'That's not who I am': Laremy Tunsil opens up about sliding on draft night after gas mask incident

HOUSTON -- It was 7:47 p.m. connected the nighttime of the 2016 NFL draught erstwhile Laremy Tunsil's telephone began to buzz. He glanced astatine it but ignored the notifications, reasoning it was fans blowing him up earlier the draft.

The near tackle retired of Ole Miss turned his attraction backmost to his family and the infinitesimal of a life successful the greenish room astatine the Auditorium Theatre successful Chicago.

"I conscionable picked my telephone up to spot what clip it was," Tunsil told ESPN. "It was comments from everybody. So erstwhile I saw it, I conscionable put it down."

The comments were astir the draught -- but astir thing that would make him the attraction of the nighttime for each the incorrect reasons.

Unbeknownst to him, Tunsil's Twitter relationship had been hacked. His supplier astatine the time, Jimmy Sexton, soon notified Tunsil's draught statement successful the greenish room. Initially, Tunsil tried to motion it off, not knowing what precisely leaked connected the internet. Seconds later, he realized a video had surfaced of him wearing a achromatic state disguise and smoking marijuana earlier raising the disguise disconnected his caput and laughing.

A nighttime that was expected to beryllium the opening of an NFL profession he'd spent his life dreaming of quickly became a nightmare. Tunsil's small heart was to delete the video.

"I was panicking a small bit, and I'm conscionable for illustration 'Don't fto my mom and my auntie spot this,'" Tunsil said. "How tin we get this cleaned up and region this arsenic accelerated arsenic possible?"

But the harm was done.

He couldn't motion into his relationship because the password had been changed. By the clip he was capable to entree his relationship and delete the post, the draught had started.

"We knew it was going to impact him," ESPN elder draught master Mel Kiper Jr. said. "But we were each wondering really acold it would push him down the board. The Ravens could person been a landing spot astatine No. 6, but they took [left tackle] Ronnie Stanley. When Baltimore passed, I retrieve thinking, 'OK, now we could spot a slide.' Other teams successful the apical 10 had bigger needs."

The video of Tunsil made the rounds connected societal media and TV passim draught night, and a projected top-10 prime fell to the Miami Dolphins astatine No. 13. The autumn from No. 6 costs Tunsil astir $8 cardinal aft the Baltimore Ravens passed connected him for Stanley, who signed a four-year $20.48 cardinal rookie contract, while Tunsil signed a four-year, $12.46 cardinal woody successful Miami.

Tunsil carried the load of draught nighttime until he signed a three-year, $66 cardinal statement hold successful 2020 pinch the Houston Texans, a twelvemonth aft the Dolphins acquired aggregate first-round draught picks for him successful a trade. In Houston, Tunsil has gone connected to 4 Pro Bowls, go the highest-paid near tackle successful the convention doubly and been the protector of backmost C.J. Stroud's unsighted side. As the Texans (9-5) recreation to play the Kansas City Chiefs (13-1) connected Saturday (1 p.m. ET, NBC), Houston will count connected Tunsil to anchor the violative statement against the reigning two-time Super Bowl champions.

Years later, the shame of that nighttime has subsided, and he acknowledges it's easier to talk astir now. Tunsil said he uses the humiliation of draught nighttime arsenic substance toward his goals of being named All-Pro and, eventually, making it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"To this day, I still person that spot connected my enarthrosis conscionable to beryllium everybody wrong. ... It conscionable showed everyone I do make mistakes, but that's not who I am," Tunsil told ESPN. "So that was conscionable 1 portion of the journey. But I want the golden jacket. I want to beryllium known arsenic 1 of the champion ever. "

TUNSIL WAS VIEWED arsenic a imaginable No. 1 action astatine points during the 2016 NFL draught cycle. Before the Tennessee Titans traded the No. 1 prime to the Los Angeles Rams, Kiper had Tunsil going to Tennessee successful his 2016 NFL Mock Draft 2.0 successful February.

"I had Tunsil first wide connected my last Big Board," Kiper said of the draught time post, "and not galore group had him little than third."

During the draught cycle, Tunsil said he visited the Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and Titans.

Back successful the greenish room astatine the draft, Tunsil's relative and teammate astatine Ole Miss Alex Weber's telephone was besides buzzing. Weber said he thought it was because "people were conscionable seeing maine connected TV." As soon arsenic Weber saw the video, he and Tunsil went to the bath to regroup.

"We were looking astatine each other, for illustration 'What the hell,'" Weber told ESPN. "It felt for illustration a movie scene. [Tunsil] conscionable started to sweat. This is simply a pivotal point, not only for him, but for the family too. We were trying to cool disconnected and stay composed."

According to Tunsil, Baltimore told him they would prime him pinch the No. 6 prime if he was available. They went pinch Stanley.

The Saturday aft the draft, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Ravens would person taken Tunsil if not for the video.

A squad root who was a portion of the Ravens' draught room successful 2016 said they didn't moreover deliberation Tunsil would person made it to them without the video leaking.

"The video decidedly played a domiciled successful the discussion," the erstwhile Ravens convention root told ESPN. "In a process arsenic lengthy and analyzable arsenic this, pinch truthful galore layers involved, we only had a fewer minutes to scope a determination arsenic an organization."

Baltimore believed Tunsil was a top-five prime and Jacksonville could person taken him. A erstwhile Jaguars coach who was a portion of that draught process told ESPN they were ever taking cornerback Jalen Ramsey though.

The San Francisco 49ers had the No. 7 pick, and Tunsil said Chip Kelly, the 49ers coach astatine the time, called him but yet decided to draught protect tackle DeForest Buckner.

"[Tunsil] was successful contention," a 49ers squad root told ESPN. "We thought he was a statement top-five, truthful erstwhile that happened we were like, 'Oh s---, do we want to consider?' We didn't do a ton of activity predraft because we ne'er really thought he would autumn to prime No. 7, and Baltimore was successful beforehand of america and needed a tackle. So erstwhile the video dropped, and he was available, we didn't consciousness for illustration we knew him good capable to override Buckner's fundamentally cleanable background."

The Titans had the No. 8 pick, and a squad root said the video had small effect connected their determination arsenic they selected tackle Jack Conklin complete Tunsil.

Once the Titans passed, Tunsil feared he could driblet retired of the first information completely.

"Once I saw Baltimore and Tennessee, the 2 teams I cognize that wanted me, passed connected me, it didn't consciousness good," Tunsil told ESPN. "I really thought I was dropping to the 2nd and 3rd round."

Once Miami was connected the clock, its assemblage scout astatine the time, Matt Winston, had done plentifulness of predraft homework connected Tunsil and vouched for his character, according to ESPN's Mike Tannenbaum, the erstwhile Dolphins executive vice president of shot operations from 2015-2018.

The Dolphins were targeting protect linemen and cornerbacks, according to Tannenbaum. But Tunsil was the No. 2 subordinate connected their board.

"We had a gazillion needs connected the team, and ironically tackle wasn't 1 of them," Tannenbaum told ESPN. "The mobility was, if we sewage him would we descent wrong to defender for a year? We wished that he was a really bully person. He made a mistake. We were prepared and had really bully accusation connected him and we were capable to return advantage of that opportunity."

But Tunsil couldn't afloat bask the infinitesimal erstwhile he was selected. The family primitively had plans to observe but ended up spending the remainder of the nighttime successful a somber edifice room. Looking back, Tunsil has 1 awesome regret.

"Honestly wish I ne'er sewage interviewed," Tunsil recalled astir that night. "I did it to conscionable clear my sanction up a small bit. I deliberation that's the worst point I did. It made things worse."

Whenever Tunsil was teased astir his draught nighttime aft the fact, it bothered him.

"My first 3 years, it was dense connected my heart. Like, damn, I can't judge I went done that," Tunsil said. "I utilized to person teammates make nosy of maine and that'd fuss maine moreover though I would laugh. I was ever dealing pinch fans successful the stands pinch state masks."

Laremy Tunsil announced his infamous draught time "Gas Mask Video" is being made into an NFT, pinch a information of the money benefiting cannabis criminal justness reform: https://t.co/Ay1DEf6MmP pic.twitter.com/wEA9796TYg

Almost a decade later, Tunsil has $121.1 cardinal successful profession earnings, the sixth astir from his draught class. The time earlier the 2022 NFL draught began, he minted the image of him smoking retired of the state mask into a non-fungible token (NFT). He utilized portions of the proceeds from the NFT to assistance the Last Prisoner Project -- which supports group incarcerated for cannabis offenses.

"It conscionable showed everyone I do make mistakes, but that's not who I am," Tunsil said. "So that was conscionable 1 portion of the journey. I don't really conscionable look astatine it crazy. It's ever going to beryllium attached to me. When my boy gets a small older, I sewage to show him what happened. But it didn't slow maine down."

TUNSIL STARTED OFF astatine near defender arsenic a rookie pinch the Dolphins. He helped pave rushing lanes for moving backmost Jay Ajayi, whose 1,272 rushing yards were 4th astir that season. The Dolphins went 10-6 and clinched a wild-card spot successful the playoffs earlier losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Tunsil transitioned to near tackle for the 2017 and 2018 seasons successful Miami and was 10th among near tackles successful walk artifact triumph complaint pinch astatine slightest 1,000 walk artifact snaps (87.8%) successful that span.

The Texans were near pinch a void astatine the position aft trading Pro Bowl near tackle Duane Brown earlier the waste and acquisition deadline to the Seattle Seahawks.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson was sacked 62 times the adjacent season, truthful Houston was successful hunt of options and yet sprang for Tunsil.

After arriving successful Houston, Tunsil fto his blocking speak for him. Since 2019, he has the fifth-best walk artifact triumph complaint among near tackles pinch astatine slightest 3,000 walk artifact snaps (91).

When the Texans rewarded Tunsil pinch a three-year, $75 cardinal statement hold successful March 2023, they didn't person a backmost successful spot yet. But they knew whoever they drafted pinch the No. 2 prime would request an elite near tackle to nurture a young quarterback's development.

The Texans selected Stroud, who has led Houston to back-to-back AFC South section titles. The second-year backmost praises Tunsil for protecting him -- Tunsil has allowed only 2 sacks successful 2024.

"He has been huge," Stroud said. "He has not only been doing a awesome occupation blindside protecting but conscionable a awesome relative to thin connected that has seen a lot, been done a lot. [He's] personification who I thin on."

Outside of aspiring for squad occurrence -- helping to bring the first Super Bowl trophy to the Texans franchise -- Tunsil hopes his bequest tin scope the Hall of Fame.

"I want the golden jacket," Tunsil said. "I want to beryllium known arsenic 1 of the champion ever. I conscionable want thing to show for it erstwhile I'm done. I would emotion to person a statue successful Canton, Ohio."

An All-Pro action would thief bolster his Hall of Fame case, and Tunsil hopes the Chiefs crippled will springiness voters a chance to spot his blocking prowess against a defense that ranks 14th against the walk (215 yards allowed per game). He has the third-lowest sack percent (0.5) among near tackles pinch astatine slightest 450 walk artifact snaps, and has allowed the ninth-fewest pressures (46), according to Next Gen Stats.

Against the champion walk rushers, he has answered the call. He has allowed six pressures and 1 sack successful 59 matchups against a pass-rushing group of Josh Allen-Hines, Micah Parsons, Jonathan Greenard, Travon Walker and Haason Reddick, who person each had astatine slightest 1 double-digit sack play since 2022, according to Next Gen Stats.

"I'm 1 of the champion tackles successful the game," Tunsil told ESPN. "And each clip I get done playing an opponent, they show maine that. It's clip for group to announcement that; it's clip for maine to get my kudos. ... I'm getting it from peers, but I request to get it from [All-Pro voters]. I request my flowers and my respect."