you're listening to for the athlete a podcast aimed at humanizing the athlete by giving them a platform to control their own narrative and tell their life stories as always here's your host Brooks Huber hello everyone welcome back to for the athlete I'm your host Brooks Huber and we have an amazing guest on the show today he began his colic career playing basketball at the D2 level before transferring to Central Michigan to play tight end now he's made a name for himself at that same position with Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets please welcome Tyler coflin Tyler thank you so much for taking time out of your day how are you doing good man I appre appreciate you having me on the show today well yeah I'm glad you're on here and you know as we're filming this today was the first day of mandatory minu camp and we talked a little bit about it off the Record here and you know how's the team looking on right now it's been really good man I mean OTAs in general have been uh they been really good for us as a team right we're doing a good opportunity to kind of build some chemistry as uh you know just with the guys and kind of be around each other I think that's kind of one of the the more important parts of of OTA something that's kind of overlooked at times just kind of being with your teammates and um you know doing stuff outside of football outside the facility uh but yeah everything's uh going really well I mean now Rogers wasn't at mini camp today from what I heard about reports but he was at OTAs how's he looking right now no I'm BL um kind of hard to describe right like you know I played against him for a while when I was in Minnesota I grew up a Green Bay fan so I grew up watching him and uh you don't really understand the magnitude of how um good he really is until you're with him so uh you know he looks uh he looks really good well I mean yeah you guys practiced with him a little bit last year before he went down were you almost kind of like Star Struck playing with him for the first time cuz you you kind of grew up watching him just a little bit I guess right yeah it's definitely surreal in a sense right like damn like I'm really you know catching pass from Mar Rogers and uh um you know just the opportunity to play with a Hall of Fame guy like that is just um you know something that you you know something that I'm excited to do you know obviously last year didn't go as planned for anybody and uh you know be able to come back this year and have another opportunity is going to be awesome yeah well so after mini camp are you off for a little bit before training camp what do you like to do in your spare time yeah we get like a little month break so I'll probably go back to Michigan and um just be back there training and chilling uh you know when I get a chance to go home and get back to the house and you know be with the wife be with the dogs um you know I just like to kind of be there as much as possible uh try to stay away from traveling too much and living out of a suitcase so I'll be back in Michigan and um you know training crafting and finding ways to get better for a month there we go well so you're from Michigan you were a Packers fan growing up and you got drafted by the Vikings that's everything that a lions fan just does not want to hear huh yeah I mean my dad growing up my dad was a Bears fan his my whole dad side of Bears fans so I feel like I just kind of you know my cousin was a Green Bay fan I think I just kind of jumped on that bandwagon cuz that was the the one team we could kind of make our dads mad about cuz they actually beat the Bears so um yeah we got the whole NFC North with all with all four of them I mean I love my time Minnesota though so that definitely changed things a little bit cuz uh you know that was uh obviously the first place I went drafted there and then just really grew to love Minnesota M well yeah I mean I had the opportunity of interviewing your puncher Thomas Mor said a couple weeks ago he was great I'm glad to get another jet on the show today and yeah so you're a Michigan guy you played both basketball and football in college how did you find yourself playing D2 basketball at Northwood in Michigan I mean basketball is always kind of my thing um you know I love basketball I played football uh I almost didn't play football my senior year high school just cuz uh I ended up signing early signing period like I signed my junior year uh before my uh senior year of basketball so like early signing period with end October early November uh right after my senior year of football um I really only played cuz my buddy my best friend was a quarterback so I played and uh you know I was kind of waiting on some like different schools to see if they were going to you know like kind University of Detroit Mercy Oakland some like kind of mid- major d1s and they were kind of just waiting to see if people were going to get in so I'm like whatever I just you know I'll go to Northwood I'll you know be their top recruit I'll have a you know great D2 career and um you know go overseas and you know play professionally there whatever whatever that was kind of my plan at that time and when I got to Northwood and I played like my first couple games as a true freshman and uh I don't know it's like I was just kind of feel like I sold myself short a little bit I should have been playing at a higher level I always kind of made that promise to my mom when I was a kid I used always be I going be the first D1 you know athlete in the family uh I just tell my mom and dad that all the time so I just kind of feel like I fell short of my word a little bit and and you know after uh like the first seven games I was on a full ride there and I kind of started talking to my parents and stuff there I like I think I'm going to transfer and I was going to transfer to a different uh school to play basketball and um I start I was watching uh I think it's a Michigan State game at Buffalo Wild Wings when I was back at home and Josiah price was the uh the tight end there at the time and he was catching stick knives for touchdowns all over the place I'm like man I think I can do that like and uh so I kind of started reaching out to schools for football and uh C Michigan recruited me a little bit from out of high school and uh kind of went down that Journey figuring out what was going to happen I asked for my release from Northwood after my first semester and went back home and ended up in central Michigan well I'm glad you were able to do that because from there you went to the NFL and on the Jets or Vikings did you guys ever play like basketball against one another you tell them like yeah I played D2 when you're balling them yeah everybody everybody everybody in the uh I feel like everybody in the locker room squares that can play basketball ball and it never really H it never really it never really gets sorted out so um I mean one day it will be one day it will all right well hey there was a lot of controversy from Austin Rivers saying that there's not like three guys in the NFL that could play in the NBA what do you think's harder like being in the NFL going to the NBA or being in the NBA going to the NFL yeah I mean I think it's all kind of it's all relative right I think there's there's some some guys in the NBA that could probably transfer over and play football I think there's some guys in NL that can probably transfer over and play basketball uh you know I don't think you can just like say as a majority of either side could do you know one or the other I mean there's a lot of football guys that are super athletic but a little too stiff and don't have enough fluidity to play basketball and there's a lot of basketball players that um you know there's a handful of reasons uh on that side of things too whether it's the way to build you know certain type athleticism physicality of the game whatever it may be but I do think there's players on both sides uh that could probably switch over if um they're really committed to it yeah I agree I mean with basketball if you're not like 6'5 you're going to have a tough shot at doing anything in the NBA like I don't care how good you are you got to be tall whereas like in the NFL you can be any different size and build and you can find a role definely I mean the NBA is a lot smaller now though right it's not like when I like when I was growing up when you know it was Shaq and Yao Ming and it is you know 611 to 7 foot some centers and stuff like now you look at it there's a lot of um you know you know there's a lot of lineups that know aren't bigger than 67 at a time so um I mean the game has changed a little bit so that would help well let's go back to your college career so you get to Central Michigan they kind of they wanted you as a walk- on but you never went there was that offer always on the table how did they kind of lure you over there Central Michigan yeah so initially I was going to try to go to Michigan State and uh I was talking to Michigan State and I was kind of like on the brink of going there and I needed like uh when I sent my transcripts over I needed like a like a college math class right I took um the classes I took in high school weren't college math class like I didn't take statistics or or certain or calculus or anything and when I was at northw I was like in a beginner math class kind of like for Northwood um so it's like their own kind of like curriculum and uh so like I couldn't end up getting to Michigan State so I was kind of upset about that cuz it really looked like I was going to end up there and then uh you know I kind of like when I was going to maybe possibly go to um like Wayne State and maybe try to play both uh be close to home and just kind of play both Sports and then I R talk to Central Michigan cuz they recruited probably the most and they got back to me one day and they just were like you know we'll give you the opportunity to come for Spring ball and uh you know it doesn't guarantee you a spot on the you know 105 man roster in the fall but like you can come for Spring ball and try to earn that spot and uh yeah I remember running around the house excited as hell like damn I'm going D1 like even though it's not really the way you want to you know you see it happening uh I was still just as excited about it um so then I left Northwood I was on a full ride scholarship so like my uh my grandparents and parents were weren't so sure about leaving a full ride scholarship to go switch Sports and pay for school and uh then I got there and I mean that started kind of its own handful of adversities and challenges but it all paid off I think it paid off beautifully I mean you had you just you signed a three-year contract couple years years ago so I think it paid off great in 2018 you were drafted by Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round and were immediately placed in a starid offense you had Kirk HS at quarterback guys like Dalvin cook pigs ad de and Kyle Rudolph and of course fan favorite brand zra how did being placed in that locker room with those guys help shape the career you have today yeah I think the unique thing about Minnesota and like the big difference between Minnesota and New York was when I got there we were such an we were a lot older team like offensively and defensively like you said you know Delvin Kirk Diggs th Kyle Riley Reef um you know on defense you had everon Griffin uh Harrison Smith Eric Kendrick Anthony Bar there was just so many guys that are you know 6 Seven 8 nine 10 years in in the league so um you know I got to see in a lot of different ways the uh you know that different guys that are you know head longevity in the league kind of went about uh their careers and I think that definitely um helped me a lot you know being around Kyle and seeing the way he handled being a pro and like went about things dayto day uh you know in the building like the way he prepared and took care of his body and things like that definitely translated for me uh so you know all that stuff definitely was you know he was a big help for me in my career uh as a young guy and uh you know I kind of just grew up in Minnesota at that point right like I was still fresh out of college like I bought my first house there you know I kind of became a man there in a sense so uh a lot of those different reasons you know being around a lot of guys that helped me become who I am uh whether it's just me watching or guys you know helping me um you know learn how to be in the league there it's just uh you know it's a really good environment to go into as a young guy man that's great were there any teams that you were hearing from that were interested in you but just you know missed on you you know honestly going through the whole process I really didn't know what to think of it right like everybody just kind of you know trying to stay alive trying to do your best of ability at whatever it is you know Senior Bowl trying to have you know play the best you can the combine uh all the different things you go through Pro days um I I was just so focused on trying to perform well in all those events and put my best go forward in meetings and interviews and uh you know I just wanted the ability to get drafted uh I didn't know where it was going to be or you know what round it was going to be or how it was going to play out I just wanted the opportunity and uh you know being a walk on at Central kind of really helped me be prepared for just like whatever that situation I was in lack of reps when you're drafted late or undrafted um you know I've already faced a lot of adversity in that sense that kind of really helped me uh to go into a place and be like a later draft pick and you know deal with some of the Sim some similar things that I dealt with when I walked down in college right what was your welcome to the NFL moment like you're in that League was it like a really hard hit was it looking across the sideline and seeing a favorite player that you grew up watching what was that for you I mean we played so Green Bay was it week one week one or week two like my rookie year now was a third string tight end so Kyle was the starter he was kind of you know he's a pass catching guy David Morgan was uh the blocking guy and uh I mean David to this day is still one of my favorite people um I ever played with just like you know just a great allaround dude uh and he was a heck of a blocker and he got like banged up and I had to go in I was like in a wing formation and we had uh it might have been like duo or something on or and Klay Matthews like lined up in a wide n just kind of just ran through the be in my neck and I was like d just collaps the whole Edge and and tackled the running back and I'm was like damn it was just a crappy feeling right you know you get out there get an opportunity and uh you know that's kind of my welcome to the NFL moment like okay like this is a different game the play speed the strength um you know the preparation that goes into a game day of like knowing who you're going against and you know how to play against certain people so that's probably it right there for me all right well so after four seasons with the Vikings you ended up leaving what did March 2022 look for you how did you end up leaving the Midwest for New York yeah so um you know that February uh we ended up going out to San Diego and staying there for the month and just kind of getting away my brother is in California uh training and stuff for some he's in the military and we went out there to California hung out with him for a month and kind of just relaxed and kind of clear our as we kind of waited for free agency to hit uh we had no idea what that was going to look like and everybody just said like your first time going through it like you don't know what to expect it's not what you expect it to be and all those different things so went out there just kind of chilled and uh and trained and then got back to Minnesota in March and I started like really kind of picking up my training and uh kind of when free agency started it was kind of just a whirlwind of um you know not really going exactly how I thought it was going to go like when I talked to the Jets I mean that wasn't really one of the places I expected to to go to be honest and all the places I expected to go um really weren't even options so you know all like the things you're thinking about leading up to oh I end up here and here like none of that really planned out how I thought and uh you know then we go there and obviously they sign uh you know I've seen some guys get signed and stuff like you know we dis sign back with the Seahawks that year for like 3 for 24 they ended up signing CJ before me for like three for 24 so oh I'm in a good spot like um you know I'm going have a good chance he'll get you know eight a year or something like that and really ended up being between like Cincy and New York and Cincy was kind of lowballing me in my opinion and uh New York was higher than ciny but still you know lower than what I thought I was going to get and uh you know I reached out to Kyle and ask for some advice hey man what would you do and um you know he kind of like broke it down for you know what he thought he would do in that situation and uh ended up choosing New York and ended up being a really good decision for me so so how will that experience help you enter free agency in this upcoming year um you know going to this year to be it'll be nice because we have been through it right so I think it'll be a little easier on the wife also like um she kind of knows how it go how it is to move from somewhere and like how that you know how that finding a new place meeting new teammates Mee new you know wives of teammates creating friends and all that stuff so I think that part of it would be nice a little less anxiety when it comes to like the transition of all that uh you know for me going into it this year uh I just want go out there and have the you know I had the best season of my career and you know as long as I can go into free agency uh you know with the season that I'm proud of then however the cars fall they fall well yeah so I mean you talk about you know going to a new offense new quarterback like that's hard enough right but then you know there's the whole outside of football you have to find a new house new living in completely different city how difficult can that be yeah definitely think it's it's it's kind of something that people don't think about right um you know picking up moving your life if you have a family you know separated from the family really kind of for the most part for a little bit as you kind of transition because you head right into OTAs pretty shortly after free agency uh you know finding a place to live obviously I mean I'm lucky I mean the wife handles a lot of that stuff for me so she makes my life easy but uh it's definitely it's definitely stuff that I don't think is thought about enough just a transition like you said new offense new coach new quarterbacks getting a feel for one another uh there's just so many variables that go that go into a football season and you know to having Su successful season granted it's very early but how does this Jets team look different than the past two that you've been a part of yeah I mean obviously I think uh the first thing that kind of comes to my mind is the offensive line initially I think jod and Coach solid did a really good job of just piecing together uh not just some like big you know obviously Tyron Smith Hall of Famer Morgan Moses yeah uh you know some of those guys but also you know drafting Olu bringing in a lot of depth uh you know some guys getting healthy he's going to change a lot for right Aaron's back healthy um you know Garrett's another year in the NFL you know he's only three this is only going to be his third year I mean it's kind of crazy to think about Bree is in the same situation you got so many young guys that are carless of this like offens and defense you know Jermaine Johnson brus Garett SAU the guys that are put on their third year haven't even really like got comfortable or even touched the surface of what they can they can really do in this league so they're all going to take huge jumps uh you know I think being in the same offense again having the same OC having an understanding how things are called you know have another offseason with Aaron and that kind of understand the way he does things there's so many reasons why um you know we have the opportunity to go out there and be special we were hearing some Draft rumors uh as the draft was leading up that hey Brock Bowers might be headed to the big apple right and like for fans you know we're excited oh fantasy football but for you obviously it's like hey this is my livelihood like what was going through your mind were you excited about the possibility where you're like oh I'm glad we got Olu I mean what's your thoughts and all that yeah I mean uh you know the big thing for me is kind of just control what I can control right like I'm not I'm I'm I try not to sit there and worry about things that I can't control because I mean that just leads to a life of misery right there so yeah U my whole thing was just I mean it was happening forever right like the whole draft process and like talk about football with fantasy football and just um the way media is and stuff now like it's an ongoing thing right like the season ends and you got Mo I mean mock drafts happen immediately um yeah I mean the draft is open there already mock drafts for for the next year so uh hey hey people stay busy yeah they they find a way to stay busy people love consuming it so uh you know it's not something I try to think about obviously you're always going to think about it a little bit CU it wouldn't be ideal for um for me but who knows if they would have how it would have played out uh obviously there's always some things that come along with you know high graphics um when it comes to just uh getting the ball or or things like that that that would change some things but it wasn't something I really Tred to think about too much right I just try to become the best I feel I have so much room to get better personally that I'm just trying to find ways to become the best me and uh if I can do that I'll go out to I'll go out there on the football field and produce and um that's all I'm trying to do just go be the best version I can be so I try to think about it there we have it you mentioned how Rogers is coming back and the offense is going to look different it's going to be a little more faster paced Up Tempo more deep shots what's it going to look like and as well as your role in it yeah I mean that's kind of a tough question uh I mean Aaron does so many things uh whether it's like all the things that people know that he's been doing for so long stealing free plays and um you know in my opinion like the way he can kind of just play chess against a defensive coordinator himself cuz he's been playing against these you know some of these same defensive coordinators for so long and he's just you know his his mind for the game is at such a high level that it just opens up so many things um I don't think there's going to be a specific thing that we do that changes I think it's just the fact that he can do everything uh at such a high level kind of really makes this dangerous one last question for Before I Let You Go is uh what's your mindset heading into this contract year and your goals for this season you kind of just said to you answer part of the first part couple questions too but just overall yeah I mean it kind of falls on the same thing right control. control I really look forward to this month off that I get I really look forward to kind of piecing together my training uh you know with the like different people that have helped me throughout my career to really kind of become the best I can be and kind of improve on the things that I think I need to improve on uh so you know I think I go home and and I handle my business and do what I'm supposed to do and um you know just come back and uh you know I think that's this is a good opportunity for me to take a really big step in my career and it could be perfect time with to being a contract year but you know I'm just going to kind of put my head down go work and you know we'll see how it all fall Falls well yeah I'm really excited for you I've read some articles I've heard your Chemistry with Rogers is off the charts right now and I I'm going to draft you in fantasy so I hope none of my friends are listening right now um because you know that that would be terrible I need to I need to get my my steal of the draft right here but yeah is there anything else you want to talk about before we close this out no man all good I enjoyed uh I enjoyed being on it and I appreciate you having me hey thank you so much for being on the show uh that's all I have for you I'm your host Brooks Yuber signing off till next week thank you for listening to the Tyler Conlin episode of for the athlete thanks for listening to for the athlete as always be on the lookout for another athlete appearance next week make sure to follow us on Instagram YouTube Tik Tok and wherever you listen to podcasts