In the fan.
It's time for Vikings Country, brought to you by Miller Lyte. Now here's your host of Vikings Country from KFAN and the Vikings Radio Network.
Muss out of the shot gun.
I'm third down Cam Jordan got around the right tackle. Dobbs look sees nothing now he runs out to the left. He points to somebody, turns No.
Five to the shot touch stop in throgo shots.
Dobbs, with a rushing touchdown, has run Minnesota to a.
Sixteen three three.
That Coops takes the snap out of the shotguns, great drop.
Ruse to the end zone hand touching.
Takes twenty eight yards touchdown to two.
Jay Hawkinson, while and Jobbs has beaten them by land and he just beat them by air twenty three three Minnesota.
And that Saba the pads and my waya.
North Carolina staring up the road. Lea Televan, Welcome to Vikings Country. We're hanging out here.
I made it down the two Cowboy Jackson Bloomington on us with our friends from Miller Lyte, the official beer sponsor of the Minnesota Vikings. I'm playing a little Darius Rucker on this one because he's from the South Carolina, Charleston, and also a guy who knows a little something about South Carolina is our special guest.
Number eleven, Nagie Thompson. Hey buddy, how are you better?
Well, well, I mentioned this earlier with the crowd here as we're doing some giveaways, I'm like, okay, you'll know him. He's number eleven, and he wears yellow gloves and the yellow shoes, and every time I'm like, oh, there's a flag on the plate, no, which is not getting in.
Yeah, I love the yellow cleaves. You know, ConA, Minnesota. You know, if I had to find something this just come on fourth down, just gonna make a stand down coming into Seattle. Once I made the first tip, well we know. The yellow cleats was just a signature of things. I make sure I have different part of cleats usually every game at this point. So probably when I go back out, probably denyed to tomorrow. What are some more yellow cleats? I haven't rolled back again.
So with Darius Rucker in South Carolina, that's where you're from here, from Boiling Springs, South Carolina, which, by the way, I looked it up and it got its name because there was a geyser and then it hasn't boiled since nineteen ninety and you were born in two thousand, so you never really get a chance to take advantage of that.
Oh yeah, never never even heard of it.
Honestly, first time you're hearing about it. Learned someone new every day.
So you grow up in South Carolina.
And it's funny because Darius Rucker is the reason that we went and took a vacation in South Carolina.
We went to Charleston.
First and then we went to the Islands after that, and oh my gosh, absolutely spectacular, beautiful area of the country.
Oh yeah, if anybody wants the vacation down there is a really vacation good grow vacation spot. And the beaches are beautiful down there. The weather's always nice down there regardless. Never not too much snow. If it goes there, may ga, it's snow for a day. It's going next.
Right, Yeah, that's well, it's not gonna happen here.
Yeah, learn that, Learn that quick.
Yeah, rookie.
With the Minnesota Vikings here, dude, you can fly down the field watching highlights from your stuff and then watching the games and doing the Vikings radio network shuff that I do. Man, You gotta be like a four to seven forty guy.
Oh honestly, if you look it up, that's what they put out there. I said I was the four sevenist, and I just laughed about it because it was like, I'm not No. Four seven guy, and so now.
Yeah, I honestly thought you're gonna get pissed me.
Oh that's that's exactly what they have out there on the field. That's so honestly, everyone got to take a person. I'm like, Okay, I'm gonna show I'm not No. Four seven guy at all. But no, that's that's what they have out there.
But that does actually irk you a little bit, right, Oh yeah, because I'm like, I'm not in the poor thing because you look it up and you know track track runs right in my background, you know, two time state champ, former state stay record holder.
So no, I don't like to be slow at all. Anything.
I'm sure to get you going on that one all right show, undrafted rookie and then you come up and you show up here in Minnesota, and what does that experience like?
I mean, you're going from.
Georgia Southern and then now all of a sudden, here you are in the NFL and you're showing up at TCO that whole experience.
What what is that like?
Uh? Basically, you get off the plane. Some fans are there when you get off the plane that know you and you don't know them, and they're like calling your name and like okay, hey, how you doing and uh. And then then you get on the bus head to the facility and you do all the paperwork and everything and it's like, okay, practice the next day, and then you learn really fast that college practice and NFL practice is a whole lot faster. And then just from me
come over Toordia Southern, like I'm coming. I'm like I'm going against first round picks, you know, second on guys like so like I'm like, I'm really here now. It's like, okay, I gotta step your game up a whole lot more to know just barely going through anything, you're going full speed and you're getting rich all every rep.
What is it like the first time that you run into Bryan Flores Cuz he seems intense.
He seems like he is like every time that he's doing.
Anything, and you're like, oh man, he knows something that I don't know and it's gonna be bad for me.
When I find out Brian Florenes is actually he's a real chill guy. He I mean, he gives the intense look. Honestly, he's a great guy to be around. Honestly, he's just a businessman. You know. He he wants you to get down to it and make sure here's anything he's perfected. He wants us to perfect it with him and everything. And he calls it our defense. You know, he's he installs it, but he wants us to run in and everything. But he's he's a real great guy. You know, he
gives the intense look. You know when he's serious, you know you'd be serious. But honestly, anytime around him, he always has a small regardless.
You go from thirty six, right was it at thirty six when you first got here is your jersey numbers?
And then now eleven? How did that trance?
It was funny? Uh So I was wearing thirty six, and then a picture day came up, and then some of the rookies was wanting to get number five, so then Mackay end up getting five, so then eleven was available, and then the older guys looked at me, is like, yeah, you got to take thirty six off. You look ugly in that. And so then I was like, you know what, I'll rock with number eleven because actually josh would tell us. He actually he mentioned me getting to eleven. He's like, yeah,
put him in eleven. Don't let them, don't let him keep thirty six. And so so we just went ahead, went with it.
I love that number can make you look ugly.
That well, that's disgusting. Josh was not happening.
And you and Joshua have become good friends. And I know this because we're gonna get into that just coming up and just fit because I watched when you're at TCO and the rookies have to they have to every once in a while, you.
Know, do some different things.
They got duties that they have to do as a rookie, in one of which is singing, and you had to do that in front of the team.
Yeah, so they actually caught me off guard. We knew it was coming, but usually you know, we're going order like draft picks and everything like that, and so they were like, oh, who's the best and Madden around here, So everybody's calling my name. I had to play macas I'm a Big Gamer. Spend literally most of my time outside of football, and I'm on the game twenty four seven, so they called me up and so I'm playing Jettas and Madden and so we're going and it's like, okay,
I won that game. And the next thing, you know, they're like, oh, you thought you were done. You're not getting out of here. So then they're like, oh, now you got to sing a song. So it's just quiet up there. I'm looking at all these new faces and all the coaches looking down at me, and it's like, okay, I got to pick a song and say, here we go.
So Brett Blakemore, who was running the show back at the station right now, couldn't be more excited about the fact that you said you're a big Gamer.
So he's excited about that.
I watched the video, but it was from Josh Mattelis's phone, so I don't even know what the song is because Mattellas is singing so loud a lot with you.
What was the song?
The song is when I See You by Fantasia. That was the That was the first thing I could think, come to mine, you know, just some old school song. You know, we have some vets in there is like, let me throw a little throwback for them.
Yeah, shout out the Josh Mittellos sing, which is kind of interesting to me because he is such a great leader. We've all heard that, and the guy never comes off the field for crying out loud.
How did that relationship become so fast?
Honestly, it was like, you know, I came in talking to joshon Tiller's and he was just always just giving us like little tips here and there. And then it was like for when you come to special teams, you know, when you first go out there trying to get the field and then like the first couple of reps don't go as you expected, and so then he might come nit pick with you a little bit. Oh that's trash
or something like that. And so the preseason games get rolling around and it's like, okay, he's like, I better see somebody here now. It's like we're here now, you can't shy away. So then you know, go make the play in Seattle and then come back, you know, make the play at the Tennessee Titans, and you know from there, like you know, Josh just came to me and he was just Honestly, I feel like he's a great leader
to me. You know, he's always telling me, you know what to do, what not to do, like type thing, you know what to do better, and honestly, like he's like come up to me, He's like, you know, it's time to make a play. It's time to make a play. It's been too long. So that Josh is just a great guy.
Nigie Thompson is our guest here at Vikings Country with Miller Light, the official beer sponsor.
Oh the Minnesota Vikings.
We're giving away tickets to sit in the Miller Light Lounge. Stop on out here. We're in Bloomington at Cowboy Jack's. All right, you're nicknamed the Flash. I haven't seen that, but it makes sense because you know, with your four nine speed, you get down the field, so you're always like the first one that gets down the field.
But when you're a gunner, how much I.
Mean you just get abused as a gunner getting down the field.
Oh yeah, I mean at the end of the day, you know they're gonna put two guys out there and sometime there's four guys back there that you're trying to, you know, maneuver through and look through and then you got the returner at the end of the day. I mean it's fun, you honest. You have to perfect your craft, and uh, I played gunner for a long time. That's where I basically started off in college at so I've got thousands of reps at it, and then come into
the league. I faced double teams before I even got to the league, so that was a plus. So, you know, just working on my craft every day. But yeah, you get abused there, hailed every single play, and like they say, you're not getting flags on special teams, so you know, going out there, you don't even think to look for a flag because you're not getting.
It off the air.
You did share something with me because we were talking about your friends from Georgia Southern and and former teammates and stuff like that, but you actually called what you're gonna do in the NFL.
Yeah, when I first came into the when I first came into college, you know, you come from being comeing to high school. You're that guy in high school. When you get to college, you're not always that guy. There's always another guy. Uh. And so for me, I had to find something to do, and so I went to special teams, and I always know the guys like you know, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go to the league playing
special teams, and that's what it is. So for three to four years, you know, they just laughed at me over and over and over, and then you know, making it to reality. Now you see a lot of guys now going to do special teams because they understand the importance of it is in the league. Because I'm honestly, special teams is not really talked about enough at the different levels, but when you get to NFL, it's talked about a lot. All right.
Najie Thompson is our guest hanging out here with his five to nine speed, still getting down the field.
We got more stuff coming up on the way for you. Here.
It is Vikings Country and it is powered by our friends at Miller like the official beer sponsor all the Minnesota Vikings. Also, by the way, she should let you know Friday football feasts happened every Friday, obviously with Paul Allen. It's sponsored by Coors Light. And you can find out what locations where to go. You easily do that not only at caffeand dot com, but you can also do that at vikings dot com, as well more.
Coming up on the hold Up.
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Off to KFA N.
It's time for Vikings Country, brought to you by Miller Lyte. Now here's your host of Vikings Country from KFAN and the Vikings Radio Network, Muss.
Winston on third and three miness he throws lost one of the right time interspted time. That's the first interception of the time Blackman's career. And with Rios picks to go in the game, it's twenty seven nineteen. Time in Minnesota, Saints trying to win three in a row, Vikings trying to win five in a row, and Winston goes back to pass. He's gonna throw one center of the field intercepted, and the Minnesota Vikings get a hive five Little Zalad the Bulls catching up.
Bennion Line, Welcome back Vikings Country.
What if Miller like hanging out here in.
Bloomington, Cowboy Jacks, I must what a great crowd we got here, everybody in Still Nation hanging out getting excited about the fact that we just went five in a row, six and four for crying out loud, and we beat the Saints. So I think everybody here there's two teams that you want to beat the most. The Saints and the Packers, and so we still have that coming up. But the Saints, we got the victory there. And our special guest here, not Gie Thompson, is hanging out Number eleven,
ladies and gentlemen. Here's the thing, Bud, as you hear that with Paul Allen on a call and a couple of picks, how huge the defense has been in the last what five weeks. Basically the defense has won some games for the Minnesota Vikings.
Oh yeah, we knew, you know, I have to own three start, and we wasn't worried about the own three start because you know, you look at the games, there are one score games at the end of the day. We knew we just left co plays there. So you know, the outside they make it was making noise, but inside doing we knew we were fine. Like I even said, I think I even tweeted like when we're fine, you know,
teams coming up. We loved our schedule. We know we were up for the Grand but lately we knew that we got to put the defense on our back because we missed the plays on defense that could have turned the game around. For the three start and so you know, coach Flores took it to a different level. He took it personally. Okay, we got to get some things rolling. And then the guys in our room, you know, we
even took it to a different levels. So you know, you practice different now and honestly, the results are speaking for themself.
Now.
Yeah, it's cornerback and then you see Makaya Blackman.
Get that his first pick. You said that the sidelines went a little nuts.
Yeah, it was. It was big. You know, he's he's out there playing here and there, not really not many reps here and there. He just you know, getting thrown in the game. Now, so now he's out there on a big down. And it was for even for like the sideline and really just for rookie class because we
really pulled for each other so for so strong. So when each one of us makes a play, you know, it just it's just like a different level for us see each other, just you know, grinding because we knew the path that it took to get here, and so now we're able to make plays on Sunday. Now it's just even better.
The rookie clash.
We won't say where you live, but you guys all live in the same kind of neighborhood.
Yeah, the others ship. Yeah, we're a fair amount.
Of you there. What has that experience been like?
I mean, this is it like a cul de sac that you guys are all hanging out and making fun of someone.
Who doesn't take care of their leaves.
Oh yeah, We really just really pick on each other all the time. We just like leaving in the morning, we're all leading around the same time.
Uh.
Sometimes might just ride with each other in the morning, just leave our cars there and just might pull a prank. So like on Halloween, I'll come up to Macaw black Men's house with my costume on and sitting outside with his ring camera just looking at him crazy. So it's just I mean, it's it's all great times and just you know, trying to find something different to do outside of football. Just keep hanging with each other all the time and just grow the bond stronger and stronger.
Okay, so you went to Georgia Southern, that's where you played college ball, and you started off as a wide receiver and then became a cornerback again with your five to nine speed. I don't want to offend you. I'm totally making that up, by the way, way faster. But do you get offended by when you hear sometimes commentators will actually say it about how cornerbacks are wide receivers that can't catch.
Oh yeah, I mean I was just like, I look at him. I say, honestly, you can just go pull the pull the tape, pull the film because going to receiver, going to the corner to say we can't catch. Honestly, sometimes when we dropped the ball, we practice catching twenty four seven. Sometimes just hits the hands wrong and we end up dropping it, but you know we practiced. We probably set twenty four seven.
At the beginning of the segment.
Also, I had Cole Swindell cranking up there, and Cole Swindell also Georgia Southern guy. Every single time you see him, he's got the GS hat on and you guys are friends.
Yeah, Coach Monde is gonna represent Georgia Southern. You know, every time he has a concert or just outspeaking, he's gonna have it on. I met him back in twenty eighteen when I first got to College Frog Bowl game. That's when I had Tyler Bast kicker for Buffalo Bills, and I played with him. So he actually came down to our bowl game and that's the first time I actually met him. And then I got to see him again out of bowl game my senior year. He came
down and me. He's just a big supporter and he comes out of Georgia's other games when he can, and then I'll met him text every once in a while, you know, just top it up. I'm definitely trying to get him here in Minnesota to a game, so definitely gonna be working on that.
Oh that would be sweet.
Yeah, maybe a little national anthem action and yeah.
Then yeah, hopefully hopefully and get some of the workout. He has a busy scare so when he's off tour, definitely get a touch with him. So if we can get him out here.
Okay, so now not only are you just chopping up football, but then you and Coachwandelle, what the dumb stuff that you guys?
Oh, we back and forth. I honestly, we we just text here and there, and I honestly haven't really gotten to hang out because it's bit our schedules don't match up too all right now. But you know, definitely in the off season one more time, you know, definitely look to go, uh kick it with him.
Everything all right, So as a dB and a cornerback justin Jefferson, we're hoping that there's gonna be a return. Don't know for sure that's gonna be happening here this week taking on the Broncos. But what you have to experience at practices and in the OTAs all that kind of stuff where you got Jefferson and Addison, I mean, this is a tremendous wide receiver crew and then throw in there TJ.
Hawkinson.
That's got to be a difficult task.
Yeah, so I actually have to guard I honestly have to guard all three of those guys because you know Scout team, we have Scout Team defenses go against the offense like that. So I know, I guard each one of those guys, and honestly, it's a difficult task each play because you know, I go from Jordan Addison, then to go to TJ. Hockinson, then to go to JJ kJ and then kJ comes in there, and you know, Brandon Powell goes there AND's just like it's a different task.
You know, it's it's definitely hard. So honestly, the way it looks in practice is the way it looks in games. So when they actually call certain plays. I'm on the sideline, I'm looking like, Okay, this is gonna be a touchdown because I mean I remember the offense of what they you know, running into practice like that, I'm like, yeah, this touchdown. And honestly, the exact same way I played in the practice is literally how it looks in the game.
So it's actually just it's funny because you're like, hey, these are their starting dbs. Here is it's like they can't get it done, and sometimes in practice is sometimes hard to get it done guarding you know those three guys.
Right absolutely, And now we've already talked about how Josh Mitchell has just been a big part of your early career here with the NFL. On the Minnesota Vikings, Jordan Hicks as well. You know that's our green dot that that guy was in charge of the defense and it was kind of a weird thing that ended up happening with him and much show that they had to rush him to the hospital.
Yeah. I just learned about that today, honestly because I was figuring out because I seen when he signed Anthony Barr and I was just like I was caught off, like, oh man, But I remember, you know, growing up with Anthony Barr and the crew. They had here familiar name.
But I was when I learned about Jordan Hicks to day and I shot him a quick text and everything, you know, just hoping, hoping the best for him, and you know, just tell him like phenomenal leadership, and he's he's gonna lead no matter what, no where he's at, He's gonna make sure the job is gonna be done, you know, make sure the linebackers still know the plays and everything. And uh, at the end of the day. Uh, even the linebacker room itself is full of phenomenal leaders.
You know, it's still got Tory Dye, Ivan Pace. Yes, you know, Brian still out there. You know, it's still leaders no matter what because they're they're learning from Jordan Hicks at the end of the day. Uh. So there's there's no there's gonna be no slack of leadership in that room.
Let's see if we can get through the five typically stupid Vikings country questions. This is gonna be nothing about football. It's just gonna be stupid, all right. On Saturday, a huge lion is escaped from a circus in Italy and then just started strolling around town, and people were just like, Okay, I'm just I'm sitting on a scooter and then all of a sudden there's a lion. One would you believe that it was an actual lion? And two are you afraid of any animals?
One? I would believe it's a lion because I pay attention to my surroundings twenty four to seven, And two I am pretty much scared of snakes. Now, I will I wild pet a snake, but like if I if I see a snake, yeah, I'm not going there.
So if there's a handler, you're okay with the snake, yeah, And then petting like the middle of the stoke.
Yeah. Other than that, I'm not going there. Snakes.
I don't know.
I'm saying really much scared of animals because I'm a real sporadic guy, honestly, and honestly, I don't really get scared of nothing. I just I'm up to look and tried like crazy things.
All right.
The inductees have been announced for the Toy Hall of Fame in the class of twenty twenty three include baseball cards, Cabbage Patch Kids, the Fisher priced corn popper. I don't even know what that is. And NERF, what is a favorite toy you've ever had?
I don't know a favorite toy because I always broke them. Honestly, I think the one thing was a Harley Davis motorcycle I got for Christmas one year. I ended up breaking mind and so then I took my brothers and broke kids also. But I think that's probably my favorite toy.
Hey, Josh Dobbs, real quickly is we just have less than a minute here. Josh Dobbs nine different teams here he is, and he's actually replaced Taylor Swift on the official NFL Twitter exo page. But Josh Dobbs, how cool is that whole experience been?
Honestly, Dust Dobbs a dog, you know, even his last couple of games the Cardinals. I happened to just look at Dust Dobbs as a dog. He's a great person, you know's real humble guy. Every time you look at me, always has a smile no matter what.
Thompson, Ladies and gentlemen, here Vikings Country with Millerlied, the official beer sponsor of the Minnesota Vikings.
Thank you so much for doing the show man. Oh yeah, and by the way, when we do photos with this guy. He smells unbelievable.
I don't know what it is, and he's wearing He can ask him, but we got to do something else next. Our daughter Jesse loves playing detective a clue.
But since we discovered she has sensitive skin, we've been playing detective too.
We thought the problem was our puppy, but.
It was actually our old detergent. Uh huh, So we switched to tide Free and Gentle. Tide Clean's better than the leading competitive free detergent, and it doesn't leave behind irritating residues.
Plus, tide Free and Gentle has no dyes or perfumes, so it's gentle on her skin.
Case closed.
If it's got to be clean, it's got to be tied free and gentle