Combine from Indianapolis. Chris Simms is there. I am not
in, with Chris, a very large human, who is ready to take on
the NFL and his name is
Bernard Rayman, Bernard. Welcome. How are you? Buddy?
Good, how are you?
Good good, so
I heard you say it before hand and I've got it right in front
of me. You're from Austria. How in the world did you discover
football, sir?
I'd stumbled like crosses pretty randomly. Actually
my dad moved to like the suburbs of Vienna and then some
guys down the street which was playing catch with the football
and I was like 13 at that point and you know ended up joining
him. And
that's how I'm not playing playing football.
Yeah.
When did you first realize that you were better off not
catching it but but pushing those who Are trying to get to
the guy who's trying to throw it.
Well,
I didn't exchange here and then ended up getting recruited as
a tight end to Central Michigan,
where I played tight end, Moses a blocking Titan at Central my
first two years.
And then the coach is kind of asked me if I would switch
positions kind of out of, you know, necessity because we had
some guys getting heard some guys graduating in
the position.
So, yeah, the coaches asked me if I could, if I could make
the transition in the, in the spring of 2020, and
I was all for it. Ended up loving playing tackle.
Obviously before we get shut down with covid. But yeah,
I love it. And then that summer, I just started working
a lot, you know, by myself and with my teammates on
the position and
then got to play two seasons as tackle.
Six, seven three. Oh five. Alright, so I mean he could
have been like, you know Gronk or really a tight end. It looks
like. All right to me. He's got a huge freaking cinder block
head to, they get it.
Bash people with all right,
that's going to help. All right, so, but I wanted like
when you were doing tight end. Yeah, what were you saying?
I start over like 240 and then, like my second year was like,
255 260 at the end. All right. So now they ask you to make
the switch and like what, what's it like for you? Do you have to
work to eat? Or are you just go? I don't care what
I eat. Like. How does that work with your diet and everything?
Now? Um, well never really cared that much about eating
at. Never. I took nutrition that serious Our to the point.
So when they ask me to switch, I just became more conscious
about, you know your calorie input and like when and how to
take
all like taking meals and yeah,
so after I got you know
more aware of that. Yeah, and I just
know he just kind of packed packed it in you show you but
you need like did you try to eat healthy at first to put
the weight on? Was it healthy calories? Or you just go? I'm
going to eat whatever I want and just lift weights and just
go where it goes
a little bit of both. I mean I've tried. To stay mostly
healthy, but obviously like,
you know, desert here and there was in there too,
but it was mostly healthy. I would say, well, what just give
me the jumps like each year. So you said like 240 freshman
tight end of his 255 and then
okay, so then what will we,
you know, year 3 when we're playing tackle now
in the spring I was probably like 260 265. Right.
And then we got shut down with covid
and then when we came back in the fall of played it like 290
got you. And then He's not played it. Like three or five.
Wow. Alright, you carry it. Well, it looks me. She really
should.
You know at Central Michigan, it's not obviously Michigan.
It's not a NFL Powerhouse, but there's a bunch of guys who
have come from Central Michigan and made it in the NFL.
How much of that history with guys like Eric Fisher, Joe Staley
even j.j. Watt who was a tight end recruit at Central Michigan
Once Upon a Time. How much you have that gives you
the confidence? Even to school like Central Michigan, that I can
emerge as a guy who can make it in the NFL.
Yeah, it gave me a lot of confidence like in my entire
process obviously.
All of them started off as a tight end as well. So even like
having like a similar, like story to them,
made me really realize that
it doesn't matter where you come from. It just matters
where you end up. So, I was just put my head down, started
working, and,
you know, always looked up to those guys, this spring, I got
the chance to, to work with Joe Staley, which was a huge honor
for me. And I learned a lot took a lot away from it.
So yeah, it definitely definitely helped a lot.
You know, I know it's too early in the process and you're in
that phase where teams can talk to you. If you got in a sense
of teams, that may be more interested in you than others
right now.
No, not really. I just go
into every interview as open as
as I am.
I've been enjoying meeting a lot of,
you know, coaches around the week and and Scouts and
everything obviously, but
I'm not too concerned about it. I just, you know, do my best
every day and I in the end of the day, I can't influence
who likes me and who are not,
I can't influence that anyway, so
might as well be myself and every interview, that's right.
That's how it's all you can do, but All right, so catching
balls and Vienna
all of a sudden. Oh crap. Footballs kind of cool. Dad.
You're right. What was the team? Like who? What was your
first experience now, like, turning on the TV? Who'd you
gravitate towards? Once you started having a catch and
getting interested in football.
So I started playing in Vienna a play for the Vienna Vikings
catchy, huh? And me not growing up with the NFL.
Pardon. It's kind of hard to find a team. There's obviously
no location in Europe. So you don't really have like a local
team to cheer for. So I Just shows the Minnesota Vikings at
first, obviously like same, like a similar helmet, similar
naming, its the Vikings fan. Ya jerk. You're talking to over
here is a Vikings fan too. Oh man, so, and then actually ends
up
having the chance to go to one of the London Games in which
the Viking Spirit played to Steelers. Wow. So that was
obviously
my first NFL game was hugely. Great game ourselves, a great
game. Yeah,
so that was it. So and that's so you're
Kind of a Vikings fan. I mean, I would think.
Um, yeah, obviously like the best four years being in
Michigan. Yes, for you. Support the Lions by your local Team.
All right, so last thing because I last one for you, but
who's the guy you're excited to go against?
Who's the guy? You can't wait to like, oh my gosh. In the NFL
I might be blocking. This guy next year,
Mi scared would be a great example is something that I was
a huge challenge, but I'm looking forward to it. Yeah,
cool cool.
Good having you here man. Awesome. Awesome stuff.
Bernard. Shinzon our success, all the best going forward in
your NFL career. There is folks Bernard Rayman. Thank you, pal.