After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4

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So pick up a Baja Blast wherever you are in stores now. Good morning to you. Happy Monday and happy almost spring. It's this week, you know, March 19th, which comes up tomorrow. Tomorrow. There's always tomorrow. That's the worst singing job you'll ever hear on CBS Sports Radio.

But that's not really my area of expertise. My department is talking about selection shows and March Madness and gosh, another crazy weekend in the NFL. The free agency is definitely not waning and not taking a break and the swapping of quarterbacks and how different the Pittsburgh Steelers QB room looks now than it did three months ago. So we've got so much to get to in this final hour in the next couple of days as we get ready to tip off what I think is the perfect sporting event.

I wouldn't change a thing. And I know there's a lot of conversation about expanding the NCAA tournament. For the first time, the women will have 68 in their field. And so you've got the whole Dayton component for the men and then four extra teams for the women now as well. And there's this idea that if you add, gosh, another 20 something teams, you expand it the way that college football is.

They haven't even gotten to 12 in a playoff yet, and they're already working on 14. Obviously there's more money. There are more schools involved. What's the big deal?

You extended out another weekend, but I think it's perfect. It's not that I want to deny kids the opportunity, but to me it still feels exclusive and yet wide open. Can it be both? Well, I think it can. You have to play your way in. There's no guarantee unless you win your conference tournament, though there is the automatic bid and gosh, the number of automatic qualifiers that were not expected to be in the tournament more than ever before.

And that's not hyperbole, that's reality. Five teams that stole quote unquote their conference tournament championships who would not have been in the bracket had they not claimed those automatic bids, which means five teams got knocked out by those teams that wouldn't have been in otherwise. That's the most that they've ever had in the history of this particular format and selection Sunday. So we'll hear a little bit from the committee chair about the makeup of this bracket, but if what we saw over the last week is any indication, buckle up.

It is wide open. And so it's a big deal still to make it in. It's not like the NBA playoffs where they've expanded it so much that it's actually not that impressive to make it into the playoffs, especially not if you're between 7 and 10 in the seedings. College basketball has this perfect formula where people actually take vacation days. They take time off or they're far less productive at work because the games are available everywhere. People who know nothing about the sport still tune in.

We all know the term Cinderella. We all know the term brackets. We all, many of us, will take our stabs at picking winners in office pools, in family bracket challenges like mine, on CBSSports.com, which is where the after hours bracket challenge is housed. You don't have to know anything to enjoy the tournament. Upsets, buzzer beaters, the emotions, one shining moment. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, enough games that the field goes from 64 to 16 and oh the sweet 16 and the prestige of making it to the second weekend.

I don't think they should expand them. That's not me being the get off my lawn dude or dudette. That's just me believing this is perfect. It's three weeks, even in our 2024 culture where our attention span is limited to three seconds most of the time. The way these games are packaged, overlapping multiple channels, more recently having a pair of sixteens upset one seed so we now know it's possible that wall has been knocked down.

David did in fact defeat Goliath twice. The emotion, the excitement, the enthusiasm, teams that have never made it in before like Stetson. Head coach Donnie Jones of Stetson has been coaching for 35 years. He was with the Florida Gators when they went back-to-back in 06 and 07 as an assistant and now has led the Stetson hatters into the field of 68 for the first time in school history. A conversation with Donnie Jones on our Monday night show. We're going to be talking about the the first time in school history.

A conversation with Donnie Jones on our Monday night show to get you ready. If you missed it, we also talked with Longwood Lancer's senior guard DA Houston in as the 16 again so he's going to be the 16. He's going to be the 16. He's going to be the 16. He's going to be the 16. He's going to be the 16. He's going to be the 16. He's going to be the 16. DA Houston in as the 16 again so when he was a sophomore they played their way into the tournament from the Big South and now as a senior surviving a stretch in which they lost they lost 10 out of 12 games this year.

That would seem like doom. That would spell certain doom for a team but the Lancers fought back and they're into the tournament again. And then a pair of one seeds. So two 16s highlighted and two one seeds to this point on After Hours. Just an hour ago, so cool to have Lisa Bluder of Iowa Women's Basketball.

A one seed. Of course she's Kaitlyn Clark's coach. Center of the spotlight. Record viewership for women's basketball on CBS and other networks. She's full of fire and she's having a blast. Love her answers. If you missed it you can get it on our podcast After Hours with Amy Lawrence.

Just google it. Some great insight into Kaitlyn and the makeup of the team behind closed doors. And in 12 minutes here on the show from the UConn Huskies on the men's side the number one overall seed sophomore Alex Karabhan. Now they won the championship a year ago at this time so they're not catching anyone off guard. This year the Big East regular season champions outright for the first time since before the turn of the century. They win the conference tournament on Saturday for the first time since 2011 beating Marquette in the final. Back-to-back seasons under Dan Hurley with 31 wins.

You want to talk about a target on their backs. I asked Alex if he had a dollar or would he like a dollar I guess for every mention of the back-to-backs this season. His answer is cool. Anyway he's great.

Good talker. So you'll hear Alex Karabhan of the UConn Huskies just over 10 minutes from now on After Hours with Amy Lawrence CBS Sports Radio. Love for you to join the bracket challenge.

The link is posted to the top or pinned to the top of our show Twitter After Hours CBS and then also on our Facebook page. If you're wondering why why why why why is St. John's left out? Why was Pitt left out? Why did Virginia get in?

And what about Iowa State as the lowest two seed or North Carolina over Tennessee for the last one seed? We talked about it with Jerry Palm of CBS Sports, CBSSports.com and CBS Sports HQ. He's always in studio because he does a lot of his taping and his work from New York City which is where we're located and so he always stops by or drops by after the selection show and looks like he hasn't slept in three weeks which might be the case.

So all of that's on the podcast plus Russell Wilson introduced as a Pittsburgh Steeler. I'm still wrapping my brain around him gushing over Pittsburgh. Feels very odd.

He gushes a lot but it still feels odd. Our vote number eight five five two one two four two two seven that's eight five five two one two for CBS. Iowa State is one of those teams that people are looking at and saying wait a minute they're not a two seed and even if they are the Cyclones are a two seed. Why so low? Because Iowa State was tabbed as the worst of the two seeds.

I know that sounds funny right it's almost an oxymoron. You're not worst if you're a two seed but because that's where Iowa State landed it puts the Cyclones in with UConn in the east bracket. So according to Dr. Charles McClelland there's a reason why Iowa State was not the final number one seed. Iowa State a magnificent team great wins great you know tournament but we did look at that non-conference strength of schedule and we've talked about this all along we look at the entirety of the season from the first game all the way to the last and when we added it all up we felt like Iowa State was appropriately placed on that two seed line.

That's not what Jerry Palm said he believes this is a major mistake by the committee but you'll have to check out that conversation. Instead your one seeds are UConn as the top seed the very first team to be revealed on the selection show out of the east region then you've got Purdue as the number one seed out of the midwest and remember this is Zach Edie last year for the seven foot two inch legend Purdue legend the Boilermakers lost to Wisconsin in the Big Ten semi-finals and so did not make it to the championship and for Zach Edie and the Boilermakers they've got to figure out how to respond coming off of a loss in the conference tournament. I think everybody on this team kind of knows who we are win or loss but when you lose you really want to like prove it again like prove to everyone this like we're the same team like this nothing's changed like no one no one on this team has ultimately come to know what the team is doubting who we are and everybody wants to prove it again next game. I hope that motivation works because along with the hey we're going to prove this after losing in our conference tournament is the memory the flashback of becoming the second top seed ever to lose to a 16 and that was last year there's no way they forget that until they're through it that's a a memory that they can't ever erase now you remember the last time or the first time haha that we saw a one seed upset by a 16 it was Virginia in 2018 a year later Tony Bennett's Cavaliers they were cutting down nets you want to talk about the ultimate redemption in college basketball what a redemption story Virginia by the way did make it in though a lot of people feel that they shouldn't have and so you've got UConn as the top seed you get Purdue as the top seed in the midwest Houston Kelvin Sampson's club the top seed in the south at a 30 win clip 30 and 4 this year and of course they've fallen short of their goals but man Houston style makes them relevant now several years in a row for Sampson make sure everybody understands this it is really really hard to make this a double A tournament it's really hard I was looking at the first four teams out and the first four teams in and the history of those basketball programs people have down years tough years injuries it's just really really really difficult and every fan base should be reminded of that how hard it is to make the tournaments so you hear Kelvin Sampson say multiple times and he went to a final four with Oklahoma going back years ago gosh that was when I worked in Oklahoma and they've been able to put together a couple of deep runs in 21, 22, 23. In fact if you go back to the 21 year they were into the final four they were into the championship game against Baylor and that was as a two seed in the midwest last year falling short of that against Villanova oh my gosh that was such an ugly game do you guys remember that one the final score was 50 to 44 I didn't remember the final score but I do remember that it was ugly it was a slug fest slogging through it that was in 22 and then last year again falling short getting to the sweet 16 but coming up short so they've had success out of the American Conference they've been the class of not just their league but of the NCAA for a while but can they finally capitalize and win the championship can they get back to the final four in this time take advantage and then their last number one seed is North Carolina now this despite the Tar Heels falling to NC State in the ACC Championship and man there's a great example right there NC State had to win five games in five days to make it into the tournament now granted they've got a few days off now that they have to travel and practice and scout and prep and all that jazz but what a dream and this is what March Madness dreams are made of you keep winning as long as you keep winning well you get to play more basketball and so for the wolf pack no way they're in the NCAA tournament unless they capture this ACC Championship and Kevin Keats he was on the hot seat oh not anymore when we we got on the plane to come to DC we talked about winning one game at a time and there would be a big picture it'd be a prize at the end of it and you could tell our guys we're getting a lot stronger every game that we played my legs hurt right now it's been five days in a row so of course um guys are going to be a little tired you know we got practice tomorrow DJ yeah yeah I'll be ready by then but yeah we knew that it was going to be hard we knew that nothing about this would be easy so we knew that we just had to get over ourselves and push it to the very absolute limit and that's what we did TJ Burns along with his head coach Kevin Keats yeah that's what it's all about you survive you advance you suck it up because you're looking at the final three weeks of the tournament my legs hurt right now he says his legs hurt Kelvin Sampson says it's hard to get into the tournament well I don't want it to change it should be a product of blood sweat tears it should be a product of everything you got it should be hard it shouldn't be a tournament that's open to twice as many teams half those teams in division one no it should be exclusive it should be special it should be worth the sacrifice coming up Yukon Huskies are the defending champions they know exactly what it takes to get there but what's different about the Huskies this year than a year ago when they took March Madness and wrote their own story sophomore Alex Karaban of the Huskies straight ahead it's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio you are listening 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do it and the husky stormed the center of the court high fives and chest bumps and shoulder bumps and the big east tournament is theirs the eighth title for the huskies in their history tying Georgetown for the most all time we've been the best team in college basketball obviously march madness you know next week you know who knows what goes on there but we've clearly been the best program in the country you know this year this is after hours with Amy Lawrence one thing you gotta love about Dan Hurley he is not shy and is uber confident and that is definitely reflected in his team and in the way the huskies play 31 wins again for a second straight year but can they repeat as champions in the NCAA big east regular season champs conference tournament champs for the first time since 2011 they've got a trio of veterans that are leading the way if you don't know Donovan Clingan you're missing out you'll get to know him as part of the UConn defense of its title it was great to catch up with Alex Carabana sophomore who's led a pretty charmed life as a UConn husky since he got on campus he was my first conversation in the wake of the selection show and it's great to talk to him from my own little radio row it's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS sports radio Alex what was it like to see your name first on the selection show yeah it was amazing it's a huge accomplishment to get recognized as the first team getting announced and um it's really a reflection of how well we did during the regular season and this past week during the postseason in the big east so then um it's just you know how much work we've put in so it's really a true accomplishment we couldn't be prouder does it matter to you guys as a team no it doesn't matter to us at all it's cool being the number one overall seed but at the end of the day there's 60 something other teams that want the same thing as us so um really we just got to take it day by day and really it starts with Stetson on Friday so Alex does it feel different from a year ago as the defending champions whether it's how teams approach you whether it's your knowledge how does it feel compared to last March I think it's a mix between um we're definitely excited and like the experience that the returners have is going to be super important for us just knowing what we've been through last year and what you know what we did last year and just really trying to lay it down on what we want to do this year and just follow our experiences but I really think the target that we have has been on our back since the season started and really since really when coach started to take over and really bring UConn back up just from the standard that this program had on both the men's and women's side and then um just how successful and prestigious this program's been throughout the years. Alex Karaben is with us from the UConn Huskies number one overall seed and defending champs of course it's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. Do you wish you had a dollar for every time someone asked you about defending your national championship?

Yes I'd be a millionaire. Right and all the times that people have pointed to Florida in 06 and 07 I can imagine but you mentioned it's not like last year where you were maybe sneaking up on people a little bit you weren't a favorite going in this is completely different where you can't hide from anyone. Yeah we're getting a lot of hype and definitely a lot of people are talking about back-to-back for us since really the beginning of the year and um you know I think it's cool just to see what the expectations are what the standard is for us but um we know that we got to take it day by day and stay with the process and really like I said earlier the target's been on our back for a while now and um we're UConn so that should be what's expected of us to go back-to-back and always compete for national championships so we just got to be ready for it and um I think we've done a great job this entire season of really being ready for every team's best shot against us. So let's talk about the Big East championship uh you beat Marquette in that final and for people who only saw the final score maybe didn't realize how the game went the first say seven eight minutes man what was that like sitting there on the bench or being on the court just being part of the team and it's two to two for like seven eight minutes. Yeah it was crazy I'm not gonna lie I think um for the game to be that low scoring I mean definitely fatigue was a factor being our third game in three days in such a physical league and then um but really it was just it was impressive from both teams just to stay with the defense and have so much trust in their defense and not let the offense affect what they're doing defensively and um it was one of those grinded out games and then later in the second half we were able to pick it up offensively really we really figured out what to do.

When your offense is clicking the way you want it to or performing the way that you want it to what does it look like Alex? Really it all starts with how unselfish we are you we really see the offense start clicking with just passing up good shots or great shots and our team loves doing that we love just creating shots for one another and um we really don't care who scores it could be a balanced game or a couple guys could go off but as long as we win everybody on the team is happy. You guys have played on some pretty incredible stages obviously but to win your first Big East tournament title since 2011 and do it at Madison Square Garden that's got to be up there in terms of atmospheres and experiences as a basketball player. Hell yeah I think playing at MSG it's always special it's the most famous arena and just I think it's my favorite arena to play in and um yeah I know it's up there I'm not gonna lie it's up there we we're just blessed to have such a great fan base that comes out and supports us and they really made the Big East tournament feel like a home game for us with the UConn chants and just the UConn support so I mean just cutting down the nets in general is always a blessing but to do it at MSG in front of the best fans in the world it's it's definitely a unique and something I'll never forget.

So why why your favorite arena to play in? I don't know it's just like everything just seems different there the lighting the sound the fans especially that UConn brings out and um really I think that's what makes the Big East tournament so special it's just what MSG provides with all the Big East schools coming in with their fan bases and you really get a blend of you know both schools playing so I think it's just the most special arena. You guys finished on high note but it wasn't that long ago that I remember your coach talking about the fact against Creighton had lost in a way that you didn't expect wasn't something that you were used to. Going back to a couple of these losses that you've had because there's only been what three of them when are you all vulnerable? We're vulnerable when we don't stick to our identity it's when when we don't play defense and we don't rebound if we don't do those two things then we'll really we'll get blown out like we did at Creighton or really just not play our game like we did at Seton Hall in December so um really if we don't defend we don't rebound we don't stick to the game plan and what coach Hurley's instilled with us as an identity standpoint then you know things could really go sideways for us.

Alex Karabhan of UConn is with us here after hours on CBS Sports Radio. How much does it matter that you have played against a bunch of other really good teams not just in your own conference but even going back to to North Carolina and a good game against then Gonzaga is back in the tournament again? Yeah it means a lot for us just knowing that we have confidence and that we've gotten big-time wins against some other big-time programs and really just looking back to what we were able to do in the non-conference standpoint and that's you know playing all non-conference teams now in the March Madness really just excited about that and just excited that we are able to execute against some of the big-time teams and just carry that momentum and carry that experience into you know big-time opponents coming up. So your first season you know you redshirted when you first got there but your first season results in a national championship then you guys win the regular season this year haven't in what since the turn of the century the tournament as well you're going in as defending champions. I don't know Alex I'm not sure too many people have had a better experience in college hoops to start in their first two years. No it's I mean I'm still processing it just because we're just yesterday was the Big East Championship so I'm really still processing all the team accolades that I've been able to be a part of and it's really just all such a blessing just being able to win a conference regular season in tournament then of course the national championship which we all want so it's really a true blessing and it's something that's always going to stay with me and always just stick with me and I can't believe it to be honest.

Your teammate Donovan has really kind of taken this season and put his stamp on it. What stands out to you about how he's grown as a player? Yeah a lot I think he's become way more physical and he's really just learned how to use his size against other dudes I mean there's not many people in college basketball there are seven two and could move as well as him and just you know really impact the game as much as he does and what he does for us offensively and defensively it's so valuable for us and we really wouldn't be in the position we are without him so really he's just understanding the game so much better he's defending at such a high level but really just the way he moves on offense and defense I think that's just what makes him so unique. Yeah not many people that you can stand next to and feel kind of short huh?

No not at all but he's one of them for sure. That's awesome yeah I'm in awe of people that tall basketball seems so much easier for people like that. It really does. So you mentioned being a little fatigued in the Big East tournament the way these conference tournaments are set up and I'm sure you've seen how many top seeds got ousted and definitely conditioning becomes a part of that as you go into the NCAA tournament what's the feel with your team whether it's physically mentally? I think the feel will be great for us the coaches our coaches they always do a great job of making sure we're physically ready physically and mentally ready for the opponent we'll definitely be physically ready through our practices but mentally we'll definitely be there too which is how much film we watch starting with Stetson and then mentally getting the reps on the core with what they like to do and just actions and breaking down what they do so really I think we'll be ready to go and I think we were blessed to have you know five days off right now before Friday so you know we'll definitely take some time off and then during practices our coaches will manage properly and then I think we'll be anxious to get out there and play another game soon. Before I let you go what's different about your team you didn't have or you didn't feel a year ago? Oh that's tough I'm not gonna lie but I think this year's team as hungry as we were last year to compete for a championship I think this year's team is hungrier just from the returners coming back what we experienced last year and that feeling that we felt after winning the national championship we all want to feel that again and we want the new guys to experience that as well and just really winning back to back is a feeling that we we want so desperately so I think how hungry we are and then a lot of the new guys on the team they're freshmen so they saw what we did last year and they want to experience what we experienced and they want to make their first year of college basketball strong and really just start on the right foot they can build on their careers from national championship and just continue to add more accolades.

And of course there's that healthy fear nobody wants to be a one that gets upset by a 16 though it's happened now twice in the last what five years? Yeah I mean yeah we saw last year with Purdue and then you know I know our coaches will be ready we'll get us ready we'll definitely be ready just from you know every team that gets their name everything that got their name called today on Sunday is a really really good team so we know how good Stetson is we're not going to take them lately. Well congratulations on being the number one overall seed but mostly getting through another year uh Big East Tournament Champions being healthy and having this great opportunity in front of you it's good to talk to you Alex have fun. Thank you so much. Really cool to have a pair of one seeds represented here on our show following the bracket reveals and also a pair of 16 seeds so that's just interesting that it worked out that way it doesn't always but that is how we played it we end up with UConn and Iowa on the women's side so those are your two one seeds and we also talked with the 16 seed Longwood Lancers who are back into the tournament for the second time in three years they'll take on Houston and this is just a bit of a quirk but the senior we spoke to his last name is Houston and he grew up in the Houston area so he's pretty excited about facing the Houston Cougars that's a 1-16 matchup in the south region and then on tonight's show the head coach of Stetson so the 16 seed that has the tall task of going toe to toe with UConn come next weekend but Donnie Jones of Stetson on tonight's show and then Jerry Palm our bracketologist for CBS Sports all of this available on the podcast as you get ready to fill out your brackets or just because it's it's good stuff it's these three weeks out of the year that can suck you in and you always feel rewarded for it you don't pay attention to the NCAA tournament and then walk away thinking well that was a waste of time nah the emotion the buzz the excitement the storylines the upsets the cinderellas the buzzer beaters it's all happening over the next three weeks and take the after hours bracket challenge you can find the link on our show twitter after hours cbs or on our facebook page uh coming up still very weird to hear Russell Wilson rave about Pittsburgh but he wasn't the only move this weekend among quarterbacks and wow shall i take your order or do you need a minute yes i'll be ready just buying a car on carvana what it's super convenient i already got pre-qualified in two minutes all i had to do is answer a few questions what that's handy yeah now i'm customizing my down in monthly payments what that's an exquisite deal and just like that carvana is delivering my 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allen all right it's after hours with amy lawrence you are listening to the after hours podcast i have full faith in uh in kenny um he's shown us some good things and obviously there were some issues with the offense and i'm excited about the impact that that arthur smith's going to have on him and arthur's very optimistic about kenny and um you know i know they've communicated and um except we'll have some strong competition there and we'll see where it goes this is after hours with amy lawrence wasn't that long ago omar khan the gm of the pittsburgh steelers was standing in front of media microphones and declaring that they have full faith in kenny pickett and maybe at that time they did maybe they intended originally to make it a competition for starting quarterback after they traded for russell wilson or traded for him after they were able to pick him up for the veteran minimum but somehow over the last couple weeks things changed enough that the steelers decided they had to take an offer that was presented to them by the philadelphia eagles because they couldn't keep pickett any longer now depending upon which story or which reports you believe which insiders you believe they're kind of dueling ideas here one is that after initially being receptive to the idea of russell wilson and a competition at quarterback that picket balked at any type of that dynamic and didn't want to have to compete for quarterback didn't want to have to battle russell wilson felt like he was sold a bill of goods that wasn't accurate so according to jerry doulach it was one place that i saw it it covers the steelers for the picket and it was a it covers the steelers for the pittsburgh post gazette longtime steelers insider the steelers felt like they had had enough they didn't like his attitude when they introduced russell wilson on friday they had an offer that was presented to them and they moved on i'll read this quote from his twitter the steelers made the move because of the way pickett was poorly handling the arrival of russell wilson that came on the heels of pickets behavior last season when he refused to dress as the emergency third qb in seattle in week 17. now you believe other insiders think brooke prior of espn is one she tells the story this way pickett believes the steelers lied to him pickett believes the steelers told him things would be different that he would have an opportunity that finally they were going to settle in and he would get a fair shake so to speak there wouldn't be the turmoil the transition new coordinators all that kind of stuff instead it was finally going to be his job and they would move forward so that he could actually get a fair opportunity to compete now you can believe whichever side you like it's clear that his time in pittsburgh was marked by a lot of change his time in pittsburgh was marked by a lot of turmoil right it wasn't easy the defense was the driving force they didn't have much of a run game the offensive line was in transition transition but either way steelers pulled the plug quickly sent him to philadelphia and drafted drafted and traded for justin fields think about what they're paying for these two quarterbacks in the room russell wilson and justin fields and they're coming at almost no cost to the steelers it's after hours with amy lawrence on cbs sports radio russell wilson and his reps were given the opportunity to find a team that they felt like was the right the right fit so why pit when denver was allowed you know allowed me to be able to speak to teams and have that process and go through that process the first time i've ever gone through that process i think that there's a few things that were just that just jumped off the board about the pittsburgh steelers number one i i got to play here uh you know played in actually in seattle and century link in 2015 is a great game back and forth got back and forth and uh it was just a battle all the way down to the down to the wire and i just remember the players that they had you know and just the competitors and and that we had and just at that time and and now it's just uh and then see coming here in 2018 playing um you know playing here just the atmosphere walking into the stadium you know walking into extra stadium and just the energy i remember the towels i remember renegade i remember the whole thing and i remember the game coming down in the fourth quarter and i think that at the end of the day you know um why i love this game is because it's the greatest team sport there is he's always positive he always seems to have an optimistic outlook he wants to win a couple more super bowls that's got to be music to the steelers ears but at 35 years old no doubt his prime is behind him will he fit and again depending upon which side you believe this was the team mishandling with picket or it was picket and a petulant attitude but he's gone and it's a brand new quarterback room in russell wilson and justin fields and russ by the way once he found out so he did his introduction on friday before pickett was gone and he actually talked about pickett at some point but then justin fields gets traded and he will back up russ there's no competition there that seems to be something that everyone is in agreement on so it's russ's job and russ posted a photo of he and justin at a midfield handshake and uh kind of reaching out to justin and saying hey welcome to pittsburgh which is funny because he just got to pittsburgh but he's really excited about being a stealer to be a pittsburgh stealer uh it's a great tradition um to be able to compete and to be able to go to go to work with these guys every single day is the gift of this game uh enjoying the process of it all and uh you know the reason why i wanted to come here because i want to be able to win championships with coach tomlin and these guys in the locker room and and uh you know we got some amazing players you know guys like you know cam hayward a guy who's been man of the year a guy who's impacted so many people i got to talk to him for a little while uh you know before you know during this process and and then obviously uh you know mr tj wad himself you know guy who really should be defensive player i don't know how many times i don't know maybe his third fourth time could have won it um guys like minka um you know george pickens and just so many other great players along the way mike tovlin by the way celebrated his birthday on friday the day they announce will sign and announce and introduce russell wilson and patrick queen now you may not think the rust edition is any big deal but it doesn't matter because they're getting him for dirt cheap but also introduces patrick queen and tovlin on his insta great way to celebrate my birthday by signing these guys can't wait to get down to football business with them well if anybody can resurrect russ and can bring out whatever is left that is positive in him for football reasons football 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