Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers Running Back

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Rules and restrictions may apply. Alrighty, we continue this exact Yelp show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. We'll head out to the guest line right now, welcoming Charger star running back in Austin Eckler. And by the way, the Austin Eckler Foundation just last week unveiled the new state-of-the-art high school gym, and Austin is kind enough to join us right now. Austin, always great to talk to you.

Appreciate the time. How you been? Man, been doing great. Been, as you said, getting back in the community, making my footprint where I can, hopefully help some people out, become the best version of themselves.

And really, offseason's been great, but looking forward to training camp coming up here next week. Yeah, I was reading about it. Tell me a little bit about this new state-of-the-art gym. Yeah, so really with my foundation, the Austin Eckler Foundation, we're taking tangible resources, putting them back into the community, whether that's upgrading something that's already there or replacing something or even putting something that maybe hasn't been there. That ranges from washers and dryers at schools, football equipment, school supplies, bags for the homeless, weight rooms. We've done two weight rooms now for a couple of high schools. So just different types of tangible things that we're continuing to put back in.

And as I said, really things that people have to go and actually use to get the benefits out of that. So, for example, we just finished Long Beach Poly's weight room. And I tell these kids, I'm like, this is a great weight room, but it's only a tool.

And if you don't use the tool, you don't gain all the skills. And there's so many different transferable skills that you can learn and practice in the weight room. And so that's why it's one of my favorite projects and looking forward to continue to do more.

So, yeah, you can check us out at AustinEckler.com. You can see all of our different projects and all the things that we're putting back to the community to make this place a little bit better. You do a great job interacting with your fans and also doing a good job setting an example and being a good role model. I'm just curious, when you were growing up as a kid, who were some of your favorite players? Because now you're in that position where you get it all the time. Kids come up to you and they say, oh, I absolutely love your game, Austin Eckler, and I'm a big fan.

Yeah. You know, it's pretty unique for me, actually, because I grew up out in the country, out in Colorado, so I didn't watch the NFL growing up. So I didn't really look up to any players. I didn't even think about the NFL. I didn't know I was going to be in the NFL. I have this new story.

I've been doing some speaking. And one of my taglines is there is how I accidentally made it to the NFL. And that's really what happened. It wasn't necessarily an accident, but more of a result of the work that I was putting in. I was continuing to build up my capacity and the mental spot and the physical aspect in the weight room and then on the field and the sports that I was playing. And I was able to continue to build it. And so what I looked up to and who I looked up to were people that were just doing that. Who's continuing to progress? I really looked up to a concept more than an actual individual, if that makes sense.

I've seen it for both ways, right? We've all seen the player that's been told from the start they're going to be a star from day one and they find a way to get to that level and be as good as advertised. But I always like those stories when someone is overlooked and someone's told they can't do this, they can't do that. And that chip and that motivation is always just sitting on your shoulder and you keep on proving people wrong, which makes a great story.

Yeah. And for me, I never had people saying you won't make it, but it was more so the actions of the next level. For example, going into college, I had zero Division 1 schools come talk to me. So it wasn't like people were telling me, oh, you can't make it. It was just it wasn't an option. They're showing me with their actions, no, you're not good enough. And then obviously it wasn't drafted or anything like that.

But I have this saying, it's undrafted, underestimated, but unfazed. And so it didn't matter to me because guess what? I was continuing to build, to push forward. I didn't know I didn't know where I was going.

I had a vision. I wanted to go get into the business world, start growing myself as a person, and then did that well enough in the in the athletic space where I was able to get an opportunity for football. So, yeah, it for me, it's all been it's always been about the journey.

The destinations are great, but that's just a stopping point to get to the next one. Austin Eckler here with us. What do you take from last season? We all know how it ended. But how do you guys grow from what occurred in the playoff game last year?

Yeah. You know, our season was there's a lot of ups and downs, and that's what the NFL is. And why is it up and down? Well, it's because inconsistency. We're trying to find consistency.

And there's a ton of different reasons why you might be or might not be consistent. And look, we have another opportunity to go out there and try to prove that we can be consistent. We have playmakers that can take us all the way. We have shown right how high of a level we can play at. We've also shown a low level that we can play at.

That was last year. This is a whole new year. So we have a whole new opportunity. And on paper, you know, for the past few years, we look pretty good again this year. We look great on paper.

All right, let's go out there. Now, can we play to our potential? Can we keep guys healthy? I mean, our guys playing up to that expectation, our coaches coaching up to that expectation, because that's what it comes down to. It's a whole organization, our fans showing up, supporting like all from top down community, everybody.

It takes everyone to get this thing done. And, you know, that's what I love about this game is we're all individuals, but we all have our own piece. I have opinions on Brandon Staley.

Fans have opinions on Brandon Staley. You talked about the coaching component of it. You get to see him day in and day out.

Right. You have the player's view. What is the player view on your head coach? Yeah, my play, my view on him is this man, he's going to bring in all of the different strategies. He's going to set it up. He's going to have this man. So I swear this man sleeps and drinks and eats football because he's I love his team meetings, his team meetings. He breaks it down to a very basic level where anyone he's talking about his wife, he's like, Amy could make this pass.

Look, this is a cover to the flat open, you know, and he's break it down. He's making it entertaining. But he's super strategic, very sophisticated, understands the concepts, the tendencies. He understands the statistics. And he plays off of those. He plays off of those. He'll be, hey, we're in the red zone. We got this coverage is this down to distance this much time, higher probability we're going to be a man type of thing. Like he knows that stuff.

And so it's on the on the spot. So this man proven himself as a head coach has proven himself as a head coach to me that this man understands in and outs of offense. He knows all the offensive plays, even though he's the defensive guy.

And so he's definitely earned my respect. And then, you know, it comes down to the other coaches, too. We have to have a good supporting cast.

Right. He's not calling the offensive play. So he's relying, you know, on our offensive coordinators, relying on our on our other guys to make sure that everyone is in the right spot at the right time.

And us as pros to make sure we're getting it done. So, yeah, coaches, I'm excited to go back and play for him. He expects good things, big things.

If you don't live up to those, he calls you out. I remember he was calling out Joey one time. He's like, this is what I saw in training camp.

This is what I saw today. This is what Joey's level is. Like, he's not afraid to do it. He'll call me out. You know, he called me out last year a couple of times. Me and the O line.

We got to get our run game struggled. And so he'll put you on the block. And guess what? You're in professional sports.

Like, you've got to be able to step up and understand that you're going to get called out because you have a high expectation. And that's what I want. And that's the environment he gives us.

So I love it. Austin Eckler here with us. We all know you guys have the talent. You talked about an offensive coordinator. You have a new one in Kellen Moore. Just what do you think he'll bring to this offense here in 2023?

Yeah. You know, what I've learned about the NFL is, you know, you can have different guys who have different tendencies and things like that. But it comes down to your team because your team's going to decide what is what your strengths are, what you can and can't do.

And then guess what? Your coaches are going to have to adjust to try to bring out the best in that. And so what we have is we have a different playmakers. We have me.

You can put me all over the field. You know, receivers just brought in Quentin, you know, Q. He's our first front pick. So excited to see him getting a lot of our O line back. And so we have a lot of the pillars of our team that we had last year coming back in. And so what I want to see from him is how can he efficiently use us? That's what it comes down to, because, sure, he can have his philosophies and everything. That's great. But guess what? Does that mesh with us?

And if it doesn't, how do we adjust so it does? So I've only been in there two days during mandatory minicamp. I was there for OTAs or anything like that. But just in those two days, I love his meetings. He brings in outside concepts, talking about basketball, talking about life. And I love when people can make the sport more than just, hey, where's football, football, football.

Let's bring in different types of concepts to help people understand, to make it more entertaining so I'm not falling asleep in your meetings. So that's a plus. And so, no, I'm excited. He's got some energy, too. So that's always good. I love energy from our coaches out there.

And so it's gonna be fun. Austin Eckler here with us. I saw the other day that Tyreek Hill said he wants to put up 2,000 yards this year and win a Super Bowl. And when I first saw that, it's not just because I knew you were coming up on the show.

I said, man, Austin Eckler's been close. 1,000 yards rushing, 1,000 yards receiving. Do you think that you're knocking on the door of maybe going on out there and putting up 1,000 yards, not only running, but also catching the ball in a single season? Look, I always am really hesitant on putting out those types of, you know, declarations. So for me, it comes back to the concepts. Like, you're gonna get everything, you're gonna get all, every ounce of effort that I can put out there. Do I want to do that?

Yes. That's the standard that I've set that I can do. But I'm not gonna come out and say I'm gonna do 2,000, you know, and do all that.

But, you know, to each their own, you know. So if he's gonna do it, let's see it. I'm excited. He's a great player. He has that definite potential.

He's got that ceiling that he can go and push. And so I'm excited to see it. But for me, I have a standard, too. You know, I've been playing pretty consistent for the last two years.

I better go out there. I better be having a bunch of all-purpose yards and I better be scoring a lot of touchdowns. And I'll just say for you, the reason why I don't think it's gonna happen, you guys just have too much damn talent on that team. There's only one ball, you know.

That's a lot with all the receivers you have and then the deep running back room. Man, they would really be making the case for you to get a new contract if that was the case this year. I mean, that's my job. My job is to go out there and make that case for myself, right? You know, I have a lot of odds stacked against me, you know. We do every year as football players. There's injuries. There's your age.

There's, right, like expectations. There's new competition coming in every single year. I'm not shying away from competition. I tell these young guys every year, come try to take my job. Come try to. You can try because guess what?

I'm doing everything in my power for you not to be able to take my job. And I'm gonna continue to run and play at a high level and be consistent. And so if you can earn that, that's good.

You earn your own reps. But at this point, I'm trying to, you know, eat them all up. Even though we do have talent because that's what it is.

That's how we get better as a team. And so, yeah, maybe the odds aren't my favor, but I'm not looking at odds. I'm looking at myself.

Look at yourself in the mirror and that's where you start. Absolutely love that answer. Austin Eckler here with us. So, you know, today for players that were franchise tag, it was the deadline to reach an extension to get a new long-term contract. Your contract situation has been well publicized this offseason, but for guys like Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard, they didn't get deals just as someone that has been in a similar position looking for a new deal. Just how did you react to today's occurrence? Yeah, you know, I've been pretty vocal about this just because, you know, it's not good for our running back market as far as capital coming in. It's putting like a ceiling on it. There's no new contracts being made.

There's no new comparables that are actually relevant because there's been a set number set on guys. And so, you know, it's from a player's aspect, we have no control of that. I have no control. So really who we want answers from is the ownership. Like, why are you doing this? What's the reasoning? Like, you aren't interviewing them about it. Like, how many owners have you talked to about this? Zero.

I would love to. I know. They ain't going to say anything either because for whatever reason, right, they got this thing going on where it's like a new trend. Like, oh, let's not pay these guys.

I don't know. Maybe they're just testing us like, hey, let's see what happens. But, you know, you poke the bear, you know, and, you know, you're going to make us have to do something. You're going to put, you're forcing us to be in a situation where, look, we are trying to fight for value.

I understand they're trying to fight for value to, you know, make sure, hey, let's try to get the most out of we can at the cheapest. And then we can spread and maybe pay the quarterbacks even more. But guess what? We're out there carrying the ball for you 400 times a year, right, scoring all your touchdowns. And all the press around fantasy, right? Don't say we don't sell jerseys, all that stuff because we're doing that too.

We're making a big impact. So I don't see how they can justify not giving our guys contracts. They can bring up the injury thing. I don't care who you, what position you look at. There's positions.

Every position gets injured. So that's what I would want to hear from them is just kind of what's their logical reasoning behind it. And so for me, yeah, seeing this, these guys not getting, you know, any contract, it's like, you know, they've, you know, fell victim to the process that we've agreed upon, you know, and the ownership is playing by the rules that we agreed upon.

Whether it's right or wrong now is for us to decide because there's different ways that you can skew things to be in your favor or not in your favor. It's just business for them. It's just business for us too. So, you know, we've seen guys hold out in the past. It wouldn't surprise me if that's another thing that's going to be happening now or hold in, I guess you say, whatever these like, I don't know.

It's just putting a lot of pressure on us with not a lot of information. And with your current situation, I know that they gave you permission to seek a trade this offseason and see what was out there. Were you ever close to getting dealt and not being on the Chargers?

No. And that's because I came with a lot of baggage. You're going to have to trade some high picks for me. They weren't going to let me go for anything that wasn't up there. So they saw my value there. It's funny how when they allow me to trade, they're like, okay, but we want you to get these types of picks, which were not low picks, but we're not going to pay you like you're that type of player. So it's kind of interesting where it's like, oh, if you're going to get traded, you got to get traded at this level. But if we're going to keep you, we're going to keep you down here at this level.

So you can see for them, yeah, that makes sense because they're getting the best of both worlds there. They have the leverage. And so that's why it was tough for me to get out anything out there and get a new contract. We're going to have to give up high picks and also restructure my contract. And so that's just, you know, being transparent on my situation. And look, I signed my four year deal. You know, I am.

I'm very thankful to have an opportunity to continue to play and go out there and play at another high level again. But now there's just more pressure on me because I have no guarantees and I will be a free agent after this year. You know, unless, you know, there's something gets done during the year, which could be a possibility. Can you get franchise tagged at the end of this year or was there something reworked in your contract to prevent that?

You know, I can get franchise tagged. Yeah, because that's like objectively looking at that. I was curious about that. That's where I think this is going to go to because they're not just going to let you walk for anything. It depends.

It depends. We'll see. Wrap it up with Austin Eckler. Let me just ask you about your quarterback and Justin Herbert. I'm a huge fan of Justin Herbert. I see some people say that he's overrated.

I don't really get those comments when you hear stuff like that. Just what do you say to people that believe Justin Herbert with what he's done his first three years in the league is overrated. Yeah, he's been in the league for three years and I think we've had this new era of quarterbacks.

And so the comparables are pretty great. It's great for the game. You know, when we get a lot of these stud quarterbacks in because they're flashy, right? You know, they make good runs. They sell a lot of jerseys.

They're relatable to the younger crowd. And so it's great for our game. That's why we see these guys getting rewarded in the pay column. And so for us, having Justin, he's been right there with us. He's given us a competitive chance every single year.

Even going into our first year, giving us opportunities to make it to the playoffs and to make a run. And so for us, it's great having him. It makes me excited to be on the team because I'm like, if you don't have a quarterback that's top in your division, especially in our division, you know where we got Mahomes over here.

And so we got, you know, the last year's world champs. So I'm excited to play with him. You know, is he overrated? I would say absolutely not because he's one of the top quarterbacks every single year.

And we're right there at the end as well. If anything, you know, our inconsistency, I think, has almost held him back from our injuries that we've had. So I still think he's underrated but still needs a year to prove that.

But yeah, no, I think he's a stud. He's going to continue to grow and I'm looking forward to playing with him. We'll always enjoy when you jump on board with us. Once again, check out the Austin Eckler Foundation.

They just unveiled the new state-of-the-art high school gym last week. Austin, good luck and thanks so much for doing this once again. Yep, thanks. Thanks for having me on. Odyssey.