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Miami just had a great one and and the o g Alonso one morning you dig And now we got somebody.
Who's my dog? Who my real dog? Who fucked up UCLA's hopes and dreams?
It ain't been the same since that ship was over twenty seven years ago.
Come on there, Welcome.
To the show, twenty twenty. Hall of Famer egrimnd James Man.
We appreciate you. Brot Jacket. Yeah, that's real.
From gold Teeth to Go, I mean, speak to that that line right there and what that meant to you and symbolized na.
It just summarized everything. You know.
It's like a lot of stories run parallel, everybody coming from certain situations, but they all kind of mirror each other.
And it's the same thing saying from rags to riches.
You know, it's just me telling my story, me sitting up there, going into a space where it was uncoming. Nobody was used to somebody coming in from South Florida, dreads gold teeth and back in the day, everybody used to conform, And for me, I just always, you know, I felt best at being myself, keeping me one hunding with myself first first, and then understanding the overall.
The overall was, I'm here to.
Play ball, you know, and anybody that understands business understands that all the outside stuff is irrelevant if you're getting a job done. And I always kept the main thing, the main thing. Every time, you know, I just go out there, I'm gonna go play ball. But then when the season i'm gonna get missing, I'm gonna get back to my comfort zone. So that's been the story, and that's been one of the kind of methods I use to make sure I stayed locked in love.
It rush for twelve and forty six yards ninety one touchdowns led the league in rushing each of your first two seasons. Only one of four runners to at least fifteen hundred yards in those campaigns, the other three the Great Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, and Walter Payne. We're gonna get into everything but house life currently. Was you just mentioned that you're doing a podcast that's kind of getting you out of your comfort zone a little bit.
But what's going on with your life right now? Life's good, man. You know. It's like I got them six kids.
I got five that's either been through closet or graduate and I got the last one my dog or you know, Jesse, he rocked out with just But like like me, I tell tech prior to being a parent, you know, So I wanted to make sure that I lock in and make that my whole focus once I got through playing ball. So my goal is to be six for six, put six great people out into this world, and you know, hopefully they able to reach back and keep that thing
going with the next generation or anybody encounter. So, you know, especially like being an African American or being black, you know, you always got the stigma and you might not have kids in the same house, But that don't mean you can't be a father, you know. So it's like me, I'm gonna I'm gonna show you that anything that is perceived as negative, I'm gonna turn it into a positive. And so I'm gonna have them kids rocking out doing doing what they're supposed to do and make him become.
Independent yeah, his son Jessel James played in the Offson game last year, and he wasn't he was playing in the twenty four K game.
At first.
He played so good in the twenty four K game, he played in the Iverson game, ended up starting in the Iverson game. N He's in Cincinnati, so and during that time, you know, he didn't know I had a relationship with his pops. So during that time I called him. I was like, well, I've got a relationship with your pops. I'm telling he, like, man, your pop's cool. He didn't believe it. So I was able to help him doing that process in the Iverson game. Now he shined it
us Cincinnati. Shout out to my boy Jise. That's my dog man.
I got six and one on the running. I'm about to have seven come seven come summertime.
Man.
So it's a blessing and I love to hear that because, like I said, there's so many stigmas on black fathers and what we can and can't do and what we're capable of. But like you said, there ain't no excuses. You're gonna be a father. You're gonna be a father, and we're gonna make good people.
Not just good athletes exactly, put some good people out of the world.
Man. So you and Stack, how y'all meet? What's your first interaction time? You mean, tell them about it? We made it three one seven cool man.
He handled the basketball, I handed the football, and we met him every night every night in the club out and the beauty of it this man, like everybody enjoying each other's success.
We're all growing, we're all young.
Were all learning, you know, at the same time. And who better to learn with somebody then somebody is actually going through the same things you're going through. So we and that on stay forever. Everywhere I see Stack is always I don't never want to.
Hear that basketball and football players don't get along because.
We did every night every night. We did it every night in atoime Bro now the college, but we did it every night. Now different. But when you get to the pros, it's like you made it. Ain't no conditions on you. It's it's a smaller fraternity when it comes to the pros. Man. If you come to these these new cities, man.
It's like you gotta link up, you know, and like, and then you're talking about going to support you at them I'm at them pacer games. You know, you're out there, but it's a difference when your dog on the court.
You know what I'm saying. It's totally different.
And we grew up, we know, like when you are to know, man, when you see somebody grew up like us, you know what I'm saying, even if they're playing football, y'all relate off that first.
Then when you find out.
Everybody real ones or it just go off from that.
Only makes it better.
Yeah, house it being a hoop dad though, you know we talked about we're talking about Jizzle just got to get a chance.
To go to the league. Man.
And you know from you play with him, he's he's basically a running back playing basketball though. That's what Jesu Will is. But how do how do you feel about him his success in basketball? Did you want him to play basketball? I wish I could have played basketball, like.
Like my first love. Like, but I just all I had was a strong right and no left.
Like there's a lot of people that made him leave wonder. Yeah. So it's like it's like so like football was easy to me.
It's like you got to make a business decision, which one do you gravitate to and then you fast forward. You know, Ji three four you mom, you just send a little clip to him shooting the basketball. And he really loved the game, and I'm like, shit, I got to relive what I wish I would have done, you know. So it's like so and I always we used to always practice with the basketball players and get out there on the court with like, man, the basketball player they soft because.
You just run they come playing.
I'm like, so, I'm like, man, if I can create something that's tough like a football player like basketball, but the skill like a basketball player, I think that would be the perfect combination. You did that and you know, just a six two sixty three, So it got skilled. But he got that toughness, a toughness, and so if you put that in there, then you can go because like even when he was growing up with training, it's like you can't call foul like we through you know, like we can't.
You just got to play through it.
And if you if you can master that, you can play this game.
That's what I mean.
Football is my first love, and maybe to the league in basketball, but I felt like I was a football player the whole time.
And then different got to be tough, definitely different.
Dion gave him is probles when we had Deon, Like he didn't see a lot of guys the mother sports talk about playing football, but he felt like he know that Matt really had a career.
Yeah, yeah, he had really had a career in football.
Yeah, say what you want the tapes don't lie, don't lie. How did you come into the podcast space, started your podcast Create the Life?
Well, it's just you know, it's like sometimes you step outside of your comfort zone. But for me, it's just another way to reach back, give information. It's like I'm not going to force something on people, but you always ask questions. You know, you got all these It's like I look at it as another form of mentoring.
Yeah, you know you get this kind of mentor to.
People who you couldn't read, Like me, I like, I like to read books. I like to set up there and try to always get one up on whatever situation. And so you look to situations or you look to people and you start saying, Okay, that's how I can reach them. So I say, this is the way I can reach people. Even with I wrote the book Gold Cheat, the Gold Jacket. You know that was I can't reach every athlete. I can't talk to these young kids that
that's in another city or another town or whatever. But if they go pick up this material and get them some insight. You know, a book can take you places that you.
Too.
Yeah, and it actually introduce you to people that you can't really get a chance to meet in person. And so I think that's a good thing in mine is you know, it's based on five pillars mindset, self mastery, financial freedom, community, networking, and lifestyle leader. I think that pretty much covers everything, and it's all on some positive vibes like I don't like I ain't never I ain't never get it, I ain't never get ahead, you know,
cutting corners or doing nothing negative. Everything I've done with doing it the right way, and I've been winning none stop.
I'm scared to do something wrong because I've been winning too long the time. Yeah, just stay solid, But then you're showing other people that, man, you could do things the right way.
You can stay positive, you can remove all that negative stuff, and you're gonna see how much better you feel and how much farther you go.
Portfolio includes gentlemen clubs.
As we both like you know, you know being you both love restaurants, real estate more. If I'm not mistaken, were you involved with some type of tour putting tours together or someone.
That what point you just try to get in this.
But like like I think, like you know, when you once you start, you know, you play ball, you what you want to do. Now you're going to another space, but something that you gravitate too. And a lot of the time when they said, man, you you involved with strip clubs, they always gonna take the negative approach.
But that's that's where you meet everybody. That's where everybody hanged.
That's the kicket spot, my best.
Yeah, everybody, everybody know, everybody gonna be there, everybody gonna hang.
But it's the cool stuff to do.
And then you also like you ain't and you're not there going for bad you know, you're with good intentions and you having a good time.
Like imagine if people would just be and not.
Worried about And I can't do this because my job, it's so many people hiding going through the back door of the club. Man, You're like, man, y'all, you take it too many steps. Man, go straight to the front door. Man, be you and be you. I'm telling you life, man, people gonna accept you.
Man. The world is wide open. You can be whatever you want to be.
I've owned clubs, but I've never owned a strip club, and I can imagine it's probably good.
Yeah, yeah, but.
See if I did, I just want to be a part of one thing, the hiring process.
But then you get then you're gonna get into your type and they're gonna be your type.
You won't forget about everybody.
You don't advanced that he thinking of something whole the lee.
Yeah, you're gonna behave this is your type. And then all of a sudden, why this girl don't work no more?
Steve, Steve fell out man, the kidnapped the game up a proposition you could refuse.
Jackon got it pregnant rare. He went to the Hall of Fame, went to the Hall of Fame ceremony, and the.
Seventy five rag top Chevy Caprice as you supposed to real Florida ship. Yeah, what are the class? What other classes do you own? And then uh, did Jim or say buy you one? Buy you that one?
Well?
As far as classic cars, you know, I got like we always had the don't the Chevyes. You know, I grew up having them, you know, and that was like that's a popular thing. So that was my way of putting a stamp on the Hall of Fame, bringing South Florida tour. You know, like every every everywhere I've been, I brought South Florida, the family. I brought who I was with me and you know, you see it in my approach and what I do, and that's my comfort zone.
That what makes it easy. So you know, I would once I found out they had a.
Parade, and I was like, I didn't want to just be riding on some type of convertible.
Like, man, it's a big moment. Man, I got to you got to represent for the people.
You know, it's like the dreads that go because it's like it means a lot, you know what I'm saying, to be able to reach back and show people that it's possible your way. Yeah, this stigma is that, man, you got to you got to walk the straight line. No man, you go play ball, stay out the way, do things the right way, and you can go. That's why you see that gold You see the Gold team, you see the bus, you see everything with the dreads, you see the car, So that was all part of it.
But I've always been into them cars. And as far as mister I called him the Big Man, he always man big Man, like he like one of the greatest man.
Know.
He he bought me a rose Ross you know that were riding on the car. He was like, Man, I'm gonna get you whatever type of car. I'm like, you bullshit. But then again then it goes back to like I'm a principal person, you know. I'm like, I ain't gonna just go get something. I want to get myself. I had already had a Fanom, and I was like, man, when I get myself together and the time is right, I'm gonna get me a get me a.
I had the Fannel, which one I had to I had the Ghost, the Ghost. I had the Ghost.
You know what I'm so, I said, Man, I always wanted to get the Fantom. I said, I wanted to get the Fannom. Later on, once I you know, slow.
Down, that's the big Boy. Yeah, that's the big Boy. And the Big Man came through and bought the Big Boy.
You know. It's just crazy man like manifesting things and things just happened on their own but doing things the right way. Man, people see you, man, and then the man on top always shine the kids.
So I ain't never worried.
Yeah, speak on your childhood now, don't make me uh say it wrong.
Mockley Yeah, Mockley Yeah.
A small agriculture town ninety minutes northwest of Miami.
Yeah, like Mackley's Bottom. It's small town, South Florida, and football is everything.
You know.
It's like it's one of those places where like people come to work and they'll migrate like it's not it's like a lot of medskins, Haitians, blacks.
Not a lot of whites, you know.
So, but you're growing up in the same area as Naples, which is you know, that's one of the richest cities per capita in the US.
So you get a.
Chance to see you get a chance to see things, You get a chance to dream and believe it, like, man, this stuff possible because you're right there. And so you know, it was like it was the perfect upbringing because it gives you a great appreciation for when you make that hour in some trip to miam or you go somewhere else, you go to another city.
You like, man, like we really had the grind. We really had to do things to make.
It out, and you have to keep a discipline because it's easy to stay in that small town mindset. It's easy to set up there and just be comfortable with whatever whatever everybody.
Else is doing.
How vital that was for your mom to tell you that I'm not buying you gifts because she was your wholewitness, because every day was a gift.
I think that helped you.
Yeah, like when you when you're young, you don't really understand.
You don't understand it. You don't understand you as you get older.
As you get older, man, it's like it's like one of the greatest gifts because of the fact that you're like man, like, I don't like I don't value all that material stuff, so you can't move me. You can't trick me with all that stuff right there, you know. And then I don't have bad days. You know, I don't have bad days because I know every day it's a good day. And I think, you know, as parents
don't realize the importance of planting seeds. They started planting those seeds at an early age, and it carries over, you know, it carried like my mom used to one time, she's just like you remember Popeye's remember the cartoon Popeye.
My mom and she would go make some spinach and ship, you know, like you do that. I all believe that.
And then after you this spinish you say, you flex your muscle, and then it's like for your muscle on got so big.
I was really believing we all because of Popeye. Bro.
Yeah, it's like and then now you're like, and then so but you actually it's something good for you. And now you've incorporated that into like your lifestyle, and then you start believing, you start believing. So you know, I plant seeds all the time. And my kids, you know, always tell them they the greatest. Always tell them, Okay, yeah you can be this, you can do that. But
it's realistic too. But I also lay out, you know, the pitfalls stuff like, look, you can do this, you can do it, speaking of you can make it, but if you stay around that circle, you stand around us when you ain't gonna make it, and it's just cut and dry, you know what I'm saying.
Then you're gonna sit back and you're gonna live and regret.
And so I'm telling you personally, like you can physically make it. You know, you got the tools, but if you don't make it, I want you to look at it. And even even they circle, I tell them, I said, I want each one of y'all, whoever, go go get the weed hand, the weed man, go get to this.
Go get to that.
I want y'all to sit back and say, man, I'm responsible for this kid not making it, because I'm never gonna tell one of my kids or anybody's kid to do something that's not gonna push them in the direction that they're going. But I'm not gonna sit up here and be battling with you all day. I'm gonna give you the information.
Now.
You want to hang with them, that's what you do. You want to sit around a bunch of people who ain't got nothing going, that's you. But I don't want to hear it later on. And that's that's the beauty of our position. You know, I'm still outside, so I'm I ain't like somebody that's out the loot. You know, I'm outside, uh, and I'm paying attention and everything.
I'm watching everything. I'm watching.
The moves stand in tune with every generation, so we're seeing the moves. You know, and it's like and that was when I talked to d on them team. I had had to give a speech, and you know, part of it was you lived like Ford, but you understand it backwards and all us as elders like, look, but we're trying to tell you. But if you want to be hard headed and go for that man, that's on you. You're not You're not about to mess up my days.
I think about boys in the Hood when Ricky played the VHA tape of his highlights when they're.
You gonna see did you there? Was that the same type of moment when you've seen that Walter Payton VHS.
Yeah, like like man, when I used to see that Walter Payton vhas man, that was like playing those seeds early. You know, I don't and like for me, it's like I was younger, but I was bigger than everybody, so I'd always play up. And then when you plan up, you know, you playing like it's a difference between eleven year old and twelve year old. So and somebody gonna hit you done, they don't hit you good, and you're feeling it, you know. But that walked the Payton take.
That walked the Payton video always said, Man, I don't care how hard somebody hit you, jump right back up.
You know you can be hurting.
You know, I ain't gonna never let a person see me down or see that I've been affected. And I took that with me my whole career. And then you start people hearing people say, man, he don't never get tired, he don't never sit up there, and you know that you're never gonna I'm gonna keep this poker face and I'm gonna keep giving it to you. And even if you got me, you ain't gonna know it, you know, because I'm gonna get myself together in the corner, but ain't nobody gonna know?
And then back out there, give it to you again. Explain the mindset behind your secret to a workouts? Now? That was it's like a cheat code, I think.
I think in sports sports it's like, you know, first you get a measuring stick, you know, you get a measures till you get around people and then you start seeing what they do and then you start saying, Okay, how can I get one up? How can I put myself in position to be better? And I realized that, man, if I out train everybody and I outwork everybody, I'm gonna come back way better than that.
I'm gonna do what they do. But then I'm gonna do what I do.
And I just always did and two am was like like I'm a night person by nature, you know, so I always used to go in around two, three, four in the morning. It started from like middle school, and then it went all the way through the pros, you know, and and it was it was one of the best things ever because you know, everybody else, they gonna come in and you got people that cut the workouts, cheat
the workouts. But it's like, what you can do by yourself, what you willing to do by yourself is the true testament of who you are, what type of person you are. Everybody can do it when the coach there, when the video on, but it's like, what you're.
Gonna do, nobody look, nobody looking.
I'm talking about making yourself do it, but then going hard because you have to put like imaginary people in front of you, you know, you got to you got to really think that you're playing against the best in the world. And when I started doing that, I started kind of overvaluing the people that I was about to play or who I was going against because I made them so great in my workout and I trained to make sure that I match that intensity. But then when I see them in person and we get across from
each other, they don't be it. It's like, so the game continues, you know, you just keep playing that little mental game with yourself.
That's dope to you. What is that logo represent for you? The universe? The universe. That's the universe. Man, that's the greatest school. Man, I'm taking.
It's like when you look at college, you got you got probably two schools, three schools maybe that got the total package. And that's the U U c l A U s. See the major cities with top programs, and for us, it's like we just feel like it ain't nothing gonna be like us. You know, nobody gonna bond like us. And when you down here, you're like, man, I get to go to school, great school. You know,
nobody can knock the school. You know, the school put out some of the greatest people in the business world overall.
But then you get the city of Miami. You get to you get to.
Stay up four, five, six in the morning's always something to do, you know, I go on the West coast, l A. Y'all got two o'clock house house parties. But so you think about it around the country. What school gonna give you everything? But it also is things that come with that too.
You know that I wouldn't it would it would have wouldn't him now maybe because surrounded by somebody, it's like we go out tomorrow, we're.
Going to work house. It ain't.
You don't have no choice, Like no, It's like a lot of times you see people they don't they don't command or demand their teammates to step up and like, you have to do that.
And that's one thing we did. We held everybody accountable.
You can't be on my team and not willing to do what it takes because it's going to affect the whole.
We need to get rid of you.
You need to say, man, I'm not built for this or something, because at the end of this, it's a team game and there's no way you can be slacking. And I can't sit up there and let you slack. And a lot of times see something sometimes players will be like, well I got me, I did me.
I'm like you forget about a big picture costs.
It ain't They ain't no better fun than going to the pros with your dog or being in the same situation and we all growing together, you know.
So it's ain't boxing or golf by yourself teams, but you're dependent on people anyway, regardless.
Uncle Luke big part of Uncle Luke the history and tradition, but also instrumental in in the university's program. Were you around with he had the bounty program with them.
Not no, that right that was before you, that was before me.
But like I think that right there was kind of that Like a lot of people put their spin on it, but they don't really understand that.
If you know Uncle Luke, Uncle Luke is a.
True mentor you know Uncle Luke don't have a dog in the fight, and he's gonna sit up there and make sure that he's working for the people and they you can call it a bounty call Uncle Luke making sure that people at school, you're doing what you know, making sure that you understand like what you're up against,
keeping people out of trouble. You know, it's like when you out because you're in these Miami streets, man, everything goes on so many temptations and you got people that say, hey, y'all need to go get back to school, get back to the dorm. Y'all got a safe place to come to my club and y'all to be good, and somebody else will take it the wrong way.
And of course when you go out involved.
Man, man, everybody around here, go and sit up there and make sure you're good. Because, man, the people down here love they love home team.
They love represent represent that like your representation of their teammates. I mean, yeah, I mean your practices I'm sure were wards, but your team Reggie Wayne Santana moss Ed reed to name a few. What were those practices and training sessions and just camaraderie like amongst that team.
Oh man, it was fun. Man.
Imagine people that would be in the transport portal once they show up today and they walk with practice and see all y'all hit the portal.
Yeah, get on this field. We wouldn't be hit no porter.
Man, We'll be making you go to the port I'm saying, I'd be like, man, I made three forty to.
The straight up, make you'll make you get into portal. That's what I would do. I would make you get in the porter. Would like I.
Don't understand, I said a kids jumping the porter like man, no, I'm gonna let you know. I'm gonna make you get this is my turf, this mine right here. Too many times they run, But that was that was thinking like us with us. You know, it was like it was like a true brotherhood. But everybody was cold with it, you know, like like it's like you can go out.
And I remember we had this thing where if somebody said, man, dang, I can't I can't practice or I can't play, and everybody looking like, man, you're bad, and we get back at it because this is our opportunity. This is this what is about. And then if somebody get one up on you, you can't wait till tomorrow because you're gonna get They're gonna ride you all day, all night, and it's.
Gonna make you up your game.
They're gonna make you either getting the transfer a portal or step your game up.
And that's what it was like.
And so practice was more exciting than anything because you have people that was driven, you have people that like everybody wanted to go pro.
You know, everybody did what of it? You should see our pro days.
Everybody everybody's sitting there just imagining it, imagining that that being them because they're like, man, I can't wait till my day. And when you got people that's driven and they have a purpose behind it, like man, I'm gonna take my family out of this poverty. I'm finna make sure I have this. Somebody do that, and I'm not gonna miss workouts. I'm not gonna cut corners. And then you see a different type of person. It's like every year you see the guy that been messing up or
messing around. Right when it comes time to get ready for come by, they start training, they start doing all this stuff. It's like it's a new person, Like you should have been doing that.
Do you did you ever go head up with the reading practice?
Now you don't really go nah, I ain't really know head up.
Like we just everybody just out of the ball every place safety, you know, So I want no thing where you.
Can't do that. He was right there waiting on you. Man.
I always got busy man.
For a reason.
Man.
Now we battled. We battered. Everybody battle.
Man.
It's like we battled, but it wasn't no thing.
When nobody can say, man, I got one up on me.
Me running back University.
I mean there was an era where Frank Gore, Clinton Ports yourself, Willie m Willias McGahee. I mean just the tradition in that era of running back. So y'all close to this day. Nobody jumped in the portal. Man, nobody jump.
You're jumping.
Now you can't jump in the Porter's like, I'm gonna see if I can make you jump in the port But now everybody, everybody's still stick together, everybody's still communicate. And now it's about the children. You know, you're looking at like Frank Gore his son when the draft he went to the bill. So we're sitting everybody monitoring everybody, you know, saluting each other and pushing porters.
Guy, he got two.
Boys that's coming along, that's getting a lot of recognition, you know. And then I got my on as a Howard that plays running back. So it's like that fraternity is still there. You know, Willis's son just went. You're going to college, So everybody got somebody. Then you have a reference that you can utilize this person on.
You know.
It's like it's like it I realized that that you can probably reach my kid better than I can in certain situations, like they just want to hear it from somebody else.
Same message is something different messenger. Yeah, so so I like to utilize that.
Okay, come talk to them, or come show them this drill or show them work out. So and that's the good thing you got when you have a group that you know personally that you.
Went to war with, that you can just lean on.
Top five Florida football players of all time put you right on the spot.
I don't know, man, I can't. I can't do that one. Man, You're gonna leave a lot of people. Oh but off, I'm I'm gonna skip that question. Man, Florida man like Florida, Tough Texas.
Yeah, those three, it's a lot. It's a lot of great people.
And there's a lot of great players that that came through this thing. And not only on the pop one of a high school college level. They did in the Prosy And that's that's the tell tale sign.
Postgame celebrations with Trick Daddy in South Beach. Any any stories you remember from back then.
Now, I really had no I can share, but we had we we have, we had some good times.
You know.
It's like and all of us around imagine everybody having.
Success at the same time.
You know, we're all around the same age, we're all like hitting our stride at the same time.
So just imagine that, you know, just.
Imagine everybody, everybody just in the same but it's not no one boss and a bunch of people up on everybody bosses. Everybody got and nobody's like showing nobody. Everybody like really happy for each other.
Nineteen ninety eight. Reschedule the game versus UCLA that got canceled, and you decide to go three don't say too night, ninety nine yards on thirty nine carries, and y'all upset Ucla, who was supposed to go to the national championship forty nine to forty five, and we ain't been shipped on the football field since.
What do you remember about that? That was? That was opportunity, you know it was it was was that your freshman and sophomore year, my junior year, my last game? Yeah, it was easy.
So that I mean, it was like, you know, it's two different type of balls, you know, you West Coast ball and then over here we play a different type of ball. And then UCLA was at a disadvantage, you know, it's one o'clock, you know, twelve one o'clock game. That's where the here's different. You know, y'all got a different breeze out there. And then we didn't have nothing to lose.
You know, you're going out there with some people just imagine a gang of brother and got nothing to lose, and you know, you just you just hanging loose, just hanging out, just doing what you do because they you know, if you win, you know, it's great. You know, if you lose, the whole world think you're gonna lose anyway. And then I got a chance to knock you too.
I was like, so that was that was that was the cool part, man like, look, we know it was up against and then that was that was my Actually, that was actually my first time that I was gonna be that. I went into a game knowing that I was gonna be the one that carried the load because and the way University of Mind was set up is, you know, every back is going to play, you know, so you had to split carriage.
We split carriage.
But then one of the other guys he had got he got suspended or he got injured or something.
Well he wasn't able to play, and so that was my opportunity for me. I wanted the chance. You know, you just want a chance.
You wish you get more carries, you know, you wish you get more opportunities throughout the year, but just the way our program designed, and so you got to make the most out of those opportunities. And then now I got to touch the ball thirty something times.
That was the first time game.
Yeah, that's the first And that's where all that hard work they started to show because I hadn't. If I hadn't worked hard and put in that work, that's too many carries.
Trying to get to the big leagues after college, after you did put up a thousand yards on U C l A and seventy five touchdowns. How was the pre draft process, Like what was your what was your forty your time the forty.
Like I think four three four four one something. Different people have a different thing. But that was all irrelevant, you know, because it's like, you know, as long as you're in the four folds and you can play.
But I know I could do it all.
But we was in a situation where it was like me and Ricky Williams and a couple of the backs, and Ricky was the popular back and he had won Heisman, and nobody had really seen me play. And so it takes somebody who really really do their homework to say, man, look this to guy and go against public perception, because you know, the public go about whatever you show them.
And so that was the coach. They never talked to me. I didn't.
I never interacted with them anything. And then leading up to you saw Marshall got Marshall got traded. And when Marshall got traded, he was like, okay, well now a running back is going. So now I know I'm gonna move up. You know, I know I'm move up in the draft wherever. But my thought process through the whole thing was, man all I cared.
I just wanted to get into pros, like I don't care where or whatever.
And then so happened. Everything went. It just went fast, you know, It's like went fast, and I end up playing for the Coats. The coach select me. And what's crazy was like, you know, you know, you get recruited by agents, and these agents flew me to New York.
It was Nick's Pacers and.
I'm sitting right behind Peyton, you know, and never say nothing to him, don't communicate, to communicate with him. I'm sitting right behind him, you know. And then two three weeks later with teammates. You know, that was crazy.
Fourth overall pick in the ninety nine draft brought into a place Marshall fault, big shoes to fill out.
How was that?
Football's like, I wasn't. I never was worried about having to replace somebody.
You know. It's like, man, I know I know what they getting. They don't know what they getting. You know.
It's like when you know you're adult, man, you don't worry about nothing that you know you got it.
You don't what to get. Football was too easy, It was way too easy.
So to be concerned about anything like that, that's that's a waste of energy, especially when you know you got what it take, and you know, like, man, like I know I'm that deal. You know, I know that. I'm like, this thing is serious over here, but my purpose is even bigger than hear that, And so I was never worried or concerned.
You just want to you just want to get out and get the opportunity to go play. Did you have to do any rookie duties? Noah, No, I wasn't. I wasn't really with all that. You know what they tried. I remember one. I remember one situation. Dude, dude, they did try me.
Dude like he came and said, hey, rook, I just like, hold up, man, I said, look, my name e J. You can call me Edge or if not, don't call me none at all. I'm not with all that. I'm just saying like, I'm here to do my thing. And dude, man said, I respect that because I'm not, like, I don't come to play games. You know what I'm saying, Like, Man, I come here to be one of the greatest to ever play the game, make me some money, take kept my family, and do my thing. I ain't come here
to play all these little gimmicky games. And it's cool for some people, but man, when I'm in a certain space, I'm a serious person.
Man. That's like y'all play them games with somebody else, you know.
It's like, and I never had no other issues and the actually I got a lot of respect from that. But it's like that wasn't like, Oh, let me stick my chest out and show.
These like you.
Nah, man, I come here to play ball, man, like I came with all this stuff, man, Like, y'all go ahead and play them little monkey games with somebody else.
Man, nobody got time for that.
Yeah, Peyton Mann and who was he on the field. I have two different backgrounds, but it seemed like your passion for the game was identical.
Yeah, like man p p is he's great, man P Like he showed you like like when you look at somebody like pe I'm like, you wish you can put your all into the sport like that, like, and that's what I wish for my kids. I wish I could say, man, let me take care of all the distractions, take get all that out the way, and just get them the blueprint. And you wish you had the opportunity to actually really
have a true passion for the game. It's like I got to deal with the game, got to deal with this, but they got to deal with Oh you got to bond this person out, or this person went to jail or this one that you know, you got to deal with all this other stuff, and you just wish you had some You wish you had the opportunity. So I was always impressed with the way they had their whole thing structured out, you know, It's like p was into that game.
This man loved that game.
If you go to pee House, he got the same equipment that we got at the facility, you know, and like when you see somebody that really love you can say, man, this this man can't help but be great, and then it shows you like like, man, if you want to be the best, you got to really commit to something. So p knew everything, Like we had the offensive coordinator on the field and that's.
That's what it was like planning.
But then you had a good person that really understands, like like I got incentives. I got to hit some incentives, so you're gonna make sure.
Yeah, like you respect people like that.
It's like, dude, I got to get this, I have to hit this or if you see that you got mab Reggie both don't want the boy he got. That's his hardest I mean, that's the hardest problem with that's the hardest thing that he had to deal with is trying to find balance.
And he was able to manage it pretty good.
And you respect that because you got somebody that you know they're gonna put you in the best situation, but they understand your situation.
Like I think Pete need to run for president. Man probably can win too.
Man, telling you favorite teammates doing in the years? Pat McAfee was always one of the cool home boars. But who was your favorite teammates doing them years? A lot of people don't know how cool Bob Sanders was too.
Yeah, Man, Like I got along with everybody. You know, It's like I rocked out with everybody. It's like I ain't kept you as an undrafted free agent. I don't care whatever around man, as long as you coming outside and you're gonna hang.
We had a lot of practice players with us. Used to be all the practice players with us.
But you know that was that was like that was that connection to college because you leaving college early and then you started seeing like I didn't know the pros, didn't really hang with each other. I didn't know everybody. I didn't really kick it with each other until you get there. It's like me, I kick it with the cool people. Gonna kick it with the cool people and the people that have things that's in common. That's who gonna link up. And it didn't matter what round or
what status you was in. And so I hung out with everybody.
Man, what was the furthest you've ever got in the coach playoffs.
With the coach. We went to the what the AFC Championship game? We made? We made a couple of times.
Yeah, after spending most of your career in Indy, you signed it with the Cardinals and make that home for three years, end up going to the super Bowl versus Steelers. Uh, what are your fondest memories about your Cardinals days?
It was a learning process. You know.
It's like you go to Indy any like they birth you, you know, and then it's like you go to another organization and you're thinking that everything in the pros was the same.
It's not.
You realize these organizations are ran totally different, and you.
Know, losing is not Losing not fun.
And you start being around you get you start being around the situation where they where they losing, and it's like it's like it happens all the time. So those are the things you have to deal with, Like you have to kind of change the mindset and you can't let it bring you down because.
The losers would pull you. You know, the people that used to losing.
People that's okay, we're losing, they'll pull you in the direction they're they're they'll console you and comforence you and make it like it's cool when it's not cool.
So you have to fight that. That was the That was the first thing, you know, having to fight that. But it was cool out there.
And then the fact that you know, you look back and you say, man, dang, they got the talent. You know, you look at the receivers, look at the Hall of Fame quarterback. You know, they have everything. It's just trying to put it together. And then we go to the super Bowl because that's what makes it cool because it's like, man, I know what I'm talking about. I know I'm seeing
like it could happen. And then after everybody came together, the right coach that put it together brought in a system that I was kind of from, like, you know, there's structure in a certain organizations and Arizona like you can, like the night before a game, you can just go home like I never seen that, you know, like I'm used to structure, and so it was totally different. But once we got structure, it all came together.
Current running backs crazy enough, it's one of the lowest paid skill position players as we speak. The beating they take. Have you had any conversations about that and what do you feel like the solution is?
Well, I think it's just everything evolved. The game evolved. It turned to a passing game, and as a running back, you can't sit there and think that things are going to stay like they used to be.
You know, you got to up your game, get in the passing game.
You look at Christian McCaffrey, you know, you get involved in the passing game. Now you're gonna bring more value. And for me, you know I could have. I always did all three. And so the more value you can bring and the more you can do, the better your chance. And it's to sit down and talk to the powers that be about Look, this is how much value I bring because they're not gonna try McCaffrey. He gonna get
paid top dollars because he can do all three. Or I know he can catch the ball and he can run. You know, I don't know as far as blocking. I haven't really paid attention on that level. But if you can catch that ball, you can get involved in those situations. That's gonna be the solution because it's not going back to where it used to be.
Still. That's back in the day, any running backs in the league you enjoy watching today.
I'm rocking out with the Coats right now. So I'm gonna say, but I like all these young the young guys. Man, you sit down and you always watch them, and you enjoy watching. I always like watching Avan Kamarrow. You know, it's like it's a lot of the guys. You know, I'm glad Dak getting a chance to go back to the Cowboys.
I'm at Zeke.
Yeah, I say, Dak, Ye're the same organization, but Zeke going back. But you know, the game changes so many different guys that you don't get a chance to just settle in on. Okay, this is the guy McCaffrey. Of course you're gonna sit back and say that this this guy right here, you know, he's I think he's the future. He's showing everybody's the blueprint of what it's gonna take to be a high paid running back. But I like I got j T and and Andy. I like him
with our quarterback and our new receiving courts. So you're just watching it and you're just paying attention to, you know, the direction of it, because it's hard to give advice when it's a totally different game.
He's said he got wills, Yeah, he got wills. Yeah.
Just kind of a double double edged question because he was always about your ship out there. But you ever see some people that you try to avoid on the other side, whether they be lying. I mean, it's over now so he can say it, or anybody that really got you one time good in the league.
You got your bill rung, now you get your bell. You're gonna get hit, but you ain't gonna never a nobody gonna know it.
You know, we can know it now that it's over.
Though, Nah, you're not gonna know it.
But like for me, it's like it's like I remember like when I was when I was younger, and we had to play against the Jets.
The Jets had they had.
Marvin Jones, you know, like and so if you come from if you come from the state of Florida, Marvin Jones was like the big deal, you know. So I was like, Man, I get any opportunity, I'm going to straight into it, you know. And I got my opportunity, you know, and it's just like it's just like a
breath of fresh air. He's like, man, I be long, like man like I'm playing with the big dogs, you know, And those are the things I always did, Like I always I always wanted the action because I want to see what it feels like to play against the best. You know, when you play against Ray, you play against that, you played against all the Buffalo Bill greats.
It's like I.
Want to I want that, you know, because how you going to ever get a chance to measure yourself if you don't get out there with them and you go at them and then at the end of the game they give your respect. That's like, that's like the biggest compliment, especially as a young player. So it's like I always embrace that, you know. It's like I'm always looking for
the best of the best. You got it, man, You got to like who how you're going to be a competitor and you don't want to go against the best and you you want to see because I need to know what I need to work on. I didn't know what I needed to do to get better. And that was the approach I always took.
That the patent get to the line.
He used to always get to the line, and you had a certain hop step where you can hop to the next door, like that that was one of your patents. Did that come off instinct or you worked on that.
That was something that worked on because what it does is it's a glide, right, It's a glide because what I do is it's a by time. If you get in a space where you don't know he hasn't gotten to where you can just do something with conviction, you buy time and you glide.
But you glide like I was.
I was teaching this to my son, how you glide with your feet, you know, not too far from the ground where you still under control. As soon as you see it, hit it and go. And that was always a move because I don't care which direction they was going. If they overplay something, I can hit it, I can
get back here. And so it's something that I added to my game to make sure that I can buy time because sometimes you can be a little bit too fast and then the whole yeah, you hit the whole little bit too fast.
You got to buy time.
And it's just but the thing you can do is once you once you make a decision, you got to give it you all right then, So that was that was one of the things I just kind of worked on a lot.
I know because I know you to hit the us, to try to hit that whole hard. Sometimes you run so fast you got to put your hand on the lineman.
And then figure out where you're going from there. Yeah, that's much. I used to watch you dog. Yeah, man, I appreciate that.
Man.
And then the other thing you can do is like I can, like when you get in tune to the to your craft, you start to understand, Okay, how can I help the lineman. I can position the defender however I want him to be because he's watching me and the lineman watching him. So if I need to work for the lineman, I got to position this defender for the linemen to get his hands on, to get him in the best best position possible.
So I used to work with the lineman.
I was like, okay, yeah, I'm gonna move him like this, like we used to play against the Dolphins, and like we played against Zach Thomas. Zach he just went into the Hall of Fame and I was like, man, how the fuck Jack keep getting to the spot.
And then I figured out.
I said, Okay, I watched enough film and I figured I said, look, he looking at my shoulders when my shoulders turned.
He was just hall ass running. He get in front of our lineman.
So then I started, I'll keep my shoulder square Zach with Paul's get my linemen in one love advantage over him. Then I'll get on it. And then never had a problem with never had a problem with it. But it's like, it's like, how can I make this better? How can I you know, It's like even when you know with your receivers, you're gonna tell your receivers like, man, Dan, like you start looking at he got this corner or he had this safety, and you started saying, Okay, yeah, this safety right here.
He pretty tough, you know what I'm saying.
So I'd rather you push your push your corner up and go get to the safety because I can deal with him, you know.
But in certain corners you're like, man, this motherfucker tough. You know what I'm saying.
It's tough to get around, but he gonna play it right, And you say, okay, stay on him. I work the safety, safety and heat nothing, you know, And so you start when you start breaking the game down, you're actually working together. And it's like even when you're doing play action fakes or whatever, you know you're doing all this stuff right, you're so in tune with the game. But like if Peyton see me breaking out the fake, that means something is happening, you know what I mean, he that means
something has happened. So that means there's a sense of urgency for him to get into his throat, you know. But if I go through with a full fake, I'm seeing stuff that he can't see. And so it's just a little little things like that that take your game to another level.
Speak to his his his mindset and obsessiveness of just reading the defenses and the audibles you guys had to go through and how long did it kind of take a rhythm? How long did how long did it take to really get a rhythm and just understand everything he's seeing out there? But like you just said, also what you're seeing out there as well.
Well, you kind of grow together, like it was only one year apart, and like I went to a team that was three and thirteen and it was like, oh, new guy coming in this and that whatever, But we worked so hard then we also can go thirteen and three, you know, and it's like you implement one or two pieces, but they need they match, they jail, and you turn this whole thing around.
So we all grow together.
And for me as a as a running back, I'm sitting back there and something you go on stadium you can't hear.
So if I can't here, I got to know what's going on.
So that's what made our relationship even stronger because now I got to tell what did you see?
You know what?
What's going to make you make this call? What are you looking at to say? Okay, I'm gonna switch to this because I can't learn it, so I got to learn it. Yeah, so I got to learn the game. I got to be I got to really pay attention to him because if you go the wrong way, somebody can come hit your quarterback. Your whole season gone. So I got to be in tune with what's going on. I got to stay focused because he can say something
at the line. The receivers they have these signals. The line is right there with the line and they talk to each other. I'm seven yards back and you don't have enough time to talk to me. So I got to learn that stuff. So that's what that's what kind of helped my football IQ.
Go us walk the common fan through the process of you're playing on Sunday, what's the next handful of days like getting back to Sunday.
It depends on how old you are. Like I was twenty one when I went in Monday Tuesdays off.
After the game, I used to go play basketball with the fan. We played kick like's not easy, like yeah.
Now back then, and we was out all there.
After the game, like when you when you're twenty one, twenty two, after the game, we would have basketball games at the house. You know in the nd especially play at one o'clock. You're back home at four o'clock, at four something five o'clock. And then you still go out. But as you get older it changes so and then you got Mondays, you go in.
I used to always left weights.
I always left wait, so Monday, you know, the day after the game, that waste tuesdays, that's your day off. You know, that's your day off. And then wins you back to it. And then with coach Dundee, you had victory. Mondays start in November. So if you plan somebody you know you're gonna beat, you already book your ticket. You're
gonna you're gonna stay in that city. You're gonna go back to South Florida, and we used to always come Downhill to come to the club a lot, like we used to come out here to hang out and get back to Indy Tuesday night. So that was that was pretty much same routine. Never it never really changes.
Would it be a mistake for the NFL will expand to eighteen games?
I mean it's all been. It's like, I don't really see the purpose of a preseason game. You know, it's like it's really a waste of time because you're going out there. But it's you know, it's a waste of time in a sense. But you also you question some people's dreams that don't have a chance to play it, you know, so that could be their moment, that their opportunity, so where they gonna get their opportunity, where they're gonna get the opportunity to showcase you know that they belong
in the league. And so I think preseason is good for that. As far as playing, I don't see it. I see you can probably get one preseason game in and get to it, you know, just gets a long season get to it.
Jerry Jones has been vocal on the record talking about that CTE doesn't exist. He got it also matter have you had any former teammates that maybe suffering from it or close personal friends that played the game that may be suffering from it?
Man, it's like, I think it does exist. I think it's something because you don't go from you know, being a certain type of person and then as the years go on, you turn into something totally different.
So there's something there, you know.
And if you think it's not real, just compared to the normal person that's twenty years old and then go to when he's thirty years old and see if they act the same. If everything's the same, you know, you know, like the human body not made to hit a running to each other, So how can you expect not nothing to be there. But as a business person, you're gonna
try to protect your best interest at all time. But at some point you have to get to the facts, and the facts are it's something there that things happening. They're doing a lot of things to prevent a lot of stuff that's happening, and it's gonna be an ongoing battle. You know, if you're gonna pay, if you're gonna do something that goes against what the human body is made for expect something to happen.
I got a form of it. I just don't know what I got, but I got it. Not even played for because you was dropped on your head too much.
As maybe I just was born with it. Burn Yeah, Burn quick hitters, Mount Rushmore of running backs. Oh Man had one.
Time.
Like man, you always got to give people the respect, you know, like it's Barry, Emmitt Walter, however you want to put it, and Jim Brown, like you put all them in the group right there. I think anybody that plays the game, you study the game, you start looking at the evolution of the game for them.
Before you got to put in there.
You got you gotta put them for whatever way you want to put it, that's up you for form Burry to play that loan and still sustain. Man, it's like that that says like for Jim Brown. To Jim Brown could have crushed every record and just walked away, he became like even a greater man. Yeah, he became this person that understood, you know, things in this country wasn't right.
You know, Barry walked away.
You know, Barry could have kept playing, but Barry was in a situation where you know, it took its toll on him. And then Walter Payton, you know Walter Payton, Man, that was like that was my number one. He was always like it was him, you know, that was that was the one that I watched. So I think, I think if you go anything beyond those four, you know you're getting out of pocket.
You know what I'm saying, Like, but that's that's the top four. You stuck on the island. Three shows or movies in rotation.
I'm gonna watch Coming to America, gotta be the original.
Watch like Belly, like movie like. I like the classics. I watched all classics, stuck on them.
One album you could listen to, No Skips, No Skips, Tupac West coastmin Heavy out here for something.
Yeah yeah, childhood crush.
I ain't had no childhood crush. I wanted some money.
Mann think about that man guilty pleasure.
I like being outside, man Like, I like like, I'm gonna be in the clubs one night life. It's like, I just like being out with the people. You know, it might it might not be the safest environment, but I'm gonna I'm won't be outside.
I'm gonna be outside. I won't be outside. One guess you would like to see on our show, but you have to help us get your answer on the show.
Somebody get Pee money, get money, Get Pee money, man, Peyton Money, get money.
I'm put president what to.
Call for pre money because I know P Money know that I want him on the show. He gonna come. I just ain't seen P Money years. But you Money used to rock with us heavy he moneys to rock with now.
Don't trip Money needs to be in the clubs parted with P Money too?
Yeah money silent man, don't get pe money srew up? Man for money. Real money is real and you need to second solid dude as man. We appreciate your time.
Man, best of luck with all the endeavors, fatherhood, business and everything else. And James, yeah, looking for way to the lead. We're looking for you man. We're best of luck with everything man, and thank you for your time.
I appreciate you.