Hi, gain everybody. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading the Bengals Booth Podcast. The I Can't Tell You addition, as the Bengals fall to three and five overall and zero and four at home with a thirty seven to seventeen loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, coming up radio replays, locker room comments and postgame analysis from Dave Lapham. Then in this week's fun Facts Conversation, you'll learn why Dejon
Anthony is a very easy player to root for. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps, proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber, future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health
is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since caffeine. I am incredibly fortunate to broadcast NFL and college football games on a weekly basis, but
the schedule makers aren't always kind. This weekend, the University of Cincinnati's game at Colorado kicked off at ten fifteen Eastern on Saturday night, and the Bengals game the next day was moved up from four point fifteen to one PM.
That meant a.
Quick turnaround for yours, truly. The UC team plane landed back in Cincinnati just before seven am, and unfortunately, I'm not great at sleeping on planes. The solution coffee, lots of it. Caffeine is definitely my drug of choice. Now, let's get to football and the radio replays from Sunday's game in the Jungle this afternoon here in Since the sky is blue, the field is green, and the Bengals and their fans are wearing white, it is White Bengal
Day in the Jungle. The Bengals are a perfect four and oh when wearing their icy cool white helmets, and they will look to remain perfect today as they host the Philadelphia Eagles. Burrow catches, drops back to throw, begins rolling to the right. He's at the twelve yard line, throws into the end zone on leaping catch and a touchdown by Jamar Chase, and the Bengals take more than nine minutes off the clock and score a touchdown to begin the game.
Oh about it, man, They go five for five On third down.
This will be a fifty four yard attempt for Evan McPherson. He's missed three field goals this year. Two of the three have been from fifty plus from the right. Hash Adam Midas ready to snap it back to Rico. The snap, the placement and the right footed it is blasted by McPherson and it is wide left. Burrow hands it to night Brown. Night flying up the middle of the field.
Had the search takes him.
Into the end zone.
Touchdown. Bengals on second down and eight Hurts fakes to Barkley, rolls right, wants to launch it deep downfield toward the end zone. Caught by Devonte Smith, touchdown Philly.
Jordan Battle in coverage.
That's a uh, that's a matchup that that right there. Jalen Hurt says, I've got one of my speed receivers on a safety in Battle did not have terrible coverage. It's just an outstanding throw by Jalen Hurt.
Now the Bengals are probably going to have to throw it on fourth and one. Philadelphia is showing pressure. Chase goes in motion. Burrow will look to pass, throws it for Chase makes the catch, loses a yard, tackled by Cooper de Gene. The Bengals failed to convert on third and half a yard, then fourth in a full yard, and Philadelphia takes over at the Cincinnati thirty eight with a chance to really put Cincinnati in a bind. On first and ten from the forty six, Burrow fires deep
down the right sideline incomplete. Was it picked off or incomplete? It is intercepted. It got deflected into the hands of C. J. Gardner Johnson by Isaiah Rodgers. Here comes the brotherly shove as Hurtz looking for his third touchdown run of the game. He charges forward. It's a touchdown and the fans can stream for the exits. Philadelphia is going to hand Cincinnati it's fourth consecutive home loss. Burrow to throw on first and ten. His pass caught about four yards up the field.
The ball comes out. Philadelphia is celebrating, Wow, Kaziki fumbled. The Eagles recover. They'll take over at the thirty two of Cincinnati thirty seconds to go. Another handoff to Chase Brown looks like he picked up enough for the first down. He did, but that's going to be the final play of the game. A long frustrating walk toward the center of the field for Zach Taylor as his team gets outscored twenty nothing in the final twenty minutes of the
game and loses at home to the Philadelphia Eagles. The final score today thirty seven to seventeen Philly. After scoring thirty three or more points in three straight games, the Bengals have managed seventeen, fourteen and seventeen on offense in their last three. I didn't count the kick return touchdown by Charlie Jones against Cleveland. The offense was good for two and a half quarters on Sunday. On their first four drives, the Bengals scored two touchdowns, made a field goal,
and missed a field goal. But the game turned late in the third quarter. Down by seven points. On third and less than a yard their own thirty nine, the Bengals handed the ball to Zach Moss, who lost to half a yard. They went for it on fourth and one, and a swing pass to Jamar Chase lost two more yards that led to a Philly field goal and the Bengals never threatened. Again, here are Zach Taylor and Ted Karris on that sequence.
Yeah, I felt like we needed to be aggressive there. It didn't work out, So that's frustrating, you know. And so again I put that on myself situation where I felt like we need to be aggressive and go score in that possession, given we were down seven, and anytime it doesn't go well, obviously you're gonna think a long and hard about that decision.
He used to being about to play call on fourth and one, other screening to Marls the idea.
There, Yeah, he's one of the options. And you know, again, the point didn't work, and that's one hundred percent on me.
We got to get on third and one, so I'm not even worried about the pass. I think the the run on third and one.
You know, we gotta have that.
It's gonna gonna eat at me for twenty four hours, and then we got to get onto Vegas.
The Bengal entered the game tied for twenty eighth in the NFL and rushing yards per game and tied for twentieth and rushing yards per attempt. They are not going to climb in the rankings after averaging two point nine yards against Philly. Their longest run by a running back and seventeen attempts was five yards. I spoke to Ted Karris after the game, who says, it's not time to panic yet.
I don't think three and five is a panic mode.
You know, two games back with nine to play, you know that's a that's a lot of time. There's a lot of football to be played. You know, season not even halfway over. Again, hate having to keep saying that, but you know, no one's panicking. And we have you know, credit to the to the organization for the quality of young men that we have in this locker room. And guys are gonna come tomorrow ready to go, and then Wednesday ready to go. We got to get our first
home win, and that's what we're focused on. You know, we can we can talk about January.
All we want. What we need to do is win in Paycorps.
You know, right after Halloween, even with Joe and as good as the passing game is, do you feel like you need a dependable running game? Is that a must going forward?
It is a must. I mean, it's always a must. I mean I would like to give that to Joe.
One time in his career, it'd be nice, you know, and we got to execute up front, and that's we didn't today. I don't think we ran the ball very well at all, but a few, but not enough to spark any confidence in increasing the value.
I think you converted your first eight third down conversion something like that, which is great obviously, But is that also what Philadelphia does. They force you to convert third after third after third by you know, kind of taking away the deep ball and forcing you to nickel and dime your way down the field.
I guess that's what they did today.
But we were converting and you know, sustaining drives mean to open up the game with a ten minute drive, I thought that was pretty encouraging and it was gonna be one of those games where you know, we had to get get ourselves down there and score on possessions because they're doing the same thing. You know, they had I think they had a ten minute drive as well. So it's just it's just a show game. You know,
we only have three possessions in the first half. Usually you get about six, I would say, So you know, the game is shorter, so points are at a premium, and we got to end in touchdowns. They did and we didn't, and that's ultimately the difference in the game.
Maybe a stupid question, I'll ask it anyway, Why doesn't every team do the tush push?
They don't have a quarterback and squad six hundred pounds, I'd say is probably the most obvious answer. You know, I don't think we've seen other teams do it to no success. I think a lot of teams have tried it and got out of it right away. Again, who their quarterback is. You know, they have a quarterback who's built like a running back.
So not to say he's running, but he's a good quarterback.
But I think that just you know, and they had Jason Kelcey very you know, smaller center, good leverage athlete, you know, the Cam Jurgens. Now, obviously they've studied it, they practice it a lot, they know what they're doing. And again, it doesn't it's not one hundred percent, but you know, it's a war of Yeah, it's.
A war of attrition in there.
And I just think that personnel wise, we've seen other teams try it and fail.
So I think it's you know.
That's a that's a unique Philly thing that they do.
You feel like you keep reaching a point where you're just kind of like on the verge of flipping things five hundred or whatever, and then it's a step backward.
I mean it's the NFL.
I mean, this is uh, you know, this is this is the big, big boys league. So you know you better be ready to go and come out, you know, come out in the second half, you know, traded touchdowns and then didn't convert a fourth down and the game.
Got busted open. So that's that's what it is.
I mean, I don't even know how many positions we had in the second half by four, maybe five if you count the last one. So again, points started a premium, especially in a shortened game, you know, playing against a rushing team like Philly. So no, I don't feel it's a step back. We're three and five, Thank you Cleveland.
My goodness, two games back with nine ago. Oh, we better get a home win against We gotta give the fans a pay course something because they keep showing out for us and we're not putting on a great show.
Thank you Cleveland was a reference to the Browns beating the Ravens twenty nine fourteen with Deshaun Watson out for the rest of the year with an achilles injury. Cleveland turned to Jamis Winston at quarterback, and in his first start in more than two years, the former Tampa Bay QB threw for three hundred and thirty four yards and three touchdowns. Deshaun Watson has not passed for three hundred yards in any of his nineteen starts with the Browns.
Baltimore fell to five and three with the loss. The Browns are two and six with the win, and the five and two Steelers host the two and five New York Giants on Monday night. Now, let's hear from Zach Taylor. Dave Lapham began their postgame conversation by mentioning how the Bengals converted nearly eighty percent of their third down opportunities and still didn't score any points against the Vic Fangio coached defense.
Coach tough one out there. I mean, you guys go ten for thirteen. That's mind boggling to me. You convert on third and twenty two and it just doesn't work out. They make you earn everything, don't.
They They do, you know, And I felt like we had a good performance and then second half it wasn't good enough. You know, we had a fourth down call that certainly when it doesn't go that way, I regret. I got to put us in a better position and then two consecutive turnovers after that. So that's the story of the second half there and stuff to swallow.
So the running game, I mean they got their running game on track, particularly in the second half. Sa Quon Barkley to finish the game was very strong run in the football. What's your assessment. I know you've got tape to watching all that. What's your knee jerk reaction? How you ran the ball?
Well, we got to take the pressure off our team by by not being two scores down and being able to get more runs off in the second half, and so eventually you break one cat's kind of what happened to them a little bit. So we didn't get four shelves of that opportunity. I thought we were doing well in the pass game in the first half, so leaned more into that because it felt like we were doing a nice job there and didn't give ourselves as many opportunities in the run game.
From an explosive standpoint, had you had three pass plays of fifteen yards and more, no runs of ten yards and more. And when they on their explosives, they had five runs of ten yards and more and eight passes of fifteen yards and more. So that's a big part of their game. And then just getting those explosives.
And those explosives came when they were up you know, two scores, and that's where the runs come, and that's typically what happens. And again that's on us to fin that off in the second half and not put ourselves in that position where they can just lean on their run game, which is traditionally pretty strong.
It's amazing to me ten for thirteen on third down, don't punt the football and the score is way I mean, football continues to just boggle my mind. I mean I can't. It's hard to figure out sometimes.
Yeah, turnovers, you know, we essentially lost three to nothing. The failed fourth down and then the two turnovers back to back. That's the that's how it turns into a from a seventeen all game or twenty four seventeen game to thirty seven to seventeen and you're sitting there looking at what went wrong and again those three straight possessions and not being able to get the stops on the other side of the ball.
It was difficult for us.
I think it was thirteen straight games going back to last year, they had not won the turnover battle, the turnover ratio, and they did get that done today. In a game like this year, right, I mean two possessions where you know, give them them extras and taking them away from you. That's that's huge in a game like this.
Yeah, it's not good enough. You know, we got a better job protecting the ball, better call on a fourth down to get us in a better spot. And you know we all gonna taken ownership for that.
So now you've got to put this one, this one to bed and the income the Raiders, I mean, what are your thoughts at this jonture.
We put ourselves a hole that we can dig out of, you know. And so again we're not even at the halfway point of this season yet, play eight, we got nine and left. There's going to be opportunity for us. We stick together, we take ownership, ignore the noise, find ways to start pulling out wins, and we'll still be in this thing at the end.
Appreciate your time as always.
Thanks siv Up.
Next a home game against the two and six Las Vegas Raiders, who lost to the undefeated Chiefs twenty seven to twenty. Gardner Minshew might have held down to the starting quarterback job for another week by throwing a pair of touchdown passes with a passer rating of one seventeen
point nine in the loss to KC. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps, proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof Fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now time for the radio guys recap. Let's start with the running game.
Twenty carries fifty eight yards for the Bengals today two point nine yards per carry, one sixty one for Philly on the ground. A lot of that came late as they put the game away. But can the Bengals be the team that we thought that they were going to be if they can't get some sort of consistent running game going.
No, they have to pose some sort of a threat in the running game at least has to be respected. In the last couple of weeks, I don't think you know either of those defenses of Cleveland Browns or the Philadelphia was really respected what the Bengals were trying to get done. Twenty carries for fifty eight yards. They had thirty nine carries for one sixty one. They threw it twenty times. Last week, he threw at fourteen.
This week he.
Throws at twenty.
Wow, he's the twenty mark.
Sixteen for twenty two hundred thirty six yards, one thirty two point five quarterback rating. With that one touchdown pass of forty five yards, I mean the Bengals ran it twenty times for fifty eight they throw it thirty seven times. It's just a reverse once two to one run and once two to one pass the football. And at the end of the particularly, like you said, in the second half and the fourth quarter in particular, the Eagles said, you know, we're gonna Saquon Barkley you to death, and
you're gonna have to stop him. And the Bengals weren't up to the up to the challenge. He had four point nine a rush in this football game. He came in averaging six point one. I mean, they are They are ridiculous. To me, Dan, It's like you go ten for thirteen on third down, ten for thirteen, don't pump the football and lose by twenty points. Turnovers, you know, they get stuffed on fourth down, that's a turnover. They have an interception of the funnels, so they went across
the smorgas board, you know, one of each. So in my mind, they're minus three in a game like this, that's gonna be coffin nails for the Bengals.
And a missfield goal near midfield that's like a turnover realistically.
Very true.
You know, it's a you give them that kind of field position, you know, the way they can handle things offensively, it's a that's a that's a solid football team. I mean they just the Bengals. That's seventeen play drive to start the game, five straight third down conversions. I'm like, oh man, this this is encourageble. They just make it work so hard. I think the biggest thing in the game, and one of the keys that we talked about, you know,
start the football game, explosives. I mean they had the Bengals had three chunks or explosives Bengals had no running plays of ten yards or more. They had three passing plays of fifteen yards and more twenty eight yard, twenty yards and more twenty eight yard or twenty four yarder, forty one yarder Philadelphia. They had five chunk running plays, five plays rushing players of ten yards of more twelve eleven,
nineteen seventeen, and eleven. They had three seven plays pass players of fifteen yards and more twenty nine, nineteen seventeen, fifteen, twenty eight, forty five, twenty three. So they chunked us, They exploded us to death, and we couldn't meet the mustard there.
The Bengals are a passing team, and that's understandable with Joe Burrow, but when t Higgins is out, they're owing three this year. They're so reliant on the combination of Chase and Higgins that when one of those guys isn't the field, as we said earlier, they don't have a reliable running game that they can go to that offsets the loss of one of those great receivers.
Yeah, and I think, you know, Gaziki seemed to be the guy. You know, Te's six five, you know, two hundred and twenty pounds whatever. Well, Gaziki's he's six six and two hundred and forty five pounds, eight targets, seven catches, seventy three yards, heather a twenty four yard long. You know, he was very very bemoaning the fact that you know, he turned it over. That was something that was a tough pill for him to swallow. But yeah, T Higgins and Jamar Chase, it's like peanut butter and jelly man.
They're good at part that they're better together, and when they're not together, you know, it's just peanut butter. It's a different kind of sandwich. It's a little drier.
So the Bengals defense played well the last couple of weeks, but it was against the Giants and the Browns with Deshaun Watson and quarterback for most of that game. For the Browns. The last three times they played really good offenses. The defense has struggled. What is the biggest di in your opinion of the Bengals defense.
Yeah, I mean lou and Arumo.
The Bengals were had given up the fewest players of twenty yards and more coming into the football game. You know, that's that's the big thing in Philadelphia. They went on multiple play drives. I mean they have a ten play sixty two yard drive, twelve plays seventy three yard drive. Then they have like a three play seventy yard drive. They have a six play seventy yard drive. I mean
they had had both. They pounded they you know, put you in a meat grinder and pounded you into submission, played bully ball when they needed to, and then they would complement it with a chunk. I mean, there are a lot of their passes, I'd say, if not all, a high percentage of their explosives in the passing game was off of play action because they had the line of scrimmage captured, you know, and they were running the play action you know, off the counters and pulling linemen.
I mean exactly the same look. So all those linebackers and safeties have to do is take one step towards the line of scrimmage. Now you're in trouble. You're gonna have a hard time getting to where you're supposed to get, and you're coming up a little short and hurts is good enough where he's gonna gash you on it. So this this guy, he's a he's a uniquely gifted man. You know, he can hurt you with his throwing arm, he can hurt you with his feet. He had thirty
seven yards. He had ten carries, and some of them were designed. Some of them were into quarterback draws as long as it was a twelve yarder. But I mean, the guy squats like six hundred pounds. So when they do the toush push, it's like having a you know, an extra alignment in there pushing from behind, never mind even a running back. And if Saquon's in there pushing my hand, Saquon squats about the same. These guys squatted
the world for crying out loud. They're ridiculously strong in their legs and it's an interesting thing to have to deal with. And the Bengals defense had their hands full, there's no doubt.
Let's talk about Evan McPherson. Maybe I shouldn't make too big of a deal about missing a fifty four yard field though that's a long kick, obviously, but he's missed three out of his last four field goals after starting the year nine for he didn't suddenly become a mediocre kicker. He's one of the best in the league. There's something about the operation, snap, hold, kick, whatever, that's just not working as smoothly as we're accustomed to seeing.
Yeah, I mean I think that there's you know, when a kicker approaches the football totally confident that it's going to be exactly where it's supposed to be, when it's supposed to be there, it's easy peasy, the doesn't even think about it. But he's had some instances where it's not so I think right now, you know, I'm not sure he probably would say, Look, I'm not struggling with that aspect of it. I am just anticipating the ball is going to be there and I'm going to go
right through it. I thought the fifty four yard it looked to me like the operation was pretty good. I mean, there wasn't any bobb will get the hold down. Now, I'm not saying I don't know. I'm not saying that the hold is being held the exact way that he wants it held, or whatever the case may be. And sometimes in those long few that's all it takes, is a little thing like that. But man, he had plenty of height and plenty of distance on that bad boy.
He just kind of pulled it a little bit and you know, maybe started out a little bit more of the right, but he's missed more field goals I think to the right than to the left. You know, he's pushed them. He doesn't like to you know, he doesn't like cooking the football, and he's hooked it a little bit too many times this year. I think probably his liking for sure. So yeah, it's just when it rains, it poors.
I guess eight games done, nine to go. Joe Burrow in his postgame news conference said, well, to make the playoffs, we probably need to win ten games. That would mean going seven and two the rest of the way. Have we seen enough when the Bengals have had their good moments to think that, Okay, I can see a scenario where they go seven and two.
As Force greg said, Paul Brown said it early on in my career. Force Gregg reiterated it. You are what your record says you are. Joe Burrow in the postgame said, we're not very right now, and it's hard to argue with you know, if you're a three and five football team, you are what your record says you are, and you're not very good right now. You're not good enough. Shoot, I got to beat Las Vegas here and get that first home when I cannot believe, cannot believe they're all
for a pay Corps. It's like, and we knew that that New England game was going to be oh and everybody's still grinding, gritting their teeth over that one. But four games lost at pay Corps Stadium, and you know, right after that, you got to go to Baltimore on Thursday night and beat the Ravens and it's a division battle, and uh, they're gonna they're gonna have, you know, a little bit of dirt in their eye. So it's difficult to say the least, but they have put themselves behind
the eight ball. They were crawling out of a hole. Then they fell back in and the hole got a little deeper. Instead of being five hundred, you're three and five, eight games in, four and four eight games in. It's like, okay, well there's not that many left, but we're hanging in there. But now you have to win two before you lose another football game, just to get back, even just to get your head and your eyeballs above the hole above the ground line. Tush lead men.
Two losses at home where they haven't punted.
Ridiculous, ridiculous, it's crazy, it is. I mean, the more games you watch, I mean ten of thirteen on third down, don't punt once and lose the football game by twenty My goodness, I just a plus B an equal C to me, I don't know what.
It equals, and I ain't see unfortunately equals L.
Capital L, no question underlying a few times.
The Bengals are three and one on the road but zero and four at home. They open as an eight and a half point favorite against the Raiders for next Sunday's game. Finally, it's time for this week's fun fat segment, and it might be my favorite one so far this year. Time for some fun facts in safety Day. Jon Anthony from Richmond, Virginia, the capital city in that state. What does a kid do for fun growing up in Richmond, Virginia.
Well, in my generation, we was outside and we used to play basketball, outside, football, hide and go seek.
So we used to just hang out around the way and just have a good time.
So Dejhon, your Instagram account begins with rip Nana and rip mama. You lost your mom when you're in fifth grade, you lost your grandmother when you're in college. Can you describe the impact those two women had on your life.
Yeah, So, like my mom, she just was a soldier.
Like she was sick for like three years and she just kept fighting and was always there, came to all my games and my dad was incocelerated, so she was really playing a big role. I had two other brothers and his sister, and she was just doing everything she could. And then on the back and like we always live with our grandmother, her mama to my grandma, and she was just like you know, a guyfaenir and woman and she just put everybody else before her. So like, uh,
they they raised me. And the reason why, like I have the strength and to keep going every single day. So I just loved him to death and I just want to keep making them proud.
Your college football career began at Shepherd University, which is a Division two school in West Virginia. It's about a three hour drive from Richmond. How did you wind up there?
So? I had the transfer high schools my senior year and that's why I couldn't. Uh, that's why I kind of lost a lot of interest because I missed the first five games my high school career. Then I ended up catching like seven picks that year. Last again, I called four paces in one game and I thought I was gonna blow up, but I didn't, And it was a It was coach Sam Daniels. She was a Shepherd coach. He was down at my school and he came and
touch to me. He was like, we want to bring you on a visit, and I went on to visit up there. I went on a visit to Virginia State and Shepherd, and I was like, I ain't want to stay close to home, so I picked Sheppard University.
The quarterback your freshman year was Tyson Bagent, who started four games for the Chicago Bears last year and did really well. Did you have any inkling that you might be playing with a future pro at Shepherd U.
I mean yeah, you could kind of see. Like we had a lot of D one bouncebacks too, and Shepard. I mean Tyson, he was like the Gatoray Player of the Year in high school like two years in a row. So it was like we knew he only wanted to stay at Shepherd stay because he wanted to be at home, but like he had a lot of offers.
So I mean, like we always knew he was going to be great.
You just don't know how far somebody can go, because sometimes it's not just you, it's like God might have another plan for you. But we knew he was going to be great, and he showed that even when we was young, like first getting out there, all of us did kind of me and Tyson, a couple other teammates that could have kept going just didn't have the opportunities that we did.
We're visiting with Dejon Anthony. I read an interview where you said that when you were at Shepherd, your grandmother treated it like you were playing at Alabama.
Yeah, my grandma, she was just one of the biggest supporters I ever had in my life. My whole family is honestly, like if anybody like pay attention, like I didn't have probably twenty people at every game, like immediate family, dry party and hunted. Some people like my family just such like they supported me so much. And my grandma that was just like like that was like my best friend.
Like everything I did was with her. I told her everything, like everybody know, I was kind of her favorite, and like she used to get on that road every Saturday morning and come straight up to my d two games with her jersey on custom shirts Jordan's.
And just have a good time.
So uh, she just loved She just loved to see me getting out of you know, getting out of out of where where we grew up at, like just doing something that a lot of family members didn't do. A lot of my family didn't go to college. I'm the first one to graduate college, first one to play D one football college football period. So uh, I think that was just a blessing for her, just to see me away.
Your second year, Shepherd was wiped out due to COVID and you walked on at Liberty. After that, it sounds like it didn't take very long for you to earn a scholarship.
So in January, you know, it's just waits and like conditioning, it's just a winter conditioning.
And then March, you know, we started springball. Uh, first day I was coach.
They tried to put me on scholarship the first day, but I didn't have my transcripts, official transcripts on file, so we had to get them from Shepherd. So uh, I was a walk on, but I started one on ones, Like I jumped out there a corner first for one ones and had good rest, and Coach Freeze called the last one. He always called two people out, and he called me and another person out and I we just
just having fun. Caught an interception that first day, So it was a good It was a good experience, Nick, and I just ran with it after that.
While you were at Liberty, your grandmother was diagnosed with cancer, and every day after practice you would drive ninety minutes to spend time with her. There's not a lot of free time in the college student athlete experience. Why was it so important for you to do that every day?
Just like I said earlier, that was my best friend and she had stage four cancer September.
It's January. You don't know what it is gonna be.
So I go to practice early morning, go to my classes. I'm probably getting done at like three o'clock, get on the road through thirty, gets on the eat, get on the road, get there around like five, beat traffic and chill with her to probably like two three in the morning, get back on the road, go write to practice. So it was just like like it won't even know sacrifice or nothing. That's something that's my grandma, Like that's the
person that raised me. So like I just wanted to make sure I was there whenever the moment didn't happen, and knew it was coming.
She had stomach cancer.
It's for you to be there all the way to March from September with stage for a stomach cancer. All she was trying to do was just come to my spring game. So that's why she kept holding on. She just kept saying she wanted to see me play one time in D one. So uh yeah, I just kept driving back and forth.
For you spent your final year of college football playing at all MESS. When you entered the transfer portal, did you finally get that experience of what it was like to be recruited.
Yeah, that was my first time being recruited. Or when I hit the transfer portal, I kind of blew up. I kind of almost had like every SEC school, every ACC school I was getting called. I had like four visits set up. The first hour I was in the trans supporter schools was calling me left and right, calling my old coaches, like my coach that's at SMU, Coach Huntley,
the one that got me the liberty. He called me like three times that day and it was just like I just got out the phone, like five different schools about you.
So it was like that was it was a really good.
Feeling, just you know, finally getting the credit and the flowers. But it's just all God timing and he know when it's right for you and when it's not.
All Miss had a great year and show did you? The team went eleven and two and won the Peach Bowl. You had an interception in that game. What was the best part of your year at all?
Miss?
I'd say the LSU win, the big hit in LSU and I had the game winn PBu. We was down people don't know, like we was down by ten, well like three minutes left to the Heisman quarterback Wanner to you know, both of those top receivers that went top fifteen this year, like they had a explosive offense and being down by team with three minutes left, that that that and for us to win that game, that's that's brotherhood right there. That's the termination. That's like keeping your
foot on the guys, that's trusting everybody. So right then I knew, like, man, this team's special. And we broke a record. They never won eleven games in Old Miss history. They never had eleven win season. So uh, that was just a really good experience. Just you know the LSU game. Man the teen they rushed the car, they rushed the field after like everybody rushed the field. I'm laying on the ground like wow, it just won, and everybody running over me. So I feel like that was probably my
my favorite experience there. And then definitely the bowl game cause they had everybody had pans they beating us, and we went out there and beat like beat them, beat 'em. And I had like seventy family members there, so it was like this my last game of college.
I went crazy. It had like three PPU's a pick.
So both of those games was like you know, and then the old the rival game, the egg Bow versus Mississippi State. I had fifteen tackles that game, and that's a really lit game for you know, all old miss alumnis and Mississippi State guys.
You reference the big hit, I need to follow up. You made a jarring hit on Jaden Daniels in that LSU game that forced to fumble. And if somebody types your name into a Google search and says, stay Jon Anthony hit, that is the first thing that's going to pop up. What was it like to have that that blow up moment?
I mean it just you know, like you said, man, you put in all the work in the off season and for it to finally happen, like because I kind of was trending a lot like the first game I called a pick at Old Miss. Second game, I was PFF top three safeties. I had like eight argut is at nickel and strong safety and no catches. Played Georgia Tech. I had a really good game. Then we played Bama then LSU, so it was like I was blowing up. And then like after that, I really like like the
hit was the viral thing. But I feel like the game winning PBu like that's what like kind of did it for me because I hit him twice like that that game. One got caught for a flag, then one and then and then just the PBu man like at the end, like when all the like stress and tension just left your body and we like there's no flags, the game is over. So uh it just felt good, man, It's just a blessing.
I'm draft ed this year. You had a big party with friends and family, more than one hundred people looking on. It was so loud and festive, you couldn't hear Zach Taylor when he called you, correct.
Yeah, I couldn't. I didn't know what he was saying, so I knew the right answer was just to say yes, sir. So I just kept saying yes sir because I didn't want to I didn't want to say like something, and he was like, what is he talking about? Like because I couldn't hear what he was saying. So I just was like, yes, sir, Yes sir.
So yeah, yes sir, followed by I love your coach at the end.
Yeah, I mean, it's a life changing thing for you to be.
You know a lot of people ain't think I could get here from being Division two, So you know, just coming from division two and working your way up the ladder.
Like it's not easy.
So that day, you know, I was projected to go way earlier than that, but I got a couple of trouble incidents, of which I said before. So you know, just waiting around all day, you see people that you feel like not better than you, and that car. When you get that car, it's like how I said with the LSU game, it's like it's just relief, Like all the tension, anxiety just go out the window.
A few wild card topics now with Dejon Anthony to wrap things up. Did you treat yourself to anything after you signed your first professional contract?
I just gotta chain. That's represent in my grandma.
They said grandma baby, and then they got Nanna on it, and then it got the day she was born, the day she died, and the picture of me and her on the back.
That's really it. The rest. I've just been trying to save up, you know, just keep investing in stuff like that.
I'm sure she would be very proud of that. Other than sports, what are you good at?
I'm good at I'm good at. I feel like I'm good at a lot of things, Like I played the game. I'm a competitive person, like I like doing a lot of stuff. But I definitely say the game.
I don't know.
I'm kind of good like I like fashion, so like I'm good at dressing and stuff, you know, trying to put on.
I could pick out office. I could be a stylist for people.
I might need to take you up on that, all right. Final fun fact, this one's kind of deep. If you could meet anybody in history, living or deceased, who would that person be?
I definitely want to say Kobe, but I probably I might say, like, you know, Nipsey Hustle or cause you know, just the solid type of guy he is and just take care of everybody. And you know he's always thinking big, thinking about what's next and not getting comfortable, like you know, that's what he preached. So like I say Nipsy and then uh probably like right now that's living probably a little baby the rapper just all the same thing as Nipsey, Like just a solid dude, great man, always take care
of everybody. You'll never know if anything wrong with him. So those are the type of people I look up to, and I try to be like that. Just that's why I do this. So I can make sure everybody in my family don't have the struggle and stuff like that and just change you know, family last name forever, like like I'm setting the standard, like it's not just graduate high school no more, it's you're going to college. You're going to do this, like, so you know those type
of people I really like to meet one day. Well, Nipsey, rest in peace with a little baby.
For so this has been outstanding. I really appreciate your time. You're very easy to root for. We wish you nothing but the best best of luck the rest of the year.
Thank you, man, I appreciate you for you for your time too.
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