Eric Weddle previews Utah Football as the season beckons + celebrates Bill's run at ESPN 700 & 92.1 FM

Eric Weddle previews Utah Football as the season beckons + celebrates Bill's run at ESPN700

Episode Transcript

(00:03):
It's time to talk some ball withone of the greatest players in Utah football
history. Bill Riley welcomes the Beard, Eric Weddle to the show weekly.
The Eric Weddle Interview is presented byBud Wiser. Now here's Weddle with Ryles
right here on Utah's number one sportstalk ESPN seven hundred, doing a lot

(00:23):
of thank yous over the next coupleof days for people that have been very
helpful to me throughout my broadcasting careerhere on this radio station. And one
of those guys joins us right nowfrom somewhere in southern California. Sounds like
you might be running a camp thissummer. Right now, Eric Weddle,
our good friend, former ute,former charger, former RAMS Super Bowl champion

(00:45):
and coach head coach of Rancho BernardoHigh School, dub How are you,
Ryles. It's bittersweet, man,bittersweet. You know our friendship will last
of the lifetime and we're family.But it's a great to remember back and
to celebrate the legends of your communityand your job. And Josh, what

(01:11):
an amazing run and great things ahead. Man. I'm so excited Eric for
what lies ahead and this challenge andthis opportunity that the youths presented for me
as director of broadcasting up there.But you know how it is, you
made a life change a couple ofyears ago, after doing football for your
entire life, you stopped playing footballand transitioned into something else now with something

(01:34):
you knew. But it's strange,and I'm you know again, I've been
doing a radio talk show every dayfor thirty years, every day for twenty
three years in Utah, and everyday for twenty years at the same radio
station. So it could be alittle bit of a change, man.
Yeah, I mean you really yousit back and it's almost like, you

(01:55):
know, when you retire from theNFL, you're at a point right now
you can sit back and just takea breath and realize what has just transpired,
and that of the years of workand the joy and the people that
you met and the relationships, andit really puts it all in perspective of
why you love what you're doing andthe joy you got out of it every

(02:15):
single day, and also for thenew challenges ahead. And you know,
that's that's what drives us as individuals. New challenges, new opportunities, new
ways to give back and to experiencenew opportunities. So man, twenty three
years, twenty years, I meanthat is incredible, Ryle's I mean seriously,

(02:38):
like, it's what an accomplishment tobe able to do it at such
a high level. And you knowit's not easy. You know, if
people don't like you or you don'tknow what you're talking about, you don't
have a job. So you weredang good for a long time. Great,
I should say, yeah, youknow, it's one of those things
kind of like you you you wentout on top of the Super Bowl.
Does everything at the station's going sowell? Oh right now that I feel

(03:00):
like it's in great hands. SoI feel like I can make this move
and not have any concern about it. But you know, it's just one
of those things. It's just goingto be different. I can remember,
by the way, the first timeI interviewed you, you were a fresh
guy. I interviewed you on thepractice field after a practice when you were
a freshman at the University of Utah. Yeah, I remember that day.

(03:20):
I was asking around, I said, who would be you know, who's
who's a good interview here? Andthey're like, go talk to that freshman
over there that kid is a reallygood interview and a good football player.
And that was the first time Iever talked to you. Wow, someone
I must have paid someone some goodmoney to tell you those things, because
the fact that you can remember thatis, you know, must I must

(03:43):
have been a great interview. Itwas my introduction to getting interviewed and having
some somewhat knowledgeable answers, which Ialways try to do. But man,
man, what a time, Whata time to be alive? Man,
Yeah, I'm telling you, youknow you developed those things. I would
say probably everywhere you've gone, whetherit was Utah or San Diego or Baltimore.

(04:06):
Even at the end with the Rams, you were a go to locker
room guy. I can't imagine therewere very many days Eric when the when
the locker room opened, when somebodydidn't come, a bunch of people didn't
come. Get comments from you thatmeans you're a go to guy. Yeah,
I mean it is an obligation forus to be able to give precise

(04:27):
answers and to be honest and tobe upfront own own our decisions, man
own own what what had happened ifit was a game, or how the
team's feeling and if you're in thatleadership role, it's it's an obligation.
And also you know, the fansin the media drive our sport and you
have to understand and embrace it thatit is something that we need to do
and do we like doing it allthe time. No, But that's that

(04:51):
builds a character, and that buildswho you are and what you're all about
and how you are. How youact after a big when and how you
act after a big loss says alot about who you are and what you're
about. So I always felt there'sa great opportunity for myself to show who
I am outside of football, andalso at times I got you know,

(05:13):
relationships with media members is really keyand important and it gives you a time
to educate on both sides, right, like educating the media members on what's
really going on on the field,like what you should look at, what
the responsibilities are so they can getbetter at their craft. And also if
you slip up or say something,then you should have said that. They
don't print always. They take careof you, and that's part of having

(05:36):
a good relationship with the media.See that's what you just said there,
And this is like inside football,baseball here. But what Eric just said
is so important because I had ahandful. I was twenty five years old
when I started covering the NFL.Twenty five. You don't know anything about
anything when you're twenty five and I'mcovering the NFL, And I was lucky.
There were a couple of veterans,you know, Tony Boselli, who's

(05:59):
obviously in the Hall of Fame,who played for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Of
course, good my good friend brandBoyer, who's now a special teams coach
still I think for the Jets.He lives out here. He's from Salt
Lake City, from North Sumit HighSchool. I mean, there were a
couple of guys in that locker roomthat kind of pulled me aside. Knew
I was a young guy, anddid with ut. They were good interviews,
but they would also kind of letyou know, you know the dynamic

(06:23):
and how things work. They weren'tgiving away state secrets, but they were
just kind of telling you how thedynamic of things worked, and that when
you know that, it helps youbecome a better reporter. Yeah. I
mean, it's like he goes backto the old as the relationship it's always
about the relationships. And yes,you want to have success, you want

(06:44):
to be a great football player,you want to be great at whatever you're
doing. But it's about the process, about the relationships that you can garner
over the course of a career.For you, twenty thirty years, for
me, it was fourteen years,fifteen years, and those are the last
relationships, last lifetime, right,it's and it's those conversations, those experiences,
those one on ones, that sitdowns that you're just having a conversation

(07:05):
and building that relationship, building thatfriendship and really growing together as a young
young pupp and now as an oldveteran in the game. And you couldn't
said it, best man. Youwere fortunate. Not a lot of guys
are like that, the old leadersand the veterans of a team that can
look out for a young guy andyou cherish that. And now you're in

(07:27):
the in the position to give backas well. So it's just a revolving
recycle. And that's part of thisjob, Eric, I mean, part
of it's going to be creating contentand broadcasts and stuff. But you know,
I'm teaching a class at the Universityof Utah and I'm going to help
stand. I'm going to help createthis curriculum hopefully over the next few years
that helps guide kids into this broadcastdepartment that we're creating that will allow them

(07:49):
to get real world experience while beingstudents at the you, which to me,
that's what I was lucky enough tohave when I went to school at
Kansas, and I want to helptry to create with this broadcast department something
like that for kids at the Universityof Utah too. Yeah, definitely,
man, it's ah what a greatopportunity and for the kids at the University

(08:09):
of Utah and to be able toget real life experience and someone that's been
in it, uh noted disrecredit uhthe teachers and professors out there, but
to someone that has had so muchhands on experience is invaluable, quite honestly.
And uh, to build that programis going to be it's gonna be

(08:31):
You're gonna have to get me inthere, and they're gonna have to have
these kids interviewed me one day inschool. I'm gonna do it. Next
time you're in town, I'm gonnahave you come in to be a guest
speaker and let these kids ask youreal questions and then you know you you
you answer like you were an athleteif it was a dumb question, tell
them it's a dumb question this way, and then then you learn. You
learn that stuff. By the way, it sounds like you're running the how's

(08:52):
how's how's your two shaping up?For you guys, it's going great.
Uh where we worked really hard overthe last six months and trying to improve
in areas that make us better onthe football field. And I got great
kids. I love to come towork for them and trying to give them
my hall both on the field andoff and teaching these kids how to be

(09:13):
men, how to be future fathersand husbands one day and what that actually
looks like. So it's been great. Man, I'm really excited for this
season coming up. I think wehave a chance to be really good and
we shall see. You got togo play it on the field. But
our boys are working and couldn't bemore proud of them. Are you excited
about being able to coach the boythis year too? Oh? Yeah,

(09:35):
Man's it's really a fun, fun, cool dynamic to see see him out
there trying to prove himself and workingand you know, you try your best
to be a parent and your dadas a father, I only have one
son, so you're really hard onyour only boy, and to see how
he's growing up and really putting hisbest foot forward. To just just sit

(09:56):
back and smile sometimes and thinking.Can't always give him an out of boy,
but a few times I do.They're meaningful because I am really proud
of him, and I'm excited forthis journey he's about to go on.
He has a chance, he hasa chance. You know, he's six
to one now, he's he's lookinglike a real dude as a fourteen year
old. So we'll see. We'llsee how these next four years help shape

(10:20):
out. And he has goals andis very driven to play college football.
So I'm going to help him asbest I can. But he's got to
he's got to do the work,that's for sure. Will he be on
varsity this year or will he bea JV guy this year? Uh?
Or too soon to know. I'ma betting man, I would say yes,

(10:43):
he's going to be one of theguys. I mean, he's once
the past come on, he's goingto even separate himself even more so.
He's already working with the ones atsafety and rotating that quarterback. So we'll
see at all the best play youknow, and you got to know what
to do. Oh uh, that'salways a big performer. But I don't

(11:03):
really care how old you are.If you're physically able and you know what
to do, then you're gonna havea chance. So I'm a betting man.
I say he'll be out there andmaking place. Speaking of being a
betting man, your utes are nowthe favorite in the preseason to win the
Big Twelve, as they should.K State is number two and then Oklahoma

(11:24):
State, I think is number threeright now. Just what's what's your read
on them joining the Big twelve andwhat's what's your expectation for them this year?
Eric, Gosh, if we couldstay healthy and play our style of
football, there's there's no reason whywe can't get what we want to get
done. What has stubbed our footover the last few years, and that's

(11:48):
a big time bowl win, aplayoff birth now since they've expanded twelve.
So the goal is the goal ofthe standard is the standard man. We're
a championship caliber program. We justgot to go finish in a championship.
So any one game season, Ithink we could beat anybody. We've proven
that we have the system, wehave the coaches, we have the culture.

(12:09):
Just injuries obviously last year and overthe course of the last few years.
But it's all set up. Butit takes a lot more than just
having good players. You've got tohave a bound You got to be bound
as one group, as the leadershipand as the players. Got to have
a selfless attitude of playing for eachother. In this day and a's it's
hard to find. So if youcan galvanize your group and play for each

(12:31):
other, even though it is anindividual sport at times, the more guys
you can play as one, thebetter off those teams are going to be.
Eric Weddell and I have had agreat friendship for a long time and
we agree on many things, thoughwe will men never agree on who the
greatest wrestler of all time is.I believe it is the Nature Boy,

(12:52):
Rick Flair. He believes it's oneHulkamaniah, the Holkster. Will you ever
change your mind or is that it'sgonna be someplace where we'll always divide,
Well, you know it's one.We may be divided on this, but
I'm a thousand percent right on mine. It is Wholemania, the Hulkster,
no question, change the landscape everyone. No one can replicate what he did

(13:16):
to the game. Uh. Andif there's a close second in my mind,
it's the Undertaker. I mean hehe's probably one in one a for
me. Uh. The Nature Boy. I mean he's just a one trick
pony. All he could do isa WOA. He is an entertainer till
the end of time. He spansmany decades. It's like the it's like

(13:37):
the Lebron and Jordan argument. Butyou like to throw Kobe in there too,
because you're a Kobe guy. Butbut I mean Rick Rick Flair,
he just spans decies. He everybodyknows him with the WU and the feather
Boa around his neck. And Imean you're trying to you're trying to say
turn my opinion here just by youyou're fighting for your guy. Well,

(14:01):
I will always fight for I willalways fight for Rick Flair. And of
course I will always fight for myguy Eric Weddle because he's one of my
guys and he's a rider die guy. Forever. We'll see each other,
we'll talk. But I just wantto take this moment to say thank you
for your friendship over the years.Thank you for always being willing to come
on this radio show and talk ball. The Utah fans love it, and

(14:24):
I just like being able to catchup with you and just chat so Dub,
thanks for all you do and Ilove you always. Rould love you
too. Man. Excited for thefuture of not only you, but the
University of Utah and where we're headingin so great things ahead. Love you,
man, Appreciate you always. Allright, go coach those boys up.
You got it, Thanks Eric.Eric Weddle with us here on the

(14:46):
Bill Riley Show today on Utah's numberone sports talk. Hey, just a
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(15:31):
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(15:52):
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