Austin Ekeler on Herbert/Jayden Similarities, Mindset/Going Against the Best, & Commanders Future

our guy Austin Eckler Austin good to see you it's it's it's a weird to say you're a commander but not so much because I saw you in the uniform we didn't get to DAP each other up where where are you um I'm in this brick dungeon as you can see here uh no I'm out I'm out in Virginia this is just my my studio setup but yeah it's it's different but it's uh it's built on me you know the community out here has been uh nothing nothing but showing love and so it's been awesome uh to get implemented out here in the on the East Coast now I love that are saying that because it is a special fan base and it gets totally slept on if there's not some uh hungry we're mad we're jilted vibe to them there is this we are so freaking excited we believe in the foundation that Adam Peters has put together we love DQ we are running through the wall anyone any place anytime uh can you sort of pump up what the mood is with this team and I'm hanging out with Kevin Durant later this week and he's a big fan so you've got some star support too yeah absolutely it's been a it's been a ton of anticipation uh for this year because look there's a lot of new things that are happening right new ownership new coaches we had like 60 guys on you know that we brought in from free agency from different places so there's a lot of new news around uh the commander building and so including myself and so when you have all of these new things going on um there's a lot of like oh I wonder how this is going to play out you know even including from our us as players we're out there on the field but you never know until you get you know out there on Sunday we we feel like we're building something in the right direction you know we have Cliff as our offensive coordinator and so that's been great being on the field with him what's he like what's he all about in 2024 uh Cliff man Cliff's about having a good time and making sure that you know hey hey if you know Cliff then you know um but he's he's my guy he's a guy that's he's wanting to get the boys on all together on the same page and put us in positions to make plays uh but definitely a fun offensive coordinator to be a part of um what do you mean he's all about fun and what does his house look like out there all I'm picturing is him feet kicked up I don't know this man on that level like come on now I don't know he seems like a man that would invite you over for some like wild party that you could not talk about that they like make you sign an NDA at the door like the phones are going in the case my lips are sealed you got have to find that one out on your own yeah Cliff's wild but you have a smile on your face he seems very happy there yeah something I appreciate about Cliff is that every meeting he always asks like hey does anyone have a story or anything that happened or like he loves to open up the floor just to get the conversation going there's not always something that we have but like he wants to make it and he does make it feel like you know it's it's yes it's work but it's also like we're here together um and so I appreciate him bringing some of that that togetherness into the culture uh and and it's not all fun and games he doesn't you know like this is a team I know you're talking about what you're building but Adam Peter said this weekend like we're we're building but we want we expect to win like there's not some we're in a rebuild let's give it some time um let's whatever Let's uh let's talk about the congratulations quickly that are in order to you because this weekend your Alma mat Western Colorado become the first became the first college institution I believe to sign with your freaking Tech platform that's blowing up right now tell me about it yeah heck yeah so uh I've been on a journey to enhance the fan engagement space Not only in college but also in the Pro uh segment as well because I feel like as fans you have a distance from us and so I was like how can I bring that together and so I built a platform called experience where if you want to get your jersey signed or do an engagement with me whether it's you know have me do something with fantasy football or you want me to you know trash talk your opponent or you want you know a video chat with me or you want to play a game with somebody you can go on there I think we have uh like a hundred guys um from you know from our league from the from the professional league and then also just brought in Western as well so we're continuing to expand our Horizons if you're a fan of sports definitely go check it out specifically football right now uh go check it out and get yourself an opportunity to hang out with us and it's allowing you to have that experience no pun intended um that you'll always remember for the rest of your life it's you know it I I believe you so much that it is about enhancing it for the fan and I think some of the best best businesses look at what their customers want or what their what their Community wants and do the best thing for them so you're this is a you know it's a it's designed to connect you with fans you've been talking about it super passionately for years I'm going into my third year right now I believe you and I had you were my f you're my first guest on the show you're my first guest a been on here a few times now yeah but I remember you were my first guest and you were so passionate about I mean you're you're passionate about a million things by the way a cover boy for Bloomberg business week what hey we're we're we're going like this all right we're going up we're going up just continue to stack bricks over here that's that's all I know and so making a making a big impact where I can making an impact where I can building communities building value for communities building value for myself and the people around me like that is what I am out here looking to do um you know I'm a kid from a small town didn't know kind of where my journey was going to take me still don't but what I do know is that I'm going to put a ton of effort into just continue to be the best version of myself and hopefully inspired others to do the same it's amazing now tell me everything I need to know about Jaden cuz here's what happened I I showed up to Camp I talked to Adam the GM I talked to the coach I talked to Payne I talked to no one wanted to it was like y'all are trying to keep the the secret you don't want nobody wanted me to like talk up Jaden obviously wasn't named the starter at that point but nobody's dumb we know how special this play is what has impressed even you well I just in there's a lot of things that have impressed me um too much to talk about in this short segment that we have here um I think he's just got the pieces around him too that are going to help him shine even even better um and then just him being a professional at such a young age uh reminds me of you know herb when he came in and look at the career he's had um and even still having and then just when you see a young player come in Buy in really take ownership and learning his players making sure to get on the same page as his guys it's like yeah we got a good one um and then also obviously have to be able to do it physically make the throws make the decisions make the checks um and do it with a new offense with cliff and he what he's been able to do and moving guys around all over the place I just see us in a position where yes you know Adam said you know we're expecting to win obviously we're putting on this work but you know like I'm I'm very confident in what we have with our team especially offensively uh to go out there and make plays with Jaden running it uh okay it's a good it's a good answer give what what can I expect I guess from him you have you have weak one um do you have like a d is gonna be electric like he's gonna be electric like he's gonna be running throwing yeah you know he's gonna be making guys miss getting down when he needs to get down has that been a point what else do you expect has him getting down to the point of go out there and do he's going to go be a stud that's that's all he knows how to do so that's what we're how much how much does him protecting himself how much of a point of emphasis was that during camp and preseason yeah it's well all the quarterbacks like all of these guys they have their own rules to protect them you know so we got to make sure these Young Bucks that come in here understand that hey there's a reason we have these rules to protect you guys because you're not used to getting hit like I am um you know so make sure you utilize that and get your butt down when you need to get down but that doesn't mean don't go make plays now it just means hey if the ride's over get off the ride and go down go on to the next play you mentioned Justin Herber herb as you call him any similarities uh as far as the the attention to to detail and actually wanting to like be in that role and embrace that yes uh but they're two different types of players though so um and time will tell i' I've played obviously a few years with her I haven't played with uh with Jaden as much so we'll see how it plays that over time I mean you helped Justin Herbert set the record his rookie year in 20 you know it doesn't it doesn't when you have a running back that can catch a lot of balls um to help you you know get your receiving stats up there so uh okay I'm glad that that was able to do that that's good teammate right there are you catching the ball more than you're running the ball this year is that what I'm getting how many catches you racking up this year I don't know we'll see how it plays out you know we can't give away everything here sheesh 90 90 Plus 90 plus catches we'll see we'll see how many that'd be nice how many catches is Luke mcaffrey stealing from you ooh stealing is not the right word there come on come on you can't can't say Ste tell me tell me that's what matters Luke mcaffry is going to be a thing though no joke like come on you can tell me hey the mcaffry tend to do pretty well when they get on the field so uh I think that trend's going to keep going that's a that's a uh that is a a BS answer you know that you're going 36 that running back on like fantasy sites what is that hey look this is I live in a world where you're judged on what you did for me recently and last year it was a d year for us in the Chargers won five games and we sucked so that's what you're going to get okay I I've seen I'm just saying I've seen a 100 yard I've seen a 100 catch Seasons out of you I just feel like seen 100 catches seen 9 thou or 900 receiving yards seen 20 touchdowns seen 16 allpurpose 1600 allpurpose yards also saw last year R had you know a thousand allpurpose yards and like six touchdowns you know it's like ah Bad season you know so we got to get back on back on the horse and uh you know get back to what I know is it weird to be in a in a different place I was talking to Derek Carr obviously he's been with the Saints a bit now but he sort of said to me and he really harped on it in a way that I believed him where he goes if now I have a year under my belt I'm settled like my fam settled this like you're newly married then you make this move and he said you know it was a lot in the offseason to deal with and then go into a season uh what did you like learn about that experience of having to change teams and start with this one and maybe like what's the biggest difference from your old Squad that that you loved and loved you so much yeah I I definitely um you know had ties and still have ties with all of the charger Community out there so they will forever have a place in my heart no doubt you know playing seven years over there is something that I'll never never forget and just the fan love out there and a lot of those people I still stay in in contact with and um you know getting their love on social media and stuff like that um it's been different but it's also been great I think for myself I've just kind of lived and thrived off of having to adapt to new circumstances and I think that's what's made me kind of special is because regardless of the circumstances I've been able to at least get myself in a position to find some type of success and I'm looking forward to doing that as well it doesn't guarantee anything um but it definitely puts me in a situation right now coming from west to east coast where hey I have a whole bunch of new things that I have to get involved in now I have to establish myself with new coaches new teammates um in the community as well looking forward to to building some weight rooms out here with my foundation so Implement what I can with the resources that I have around me and the community that I have um as well so it hasn't been hard it's just been something that I've you know kind of adapted to and will go on and and push forward how disappointed are you you don't have the Chargers on your schedule disappoint I I don't the thing is I don't even know who's on the schedule I just know we're playing Tampa Bay week one I am like very weak to week I cannot see very far in my schedule because my life is so jam-packed with things experience football um my wife now and so it's like hey whoever on the schedule they they can you know they can get it that week uh you get a shot at the division Champions week one what do you think it's a new slate new slate I don't I don't know what happened over here last year I don't know what's going on I just know that I'm here now and we're building something new and so Champion or not Super Bowl winner last place in the league it doesn't matter you got to show up this is the NFL everyone's trying to climb that rope or climb that ladder and uh you got to you got to treat every opponent with some uh respect or you're going to get you know blown out um so it it don't matter who we're playing I'm going in there with the most the most focus and sincerity and like I'm just we're bringing it you know we're bringing it but anyway I got to get going I know you got to bring it up against V vea and lante enjoy that listen we're so excited about experience the experience app it only keeps growing it is popping off right now everybody go get it on the App Store on Google Play enjoy enjoy that run defense of Tampa I know you're going to kill it I'm hearing a 100 Catch season out of a very confident settled excited Smiley Austin Eckler quickly before you go Jaden Daniels is he as good at as basketball as people say I haven't seen his basketball game but he's always got a basketball with him so um oh that's got to mean something interesting all right I appreciate you guys thank you K thank you Austin talk to you soon hey everybody thank you so much for watching you can subscribe right here to get the latest from the show and check out more of the best clips from up and Adams or go watch a few segments from other shows on FanDuel