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Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show

Ian Happ talks Cubs' success (Hour 2)

12 May 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What insights did the hosts share about Bears rookie Malik Muhammad?

1.415 - 7.128 Leila Rahimi

This hour is brought to you by Cars for Kids. Football!

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8.511 - 14.445 Unknown

The premier football show in Chicago inside the Walter Payton Center.

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15.708 - 25.344 Leila Rahimi

Wow, it's amazing how this open just doesn't sound like anything we've ever done before. This is Rahimi Harrison-Crody on 104.3 The Score.

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25.384 - 30.732 Unknown

Are we waiting for the brass horn still? That's what I want to know. The low brass, specifically.

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30.792 - 38.104 Leila Rahimi

I think we should, shouldn't we? Or is it different during baseball season? We're spigs! Are we stepping on the toes if we don't do it?

38.32 - 41.845 Marshall Harris

Well, we're stepping on everybody's toes in this segment as it is.

42.106 - 48.375 Leila Rahimi

What? No. We're also even stepping on our own toes because normally we bring you inside the locker room.

48.395 - 48.896 Marshall Harris

That's right.

49.397 - 55.907 Leila Rahimi

But that's not what happens during rookie minicamp at Hollis Hall. It's inside the Walter Payton Center. Wait for it.

Chapter 2: How did Ian Happ reflect on his recent on-base streak?

341.887 - 360.99 Leila Rahimi

And he had to go on Twitter and clarify it. I didn't even think he needed to. I didn't feel like he threw any shade at the Bears. I felt like that was... You're allowed to react to where you wanted to go in the draft and where you end up. But it's good for the team. That's the flip side of this. But...

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362.101 - 380.903 Leila Rahimi

I have every belief that Jalen Johnson will be different because we saw him get a little faster as he got healthier last year. The question then becomes, is he going to get faster and healthier enough by game one to be okay again? And then the older you get, the harder it gets. And I just remember, I just have these mental pictures of...

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380.883 - 396.667 Leila Rahimi

The secondary perilously chasing down Packers receivers in a way that wasn't productive across the field at times got better in the game and a half of the Rams and then that Packers game in the playoffs. But that sits in my mind.

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397.007 - 404.268 Unknown

Layla, Mark, let me present it like this. Malik Muhammad is definitely one of those dudes who can name every single cornerback that was taken before.

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404.308 - 414.026 Marshall Harris

Is that a fair statement to make? He probably could. Exactly. So he was asked to, by the way, Marshall, like, what do you think about being drafted in the fourth round? What's up with all that?

Chapter 3: What strategies did Ian Happ discuss for maintaining performance?

414.127 - 428.266 Marshall Harris

And his answer basically was, I don't know. You got to ask them. So, you know, given short, curt answers like that, and even the answer that he gave me was pretty short and curt. He was looking at me like, what the hell do you think? Of course, I think I'm a starter.

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428.286 - 433.752 Leila Rahimi

He was a professional who exuded intense energy, but not anger energy.

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433.772 - 439.399 Marshall Harris

Think Luther Burden a little bit, like from last year. Remember when Burden seemed like he was pissed at the world?

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439.639 - 443.644 Leila Rahimi

Marshall just immediately emphatically nodded if he missed it.

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443.624 - 446.429 Unknown

You remember Luther Burton III. Like, that was a very obvious.

446.449 - 449.674 Leila Rahimi

Sunglasses inside and chain. Luther Burton is not here to play with your thoughts.

449.814 - 469.446 Unknown

It was double because with Luther Burton III, he felt like he was a first-round talent, obviously. And with Luther Burton III, he's probably coming in the Bears like, well, you already have the veteran and the top 10 pick. So I'm really about to roll up my sleeves with this chip on my shoulder and show you what I can do.

469.645 - 478.578 Unknown

And, of course, he wasn't healthy at the outset, but then once he worked himself in, we came out of the season with a lot of people saying, I think he's the best receiver on the roster.

478.738 - 492.818 Leila Rahimi

Well, and Mark, I also want to get into this. What was one of the biggest things Dennis Allen had to say from his availability that I think we should keep forever because he was so candid about a lot of stuff and took us inside the Walter Payton Center? Yes.

Chapter 4: How does Ian Happ perceive the Cubs' current season?

492.798 - 508.495 Leila Rahimi

He said as a defense they didn't have enough speed last year. They were not fast enough. What is the common thread with everybody they seem to have acquired? Devin Bush, whether you want to say it or not about who they have on the defense now, it's speed.

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508.475 - 510.297 Marshall Harris

Athenaman, Kobe Bryant.

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510.397 - 510.838 Leila Rahimi

Correct.

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511.118 - 511.618 Marshall Harris

Speed.

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511.658 - 521.169 Leila Rahimi

Well, and the versatility, too. What he pointed out with the versatility of the safeties, I think that may extend to what happens to Kyler Gordon and potentially Malik Muhammad.

521.189 - 534.583 Marshall Harris

Well, and that's such a great point because let me take us all. Let's recenter ourselves. There we are. We're in the Walter Payton Center. We're about 10 feet up where it could be a little dangerous if things drop from that point. You got it.

534.563 - 535.424 Leila Rahimi

Carmen.

535.444 - 555.028 Marshall Harris

You got it, Carmen. He's the best. Things could drop as you're up there, so we got the slightly elevated view inside the Walter Payton Center, and there it was. I think I was actually standing next to our guy, Clay Harbor, and Mark Carmen at that moment, and there it was.

Chapter 5: What role does Ian Happ's posture coach play in his training?

555.209 - 558.052 Marshall Harris

There it was. Harbs and Carmen. Yeah, Harbs and Carmen.

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558.112 - 560.195 Leila Rahimi

The next great radio show.

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560.475 - 577.477 Marshall Harris

I think we did have a hilarious little rapport going. I like making Clay Harbor laugh. Malik Mohamed, there he was, lining up at nickel. He was on the inside, and other reporters told me that on Friday it was the same, that he was playing on the inside.

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577.497 - 588.752 Marshall Harris

So let's listen to, and then we can react to it as well, let's listen to Malik Mohamed when asked about, hey man, what was up with all that, playing on the inside, playing the nickel spot?

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588.732 - 595.719 Malik Muhammad

Well, you know, it is something different because I didn't play too much of nickel in college just on matchups.

Chapter 6: What does Ian Happ think about his contribution to the Cubs' success?

596.199 - 610.613 Malik Muhammad

But it's been challenging for sure, just learning the whole defense, knowing where all the pieces go, knowing where your help is, learning the insides and outs of it. It's been new, but it's been fun.

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611.414 - 619.582 Marshall Harris

I know it's like super early, obviously, but have they – told you that that's where they see you playing, or are they just training you at all positions?

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619.843 - 628.176 Malik Muhammad

Yeah, they're just training me at corner and nickel. They haven't really told me, like, that's going to be your set position. They just got me playing both.

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628.196 - 635.307 Mark Grote

What's the hardest part about it? Yeah, what do you need to do at nickel that you don't need to do outside or vice versa? What's the difference?

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Chapter 7: How does Ian Happ feel about being 12th on the Cubs' all-time home run list?

636.508 - 648.747 Malik Muhammad

Well, so at nickel, in some coverages, you don't have deep responsibilities, right? You are more of like a curl flat player or a quarter flat player. So I'll say that's the difference.

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648.767 - 649.609 Dennis Allen

Do you think that fits your game?

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651.452 - 658.446 Malik Muhammad

I could really play both. I mean, it really don't matter. Whatever it is at the DB position that I need to do, I'll do it.

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658.865 - 674.494 Marshall Harris

He's like, just get me the hell out there. Get me out on that field, and I will show you no matter where you want me. But it's smart, though, to think about him. Because Kyler Gordon and C.J. Gardner-Johnson's not back, so...

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674.474 - 693.546 Unknown

No, I think even more so, he understands that versatility is the key to getting on the freaking field, number one. But also understanding he has between now and the start of the regular season to earn Dennis Allen's trust wherever he is put on the field. And if Dennis Allen feels like he can...

693.526 - 700.274 Unknown

use him as a chess piece inside and outside, that increases his value and his chances of getting on the field.

700.755 - 724.924 Leila Rahimi

It sure feels like the versatility and speed is the name of the game when it comes to linebacking slash secondary. And I wonder when we talk about just our impressions from that Packers second game and the playoff game, so really the third game. So the playoff game against the Packers and then I think of it like second win. And then the Rams game, how much did that stay with them?

Chapter 8: What are the latest updates from Ian Happ regarding Connect Roasters?

725.285 - 735.298 Leila Rahimi

How much when they watched the tape were they thinking, this is specifically where we need to improve? And so it makes sense as to why they want to use the secondary maybe as chess pieces.

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735.498 - 750.317 Unknown

I think to your point, Layla, even more important than maybe those games illustrated, I go back to this and I'm going to keep going back to this until I'm proven that this is not a problem. they have to be able to defend what the Detroit Lions do on offense.

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750.697 - 770.783 Unknown

And this could be part of the answer to that because they got mollywhopped from a defensive standpoint because Jared Goff didn't have any pressure on him and because Amon Ross St. Brown and the rest of them were doing whatever they wanted as far as getting open. Like you'd watch a play and feel like, okay, third down, they're not getting off the field.

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771.202 - 783.507 Unknown

And Jared Goff is out here picking you apart left and right. And without more speed, and really without a better pass rush, it's going to be hard for them to do that. And again, do you want to just be in all these 34 to 30 games and hope you're on the right side of it?

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783.959 - 806.177 Marshall Harris

A couple other things here, too. You guys obviously know that the Bears signed Scotty Miller, the veteran local kid receiver. And it was kind of fun to watch inside the Walter Payton Center. He stood out. Just watching, it was like you had to get out your roster. You're like, oh, okay. That's Scotty Miller. And then like an hour later, the Bears signed him.

806.237 - 820.891 Marshall Harris

So it was kind of fun to see the Bears, like their thinking process and seeing it in real time to watch those guys. As far as like Xavier Thomas, like he looked fine. Like, again, it's so hard to tell because they're not in full pads.

821.151 - 844.461 Marshall Harris

But what I liked about watching Xavier Thomas, the man with the 4.28 speed, is what they have them do out there is if you catch a ball, they want them to sprint the ball, sprint to the end zone still. So it was fun to watch. It was fun to watch when he kicked it into the high gears. Like, I have no idea what kind of a receiver he's going to be based on one rookie minicam practice.

844.481 - 856.761 Marshall Harris

But it was fun to see him sprint. It was also fun to see Sam Roush, 6'6", 267, the way a big man can move. And he moves very well.

856.859 - 879.846 Leila Rahimi

admit the the Bears tight ends have a have an NBA team height Cole Kometh 6'5 isn't Colson Loveland 6'6 and so is Sam Roush yeah I think you're right I think they're all right around there so they have a type yeah that's a positional size to say the least also we've got a we've got Ian Happ on the other side of this but please give us the very important update of how

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