Fight all the way. Hey everybody welcome to another edition of hey fighting podcast the official podcast develops you football. As always I'm Cody Worsham digital media reporter for LSU Athletics. Very excited about today's show. We'll get straight into it. Sat down with LSU Junior punter.Von Rosen Berg on Tuesday had a really good conversation with Zach who's not only a very very good pun or second-team all-sec last year third nationally and net punning a year ago picking up right where he left off this year. Although he's not putting quite as much as he did last year because he often has been so good and sit down with Zach after a game in which he did not punt a single time. So we talked a little bit about that. But he also has a really interesting story that predates his football career. I got who was a six round draft pick. And the Major League Draft coming out of high school played a few years 6 years, I think of professional baseball at the minor league level didn't work out for him. He talks in a good he talks in depth in this episode about overcoming that that setback which really was the first setback in his life and it was a really good conversation was a key. Also give some insight into what it's like playing with Joe burrow and what it's like being a year younger than Joe Brady who is on staff now for LSU and had a huge part in the offense or Good stuff from Zach. He's got a unique perspective on things because of what he's been through because of his experiences and I thought it was a really good conversation. So without further Ado, let's go ahead and throw it to my interview with LSU punter. Is that van Rosenberg happy to be joined today by LSU punters a clown Rosenberg Zach. I'm excited about this conversation. I know you have a interesting story. I would have preferred to do it may be over. Over a glass of red wine, but it's it's 1050 and you've got practice today. So that would be probably a bad decision. But the last time I saw you was was after the Arkansas game and I asked you I said did you punt today? Because I you know, I mean, sorry after the Ole Miss game and I said did you punch today? Because I you know, it's not something that I think about during the game, but I saw you and it came to mind and you had not punted when's the last time that you did not punt for an entire game. Well that have been in 2016 when I redshirted but You when you were the star but I don't think I don't think I didn't I don't think it ever happened. I think we pointed at least once in every game since I started playing. I think we pointed at least one sponge against Georgia Southern that was one time upon against am last year that was one time but I think every game since I've started putting I find it in every single game except Ole Miss. I think I asked you about this after the am game because I think I came at it from the angle of what's it like once it gets into overtime. And you know, you're not going to punt but what's it like being on the sidelines and I know you had holding duties. So you were pretty busy with that. But what's it like on the sidelines when the offense is rolling like that and putting up 700 yards and you're kind of like man. I don't know if I'm actually going to get the kick today. Like is it does it change your mental approach? You have to try to stay looser? Like what's the difference? Yeah. I mean the way we were moving the ball. I kind of doubted that I would punt but I still kind of did my same routine in terms of staying warm and ready because at the end of the You know, it's still going to be my job to hit the ball 45 yards and I get a return but now and the great thing now to is holding. I would say last year have been harder because I have been standing stationary on the sidelines but with scoring so much. I'm constantly running out on the field and running off the field. So key that alone kind of keeps you keeps you going keeps you warm because we're going out there for holds which is nice. It keeps you busy. And but like I said if I wasn't holding if Josh was holding last year definitely would've made the process a little different because I would be Sitting trying to stay, you know stretching and it's kind of awkward to watch a guy just run up and down the sidelines all game. It's much better and more normal with the flow of the game to watch her run out for a field goal. Yeah and hold but that that's an easy way for me to stay warm. Like I said, I want to get into your story and it's kind of your journey here because it's interesting. But while we're talking football on the stick on football, I was talking to Gregg McMahan earlier this year and he was talking about it. Maybe it was maybe it was Blake. It was either but Blaker Greg, but I think it was coach McMahon who's talking about You took over that holder job that you spent hours on the jugs working on it. What's that? Like because to me, it's an aspect of the game. My brother was a High School kicker. So I kind of have a different appreciation for kickers and how difficult that job can be and that whole kind of battery but what's that like when you take over that job, which is something that nobody pays attention to until you mess up. Yeah. It's it's interesting. This was actually brought to my attention Yesterday by Derek Nancy. He told me that I do not get credit for a game. Mmmmm on Saturday because I was holding holding is a non-participant my place so I don't get credit for that game changing role. That sounds that sounds fishy. I know but but now, you know coach Mac always says it snap whole kicks and I pulled kick and I wanted my phase of the snap hold kick, which is the whole to be a non-issue and I took ownership of that and I wanted Kay to have the utmost confidence in me as a freshman kicker to get the ball where you know, and his preferential. However, he wants it which is pretty straight up. But obviously hitting the spot getting the laces out the way I think we only kicked one ball out of over a hundred kicks this year where it was laces and it was because he was so fast. I think it was the game before Ole Miss sort of an Alabama. Hmm. I believe where I just got the ball down. He's he was flying but I think one kick out of over a hundred has he gotten laces which I'm pretty proud of because that's you know, and you know when you watch a Snapple kick, you're not thinking about what the kicker's kicking or whatever what? He wants. Yeah, but I've wanted my position as a holder to be a non-issue and the factor of snap whole kick and we have a NFL caliber Snapper and I want to give Cade NFL caliber hold. So all he has to worry about is the mental side of Kicking and that's it. How much time did you spend on a jugs machine? Was that what you were using adjunct machine? Well, we I actually have a little chart and special teams room since the beginning of 2017 when I first started it kicked up. Especially because I actually started holding full-time but it's over 25,000 balls. I've caught objects and little over two years. Wow. So but I mean he has a lot but we have a lot to a lot of time on our hands of practice after that's right after our to peer special teams periods. But so and it's it was averaging that well last year was average about a hundred fifty balls a day. Well whenever we did jugs, yeah. So yeah, that was those a lot and I got sick of Of doing it, but at the end of the day got me better and more confident in myself and in cait confidence in me and you know, and it's just like I said it become a non issue of holding. Do you get nervous or adrenaline rush in those moments? Whether it's hunting or holding the the difference between the two are those moments of adrenaline are they does it depend on the situation as to how you kind of emotionally feel or do you feel like you've done it enough now to where it's kind of like business as usual at? I felt like holding was a little more difficult to me than punning because punting I'll just go out there. But man this is you know, this is I live for this the same thing as pitching. You know, it's just it's your one moment and three second play and get the ball off. I don't know it was not a lot of thinking or worry about it, but holding is a little different because there's a lot of factors that are involved like making sure Blake's on the same page with me or lined up properly getting Cade to have the exact motion every time the exact routine every time and getting a nod I see the catch in the hole but I was just nervous about it because I didn't I early on I caught myself not really breathing, you know the similar whereas punning it's like you take a deep breath exhale catch the ball kick it and then so I had a hard time at first figuring out like the right, you know, that sounds really weird, but I have to give a Cadence so during that Cadence you have to find time to breathe and I caught myself sometimes being like really out of breath after the kick so I kind of got that I have some people How to manage that and got some advice and what they said is take a ride before I can make the Cadence call I take a deep inhale exhale look at Katie gives me confirmation and we stopped old kick. Let's talk about Kate because he's a guy that I think has caught a lot of attention from fans this year because of what he's done as a freshman the way that he came in the talent that's clearly there with his leg and his ability to step up in big games and make kicks and he's like any freshman had a learning curve and he's had some Ames where he's been better in some games where he has and it was funny when you look at the stats, you couldn't tell that I mean his stats are pretty impeccable, but what do you what do you see in him? As a kicker? I think Cole was called Tracy was on campus. I think for the Auburn game and said this kid has a chance to be one of the best kickers ever come through here and come from coal Tracy. The has made more kicks in college in anybody that's ever walked the face of the Earth. That's pretty High Praise not to you know set a bar too high for my guess Cole's already done that but what have you seen from him? And what stands out about him and he is Leet he has an elite leg and he has a lead ability in we're just getting through the freshman year after he gets all these kicks. He gets 1415 our main games. We play under his belt. I feel like he'll really take off in terms of Kicking and you saw it on Saturday a lot of confidence going into that 53-yard field are 52-yard field goal. And that's that's just a lot to do with itself is confidence and getting into that Rhythm that he had the very beginning of the Season. He's finally hitting his stride. Tried as a kicker and then with him, you know getting all these games and he has Miss kicks and I was like, oh my God or mr. Phil will whatever but you need to miss you want to miss those field goals when they don't matter because you'll be ready to make them when they do matter and not that not the ones he miss didn't matter they did but they weren't in crucial times and he's already had, you know to move on from that and to grow That and like I said, you're not going to make every single field goal. It's about how you respond to missing that field goal. And I feel like he's really taking a lot of strides in improving with I love the way after the first kick against Ole Miss that he missed. He just ran off the field man. He just ran off the field. He gave high-fives. Everybody kocho gave him a high-five he could just tell okay. It's not gonna bother him. He you just tell that he had that steadiness to him, which is really cool to see you mentioned, you know practice and you guys have a lot of down time and practice. Obviously you're getting some work done on the jugs, but how different is the specialist true? Room the The Specialist kind of group, you know, you guys do have your two periods and then you're not free to do what you want. But it's not the same as some of those other guys. I mean you introduce humor is there, you know having fun and trying to still be competitive like what how different is that world from you? No offense and defense. It's a it's a game within a game. I know it sounds interesting, but your kick is going to score the most points on the field and then you don't realize it but like I got my job is to To give thought the opposing team's offense the least she made the most field to work with because the more first downs you have to get the harder it is to score and statistics in the NFL tell you that like, I think if you down the ball inside the 5-yard line, there's less than 10% of them scoring. There's a lot of Statistics that we've gone over with field position. And but like I said, it's a game within a game because if you could win the field position battle and your kicker scores more points than the other team which makes sense because when you score touchdowns, yeah, but your your chances of winning the game or it's just a field position, especially in the NFL. You don't see it as much in college because somebody lethal offenses in terms of field position by the NFL field position is everything just that extra like except instead of starting at the 25 from the 10 is like a 20 something percent chance Last of scoring. Yeah, and it's things that you don't even feel don't really know. If you're unless you're in football or no sabermetrics or whatever all these things are measuring but that's a huge part of And you you down on the 10, let's say don't get any yard. Now. We're going to put the ball or going to get to the opposing 40 and maybe even the guy Returns the ball past the 50 yard line. Now, you only need five four or five first down since poor are not even like kick a field goal you too. Yeah, but it's interesting and and Max really good about making simplifying, you know, difficult things, you know, because kickings hard and people sell my guys. Kick. Are you make kicks that a DOT will look how many people are missing field goals in the NFL and that's the highest level of football. Ball, we're missing extra points the NFL. It's just it's such a don't know people people take it for granted but it really is not easy to make field goals. If it was easy, then I would I would have been a field goal kicker instead of a punter but I just took punting because that was that was the first thing I learned how to do in high school was Punt and I didn't you know, I didn't yes we had coal and before him we had good kickers to but no we're good about making it a game within a game and Specific tasks every practice is every practice of what we're going to do whether we backed up kicks for backed up punch for me or down the ball inside the 10, but we literally make it microscopic and situational sides of the game into our practice. We incorporate that. I've always said like you couldn't pay me. I mean, there's no there's not a dollar amount. You could pay me to be a college kicker like you just couldn't do it. Just the pressure the stakes all that stuff. I'm just not cut out for it. So it does take a different breed. I want to kind of get into your journey now because you talked about hunting being the first thing you learn in high school. I think most people listening are probably familiar with your story. But for those who aren't I kind of just want to walk back through it, you are professional baseball player out of high school. You actually went through your an LSU baseball commitment right coming out of high school and you went through orientation. And then you take off for the major leagues just tell me about that process and and what that was like kind of those that the first time you thought you were going to be at LSU and then all of a sudden someone calls and they're offering you a lot of money. Yeah now it was it was weird for an 18. All the experience that and you didn't you know, when I was at that age then I didn't I didn't know what was really happening and seen Laci because the team didn't call me for a significant period of time they didn't call me for over a month. She like drafted in June and just like it was just radio silence. It was nothing for a long time. She was like, well, I'll just get ready to go to school and be a PLC baseball player Life's a tough gig right? I wasn't really sucks. I don't play baseball shoe. But now No, I it was interesting because once things got close to the deadline it's are heating up. So I getting phone calls and you know, hey, we're trying to sign this guy they were in for they were keeping me pretty well informed of what they were doing on their end. Yeah by the end of it and I didn't know where I was headed. But I you know, the ultimate goal was to play professional baseball and that's what I ended up doing and when they came to the table with the offer that I was willing to take I was like, I mean, what's I mean I want I'm going to school but After school, I want to play baseball anyway, so I'm just getting a head start and obviously it didn't pan out but it did in the sense that I got to come back and live in college and enjoy this too. So yeah, and that else want one of the things I thought was interesting about the Ole Miss players sort of one of the guys the quarterbacks a baseball player, but the running back as I think even better baseball player. He went to Ole Miss which was like that's interesting dude because you could have signed came back if you didn't if it didn't work out and play it at 30 like I'm doing yeah, it's just it's interests, but everybody's different. And and I knew look at the to a situation. What if I'd gone to LSU and tore my labrum and turma. Yep, you know had Tommy John or whatever like it's the same exact same principle. You're taking all the risk and almost, you know, very little reward. Yeah, you're on scholarship, but at the end of day two, it just cost himself 30 million dollars or whatever because he's no longer projected a top five pick and I hope he has insurance or something like that, but people don't people always like all college athletes this college athlete athlete's Zebedee in the day the kid played college football and Lost millions and millions and millions of dollars. So well, so hopefully for to it works out and he doesn't lose it because hopefully he can heal up and get back. You know, I remember being a young kid, really really young like 6 or 7 years old and my dad who is you know educator my mom's an educator and there my dad is kind of like the ultimate preparer. Okay. So 10 years before we were good athletes, you know, just regular good athletes and I remember him being like me being like six or seven years old and had been like, you know, what like if you guys Turned out to be professional baseball players. I think it'd be good to go straight out of high school because you get this money and you got leverage and all this stuff. I just remember that conversation standing out because here's my dad a high school principal and just talking about the advantages that you know, when you're that young and you got that leverage and that's your ultimate goal kind of like you're in the situation now, you can go back to school and get get get your education and and finish up and then you know in your case and in case of other guys we've seen Matt mauck did it as a quarterback here? There's always a chance to come back and play. So to kind of go toward that angle you're finishing up your baseball career, you know, you want to go back to school I guess. How did you become an LSU football player? Well, I had a little crisis. I lived in Tampa after I got released from the Pirates and that was that was a really hard time for me because my entire life, I've never failed at baseball. So that was the really the first time I had to deal with. failure and My brother Josh, I called him on the phone and he said that you know, it's not about the failure itself. It's how you respond to it. How do you come back from it? You know and and that was interesting because he and he was telling me how you know, he pitched a Barbie freshman year state championship. He won you pitched in Zachary sophomore through senior state championship games. You won you never got this moment. You just kind of coasting through life and you never got the rock bottom feeling that you have right now. So what are you going to do now how you're going to respond? And I told my dad I was like I'm gonna play football tells you he's like, all right, then do it. So then spent that summer in Tambo just kind of relaxing because that's near our facility Spring Training Facility. I tried to actually pitch for the the Skeeters in Houston that fell through because they signed to the same Year Tracy McGrady was playing for my believe. We Tracy McGrady played baseball. Yeah for the had no idea that he played baseball. That's crazy. Hmm. It was that year But then I emailed dr. Nadir in that fall right before. Well, I actually already attended school. I started as a part-time student so I can retain eligibility and then I emailed dr. Nader send him some video and didn't hear anything for a little while. He emailed me back and then actually Cam Cameron called me and was like, hey, it's like I heard about you know your email. Dr. Nader want to give you a shot. You can be a walk. I'll show I was like, all right. I'll see you. I'll see you first chance and you want to play quarterback at first, right? I did write a school quarterback. I did I did I had injuries that prevented me from from playing further and I came and I came back to punt now was ultimately what I I can't climb that was a high school quarterback, but I was a high school punter get a chain back my junior or senior year and punted but I'd always been I could always throw those a good quarterback and but when I came to, you know, try to play quarterback here Campground is low. He's like I'm a level with you. Like I got Brian Harris got Danny etling got Justin McMillan. I got three guys and you the best case scenario for you is you get a chance like a legitimate chance three years from now. Yeah, he's like, but you can play tight and right now and at the time everybody was her to Sean Smith has heard Jeter was hurt. Everybody Foster was the only one that was healthy, which is ironic because he was the only one that was healthy last year at the ball game the Fiesta Bowl he was the only tight end we had those healthy and so it's kind of funny because like maybe it could have worked. Out both ways, but now and then, you know, I became a tight end was a tied in first season gained 35, whatever pounds got up to like 260. It was miserable. Wow. How do you get that much weight? Oh my God, I ate everything in sight. It was awful. I would eat like five breakfast sandwiches before 10 a.m. I was eating like 8,000 calories minimum a day. It was unbelievable and Michael Phelps diet. Yeah. It was it was that was rough. It was rough times in my world working out a lot trying to add muscle. I got I got Wrong Insurance I've ever been in my life. But at a cost of feeling miserable walking across campus and sweating for no reason all the time. Yeah, because I was I was big so how does the transition to punter come about then our backup Hunter at the time I want to he's still playing college football, but he kind of got in trouble and they gave me an opportunity and Cam Cameron said hey, I've seen you pot and mess around at practice. He's like, you know, you want to try it and I was like Let's do it. Yeah and sure enough. I ended up getting the backup spot behind Josh and I didn't find any in 2016, but I won the backup job and got to travel to Wisconsin for the game Green Bay against Wisconsin. That was kind of a guy that was a rough game. But yeah, we don't need to be reminded. But now that's that's kind of what got me here and then did you know 2017? I got my opportunity and and I did well and I was able to In the job and I've been fine ever since what was what was your breakthrough? You know, I remember this was before I worked here. I remember the Tennessee game and Knoxville that pouring down game just where it was miserable. I was 2017 I think and I remember you had a big game that game that's that's the first game that I remember like. Oh this guy is like like he's a really really good punter. What was kind of your breakout moment. It was probably that game. Yeah. I was good. I was doing all right until that game that game I can't My mentality kind of change those like well, so I got like a 35 mile an hour winds. So just I was going to try and hit him the worst ball I can and what I mean by that is a ball that's going to get caught by the way. I mean, you do want to get we had a cross when they gain so it wasn't terrible but I mean, well I shouldn't say I was swirling it was all over the place. Yeah, again, we the weather is wild but I knew that if I could get the ball up in the air on from we actually was fortunate to punt With the Wind twice and I know if I ate that ball in the air it was going to do some funny things. And the first pot he fumbled I had like a perfect ball right to the sidelines and I felt bad for the cake is a lie. I was going to land around Sidelines at the last second and jetted right back toward the middle of the field and he muffed it on the numbers and I was like, I don't know why I tried to catch that because that ball was it was knuckle and so bad. Yeah, but ultimately I don't want to claim credit for the fumble but like the wind and I knew that windy days with a pun because it goes so high in the air she is incredibly difficult to catch and That was what obviously made him Huff that we had field position inside the 20 and then it happened again later in the game where I had up actually a much poorer Ball, but because it was a crosswind it ripped the ball back to the middle of field and he tried to catch it again. But because the had too much momentum or velocity he kind of misjudged where the ball is going to be with that that curve and it went right through as alms and micro Divinity fell on it. Yeah, and I think every pain of had was over 45 I had like a 65 yard or in that game that because they after the second fumble. They said we're not going to catch any more and it was control. Yeah what I'm role to like the two or one yard line. So but yeah, that was I would say that was my Breakout game and then 2018. I thought my I had a good game against Auburn. I had the ball really well against Simon and we did lose last year, but I'm always proud us of the Bama game because I knew how good of a returner waddle was and I got a verse like 48 against My last year, even though you know, we didn't score any points. Yeah, what a what a difference of games this sort of hidden, but now the the the Wild game again last year because as you saw this year, you know, we we have opportunity to catch guy, but great players make unbelievable plays and for him to get out of racemic mass grip like that and run for a touchdown was pretty incredible to watch. Yeah. He's pretty good. Even if I was pissed about it. Yeah. Yeah, he's pretty good before we kind of move onto this team and I want to get kind of your opinion on what it's like to see the transformation of this team. As you're going from tightened upon her how much weight. Did you have to lose? How much did your body have to transform in the complete opposite direction that you could just transformed it. So I got here at 220 got up setting up. My official final weight was like 258 and then they didn't really tell me I needed to lose weight to play punter. I just I just knew that I was miserable at 250. Yeah, but I lost weight fairly quickly because I wasn't eating nearly the volume of what I was so I want from 258 to 230 pretty probably within. Six months six or eight months and then I been hovering around 233 234. Yeah, thanks. I got I got little stronger. I stopped eating. Like I said nearly as much but I so to 22:58 back down to 2:30. Yeah, and that's where I've gone ahead and done is just about adding flexibility and leg strength that kind of thing my I'm more worried about the flexibility for Health. It doesn't mean yeah, it does help for the extension of the ball. But ultimately your fast twitch muscle. It's like any other position you want to strike the ball to certain angle right? Just below from your knee for me. And that Force you exert on the ball is going to cause the ball to fly and flexibility is more for like the health side of it. You want to be flexible so you can remain healthy for an entire season, but you do see guys like JK Scott that have unbelievable flexibility. Yeah, but obviously and I still need to improve in that area, but it's not the end-all be-all of punning for sure speaking of radical Transformations. You've kind of had a front-row seat to see what's happened here. I asked you about this last week at players. The cultural transformation will talk about the offense and some of that stuff in a second because that's that's the fun stuff. But the cultural transformation here has been incredible to see Cojo talked about it yesterday about all the things that that he wanted to do when he took over on a full-time basis and the quote that says out with me was he wanted to coach from within not from above which I thought was first of all the Fantastic quote, but it also kind of summed up what he's about and what he's kind of brought to the table here. So how have you seen the the program changed from when you got here in 2016? To where it is. Now. Are you guys are you know one game away from clinching the SEC West and got a chance to go to Atlanta and Beyond and make a playoff run how much is have things changed? Not not on the outside but on the inside. Yeah from from 2016. I would just say till now I would say that people have bought in there. They're all in and it's not that that's not the number one factor, but having a bunch of guys. Doing their own thing and not kind of all on the same page or all you know, all bought in is a huge Factor because you got guys kind of know I don't say like they're running their own show or their own gig but like when guys trust each other and rely on each other in are playing for each other as a whole different atmosphere in the locker room in terms of versus guys that are playing for themselves. They have future NFL career to protect or whatever. Yeah, and there there is some overlap that you can be about your inner. Well career and you can also be brought into the program and that's where I think we're at now guys know there's future NFL careers ahead of them and they know are going to be drafted high but they're also bought in to winning here. Yeah there he bought into their teammates and their friends here, whereas before it was it was people that weren't a hundred percent bought it and they weren't sold on LSU. They weren't sold that we were going to win the SEC Championship with the Masjid. They weren't sold that this was the year. It was more of I'm going to you know, I'm not You me and if I get my chance or excuse me, if I you know, if I do well good great. And if I don't and you know, I'm out like well if we don't win basically and that's another thing winning four teams that are healthy. You can have one loss and bounce back but our losses in the past seemed to snowball over and I didn't feel like that even last year. We were 10 and 3 but like we played well except for One game I really did. I thought we played well against Florida. No, he didn't should we play it? We made too many mistakes, but we played well, we played hard against them. We lost Alabama was our one lost because we just got beat there's with just last year and then the A&M game obviously everybody saw that way and I felt like we fought till the very end. Yeah, we're still guys literally could not move the there's there's an asterisk next to that right for numerous reasons, but those games you could tell there was fight, you know, and whereas previous years the the it was Once we gave up it just there wasn't the same fight the same energy. Yeah, and whereas now like everybody everybody here is they're going to fight, you know from you know, I don't even know if everybody's upset about the Ole Miss game obviously with good reason, but if I was pissed off and not not at each other but like, you know what we gotta we gotta straighten this out. Yeah, get our shit together. JoJo's had the best quote about this where you were talking about the team success first individual success, and he always says this and it sounds cliche to some Opal but if you know Joe and I don't know just super well, but I don't know well enough that he really means it. He's always believed that if you have Team success, the individual accolades and rewards will come and so he believed that in high school and his team's ran two state championships in a place that never won state championships and then he gets Ohio State offer and he's believed that at LSU or even last year where his stats weren't as good. The team accolades were very good. You go to Fiesta Bowl. You went 10 games new year six bowl all that stuff and it's kind of Snowball Effect to this year where I mean, you know, I think it's all obvious. How could a season he's had? Do you have an Eclectic Joe Borough story like he's such a that's the word that everyone uses with them eclectic. I think you've got a different perspective than a lot of the guys in the locker room. Just being older and haven't been around the block being unprofessional locker rooms. Do you mean what stands out about him as a guy is a teammate? He's one of the best people I've seen in terms of handling the hype because he doesn't it doesn't go to his head. Head he's still hungry Joe burrow and it's funny. I didn't know a lot of things about them until recently about his basketball career and how he was a good baseball player that we just talked about that probably two weeks ago and I related to him in that because you know, I when I was baseball player I had a, you know, a decent on a hike to I would say, but I wanted I wanted to be hungry and obviously I was in pro ball. I just that I couldn't take the next step. Yeah, and he he's taking the next step along with And the pressure of being expecting to be Joe burrow and that and that's why he says he likes getting hit and games. It kind of wakes him up and like all right. This is real like yeah, and that's what it's like a running joke. Now I've seen the meme a couple times that the hit in the UCF game changed Joe burrow into new Joker like you have all yeah, and I don't think that's the case but it's ironic because so many games he gets hit. He's been hit or miss game got a big head against Auburn beginning its Bama be all these big hits. He's taken is he Just like he gets up and he's like he's ready to go. Yeah, you can see a different. He just clicks into this mode of like all right, it's time to sound of whip somebody's ass. Yeah and he acts like it seems like he's away from know how to explain this on the field. He's a he's a biggest most competitive person like me. I'm the same way. I'm incredibly competitive. I want to for playing freaking croquet. I want to beat your ass. Okay, you know, so but he has the exact same. Mentality where you you see him on the street or here, sometimes you just Meandering around nonchalant being to keeping to himself. He likes to hang out at his house play video games, whatever. Yeah, but the second you steps between those white lines in the field. He's like a completely different person and it and I see it and and drills it practice seven on seven guys that pick the ball off like he is infuriated. Like he's he's let me give me the ball. It's just again. Yeah, it's just a flip. It's a flip that she made a switch that gets flipped that turns him into that massive competitor. Yeah, and the guys that have the edge Anita and I fell the guys like that in the NFL Tom Brady's Drew Brees has their elite players. You can just tell that they have that Gene whatever it is, but he's got it and it's fun to watch because I see him joke around a locker room and just, you know be himself versus the guy on game day that is completely different person that you almost don't want to talk to because So it's whether it be the we had to punt I'm his worst. Enemy is out upon so he does want to see me on the field, which is that's good. I'd rather you'd rather a quarterback push that way but he's a completely different person. He's a football player. I don't want to say court but he is a football player. Well, he gets mad when he sees you on the field for field goals to because I want to score touchdowns. All right, he only wants you out there for extra points to things that you touched on there that I've got to I've got to expand on because it's the exact we went up to Athens to do the story. On him and it's the exact same thing that a couple people said. So one the thing about him getting hit his high school coach figured out his sophomore year that fact that if Joe gets hit he's better after he gets hit. So he made it a rule that he had to call it running play for Joanne like the first four plays of the game and he it's still a rule that he uses with his quarterbacks today. So he calls it the Joe burrow roll. The other thing he talked about was if someone picks him off he goes at them. I'm not going to say the guys name, but there was a kid that they played against a Rival school that they didn't like already like they knew him through other sports and they didn't like him and he picked off Joe early in this game. And for the rest of the game, Joe said we're not throwing to anybody else except whoever that guy is garden and I think the final score is like fifty eight to seven or something they won but it's just so funny that that stuff has been there from from the get-go for him. And now you guys are where you are and he's been a huge part of it. The whole team is kind of come together and rallied around that concept, but you're on the brink of winning. The SEC West was one more win. What's the mentality of the team in this moment and the and on the brink of accomplishing so much. It seems like this team does has a great ability to block all that out and just kind of like you said talking about special teams. And the way that y'all kind of focus on the micro and practice seems like the whole team has the ability to do that and you know forget about the Alabama when forget about the Ole Miss when and just focus on we got to beat Arkansas this week and all the other stuff is kind of trivial. It's the Joe Brady roll what he says he says I want to know and he says it all the time and it's a great microcosm of the season because I remember at the beginning of the year mean. Everybody says block out the noise, but I got family members at listen to radio and podcast and also and I got them call me also with you think you'll be what 10 and 293, you know, you really going to beat Texas Alabama and Mike really like come on like we haven't even played a game yet. Like yeah, let me let's get through the first couple games before I make a prediction. About anything and and but yeah the want to know thing and Coach. Oh so that Joe Brady says it's just you the task at hand. Is there standing in the way at the end of that? You got to beat that it doesn't matter. What happens in the game. How many fumbles how many puns how many field goals you beat him at the end of the game? Yeah. We have more points in them at the end of the game because if you have a zero in the second column, you're going to be somewhere special event of the year. And so really adopting the one game at a time and tality is worked. And you see that in the results of the big huge games we play this year. We had Auburn close game came out on top. We had Texas which is a nail-biter a little bit but it's just we broke even yeah, it's want to know but it's even into drives when this drive when this defensive have a defensive stand. It is literally become such a individualized theme of when this drive. Yeah because it's going to you know demoralize them. I know at Joe was pretty pissed about the second possession at Alabama where I felt like if we Discord and the first two drives because they didn't score on their first drive. We just scroll within those first two drives. They probably would have quit. Yeah, and it could have been a really really ugly score ended up coming back and making it close but that game in my opinion. I was so confident. After halftime. I was like, there's there's no way like, I'll take Joe and clot everyday. Yeah same thing Joe. So that's who he said. I'll take 22. Yeah any down? Yeah. Me back, whatever I agree because those guys fight and we have our receivers that are Elite. It's just what's our weakness at the end of the day in terms of offense. And when you have that much confidence every it resonates everybody everybody feels that confidence. Everybody has the belief and you had that belief, you know, you can beat anybody and that's the whole going into the game those the Alabama game. That was a huge ordeal just having the confidence of knowing our offense is lethal. Which means we're going to put points on them. It's just me. They got to put less points on us and but that that effect of want to know like I said taking it one game at a time has been huge. We'll wrap it up and get you out of here real quick first. What's the age gap between you and Joe Brady? He's a less than a year older than me. That's crazy. That's crazy. It's so weird. He's younger than me. And it's just it's just it's so weird. He's had such a huge impact on the team. All right, man. Let's wrap it up, hopefully to He's one. Hopefully we don't see you on the field punning this weekend because the offense does so well, but to hopefully we get this rule change to we're holding counts for a play because that just didn't seem right to me. You're out there. Can you got to you got to get a game for that right now? It's in the rule book Derek Hansen shut it we'll do what we can to fix my man. Appreciate your time to. Thank you. It's all free for you. It's all free for you.
No one's story is quite like Zach Von Rosenberg's. The 29-year-old punter played six years of professional baseball before joining LSU in 2016, where he bounced from quarterback to tight end to, finally, punter. Now, he's one of the best in the country, a field-flipping weapon who consistently pins foes deep in their own territory and who holds field goals and extra points for one of the top-scoring offenses in SEC history. His unique journey has given him unique insight into LSU's rise to the top of college football, and we dive deep into both. We discuss all things special teams – Greg McMahon's impact on the room, Cade York's development, his breakthrough in 2017 at Tennessee – but we also dig into his story: how he overcame the first failure of his life after six years of college baseball; how he bounced between positions and gained and lost weight to try and find his role with the Tigers; how he's watched Joe Burrow turn into the best quarterback in college football from the front row. This is one of the most interesting and unique conversations I've had on this show all season. Sit back, grab a glass of red wine, and enjoy. 