Rookie WR Jaylin Lane and Washington legend Ricky Sanders join Next Man Up to break down the Washington Commanders WR standard—mindset, practice habits, chemistry with QBs, and how today’s receivers can win on Sundays.
Lane shares what he’s learning in Year 1; Sanders gives a masterclass on separation, toughness, and longevity.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
One thing my Prossy always he's been telling me since
I was in high school. He just say, you belong, man.
Just it just kind of just breathing that life into me.
And you know, I always felt that way. But it's
like in my mind, I always not doubted myself. I
was always like uber hard on myself, like dang, I
got to make that play this and that, you know
(00:20):
what I'm saying. But you know I've seen I've come
to kind of get myself some grace. Like man, you know,
I've put in the work. I've done a lot of
stuff and I can make plays and you know, just
you know I belong and you know I can help
this team win.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
The Next Man Up Podcast is presented by Lansdown Resort
from Kick Off, the Check and Score, Game Change and
get Away in the heart of Lounded Lansdown Resort, proud
partner of the Washington Commanders. Welcome in Commanders family to
Next Man Up. Sitting next to me right now, it's
all rookie. But he's looked really, really good this season,
Jayalen Lange, what's good really going on?
Speaker 3 (00:54):
How you're doing.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I'm doing really good, man, Like I said, you look
good this season. But it's not just being a receiver,
because that's something you're still working towards, but that special
teams aspect, you've been able. You and Luke have been
able to become one of the better return tandems that
we've seen in this league. Man, How cool has that
been to be able to step into a role that
maybe necessarily didn't know that you would be playing in
and be able to rose to the occasion.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Yeah, it's real cool man.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
You know, I feel like we take a lot of
pride in special teams just on the team, and you
could just see it by the energy and the effort
that the guys provide, no matter kick off return, point return,
just in a return game. The guys that go out
and bust their tails and you know, me and Luke
we kind of feed off that devo early in the season,
you know, it's just just try to bring that spark
(01:39):
to the team.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
How do you stay ready for those moments? Because you
mentioned yourself, Debo was there at one point. It seems
as if, especially lately man, your number has just been
called in a bunch of different ways. Man, how is
that being ready? Because it didn't happen right off the rip.
It took some time, but now it seems like you're
getting opportunity after opportunity.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
I think I'm starting to realize just like how important
those practice reps are to help you mentally, because obviously,
you know, I always practice hard, but you gotta treat
every rep in practice like it is in the game,
and so it's like you're just stealing reps for the game.
Just kind of think of it like that. So when
the game time comes, like you see me make a
player debo, anybody make a play, But that's our fifth
(02:19):
time technically making that play on game day, you know
what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
So we just got to build up those practice reps.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
And it's dope sitting here with you, because last time
we were in this studio, you had just signed, you
had just got drafted, dream fulfilled, and we didn't know
what to expect, right, you didn't know what to expect.
I think last time and you actually got to wrap
interview for him was on media day. Still haven't really
done much on the field, Man, Has anything surprised you
since we last.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Fo Man, I wouldn't say much surprise me because you
know football is football. But you know, I just think
just you know, being here. It's just a really cool experience. Man,
I'm blessed, and you know, it's just been a really
fun journey just to get to this point.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
But you know, we just at the beginning of what
have you learned the most about yourself? Because it's easy
to dream and say, hey, I want to get to
this port, but once you get there, you really got
to put in that work. You start to learn some
things that maybe you didn't know about the league and
all that. Man, what have you learned about yourself?
Speaker 1 (03:11):
One thing my Possy always he's been telling me since
I was in high school.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
He just say, you belong.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Man. It just kind of just breathing that life into me.
And you know, I always felt that way. But it's
like in my mind, I always not doubted myself, but
I was always like uber hard on myself, like dang,
like I got to make that play this and that,
you know what I'm saying. But you know I've seen
I've come to kind of give myself some grace. Like, man,
you know I've put in the work. I've done a
(03:37):
lot of stuff and I can make plays and you know,
just you know, I belong and you know I can
help this team win.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
It's one thing for like your pops to tell you, like, hey,
you belong. But when you're you're human, right, Like, it's
hard to get past that imposture syndrome. Sometimes you have
a moment, whether it was in the game, whether it
was that practice of just being in this building where
you said, oh yeah, nah, I belong.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
I don't know that's specific moment, but I just think
you know that confidence obviously comes from working and making
players on the field. But like when the older guys,
when the vets kind of are continue to breathe that
life into you and you know, just speak positivity to you,
like Deebo, Terry zach Ertz, and you know when they
started doing that, I was like, this is pretty cool,
(04:19):
you know what I'm saying. It's kind of like the
you know, I'm here a moment and you know, just
keep working.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
When you're playing with guys that you've been watching for years,
right like Terry was right up the street. You know,
everybody know who Debo Samuel is. Is it hard to
be able to like remove yourself as the fan, as
the football fan and be able to articulate all the
questions you have because I'm sure as soon as you
see Deebo, there's like a million questions that run through head.
How do I do this? How do I do this?
How do you find ways to learn effectively from these
(04:46):
guys because they're also putting that work.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Into Honestly, I think I got to give credit to
them because honestly, of course I got a lot of questions.
But it's more so like there's been countless times Devo
or Terry or pulled me to the side randomly about
to play talk about a rep and I didn't have
to ask, Like you know, Terry does it literally almost
every day, and I love that. You know, I'm just
(05:07):
trying to I try to soak everything in and just
learn as much as possible. So it's it's really like
thanks to them, you know, because sometimes I can't articulate,
like you said, articulate anything I want to say, but
you know, they do a good job just coaching me up,
even when they might think I do or don't need it.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Has it been tough being patient, right, because you don't
get to this position if you're not a star athlete
pretty much your entire life. But now you're in a
different role. Now you have to be a little patient.
You have to wait for your moments, which we've seen
you do very gracefully. But that's had it been a
little tough, right has it been kind of tough? I wouldn't.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
I feel like in my mind, you know, I've always
kind of had that kind of like, you know, I'm
gonna wait and just wait my turn, and you know
it's gonna come. I never want to try to force her,
you know, anything like that. It just because they always
say the ball finds energy, ball finds positivity, and so
I don't want to bring any.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Kind of negative energy or negative stuff to the table.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
And when you know, we're all trying to eat, but
you know everybody gonna eat a day, right Tom.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
And you were be impatient and you waited, and all
of a sudden, Week three, my boy gets a ninety
yard return on my guys, Before we talk about anything else,
what's going through your mind in that moment? Is it
as soon as that ball TuS as your hand, you said, oh,
this one's gonna be one of them ones? Or does
it just do you just blackout?
Speaker 1 (06:25):
In those moments, It's like it's like, you know, there's
certain plays I can remember specifically, and that's one of them.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
It's just like there's a feeling.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Obviously I catch it and I see the vendors coming,
but you know, make a move and hit the lane.
The boys built a crazy lane for me on that
play too, And when I saw the open field, it
felt like slow motion from like the forty yard line
all the way to the end zone. So just kind
of remembering that, you know, it's a really cool moment,
(06:55):
something I'm never gonna forget for sure.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Definitely one of those welcome to the NFL moments, man.
And it's funny I get to watch the games with
your boy. Be mentioned. We've talked about it before, how
your relationship is, how you reach out to him, I'm
telling you, Other than probably your pops, I don't know
if there's somebody else more excited for you and your
success in the building. Man. I see smile when I
mentioned b How special is that, man, to have guys
like that in this building that cares so much about you,
(07:18):
that don't necessarily have to invest in you, but have
invested in you.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Yeah. I remember.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
It was probably a couple of days after I got drafted.
My agent text me. He was like, hey, man, be
Mitch wanted to talk to you this and that, and like,
I'm like, yo, that's crazy, am My, pops.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
He's definitely going crazy.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
He's like he trying to like, I'm excited, but he
trying to like tell me you need to be more
excited about this.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
You don't realize who this is. This is your Devin.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
This is just started talking like that, and then you know,
you know, me and be Mitch eventually link up when
we get out here, and he's just been just kind
of breathing like positivity and just confidence into me. And
you know, he coached me up on a couple of things.
But you know, I know, I was ready to see
the text after that, not y'all new it's gonna hit
(08:03):
me up after the game.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
So it's been pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
You min sharing what he said to you after that.
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
I ain't got my phone on me. I don't know
what he's said.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
But man, you know, it's just all positive, you know, things,
just you know, just you know, he's proud of me,
and you know, it's just the beginning.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
And it's one thing to get love from your family,
it's one thing to get love from the people in
his building. The NFL recognized you for that play Rookie
of the Week. Man, they do so many cool things
in the NFL, and I think this Rookie of the
Week team that they've been able to do. They give
you all a belt, right, Yeah, it's a real bit.
It's real like yo, Like it's heavy. I'm like I
tried to pick up the butt. Let's go back to
(08:42):
that moment. Man, how did you find out? What was that? Like?
You know what it means to you?
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Man, it means a lot.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
You know, shout out all the Washington fans because I
know they made it happen with the voting and stuff
like that. But when I found out, it was like
I really didn't even I think Bill was actually first
person to tell me. He said congrats, fam, I said
on what? But then he told me and then you know,
they brought the belt to me like a couple of
days later. But you know it just it means a lot.
(09:10):
There's a testament to you know, the guys on the team,
the life they breathe into me, and just the work
that we all put in.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Man, you still got a lot more to do.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Man.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
We can tell how hungry you are and me we
were talking about before we got started. I said, Yo,
are you itching for that first touchdown? Would you like
to share what you said to me?
Speaker 5 (09:27):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Man, you know it's everybody want to get in the box.
You knows itching, but you know it's coming, you know.
Like I said, I'm gonna be patient. My time gonna come,
and I'm gonna be ready for it.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
When I talk to the young cast man and I
asked them what they're learning from these veteran guys, most
of them say that they're surprised to hear from the
veterans about the recovery process, about taking care of your
body and our partners at Lands Downwards Ort. They like
to know that you spend your downtime wise. They want
to know you're getting it done on the field, but
they also want to know you spending down time and
take care of yourself. How does Jalen Lane spend his downtime?
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Man, If I'm not in the facility, man, I'm with
my Wifey.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
We go to the movies. I love the movies, Top golf.
There's things like that, man on the game. You know,
I don't I don't be doing too much just if
I'm not here either, working or recovering with the wife.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Ea chilling.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
And I'm glad you mentioned wife, man, because I see
the ring on your finger, and last time we spoke,
I don't think the ring was even now I'm not sure.
I think you got married.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I got married in June. Wow, Yeah, so it was.
It's been a lot going on this year.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Man.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
You're twenty three years old. Man, you just get drafted NFL,
probably more money than you've ever seen, and you say,
as a young man, I want to get married. Man,
I want to commit myself to this woman.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Man.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Why was that so important for you to do in
that moment?
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Man? It was extremely important to me. You know, we've
been going since high school. So yeah, man, you know
we did the long distance thing, and you know I
knew she was the one for a minute, so you know,
last July, I wanted to propose in a way where
she wasn't gonna expect it. And you know, it's clean,
it's it's not a long story, but.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
I mean we got here.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
Look, I told it was around our almost four year
anniversary or something like that, and we had never done
a couple photo shoot. I was like, okay, come out
to coming to campus, say I want to set it
up and she's just thinking we're doing just a regular
photo shoot.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
We never did one.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
I told the photographer what I was trying to do,
and the pictures on my Instagram for y'all want to
see it. But you know, we went to the little
hand guarden on Virginia Tech campus proposed and yeah, but
thanks to her, she playing pretty much the whole wait
and because we went through the season, then we had draft.
But there's been a lot of stuff going on. So
(11:42):
shout out to Wifey Man, You're a trooper.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
I love you, And shout out to Wifey Man because
I wanted to mention that in closing, because like I think,
people forget the support systems we need to be able
to operate this level. Man, how special has it been
being able to share this part of your journey work?
I mean, you shared so much with her high school.
Was it being able to share this part? Man?
Speaker 3 (12:00):
It's real special?
Speaker 1 (12:02):
You know, Like when I got drafted, everybody in there crying.
It's just you know, because I wouldn't be here without her,
my family, just everybody who's been there the whole ride
with me. So you know this, what I'm doing now
is not just for me, It's just for.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Everybody I love and care about, and everybody you love
and care about be watching you on Monday night football
prom Tom Baby taking on the Kansas City Chiefs and closing.
What can fans expect because you know they gonna show
up and short like they always do on the road.
What can fans expect not only from Jaalen Lane for
the Commanders man.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
You know we're gonna come up with energy.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
We're just gonna continue to fight like we always do
every week, and you know we're gonna make appa.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Y'all definitely gonna make it happen. Commander's family, our next
man up, the rookie who's accomplishing so much, the married man.
Jalen Lane, Appreciate you, brother, Appreciate you. Hey. Marylanders play
Multi Match from the Maryland Lottery, Maryland's only in state
jackpot game. A two dollar ticket gives you a chance
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(12:58):
Drawings Mondays and Thursdays. And remember, please play responsible now.
They say your work defines who you are. Monday through Friday,
nine to five, you are clocking in what happens on
the weekend. What happens to your time? You could take
it easy, or you could use your time to get better.
In the US Army, we think differently. Your time should
be used to improve the skills you do have to
(13:20):
learn some you don't to put yourself in new ways,
because it's those days that truly define who you are.
That's how you make progress, That's how you make impact
on the world around you. It's your time. How you
spend it is up to you. It's your time. The
US Army Reserve Command his family back to the show.
Command this family, Our next man up is one of
(13:43):
the best to ever do it at the wide receiver position,
seventh all time in receiving yards for Washington, a two
time Super Bowl champion, was the coldest route runner we
probably seen. Hit the Burgerdy your goal. Let me welcome in,
Ricky Sand It's the next man of How you do it?
Speaker 4 (13:59):
Sir? Hey, I'm doing good. Brian, how you doing it?
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Oh man, I'm blessed. I appreciate you taking the time
to talk to us and kick it with us. It
was crazy. I've talked to every member of the posse.
I work with Gary all the time. I got to
speak to Art a few months ago. So you're the
last member of the posse. So I was very very
excited to get to ride with you.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
Yeah, that's the way they always put me at the end.
So I'll make make the great catch.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
For you, the anchor. You're the person that vacant man
when it's.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
When it's fourth and five, that's called rick. Hey.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Then there you go. See. So it's so funny, like
because me and you haven't got to meet. This is
our first time like meeting virtually. You know, I didn't
know what to expect from Gary when I met him,
but right away I could tell brother got all the
confidence in the world. Then I'm be Art Monk and
he's very like stoic and very chill. It seems like
you got like a like the best of both worlds
with them. Is that true?
Speaker 4 (14:50):
That's definitely it. Man.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
You know, I got some of Gary, got some of Art,
and man that that that Gary, he's I feel like
he could do it.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
And I'm sure all of you guys have that in
some sensitive Why you guys were so good, We're going
to talk about all of that. But much like Gary
and me and Gary did this as well when we spoke.
I want to start at the beginning because you all
had different starts your careers than most people. You as well,
just like Gary started in the USFL. When you go
back to that, when you go back to young Ricky
Sanders that was going through that in real time, What
(15:23):
was that like for you and what did you get
out of the USFL.
Speaker 5 (15:27):
Yeah, I got some experience. You know, I was a
running back in Texas State. You know, I was running
back in high school and then went to Texas State
and I was a running back and.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
We won two national championships.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
But then when I went to the USFL and was
playing with Jim Kelly, you know, we were throwing the
ball all they moved me to a slot receiver, kind
of like a running back sop. And that's where I
got all my experience right there, you know, catching the
ball from Jim Kelly, learning from other receivers like Richard Johnson,
(16:03):
Gerald McNeil.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
You know, we had a whole rutful guys. That was great.
So that's where you know it started.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
When you're in the USFL, is the goal always, Hey,
I'm going to be an NFL player? Was that a
means to an ends? If you will playing for the
USFL or did you not even realize that you were
working your way towards the league.
Speaker 5 (16:25):
I wanted to be in the NFL. You know, I
wanted to win a super Bowl. You know, growing up,
I was a big Cowboy fan, that's Texas, and I wanted, uh,
you know, I wanted to win the Super Bowl because
I you know, used to watch it. You know, all
the guys, you know, Tony dark Setting, all those guys
(16:46):
you know, win super Bowls.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
I say, that's what.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
I want to do, you know it just you know,
God was good to me and he's still good.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
So you know, just had a good time.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
What did that love of football start for Ricky sanders.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Cooh way back?
Speaker 5 (17:06):
Probably wow, probably about five six years old. I was out,
you know, playing with the big guys, you know, and
they couldn't tackle me. They couldn't catch me. You know,
I had that speed. So that's where it started. Back
at my little small town of Belton with eight thousand
(17:28):
people there. So I had a good I had a
lot of guys that could roll bottles man, that played sports, basketball,
you know, track and all that.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
So I learned a lot from those guys.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
When you're from a small community like that, right, eight
thousand people is not a lot of people. When you're
a small town kid, sometimes it's hard to see those
big dreams right to see passed a couple of streets ahead,
right to see past a state away. When did you
realize that professional football was going to be a real
thing for you and not just a dream but something
you could truly accomplish.
Speaker 5 (18:04):
Well, you know, you said, when I got to college
and we had the success there. Uh, that's when I
started really focusing on, you know, trying to get better.
And you know, we had some good good times back
in my college, you know, And I didn't want to
(18:26):
wait for the draft. That's why I went to the USFL.
I wanted to you.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
Know, get in there and get some experience. And that's
how it happened.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Then a Cowboys fan up going to Washington. I know,
what was that like? Was it even a question because again,
you're trying to get an NFL anyway you can, But
was that kind of like a crazy full circle moment
for you to be like I root against these guys
my entire life, now I'm playing for them.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
I know it was It's tough, you know, when I
left the USFL I first round and supplemental draft with
New England and went up there and never practiced with
them and took a physical.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
The next day, the.
Speaker 5 (19:06):
General manager say, hey, Rick, we just had a scrimmage
against the Redskins and and I got some good news
and bad news.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
Which one do you want?
Speaker 5 (19:16):
It's like that, he said, we just drafted two receivers,
Irvin Fryar.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
And some other guy.
Speaker 5 (19:23):
And he said, and they look good out there, so
we're gonna trade you to Washington Redskins because they need
a third receiver. You got Urt Mon Gary Clark. They
want another receiver. And I say, that's when they wasn't
winning any games. You know, they was losing like crazy,
So it was exciting to get back, I mean, to
(19:46):
get to Washington.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Were there any nerves as a young man, knowing you're
going into a wide receiver room with guys that are
just so talented, right, they're saying we need a third receiver.
A lot of times. You know, you've been to star
athlete your whole life. Not a lot of people want
to take that third seat. They wanted to be in
that front seat. What was that like for you? Knowing
that you were going to be playing alongside guys like
Art and Gary.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
Yeah, I just knew, you know, it's gonna because when
I got out there to Washington and we start practicing
in Carlisle, I just had a good feeling that the
three of us was gonna be We're going to do something.
You know, with Art big man, he could uh muscless
way through. Gary is quicker than a cat, you know,
(20:30):
And then I was a man going deep, you know,
catching those deep balls and then sometimes running those routes
you know for first downs. But hey, I wasn't worried about,
you know, being the third man because I knew it
was gonna step up.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
And you definitely had confidence in yourself. And it works
right because it was kind of a slow start for
you. You had to earn your way. I was talking to
Gary yesterday and he told me, he's like, it was
like one second, we're running the ball all the time.
It's just two I receips were set and then we
turned and all of a sudden, now we're spread because
we have to get Ricky sadness on the field when
you're going through that prove it process, right when you're
(21:10):
coming from the USFL, trying to make a name for yourself.
You just got traded to Washington. You're trying to get
every repue can What was that like for young Ricky Sanders?
And do you remember how hard it was competing every
day to just get a chance to be on the field.
Speaker 5 (21:24):
Oh man, it was rough because you know, everybody out
there well great athletes, and you know I had, you know,
had a lot of talent. So I was mostly focusing
on just being the best that I could be, you know,
get out there and and show them what I got
and just you know, just put all I have on
(21:48):
the table and just go for it.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
That's easier said than done, right, Like, I'm sure there's
trials and tribulations to having that mindset and going through
that in real time. How war Art and Gary and
helping you find that comfortability, helping you learn how to
be a true pro.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
Oh man, you know, you know artists he was the
master at it, you know because during the off season,
you know, I used to work out with him and
Darryl Green and and Gary. We all used to go
out to George Mason and work out and just you
know that that guy was dedicated to the game. Dedicated,
(22:27):
you know, to his family and dedicated to his God.
So it was easy to follow in his you know,
to follow with him, you know. And and you know
Gary was the same we we we we uh with
roommates when I first got there.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
We had our own had our apartment together, and it
was two of us together.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
It was like, I can see the memories flashy in
your head right now of those times and of things
you'll choose not to share.
Speaker 4 (23:04):
We studied playbooks together.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Amen, there, Amen, that's how the story's gonna tell. That's
how the history's gonna tell. Y'all was studying playbooks.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
Yeah, uh yeah, man. We I had some good times
there in Washington.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
Man. The fans were excellent. Man. The people there, they welcome,
welcomed me.
Speaker 5 (23:24):
In, and it was it was beautiful, you know. On
The thing I didn't like was those winners going up
there and fifteen degrees. Dad was rough practicing in that
cold weather, especially coming from Texas where it's heat and humidity,
(23:45):
and like, whoa.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
You see, I got this hoodie on in October, so
it's bready come in. That cold weather's here.
Speaker 4 (23:53):
Hey boy, it's sill. It's still ninety four degrees here.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Hey, don't don't rub it in, rick You don't run.
We're struggling, Ricky. It's funny when I talked to all
three of you, all even other people like Brian Mitchell
who are on these teams. They mentioned the practices. They
mentioned the practices being like real games, the intensity, the
competition behind it. Can you speak to that a little
bit and what that did to set you guys up
(24:19):
for Super Bowl success?
Speaker 4 (24:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (24:21):
You know, Joe Gibbs was all about, uh, practice and
hard and making it live out there in the practice
like it's going to be a game day, you know,
one on one here you I'm out there going against
a Hall of Famer Darryl Green, you know, and Vernon
Dean and all these guys you know, and it was battle, know,
(24:42):
playing around it was a battle.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
So you know, when you have a coach like Joe Gibbs.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
And his staff man, that was easy to play for
him because he was fair and he's gonna give put
you in a position to win and be successful.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
What was it like knowing you're going into practice and
knowing you're gonna be lining up across from a Darryl Green,
one of the best to ever do it has the speed,
has the size. What was that like for young Ricky Sanders,
knowing that you were going to be able to sharpen
that iron against some more iron?
Speaker 4 (25:18):
Yeah, you know it was.
Speaker 5 (25:20):
It was fun because I already knew Daryl. We were
in the same conference, you know. I went to Texas
State or Southwest Texas what it was called. He went
to the Texas.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
A and I. We were in the same division.
Speaker 5 (25:32):
And he always joke about we played one game and
we did a flee flicker and they threw it to
me and I'll run it down the sideline and he
was coming. He said, man, oh, I was gonna get you.
You know, they called a penalty before they said hey,
I was gonna go get you. I was like, man,
you weren't gonna catch me.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
And it's funny, man. You guys just smile and have
so many great memories. I don't hear many negatives at
all from those times. And it's hard to have negatives
when you're winning two super Bowls, right.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Now, I got to ask you. I ask every multi
super Bowl champ do you have a favorite Super Bowl?
Is that like picking against one of your kids?
Speaker 4 (26:11):
Oh, and the one against Denver.
Speaker 5 (26:15):
You know when I had one hundred, you know, had
ten catches, one hundred and ninety three yards, two touchdowns,
catching the ball from Doug Williams, the first black quarterback
to win the superl That that memory will always be
in my mind. And you know the second one was
beautiful too, you know, with Mark Ripping smart quarterback throw
(26:39):
that ball. And it's just I've been blessed be with
some good talented people.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
And you mentioned Doug Williams, and it seems like, at
least when I go back and look that there was
a special connection between you two. Doug Williams had a
trust and belief in you, especially during those big moments
like that that you don't really see often, like with
him having all of these different weapons. For some reason,
something about you two there was that special connection. Can
you talk to that.
Speaker 5 (27:07):
Yeah, you know, because Doug played in the USFL and
uh we came to Washington at the same time and
he was a backup quarterback and every time we go
one on one, Doug and I you know, that's why
we always battled it against Daryl because he always thought
he could, you know, uh, intercept Doug's past.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
But we just had a connection. Man.
Speaker 5 (27:33):
We came in the same time and we I mean
he I guess he'd loved throwing the ball to McGary.
I always said, hey, yeah, he see, Doug, there is
your favorite receiver over there.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
Like, hey, man, I paid him.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
It's so funny to think of you guys being so close,
being three receivers, to have over a thousand yards in
the season together, and you has all being so competitors
because I to this day you could just see all
that competitive nature and Gary, I could hear it from
you today. Man, that brotherhood that you all have is
so so special, and we'll get to see it in
(28:12):
a few weeks when our monks jersey is retired. I
know that's something that is truly special to everybody that
bleeds Burgney and Gold, but something that was true truly
special to not only Art but you and Gary as well,
because you guys have that posse bomb. Man, how awesome
is it going to be to be able to see
his jersey get retired and be a part of that
moment and even be a part of getting to tell
(28:33):
him when he found out.
Speaker 5 (28:34):
Yeah, yeah, it was. It was great. You know when
we got to his house and surprise him. He is
up there, he's in man, almost cussed. We all come
through the door. He's like what But just to be
a part of this with him, you know, Gary, you
know the posse together, it's gonna be exciting.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
And when you think of a guy like Monk and
you think of him being that mentor to you, like
you said, right, like that guy that really trolled you,
showed you how to play a game, Like Gary would
say it as well, like Art was who you wanted
to tell your kids to be. Like you might have
wanted them to tell to play like me and Ricky,
but you wanted them to be the man that Art
Monk was.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
Man.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
How true is that statement? And how do you feel
about not only the player of Art Monk, but the man?
Speaker 5 (29:25):
Oh man, he's he's a great, great guy man, good man,
good father, good grandfather, uh good friend. Know and one
thing about him he he loved he loved his God
and he loved Jesus. So one of the mean he's quiet,
but then he has some kind of power in him.
(29:47):
That's you know that just you love about him?
Speaker 4 (29:53):
Yeah, please, he's a good man.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Yes he is. And he'd said the same about you,
Ricky A great man accomplish so many things on that
field again, seventh all time in receiving yards. When you
look back, when it's all said and done, right, how
do you want Ricky Sanders' legacy to be remembered.
Speaker 4 (30:15):
That he was a good person? Were it? You know?
Speaker 5 (30:20):
He played hard, he was a team player, He loved
his family, he loved his kids, and he loved the Lord.
Speaker 4 (30:31):
That's yeah, not perfect, but I love him.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
And nobody is perfect, Ricky, but we're all trying our best. Writing.
Thank you so much for taking the time to join us.
And I have to ask you one more question before
you go, because you mentioned Doug Williams, you mentioned these
quarterbacks you got to play with. Well, now we have
a very very special young man that's following Doug Williams
foot steps, following those other quarterbacks footsteps in Jaden Daniels.
What have you seen from the young quarterback that makes
(31:02):
you feel like just maybe we're back to those Super
Bowl era days. I know it.
Speaker 4 (31:08):
You know, I just turned sixty five.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Every birthday, every birthday, yeah.
Speaker 5 (31:13):
September thirty, and okay, I was walking my dog and
I was like, man, if I work out a little harder,
I might be able to go catch some balls from
over Jake. I might be able to do some third
down for him. Man, he's incredible. Boy, that that boy.
Every time I see him, he's just so cool. And
(31:34):
then the attitude he had after when he's just smiling
and you could tell he loved the game. And I
would love to be playing with him. He's a good player,
a great player. And you know, if he stay healthy,
they gonna do some great things.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
And I wish them all.
Speaker 5 (31:55):
I wish them all the all the luck in the
world and all the blessings.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Just like y'all did. Man, doing some great things. And
it's so funny. Gary says the same thing. Tanner says
the same thing as y'all watch Jamers. It's like, Man,
I mean, I can get one ball, bro, I can
out over And that's just so cool to see the
love y'all.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
Y'all route that's about it.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
I believe you still got a little so love to take. Ricky.
Thank you so much for taking the time to pull
up on us. Man, maybe sometime in the summer when
it's not cold, you can pull up to as Verna,
come to the studio and kick it with us.
Speaker 4 (32:27):
Oh that sounds like a deal.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Yes sir, Yes, sir, Command this family, our Next Man Up.
One of the best wide receivers to ever do it.
The last and final member of the posse to join
Next Man Up was so grateful to have them. Our
guy Ricky sayd this.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
Thank you sir, all right, appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Command this family. We hope you've enjoyed this episode of
Next Man Up. You can stream all of the Next
Man Up episodes, even last seasons, on the Commander's YouTube page,
or stream the audio wherever you get your podcast. We
appreciate the love so much. We will see y'all Monday,
a night for some primetime action against the Chicago Bears.
Make sure to do what y'all do best, show up
(33:06):
and show out for our commanders until next week. This
is Next Man Up. I'm your host, Brian Cooley. Junie
gotta hear her. It's fright
One thing my Prossy always he's been telling me since
I was in high school. He just say, you belong, man.
Just it just kind of just breathing that life into me.
And you know, I always felt that way. But it's
like in my mind, I always not doubted myself. I
was always like uber hard on myself, like dang, I
got to make that play this and that, you know
(00:20):
what I'm saying. But you know I've seen I've come
to kind of get myself some grace. Like man, you know,
I've put in the work. I've done a lot of
stuff and I can make plays and you know, just
you know I belong and you know I can help
this team win.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
The Next Man Up Podcast is presented by Lansdown Resort
from Kick Off, the Check and Score, Game Change and
get Away in the heart of Lounded Lansdown Resort, proud
partner of the Washington Commanders. Welcome in Commanders family to
Next Man Up. Sitting next to me right now, it's
all rookie. But he's looked really, really good this season,
Jayalen Lange, what's good really going on?
Speaker 3 (00:54):
How you're doing.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I'm doing really good, man, Like I said, you look
good this season. But it's not just being a receiver,
because that's something you're still working towards, but that special
teams aspect, you've been able. You and Luke have been
able to become one of the better return tandems that
we've seen in this league. Man, How cool has that
been to be able to step into a role that
maybe necessarily didn't know that you would be playing in
and be able to rose to the occasion.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Yeah, it's real cool man.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
You know, I feel like we take a lot of
pride in special teams just on the team, and you
could just see it by the energy and the effort
that the guys provide, no matter kick off return, point return,
just in a return game. The guys that go out
and bust their tails and you know, me and Luke
we kind of feed off that devo early in the season,
you know, it's just just try to bring that spark
(01:39):
to the team.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
How do you stay ready for those moments? Because you
mentioned yourself, Debo was there at one point. It seems
as if, especially lately man, your number has just been
called in a bunch of different ways. Man, how is
that being ready? Because it didn't happen right off the rip.
It took some time, but now it seems like you're
getting opportunity after opportunity.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
I think I'm starting to realize just like how important
those practice reps are to help you mentally, because obviously,
you know, I always practice hard, but you gotta treat
every rep in practice like it is in the game,
and so it's like you're just stealing reps for the game.
Just kind of think of it like that. So when
the game time comes, like you see me make a
player debo, anybody make a play, But that's our fifth
(02:19):
time technically making that play on game day, you know
what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
So we just got to build up those practice reps.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
And it's dope sitting here with you, because last time
we were in this studio, you had just signed, you
had just got drafted, dream fulfilled, and we didn't know
what to expect, right, you didn't know what to expect.
I think last time and you actually got to wrap
interview for him was on media day. Still haven't really
done much on the field, Man, Has anything surprised you
since we last.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Fo Man, I wouldn't say much surprise me because you
know football is football. But you know, I just think
just you know, being here. It's just a really cool experience. Man,
I'm blessed, and you know, it's just been a really
fun journey just to get to this point.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
But you know, we just at the beginning of what
have you learned the most about yourself? Because it's easy
to dream and say, hey, I want to get to
this port, but once you get there, you really got
to put in that work. You start to learn some
things that maybe you didn't know about the league and
all that. Man, what have you learned about yourself?
Speaker 1 (03:11):
One thing my Possy always he's been telling me since
I was in high school.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
He just say, you belong.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Man. It just kind of just breathing that life into me.
And you know, I always felt that way. But it's
like in my mind, I always not doubted myself, but
I was always like uber hard on myself, like dang,
like I got to make that play this and that,
you know what I'm saying. But you know I've seen
I've come to kind of give myself some grace. Like, man,
you know I've put in the work. I've done a
(03:37):
lot of stuff and I can make plays and you know,
just you know, I belong and you know I can
help this team win.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
It's one thing for like your pops to tell you, like, hey,
you belong. But when you're you're human, right, Like, it's
hard to get past that imposture syndrome. Sometimes you have
a moment, whether it was in the game, whether it
was that practice of just being in this building where
you said, oh yeah, nah, I belong.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
I don't know that's specific moment, but I just think
you know that confidence obviously comes from working and making
players on the field. But like when the older guys,
when the vets kind of are continue to breathe that
life into you and you know, just speak positivity to you,
like Deebo, Terry zach Ertz, and you know when they
started doing that, I was like, this is pretty cool,
(04:19):
you know what I'm saying. It's kind of like the
you know, I'm here a moment and you know, just
keep working.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
When you're playing with guys that you've been watching for years,
right like Terry was right up the street. You know,
everybody know who Debo Samuel is. Is it hard to
be able to like remove yourself as the fan, as
the football fan and be able to articulate all the
questions you have because I'm sure as soon as you
see Deebo, there's like a million questions that run through head.
How do I do this? How do I do this?
How do you find ways to learn effectively from these
(04:46):
guys because they're also putting that work.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Into Honestly, I think I got to give credit to
them because honestly, of course I got a lot of questions.
But it's more so like there's been countless times Devo
or Terry or pulled me to the side randomly about
to play talk about a rep and I didn't have
to ask, Like you know, Terry does it literally almost
every day, and I love that. You know, I'm just
(05:07):
trying to I try to soak everything in and just
learn as much as possible. So it's it's really like
thanks to them, you know, because sometimes I can't articulate,
like you said, articulate anything I want to say, but
you know, they do a good job just coaching me up,
even when they might think I do or don't need it.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Has it been tough being patient, right, because you don't
get to this position if you're not a star athlete
pretty much your entire life. But now you're in a
different role. Now you have to be a little patient.
You have to wait for your moments, which we've seen
you do very gracefully. But that's had it been a
little tough, right has it been kind of tough? I wouldn't.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
I feel like in my mind, you know, I've always
kind of had that kind of like, you know, I'm
gonna wait and just wait my turn, and you know
it's gonna come. I never want to try to force her,
you know, anything like that. It just because they always
say the ball finds energy, ball finds positivity, and so
I don't want to bring any.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Kind of negative energy or negative stuff to the table.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
And when you know, we're all trying to eat, but
you know everybody gonna eat a day, right Tom.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
And you were be impatient and you waited, and all
of a sudden, Week three, my boy gets a ninety
yard return on my guys, Before we talk about anything else,
what's going through your mind in that moment? Is it
as soon as that ball TuS as your hand, you said, oh,
this one's gonna be one of them ones? Or does
it just do you just blackout?
Speaker 1 (06:25):
In those moments, It's like it's like, you know, there's
certain plays I can remember specifically, and that's one of them.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
It's just like there's a feeling.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Obviously I catch it and I see the vendors coming,
but you know, make a move and hit the lane.
The boys built a crazy lane for me on that
play too, And when I saw the open field, it
felt like slow motion from like the forty yard line
all the way to the end zone. So just kind
of remembering that, you know, it's a really cool moment,
(06:55):
something I'm never gonna forget for sure.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Definitely one of those welcome to the NFL moments, man.
And it's funny I get to watch the games with
your boy. Be mentioned. We've talked about it before, how
your relationship is, how you reach out to him, I'm
telling you, Other than probably your pops, I don't know
if there's somebody else more excited for you and your
success in the building. Man. I see smile when I
mentioned b How special is that, man, to have guys
like that in this building that cares so much about you,
(07:18):
that don't necessarily have to invest in you, but have
invested in you.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Yeah. I remember.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
It was probably a couple of days after I got drafted.
My agent text me. He was like, hey, man, be
Mitch wanted to talk to you this and that, and like,
I'm like, yo, that's crazy, am My, pops.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
He's definitely going crazy.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
He's like he trying to like, I'm excited, but he
trying to like tell me you need to be more
excited about this.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
You don't realize who this is. This is your Devin.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
This is just started talking like that, and then you know,
you know, me and be Mitch eventually link up when
we get out here, and he's just been just kind
of breathing like positivity and just confidence into me. And
you know, he coached me up on a couple of things.
But you know, I know, I was ready to see
the text after that, not y'all new it's gonna hit
(08:03):
me up after the game.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
So it's been pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
You min sharing what he said to you after that.
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
I ain't got my phone on me. I don't know
what he's said.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
But man, you know, it's just all positive, you know, things,
just you know, just you know, he's proud of me,
and you know, it's just the beginning.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
And it's one thing to get love from your family,
it's one thing to get love from the people in
his building. The NFL recognized you for that play Rookie
of the Week. Man, they do so many cool things
in the NFL, and I think this Rookie of the
Week team that they've been able to do. They give
you all a belt, right, Yeah, it's a real bit.
It's real like yo, Like it's heavy. I'm like I
tried to pick up the butt. Let's go back to
(08:42):
that moment. Man, how did you find out? What was that? Like?
You know what it means to you?
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Man, it means a lot.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
You know, shout out all the Washington fans because I
know they made it happen with the voting and stuff
like that. But when I found out, it was like
I really didn't even I think Bill was actually first
person to tell me. He said congrats, fam, I said
on what? But then he told me and then you know,
they brought the belt to me like a couple of
days later. But you know it just it means a lot.
(09:10):
There's a testament to you know, the guys on the team,
the life they breathe into me, and just the work
that we all put in.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Man, you still got a lot more to do.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Man.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
We can tell how hungry you are and me we
were talking about before we got started. I said, Yo,
are you itching for that first touchdown? Would you like
to share what you said to me?
Speaker 5 (09:27):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Man, you know it's everybody want to get in the box.
You knows itching, but you know it's coming, you know.
Like I said, I'm gonna be patient. My time gonna come,
and I'm gonna be ready for it.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
When I talk to the young cast man and I
asked them what they're learning from these veteran guys, most
of them say that they're surprised to hear from the
veterans about the recovery process, about taking care of your
body and our partners at Lands Downwards Ort. They like
to know that you spend your downtime wise. They want
to know you're getting it done on the field, but
they also want to know you spending down time and
take care of yourself. How does Jalen Lane spend his downtime?
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Man, If I'm not in the facility, man, I'm with
my Wifey.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
We go to the movies. I love the movies, Top golf.
There's things like that, man on the game. You know,
I don't I don't be doing too much just if
I'm not here either, working or recovering with the wife.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Ea chilling.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
And I'm glad you mentioned wife, man, because I see
the ring on your finger, and last time we spoke,
I don't think the ring was even now I'm not sure.
I think you got married.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I got married in June. Wow, Yeah, so it was.
It's been a lot going on this year.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Man.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
You're twenty three years old. Man, you just get drafted NFL,
probably more money than you've ever seen, and you say,
as a young man, I want to get married. Man,
I want to commit myself to this woman.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Man.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Why was that so important for you to do in
that moment?
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Man? It was extremely important to me. You know, we've
been going since high school. So yeah, man, you know
we did the long distance thing, and you know I
knew she was the one for a minute, so you know,
last July, I wanted to propose in a way where
she wasn't gonna expect it. And you know, it's clean,
it's it's not a long story, but.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
I mean we got here.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
Look, I told it was around our almost four year
anniversary or something like that, and we had never done
a couple photo shoot. I was like, okay, come out
to coming to campus, say I want to set it
up and she's just thinking we're doing just a regular
photo shoot.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
We never did one.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
I told the photographer what I was trying to do,
and the pictures on my Instagram for y'all want to
see it. But you know, we went to the little
hand guarden on Virginia Tech campus proposed and yeah, but
thanks to her, she playing pretty much the whole wait
and because we went through the season, then we had draft.
But there's been a lot of stuff going on. So
(11:42):
shout out to Wifey Man, You're a trooper.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
I love you, And shout out to Wifey Man because
I wanted to mention that in closing, because like I think,
people forget the support systems we need to be able
to operate this level. Man, how special has it been
being able to share this part of your journey work?
I mean, you shared so much with her high school.
Was it being able to share this part? Man?
Speaker 3 (12:00):
It's real special?
Speaker 1 (12:02):
You know, Like when I got drafted, everybody in there crying.
It's just you know, because I wouldn't be here without her,
my family, just everybody who's been there the whole ride
with me. So you know this, what I'm doing now
is not just for me, It's just for.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Everybody I love and care about, and everybody you love
and care about be watching you on Monday night football
prom Tom Baby taking on the Kansas City Chiefs and closing.
What can fans expect because you know they gonna show
up and short like they always do on the road.
What can fans expect not only from Jaalen Lane for
the Commanders man.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
You know we're gonna come up with energy.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
We're just gonna continue to fight like we always do
every week, and you know we're gonna make appa.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Y'all definitely gonna make it happen. Commander's family, our next
man up, the rookie who's accomplishing so much, the married man.
Jalen Lane, Appreciate you, brother, Appreciate you. Hey. Marylanders play
Multi Match from the Maryland Lottery, Maryland's only in state
jackpot game. A two dollar ticket gives you a chance
to win a jackpot starting at five hundred thousand dollars.
(12:58):
Drawings Mondays and Thursdays. And remember, please play responsible now.
They say your work defines who you are. Monday through Friday,
nine to five, you are clocking in what happens on
the weekend. What happens to your time? You could take
it easy, or you could use your time to get better.
In the US Army, we think differently. Your time should
be used to improve the skills you do have to
(13:20):
learn some you don't to put yourself in new ways,
because it's those days that truly define who you are.
That's how you make progress, That's how you make impact
on the world around you. It's your time. How you
spend it is up to you. It's your time. The
US Army Reserve Command his family back to the show.
Command this family, Our next man up is one of
(13:43):
the best to ever do it at the wide receiver position,
seventh all time in receiving yards for Washington, a two
time Super Bowl champion, was the coldest route runner we
probably seen. Hit the Burgerdy your goal. Let me welcome in,
Ricky Sand It's the next man of How you do it?
Speaker 4 (13:59):
Sir? Hey, I'm doing good. Brian, how you doing it?
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Oh man, I'm blessed. I appreciate you taking the time
to talk to us and kick it with us. It
was crazy. I've talked to every member of the posse.
I work with Gary all the time. I got to
speak to Art a few months ago. So you're the
last member of the posse. So I was very very
excited to get to ride with you.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
Yeah, that's the way they always put me at the end.
So I'll make make the great catch.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
For you, the anchor. You're the person that vacant man
when it's.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
When it's fourth and five, that's called rick. Hey.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Then there you go. See. So it's so funny, like
because me and you haven't got to meet. This is
our first time like meeting virtually. You know, I didn't
know what to expect from Gary when I met him,
but right away I could tell brother got all the
confidence in the world. Then I'm be Art Monk and
he's very like stoic and very chill. It seems like
you got like a like the best of both worlds
with them. Is that true?
Speaker 4 (14:50):
That's definitely it. Man.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
You know, I got some of Gary, got some of Art,
and man that that that Gary, he's I feel like
he could do it.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
And I'm sure all of you guys have that in
some sensitive Why you guys were so good, We're going
to talk about all of that. But much like Gary
and me and Gary did this as well when we spoke.
I want to start at the beginning because you all
had different starts your careers than most people. You as well,
just like Gary started in the USFL. When you go
back to that, when you go back to young Ricky
Sanders that was going through that in real time, What
(15:23):
was that like for you and what did you get
out of the USFL.
Speaker 5 (15:27):
Yeah, I got some experience. You know, I was a
running back in Texas State. You know, I was running
back in high school and then went to Texas State
and I was a running back and.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
We won two national championships.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
But then when I went to the USFL and was
playing with Jim Kelly, you know, we were throwing the
ball all they moved me to a slot receiver, kind
of like a running back sop. And that's where I
got all my experience right there, you know, catching the
ball from Jim Kelly, learning from other receivers like Richard Johnson,
(16:03):
Gerald McNeil.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
You know, we had a whole rutful guys. That was great.
So that's where you know it started.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
When you're in the USFL, is the goal always, Hey,
I'm going to be an NFL player? Was that a
means to an ends? If you will playing for the
USFL or did you not even realize that you were
working your way towards the league.
Speaker 5 (16:25):
I wanted to be in the NFL. You know, I
wanted to win a super Bowl. You know, growing up,
I was a big Cowboy fan, that's Texas, and I wanted, uh,
you know, I wanted to win the Super Bowl because
I you know, used to watch it. You know, all
the guys, you know, Tony dark Setting, all those guys
(16:46):
you know, win super Bowls.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
I say, that's what.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
I want to do, you know it just you know,
God was good to me and he's still good.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
So you know, just had a good time.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
What did that love of football start for Ricky sanders.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Cooh way back?
Speaker 5 (17:06):
Probably wow, probably about five six years old. I was out,
you know, playing with the big guys, you know, and
they couldn't tackle me. They couldn't catch me. You know,
I had that speed. So that's where it started. Back
at my little small town of Belton with eight thousand
(17:28):
people there. So I had a good I had a
lot of guys that could roll bottles man, that played sports, basketball,
you know, track and all that.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
So I learned a lot from those guys.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
When you're from a small community like that, right, eight
thousand people is not a lot of people. When you're
a small town kid, sometimes it's hard to see those
big dreams right to see passed a couple of streets ahead,
right to see past a state away. When did you
realize that professional football was going to be a real
thing for you and not just a dream but something
you could truly accomplish.
Speaker 5 (18:04):
Well, you know, you said, when I got to college
and we had the success there. Uh, that's when I
started really focusing on, you know, trying to get better.
And you know, we had some good good times back
in my college, you know, And I didn't want to
(18:26):
wait for the draft. That's why I went to the USFL.
I wanted to you.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
Know, get in there and get some experience. And that's
how it happened.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Then a Cowboys fan up going to Washington. I know,
what was that like? Was it even a question because again,
you're trying to get an NFL anyway you can, But
was that kind of like a crazy full circle moment
for you to be like I root against these guys
my entire life, now I'm playing for them.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
I know it was It's tough, you know, when I
left the USFL I first round and supplemental draft with
New England and went up there and never practiced with
them and took a physical.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
The next day, the.
Speaker 5 (19:06):
General manager say, hey, Rick, we just had a scrimmage
against the Redskins and and I got some good news
and bad news.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
Which one do you want?
Speaker 5 (19:16):
It's like that, he said, we just drafted two receivers,
Irvin Fryar.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
And some other guy.
Speaker 5 (19:23):
And he said, and they look good out there, so
we're gonna trade you to Washington Redskins because they need
a third receiver. You got Urt Mon Gary Clark. They
want another receiver. And I say, that's when they wasn't
winning any games. You know, they was losing like crazy,
So it was exciting to get back, I mean, to
(19:46):
get to Washington.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Were there any nerves as a young man, knowing you're
going into a wide receiver room with guys that are
just so talented, right, they're saying we need a third receiver.
A lot of times. You know, you've been to star
athlete your whole life. Not a lot of people want
to take that third seat. They wanted to be in
that front seat. What was that like for you? Knowing
that you were going to be playing alongside guys like
Art and Gary.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
Yeah, I just knew, you know, it's gonna because when
I got out there to Washington and we start practicing
in Carlisle, I just had a good feeling that the
three of us was gonna be We're going to do something.
You know, with Art big man, he could uh muscless
way through. Gary is quicker than a cat, you know,
(20:30):
And then I was a man going deep, you know,
catching those deep balls and then sometimes running those routes
you know for first downs. But hey, I wasn't worried about,
you know, being the third man because I knew it
was gonna step up.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
And you definitely had confidence in yourself. And it works
right because it was kind of a slow start for
you. You had to earn your way. I was talking to
Gary yesterday and he told me, he's like, it was
like one second, we're running the ball all the time.
It's just two I receips were set and then we
turned and all of a sudden, now we're spread because
we have to get Ricky sadness on the field when
you're going through that prove it process, right when you're
(21:10):
coming from the USFL, trying to make a name for yourself.
You just got traded to Washington. You're trying to get
every repue can What was that like for young Ricky Sanders?
And do you remember how hard it was competing every
day to just get a chance to be on the field.
Speaker 5 (21:24):
Oh man, it was rough because you know, everybody out
there well great athletes, and you know I had, you know,
had a lot of talent. So I was mostly focusing
on just being the best that I could be, you know,
get out there and and show them what I got
and just you know, just put all I have on
(21:48):
the table and just go for it.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
That's easier said than done, right, Like, I'm sure there's
trials and tribulations to having that mindset and going through
that in real time. How war Art and Gary and
helping you find that comfortability, helping you learn how to
be a true pro.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
Oh man, you know, you know artists he was the
master at it, you know because during the off season,
you know, I used to work out with him and
Darryl Green and and Gary. We all used to go
out to George Mason and work out and just you
know that that guy was dedicated to the game. Dedicated,
(22:27):
you know, to his family and dedicated to his God.
So it was easy to follow in his you know,
to follow with him, you know. And and you know
Gary was the same we we we we uh with
roommates when I first got there.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
We had our own had our apartment together, and it
was two of us together.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
It was like, I can see the memories flashy in
your head right now of those times and of things
you'll choose not to share.
Speaker 4 (23:04):
We studied playbooks together.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Amen, there, Amen, that's how the story's gonna tell. That's
how the history's gonna tell. Y'all was studying playbooks.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
Yeah, uh yeah, man. We I had some good times
there in Washington.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
Man. The fans were excellent. Man. The people there, they welcome,
welcomed me.
Speaker 5 (23:24):
In, and it was it was beautiful, you know. On
The thing I didn't like was those winners going up
there and fifteen degrees. Dad was rough practicing in that
cold weather, especially coming from Texas where it's heat and humidity,
(23:45):
and like, whoa.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
You see, I got this hoodie on in October, so
it's bready come in. That cold weather's here.
Speaker 4 (23:53):
Hey boy, it's sill. It's still ninety four degrees here.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Hey, don't don't rub it in, rick You don't run.
We're struggling, Ricky. It's funny when I talked to all
three of you, all even other people like Brian Mitchell
who are on these teams. They mentioned the practices. They
mentioned the practices being like real games, the intensity, the
competition behind it. Can you speak to that a little
bit and what that did to set you guys up
(24:19):
for Super Bowl success?
Speaker 4 (24:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (24:21):
You know, Joe Gibbs was all about, uh, practice and
hard and making it live out there in the practice
like it's going to be a game day, you know,
one on one here you I'm out there going against
a Hall of Famer Darryl Green, you know, and Vernon
Dean and all these guys you know, and it was battle, know,
(24:42):
playing around it was a battle.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
So you know, when you have a coach like Joe Gibbs.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
And his staff man, that was easy to play for
him because he was fair and he's gonna give put
you in a position to win and be successful.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
What was it like knowing you're going into practice and
knowing you're gonna be lining up across from a Darryl Green,
one of the best to ever do it has the speed,
has the size. What was that like for young Ricky Sanders,
knowing that you were going to be able to sharpen
that iron against some more iron?
Speaker 4 (25:18):
Yeah, you know it was.
Speaker 5 (25:20):
It was fun because I already knew Daryl. We were
in the same conference, you know. I went to Texas
State or Southwest Texas what it was called. He went
to the Texas.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
A and I. We were in the same division.
Speaker 5 (25:32):
And he always joke about we played one game and
we did a flee flicker and they threw it to
me and I'll run it down the sideline and he
was coming. He said, man, oh, I was gonna get you.
You know, they called a penalty before they said hey,
I was gonna go get you. I was like, man,
you weren't gonna catch me.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
And it's funny, man. You guys just smile and have
so many great memories. I don't hear many negatives at
all from those times. And it's hard to have negatives
when you're winning two super Bowls, right.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Now, I got to ask you. I ask every multi
super Bowl champ do you have a favorite Super Bowl?
Is that like picking against one of your kids?
Speaker 4 (26:11):
Oh, and the one against Denver.
Speaker 5 (26:15):
You know when I had one hundred, you know, had
ten catches, one hundred and ninety three yards, two touchdowns,
catching the ball from Doug Williams, the first black quarterback
to win the superl That that memory will always be
in my mind. And you know the second one was
beautiful too, you know, with Mark Ripping smart quarterback throw
(26:39):
that ball. And it's just I've been blessed be with
some good talented people.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
And you mentioned Doug Williams, and it seems like, at
least when I go back and look that there was
a special connection between you two. Doug Williams had a
trust and belief in you, especially during those big moments
like that that you don't really see often, like with
him having all of these different weapons. For some reason,
something about you two there was that special connection. Can
you talk to that.
Speaker 5 (27:07):
Yeah, you know, because Doug played in the USFL and
uh we came to Washington at the same time and
he was a backup quarterback and every time we go
one on one, Doug and I you know, that's why
we always battled it against Daryl because he always thought
he could, you know, uh, intercept Doug's past.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
But we just had a connection. Man.
Speaker 5 (27:33):
We came in the same time and we I mean
he I guess he'd loved throwing the ball to McGary.
I always said, hey, yeah, he see, Doug, there is
your favorite receiver over there.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
Like, hey, man, I paid him.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
It's so funny to think of you guys being so close,
being three receivers, to have over a thousand yards in
the season together, and you has all being so competitors
because I to this day you could just see all
that competitive nature and Gary, I could hear it from
you today. Man, that brotherhood that you all have is
so so special, and we'll get to see it in
(28:12):
a few weeks when our monks jersey is retired. I
know that's something that is truly special to everybody that
bleeds Burgney and Gold, but something that was true truly
special to not only Art but you and Gary as well,
because you guys have that posse bomb. Man, how awesome
is it going to be to be able to see
his jersey get retired and be a part of that
moment and even be a part of getting to tell
(28:33):
him when he found out.
Speaker 5 (28:34):
Yeah, yeah, it was. It was great. You know when
we got to his house and surprise him. He is
up there, he's in man, almost cussed. We all come
through the door. He's like what But just to be
a part of this with him, you know, Gary, you
know the posse together, it's gonna be exciting.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
And when you think of a guy like Monk and
you think of him being that mentor to you, like
you said, right, like that guy that really trolled you,
showed you how to play a game, Like Gary would
say it as well, like Art was who you wanted
to tell your kids to be. Like you might have
wanted them to tell to play like me and Ricky,
but you wanted them to be the man that Art
Monk was.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
Man.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
How true is that statement? And how do you feel
about not only the player of Art Monk, but the man?
Speaker 5 (29:25):
Oh man, he's he's a great, great guy man, good man,
good father, good grandfather, uh good friend. Know and one
thing about him he he loved he loved his God
and he loved Jesus. So one of the mean he's quiet,
but then he has some kind of power in him.
(29:47):
That's you know that just you love about him?
Speaker 4 (29:53):
Yeah, please, he's a good man.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Yes he is. And he'd said the same about you,
Ricky A great man accomplish so many things on that
field again, seventh all time in receiving yards. When you
look back, when it's all said and done, right, how
do you want Ricky Sanders' legacy to be remembered.
Speaker 4 (30:15):
That he was a good person? Were it? You know?
Speaker 5 (30:20):
He played hard, he was a team player, He loved
his family, he loved his kids, and he loved the Lord.
Speaker 4 (30:31):
That's yeah, not perfect, but I love him.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
And nobody is perfect, Ricky, but we're all trying our best. Writing.
Thank you so much for taking the time to join us.
And I have to ask you one more question before
you go, because you mentioned Doug Williams, you mentioned these
quarterbacks you got to play with. Well, now we have
a very very special young man that's following Doug Williams
foot steps, following those other quarterbacks footsteps in Jaden Daniels.
What have you seen from the young quarterback that makes
(31:02):
you feel like just maybe we're back to those Super
Bowl era days. I know it.
Speaker 4 (31:08):
You know, I just turned sixty five.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Every birthday, every birthday, yeah.
Speaker 5 (31:13):
September thirty, and okay, I was walking my dog and
I was like, man, if I work out a little harder,
I might be able to go catch some balls from
over Jake. I might be able to do some third
down for him. Man, he's incredible. Boy, that that boy.
Every time I see him, he's just so cool. And
(31:34):
then the attitude he had after when he's just smiling
and you could tell he loved the game. And I
would love to be playing with him. He's a good player,
a great player. And you know, if he stay healthy,
they gonna do some great things.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
And I wish them all.
Speaker 5 (31:55):
I wish them all the all the luck in the
world and all the blessings.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Just like y'all did. Man, doing some great things. And
it's so funny. Gary says the same thing. Tanner says
the same thing as y'all watch Jamers. It's like, Man,
I mean, I can get one ball, bro, I can
out over And that's just so cool to see the
love y'all.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
Y'all route that's about it.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
I believe you still got a little so love to take. Ricky.
Thank you so much for taking the time to pull
up on us. Man, maybe sometime in the summer when
it's not cold, you can pull up to as Verna,
come to the studio and kick it with us.
Speaker 4 (32:27):
Oh that sounds like a deal.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
Yes sir, Yes, sir, Command this family, our Next Man Up.
One of the best wide receivers to ever do it.
The last and final member of the posse to join
Next Man Up was so grateful to have them. Our
guy Ricky sayd this.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
Thank you sir, all right, appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Command this family. We hope you've enjoyed this episode of
Next Man Up. You can stream all of the Next
Man Up episodes, even last seasons, on the Commander's YouTube page,
or stream the audio wherever you get your podcast. We
appreciate the love so much. We will see y'all Monday,
a night for some primetime action against the Chicago Bears.
Make sure to do what y'all do best, show up
(33:06):
and show out for our commanders until next week. This
is Next Man Up. I'm your host, Brian Cooley. Junie
gotta hear her. It's fright
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