys are about to
have the right of the life and your name plates
on the back of the jersey. The shield is there,
and but you're not immune to life's problems, and you're
not immune to life's adversities. Some of you, a lot
of you probably already overcome quite a bit to even
(06:17):
get here. So my question to you guys is how
did you handle adversity on or off the field when
you were playing, when you have so many things coming
at you as a player.
Speaker 8 (06:31):
Well, first of all, congrats on being the one percent
of the one percent. Man. It's it's a privilege. To
be in this room and understand what comes with that.
There's a lot of people that would give a lot
to be where you all are at.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
And once you.
Speaker 8 (06:45):
Understand that, that puts a different.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Man.
Speaker 8 (06:49):
It gives you different mindset knowing that someone is coming
for your job right and so have no regrets whether
it's in the weight room, watching extra film, you want
to go back, play video games, understand that somebody else
is going back and looking at the film. Even guys
that you're competing against, look at the film, do extra work, act,
(07:10):
ask questions. But just I just want to congratulate you
guys on that because it's man, it's a special honor
to be in here. But to go back to the
question Brett, I think for me, I was I was
blessed to meet my wife in college. She's my rock.
I'll tell you straight up. We're going on seventeen years
of being married and so to have her has been
a huge blessing because she knows I feed off encouragement
(07:35):
and and so there's a lot of tough times. My
rookie year, my special teams coach, he told me every
week I was getting cut. My wife and I we
you know, towards the end of the year find out
we were having our first child, and he told me
that was the biggest mistake I'll ever make of my life.
And so that was kind of what I was dealing with.
So mentally, man, it was really really tough, and I
bottled a lot of that up, which isn't healthy. And
(07:55):
so I would encourage you guys, man, if you can
find a mentor an old coach. Uh, you know, I
mean to shoot text one of us. I mean, we've
all been through it. We've all you know, had successful careers. Man,
y'all just got to talk about life off the field,
on the field, what's going on. Uh, just feel free
to reach out because don't man, don't bottle it up.
You bottle that stress up. Man, it'll show on Sundays
(08:17):
and that's you don't want that.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah, I echoed that, do not suffer in silence. Man.
I did it myself, and I remember being an old head.
Come back. Kenny Britt, another first round pick.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
He was struggling. It reminded me of my struggles. I
reached out to him and said, hey, have him my number.
He never reached out. He wasn't hearing very much. Longer
after that, and then he journeyed around the league after that.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Man. So I'll just tell you, man, don't suffer inside.
This is hard.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
There's last spectation that comes with this. There's gonna be
a lot of people. They're gonna write stuff about you.
They're gonna tweet stuff about you, They're gonna instagram about you,
They're gonna do whatever they can. Your family's gonna talk
bad about you. Even the ones that that said they
love you, man, you do that, They're gonna they're gonna
talk about you. Man, So have somebody. It might be
somebody sitting next to you today. It might, like you said,
one of us. Like I said, I reached out to
(09:00):
some of the guys when I see them, man, because
it reminds me my own story. So I like, man,
look I've been there. Because it's some like he said,
you have a one percent of a one percent. Now,
a whole lot of people in the world that have
been in these rooms that can relate to you. We
just happen to be guys that did it twenty twenty
five years ago, unless you know that kind of thing.
So man, use your resources, man, whether it be a
(09:21):
licensed therapist or an old head like ourselves that you
can just talk to man and just just bounce that
off of, because I'm gonna tell you that's the realest
because the season is long. When y'all get to October,
you already played your college season, and now you got
to figure out to get that second win and mentally,
especially that first year, mentally getting past that that wall.
(09:43):
It's rough, but you gotta find it because this is
your job and it's a lot different. You don't got
to go class and anything else like that, man, But
find somebody that you can relate to.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Man.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
Just like I said, if it's just hey, man, I'm
going through something right now, what I need? What can
I do? What can you do for me? Just reach out, I.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Would say, believe in yourself. Man.
Speaker 7 (10:04):
I was a first round Drive Music City Miracle Rookie
of the Year. I got drafted after him, and I
just played situational football for two years.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
And it wasn't my fault. You know.
Speaker 7 (10:15):
We had a really good football team, really good defense,
and I just look, look, I was better than who
was in front of me. But that's on the coach,
you know what I'm saying. But nonetheless, I had to
keep we can concur I had to keep believing in
myself because like, I'm not gonna see it and hold
you like damn, like am I bus Like what's going on?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Like why can't you know what I mean?
Speaker 7 (10:36):
And then you know, when you get your opportunity, make
the most of it, be prepared. You never know when
it's gonna be, but always believe in yourself. You're in
this room for a reason, and these coaches are gonna
find out over the next three months.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
So look good luck.
Speaker 6 (10:52):
I'm gonna start off out just giving you all like
my history went to a D two and you know,
I feel like I should have went to USC, but
I put myself in the situation that I had to
get myself out of, and I said, I'm gonna put
my head down and I'm gonna grind. If you know
my one of my coaches, Willie Fritz, told me when
I went to Central Missouri, he said, if you as
(11:13):
good as you say you are, they gonna find you.
And that stuck with me because I'm like he challenging me,
He challenged me to be great because I was still
a boy when I was in college and didn't realize
he was trying to teach me to be a man.
So I knew that I was gonna hit these bumps
in the road because I already had took an obstacle
that put me in D two. So now everything was
(11:34):
being thrown at me. But I knew if I put
my head down and I grind, I was gonna get
to where I wanted to be because I wanted to
be there. And then when I got invited to the combine,
that was another step. But I still felt like I
was behind because now I'm a D two player going
to the combine, I got to compete, compete against all
you guys Miami, SC Florida State. They don't know who
(11:56):
I am. Again, it's another bump in the role. Nobody
know me, nobody can ever see me play. So again
I'm challenging myself. I put my head down at this combine.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
I'm on grin.
Speaker 6 (12:05):
I'm gonna show these dudes what I'm all about. I
get drafted. These are steps I looked at cause I'm like,
I'm ten toes down. Long as I'm ten toes down,
I'm on grind because I never looked at it as oh,
I'm gonna give up all they pushing me back. I
looked at it. I'm gonna fight because I always been
a fighter. Y'all fighters, That's why y'all in this room.
You have to compete against a lot of people to
(12:27):
be here, and they chose you because they seen something
in you. Because y'all fighters, I fought all my life.
You ain't gonna stop today, you know what I'm saying.
So when that bump is in that road, put your
head down and grind. Don't ever let none of these
coaches tell you ain't gonna be in this league, because
they told me that when I was in the forty
nine ers. Oh I'm a special teams guy, that's all
you are. I said, Okay, let.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Me give y'all.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Let me give y'all game on free. This one's free.
I used to tell free agents because we got draft
picks in here. Some of y'all already know you got
a job. Like man, that's just what it is. I
was the first round pick. I knew I had a job.
I wasn't gonna be cut. They gonna invest that kind
of capital on me, me not be here. I knew
I was gonna be here. But there were some free
agents and stuff like that. They were pretty talented. So
I would tell them you gotta listen and watch, pay attention,
(13:08):
and do what the next man is not doing. What
I mean is if he keep screaming at this guy
for not knowing his plays, or he's missing blocks, or
he's not digging out that safety, or he's dropping the ball,
what are you doing. You're doing exact opposite. You're not
in your playbook. I'm in my playbook. You make sure
you doing what the other guy's not doing. And keep
in mind, I'm a former Titan. But there's thirty one
(13:29):
other teams in this league, and unfortunately there's only so
many roster spots, and they all know each other. We
got gentlemens, we got people. Hear this guy from Kansas City.
You don't think he don't still have contacts of Kansas City.
You don't think they're still talking. They all talk, all
talk brother out for the NFL.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Bro.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
So do what the next guy is not doing. Man,
that's how you that's how you last and stay around.
Speaker 7 (13:51):
They like you go out there and put your best
foot out there.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Like mcdog said, be professional, Yeah, be professional. Be prepared.
Speaker 5 (13:58):
Preparation is key to this thing because you never know
when your numbers going to get called.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Don't be late with me personally.
Speaker 5 (14:06):
When I got a scholarship to go to University of Florida,
I show up there, I read sturted in my first year.
Then going into my my red shirt freshman year, the
first year I was going to play, I was like
a backup and literally somebody gets hurt, literally that Thursday
before our first our first game of the season, and
they threw a pass out there and I never gave
(14:29):
that back.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
And then once I got drafted here for the Titans,
got drafted here, I was of course I was the
first round picked them at sixteen, but they still were
going to groom me and have me play behind someone else.
I feel like maybe the second week of training camp
they put him. In the second week of training camp,
the person who was in front of me got in
a co accident. He got in a carnccident, prat Lions
(14:52):
got in a car accident. Ended up couldn't play footballnymore
because they found an aneurysm on his brain. And they
actually like say this life because he wasn't like bumping
hairs anymore. But anyways, after that happened, they threw my
sat there and look through these walls and see what
happened right there, because I was ready for that. Y'all
gotta be ready, listen. Never know when they're gonna call
your number, but when they call your number, man, y'all
(15:13):
gotta be ready for this thing because it's those opportunity
are not gonna come around a lot.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Stop.
Speaker 5 (15:19):
It's not gonna come around a lot.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
So you got to make the most of it. Man.
Speaker 7 (15:22):
So that's the opportunity to play football. I remember, and
I pass it back to you. Ready, I remember, SAMAI row.
One of my teammates used to always acting, damn bull,
Why you practice all the time? Why you practice all
the time. I was like, Bro, he's gonna be a
time where I can't practice. Gonna be a time where
you can't I can go shoot basketball, play pickleball, Dude,
I can't go out there and.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Without get arrested to go try and play.
Speaker 7 (15:45):
I look crazy if I go out You know what
I'm saying, Like, you can't go do this again.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
So this is it, This is it this summer.
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Speaker 3 (16:24):
All right, I think we're getting short on time, so
I'm going to open the floor up. Anybody got a
question for one of these guys that you want to
know some things about?
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Yes, because he was a little the team super Bowl?
So what was that team enviromment? Right? The team atmosphere?
Speaker 5 (16:40):
It was a It was a for me, it was
a real family atmosphere because when I got dropped here
in ninety nine, you guys may have went eight and eight,
like how many years in a row? So or three
years in a row, eight and eight, five hundred, But
when I got in, it was like there was no
hazing going on with like listen, man, we got we
got a job to do.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
We try it.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
We don't have no time to make you get on
the Stemlach chair and seeing your team fights, song or whatever.
But it was just a family atmosphere. Just everyone put
me to the side. I did the same thing that
Keith got here as well. He reminded me of that.
But like like the Eddies, the Steve McNair's, like they
all put me to the side. Bruce Matthews put me
to the side. Like listen, man, like listen, we got
a job to do. We're all on the same page.
(17:19):
So if you go through anything, talk to us or whatever.
But the big picture is like it was, it was
a family atmosphere. Like everybody was just wealthy.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
I could speak to that too.
Speaker 7 (17:28):
It was a veteran team because like I came after them,
So I think Big Jeff might be the oldest cat
on the team here. Yeah, well Bruce Matthews was in
year twenty. You know what I'm saying. My vet in
my room, my veteran linebacker was in year eleven like
these cats. Was like, so how Dravan is talking like
you coming to do your work? Like these cats is
(17:48):
going home to their wife and they two three year
old kid, which at twenty two I couldn't relate to that,
but now I was like, damn, I see what they was.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Going through now, but you see what I'm saying. So
it's really the structure of the team. Man.
Speaker 7 (18:01):
You know we hit a low. I was here for
ten years, so you know they set the fabric. You've
seen it on the video. You know they set the fabric.
They skipped over. You know, they got through the little
thing and then they got to Delaney's team. But right
there we went owing four, like we four and twelve,
five and eleven. But you know it was one of
(18:22):
those things. I was the best player on the team.
And a former player, Marcus Robinson said, or coach Fisher said,
this team is gonna go up or down with you
because I had a bad attitude.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
When you lose, you got bad attitude.
Speaker 7 (18:33):
Right, So when I started holding people accountable, when you
hold people accountable, you gotta be most accountable.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Quarterbacks know that. Right linebackers should know that. You gotta
be most accountable.
Speaker 7 (18:43):
So that's what you gotta do in this team leaked
and it's not your time yet, but that time might
come for you. So yeah, I'll say this, man, they
any good team I've ever been on, college, high school, pro,
even what I do now, nobody care who got the credit,
and I knew that was true.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
What Eddie George came to me. He's the face of
the franchise. That said, man, you got prepare every day
like you the best player on the field. And this
is this is Eddie George telling me that. And I'm like,
day you you are the best player on the field.
You're supposed to be the man. They changed your name
at the stadium they changed and He's like, no, you
got to you the best player in this field every day.
And he didn't care. He just wanted to win at
the end of the day. You know, now evenew he
(19:20):
gonna get the rock, but at this steel But that's
that's any good team I've ever been on, especially that team,
And it was just I was came in when I
came in ninety eight. The year before him that had
been eight eight and we went eight to eight. And
I remember riding a playing home with samorriw. We was
one and four, and dudes, is just kind of like,
off to the next one, because in the pros, you know,
you can't let it sit on you for a loan.
(19:42):
You got going to the next one. And samri and
Kenny Holmes, who played at Miami he was. He was
drafting year before me, and they were just kind of
like like sulking, but everybody else is kind of like,
just move off the next one. He was like, man,
I've already lost more games this year, and I lost
my whole college career.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
This one.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
Ford State was just you know, Florid State was bagging,
and he was like it was just hard for him.
So he had competitive spirit. So we went eight and eight,
and then that next year when we flipped and everybody
just and then JK came and it was just like
it just connected and nobody cared.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Don't get me wrong. We had a fight.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
We had a fight night for a Super Bowl between
a dB and a receiver that's right at practice.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
But you wouldn't have known it. Him would have gotten filled,
you know what I'm saying. So it's all of.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
Y'all know, man, y'all been playing the sport for a
long time. Man, But any good team ever been on,
there was no division in.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
That locker room. Man. We didn't care who was man.
We was all rooting for JK. They was.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
They started playing freak out in the stadium, like we
didn't care about that. The rookie, you know, what I'm saying,
it was just all man and that's that's why it
was so good. But like all good things that come
to the end, people got to get paid, pre agency
and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Man.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
So it's just like I think Bull said it earlier,
the business. This is a business, and you gotta treated
like a business and you are your own corporation. And
that's how you handle yourself from this meeting or this
this this rookie camp on forward, man termine the success
of your business. All right, gentlemen, what's the biggest thing
(21:10):
you wish you could have been or something that you
did help.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Man?
Speaker 4 (21:16):
I for me, the biggest thing I wish I would
have done man like generilized my resources, whether it be
just talking to folks, and took better care of my body.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
I'm like you said, when you're two twenty three years old,
you think you know EVENO I tore so.
Speaker 4 (21:31):
I had three career threatening injuries, and I came back
from each of them.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
And I wish I would.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
Have understood the the dynamics of health and body and eating.
And I still was eating all kind of way, and
I realized that the connection between my diet and my
health and so I tore my knee up rafted that
miracle year.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
That very next year, I tore my knee up. That's
a year Bull was drafted.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
And then I came back, had had a good season,
and then tore my hamstring off. You know you can
do that. Then I came back from that and free
agency signed one year deal with Caroline toward my achilles
six months later after that, and it was just a
domino effect. And so I wish I'd know how to
take care of my body. So research and do what
you can to figure out how to keep your body healthy.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Do whatever it is.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
Massage is, I don't know, acupuncture, your diet, get a nutrition,
invest in your body. I'm not gonna because it's basketball,
but you Lebar's playing as long as he can at.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
The level is for a reason he's taking care of
his body. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
There's sometimes you gotta put that drink down, that glass
of bourbon. Sometimes you gotta put it down because I
got to heal, like you know what I'm saying. Like
I didn't realize that in my twenties because I thought
I'm in my twenties. I can hear. I always I
can go eat windies and be fine. Now, man, take
care of your body. Yeah, I mean I have to
back piggyback off that. Take care of your body.
Speaker 6 (22:52):
Same when I came in the league, I didn't take
care of my body the way I should have.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
And I think that's what caused me not.
Speaker 6 (22:59):
To really put a staple on the field as much
because the coaches knew, you know, I come in falling
asleep in meetings, you know what I mean, not probably
not hitting my max in the weight room. They know
these things, you know. But I was a great athlete
and they knew they can build on me. But I
have to learn myself to take care of my body.
(23:19):
And there I'm in my second year. I had Larry
Allen and Brian Young there, and I used to watch
those dudes go in the steamroom every day, get the
cold tub every day, and I'm like, man, I need
to change because whatever they doing, that's what I need
to do, you know what I'm saying. And luckily, like
he said, when they back in the days, those guys
used to take you under the wing. I came in
and if they see you want to do it, they
(23:41):
take you under the wing and show you how to prepare.
And after that my second year, I was I followed
them everywhere they went. They was getting massages, I was
getting a massage. If they was in the steam room,
I was in the steam room. If they was getting stretched,
I was getting stretched. If they was hitting the pool
after workers, I was hitting the pool after workouts. Like
y'all have to follow these vets who's doing it at
a high level, copy their routine. They not gonna be mad,
(24:03):
I'll promise you because when we see y'all doing that,
we love that, Like, Okay, this is gonna he gonna
be a baller. I'm gonna make sure we I take
care of him, get him right. They want to give
you the knowledge we want to We want to pass
it down to y'all.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
That's that's what football is. Yeah, they're talking about health.
Speaker 7 (24:18):
I agree all that, but you know, transitioning your game
from the college game to the pro game like finding
a vet with that, you know what I'm saying, How
to watch film at this level knowing your different personnels
down in distance, because like.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
This this level is game of inches.
Speaker 7 (24:35):
Like yeah, if that there's a reason that wide receivers
inside that hash mark and every other play. He's outside
that hashmark. He's trying to get across this field. Fat
like things like that. You know, whatever little tibbit is
that can help you.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Hey Titans fans, with a Kroger Boost membership, you'll score
big with double fuel points, free delivery, and lots more.
Go to Kroger dot com slash boost for details. Kroger,
the official grocer of the Tennessee Titans.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Tighten up Home is the.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Forefront of all we do. It's why we're so committed
to caring for the places and spaces in which we
work and live. Ashley, the official furniture provider of the
Tennessee Titans. Now back to the OTPs, it time for.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
The special teams talk.
Speaker 8 (25:24):
I'll say this obviously from a special team's perspective and
playing for fifteen years and seeing how many guys made
a team because of their wanting to play special teams.
Guys that would ask to play kickoff. Hey, coach, put
me in at L five, L four, even though they've
(25:46):
never done it before.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
But they're learning.
Speaker 8 (25:47):
They're staying after practice, they're working on their punt sets,
technique moves.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
You know.
Speaker 8 (25:54):
Slater in New England played sixteen years right, literally playing
special teams, playing special teams, and so to see in
this guy, I remember watching film and he's what, You're
six in the Super Bowl running down on a kickoff,
taking someone's head off. You're six in a super Bowl.
And so I've seen I think we've all probably had
(26:15):
stories from my perspective, you know, punting for for a
long time and seeing guys and a coach coming up
to me saying, hey, you know we got a plus
fifty punt.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Who do you want?
Speaker 8 (26:25):
Hey, Nick Westbrook a keene, he has got sure hands.
I need him out there when we have a plus
fifty punt special team. Like you're you're coming after jobs
from from guys that are like putting food on the
on the table, right. They understand you're you're making some
good money, right, and you put that money away, you
know when you when you retire, you play long enough,
you can look pretty good. And so to come in,
(26:49):
they're always the guys up there, they're trying to get
younger and cheaper. You guys are the cheaper side, right,
You're the cheaper side. And so to come in play
special teams, man, you got their preseason, You're going out there.
OTA's right, you're grinding your working. I promise you there
will be one or two guys in this room making
this team because of the special teams.
Speaker 7 (27:08):
Make them slow you down and they take it to practice.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
What he's saying is so true.
Speaker 6 (27:14):
Like I literally made the team in San Francisco every
year just because I played every special teams. And when
I mean I played special teams. I went out there
like this is I start on special teams.
Speaker 7 (27:23):
He was as San Francisco. I didn't even know I
played against so when we played them.
Speaker 6 (27:28):
Yeah, because I look like I came out like a fullback,
because I will come. I took any time they say,
look you're gonna be on kickoff, Okay, put me out.
I want to be the dude who attacked the ball.
And back then we had they had the wedge. I
used to run and just go blow the wedge up
just to set a tone. You know, they seen forty six,
and yeah I wore forty six.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
I know that number ugly.
Speaker 6 (27:48):
Whatever, but that's what they gave me, and I rocked it.
I say that they're gonna remember forty six out today,
and you start every game when you're on special teams,
remember that you start every game you start every half.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Don't worry about what people say. Special teams will get
you paid.
Speaker 6 (28:01):
I play seven years in the NFL on special teams
and I was making three point five million on special teams.
They you'll pay you. And when your time is to shine,
you shine. I had the opportunity to come to Tennessee.
They say you're gonna be the man. I say, okay,
it's about that time. They put that ball in my hand.
I never went back to special teams, and.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
He went from for he went from forty six to
eighty two. That's a good look at himber Right, I got,
I got.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
The idea is get in y'all in now.
Speaker 4 (28:28):
It's how you stay here, to stay as long as
you can man, ride that bike until you can't.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Man, that's that's.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
The ultimate Goald dream. And we're gonna say it. Short
sight is everybody wants to be a Hall of Famery
Pro Bowl. That's not the reality of it. That's of
that one percent, that's less than one percent. There's only
fifty hundred of those, right, most of the Fiel's bit
of the role players, everybody rest of the role players,
there's only so many Tom Brady's and all them, you
know what I'm saying. So the idea is get in
and play long as you can.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
That's some good and sage advice and probably a place
where we should stop because these guys are got to schedule.
But hey, all of these guys, they're a resource for you.
They've been there and done all that. And I want
to thank our great panel to day doctor Kevin Dyson,
the freak Javon Curse, mister linebacker, mister Munday, and to
himself number fifty three, Keith Bullock eighty two down there
(29:15):
forty six to eighty two tight end to Landy Walker
and the ever reliable number six, the super punter Brett Kern.
Thank you all for being here and it was an
honor be with you guys this afternoon.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
Thanks
This is the OTP.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
I'm Amy Wells.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
The NFL Draft is in the rearview mirror, and so
is Rookie Mini Camp. And look, we could talk about
the practices that we saw, but there'll be more time
for that down the line. Beyond the practice, there are
a lot of other things that rookie players participate in
during their time in Rookie Mini Camp. We've told you
about the History Lesson and listen. If you haven't heard
(00:35):
Mike Keith give the history of the Tennessee Titans, go
right now and download last year's edition of the OTP.
It's called History Lesson. It is a must listen for
all Titans fans, absolutely mandatory. So this year we added
a new twist. After the rookies learned about the history
of the franchise, we brought in some Titans legends and
(00:58):
really they're more like superstars to really break down what
it means to be a pro and to wear the
two tone blue. These guys are the ones to talk to,
you know. Here on the OTP we like to take
you behind the scenes. So here's the alumni players, the
legends imparting their wisdom on the new guys. Kevin Dyson,
(01:19):
Javon Curse, Keith Bullock, Delaney Walker, and Brett Kern all
joined Titans Radio's Ret Brian right here on the OTP.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
It's important for you guys to meet who had that
uniform one before you and be able to, you know,
ask a question or two. But I'm gonna start with
a panel question for each of you. What are some
of the pitfalls for you guys to avoid in the
first year that you're in the league or any year
that you were in the NFL.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
First and foremost, y'all saw a video. We went from
analog to digital real quick. I felt, oh, real quick.
Oh now, But I think one of the things is
being worried about outside noise. Y'all live in the area
that we didn't necessarily live in where the social media
and everythings. It was enough expectation being a first round pick.
I happened to be the first pick of the city.
He was the first Titans pick, and the expectation already
(02:14):
comes with being the first round pick anyway, And the
expectation is there, and now you got to find a
way to knock out that noise on worry about what's
in this building that is the pitfall that gets a
lot of guys because and you've seen it, you've heard it,
and you maybe even done it in college yourself, where
you worried about You want to be perfect, You want
to be the greatest you can be, especially when you
(02:35):
get to this level. Everybody wants a Hall of Fame career.
Everybody wants to be to the pinnacle. You want to
win the championships and be recognized for your skill set.
But it's so easy to get caught up because of
what the guy in Jacksonville is doing, with the guy
in k C is doing, with the guy in La
is doing. It's so easy when you say, man, I
got that same kind of talent. I'm not getting the ball.
I'm not doing this. They're not They're not calling these
(02:57):
calls for me. Don't worry about that. The most important
thing is when you get your opportunities to make the
most of it and be what you need to be
for the team that you're on right now.
Speaker 5 (03:06):
Another pitfall is get your family affairs in order, Like,
get all that stuff in order, because I'm sure as
soon as that weekend passed, the draft weekend, y'all phones
probably started blowing up. If it didn't blow up yet,
it's gonna blow up. And people are gonna swear they're
the ones that put the football in your hand. They're
the one that took you to your first practice, your
first game, which.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Is all lies, all lies, all lies.
Speaker 5 (03:28):
But just get all that stuff in order because it's
gonna be a distraction. So just yeah, just you know,
you've got a financial guy, or a family member, mom, unt, somebody,
cousin or somebody, have somebody to be the person to
be no person, because they gonna come at y'all like
they gonna come at y'all, hall Cam. I know they
came with you before you even got drafted. I know
they was already coming at you anyways, man. But y'all
(03:50):
just got to just get that stuff, get it situated,
get it in order, because it can become a distraction
as well.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
I'll have another one.
Speaker 6 (03:58):
I would say, the company you keep, they never remember
the person you with. It's always your name, even if
you didn't do it, they remember your name. So only
hang out with people who has your best interest. Right now,
you made you set. Only thing that can end it
is you or your family, your friends that you keep
with you because they think they're you, and they do
(04:19):
things that put you jeopard out is your career. Don't
let it happen. Keep guys that you know who gonna
look out for your best interest. Make sure that you
keep the company that's going to look out for you.
Trust me, this is big because the NFL, they don't
care what your friend did, but you was with them.
So now you gotta fight that case. You gotta worry
(04:39):
about that because your name is the one that's gonna
be going about on the bottom of ESPN, not your friends,
not your family.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Dan Dada, Da Dada, that's your name. You ain't had
nothing to do with it. Remember that.
Speaker 7 (04:52):
I would say, realize where you're at right right now
on this space. You're a professional. You're a football player.
If this is where you want to be, handle your business.
You are a professional football player. Getting your playbook, learn
the ropes, learn everything you need to do to stay
in this game. I'm sorry, stay in this business as
(05:13):
long as you can. You know, I played here for
ten years, played one hundred and twenty seven straight games.
Toward my ACL I was gone, went to New York
and you know I'm battling injuries, trying to get on
the field, But the coaches around the building they always
say good morning, pro, good afternoon pro. They just kept
(05:34):
calling me a pro. I'm like, I wasn't even concerned
with that. I just wanted to get on the field.
But then I realized I carried myself like a professional,
and it just transferred when I went somewhere else, unfamiliar,
laying unfamiliar people that weren't familiar with me, but they're
familiar with a professional. Is that's why we're all up here?
We're professionals.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
I think another question I'm going to ask the panel
here that is important because you guys are about to
have the right of the life and your name plates
on the back of the jersey. The shield is there,
and but you're not immune to life's problems, and you're
not immune to life's adversities. Some of you, a lot
of you probably already overcome quite a bit to even
(06:17):
get here. So my question to you guys is how
did you handle adversity on or off the field when
you were playing, when you have so many things coming
at you as a player.
Speaker 8 (06:31):
Well, first of all, congrats on being the one percent
of the one percent. Man. It's it's a privilege. To
be in this room and understand what comes with that.
There's a lot of people that would give a lot
to be where you all are at.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
And once you.
Speaker 8 (06:45):
Understand that, that puts a different.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Man.
Speaker 8 (06:49):
It gives you different mindset knowing that someone is coming
for your job right and so have no regrets whether
it's in the weight room, watching extra film, you want
to go back, play video games, understand that somebody else
is going back and looking at the film. Even guys
that you're competing against, look at the film, do extra work, act,
(07:10):
ask questions. But just I just want to congratulate you
guys on that because it's man, it's a special honor
to be in here. But to go back to the
question Brett, I think for me, I was I was
blessed to meet my wife in college. She's my rock.
I'll tell you straight up. We're going on seventeen years
of being married and so to have her has been
a huge blessing because she knows I feed off encouragement
(07:35):
and and so there's a lot of tough times. My
rookie year, my special teams coach, he told me every
week I was getting cut. My wife and I we
you know, towards the end of the year find out
we were having our first child, and he told me
that was the biggest mistake I'll ever make of my life.
And so that was kind of what I was dealing with.
So mentally, man, it was really really tough, and I
bottled a lot of that up, which isn't healthy. And
(07:55):
so I would encourage you guys, man, if you can
find a mentor an old coach. Uh, you know, I
mean to shoot text one of us. I mean, we've
all been through it. We've all you know, had successful careers. Man,
y'all just got to talk about life off the field,
on the field, what's going on. Uh, just feel free
to reach out because don't man, don't bottle it up.
You bottle that stress up. Man, it'll show on Sundays
(08:17):
and that's you don't want that.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah, I echoed that, do not suffer in silence. Man.
I did it myself, and I remember being an old head.
Come back. Kenny Britt, another first round pick.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
He was struggling. It reminded me of my struggles. I
reached out to him and said, hey, have him my number.
He never reached out. He wasn't hearing very much. Longer
after that, and then he journeyed around the league after that.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Man. So I'll just tell you, man, don't suffer inside.
This is hard.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
There's last spectation that comes with this. There's gonna be
a lot of people. They're gonna write stuff about you.
They're gonna tweet stuff about you, They're gonna instagram about you,
They're gonna do whatever they can. Your family's gonna talk
bad about you. Even the ones that that said they
love you, man, you do that, They're gonna they're gonna
talk about you. Man, So have somebody. It might be
somebody sitting next to you today. It might, like you said,
one of us. Like I said, I reached out to
(09:00):
some of the guys when I see them, man, because
it reminds me my own story. So I like, man,
look I've been there. Because it's some like he said,
you have a one percent of a one percent. Now,
a whole lot of people in the world that have
been in these rooms that can relate to you. We
just happen to be guys that did it twenty twenty
five years ago, unless you know that kind of thing.
So man, use your resources, man, whether it be a
(09:21):
licensed therapist or an old head like ourselves that you
can just talk to man and just just bounce that
off of, because I'm gonna tell you that's the realest
because the season is long. When y'all get to October,
you already played your college season, and now you got
to figure out to get that second win and mentally,
especially that first year, mentally getting past that that wall.
(09:43):
It's rough, but you gotta find it because this is
your job and it's a lot different. You don't got
to go class and anything else like that, man, But
find somebody that you can relate to.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Man.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
Just like I said, if it's just hey, man, I'm
going through something right now, what I need? What can
I do? What can you do for me? Just reach out, I.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Would say, believe in yourself. Man.
Speaker 7 (10:04):
I was a first round Drive Music City Miracle Rookie
of the Year. I got drafted after him, and I
just played situational football for two years.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
And it wasn't my fault. You know.
Speaker 7 (10:15):
We had a really good football team, really good defense,
and I just look, look, I was better than who
was in front of me. But that's on the coach,
you know what I'm saying. But nonetheless, I had to
keep we can concur I had to keep believing in
myself because like, I'm not gonna see it and hold
you like damn, like am I bus Like what's going on?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Like why can't you know what I mean?
Speaker 7 (10:36):
And then you know, when you get your opportunity, make
the most of it, be prepared. You never know when
it's gonna be, but always believe in yourself. You're in
this room for a reason, and these coaches are gonna
find out over the next three months.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
So look good luck.
Speaker 6 (10:52):
I'm gonna start off out just giving you all like
my history went to a D two and you know,
I feel like I should have went to USC, but
I put myself in the situation that I had to
get myself out of, and I said, I'm gonna put
my head down and I'm gonna grind. If you know
my one of my coaches, Willie Fritz, told me when
I went to Central Missouri, he said, if you as
(11:13):
good as you say you are, they gonna find you.
And that stuck with me because I'm like he challenging me,
He challenged me to be great because I was still
a boy when I was in college and didn't realize
he was trying to teach me to be a man.
So I knew that I was gonna hit these bumps
in the road because I already had took an obstacle
that put me in D two. So now everything was
(11:34):
being thrown at me. But I knew if I put
my head down and I grind, I was gonna get
to where I wanted to be because I wanted to
be there. And then when I got invited to the combine,
that was another step. But I still felt like I
was behind because now I'm a D two player going
to the combine, I got to compete, compete against all
you guys Miami, SC Florida State. They don't know who
(11:56):
I am. Again, it's another bump in the role. Nobody
know me, nobody can ever see me play. So again
I'm challenging myself. I put my head down at this combine.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
I'm on grin.
Speaker 6 (12:05):
I'm gonna show these dudes what I'm all about. I
get drafted. These are steps I looked at cause I'm like,
I'm ten toes down. Long as I'm ten toes down,
I'm on grind because I never looked at it as oh,
I'm gonna give up all they pushing me back. I
looked at it. I'm gonna fight because I always been
a fighter. Y'all fighters, That's why y'all in this room.
You have to compete against a lot of people to
(12:27):
be here, and they chose you because they seen something
in you. Because y'all fighters, I fought all my life.
You ain't gonna stop today, you know what I'm saying.
So when that bump is in that road, put your
head down and grind. Don't ever let none of these
coaches tell you ain't gonna be in this league, because
they told me that when I was in the forty
nine ers. Oh I'm a special teams guy, that's all
you are. I said, Okay, let.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Me give y'all.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Let me give y'all game on free. This one's free.
I used to tell free agents because we got draft
picks in here. Some of y'all already know you got
a job. Like man, that's just what it is. I
was the first round pick. I knew I had a job.
I wasn't gonna be cut. They gonna invest that kind
of capital on me, me not be here. I knew
I was gonna be here. But there were some free
agents and stuff like that. They were pretty talented. So
I would tell them you gotta listen and watch, pay attention,
(13:08):
and do what the next man is not doing. What
I mean is if he keep screaming at this guy
for not knowing his plays, or he's missing blocks, or
he's not digging out that safety, or he's dropping the ball,
what are you doing. You're doing exact opposite. You're not
in your playbook. I'm in my playbook. You make sure
you doing what the other guy's not doing. And keep
in mind, I'm a former Titan. But there's thirty one
(13:29):
other teams in this league, and unfortunately there's only so
many roster spots, and they all know each other. We
got gentlemens, we got people. Hear this guy from Kansas City.
You don't think he don't still have contacts of Kansas City.
You don't think they're still talking. They all talk, all
talk brother out for the NFL.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Bro.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
So do what the next guy is not doing. Man,
that's how you that's how you last and stay around.
Speaker 7 (13:51):
They like you go out there and put your best
foot out there.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Like mcdog said, be professional, Yeah, be professional. Be prepared.
Speaker 5 (13:58):
Preparation is key to this thing because you never know
when your numbers going to get called.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Don't be late with me personally.
Speaker 5 (14:06):
When I got a scholarship to go to University of Florida,
I show up there, I read sturted in my first year.
Then going into my my red shirt freshman year, the
first year I was going to play, I was like
a backup and literally somebody gets hurt, literally that Thursday
before our first our first game of the season, and
they threw a pass out there and I never gave
(14:29):
that back.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
And then once I got drafted here for the Titans,
got drafted here, I was of course I was the
first round picked them at sixteen, but they still were
going to groom me and have me play behind someone else.
I feel like maybe the second week of training camp
they put him. In the second week of training camp,
the person who was in front of me got in
a co accident. He got in a carnccident, prat Lions
(14:52):
got in a car accident. Ended up couldn't play footballnymore
because they found an aneurysm on his brain. And they
actually like say this life because he wasn't like bumping
hairs anymore. But anyways, after that happened, they threw my
sat there and look through these walls and see what
happened right there, because I was ready for that. Y'all
gotta be ready, listen. Never know when they're gonna call
your number, but when they call your number, man, y'all
(15:13):
gotta be ready for this thing because it's those opportunity
are not gonna come around a lot.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Stop.
Speaker 5 (15:19):
It's not gonna come around a lot.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
So you got to make the most of it. Man.
Speaker 7 (15:22):
So that's the opportunity to play football. I remember, and
I pass it back to you. Ready, I remember, SAMAI row.
One of my teammates used to always acting, damn bull,
Why you practice all the time? Why you practice all
the time. I was like, Bro, he's gonna be a
time where I can't practice. Gonna be a time where
you can't I can go shoot basketball, play pickleball, Dude,
I can't go out there and.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Without get arrested to go try and play.
Speaker 7 (15:45):
I look crazy if I go out You know what
I'm saying, Like, you can't go do this again.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
So this is it, This is it this summer.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
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(16:16):
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Speaker 3 (16:24):
All right, I think we're getting short on time, so
I'm going to open the floor up. Anybody got a
question for one of these guys that you want to
know some things about?
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Yes, because he was a little the team super Bowl?
So what was that team enviromment? Right? The team atmosphere?
Speaker 5 (16:40):
It was a It was a for me, it was
a real family atmosphere because when I got dropped here
in ninety nine, you guys may have went eight and eight,
like how many years in a row? So or three
years in a row, eight and eight, five hundred, But
when I got in, it was like there was no
hazing going on with like listen, man, we got we
got a job to do.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
We try it.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
We don't have no time to make you get on
the Stemlach chair and seeing your team fights, song or whatever.
But it was just a family atmosphere. Just everyone put
me to the side. I did the same thing that
Keith got here as well. He reminded me of that.
But like like the Eddies, the Steve McNair's, like they
all put me to the side. Bruce Matthews put me
to the side. Like listen, man, like listen, we got
a job to do. We're all on the same page.
(17:19):
So if you go through anything, talk to us or whatever.
But the big picture is like it was, it was
a family atmosphere. Like everybody was just wealthy.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
I could speak to that too.
Speaker 7 (17:28):
It was a veteran team because like I came after them,
So I think Big Jeff might be the oldest cat
on the team here. Yeah, well Bruce Matthews was in
year twenty. You know what I'm saying. My vet in
my room, my veteran linebacker was in year eleven like
these cats. Was like, so how Dravan is talking like
you coming to do your work? Like these cats is
(17:48):
going home to their wife and they two three year
old kid, which at twenty two I couldn't relate to that,
but now I was like, damn, I see what they was.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Going through now, but you see what I'm saying. So
it's really the structure of the team. Man.
Speaker 7 (18:01):
You know we hit a low. I was here for
ten years, so you know they set the fabric. You've
seen it on the video. You know they set the fabric.
They skipped over. You know, they got through the little
thing and then they got to Delaney's team. But right
there we went owing four, like we four and twelve,
five and eleven. But you know it was one of
(18:22):
those things. I was the best player on the team.
And a former player, Marcus Robinson said, or coach Fisher said,
this team is gonna go up or down with you
because I had a bad attitude.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
When you lose, you got bad attitude.
Speaker 7 (18:33):
Right, So when I started holding people accountable, when you
hold people accountable, you gotta be most accountable.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Quarterbacks know that. Right linebackers should know that. You gotta
be most accountable.
Speaker 7 (18:43):
So that's what you gotta do in this team leaked
and it's not your time yet, but that time might
come for you. So yeah, I'll say this, man, they
any good team I've ever been on, college, high school, pro,
even what I do now, nobody care who got the credit,
and I knew that was true.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
What Eddie George came to me. He's the face of
the franchise. That said, man, you got prepare every day
like you the best player on the field. And this
is this is Eddie George telling me that. And I'm like,
day you you are the best player on the field.
You're supposed to be the man. They changed your name
at the stadium they changed and He's like, no, you
got to you the best player in this field every day.
And he didn't care. He just wanted to win at
the end of the day. You know, now evenew he
(19:20):
gonna get the rock, but at this steel But that's
that's any good team I've ever been on, especially that team,
And it was just I was came in when I
came in ninety eight. The year before him that had
been eight eight and we went eight to eight. And
I remember riding a playing home with samorriw. We was
one and four, and dudes, is just kind of like,
off to the next one, because in the pros, you know,
you can't let it sit on you for a loan.
(19:42):
You got going to the next one. And samri and
Kenny Holmes, who played at Miami he was. He was
drafting year before me, and they were just kind of
like like sulking, but everybody else is kind of like,
just move off the next one. He was like, man,
I've already lost more games this year, and I lost
my whole college career.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
This one.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
Ford State was just you know, Florid State was bagging,
and he was like it was just hard for him.
So he had competitive spirit. So we went eight and eight,
and then that next year when we flipped and everybody
just and then JK came and it was just like
it just connected and nobody cared.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Don't get me wrong. We had a fight.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
We had a fight night for a Super Bowl between
a dB and a receiver that's right at practice.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
But you wouldn't have known it. Him would have gotten filled,
you know what I'm saying. So it's all of.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
Y'all know, man, y'all been playing the sport for a
long time. Man, But any good team ever been on,
there was no division in.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
That locker room. Man. We didn't care who was man.
We was all rooting for JK. They was.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
They started playing freak out in the stadium, like we
didn't care about that. The rookie, you know, what I'm saying,
it was just all man and that's that's why it
was so good. But like all good things that come
to the end, people got to get paid, pre agency
and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Man.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
So it's just like I think Bull said it earlier,
the business. This is a business, and you gotta treated
like a business and you are your own corporation. And
that's how you handle yourself from this meeting or this
this this rookie camp on forward, man termine the success
of your business. All right, gentlemen, what's the biggest thing
(21:10):
you wish you could have been or something that you
did help.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Man?
Speaker 4 (21:16):
I for me, the biggest thing I wish I would
have done man like generilized my resources, whether it be
just talking to folks, and took better care of my body.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
I'm like you said, when you're two twenty three years old,
you think you know EVENO I tore so.
Speaker 4 (21:31):
I had three career threatening injuries, and I came back
from each of them.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
And I wish I would.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
Have understood the the dynamics of health and body and eating.
And I still was eating all kind of way, and
I realized that the connection between my diet and my
health and so I tore my knee up rafted that
miracle year.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
That very next year, I tore my knee up. That's
a year Bull was drafted.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
And then I came back, had had a good season,
and then tore my hamstring off. You know you can
do that. Then I came back from that and free
agency signed one year deal with Caroline toward my achilles
six months later after that, and it was just a
domino effect. And so I wish I'd know how to
take care of my body. So research and do what
you can to figure out how to keep your body healthy.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Do whatever it is.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
Massage is, I don't know, acupuncture, your diet, get a nutrition,
invest in your body. I'm not gonna because it's basketball,
but you Lebar's playing as long as he can at.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
The level is for a reason he's taking care of
his body. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
There's sometimes you gotta put that drink down, that glass
of bourbon. Sometimes you gotta put it down because I
got to heal, like you know what I'm saying. Like
I didn't realize that in my twenties because I thought
I'm in my twenties. I can hear. I always I
can go eat windies and be fine. Now, man, take
care of your body. Yeah, I mean I have to
back piggyback off that. Take care of your body.
Speaker 6 (22:52):
Same when I came in the league, I didn't take
care of my body the way I should have.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
And I think that's what caused me not.
Speaker 6 (22:59):
To really put a staple on the field as much
because the coaches knew, you know, I come in falling
asleep in meetings, you know what I mean, not probably
not hitting my max in the weight room. They know
these things, you know. But I was a great athlete
and they knew they can build on me. But I
have to learn myself to take care of my body.
(23:19):
And there I'm in my second year. I had Larry
Allen and Brian Young there, and I used to watch
those dudes go in the steamroom every day, get the
cold tub every day, and I'm like, man, I need
to change because whatever they doing, that's what I need
to do, you know what I'm saying. And luckily, like
he said, when they back in the days, those guys
used to take you under the wing. I came in
and if they see you want to do it, they
(23:41):
take you under the wing and show you how to prepare.
And after that my second year, I was I followed
them everywhere they went. They was getting massages, I was
getting a massage. If they was in the steam room,
I was in the steam room. If they was getting stretched,
I was getting stretched. If they was hitting the pool
after workers, I was hitting the pool after workouts. Like
y'all have to follow these vets who's doing it at
a high level, copy their routine. They not gonna be mad,
(24:03):
I'll promise you because when we see y'all doing that,
we love that, Like, Okay, this is gonna he gonna
be a baller. I'm gonna make sure we I take
care of him, get him right. They want to give
you the knowledge we want to We want to pass
it down to y'all.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
That's that's what football is. Yeah, they're talking about health.
Speaker 7 (24:18):
I agree all that, but you know, transitioning your game
from the college game to the pro game like finding
a vet with that, you know what I'm saying, How
to watch film at this level knowing your different personnels
down in distance, because like.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
This this level is game of inches.
Speaker 7 (24:35):
Like yeah, if that there's a reason that wide receivers
inside that hash mark and every other play. He's outside
that hashmark. He's trying to get across this field. Fat
like things like that. You know, whatever little tibbit is
that can help you.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
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Speaker 2 (25:02):
Tighten up Home is the.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Forefront of all we do. It's why we're so committed
to caring for the places and spaces in which we
work and live. Ashley, the official furniture provider of the
Tennessee Titans. Now back to the OTPs, it time for.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
The special teams talk.
Speaker 8 (25:24):
I'll say this obviously from a special team's perspective and
playing for fifteen years and seeing how many guys made
a team because of their wanting to play special teams.
Guys that would ask to play kickoff. Hey, coach, put
me in at L five, L four, even though they've
(25:46):
never done it before.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
But they're learning.
Speaker 8 (25:47):
They're staying after practice, they're working on their punt sets,
technique moves.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
You know.
Speaker 8 (25:54):
Slater in New England played sixteen years right, literally playing
special teams, playing special teams, and so to see in
this guy, I remember watching film and he's what, You're
six in the Super Bowl running down on a kickoff,
taking someone's head off. You're six in a super Bowl.
And so I've seen I think we've all probably had
(26:15):
stories from my perspective, you know, punting for for a
long time and seeing guys and a coach coming up
to me saying, hey, you know we got a plus
fifty punt.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Who do you want?
Speaker 8 (26:25):
Hey, Nick Westbrook a keene, he has got sure hands.
I need him out there when we have a plus
fifty punt special team. Like you're you're coming after jobs
from from guys that are like putting food on the
on the table, right. They understand you're you're making some
good money, right, and you put that money away, you
know when you when you retire, you play long enough,
you can look pretty good. And so to come in,
(26:49):
they're always the guys up there, they're trying to get
younger and cheaper. You guys are the cheaper side, right,
You're the cheaper side. And so to come in play
special teams, man, you got their preseason, You're going out there.
OTA's right, you're grinding your working. I promise you there
will be one or two guys in this room making
this team because of the special teams.
Speaker 7 (27:08):
Make them slow you down and they take it to practice.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
What he's saying is so true.
Speaker 6 (27:14):
Like I literally made the team in San Francisco every
year just because I played every special teams. And when
I mean I played special teams. I went out there
like this is I start on special teams.
Speaker 7 (27:23):
He was as San Francisco. I didn't even know I
played against so when we played them.
Speaker 6 (27:28):
Yeah, because I look like I came out like a fullback,
because I will come. I took any time they say,
look you're gonna be on kickoff, Okay, put me out.
I want to be the dude who attacked the ball.
And back then we had they had the wedge. I
used to run and just go blow the wedge up
just to set a tone. You know, they seen forty six,
and yeah I wore forty six.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
I know that number ugly.
Speaker 6 (27:48):
Whatever, but that's what they gave me, and I rocked it.
I say that they're gonna remember forty six out today,
and you start every game when you're on special teams,
remember that you start every game you start every half.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Don't worry about what people say. Special teams will get
you paid.
Speaker 6 (28:01):
I play seven years in the NFL on special teams
and I was making three point five million on special teams.
They you'll pay you. And when your time is to shine,
you shine. I had the opportunity to come to Tennessee.
They say you're gonna be the man. I say, okay,
it's about that time. They put that ball in my hand.
I never went back to special teams, and.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
He went from for he went from forty six to
eighty two. That's a good look at himber Right, I got,
I got.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
The idea is get in y'all in now.
Speaker 4 (28:28):
It's how you stay here, to stay as long as
you can man, ride that bike until you can't.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Man, that's that's.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
The ultimate Goald dream. And we're gonna say it. Short
sight is everybody wants to be a Hall of Famery
Pro Bowl. That's not the reality of it. That's of
that one percent, that's less than one percent. There's only
fifty hundred of those, right, most of the Fiel's bit
of the role players, everybody rest of the role players,
there's only so many Tom Brady's and all them, you
know what I'm saying. So the idea is get in
and play long as you can.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
That's some good and sage advice and probably a place
where we should stop because these guys are got to schedule.
But hey, all of these guys, they're a resource for you.
They've been there and done all that. And I want
to thank our great panel to day doctor Kevin Dyson,
the freak Javon Curse, mister linebacker, mister Munday, and to
himself number fifty three, Keith Bullock eighty two down there
(29:15):
forty six to eighty two tight end to Landy Walker
and the ever reliable number six, the super punter Brett Kern.
Thank you all for being here and it was an
honor be with you guys this afternoon.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
Thanks
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