Chapter 47
RAWLEY
FOUR WEEKS LATER
TRANSCRIPT, JALEN NASH SHOW
JALEN: Today I’m joined by two members of the Orlando Waves who need no introduction at this point, the Battle brothers, Landon and Rawley, fresh off of their regular season week one win. Welcome.
LANDON: Great to be here again, Jalen.
RAWLEY: Yes, thank you for having us back.
JALEN: Rawley, the first time we had you on seems like a lifetime ago. Now, you’re sitting here as an NFL player, having just played your first regular season game, something like $50 million coming your way between endorsements and your deal with the Waves. How does it feel?
RAWLEY: Thinking of all that’s happened, hearing you describe it, it’s like whoa [gestures like his mind is exploding and everyone laughs].
RAWLEY: But there’s been baby steps along the way which makes those things feel more organic.
The on field stuff especially. Getting drafted, adjusting to the Waves’ routine, learning the playbook, going through a ton of practice reps with Johnson.
The financial side, all credit for that belongs to my team.
JALEN: Yeah, it sounds like a natural progression. And Landon, how have you helped Rawley get acclimated to the NFL?
LANDON: Oh, Rawls deserves all the kudos, not me. He’s embraced what he’s needed to do and put in the hard work.
RAWLEY: You can take credit for driving us to the facility each day. [Landon chuckles.] This guy won’t let me drive his car, at least not while he’s in it.
JALEN: Now that’s some big brother stuff.
LANDON: Luckily, he can afford his own car these days. [everyone laughs]
JALEN: I’d say. So what’s it like being brothers on the same team? Has that been a good thing? Created any strain between you?
[PAUSE WHILE LANDON AND RAWLEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER, BOTH SMILING]
LANDON: We had to smooth some things out early on, but now it’s all good. I love being able to watch him play first hand, day-in, day-out. That’s special.
RAWLEY: Plus I’m the best chef in the family so he keeps me around for that reason too.
LANDON: No disagreement there.
JALEN: Let’s get into some football now.
Rawley, you finished the three preseason games with four touchdowns, which definitely caught notice.
But most importantly, you had a fantastic first regular season game this weekend.
Eighty-nine yards, six catches, and a touchdown.
Does it feel like redemption after everything that happened in the draft?
RAWLEY: I mean, I don’t really think about things that way. I’m not driven by revenge, or whatever. I know some guys would be.
JALEN: What does motivate you?
RAWLEY: These days, I’m fired up by the team goals we have, being a part of it. Individually, I’m trying to stay focused on what I can control, improving as a rookie. In college, I was much more susceptible to outside opinions.
LANDON: And there was no shortage of those.
RAWLEY: Yeah. I’m not perfect at blocking everything out, but I’m trying not to worry about that outside noise, or about letting other people down. Instead, I’m putting my attention on how I can get better.
JALEN: Well, you’re certainly off to a strong start.
JALEN: Landon, turning to the Waves next few games, how do…