S3 Episode 6: Digging In

So it's just kind of amazing looking back at all the work that I've put in, and you know, nineteen years of throwing the football, almost twenty and it's coming down to a two thousand draft. You know, a couple of days, Kellen is talking about how surreal it is that the first round of the NFL Draft is finally about to kick off after an entire lifetime of working

to get to this day. In this episode, will also be following along with Louisville receiver Does Fitzpatrick as he attempts to make that life changing jump from college player to NFL professional And like Kelen, Des and his family will be hosting their own draft party this weekend. And like Kelln's father, does his dad will be playing a leading role, starting with an early morning workout before the

draft festivities begin. My dad did tell me just now when he woke me up, me and my little brother are gonna have to work out later today, does His father. Greg wakes his two sons up and takes them to a nearby field in Pontiac, Michigan, where this highly touted receiver starts doing drills. All right, come on, all right, next drill. M Let's make sure you're work at your

head and your shoulders and each heads. Okay. This is Greg Fitzpatrick Des, his father and a former defensive back and coach every Hence, I want you in now, but I don't. I want you to keep your balance right, nice white beast shoulders in head, okay, because that's what I want you to work on, like super active shoulders in head at the top of your route. Yeah, so

it's gonna be okay. Greg has always played this role for his two sons, Des and Christian, teaching them the fine points of the receiver position while also constantly working to make his boys mentally tough. Das explains the NFL coaches, You know, when I was interviewing with teams and stuff and asked about like, uh, you know, hard coaching. How do you think hard coach? And I'm just like, I don't think anybody gets worst of my dad, so I'm gonna good with hard coach. He's always like, what am

I ever wrong? Days, and I'm just like, oh my gosh. Although Greg did all of the coaching, des his mom, Wendy Thinkspatrick also played a very active role in her son's life, but her position for Team Fitzpatrick was primarily on defense. I was the parent who helped him get out of some of the situations with his dad. I was that parent. Those are palm trees blowing in the wind behind Wendy because she now lives in Tampa Bay. She relocated sometime after she and Gregg split up. And

Desmond as a mama's boy. Um, he will admit that, and he his dad, UM just wanted the best for him and saw his skills and knew that could be a dream for him. But then Desmond sometimes, as being a young kid, was lazy and didn't want to go to football practice. So here's mom making up excuses from to keep him from going. When his extra homework tonight, he can't go tonight All the time. I was that person who had to convince dad that he needs a break or he wants to do something other than football.

Desri calls one specific instance when he was a little kid. I remember I was like nine or ten years old, and that was the first time, you know, my legs were hurting after the work, got like actually feeling sore. And and you know, he grew up obviously in the eighties playing football with the hard nose and stuff, and the technology was completely different. So he was just like, okay, well we can get into ice bath. And I didn't know anything about it a for that obviously, I put

one ft in there. I was like, oh no, he gotta made me get in there. I was crying, and he's just like, don't you gotta do it, man, Hey, little man, you gotta do to make your body feel better. And you know, it's just that kind of thing is people would laugh, people think he's crazy, but you know, that's probably why I love ice pass. Now, given the intensity of Greg's predraft workout on the field today, Daz will likely end up in an ice bath once again

before round one begins. Tonight. Don't get lazy I mean work, work those calls. Huh drop drop it, yeah, drop your weight, give me some hand and shoulders, hand shoulders, yeah, yeah, right over ahead, huh. I gotta work on not looking with my with my with my chin, with my chink. That's gonna open up the shoulder. That's dead. Talking about the positioning of his chin while running a route. Moving the angle of his chin then causes his shoulder to

turn and open ever so slightly. This could slow him down or give away the route to the defensive back. This is the level of detail he and his father work on day after day. It wasn't always a willing and collaborative effort, though. Here's des his mom Wendy again. Des Man fought, you know, against them. That's just being a regular kid growing up. But I would honestly say high school, maybe say eleventh tefth grade, I think shorty

starts setting in. And Desmond finally realized that his dad just wanted the best for him and saw his skill set and saw that he could be bigger than probably what Desmond sometimes realized. Much like Kellen Mon's dad, Kevin des his father also had an unshakable belief in his son's potential from an early age, and so Greg did everything he could to help his son maximize that potential, including coaching and training him. Here's Greg and why he's

been focused on giving his son the shot he never had. Desmond. I don't never forget. Even when he's a baby, his mom would have him in a turn scene. I have a football in his hand, right and I call that says his football in his hand, And I mind you and everyone's thinking, Okay, he's that crazy, that's dad. But no, he loved football. You know, he loved football at an early age. He just took to it. And it wasn't some master plan where I just said I didn't make it,

my kids gonna make it. No, no, no no, Now, he loved the game so much that I just started coaching him. And the first thing that came to my mind was, well, you know, I'm coaching my receiver. He's gonna be tall and thin like I was, and you know he will probably be splitting image of me. And by the time he was nine years old, I saw a couple of things balance wise and just how he can just see things and anticipate things. And I just told myself at that point, you know, what if I coached him and

continuously coach him. By the time he hits high school, he'll decide whether he wants it or not. Right, you can't want it for him right when I get to high school. And this kid is so much more athletic than I am, and he's gonna be way better than I if I support him wholeheartedly throughout his entire journey, like the ups the downs, And if I commit myself to where I committed myself to my own career, he's got a shot at making it because he's twice the

athlete I ever could have been. Greg's own football career got a late start, and he had to travel a much more difficult road to reach any kind of success. He walked on as a receiver in college and got moved to defensive back after college ended. He didn't get drafted and had to will his way to training camps. I've got a shot for a couple of teams in Canada, Cincinnati Bengals. Was in their camp for a little bit and play a little bit in a reading football. Late.

I wasn't that good and I was just a try hard guy, you know, super athletic, and I worked really, really hard because I'm an effort guy. Every walk on is an effort guy. Right. My dad had a same growing up when I was, you know, little and stuff, that effort is free. Yeah. Effort is literally like the air, like anybody can have it, anybody has access to it. It doesn't matter what your skill level is. It doesn't matter if you're tall, short, it doesn't matter if you're

black and white. You know, effort is free. And you know how how hard you work, how you know how much efter you've put forth on something, That's what's gonna determine success. I've always tried to pride myself in always being the hardest worker on whatever organization I'm on and everything from that's kind of just how I grew up.

Greg became obsessed with passing on the importance of effort and focusing on developing skill and technique because he saw these attributes firsthand from one of the greatest to ever play at the sport. Here's Greg again. One of my stops immediately when I came out of school was with the San Francisco forty Niners. I got called into the mini camp that was the year after they won the Super Bowl, and I just remember the very first day at one on ones. I want to jump out there

and and and go go against Jerry Rice. And I remember Tim McKay are grabbing me by the jersey. He goes, oh no, rug no, no, no, no, no, you can't go against that guy. It's like the hell you, man, I can't go against this guy. He goes down. No, no, no, coaches don't want rook. He's going against Jerry. I go why you know, why not? He goes, First of all, I don't want anybody stepping out the back of Jerry's foot and hurting Jerry's. Secondly, we all want your ego crushed.

And I'm thinking, I screw that man. I covered this guy. Jerry Rice is widely regarded as the best wide receiver of all time. He holds about one NFL records. The NFL Network named him the greatest football player in history, and Greg intended to cover him one on one. We'll be right back des His dad, Greg is lobbying to cover Jerry Rice one on one at forty Niners training camp. The coaching staff stays firm on their rule that no rook can go up against him, partly to protect Jerry

and mainly to protect the rookies self esteem. Here's a Greg again. Jerry Rice was I'll never forget, was off coverage and Jerry ran a curl and I had never seen a guy start and stopped so fast and run his route, just a simple curl route, and he got in and out of his break so fast. I was just totally amazed. So I just started watching Jerry. Anytime I didn't have a rep, I was watching Jerry, you know, and I was just amazed at how good he was.

And I figured out because you know, I planned at a small school, and you know, coaching was only so good, right, And I remember being in camp and saying myself, after only four days of mini camp with the forty niners, damn, if I want to know half the stuff that I just learned in four days, I probably had twenty interceptions at Central State University. And that made me realize how

important coaching was and how important technique was. When it came to the skill position, right, they called him skilled position for a reason, And watching Jerry, I instantly realized why he was so much better than everyone else. It was basically his skill. You know, the guy wasn't bigger more athletic, stronger, anything, faster. He was just way more freaking skilled than everybody else on that field. Jerry Rice played at six ft two two d pounds and read

a four point seven forty yard dash. On paper, those are all average measurables or worse, and yet he ended up with nearly one NFL records, three Super Bowl rings, and two m v P Trophies. Greg took this lesson from the all time great and as soon as he could,

tried to pass it down to death. Seven years old, the first time ever playing organized tackle foot, I was kind of taller than everybody else think and everybody else at the age, and I wanted to be a running back, but you know, just my size, they put me out tight end my first practice. I told my dad. I was like, they putting me a tight end. Like I want to play running back. I want to play receiver.

He's like, Okay, well, we're gonna use this year as You're gonna be the best blocker on the team and I'm gonna teach you how to block and this is the foundation of football. And you're kind of distressed, like if you're not blocking for you the other ten then once you're turning at the bar, you don't expect for them to block for you. So Dad began learning the craft and skill portion of plane wide receiver at an age when most kids were still learning how to put

on their paths. Greg began with the least glamorous part of the job, blocking. I told him, I said, listen, man, I want you to be the best blocker on the team. He was like, Dad, but I've been running back. Why can I play renny back? Everybody? I'm the best running dude. Listen, You're not gonna play running back this year. So I want you to be the best blocker on the team.

So I taught him how to block. I tell him how to move his feet, shoot his hands, get underneath the pads, leverage, and just that hustle part right block your guy, get up to the next level. So he just he learned how to block as seven. Most fans only see the person making the big play in football, like the long touchdown run or the amazing catch from

the receiver. Those highlights are only possible if the other players on offense are blocking their defenders and doing that job well enough to create time for the guy getting the ball. Greg understood this on a deep level, and so he decided this would become his son's calling card. From seven years old all the way up through college. That's been one of the things that he's always known. You don't block, you don't play at receiver. You don't block,

you don't play. Going into the NFL Draft, one of the criticisms on Dez is that he's a jack of all trades and a master of none. He's a complete player and arguably the best block receiver, good at everything without being flashy. It's a similar critique to the one we heard in the first few episodes about Alabama offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood. That's one reason why his draft range is hard to predict. Another reason is that his road from highly sought after high school recruit to NFL prospect

took some precarious turns. Here's his mom, Wendy Fitzpatrick, again on the challenges death face getting to draft day. Most of his high school years he was being courted by Louisville's scouts and the coaches, which was great. Built a great relationship early on, and they would text him and encourage him, Hey, you have a high school game this Friday. Good job you got this, I know you're gonna do well, And they did that on a regular basis, weekly basis,

so over time they just built that strong relationship. And his first year when he arrived, like early on, they the coaching stand or the scouts that he really build those relationships over those years, they all left, so he really in his mind didn't know anyone else, so he felt a little abandoned a little bit. I think with that he kind of took that kind of hard des arrived at Louisville only to find out that the coaches he'd grown closest with had moved on to other schools.

And unfortunately, this is a somewhat common occurrence in college football. Coaches get offered a better career opportunity or more money and then make a decision about their job. It's really malicious, however, for the eighteen year olds who choose where to go to college for four years, at least partially based on the coaches they want to work with, they can't help but feel somewhat betrayed. That's trying to put it behind

him though, and continue to work hard going into the season. Eventually, this season, Opener arrived and his family drove into town for the game. Here's Wendy once more. We were actually there at the first game. They come out of the tunnel and the family was there, and we didn't see him come out, and so we're looking and looking for Desmond, not saying that he didn't know prior to, but I think he was just so I don't know exactly when he was told, and so it was just a devastating

moment for him. And we didn't see him come out, so we were just worried and oh my god, where's Desmond. So we started calling him, why isn't he here? Uh? And then we were told he answered his phone and he told us he was red shirt. So I don't know if he knew, Honestly, I don't know if he knew prior to, was embarrassed or just his feelings was heard, just the devastation, I'm not quite sure. At some point des was informed he wouldn't be an eligible player for

his freshman year and what after. Redshirt. This meant he could practice but not compete in games. Players usually opt for this option when they aren't ready for major college football. It preserves a year of eligibility while giving them extra time to get physically stronger and study the playbook and offense for a whole year. This isn't exactly how does his experience occurred, though, at least according to his dad, he didn't know he was going to be rest short

and they never told him. And you know, every coach has their way of doing things, so I won't criticize the coaches, coach and staff, but you know he had to sit and watch and he was grinding his butt off. So his rast shot year was really tough on him. And you know, I got admit I had to talk him off of the ledge a couple of times because

he was just sad. Then the next season does finally gets the opportunity to play, even though he still doesn't get to start, he excels in an explosive offense with Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson as well as star offensive tackle Mackay Beckton, who shined on the field, and in season one of drafted, Dez puts up forty five receptions for nearly seven yards and nine touchdowns, huge numbers first first college season, especially since he wasn't one of the

starting receivers. Yet he had a great year and he was happy then Lamar left so that following year, I think it was two thousand eighteen when things just didn't go well, you know, and it was just a downward spiral. Des and the team struggle. Soon to be NFL m v P. Lamar Jackson is no longer on offense and

soon to be NFL probo cornerback JR. Alexander is no longer on defense, and on top of that, Louisville's head coach Bobby Petrino wrestles with the loss of his father, and most troubling for Dez, he's still not starting on offense. That still wasn't a starting. He had to kind of wait in line behind the guy, and I just told him, like, do lesson, suck it up, wait your turn. The grind still doesn't stop. You love football and you don't want

this to end anytime soon. So no matter how bad things are going on around you, you still have football. The team only wins two games that season, and then coach Patrino is let go, here's Dez. I mean, obviously it kind of sucks that, you know, I like coaching training. Obviously he's the one who recruited me hard going into Lovell and all I know is that playbook and those coaches around me and everything, and I just wanted to

the coach's staff are recruited me to be there. The new coaching staff comes in and Dez feels like he's starting over once again. Does his mom Wendy weighs in on the string of obstacles for her son. He felt that the rug was pulled from underneath him. And now with then building a relationship with Katrino and now Patrino leaving him, he just felt that he was just there by himself initially. Now Daz has to learn a new playbook and a new system under a new coach he

never signed up to play for. And on top of that, the offense will be built around running, not passing and receiving. Almost immediately, Greg knew he'd have to talk Daz off

the ledge once more. And then when a new coaching staff came in, that was tough because all of a sudden, that went from him planning on planning this sophisticated passing offense that Bobby Petrino had to the new coaching staff coming in, and the offense was pretty simple and it kind of revolved around the running game and the slot receiver, and then Des is like, what the hell are you serious? So now you know I waited all this time for my turn and now it's not my turn again. Right.

But it's like, okay, well, Dick amber are You're gonna be doing a lot of blocking because you really don't have a choice, you know what I mean, You really don't have a choice. In a run heavy offense like the new Louver system, wide receivers primarily block. So even though that isn't the fun or glamorous part of playing receiver, like catching touchdowns were making the big plays, it happens to be the skill DEAs has been practicing since he

was seven years old. It's the first thing Greg ever taught him to do on the football field, and not surprisingly, Greg encouraged Deaz to accept his new role and excel at it. Here's Des. I was talking to my dad a lot about it, and he's just like, you know,

all you can do is get with the program. Leave And he asked me if you want to leave, and I was like, no, I love Louisville and he said, okay, so then you know what you gotta do and I was like, yeah, I guess I just gotta get with the program, and uh, that was tough to just cut it out those last two years, knowing that his expectations for just football had kind of had kind of taken a sharp left, and he knew that all he could

do is grin and barrett. But at the end of the day, it's all about football, and if you love the game, your work hard no matter what the situation is. My goal was just to make sure that he was mentally and emotionally tough enough to still believe that he was going to reach his goal. And so does recommits himself to Louisville and to his oldest friend blocking. He puts up forty three receptions for eight hundred and thirty three yards and three touchdowns, almost as productive as his

first grade season with Lamar Jackson. And also he blocks a lot. Looking back, I just I look at it as a blessing at the time, and of course it was like a curse, but it's really it was truly a blessing to see grew up. He grew from there, des grew into a potential early to mid around draft pick, and now that draft day is finally here, he's ready to put the college drama behind him. And start his new chapter in the NFL. H We'll be right back.

We're only four hours until the start of the NFL draft, So Clutch agent to Marius Bilbo Dallas, his client dees to touch base on the latest rankings and their draft strategy. Des doesn't answer, so Damarius rolls on to the next call. Hey, what's that in the bro that's Des? His dad, Greg answering, I see, I probably should have gave a team's your number for the draft day? Call? Man, what is that? I just called him? Oh he's out eating people. Okay, okay, cool,

I'll let him. I'll let him have that, Dan. So he gets the pre draft jetas out and uh and and and then like I said, man, we got our fellers connect my jams, but to receive I ain't thinking about at this point. Nothing could Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's a that's a great mindset man. Like I said, the worry is just it's not what we need to be.

You know, obviously it's hard to because you got so much on the line, You've worked so hard, and you know, I always tell guys, this process has a way of making you think somebody is better than you, or you haven't done enough or you're not good enough. But right this is that Greg's outraged because scouts and analysts almost never bring up the Senior Bowl, and not only did that playing it, he was named the co offensive MVP

alongside quarterback Allen Mind. That made it a great showcase for his receiving skills in addition to the blocking he's known for. But it doesn't seem the beginning any traction and conversations about its draft status. Here's Bilbo again now in the car, continuing their conversation. I felt like, I felt like even you as the dad, you had that underdog mentality going in this thing. Like you know, Man, he went to the Senior but he did everything he

was supposed to do. He ran fast, he tested well, he went to the Senior Bowl, he won offensive m v P. And you know, I got a lot of that from Keller Man's dad too, you know. And when you really look at it, and everybody wants to go higher, everybody wants to go first round. But ultimately that first contract is not even close to what that second deal is gonna be. Like I told him, it's no more study Hall, it's no more class. This is your job.

You got an opportunity if you love football this much and you love money that much, and you got a chance to play a lot of football and make a lot of money. Playing a lot of football and making a lot of money are two goals shared by almost every NFL prospect. First, they need to get picked, though, and in two hours, thirty two players will have that dream become a reality. In Round one in San Antonio, Texas, Kellen Mond is hoping he's about to become one of

the thirty two players picked in the first round. But before that can happen, he has to finish setting up for the virtual draft party at his parents house. Unloaded ice right now, there is your last How many bags is this? Thirty bags of ice? I'd love to see it. He's talking to his sisters Karina and Kana as he unload supplies for the night. Here's Kellen's mom, Latisha on

the growing guest list. When we first talked about it, it started really small, and you know, because of COVID and we were trying to respect the rules that we literally started making a list of everyone that he had invited, that we had invited, and all of a sudden, it started getting bigger and bigger and bigger. But Kelvin kept saying, you know, this is a once in a lifetime like literally, this is never ever going to happen again, Like we may not ever go be invited to someone's draft party.

It just it's never gonna happen. They realized that in many ways, this is going to be the summation of Kellen's entire existence on this planet, and the lenient COVID protocols in Texas don't put any limits on their invites. So Kellyn's dad, Kevin, took the party planning handoff and ran with it, spilling the party into their backyard to keep a majority of it outdoors. So Kevin, I will tell you, is an incredible party planner. He planned everything from beginning to and we did I mean we even

had a red carpet. We were not once in a lifetime. We were not going to say no to any ideas. So we sat around the table, the entire family, and started making a list of all the different ideas. One, as I mentioned, was the red carpet, and it was like, look, you pull that money out of savings, you forget the budget, and you just go And that's exactly what happened now. Kellen's dad, Kevin, is outside finishing the makeshift bar and laying out the red carpet for the entrance, while inside,

Kelen focuses on soaking up the moment. This is exactly what I worked for, and this is what I trained my whole whole entire life. So it's just crazy to look back. And you know, my dad always talks about he had me thrown the ball at the age of two, So it's just kind of amazing looking back at all the work that I put in and nineteen years of throwing the football, almost twenty and it's coming down to a two thousand one draft, you know, a couple of days.

Those days are finally here. And Kellen tries to process this as he talks to his sister Karina. Who's going to be the most nervous tonight. Who's going to be the most nervous to night? Definitely Mom, And then I say Kanaka and then see, I don't think dads is like will be like nerves, Like it's just like excitement and like anticipation. Yeah. As the final hours take down and guests arride at the mont House, Kellen takes stock

of his friends and family who have come to support him. Uh, there's like five teammates, a couple of their girlfriends, friends and uncles. I heard he was, I don't know about my coach might be here. A few teammates, friends of the family, coaches, and his relatives make their way to the draft party, and all the excitement and anticipation leads up to the moment NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell takes the stage declaring the two thousand one NFL Draft officially open.

Jacksonville selects Trevor Lawrence first overall, and three quarterbacks go one to three. It's a promising start for Kellen being picked early. Heisman Trophy winner Devote Smith goes to the Eagles that picked ten, Alex Leatherwood goes to the Raiders that pick seventeen. Ten more picks pass, and then the final two selections of round one are made. Five quarterbacks and five receivers are drafted on the first day. None

of those are named Kellen Mond or Desmond Fitzpatrick. The second round of the draft will begin in less than twenty four hours, and both Daz and Kelen will be inviting everyone back to their houses for Day two. His agent to Marius Bilbo sums up the situation for his clients. You know, you always expect the best, but prepare for the worst. And I mean hearing your name call on the weekend, in which a handful of guys in the

world that are gonna hear their name called. I wouldn't say it's the worst situation, you know, regardless around you're going in. But these guys have put so much into their craft, and again it's sad that they're judged by pick our number around. But Kellen was one of those guys. He knew the first round talk was intriguing, but that there was a slim and no possible to him going in the first round. As the seventh or eighth ranked quarterback. Kellen now expects to hear his name called on Day two.

Even still, at this point in his journey, the old Kellen mind might be getting apprehensive or at least a little nervous. So how's the new and improved post quarantine at peace with the universe, Kelly and man feeling I did everything I needed to do it At this point, it's just you know, whatever team wants me is gonna pick me, and that's about it. Just me being a fan of football. I'm just gonna be watching and then eventually, you know I'm gonna get a call. So I just

happened to be in the draft this year. Next I'm drafted. What we did was put together. This is why received her big bore, and we just made a war room in the dining room. It doesn't say Fitzpatrick, uh, fifth round, pick one whatever. It just says fits Patrick get a football number. I was definitely the most nervous, and I think if you were to look at the stream when the camera was on there, I probably did not move at all. I don't remember anything. It was such an

incredible experience. You see his an M teammates, and you see kids that played in middle school ball with him, and they have all made an impact. I just want to appreciate everybody for coming out here. Just want to say I love you, I'm a note, and then all of a sudden, I see the pick is in. Drafted is a production of tree Fort Media, Clutch Sports Group, and I Heart Radio. The executive producers are Kelly Garner, Lisa Ammerman, Eric Slott, Eric Weiner, and Shaun to Tone.

The series is produced and written by Eric Winer. Garme Mamalu is our coordinating producer. Coral Silverberg is our associate producer. Tom Monahan is our senior audio engineer. The show is mixed, edited, and hosted by Me Stephen Johnson, additional production help from

Tim Shower and Hayley Mandelberg. For transcripts of the show and more information undrafted, quote a tree for dot fm, and for more podcasts from My Heart, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.