BONUS EPISODE - Jonathan Stewart

WAPs Oregon. I love like you saw the podcast. Congratulate me, congratulate me. So we got congratulate me in real quick. So of course we've got Steve, we got backstage joke, we've got special guests Jonathan Stewart. So he said. I was like, oh, no, special guests. He ain't usually here. I'm not gonna I ain't gonna do that. That's gonna get you in trouble, get you canceled. So University of Oregon versus the University of Utah three years ago, we were one win away from being a team getting drug

in the college playoffs. Foy leven million dollars. I'll take that dragon. But Oregon comes in with Justin Herbert and kills all of our dreams. Hence our under armour slash Utah slash d Smith tour stopped. I mean I couldn't even sign the paperwork before they even canceled it. It was like email stopped. It was like they sent it and then you know, right before undo. So we lose. Now we go up in you up in uh Eugene actually 'all came. Yeah, it was at our house. We

beat him and they get a second helping. They said that that was so delicious. Can I get Can I take another? Come out there and we win and go to go to Vegas Alliance Stadium and pretty much drug y'all. It was. It was embarrassing. But here was a great part Utah in Vegas. It was so close that it was. They said it was a sea red everywhere. They had to uh, they had to have police shut down because you can walk from the Luxe ord Too Reliant Stadium and they had the police shut it down. So they

were walking. They just said it was a sea red. It was like it's like a whole bunch of Caucasian and African American and all other gang members all in red. It was awesome. I gotta watch those Caucasian red games. You never know the boys ain't playing Caucasian. That got a lot to prove. Initiation is the charts ination off with his head. I'm surprised, man, you talking in Vegas, you wouldn't really expect a lot of you know them, there's a lot of jack Mormons go to Utah who

like Christers. What is that? You don't know what the Chreaster? You know, I don't know what the Christian that goes to church only on Easter. Yeah, break that down for me, christer. Yes, I can see it. I can see a T shirt coming, christer. Are you a Creaster? Yeah, that sounds like a Christian that is that goes to church or Easter. Think about that a lot. If you go back in especially you would like to be being then being in the South. You gotta go back in your mind one some of

the outfits for Easter. Oh you gotta break out the outfits now. But it's the only outfit and only time you go to church. Eight is you gotta have I've seen all that, all the pastoral colors. Of course, any time in the South, that's what you're gonna have so I gotta put on that Sunday best with Easton. I have no idea how we got here, but it's it's it's knit. So we're talking about that. And then so you know, because I said Jack Mormon. So so we go out there man and play well. Now we have

the opportunity to do some great things. I was texting with some Ohio State folk and one proceeds too. It was in a group text. One person who didn't even go to Ohio State proceeds and I could name call him. Oh no, this is Trey Boston who went to u n C. Chap b Hill. Now trade now tries to belittle the university. You I like, belittle better, Marcus, get over it belittle? Is you take it personal? Is that

fair assessment? And so I took it personal? So I said several things, which is we went Utah has never been to the He said, has have you guys ever been to the Rose Bowl? Foo? You know that answer? No, we haven't. So I asked him a simple question. Here's the questions that I asked. One, has you don't see Chapel Hill been to the Sugar Bowl? Have they played Alabama in this time? He goes, what do you mean

this time when you belittle me? I come back? So I asked him, did you play Alabama at any time before, say slavery was abolished? Hence his reply it was very derogatory. Now why am I having a conversation? Well, it was me. It's so Trey myself and and and and um um um, Kurt, like we have this thing on. We played golf and so now it's like this thing every time Ohio State does something right, Kurt. And then but yet I just noticed trade and evert you know, trade trade trade with

you and uh, chapel Hill. So I just told trade is a basketball season, and then he just proceeded to but it's I'm looking forward to this. Uh you're saying, what do you think about the John Day? What do you think about this portal? We're talking about portal and you brought up a great thing to Geez. You said, man, it's portful. Basketball is bananas. Yeah, elaborate brother, I'm simply saying, and it probably filters over with football and basketball. But

now then centive for guys to transfer now is it's different? Right, you don't necessarily have that year. Um, it makes things a lot more competitive, and in my opinion and a lot of things that I've read, it makes it to where a lot of you you've seen a lot of coaches, huh,

you can read, you can read very well public school. Um. And so you look at a lot of different coaches who have now gone on, whether it's Roy Williams coach K And I'm not saying that's the reason why they're transitioning, but the transfer portal has made the playing field so to speak, different now. Um And like I said, just because it's it's changing recruiting. So that's what we were the conversation that we were having before we started recording

to where it's very instant football and basketball. Yeah, I mean, so what do you if you were playing right now football based on what you experience at Oregon, would you have transferred. It's it's hard to say because I mean it's a culture and it's a whole different, Like like you said, playing field. You know, when we went to college, it was hey, your third string that find a way to be first string. Now the third string can go somewhere else. But now the third string can say, oh man,

I ain't playing you promised you did. I'm gonna go to another school and complain, and possible I think he thinks he complain next year based on what they've been told. This is just going yeah yeah, but I don't think these kids understand that's a great It's like recruiting part too, while you're already in Yeah. Sometimes people transferred for various reasons that actually are legitimate, and then some just transferred because they aren't given or the opportunity that was taken

away from them was part of they're doing. Think about all these quarterbacks they're losing their losing their jobs. You don't lose your job because coach don't like you, right, You lost a job because you suck or you weren't as good as they like. You are a four star, but you played like a two star once the once the game's actually starting, there is a clearly define result, right And so because like I just think about two,

I kind of look at it differently. The portal right now, First of all, there's like three in football, there's like three thousand, thirty six hundred. I made an add the

six hundred. I don't know it. It kind of goes up and down football players in the portal right now there's not that many D one scholarship given schools, Like there are not thirty six hundred schools that have scholarships that that are waiting for you to quit in your situation and jump to enough another situation like supplying demand is economics. Unlike the government, we can't print new scholarships, and so like, I know, there's so many guys and

you here, well, this guy's leaving. I think that I'm looking at transport portal portal as it's good for a bad situation, but I also think it exposes coaches and their program. There are some kids like nobody knows I believe Josh Gordon. I don't know exact actually how long Josh Gordon was at Utah. Did you know that that's how long he was there for various reasons. I'm not getting into and don't really care, and it's not about Josh.

But I'm just trying to say, there's so many guys that going to transport portal for maybe a different opportunity because yes, they made a mistake, or or they made a mistake by picking that school or what I think. Sometimes these college coaches will say sometimes everything anything to get you to commit and then you get there, like I told, I tell my boys. I told my boys, and I've had one and I'm about to go through

it or my second one. You know, when you get recruited, I told him, listen, don't be fooled by the steak in lobster, because when you sign, brother's blown in and ham cheese, ham cheese, sounnges that you're getting, you getting the best on this recruiting trip. They're gonna pick you up in a nice car. They don't take you to a nice restaurant. You're gonna get good food. You're gonna be at the other alumni and you're gonna have steaks

mashed potatoes. But one of your meals pretty soon after the second meal, it ain't gonna be as good as you think it's. It ain't home cooking is nowhere close to me. We gotta watch for the hook. Yeah, And these kids don't understand that. They think they really think yes, And I think who I mean, everybody everybody high school? Hey, you like it's I have I have a rid, you

know what I'm saying. And and now what's happening with this portal you're giving these kids kind of you know, a way out, but for the kids that needed it. But then there's the kids the majority on it. For the entitlement piece of what you're saying. Man, I don't need y'all. Like I'm tired of you coach always down, you know, back, trying to tell me that I'm doing things wrong. You have those you said, you have those kids,

and then they just go to the transport. Right. I think they even got apps now out there for coaches that say, Okay, you aren't you're not playing well, Bobby, Bobby Jones in Alabama. This is this is how he's been playing. He's in this transport. I'm gonna get him here. They got three We got three guys, just three individuals, and their job is to watch the transfer part. That's crazy, and I think that is I'm glad you giving three

people a job. However, I think we're sentivizing the wrong people because our our last transfer guy, our quarterback at Utah, he left because he and want the competition, because he lost his job. That's left. Yeah. I don't want to I'm not trying to like I'm exaggerating, but I believe like middle to night, you know, dropped out of school and he's gone, I'm out of here. No, no, thank you,

no appreciate it. I mean, I guess he's probably getting wooed over by other guys, other people, you know, to go play for their organization because you know you talk, did you wrong? We're just in the Rows Bowl, all right? Where do you think that sends to? What message does that send to like professional coaches, scouts? Like you think people are looking at that as you know, this player did this, and that's an unbelievable that's an unbelievable segue.

And this is probably why he's gonna run on Friday. He leads me to believe, kind of like the Carolina Panthers right now, where you start to do some things and allow things to happen, and then so you're going to let go of your coordinator, which probably need to let But then now I watched the game just this past Sunday against Atlanta Falcons, and the same woes from the games before seem to be the same woes now. So that and and you hear about the new coordinator.

He says, this isn't my offense. So if this isn't the offense and the guy's no longer here is an offense that tells me that actually he's running Coach Rules Baylor's offense, because you can't tell me this is the same offense that Joe Brady ran an l shoot unless

maybe it wasn't Joe Brady's offense either. Maybe he was just a guy calling the plays and there was a collective group of people who said, hey, on first down, these are That's generally what offense coordinator does to something to say, he gets if you're smart, you get enough people around you, like Andy, Andy Reason has always had a number of guys around him. They're going to get other jobs, do other things, but you have enough smart people around you that they contribute to the team's success.

Matt Naggie was on that Stag could contribute. Now, he may not be good on his own, but he's great as part of that tree. Part of that tree. Doug Peterson, Frank Wright, Marty Morty Wig like all these guys guys that can comment. So you have if you have enough of those people around you. And then so when Doug Peterson goes to the Eagles, what happens. He brings mac Naggi, he brings Frank Right, Frank Wright goes to be the head coach who actually called plays. Look what the culture

door man Naggi who had has never called plays. Yeah, So are you saying that's what's that's what's missing. What I'm saying what's missing is here if I just keep it to Carolina, I believe is when you have a college coach running a professional team, it always will the college filter or lens that he coaches through well to some degree, until enough time takes learning a learning curve. You only can go. You only can go to what you have a good, a successful reference from, which is college.

So some of that college stuff will be implemented in the pros. And I think some of it's good sometimes because it does. You know, we're growing in so you're kind of like, man, I'm not doing and you kind of you kind of push back on it. But some of it is good because it does, you know, professional professional football at times, and professional stuff can get so professional that you take the the innocent fun and kids stuff out of it. When you're in college, you're going

to the movie East as a team. Man, that's a free movie. I ain't got to pay for it. I get free popcorn. Let's do it. When you're adults, you'd be like, and I got my own damn theater room. I don't need no you know, I want to go home. Yeah, I want to watch Frozen with my kids. I want to watch this show. Right. But so, and when you have fifty three guys, that's gonna happen. You're gonna get people that just are trying to buck the system because

they have everybody has their own motives. But when I look at Carolina right now and watching how they play, you have both quarterbacks come in at different times, different facets of the game, and they both do the exact same thing, turn the ball over? Right? How does an offense consistency when you got that, you can't find constituency because there's never been any offensive constituency this year. And

then I think consistency also too. From the player's downpoint, you gotta be able to trust what I'm saying, Like, you know, it's one thing. You know, it's the beginning of the season. You're hearing, you know, ra ra ra week four, ra ra ra. Okay, maybe this is maybe next week be different. After a while that ra ra ra, it gets toned done, and I think all messages get here. Here's here's a crazy thing about Mike Tomlin, and you're

starting to see it a little bit in Seattle. Mike Thomas fifteen years in, he's had turnover, but not as much turnover that Um like Pete Um. Yeah, Pete Carroll's had. But here Caroline like that rab rock stuff. The two college coaches right now that are struggling to connect with the players and fan base for a winning formula. I'm not saying that Coach Rule doesn't connect with the players. I'm not saying that. What I am saying, though, is you got to connect with the players to win games,

to elevate. The two college coaches right now, Coach Urban Myers and Coach Rule are not connecting with their players or coaches in a way that equals up to win. He's connecting, right. You can be in a you can be in a relationship and be having and have an off day and still connect. Right. The connectivity may not be good, but you're connected because you're you may be arguing, you may be talking. You know that it's a it's walky,

but in football you gotta have a connection. And I also believe he is one of the biggest issues that college coaches always have in the first couple of years. They always struggle. Is because in college today, you can have a ABC one to three simple system, but if you get enough five star recruits, you don't outsmart your opponent, you out athletic them. Okay, that's what Alabama does at times. But they have a fantastic coach who understand the system

right they they have. You've seen Ohio State, You've seen that all these big schools. But you also notice at these big schools when these players go to the league, they struggle a little bit sometimes because now that little lazy ass route that they ran does not work in the league. The corner you're running against is just as fast or maybe fast and knows Rose knows that go route you're about to run already peep that out. Yeah, Like, I think that's why Chase, Uh, what's what's Chase last man?

I forgot for Cincinnati Bankers. Jama jamaar Chase. That's why he you see him here, have a good game that he'll disappear. I don't want him to turn into the Chase Claypool where you know he only has a few routes. And I think Chase can be a really dynamic receiver. But he gotta get he gotta get more tools in his tool belt, man, because he reached it for his he reaches for his tools. That boy got a screwdriver and a screw driver with these college coaches right, because

they're not really you know, they don't have all the tools. Right. So you get to the league. You're a college coach, you gotta remember that, can I get a formula someone that's been there before on my coaching that that has been there before, that I can Most most coaches won't have that. That's you mean coaches that are coming from the college coach. Only coaches that are coming from college that will have pro type of staff members have played for that player for that coach and now he was

assistant league or worked for him. He knows him because he can't be undermined by a guy that knows how the league works and he trusts him. He's not gonna that college that that college player that maybe it's coaching now on the team, right and coach for me went on another team comes back. He's a defense coordinator. Well, he he knows where his he knows where his cash cow is. His head coach. He's not gonna go when they say, man, what's problem? He's not gonna go. You

know this dude don't know what he's doing. Yeah, I love cut to It and I love it even more when you download us and subscribe, and you can follow us on social media too, Smithie, where where at? That's at? Cut to It on Instagram? What about twitter? At? Cut to It? Facebook? Cut to It featuring Steve Smith singr. What about online? And you can follow us at cut to It podcast dot com where you can buy merch and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts.

I got all my answers, questions. Um, yeah, I got all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for, a brother, cut to a podcast dot com. So as I mean, both of you, all formal players, what's the what's the what's the key to success? Then? From you guys perspectives when it comes to college coaches making that transit, is it a relational thing, is it a is it a culture thing? Is it relational? They're gonna try to that with the kids with with that's where the disk I

said it backers. That's the disconnect. The college coach will try to connect with the kids who happened to be men m And it doesn't go well. I can imagine because the because you know all his history goes. Man, I'm the head coach, So hey, guys, this is what we're gonna here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna get up, We're gonna do this. This is what I expect. And the talk grown as man. Yeah, you're like, na, Bro, I'm not doing it. I did the legs yesterday, I'm

doing day especially I'm playing football. That is so small. But I get it though. You know, that's such a huge thing. Man. We had we they had a when I was in Baltimore, Man, they had they had a Jerry Simmons too, Bro, Jerry's and it says Jerry Simmons too is Jerry Simmons was our strength of conditioning coach in Carolina. When I went to UH Baltimore, they had a due named Bob who was short just and honree just like Jerry Steve. I've done my research on you,

and you don't work out. You don't, Yeah I do. I don't do your workout, but I just work out. So let me tell you what I did. I did. I tell you about this on there about we stays to have tests every year. No, I don't think you mentioned this condition. Remember the test, remember Jack, So every off season there was like this inner squad testing slash like tests, but you didn't. You had to test to see because coach fox belief was if you weren't getting better,

you're getting worse. So you know me being resident but hole right, you I know, shocker, I short that in my memory bank. I am an active listener, but I can do a really good job acting like I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about. Right, It's a gift and a curse. So so we have this thing. So I remember, so you know, in case people don't know, I'm five nine when I played right, didn't grow, didn't get taller or shorter. That that's who I was. Now.

We used to do this uh lifting challenge so you have to run forties uh guys with squat bench and vertical jump right unless do we talk about the vertical jump So people don't think I'm lying when I when he tells you how I used to do this test, it was such an excuse me, fuck you test. From my perspective, I never worked out with the team. I had a hundred and fifty thousand dollar workout about bonus

gay I never I never worked out. The reason why is if I never worked out, that would if I worked out with the team, and my success would be predicated on MHM the strength coach who I didn't believe at that time. Now they switched over the house who happened to coach me and college. So he was awesome because he understood me. But so if I didn't work out with the team, that means you don't get benefit your strength coach. So if you don't get that benefit,

and that means there's still a question mark. And I didn't agree with some of the things he would he would do, so UH forfeited that and also never resigned. I never took a pay cut because now you got a hundred thousand dollars to add to your salary, so don't worry about it. Don't ask me go down the street son to that lockerover So if you're not getting better, to get worse. So they had a bench. Now I struggled, uh later in my years to bench because I had

to screw on this plate. So I actually can't I can't go all the way my wrist because I have a surgery. I have a bolt in my wrist, so it stops me. So that pressure actually like I can feel the pressure inside of my skin that it hurts. When you broke your arm against the giant. Yes right, let me tell you this man you tell us caught a touchdown pass, broke his arm. Remember it wasn't a Monday night game, like he know, that's when I broke

my leg. That was the leg. I knew there was wrong item, but he'd be so juice, same team wrong like broke his arm, pushed himself off the ground with a broken and then look that is a but here because because when I used it to get up, I was like, from the wrist, from my hand to my elbow peculiar. From my hand to my elbow, wasn't peculiar. That brother wasn't moving. This is not a viagra. But I understand when you're when you're when you're trying to

work something that don't work, but it should work. I was like, my arm is stuck, broke. I only hell, I only feel my elbow and my fingers everything else in the middle. I know it's there, I see it's there, but it ain't there. And I go back to the drilling. The rush you felt that thing of medium. I was like, yeah, here's what I said. Just it ain't right because a lot of times people say, oh, he's on such an a drilling rusting. Now you break some ship, you feel

that it was immediate. Yeah. I was like, this ain't working right. So I go back to the sideline. No, boy's like, good job. I say, They're like, non, Stuart tell you I'm pretty self conscious of my body, and I'm like, I broke more. Really you think so? Yeah? So anyway, that's why. That's why I can't do more. So I'm not really a heavy lifter and I can't be so I would start to do my I gotta do to five. So the first time I had my my goals, five makes your six? So bang, I go

up there. So how I get to six? I go up there to boom one, two, three, four, I hit five. You're repping it. Five. I get to five. I go bam. I said, hey, what I have? Last year? Yeah? They said five? I said boom six. Yet to back up, just got better because coach said, if you're not getting better, getting worse, Well, last year I did five this year, I did six, So I just got what so I did that. I wouldn't do squats. I didn't believe in squats. So I'll pause right there and I go to Bob

back in Baltimore. I heard you don't left. I do left. I just don't do so he says, all right. He kept trying to get me to come in and O t a's get me to come into practice. After practice. We we have a two hour practice. Union rules, no more than two hours. Coach hardball will go an hour, fifty nine minutes and fifty nine seconds. It wasn't no hour thirty one, an hour forty five, an hour fifty five. It was our fifty nine point fifty nine two hours

and running around thirty something years old. I gotta reap ruled myself. If yo, dumbass Bob think I'm coming in there to lift after running around two hours and y'all know how to practice. I got on cut off sweatpants, long sleeve. I'm out there. Yes, I'm sweat. I'm an old man like I got the sweats, you know, and my high tops. Bro. They literally he said, man, well come on now, and so he kept giving me a zero of not showing up working out. I just didn't

do the workout in the weight room. I'm not running around for two hours. He's all right, so let's come to a compromise. After two hours. You know what they want me to do? Hand cleans Dad lives after after practice. Yeah. I looked at he said, well, let's walk around and see what you don't do. Okay, cool, So I have my chart. I don't do this. I ain't doing that. I don't do this, don't do this. Hell not nope, this was all stuff was What was the hell? No?

Dad left lifts. I'm not dead lifted. Why someone someone's gonna listen to this and things? I'm I'm a huge component and questioning why there's Olympic lists and I'm with you on that. What is it? What does it prove? No, here's the compound movement. Here's I understand strength right because I had something, still got something a little bit and that's where I was getting ready to go. I understand what I what. I'm a proponent of its muscle and durance.

I'm not on you. You squatted or you bench pressed seven hundred fifty pounds one time. There is there's not a there's not a seven hundred fifty pound dB that you're gonna go up. You what you just said, it's phenomenal, But let's dumb it down even more. There's seventy If I play seventy one place and I just blew my wad, no one, what is that potentially telling me it's gonna happen on the other Saturday asked, well, Molly wapped, Yes, and so someone and so someone someone. We don't squad.

He don't. He didn't dead live. I could, Oh, I could have made it. But what I did, that's the fool And that's what I'm saying, Tom Fooler, right, that is the problem. What I did do is I did isolation as if I was injured. What I mean is instead of uh, say, leg extensions of using both legs and doing the whole right. You know, he put in the machine and they do the whole thing. You see somebody doing one fifty No, what I would do, bro, it's probably like sixty or seventy each in the vigil lag.

So I would have my right leg in the leg extension and go slowly up flex the quarter away, yes, and do that in each leg. And I may do that fifty right, fifty pounds and that was my workout. How I would how did I get my strength? Man? My guy used to have me work do my workout with a weight vest on ropes and running the out route, resistance, the resistance and a body weight hour and a half workout with a pound weight vest on heart rate monitor

to watch my heart rate, all of that stuff. So when I got to this little winky dinky Janue uh june bs weak ass workout, they would do all them dudes that was there, never outperforming telling about my yeah vert just on the vert. We're not even talking about during the season because I go through a whole during the season which was bananas. Well, I'm gonna start off by saying, this practice, okay, what a smithy dude? Before practice? He walks to practice and does nothing else besides my

hip side to side. Okay, now fully dressed, Though fully dressed, I did get in the shower like I got in the hot talk. Everybody else is stretching. I'm gonna take this. This is why for all the listeners out there, the young kids that want to be like Steve Smith, you can't do everything Smith. Steve Smith does because he was just blessed differently. You know, there's some practice. I'm talking training camp two a days because I was there when we first had the last bit of two of days. Legit,

two days. Man, I'm talking people sore, like how I'm gonna get through today. Steve just sitting over there, just just side to side, observing talking whatever he's talking talking about. We're gonna eat whatever. I'm like, Man, this man never never, he never stretches like how and he just goes out there and just runs continuously in the heat and doesn't get hurt. So unless it was a real injury, yeah, is it clearly a break? Yeah? Broken? Yeah, but that's different,

you know what I'm saying. So behind the scenes though, because you got to see me. Our rooms are next to each other. One of the one of the training camps I did technology free training camp. I had no technology other than my my phone, and the phone's back then or nothing could compared to what they are today. So I had no PlayStation, on video games, no television. I just had books. Right, he was on a whole

another level of training. But I had my own game ready, had my own machines, and I also had a phone roller in there so and I iced. So I would sit in my room while everybody else is laughing and joking. I'd be in the phone rolling. I'd be in the game radio. Man, you had you like little Michael Jackson Chamber. No, they had guys had it. But but I always and if I had felt anything, guys that would hurt me up at six am? Who'll be rolling in at six am?

Anything felt like it didn't feel right. I was in there at six am trying to get trying to get it taken care of. Like his preparation came before everybody else was preparing. Yeah, and I saw that from befar, like how does man jump like that? Oh? He was doing stuff on his own influence. But that and that definitely influenced my my own physical situation because I had a lot of injuries. And I remember Steve was like, you got to figure it out. You can't just depend

on them. You gotta you gotta figure it out. So because he was having injuries, and training staff is there to help you get back on the field right for that year, for that game, for that game, or for that play or for the practice, and so you have to be prepared and be ready. So I would tell these guys, now I did all this stuff. We go out there and practice, bro, I would practice right, and

not just practice to brag about practice. But practice was like so when the game came, it was easy, or it was it was easier at times because if you only bench pressing that seven hundred pounds one time, what history and file do you have in data to go off when you're in play fifty and the dude in front of you, it's just that much better, right, And you don't because you're telling the guys you just gotta

do your best one time. When are you seeing a guy laying on his back simulating a bench pressing the fact that if my office a lineman is doing that, that means he got pancake, that he's push hit someone off off of him. Good, do good, let's getting down to do it. Good. Hey, Gerard, why didn't you get that T shirt? You mean this thing? Oh yes, I got it from cut to a podcast dot com where we have exclusive merchandise. Shout out to our guys at

seven or four shot. But yeah, you can go on, buy you a T shirt, subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. I mean the preparation though, and even you started going down this path, Jonathan, even with this particular NFL season, You've seen Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, Alvin Camary, You've seen a lot of running backs get hurt. How physically demanding is it playing running back and through injuries? As Smithy sound, you dealt with some injury yourself. How

how physically demanding is it going through that. It's really demanding. But you also have to, you know, have the right situation for me. And I came into this league hurt surgery said you can't hurt. He was, he didn't come into this boy was drafting high draft with had surgery in the off season or in March before I got drafted, And so my whole situation from the beginning was a lot different. Like it was, Okay, I have to get

through this to get on the field. I have to prove this through this that I am valuable and that they didn't waste to pick. Would you feel like you playing catch up? Almost? Kind he was, like it was because I mean, at the end of the day, like training camp was my first time putting on pads, Like I didn't have O T A S didn't have any of that, and so, you know, just figuring things out

from that standpoint. I had to realize that, especially going back to seeing Smitty stretching next to me every day and just wondering, how does this man get out here every day and do what and do what he does. I started seeing it year after year as he came to training camp in shape. Oh, he's doing things on his own. He's doing things that is better for his body. Because I think of the day too. What you learn

is my body is different than everyone else's. That's one of the toughest things that I do think with testing that we need to be careful of sometimes because I know that I used to be a league rap a player rep. So one of the things I My stance on testosterone testing isn't that I don't believe and I believe in it. I believe in testing because there's some folks out there cheating. Right. Why I believe testing testosterone you have to be careful of is this when you

look at the National Health Chart. Technically, I'm all of my years of planning, I'm considered obest hy versus versus because muscles weigh more than fat. So at five nine one nine, I'm considered OBEs. So if I'm considered obese in this diagram, what is that based on. It's not based on the athlete, It's not based on race. It is not based on geographical right, And somebody listen to say,

what do you mean geographical? What what do people that live in predominantly warm weather cities do when they go to the cold weather city cold weather cities? They struggle? Your body adapts. People in Florida could not be in Minnesota outdoors, like I was a couple of weeks ago. Bro at ten o'clock at nine. You don't want to know what the high was that day? Three tree, Bro, three degree. That was the high. That means at the highest point of you feeling warmth. You wasn't because it

was three. But a person in Minnesota what enjoy Florida? But a person in North Carolina, Man, we go to Florida in April, Bro, it's so hot. I'm like, man, I can't. I need seasons. And so what I'm getting to is, if you're testing and you set the parameter of this is what the level of testosterone should be for a year old male from where, and what do they do because we all know health. How you live about your day, your body responds to it or it also tells on itself. So I'm in the long winded way,

but think about it. If you're saying the testosterone for a seven year old non active person should be the same testosterone as a twenty seven year old league MVP or Russian title like that, brother is built from something else naturally, right, here's here, here's what I mean. I wear size double X exhale depending on the type for

my gloves. Okay, my wings spanning five nine equals to be six to my shoe size is twelve, but you don't want you want to know my width double E. So I technically kind of have like platypus slash duck feet, but also helps with my balance. Right before before my right calf was torn, just my calf around my suits and pants seventeen point five almost eight teen and a half for my neck when I play. Why is all this important? Because because I do to suit thing and

my sizes have went down. But I also just did a just for research while I went back and was like sol my measurements, so five nine six two, I'm a forty. I think it was forty four coat forty two code with a forty two regular and cold. But my body structure is fitted as a forty four where arms. Yeah, all of that has to do with people. And so if you are going to test someone but your measurement is out of a pool of people that don't relate of course to testosterone, charts are gonna be all over

the place. Yeah, if you're talking about a twenty seven year old lazy person who all they do is eat junk all the day all day and don't do anything and have type two uh diabetes, their test strong is gonna be a little and they're insolent, it's gonna be a lot higher and lower in areas. And so now that's the level for the sugar intake for someone's who's active, who who gets paid millions of dollars to do that. And so that's that's some of the things, that's not

all of them. That's what some of the track folks are trying to say, is, man, i'm running football players two, I'm running twenty six miles per hour. They built a little different. They caboost is a lot more caboosting it right, And and the reason that's important is here's the difference, not saying you look at them, but just me being a football guy and being able to look at stuff. You look at offensive alignment, the space between their their belt and there back in the top of their hamstring.

There's a lot of space there. But you look at the caboosa Derrick Henry and that boy can't hear it? You go holy smokes, right, because of the power is structured differently because they're utilizing the difference. And that's why it comes full back, full circle. A receiver can never do what the running back is doing, and a running backs shouldn't do what the offensive linement is doing. Offensive linement shouldn't be doing. It's not they're running a different structure.

I'm running standing up. He's running for impact, so the way balance, he's supposed to be more firm. That's why squats is good for them, because he's taking on stuff I shouldn't be taking on anything, and I'm supposed to be going up I supposed to be from is completely different. How it How has how if any has the running back position changing NFL since you've been drafted, Um, well, receivers, I mean you're looking at you know Christian McCaffrey. He's

an example. I mean, he's he's open the eyes for many and you know in the scouting department right as far as what they're looking for. Two dimensional, Yeah, he can do all the things. He can run between the tackles, He's proven that. And he can be receiving, not just catching the ball out of the backfield, but he's gonna he can line up run around Christian Christian. He is one of those players which I believe is happening in Carolina. He makes you lazy. What do you mean by that?

He's in there. You don't have to think too much, you don't have to what something goes awry? That checkdown? Yeah, I get it right, And I mean and having a guy like but but having a good receiving corps two makes it makes it makes it a lot. Makes a coaching staff or offensive coordinator lazy too, because you got those little seivers screams. You gotta you got a guy that you know he's gonna run a slam. He's go and take it and might even score on you know

what I'm saying. Or you gotta you got two headed monster and running backs where one can run in between the tackles. The other one when he chooses to can run in between the tackles, but then he'll shake it outside. Right, you got the one guy who he's shifty, another guy who's shifting and bruising as well, which made D'Angelo raise his game up to be bruising as well. Trouble years, yes, and so you have. But then that's where the cheeto

comes in because you've got two good running backs. You got some wide receivers at a pretty decent and all of a sudden they load in the box and still a quick let's throw the smoke route to to Steve or the moves to Ricky, whoever it is, and then they back off because they don't want to get gas in the smoke route. So now you right, and so they just go side by side, which when you when the defense coordinator at some point throughout the season, we'll

do that where they just have your number. Then the coordinator doesn't know what to do because we usually throw the smoke that didn't work. We usually throw a screen that didn't work. We usually do a draw that didn't work. We usually can muscle people that's not working, and that's when you can really see how oftensive coordinator or coaching staff is designing their team. If a guy gets hurt and all of a sudden, it's the stalemate. What kind

of job are you doing? Which goes back to when you have a lot of five stars and track runners and all of a sudden, you're no longer on the field you got you're no longer doing the sprints. You gotta do all field events. You ain't got no shot putters, ain't got no long jump long jumpers, you ain't. And now I'm sure it becomes what's your what's your identity? You know what your identity is? Man you start, you start shopping at the grocery store on greet That's what

it is, grabbing anything you grab. I typically eat those really nice right now you'll get But when I get to the toilet, and what you have is you have the Carolina Panthers. I'm not bashing them, but he's sitting here breaking down. There's a transition, and you have to be patient. Is transition. But in this transition, you have to be patient and also be okay with the results. And I'm saying right now, in the third year, he third year, the Carolina Panthers should be a Cindy and

what they seem to be doing just being average. Yep, it's tough. It's tough, but you gotta figure out a way. Yeah, it's tough. I figure out a way. You are a unique person, you are well worth it, you are competent, and most of all, your lovable. I'm Steve Smith, Singer, I'm Gerard Little John and this is cut to It. Cut to It with Steve Smith, Senior. That Is Me is a production of Cut to It LLC, Balto Creative Media,

The Black Effect and I Heart Radio. For more podcast from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows from Cut to It. Executive producer Steve Smith, singr co host Gerard Little John, talent in booking manager Joe Fusci, Social media team Wesley Robinson and John Show from Balto Creative Media. Cut to It is produced by Brian Baltaschevitch and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lebrek, Production

Coordinator Taylor Robinson. Theme music by Alex Johnson, lyrics and vocals by Anthony Hamilton. If you ain't heard about it, then we're about to let you know it's all