Zack Baun 1-on-1 w/ Saints Legend LB Pat Swilling | New Orleans Saints

Hi, I'm Pastor Ellen, we like to welcome everyone here, we're talking to Zach's new link from the New Orleans Saints, we're just going to cut it out, talk a little about some football and have a little fun, First of all, congratulations, man. Tell me something, how did you feel when the Saints called? How did you feel when you were recruited? Yes, obviously, a lot of emotions. You know, I experienced it firsthand. I thought I was going to go earlier, but just when I got the call. Everything changed. It was just a good time and they turned it into nothing but excitement and happiness.

Do you know what's strange about that too? I thought I was going to go early too and they sat there, it's hard to just sit there, but Tell me, my wife, look at all this and you know I'm excited for you. Tell me something, how does it feel? You know all the hard work you put into this finally paid off. Yes, it feels great and it's not hard work. that I was just out of college or towards the end of my career, it's been the culmination of everything since I was a little kid and for a dream to become a reality is definitely a surreal moment, anyway Zach I've been with you and their families.

The quarantine continues and you're trying to, I guess, stay sane, but also exercise and do all those things. Yes, obviously, it has been difficult. I think the most important thing is for everyone to stay safe and healthy, and that's what we've been doing. So far during the quarantine it has been a time issue that no one really expected, especially no one in the sports world, it doesn't make things difficult just for me and you, but you really have to understand that it is affecting a lot more and It's a lot bigger than just you, so not having the same access to a training center is the biggest problem.

It's the people that are unfortunately passing away and affecting their health that we really need to protect, but fortunately in a time like this, you got to know who you need to meet and go to connections to be able to get you Jamie King from your training and I've been able to do that also with you in this class or the first class to go to again what we call virtual reality is of course, being worded this way and I know all kinds of vision, you know, maybe walking the red carpet and doing all those things and have a hundred people, 200 people in your house.

I had two other people in my house, so Now, you have been the first to go through this. I guess first on TV and I personally enjoyed it, but what was it like for you and your family? You know, like I said, it's definitely not what everyone expected, but I think the NFL made a great effort. The good work of the virtual draft process made it seamless, very smooth for everyone and the moment was special, however, it didn't take anything away from that. Well, that's great, Zach. I want you to know if you know what you're in for here. in Who Dat Nation, have you heard of Who Dat Nation?

Someone? I've heard some with some good stories and my girlfriend and I spent a vacation there before so I definitely see it on the excited side to see it as all-encompassing and really feel who that nation is. I had the luxury of the opportunity to play here and played for the Raiders for the last five years of my career. When it comes to fans, let me tell you, there is no better fan. base that the New Orleans Saints fan base and the Who Dat nation, the Raider Nation, are also up to par, but man, you're going to enjoy being a part of this and you gotta eat sometime crawl, have you ever eaten crabs?

I never ate crabs. I have a po-boy. We have been to Café Du Monde. I had fritters, but I'm excited to try my first crab and rip off its head. My next question for you is: I know you've heard of the Great Tradition, I'm the lime backs we've had here. Where do you think you fit? What are some of the advantages you bring? Yeah, I think I played on the edge in college like in the 3-4 scheme only. So I've been on the edge, but I'm a versatile guy and I've been able to do a lot of different things, whether it's rushing to pass or getting into coverage, doing a lot of different things and I think that's my biggest attribute and that's what I really bring to the table. state to the table: versatility.

I'm excited to do a lot of different things and talking to the coach, he has a lot of things that he's been through thinking about ways to use me and just use my potential to the fullest, I'm ready to come in and make an impact right away, no matter where I'm at. the field, that's great, you know, I heard Coach Payton this morning, he was talking about you and some of the things he mentioned, he thought you were versatile athletes, he could tell it, Sam, he could put you as a lead back, you can drop coverage, you can do all those things and you know, I think the league has changed a little bit since I played against Ricky Jackson in our group. a rushing outside linebacker, but Sean was the coach.

Payton was very excited to add you to this and you know, I think you know they traded up to hire you, but he really feels like you're one of the best vertical athletes out there and and the things that you're going to bring to the table are going to be great so I'm a man. I'm looking forward to seeing them play. I saw them on television last year. You had a great year this year, but you came in as a rookie, what are you doing now? What do you think you're going to start doing to prepare and be ready to play there in the NFL?

I think the most important thing right now is that we are not going to have mini camp, we are not going to have the opportunity to have OTAs. I'm going to have to get my playbook as soon as I can and die. God turned it upside down on that and I'm really going to focus on building my knowledge of defense and understanding of defense. And also, I don't have the same training schedule that I would have, so I make sure I'm in top shape at all times so that when I do, things get back in shape and the season comes.

I'm ready and prepared and I always will, and you know all the guys who played 13 years at this minimum. I don't have to tell you to arrive at camp in excellent shape. I always said that being light is always the right thing to do. Another word I used to say to guys all the time: I'd rather be 5 pounds lighter than 5 pounds because it's easier to run when you're a little lighter than to worry like that, especially this year it's going to be a little shortened. The guys aren't going to be able to have any kind of mini caps, so they're really going to have to come in and say one thing I definitely think, make sure you know what's going on in that playbook, study your playbook coaches is, I think the guys Coaches at this point we're going to want to see haters, this guy knows what to do, I mean he's mentally prepared coming from Wisconsin.

I'm pretty sure the academics are high there so they know you're smart. guy, but being in that playbook is number one, if you don't know what to do you play slow, if you know what to do you play fast and I think that's something that coach probably played in the nest that Stephenson also starred. he's a guy that's smart that can come in here and hit the ground running, so it's going to be important for you to know what's going on and tell yourself as soon as you get into that playbook, learn as much as you can.

Be absolutely important to you, what were some of the things that helped you transition from college to that? You know, I was lucky in a lot of ways, not many guys come in with a Hall of Famer on the other side, Ricky Jackson and you know that from day one and I'll tell you a quick story, you'll get me started. I'll tell you a quick story when I first got here from Georgia Tech. I had all these shoulder pads on, I had these big shoulder pads and five knee pads and all these evil looks look at me and he says take everything I said he took everything right we played without No knee pads, I had sold myself quickly as a quarterback and we didn't have knee pads on and that's how we played, but you know, prepare pepper and know what to do knowing your opponent.

He was four years old. I played with Dick Fangio to train in Denver. He was my position coach. I think he was 20 and I think Big was probably 25 or 26. But he was smart and we learned to study the offensive tackle, we know those tendencies, we knew when they opened the window, they put their hands up, we knew when they were going to shoot, we could call to their spot before they could call it, where they could run their spot and that helped me, so I understand what I'm saying is being a student of the game, learning the little nuances of the game, learning to know your opponent and the best thing about being in the NFC South, you play Atlanta, you play those same teams. a book about that Atlanta offensive tackle, that Atlanta guard office every year adds things to your book, in other words, your study habits, well, you know this guy, so when you prepare to play against Carolina, You'll get your book out, you know? exactly what this guy does and if he added something then you add something but that's what we used to do in the future Zack the most important thing is to make sure you remain a student of the game if you want to be a great player in this league and and I'm going to say this and I want you to listen to me well.

I tell my son Trey that he makes plays at Georgia Tech better. Some guys played this game and filled a spot. And then you have some guys who are great. they do extra things every week, they're the guys that come to the office the first to leave at the end, those are guys that run extra sprints and those guys will make it to the count every year in great shape, hey you'd think it started the season. or most of the guys that I see in the Pro Bowl every year when I played against these guys, they just trained, they were great athletes um, but they just trained, they did the little things and my point is you want to be a great player in this league.

You have to do a lot of small ones, that makes a difference. I really liked what you said about being a student of the game and even until the end of your career you were still learning and learning things and creating. that guys notebook because you're up against the same guys that you're in and you're out that's the difference between college, how much did you touch on a little bit about the mentoring that you received, how much did that help you? Well, I learned from those older guys and they tell you what it's like or what to expect and what you learned from them.

Let me tell you something too. I didn't just learn from Jim Wilkes, who played defensive end when you got Hugh. I learned from some of these guys, Frank Warren, who played on the other side. You know, I listened to those guys and I use the information wisely. The problem I see that young people have these days is that they don't listen to anything, they think they know everything. and I mean it and I hope you understand where I'm coming from look when you're a sponge there's a difference I made Ricky Jackson notice the size he was a Pro Bowl four or five times I heard it all by the way I peeled off all those pads okay , I took off everything we took off, I took them off.

What I mean is, I listened to the guy. The next thing I know a year and a half later, two years, I'm in Provo. I played in Provo. What five six? times I was Defensive Player of the Year in 1991 Zack I said it here like a guy I just told you that I had 19 of the 1991 Defensive Player of the Year third round pick just like you, like you, you know, a lot of guys are like that you know How many guys were before you in this rap that depended on backups played in your position, did you count them? how many guys were before you bought hydrogen six five are better than you in your mind you think you're better than you think and they weren't better than me in that move, I had between 10 and 12 of them who I did it with, I mean, there was a career on my back, it was eight years, I give you all the information and Charles Haley was selected in the third and fourth round, Charles.

Haley is a Hall of Famer right now, they had a hundred and two sacks, I think his career, uh, I had a hundred and seven in my career and he had 19. I want Defensive Player of the Year and we don't quite know yet. I'm not in the Hall of Fame, but it is what it is, so that's for another conversation, which means you have, but my point is no matter where you drafted, don't worry about it. Hey, go play with you. You have something to prove the great players have something new that you ran out of year after year if they tell you that they don't have something to prove they are lying to you because if you want to be great I will always tell you something...

I am going to give you a little information, It doesn't matter what you do in your first year or your 15th year, every year in the National Football League is different, so in other words, prepare yourself that way, don't worry. what you did with them 15 SEC last year since it's a new year so you have to go play next year 15 next year in other words you have a short memory even bad things have a short memory learn to follow moving forward no matter what happens even when you play year after year you have a bad game hey take what you had that was bad getting your head off was good and move on and get ready for the next game but that's part of this contract of lease that a lot of guys don't I don't know how to do that and help yourability to play and be the best, you can be fine, so tell me a little more about the historical tradition of the city and what to expect when it comes to that.

The expectations of this city are that the Saints play in the Super Bowl every year and when they didn't disappoint us last year, the loss to Minnesota was devastating right there. I thought we were going to win that game We thought we would be in the Super Bowl This city loves you, that's something else, man, the fans will love you. I will tell you something. I think I'm as popular today as I was when I played in 1986-87, all those years I was loved. I stayed here in the city. I'm in a real estate development business, but they love me and I love them too.

It is wonderful. place to walk every day and be a saint they still talk to me about football and they'll talk to you about football every day hey you're not going to get much Recio, the fans will love you man, they'll love you and That's what you want, I mean , Is that what you want. Soccer in New Orleans and Louisiana and throughout the Gulf South is number one. I mean, this is your lucky feeling. You are lucky to be a city where football comes first. My other question was, tell me a little bit about how you run to Pastor.

Well, let me ask you a question. I guess that's the part of your game that Well, oh, I mean, that's just what I did. I loved. I mean, do you think you have the strength of your game? Or is it something? I mean, what do you like? What do you like about football? I want that, that's something you enjoy doing. I'll tell you what I have a desire to win and at the outside linebacker position, especially in college, I had like I said I had the ability to do a lot of different things and I just wanted to be as good as I can in all aspects of the game, whether it's pass rushers by dropping coverage packages or there's just nothing like it when you get to that quarterback and you have that sack and a crowd goes crazy and you're receiving up top and it's you before it starts before the game in your preparation and you're just coming into the game knowing where you're going to beat this inning and you know he's going to hit on his third step with his hands wide open and you execute there's a true love and it's truly an art form and then when you execute it it makes it that much sweeter and hey, let me tell you something.

I think you see the smile on my face from all the positions they could have created. There's nothing like playing outside linebacker, I mean, for me it's just free reign, you're at the end of the line, you can do so many things, you can drop off, you can calm your way to pass it, you can stop the run, I mean. watch guys like Emma Smith try to run to the corner no, he can't outrun me, he can't get there, he thinks he can get there, but he can't get there, you know, hey, Barry Sanders, when he was the best running back in the league . and he used to tell me all the time that he hated playing no patrol, he would plan how he would line me up because we were so fast and we could run.

My point is that you're playing the position that can basically change the outcome of a ball game, that's what I love about playing outside linebacker, man, I could, I could get a fun little strip and go score, okay , you just take the ball away and make it go the other way for the offense, I mean, you're in a position. where you can dominate a football game and that's what Ricky Jackson and I used to do and Ricky Jackson and I could dominate a football game and what a beautiful position to play in exactly it got anything else for me man I mean I've enjoyed We could talk about this forever, but I'm pretty sure they don't want us to, but you have something else.

Yo, man, what I'm looking for, I look forward to meeting each other, yeah, I mean, I'm really proud to be a part of something so great. the organization and the history with guys like you and the great fan support, it's all where you want to be at a time like this. I can't wait to get there. Kobe, he's holding me back, but when he gets there, I start working. now so that when I come down it's ready that's great well we hope you come I'm excited for you I'm excited that the organization has a player like you when you get here I'll look for you Have you come to the house and feed yourself some gumbo and a few more things and get some crabs?

You try to suck their heads and all that stuff. They fit you perfectly, man. You will love being a saint. Organization comes first. -class miss benson and mr. Benson's Tom Benson has passed away, but I'm making almost an entire organization to be a paid coach there first class and you know they treat us former players like first class and that's what you want to be a part of, you'll be part of an organization first class so welcome to the Saints and we will be here to help you in any way we can Pat thank you so much it was great talking to you.

The Saints

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, it's not very often that I have interactions like this, but it was definitely worth it and I am very grateful to be a part of such a great organization that is your nation.