Speaker 1: Welcome back, everybody to 2023 the Keys Weekly sports prep
Speaker 1: podcast with Coach mcdonald. The only place to get your
Speaker 1: Florida Keys, prep, sports news and history. You can find
Speaker 1: this podcast every Thursday at Keys weekly dot com. Please
Speaker 1: share it and like you can find me on Facebook
Speaker 1: at Florida Keys and Key West High School Sports History.
Speaker 1: You can also hear this podcast on the radio Saturday
Speaker 1: mornings at eight AM on W K W FA M-16
Speaker 1: 100 W K W F F M one oh 3.3.
Speaker 1: Welcome everybody. It's 2023. There's so much going on and
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna start this podcast with a little bit
Speaker 1: of a rant. You know, I normally, I really have
Speaker 1: never really talked about pro sports college sports or anything
Speaker 1: like that, but I want to talk about the Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphins and the more things change, the more things stay
Speaker 1: the same. I'm sure if you're listening to this podcast,
Speaker 1: if you're living in the Florida Keys, if you lived
Speaker 1: in the Florida Keys, you probably have some relationship with
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins. I know I do.
Speaker 1: I've been a Dolphin fan. I before moving down here
Speaker 1: in 1997 I grew up in Miami. I've been a
Speaker 1: Dolphin fan ever since I could remember. I could remember
Speaker 1: the heartbreak in 1982 with Joe Theismann. I can remember
Speaker 1: the heartbreak in 1985 and Marino lost to the 49ers and,
Speaker 1: and the 49ers just beat the Dolphins so bad. And
Speaker 1: I remember thinking obviously in 1985 well, I guess Marino
Speaker 1: will be back to the Super Bowl at some point
Speaker 1: and
Speaker 1: he never was. And then you have the Post Marino years,
Speaker 1: all of those years, you know, pretty much ending the
Speaker 1: same way, nine and 78 and 87 and nine, something
Speaker 1: like that. And I just got the biggest kick because
Speaker 1: I realized, you know, last weekend when the Dolphins lost
Speaker 1: to the Patriots, it becomes, hey, if the Dolphins beat
Speaker 1: the Jets and the Bills beat the Patriots and the
Speaker 1: Dolphins are gonna be in the playoffs and I just
Speaker 1: laughed because
Speaker 1: I can't count how many times it seems like all
Speaker 1: the Dolphins had to do was beat the Jets at
Speaker 1: the end of the year to go to the playoffs
Speaker 1: and the Jets never had anything to play for. They
Speaker 1: don't have anything to play for today or, or this
Speaker 1: weekend and I'm sure the Jets are gonna beat the Dolphins.
Speaker 1: So it's just crazy to me in 2023
Speaker 1: the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Speaker 1: The Dolphins did your classic thing that the Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: always do and that's give you hope at the beginning
Speaker 1: of the year, that win at the beginning of the year.
Speaker 1: Um against Buffalo was the most excited. I've been as
Speaker 1: a dolphin fan, you know, in the last 30 years.
Speaker 1: Absolutely true. I really thought that it had finally changed
Speaker 1: and
Speaker 1: it's just, I guess it's a little bit reassuring that
Speaker 1: the more things change, the more they stay the same. And,
Speaker 1: and here we go again with the Miami Dolphins. So
Speaker 1: this podcast is coming out on Thursday, the Dolphins play
Speaker 1: this weekend against the Jets. And
Speaker 1: obviously I'm gonna be watching, I'm gonna be rooting for
Speaker 1: the dolphins, but I could just remember the days of old,
Speaker 1: all the dolphins have to do is to beat the Jets.
Speaker 1: The Jets are six and nine. They're not playing for anything.
Speaker 1: And then all of a sudden, Freeman mcneill and Wesley
Speaker 1: Walker have their best games of the season and end
Speaker 1: up beating the Dolphins. So I'm hoping for the Dolphins.
Speaker 1: I love the Dolphins. I always will. But, man, oh, man,
Speaker 1: it just seems funny.
Speaker 1: So, a lot of things going on in Monroe County,
Speaker 1: we've sort of, I guess we would say with our
Speaker 1: prep sports, we've been hibernating a little bit. Everybody has,
Speaker 1: uh been, you know, practicing or not practicing or a
Speaker 1: little bit inactive during the Christmas break. I know that
Speaker 1: boys basketball at Key West boys basketball at Coral Shores
Speaker 1: were both pretty active. They played, uh, some out of
Speaker 1: the area teams, you know, Key West
Speaker 1: played Gig Harbor from Washington State. They also played against
Speaker 1: Coral Shores. Gig Harbor. Come from the great state of Washington.
Speaker 1: I guess they decided where's the farthest place we could go?
Speaker 1: Where is it? And, oh, I guess it's Key West
Speaker 1: from the state of Washington and they made the trip
Speaker 1: and they ended up, uh, beating Key West 75 39
Speaker 1: at Key West. And, uh, they also ended up beating
Speaker 1: Coral Shores at Coral Shores and
Speaker 1: that, uh, score was 69 37. So Gay Harbor comes
Speaker 1: with a loaded team to the Keys and comes away
Speaker 1: with two wins. And, uh, congratulations to those guys. If
Speaker 1: you are checking for your Keys weekly this week in
Speaker 1: the Keys weekly sports wrap, you're going to have the
Speaker 1: All Keys team for golf. This is the spot where
Speaker 1: we're going to recognize the best call, the best golfers
Speaker 1: in the Keys. And
Speaker 1: if you check out the Keys weekly today or tomorrow,
Speaker 1: you're gonna see that exact keys weekly team. You're gonna
Speaker 1: see some pictures. You're gonna see some quotes from their coaches. Uh,
Speaker 1: you're gonna find out who the M V P of
Speaker 1: Boys golf and the M V P of girls golf.
Speaker 1: Who are they in the Florida Keys in order to
Speaker 1: find that
Speaker 1: you gotta go to the Keys Weekly and, and check
Speaker 1: that out. And I hope you guys enjoyed our All
Speaker 1: Keys football team that came out. I think all Keys
Speaker 1: volleyball is coming out soon. You know, we want to
Speaker 1: honor all of the prep sports in the Keys by
Speaker 1: having our all-star teams. I hope you're enjoying them. If
Speaker 1: you have any feedback on them,
Speaker 1: you can go to sports at Keys weekly dot com
Speaker 1: and drop us a line and let us know what
Speaker 1: you thought about it, what you liked, what you disliked,
Speaker 1: what you'd like to see if you have any ideas
Speaker 1: for the actual sports rep in print, you can send
Speaker 1: it there if you have any ideas for the podcast
Speaker 1: this year on the podcast. I, I wanna keep it going.
Speaker 1: I want to talk to a lot of people that
Speaker 1: have impacted the Florida Keys in sport. I have a
Speaker 1: lot of people contacting me wanting to come on. If
Speaker 1: you'd like to come on the podcast, you feel like
Speaker 1: you have something to add, then you could hit us
Speaker 1: up at sports at Keys weekly dot com. Send me
Speaker 1: an email. I'll get it. I'd love to have you on, um,
Speaker 1: we have a full schedule coming up. I know on
Speaker 1: today's podcast the real big news is Andre Otto. He
Speaker 1: is a football player, a heavyweight wrestler and a track
Speaker 1: athlete here at Key West High School and he just
Speaker 1: signed a full scholarship at Florida. State University to play football.
Speaker 1: Congratulations to him. We're gonna have an interview with him
Speaker 1: later on in the show where he talks about his
Speaker 1: process for how, why and exactly
Speaker 1: the, all the information about why he picked Florida State
Speaker 1: as a place for him and it's not what you
Speaker 1: think it is. Everybody, I'm gonna tell you right now,
Speaker 1: you're gonna be shocked to find out the real reason
Speaker 1: behind the selection.
Speaker 1: Congratulations to him.
Speaker 1: And it's just really big, I think for Monroe County,
Speaker 1: whenever we get a division one athlete in any sport
Speaker 1: signed and congratulations to him. All of the other athletes
Speaker 1: that finished up their football season this year in 2022.
Speaker 1: I know Corl Shores, there's a couple of guys looking
Speaker 1: to play at that next level and hopefully marathon has some,
Speaker 1: there's some more guys at Key West that are gonna
Speaker 1: sign
Speaker 1: during the traditional signing period, which happens in about a month.
Speaker 1: This was the early signing period where Andre uh and
Speaker 1: Florida State came to an agreement. So congratulations to him.
Speaker 1: You could hear that interview coming up in a couple
Speaker 1: of minutes and now we have uh the schedule coming
Speaker 1: up for this week
Speaker 1: now on January 5th, which is, um, actually the day
Speaker 1: that this podcast is coming out, right? 234. Yep, Thursday,
Speaker 1: January 5th, Coral Shores boys basketballs at Oxbridge Academy
Speaker 1: also on, um, also on Thursday, the fifth Marathon girls
Speaker 1: soccer at Westwood marathon boys basketball on the sixth is
Speaker 1: at Boca Raton. Key West girls soccer at South Florida
Speaker 1: heat on the six. Also on the six Coral Shores
Speaker 1: girls basketball is at marathon at four on the sixth marathon.
Speaker 1: Girls soccer, Coral Shores home six PM.
Speaker 1: Um, also at Key West on the six boys basketball,
Speaker 1: South Broward coming into town that's a 7 30 start
Speaker 1: at marathon boys soccer country day at four on the sixth.
Speaker 1: And wrestling we have Key West high school has a
Speaker 1: wrestling team. Carl Shores has a wrestling team. They're gonna
Speaker 1: come together at the Somerset scuffle at three PM on
Speaker 1: the sixth and the seventh,
Speaker 1: Key West uh, girls soccer is at Gulliver on the seventh.
Speaker 1: Key West boys soccer is Jacksonville Bowls at home one PM.
Speaker 1: Key West boys basketball is home against Boca Raton Marathon.
Speaker 1: Girls basketball is at Keys Gate on the eighth Coral Shores.
Speaker 1: Girls basketball is at Keys Gate on the ninth marathon.
Speaker 1: Girls basketball is at Key West at 5 30 on
Speaker 1: the ninth Coral Shores boys basketball is at Palm Glads
Speaker 1: on the ninth
Speaker 1: Marathon. Boys basketball is home at Redlands Christian on the
Speaker 1: 10th Coral Shores. Girls soccer is at um, Key West
Speaker 1: is going up there at four marathon girls and boys
Speaker 1: soccer is at Cushman on the 10th. Key West girls
Speaker 1: and boys basketball is going to be at, uh, home
Speaker 1: against Coral Shores at four and seven on the 10th.
Speaker 1: So mark your calendars for that one January 10th is
Speaker 1: gonna be Key West and Coral Shores at Key West.
Speaker 1: All the key schools on the 11th, girls weightlifting at
Speaker 1: marathon at four and on the 12th, marathon, boys basketball
Speaker 1: are home against Hab Christian at 5 30 marathon. Girls
Speaker 1: basketball is home against Gulliver at four PM. So that's
Speaker 1: your
Speaker 1: basketball schedule for this week. We really don't have too
Speaker 1: many results because it has been Christmas break and New
Speaker 1: Year's and all that great stuff. So I was talking
Speaker 1: about 2023. I want to talk about 2023 a little
Speaker 1: bit more. I really want to thank everyone at the
Speaker 1: Keys Weekly for allowing myself and Mrs mcdonald to host
Speaker 1: the Keys weekly sports wrap. You could find
Speaker 1: the newspaper articles in the Keys Weekly that are written
Speaker 1: by my wife Tracy mcdonald. She does a great job
Speaker 1: on all that stuff and I do the podcast. So
Speaker 1: we're really trying to shine a light on the prep
Speaker 1: sports in Monroe County through the Keys Weekly. And thank
Speaker 1: to thanks to the Keys Week
Speaker 1: for all the support that they provide and just to
Speaker 1: give a little breakdown at the halfway point, boys basketball
Speaker 1: is going very strong, um, marathon basketball goes to the
Speaker 1: halfway point at two and five. This year, Kevin's Freeman's
Speaker 1: squad is
Speaker 1: starting to come together. They look good against Key West
Speaker 1: High School against Carl Shores and they're gonna open up
Speaker 1: after the New Year with old time rival Palmer Trinity
Speaker 1: who is two and seven, they're playing at home. Uh,
Speaker 1: they played yesterday actually, and I don't have a score
Speaker 1: on that yet. Then tomorrow they are home against Boca
Speaker 1: Raton Marathon. Then they play Palm Glade Prep Academy. So
Speaker 1: Marathon. And Kevin Freeman, who you've heard on this podcast
Speaker 1: is ready to get 2023. Started with a Bang Corl
Speaker 1: Shores High School is played Oxbridge Academy yesterday, Palm Glade
Speaker 1: prep Academy on the ninth. And like I said before
Speaker 1: the 10th of January is gonna be the big matchup.
Speaker 1: Key West High vs Coral Shores. Now, it's gonna be
Speaker 1: interesting because as I recall last year Coral Shores went
Speaker 1: down to Key West and got the victory in basketball.
Speaker 1: And that's the first time that I could remember.
Speaker 1: Not only Corl Shores beating Key West. Now that's happened before,
Speaker 1: I think it happened the last time in the early
Speaker 1: two thousands, but that's the first time I could remember
Speaker 1: Corl Shores getting a victory in Key West. So new
Speaker 1: coach at the helm at Key West High School, Dexter Butler.
Speaker 1: I'm sure that he has that on his schedule marked
Speaker 1: because K Shores is good this year. Coach Mando, who's
Speaker 1: been on this podcast has done a great job at
Speaker 1: Coral Shores over the last four or five years building
Speaker 1: that boys program
Speaker 1: into something that's really looking like they're gonna make a
Speaker 1: run this year. And Key West high school when they
Speaker 1: came to the marathon, I saw them play. They looked really,
Speaker 1: really good too. Coach Butler's done a great job down
Speaker 1: there so far. This season they have, they have a
Speaker 1: lot of freshmen firepower. They have their captain as a freshman.
Speaker 1: They have a lot of talent. They have a lot
Speaker 1: of young talent. So it's gonna be an interesting battle
Speaker 1: on the 10th with Coral Shores
Speaker 1: and Key West High School because you're gonna have an
Speaker 1: experienced Coral Shores basketball team
Speaker 1: that has some size and they have some ability going
Speaker 1: down to Key West playing in Key West against a
Speaker 1: Key West, very, very talented but young team. So it's
Speaker 1: gonna be a good one. I think everyone should get
Speaker 1: down to Key West to watch that game again. That
Speaker 1: is on January 10th at 6 30 PM. So let's
Speaker 1: go to Key West High School. The last time they
Speaker 1: played
Speaker 1: was uh on the 29th when they played Gig Harbor.
Speaker 1: They play on the seventh against Boga Raton at home.
Speaker 1: They have Coral Shores on the 10th. They have Miami
Speaker 1: Brito on the 13th. Um Wrestling in Key West, I
Speaker 1: know I talked about on the last podcast I was
Speaker 1: at the tournament that uh coach Jimenez at Key West
Speaker 1: High School that he put together and there were schools
Speaker 1: from all over the place down there. I know wrestling
Speaker 1: is in full swing.
Speaker 1: If you saw the Keys Weekly. A week or two ago,
Speaker 1: we talked about boys and girls soccer teams. All the
Speaker 1: boys and girls soccer teams have winning records going into
Speaker 1: Christmas break. So that's going to be a great end
Speaker 1: of the season for both. And really, you know, girls
Speaker 1: and boys soccer, they usually run, um, the districts and
Speaker 1: stuff happen towards the end of January. So, I mean,
Speaker 1: it's the years flying by already in 2023 just started
Speaker 1: a couple of days ago, but
Speaker 1: you have soccer is gonna be ending. Basketball is gonna
Speaker 1: be ending in the next month and then we're gonna
Speaker 1: go into spring sports. So I hope you guys are
Speaker 1: all ready for that and I hope you guys are
Speaker 1: ready for our interview. Congratulations to Christopher Andre Otto, one
Speaker 1: of our first guests on the podcast at the beginning
Speaker 1: of football season. You know, we sort of had him
Speaker 1: on and you can go back and listen to that
Speaker 1: and he talks about growing up in Key West. You know,
Speaker 1: I think he was in New Orleans before that
Speaker 1: and what it was like playing football through middle school
Speaker 1: and in high school. And we also get to talking
Speaker 1: about his recruitment process. What's it like? This gentleman was
Speaker 1: recruited by Stanford Penn State, Harvard, Yale Vanderbilt, Florida State.
Speaker 1: I mean,
Speaker 1: it doesn't get much better than that. If you're a,
Speaker 1: if you're a high school football player, you would love
Speaker 1: to be recruited by all those schools and he talks
Speaker 1: about why he goes to Florida State and he talks
Speaker 1: about um, the impact that wrestling and track had on
Speaker 1: his football career. So everybody, I hope you guys enjoy
Speaker 1: this again. Congratulations to Mr Otto. And here's the interview,
Speaker 1: as I said, it's a very big moment here at
Speaker 1: the Keys weekly sports wrap with coach mcdonald. Uh, we
Speaker 1: have on our very own aspiring, not even no longer aspiring.
Speaker 1: He's going to be a division one scholarship football player,
Speaker 1: uh Christopher Andre Otto and he just signed with Florida
Speaker 1: State University in Tallahassee. Congratulations.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much.
Speaker 1: Um What was it? So for our listeners, you've had
Speaker 1: a very successful career so far in high school playing football,
Speaker 1: wrestling and running track. And fortunately, you were noticed as
Speaker 1: an outstanding um offensive tackle and defensive linemen, you were
Speaker 1: recruited and you received over 20 offers from some of
Speaker 1: the greatest institutions in our country. Um Harvard Vanderbilt, Stanford,
Speaker 1: Penn State, Florida State.
Speaker 1: Uh F I U many, many other schools, all was
Speaker 1: all were very interested in your services. What made you
Speaker 1: pick Florida State University?
Speaker 2: So I want to pursue a film like a film career.
Speaker 2: I wanna become a cinematographer, a director when I'm older
Speaker 2: and Florida State has a very, very good film school
Speaker 2: and I love the staff. I love the people. I
Speaker 2: love the family there and my gut just told me
Speaker 2: that it was great and that I should go
Speaker 1: there. So I remember we talked earlier in the year,
Speaker 1: you know, when you were undecided and you talked about
Speaker 1: your interest in film and,
Speaker 1: and how you wanted to make film. You were already
Speaker 1: currently making films and, and you have won uh many
Speaker 1: a contest. So that's something that you wanna continue at
Speaker 1: Florida State. Uh So do you plan on majoring in
Speaker 1: film when you're there?
Speaker 2: Um I am planning on that. Yes, sir. I'm gonna
Speaker 2: go into the D MP program and then probably get
Speaker 2: my master's in the film school after that.
Speaker 1: Uh for our listeners and myself, what is the D
Speaker 1: N P program?
Speaker 2: So that's kind of like the broadcasting action sports, like
Speaker 2: all that type of stuff.
Speaker 1: So that, that's fascinating. So, um now what, when was
Speaker 1: the moment that you decided that, that you wanted to
Speaker 1: go to Florida State? I'm sure that there were so
Speaker 1: many people telling you so many different things, but when
Speaker 1: was the moment? And how did that happen?
Speaker 2: So I've always had Florida State in mind and then
Speaker 2: I just didn't want to make any rash decisions. So
Speaker 2: I waited until my official visit, which happened right before
Speaker 2: Christmas break. And once I went up there, I kind
Speaker 2: of knew it was right for me and I was like,
Speaker 2: this is definitely the school. So I kind of knew
Speaker 2: as I got up on the official visit for Florida State.
Speaker 1: So what was it about the official visit that caused
Speaker 1: you to decide because prior to that you, you were
Speaker 1: at Stanford, correct?
Speaker 1: Yes, sir. You were at Vanderbilt. Where else did you
Speaker 1: take official visits to?
Speaker 2: My official visits? Were at Princeton, Stanford, Syracuse and F
Speaker 2: S U.
Speaker 1: And then so were there any other moments? Was there
Speaker 1: a moment when you were at Syracuse? And you said
Speaker 1: I could see myself doing this or perhaps Princeton I
Speaker 1: could do this. Did you have any of those moments
Speaker 1: anywhere
Speaker 2: else? I've had those moments from all the schools that
Speaker 2: I went to and then I realized that like, I
Speaker 2: could see myself basically anywhere that I put myself, I
Speaker 2: feel like I can adapt to wherever I go. But
Speaker 2: I try to, I try, I try to like, think
Speaker 2: about it. I was like, but where do I wanna
Speaker 2: go to where I could
Speaker 2: myself fit best because I feel like I fit everywhere
Speaker 2: pretty well though. You know what I mean? Because as
Speaker 2: I went on those official visits, I realized that like
Speaker 2: all those places I felt like I could have fit
Speaker 2: in there like Syracuse was awesome. It felt like a
Speaker 2: home there too. And same with Stanford and Princeton, they
Speaker 2: all felt great.
Speaker 1: Now, how, how instrumental were the coaches at Florida State
Speaker 1: as far as making you feel at home and making
Speaker 1: you want to attend there?
Speaker 1: Uh The, the coaches
Speaker 2: there are awesome. The staff like, I try to look
Speaker 2: around the staff and just at the school, but F
Speaker 2: S U definitely had the cherry on top when it
Speaker 2: came to staff. I really love their staff and how
Speaker 2: they handle things. All of them. They're like a great family.
Speaker 1: Now, I was doing a little research, uh, prior to
Speaker 1: this and there were a few instances where some of
Speaker 1: the people, the quote unquote people on the internet,
Speaker 1: they were discussing whether you were going to play offensive
Speaker 1: tackle at the college level or defensive line. Now, do
Speaker 1: they give you an indication of where they want you
Speaker 1: to play? Well, at Florida State,
Speaker 2: I think it's gonna be an offense, probably be an
Speaker 2: offensive tackle to start off with.
Speaker 1: And then what's your feelings about that?
Speaker 1: I don't mind that. I
Speaker 2: mean, I prefer offense over defense anyways, but I'll play
Speaker 2: wherever they want me to play. You know
Speaker 1: what I mean? 100%. Yeah. And then, you know, and
Speaker 1: then to, like, I don't know that much about the
Speaker 1: recruiting process and stuff like that, but I do know
Speaker 1: a little bit about, um, offensive line and I'm sure that,
Speaker 1: and to me in my mind, this is a ridiculous
Speaker 1: question because I
Speaker 1: know the answer to it. But you're coming from Key
Speaker 1: West High School and like, coach, you said you're one
Speaker 1: of the best drive blockers he's ever seen. So you've
Speaker 1: had so much experience being a run blocker because that's
Speaker 1: what the offense dictated you to do. Now, for me personally,
Speaker 1: I played offensive line a long time ago and to
Speaker 1: me it always seemed like pass blocking was so much
Speaker 1: easier than run blocking.
Speaker 1: And do you, how confident do you feel in your
Speaker 1: past protection? And are you, do you feel like you're
Speaker 1: ready to go and compete pretty early? Uh, considering your
Speaker 1: lack of past blocking in your career?
Speaker 2: I think that it's gonna take me a little time
Speaker 2: to get into it, but I feel like after a
Speaker 2: few months of training I'll be able to get up
Speaker 2: to there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree with you. And you're gonna have literally
Speaker 1: the greatest teachers in the world because like those college
Speaker 1: football coaches that's their profession and they're, and they're paid
Speaker 1: well and they're highly thought of as far as their
Speaker 1: ability to teach concepts. And in my mind, if you're
Speaker 1: a great drive blocker, you're going to be able to
Speaker 1: pass block easily and you're gonna love it because in
Speaker 1: my mind,
Speaker 1: as far as blocking wise goes, it's always easier to
Speaker 1: pass block than it is to run block and especially
Speaker 1: a player like you where you're so fast and agile,
Speaker 1: I think you're, you're going to take to it immediately. So, um,
Speaker 1: congratulations to you on that. And then I had another question, um,
Speaker 1: are you and I, I'm clueless to as the, uh,
Speaker 1: how this goes. Are you going to be an early enrollee.
Speaker 2: I thought about it. But after talking with my family,
Speaker 2: um
Speaker 2: I feel like it's not the best, just family wise.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree. So let me explain that to our listeners. OK.
Speaker 1: Um Andre So what happens sometimes, especially with someone like you, you, I,
Speaker 1: I dare say you're like a high profile recruit
Speaker 1: is sometimes the schools will have those players start this
Speaker 1: semester after Christmas. So there's a lot of people that
Speaker 1: probably signed to Florida State that are gonna be enrolling
Speaker 1: at Florida State this January. So they graduate high school early,
Speaker 1: they go to their college, it gives them a scholarship
Speaker 1: that allows them to lift away.
Speaker 1: You know, January, February March participate in spring football and
Speaker 1: then they start now what happens is, and I think
Speaker 1: you made the right choice is those players are literally, they're,
Speaker 1: they're saying goodbye to high school this semester early. So
Speaker 1: you would be missing wrestling. You would be uh missing track,
Speaker 1: you would be missing your prom, you would be missing graduation,
Speaker 1: you would be missing all of those things.
Speaker 1: And you know, you're gonna probably be be in Tallahassee
Speaker 1: for the following five years after you graduate. So, what's
Speaker 1: the rush? So that was something that you talked about
Speaker 1: with your family and you decided that you were not
Speaker 1: gonna leave early and that you were just going to
Speaker 1: be a senior, correct? Yes, sir.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that that's a, that's a fantastic, fantastic pick. Now,
Speaker 1: I had another question for you. If, if you were,
Speaker 1: if you were going to be a guy that left
Speaker 1: in December, how quickly would you have to act? Is that,
Speaker 1: is that a decision that you make in August? Like,
Speaker 1: did you guys talk about that in August or because
Speaker 1: you're gonna have to take some classes online to graduate early? Correct?
Speaker 1: What did you say? I said, when did you make
Speaker 1: that decision not to be an early enrollee?
Speaker 2: I mean, I made that decision when I talked to
Speaker 2: my mom about it, she kind of opened up my
Speaker 2: eyes on like, why we can't do it. But before
Speaker 2: that I have all the credits besides one English class
Speaker 2: to be able to earlier enroll, I got my schedule
Speaker 2: set up too early enroll actually. So I should be
Speaker 2: able to early enroll unless if I do like one
Speaker 2: English class and I should be good. You know what
Speaker 1: I mean? Yeah, absolutely. I do. That's fascinating. And that's,
Speaker 1: and how was, how much did other schools did the
Speaker 1: other schools? Did Stanford, did Vanderbilt, did Florida State? Was
Speaker 1: that a big issue for them as far as we
Speaker 1: want you to be an early enrollee or if you
Speaker 1: don't want to? That's fine.
Speaker 2: They're, they're not too worried about it. They, they mentioned
Speaker 2: it but they said that I will be fine without it,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 1: Yeah. And I, and I
Speaker 2: beneficial because it's like an extra six months of adapting
Speaker 2: to college, getting college coaching, getting in the, like the
Speaker 2: weight room, all of it. You know what I mean?
Speaker 1: Right. And, and I think that sometimes, and, and what
Speaker 1: do you think about this too? I mean, sometimes that's,
Speaker 1: that's position specific, specific and I think that
Speaker 1: there's some positions that usually play earlier, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean? Like if you're a great wide receiver, you
Speaker 1: got a great chance of being a great wide receiver
Speaker 1: as a freshman, but it always seems that offensive linemen
Speaker 1: in college that you're gonna need a year or two
Speaker 1: to develop, you're probably gonna put on weight, you're gonna
Speaker 1: get stronger, you're gonna learn the offense and, and it's not,
Speaker 1: I think it's not as common for an offensive lineman
Speaker 1: to really play as a freshman. So with that in mind,
Speaker 1: enjoy your senior year, especially at a place like Key
Speaker 1: West High school where you guys have so many traditions
Speaker 1: and so many fun things that, that you're going to
Speaker 1: get to experience graduate high school and then you're gonna
Speaker 1: be at Florida State for pro hopefully, you know, for
Speaker 1: four or five years. Um, so talking about these other
Speaker 1: schools andre, what, what was it like for you like
Speaker 1: to me,
Speaker 1: what sort of blew me away is when I saw
Speaker 1: on social media that you had, not only you mean
Speaker 1: you had interest from Stanford, I wasn't surprised but you
Speaker 1: took a visit out there? What was it like over
Speaker 1: there at Stanford University? What was it like in California?
Speaker 1: How much different was it than Key West?
Speaker 2: It was awesome. I, I, I truly loved it in California. Like,
Speaker 2: I just believe that it was the right fit for
Speaker 2: me and I could see myself after college living in
Speaker 2: the west coast. For sure. Now, because of that, it was,
Speaker 2: it was perfect. Yeah, I loved it up there.
Speaker 1: So obviously, if you do have a future in filmmaking,
Speaker 1: there's a very good possibility that you could end up
Speaker 1: in California. So when you see yourself as someone who
Speaker 1: makes film and what kind of, of film do you
Speaker 1: see yourself making?
Speaker 2: I kind of like more of the fantasy look of film.
Speaker 2: I kind of like all genres though. Like, I like horror,
Speaker 2: I like drama. I like action. I, I like all
Speaker 2: of them, so I'm fine with any of them.
Speaker 1: So what are your, what are the, the movies? What
Speaker 1: are a couple of movies that really inspired you to
Speaker 1: make film?
Speaker 2: Uh Some of my favorite, of course, you can't go
Speaker 2: wrong with like Star Wars, Harry Potter and Marvel. But
Speaker 2: my favorite movie of all time right now is Shawshank
Speaker 2: Red or not? Yeah, Shawshank. Yeah, I love that movie.
Speaker 1: Um Yeah,
Speaker 1: so you would say something like watching a film like
Speaker 1: Shawshank Redemption, you're watching that film and you're like, OK,
Speaker 1: this is what I wanna do. I want to tell
Speaker 1: these kinds of stories. Yeah. And, and I think the
Speaker 1: most fascinating thing about you is the fact that you're
Speaker 1: already making film now. So what is, do you have
Speaker 1: a current project going on right now? And what is it?
Speaker 1: I'm
Speaker 2: working on a comedy short film right now for a
Speaker 2: film competition. Yes, sir.
Speaker 1: Really? And how's that going?
Speaker 2: I just finished writing the scripts and now I have
Speaker 2: to work on the shot list and then I'm gonna
Speaker 2: get the crew together and start shooting it after Christmas break.
Speaker 1: Well, let me ask you something else, you know, going
Speaker 1: through this whole process, uh, you almost graduated high school.
Speaker 1: You have one more semester, uh starting off, you know,
Speaker 1: I saw one, a coach, I used to work with,
Speaker 1: uh Danny Jimenez at Key West High School. He posted,
Speaker 1: he posted a picture of you, uh, playing football at
Speaker 1: H O B
Speaker 1: and I, and I thought to myself, you come through
Speaker 1: this system of, of playing football at H O B
Speaker 1: and then going to Key West High School. What advice
Speaker 1: would you have to like younger players, maybe an eighth
Speaker 1: or ninth grader? As what are the things that you
Speaker 1: learned from this process that you could pass on to
Speaker 1: other kids in Monroe County?
Speaker 2: Uh Honestly, you could talk to any senior that plays
Speaker 2: football and they'll give you the same advice. But this
Speaker 2: is so true. It's definitely keep your grades up starting
Speaker 2: young and keep it going and pushing. So you don't
Speaker 2: have to worry about that stress of picking up your
Speaker 2: grades at the end. Keep your grades up for sure.
Speaker 2: And then not only that, but stay true to the
Speaker 2: coach and stick in the weight room. Get bigger because
Speaker 2: you might have that mentality that you're the best. But
Speaker 2: there's someone out there that can work harder than you.
Speaker 1: And then I thought a another question I wanted to
Speaker 1: ask you was, was this, when did you realize that
Speaker 1: you were going to be a division one football player?
Speaker 1: That's a guy that's going to get a scholarship? Like,
Speaker 1: like when did you realize this is gonna happen for me?
Speaker 1: I'm not sure where I'm going yet and I'm not
Speaker 1: sure what team I'm gonna play for, what position I'm
Speaker 1: going to play for. But I have this interest and
Speaker 1: someone's gonna give me a scholarship. When did you realize that?
Speaker 2: So at first I, I was questioning myself a lot,
Speaker 2: I questioned like, how I was doing things because I
Speaker 2: didn't get my first division one offer until after my
Speaker 2: junior year. So I was kind of like questioning like
Speaker 2: if I was good enough to be division one and like,
Speaker 2: I'd always get those like little camp invites from like
Speaker 2: the division two, division three school. So I was like,
Speaker 2: maybe that's the level I'm at and then one day
Speaker 2: coach Hugh called me and said that I got an
Speaker 2: offer and I talked to the coaches and they gave
Speaker 2: me an offer from Eastern, uh, Kent. Yeah, Eastern Kentucky.
Speaker 2: And I, that was the point when I realized, like
Speaker 2: I could actually do something, you know.
Speaker 1: So, uh, yeah, obviously, yeah, that, that has to be
Speaker 1: a fantastic feeling to realize. Ok, I don't have to worry.
Speaker 1: Eastern Kentucky has offered me a scholarship. I'm going to
Speaker 1: be a division one football player and then, and then
Speaker 1: it builds from there. And then let me ask you this,
Speaker 1: was there any part of you that was like and
Speaker 1: like you had answered this before saying you saw you
Speaker 1: see yourself fitting in wherever you went. But was there
Speaker 1: ever a pull towards the Ivy Leagues because of the
Speaker 1: reputation those schools have?
Speaker 2: Oh, yes, sir. There definitely was, I mean, there were
Speaker 2: some of my first offers also. So I had three
Speaker 2: offers before the Ivy League started pulling in and giving
Speaker 2: me offers. And that was one of my serious picks
Speaker 2: was Princeton, I really, really considered Princeton. I love the place.
Speaker 2: It was an awesome like experience at Princeton.
Speaker 1: So it was the Ivy League schools that offered you
Speaker 1: were uh Princeton Yale and where else
Speaker 2: I had Princeton Yale, Harvard. Um Who else I wanna
Speaker 2: say there was U Penn and then
Speaker 2: at the end I started talking to Cornell
Speaker 1: Cornell. Yeah. What, what what a fantastic experience that you
Speaker 1: have and, and here you are, you're just, you're just
Speaker 1: like a kid that grew up in Key West. Um,
Speaker 1: made fantastic grades. You played three sports and this goes
Speaker 1: into my next question. How important do you think it
Speaker 1: was in your development
Speaker 1: that you did participate in three sports, football, wrestling and
Speaker 1: track and not just what a lot of players want
Speaker 1: to do? Focus on one sport.
Speaker 2: Can you repeat that one more time? I'm so sorry.
Speaker 2: No
Speaker 1: problem, no problem. How important do you think it was
Speaker 1: to your development that you did three different sports instead
Speaker 1: of just concentrating on football the whole time?
Speaker 2: Um Honestly, I feel like the sports really helped me, like,
Speaker 2: because they kind of prioritize stuff, especially with wrestling and
Speaker 2: track wrestling, helped me as a lineman and track, made
Speaker 2: me faster and more agile and flexible. So they really
Speaker 2: helped me, but also just sticking in the weight room
Speaker 2: after season really, really helps
Speaker 2: like my sophomore year, well, going into my junior year,
Speaker 2: I didn't do anything but football and track and I
Speaker 2: stayed in the weight room the whole time. And I
Speaker 2: feel like that's what changed me, like physically a lot,
Speaker 2: that one, that one really
Speaker 1: helped. So, like, honestly, because I have a lot of,
Speaker 1: of uh athletes in Monroe County, listen to this podcast
Speaker 1: and I deal with a lot of athletes in Monroe
Speaker 1: County and the biggest thing that we find as coaches
Speaker 1: is trying to get these, these players into the weight
Speaker 1: room to get stronger because,
Speaker 1: you know, you have, you, you have Xavier Arrington who
Speaker 1: won the state championship last year in weight lifting and
Speaker 1: you guys are the two, probably the two most dominant
Speaker 1: linemen in Monroe County and both, you guys spend a
Speaker 1: lot of time in the weight room. Now, how, how
Speaker 1: often are you lifting weights in the offseason
Speaker 2: this season? I haven't really been able to lift weights
Speaker 2: as much. I've been in wrestling trying to lose weight,
Speaker 2: but last year or the year before I was in
Speaker 2: the weight room almost every day.
Speaker 2: So that's like Saturday and Sunday were kind of like
Speaker 2: my rest is, but Monday through Friday, I was in
Speaker 2: the
Speaker 1: white room. So, how is wrestling going for you this year?
Speaker 2: It's going pretty well. I still gotta lose some more weight.
Speaker 2: I'm working on that. But, um, otherwise, like practicing wise,
Speaker 2: I'm just becoming better.
Speaker 1: So, um, let me ask you this when you talk
Speaker 1: about when you talk about. So you want to wrestle heavyweight, correct?
Speaker 1: And what's the limit on that now? Is it 2 85?
Speaker 1: Yes, sir. All right. So you, you, you know, like
Speaker 1: all wrestlers, you have to cut weight to make your
Speaker 1: weight and then, um, the, who's wrestling, the current heavyweight?
Speaker 1: My wife who writes for the paper was telling me
Speaker 1: all about him. Who's the heavyweight right now,
Speaker 2: Ralph Richie, he's also an offensive lineman. He's going down
Speaker 2: to 2 25 but right now he's about 2 40
Speaker 2: maybe 2 30 working down. But for now he's in heavyweight. Now,
Speaker 1: let me ask you this because this sort of parlays
Speaker 1: with the film. Have you ever seen the wrestling film?
Speaker 1: Vision Quest?
Speaker 1: No. All right. You gotta watch this movie. It's fantastic.
Speaker 1: It's a movie from the eighties, but it's about a wrestler, uh,
Speaker 1: Matthew Modine who he wants to drop a bunch of
Speaker 1: weight because he wants to wrestle this guy who was
Speaker 1: a
Speaker 1: three time state champion going into his senior year. So
Speaker 1: he's tries to drop all this weight and that's what
Speaker 1: got me thinking about it. But as far as wrestling goes,
Speaker 1: so you're gonna, you're gonna accomplish your goal. You're gonna
Speaker 1: be wrestling heavyweight and then Ralph Ritchie is gonna be
Speaker 1: able to cut weight and move down to 2 20. And, uh,
Speaker 1: I think I saw Richie wrestling at the tournament when
Speaker 1: you were,
Speaker 1: you were on a, on a visit and I went
Speaker 1: down to the Key West tournament with my wife and
Speaker 1: we were watching everybody and man, Ralph Richie look good. Now,
Speaker 1: I can't imagine he drops down. What is it? Is
Speaker 1: it 2 20? So he drops down to 2 20.
Speaker 1: He's gonna be a force, you know, and then where
Speaker 1: do you see yourself finishing? What is your goal for
Speaker 1: wrestling this year.
Speaker 2: Uh, my goal is definitely becoming the state champion.
Speaker 1: That's fantastic. And, and how instrumental has, um, has, um,
Speaker 1: coach Jazz been to you as far as wrestling?
Speaker 2: Oh, he's definitely one of the best coaches I've ever had.
Speaker 2: He's like a father figure to me honestly. But, um, just,
Speaker 2: he's done a lot to help me, like, physically and
Speaker 2: mentally to, like, get me up to that point. You know.
Speaker 1: So what are the, because we talk a lot about
Speaker 1: coaching on this podcast too. What would you say as
Speaker 1: far as a, a player's perspective? What makes him such
Speaker 1: a good coach?
Speaker 2: I feel like
Speaker 2: he has, he, he like,
Speaker 2: has a mindset that not many people can see and
Speaker 2: he's really, really hard on most people. And when he
Speaker 2: does that it shows that like he wants you to
Speaker 2: be better.
Speaker 1: Ok. So I think what you're trying to say is
Speaker 1: that he's very demanding.
Speaker 1: Absolutely. Yes. Ok. All right. So, because he sets a
Speaker 1: high standard as a coach, you feel like this is
Speaker 1: something that you can attain and then also it pushes
Speaker 1: you to reach the standard that he has set for you.
Speaker 1: Yes, sir. All right. So as far as wrestling goes too, like,
Speaker 1: what would you say? Like the biggest differences are for
Speaker 1: you mindset wise when it comes to you, wrestling, someone
Speaker 1: versus you're playing against your team is playing against another team.
Speaker 1: Well,
Speaker 2: wrestling is definitely one of the hardest sports I've ever done.
Speaker 2: It's really physically demanding, mentally demanding also. But with wrestling,
Speaker 2: it's a one on one sport. Football, you have a
Speaker 2: whole other team to be with and if you go
Speaker 2: wrong it's completely on you. Like, there's no one else
Speaker 2: that you can blame for that.
Speaker 2: And with wrestling, unlike football, football has about 6 to
Speaker 2: 12 minute or like second plays and then there's a
Speaker 2: break in between wrestling is two minute rounds for three rounds,
Speaker 2: if not overtime. So that's six to maybe even eight
Speaker 2: minutes of straight wrestling. That's, that's so physically draining as,
Speaker 2: especially as a bigger person to keep that type of endurance.
Speaker 2: You know,
Speaker 1: when did you start wrestling?
Speaker 2: I wrestled a little in 7th and 8th grade for like,
Speaker 2: maybe like two practices a week but like, didn't really
Speaker 2: do much and then I wrestled my freshman year and
Speaker 2: then COVID year hit and I didn't wrestle and then
Speaker 2: I wrestled my so or junior year. And now I'm
Speaker 2: wrestling now.
Speaker 1: So how far did you get last year as a junior,
Speaker 1: as far as the state championship goes?
Speaker 2: I had played seventh in state.
Speaker 1: Right? And so now how much of the season do
Speaker 1: you have left?
Speaker 2: We probably have, I mean, state championships are in March,
Speaker 2: it's like March 16th or something around there. But so
Speaker 2: I have about three months until then
Speaker 1: and then is there a minimum amount of matches you
Speaker 1: need to qualify?
Speaker 2: I'm pretty sure you just have to win the district and, uh,
Speaker 2: if you go to the district, um, or if you
Speaker 2: wrestle in districts and then you win that and then
Speaker 2: you wrestle in regionals and you get at least third
Speaker 2: or fourth in that, then you're able to go to, uh, states.
Speaker 1: So let's, let's talk about the most important thing that
Speaker 1: everybody wants to know. Um,
Speaker 1: so you're, you're cutting weight, what, what's the diet you're on?
Speaker 1: What are you doing to, to make this happen
Speaker 2: right now? I'm doing a lot of low carbs. You're
Speaker 2: supposed to drink a lot of water and you eat
Speaker 2: about six meals a day, but they're really
Speaker 1: small meals and all of them low carb. Yes, sir.
Speaker 1: How's that? What's your favorite low carb meal?
Speaker 2: My, well, my mom introduced me to cauliflower rice. So
Speaker 2: we make like cauliflower fried rice, which is really good.
Speaker 1: Ok. And then, so then besides that, it's just your
Speaker 1: regular fare, like eggs and bacon and, and different types
Speaker 1: of meats and those kind of low carb type of things. That's,
Speaker 1: that's fascinating. I'm, I'm always trying to lose weight and
Speaker 1: I'm always trying to get tips from everybody on how
Speaker 1: to do it because I'm trying to get smaller as
Speaker 1: I get older. So, so Florida State University. Now, here's
Speaker 1: my next question.
Speaker 1: Did they give you a report date yet? Like, are
Speaker 1: you going a couple of weeks after you graduate high
Speaker 1: school or are you going to have a full summer
Speaker 1: and report in the fall?
Speaker 2: I should be reporting, like, almost right after graduation. So,
Speaker 2: or May or June, you
Speaker 1: see, and then as, as far as, like, my opinion goes,
Speaker 1: you know, like with, with, um, my oldest son, you know,
Speaker 1: he plays football at F I U and after he
Speaker 1: graduated he went up there about a week or two
Speaker 1: a week or two later after he graduated and he
Speaker 1: was there for the summer and that was a great
Speaker 1: time and I'm sure it'll be a great time for
Speaker 1: you too to get yourself acclimatized to the university, get
Speaker 1: yourself a
Speaker 1: to the coaches, to the workouts, to how everything works.
Speaker 1: And then like you, when camp opens and you're gonna
Speaker 1: feel very comfortable with everything. When school opens, you're gonna
Speaker 1: feel very comfortable with everything. What are your goals as
Speaker 1: far as your freshman year there?
Speaker 2: I just wanna get as big and as strong and
Speaker 2: learn everything. I, I just wanna get as much material
Speaker 2: as
Speaker 1: possible.
Speaker 1: So your, your goals are just to go there and
Speaker 1: just figure everything out year one and then to put
Speaker 1: on as much muscle as you can. Well, I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm sure with the work ethic that you've displayed here
Speaker 1: in Monroe County the last four years, I'm sure you're
Speaker 1: gonna be able to achieve those goals. Um, is there
Speaker 1: anyone right now, you know, out there that that you
Speaker 1: feel helped contribute to your success that you would like
Speaker 1: to thank.
Speaker 2: Um, I don't, of course, I want to thank all
Speaker 2: my coaches and my parents for helping me and I
Speaker 2: definitely want to thank the universities for giving me the
Speaker 2: chance to be able to go there.
Speaker 1: Well, I'd like to tell you one more time. Congratulations and,
Speaker 1: and thank you for coming on the podcast again and
Speaker 1: I know everyone up and down the Keys is excited
Speaker 1: for you and gonna be rooting for you in the
Speaker 1: next four or five years and, and good luck and
Speaker 1: hopefully you win a couple of national championships. Thank you.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 2: You too. Have a good
Speaker 1: day. Thank you.
Speaker 1: What a way to start 2023. Thank you to the
Speaker 1: Keys Weekly. Everybody check out the Keys weekly, sports wrap
Speaker 1: on the Keys weekly dot com. Also, you could continue
Speaker 1: listening to this podcast. If you go to Keys weekly
Speaker 1: dot com, you can hear this podcast every Thursday. I
Speaker 1: hope you guys enjoy the podcast. If you have any
Speaker 1: ideas for what you want to hear or what you
Speaker 1: want to see in the newspaper, please email us at
Speaker 1: sports at keys weekly dot com. Thank you guys. Have
Speaker 1: a great week.