HENDERSON, Nev.–The Las Vegas Raiders, under the leadership of new General Manager Tom Telesco, concluded the 2024 NFL Draft today.

By all accounts, the Silver and Black had a tremendous draft, drawing accolades around the NFL world for the successful work of Tom Telesco and his staff.

The Las Vegas Raiders seventh round (#229) pick, RB Dylan Laube of New Hampshire, spoke, and we have all he said for you when you read the transcript below:

Sixth-Round Pick (No. 208 Overall) RB Dylan Laube

Q: I see you have a lot of different facets to your game, I just wanted to know what part of your game

you take the most pride in?

Laube: “Yeah, first of all, I think special teams is, if not the most important, the most underrated thing in a football game. I mean, we got offense, defense, and also special teams. And I take pride in playing, of course, running back and receiver. But also, special teams I feel like is what separates me from every running back in this class. And I think me being able to do a bunch of different stuff like kick return, punt return, gunner, jammer. I think I’m able to do so many different things. I’m so excited, I’m just jacked up right now.”

Q: How much did you talk to teams, especially with the new kickoff rule, that they wanted to bring

somebody in that could return kicks? And how much did you kind of know when those rules went in

that this is definitely going to open my door a little bit more to the NFL?

Laube: “Oh, yeah, I mean, after when that rule kind of came in I was like that is so crucial for me just as a player because now it kind of adds that aspect to the game right now. You definitely need a returner or two. So, me being a four-year starter as a kick returner is so crucial and I think it’s going to bring that extra element on special teams too. It’s going to be so crucial, and I think it’s just going to be a fun time, man, because I’m able to return kicks now. So, it’s definitely going to be a fun ride.”

Q: I was wondering just about the culture that they’re trying to build here and how you feel that you

fit into that? Laube: “Oh yeah, actually when I was on the phone with Coach [Antonio] Pierce, I said, ‘Hey coach, you got a dog.’ He was like, ‘Hey, Dylan, that’s our culture here, just a bunch of dogs.’ And I’m super excited man, just because it’s just a bunch of gritty, hard-nosed dudes, man. It’s going to be so fun. I can’t wait to suit up in the Black and Gray, it’s going be so fun. I’m so excited.”

Q: How productive do you think your experience at the Senior Bowl was in kind of putting yourself on

the map and did you have any really constructive or really good conversation with the Raiders while

you were there?

Laube: “You know what, I think me coming from a small school it was so important to show who I was at as a player, especially at the Senior Bowl against the best of the best. And being able to perform one-onones, run the ball, and show my special teams skills was so important. I got to show teams that ‘Hey, I truly belong at this level.’ And no, I think I talked to the Raiders one time at the Senior Bowl, it was more about the scouts and me as a person, my personality. And I don’t know, it’s a crazy feeling, man. I had no idea what to expect today, and when I got that call, man, it’s such an unreal feeling and I’m glad it’s with Vegas.”

Q: I want to take you back to a few years ago because you’re a no-star recruit, one of those guys that

believed in himself and did what you had to do at New Hampshire. Can you just talk about that journey

and take a few moments to realize the accomplishment of getting drafted?

Laube: “Yeah. Especially coming from a small town in New York, it’s just a surreal feeling, man. Exactly

what you said. No-star kid. I only had one offer, which was New Hampshire. And yeah, I mean for my

whole life, I’ve always had that chip on my shoulder from pewee until now. I’ve always wanted to prove

who I was. And I don’t want to curse, and I won’t, but I have always said ‘screw everyone’, and I just focus on myself, and I just grind. And it’s been a tough journey for me and my family, but I’m back here now and I’m ready. I’m so ready for camp, to go to Vegas. I’m just jacked up. I cannot wait to win so many games, win a Super Bowl, and just kind of just dominate it, man. I’m so excited. I’m so excited.”

Q: Being on the other side of the country and playing in New Hampshire, what do you know about this

organization and the history of it and what it means and everything? And beyond that, how did you get a Raiders hat so quick?

Laube: “The Raiders are probably one of the most iconic teams – it’s probably the Raiders, Cowboys,

Steelers, if not the most iconic teams just from that smashmouth ball, those iconic teams, Coach [John] Madden. And just like those iconic black and gray is probably, if not one of the most, the coolest team names and cultures. And then when you guys moved to Vegas, I was like, ‘Oh, damn.’ Because if you think about Vegas, man, whatever happens in Vegas man stays in Vegas. So, it’s definitely got to be a crazy atmosphere there. Actually, my dad bought all 32 teams just in case, but I think tomorrow he’s going to have to return 31 caps. So, it’s going to be a tough pill to take, but at the end of the day we’re just super excited about today.”

Q: If you had to equate your game to someone, who do you think your game is reflective of in the NFL

right now? Laube: “Well, right now, I think the way I play is just so versatile and of course there’s so many backs. I mean, I can say Christian McCaffrey, Austin Ekeler, Alvin Kamara. There are so many backs in the league, especially in today’s game where versatility is so huge and where you need guys that play running back, receiver, special teams. It’s so crucial now and I think my game has kind of evolved in a sense where I’ve kind of now have modeled my game after receivers, running backs, return specialists, but I think kind of the guy that I look to is definitely like a Christian McCaffrey.”

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By GARRY RAYNO, Distant Dome

Gov. Chris Sununu appeared in “information ads” touting The 603 and you see many people post in FaceBook about returning to the  603 from distant places.

You could almost believe The 603 was akin to The Old Man of the Mountain, the New Hampshire Presidential Primary  or “Live Free or Die,” instead of an area code for making telephone calls.

More similar to The Old Man, The 603 will someday be but one of the area codes when people call into New Hampshire either on a landline or a cell phone or IPad or computer or voice-over-internet protocols, etc.

Despite the numerous devices, or because of the numerous devices, The 603 is running out of numeric combinations for the remaining seven numbers for phones or whatever is assigned a number.

Ideally, there are 7.7 million seven digit numbers that could be available for use, far more than the 1.4 million residents of the state.

But it is much more complicated than simple numbers. Blocks of numbers are reserved by various providers and many businesses, organizations and government entities have far more than just one number to call.

The providers are reluctant to surrender the numbers they can assign to customers as you can imagine and how many people have more than one phone.

When I worked for a newspaper, I had two company cell phones, my own, a company pager, and my landlines at home and at work. That meant people had six phone numbers by which they could reach me.

If everyone had that many numbers attached, The 603 would be only one of the state’s two area codes with 8.4 million numbers.

New Hampshire is one of a little more than a dozen states that have had the one area code since its inception in 1947. Most other one-code states are facing similar issues.

The exhaustion of numbers accelerated with the explosion of cellphones and voiceover internet protocols and the state has already tried to blunt the impact beginning in 2000 and then again in 2013.

Maine faced a similar problem and would hit its limit by 2025 but the Pine Tree State’s legislature acted to preserve its single area code.

Last fall, the state announced it would extend The 207 until 2032 to 2034, according to the North American Number Plan Administrator.

“Our staff has looked at several practices that have impacted the rate at which our numbers were being tied up, including forecasting and block request practices, curbing the use of numbering resources by robocalls, and encouraging providers to work collaboratively,” said Maine Public Utility Commission Chair Phillip Barlett said. “We believe that our continued efforts to ensure numbers are used in the most efficient manner possible could extend the life of Maine’s single area code out until the 2050s.”

In New Hampshire, the area code is not expected to max out for three or four years, so the governor and Legislature have both jumped into the fray to save The 603.

Last fall, Sununu issued an executive order titled “Don’t Overload the Code” that stated “the 603 Area Code is an iconic symbol of New Hampshire, has come to both signify and symbolize residents and businesses being located in or originating from New Hampshire, and has become part of the New Hampshire identity, and the implementation of a second area code is likely to have significant cultural and economic consequences for residents and businesses located in-state.”
The order required the Department of Energy to open a proceeding to investigate strategies including reclaiming unused numbers from providers, to extend the single area code as long as possible.

He also implemented a study of business practices related to its use of telephone numbers and the potential cost and significance of a second area code for the state.

This year’s legislature has Senate Bill 603 — get it —sponsored by Senate President Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, and introduced at the request of the governor, which would give the Department of  Energy and the Public Utilities Commission authority to promote and adopt telephone number conservation measures to maximize the life of the state’s single area code.

Speaking in favor of his bill, Bradley spoke of The 603 being part of the state’s brand and identity, and any change would impact that brand in a negative way by diluting its impact.

The Senate amended the bill to include many of the measures done by Maine to extend the lifetime of The 207.

During the public hearing, the PUC expressed concern that some conservation measures could impact rural areas negatively but not the resource-draining areas of Manchester, Portsmouth, Concord, Nashua and Keene.

The committee was also told any new area code would be an overlay, which means if you have a 603 area code, you will retain it, but any new telephone number will have a new area code. 

At the hearing, Chris Rand of the NH Telephone Association, stressed that rural carriers historically have not been a significant source of numbering problems due to their limited number blocks and they need to be protected under the proposed changes.

The bill would allow the Department of Energy to hire a consultant who would cost between $100,000 and $300,000.

The Senate passed SB 603 on a voice vote, surprising it was not a 24-0 roll call, and was sent to the House on March 21 and was sent to the House Science, Technology and Energy Committee for a public hearing and review.

The House committee kept the bill largely intact, but added a reduction in the state’s Communications tax from 7 to 6.5 percent without any indication how much impact that would have.

The bill may be headed to the House Ways and Means Committee to determine the fiscal impact of the reduction in the tax that has produced diminishing returns as people move from landlines to cell phones and other devices.

Thursday SB 603 comes before the House with an ought-to-pass-with-amendment recommendation from the House Science, Technology and Energy Committee, but with a minority report recommending killing the bill.

The vote to recommend passing the bill was 10-9, so it is likely to garner some debate on the House floor.

The minority report is written by Rep. and former Dartmouth computer science professor, Tom Cormen, D-Lebanon, who notes the bill has two problems, no known fiscal impact from the reduction in the Communications Tax and it is simply putting off the inevitable.

“Whether or not we attempt to extend the life of the 603 area code, we will run out of phone numbers in the 603 area code sometime in the next few years,” Cormen writes in the minority report. “The bottom line is that this bill spends money just to kick the can down the road.”

When the Old Man fell and turned into dust, the state was shocked, in disbelief, and truly lost a symbol of its heritage dating back to at least Daniel Webster who said “Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoe makers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but up in the Mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men.”

No one’s manhood or womanhood disappeared when the Old Man fell off the face of Cannon Mountain, and it should not when The 603 eventually is joined by a little brother or sister.

Did the state’s brand just begin in 1947, or was The Granite State known for its majestic mountains, crystal clear lakes, Presidential Primary, maple sugar, fall foliage, skiing, Live Free or Die, business friendly atmosphere, no income or sales tax and making “real men” before The 603 was established?

Maybe the legislature ought to be more concerned about hungry kids, homelessness, and the growing tyranny of the minority in this state and country, rather than if The 603 is the state’s only area code.

Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.