Hangin' with the 'Boys: Jeff Heath Stops By

I love you to death. Man, Shannon Gross, I love you to death. But now I ain't no. But hey, I I'm saying, Okay, we're gonna have a special guest and I'm gonna let him introduce that. But I'm like, okay, I'm thinking the guests coming at two thirty, and I'm sitting over that just man. He said, come on, man, we gotta show to do. I'm like, we're waiting on the guests. He won't be here the three fifteen. He ain't telling me this, So I get over here, panicking, Okay, well,

why didn't we get me? Why did we get brought us? We need an injury update. We need to know who miss practice yesterday, he says, if the breaks Nate, we didn't have practice. So for you, for those of you that listen to this show, if you haven't figured out by now, we don't prepare at all for this show. Now, we don't. What you see is what you get. It's basically we show up and it's exactly what we wanted

this show to be. Is just really just like two dudes, usually with Kurt's here at three, just hanging out talking about football, just talking about what you would talk, how you would talk with your friends. Honestly, this is how we talk when the cameras aren't on, when we're not on the air. We go to lunch, we go to dinner together, and we just sit around and talk. We talk about what's going on on the field, we talk about what's happening off the field, what they used to

do when he played. Yeah, basically we wanted this show to be that way. So we we don't really prepare for this thing because we just wanted to kind of be like now, sometimes we'll go, hey, let's have Nick on, let's have brought us on talking about the injuries. Let's talk about you know, we want to talk about dbs when we talk about receivers, but most of the time it's just like about before we come on, it's like, what do you want to talk about? I don't know,

let's just go with it. So so we were going with it, and it was like, we gotta get somebody on to talk about injuries. I was like, ahead of day off, I hope abody got hurt day Hey, look at the number is nine seven two four nine seven forty four zero zero. Yeah, nine seven two four nine seven forty four zero zero. We'll be taking calls because last year we didn't. We was new, we wanted to get to know each other. But this year here, you know,

we figured that between Broadest, Mickey and somebody guests. You know, you have a lot of information. You know, go to Dallas Dallas Cowboys dot com. Yep, we got writers, we got Shannon has a new Webb site. You want to tell them about your new page you got up. Yeah, so we if you I'm sure most of you've noticed, uh we revamped uh Dallas Cowboys dot com. All the all the NFL teams are now on the same platform,

so it's kind of uniform. If you go to one one team site, it kind of translates to the other team sites. They're still working through some bugs. There's no way to download. I know a lot of people voiced concerned of I'm not able to download just the audio anymore. You have to go to iTunes or or tune in radio to uh the tune in app to do that. So we're working through some things. But for the most part, man, it looks a lot better, it functions a lot better.

It's uh, there's no search functionality, so we're working on that. So a little a couple of little bumps, some bruises along the way, but we're working through it, and I think for the most part, it's a it's a better looking site. It's a lot cleaner. So what what the Cowboys is Jones's goal? Uh, Derek Eagles and out boss what we know? What our goal is? You know, all of us, shann On, myself, Night and Kurt when he's here.

Is we trying to give you all the information, the correct information about the Dallas Cowboys and the other thirty one members, and then you can make logical conclusions of reasons or deductions or however you want to do. Whatever your keyword to get your mind going. You know, you

can make you can make a logical Yeah. And you know what, I was talking to Derek about this the other day, because before I came to work for the team, or before I was over on the media side, you always think, you know, usually you go to national media for your news. You go to like your ESPNS, your you know, your networks and things like that, the NFL network. And one thing that I've realized working here for the

team is that's great. And they have their they have their contacts in the organization and their people and stuff. But there's nobody that's closer to this team than this staffy Mickey has conversations with the man himself, Jerry, all the time. Jerry tells him, Steven tells him stuff that they don't tell other people brought us, you know, breaks down on the film that you know, he's able to watch the film that the coach is watching the scouts.

There's nobody that knows this team like this staff. You know what's amazing is I started watching a film that brought us maybe three or four years ago, as they down as mister Robert Blackwell downloads it because they download on the national base, for the other thirty one, for the other thirty one teams, and for the commissioner because after every practice, so they have a group of people that views every practice and make sure they stay within

the rules. Broadest has this maybe no less than an hour. The most I've seen it take was an hour. But as things come off the field seven on seven, one on one, pass rush, one on one, DBS versus receivers, it goes straight to Broadest, and all he gotta do is just wait there, man. He and he and he stops, and he begins to break down, like maybe forty minutes out of practice. He come, turns computer, just get to work.

You know, we used to watch it with him, but it's so intense now for him to get his UH notes and news out to you people. So he moved us to the next day at ten o'clock because he wanted to be able to get all that information out firsthand to our listeners and to you know, our viewers. Yeah, and people don't realize that, like out of all thirty two NFL teams, it's US and maybe one maybe two other teams that cover that are their organizations let them

cover them like a legit news outline. Yes, we're able to have opinions on the team. We're able to have opinions on the coaching decisions. We're able to have an opinion on what ownership does. A lot of other teams, in fact, most all of the teams, especially in other leagues, they they're more of a you know, kind of a mouthpiece for the organization. They won't they won't openly they're not able to openly criticize or give opinions and things

like that. And from the beginning when when Derek started kind of the internet and the web department along with with Jerry, je was junior. They wanted to compete with your ESPNS and your Dallas Morning news is and they were like, Hey, if we're gonna get in this market, we gotta be we gotta be objective. We can't be subjective. So they the family's been great as far as hey report the news. We're gonna compete with these guys. Report the news like it is and and a lot of

times we'll have a story. You know that that because we are the organization, just because we're not first with it, doesn't mean we didn't have it. Yeah, if you see it on the national news odds are we've had it, We've known about it. We just had to whitehead the Lucky Whiteheads decision. And Mick knew it right. And when I first heard the rumors that Hey was gonna, you know, release Lucky, Mickey like he literally sat out and told

me like, hey, this is the this is the situation. Yeah, And but until it happened, that's the drawbacks, you know, having all the infantile information I have having a person. It's to the point now, well a lot of times I won't even ask Mickey about what's happening. Hey, Hey, I saw you talking to Stephen Jones. What's happening. I

stopped doing that because that's a conflict of venture. That means I can't come to you as viewers and get you know what I'm saying, like, Hey, that dude, they ain't no good I dude won't be here right, you know. You know, so it's a it's a tricky thing, but they do allow us. I have said things like you have never heard like what happened to Chad's mareen last year at Atlanta? Those six acts, most organizations guys of

our status and where we sit in the organization. But I never said, Man, I'm disappointing in the coach and staff, right, they that kid should have been out of after the third sac and in the second hit. You know a lot of these Oh well you know, and that's what should have happened, right, And that was one of the few times I was disappointed in Jason Garrett as a

player and now our head coach, you know. But I was able to say that and know that well, it was a bad scene and it was true as long as you report the truth right, and you're not trying to say, oh, Jason carrab he's a dumb you know. Nah, that ain't how you present it. You present it. You just you said, and you said in a fashion that it's very respectful to everybody. And that what allows us

to continue to do ade y'all, to give y'all firsthand information. Yep, you're you're allowed to have an opinion, yes, and report

it like you see it. So yeah, So I for you know, working working where I do, now, I realize, like if you want, if you want the good stuff, like this is the staff that knows, not the national people they get it too, but like this, these people get it first, and they know what's going on behind the scenes, not some guy that's in the studio that only comes out to training camp for two or three days and then maybe comes to the Star once a year,

a talking ahead. It's it's it's these guys. We had a guy come out a couple of days ago and I'm not not gonna call his name. You want to come out from one of the big brands, and it dead stuff that was tweeted and and what allegedly mister Stephen Jones said, which was all wrong because they edited it wrong and they had they retracted it and came back with the with the right you know version. But

this guy, I love him to death. He came out and he and they were like, oh, your boys here, your boys here, and all these talking about was dead in the tweets. That's your national Your national is only gonna bring you, uh the glamor uh. And that wasn't glamorous, but it was. It was breaking news. It was something to get you through the boredom of training camp. But we give you Cole Beasley and Cheetah Bay one on ones, you know, we give you a Brian Price and how

for the first time ever I've seen him. He beat our center twice, our center in this short history of four or five years, I've never been beat twice and in a pass rushdry never And what that does for Price as as getting his you know, motor going man, now he knows. But the next two places came out got trashed. But but it's just amazing that if you're a cowboy fan, this is where it's that. You know. You start with broughd us in the morning and brought

uson Mickey. They're giving you all updates everything, and then you have Derek Eagleton in his group. Uh and Nick they bring in what they have to bring it that got the shows, right, is it? Derek and Nick still together? Yeah? You know, and uh the missus Taylor's no longer with us, you know, and uh, she's moved on. I think she's your second in command. She does a lot for him and help him with the new website and connecting all

thirty two teams. So then you're at the spot. I mean you're at the spot and maybe we'll get into some football here in a minute. Quit uh quit two now on horn. We need to get we need to get Price on the show. Yeah, really man, because that show and I'm asking, how do you feel to be the first guy to ever beat our center? Even as a rookie. He didn't get beat twice in a row.

You know, it may have been a fifty to fifty tile or great because you either win out right, are you as a good great battle and you you can whoever you are, whoever picking it can go either way. But he got him twice. We speaking of having people on the show, Jeff heath is gonna stop by, hopefully, he said he would on his way out to practice, which will probably be close to the end of the show. I would imagine around thirty minutes from now he'll he'll

stop by. So got that to look forward to. What uh have you seen anything from him before he gets on the show? Have you seen Jeff heath Man? I have seen him, and I'm gonna I'm gonna pose the question him. He has been up in that line. That's something I need to talk to broad Us about. He has been up in the line as the eighth defender playing up in the box. Yeah, in the box? I mean I didn't. I didn't. I don't remember seeing him

a lot in the box. Last year was it Jones or is it something new that we're doing where especially against team Blitz, he up in the box. And then when we have a team inside run, he's up in the box. So and he's reacting real well, he's amidst all of this, Earl Thomas, and we need another safety. And this is the amazing thing is this kid ain't flinched.

And I guess coming from special teams working your way into what into your position, you've done nothing to tell to show the coaches that this guy can't do the job. Last year, towards the end of the season, you know that he started rotating the secondary. Everybody moved around, and guys came out the field. Even our first round picking, Jones loved him to death, but even he came out the field. But the one constant was Jeff Heaton. He

stayed on the field. Yep. I think he led the team with two picks a three picks last year and the year before. He made this dude make plays. He make plays. And I'm gonna say this, Let's say we do get a guy like like Earl Thomas or some other guy. You know, I'm not I'm not into the fantasy league football. What else because I believe in dinnim with what you have in camp. But he still may

not be the guy to come off the field. Yeah, he still may not be the safety that Okay, now that now that this guy is here, we don't need Jeff Heath. He still may not be that guy, you know, And that's what I try to tell people that you know, we're a great what if organization, But one thing Coach Garrett has tried to instill in his players. We basically have scoured every situation up until this point. And you are the ninety plus guys that we're take in the camp.

So we're gonna that's how we're gonna plan our practices. It's the scouts of y'all, Will McClay u and missus Steven Jones to go out and scour right now, every coach position, coach, head coach Stephen's a coordinator of its coordinator. If they're thinking of something else, they're doing a disservice to this team and a disservice to their players. It's all as forward to this field every day. Yeah, when

do you start. That's a good, good thing you brought a good question you brought up, or a good point. But now that the way they do cuts, they cut everybody at once, right before that final preseason game. Know, it ain't no cons to that, that's all pro. I love that, Yeah, I love that. When do they when

do so? When no one those guys are going to hit the street, right, you know that every team's cutting, you know, forty thirty forty guys September first, and you get to go, you know you're doing The scouts are all they've been working up to that point. That's their year, that's their right. Yeah, So at what point do you shift your focus a little bit too? All Right? Now we gotta go clean up these free agents and get the ones that we want. They already the scouts right, Yeah,

we know Will McClay. Because injuries, you gotta play apart for injuries. You always got to play apart for injuries. You always got to play a part to a guy that you would have drafted, a guy that you would have signed. Is he better than that guy that's at fifty three, fifty two or fifty one? And he's there because the scouts got it written. Now, okay, this is who we really like, but we wind up with this guy. Is that guy there at the same position. WHOA, this

guy's free. This is who we really like. So they may bring him in as that fifty third guy, or they may say, man, this practice squad, we're gonna steal him. You know. Now we may have to find a spot to put him on our on our roster. You know, he may not be active on game, but we gotta find a place to put him on our roster. When you when you scoop like that, you gotta you gotta

sign him up to a contract. Yeah, so, uh, when they when when they hit, when they hit on the step summer first, when everybody cut down the three, you know, and then they got a week to get that practice squad out of that. But people are gonna be juggling. That's when the scout's gonna be coming into Jason. Hey. You know when you know it gonna set means, hey, Jayson, this is what we got? What do we need? What

our injury situation? Where are we laughing at? And that's what they're just zero in and they starting to do that now like okay, out what this guy doing? What this guy? So when preseason, when everybody's able to look at each other's film, preseason, you gotta this scout looking at these guys. This scout looking at this guy. You got your pro personnel, which is Chris. I think is he over college? He over college? He's over college and setting up the uh this deal. So we'll ask them

when he comes. Yeah. We were talking to one of the scouts, one of the college guys the other day, and he was saying that that each college scout takes two pro teams during this period to help out because there's just so many players they're looking at. They'll grab two pro teams and start scouting them. They do hit

the market, they've they've got a little bit. They got a little bit and see it in all all comes down to two things, where you lacking at and the injuries, you know, because if the injuries, that can decimate you quicker than anything you know, and and and and then if you think that, oh man, you know, we we thought it was good at linebacker with out three guys, but we need one more off we needed to play

special teams. We need a linebacker. They may be specific in what they wanted, how they look at it, so they'll go out and then scour that, you know. Or if the wide receivers not panning out, and they thought like, wow, we really thought this guy was gonna be okay, this guy, but he then is as smart as we thought he was a lot, a lot. Then you know you're lacking there. So you is it a veteran out there that we

can bring in. It can make a difference. So if a lack that you didn't foresee or injury can can can can make you go out there and scour it real hard. On September. First, what's going on out? A question? Personal question? What's going on with the green shirt today? Yesterday you had like a lime sharp ruce greens. Today you got like a baby shirt. Oh my god, you're gonna deep on me. Let me tell you what happened with my lime green shirt? That's a bike riding shirt.

Could have got pockets in the back. Okay, I can get that so when I don't get hit. So yeah, people, when I did, you know, I said I'm going to ride my bike. I said, I'm because I like leisure to the ride, So I was gonna ride out, ride out to the beach. So I'm I'm looking for a battery for my little speed almich or so I can know how far it is out there, right, So I get over halfway there and then the guy found may just go to CBS Pharmacy at Ace Hardware and get

your little round battery. That's all you need, you know, you don't need a whole deal. So I went and found a little Ace Hardware and that gets to Ocean Drive the furthest part on silver Stream Beach out an ox N. And that it took me two hours to get there. I'm feeling good, got my water. You know this ether than couple to take a picture of me. Right. So at four fourteen my time, I get a call from the guy from ESPN. Huh Nate, where are you in the build? I said, noah, Man, I had silver

Stream Beach. You know, I ain't know what silver Stream beach. To the end of the couple who's gonna take my picture? Was telling me? He said, man, sure when she was back at the hotel, because we need somebody to do the radio and like thirty five to forty minutes, and I thought about it. I said, man, I said, just give me an opportunity to do. I said, give me an hour, I'll beat there. I'll be there. So I looked and it was four to twelve and I'm coming.

I am riding fast, running lights, going across curbs, and we're supposed to be on the air. He remember they calling at fourteen. We're supposed to be on the add four fifty five. And I'm like, I'm not gonna look at it. So you know, you tend to want to look at your way look at I'm I'm not gonna look at you. Just ride them, jumping over curves, from going around corners called oh, get your out of the street.

And so I finally gets up here gein yard where whatever, the old vineyard or whatever, and I finally look at it and it's it's four forty nine. So I get to my room, get to get my little tablet, everything, run over there and get me some water. Run over there. It's four fifty three. I made it like seven miles. Were you dead? Brother? I slept like a log last night and I'm still still. And that's why I had on an ugly green shirt. And then now you said

this shirt there even ugly. Yeah. Yeah, But the things you do, you know, for you, you know, I feel like I'm I have two teams that you know, the Dallas Cowboys, which you know I work with you closely here on this show, hanging with the Cowboys, but Dallas Cowboys dot com. We'll all be in San Francisco working at as a team come next Thursday, and and then ESPN is my other partner, you know. And uh, And

I hate to let people down, you know. I hate for them to have to go to national broadcast because somebody had an emergency that they couldn't come on that night. So I'm like, well, I don't want I don't want to. I want to keep all our local shows intact, right, you know. And that's what we're trying to tell you earlier. The local is where you get the real stories. But now the drawback to the local and drawback to what we do is are we all compassionate to the players?

That's a drawback. You know. We can't just come out and that stude ain't no good. You know that I need to cut him. You know, we can't. We're not allowed to do that, you know, just be mean. You know, now you could, But the problem with that is you got now these dudes, yeah, and now you got to ask them to come right, and you're asking them to come on your show, and do you favor so yeah, there's more of a human element to it. Sir. If you're in the studio and you're talking head, you're never

gonna see this guy. You can talk all the trash you want. Yeah, you get to know these guys as people. You realize, Hey, there's a way. It's just like in your job. There's a way to give constructive criticism without saying that guy sorry or worthless. And I ain't never understood constructive criticism, but I guess it is. I guess it's a thing. Yeah, Hey, what Nate, let's take a quick break, and we brought up the off day yesterday.

I want to know. One, I know you rode your bike yesterday, but they didn't take up the whole day. One what you did yesterday and two what you did. No, I'm not important. It shows not about me. How you used to spend off days when you play or did y'all even get off days back? Yeah, we got them when we won a lot. Nine seven two forty nine seven forty four zero zero is out number. Calling and tell us how you spent your off day, Yes, and we will be right back on hanging with the boys.

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Oh yeah, I knew it. You knew it. Have you ever been on the tour? And I've never walked when anybody. I've seen people come through it. I was snatching them out of the crowd. I know I've been there. When you've done that. Yeah, you should actually take a tour and see anybody notices who knows who you are. I know somebody, somebody will know. You could take a VIP he got a tour and to give a cowboy fan an inside look into the place where the Dallas Cowboys

training work. You can get your tickets now at the Star and Frisco dot com. It's actually a really cool tour. You get to go down and see the weight room, get to see where we eat lunch. You get to walk by the podcast studio. Sometimes we're shows are on the air. When you walk through, you get to see the TV studio, Jerry's Hall of Fame, buss the rings, the trophies. It's a cool deal, man. If y'all anybody out there comes into town to go to a game. Make sure you budget some time to go out to

the Star and see where we're working, you know. And I'm not gonna tell you not to bring your wife, but it's a lot of shops and eitheries out there. So you bring your wallets. Yeah, bring your checkbook. Joking, man, you write checks anymore? Na, Na? Not all cash and credit card? Okay, yeah, but when I'm traveling, I like credit card. It's smart. Where do you go? Yeah? Yeah? So what you're doing off day? Yesterday? So we had a day off, the players had a day off. Did

you hang out and you rode your bike? What'd you do when you got up? Yes? And we did eleven o'clock show. We did this show, and then I just kind of chilled out. Man. I went back to your room and rested, you know, because I got up at five thirty and worked out about five o'clock. I get up at four o'clock and get out by five. I'm oble, you know, working get up so early. Man, just gotta work out and see then I tweet out a few positive words and stuff like that. You know, I read

my bob, But so it takes a little minute. You know there's two there's two Twitter accounts out there with your name on it. Which was the right one? Uh do you know? Uh sixty sixty one Nate Newton six at sixty one Nate Newton. That's that's the right one. Then the other one it was my old doctor, doctor Kim in the Bear attric. And then I had a little Facebook paying Hey man, I don't even know. It's just I got a you know, and uh wow, ain't that something? I don't even know it? See, they all

linked to each other. So I put one thing in one of ith. Yeah, it jumps over to them something. Glad of that? I got you? So what So get up, work out? Did our show? Rode the bike out too far and then had to haul it back to get on another show. Right what you do? Last night? Man went to the dining hall. Now we had yesterday, we had wait lunch brunch. I had brunch with Nate Newton yesterday. This this dude, it was going to Sila like all the people in the TV department what what what what

we call our division? Uh? Media? Internet media, Internet media, I call the TV Internet media. These guys we're walking up, you know, he's walking up with me. We discussing the show and we want to have his guests, and he says, uh, he sees hellman, he said, Hennel thirty going to Sizzler, you know, like this is a big deal like Sizzler. So we go up there to get brunch and they had some grub. Yeah, you would not have believe. Now. I got an omelet and omelet and I don't know

what else I got, but it was in hash Browns. Yeah. But this dude got o hash Browns and then he went back and got so Yeah. So they had an omelet bar. So I got two scrambled eggs. Right, eggs were just right fluffy. I didn't get it on. I just got eggs fluffy. And I'm a sucker like the way Nate likes French fries. That's the way I am. With hash Browns. Yeah. Yeah, I got hash browns. And then they had this jambalayah shrimp sausage and chicken. Yeah.

I got a little bit of that because he got some. Yeah, and then they what else they have up there? Man, I don't know, but you went back another time. I mean they had crab cake c oh my god. They just they went oval board it was good. It was good, and I'm like, are you still wanting the sizzl Well no, no, no, They's like, save you money, save you money, just eat here. And I was like, well, it's like a yearly deal. And I always miss out when they go to Sizzler

and they always talk about it. I kind of want to go for the camaraderie. And then I was like, I just walked up there with you. I walked up there and looked at all of us like, yeah, I'm staying here. Yeah, I'm staying here. Wow, y'all need to come out and uh yeah, come out to chance, to come out to campus. It's a good scene, it's a good thing. And I ain't telling you to come out that you're gonna get some autographs. I'm not telling you that, but just come out and visit us. And yeah, you

found you found the schedule. Uh the schedule, I know. The visit ox Hard website has the full schedule, has our days off, has the practice schedule when you should come out, And really it's not it's it's there's people out here, but it's not super crowded, so you're not fighting for space. Um the players. Usually you know, there's no guarantee, but the players usually go over and sign some autographs after practice if they're not too tired. Um, And if you've never been around this kind of scene,

it's a it's I mean to us, it's practice. But if you've never been around it, or you've never been around a pro team, it's it's really a really cool deal to come check out. So what'd you do last night? Do anything fun? Nah? Man? If you're getting up at four in the morning, what time are you going to bed? I've been in bed fround about nine nine. Third of a sudden, I just fall asleep. I don't know what time I fall asleep, but I wake up. The first time I wake up, it'd be about two thirty, and

then I relaxed and go back to sleeping. Next time I wake up is right around four, and I'm so we'll be through. Back in the day, y'all didn't get off days as often as they do now. Right, what we did when Coach Johnson got here, we was gonna go a minimum of ten days straight of two days. So when we first got here, you know, everybody pumped up. You know, we get here thout well not thousand oaks.

We was in Saint Aedd's in Austin, so we everybody drive up whatever you know, A few guys will fly up, get picked up at the airport, and that day, before you know, we all excited. But reality hits. It hits around by dinner time when we all get together, had that first meeting and they go to telling us what we already know. They dreaded inside run. So we open camp up as we stretch and do one on one drills. The first drill we do as a team is inside run.

That's where our offensive line and tight ends their defensive line, outside linebackers and safeties, and our running backs minus Emmett Smith. We will go like twelve plays wide open. When they're getting used to it. One no three day break in the gate, right out of the gate inside. I mean, man, and your hands are not rough yet. You've been all off season even though you had many camps. Your hands

and stuff at all tender. You're trying to tape them up. Man, you got nails ripped, you got fingers and stuff bust over me. And then it's like the first day. You just walk in and you hate to do it, but you either get the alcoholic pads or you just get some type of an acceptic and just oh because you know, if you don't do it, your hand's gonna get it, you know. Oh yeah, so you oh my god, man. And for the first two days, man, it's like it's and by the fourth day, your body just numb. Your

body just numb. And you know because now because that first day you may have just one practice, but the second day is back to back. You know, that morning you get about, you're on the field by nine, you know, you're all by eleven thirty, you're eating, You're going back to the room. It's crazy, you can't go. You got press at three thirty four o'clock. You back out there, and you know, we didn't have inside run in the afternoon. They call it something else, but we're back killing and

slaughter in each other. It was like cannibals, man, and uh so twice a day, y'all and then this this is what will hurt you. Right, you got friends on other teams, right, So Dan Danny Stubbs came from the forty nine ers. You know, he would call us, you know, he would call some of his boys back in the forty nine ers, like Stills. What the forty nine is doing y'all just talking about boy man such and such,

such and such. Uh, they didn't have one no pads today, You'd be like, what, Yeah, they didn't practice in pass today. You know, this morning they came out, you know, they practicing past maybe like fifteen plays. Then they took them off in this afternoon they have one no path and Jimmy, Jimmy just but but did that make it out better? Yes? Yes, Uh, for what he wanted to do, physical was second nature to us. We may be moving slow, but we were physical. Yeah.

And and and it's just like if we put hands on you, you just gonna say wow. If we grabbed, if we hit you, you was gonna say wow. Even if we lost the game that team normally lost to the next week. We man, we we we we thump you. Now we lay on you, bro, you know. And so and that's what Jason is trying to get here. But every team has to follow the basic same rules. That's what I like about today's You know, you don't get advantage. You don't get to have five or six extra practices

you unless you have a new coach. You know, you get an extra miny camp or something. But you you. Everybody's on the same pay, same rules. Saying now, I wish they would hear a little bit more doing training camp to get these young guys and get the veterans in better shapes. If we can start with all the hamstrain pulls or either shortened that five week period. That's too long for guys that are coming out here and

be extra run and explode all over the field. But you know, what we did was not as hard is what they did in the sixties. Out of the seventies. In the seventies, these have six weeks, six to eight weeks. The rookies would be here a whole month before the veterans came. Wow, and can you imagine that's when they had almost two hundred players. Two hundred players, man, I can't imagine being out here a whole month longer, much less if I'm out there grinding every day getting fifteen

dollars a week. Jeez. So what did you do? What was the typical off day for you back back during training camp when you were playing. I hate to say this, holding no kids, ain't looking drink, Yeah, relaxed, he's getting the hot drink, you know, because he This was our off day, we'll have practice. Get out of practice at about five thirty. Here, y'all got the night off. Being by two, you wouldn't even know you were getting the night off. You got the night off being by two.

So by the time we finished showering up, cleaning up at seven thirty, so everybody's sprinting off the field. I mean, you know, so you get to you you know, some guys like to go out and eat together, some guys you know, you know, but and wives. Even if you did have your wife here, it wasn't no place to

put her. Yeah, it wasn't no hotels. I mean you had to go down the street and and and and the way they had meeting set up, I mean, your wife would just basically she better be able to entertain her stuff and the kids because it won't be no time, no free time. Oh man, you have meetings in between. They stopped that eventually having meetings in between practice. But after practice, you know, you you you you get through a practice, you eat around between six and whatever, then

you go straight to meetings. And they won no capital no meetings. You know, if you had a bad day and the coach felt like he didn't needed to talk three hours you was gonna be in that meeting. Man, you come trouting back to the room. Bout ten, lady, I mean, what you got for your wife and your kids? Ain't got nothing sleep? Sleep? Something wrong with daddy? Mommy er since he shot out, he'd been sleeps daddy. All right, Oh well, let's take a quick break. Oh never mind,

let's not take a break. Not taking a special guest approaching Yeah, table here, Jeff heat's walking up, so we're gonna let him sit here in the middle. That's up. Man. Wow, man, how you doing, Jeff? How tall are you? Jeff? I mean just hollow that out? Brother. Uh, hey, you're still that on. Appreciate you coming on, man, Yeah, thanks for having me. Bet you bet No, we know you're heading out to practice, so we'll get you out of here on times, Yes we will. How is it the first

uh first few days out here? Man? Feels good? Man, It feels good to get back out here. Um, put the pads on, get our football legs back underneath us. So, uh, you know, first couple of days of full pads every year feels a little sloppy. You're still trying to, you know, work out the kings. But now I think, um, next couple of days here we should settle in and uh

start getting a lot better. Yeah. Yeah, quickly walk us through, Jeff Heath from your early stages, whether you want to go, started college, high school, start where you feel comfortable, and get up to today. Okay, uh shoes. I guess I'll just start with my rookie year. Um. I mean, man, I came out or came from a small school at a small D two school, came here my rookie year and not really knowing what to expect. M learned a lot on the fly, you know, learned a lot through experience.

I would say mostly on field experience good and bad. And I think really my mentality for my entire career, it's kind of you know, whether it's a good experience or bad experience, treat him the same way, learn from them, and you know, figure out how how that can helped my game in the long run. And then uh really yeah, as the years gone, I'm just got more and more comfortable. And D two school, yep, D two talk too? Who D two who? Uh Saginaw Valley State, Michigan, the Gleatt Conference. Yeah,

I mean you always was a dB. You played other positions, but I played uh well in college. I was a dB only high school. I did a little bit of everything. Uh, dB, receiver, kicker, partner. Yeah, we saw you kicking skills, man, you were a pretty solid YEP. I was a soccer player. Uh. Soccer is actually my first sport. I started playing soccer and I was about four years old. I played soccer really all

the way up until my senior in high school. Um, and then you know, time camera, I had to side whether to play soccer in college or football in college. And uh, you know, football was always my true love. But uh, soccer, but you better. Uh. I wouldn't say I was better. I was just um I was. I was more recruited for I think I was. You know, the team I was playing on, we would travel all over the place. We would go all these showcase tournaments. So uh, you know, I was really out there, um

in terms of soccer. But I've always loved football. You know, Dad played, Grandpa played. Dad coaches, so um pretty much, I just said, you know, if I could get any opportunity to play football in college, I was gonna take it. Yeah, who recruited you for soccer? Uh? You know there's a lot of uh so, a lot of the Michigan schools, Oakland University, University of Michigan, UM, some of the team University University of Chicago, a lot of Midwest teams, East

Coast teams. But you know, really before my senior year, I had already decided, you know, football was gonna be my sport. I was done with soccer, so, uh, you know, who knows what would have happened. Man, Luckily, I think I made the right choice. People ask me all the time, like who's the most athletic guy on the team, and I was like, believe it or not. I was like, I'm gonna put Jeff Heath in the conversation just because

like soccer football. Hell, you got out there, you kicked a pro in a pro How was that we hadn't talked to you since then? Was that crazy? I was insane? Man, Um, that was a lot of fun, you know, I was actually Uh, I think it was good that I didn't have much time to kind of think about it, you know, I kind of I was told right before and I was a little nervous at first, and then um, you know, I pretty much just told myself like I'm not the kicker.

No one expects me to get, no one expect me to make it, So I'm just gonna go have fun with it. And uh, um, you know, luckily, I think we were up a lot in the game at that point, so that made it probably a little bit easier. But it's just had a lot of fun, you know, all the all my teammates, coaches. It was just h it was really fun to What was a cooler moment for you, kicking in a pro game or the Oakland game where you saved the touchdown and had to hear Cavan call

you the goat the rest of the night. You know what I think? Uh, I think the Oakland game, Um was cooler for me only because, uh the implications of that game. You know, we needed to win to keep our season alive, and um, you know that a game like that, you do you know that's for guys like wet, guys like Sean, you know, guys who have invested so much into the Cowboys for so long and you know,

you know, just wins. The guy who really comes to mind when I think about that game, you know, thinking about how excited he was after the game, and you know he's in his fifteenth season, and uh, if we lose that game, we're done. Um, so you know we win, h we had the ability to you know, try to win out and make the playoffs. UM, that was just a really cool moment for really everybody. Hey man, you you you you came up the hard way specialty tipping

about that. How you felt man, each graduation man, each each move man talked through that. Well, yeah, I knew. Uh so you know, coming in I was I was not naive. You know, I was an undrafted player. I knew that. Um, if I had any chance of making the team, not only was I gonna need some breaks, I was gonna need a little bit of luck. I was gonna a lot of things had to go my way.

But you know I had to control what I could control, and that was, um when I was on the field and all the kicking game stuff, just you know, playing my butt off and trying to stand out as much as I could then and uh, you know that was kind of my world for well, actually, you know, my rookie year actually had to UM. I ended up playing a lot of safety that year. He had some injuries. But you know, the next couple of years, my world was really uh special teams, trying to be the best player.

I could, you know, a little spot duty at safety certain you know, dying packages and stuff like that. But um, you know, I think really my mentality is, uh, whether it's on kickoff team, punt team, or at safety, at dying, whatever I'm doing, I just try to you know, do my job, and uh, if the opportunity sent itself to make a play, I just try to capitalize. Just a question I have to ask you, man, because I've been I watched team blitz and I'll watch inside a team

run and and and I didn't notice last year. And maybe it's just bad on my part, But you're end the I see you in the line a little more. Is that Is that me missing something? Or is that true that you're up on the line a little bit? Think? Yeah, Well, so far in camp this year, I've been up a little bit more. Um, you know, just with the personnel we have. Xavier is really good in the back end. But um, you know, in our system, safety is we have to be interchangeable because we'll both be up there,

we'll both be back. But I think I've grown a little more comfortable playing closer to the ball, you know, and reacting will brother, Yeah, I feel I feel good there. Try to keep you big lining off. I don't think I'll be able to hold up taking you guys on all time. So um yeah, I just try to, you know, use my speed and stuff like that to my advantage when I'm in the box. Now, Chris Rashad, is I've

got that right, sir? Okay, We're not gonna even try to say what is he to the compared to other coaches? Know what has he meant for you guys up until this point? He's been great so far. Man. He Uh, obviously he brings a ton of knowledge. He's coached some really good players, some really good defenses. So he brings tons of knowledge, tons of energy, attitude, really everything that I think a young secondary and especially a young secondary especially, Um,

that's that's the type of guy we need. And uh, we have all the pieces, man, we have the we have the coaches, we have the we have the guys, we have the personnel. So now it's up to us, up to the barn and I, you know, leaders of the room, to kind of we need to set the standard. We need to keep the standard very high. And um, you know tension to detail all that, all those little things is what's gonna hopefully um take us to that

next step that we all want to be at. Now before we got two questions that you are guinea pea, it's not bad. We can either ask you who's the love of your life? Or what's your last gas chamber meal? Explain with the last shaky what would be your last meal? Yeah? Can I like, yeah, I feel like yeah, whatever one you think you can, because you are guinea peaks. Both love my life? He's ask my wife? Right, my family? My last gas chambermil um shoot, probably a steak, steak

and potatoes, but grilled grilled by me? Right? Okay? Yea, how do you agree with your steak? You do anything specially? So I do you know, if I have if I have some time, I'll fire up the egg. I'll do you know, reverse your method? Much about that? And then uh so you got an egg? Huh yeah, I got to kick everything on it, you know. I actually I have a gas girl, and I have the egg. And if I have some time and if uh you know, if it's only like me and my wife, I use

the egg. But if I'm like burgers or something, with for all the guys. Uh, eggs a little takes too long, so I'll just use the gas girl for that. But I think everything tastes better on the egg, and I prefer to use egg. Yeah yeah, okay, So what do you like? What are you into now? Like off the field? You travel an in the off season? Hunt fish? What do you what do you do like traveling? Um? So, I actually just my wife and I bought a spot in Colorado. Whoa the mountains yep, so we uh we

love guy. She's got jeep guy, truck guy. I'm a chuck guy, a chuck and I have I like man. I like cars too, Okay, I like going fast. Okay, have a Yeah, I have a little toy. But toy it's a Nissan gt R. Okay, wow, yeah, it's pretty fun. I took that actually Byron and I. Uh he's got a little BMW and three. We took it to a track in the off season. Took it to the track. You know, um did that So that was fun. But man, really,

I'm pretty I'm pretty late back. Like relaxing, traveling, seeing some cool spots and uh, you know, seeing family, seeing friends and just hanging out. What's the coolest place you've been to so far? Um, so I went u last offseason, I went on a trip to Costa Rica. Yeah, Costa Rica. That was really cool. It's man, it's beautiful. We stayed um, you know, we didn't we didn't do the resort route. We stayed at like this private little house is kind of way back in the mountains, way up the you

know trail. Yeah, we have the trail. So we're out there all alone. Um, a bunch of cool stuff to do, man, beat I mean, if you're a beach guy, you got that. You got to you got the jungle, you can do that all these hikes. So that was a great time. Yeah. So we need to know the time because it's three twenty two. Okay, time you gotta get out of here. I gotta be out there at three thirty five. Okay, so keep you seven now, since you and Byrne went racing on the track, who's the true faster gout in

the field? True faster go on the field? I mean, ain't time about king about flat out straight speed. So depends on what we're running. If we run anything, in my opinion, if we run anything from one hundred yards or less, I think I got him. Okay, if we get a little further, like if we were on the track, we were out four hundred, I think Byron might get me.

He's got more a little more endurance type spe r. But uh, I mean we test, we test our twenties, so I mean the number really man when we go because I compete with Byron and just about every all the offseason we work out together and we're competing, and we really we go back and forth most of the time. So he'll win one, I win one. We're pretty pretty even.

Who's the fastest guy on the team right now, because there's been on Austin is Yeah, he's got I mean his speed is like, it's just you guys shouldn't run that fast. You guys shouldn't be able to run that fat, especially with pads on and the ball in their hands. It's crazy. That's crazy. I hate you, man, that's a guy give you just don't wake up. You know you either wake up and you had that UK. We can't

teach that, you can't. Yeah, So you talked about earlier, back to a little bit back to football, about the young guys on the team. You're like an old man on this team that like overnight, you went from you're like the old guy, know, just in the dB room especially. It's crazy, but uh, I mean that's kind of how the NFL works. Yeah. Um, you know you always go through transition periods where you're either going from young to more veteran players or tons of vets to really young team.

And you know, obviously last year we drafted shoot with four rookies. Yeah, we draft the four rookie dB. So um, you know, we lost a lot of guys who had played a lot of football and great leaders on the team. But you know, whenever guys like that leave, it just opens the door for you know, guys like myself, Byron and then a lot of these young guys to you know, step out of their comer zone a little bit and um,

you know, take on that leadership role. Yeah, when you see a young guy like I'm sure you see every training camp tons of guys like you just doing whatever they can to get on the team and get their foot in the door and just work. Do you ever grab those guys and say, hey man, let me do a little more of this, a little less than the absolutely man And I really appreciate those guys, because uh, you know, something that I've tried to really focus on is I can't forget how what got me to this point.

You know, I've I've gotten to this point through through hard work and um, you know, taking advantage opportunities. And I see guys out here that are in the same shoes that I was in, uh you know, six years ago, and uh, you know, I'll pull those guys side and you know, let him know. Hey. Man. You know, like especially when we get into the games, Like, man, you can't always control whether the ball comes to you. You can't control like your stats necessarily, but you definitely can

control how you look on film. That's a lot of it. Man. You gotta you gotta do something to stand out, whether it's you gotta be around the ball, whatever, whatever asset you have that makes you good football player, that's what you need to put on display. So, uh, did anybody grab you when you were coming up? Was there that one guy that was always supporting you and had you and was kind of in your year? Yeah? Um, you know,

actually Bury Church he was that guy for me. And he wasn't I forget what year he was when I was a rookie, but Um, he wasn't that much older than me. You know, I think that he might have been going into his fourth year, I think, and uh, but he you know, he was also undrafted, did the special teams his rookie year, and he really he really helped me out. And then you know, I would say the number one guy who helped me out the most

was coach Pisacha. But let me and I was thinking he was gonna make a move and you wouldn't he went to old. Yeah, I was like he made just this week, you know what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah, because he loved this guy. I love you man. I'm under contracts, but I mean he was. He was huge for me, not only obviously I needed to play well for him, but that was it went way further than that. You know, it was kind of, Um, I think he's got he's got a really good feel for like how guys are

feeling throughout the ups and downs a training camp. And you know, if I was, if he sensed that I was a little down or like having a tough day, get going, he would always you know, pull me aside, give me a little kicking the butt, and get me going. So I owe a lot to him. Man, and he you know, I keep in touch with him. Still. He's a great He's gonna be a great mentor for me. Let me take them one day. My phone wrong about two weeks outter he left my phone wrong. Oh what Hey, man,

I want to thank you for treating me fairly. I want to thank you for you know, for stopping and talk to me. I mean, and most of the time he's stopping you. Yeah, but yeah, man, I was so honored. Man. Hey, coach, thank you and I wish you the best. Man. I mean, that type of guy is man, he's about man. Yeah, yeah, that's why. I mean, he's got If you ask any any guy who's played for him, played against him, anyone who knows him really will probably give you the same answer.

I'm yeah, you know. So that's wow. Man. Well may we see your your teammates starting to file out, so we know you got to go to practice. We appreciate you stopping by man. Best of luck man. Yeah, Man, you look hard, bro. Yeah, I appreciate Yeah, you look hard man. You take that anyway you want not Wow. So man, we're looking forward to a great year. More question, you're crazy sucks like Shannon Uh, you know, I have some, but I'm not. I can't pull that off. These are

these are a little over the top today. If I do that, I gotta cover them with Genie, all right, I gotta wrap him up, all right. We appreciate it, Jeff. Looking forward to a great season and we'll be I guess we're back again tomorrow, same time, two thirty to three thirty. We try to get another guy on tomorrow, so check us out. Nate Janning hang with the boys.