#UNC defensive coordinator Geoff Collins ahead of Saturday's Wake Forest game
Nov 11, 2024
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0:10
trying to figure out if the tea was
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silent or we needed to add it so had a
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lot of discussions with uh bow whether
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we should put the tea or not
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so so much so many good good
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possibilities very clever very thank you
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thank Cayman Rucker is the one that came
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up with it Cayman Rucker coined the
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phrase B sainson okay right after the
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game yep we can work with all this yep
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so many options so 17s last games it's
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pretty good pretty good pretty good one
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easy explanation is the difference that
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Cayman makes out there what is another
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explanation I I just think so I think
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it's been there all along uh we've got
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really good players up front uh we keep
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them fresh we roll them through the game
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and it's just wave after wave of really
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good players execu shooting at a high
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level uh I think Coach monino Jimmy
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Lindsay cam Spence have done a
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tremendous job with that group of
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players uh they're tremendously talented
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uh they're highly competitive um they're
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very very close and when you have that
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and a lot of guys are getting meaningful
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snaps and making an impact it's just
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contagious uh how they've just elevated
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each other's play um and just it's a
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Relentless wave of really good player
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after really good player um regardless
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of the combination that coach monino has
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in there so I've been really really
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happy with the way they have played the
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game the production is great um but the
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way they have approached the game the
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way they've approached practice uh the
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way they've approached game time and
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being leaders has been awesome Cayman
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Rucker is an amazing player he's an
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amazing leader um glad that he's back in
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the lineup full-time and full speed um
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but I just think it's a collective
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mentality of that group that is just
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elevating week after week um and I'm
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just glad the production is reflective
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of how they've approached it with that
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you guys had two picks in each of the
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last two games should have had some more
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sure there's a direct correlation there
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right absolutely and the Coach Brown
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talks about it all the time the number
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one component is to stop the run um the
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guys have bought into that they focused
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on that and when you're stopping the Run
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you're putting them in third and long
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situations um where you can rush the
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passer and you know it's a 9010 per pass
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to run ratio you can just cut it loose
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and pin your ears back and they've done
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a good job understanding that stopping
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the Run uh doing a good job getting them
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in third long situations forcing them
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into passing situations helps your
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ability to rush the quarterback um and
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the other thing that we've stressed uh
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throughout the season that a bull rush
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is a good rush and the last two weeks
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you've seen that um over and over and
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over is they're just utilizing the bull
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rush the speed to power and it's paying
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off for them sure I think obviously
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helps with that right what's that been
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fresher it helps with absolutely and I
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think some of the guys that played the
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first snap um just by the way they game
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flowed might have even played less than
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the guys that were coming in second
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series and uh they're just very
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unselfish uh they like playing the game
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together and they just kind of feed off
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of each other's success and just add on
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to it I say earlier talk about stopping
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the run really good job these last few
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games kind of got back back into the
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season about he I guess he went to you
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as much as anybody we got to stop the r
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absolutely he he banged the podium today
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he thinking about got to stop the run
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prob heard that a few times I love it
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and I completely agree with it and uh
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you know there's there's certain things
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that just you know honing in on what
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they do what we need to do to stop the
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run um and making sure that is a focus
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and it's got to be a collective from
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everybody on the back end especially too
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cuz the more you load the box The more
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stress you put on the back end and just
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everybody's got to be good with that and
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moving the stress around um creating
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pressure loading the Box all those kind
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of things uh to stop the
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run being better absolutely and I think
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that's a credit to the guys and the way
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they practice um our show team does a
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tremendous job um and because we we go
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out there and we bang um and we hit
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respectfully but it is it is a physical
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practice and the show team does a
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tremendous ous job understanding that
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they play a huge role in us having
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physical practices and that turning into
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performances on Saturdays is is really
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good go ahead go ahead okay uh Mac
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described Wake Forest offens as unique
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um sure around college football what
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about them is unique and what sort of
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challenges do they present well I think
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the the biggest thing is that the slow
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mesh play that they uh they run very
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very well um is very unique to college
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football um and they just they just run
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it over and over and over and there's
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different window dressings um there's
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different things that they do off of it
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but just the the slow mesh play where
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the offensive lineman are just having a
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stalemate the line of scrimmage uh the
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quarterback's reading it looking for his
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RPO or his downfield shot um and then if
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he sees it that he can give it he gives
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it if not he's throwing the RPO off of
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it so um we got to have great eye
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discipline um great physicality up front
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um and just understanding what we're
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getting based on the coverages or the
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pressures and how that affects the RPO
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game as well so it's very unique and
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they run it they run it very well did
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you ever coach against them when you
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were at I have not nope so this is my
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first time and seeing it and Coach Mack
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actually
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demonstrated uh not in the show team but
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some of the drills that we did to
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replicate it he played the running back
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part of it him and parks coch and Parks
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was the quarterback that was cool to see
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him out there on the grass doing the
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giving the look so but it's very unique
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it's very very uh you know very good
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FASTT what's that fast twitch didn't
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have to be on slow mesh so very patient
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Runner coach was um eyes downfield
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reading the coverage um so he did a him
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and Parks did a tremendous job y Jeff
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what I was going to ask you was I hear
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you when you say the the group elevating
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during practice in terms of like the
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front four the guys that are getting
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after the quarterback just watch
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watching it the way we the last couple
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weeks you know it just seems like
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confidence and chemistry are two things
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that are just really starting to work
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for you guys you know like when you
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bring B in the way he's able to play off
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the other guys like are those some of
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the factors in addition to the x's and O
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like what sort of like elements are you
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seeing and you guys have heard me say
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this for 10 months is just playing fast
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playing free playing confident playing
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together all of those things that we
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stress
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and it's nice to see it happen on a game
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day because it happens regularly out at
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practice but to see it actually happen
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on college football Saturdays to that
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level um is confidence inspiring and the
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guys just are feeding off of each other
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that way um and the cool thing too is B
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and Dez play the same position so one of
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them's in there the other one's not and
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they're just they pull for each other um
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they push each other in practice um and
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then when we get into third Downs a a
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lot of times they're on the field
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together and they play next to each
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other um they're doing cool games and
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stunts and all kinds of things I won't
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bore y'all with um but that relationship
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is very very good I would say that uh
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Travis Shaw javar ritzy scoob and Josh
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Harris uh cman and jacobe Cowan just the
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the bonds and the
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unselfishness uh the conversations that
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we have on the sidelines they're all
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when they're not in they're still
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getting the same information so when
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it's their turn we don't miss a Beat and
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I just think it's a it's a cool thing
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that we just got to continue to build
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on games two I mean deep in the season
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now do you feel like you have a better
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sense of what buttons to push in certain
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situations you know 100% yeah 100% And
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that's you know learning the the guys
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what their strengths are what things
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that you know we need to move some
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things around to help certain guys we're
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well versed in all those things right
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now from the front end to the back end
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the second level um it's pretty good the
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way we've evolved what we do
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schematically to fit the guys that we
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have and they're they're really good
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players
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so first talking about you know getting
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back to day one installed and things
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like that with this second one was there
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any you know sort of or I guess to what
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extent did you have tweaks have
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alterations and things like that or was
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it more so just keep doing what you're
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doing and so little a little bit of both
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each week presents new challenges
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schematically um obviously wake fors
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offense formally um and what they do
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schematically with the slow mesh and
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some other cool things they do you've
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got to adjust but we don't ever want to
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deviate and put brand new things um
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especially things that are playing well
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but there are tweaks that you have to do
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each and every week um or certain things
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you focus in more on um than you would
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maybe a different week so we've just got
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to you know play those games while
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keeping it very simple so they can just
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cut it loose and play
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Fast the the mles are a problem that Lo
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industry last two weeks sure virtual
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what are you uh I don't I mean we
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practice it you know every single week
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and uh the focus versus the show Team
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every single week um maybe it is the
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confidence the playing free um trusting
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that as long as because there are
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certain things that even go back to the
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Virginia game
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there's certain pressures that you have
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a certain responsibility there's a
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three- layered responsibility that has
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to be executed perfectly by all three
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guys and unselfishly that maybe in that
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stretch that we were on a guy would not
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do his part of the third execution of
10:17
the pressure or whatever it was well you
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saw in the Virginia game and even versus
10:21
Florida State all three of those phases
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got
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attacked three different times in three
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different ways and all and I showed this
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two Tuesdays ago anyway that each one
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they did it they're the one that made
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the play the next time they do it they
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took their job the next one he was the
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part that made the play but they all
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three have to execute it for one of them
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the three to make the play and they're
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all just okay I trust the guys that are
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the next level of it to execute I'll
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execute mine sometimes I'll make the
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play the next time I'll do my job
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they'll pull it he'll make the play and
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that's been really cool uh to see and
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the confidence is built off of that as
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well when you look at Amari Campbell he
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came into this season with not a whole
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lot of experience because Cedric Ray was
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eating up all the snacks uh but he's
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pretty quickly become a leader on the
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defense and a pretty darn good player
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too I mean that's not normal is it right
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I I've been very pleased with Amari and
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just uh I think the leadership and the
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growth that he's experienced um and even
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during that stretch where we were were
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up and down playing great not playing as
11:31
well uh his leadership just elevated and
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increased I won't tell the full story of
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it that's for another time but there was
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a part a point early in the Virginia
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game and we made Amar captain that game
11:44
welld deserved um there was a point in
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that game where he stood on the table
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and took charge of the defense and it
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was awesome to see how he did it uh the
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respect that was gained from that moment
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um where it was just all right okay I'm
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going to listen to what he says we're
12:04
good let's just keep it moving and just
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that his voice his presence um was
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solidified in that moment and I think
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you can just see the the confidence the
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belief the trust from the entire front
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four from that moment it was a really
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cool moment and you know I'll leave it
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there would you say I don't me to go
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back would you say getting the guy just
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to do his job maybe the hardest part of
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your job yes yes and it's been a it's
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been a process uh to get that um but
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I've been I've been very pleased with
12:39
the the the way the guys have handled
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the es and flows of the season the highs
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the lows and just sticking with it and
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then we reinforce as much as we possibly
12:49
can the good here's the result here's
12:53
when we don't do here's the result and
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I've just been so proud of the guys and
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their their bu in their acceptance of
13:01
coaching um and their acceptance of
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doing their part of the the scheme so
13:06
that everybody has success and then two
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they'll have success when the play you
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know comes their way cuz in college
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football the play doesn't care who makes
13:14
it you've got to execute your job and
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the plays that are there for you to make
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you're going to make because the play
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doesn't care so what did you
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tell after the hopping on the table uh
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like May in private about
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I don't know that I I've ever addressed
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it was one of those things that didn't
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need to be addressed he's just a mar is
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a real dude um and just his leadership
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his presence his care Factor um all of
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those things are at such a high level
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and the guy's feet off of that he's got
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a um and I'm sure I've told this before
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but it's just omari's got a presence
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about him um even when he just walks in
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a room that okay Amari is here
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you know I've coached a lot of guys that
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have that um a lot of great players that
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have that and Amari Campbell is one of
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them that has that uh presence about him
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um the confidence about him it's not
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arrogant it's
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just hey okay 17's ready to go let's go
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07 said this that's what we're doing and
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that's that's a really cool thing
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especially uh at the position that he
14:26
playsy old kid how about that
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he was 18 when you all went to Minnesota
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wasn't he or was that his birthday his
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that was turned 19 that day yeah W young
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dude young you kind of need that
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presence to be sort of a a dog
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linebacker like like he is right I mean
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he's a dog that's what you said I love
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it say the step on the table he needs
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that dog got to yep August 29th was his
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birthday there's me texting him yep how
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about that is the stepping on the tail a
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metaphor or can
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what can you tell us more about stepping
15:02
on the table is that just a description
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or can you go you said you didn't want
15:06
to go into all it now but right since
15:08
it's out just get into it
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je when you say stepping on the table
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pressured by the media is an actual
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table no he just uh when I say to do
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this this is what we are going to do it
15:22
was that kind of moment and it was it
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was powerful it was impactful um it was
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done resp respectfully but confidently
15:31
and it was received that way as well
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which pretty cool and it was In the Heat
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of the Moment and it was I think it was
15:37
early in the Virginia game and it was
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just um something that might should have
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happened even sooner than it did um but
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it happened so move on and play really
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good football and everybody co-signed
15:51
him and it's really good he not sooner
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because he's got a much older guy next
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to him or I don't know that I don't know
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and it's just part of the process
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there's a lot of older guys on the
16:02
defense that have played a lot of ball
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like power Eckles has played what 2800
16:07
snaps and Cayman Ruckers played 2600
16:09
snaps in the Carolina blue and um
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there's other guys that are older in the
16:14
scoo and uh Dez Evans that are older
16:17
established guys ritzy and you know
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huzzy there's a bunch of older guys and
16:24
for a young guy to step out it takes a
16:27
it takes time it takes a process process
16:29
and it was just that time it was the
16:31
right time it was good for everybody
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involved he he does Omar Kim Roy's the
16:37
dot yep how's it changed each the 15c
16:41
cut off you see a lot of off look at the
16:44
try to change you got to be really
16:46
attuning to what you're doing absolutely
16:48
he he's done phenomenal with it we still
16:50
have to use the signals until they put
16:53
um 11 Green Dots out there you're still
16:55
going to have to signal and use the
16:57
boards that we use and use spans I mean
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it's just a it's a whole process that we
17:03
still have to go through but um Amari
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can get the front lined up and go play
17:09
has he all you no I think the last three
17:13
or four games I'm not sure where the we
17:16
the part where we felt it was better for
17:18
him to be wearing at the might the M
17:20
backer position
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[Music]
17:26
so all right we good appreciate guys
17:29
than