DEVONTA SMITH

Welcome to the Cut to It Podcast. We got two time national championship winner from the University of Alabama nickname Smithy Slash Slim Reaper wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles and also um just a that you know, uh define the odds and welcome to the Cut to A podcast. DeVante Smith. Welcome man, Welcome man, Thanks Phili, thanks for carting out sometime. I know you you got h It's off season, so let me be honest. You ain't got really much going on anyway, you know, y'all we all

act like we're busy. Y'all boys sitting in that sitting at the office, can't wait to get out. Soon as you get out, you ain't got nothing to do? Is that not true? Yeah? So, but I appreciate you carving out some time obviously. Um, you know Steve Smith, senior uh co host er, our little John. Then we got our guy backstage, Joe, who's probably been contacted you're communicating with you. Um. We got Briant Balta Chevis, Uh, that's

our tech. And then Taylor and then our producer Meredith Carter, who she likes to be kind of like what we're talking about football, nameless, faceless. She doesn't like to be seen, but her her work is uh is heard. So um, we're getting right to it. We got this little ice Breakers all about you. H they're random. Um, do they have any rhyme reason? No, that's the best part about it. So here we go. Who's the last person you had a deep conversation with? Uh, my mentor? This mentor has

her name? Who's your mentors? And sands? Okay from from Louisiana. Had you come across him? Yeah? And this impact? Um, him and my family go way back on his POSTI my grandfather were best friends. He was cut in my hand when I was since I was a little boy, so kind. I always grow up around him. Okay, you got you got that? That good Louisiana faith right now going booyah as a as a fellow holder. God, I'm telling you to not thing like. I can tell you where that I can tell you got a sail a

fan or not? Right now? That ain't that? Ain't a kid like? That's a sil fan as a siling fan with a like kid? Am I line though I know my housing? Hey? All right, um, I'll just message. Listen, I'm bald, so I don't care. I don't get haircuts. I do I uh, I go on a drawer and the extent of me is what kind of oil? Am I using? Lavender senate? And I'm a Gillette I gotta I go to Costco and get all of the Gillette. Give me a thirty six pack. Man, You couldn't hear

all year? Yeah no, during television season. It's about twice a week all season. Um, I try to see if I let that thing grow and then the top back a little bit, huh, top back, man, I gotta land the strip, private plane. Let's move on. Listen. If you can't laugh at yourself, you show the health can't laugh at other people? Right, look at hes gonna be thinking about this and now he's gonna be like this, Steve, don't mean I know what exactly what I said. Look, hey,

all right, who's your favorite sports team growing up? The Saints and the Celtics. Okay, Saints like good Celtics. What's up with that? Yeah? How do you get that one? Um? I'm a big Rondo fan. Okay, I mean Rondo was legit, he did not. You give you a whole bunch of exists. That's all you get, man? You drop that's a lot. Yeah, that because you got two points. That tells me something. I don't know who. So what's some What are some bad habits that you have? Bad habits? Uh, I'd probably

say me just being non a lot. Oh okay, okay, I'm overthinker, man, I overthink everything. I'll overthink driving to the store. You just go to the stove. So all right, Um, how are you doing today? How's life good? All right? Um? I've been always I've always want to ask you know, some of the young guys. We usually have some old heads on here, but um, you went to University of Alabama? How was going to How was going to college in

the middle of a pandemic? Because you had what two years or a year two years or a year and in the pandemic are going to school a year, a year of going to school in the pandemic, and then a year obviously two years of not going I mean of not having a pandemic. How was it for you personally to go to school in the middle of a pandemic based off what you're used to things being? Uh? Man, it was it was tough just because some the fact that if you called COVID, you wasn't gonna be able

to play. So it was like, I wanted to go to school, but then again, I'm not trying to be around everybody and not trying to do all that, so it was kind of tough. And then it was like I came back from my senior year and during the spring it was like, okay, we're not having those springs. So it was like, man, it came back, we might not even have a season at this time, so it's like,

did I make the right decision? So, I mean, it was it was tough just kind of just staying focused, like still going out working out every day and stuff like that, and not knowing if you're even gonna have a season. What about just going to class or um, just a normal things that you were used to doing as a college student years old. You have to you, let's be honest, you waited all that time to be able to do the legal things that you are wanting to do, to go to college, drink at the bars

and just be a young man. Um being honest, I don't. I don't go out a lot. I don't drink. So it was like that part of it was easy for me. It was like, I sit in the house all day anyway. If I'm not working out nine times team, I'm just in a career playing the game. So that was that wasn't really the hard part for me. All Right, thanks, you just just poo pooed all on that. We shall move on. So where are you from? In a place you call your hometown Amy Louise album? Small town right

outside of ben Rouge? Okay? How far is that from New Orleans? Okay? Do you know where? Uh? Zach and maya louisianas Zachary Zachary, yeah, Zachary, Yeah, where is that? How far is that from you? That's that's like right outside bamar Rouge too. So about saying this to get the band rouge just a different way minutes. All right, there's a guy. There's a guy from there named Doug Williams. You ever heard him? Yeah, what do you play? Great quarterback?

All right, that was a great guess because you guessed too and alight you looked away like I think quarterback. What college did he go to? Yeah, I'll remember. I want to say it was all who was in Louis Adam. Yeah, I'm not helping you, Grandma. Good job to set I like that. See here he is smarter than he looks.

What was life for you before you came became the guy catching all those touchdown passes, before you became the slim reaper, the guy that everybody talked about that he lacked muscle mass, right, because you, to some degree busted on the scene. However, you didn't because you were in college. You went back for your senior year. You were there for a number of months, days, seconds, hours that it wasn't just you busting on the scene and you came out of nowhere. Oh, I mean it was it was smooth.

I stayed in the neighborhoods where like everybody knew everybody, so like you can go from house to house and you you'd be cool it's like you go to the Knicks house and it's just like it's your house because the people called street went to school with your people, with your mom and your pops and stuff like this. So like you was always like I had somebody that

was looking after you no matter what. So like it was always like you were never really doing that you were supposed to because somebody was always there to see what you're doing. And if you're not doing what's right, they're gonna let you know. Until you got a lot of bubb whoopings. Yeah, and you're getting community. But you know about the community. But here's the only thing about community,

but it didn't save you from the butt whooping wants that. Yeah, the other ones with the appetizer is the main course is waiting on you when you get home. I'm talking about straight sting. All right, you're definitely about to get Yeah, that's that's the bad part about it. I love how you described it to to where like every hood isn't the ghetto, where every hood is not bank bang shoot them up, Like everything everything isn't um one side or the one course like there is. Every place is different.

So I'm glad you explain that to where it's not the same trivial thing or the same story that everything thinks everything is the same because you say it's the hood. And I also this, like because there's a narrative that every every black athlete is a thug or they or they experienced harsh times. I mean there's some squares that played that have played in the league, and then there's some dudes that's worse than me on like one or

or they could have but harsh still has range. Right, So just one person's horse isn't the other person's horse, but it was harsh to them. So it's just everybody's story isn't And some people's perspective of poores it VARs. And you were like, pop, I know you just don't. Your family didn't manage money, right, you ain't poor, right, I can show you some pope. So it's it's uh, how so maybe I can get a better answer. I say better just because I want to give the perspective.

How did COVID impact your community when it was going on? Um, I wouldn't say it really impacted bad because like it's it's so smaller. What you gotta you gotta make it happen, like it's not much around them. So like the stuff that they had, like it's still going because like if we shut down, then there's nothing here, Like everything was still going to things like that. It was just everybody just had to be smarter with the stuff that they were doing. Where's your love for for sports? Grow? Um?

I grew up right next to a park. Okay, any time I heard that basketball on that councrete, I was there. It was the old heads of people my age. I was always there from all. I mean, my Popsy hooped to high school, so I used to go out there and hoop against him, you know what I mean. Just that toughness in me and stuff came from that. Just no matter who it was, old heads out there, I'm gonna get out there. And then I always had a good basketball, so nobody else played unless I got at

least one game. Man, it was running the cool it so were you run the court? You can shoot? Yeah, I can do a little something. No, I ain't able to ask kids. You shoots? He telling you? He telling you he can was it was position. It was a smart oplayer. They want through the foll Okay. I don't think a lot of kids hang out with O. G's Like, I don't think that they would. You agree and disagree

with DA. How many people now are hanging out with like really being able to bring down that game, really being able to soak up, you know, the knowledge from them. You can't talk to you. I mean I got a I got a younger brother. I tell him all the time, man, Like when I was younger. Man, you wouldn't David to be out there with us. Man, we was real deal at the park one o'clock, son demon like your grandma telling you don't go outter this son out. They're not

outside no more. Man, They're not doing all that over there sharing water. Don't put your lips on it, and you better be back by when what's what is the street? Street? Like? You don't let me come out as to prove your curfew for black not let me come out yelling Steven because you know what it's about to come, because you heard that, because yeah, it's about to go. You've ben to wrap up that last game. Why do you why do you believe you, young buck? What is one of

the toughest things to hang out with? O. G s as a young boy? Oh? I mean you gotta kind of like you know your place, Like, yeah, you want to go out there and be all tough and stuff, but you gotta know when you gotta tone it down. Because like my O G s, it was like they knew me, they knew my people and all that, so they had it right with it. Like if stuff was wrong, like I'm doing wrong, like they're gonna let me know. So I had to kind of know my place and

things like that. So do you think that helped you, Yeah, for sure it taught. It taught me respect. You're taking to respect, just to respect your others at all times and things like that. I mean out there being competitive and stuff sometimes. So talking outside your nick you better understand. Yeah we are hoping, but you better respect me. At the same time, don't cross that line and you're gonna get told when you crossed it. When you're about to

cross when you get that look, yeah that looks. You mentioned your your grandmother, you mentioned your father. What was your and all the O G s? What was your family dynamic growing up in Louisiana? Everybody was close. I mean everybody stayed around each other. So like any time something's going on, everybody at my house are my grandma house? Like every time something's going on. And then I mean everybody stayed right on one street, so you don't have to go far. You gotta take no call, you should

walk down the road. That's where about it. So everybody was close. M real athletic family. Everybody played sports, so I mean we'll be out there playing volleyball, tennis, softball, everything, basketball, Like we always had some sports going on. So when'd you fall in love with football? Um? I really say probably just high school because I mean majority of my

family played basketball. My pops didn't play football, so it was just kind of like I always grew up basketball, basketball, basketball, and then high school probably when I really fell in love with I got my first offer and then um my mentor, like he made me realize it's not doing what you want to do, but doing what's best for you. And I mean I started to realize football what was best for me. How did you take that it's not doing what you want to do, is doing with the

best the best for you. Yeah. It was tough, man, because like I said, I always love basketball. Man, I didn't want to give it up, but it was like being realistic. You six foot man, you're not gonna go out here no one and really getting nothing. Then wasn't nobody helping with basketball in my area? Was all football, big football down, So it was like people gonna help you get to where you want to be with football

and not basketball. It was tough though. Mhmm. A statement that I read that you said, Um, if it ain't fan, I don't want to be there. Expound on that. Um, just like like I said, I'm I'm I'm real nonchalant. I'm not really a people personally. I don't talk a lot. So it was just like if it wasn't really my family, that I really don't want to be around it because

like why am I here? And even sometimes like once I went to college and I come back home, my family let me know, like you're coming home, but you ain't like you ain't talking to us and ain't just because I'm not thinking about y'alls. Just that like I'm like, I'm just in my sheld. It's just how I am. I don't like getting out like that. I don't like being around a lot of people. As I got older, I kind of like I started this ising myself just from being in big crowds. It's just how I am.

Do you feel like because of playing ball it burns, it takes the energy away from you. Oh yeah, definitely. That was one thing just coming home. Everybody always want to talk about football. It's like I've been doing that for them. I don't want to talk about that right now. Like if y'all gonna talk about I'm not coming you know, but do you understand why? Yeah, yeah, I understand that. I mean just being in my small family, it was just like you're the one You're the one person that

taking it ran with. So it's just like everybody just happened from me. Yeah, And they also want to know what it's like, what, what's what's the experience of because you go from here's what the dynamic? You go from smitty to little Smitty to celebrity to nephew or whoever it is, grandson, So this is balanced. They're looking at you as little DeVante too celebrity. So it's that it's

that roller coaster. So different days, you know, different strokes, different different for different folks, different days because they remember you were walking around and uh, I remember I was changing that boy diving, right, I remember telling that boy to uh. I taught him how to tie his shoe right, and then in that boy out there buying our shoes right, So that it's that balance right that you're that you're experiencing.

So I would I would try to encourage you, man, try to embrace it, right, Try to embrace it, because you gotta think about it. Three years old, you're gonna turn, You're gonna go to sleep. Wake up, bro, it's gonna be you're gonna be ten years in the league, thirty three on your way out to some degree right to to where um right, I you know, I used to you know, every house I had, we had a guest room and I was done playing you no guests coming, which I kind of liked a little bit, right, you know,

but it changed. So I would say, cultivate those relationships. See which ones are authentic, right, Give him a little grace because you're experiencing something that they've never done. Your rookie deal. What you're getting paid as a rookie and you you're getting you're getting three, four or five may be ten people of your family members salary and one check. That's a little different. That's something for some of us. Man, we've never seen that. So you know, just try to

keep that perspective. It's it's tough, and I know it's hard, but you know it's it's just kind of that's where you are. I love cut to It, and I love it even more when you download us and subscribe, and you can follow us on social media too, Smithie where where at? That's at? Cut to It on Instagram? What about twitter? At? Cut to It? Facebook? Cut to It

featuring Steve Smith singr? What about online? And you can follow us at cut to It podcast dot com where you can buy merch and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. I got all my answers questions. Uh yeah, I call all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for, a brother, cut to a podcast dot com. You're very cautious around people. Why what happened? What's going on? Why are you so cautious? You look like you look like you sign out everybody. He reads the room. Yeah,

that's that's how my popsy is. That's how the possible mom. That's just how everybody is. I think I just kind of picked on picked up on it from them, just like om it was. She was always like a parent. That was like, that's why i didn't pay a baasketball. If I can't be there, you know, I don't. I don't want you there. I don't trust nobody with you but me, So like I just I think that's just what I picked up on from Well. I can't even imagine that conversation with Nick Saban and your folks. How

was that conversation? Um, I mean it was, it was. It was smooth, honestly, just because you know, with his with his status, him being who he was, and it was just like him being on the platform, all the stuff that he's done, the awareness he's raised on different situations and things like and how strict he was, because my mom was real strict. So she was like, Okay, I can see you being a place like this. I know he's just gonna be out here letting you do anything.

To other places. It's like we're going visits. They're trying to get me to go out the part of my mom, you know, I'm like going out and I tell her, like they're trying to get me to go out here. I don't want to go, and she like, okay, I know I want him to be there. They're trying to get him to do something he don't want to do. So was that trust what sold you on Alabama or was there anything else about the Alabama culture that made you fall in love and say, yes, that's where I'm going. Honestly,

it was Coach Burns. He was he was my recruiter. He was from He's from New Orleans, so like I kind of know him. He just always kept real with you, like anything anything that went down. He told me when he told me that to receive the coach was gonna leave right before I signed. Things like that. He was the only one that called me and told me. And I just feel like if I went there, I know he gonna be there. And I'm always like, you can always have my back, don't matter what. He always kept

really I win. So how are you handling how are you going to handle the National Football League? Because that is the coaching wise. This profession is not always about transparency. It's about it's the business, right in the business of football is that they're not gonna take like you know, when you drive up to a drive through, they know they don't have fries, but they're not gonna tell you till you put that putting in that order. They ain't gonna put on the side. No fries this week. Right,

They're not gonna put that in the league. They're not gonna say, hey, we're gonna draft you, but we know we're gonna be awful. Right, So how are you gonna handle the professional football with transparency? And trust is not always front and center? You know, they have to the the the organization has to trust and make sure that they know that you can hold secrets to um. I mean you just I feel like I look at it like you just control with you control. I mean I'm

doing I'm gonna do my partner. I mean hopefully anything else missing it come along. And I mean that's well, you sit there and you do what you do. You see the guys that you want to be, that you want to conversate with, and you see the guys that you want to dis is yourself from. You see, that's gotta do. So are you when you sit in the locker room, are you just kind of you're taking mental notes of uh Nope, yes, heck no. Yeah. When I when I first got there at home, I had to

kind of figure it out. I mean, now it's just cool. I mean, like, I know we're here for work, so it's like I have my conversations. I keep the conversation where you're supposed to be and down't going to fart the next mm hmm. Yeah, that's want. That's that's kind of I did a little bit too. That's exhausting, has to be sometimes, So yeah, trying to figure out who's who's telling the truth, who's selling your a bag full of good? So what were some of those biggest aha

moments you had last year? Then? I wouldn't really say it was nothing too crazy for real good. I mean when you started off him for him, you know what I'm saying, when they started off like, yeah, I'm just saying over him personally, that's what I'm saying, you gotta have some good. In the beginning, it was tough to

watch him. Yeah, So it was kind of like that's how it was for me though, because it's like I've been winning out my life literally to middle school, high school, college, and I get here, I'm like, man, we're twent five, Like man, what's up? Like something gotta change. I Mean it was frustrating then, like because it's like we're losing, but we're losing by small stuff, Like you're losing games you should be winning. Yeah, So it was just like,

what can I do? But they can just help us a little bit to get what we're going And I mean it was rough. I had like three weeks open and played. I didn't drop the first played three weeks straight. So I'm like, man, what's up with me? What I got going on? And it was just me thinking too much and being out there. It would you like, man, just go back and just being you like, yeah, they coaches, they're doing this and that, but man, you gotta do

what you're comfortable with. Everybody wants you to do stuff this way and that way. Man, you gotta do what you're comfortable with. Let's go back to the COMBA. You

didn't get Wade, you didn't left. However, they were glowing reviews about you all through the season leading up to and beyond the Heisman Trophy and then and then all of a sudden, the draft comes and now of a sudden they didn't notice that you were skinny, right, some dominant whole National championship games, all of a sudden, there's something. I mean, he didn't had no caps before he got to the National championship. Enough. I mean I got to the point I got to the point I really care

no more. It was just like, okay, y'all say this and that. Whatever receiver y'all thinking about taking. Just name something that he can do that I can't do. I mean, like airbounce up here, like oh yeah, but we need you to block here. And now I'm like, you can put on the tape. I'm out there blocking whatever it is. I'm like, man, blocking ain't got nothing to do with your side most of that. If you want to do I know a lot of people that didn't. It just

ain't gonna get a name absolutely. But there are some linebackers, Yeah there's some. But there's a guy on your team, Fletcher Cox. I know your little asses can't block him. Yea. At this point the point, it's like, okay, I'm playing smart, not for the well you see flesh. It is nice, dude, but he will run your ass off. Yeah, bring up. You can put yourself in the predictive. Yeah, that's that's a financial to say, like I ain't a math of attention,

but I'm running these numbers, my checking the savings. You're gonna eliminate all of that exactly. So you you decided, you know how take us through that process. So how did you you know? I I understand you didn't concern yourself, but you had to because it was so blatantly out there every single time. So how did what did you go through with just with your team to figure out what was the best way to go through? Um? Honestly, I just straight up told him what I weighing or not?

They're gonna say the same thing. I don't weigh in. Oh he too small? I win? Oh he too small? They're gonna say the same thing. So I'm just not gonna do it. Regards So what did you weigh heading up to the draft? I was one seventy two? Yeah? What you weigh in right now? Want seventy? I'll be up and down prost Yeah. So are you? Are you learning the left and all that stuff and not saying learning the left like you don't know how the left?

But learning left? That that doesn't take away your take away the swave of your hips and elusiveness and and being able to run jump stop but also gain some power and strength at the same time. How how is that working out for you? Um? It's good. I mean I know myself. I know when something gets good, I'm gonna let you know, hey, man doing it? Man, which

is what number is that? Hey? Man? You get about really you get about man, Hey, we used to have an exercise that's just the big, that's just the big. Because you ain't even really clarified. I'm trying to let him just flow because I already know what he's talking about. Lay they used to have to do back in the day. But we used to have to do strength and conditioning like they do the forty vertical bitch and they put on their Brian used only getting five times dog. I said, Man,

you'd be looking I get it off. He'd be real because he tied people like, no, you know I can't you know I can't lift it. That was literally gonna be my next question of you talked about things that are draining like you've kind of mentioned it though, but how draining is that? Because everyone keeps saying, man, you're too small, you're too small, or what Kenny lift? What Kenny lift? Like that? That does just have to be draining. They completely get on your nerves. When you know you can.

All you gotta do is produce, and all you do is produced even when you produce that listen, you know how many people have told me, I'm oh, these whole, the whole. Anytime I talk about anybody, I'm a hater. Uh Um. I was nothing but a slot receiver. I didn't play in the slot, but I wish I did right it would have helped my career. I'd probably play twenty two years if I played in the slot I was at. I was at dinner with uh a few buddies,

and one of those buddies happened to be uh. The team president used to be a team president of the Carolina Panthers. His name is Mark Richardson. His dad name is uh Mr Richard. You know there's a couple of billion dollars used on the team. And Mark says at dinner, a smitty not too bad for a returner. I looked at him, I said a returner. He said, yeah, we drive to use a return I said, know the hell, you're dead. He's gonna see there goes that chip. It's

not a chip. You drafted me as a returner. But when you're drafting me and you're scouting me, I played wide receiver who happened to play punt return and kick off, it's not a chip, it's a you put me in a box, and I refused to live in that box. And then you're telling me because I don't want to live in that box, that I have a chip or that i'm I'm rebelling against authority. But the whole purpose of life is to is to get the most out of what you can get. Right when you get the opportunity.

Nobody goes, yeah, I'm gonna geting if you don't go to a job and say I want to make the same amount of money for the next thirty years. Person personally, yes, And I think it just fits in that we want to put people in boxes and but yet we want to call them renegades or to have chips on that shoulder if we don't accept they're marginalizing us or limiting us because we refuse to be limited. Yeah, like I think that that that is the whole premise about hopes

and dreams, isn't it day dreaming? If not, you should been you should have stayed You're asked in Louisiana, right, you should have never went outside of that and I wanted to be anything more just you should have stayed election to how dare you get a college degree? How dare you want to raise a family. We want to limit people, justify our limitations, and then get mad at the people who don't want to, who don't want to

live with your limitations on their life. Yeah, whether he would have lifted or not lifted, he would have heard the same chatter, right, And it's just gotta be someone says. And someone may even listen to this right now and be like, oh man, he's saying. You know, if it's two hundred, get off the rack. Man, this brother had sixty four catches. Yeah, sixty four catching in the league and sixty four catching in the league. I don't care.

Here's what I asked the strength coach. When am I ever gonna be laying on my back kneed the bench two hundred pounds? First of all, I'm laying on my back bench or two other pounds. That's what problem. Think about it? When do I need to use this particular that range emotion, that range emotion. Well, I'm on, I ain't got pancakes. Let me get this TV off. That's the only time that's gonna be moment other than that

you swipe and jump and running. I mean, it also doesn't I mean, it measures your strength, but it doesn't make measure your capabilities. This cat who can bench three fifteen, they's still getting rain. Let me tell you in some dudes I played against that could bench three hundred fifty pounds jaw wet tissue paper. I'm just to sleep. Sleep. You know he knows it too. Yeah, or walk up to him. They're being there and walk up to him and practice me like, bro, don't Yeah, I know you

heard this before. Joe has not and I know you heard you. You know you used to have friends over your mom and said, don't let you free, just get your ask what right? I look at it. Don't let that weight room get your asked? What today? That that wight room get your burned? You know what? So some cool moments that you've experienced in the league thus far, I say, man, every day just being out there against slay him. Man, the energy he brings and it's always since day when I got up in the young boy,

we're gonna go at it to day. I mean, I mean I liked it, like, yeah, we're gonna go back and forth, and I mean that that's probably the best thing that could happen to me having him and I look at that's my o g on the team. Anytime I got a question about a dB always go to him. He gonna watch the film let me know he thinks.

And I say, that's probably the biggest highlight of my of my rookie career, rookie season, just that just being able to talk to him and him just always just being there, no matter if I got a question or not. We have say on here Slay. I was in Baltimore, he was in Detroit and he has um. We got a little going at each other. I was I was still injured coming back from injury. He had asked for jersey.

It was like, want to do a church jersey exchange And I thought it was a trick that he trying to soften me up giving my church and no dB, but Slave is just an authentic dude. Yeah, what's what's some of the what are some of the things you're learning about dbs um going up against Slavery Week, because you know he's it's a big place, sleigh, right, He's he's a he's a he's a country boy too, just

like you. What are you learning from him that you can that you can take on as your career continues to go and then eventually his career was subside because you know he's just a little bit older than you. Um, the list stuff that I do that could give giveaway what I'm gonna do with dB. Like he told me last week when I changed my speed, he know often

to run a stock right or something like that. So it was just always just the little tales that I had that I don't realize easy well you know what rufin right, and just ways that I can always use that against the d being things like that. Okay, that's probably cause you're coach telling you to run all the time. You've always been told you run faster. Huh yeah, slow people always telling fast people were run faster. So what are you starting to implement to your regiment now going

into this upcoming season? Um? I mean, man, just really catching a lot more things like that. That's that's the main thing, because I mean that's that's what you're here for. Get open to catch the ball. So just as many catches as I can. I know right now, every every day I'm guaranteed at least five sixty tennis balls. And

that's if I understand. I don't understand the tennis balls helped me on Now it's more of a making sure you look looking in all the way coordinated stuff like that, because you know you teen sometimes you thank God and you were looking at all the year with this ball. You gotta make sure you look at all ways into had. Okay, what has it been like for you to play in the NFC East, Uh, Because everybody look at us like we the we're the weakest division that it is. See.

See I'm talking from an old head. The NFC East used to be the division. The NFC East and the NYFCY West would would be the division. The winner out of those two games, the winner out of first of all the NFC East and NFC West would be going to the nc Championship and and based on that generally would win the Super Bowl. So I'm not talking in that regards. I'm talking in the regards of you play the Cowboys, tough matchup. Uh. Their fans travel stories franchise,

they travel. You're playing the New York Giants, story franchise that they travel. The Commanders they've been horrible, not great in in the recent years, but they travel as well. And you got Philly. Philly is the most rudest fans out there, but they keep it one hundred and they travel. So you're playing in the NFC East that there's always high expectations. Whether you guys live up to them, it ain't.

It's not for me to say. But you still have high expectations now with a j. Brown higher expectations to Slim Reaper, high expectations. Jalen hurts high expectations, like now it's you guys are back to y'all can play football? Can you can your link? Will you finish this? Will you start the season the way you finished the season last year? So I I didn't mean it in a y'all playing the weakest. I mean is man weak, good, bad or and different? There's an expectation, brother, And are

you ready for Oh yeah, most definitely. I mean that's that's the whole thing. Like we've made all these moves, like we like we know it's time, like we we got it, gotta put the pieces together and things like that, continue to get the chemistry, but like we know it's though, we know, we know you got a chance. M Um,

Steve brought up a good one just now. How have you with your demeanor and that you've talked about, how have you been able to embrace that Eagles fan base that to his point, they keep it a hundred, They keep it being have you been able to embrace that fan base from your demeanor with me being me, I'm hard on myself, so whatever somebody else got to say about me, it don't really bother me. It just let me know, like, Okay, sometimes some of the stuff they

see they say, I'm like, okay, that's bullshit. But sometimes there's not funny. I don't really but when I really think about it, when I when I reread it, yeah, man, I love it. Man, that's great. Tell us how you really, friend, bro. Philly fans will kill y'all. Yeah. Man, they keep it real. But I wouldn't rather be. I would want to be nowhere else I will do. Let's get down to it. Hey, Gerard, why didn't you get that T shirt? You mean this thing? Oh? Yes, I got it from cut to a podcast dot com

where we have exclusive merchandise. Shout out to our guys at seven or four shot. But yeah, you can go on, buy you a T shirt, subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. You gotta be real careful with this question. You from Louisiana. Yeah, what you think about those Philly cheese steaks. Man, they just you know how like they nasty. Just tell you how they nash. Look, I'm with you, but it's not the fact that they nash, is the fact that they hype it up like you can't get

it nowhere. Like it's difference when like Louisiana, like, man, you're not fingna come up here and get no gumbling. Don't get a cheese sea from anywhere. So we used to go when we played Philly. I hated. I hated playing Philly for a number of reasons. One if it's if it's like November, the separate, it's gonna be cold in the other part after the game, the Philly they I don't won't know greasy, nasty, soggy cheese with salvage controversial food take. But Philly cheese steaks are mad at best.

That's really gonna get Philly fans mad about the cheese steaks. But yeah, I'm just i'nna be honest everything every time I want to Philly admit it best at best. Oh do you know? Do you know after the game they haven't seen nothing about album, so not a bread soggy and it ain't a good tip for TI with a sticker holding it together steam. Yeah, it's like getting French fries that's been in the bag for ten hours. At

least you can pop them in the air fries. Nothing you can do with that, with that cheese state nothing. How has your life really changed moving to Philly? I mean it's different. It's way differently from the South. Man, people up your route. You know, in the South, you you talked to have manners and spect the others and stuff like that. Yere, man, they ain't they worried about all that. Man, you know, I'm a I'm at walmart. Um, I'm a woman coming down out. I got the way.

I'm so sorry. I'm I'm sorry. I mean you wait. She's like, oh, you can't be here. You too nice. I'm like yeah. So I was listening to him. I was listening to something the other day and someone was explaining Southern hospitality and it was like, man, I just the passive aggressiveness of Southern hospital I'm like, no, they're legit people in the South that want to hold the door before you, that wanted to excuse me, that want to hey, if they say hey, well I want to

hang out let's do lunch. They really want to hang out so much. It's not the it's not the industries stuff, but for the people, who is they mess up? The people really have Southern hospitality. To probably DeVante's point of no, he really open the door, opened up the door, or excuse me, ma'am, or any of those things. It's legit. He really trying to he he really has a nice desposition. I've opened the door up, been in New York, you know, obviously a few times and open up the door and

clutching their purse. No. But but I'm just saying, because they think you're setting them up. They think it's a it's a real reason that you are. No, ma'am. Don't call me ma'am. Yeah right, it's like, well, you don't want me to call you what? It's not passive aggressive, No, it's not. It's not even close. So Philly's Philly's training facilities in New Jersey. So obviously living in New Jersey, it's a little different right from the South. And so how are you how are you fitting in? It has

to be different for you. Yeah, man, I mean the big the big get staying was just like everything just being Yeah, it's a big city, but everything is compact, like it's always traffic and stuff like that. You know, back in the South where I'm from a small town, you ain't got worried about no traffic. Man, I can get up ten minutes before I do anything. Be right down. You've been late a few times, No, I ain't know. I'm always up early early person always. What's some of

the old South things that you do in the big city. Sometimes, you know, guys look at and go all that boy, he's from the South. You'd be frying fish on the balcony, don't you. I know, I can't trofore it once bailing in the backyard, Listen, man, I know, I know a country boy, bull what you're bailing in the backyard? Just crawlfish and turkey necks something like that. Just tell him why you gotta board the turn the turkey next though, because they were here laughing and Kiki in Yeah, I

wasn't kicking. I was laughing, I said, laughing and Kiki, they don't know, Kiki, I was laughing out cried. Man. I had a couple of people that said that they try. They were like, okay, this really well is it? Listen? Brother, you ain't gonna get me eating turkey next. Like I know how you eat turkey next. I shall pass. No, no, not, I'm not saying the same thing. I'm forty three. I my folks back home, they eat southern. I They're just no, no, because you also gotta have a turkey next to season

the greens. Yeah, for sure, it's it's duality. Whatever. Just dismiss our. No, no, because I know the method in which you have to eat the turkey next. So I prefer no. That's why there are some times where I sit there and I'm grilling, I can reminisce and go back. I'm like, man, I missed this. There's other times like no, I'm not like Christmas. Uh, you got turkey the Marie Coundars limring pie. Yeah, and then you got somebody that decides that they want to break chicklings. It don't miss

for thanksgivin. It just don't at my Nostrils're not you're not cooking out chills at my house. You ain't bringing them to my house. Even if you cook them, ask somebody else. They ain't coming in my house at all. So going to the going to the corner store, he was growing up the candid store with the pig feet and uh in the bold eggs, Yeah you had those? Yeah, yeah, look at it. He didn't chomp. Don't know, there was delicious. Huh look at them. But what's the difference between that

and chiless? Nothing? Because they are all of them disgusting. No, no, no, no, I ain't see it. What about Uh I've never had it because I'm not a pork fan, but pork butt No, I mean that just that that could just be chopped barbecue. But I'm just talking like here in Charlotte, they have like the smoker and they have it. I ain't. Yeah, chances are if you've had like anything like chopped pork. Yeah, but it's just when it comes when you buy it

off the off the dude Here in the South. When I got here, you know, like on the weekends in the summer, they have a dude, yeah the truck. And the first time I saw, I was like, I was just stopped buying. So I was like, Uh, it's just different. So is mom bringing food? Is mom cooking stuff? Come when she come in town or has she moved up with you? What's what's that gonna cook? What's what's your go to men with mama's in town. Gotta be dumbo.

What come sizas chick shrout? Yea? So how is the seafood and and and getting all that stuff out there? Getting good seafood? Really? Nah, I ain't even intested out to see if it's good. You living there for a long time, you better start. I'm gonna cooking myself. I do myself. You can cook, Yeah, tell me something. What's what's some of the what's your goal too? Okay? What else? Breakfast? What about breakfast? What's your what's your skill on breakfast?

I'm I don't really too much eat breakfast, but if I do, I'm a big oatmeal guy. People you just pulled like me. That's my go to open because hey, when you when you barely got anything, you gotta have something that a stick till a nutrition is not a place when you pour. It's breakfast, oatmeal, lunch, anything in between is Nathan so old man, you're like cream wheat too. Huh yeah, yep see that's the pole appetite and it don't change still forty three years old. Not my goal

to oatmeal. I gotta have my office. I got it. Grits. You anything that is gonna last longer than that because the bread the eggs. Man, if you had that by seven, bro by, not thirty, you're still hungry. It is not there. So what does what does success looked like for you in NFL? Living up to the goals that I that I said for myself every season. Um, I mean, of course I want to win the Super Bowl. Yeah, I

gotta get that for show. I mean, just whatever my goals is for each season, just checking on boxes off and just every year just checking that off. From where you stand, what does success look like as of right now? I got a lot to work one Like last y'all, I left a lot after last year. I left too much out the last year. Um, I didn't. I didn't get a rat that was supposed to be easy easy.

I left it out there easy. Uh. I mean I had I wanted more touchdowns, But yeah, I feel like I left a lot out there, a lot out there that if I would have made them place, I probably got what I want. It's the NFL a little bit harder than what you thought it would be. It's harder scoring for some reason, it's harder scoring in the NFL. Yeah, I don't know. What it is just scoring. It's real hard in the NFL, and they keep everything in front of you. It's it's so much. It's in college, just checkers.

In the NFL's chess. Yeah right, you know from the twenties and twenties, it seems like it's checkers, and then all of a sudden, defense coordinator switching things up, and all of a sudden, now you're playing you're playing chessing or you're playing Sorry or Monopoly, and you you're not visiting jail. You're stuck in jail trying to figure it out. You you can't get out of you can't get on land on the free parking, keep landing on Broadway or park place. You just can never figure it out. And

that that that's the intangibles. That's what makes the NFL such an intriguing uh sport, such a a high low profession, and with some men figure it out and some men never figure it out. Yeah, you know, what's what's some of the things that you learned the hard way thus

far that you were unprepared for. It wasn't really nothing did that I came across that just called me on it, like I wasn't ready for because I mean, you got more time to do stuff that you need to do, So like I ain't gotta worry about going to class, so that could be me watching more family and stuff like this. So it kind of like it kind of was easier because I got more time in my hands to do the things I need to do. I got more time in my hands to take care of my

body and stuff like that. Yeah, well, what's the question that you hate getting asked? Um, it's Jalen Hurt's gonna be the quarterback that that we wanted to beat. I mean, like, yeah, I mean his first year starting, we get to the playoffs, things like that. I mean, like, yeah, stuff ain't always go right, but I mean that's the part that's part of the game. Man. You don't have your little ups

and downs and stuff like that. But I mean, him being a guy he is, he knows when he's doing something wrong, and he knows what he gotta work on.

So that's why I can appreciate a whole lot more because you have some guys that just they just don't get what they're doing and they just they don't want to live up to the like Okay, they know they're wrong, but they don't want to hear like I know I'm wrong, but man, I ain't trying to hit it, but like him just being real with itself, like and me being able if I know he was wrong or something like that, ain't that ain't what they said, Like that wasn't right,

Like hes gonna live like, yeah, I sucked it up like that type of guy he is, And I mean I can live with that. Somebody's always gonna know what they did wrong and not scared to see if they admit, like, yeah, I sunked that up. And when they're wrong, they know what they gotta do to make it right. Do you think that's an advantage to have the relationship that you

probably had with him prior to this? Do you think that's been an advantage that excuse me, y'all being able to have that chemistry and you have that rapport with him. Oh yeah, definitely, because I mean if I had somebody I've never been with, I probably wouldn't have been as comfortable just like talking to them, you know some some of that stuff. Like I said, I don't talk to a lot of people, so it's gonna be like I don't really know you like that. So like, I ain't

gonna I can tell you something. You know, some people, you can't tell people some things and they take it the right way, like they think that you're hating on him or something like that. But with him, I can go to him, tell him, tell him something. He's gonna be like, right, that's unique. I'm gonna tell you right now, that's unique. That's that, that's something that you need to prepare yourself. That may not be the case all the time. Yeah, you know. So that leads me to really ask you,

why is Alabama so different? What makes Alabama different? Man? Because Alabama is it is like the NFL. You ain't doing what you do? Yeah I will you ain't. You ain't making a plague supposed to make you. Ain't on time for stuff to be on time. The next man right there waiting for you to slip up. How did the fans and community treat you at Alabama? Oh, it's all love. I mean, like like he said, Alabama football is Alabama, So I mean like they love him. Man.

They all into it. They just always they into it. They're gonna always speaking no matter what. They're not like feeling way if you you're playing bad, they're gonna let you know, like they're gonna always show love, don't matter what. Was it ever overwhelming? I'm sorry, go ahead now that was it? No, I was just gonna say it. Was it ever overwhelming with your disposition just kind of how you are being, being kind of introverted? Was it ever over women? All the all the love they show? Oh? Yeah,

definitely still still to this day. That's just high. Um. I mean I'm not one of the guys that like like people just sitting there praising me all the time, Like, Okay, I know I did this and I don't need to hear all that, just like I don't like autographs and stuff like that. It's cool, but at a certain point it's like all right, man, like I ain't got time for all the well man, you you've shown us a lot of your personality. Um, and you definitely opened up

throughout this interview. What's one thing people don't know about you? I don't know. I feel like I really know everything. I mean, everybody knows I don't really talk as much. I mean the more I talk, the more I talked to you, the more that means I really focus. Like that, Yeah, because you got don't hear you. I feel like we asked you for yourself scary number. At first she was like, hey, right, like my hen look, I appersually just love watch your play.

I loved h I love your Alabama. Just excited to see how your career develops. You know you gotta go with a J. Brown. That's that's a real one. Um. But then you also you know you're trying to carve your own way. Um, you know you got to number one wide receivers that school going to uh competitively, uh demand the ball. And so it'll be fun to see uh the one to punch right and and and have fun with it. Man. Um, it's gonna, it's gonna, it's

gonna be quick. You know you're gonna you're gonna go to sleep, wake up and be ten years in the league and and it'll be damn there over. So enjoy it. And I bemiss to tell you save all that money, brother, save it all right, brother, appreciate, appreciate you. Man all right. You are a unique person. You are well worth it,

you are competent, and most of all, you're lovable. I'm Steve Smith, Singior, I'm Gerald little John and this has cut to it, cut to It with Steve Smith, singior That Is Me is a product of Cut to It LLC, Balto Creative Media, The Black Effect and I Heart Radio. For more podcast from i Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to

your favorite shows from Cut to It. Executive producer Steve Smith, singer co host Gerard Little John, talent in booking manager Joe Fusci, social media teamer Wesley Robinson, and John Show from Balto Creative Media. Cut to It is produced by Brian Falka Chevitch and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lebrec. Production coordinator Taylor Robinson. Theme music by Alex Johnson, lyrics and vocals by Anthony Hamilton. You ain't heard them

about it, then we're about to let you know. It's all