running back / wide receiver wide back, is what he's called.
Himself become whatever. He wants to call himself because
he is the man Debo Samuel. It is so great to meet you. And so
great to have you here. How you doing? I'm good. How
you doing? Well, excellent. Excellent Flappin Weapon X
right here,
give him the ball and get out of the way. Like, seriously, how
kind of tell us the backdrop, you know, I'm friends with your
coach, right? You know that? No. Yeah. I knew it. When
I walked out are you didn't help you? Didn't know, you didn't
know. We went to college together. Either write
as a
young guy.
He's like, oh, you play football. How was he? As
a whiteout?
He was white and slow
right now. He's pretty good.
I'm really run some routes. He really could,
but I do want to ask you about how it manifested itself into
like your role. Like when did you know like all the sudden?
Wait? I'm gonna be like half time running back here
throughout the year.
Um,
kind of caught me by surprise and I don't like,
it is started what midseason cow came to me. He was like,
Hey T-Bone, we go ahead, you the ball a little bit this
week. And then, from there on, and it just, are you getting
more Curious to hear more carriers here? More carriers
here, and it just, it just kept growing.
Do you have a background of playing running back at all?
Growing up? Like the people
have a background of being dangerous with a lot of my
hair?
Yeah, I did them. I did play running back growing up. My
last year of high school. I had like 900 receiving. 900
Russians. Oh, okay. So, this is, this is a status quo right
here. Yeah. They did know. I saw at some point during
the season, late
in the year of college, Shanahan talked about how he
noticed when they were
scouting. You that
when you have the ball, you
look to deliver the blow before. Someone delivers it to
mandatory. Yeah.
Well, I would you allow somebody to hit you, if you can, you can
take it to do. You can't, you can't shy away from contact.
And I think I learned that from
growing up. My dad was my Pop Warner football coaching. One
thing. He always told me,
don't know that one person. That's a cue and try to put
the ball in the box, which meant the end zone. I remember Kyle,
wax and poetically about you coming out of South Carolina,
but how you could snatch the ball out of the air? And you
were violent after it.
I'm and now playing and doing what you did this year.
You're you're the best receiver in football. All right, that's
me saying that. Okay, and I know that other people too
and you're going to get paid for it.
But how does your body feel like what was the difference
this year compared to the other years? Because you certainly
took a lot more hits this year. Did that take to his attack?
Get a hit. Well, you gave some feel but I mean, I do remember
my point in the
NFC championship game where you were laying around and stuff.
Somebody hits you then. Yeah. Somebody hit me. That's just
what you see. I got right back up. Let me get right back on
now. All right. All right, so you you were good. Yeah, but
I fact don't get don't get me wrong. No, it was it.
Was like one of the two weekend. I'm like, how
we might have the your shoulders hurt. I have Thule
load is this week on practice so I can be able to go. But
right, other than that like as time went on. I wasn't that
sort of its like the first couple of weeks. I was getting
like five plus carriers and I was a little sore. Yeah, I had
to get used to it. Yeah, you got a real passion for the game
though. It's obvious. And it was obvious after that loss. It
was heartbroken to see the emotion weird that did that
just kind of hit you out of the blue after the game against
the Rams. I just I just
at that time when the game was over. If I just started
thinking about everything,
you know last week, last year, we fill up short. I mean it
didn't even make the playoffs. So I started training February.
So just think about from February, all the way until
a week and a half ago, right?
That's 10 months, 10, 11, months of
hard work pain, putting yourself through stuff. So you
can prepare yourself in your body to go through a season and
try to have the season that you did. You want to have which
I did. But
I just started thinking about from February until
losing it. Mm. How much work? How much?
How hard it took? Not just me. But as a team how much it took
for us to come from three and five to making it there and
just follow short. So you have all those things in the back of
her head. And then
for me, myself of like, all all the stuff that I put on the line
to, you know, saying to kind of help the team get to where we
was. Yeah. It was just all kind of all kind of thoughts in my
head. And now
after that I was thinking about, you know, I haven't seen
my son and see my son since he was born. So I was just like
God I finally get to go see my son but then
get to the locker room and
all right. Debo you have the Pro Bowl. I'll forget totally
forgot all about. So I wasn't going to go until George and
George killing Kyle. You shake hands like Haiti village. It's
a big topic.
And I was like God dog. And then I left there and came
straight here. So, I mean, after this, I'm definitely in
Daddy Mode. All right, good. All right. Well, you
got to bring in the money, right? I mean, old spice's
paying, you a lot of money. They got a lot of things
working here, so I'm pumped about that. And we'll get into
that. Second. I wanted to ask you,
what was I going to ask you? I totally blanked out of my, my
question. All right here, but I got another question. Anyways,
Shanahan. Right? Tell me what it's like playing for Kyle's
different than most coaches.
Like, I'm the most are all
about all of them. I think I know the way he is and his energy
and how he motivates guys, like shows you Cliffs of old players
does stuff like that to like kind of a tell everybody what
Kyle's like as a coach Mancow is amazing
as As I gue funny story as a rookie
who is playing the Cardinals and I fall started, right? And
cow egg like the world just ended on me. I was like, whoa.
So at one point, I was kind of skeptical when I was a rookie,
But as time going on, you know, he's mean, well, he want,
what's best for you and just that in third, but just to just
to get back to what your question.
Kyle just amazing coach.
It took me like a year and a half to really
put everything together in order for me to be the player
and play as fast as I want without thinking, right.
When it comes to, you know, I'm saying off his office of mine
that I think he's one of the best to I haven't played for
anybody else did.
That's what he does here with your offense gaseous, people of
kind of quit, what would I follow up? One thing? I forgot
I remember and I remember my Advance
before you forget it. Again. Hurry up. You talked about
the end of the game the moment after the game
was obj coming to talk to you. What was that? Like, um, be
honest with you. He was talking to me and I couldn't even pay
attention. I was so, so so hot in your
own Galaxy. So caught in a moment, but the relationship
that I've built with him over there over the time was. It's
been good.
I called him later that week. He told me he had shot me
a text. He's like, bro. I know you kind of didn't remember
what I was saying, but you know, same will chop it up
later on in the week. So
I called him and you know, I'm saying he was telling me about
how proud he was of all the things that I've done this
year. And I kind of started reflecting on him
with all the stuff that the people saying the media about
old L. Just so they all dead. He's not a team guy team
player, but after the game,
you see what kind of He really was and not just that, but all
the work and stuff that he put in this offseason coming back
from his ACL and just, I was so proud of
how well he came back and
how he's able to help the Rams gets what it was. Because like
I told him, I said, bro, it just look like you you back to
your normal self and it was just amazing. I and I you know,
I'm saying I told him like
you for you, one of the reasons that they're there would have
had even though you know, you got the Kubrick up there, but
you know, he had that he had the step. Yeah, he had to step.
Pin and roll of woods and I think he just did a great job
of having a team and just being that guy for him. Yeah, you
love football.
We love football.
But football still business
and it's time for you to.
Let's see. I don't think he's a good at sales way. He is
a receiver. I'm not talking about Old Spice yet. I'm talking
about contract. I'm talking about. The real business is one
of the good things about not being a first round pick.
Is this is it? This is contract year. There's no 50 or option
for a guy who was a high second-round pick the windows
open.
What's your
You lots, humble. It, I'ma let my agent and I'm Alec howling
gun. Handle that. Ya know what? I'm gonna get out of them too.
Don't even tell you. We're friends like screw Kyle. I hope
he's got to pay you 25 million a year.
You're down for that. Of course. I tell us about your
old Spider-Man. What we have here is one of the best
smelling body washes that you ever use. I'm a big routine
guys, right? When I get up in the morning and you got you got
this
you shower great shower
and you definitely got distant last. Yeah, it's gone.
Last forever. So we got two good lavender. Mint spell right
here. Smell it. You know, you look good. You smell good. You
play good. So it all play a role in it. You know, I like
this. I can
get in women. Love a guy that smell good so you definitely
need to get you some. Okay, I do. I
hope I smell good for you right now. No, no. All right. I do
you need you somebody right? So wait, do you Old Spice? You do
that in the morning. Do you also wake up in the morning
with a huge? Boom box. And like
that. How you start your day? Not like you do.
I got some nice speakers in my trunk. So, on the way to work
out.
What when do you start getting ready for the next season? You
said, last year, since you didn't make the playoffs,
you're able to start in February, take a little time
and then start really getting about to ready
about two weeks, three weeks.
Yeah, you'll start ramping it up again, but you're putting
the body rest. How do you take it next level? What's the next
level for you? Next year? What's the next level? You'll
see a better Debo next year.
Yeah and not a few a lot of fuel build-up from losing Super
Bowl, 2019, getting hurt
the previous year,
making it all the way to the NFC championship.
Up falling short. So, all that is in the back of my head. Is
there anything in those specifically about your game,
where you just go man? I want to be a little bit better at
this next year. I feel like I took a step back, once I
start playing a little bit of running back of Route running.
So I didn't, I just got to get back to, to what I was,
what I was doing, right? And and kind of makes a roll of,
you know, some of running back training a little bit, because
I know there's some of that cow like would like to keep doing.
So, I won't be well prepared.
All right. What impressed me the most is Kyle Shannon. And
when you come to him, say give me the ball. He knows that you
didn't the ball, that shows the trust in
everything that me and Cal has built over.
That's awesome. That's awesome on. You were friends. Yeah, and
I'm actually button tattoo. That should tell you something
about the Friendship. Congratulations on on
everything you've done, right? Give it up and thanks for
joining us. Good luck with everything you got going on
today. Thank you.
You the man. Yes, sir.