Oct. 8, 2024
Kevin Burnett: Straight Outta Compton
Kevin Burnett spent two of his nine NFL seasons in Miami, registering 100+ tackles in back-to-back years from 2011-2012. The former linebacker dives in to discuss his upbringing in Compton, California, his special relationship with former Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano, and making sure Jason Taylor’s final game was a special one. Contributors to this episode include Sevach Melton and Dolphins Productions. Theme song created and performed by The Honorable SoLo D.
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00:00:00
Speaker 1: You're now diving straight. Who that.
00:00:13
Speaker 2: Was Seth living Oh j ju Well, and this is strictly but I'm true number one of course, y'all.
00:00:22
Speaker 1: This ain't the other neary sports talk that might been that pitch Tank.
00:00:25
Speaker 3: Welcome back to the Fish Tank, presented by my Heart Radio right here on the Miami Dolphins Podcast Network, Seth Lovitt and the man with the best hands in the podcast business, O J. McDuffie. Juice. How we feeling today, man?
00:00:37
Speaker 2: You know what, I'm feeling pretty good? You know, slept good. You know, I finally over the headache hangover from a football game. And oh man, I'm pumped today. Man, I really am pumped today. That to get this one in, man, because I love this dude right here. We got coming on, Bro, I have a lot of fun today.
00:00:52
Speaker 3: And you're okay that this is. You know, I know how offensive bias.
00:00:56
Speaker 2: On the other side of the ball. I get it, big, Seth. I knew that was coming, y'all. Cool with it, man, because you know, sometimes I felt like a defender out there to play with the defense if I had to, Bro, so I define could have rolled with this cat.
00:01:07
Speaker 3: Sure, well, this cat. If you haven't looked at when your press play who the title of this episode is is Kevin Burnett was a linebacker for two years here for the Miami Dolphins, and it's an all around great dude. I can't wait to talk to you, and I've been trying to chase him down through LinkedIn, through Instagram. Thank god, Thank goodness, Kevin that your social media is strong, because I was hitting you from all angles. Finally it's like, Seth, take my damn number. Just I'm gonna get this thing worked out. Welcome to the fish tank. Well man, thank you for having me. And I'm gonna say this, Seth man, I thought you had my number from years ago when I was with Miami. I'm like, I should have had it, but you know what.
00:01:44
Speaker 1: A man, numbers changed.
00:01:46
Speaker 4: Times changed, We move and we get older, and you know, we lose focus and forget phone numbers.
00:01:53
Speaker 1: So here we are. We made it.
00:01:54
Speaker 3: We made it work.
00:01:56
Speaker 1: I love it.
00:01:56
Speaker 2: So so Kevin, what Seth said you were gonna be on the show man, You know, the first thing that came in my mind was just one play, and I have to match this first thing that comes on. You know, dolphins their minds as well when they hear that we have Kevin Burnett in the tank. And it took place on December fourth, twenty eleven. We have the Raiders here at home and we're you know, just kicking the ass big time. Matt Moore just scored to put us up twenty seven to nothing. On the second play following insuing kickoff, Carson Palmer is looking to throw the ball down the middle of the field, but big Kenda langfords in his face, you know, and the next thing I know, you're looking more like Kevin Burnett. The running back from Devin gets high. Then you did the linebacker running that thing back. What do you remember about that play?
00:02:39
Speaker 1: Man? Listen?
00:02:40
Speaker 4: And I didn't get the stat until after. So one of our coach was like, you know, that was your one hundredth game. I was like, wow, you know, for that to that's a hundredth game present for me. And then you know, for it to be against opponent such as prestigious as the Raiders. You know, you want to go out there your best ball. You know, we weren't playing our best ball at that point in time, and that was kind of when we started to turn the season around and kind of, you know, get our defense on track. I want to say, at that point in time, we hadn't like allowed a touchdown in some you know, eight quarters or something like that. But it was I think it was just I want I won't say a routine play because it's nothing routine about the NFL, but it was. It was one of those things where we were getting in the groove of playing well and it was just a tipball and I went up there and got it and next thing I know, I was in the end zone getting hit in the face by Kendall Langford and Carlos.
00:03:35
Speaker 1: Thirty four yards later, big seth. Man, that's what's up right there? Man.
00:03:38
Speaker 2: A lot of times these interceptions, man, when you score there a little bit longer, man, So thirty four were too bad on your cardio?
00:03:44
Speaker 1: Was it?
00:03:44
Speaker 4: Man?
00:03:45
Speaker 1: You know what, you really figure out how bad.
00:03:48
Speaker 4: Is shape you're in when you run as fast as you can avoiding people for thirty four yards. So it is it was a challenge, I think, because you get so excited and everybody saw most and you high five and then and then you get to the end zone you're like, okay, and then we got to go back on defense.
00:04:08
Speaker 1: Oh that's so.
00:04:08
Speaker 3: Good, and That's what I always wondering, Like for guys, you know, OJ's job was to go down there and run and store and score and what have you, and your job was to prevent that. But in that moment, like do your eyes just get big? At what point did you in that play did you realize, Oh, I might have a chance to get this thing across the goal line.
00:04:25
Speaker 4: So in high school, I was taught real early because we had us four or five running backs and.
00:04:31
Speaker 1: I'm like, yo, I'm not getting enough touches per game.
00:04:33
Speaker 4: The coach was like, look, the only way you're gonna get enough touches per game is if you score every time you touch the ball.
00:04:38
Speaker 1: And so I just took.
00:04:39
Speaker 4: That mentality every time that I got an interception. I want to say, I got maybe five or six interceptions. I think three of them are touchdowns. So no, I look to.
00:04:49
Speaker 1: It anytime I get the ball in my hands.
00:04:51
Speaker 4: I don't know when I'm gonna get it again because I don't play offense anymore.
00:04:55
Speaker 1: Yeah, ESPN, I love it.
00:04:58
Speaker 3: And that dive across the goal at the end is great, but it is it's always the friendly fire at the end that just takes whatever's last time.
00:05:04
Speaker 1: That's the worst.
00:05:05
Speaker 4: That hurts the worst because they fall on you. And I think after I scored, like they hit me and laid on me. I'm like, look, bro, I got to kiss my breath. We got to go back on befence in two plays.
00:05:15
Speaker 3: Right, Well, thankfully you were up thirty four to nothing at that point, so you know, if you had to put your your hands on your knees at one point, you'd be okay. So a couple times now we've mentioned high school. High school days is running back. Juice mentioned Domingas High for those who are not familiar with Domingas. It is of course in Compton, California. So what's interesting to me is and I hadn't thought about this, and we talked about it briefly when we were texting back and forth. Everybody's heard of Compton at this stage, but what most of us know about it is really what we've been exposed to a pop culture. Right, You've got to start with NWA was Juice. By the way, Kevin graduated from Domegaz Easy E and mc ran of NWA fame also went to Domingas. So I think that that's you know, again, when we start thinking about those things.
00:06:02
Speaker 1: Straight out of Compton.
00:06:03
Speaker 3: Huh, straight straight out of Compton.
00:06:06
Speaker 2: But he's really straight out of coming everybod else talk about he straight out of somewhere else.
00:06:10
Speaker 1: He is straight out of Comptent indeed.
00:06:13
Speaker 3: But that's the point I'm trying to make here, is that there's this picture of your hometown that's been painted in the media. It's been portrayed in film and TV, it's been pushed in music. But you're the first person that I've ever had an opportunity to actually sit down and talk about, like you're really from Compton. Tell us what Compton was like for you growing up, and then that point of view that or the narrative that has been pushed.
00:06:35
Speaker 4: So I think there's no a huge You make it like it's this place you can't walk anywhere. It's a normal place. It's just they were put on the map by you know, a very famous, prestigious rap group, and it got like a label. No, it's much like a football label. Hey this guy is a deep throwing quarterback, or hey this is a possession receiver. And then even though the guy you knows Likery Rice, Jerry Rice, to my knowledge, was never caught from behind. But he was so called a possession receiver. Wait, he's he's never been caught, so what makes him a possession receiver. He's not a big, big play receiver to you. So I think it's like anywhere you know, it is what you make it. Doesn't it have as rough areas? Yeah, sure it does, but it let's talk about, you know, the things that it does. It is a very athletic and prestigious town for music artists. So I think it's when you look at it, it's really what you make it. No, if you wanted to be involved in you know, the mischief, you could be right, But if you wanted to be involved in sports and athletics and do what academically, you could. So it's really how you decide to present yourself and move forward with it.
00:07:48
Speaker 3: Well, and it's interesting that you say that I'm glad you brought it up, because you know, I of course went right to easy and MCRN, but also from your school. Dennis Johnson, the Hall of Famer, you know, best known for his work the Celtics on the court and on the sidelines. Richard Sherman, Cedric Sobaalo's Tyson Chandler Tyshawn pr I mean, just on and up. There's some dudes that have come out.
00:08:08
Speaker 1: Of the school, right.
00:08:11
Speaker 4: So, I think at that point in time, we were like six or seven national championships in basketball, like three or four in a row. We had just came off of CIF championship two years or a year or two before I got there, So I mean it was you look at what they had done, no, and that five seven year time span. I mean it was like, dude, these guys are really really have it going athletically. It's sad to see that no more guys than get the chance just from you know, the choices that they made in the academic choices or lack thereof. But I mean, listen, the guys that wanted it and the guys that put forth the effort made something in their lives.
00:08:51
Speaker 3: And would that being the case, does it bother you being from that area that maybe there is this stigma or that is the only thing that people associate with the town or is it just kind of come with territory.
00:09:04
Speaker 1: So it comes with the territory, you know.
00:09:08
Speaker 4: Again, I keep going back, it is what you make it, you know, if you decide to wear that sticking if you decide to wear that, it'll stick with you. So like for myself, academically, it was an academic All American in college. But you know, when I left high school had a three point a GPA, no was on an honor roll.
00:09:27
Speaker 1: I graduated early.
00:09:28
Speaker 4: So you know, coming from Compton, you know, living in Carson and growing up in LA you would think like, okay, that doesn't you don't fit the norm.
00:09:38
Speaker 1: But my mom didn't allow.
00:09:40
Speaker 4: She said, look, you going to school whether you want to or not, and I ain't paying for it, so it is you know.
00:09:49
Speaker 1: Right behind that I was accepted to UCLA as a junior.
00:09:53
Speaker 4: Those were things that just didn't happen like I'm and I got accepted on an academic scholarship to UCLA, and so you know, and I decided to say, you know what, hey, let me go to Tennessee. I graduated from Tennessee in less than three years with my first degree and got my master's in less than four. So academics was pushed. And I think, whatever your whatever the narrative is, whatever how you were raised, your upbringing, your atmosphere, that's what you're gonna gravitate to. So my mom said, look We're gonna build good choices, We're gonna make good decisions, and that's what it was.
00:10:28
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I was gonna I was gonna mention that, you know, so funny.
00:10:31
Speaker 2: I was just in Inglewood the other about a couple of months ago, we had a family reunion out that way.
00:10:35
Speaker 1: So I love LA I loved the West Coast man, but I.
00:10:37
Speaker 2: Was gonna mention that man from LA Area to Rocky Top, I mean, after high school scholarship to the University of Tennessee.
00:10:46
Speaker 1: But how much of a culture shock was?
00:10:48
Speaker 2: That had to be a culture shock, man, because you know, I have to imagine Knoxville and LA can't be more different.
00:10:56
Speaker 4: So you go from you know, bullet shell cases and sangging pants to strong your mouth and tobacco and cowboy hats. Like it's like you said, it's no bigger difference to me, you know than Hey, what's up, cub to hey y'all and you're like for y'all, and you like over yonder, like what the heck?
00:11:23
Speaker 1: What's over yonder me?
00:11:24
Speaker 4: Like, you know, But what it does, I think is it builds character and it shows you that it's more to the world than just your environment. And I think for me, you know, my I wanted to get as far away from home as possible because I knew if I stayed home, I had the opportunity was there for me to get in trouble. And so I'm listen, it's no bigger you know, it's no better way for me to stay out of trouble than get away from home and go somewhere far as I can get, you know, play some good football and be in the country than Tennessee. So that's what I did.
00:12:00
Speaker 2: It's so funny you say that, Kevin, because I visited UCLA. It's one of my five trips, and it was too far away from my mommy.
00:12:08
Speaker 1: Man, you know what I mean. I couldn't do it. I had to.
00:12:11
Speaker 2: I had to stay close to home. Man, Being from Ohio, I couldn't. I couldn't be that far with from moms. You got as far away as you could not for that reason, not to get away fro your moms, but because of the environment.
00:12:20
Speaker 4: I'm a mama's boy too. But you think about what was going on at that point in time. You you had so coming off the LA ride, you know, that was what ninety one ninety two I made up my mind right then, like I'm gonna play this football as long as I can, and I'm I wanted to get my mom a house and.
00:12:39
Speaker 1: Get her away from that type of atmosphere.
00:12:42
Speaker 4: And so just I continued and I stayed on that, and then my mom said, listen, you know, it's a couple of things that you gotta do, and you gotta go away to college. My mom was she wasn't having me staying at you know, U see la USC as long as she's like, no, You're going as far as you can go.
00:13:02
Speaker 1: And I just stuck with it.
00:13:05
Speaker 3: Go East, young man.
00:13:07
Speaker 1: Yeah, that was it.
00:13:08
Speaker 3: So you mentioned it right, absolutely, So all American, all everything at Tennessee earns you a call from the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the five NFL Draft. We are a Miami Dolphins podcast, so I'm not gonna spend a whole lot of time talking about those Cowboys. We got enough of that in ninety six, didn't we Juice. But there was a coach on that Dallas staff by the name of Tony Sperano. And while Tony was coaching on the opposite side of the football, Jukes would say, the right side of the ball while Tony was coaching on the on the offensive side. This would become kind of an interesting relationship that in a lot of ways, spanned almost the entirety of your career. I think if you played nine years, I think six of them. Tony was a part of the team as well, across three different teams. So just for those who don't know it, obviously he was your head coach here in Miami. He was on that Dallas staff, and even when you went to Oakland for that final year of your career in twenty thirteen, coach Sperano also was there. Talk about your relationship with Tony Sperano and what it meant to your football couper man.
00:14:11
Speaker 4: So, trying not to go get to long of a story, I tought my acl my rookie year, and every day, you know, I would go on to the facility, I would try to be the first one there, and every day we would walk by each other going to get something to eat. And so one day, I mean, because he would be walking and just you know, head damn shades on his mind.
00:14:34
Speaker 1: It's six o'clock in the morning. You're like, man, ain't no son, I ain't no son in here.
00:14:39
Speaker 4: He got the hat on the sun says on and so I'm like, I don't know whether where do I do speak or what. So one day I just decided to speak. And we spoke every day after that for the next four years, and we would speak laugh at practice. And if you know Tony, he's a fiery guy like he is. The best quote that I've ever taken from him is it's not what they call.
00:15:04
Speaker 1: You, it's what you answer to.
00:15:06
Speaker 4: And that sums up his personality. No short, medium sized guy, you know, Italian, but will fight you. I mean, if you in a dark alley and it's two guys, that's the guy you want in your corner.
00:15:21
Speaker 1: And just from that point on, mind you, I'm from.
00:15:24
Speaker 4: La, you know, grew up in La, went to Carson, went to Domingus, from Compton, all of these things, and it's like, Okay, if I'm supposed to be all these things, I want him next to me because that's the type of guy he is. And we developed that relationship. Right after I left San Diego, he called me on the phone, was like, hey, you know what you think about.
00:15:44
Speaker 1: Coming to Miami.
00:15:45
Speaker 4: I said, I love it. You know, I figured at some point in my career, I would come play for you. I went played for him, and though it started out rough, he never was abrasive with me.
00:15:55
Speaker 1: He challenged me and said, look, I need more out of you.
00:15:58
Speaker 4: And when somebody think that's close to you, that's got a four year relationship and never ask you for anything to say, hey, I need more out of you, you go give it to him. And from that point our relationship skyrocketing. After that, that was when we went on like a three or four game winning streat, you know, and unfortunately got fired. But that relationship was something you know, I still talk to missus Sperano today, you know, text her, I text her once he passed away, I text her every day, and then it went to once a week, and then after about five or six years, you know, we talked maybe once every two weeks. So it's a relationship that's still going today. One of my favorite people in the world, one of my favorite families in the world. And listen, man, whatever I could do for them, I mean, you consider it done. That's that's the type of relationship I feel like we have and what he's he's shown me and how I grew as a player and as a man around him, O, Man, great stuff.
00:16:51
Speaker 1: Man. Let's talk.
00:16:52
Speaker 2: Let's talk a little bit about you know, after you left the Charge. Well, let's talk about when you came to Miami in twenty ten. You know, you had a great season with the Chargers up to that point. What made you choose Miami though in twenty eleven, you know, twenty ten you were with the Chargers and doing your thing, But what made you choose Miami other than coach Sperano And talk about that roster, especially the guys in the defense side of the ball. I mean you had the Jts, the Cam Wakes, the Carlos Dansby, you know, Randy Starks, Ydal Shot, Joones. You guys had all these gout Sean Smith and the young guns at corner. Talk about what made you decide to come to Miami other than to coach Sperano. I mean, of course, Miami's I mean it's an easy seller.
00:17:29
Speaker 1: Other than yeah, right, they didn't talk about that defense, those guys in that side of the ball.
00:17:35
Speaker 4: So outside of again the money aspect, which is always there. Jeff Ireland was the GM at the time. Him and par Sales were responsible for drafting me in Dallas, So that was the tie there and then coming here. It was again it was something about California that we just did not jail. Well, no, outside of getting the taxes, and it was I wanted to be far away from home. I just vowed never to live in California again. And what better place to go than you know, Brower County, Florida and co playing on a Star Study defense. I mean, you know, at that point in time, we were just starting to play well together and then you know, the team broke up. However, like you said, you know, you had two great corners, you know, safety who was probably one of the best leaders that I've been around, Carlos who's probably one of the best playmakers in linebacker to play in our era D line. That's Randy Odrick Paul. I mean, can wait, so you got some you got firepower out there. It's sad that we didn't get enough time to spend together and so I think what a lot of people forget is that was the lockout year, so we didn't get a chance to spend a lot of time together. So you know, we were only around each other for probably a couple of weeks before we were actually out there playing games. So it's sad, and it's kind of like it leaves that question mark how good that this team have really been, you know, had we stayed together, Because if you look at the end of the year, verse that first half of the year, shoes and then let's go back. I think the four games that we lost when we were like after we were owing three to four games we lost were like by a combination of one point ye something like that. So we were losing games. And I think that the Jet the Giants game, the ball tipped my hand. I actually tipped the field goal that went in, so it was fall.
00:19:32
Speaker 1: Yeah, it is my fault, it really is.
00:19:35
Speaker 2: It really is a vertical, man, you gotta be you gotta be forty four instead of forty inch on that vertical, bro.
00:19:40
Speaker 4: But listen, I laid out you know what, so it happened so quick. I mean, those get off times are crazy. And I think, man, I said, dang that if your arm could have just been just a little bit longer, I would have got it.
00:19:52
Speaker 3: So, uh, you just mentioned the safety that was one of the best leaders that you had ever been around. Were you referring to YB or to be shot? Yeah, to your YB. Yeah, yeah, tell us because and god, we want to. We haven't been able to get him in. We haven't been able to track him down yet, but we want Hyb on this on this show so badly. What made him such a great leader, Well, the.
00:20:14
Speaker 4: Fact that he had been there for such a while. And I'm not not calling them old, but experience, you know, and there's there's wisdom and somebody that's been around the game ten plus years. I think he was like on year thirteen or fourteen around there something like that, you know, don't quote, you know, that's a lot of hits to go. But having an experienced guy in the secondary, you know, in each room, you know, in the D line, the linebacker and in the secondary because you figured look at that secondary, Sean Smith, Vonte Yeah, and Rasha all those guys are you know, twenty five or less.
00:20:49
Speaker 1: Why it was like thirty two, thirty three years old.
00:20:52
Speaker 4: So he's getting these guys lined up, you know, and getting them in the right places. And then Nolan Carroll and then at forget the Nickel, Will Will Allen Will.
00:21:04
Speaker 1: Will yeah, Will Yeah, Will Allen.
00:21:07
Speaker 4: So no, Will and YB were the older too, but just having leadership and guidance on that level of the field is big, and you don't see that a lot in the league anymore either. No guys that are ten plus years in the second year used to get cut.
00:21:22
Speaker 3: It's a good point. That's a really good point, speaking of guys that were getting a little long in the tooth. Then the guy who signs my check. That was the final year of Jason Taylor's career, and then you guys do get hot there. You win six out of your last nine games. He had made the decision that he was going to retire at the end of the season, so it doesn't happen often, but this was a game where you've got an iconic player who's going into his last game and everybody knows it's his last game. And I just want to thank you on behalf of everybody who's team JT. You had fourteen dang tackles that day, so you definitely did your part to make sure that he was sent off the right way. And then if that wasn't enough, you mentioned all these guys you just mentioned. The game is over, we're all standing there on the sideline. His sons want to run up and that you know, and everybody kind of rushes the field. Next thing, I know, Big Paul SOLEII and Kendall and you got JT on your shoulders and you're walking them off the field. Talk about what it was like to kind of be a part of something like that Hall of Fame teammate and to send him off that way.
00:22:27
Speaker 4: So, and I think it was we talked about it earlier in the week. You know, obviously you hear rumblins around the locker room and JT or let me Shula was the last person to be carried off that field, and so I said, Yo.
00:22:42
Speaker 1: Let's carry him off the field. Everybody's like, yeah, yeah, Yeah, we're gonna do it. We're gonna do it.
00:22:46
Speaker 4: And and so I guess somehow it got back to him and j T was like, don't carry me off the field. And I told everybody, I said, hey, we're carrying him off the field. So it was a play in the game where somebody fumbled and I think they either pitched it to JT so he could go score, and then after I made the window so he could yeah, he could hit the window. Unfortunately at that point in time that it was a penalty on the play, but that would have just been icing on the cake for me. But when the game ended, you know, I'm like, yo, let's carry him off the field. So I go grab him and then everybody else helped me. That picture, you know, for me, will stick with me for a long time, you know.
00:23:27
Speaker 1: And I think I think.
00:23:29
Speaker 4: You can tell a lot about a man by how he honors greatness, not only you know, a player, but a person. So you know, look at what he does, look his his body at work. I think it was what fourteen years, thirteen, fourteen years, one hundred and ninety eight or one hundred eighty seven sec.
00:23:47
Speaker 1: Whatever.
00:23:48
Speaker 4: It is a lot of sacks, But how you honor greatness says a lot about you. So, uh, that was something that you know, we got to left together and collectively decided to do. And now he's what the second player to be carried off of that field. Second, talk about greatness, man, talk a little bit about greatness. About twenty eleven, you have your first one hundred tackle season, followed up again in twenty twelve with one hundred plus tackle season after spending you know, the first five years in the league pretty much was you know, more reserved special team role, right was it? Was it validating for you to say, hey, I knew I could play at this at this level once you guys gave me a chance. Was that was that validating for you when you when you finally got your opportunities and had these hundred plus your season.
00:24:31
Speaker 1: One hundred you.
00:24:34
Speaker 4: Because every player, every person goes through a period of out and you gotta kind of find yourself. And let's be real, I mean, the NFL is the one percent, So you know, to be first to play more than three years, you're like the one percent of the one percent, and then to go be a starter for multiple years and then you know, one hundred plus tackles for the last.
00:24:56
Speaker 1: Four years your career. Dude, Uh, all right, It's nothing more I could ask for.
00:25:01
Speaker 4: It was definitely one of those I don't pat myself on the back of lot, but I definitely pat myself on the back for that. You know, coming off I had just had my C three four fused at that time too, so it was like, dude, not only can I still play, but will I still be able to walk after playing this game?
00:25:18
Speaker 3: So that was before the twenty eleven season, Hug.
00:25:26
Speaker 1: My last year in San Diego. So was that twenty.
00:25:29
Speaker 3: Yeah, twenty ten is your last year there.
00:25:31
Speaker 4: Yeah, so the last four years. I think I missed nine games in the first five years of my career. I didn't miss any of the last four.
00:25:40
Speaker 1: So you were.
00:25:40
Speaker 4: Starting, yeah, starting, you know, playing multiple games, and I think, no, we forget how much special teams play that play apart, you know, those first four or five years, that's a lot of sprinting. And I mean, you know, they say sprinting is the most violent thing you can do on your body. I mean you now, you know, taking that out, you're gonna see a guys a lot more healthy, you know, going forward. But back then, I mean it was just you know, your collisions and running down on kickoffs. So uh yeah right, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sad to see you go.
00:26:13
Speaker 1: I didn't like that. I wasn't a fan of that. Yeah. Yeah, you talked about it.
00:26:17
Speaker 2: You talk about the longevity it can possibly create though for some of these guys. Man, you know, nobody wasn't running the U Kevin Man, nobody like that.
00:26:27
Speaker 4: But okay, longevity, But looking look at guys like Slater that made a career out of playing a special team.
00:26:32
Speaker 2: Yeah, so guys like Wesney, that's one guy, Bro you can't.
00:26:40
Speaker 1: You got you got to think about.
00:26:42
Speaker 3: Is a returner versus a guy who like to blow people up on specialty and is having his debate. You know, imagine that so well, I feel like the rule change though, they're trying to find a way to kind of hand to do both because it had gotten to the point where every play was a touchback and it almost cof became almost a non play, right, So now they are encouraging it to be a play, but they are trying to reduce those fifty yard sprint you know, collisions that you're talking about.
00:27:12
Speaker 1: So and I want to let's just he's not buying it.
00:27:17
Speaker 4: I've been dying. I've been itching to say this. You're trying to make a violent game safer. What's the point? Like that's like saying, hey, we're gonna box and but we're not gonna hit each other. We're gonna hit but each other instead. What Like it doesn't make any sense. So it's not really I mean, let's think about it. You're making a game safer. That's what makes it football, That's what makes it. We all know what we signed up for. Now do we do we actually sign up for the results? I mean we would all love to live forever, and we would all love to be happy and healthy. But listen, if I had to choose a way to go, I wanted to go on the football field. If I gotta choose a way to go, hey, bury me at the fifty yard line.
00:28:05
Speaker 3: Okay, is there not a happy medium? Like it's a physical game. It should remain physical. We understand there's a level of violence, but shouldn't you also still find ways to protect people when you can, Like, I mean, are you saying that there's it's absolute?
00:28:20
Speaker 4: So okay, let me we will all agree walking across the street is dangerous. You put the lights in, you put the crosswalk in, but that doesn't stop people from walking across the street.
00:28:32
Speaker 3: Okay, So we put.
00:28:34
Speaker 1: The safeguards in.
00:28:36
Speaker 4: You know, we got the touch backs, we got all the rules, we got the crackbacks and all that. You put the safeguards in. Praise what else you want to do? You want to stop people from walking across the street, because at some point we either gonna say, hey, we're gonna play football, are we not?
00:28:50
Speaker 1: Too?
00:28:50
Speaker 3: So I'm gonna stop arguing with the linebacker.
00:28:54
Speaker 1: You might come to that streen and knock you the hell out.
00:28:57
Speaker 3: I'm gonna go ahead and just take the l on this one.
00:29:00
Speaker 1: Kevin.
00:29:00
Speaker 3: We told him it was his show show. We'll let you have that one, all right. So I wanna now, now here's where it is. This is where we'll get the twist. We're gonna get the south side of them right here. Two seasons in Miami, and then you spend the final year of your career, as we discussed earlier in Oakland. Interesting back to California again, right, Something was always drawing you back to California. But when you get there, there's another guy with that K Burnett on the Raiders roster. Right, your brother Calen, he's seven years is seven years younger? Is that his six? Seven years younger than you? So I have to imagine that this was the first time in your lives that you guys were actually legitimate teammates on the same team. Because you wouldn't have played together in high school, your little league, You wouldn't have been able to do it. How special was it for you to go back to your hometown state and be on the same roster as your brother.
00:29:52
Speaker 4: I don't think you could draw it up any better. You know that was something like we talked about it like at the start of my career and and like, hey, you know, maybe you should play this long so that way we can pay. Yeah, he's like, hang in there, come on. But then for to actually manifest itself in our home state. But then also for to be the first set of brothers to play for the Raiders, and I think today the only set of brothers to play for the Raiders. Super special for me. If I had to draw it up, the next thing would be having my sons play on the same baseball team.
00:30:27
Speaker 1: Oh man.
00:30:28
Speaker 4: But other than that, I don't think you could draw it up any better. What's their what's their age difference? Eighteen months? Okay, they can definitely do that. You can definitely, they can always.
00:30:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, they always have a little one play up, man, don't let age man. I always having play up. The little one throws harder than the big one. The little it is always. I don't know why that is, but because they always got something to prove.
00:30:57
Speaker 3: Yeah, they already proved well that and then some of that's on us. Right, you get that first one and you got the white gloves on, you're carrying them and you're boiling all the bottles and doing all that, and then the next one comes in and you're just picking stuff off the ground and putting it in the mouth, and you know, and they just, yeah, they just grow up harder.
00:31:15
Speaker 1: Man.
00:31:15
Speaker 3: I think that that's the case. But you know, I guess every family is unique. It's interesting to hear you talk about it because we had I don't know if you knew Obafemi and Brendan the Ambadejo the Ayambadejol brothers. Yeah, but they had a silver here in Miami together and we got we had both of them on the show at different times. And actually the Dolphins have had a you know, the Blackwood Brothers played together here, you know, going back to the eighties and the Killer Bees. So the Dolphins have had it happen a couple of times. But when we talked to the Ambadejo brothers, and particularly Femi being the older brother, and I think, you know where you could probably identify with that, and I think at times growing up he was not just an older brother, but he was a mentor, He was a father figure in some ways. We asked them what it was like and he almost came to tears right, just kind of remember he said the goosebumps he had. Just thinking back about it, it was very special. So that's why I was curious as to what that was like for you.
00:32:09
Speaker 4: Again, it's it's almost people get mad about Lebron and you know, hell, he's orchestrated that.
00:32:16
Speaker 1: Why wouldn't you.
00:32:18
Speaker 4: Right, the next the next best thing to play with your brother's playing with your son. So and a lot of us, you know, we've just far superseded our athletic you know, prowless by the time our kids get to the league.
00:32:31
Speaker 1: But dude, how special is that.
00:32:36
Speaker 2: In the business world, okab, how many guys work for the for the dads, work for their parents, you know what I mean? A lot of time out there, bro, you know what I mean?
00:32:44
Speaker 4: Yeah, listen, and we got to be happy to see that for you know, just for the athletic world let alone. You know what that's gonna do, uh, you know, on down the line. Hopefully we see it again at some point. I just don't know when.
00:33:00
Speaker 3: You know, I knew we'd find the kinder, gentler side of them, juice.
00:33:02
Speaker 1: I knew you got to soften him up, some big sense losing linebacker. Man, he was, you know what I mean? He was he was coming, He's coming. You know. That was pushing eight gap.
00:33:14
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, I was pushing my limits. So we we're gonna get you out of here in the second. But we and every episode of our podcast the same way. It's the fish Tank two minute drill. So basically, you've got two minutes on the clock. We throw a few fast paced questions at you, and uh, you know, normally if it's a guy on offense, he's trying to score the touchdown. We know you want to make the big play, get the defense off the field, and bring this thing home. So if you're ready, Juice is going to get this thing started, all right.
00:33:42
Speaker 2: You've always been dedicated to the community and people, specifically young people. In fact, you spent several years here in Florida with the heads, the head coach of MacArthur High School Mustangs.
00:33:52
Speaker 1: What is more difficult shooting the eight gap to bring down an NFL running back or.
00:33:56
Speaker 4: Raining in fifty high school student athletes high schools, that's like herding cats, like literally, you know, and I used the analogy I said, coaching high school football is like trying to give a cat a bath.
00:34:09
Speaker 1: It's something like you just don't.
00:34:11
Speaker 4: Do you can't do it like you do the best that you can and you try to shoot, you know, for fifty percent and try to get to God. But it's it's tough, man. You got to really love it. And I'll say that you know, it's a passion job and it's it's the thing you got to love to do.
00:34:29
Speaker 3: Yeah, well you clearly did. I'm going to move on to the next one. You alluded to this earlier. You are one of only two players ever to register not one, but two picks Peyton Manning. Oh oh, so you threw out a name that I didn't have. So yeah, two pick six is against Peyton Manning. Can you name the other defensive back?
00:34:50
Speaker 1: Dre bid So?
00:34:52
Speaker 3: I don't know if who's right here? My notes say ty Law, ty Law, you're.
00:34:56
Speaker 1: Right, damn. It was like.
00:35:06
Speaker 3: The whole thing.
00:35:07
Speaker 4: Yeah, listen, and dre was a was a monster, but Tyla was him and uh, what's the safe number? Thirty seven play for the Patriots for a while and Harrison back of him.
00:35:22
Speaker 1: And Bruceki and all those dudes that.
00:35:26
Speaker 2: You know what it could be dre BLI, man, it's never paid with the Denver Who knows how they picked sixty.
00:35:34
Speaker 1: Had practices, you never know it was.
00:35:39
Speaker 3: Stuff.
00:35:41
Speaker 2: Jeff, What is the best part in the worst part of having a birthday on Christmas Eve?
00:35:48
Speaker 4: You're celebrating everybody else where. Everybody's trying to celebrate you. And I think that's that's a huge thing in the community. That meant is we don't we don't know how to be celebrated and be okay with it. We're always celebrating somebody else because we don't we don't want to take the attention that we let's call it real like that we deserve. You know, a lot of times we don't appreciate ourselves and our accomplishments. And that's what you know, particularly after the game. You know, that's why there's such a high rate of you know, the things that we deal with after the game, because we don't know how to appreciate ourselves.
00:36:27
Speaker 3: Good one, that's good. Juice would tell you, Hey, man, I don't do a birthday. I do a birthday week. Figure got a way to celebrate.
00:36:33
Speaker 2: It's from December second too, So I got a good separation right there.
00:36:38
Speaker 1: That's a good separation.
00:36:39
Speaker 3: You should start your celebration, Juice, and and finish it right about when it's time for Kevin to start celebrating the result.
00:36:46
Speaker 2: Well, I start right after Thanksgiving, you know, Thanksgiving weekend, all the way into my birthday, and then I might as well take care of the whole month.
00:36:53
Speaker 1: But I'll keep it rolling.
00:36:56
Speaker 3: I love it all right. Last question, I think we had a few time out here and there's just a little bit of time left on the clock. We mentioned it at the top of the show. You attended the same high school as rap legends Eazy E and m c ran. What is Kevin Burnett's favorite nw A song?
00:37:14
Speaker 1: Straight out of compon?
00:37:20
Speaker 4: It is straight out of content, of course, man, I think what's not to love about that song? It's an iconic song in every movie it is, I mean every movie that comes out of l A. You know, Buy Ice Cubes got that in there, you know. And of course I mean he puts it on the map. You know that. That's that's what makes it what it is. You know it it's known. You could probably play that song. I won't say anywhere because a certain you know, but.
00:37:50
Speaker 3: Did go to Tennessee. Now you're right, you're right straight out of Knox. I think we got I think we got a title for this episode.
00:38:06
Speaker 1: Hey, Hey, Kevin, thanks for diving in man. Hey, thank you for having me.
00:38:09
Speaker 4: I gravely appreciate the time you're now diving.
00:38:15
Speaker 3: Just like Juw said, thanks for diving in to the fish Tank presented by iHeartRadio. Be sure to follow us on whatever streaming platform you're using, and don't be afraid to rate the show or leave us a comment. We love your feedback, and remember you can find us, as well as Drive Time with Travis Wingsfield and all of our international partners, on Miami Dolphins dot com
Speaker 1: You're now diving straight. Who that.
00:00:13
Speaker 2: Was Seth living Oh j ju Well, and this is strictly but I'm true number one of course, y'all.
00:00:22
Speaker 1: This ain't the other neary sports talk that might been that pitch Tank.
00:00:25
Speaker 3: Welcome back to the Fish Tank, presented by my Heart Radio right here on the Miami Dolphins Podcast Network, Seth Lovitt and the man with the best hands in the podcast business, O J. McDuffie. Juice. How we feeling today, man?
00:00:37
Speaker 2: You know what, I'm feeling pretty good? You know, slept good. You know, I finally over the headache hangover from a football game. And oh man, I'm pumped today. Man, I really am pumped today. That to get this one in, man, because I love this dude right here. We got coming on, Bro, I have a lot of fun today.
00:00:52
Speaker 3: And you're okay that this is. You know, I know how offensive bias.
00:00:56
Speaker 2: On the other side of the ball. I get it, big, Seth. I knew that was coming, y'all. Cool with it, man, because you know, sometimes I felt like a defender out there to play with the defense if I had to, Bro, so I define could have rolled with this cat.
00:01:07
Speaker 3: Sure, well, this cat. If you haven't looked at when your press play who the title of this episode is is Kevin Burnett was a linebacker for two years here for the Miami Dolphins, and it's an all around great dude. I can't wait to talk to you, and I've been trying to chase him down through LinkedIn, through Instagram. Thank god, Thank goodness, Kevin that your social media is strong, because I was hitting you from all angles. Finally it's like, Seth, take my damn number. Just I'm gonna get this thing worked out. Welcome to the fish tank. Well man, thank you for having me. And I'm gonna say this, Seth man, I thought you had my number from years ago when I was with Miami. I'm like, I should have had it, but you know what.
00:01:44
Speaker 1: A man, numbers changed.
00:01:46
Speaker 4: Times changed, We move and we get older, and you know, we lose focus and forget phone numbers.
00:01:53
Speaker 1: So here we are. We made it.
00:01:54
Speaker 3: We made it work.
00:01:56
Speaker 1: I love it.
00:01:56
Speaker 2: So so Kevin, what Seth said you were gonna be on the show man, You know, the first thing that came in my mind was just one play, and I have to match this first thing that comes on. You know, dolphins their minds as well when they hear that we have Kevin Burnett in the tank. And it took place on December fourth, twenty eleven. We have the Raiders here at home and we're you know, just kicking the ass big time. Matt Moore just scored to put us up twenty seven to nothing. On the second play following insuing kickoff, Carson Palmer is looking to throw the ball down the middle of the field, but big Kenda langfords in his face, you know, and the next thing I know, you're looking more like Kevin Burnett. The running back from Devin gets high. Then you did the linebacker running that thing back. What do you remember about that play?
00:02:39
Speaker 1: Man? Listen?
00:02:40
Speaker 4: And I didn't get the stat until after. So one of our coach was like, you know, that was your one hundredth game. I was like, wow, you know, for that to that's a hundredth game present for me. And then you know, for it to be against opponent such as prestigious as the Raiders. You know, you want to go out there your best ball. You know, we weren't playing our best ball at that point in time, and that was kind of when we started to turn the season around and kind of, you know, get our defense on track. I want to say, at that point in time, we hadn't like allowed a touchdown in some you know, eight quarters or something like that. But it was I think it was just I want I won't say a routine play because it's nothing routine about the NFL, but it was. It was one of those things where we were getting in the groove of playing well and it was just a tipball and I went up there and got it and next thing I know, I was in the end zone getting hit in the face by Kendall Langford and Carlos.
00:03:35
Speaker 1: Thirty four yards later, big seth. Man, that's what's up right there? Man.
00:03:38
Speaker 2: A lot of times these interceptions, man, when you score there a little bit longer, man, So thirty four were too bad on your cardio?
00:03:44
Speaker 1: Was it?
00:03:44
Speaker 4: Man?
00:03:45
Speaker 1: You know what, you really figure out how bad.
00:03:48
Speaker 4: Is shape you're in when you run as fast as you can avoiding people for thirty four yards. So it is it was a challenge, I think, because you get so excited and everybody saw most and you high five and then and then you get to the end zone you're like, okay, and then we got to go back on defense.
00:04:08
Speaker 1: Oh that's so.
00:04:08
Speaker 3: Good, and That's what I always wondering, Like for guys, you know, OJ's job was to go down there and run and store and score and what have you, and your job was to prevent that. But in that moment, like do your eyes just get big? At what point did you in that play did you realize, Oh, I might have a chance to get this thing across the goal line.
00:04:25
Speaker 4: So in high school, I was taught real early because we had us four or five running backs and.
00:04:31
Speaker 1: I'm like, yo, I'm not getting enough touches per game.
00:04:33
Speaker 4: The coach was like, look, the only way you're gonna get enough touches per game is if you score every time you touch the ball.
00:04:38
Speaker 1: And so I just took.
00:04:39
Speaker 4: That mentality every time that I got an interception. I want to say, I got maybe five or six interceptions. I think three of them are touchdowns. So no, I look to.
00:04:49
Speaker 1: It anytime I get the ball in my hands.
00:04:51
Speaker 4: I don't know when I'm gonna get it again because I don't play offense anymore.
00:04:55
Speaker 1: Yeah, ESPN, I love it.
00:04:58
Speaker 3: And that dive across the goal at the end is great, but it is it's always the friendly fire at the end that just takes whatever's last time.
00:05:04
Speaker 1: That's the worst.
00:05:05
Speaker 4: That hurts the worst because they fall on you. And I think after I scored, like they hit me and laid on me. I'm like, look, bro, I got to kiss my breath. We got to go back on befence in two plays.
00:05:15
Speaker 3: Right, Well, thankfully you were up thirty four to nothing at that point, so you know, if you had to put your your hands on your knees at one point, you'd be okay. So a couple times now we've mentioned high school. High school days is running back. Juice mentioned Domingas High for those who are not familiar with Domingas. It is of course in Compton, California. So what's interesting to me is and I hadn't thought about this, and we talked about it briefly when we were texting back and forth. Everybody's heard of Compton at this stage, but what most of us know about it is really what we've been exposed to a pop culture. Right, You've got to start with NWA was Juice. By the way, Kevin graduated from Domegaz Easy E and mc ran of NWA fame also went to Domingas. So I think that that's you know, again, when we start thinking about those things.
00:06:02
Speaker 1: Straight out of Compton.
00:06:03
Speaker 3: Huh, straight straight out of Compton.
00:06:06
Speaker 2: But he's really straight out of coming everybod else talk about he straight out of somewhere else.
00:06:10
Speaker 1: He is straight out of Comptent indeed.
00:06:13
Speaker 3: But that's the point I'm trying to make here, is that there's this picture of your hometown that's been painted in the media. It's been portrayed in film and TV, it's been pushed in music. But you're the first person that I've ever had an opportunity to actually sit down and talk about, like you're really from Compton. Tell us what Compton was like for you growing up, and then that point of view that or the narrative that has been pushed.
00:06:35
Speaker 4: So I think there's no a huge You make it like it's this place you can't walk anywhere. It's a normal place. It's just they were put on the map by you know, a very famous, prestigious rap group, and it got like a label. No, it's much like a football label. Hey this guy is a deep throwing quarterback, or hey this is a possession receiver. And then even though the guy you knows Likery Rice, Jerry Rice, to my knowledge, was never caught from behind. But he was so called a possession receiver. Wait, he's he's never been caught, so what makes him a possession receiver. He's not a big, big play receiver to you. So I think it's like anywhere you know, it is what you make it. Doesn't it have as rough areas? Yeah, sure it does, but it let's talk about, you know, the things that it does. It is a very athletic and prestigious town for music artists. So I think it's when you look at it, it's really what you make it. No, if you wanted to be involved in you know, the mischief, you could be right, But if you wanted to be involved in sports and athletics and do what academically, you could. So it's really how you decide to present yourself and move forward with it.
00:07:48
Speaker 3: Well, and it's interesting that you say that I'm glad you brought it up, because you know, I of course went right to easy and MCRN, but also from your school. Dennis Johnson, the Hall of Famer, you know, best known for his work the Celtics on the court and on the sidelines. Richard Sherman, Cedric Sobaalo's Tyson Chandler Tyshawn pr I mean, just on and up. There's some dudes that have come out.
00:08:08
Speaker 1: Of the school, right.
00:08:11
Speaker 4: So, I think at that point in time, we were like six or seven national championships in basketball, like three or four in a row. We had just came off of CIF championship two years or a year or two before I got there, So I mean it was you look at what they had done, no, and that five seven year time span. I mean it was like, dude, these guys are really really have it going athletically. It's sad to see that no more guys than get the chance just from you know, the choices that they made in the academic choices or lack thereof. But I mean, listen, the guys that wanted it and the guys that put forth the effort made something in their lives.
00:08:51
Speaker 3: And would that being the case, does it bother you being from that area that maybe there is this stigma or that is the only thing that people associate with the town or is it just kind of come with territory.
00:09:04
Speaker 1: So it comes with the territory, you know.
00:09:08
Speaker 4: Again, I keep going back, it is what you make it, you know, if you decide to wear that sticking if you decide to wear that, it'll stick with you. So like for myself, academically, it was an academic All American in college. But you know, when I left high school had a three point a GPA, no was on an honor roll.
00:09:27
Speaker 1: I graduated early.
00:09:28
Speaker 4: So you know, coming from Compton, you know, living in Carson and growing up in LA you would think like, okay, that doesn't you don't fit the norm.
00:09:38
Speaker 1: But my mom didn't allow.
00:09:40
Speaker 4: She said, look, you going to school whether you want to or not, and I ain't paying for it, so it is you know.
00:09:49
Speaker 1: Right behind that I was accepted to UCLA as a junior.
00:09:53
Speaker 4: Those were things that just didn't happen like I'm and I got accepted on an academic scholarship to UCLA, and so you know, and I decided to say, you know what, hey, let me go to Tennessee. I graduated from Tennessee in less than three years with my first degree and got my master's in less than four. So academics was pushed. And I think, whatever your whatever the narrative is, whatever how you were raised, your upbringing, your atmosphere, that's what you're gonna gravitate to. So my mom said, look We're gonna build good choices, We're gonna make good decisions, and that's what it was.
00:10:28
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I was gonna I was gonna mention that, you know, so funny.
00:10:31
Speaker 2: I was just in Inglewood the other about a couple of months ago, we had a family reunion out that way.
00:10:35
Speaker 1: So I love LA I loved the West Coast man, but I.
00:10:37
Speaker 2: Was gonna mention that man from LA Area to Rocky Top, I mean, after high school scholarship to the University of Tennessee.
00:10:46
Speaker 1: But how much of a culture shock was?
00:10:48
Speaker 2: That had to be a culture shock, man, because you know, I have to imagine Knoxville and LA can't be more different.
00:10:56
Speaker 4: So you go from you know, bullet shell cases and sangging pants to strong your mouth and tobacco and cowboy hats. Like it's like you said, it's no bigger difference to me, you know than Hey, what's up, cub to hey y'all and you're like for y'all, and you like over yonder, like what the heck?
00:11:23
Speaker 1: What's over yonder me?
00:11:24
Speaker 4: Like, you know, But what it does, I think is it builds character and it shows you that it's more to the world than just your environment. And I think for me, you know, my I wanted to get as far away from home as possible because I knew if I stayed home, I had the opportunity was there for me to get in trouble. And so I'm listen, it's no bigger you know, it's no better way for me to stay out of trouble than get away from home and go somewhere far as I can get, you know, play some good football and be in the country than Tennessee. So that's what I did.
00:12:00
Speaker 2: It's so funny you say that, Kevin, because I visited UCLA. It's one of my five trips, and it was too far away from my mommy.
00:12:08
Speaker 1: Man, you know what I mean. I couldn't do it. I had to.
00:12:11
Speaker 2: I had to stay close to home. Man, Being from Ohio, I couldn't. I couldn't be that far with from moms. You got as far away as you could not for that reason, not to get away fro your moms, but because of the environment.
00:12:20
Speaker 4: I'm a mama's boy too. But you think about what was going on at that point in time. You you had so coming off the LA ride, you know, that was what ninety one ninety two I made up my mind right then, like I'm gonna play this football as long as I can, and I'm I wanted to get my mom a house and.
00:12:39
Speaker 1: Get her away from that type of atmosphere.
00:12:42
Speaker 4: And so just I continued and I stayed on that, and then my mom said, listen, you know, it's a couple of things that you gotta do, and you gotta go away to college. My mom was she wasn't having me staying at you know, U see la USC as long as she's like, no, You're going as far as you can go.
00:13:02
Speaker 1: And I just stuck with it.
00:13:05
Speaker 3: Go East, young man.
00:13:07
Speaker 1: Yeah, that was it.
00:13:08
Speaker 3: So you mentioned it right, absolutely, So all American, all everything at Tennessee earns you a call from the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the five NFL Draft. We are a Miami Dolphins podcast, so I'm not gonna spend a whole lot of time talking about those Cowboys. We got enough of that in ninety six, didn't we Juice. But there was a coach on that Dallas staff by the name of Tony Sperano. And while Tony was coaching on the opposite side of the football, Jukes would say, the right side of the ball while Tony was coaching on the on the offensive side. This would become kind of an interesting relationship that in a lot of ways, spanned almost the entirety of your career. I think if you played nine years, I think six of them. Tony was a part of the team as well, across three different teams. So just for those who don't know it, obviously he was your head coach here in Miami. He was on that Dallas staff, and even when you went to Oakland for that final year of your career in twenty thirteen, coach Sperano also was there. Talk about your relationship with Tony Sperano and what it meant to your football couper man.
00:14:11
Speaker 4: So, trying not to go get to long of a story, I tought my acl my rookie year, and every day, you know, I would go on to the facility, I would try to be the first one there, and every day we would walk by each other going to get something to eat. And so one day, I mean, because he would be walking and just you know, head damn shades on his mind.
00:14:34
Speaker 1: It's six o'clock in the morning. You're like, man, ain't no son, I ain't no son in here.
00:14:39
Speaker 4: He got the hat on the sun says on and so I'm like, I don't know whether where do I do speak or what. So one day I just decided to speak. And we spoke every day after that for the next four years, and we would speak laugh at practice. And if you know Tony, he's a fiery guy like he is. The best quote that I've ever taken from him is it's not what they call.
00:15:04
Speaker 1: You, it's what you answer to.
00:15:06
Speaker 4: And that sums up his personality. No short, medium sized guy, you know, Italian, but will fight you. I mean, if you in a dark alley and it's two guys, that's the guy you want in your corner.
00:15:21
Speaker 1: And just from that point on, mind you, I'm from.
00:15:24
Speaker 4: La, you know, grew up in La, went to Carson, went to Domingus, from Compton, all of these things, and it's like, Okay, if I'm supposed to be all these things, I want him next to me because that's the type of guy he is. And we developed that relationship. Right after I left San Diego, he called me on the phone, was like, hey, you know what you think about.
00:15:44
Speaker 1: Coming to Miami.
00:15:45
Speaker 4: I said, I love it. You know, I figured at some point in my career, I would come play for you. I went played for him, and though it started out rough, he never was abrasive with me.
00:15:55
Speaker 1: He challenged me and said, look, I need more out of you.
00:15:58
Speaker 4: And when somebody think that's close to you, that's got a four year relationship and never ask you for anything to say, hey, I need more out of you, you go give it to him. And from that point our relationship skyrocketing. After that, that was when we went on like a three or four game winning streat, you know, and unfortunately got fired. But that relationship was something you know, I still talk to missus Sperano today, you know, text her, I text her once he passed away, I text her every day, and then it went to once a week, and then after about five or six years, you know, we talked maybe once every two weeks. So it's a relationship that's still going today. One of my favorite people in the world, one of my favorite families in the world. And listen, man, whatever I could do for them, I mean, you consider it done. That's that's the type of relationship I feel like we have and what he's he's shown me and how I grew as a player and as a man around him, O, Man, great stuff.
00:16:51
Speaker 1: Man. Let's talk.
00:16:52
Speaker 2: Let's talk a little bit about you know, after you left the Charge. Well, let's talk about when you came to Miami in twenty ten. You know, you had a great season with the Chargers up to that point. What made you choose Miami though in twenty eleven, you know, twenty ten you were with the Chargers and doing your thing, But what made you choose Miami other than coach Sperano And talk about that roster, especially the guys in the defense side of the ball. I mean you had the Jts, the Cam Wakes, the Carlos Dansby, you know, Randy Starks, Ydal Shot, Joones. You guys had all these gout Sean Smith and the young guns at corner. Talk about what made you decide to come to Miami other than to coach Sperano. I mean, of course, Miami's I mean it's an easy seller.
00:17:29
Speaker 1: Other than yeah, right, they didn't talk about that defense, those guys in that side of the ball.
00:17:35
Speaker 4: So outside of again the money aspect, which is always there. Jeff Ireland was the GM at the time. Him and par Sales were responsible for drafting me in Dallas, So that was the tie there and then coming here. It was again it was something about California that we just did not jail. Well, no, outside of getting the taxes, and it was I wanted to be far away from home. I just vowed never to live in California again. And what better place to go than you know, Brower County, Florida and co playing on a Star Study defense. I mean, you know, at that point in time, we were just starting to play well together and then you know, the team broke up. However, like you said, you know, you had two great corners, you know, safety who was probably one of the best leaders that I've been around, Carlos who's probably one of the best playmakers in linebacker to play in our era D line. That's Randy Odrick Paul. I mean, can wait, so you got some you got firepower out there. It's sad that we didn't get enough time to spend together and so I think what a lot of people forget is that was the lockout year, so we didn't get a chance to spend a lot of time together. So you know, we were only around each other for probably a couple of weeks before we were actually out there playing games. So it's sad, and it's kind of like it leaves that question mark how good that this team have really been, you know, had we stayed together, Because if you look at the end of the year, verse that first half of the year, shoes and then let's go back. I think the four games that we lost when we were like after we were owing three to four games we lost were like by a combination of one point ye something like that. So we were losing games. And I think that the Jet the Giants game, the ball tipped my hand. I actually tipped the field goal that went in, so it was fall.
00:19:32
Speaker 1: Yeah, it is my fault, it really is.
00:19:35
Speaker 2: It really is a vertical, man, you gotta be you gotta be forty four instead of forty inch on that vertical, bro.
00:19:40
Speaker 4: But listen, I laid out you know what, so it happened so quick. I mean, those get off times are crazy. And I think, man, I said, dang that if your arm could have just been just a little bit longer, I would have got it.
00:19:52
Speaker 3: So, uh, you just mentioned the safety that was one of the best leaders that you had ever been around. Were you referring to YB or to be shot? Yeah, to your YB. Yeah, yeah, tell us because and god, we want to. We haven't been able to get him in. We haven't been able to track him down yet, but we want Hyb on this on this show so badly. What made him such a great leader, Well, the.
00:20:14
Speaker 4: Fact that he had been there for such a while. And I'm not not calling them old, but experience, you know, and there's there's wisdom and somebody that's been around the game ten plus years. I think he was like on year thirteen or fourteen around there something like that, you know, don't quote, you know, that's a lot of hits to go. But having an experienced guy in the secondary, you know, in each room, you know, in the D line, the linebacker and in the secondary because you figured look at that secondary, Sean Smith, Vonte Yeah, and Rasha all those guys are you know, twenty five or less.
00:20:49
Speaker 1: Why it was like thirty two, thirty three years old.
00:20:52
Speaker 4: So he's getting these guys lined up, you know, and getting them in the right places. And then Nolan Carroll and then at forget the Nickel, Will Will Allen Will.
00:21:04
Speaker 1: Will yeah, Will Yeah, Will Allen.
00:21:07
Speaker 4: So no, Will and YB were the older too, but just having leadership and guidance on that level of the field is big, and you don't see that a lot in the league anymore either. No guys that are ten plus years in the second year used to get cut.
00:21:22
Speaker 3: It's a good point. That's a really good point, speaking of guys that were getting a little long in the tooth. Then the guy who signs my check. That was the final year of Jason Taylor's career, and then you guys do get hot there. You win six out of your last nine games. He had made the decision that he was going to retire at the end of the season, so it doesn't happen often, but this was a game where you've got an iconic player who's going into his last game and everybody knows it's his last game. And I just want to thank you on behalf of everybody who's team JT. You had fourteen dang tackles that day, so you definitely did your part to make sure that he was sent off the right way. And then if that wasn't enough, you mentioned all these guys you just mentioned. The game is over, we're all standing there on the sideline. His sons want to run up and that you know, and everybody kind of rushes the field. Next thing, I know, Big Paul SOLEII and Kendall and you got JT on your shoulders and you're walking them off the field. Talk about what it was like to kind of be a part of something like that Hall of Fame teammate and to send him off that way.
00:22:27
Speaker 4: So, and I think it was we talked about it earlier in the week. You know, obviously you hear rumblins around the locker room and JT or let me Shula was the last person to be carried off that field, and so I said, Yo.
00:22:42
Speaker 1: Let's carry him off the field. Everybody's like, yeah, yeah, Yeah, we're gonna do it. We're gonna do it.
00:22:46
Speaker 4: And and so I guess somehow it got back to him and j T was like, don't carry me off the field. And I told everybody, I said, hey, we're carrying him off the field. So it was a play in the game where somebody fumbled and I think they either pitched it to JT so he could go score, and then after I made the window so he could yeah, he could hit the window. Unfortunately at that point in time that it was a penalty on the play, but that would have just been icing on the cake for me. But when the game ended, you know, I'm like, yo, let's carry him off the field. So I go grab him and then everybody else helped me. That picture, you know, for me, will stick with me for a long time, you know.
00:23:27
Speaker 1: And I think I think.
00:23:29
Speaker 4: You can tell a lot about a man by how he honors greatness, not only you know, a player, but a person. So you know, look at what he does, look his his body at work. I think it was what fourteen years, thirteen, fourteen years, one hundred and ninety eight or one hundred eighty seven sec.
00:23:47
Speaker 1: Whatever.
00:23:48
Speaker 4: It is a lot of sacks, But how you honor greatness says a lot about you. So, uh, that was something that you know, we got to left together and collectively decided to do. And now he's what the second player to be carried off of that field. Second, talk about greatness, man, talk a little bit about greatness. About twenty eleven, you have your first one hundred tackle season, followed up again in twenty twelve with one hundred plus tackle season after spending you know, the first five years in the league pretty much was you know, more reserved special team role, right was it? Was it validating for you to say, hey, I knew I could play at this at this level once you guys gave me a chance. Was that was that validating for you when you when you finally got your opportunities and had these hundred plus your season.
00:24:31
Speaker 1: One hundred you.
00:24:34
Speaker 4: Because every player, every person goes through a period of out and you gotta kind of find yourself. And let's be real, I mean, the NFL is the one percent, So you know, to be first to play more than three years, you're like the one percent of the one percent, and then to go be a starter for multiple years and then you know, one hundred plus tackles for the last.
00:24:56
Speaker 1: Four years your career. Dude, Uh, all right, It's nothing more I could ask for.
00:25:01
Speaker 4: It was definitely one of those I don't pat myself on the back of lot, but I definitely pat myself on the back for that. You know, coming off I had just had my C three four fused at that time too, so it was like, dude, not only can I still play, but will I still be able to walk after playing this game?
00:25:18
Speaker 3: So that was before the twenty eleven season, Hug.
00:25:26
Speaker 1: My last year in San Diego. So was that twenty.
00:25:29
Speaker 3: Yeah, twenty ten is your last year there.
00:25:31
Speaker 4: Yeah, so the last four years. I think I missed nine games in the first five years of my career. I didn't miss any of the last four.
00:25:40
Speaker 1: So you were.
00:25:40
Speaker 4: Starting, yeah, starting, you know, playing multiple games, and I think, no, we forget how much special teams play that play apart, you know, those first four or five years, that's a lot of sprinting. And I mean, you know, they say sprinting is the most violent thing you can do on your body. I mean you now, you know, taking that out, you're gonna see a guys a lot more healthy, you know, going forward. But back then, I mean it was just you know, your collisions and running down on kickoffs. So uh yeah right, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sad to see you go.
00:26:13
Speaker 1: I didn't like that. I wasn't a fan of that. Yeah. Yeah, you talked about it.
00:26:17
Speaker 2: You talk about the longevity it can possibly create though for some of these guys. Man, you know, nobody wasn't running the U Kevin Man, nobody like that.
00:26:27
Speaker 4: But okay, longevity, But looking look at guys like Slater that made a career out of playing a special team.
00:26:32
Speaker 2: Yeah, so guys like Wesney, that's one guy, Bro you can't.
00:26:40
Speaker 1: You got you got to think about.
00:26:42
Speaker 3: Is a returner versus a guy who like to blow people up on specialty and is having his debate. You know, imagine that so well, I feel like the rule change though, they're trying to find a way to kind of hand to do both because it had gotten to the point where every play was a touchback and it almost cof became almost a non play, right, So now they are encouraging it to be a play, but they are trying to reduce those fifty yard sprint you know, collisions that you're talking about.
00:27:12
Speaker 1: So and I want to let's just he's not buying it.
00:27:17
Speaker 4: I've been dying. I've been itching to say this. You're trying to make a violent game safer. What's the point? Like that's like saying, hey, we're gonna box and but we're not gonna hit each other. We're gonna hit but each other instead. What Like it doesn't make any sense. So it's not really I mean, let's think about it. You're making a game safer. That's what makes it football, That's what makes it. We all know what we signed up for. Now do we do we actually sign up for the results? I mean we would all love to live forever, and we would all love to be happy and healthy. But listen, if I had to choose a way to go, I wanted to go on the football field. If I gotta choose a way to go, hey, bury me at the fifty yard line.
00:28:05
Speaker 3: Okay, is there not a happy medium? Like it's a physical game. It should remain physical. We understand there's a level of violence, but shouldn't you also still find ways to protect people when you can, Like, I mean, are you saying that there's it's absolute?
00:28:20
Speaker 4: So okay, let me we will all agree walking across the street is dangerous. You put the lights in, you put the crosswalk in, but that doesn't stop people from walking across the street.
00:28:32
Speaker 3: Okay, So we put.
00:28:34
Speaker 1: The safeguards in.
00:28:36
Speaker 4: You know, we got the touch backs, we got all the rules, we got the crackbacks and all that. You put the safeguards in. Praise what else you want to do? You want to stop people from walking across the street, because at some point we either gonna say, hey, we're gonna play football, are we not?
00:28:50
Speaker 1: Too?
00:28:50
Speaker 3: So I'm gonna stop arguing with the linebacker.
00:28:54
Speaker 1: You might come to that streen and knock you the hell out.
00:28:57
Speaker 3: I'm gonna go ahead and just take the l on this one.
00:29:00
Speaker 1: Kevin.
00:29:00
Speaker 3: We told him it was his show show. We'll let you have that one, all right. So I wanna now, now here's where it is. This is where we'll get the twist. We're gonna get the south side of them right here. Two seasons in Miami, and then you spend the final year of your career, as we discussed earlier in Oakland. Interesting back to California again, right, Something was always drawing you back to California. But when you get there, there's another guy with that K Burnett on the Raiders roster. Right, your brother Calen, he's seven years is seven years younger? Is that his six? Seven years younger than you? So I have to imagine that this was the first time in your lives that you guys were actually legitimate teammates on the same team. Because you wouldn't have played together in high school, your little league, You wouldn't have been able to do it. How special was it for you to go back to your hometown state and be on the same roster as your brother.
00:29:52
Speaker 4: I don't think you could draw it up any better. You know that was something like we talked about it like at the start of my career and and like, hey, you know, maybe you should play this long so that way we can pay. Yeah, he's like, hang in there, come on. But then for to actually manifest itself in our home state. But then also for to be the first set of brothers to play for the Raiders, and I think today the only set of brothers to play for the Raiders. Super special for me. If I had to draw it up, the next thing would be having my sons play on the same baseball team.
00:30:27
Speaker 1: Oh man.
00:30:28
Speaker 4: But other than that, I don't think you could draw it up any better. What's their what's their age difference? Eighteen months? Okay, they can definitely do that. You can definitely, they can always.
00:30:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, they always have a little one play up, man, don't let age man. I always having play up. The little one throws harder than the big one. The little it is always. I don't know why that is, but because they always got something to prove.
00:30:57
Speaker 3: Yeah, they already proved well that and then some of that's on us. Right, you get that first one and you got the white gloves on, you're carrying them and you're boiling all the bottles and doing all that, and then the next one comes in and you're just picking stuff off the ground and putting it in the mouth, and you know, and they just, yeah, they just grow up harder.
00:31:15
Speaker 1: Man.
00:31:15
Speaker 3: I think that that's the case. But you know, I guess every family is unique. It's interesting to hear you talk about it because we had I don't know if you knew Obafemi and Brendan the Ambadejo the Ayambadejol brothers. Yeah, but they had a silver here in Miami together and we got we had both of them on the show at different times. And actually the Dolphins have had a you know, the Blackwood Brothers played together here, you know, going back to the eighties and the Killer Bees. So the Dolphins have had it happen a couple of times. But when we talked to the Ambadejo brothers, and particularly Femi being the older brother, and I think, you know where you could probably identify with that, and I think at times growing up he was not just an older brother, but he was a mentor, He was a father figure in some ways. We asked them what it was like and he almost came to tears right, just kind of remember he said the goosebumps he had. Just thinking back about it, it was very special. So that's why I was curious as to what that was like for you.
00:32:09
Speaker 4: Again, it's it's almost people get mad about Lebron and you know, hell, he's orchestrated that.
00:32:16
Speaker 1: Why wouldn't you.
00:32:18
Speaker 4: Right, the next the next best thing to play with your brother's playing with your son. So and a lot of us, you know, we've just far superseded our athletic you know, prowless by the time our kids get to the league.
00:32:31
Speaker 1: But dude, how special is that.
00:32:36
Speaker 2: In the business world, okab, how many guys work for the for the dads, work for their parents, you know what I mean? A lot of time out there, bro, you know what I mean?
00:32:44
Speaker 4: Yeah, listen, and we got to be happy to see that for you know, just for the athletic world let alone. You know what that's gonna do, uh, you know, on down the line. Hopefully we see it again at some point. I just don't know when.
00:33:00
Speaker 3: You know, I knew we'd find the kinder, gentler side of them, juice.
00:33:02
Speaker 1: I knew you got to soften him up, some big sense losing linebacker. Man, he was, you know what I mean? He was he was coming, He's coming. You know. That was pushing eight gap.
00:33:14
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, I was pushing my limits. So we we're gonna get you out of here in the second. But we and every episode of our podcast the same way. It's the fish Tank two minute drill. So basically, you've got two minutes on the clock. We throw a few fast paced questions at you, and uh, you know, normally if it's a guy on offense, he's trying to score the touchdown. We know you want to make the big play, get the defense off the field, and bring this thing home. So if you're ready, Juice is going to get this thing started, all right.
00:33:42
Speaker 2: You've always been dedicated to the community and people, specifically young people. In fact, you spent several years here in Florida with the heads, the head coach of MacArthur High School Mustangs.
00:33:52
Speaker 1: What is more difficult shooting the eight gap to bring down an NFL running back or.
00:33:56
Speaker 4: Raining in fifty high school student athletes high schools, that's like herding cats, like literally, you know, and I used the analogy I said, coaching high school football is like trying to give a cat a bath.
00:34:09
Speaker 1: It's something like you just don't.
00:34:11
Speaker 4: Do you can't do it like you do the best that you can and you try to shoot, you know, for fifty percent and try to get to God. But it's it's tough, man. You got to really love it. And I'll say that you know, it's a passion job and it's it's the thing you got to love to do.
00:34:29
Speaker 3: Yeah, well you clearly did. I'm going to move on to the next one. You alluded to this earlier. You are one of only two players ever to register not one, but two picks Peyton Manning. Oh oh, so you threw out a name that I didn't have. So yeah, two pick six is against Peyton Manning. Can you name the other defensive back?
00:34:50
Speaker 1: Dre bid So?
00:34:52
Speaker 3: I don't know if who's right here? My notes say ty Law, ty Law, you're.
00:34:56
Speaker 1: Right, damn. It was like.
00:35:06
Speaker 3: The whole thing.
00:35:07
Speaker 4: Yeah, listen, and dre was a was a monster, but Tyla was him and uh, what's the safe number? Thirty seven play for the Patriots for a while and Harrison back of him.
00:35:22
Speaker 1: And Bruceki and all those dudes that.
00:35:26
Speaker 2: You know what it could be dre BLI, man, it's never paid with the Denver Who knows how they picked sixty.
00:35:34
Speaker 1: Had practices, you never know it was.
00:35:39
Speaker 3: Stuff.
00:35:41
Speaker 2: Jeff, What is the best part in the worst part of having a birthday on Christmas Eve?
00:35:48
Speaker 4: You're celebrating everybody else where. Everybody's trying to celebrate you. And I think that's that's a huge thing in the community. That meant is we don't we don't know how to be celebrated and be okay with it. We're always celebrating somebody else because we don't we don't want to take the attention that we let's call it real like that we deserve. You know, a lot of times we don't appreciate ourselves and our accomplishments. And that's what you know, particularly after the game. You know, that's why there's such a high rate of you know, the things that we deal with after the game, because we don't know how to appreciate ourselves.
00:36:27
Speaker 3: Good one, that's good. Juice would tell you, Hey, man, I don't do a birthday. I do a birthday week. Figure got a way to celebrate.
00:36:33
Speaker 2: It's from December second too, So I got a good separation right there.
00:36:38
Speaker 1: That's a good separation.
00:36:39
Speaker 3: You should start your celebration, Juice, and and finish it right about when it's time for Kevin to start celebrating the result.
00:36:46
Speaker 2: Well, I start right after Thanksgiving, you know, Thanksgiving weekend, all the way into my birthday, and then I might as well take care of the whole month.
00:36:53
Speaker 1: But I'll keep it rolling.
00:36:56
Speaker 3: I love it all right. Last question, I think we had a few time out here and there's just a little bit of time left on the clock. We mentioned it at the top of the show. You attended the same high school as rap legends Eazy E and m c ran. What is Kevin Burnett's favorite nw A song?
00:37:14
Speaker 1: Straight out of compon?
00:37:20
Speaker 4: It is straight out of content, of course, man, I think what's not to love about that song? It's an iconic song in every movie it is, I mean every movie that comes out of l A. You know, Buy Ice Cubes got that in there, you know. And of course I mean he puts it on the map. You know that. That's that's what makes it what it is. You know it it's known. You could probably play that song. I won't say anywhere because a certain you know, but.
00:37:50
Speaker 3: Did go to Tennessee. Now you're right, you're right straight out of Knox. I think we got I think we got a title for this episode.
00:38:06
Speaker 1: Hey, Hey, Kevin, thanks for diving in man. Hey, thank you for having me.
00:38:09
Speaker 4: I gravely appreciate the time you're now diving.
00:38:15
Speaker 3: Just like Juw said, thanks for diving in to the fish Tank presented by iHeartRadio. Be sure to follow us on whatever streaming platform you're using, and don't be afraid to rate the show or leave us a comment. We love your feedback, and remember you can find us, as well as Drive Time with Travis Wingsfield and all of our international partners, on Miami Dolphins dot com
