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Seth and Sean discuss what DeMeco had to say about how his rookie year informs how he approaches the rookies, his thoughts on Tank Dell, as well as evaluating defensive linemen.
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00:00So, D'Amico Ryan's met with the media yesterday.
00:02I like when D'Amico gets asked about his rookie year because he had a teammate his rookie year that
00:07does this show.
00:08His name is Seth C. Payne.
00:10Kind of.
00:10Yeah.
00:11I tore my ACL and got the hell out.
00:13I started working on getting my private pilot's license because I hated my defensive coordinator so much.
00:20Getting the hell out of here.
00:21I did not stick around.
00:22I was a bad veteran.
00:23But you were there.
00:23The part that D'Amico talks about in this cut you were there for, which was training camp.
00:27Yeah.
00:27D'Amico was asked about his experience as a rookie and how that translates into how he handles rookies.
00:35Here's what D'Amico had to say.
00:37My process of coming here as a rookie and eyes wide open.
00:41It was definitely a humbling experience being drafted here to Houston.
00:46Exciting time for the Texans.
00:49The new head coach, Coach Gary Kubiak, who was awesome to me.
00:53Awesome leader.
00:54I was happy to be in, learn under him, learn how to manage a team, learn how to take a
01:00team from, you know, from start to finish.
01:03It was great working under him.
01:05And for me as a rookie, just being there under Gary, I knew that it was no, because you're a
01:10rookie, you got to wait your turn.
01:12Right?
01:12I was a rookie.
01:13I stepped in.
01:14I did things the right way.
01:15They saw the leader in me.
01:17They saw that I could make plays for the team.
01:20So I was out there.
01:21I was thrust as a starter from preseason.
01:24Our first preseason game, I was in there as a starter.
01:27So, you know, it's the same thought process for me right now as a rookie.
01:31It doesn't matter when you come in.
01:32If you can help our team go win, then you'll be out there for us.
01:36And we saw last year we had a lot of rookies who played a lot of significant time for us,
01:41meaningful football.
01:42And so we'll expect the same things from this crop of rookies as well.
01:45Yeah.
01:46And, you know, D'Amico came in kind of when things were changing in the NFL about even back in
01:52the day, first rounders might not start right away.
01:56And rookies kind of had to bide their time.
01:58You know, we still, we still, we didn't haze.
02:00We didn't haze, D'Amico.
02:01That was like hazing was falling by the wayside, mostly because the Saints went way over the top.
02:06Yeah, Cam Cleland is the name of the player you're thinking of.
02:09He got hit with like a sock full of pennies or something like that.
02:12Yeah, which was like, which was standard with the Saints.
02:14The Saints ruined it for everybody.
02:15And by that, I mean, probably made it a better and safer place.
02:18But because they were so violent and so he came in when teams were starting to, D'Amico came in
02:25as a second round pick when a lot more teams were more willing to play rookies really early on.
02:29And I was a grumpy old vet and I remember the first day that D'Amico got in the huddle
02:35and was calling plays and he was taking reps with the ones.
02:38And he was struggling with the play call out and I barked at him.
02:43And he was totally cool, like handled it really, really well.
02:47And from that point on, he was just, it was so obvious how mature he was and then how good
02:54he was going to be that there was no, oh, they're just, there was no feel that, oh, they're just
03:00putting this guy in there because he's their draft pick and that's who they want.
03:03It was just so clear from the very beginning just how capable he was and what a good leader he
03:09was that it was one of the more impressive things I've seen out of a rookie.
03:12You interviewed him when we were in West Virginia at the Greenbrier last year.
03:16He remembered that, right?
03:17He remembered the.
03:19I felt, yeah, and he said he didn't, he was glad that I had done it and it made him,
03:23which made me feel good because I always felt bad about it.
03:26You've been carrying that around for the last 20 years.
03:28Yeah, I've got a classic abusive personality.
03:31I will tear into somebody and then I'll feel bad about it afterwards.
03:34You know, I just, I don't, I'm not a full sociopath because I don't apologize, you know, and then make,
03:41and then do it again.
03:42I don't, I don't, I don't continue the cycle.
03:44You carry it around for a day or a week or 19 years.
03:48Yeah.
03:48Yeah, whatever.
03:49No, no, but no, we, we kind of laughed about it, but he said that, yeah, that's, you know, rookies
03:53need that.
03:53And he said he needed that just what he said that stuck out to me, it was a little bit
03:58of a surprise to me was him realizing that, oh, wow.
04:02Yeah.
04:03This is these guys like, like these guys take this seriously, they have kids.
04:08Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:10Which I had never really thought about it that way.
04:13But even coming from a program like Alabama and remember that wasn't Alabama under Nick Saban.
04:19Right.
04:19But it was still, it was Alabama, it's a big time program, but that you get into the NFL and
04:23it is a little shock to the system for some rookies that, man, it's a different world.
04:27And these guys take this really, really seriously up to a level way above what a bunch of college kids
04:34do.
04:34And, and D'Amico obviously adapted to that really quickly.
04:38Yep.
04:39More from D'Amico Ryans.
04:41Here is D'Amico talking about what it means to have tanked L back in the building.
04:45There were videos surfacing on the Texans' social media yesterday of just tank just stretching out in the bubble.
04:52And even just that maybe.
04:53It was one of the most inspirational things I've ever seen.
04:55It was one of the most inspirational leg stretches I've witnessed in my countless years of covering this team.
05:01Here's D'Amico Ryans on what it means to have tanked back in the building.
05:05Tank has been around, working out all throughout the offseason while no one else was here.
05:10Tank has been here working, grinding in the background.
05:13So I'm excited to see tank, you know, when it is his time to get back out and play football,
05:18there's everybody here.
05:19We all love tank.
05:20We've seen the ability that he has, the big playmaking ability.
05:24And, I mean, nobody loves tank more than me.
05:26And I'm hopeful that we can get him back to playing, back to the level that he was playing.
05:31But I think it's also, we know how devastating of an injury that was for tank.
05:35So I'm proud of the young man for him, just working in the background, working in silence to be back
05:42here, working out with the guys and having that opportunity to go play again.
05:46I should just, to correct myself, when I say what it means to have tank back in the building, he's
05:50been in the building this whole time.
05:52But having him back, like working out with the team again.
05:55Right, and the team's been very careful about, you know, setting a timeline or when he's going to return or
06:03anything.
06:04I feel like, I can't remember whether it was D'Amico or Nick that originally in the offseason had said
06:08that he should be good to go for OTAs.
06:10I think it was Nick when he was on with us at the Super Bowl.
06:13I think, yeah, and I think he kind of, I think they may have pulled back from that consciously.
06:19Because it was, you know, Nick didn't say it like it was an official statement or anything.
06:23And, but you got to be careful with somebody that's coming back from a catastrophic injury like that.
06:29You know, both Nick and D'Amico know this.
06:32You got to be really careful about saying, hey, this is where we want to be by this date.
06:36Because then people start making bad decisions.
06:38It's like telling a pitcher, hey, I want you to be throwing off a mound by next Monday.
06:42And then all of a sudden they start pushing through things they shouldn't be pushing through.
06:47There's still plenty of time.
06:49All the, the, the workout videos of Tank are always, it's really interesting to see how people either are bullish
06:59on them or pessimistic about them.
07:01And because you get, because it's always just him working out by himself.
07:04I haven't seen him running routes against somebody or anything.
07:07No, but it's some damn, it's some twitchy stuff that you're seeing.
07:09Right.
07:10Yeah.
07:10For me, it's really impressive.
07:11Yeah.
07:12I just, I'm not an exercise physiologist and I can't tell you exactly what his shin angle is or should
07:17be or anything.
07:18He looks way, way better than he did a year ago.
07:21That's all, you know, he looks way better than when we were impressed that he was walking out on the
07:24field with a flag with the team.
07:26So that's where we are with him.
07:28Yep.
07:28Yep.
07:28D'Amico was asked kind of about, do you, do you have to harness Tank?
07:32Do you have to dial him back sometimes?
07:35Here's what he had to say.
07:36Yeah, with Tank, he has outstanding energy, always big, bright smile.
07:42So he's always eager to go.
07:44You always have to kind of pull him back when he needs to be pulled back.
07:48But, you know, our team has done a great job.
07:50Our sports performance team, they've done a great job of individualizing a plan for each player.
07:55And Tank's no different.
07:57Tank falls in that category where he has an individual plan that he's working on.
08:01And our team does a great job of just remaining consistent and understanding the big picture, right?
08:06Everybody's excited.
08:08Off-season program, we star us, but we don't play football today.
08:11So there is a process.
08:13There is a long-range view that we're working to get Tank back to playing football.
08:18Okay.
08:19So Tank, I can see where they'd have to dial Tank back sometimes.
08:23We'd be a little bit eager in trying to get back on the field.
08:25You know, the biggest thing with him is that when he comes back, I think that I would like him
08:33to avoid contact as much as possible.
08:35And that has nothing to do with this individual injury necessarily.
08:38And, like, look, when he got injured, that's not contact that could have been avoided.
08:41He's going up for a ball.
08:42And sometimes Jared Wayne's going to Jared Wayne.
08:45But I think when it comes to nobody doubts his toughness.
08:50Nobody worries about whether he's tough or anything.
08:52He held on to the ball when he got injured.
08:54But he needs to avoid as much physical contact as possible.
08:58He needs to go back and watch highlight reels of the old Peyton Manning Broncos teams when all of their
09:03receivers were just unabashed cowards.
09:07Remember, they would go down when there was any hint of any kind of contact coming.
09:11They would just go to the turf.
09:13There's no shame in that.
09:14You can make the Hall of Fame doing that.
09:15The Broncos.
09:16You said the Broncos.
09:17The Broncos and the Colts, too, probably, right?
09:19Oh, I meant the Colts.
09:20Sorry.
09:21Did you mean the Colts?
09:21Yeah, I meant the Colts especially.
09:22Yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:23Yeah, because I just remember Reggie Wayne.
09:25Did I say the Broncos?
09:26Yes.
09:26My God, that's bad.
09:27I was picturing Reggie Wayne in a Colt before.
09:29And I said the Broncos.
09:31Well, a Bronco and a Colt are the same phylum of species or whatever.
09:35You know, they're the same animal.
09:37They're just different sized animals.
09:38They're horses.
09:39Well, they're both, yeah.
09:41A Bronco and a Colt, you know.
09:42Exact same species.
09:43Yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:44So, so there you go.
09:47The Texans, there are odds out on what position the Texans are going to pick first.
09:55There might be some value here because I don't know that it's the lock cinch that they're going
09:59to pick an offensive lineman first that the odds makers seem to think it is.
10:03The odds makers have it at minus 145 that they're going to draft the first Texans player pick
10:08whenever that may be because it could be in the second round if they trade out is going
10:13to be an offensive lineman minus 145 means you got to risk 145 to win 100 second on the
10:20board.
10:20I agree with the top two being the top two in some order because they have defensive line
10:25or edge rusher.
10:26They have those in the same category, which I think is good value because I think those
10:30are like you're getting a two for one there, but plus 160, some sort of defensive lineman,
10:35whether it's an interior or an edge rusher, plus 160.
10:39There's with the edge rushers, it's really interesting because it's kind of, it's a rich man's version
10:45of how the centers are in this draft too, where the centers are mostly projected to be maybe
10:51third round and later or late second round and later.
10:54Um, the defensive lineman outside of the, the top edge rushers, there's a whole bunch
11:00of guys that people think are potentially good picks in the late first round and later.
11:05Um, and that's where I think there's, I think there's a really good chance they end up going
11:09with edge, uh, over defensive tackle just because I know that I know they don't draft for need,
11:17but if you've got guys graded equally, then that's where need creeps in.
11:21And I think there's going to be some, there's a, there's a good chance that like, if they
11:26have an equally graded defensive tackle and an equally graded edge rusher, um, there's
11:30more of a need at the edge rushing position right now than, uh, than there is for defensive
11:35tackles on the roster.
11:36According to the anonymous scouts in the athletic article that we've, we've got a little bit
11:41later in the show, there's just way more edge rushers that are worth taking in that spot.
11:45Yeah.
11:46And there are like the defensive tackle position by, by the accounts of the anonymous scouts,
11:51it's Caden McDonald from Ohio state.
11:53It's Peter woods from Clemson.
11:55There's like one other name.
11:56And then other than that, it's not a great class.
11:58Whereas with the edge rushers, there seems to be a ton of them and a ton of them that
12:02are worth taking at 28 or 38, right?
12:04Yeah.
12:04For the Texans.
12:05Here was D'Amico Ryan's yesterday on evaluating defensive linemen.
12:11When it comes to evaluating the defensive line.
12:14Yeah.
12:14Some guys, when you see a guy, is he a two down player, right?
12:18It's, you can make those predictions based off of what you've seen on tape, but it basically
12:23comes to third down passing situations, right?
12:26Is that guy finishing at the quarterback and have you seen evidence of that guy finishing
12:30from his college film?
12:32Some guys have it.
12:33Some guys don't just because there's a lack of production though.
12:36In college does not mean that there's going to be a lack of production.
12:39Once you get to the NFL, I think Daniel Hunter was a guy who didn't have a lot of sacks
12:45coming
12:45out of college, but now you look at him, he's probably top 10 in the NFL history of getting
12:51sacks.
12:52So it's all about, it goes back to, you know, you see a young man, you see the traits, the
12:56talents that he has.
12:58Is he coachable, right?
13:00Was he willing to learn, listen to our coaches?
13:03And if he takes coaching the right way, we always think guys can improve and we're going
13:08to work as best as we can as coaches.
13:11That's our job to develop, to support players, to help them grow in those areas.
13:16If you're a two down guy, we'll try to help you as best we can to become that pass rusher,
13:22right?
13:22And if it doesn't work out, that's great.
13:24Be a great two down player.
13:26So whatever role you play, we roll a lot of different defensive linemen because a lot
13:31of guys have a lot of different traits and roles that they can do for us and we're going
13:35to make it work with the guys that we play.
13:37This is another cut yesterday I thought about you because you said you'd want to play for
13:40D'Amico Ryans in a minute.
13:42Well, and this is the, I think this is the biggest mistake I see sometimes when the amateur
13:46draft Knicks are evaluating defensive linemen.
13:51It's that they don't realize, like sometimes you'll see them say, well, this guy just doesn't
13:55fire across the line of scrimmage the way this other prospect does.
13:58And you look and you see, oh, well, because that's because he's in a scheme where he's not
14:02supposed to fire off the line.
14:03And yeah, like he's not, he's supposed to read and react.
14:07And that's just like, that's a basic thing, but that, that shows up in production numbers
14:12and everything else.
14:14So with the Texans, they have a lot of experience now between Rod Wright, the defensive line
14:18coach, and then Matt Burke and D'Amico Ryans in kind of taking guys who have been in one
14:23type of scheme, maybe been in a little bit more conservative where the defensive linemen
14:27aren't as aggressive and yeah, they're not going to make as many plays, but how does
14:32he have the ability to do that if they put them in an R scheme?
14:36And I think they're going to, they've done a really good job of finding guys like that
14:40and then really kind of amplifying their, their abilities by putting them in the Texan scheme.
14:46And I think that a guy like Caden McDonald or some of these other players, there's, there's
14:52upside there that you can see that is partly based just on how they were used in college
14:57versus how they'd be used with the Texans.
14:59If you had to bet, if I gave you a hundred bucks, Seth, and said, here you go, bet on
15:03this, the, these odds we're looking at here and I'll lay them out for the audience, offensive
15:07line.
15:07And again, the bet is what is the first, the position of the first player, the Texans are
15:12going to choose in this draft.
15:13Offensive line is the favorite at minus one 45 defensive line slash edge.
15:18You get both of them in one bet plus one 60.
15:21Then that's where the drop-off is linebacker is eight and a half to one wide receiver, 14
15:26to one, and then on down to corner 18 to one.
15:29And then you got a bunch that are over 20 to one.
15:31I think that, uh, I was looking at that article, the article yesterday that had the multiple
15:36different ESPN draft writers on there.
15:39All, they all said, all three of them said that Caden McDonald, the defensive tackle is
15:45who they think will be the first defensive tackle off the board.
15:48So I think unless the Texans take him, I think that he'll probably, unless the Texans trade
15:54up, I think he'll probably, there's a really good chance he's gone by 28.
15:58And then you get into a bunch of defensive linemen that I think the Texans feel like,
16:01okay, those, some of these guys will be here in the second round.
16:05Yep.
16:05So we we've got, we've got, uh, we've got some room to maneuver these guys.
16:10The same, one of the same insiders, I think it might've been Jordan Reed said, he really
16:14feels like there's going to be a run on offensive linemen in the first round.
16:18There's like 10 of them.
16:19Yeah.
16:19And that's where I think there might only be a couple of guys that the Texans really like
16:23that are still there at 28 and they're not going to be in the, in, in, in probably won't
16:30be there at 38.
16:31Um, so I think that's, I think it's, it's more likely to take an offensive line.
16:35So you'd go with the favorite then you'd go to a favorite minus, you think that's a good
16:38favorite minus one 45.
16:39Yeah.
16:40Um, the interesting ones to me, sorry, likewise, I'd say, I think everything you had just said
16:44about the edge rushers, that seems to be pretty much the consensus thought right now is
16:48that there's, there are five or six guys that are worth taking at 28 or early in the
16:53second round or more of, of, of, of edge rushers.
16:57So that I think the Texans will be looking at that too and say, okay, we've still got
17:00guys we like there.
17:01The interesting ones to me that aren't offensive line or defensive line.
17:05Cause those are rightfully the two favorites for the Texans.
17:07I think linebacker at eight and a half to one is interesting.
17:10Cause we saw a couple of mocks last week that had CJ Allen and, uh, Oh, Anthony Hill to
17:15the Texans.
17:16I think that's a position that, that they could be seeking out here.
17:20Like their next line, you know, the next guy who's the green doc guy in a year or two
17:25from now, um, tight end at 25 to one is really interesting to me.
17:31Just if Kenyan Sadiq were to start to drop into the, into the teens, into that, into that
17:36sweet spot that Nick was trying to trade into last year, uh, or that he's even talked about,
17:42he talked about it with us last week.
17:43Like he said, you know, the, he I'm paraphrasing, but he basically said, you know, the, the trade
17:48up from where the Texans are market doesn't really start to pop until about 10, you know,
17:52about 15 or so.
17:53Yeah.
17:53There's going to be 10 or 15 guys that go off the board that we're going to have no
17:57shot at.
17:58If Kenyan Sadiq, the tight end out of Oregon starts to drift into that 16, 17, 18 range,
18:03um, 25 to what you're basically betting.
18:06If you bet 25 to one for the first player, the Texans take to be a tight end.
18:10You're basically betting on a Kenyan Sadiq trade the, and the, the interesting thing
18:14about that is that a lot of people don't see Kenyan Sadiq falling past 17 or 18, just
18:19because there's, there's multiple teams right there at the mid round that really like tight
18:23ends or have an aging, like their tight ends, but have an aging tight end, et cetera, et
18:27cetera.
18:28Um, but you know, the Panthers, uh, the lions, like there's, there's quite a few, or the Ravens.
18:33Uh, so it's hard to envision them dropping down below that unless, unless they're,
18:40assessment of him just isn't as high as what the draft mix.
18:43Well, or they like somebody.
18:45I know when we talked about it with John Harris, he had the Texans trading up to 18 to draft
18:49Kenyan Sadiq.
18:51And he said, you know, it's all dependent on the Vikings.
18:54You know, if Dylan Thienemann, the safety out of Oregon is going to be there, you know,
18:57if he's there, then they probably won't trade, you know, so teams can have more than one apple
19:00of their eye, you know?
19:01Yeah.
19:01So the, uh, the kid, uh, Sam Rausch from Stanford, he's interesting.
19:06He's not going to go in the first round.
19:08Um, because he's basically, he's, uh, he's an undersized offensive tackle.
19:13Uh, he's got, he's got short arms.
19:15I've got to think, you know what?
19:15I've got to think for short arm, uh, prospects now because everybody's always so down on them,
19:20but it shows up when they try to throw him the football anywhere outside of his range.
19:23Oh, really?
19:24It's like, it's like you're throwing at a fence post.
19:27Like a five inch catch radius.
19:28You better hit that fence post or it's going into the ditch.
19:30Yeah.
19:34But he's a really good blocker.
19:36Yeah.
19:37He's a little bit of a throwback to Texans legend Mark Bruner.
19:42I like, he's a big physical dude who will do all the blocking you want for him.
19:46Maybe develops as a pass catcher.
19:47He would be in one of the, uh, you know, he would be a mid round guy, but I think
19:52given
19:52that the Texans have, you know, a, they signed, um, um, Moreau, you know, who's more of a
19:58blocking tight end than a receiving tight end.
20:00And they've, they've talked about how late they like having that Y tight end and in line
20:05blocking tight end that that might be a mid round guy they'd go for.
20:09But then, yeah, cause outside of Sadiq, there's not, um, anybody that people feel really awesome
20:14about being a first rounder.
20:15Hey, what do you make of this?
20:17Nick Casario said both on this show and in his press conference that, you know, they could
20:22draft anything in this, you know, they, they could, any position they could go with in
20:27this draft with their first few picks, except quarterback.
20:29They're not drafting a quarterback.
20:30He said, um, which makes sense.
20:33Uh, and yet I'm looking at one other odds board and they've got like eight players and
20:40they've got the odds on the team.
20:41That's most likely to draft them.
20:43Like for example, Caleb downs and safety out of Ohio state, the giants two to one, most likely
20:48to draft him, Dallas four to one, Kansas city chiefs five.
20:52They have all 32 teams.
20:53Like the Texans are at 33 to one to draft him.
20:56The one team that the Texans of all these eight players or so, and they got Jeremiah love in
21:01here and they've got, uh, Jordan Tyson, the wide receiver from ASU.
21:04They've got Carson Beck.
21:06Yeah.
21:07Miami quarterback.
21:08Yeah.
21:09Who does not have a face that I get behind when it comes to placing wagers on him.
21:13Yeah.
21:14Um, but the Miami quarterback who, you know, got Miami to the national title game this year,
21:19all the other players in this exercise, the Texans aren't like 50 to one, 80 to one.
21:24They're way down the list.
21:25Carson Beck, the Texans are sixth on the odds board to draft him.
21:30Did they, some kind of a connection that I don't know.
21:32Did they, did they meet with him?
21:34Did they work him out?
21:36Did they, I don't know.
21:37No, it's just very strange because it's, it's the one guy who they're fairly high up
21:44the board for.
21:45And it's at a position that Nick Casario has declared, we're not going to draft.
21:49Now, Carson Beck isn't forecasted to go 28th or 38th or even 59th overall.
21:53He's probably thought to be closer to a late day two, early day three pick, but they just
21:58drafted Mertz last year, but this would play into something.
22:01I think we've said like, Hey, just draft one every year, you know, get a, well, every other
22:05year was a template in new England is that throughout the entire Tom Brady era, the,
22:10the Patriots were still drafting a quarterback on, on average every other year.
22:15Yeah.
22:16I have zero clue how they feel about Graham Mertz.
22:18I know he was absolutely electrifying in the third preseason game last year.
22:2116 of 18.
22:22Yeah.
22:2316 of 18.
22:25He's going to get that bag, man.
22:27He just, it's obvious.
22:29I can't believe they didn't bench.
22:30Anyway.
22:30Um, the only, I'm on Houston stressons.com where he has the, he tracks which prospects
22:37have met with the Texans.
22:39Okay.
22:39Only quarterback they have is a Jalen Daniels.
22:43What?
22:44Yeah.
22:44Jalen Daniels.
22:45Yeah.
22:46Okay.
22:47That's it.
22:47Oh, from, uh, Kansas.
22:49Yeah.
22:50The keys, a Kansas kid.
22:50Yeah.
22:51He's big 12 player of the year.
22:52I think one year.
22:53Yeah.
22:53Kansas.
22:54They met with him at the shrine bowl.
22:56Okay.
22:56Okay.
22:57Well, that no Carson Beck, no Carson Beck.
22:59But for whatever reason, the odds makers think there's a 14 to one chance that he could
23:02be a Houston Texan next year.
23:04So we'll see.
23:05We'll see draft two days from now.
23:07We've got you covered all draft long here on sports radio, six, 10 Thursday,
23:11shows up in a Lamborghini.
23:12I'm going to be, he's got nice rigs, man.
23:15Like he got, I know he does got like 4 million, 5 million bucks to play at Miami.
23:19He got, and he spent way more of it on vehicles than a quarterback with his NFL, with his NFL
23:26future.
23:27Do you not know that you lose 20% of the value when you drive that Lamborghini off the lot,
23:31Carson Beck?
23:32Come on, man.
23:33Come on.
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