Packers safety Jonathan Owens sat down for a podcast with a Green Bay 9-year-old and the result is adorable

GREEN BAY - It’s the cutest podcast interview with Jonathan Owens you’ll see, and maybe the start of a career for the 9-year-old who was asking the questions.

Beckett, a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Bay & Lakes Region, came fully researched, prepared and with seemingly no jitters for his 13-minute sit-down with the Green Bay Packers safety. In between a spirited introduction of his guest worthy of the Lambeau Field PA system to a gracious thank you and “Go Pack Go” at the end, he covered Owens’ start in football, what he likes about connecting with the Green Bay community, memories of recess, how to start a foundation and advice for kids in school.

Wearing a tie, dress shirt and vest, he showed off his impressive knowledge of the NFL and Owens’ sports background, but like a true pro, he also saved some time for the really important stuff, like jokes.

In the words of Owens’ wife, Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, who gave Beckett a shoutout in an Instagram story, “He killed it.”

The first-time “Shortz on Sportz” podcast was filmed in January at the Thomas H. Lutsey Clubhouse in Green Bay and was released this week by the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Bay & Lakes Region, which serves Green Bay, Door County and Shawano.

“That kid is just phenomenal. He’s been talking about doing a sports podcast. We do sports trivia almost every day,” said Ben Perkovich, regional director of clubhouse operations. “He did hours of research on Jonathan Owens. He wasn’t fed that stuff. He researched it. He wrote a paper. He memorized it. He rehearsed the questions. He helped with the set design.”

Owens and Beckett first met in November when the Jonathan Owens Foundation did a turkey giveaway with the Boys and Girls Clubs in Green Bay. While other kids were asking Owens about his favorite color or foods, Beckett pulled out this one: “So Jonathan, late in the third quarter against the Minnesota Vikings, on the far side of the field there was a fumble. Did you think you could get there to recover it?”

It made Owens do a double take. Had Beckett been studying the film?

After Christmas break, Beckett’s school in Green Bay was doing a “Learners and Leaders” project in which students were asked to interview a leader in the community. He immediately thought of Owens and asked Perkovich if he could help get him in touch. Beckett wrote a letter to Owens and Perkovich got it to his management.

Owens was in.

The school assignment portion of the project was just 2 or 3 minutes, but Perkovich thought it was too good not to release the full cut. It shows off not just Beckett’s skills but all nine club members who worked with Craig Knitt, the club's creative arts specialist, to produce, design, script, edit, write jokes and draw pictures for the podcast.

The club has turned it into a youth program and has plans for “Shortz on Sportz” to become a series, Perkovich said. It’s already exploring potential future guests for the next episode.

That means the joke writers might want to get busy to see if they can top this one for Owens: “Why was the football coach shaking the vending machine?”

“He wanted to get his quarterback.”

Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 orkmeinert@greenbay.gannett.com. Follow her on X@KendraMeinert.