Alshon Jeffery on how Saquon Barkley changes the Eagles' offense | Takeoff

hey everybody Welcome to takeoff with John Clark presented by Rivers Casino and NFL free agency and Eagles free agency is going on and let's bring in a former Super Bowl champion with the Eagles he had three touchdowns in the Super Bowl in the NFC title game Alshon Jeffrey it's been a while how are you I'm good man thanks for having me hope all is well with you too yeah hope everything is good with you and we see the uh Eagles jersey there we see the Bears helmet but we see the Eagles jersey so um when people talk to you do you consider yourself an eagle or do you consider yourself a bear like what do you consider yourself I'm both man the bear is for give me opportunity you know to help me change my family life some both you know and I Philly my time was great you know I had great experience with W to both I'm both nice and uh when you look at free agency right now and you see that the Eagles have signed sequan Barkley what was your initial reaction with the offense that they already have and the players they have adding a pro bowl running back like that man I'm excited I'm excited to see what he uh what the offense look like this year because I know um he's a special player special talent and him and jayen in the back field together it's going hey Sky's a limit and you as a great receiver in this league what does having a running back like saquan Barkley who is a three down back can run it catch it what does that do to help a receiver like you in this Eagles offense it's goingon to be more single high safety I tell you that like uh I mean that's what you want I mean I look forward to AJ and Devonte having a great I mean having a field day out there like having fun out there in Dallas I mean like so you got to pick your poison if you're going to try Toop to run or you going to tryy to double team somebody so it's uh I'm excited and uh like I said uh being as a receiver like hey you just sometimes you just want to watch special talent just do they thing what impresses you about saquin when you watch them I mean knowing that he could score every time he touch the ball and uh seeing what he did I'm not no knock against the Giants but I'm just saying I know that I we have a better old line so I'm excited about I just know that we have a better old line so just wait and see I'm excited and I remember uh talking to Malcolm Jenkins a couple times about this I would I would say to him who is the hardest player to tackle and he said number one for him in his career was Marshawn Lynch but he said sequan is second do you know for a fact especially in those cold games in December in the Northeast cold towns where you see saquin running at Defenders I mean dud Defenders really want to get in there and tackle that guy I mean I know play defense but I've heard some of my buddies who play defense they chatter about that like it's different and and being on offense you know that if you got a good running back that like when we had Le Garrett or a Jay we just knew that they not gonna want to tack on Nicole especially if they not used to it so I mean he's he's already pen State Alumni so he's used to that plus he living in New York so I'm like I say it's gonna be exciting season I guess we're gonna see and and what else can sequan bring when the Eagles last year second half for the season they had a really hard time having answers to the blitz what can a guy like saquin who can catch the ball out of the back field he can block on third downs but he can also catch it out of the back field how much does that help have answers for the blitz um I mean he's like I said he's a special talent so I'm sure they're G to correct some of those things from this past season whatever the situation was like I have faith in Howe the front office and know jailing and those guys going to correct some but Adam Ain definitely helps out a lot so I'm sure they're gonna have a lot of different wrinkles in the offense that we can expect so of course in Philly here Eagles fans call it hoe season when they see Hoy Roseman get to work and he had over $40 million in cap space they got a young pass rusher Edge rusher Bryce Huff from the Jets they also brought back CJ Gardner Johnson when you came to the Eagles you came on a one-year deal boom they win the Super Bowl in 2007 what do you think of what hoe does every year to to transform this Eagles team I think how's a mastermind he's a genius you know he's one of the best that if not the best like putting a team together and knowing how to create wigg room with cat space or whatever it is like he's one of the best if not the best like I said so like uh definitely a big fan of how he he he knows the right buttons to push and uh to get a team together and to build a great team and and being around hoe of course when you won the Super Bowl the organization tried desperately to get back there and try to win it again when you were with the Eagles do you sense especially what happened last year where they were 10 in one to start and had the collapse that that really makes everybody hungrier oh definitely for sure I mean whatever happened last year is last year that's how you gota look at it like it's a new year new season don't even dwell on the P just move forward just flushy like it's just one of those season that unfortunately things like that happened that's still still a great team still got a great uh core guys and uh I believe in him so you've watched Jaylen Hertz play you were teammates with him for your last year in Philly uh what do you think of his Ascension in the NFL and obviously he had an MVP type year leading them to the Super Bowl two years ago but maybe he had more turnovers last year he didn't look as good what do you think his future is rebounding from this year SK limits with jayen I mean jayen know know what he got to do in the work that uh he got to put in I can say my time there with him like he always was a uh true professional um always did extra and uh kept the guys together and I would say from day one like you just knew that Jay was going to be special I mean just some of the practices when he was going against the first team defense like you just knew that he was going to be special so I'm not I wasn't surprised yeah that he had when he went the MVP you just gota um I feel that uh I feel like um like this season is going to be it ain't no pressure on him like he's he can handle any pressure is like uh that's I feel like that's any quarterback that goes to the Super Bowl in the next year is not what expected or the expectation is set higher but he gonna continue to be him and he's gonna have a gonna have a great year I don't know if you've heard some of the talk of course being a former Chicago Bear Justin Fields is one of the most fascinating things in the NFL right now and some people are saying well they're not going to trade for him a team isn't for him to be the starting quarterback at this point or maybe the Bears were asking for too much so some people have suggested it is possible the eagles need a backup quarterback could they possibly trade for Justin fields to come in as Jaylen herz's backup what do you think that would create as a situation when Jaylen is your franchise quarterback I'm not going to get into that but uh like I said how we do a great job of building the te like I know jayen is the future of the franchise so I mean I'm sure if if that was to happen jayen will open open where I welcome with open arms but like I said I'm not gonna get into that like uh um but uh Justin Fields is a special title of his own so I just feel that uh the right team or the right coach is all is just take is one team or one person to believe in you so it's interesting it's interesting because everybody does know Jaylen Herz is the franchise quarterback you were there in the final year of Carson Wentz with the Eagles Jaylen Herz gets drafted and don't know if Carson was looking over his shoulder or if some guys gravitated to Jaylen but it kind of all fell apart how much do you have to manage as an organization the relationships with quarterback and his teammates but also making sure the quarterback isn't looking over his shoulder I mean at the end of day it's a Professional Organization it's a you're professional so it's always next man up or whatever the situation is everybody's uh true competitors always look at a situation like when I was on I tell every receiver in the receiver room even when I was in Chicago like playing with B Marshall and everybody else like we always to say that we want everybody to feel that we the best so every day just bring it but we all bring something special to the table but we you know we gonna have fun and compete but it's all love so just be happy for the next person and just keep going so if I could put you on the spot who do you think is the greatest receiver in Eagles history because there's kind of an argument now in Philly whether it's to or AJ Brown hey I'm I'm big fans of both of those guys I guess it depend on the time like because you know uh T special in his own right and AJ special his on right so I'm not gonna get into the comparison but they both special and uh like I said I'm a big fan of both of those guys they uh well AJ still got more still got some work to do but he's a future Hall of Famer in my eyes like he just got to keep continue to put up I mean do his thing and just stay focused so everybody talked about your catch radius and how if you put the ball up to alshan Jeffrey somewhere in his catch radius he was gonna come down with it how impressive is it what AJ does and what do you like about AJ's game in that respect I mean AJ's a dog he's true competitor like he just want the ball and just make plays like um I feel like those catches is wild to you but I just I mean for me as a competitor I'm sure he would say that's just normal that's every day that he practice that's routine like I mean highlight clicks is cool but I feel like that's normal like that's expected like he that's his standards I mean I don't know him personally but I know that he being a competitor that's his standards like he he do that all the time do you think AJ and Devonte are one of the very top receiving Duos in the NFL oh for sure for sure they definitely one a or one b or any team would take them like they'll be number ones on any team are they we got two number ones on our team with Dallas so you know like I said the sky is a limit could you give me your top five receivers in the NFL oh top five I don't I feel like the NFL got a lot of great receivers I can't say top five like uh like I said the Eagles got two of them that's on 18 team like I feel that special like I know I mean I don't know those guys but I know the work they put in I they competitive so Eagles got two on their team uh the Bengal um Tyreek kill you can't forget about Tyreek Justin Jefferson Devonte Adams Stefon Diggs I feel like the list can go on and on it's a lot of great receivers that that's on that's on great team just a lot of great receivers so I can't I don't have a top five though and you got dvo and all the what's uh other receiver for the 49ers he's pretty special as well oh Brandon auk yeah so you can't I mean I feel like everybody got their own little flavor depend on what you like yeah that's a good point uh when you look at AJ Brown and Devonte Smith and and your time in the NFL when you have two receivers who are that good and their teammates give me an idea of how competitive you are with each other but also supporting each other I mean like I said earlier like me and me and B Mar play on the same team like I just know that he did something well and I do something that he we both agree that he did something well and I do something well but uh it's all funny it's all fun like it's all love like I want I'm Cher and Ru I wanted him to go out there and kill it was whatever is my turn his turn whatever it is supposed to win like just have fun doing it and some some days it's not going to be this guy's not gonna get the ball it's the other guy turn so but I understood that and I'm sure they they understand that as well but it's all fun you know they just having fun there's no competition against each other and they all want they both pushing each other to great so speaking of great Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox just retired over the last week uh being teammates with those two Eagles Legends can you give me an idea of what it was like to be around Kelsey and Fletcher Coxs every day and what they brought to the team I mean it was me and Fletcher knew each other before I came to the Eagles even we played against each other in the SEC so we already had a relationship before then but just getting uh getting Philly like when when Fletch was calling me and recruiting me telling me to come to Philly and stuff like that um I always had a great time flesh he funny guy he's definitely funny in his own way like with uh he play little pranks and stuff but he he was a funny guy he was cool M cool I love SL he he was uh like I said we SEC B so we always used to talk trash about the SEC with each other like that um Jason is uh the Super Bowl Parade that's all I guess that's Jason that's that's that's Philly that's Philly like yeah that's Jason like that's all the time he was always uh had a great Charisma and um always expresses his feelings and stuff like that so you know and always been real with you did you know that he was gonna give that Super Bowl speech there at the parade N I didn't know but uh he gave the best speech of all time super speech of all time for sure you know it's hard to top that can you give me an idea of a prank or two that Fletcher Cox played on you or anybody else I ain't going to get into those details bre I'm not going to get it I'm not gonna get into and you know Alshon you played through if I remember correctly um you had a torn labrum right during the Super Bowl run yeah and and that's pretty unbelievable that you played through that torn laum on the run to winning the Super Bowl did you feel the culture and and a guy like Jason Kelce who was playing through a lot of stuff all the time do you think that that was kind of a culture he helped create you know that you were all tough because of that um I would say in a sense I mean because nobody knew I was hurt honestly only person knew was me howy my agent at the time and probably my my family nobody else knew that I was hurt so it's just kept it a secret we I just kept we just all kept it in house and uh we just said that we'll deal with after after the season and I felt that I'm like it was good enough I could play I can make adjustments I can make I can catch the ball so let's go hey celebrity Cook Steve Marano is bringing his Italian American Cooking back home to Philly where it started enjoy Marano's Prime at Rivers Casino and Steve's Famous meatballs with Sunday gravy prime steaks and more so make reservations for Marano's Prime on Open Table I've been to the one in Fort Lauderdale I'm glad it's back in Philly you know Alshon it's extremely rare for Kelsey Fletcher Cox Lane Johnson and Brandon Graham they've played together 12 years or more together that's pretty amazing that doesn't happen in the NFL a whole lot what did all of their leadership mean to the Eagles in that year you you won the Super Bowl here man they all played a huge part a huge role over I feel like like even me and free agency uh taking that leap of deciding where I wanted to go to next after the Bear show uh and I was one of the reasons having all those guys and um and I know what they they what uh what they brought to the table and how what kind of competitor they was but just getting there in the facility and just seeing how everyone gravitated and love those guys so I mean I feel like yeah that was uh I'm sure uh some of the Fletch and uh Kelsey will be missed but BG still there and Lane still there they can uh keep it keep the float hold it afloat and pass it along how how were they as far as speaking to the team because I know a couple times Jason Kelce gave some very emotional speeches to you guys maybe when there were some struggles or something like that sometimes he was in tears uh how impressive were those speeches I mean it was real I mean it was uh especially when we were struggling or if we needed it it was uh you could tell it meant a lot especially to Kelsey I'm not saying that uh um or the or before the game or we didn't have a game that we thought was our best like the next day on a Monday or Tuesday we didn't thought our best Kelsey would let us have and he would take full responsibility of certain things and stuff like that so for defense it was different like I feel like Fletch and BG talk more U before the game or stuff like that so but I just know offensive side Kelsey definitely uh definitely was a lot passionate about a lot of things and you I mean you could just tell it came from the heart what did you think of uh playing in Philly and uh and and of course the Super Bowl Parade when you saw the millions of Eagles fans there lined up on Broad Street to the art museum what what did you think of that whole experience man it was awesome I tell people all the time there no place like shy like I mean I know they say the fans get a bad rap but I just feel like you know you it just come with it like uh I mean I enjoyed it I loved it I appreciate it like I said I was embrac and we won the Super Bowl so I love it and it's great Sports time so you know it ain't for everybody sure and and have you ever talked with some other players because I I saw Stephen Nelson on his podcast a cornerback uh on his podcast he said I I couldn't take it it wasn't for me I can't hear the fans all the time getting on me during the game and all that have you talked to some guys who just can't take Philly I talked to opposed to you play said they FS are crazy that's what they said most of them they just real passionate about their sports like it's not only football it's everything but it's something that you got to understand you gotta be that understanding but it ain't for everybody what is that like for you because they say when you win a championship in Philadelphia especially the first Super Bowl championship that when you come back to town you never have to buy a drink ever again what is it like when you come back to Philly or have you experienced that I haven't been there I haven't been there in a while but I'm I'm coming to Philly soon but I haven't been there in a while but uh I mean like I said Philly's awesome Place uh I love it there um like I said they welome open on special place in my heart so I'm cutting back on drinking so I don't think I I don't want no drinks but yeah I'm cool on that yeah but I appreciate a meal with to or whatever whatever the case it don't have to be a milal it be something simple that's all that matter to me how were those times with your teammates because they say when you win a championship with your your brothers on the team it's a Brotherhood and is that a bond for life but give me an idea of the celebrations that you guys had together as teammates whether it was after winning the Super Bowl after winning other big games the Brotherhood that you have I mean I just think that uh it was just special that whole season because I feel like we did a lot of things together like whether somebody birthday we went to the bowling alley we did a lot of things together like offense or defense wise like we was all jelling and we was all hanging out we were all having a good time like together like I off the field so that's a uh special p and even when we won the NFC Championship me and Jake me and Jason Fus was I mean yeah Jason JP was together JP was like uh he was just V to me and just tell me like just thank you and just so appreciate it like even though he was hurt he was like man he he's been to the NFC championship before but he's like man this first time life I ever get the Super Bowl so I appreciate everybody who's a part of you for coming here and stuff like that and we had a real conversation but I just told him definitely we're not done I we not gonna let you down we not even know you're not playing you've been a part of this all year we Not Gonna Let You Down everybody who's hurt we still got one more one more one more game to go and and you were there for the Super Bowl and then Eagles tried to get back to the Super Bowl a bunch of years after that and you saw something was just different with Carson Wentz he wasn't able to be that level of player that he was in 2017 how much do you think Nick Foles winning the Super Bowl and then them bringing in Jaylen Herz how much do you think that that weighed on Carson wenton kind of changed him I mean I wouldn't know I'm just being honest like uh you gotta uh you gotta ask I feel like that's a question you gotta ask him honestly for me I just feel like you know like I said l let the you got to move on from it the next year is the next year and you got to make the best of it you know it didn't unfortunately it didn't work out for everybody we wanted to more Super Bowls and stuff like that you know that things happen give me an idea of being a receiver in the NFL because you watch all these other sports is being a receiver the most dependent position in all the sports on somebody else I feel like every every every position matter in football like every man must do their job for however long they can do it whether it's one second two second three second like football everything matter every inch matter like uh so you have to um I wouldn't say receivers the most important job but I just feel that everybody is uh hold accountable and you know you got to do your job so I feel like each piece matter whether it's offense defense special that's one sport everything really matters well what I actually meant by that was okay so you got the quarterback you could have two or three receivers running routes and let's say a couple are open but quarterback's got to throw you the ball so is is receiver kind of the most dependent position on somebody else meaning the quarterback throwing him the ball because you know a lot of times you could be running routes you could be open but the quarterback may not necessarily throw you the ball in that play maybe he throws it to the tight end throws to somebody else just how dependent is the position of receiver in football you got I feel like just understanding that uh you're not gonna get the ball every play so I always understood that and I feel like yeah when he throw the play when he throws you the ball you gotta make the play so I understand your question what you saying but I just feel that like I said I always understood that I'm not gonna get the ball every play so I'm G affect the game is there other ways you can affect the game than getting the ball so might have to go run this route for a decoy I'm have to give it up for the team don't matter if I'm open or not well I could be open on this double team but I just know I got this is me this is my part my job I got to do right now and I'm sure you probably heard this year AJ Brown is a very emotional guy he's a passionate emotional guy and you see him on the sidelines or sometimes on the field he lets that passion and emotion out and some people say oh it's another receiver wanting the the ball and and saying things like that on the field and AJ says it's just about emotion and passion and holding his teammates accountable uh do you feel for that sometimes with AJ and other receivers because a lot of times receivers get singled out for being the guys that are talking the most or on the field expressing their their their emotions and stuff like that I mean I feel like it's coming from a good place you just got to understand if you know if you one of his teammates you understand it's coming from a good place like you I play with B Marshall who's more more uh more wanted uh would to say uh kind of like AJ I would say but uh I just let him be him that's part of that would make him great you gota let him be him that's what makes him great like uh on the TV do look good to some people everybody got an opinion but all that matters is the Brotherhood that's in the locker room so it don't really okay y everybody make a big deal out of anything these days so I just feel like clickbait you know continue to be you AJ and continue to make plays and bring a Super Bowl to Philly this year or you know some Deliver us a Super Bowl yeah and it's interesting because Alshon it has changed so much with professional athletes now with social media being out there how hard is it to stay off social media or not pay attention to what the guy in his mom's basement somewhere far away is saying on Twitter like how hard is that to ignore all that I mean I feel like for me I understood that the moment I played football from Little League I became a you become a public figure somebody got opinion so when you're little so when you get to the big leagues it's the same opinion just that somebody can just go online and say it's no different either if you was reading a newspaper when somebody wrote something good or bad about you there no different so you got to understand that and uh everybody's entitled to their own opinion so just know who you are and be aware of yourself and it's all love did did you ever find yourself looking at stuff like that and it got you down at all or or were you completely able to stay away from it I mean for the most part I stay away for because I know who I am like you got it's this professional we not gonna win every game I'm not gonna make every play I want to everybody want to just like you want to be the best reporter or somebody want to be the best doctor but that's just life you just got to keep practicing and keep going at it so what do you think right now when when you look at the free agent moves the Eagles have made of course saquon Barkley we talked about him CJ Gardner Johnson they bring back him at safety and they signed a young Edge rusher Bryce Huff from the Jets uh do you think the Eagles have put themselves back in position uh to to be a contender in the NFC I mean I feel like we always a contender every year we a we always a contender every year oh like it's every year we a contender I mean do did that uh put the uh Super Bowl a bus I feel like or the expectation of that or winning the NFC yeah I mean getting sequin add more pieces but I'm sure how he's not done like we G add some more pieces so uh like I said they just got to put the work in the offseason and just just focus and locking in the Brotherhood and just all the outside noise don't matter it's just you know what's in a locker room and just keep focusing just keep going keep your head down and just stay focused so were you ever there and witnessed Jaylen Herz squatting the 600 pounds no no I never I never witnessed that I never so now you got saquin Barkley coming in here and it looks like he can also squat 600 pounds um those tush pushes or the brotherly shove I'm sure you're familiar with those I mean those are going to probably be even more impressive this year huh like I said it's gonna be special you know we may not be too much in third and long now I mean third and one or second and one or whatever fourth and what we may not be in those positions so like I said I'm excited to see what happens and uh but if we in there I'm excited you know you can either get jayen the ball or saqu so you know pick your poison and congratulations to you by the way getting your number retired number one right it's retired forever thank you I appreciate that um when when you look back what are you most proud of in your college career Andor NF NL career most proud of I would say in the NFL you know just make winning the Super Bowl like I feel like that's the highest just wining the Super Bowl um man I have fun a lot of fun in college so I feel like I I can't I'm not going even be honest I had a lot of fun in college so I don't I can't say I'm proud of all the moments in college but in the NFL say one of the Super Bowls ultimate yeah there you go well it was good to cat C up with you Alshon Jeffrey uh welcome back to Philly when you come back of course you're a Super Bowl champion in the city of Philadelphia for life so uh best wishes to you thanks for having me God bless hey everybody let's welcome in Brian Gilbert saquan Barkley's High School football coach at whiteall high school and I gotta ask you what was your reaction when you first got the news that saquan Barkley was coming back to Pennsylvania near as home here then I don't have to wear this sweatshirt anymore so we'll throw that we'll throw that away right now that's my first reaction I don't have to try to find a a way to watch a Giants game anymore uh so it's you know Eagles fans all the way now you know my my kids and my wife we all rooted for the Eagles here so we couldn't be happier personally uh and the White Hall Community couldn't be happy that uh happier that for him and his family and uh listen it's going to be a great great marriage between saquan Barkley and the Eagles Eagles so that's pretty amazing you're an Eagles fan did you ever think that this day was possible after you saw him running all over the Eagles these last six years no because I would never think that the New York Giants would let a running back go to uh their their main competition uh so it's it's it really isn't a day that we thought was going to happen but we couldn't be happier so how did you get the news uh my phone started blowing up at school actually we had a power outage today had no power in at down at Palisades today because of the high winds that we had today so no power but I still had self-service so my phone was blowing up I'm sure everybody kind of heard at the same time uh yeah and just one thing led to another and made a couple calls to make sure it was you know not fake news and we rolled from there how big of a signing is this for the Eagles when you look at Jaylen Herz the receivers they have Dallas gdd and the offensive line they have listen Talent everywhere you know and the NFL has a lot of talent everywhere but especially down to Eagles this might be the the piece that they're missing to get them over the hump you know help their run game out a little bit I know it was down last year um but I think more importantly more than the X and O's and what he's going to provide on the field which everybody can see is he's going to be an ambassador to the to the city uh Philadelphia the city is getting someone that's going to do right by them you know he's he's gonna have a great appearance he's going to talk well about the city uh in the locker room room he's going to be a leader you know he'll be the first one there last one to leave and you know with with Jason Kel Kelsey and uh and Fletcher Co Cox retiring you know I think the Locker Room's GNA welcome you know a leader like sayquan Barkley can you tell us what he was like in high school and did you always see this coming for him the success that he's had as a running back in the NFL no and you know that's a popular question and you know he he has gotten better every year and that's what makes saquan so special you know through his high school process every year he wanted to get himself better he you know he just he worked and worked and worked and really what he'd always ask us coaches is you know what do you think I need to work on and then that's when he went and and he would work on that in the offseason when he went to Penn State the same thing and talking with Coach Franklin and their coaches through his years at at Penn State they said the same thing you know saquan when you came in here you need to work on blocking so that's what he worked on you need to work on receiving now look kind ofce receiver he is out of the back field so uh the progression that he's made is only due to his hard work so when he gets the Eagles camp and those coaches they're going to let him know what they want him to do and he's gonna he's gonna really work on it is is he the perfect back for the Philadelphia Eagles and the fact that he can run the ball he can also catch the ball and you talked about his blocking he can block he can pick up blitzes and all that think about it think about the receiver core they have with janen maybe Ry and saquin into the line line might give it to him might pull it might throw it might run it I mean the possibilities with that offense is is unbelievable um I do I think he's a perfect back for this offense and I just think it's gonna he's gonna make everybody else around him better I really do and you'll see you'll see how the vibe will will feel different with him in the locker room how much pride is there at whiteall high school saquan Barkley coming from there and not just the way he's performed in the NFL but the way he's represented himself as well yeah it's amazing I mean you know obviously the athletic director Bob Hartman and all his coaches at whiteall and and you know my staff and we were all there we think so highly of them but what's really neat is you know you'll walk through whiteall and you'll have the cafeteria lady say hey have you talked to saquin how's he doing or the the grounds crew the guys working outside cutting the grass you know every everybody that has a chance to experience saquan um just personality you know is is always touched by them so very special and when you would go see him play in the NFL playing for the Giants against your Eagles what were you wearing when you were sitting there in the stands whether it's at the link or up at MetLife Stadium unfortunately I it was rooting for Sequon in my uh my boys and my wife they were in Eagles gear I I I kept true to him and uh rooted for saquan and the Giants um so this is this is a relief you know now I can get rid of all that ugly blue blue and and start wearing Eagle stuff more proud so so do you think there's going to be a big uh return or buyback policy up there in New York you know with all those saquan Giants jerseys I mean what's gonna happen to all those I tell I don't know but someone's out of a lot of money but you know just just to that point um I read an article just when this all broke today about how the players on the Giants team reacted to this news and to tell you how especially is they all wished him well you know there was no hard feelings they they sincerely wanted him be happy uh you know they were hoping that he wasn't going to play in the NFC East but they're happy for sequan and they're happy that he's going to be happy so that says a lot about you know in this day and age where social media something could have been thrown out there obviously he played up at Penn State and when he was growing up in the White Hall area what fan of a team was he because I don't know if he was an Eagles fan from what I've heard in the past yeah you know I think he was brought up more of a Jets fan his you know his dad's a big Jets fan uh they grew up in in the city came out here when he was young uh to to whiteall so I think you know I'm not sure if he was too much of an Eagles fan but in our area here whiteall you know we have such a big Eagles fan base that I'm sure some point in his you know adulthood here he switched over until he became a giant of course but you know the Penn State people you could tell that they're excited too because Penn State is part of our Eagles fan base so it's very exciting I'm I'm getting a sense there are going to be a lot of buses coming down from the White Hall area for these Eagles games now as saquin where in the Eagles green yeah there was there were multiple buses all his years up at Penn State everybody loaded up at whiteall high school and went up to Penn State so I've already heard some chatter with you know who's going to run the buses to get everybody down to the link so you're absolutely right that's going to happen how much pride do you have that you had a part in this and helping him reach his dream of getting drafted into the NFL and now it's it's like it's come full circle here I had a small part you know I you know I just it's funny uh when I do talk to him we kid you know we kid because you know everybody in high school wants to be a superstar you know and and US High School coaches we spreaded the rock around a little bit you know we gave it to other backs and you know he would bust my chops a little bit say thanks for saving my legs by not giving me the ball the time and you know in hindsight people are like were you crazy why wouldn't you give him the ball every day but uh you know the small part that we had in it is a joint effort from our our school district and community and uh like I said we couldn't be prouder and you know what he's been through a lot you just talked about how maybe you didn't give him all the carries that he could could have possibly had Penn State my sanders was there as well and then you see the contract negotiations back and forth with the Giants uh how do you think he has handled all of this through the years yeah you know probably frustrated inside but would never show it you know he he wants to be on the field he wants to be an every down back uh he wants to you know help out his teammates as much as possible um but he'll never complain about it he's always always going to respect his coaches and and you saw that when the Giants were struggling there was always a microphone in his you know in his face asking him well don't you think the coaches should have done this that or the other thing and he never went against that uh think about how he acted with the whole contract thing last year you know what I mean they Giants you know weren't going to pay him they were going to do this they were Heming and huling and not once did he say one bad thing about the organization or or the Giants and that's what the Eagles fan and fan base is going to get and I think the owners for the Eagles know it and they showed it in the contract that they were able to get to them can you imagine though when he gets the opportunity to play against the Giants twice a year what is going to kind of be built up inside of him oh it's I can't imagine but yeah there's going to be a lot of you know anxiety I'm sure how about the number so he's 26 with the Giants all these years but what did he wear in high school 21 what number you think y 21 uh who's 26 on the Eagles is there a 26 well uh my sanders did Miles Sanders wear 26 he's no longer there I gotta check that but 21 I guess is Sydney Brown do do you know so I think I think 26 is gonna be the number yeah I think 26 uh I think that'll fit him well I don't think he's looking to change he's made that number Famous so so I'm hoping it's 26 all right well those uh those 26 Eagles jerseys with Barkley on the back uh that's going to be a hot item up in White Hall huh it is I bet the printers are already putting them out there for sure yep the guys are gonna be oh that's it is it's going to be in our in our dick store probably by the end of the week well I gotta tell you congrats to you uh seeing him come home sort of this is uh you know within an hour um is there anything else you'd like to say to our viewers in the Delaware Valley about s Quan joining the Eagles just that you know know that he he's going to jump in there and be an ambassador to the city and the team and he's going to do right by you guys and uh give him a lot of support you know and I I just it's going to be exciting to see how he does with with the guys around them and uh you know I think the Eagles players should be excited too you know and let's roll you know I can't wait you know this can't start soon enough so I can't wait to be down there and cheering them on all right great so Brian Gilbert from whiteall high school he was uh saquan Barkley's High School coach when you were wearing his saquan Barkley Giants Jersey would you have your Eagle stuff underneath it at all uh probably not I stayed loyal to him but uh it it was hard and my kids they didn't talk to me and you know we'd watch the games together if we weren't at the game and uh there was a lot of trash talking in this house so we can all be on the same page now oh you got it that's such a cool story for you and your family to see saquan come back home for you Brian Gilbert thanks so much for your time you're welcome thank you I'm the greatest [Music] so

Channel: NBC Sports Philadelphia

Views: 25,477

Keywords: Philadelphia, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Philly, NBCSPhilly, CSN, CSNPhilly, Alshon Jeffery, Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts, Carson Wentz, Giants, Eagles, Super Bowl

Id: LudpxUxCM_o

Length: 40min 37sec (2437 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 14 2024