00:00It's time for a scouting breakdown, and I know that we are going to start with one player.
00:06It's possible we'll get to two today, but can you go ahead and give me cut number five
00:10because the Dallas Cowboys' future nickel quarterback is right here.
00:15Pressure off the edge, and it's intercepted!
00:18D'Angelo Pons roll out the big red carpet!
00:23Touchdown, Indiana!
00:26You like that guy, Kevin?
00:27I'm going to go ahead and make that prediction.
00:28Okay, hold on.
00:30Now, this is our text exchange last night.
00:33I'm going to read it verbatim.
00:35Please don't.
00:37Alec, do you want me to read it verbatim?
00:39I don't know.
00:40There might be an FCC violation or two in there.
00:42You know there is.
00:43All right.
00:44Just like why you couldn't post my run sheet verbatim yesterday.
00:48That's right.
00:49Kevin texted last night, who are y'all going to break down tomorrow?
00:52And I said, have we done Pons yet in Medford?
00:56Medford said, don't think we have.
00:58And I said, boom, there it is.
01:00Let's do that.
01:00Because he was one of their 30 visits.
01:02Sure.
01:03And then Kevin replied back, Cowboys are taking Pons in the second round.
01:07And Kevin, when you do that so confidently, I'm usually like, oh, wow.
01:12So I asked, how are they getting a second?
01:16Also, Gore's curveball is so sick.
01:19And that part didn't, we had some problems with that down the line.
01:22At that point, my son came in and he said, oh, Gore's a bad name.
01:26It means bloody.
01:27And I was like, he created the internet and weather.
01:30And Kevin can't prove otherwise.
01:32I guess that's true.
01:34Alec replied, Pons is an absolute dog.
01:36And then Kevin replied, I just got you MFers three second round picks today, which then
01:43made me laugh really hard, too.
01:44And I said, I changed my mind.
01:46The Ravens gave me a solid offer.
01:48They're one and two for all my fives.
01:50And Kevin didn't reply.
01:52So I don't think he agreed to the terms on that deal.
01:55That being said, D'Angelo Pons was the person, again, because he is a person that was on
02:02their list.
02:03Now, he is small.
02:04I wanted to go to a couple of things before we break him down.
02:09All right.
02:09Yesterday, we had Steven Jones on.
02:12And what I can only imagine is now being touted as the greatest interview on the planet.
02:15Wow.
02:17Great.
02:17That's what Alec told me when we were leaving yesterday.
02:20He was very proud of us.
02:22And so, Steven Jones, I wanted, there are a couple guys in this draft.
02:29I think Downs is one of them.
02:31I think Pons might be one of them, too.
02:34But there are a couple of people in this draft that I think changed not just what you do on
02:39the field, but who you are in the locker room.
02:42And I think that's really important.
02:44Because last year, this team had, they said it multiple times, they had no identity defensively.
02:50Sure.
02:50And let's talk about some of the best defenses we know.
02:54The Ravens in the past, not last year.
02:57Sure.
02:57What did you, you always just felt like they're just going to be brutal.
03:02Toughness, big hits, and leadership.
03:05Yeah.
03:06The Seahawks in their championship.
03:08I would argue you might use those exact same descriptors.
03:11And it goes across the board.
03:12There was nobody that, when you take leadership into consideration last year, it was zero.
03:18Yeah.
03:19Kenneth Murray tried, and it worked for a game.
03:21And then it just didn't exist from there.
03:25Yeah.
03:25Now, I'm not saying bring back the hot boys, but maybe, if Alec really wants that to happen.
03:30What?
03:30So, Stephen Jones on with us yesterday, I asked him, how much of a culture-changing mentality do you want
03:36from your first couple picks?
03:38Yeah, I think it all factors in at the end of the day.
03:42And certainly, we're trying to create an identity and a culture overall for this football team.
03:49Certainly, on defense, we felt like we lacked that last year, defense in particular, that we didn't have the identity,
03:56the culture, you know, that we needed, that the players were buying into and playing with an edge.
04:03And certainly, that's the goal.
04:05And then, ultimately, the goal is to have a culture and an identity for our entire football team that Shottie's
04:12trying to develop in terms of, you know, the type of men that we bring in here to compete day
04:17in and day out.
04:19You know, that certainly, you know, when they're working together every day are a positive influence on what we're ultimately
04:26trying to be as an organization, as a football team.
04:30Just real quick.
04:32I mean, I know you were there, and I was too.
04:35And so was Alec.
04:37But it always surprises me, or it's always of interest to me, when you get that sort of candor from
04:44somebody who put it together or makes the decisions.
04:48Because he didn't just say defensively, he was like, I feel like we didn't have that identity, that edge, especially
04:54on defense, which also kind of lends itself to maybe cross the rest of the team a bit as well.
05:01I feel like they did have it some offensively.
05:05Some.
05:05I agree.
05:06But because of the lack defensively, it was like, what's the point?
05:09Yeah.
05:10You know, earlier when I was saying, what's the point with the Rangers?
05:12And you were like, come on, Corey.
05:14And you were trying to say, be a little more chipper.
05:16And I was like, I don't want to.
05:17That's usually what I do.
05:19Yeah.
05:19That's usually you.
05:20It is just fascinating to hear that person in charge be like, yeah, no, you're right.
05:25And Kevin, I think that, and Alec, maybe you've learned this about us and how we approach our workday.
05:31There is a certain hope that we've always wanted for everything that we've done.
05:37We've kind of looked at it and been like, these are the stages we'd like to go through.
05:40What are we going to do to get there?
05:42D'Angelo Pons went to Indiana.
05:45He won a championship at Indiana.
05:47Yep.
05:47He also was with Kirk Signetti before.
05:51Whenever he was at...
05:53Did he wear the shorty shorts on the field then, too?
05:55Yeah, he did.
05:56He did wear the shorty shorts.
05:58He also, Kevin, covered Jeremiah Smith daily at a Chaminade Madonna prep.
06:07Worst case scenario, that kid goes second in next year's draft, it feels like.
06:11So there's a little bit of, I know what it takes to cover the best out there,
06:15but here is Kirk Signetti on how not to be average.
06:19It's a process, and it's a way about, it's the way you go about doing things.
06:23It's a standard, it's an expectation.
06:26High standard, high expectation, it's accountability, right?
06:30It's discipline, commitment, toughness, work ethic, pride.
06:33You know, it's wanting to be great versus wanting to be normal.
06:37And, you know, normal kind of equals average.
06:39And average is okay.
06:40There's no problem with average, except in my business.
06:44My business, average is the enemy.
06:47And to be great, you've got to have special focus, special commitment, special preparation, and discipline.
06:53And the ability to say no to some things.
06:56All right?
06:58So, you stack great days on top of each other.
07:02You play the game the way we want to play the game.
07:05One play at a time, six seconds of play.
07:06Every play's got a life in the history of its own.
07:09Play every play like it's nothing, nothing.
07:10Don't be affected by success or failure.
07:13Be able to compartmentalize and go to the next play.
07:16Play it the same way.
07:17Because what happens then?
07:18You get to the end of the game.
07:19Game's on the line.
07:20You're used to practicing that way, playing that way, right?
07:23You're just doing your thing.
07:25That guy's looking at the scoreboard and he's like, you know, tightening up a little bit.
07:30You win those games.
07:32I love that, dude.
07:33I do always like you would hear descriptions from like some all-time great teams, football or otherwise, where they
07:39would be like, our practices were tougher than the game.
07:42So, whenever we got to the game and people were like winded or whatever, they were like, I'm fine.
07:48Yeah.
07:49Exactly.
07:49And I know the collective bargaining agreement might make that pretty much impossible.
07:53But at the same time, as a group of players, you can decide, the collective bargaining agreement's given us this,
08:02but how can we still be better than everybody else?
08:05Yeah.
08:06And you can decide what kind of bunch you're going to be.
08:09Now, I'm not saying that D'Angelo Pons is just going to walk in here and be like, all right,
08:14guys, this is how it's going to be.
08:16Yeah.
08:16But he knows how to do it.
08:17Sure.
08:18And that's the difference for me.
08:20Whenever I hear a Kurt Cignetti speech like that, that last line of, that guy, we're out there just doing
08:26our thing.
08:26We're used to this.
08:27We're used to the competition.
08:29We're used to the accountability.
08:31We're used to high level.
08:32That's who we are.
08:34And they're a little nervous, and that play is not going to get made because they're a little tighter.
08:39Where do you think that uh came from, by the way?
08:42That's right there in the butt, I think.
08:44I think that's where.
08:45I thought he took it from this show.
08:47It's a little tight, you know?
08:48It's a little tight in that area.
08:49Yeah.
08:49You don't want to be an average husband, Kevin.
08:51You want to be a great husband.
08:53You want to be above average.
08:55I get you.
08:56And a Russini's husband.
08:57I get what you're saying.
08:58So I said, okay.
09:00I took what Cignetti said, and that's why I think he could be a culture changer.
09:04Now, here's the problem.
09:07Alec, you're absolutely right.
09:09This dude jumps off the film.
09:12Jumps off the screen with his competition.
09:15He is going to stick his nose in there and make tackles that you don't expect.
09:19He is readability.
09:20He sees it before anybody else does, and he's behind the line of scrimmage, and he's making
09:25a play on the running back.
09:26He battles receivers at the point of high points on the football.
09:32When it goes up, he can jump 43.5 inches, I do believe, on his jump.
09:39That's crazy.
09:39His vertical.
09:41He is a track-caliber star.
09:44He was setting records in the 100 and 200 meter also back in high school.
09:47This dude has track speed.
09:50He's no gout gout.
09:51He's no gout gout, but who is?
09:53Honestly, who is?
09:54This dude can, he reads the game, he sees it well, and he's got amazing speed.
10:01He's also 5'8".
10:03Yeah, that's why he's a nickel.
10:07He's never played nickel.
10:08That's a fair point.
10:10He is an outside cornerback that we've never seen play nickel.
10:15And so that's where my concern is, is that teams are going to say, your height means
10:20you can't play against Justin Jefferson.
10:23Your size means that you can't defend against Justin Jefferson when he makes a physical move
10:29on you and pushes you off the route.
10:31That's what teams are going to say.
10:33I think this dude's mind and his competitiveness are something that's going to make him go,
10:41all right, stop me from doing it.
10:43But that's the kind, I think he's the kind of dude who's going to tell you every step
10:48of the way, and Alec, you are, you mentioned this, I'm bringing it up because you mentioned
10:53it, he is your height.
10:57Do you have a little bit of a chip on your shoulder sometimes because of your height?
11:02Absolutely.
11:03Even when I play seven on seven football and people are like, well, we don't got to put
11:07anything important over him in coverage.
11:09It's like, well, I'm going to do everything I can to run past you.
11:13And then it's not going to matter.
11:14And that's what I see when I watch pawns is the want to is way bigger than any measurable
11:20that he has.
11:21And some of the measurables, like you mentioned, the 40 time in the vertical, outstanding.
11:26He is better than all of that.
11:28He really is.
11:29Also, a couple block punts.
11:32This dude is a special teams weapon when it comes to that because of his speed off the
11:36edge.
11:37So kind of like Concepcion, although I know that's more from a return perspective.
11:41Yeah.
11:41And you know what?
11:43I'd love to see this dude get the ball in his hands offensively and do something with
11:46his blazing speed.
11:47I'm not saying he's Malachi Tony, but it'd be really fun to see that.
11:51Malachi Tony has a specific stutter step that he kills you with.
11:54A dead leg is what they call it.
11:56That he kills you with.
11:57This dude just has blazing speed.
11:59But here's what the problem is.
12:00His size is going to keep people from saying that he can do other things.
12:04If he was six foot, this dude would be a legitimate first round pick.
12:10Maybe CB one or two.
12:12Potentially.
12:13I wonder.
12:14Yeah.
12:14And right now, in the second round, Kevin, that's where he's projected second to mid.
12:18Yeah.
12:19And so that's where you're kind of like, okay.
12:21I think he goes in the second.
12:23I don't think the Cowboys move up for him.
12:26But man, if this dude was available at some point in this draft, there's no way that you
12:31pass on him because, again, culture-changing mentality, played for a successful team that
12:37knows how to win and can always go back to that kind of mentality.
12:41Dudes that have never been there have to learn that.
12:43And this guy's ready to play right now.
12:45And I know Downs would be more of a stretch, but I keep thinking, like, if you could figure
12:49out a way to get, like, even if you traded out the first round, and I told you, you come
12:54out of this draft with, like, Downs, Ponds, and J-Rod.
12:59Aren't you like, okay, let's effing go.
13:04Wow.
13:04That's an interesting group right there.
13:07I'm still needing a left defensive end.
13:10Fair.
13:10But, Kevin, I don't think there's any way.
13:12Maybe we get Romello height.
13:13Maybe we're feeling pretty comfortable with him.
13:16So, I think it was Dane Brugler had him in the third round.
13:19So, that's, and did we discuss him in, like, the seventh round or something like that with
13:24Joseph Hoyt's mock draft earlier whenever Kevin was out?
13:27I think it was a day three pick.
13:28Day three, yeah.
13:29So, that's fascinating that he would move up there.
13:31But, that's the kind of player he is.
13:33A lot of people, we were, we had Jacob.
13:35Jacob Ray was, we went to, went to Tech.
13:37Tech fan was like, no, Romello height, you're going to love.
13:40So, that would be another dude.
13:41So, yeah, Kevin, I feel like you can solve a lot of issues.
13:43Those guys have to catch up real fast.
13:46Yeah.
13:46I think you're reaching on two of them.
13:49Maybe not, maybe not Rodriguez if you're getting him in the third.
13:51I'd already trade it.
13:52Okay.
13:52Oh, look at you.
13:54Still going after Wolch.
13:56But, this dude right here, I love, like I said, Steven admitted it.
14:02They have a culture change they have to find.
14:04It can't be just Christian Parker.
14:06Yeah.
14:06It's got to be the dudes they bring in also.
14:08They have to take ownership of the defense.
14:10This is the kind of dude that plays with the style that I want.
14:12We're the KNC Masterpiece right here on 105.3 The Fan.
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