Brian Mitchell

episode of cut to It podcast? Super excited? All right, new accent? What's going on? What's on your mind? What is what's on your mental? My mental had a had a great weekend. Would you like to know what I did? What did you do? Nothing? I literally did nothing. Those are the best ones. I didn't do anything. Woke up on Monday. It was like, that's always a good thing. You wake up that. Hey, yeah, let's be real. Yeah, but if you if you don't wake up, do you

technically complain? I don't know. I never experienced that. Just so woke up on Monday. My son Boston is U starting to drive? So he's driving us to school. So he's doing a really good job. Permit. Yeah, he gotta. He got his permit legal and he has to get so many hours. Um. I have not allowed him to drive at night. I'm not there yet. Um he drove. Yeah, he drove in the rain the other day and did pretty good. Now I kind of nudged him like, hey, slow down, as I said, hey, slow down a little

bit raining. That's what I said in my mind. If someone had a heart rate mind on there that day it was like three hundreds. I was scared. Scared, but and just kind of sitting around and I was thinking about something, and so I read something in a in the Bible app and it had three things right, and it was really interesting because it's called understanding your limitations. He gave us three things then. The first one was

acknowledging your limitations, okay, laying down your expectations. And the final one three is picking up God's declarations and really and and the last one that says, spend at least five minutes pouring over God's promise. Imagine putting them on like clothing, asking God to show you which one he which one he wants you to focus on that day. Some days it seems like God has a lot to say, and other days it makes you feel like God is quiet.

Both are normal, natural things in a in a healthy relationship. And what I thought that was interesting is I'll kind of divulge in my own I I'm a believer, I love the Lord. I struggle with my heavenly father because I struggle with my earthly father. And what do I do with that? How do I manage those expectations or manage the lack of follow up or follow through or me guarding my heart because of what has transpired, what's happened. And it's not anything to put down on my dad.

It's just really more of saying that Steve Smith singing, fourty one years old, four kids, wonderful wife. UH have a great team that's worked that I get to work with on the podcast, and yet still struggle sometimes, still trying to figure out how what went and where and laying down, you know, laying down those things and just trying to figure out things. So it's it's it's been really cool and it's been really difficult. But I think sometimes just kind of putting myself out there and saying, hey,

I'm struggling the day. Yeah, you know, am I by myself? No? I think too often times we think that success is void of struggle. Is pretty much they end the twine together, right, So you can't you can't have success without struggle, and you can't struggle without some success. Right there, they're to me, they're one and the same. Too many people think they're

polar opposite, and they're and and they're not. Out of those three examples, which one do you which one I guess caught your eye more or which one do you gravitate towards? Or which ones do you see or or or are more pertinent one stands on the day. I could tell you one that I always struggle with, and I could substitute picking up God's declaration, I could substitute I can remove and says and taking a compliment. I have been so ingrained and so programmed to the fighter's mentality,

you know, fight or flight. I'm a fighter. I ain't flighting, but not hearing and accepting compliments. I've so much thrived on negativity and in in my back against the wall that I don't really appreciate sometimes the easy path, and it's not even an easy path. Sometimes for me it's easy, meaning, man, just take the compliment. It's like, no, they don't believe in me, so so what does that do to you. It's one of those things where I have strived for. I want to have so much perfection that I think

accepting excellence is a downgrade. But I've had to settle in. Don't try to be perfect, riv in the excellence. Just be okay with extra for excellence. And but for me and my my mind, I'm like, oh, I'm settling, but I'm not settling. I'm just so jacked up in the head that I think and try to be so perfect that I can't pick up God's decoration, Like I can't go, Man, God loves me today, or my family loves me today, or somebody thought this was good, and so I'm going,

I'm too busy trying to fight it. I don't even stop and take the compliment. Or you also can't self late yourself. You can't say, well, even just saying I'm jacked up in the head, you're not jacked up in the head. We all have our faults and we all have things that we need to work on. So I mean, even even in that right there. You can't you can't lock yourself in kind of that that that mental prison almost sometimes I've been living in a mental prison for

thirty eight thirty nine years. I have yeah, I mean, that's one of the things that I loved. I love going to Angola once a year, and Gola is a prison. I've never been around so many men who have no opportunity of freedom on the outside, but yeah, I have so much freedom mentally and in their heart. I didn't really recognize freedom until I went to Angola. And now for me going to Angola three years ago, three four years ago, for me going that prison today, that's like

a vacation. It's like a resort to me, because it's just remarkable that see these men who have made mistakes, who can never get them back, but yet they're walking so much freedom. Twenty five plus years they've been serving most of them have most of them are doing life because murder or whatever whatever, they armed robbery And they walk in there and I go see them, bro, and it's like, what else, Smitha, how you doing? And I see them, man, they got a bigger smile on their

face to see me. When I first got there the second year than I ever have, and now it's like it's something I look forward to with something that I need. And we didn't get a chance to go this year

because in COVID. But one thing that I think is really cool, and it's a testament to you, is you got a group of guys, all all your close friends, associates, all that stuff, and we lead the phones at the house and yeah we ain't this ain't this ain't something to talk about and show, Hey, look at us, you know, the checking it off on the good wheel box. We're just going. Man, it's it, bro. I look forward to it, and I tell you it is a It is like a men's retreat resort for me. You leave with more

than what you went with. Is not a lot of people here quote unquote ministry trips and they think, oh we're gonna go help us people. You end up going and you learn way more about yourself than you think you did anything else. Yeah, I love it, man. So that's that's something that been on my mind. Man. And as as we continue to do these we're gonna do, I think for me, it's more one more doing these opportunities, man,

checking in That's it. I was. I was just about to say that we gotta check in and we have some real funny banters like we can have we canna have jokes. We can joke about sunny d and and gators and backstage Joe turning up Jay's too tight. But I think it's also really important that we just have

these real conversations because it's almost on people's minds. All these things have been compounded by the pandemic, and so you just have to take that time to just check in and and and have serious conversations about you know what, man, this helped me? Or you check me. I'll check you this beautiful thing. You're gonna check me. We both check each other. I don't know about your checking on about it. Okay, you're gonna do that. Hey, who do we have coming

up next? Coming up on the Cut to It podcast, We've got Brian Mitchell, one of the best return men in NFL history. A veteran with Washington, the New York Giants, and the Philadelphia Eagles, Brian won a Super Bowl and he works currently as a TV and radio broadcaster. Brian Mitchell on the Cut to A Podcast. Hey, Brian, we appreciate you joining the Cut to A Podcast. No problem. Now. Hey, So our first segment that we have coming up is an icebreaker. It's called get iceed Up. The random questions

may or may not have a follow up. I'm telling you they completely random. I don't even know what this dude has up is to leave, so Smith to go ahead and welcome Brian Mitchell to the to the podcast. Be what's going on? I like to say one those d s, one those no chests when star forgetting What's up? Man? How you doing? Alright? You ready? I'm ready baby, all right, buckle up, Buttercup, here we go. Let's go. What is your favorite hobby? Actually, my favorite hobby is playing golf.

You know I would say that that was my favorite hobby. I would have to say riding bikes. Now, I've been riding bikes since April and I've gotten completely hooked on that, so golf has taken the back sleek. Okay, So so you do you got the biker shorts with the paddy Yeah, I do because it but was hurting when I was riding without the pass, so I had to go to that.

And I've done over two thousand miles since April, so humble, just two thousand I'm trying to get some I'm trying to get some money on the on the bik and wave. He won't do it. I told him the same thing. I've been doing the same thing. I've been taking up biking since probably about uh, same thing. You won't do it, though, you you're on the runningway, which is cool. When you first went biking, Uh, did you have a real bike? Was the beach Cruiser? Was a BMX with I'm always well.

I bought a bike in two thousand and fourteen, Lorenzo Alexander, He uh had a Yeah, Zoe had a charity bike ride. So I went out and purchased this bike and I rode it in and I didn't ride it again until this year. So when I got on it, I started riding and found out a few of my ex teammates were riding, and and we got into this little crew. And I've met a lot of people riding over in Maryland and every weekend, I definitely do it, but I do it at least four days during the week to Wow,

that's pretty cool. That movie. All right, So here we go. Last book you didn't finish reading, and why I was reading all that? I started reading all these motivational books and John C. Maxwell it's a book called No Beyond Talent. It's what it's called. And uh, I just didn't finish reading it, got into some other stuff and left it.

But I gotta get back to it because it talks more like, you know, those people that have talent, they depend totally on that, and it tries to get you to go beyond that to where it's like you get to the league, you find out everybody has talent, but everybody doesn't work and try to work on that talent. So some people are successful, some people aren't. And that's it's a book. But I will finish it soon, I'm sure. Alright.

So last one, if you can teleport anywhere tomorrow tomorrow more you hit that teleport button, where do you go? And why I'm going to Hawaii hanging out in Maui because it's just when I'm there, so Tranquild my favorite place. Okay, Yeah that was that. That wasn't too bad? That was cool. Yeah, that's the ice break. Now here comes the big test. Where are you from and the place that you call what is the place you call your hometown? My hometown

is Plaqueham in Louisiana. It's a little small town outside of bad Rouge. When you were growing up there with experiences, did you uh experience? Well, I would be honest with you, this is uh the times we're dealing with now, with all this racial stuff is something that I did grow up with in my hometown. But my dad taught me how to be strong in it and overcome different things and not let things bother me, but the focus on the things I can control. Um, you know, I was

a quarterback at my school. My school is predominantly white, but I was the starting quarterback. As I went to my college and did the same thing. But my dad, being a military guy, taught me about hard work, believing in yourself and making sure you take care of your education and good things to follow you, you know, and not I wasn't one that was gonna back down for many people, so you know, when you grew up with the military father, And like I told I was telling

Joe's story. We're probably getting to this later on. But my dad five for eight by a hundred and seventy pounds, boxed in the military for fifteen years, so he basically transferred all of that that he had in him into me. I'm one of seven kids, and I basically was exactly like my dad. So I had enough inside my head and nothing in my heart that I wasn't gonna back down. I was gonna go out and try to fight and

deal with anything I had to deal with. So how did growing up your hometown impact and shape how you see the world today. Well, it showed me that everybody is not exactly the same way, you know, because along my life, I've seen black people that I did not like being around, and seeing white people that I love be and vice versa, you know what I mean, both of those sides, and I think it comes down to

the heart of a person. And it taught me that because there were people and families in that town that did things for me, that it was not the ordinary way of a lot of folks in my town. And then on the other side, you know, there were people in the neighborhoods that I always hung out in that you have to always watch everything because they were trying

to take what you had. So as I began to be a young man and become an older man, become a more seasoned man, I understand that you judge people based on who they are and what they what they show you, not based off of what somebody else told you about them, not based on what you thought think about somebody else. But I don't try to sit up

there and say, well this person is this because of that. No, let me see who he is to me, because I don't know the experiences that they may have had with somebody else, Because a lot of times the experience make you deal with a person in a certain way. So you know, if a guy treated, you know, somebody when I was in school in college as that man, I

don't like that dude, why you don't like him? They never tell you why they don't like somebody because and so it's something that they did wrong and the other person didn't do anything wrong and the person just checked them on it. So by becoming a person who pays attention to things around, pays attention to my surroundings, it's taught me to become a better judge of character from our people. Mm hmm. Did you expect me to be

asking you all this like this? Be honest? I'll be totally honest with yes, because you know, look I told you before I was a fan of yours man, and the reason I say that is because you know, people just judge it by the way that you play the game. I judge by the way they played your game. But also listen to the stuff you say after something happened, and I figured you were a smart dude. You know what I'm saying. And that's the whole thing about it.

When you start digging into somebody you want to find out about him, it's not the surface. Like John Thompson who just passed away recently. A long time. You say, man, don't let people judge you by sound clips of your life. And think about that. So if you say something, if you if you say something and somebody got there on on got a little recording of it, and there's always played. People judge you based off of that clip. They don't

know all the terterrible things you do. They don't know how hard you have to fight to get to where you are, you know. And I think that's the whole thing about it. When you start paying attention to people, you can figure some things out instead of just going around judging them based off of what somebody else told you. As a kid, How did you see football as a sport, as a job, as a way out as I saw it as a way out. You know, my my mom and dad. I look, I always felt rich because of

the love that I see from my family. I knew that my mom and dad didn't have the money to just send me to a college. So when I started playing sports, and like I said, I'm the youngest of seven kids and I have fo older brothers. So I'm five and a half years younger than my brother that's next to me. So when I'm playing with my relative, street was one way in, one way out. All forty homes were relatives, and they had a bunch of boys

on the streets. So eventually little little little Keith that they called me my name Brian Keith Mitchon, they called me Keith. I had to start playing with the people that were older than me. And when I started realizing that I was kind of good at it, and my dad started saying, man, you might be able to get a scholarship one day. So I'm thinking, get a scholarship, I can go to the college. You know, I can get out and go do the things I want to do. So I saw it as a place of having fun

and being around my friends. But my ultimate goal was to get a scholarship so I can be able to go to college without my mom and dad, you know, having to worry about that. I don't want to be telling of your your age. But you're born in nineteen sixty eight, You're born in Louisiana. How has Louisiana changed

since you were a kid? Uh? I don't think it's changed drastically, To be totally honest with you, I think it's very similar as a southern state that's kind of lost, to be honest with you, But I think that you find that when you like what I was saying earlier, when you begin to deal with people on a personal level, you find out that it's not totally the way that

people see the cover of it. You know, I have a bunch of friends there that are very prosperous, you know, both white and black, and uh, they try to change and they try to make a difference. And you know, I still love going home because the people are so much more hospitable down south than they are up north. I still love to go down. They eat the food because the food is the best that you're gonna get. If you've been to South Louisiana and North Louisiana two

totally different states. You know, down south we have a little fun up north, they are a little dry up North Louisiana. Yeah, I hate to I hate to be dumb, but I go ahead. And what's the difference between the north and southe like, I've only been to so I've been to Uh, I've been Angola, so I I go there once a year. Uh huh to Angola, the prison down there, and then other than the Saints, I've never really gone even never going to pass New Orleans to

ban Rouge. Like, I don't know, I don't know the difference. So what's the difference in North Louisiana South? To me? I'm like, I just thought it was Louisiana. Now when you're in South Louisiana is basically more of the you know, I think it's a combination because you can go to different little towns and areas and even New Orleans. When you're in New Orleans, you don't really think you're in in like Louisiana. You think you're like in like uh more of a Caribbean island where they have a lot

of fun all the time. You get what I'm saying, Uh, it's a lot more fun and festive down south. Up north, they have dry parishes, you know, like county. It's counties in every state except United step Louisiana's parishes in Louisiana more of the French. Uh the French, I guess uh. Touch that goes there. So the drive means that they don't serve alcohol. There have no such things downside out.

It served everywhere, and they probably still can serve it to eighteen year olds because they changed the laws when they when they change the law from eighteen one, they said private club that eighteen you could have beer and wine. They change it back the other way. Mhm, but I've know it. It's different. It's just totally different. Yea, we call it Lord can saw to be honest with you where they came from. We have to take a break and the morning thing, we're gonna pay some bills. You

got checks. 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 podcast. 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. I'm interested to hear about your about your college experience because you said you played quarterback. Also, no, you have five thousand yards passing three thousand yards Russian. But now when we look at we look at the past and current athletes.

You know, every was a one star recruit. We all think that every guy that plays in the National Football League or a very successful college player, oh, he had to be a baller, right, he had to be highly recruited. And that's not always the case. It's not, you know, And I think about it like you know, Uh, my dad had a heart attack when I was in the

ninth grade, had open heart surgery. So my my mindset was to go to college, be falling enough away so I can grow as the individual, be close enough to go back and check on him if I had to. So my college had offered me a chemical engineering scholarship prior to be ever recruited me as a as a football player. And my my high school coach got a job there as a receiver's coach, and he was like, look, they're gonna run the offense that you're very good at.

They really want you said, why that? Why that? Why haven't they recruited me? So when they came along and recruit me, I ended up uh signing there because Nelson Stokely was a coach at Clemson when they won the national championship in one I think it was, so we were running the running shoot a single back two slice too wide out, so we ran the option and we ran a wide open offense. And that's what I did in high school. So I ended up going there because

I was falling enough away from home. They showed me that love as a you know, a student prior to just being an athlete. And I still can be I can get home if I need to go there. And as my as a freshman, I end up getting a chance to start midway through the season and the rest is history. They allowed me to play, and uh, I missed some of my best friends there, and you know, but the thing of it, I was highly recruited as a quarterback. But I didn't want to go to a school.

I was gonna just let me only running the football. Wanted somebody to give me a chance to throw it in running And you know I chose that school and held the league still found me. I got four teen years I left. I guess as a success. We always hear these stories about a player what he picked up playing sports or picked up playing football. Um, his junior year right, he he was on the band team. He was, he was, he was planning to claring that somebody's song,

uh during pe and he slammed the basketball. They saw how athletic he was. Why don't we ever hear about quarterbacks? Well, he played, He started playing quarterback his junior year, senior in high school and having success from there. I've never really, we've never heard that story. We've heard running back who you know, never laid or was on the band. That's Mike Anderson. We've heard other people that kid, uh, Clay Chase Borne or something. He played a Notre Dame. He's

from Canada. He's playing tight end slash wide receivers currently for the Pittsburgh Steelers. So he didn't play football right or defensive end defensive ends that hadn't played, hadn't played you know, um heck, one of the best tight ends in the game back in the day, an Tonio Gates. He was a basketball Yeah right, Why can't that happened

for a quarterback. I think the quarterbacks, the mindset of a quarterback, that it has to be a little different because you you're not just thinking your position, you're thinking every position. You need to know the game a little bit longer, a little bit a little better. Uh So I started, I just stopped playing. I started playing quite back in eighth grade and played it all the way through college. That I had played from what fifth seventh grade?

I played other positions prior to that, and then when I got into the league, I played quarterback and other I played. I played quarterback in a few games because guys got hurt and not to fence the game. But I played every position but quarterback. But I just think that the quarterback, the guys that played at is normally many people know, when I was young, you put the best athlete at quarterback. That's what they did. You know, it wasn't that you were you could pass the ball better.

But in junior high, in high school, you ran the football for the most part. When they saw a guy that had a great arm, they wanted him to play quarterback, and you end up sticking to that. And I think now you see young kids and they can play quarterback, and they see how much money the quarterback is getting, you better stay at quarterback. Five million dollars. Yes, so you get groomed earlier quarters. Yeah, because like what's called I think, uh was it Colin Murray? I've been playing

quarterback forever and that's all he knows. And many people didn't think a guy his statue will ever be a quarterback in the league. Hell, he's doing good at it, doing pretty good. Yeah, yeah, I'd say so. Yeah. So let's jump down to so you transition five thousand yards passing three thousand yards rushing. You never called a pump return. You never did kick off in college? Is that correct? Okay? Coming out of college? What did they and I and

I used today? What did they tell you the position you would play going through the combine and going in potentially going in the NFL draft? I was drafted. What they told me they're gonna draft me as an athlete? And uh, they had to figure out what position I can play. I told I would love that whatever position I play, I wanted to have the ball in my hand. But if I had to try and play defense, I'll do that. I was offered a contract to go to Canada and play quarterback, but my dream has never been

to play in Canada. My dream was a bit in NFL. I just felt if I got an opportunity to play any position, I had a chance to make it. Because people asked me what I considered myself, I always said a football player. You know, because when I first started playing football, I played d N and linebacker. Uh the coach had me at center prior of moving me into running back in the seventh grade, and then when I got to the eight grade, they moved to quarterback. So

you know, I just love having the football. When when I was throwing interception, I tried to make the tatles. I didn't have a problem hitting people. But I didn't want to play in Canada. I felt that I go to Canada, nobody going over here from me again. I stay in the league and find a way to make it. I'll still be known here in the States where the big league is, I call it the National Football League. Going back to the nineteen nine draft. You were drafted,

You go to the now Washington football team. You got the first practice. Yes, where do you line up? They put me with running backs and the return men and every special team's team you can name. And I was also told by coach Gibs, learned the offense because you are emergency quarterback. Russell Grim is no longer going to be so Russ Grim, the officer of linement, was the emergency quarterback? Was Grim? Yes, he played quarterback in high school I think it was, And then when he got

the college he started gaming away. They moved their officsive line, so he was the emergency quarterback on that team. So I got there, Well I'm gonna I'm I'm gonna go down to rosters. They had Mark Ripkin. Then it has stand Hues Humphries, who was the third guy. Jeff ruled. How was Jeff? Uh? I felt that I had now he still gotta see Jeff No, I felt I hadn't been. I should always tell him, I said, man, if you play in the league, I damn took a play in

the league. You know, because Jeff had been around for ten years, ten eleven years and had like three thousand New York passing, like, hell, I can do that. I could do that, all right, man. I was just curious. That year we played a game, the game is known as the Body Bad Game against the Eagles, and the Eagles end up hurting like eight or nine people, and of that eight or nine, I was backing up for

those people. Both quarterbacks got hurt, both punt returners got hurt, so I had to play punt return and I end up I ended the game in quarterback. We had one touchdown drive in that game. Guess who was the quarterback? Jeff No. So you know, although I didn't get a chance to play it for a long time, just that moment showed me, well, damn it, if you can do it, I can do it. Were your numbers? Do you remember that? I think I finished, uh four or six or something

like that for fifty some yards. I had y passing three f five for some of you all passing. I went into it and I had a touchdown rush because Ricky Sanders went out abounds on a half yard line. So I just quarterback sneak that thing in the next one. So let a running play on. But in college, whenever we were there if they left the spot, you just sneak it in. And that's what I did. And that's amazing. That controversatility, it's crazy. Let's talk TV. Okay, what has

been your biggest on air mistake on TV? Yeah, we're talking, we're talking TV on TV. My biggest on a mistake m hm. Basically forgetting them on camera. And and you know, when you don't care, you gotta keep that that look. I I didn't keep that look. I was basically giving a guy like, you don't know what the hell you're talking about look, And they were in my ears saying you're on camera, you're on camera, and uh, you know,

I wouldn't. I would have thought it would be me cursing because I know him to cann let things just fly. I've been, I've been, I've been. I've been very good at that because I know that, you know, the company gets fine, If they get fine enough, you'll be gone. So I kind of appreciate that. Smithy, you might want to back, well, if you want to, you want to get fired and stick it to a company, But yours was Yours was more or less a face. It was anything that you said, yeah, it was, yeah, it was

it was a face. What what advice would you give me? Um being on TV because you're better. I would tell you, like James Brown told me, continue being who you are because the way that you are and straightforward is it's what is what people really want to hear from you. But I would say this, like, make sure you just do your research and stay on top of everything. And if you want to improve your your knowledge of the actual ins and outs of the TV industry, you know

you have time, take the time to do it. But don't ever change who you are. You know, because I watched people get on camera and they become somebody else, and I'm like, what the hell are you playing a character or something? You know, It's like they're talking to you. As soon as the camera come on, like they voice change, they stand straight. I'm like, what the hell is this? You know? And I just never wanted to be that person because if you hired me because of my opinions,

then you're gonna get my opinions. So I have man had a lot of my contracts said that they hired me for my opinions, not theirs. Let's talk ball, okay, right, playing in the NFC East, you're in the air where uh, there was a lot of professional dislike you have to wash at the time. Washington football team, the Dallas cow Boys, the Eagles, and the Giants. What was that experience because

watching it, man, you guys hated each other. It was the Black and Blue Division, we called it, because if you played in the if you play in the NFCS and you came out on top, you basically want to be somewhere around the super Bowl that year. And we all knew that. So, I know, people look at games this year and there's normally two teams in the division and robberies, but hey, we had a robbery with everybody that was in our in the division, you know. And

then I played on three of the different teams. So when I go to Philly, I find out that they disliked Washington and Dallas in New York, just like we did here in Washington. And then I go to New York and it's exact same thing. But you know the thing about it, all of the teams were good. You know, when you're battling people and and they knocked you out. The playoffs are you're battling to go to like the conference championship and you lose that game, that's a lot

of dislike. But when you're just horrible and you lose to a team, what what you're gonna dislike? You know?

And I think as I look at you, look at the names of Reggie White's, uh, Lawrence Taylor's you know, uh all in it and Troy and and and uh Michael over in Dallas at the time, it was just so many top notch athletes and all the teams were good, and you're batting to go to the super Bowl in essence, So if you don't dislike the person who's gonna take money off of your audio pocket and take food off your table, there's something's wrong with you. And when I

got to Washington, it was instant. They made sure you did not like Dallas first, and then the Giants and Eagles follow right behind, very closely, program you right out the gate. Oh yeah, and look, I came from Louisiana, se trying to wear some sleeves, you know, and Monty Coleman walked up and took some cizs and just cutting my sleeves and say, we don't do sleeves here because you look like yourself. You know, what's that being said?

What do you think about the current NFL player today? Well, I think that they are given too many damn options. Let's think. I think it's just like kids today. Okay, when I was growing up, what no damn one the hunt your number, We're No. Nine one one. You got you, but what you got you? But if you learn from your mistakes today And then all of a sudden, and I got a little, I started getting older, I start saying, you gotta what you can call somebody on your daddy

and you're still living, you know. Then you look at the NFL. Now, they give them too many options. You know. We we we we had two days in full gear, you know. And and I also saw a lot less injuries back then. Some days we had tree days. Okay. Now I look at these guys, they rarely practice and then they still complain. So they're given too many options. And we all know, if you've got kids, if you tell your kids this is what you're gonna do, they're gonna do that. They'll learn how to deal with it.

Some kids, all right, this lot of parents out there, and they think it's uh, they think it's democracy. Yeah, yeah, some parents something. Some parents really believe in. Let me get your input. Yeah, no, no, no, I have I have a thirty one year old son, six twenty and eighteen year old daughters. I love him all of death, but they understand. You know, we're not gonna sit up in and be a tyrant to you. But with mommy and I say, goes. If you want to make like

my dad used to. My dad told my oldest brother that's when I learned real quickly. My oldest brother came in the house one time talking about what he was. He cocked strong and all this my dad's He brought on cursing from my wife. He said that I just said cock. He said, yeah, cock is a you know, even though it is he said, he cursingally from my wife. So he said, well, if you think you could beat my ass, you you make the rules. So he gave my brother the boxing gloves. My brother put him on.

He said, mistake, and I told your earlier my dad box in the military. He beat the hell out of my brothers. I go to college, I come back your eighteen years old and in the summer program, I am yoked. He threw me a glove. Was not the bastes on the ground, you know, But No, I'm not putting on those gloves because he also was a marks within the military, so I'm not still So he can't believe your brother trying to run up on your daddy late. My brother was the baddest dude I knew till that day. Did

your daddy work it? Was it quick or was it dude? Look, I'm gonna see if you did you watch the Felix Trinidad but Nord Hopkins right, Uh, it watched me. Okay, I'll tell you this. Don't watch that fighting. Every time Felix got ready to throw a punch, he went on the balls of his feet and but now I would jab him or hit him with something. So my dad said my brother was doing something similar. So every time my brother got ready to throw he would jab him

up and then baby bang. And he told my mom and said, I had to show your son that he wasn't the badder in his badness in his house. And nobody else tried it, And we had four more bars after Blanch said, we never had another boy trying as what we say. Damn shame what he did to Blanch exactly. But I tell you I paid attention. I knew I knew what mistakes to or knew what things to do and what things not to do. And it was not

to put on the gloves and box that dude. How were you able to play as long as you played because you played a lot of possessition. And first of all, let me go ahead and take this because I'm I remised if I don't say this. You were a plumber. And what do I mean by plumber is this? We don't really respect respect plumbers. We don't respect electricians till especially with a plumber to your toilet get clogged up. There you go and you need high ship where you

need them. And then that's what we especially in what we're in right now, they're called the sense of workers. When we need someone we we we just can't call somebody, or we need a specialist. And you were that specialist. You did everything. You You played punt returner. You were the kick returner, but also you played multiple positions. When your team was punting to the the opposing team's punt returning, you went down and covered those kicks. You've played everything

for me. Stings I I I looked at myself as a football player, I felt I could do many things. But when I trained, I trained to get ready for a football season. I don't know what some of these guys trained for today, because I still believe that. You know, when you're getting ready to play a football season and you have to put your body through hell because you're gonna go through hell during that season, and not being the biggest guy. And then they got the crazy guys

coming downtown attacking me on returns. You know, I have to be able to give you a little something too, because I'm not gonna just accept it all day. So when I got to the league, I was a hundred and ninety eight pounds and my senior in college, I powered cleaned three D five, I've been five, and I squat six fifth things. I didn't feel I had to be the biggest, but if I got lower than you, I can I can get you off of your feet.

So when I got to the league, I was the exact same way, and and Dan Raley, I was strang cold. He said, man, what the hell are you doing? I remember I saw Barry Sanders had done some weights very similar, So I was trying to be Barry Sanders in college. I wanted to be as strong as he was. You know, never would have the moves that he had. But I felt that if I trained my body and tortured myself in the all season, I had a chance. They have

fun during the season. And I see a lot of guys who, you know, they pushed it foot a round during the off season. They try to cut corners. Then they get into the season they can't understand why they can't play. You know. I tell a lot of young people today, like I got dudes that I ride bikes with.

They're like, man, I can't do this. I say, well, if you want to ride a fifty mile ride, how the hell are you gonna know you can go to it if you keep riding only twenties, So you need to go ride fifty, ride fifty five so you can know you can do it. So the things I did in practice, like Ernest Bryan was my dude. Ernest Bronner taught me, you know, how to go beyond so when the games came around, it was easy. And I think a lot of guys that they never ever pushed themselves

to the limit. They never test themselves. They don't know if they can. They just think they can. How the coaches expect them to do it, but they don't know. But I tried my damage to push myself to the to the limits. And growing up with a military dad, I was pushed to the limit with my whole life. So what the what the different? What difference it was? It? Was it now that I was becoming a man myself.

I think it's about that time. Just take a little breather, good good gets getting down to do ridd Hey, Gerard, why did you get that T shirt? 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. You wrote a children's book, A Champion Heart.

I I'm assuming I know where it came from, just the way you're talking about your dad and and your family values. But I want to I want to really know, even in depth. I understand the really now getting this time to talk to you where it came from. But why did you believe it was needed? Though? Well, I think like little kids are looking, they look at athletes as much as they look at anybody to get some

type of spark or get some guidance. And throughout my life, I was looking back into New York asked me the question, how had my upbringing impact to me? And this sense and so I just started thinking about it. And I think about when I was a young kid and people always said that kid has heart when I was playing football. Uh, then later on my dad had a heart attack. My dad passed with a heart attack, so that's the heart

being touched again. And then you know, my mom and dad were give us like whatever my mom cooked, she cooked as if she was cooking for a damn football team because he and her words were if somebody stopped by the house, they may need to me, I'm gonna make sure they have something to eat. And then they were charitable. So I started thinking about my life and every time all those things came up, and it's like,

you know, having heart, being a guy who was competitive. Um, my dad died of a heart attack, and that, you know, made me want to start working with the Heart found the Heart Association to make sure nobody else have to deal with those type of things. And I find that even if I'm not thinking about it, I'm trying to

do some charitable type things. So I wanted to just it was about a champion's heart and talking to kids about believing in yourself and uh, making sure you love your parents, you know, and pay attention to the things that they're trying to teach you, because as a kid, we all think we know everything and our parents are basically just trying to tell us that we've already been through what you're gonna go through, and if you learn a little bit, you wanta make the same mistakes that

we made. And I just wanted to put something together about how my path went. You know, I was a guy who wasn't the biggest um, didn't go to the biggest school, wasn't told I was gonna play in the league, like you know, all the kids, all the dudes in my neighborhood, like, man, you're never playing in the NFL. Well played fourteen years and then after my last year they told me to see, you know, they let you go. Well, damn,

I played fourteen years. I get no credit for that, you know, but it's just that I I just I feel that kids need to understand that you don't have to be the biggest, you don't have to be the baddest, but if you're gonna be willing to put the work in and take care of yourself, to take care of your business, you can have the success that you want

to have. You know, I've watched you obviously playing with the Baltimore Ravens um you know, here in Charlotte because as of um the cable system, we don't really have it. But in Baltimore, I would see the Red Skins, um the the the after the games and before the games, and so I noticed that about you, your ton of energy. And seeing watching the years with the Eagles and Washington and all that stuff, and watching you with the different teams. I always wondered, was the TV Brian Mitchell just just

as animated in person? And it hasn't. You haven't let me down, and so I just it's just one of those cool things. You know. Your belief system mm hm it was. It was founded obviously by your parents. But how did you keep that belief system always in that direction versus getting sidetracked? Right, because you know you're from Louisiana, went to a small school. Now you're in the nation's capital. Yeah,

you're playing on the biggest stage. How did you stay focused on that such strong belief system without getting drilled well at first of all, just says. When I was young, my dad told me lived to be even respected and I liked and that stuck with me, and then my brothers and sisters never let me get the big head.

I think I was like somebody special. So when I went home, it was always about you know, after my dad passed away after my first season, it was about what my dad said, and and the thing about it. My possibly been gone since nine and some days I still think he's around. You know, I'm being honest with you. But the whole thing of it is, I I've always like my My goals in life would to make my mama happy, to make my daddy proud, and I'll stick

with that. And I think by the things that they taught me, they've worked my whole life, So why would I change them just because I got to a different place. You know, when I first got up here to d C, I was exposed to different things people were offering, but it wasn't what I was about. You know, I came here to play football. I didn't come here to be everybody's friends. I didn't come here to try to be

liked by the whole community. I came here to be respected when I was done, because we always tell people, you know, they say, well, man, how do you think people think about just say, not about how they think about you now is when you're done, what they're gonna say about you? Did you give everything you're supposed to give? And I think by being such a dude that was you know, like people say you were Mama's boy or

Daddy's boy. Hell, I was both of them, and I wanted to make him proud and my mom my dad passed away, my mom was still around, and I told my dad, anything ever happened to you, I'm gonna be here for and he said, I have no doubt I

know you will. You know. So I stayed trying to be the guy that they always wanted me to be, and I wasn't perfect with it all the time, but I would say if I was gonna if I failed, it wasn't gonna be often and it wouldn't be the same thing again because I was gonna always think about the fact that make Mama happy, make dad a problem. M Wow, that's that's so amazing. I know I can probably speak for Smithie when I say I don't only hope and pray that my kids view me the same.

And that's one day my daughter, she I told her, said, I don't want anybody to give me any gift. Just take a piece of paper and a pen and write what I mean to you. And she told my oldest daughter was like, look that, I said, if I can, if I one day I have half of the work

ethic that you have, I'm gonna be a success. That's say enough for me, you know, because say they're getting it, they see what you're doing and think for for us as parents, we just want to know that our kids understand what we're trying to do for them because my daddy told me and and half the things I know in life with my paps. So he said, Man, make sure my grandkids lives or Belding yours was. And I'm trying to teach my kids the same thing. If they

can make their kids lives, Belling, there's work. That's the way you start legacies. Our last segment is called the Deep Three, and these are just three questions that we ask every athlete or celebrity whomever that comes on our show just to go and get a deeper understanding of them, So Smithy, won't you give them first? One? What are

your core values as a person. As a person, I feel for me is to honor those that came before me and took the time to teach me the things that I know today, and then for me to take those things and take them as far as I possibly can. And to respect people the way I want to be respected. And I think, uh, the and and then be thankful every day for what I was given by the higher, higher person that's higher than all of us and God.

You know, I was given talents and I've always told people my thank you is to take those talents as far as I can. And Uh, if I do those four things, I think I'm gonna touch this about everything I need to touch in life. Wow, you're such an o g when you when you look back and you reflect, what's the most important life lesson you would share with the future generation? Mm hmm. You're gonna everybody's gonna make mistakes, but you have to learn from your mistakes. You know,

it's probably multiple things I can give. But you know, I think with a lot of times that we we turn people off because people talk to us as if they were perfect and I let people understand that you're going to make a mistake in your life. You may make multiple mistakes, but don't make them twice. Don't keep making them over and over again. Learn from it and then move on and then try to educate somebody else

on it. Because I think when we are giving something, whether it's a blessing or a tidbit, don't keep it to yourself. You start sharing it with people. When you start sharing it, you have more of an impact on it. I had My last question was it's gonna be about purpose in life and all that, and I wanted when

you were talking, I was thinking about some time. I was like, man, I'll be scared if if Brian was my dad right, just because of how you know, just how much of perfectionists I am and want to get right. So I kind of I'm reversion it. Uh. They don't even know why. I'm kind of getting emotional before I'm asking you, but it's, Uh, if you can talk to your dad right now, what would you want to hear from him? I just I would want to hear from him. Did uh did I make you proud? You know? Did

I do the things you wanted me to do? And to be be honest with your thing is just some days I wake up and I just want to ask him what should I do? You know, how should I handle certain situations? Because he always seemed to have the answers, you know what I mean. And hell, like I said, I got three daughters at eighteen, twenty and twenty six, and hey, that's a challenge where you're growing up with

those daughters and stuff like that. And because my we had to two girls and then five boys afterwards, and I want to know when they started hitting in certain ages, you know, how did he have to deal with it? Being such a masculine, strong dude. How did you deal with the femininity of your daughters? You know what I mean? Because sometimes I don't think I get it right, you know, And I do everything to make sure that they're happy and they know that. I just want them to be safe.

But I don't want to be overbearing. But then again, I don't want to not do enough, you know what I'm saying. And if I could have that conversation with him, you know, and yeah, I just wish he could have gone through this. My dad died after my rookie season, so I started accomplishing some major things after that, and he wasn't there. You know, I wish that he could have gone on their journey with me because I think

it was meant for him to be there. And people always tell you they're looking down upon you, but I wanted him to be beside me. You know what I'm saying. He probably was, but you know what I'm saying. The reason why I guess the emotionals, Uh, my grandfather impacted my life that way, like even some of my family says I'm more like my my grandfather than my dad,

and so talking to you and hearing that. There are times in my life, like being forty one, there are times like I believe in God, I love God, but also there are times to where I don't want the conversation internally with God. Sometimes I want someone that I'm very like, someone that I got my values from is my Grandpa. And sometimes I want that hug. Sometimes I want that that's that particular touch that I know only

he gave me that no one else can give. I love my wife, I love my boys, I love my my my my best friends, but I need my Grandpa times just listen hit me. I don't know why I I'm over here, like I'm over tearing up, bro, And I don't even know what those things that I tell people over and over again. You know, throughout our lives growing up, people always chase something old man, you know, men don't cry. No, when you cry about something that makes that that you really feel and stuffing that that's

been impactful to you. That is being a man. A man, A man is not trying to hide your emotions, hide your feelings, run from the things. Know it's it's what you got to where you are because of what your grandfather gave you. He is steal some stuff in you that if you didn't have it, you probably wouldn't be the person you are to day. So that makes your emotional.

And I have looked. I'll be driving down the road sometimes and all of a sudden something popping my head and boom, herecause some damn tears like say, damn, I'm getting soften, I'm getting It makes you understand, like you know, as you go through life, what's important and what's not. It's not it's not important for me to try to

make somebody think I'm a certain type of way. It's important to be who I am and be the person that the people that took the time to try to make me become this person that they understand that, you know what he took, heed to it and became something. So if I'm gonna cry because I think, and I don't cry because of things that are always sad, some of the things that are happened make you make you cry.

You know, I got my four kid in college. You know, I'm happy, and there I was crowding because I put some work into that. And then for they see them finally getting there and doing the thing that I've seen them. Everybody leaves the other and teaches the other something that's what I worked on, so that that makes me happen. Somethime that happeness comes in and as in the form of a damn cry for me, there are some players that is more than just you know, knowing or getting

their respect. It's it brings me back. And I think that's why I kind of triggered. Is it brings me back to being on a hundred and avalon and and and sitting there watching football and and and knowing, you know, being on the West coast. Bro. You know, I wake up nine o'clock games are on and and seeing these players you know, Bow Jackson, Tim Brown, but Brian Mitchell, those quote unquote little guys that had a being impacked in the game, right and and and that's who you were.

You were that guy that I kind of looked at it like, I hope I can do that. You damn sure did. You damn sure did, man. And And that's look I I I appreciate you just telling me that, because watching the way that you played is always that they made me happy, dude, because I I love seeing guys who go out there and you know, they're serious about their business, but they have fun doing their job. Yeah, you know, a lot of guys don't have fun. You were those guys that I watched. You're those guys y'all

punished people. And so I grew up with the narrative based on my grandma. My grandpa taught me was those are the people you have to play like if you want to make it, that's what you gotta play like. And and so even though I played in a different era, I played like the players that I watched. And those players that I watched there were no nonsense. They they as we say, they played for keeps it. So thank you. UM,

very blessed to be able to talk to you. UM, in my mind, one of the great UM, A legacy builder, UM, a tone setter, and man, uh, we appreciate your time, dog Steve, appreciate you all. So I know we were talking during this interview Smithy on most embarrassing TV moments, and I just so happened to uh, to pull yours. I'm gonna play this clip real quick and then we'll love. We'll break this bad boy down, change something up, because they haven't been the greatest a franchise, uh since obviously,

Damn Dann REMI uh, Dan, I can't even speak right now. Man, it's terrible. I mean, well, I'm not laughing. I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing. I'm laughing with you. I wasn't laughing. I was sweating so bad and I was at the house. Yeah, I was embarrassed. So I guess it's fair to say that's that's probably your most embarrassing TV moment by far right. Yeah, Dann Marino, of course

you know it now. But in the moment with the lights on and being on national TV, I mean, just just get you get stuck like chunk her her on a struggle bus rank I was I was driver and in the front seat. It was terrible, man, but hey, you bounce back. When you do, you're a heck of an end. Listen. We got a chance to talk to Brian. Definitely, he gave us so many nuggets on you know, his on his outlooks, what he's been able to do in the television industry. And we were blessed to be in

some good company during that interview. We were and I I don't know why, I got all emotional and got all I got tear, man, I mean, I feel you. It was definitely. Uh. I shared the same sentiment my my grandfather. It is by far the most impactful man I've ever met in my life. And some of the things he instilled to me, being a man of character, being a man of integrity, like leading with that it's something that you know, I never waiver on that, and

it's just I can I can hear him. He passed away when I was thirteen, but I remember vividly conversations from when I was five six seven. I mean, just the impact him being a policeman, him being the business owner, Like there's just so many things he put in me that man, I I give my right on to hear his voice again. I can tell you right now, what's crazy is uh all this stuff he put in me. I can care less about it. I just, you know, just sometimes want that. I just want to hear. Yeah.

It's just it's it's crazy because talking to Brian. I don't know what it triggered, but I just, uh, you know, just hearing how impactful his dad was onto him and what it was. You know what's crazy is I lost my grandfather like two weeks. It was like a week and a half into November, and I got a call that he went to the hospital and and my family is on the East West coast and I'm on the East coast, so I gotta call, like we were doing

our body week, I gotta call on like Thursday. It was like Wednesday and Thursday Friday morning he was gone and he had My grandfather had cancer of the liver. He got diagnosed. Um. He went to the VA because he was a vetter. And when he got diagnosed, he said cool and he walked out of hospital and he never went again. He was on the steps and fell down the steps. She passed out because he had it had spread to his lungs and it flew it on

his lungs. And when he went into the hospital, just like my grandpa, the g that he was, he said, how long am I gonna be in there? Unfortunately he passed like the next day. I'm messim, you know, but a man gets cancer diagnosed, he don't say a word. He just kept going to really he could until they couldn't go anymore. So for me, man, it's like, I hope I'm close at all. Oh man, you're definitely close. You you have arrived and nah, but yeah you're worse.

You gotta you gotta, you gotta receive it. You gotta receive it. And so you trust me. He's looking down, he's proud. Both our grandfathers are proud. And you gotta hold your head up and know that you are walking and everything that he put in you appreciate it. But it's still messim, you know. 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, singer co host Gerard little John, talent in booking manager Joe Fusci, social media manager Payton Smith from Balto Creative Media. Cut to It is produced by Brian Balta Chevitch and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lebrec, Production manager Sarah Pollock. Theme music by

Alex Johnson, lyrics and vocals by Anthony Hamilton. You ain't heard about it, then we're about to let you know. It's all