Speaker 1: What's up, everybody.
Speaker 2: I'm Peanut to Himan, and this is the NFL Player's
Speaker 2: Second Acts podcast with me, as always my chursity co host.
Speaker 3: This Roman Harbor. What's up baby?
Speaker 1: What's up?
Speaker 3: Dog? I like that shirt? Thank you. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2: Man, just learning that you can't count because you went
Speaker 2: from one, two to ten and it's easily just to
Speaker 2: say three and then start, but you don't like to
Speaker 2: do anything that way. So let's just jump right to
Speaker 2: I guess uh yeah. He is an Alabama guy. He's
Speaker 2: from Alabama. Introduce the introduce you're stepping on my toes.
Speaker 2: I don't even have my nose in front of me. Okay,
Speaker 2: all right, I'm gonna make you do this one.
Speaker 3: All right.
Speaker 2: He's a defensive back that played for the Cowboys, Broncos, Bills.
Speaker 2: He is in the University of Alabama or u A B.
Speaker 2: All right, University of Alabama, Birmingham's Hall of Fame, and
Speaker 2: he's now CEO of RCX Sports, which is a leader
Speaker 2: in you sports in all different sports. Welcome to the
Speaker 2: podcast Isael Reese and fellas.
Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you, thank you. I like that shirt too, man,
Speaker 1: I might have to.
Speaker 2: I get you off my back when I'm done. I'm
Speaker 2: that type of guy. You are that kind of guy
Speaker 2: I am. All right, So isaill kind of kind of
Speaker 2: go through your path, your journey.
Speaker 3: You walk on at UA B, you earn.
Speaker 2: A scholarship, and then you end up playing seven eight
Speaker 2: years in the league.
Speaker 4: Yeah yeah, man. It was called it the Cinderella story
Speaker 4: if you will.
Speaker 1: Man. Yeah, going to U A B. People didn't even
Speaker 1: know what had a program.
Speaker 4: I was going to say, because this was this was
Speaker 4: because you're in the nineties.
Speaker 3: Man, Yeah, yeah, you ain't be in the nineties. Was
Speaker 3: very very much so startup.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I blame in the nineties ninety nine. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 2: but they were around, but they still were early days,
Speaker 2: that's right, That's right. Yeah, they were recruiting me in
Speaker 2: two thousand and one. Why don't you It was well,
Speaker 2: you know what happened Alabama for me, and like they
Speaker 2: didn't have like a makeshift gym, like it was already done.
Speaker 3: It was like he knows, Yeah, yeah it was they
Speaker 3: were still building. You didn't want to be a part
Speaker 3: of that, no.
Speaker 1: Yeah it see see then you could have joined that
Speaker 1: history train. Yeah, you know.
Speaker 3: It's fine. I'm I'm in I made another Hall.
Speaker 4: Of Fame, right but uh but no, man, walking on
Speaker 4: there was you know, it was a great experience, you know,
Speaker 4: and making a trail, you know, trying to open up
Speaker 4: some more doors and playing in college and not getting
Speaker 4: that opportunity, especially being from a state like Alabama.
Speaker 1: You know, I was thinking about two schools, and so when.
Speaker 4: UAB called me, it was just like, hey, would you
Speaker 4: be interested in coming here? And then I was about
Speaker 4: to go into the military. Oh, I couldn't afford to play,
Speaker 4: couldn't afford to go to college, and so I was like,
Speaker 4: you know, I want to go to college. So I
Speaker 4: was going to take the military route, and uh, days away,
Speaker 4: the coach from U A B.
Speaker 1: Called their quarterback had.
Speaker 4: Just transferred from Southern miss His dad was my high
Speaker 4: school coach, and he's like, I got this guy out here.
Speaker 4: I don't know how he's still here. You should just
Speaker 4: call him. So they called me up. It was like, hey,
Speaker 4: we love to have you.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 1: We don't have no scholarships for you, but I heard
Speaker 1: a lot about you.
Speaker 4: If you want to give it a shot, and you know,
Speaker 4: I said, man, I don't want to leave myself with
Speaker 4: a what if let me just try and see where
Speaker 4: it goes. And so that was kind of how it
Speaker 4: all started for me, man, and then I just had
Speaker 4: a phenomenal career. Started as a freshman.
Speaker 3: You walked on and started.
Speaker 4: Walked on, started all four years and recruited.
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, yeah man.
Speaker 4: So it was, uh, it was a good journey man,
Speaker 4: and then it got drafted by the Cowboys.
Speaker 1: Nobody ever been drafted from U A. B.
Speaker 4: You the first first pick me, and then another dB
Speaker 4: Dana and Sidney he went to uh, he went to
Speaker 4: the Titans. So me and I both came out ninety eight,
Speaker 4: so we both came out the same year.
Speaker 3: That's so good.
Speaker 2: And so I got to know this too now because
Speaker 2: so when you get there and you walk on, because
Speaker 2: you probably have zero expectations where you're a little nervous
Speaker 2: and you're like.
Speaker 3: I'm just happy to be here. Yeah, then that what
Speaker 3: point do you get out there like, man, I'm better
Speaker 3: than a lot of these dudes out here.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Well I honestly, man, I went in with that mentality
Speaker 4: because I didn't feel like I should have been a
Speaker 4: walk on. You know, I just kind of got caught
Speaker 4: up in that whole journey of recruiting and this and
Speaker 4: that and not really knowing where it was gonna go.
Speaker 4: But I knew I could play, and so I kind
Speaker 4: of went in more with a chip on my shoulder
Speaker 4: of wanting to prove myself versus being nervous.
Speaker 1: And so I was, I was. I was out for it, man.
Speaker 4: I was like, look, I got nothing to lose and
Speaker 4: so and everything the game, because if I can show
Speaker 4: myself then hopefully, you know, they can give me some
Speaker 4: funding so I can afford this, you know, so I
Speaker 4: can get my education. So and I just I just
Speaker 4: left it all on the line, man. And it just
Speaker 4: as soon as I got out there, you know, it
Speaker 4: was it was pretty evident I knew I could play.
Speaker 2: What would you say one of your best characteristic characteristics
Speaker 2: were you know, that that hot that guided you along.
Speaker 4: That journey man, just you know, being a defensive player. Yeah,
Speaker 4: I think at aggressing into that competitiveness of the game
Speaker 4: and wanting to just compete, man, wanting to prove yourself.
Speaker 4: I being a dB. You know, you get out, you
Speaker 4: get out on the island, you out there free safing
Speaker 4: you that last line of this fence.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 4: I just I've always had that kind of mentality, and
Speaker 4: so I would say just the competitiveness of just want
Speaker 4: to compete, you know, and just you know, wanting to
Speaker 4: prove yourself. So for me, I think that was that
Speaker 4: was the biggest thing for me.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 4: It just it showed on the field and everything. I've
Speaker 4: been able to put myself on and off the field too.
Speaker 1: Man. I kind of.
Speaker 4: Still take those characteristics with me in terms of business
Speaker 4: life and how I go about things too.
Speaker 1: So well have.
Speaker 2: So No, you you clearly have shown the mentality and
Speaker 2: that what you're doing, right. You told us about this,
Speaker 2: the sense of who you are, this mindset of going
Speaker 2: to you a b walk on getting drafted that year,
Speaker 2: to the Cowboys first, right, yeah, right, go to the
Speaker 2: Cowboys first? And how do you how do you take
Speaker 2: that in? You're a small school guy that a lot
Speaker 2: of people have not even heard of. They've heard of
Speaker 2: schools in Alabama, but it probably wasn't yours. Yeah, and
Speaker 2: then how do you stick? So what is that mentality?
Speaker 2: Because now you're like, dude, I'm right back at it. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I gotta get right back into the mud.
Speaker 4: I don't know how now, If anything, that's what the
Speaker 4: nervousness was Okay, you get draft, you go to the league.
Speaker 4: I'm going to the Cowboys as a dB. You got
Speaker 4: Darren Woodson, Kevin Smith, Dion Sanders, George t You know,
Speaker 4: they don't want my guys, man, But to walk into that,
Speaker 4: I'm like, I just want to make this team, you know, like,
Speaker 4: and that was a six round draft pick, and so
Speaker 4: at that point, you know, you're already just going like, look,
Speaker 4: I don't have nothing to lose. I'm just gonna leave
Speaker 4: it out. But I got some great guys in front
Speaker 4: of me to learn from from. And uh, you know, fortunate,
Speaker 4: you know, to have that kind of secondary in front
Speaker 4: of me playing with to learn from. And man, they
Speaker 4: treated me like a little brother. So I mean, so
Speaker 4: just to take that in as a dB, man, I
Speaker 4: couldn't have picked a better secondary to be a part
Speaker 4: of coming out.
Speaker 2: Then the uab's education piece, I think people understand how hard.
Speaker 3: Of the school it is.
Speaker 2: It is academically, academically, it's top notes. It's the best
Speaker 2: school in the state, especially as far as like the medicals,
Speaker 2: the medical school.
Speaker 3: The hospital, that whole thing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, all that.
Speaker 2: You take the educational piece from ua B, how do
Speaker 2: you think that that helped you apply yourself as far
Speaker 2: as like in the NFL as well, Like, could you
Speaker 2: just feel more confident that I could confidently learn and
Speaker 2: take on anything that this thing has.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, I mean that whole thing of being a student
Speaker 4: athlete and going to a program like UAB. I mean
Speaker 4: I was an honest student in high school, so so
Speaker 4: going into colleging and getting in and getting that opportunity
Speaker 4: to do that and also be a student athlete at
Speaker 4: a collegiate level, it just it's set such a good
Speaker 4: foundation for me. And then coming into the league and
Speaker 4: they handing you a playbook this big yeah, you know,
Speaker 4: and you're trying to learn it and so forth. So
Speaker 4: just being a student of the game as well. I
Speaker 4: prided myself on that. I was my main position. I
Speaker 4: played virtually every position in the league in the secondary,
Speaker 4: but I was a free safety.
Speaker 1: I mean that was my position.
Speaker 4: So being that kind of quarterback, if you will, in
Speaker 4: the secondary and learning the game, I was able.
Speaker 1: To do that.
Speaker 4: I had a very good dB coach as well to
Speaker 4: kind of teach me the game, John Neal, coach of
Speaker 4: Oregon Fever too.
Speaker 1: He was my dB coach man. So just I prided
Speaker 1: myself on just.
Speaker 4: Knowing the game, not only knowing what DB's were doing,
Speaker 4: but what are the linebackers doing, what are the front
Speaker 4: line doing, and just you know, just being a student
Speaker 4: of the game as well, so.
Speaker 2: Being a being a six round draft pick and trying
Speaker 2: to make that team with what you just mentioned are
Speaker 2: the Deando Darren Woodson's Did.
Speaker 1: You have to play special teams? Oh yeah, oh yeah,
Speaker 1: absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 4: When when you first go out, that's the first thing
Speaker 4: they say, Hey, you want to make this team.
Speaker 1: Make a name for yourself on special.
Speaker 2: Teams, just like that, no more, man, Yeah, they really
Speaker 2: don't make guys.
Speaker 1: They don't well. And then in Dallas, I mean.
Speaker 2: Have respect for guys that don't play special teams.
Speaker 1: Yeah, this guy right.
Speaker 2: Here never played a special team in the NFL a
Speaker 2: day in his life.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so he don't know. So Avazono, people know that
Speaker 4: they had the long hair recorded. I mean special teams,
Speaker 4: coach Man, we had the number one special teams across
Speaker 4: the board. So you didn't have a choice. In Dallas,
Speaker 4: then you didn't have a choice because you had you
Speaker 4: had Darren Woodson on a punt team Pro Bowl on
Speaker 4: the punt team. So so you know you come into that.
Speaker 4: That's just that's just the way Dallas culture was.
Speaker 2: I love it. I love that culture.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yes, I love that.
Speaker 2: I love that culture.
Speaker 3: Kick me.
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, you're not sorry. I'm sorry, you're right, So
Speaker 2: don't even.
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 2: Sorry, he totally missed out.
Speaker 1: Being on a kickoff team, the real kickoff team. Back
Speaker 1: in the day.
Speaker 3: I did some kickoff coverage.
Speaker 4: Okay, well you like the safety man in the back,
Speaker 4: they don't count. Yeah, if you if you ain't like
Speaker 4: the two to the five, yes, you know, and I
Speaker 4: was the five.
Speaker 1: So we're coming right down the middle. Wedge bust, wedge buster.
Speaker 3: Well, when you're fast five, you're actually.
Speaker 4: Exactly you're getting it before the Yeah, you gotta beat
Speaker 4: it because you get it.
Speaker 1: You cam that got me.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So just take it back to your rookie man,
Speaker 2: I'd be your rookieer.
Speaker 1: What was we all have that?
Speaker 4: Like?
Speaker 3: Dang, this is the league?
Speaker 2: Yeah, what was your welcome to the NFL moment?
Speaker 1: Man? It was it practice. I'm welcome to the NFL moment.
Speaker 4: So again, I played at Dallas, so uh, I'm laughing
Speaker 4: because Larry Allen is in it. So my my welcome
Speaker 4: to the NFL. Is the La moment at practice. And
Speaker 4: so I'm playing safety at the time, and you know,
Speaker 4: you got to come down for run support. You know,
Speaker 4: they kind of run. LA is pulling on the play
Speaker 4: and I gotta you know, I gotta turn the run inside.
Speaker 1: Right. So I'm getting this. I mean when I say.
Speaker 4: Low, I mean my elbow on the ground low and
Speaker 4: hic come La coming around the corner, man and he
Speaker 4: just like a Ronald, just plows me up.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 4: And I go skirting back like twenty thirty yards. And
Speaker 4: so I'm sitting on the ground laughing, everybody laughing. But
Speaker 4: that was my La come pick me up because La
Speaker 4: was my homeboy.
Speaker 1: Rest in peace.
Speaker 4: He was a good dude, man, and another guy that
Speaker 4: you know, kind of took me in as a little brother.
Speaker 4: But that was my That was my welcome, welcome to
Speaker 4: the league moment. It was their practice. Yeah, but that
Speaker 4: was funny, man. That was That was a moment man.
Speaker 4: But again, Larry was a good dude too.
Speaker 2: So we always like to talk about numbers, you know,
Speaker 2: or football players like we like numbers.
Speaker 1: I do, all right.
Speaker 2: I wore forty one, all right. I got that number
Speaker 2: in college because it was my dad. I first of all,
Speaker 2: they gave it to me. Then I found out was
Speaker 2: my dad's number, and I was like, okay, I'll keep it.
Speaker 3: But I enjoyed forty one.
Speaker 2: Why because the four is big, but the is slimming,
Speaker 2: and so it fits my body type. Slimming made it work. Yeah,
Speaker 2: forty three though for you for Tray, Yeah, used to
Speaker 2: making it sound cooler than what I think.
Speaker 3: For Tray, it does feel better and naturally already feel to.
Speaker 2: It already, Yeah, Tray, I like it. Yeah, Okay, you're
Speaker 2: already selling me on this because because the four is
Speaker 2: big and the three is another big number.
Speaker 4: Big numbers, you know what I'm saying. Yeah, well, we
Speaker 4: got a similar story. Okay, they gave it to me,
Speaker 4: and being a walk on, I don't get to pick
Speaker 4: a number. Here you go, here, you go, walk on,
Speaker 4: And so they handed me to it. Man, I wore
Speaker 4: forty four, and uh.
Speaker 2: Yeah that's so's I's heavy like a full back.
Speaker 1: I played linebacker in high school. I could hit.
Speaker 4: I could hit and uh me and Kevin Jackson you
Speaker 4: know that now. I do know Kevin Jackson, Kevil, Alabama
Speaker 4: for a long time.
Speaker 1: Kenya from Dothan we played together. He and I were
Speaker 1: the linebackers.
Speaker 3: I didn't know you played with keV.
Speaker 4: Yep, yeah, yep, yep. He's back in Dothan coaching high
Speaker 4: school coaching. So yeah, we were the two linebackers together.
Speaker 4: Kevin was a little bit before me and so we
Speaker 4: were just two small linebackers that could just hit, you know,
Speaker 4: basically DB's trying to play linebacker. And I can't remember
Speaker 4: Kevin was seven. I think he always wore seven. But uh, yeah,
Speaker 4: I wore forty four.
Speaker 1: Man. I think that was another number that was handed
Speaker 1: to me as a freshman.
Speaker 2: So you kept it through college.
Speaker 4: I know I kept I had forty four, but when
Speaker 4: I got to college and asked for forty four that
Speaker 4: I was like, no, no, it's just taken. We're gonna
Speaker 4: give you forty three, closest thing next to it. And
Speaker 4: my dad never told me similar story. I got forty three.
Speaker 4: He didn't actually tell me this until I got draft.
Speaker 4: I don't know why I waited so long. My dad
Speaker 4: told me I war forty three in high school, so
Speaker 4: I didn't know that either. Man, So I had just
Speaker 4: made a name for myself with that number. Man got
Speaker 4: used to it. They used called me for a trade,
Speaker 4: and so when I got to Dallas, they had it
Speaker 4: for him. I already had handed it to me, so
Speaker 4: I was like, yeah, and I kept it. Keep it
Speaker 4: through a league.
Speaker 2: History is way better than yours.
Speaker 3: Well, it sounds better when he calls it for That's.
Speaker 1: What I'm saying.
Speaker 3: It sounds way better, way better than for you.
Speaker 2: Just say forty one. It's real slimming.
Speaker 3: That's all.
Speaker 2: That's the only thing you got.
Speaker 3: The one is slimming, the four is big, the one
Speaker 3: is slimming.
Speaker 1: It's ok.
Speaker 3: It's okay, Yeah, it's okay. I accepted. Yeah.
Speaker 2: So you played both corner and safety. Yeah, I did play.
Speaker 2: I played both. I'm a corner safety. Yeah, which one
Speaker 2: was harder to.
Speaker 4: Play corner for me? So, you know, I natural free
Speaker 4: safety that was my position. Could play some strong you know,
Speaker 4: you always got to be an interchange with the safety position.
Speaker 4: But getting out on that island was it was different.
Speaker 4: And then not doing until you got into the league. Yeah,
Speaker 4: so different animal, But again being trying to be a
Speaker 4: student of the game and learning from prim them and
Speaker 4: those guys. It definitely kind of that's what got me
Speaker 4: into playing corner because I mean, I had such good
Speaker 4: guys playing in front of me, and you're always trying
Speaker 4: to learn as much as the game as you can.
Speaker 4: But man, just watching watching Prime, watching Kevin Smich, watching
Speaker 4: those guys play the position and constantly coaching on the field.
Speaker 4: I think that had more to do with me going
Speaker 4: into the corner position a little bit as well too,
Speaker 4: So because I could always we were unique too because
Speaker 4: I could. I could cover the slot yep. And so
Speaker 4: at one point we played a forty two defense the
Speaker 4: whole season, and so here it is. We had five
Speaker 4: DB's and that was our natural defense. Mike Zimmer was
Speaker 4: our dB defensive defensive coordinator at the time, and so
Speaker 4: I would come in and so me and t were
Speaker 4: the safest, and Woody was so big Darren Woodson, he
Speaker 4: could come down and play week linebackers. So we played
Speaker 4: that as our standard package for a whole year one
Speaker 4: year when I was in Dallas.
Speaker 1: So and that was man.
Speaker 4: We were able to do a lot with Dian you
Speaker 4: just left him on the island and I always have
Speaker 4: to come over in motion with slot man.
Speaker 1: It allowed us to do a lot of different things
Speaker 1: with a pretty solid secondary.
Speaker 2: Then, yeah, you ain't ever play no no special teams.
Speaker 3: So you were in Dallas with Langham too, I'm not Laygham. Sorry, T.
Speaker 3: I apologize yeoh with T. Yeah, you weren't there when
Speaker 3: the whole t O fight thing.
Speaker 1: I was on the field when it happened.
Speaker 2: This is exactly what I was anticipating. Let's talk about that.
Speaker 2: So the first time it happens, Teo gets a touchdown.
Speaker 2: First of all, I'm a forty nine Ers fan, so
Speaker 2: I'm elated.
Speaker 1: Okay, I'm big.
Speaker 3: T O fan.
Speaker 2: He gets an end zone, does his thing. Then the
Speaker 2: Emmett comes in, goes to does his thing, takes his
Speaker 2: helmet off, adds a little bit more juice to it, yep,
Speaker 2: before the Emmitt rule. Yeah okay, and then Too scores again,
Speaker 2: said you know what, I'm gonna one up. And I've
Speaker 2: talked to Tig about this since. Then te runs down
Speaker 2: H's too on the star Yeah, and all hell breaks loose. Okay,
Speaker 2: So what are you thinking? How are you going to
Speaker 2: respond to something on the sidelines go off? Where like, bro,
Speaker 2: if this happens again, We're gonna do something. Some of
Speaker 2: those things, it's.
Speaker 4: Oh, it's already brewing. I mean, that's one of those
Speaker 4: match ups, you already just dislike each other. Just it
Speaker 4: just goes with the territory, so you can feel it.
Speaker 4: During the whole game. Woody had already got kicked out
Speaker 4: of the game, Darren Woodson, so me and Tigue were
Speaker 4: the safeties. So when t I didn't even see the play.
Speaker 4: I kind of saw. I saw the touchdown, and then
Speaker 4: I turn around and I just see t taking off
Speaker 4: and I couldn't even see too. And you know, just
Speaker 4: natural instinct. You see your teammate running, you start running.
Speaker 1: So here it is. I'm running.
Speaker 4: I'm probably ten yards behind Tea. I don't even know
Speaker 4: why I'm running.
Speaker 1: We just running.
Speaker 4: So and then I see him just lay Tea out
Speaker 4: on the Star Man. I turn around and I just
Speaker 4: look behind me.
Speaker 1: I don't know why. I'm glad I did.
Speaker 4: And here's one of forty nine ers, Liman just just
Speaker 4: barreling down at me, and I just kind of olaid
Speaker 4: him and he went on his face. So that whole
Speaker 4: play was wild, man. So it was other things happening
Speaker 4: besides what just happened on the Star were else. The
Speaker 4: bench is about to clear, it's about to get ugly, man,
Speaker 4: and I'm glad it kind of came out, man, because
Speaker 4: it was it was about to be a.
Speaker 3: Were there any words said that, like, you know, if
Speaker 3: he does that again, we're gonna go get him.
Speaker 4: There was no word to He didn't say a word, man,
Speaker 4: He just took off. I was like, man, you gotta
Speaker 4: tell us, you gotta let us know what your game
Speaker 4: plan is.
Speaker 1: But no, he just it just like a switch hit
Speaker 1: and he just took off after it. Man.
Speaker 2: So the true definition we must protect this house.
Speaker 4: That's right, yeah, protect the star man. So that was Yeah,
Speaker 4: that was a funny moment. But uh yeah, so I
Speaker 4: almost got oldlaied already been a second highlight on that,
Speaker 4: so that that lineman caught me.
Speaker 1: So that would have been really funny if you would
Speaker 1: have been hilarious.
Speaker 3: She was like, bro, I wasn't even doing nothing.
Speaker 1: Yeah right, I didn't even know what was going on.
Speaker 3: We're gonna take a short break and we'll be right back.
Speaker 3: Tell me this.
Speaker 2: So did you get right into youth sports right after retirement?
Speaker 2: What kind of inspired you to kind of take that path.
Speaker 2: I'm pretty sure youth sports was a big thing in
Speaker 2: your life, But what made you say, all right, rc X,
Speaker 2: this is where I'm going this is what.
Speaker 4: I Yeah, yeah, I think I think we all experienced
Speaker 4: it when we played. I mean just you know, and
Speaker 4: even after, but just being being a role model, you know,
Speaker 4: going and speaking with kids, working with kids in any
Speaker 4: type of camp. I'm sure you all have done a
Speaker 4: lot of those as well. I just I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Speaker 4: And even when I was in Dallas and Denver, Buffalo,
Speaker 4: I would always do things within the youth in the community.
Speaker 4: It was just, you know, something I was passionate about.
Speaker 4: I never thought about it as a career or a
Speaker 4: transition into that like what I'm doing now. But I
Speaker 4: enjoyed doing it.
Speaker 1: And so.
Speaker 4: You know, when I hung up the cleats, if you will,
Speaker 4: I started doing it a little bit more. One thing
Speaker 4: led to the next. I was actually working with this
Speaker 4: organization called Next College Student Athlete, and so it actually
Speaker 4: think of like guidance counselors for student athletes, if you will,
Speaker 4: just kind of helping them find their path, find the
Speaker 4: right fit for them. And I joined the organization because
Speaker 4: I walked on in college and I just wanted to
Speaker 4: help kids find their path because you know, here it
Speaker 4: is I got to live out my dreams and be
Speaker 4: a college student athlete make.
Speaker 1: It to the pros. And I said, all right, I
Speaker 1: want to do this.
Speaker 4: I want to I want to get involved with this,
Speaker 4: and that kind of spurred and opened the door. NFL
Speaker 4: called a couple of years ago, said hey, can you
Speaker 4: want to camp for us at the Super Bowl? And
Speaker 4: you all probably remember this rivals camps and combines what
Speaker 4: they ranked kids for I've been running rivals camps and
Speaker 4: combines for ten years. So I took over running and
Speaker 4: running rivals camps and combines for years. And the NFL
Speaker 4: saw that and said running camp for us, you get
Speaker 4: one hundred kids. It was during the Super Bowl. Five
Speaker 4: hundred kids showed up. You know, we created great experience.
Speaker 4: Next thing you know, they call about NFL flag that
Speaker 4: door opens and then I get a call from the
Speaker 4: NBA as well.
Speaker 1: Wanted to do things.
Speaker 4: Man, it just kind of it just kind of skyrocketed there.
Speaker 4: So now as CEO and founder of RCX Sports, I
Speaker 4: work across six pro leagues, so NHL, NBA, Major League Soccer, NBA,
Speaker 4: w n b A, you name it. And then I
Speaker 4: also just partner with USTA getting more kids involved with tennis.
Speaker 4: So I'm running all these different youth initiatives and youth
Speaker 4: programming across multiple pro leagues.
Speaker 2: Now, can you play tennis a little bit?
Speaker 4: A little bit, man, I got I got a little
Speaker 4: bit more involved with tennis. I wish, I wish somebody
Speaker 4: gave me a tennis right growing up. You know, you
Speaker 4: started thinking about it. My kids are really into tennis
Speaker 4: and they actually start playing during the pandemic. Now there
Speaker 4: was nothing to do with It was a tennis court
Speaker 4: down the street and we all were getting chubby. I
Speaker 4: was like, all right, let's go do something. So and
Speaker 4: they fell in love with it. They still play. My
Speaker 4: son is thirteen. I think he plays football too, but
Speaker 4: they've really gotten involved with it and he as far
Speaker 4: as hopefully playing college one day, if not football. So
Speaker 4: it's it's been cool to see man and get more
Speaker 4: kids just involved with the game. A lot of kids
Speaker 4: get priced out of certain sports. Ten has been one
Speaker 4: of them. And so you know, this has given me
Speaker 4: now an opportunity, and that's what that's what tenant Usta
Speaker 4: wanted to see, how do we get more kids involved?
Speaker 4: And I said, well, we've got to break down some
Speaker 4: of these financial barriers and so, and you know, to
Speaker 4: get more kids involved, So I said, tign me up.
Speaker 1: I love to do it.
Speaker 2: So so I've got I've got four kids, three girls,
Speaker 2: one boy. I thought my son was going to play football.
Speaker 2: I struck out with that one, which is cool. Now
Speaker 2: they got flag football in the schools, right, So we
Speaker 2: got flag football in the state of Illinois and you
Speaker 2: can put or they have flag football or for like varsity.
Speaker 2: There's a jv and a varsity for girls. And my
Speaker 2: oldest excuse me, my number two, she plays awesome linebacker.
Speaker 2: Got a couple of touchdowns it. Yeah, my twelve year old.
Speaker 2: She's just like a little female Randy Moss, like just
Speaker 2: gos up against the ball. Goose is just a complete athlete.
Speaker 2: Bad shout out to you. What do you feel and
Speaker 2: what are your thoughts on the Olympics hosting flag football?
Speaker 1: Now I love it.
Speaker 4: I love it so so I've been I've been overseeing
Speaker 4: NFL flag for five years now. For the NFL, we
Speaker 4: just hit eight hundred thousand kids participating in KFL flag
Speaker 4: boys and girls.
Speaker 1: It's massive.
Speaker 4: But I remember when, you know, when I first got
Speaker 4: that opportunity in the NFL, said, hey, reimagine what NFL
Speaker 4: flag and what flag football could be in and put
Speaker 4: a strong emphasis on kids in under resource communities and
Speaker 4: girls participating. And I remember I remember giving I called
Speaker 4: Troy Vincent actually with this. I remember giving Troy a
Speaker 4: call a couple of years ago, and I said, true,
Speaker 4: I got it. You know, because I'm spinning my wheels.
Speaker 4: How am I gonna get more girls to play football?
Speaker 4: You know, flag is cool, but I'm gonna get more
Speaker 4: girls to play? And this was about four years ago.
Speaker 4: I said, I got it. I said, we need to
Speaker 4: make flag of college sport. He looked at me like.
Speaker 1: I had three heads.
Speaker 4: He was like, okay, I said, just tell me the
Speaker 4: league will support it if we can get colleges to play.
Speaker 4: And uh so he said, He said, absolutely.
Speaker 3: Support the idea, support the idea, and that everybody else
Speaker 3: will fall in line.
Speaker 4: And put resources to build it. That's right, that's right.
Speaker 4: And so I called him about a week later.
Speaker 1: So you started this, I did, I did. You gotta
Speaker 1: give them a little bump on that one.
Speaker 3: Another, but Alabama change in the world for him.
Speaker 1: That's right.
Speaker 4: So so so you know, we get everybody in the room.
Speaker 4: I said, all right, try I got everybody lined up,
Speaker 4: and he said, well, I said, when you come to
Speaker 4: me and said, yeah, he said, going to beat us
Speaker 4: at NCUBA, NAI in JCAA, so junior colleges, all the
Speaker 4: collegiates associations. I said, I can already tell you who's
Speaker 4: going to be the first one. It's going to be NAI.
Speaker 4: And so sure enough we lead that meeting. NAI says
Speaker 4: we're in. You know, because high school flag had already
Speaker 4: been played. Florida has been playing at gosh fifteen plus years.
Speaker 4: I mean they've been playing it a long time, but
Speaker 4: it was only three or four states playing. Now we
Speaker 4: just hit our fifteenth. Mississippi Louisiana just sanctioned, So there's
Speaker 4: fifteen states that have now sanctioned.
Speaker 1: For girls to be to play.
Speaker 4: But it's now because of NAI and JUCO came on board.
Speaker 4: Then n c DOUBLEA, Division three, Division two, and Alabama
Speaker 4: again showing some love. Alabama State just became the first
Speaker 4: D one and also HBCU to offer flag football for
Speaker 4: women in college. So this year we're looking at sixty
Speaker 4: plus colleges and universities that would be offering women the
Speaker 4: opportunity to play in college and counting is that's big?
Speaker 2: You You created that you you planted that seat, and it.
Speaker 4: Was I planned to see NFL you know, back then,
Speaker 4: put some resources to it. The collegiate associations all came
Speaker 4: on board. I had a lot of good, strong relationships
Speaker 4: and mine, y'all was in recruiting before, so my collegiate
Speaker 4: association relationships were strong. Uh So, you know, so we've
Speaker 4: opened that door. And then we just recently submitted the
Speaker 4: application to the n C double A for flag as
Speaker 4: an emerging sport. And that's the step you take when
Speaker 4: you want to get flagged to be a championship sport.
Speaker 4: And so they called and asked us if we would
Speaker 4: submit application for that. We uh, we did a couple
Speaker 4: of months ago. So we may get the news any
Speaker 4: day now. And that's where sports sit, that's trying to
Speaker 4: go through the path. So a lot of women's sports,
Speaker 4: women's wrestling, beach volleyball. You know, I followed the path
Speaker 4: and took notes of these other sports that went in
Speaker 4: and got into a championship status. So those doors opened, man,
Speaker 4: And to your point early in LA twenty eight, and
Speaker 4: that opportunity of now seeing it in Olympics too, which
Speaker 4: is huge.
Speaker 2: Yes, I like that. I say, oh man, look we've
Speaker 2: got to know you more and more just by sitting here,
Speaker 2: You've accomplished a lot.
Speaker 1: I mean you went.
Speaker 2: From walk on to NFL player, to getting out, finding
Speaker 2: a passion in U sports, building it out at your
Speaker 2: own hometown. Then all of a sudden, now planting that
Speaker 2: seed of what we just heard, the story which none
Speaker 2: of us knew. Now yeah, so yeah, now we have
Speaker 2: d one women's flag football. Yeah, all of these things.
Speaker 2: Is there anything that you take more pride in saying? Like,
Speaker 2: man that maybe you don't take pride in it now.
Speaker 2: Maybe not because you're still in it. Yeah, still grinding
Speaker 2: through your heads down, But like, man, I want you
Speaker 2: to come up out of it, come up out of
Speaker 2: it a little bit and say look back and like
Speaker 2: what do you look back and say, Man, I'm really
Speaker 2: proud of that.
Speaker 1: Yeah? Yeah, it would. It would definitely.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 4: You know, our individual accolades playing the game, uh, you know,
Speaker 4: you never forget that moment and it's a dream come true.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 4: But helping to open this door for women to be
Speaker 4: to play college athletics, that's that's that's man. I remember
Speaker 4: when I sat down and told my my family, you know,
Speaker 4: my daughter's seventeen, my son is thirteen were sitting at
Speaker 4: the table, and I knew it was about to happen.
Speaker 4: And for my daughter to reach over and pat me
Speaker 4: on the back and say, Dad, I'm proud of you
Speaker 4: that that man, I had to go to the bathroom.
Speaker 1: My eyes got water. You know, it was one of
Speaker 1: those moments. So and that that to me.
Speaker 4: Man, So so to your to your point, yeah, that
Speaker 4: that meant something that you know, to to truly make
Speaker 4: a difference in this game, yes, and giving women an
Speaker 4: opportunity we had, you know, to say, I played football
Speaker 4: and now I see girls you know, on social media
Speaker 4: and there there's signing day and so forth, and then
Speaker 4: going watching college games and uh. But but to your
Speaker 4: point though, still writing chapters, Man, I can't wait to
Speaker 4: see the UAB Alabama everywhere and they're getting four rids
Speaker 4: everywhere and playing at every university. Man, And it has
Speaker 4: that kind of momentum. So it's fifty thousand girls playing
Speaker 4: in high school now for.
Speaker 2: The high school, well my high school probably, I think
Speaker 2: we were in the state championship this year in flag football. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: so we had a really good this year. It's Banana's
Speaker 2: to me. When I was growing up, all you had
Speaker 2: was the opportunity to maybe playing the powder.
Speaker 1: Puff game the same there too, man, And now.
Speaker 4: To see that's it, that's it, that's that's it. So
Speaker 4: and it's and just trying to break these doors down.
Speaker 4: And Alabama is another, you know, great example, because it
Speaker 4: wasn't a high school sport in Alabama and US being
Speaker 4: from there. So I asked the Falcons would they supported
Speaker 4: and they were like absolutely, So the Falcons helped support
Speaker 4: it with Alabma High School Athletic Association so that they
Speaker 4: could get funding to start it and make it a
Speaker 4: high school sport and sanctioned. So so just breaking these
Speaker 4: doors down, man. So the goal is we were on
Speaker 4: every state to offer it and the goal is to
Speaker 4: get all the way across the board. D one on down, HBCUs,
Speaker 4: n ai juco. Just keep doing it, man.
Speaker 2: Keep a huge advocate for Olympic flag football. I know
Speaker 2: there was talks maybe a few months ago, and I
Speaker 2: forget the gentleman's name. He was the quarterback and do
Speaker 2: se everyone was tripping on him and you know, I
Speaker 2: can't you guys can't play this sport. What are your
Speaker 2: thoughts on professional athletes that are already in the NFL
Speaker 2: wanting to go to the Olympics and play flag football.
Speaker 4: I think they should. I hope they get the chance.
Speaker 4: I wouldn't be surprised if some former players don't get
Speaker 4: more actively involved, but I hope the active players get
Speaker 4: that opportunity because what it what it reminds me of
Speaker 4: is the dream team. Absolutely, when you think about Michael
Speaker 4: Jordans and seeing that, and uh, you know you we
Speaker 4: always think like, man, it'd be cool if we could
Speaker 4: do that and meddle and represent our country. So I
Speaker 4: think they deserve that opportunity. It'll only elevate the game.
Speaker 4: But for them personally, I mean, who wouldn't want to
Speaker 4: see that, you know, and on the men's side and
Speaker 4: just see that opportunity of you know, NFL players and
Speaker 4: everybody won't see how well they can play. At the
Speaker 4: end of the day, man, NFL players will crush it.
Speaker 4: I mean I'm around the flag game a lot, and man,
Speaker 4: you start you start putting the NFL player. It's still
Speaker 4: football at the end of the day. It's just like
Speaker 4: girls getting involved. They backpall and was covering. You know,
Speaker 4: it's quarterbacks. It's football, you know, So you know it
Speaker 4: would be good so I hope that they can get in.
Speaker 4: I hope they give them an opportunity. But I wouldn't
Speaker 4: be surprised when LA twenty eight hit if you at
Speaker 4: least got some notable NFL names on that list are
Speaker 4: vying for that opportunity to represent Team USA.
Speaker 3: I just think it's cool because we didn't know what.
Speaker 2: The ninety two Dream Team was going to do to
Speaker 2: the world what it did for basketball.
Speaker 3: Right right, it changed, that's right right.
Speaker 2: So, and but once these people get to travel and
Speaker 2: all of a sudden, somebody gets to see the best
Speaker 2: of the best in football and another country. Maybe it's
Speaker 2: not twenty twenty eight. Maybe it's gonna be something after
Speaker 2: it where all of a sudden we implant or we
Speaker 2: go into another country and where people can actually see them,
Speaker 2: touch them.
Speaker 3: They because that's what it really was.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they got to see these players and they were
Speaker 2: like just enamored, and all of a sudden, now we
Speaker 2: look up thirty years down the road, and this basketball
Speaker 2: is a global sport. The best players are not always
Speaker 2: in America. It is dominated by foreign players outside of
Speaker 2: America that now all come here to play with the
Speaker 2: best of the best. So I would look forward to
Speaker 2: seeing like what that part of it would do.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, And I actually think to your point, I
Speaker 4: think flag football is definitely gonna evolve the game. You know,
Speaker 4: NFL continues to play NFL games in other countries, and
Speaker 4: it's a constant, you know, track to try to get
Speaker 4: more tackle football globally and participating. But flag has that
Speaker 4: opportunity to be to do that for both men and women,
Speaker 4: so and you know, and kind of level the playing field,
Speaker 4: if you will, a little bit, especially on the women's side.
Speaker 4: But what I've even seen in my own son, and
Speaker 4: what I'm getting to is he played flag before tackle.
Speaker 4: So my son is in uh, he's going to the
Speaker 4: ninth grade. Now I can see what flag helped him
Speaker 4: before we before we put the pads on. So you
Speaker 4: start thinking about teaching the game in that way. And
Speaker 4: I just I saw him he learned the game a
Speaker 4: little bit more, he learned it slower than you have
Speaker 4: to learn everything at once, and it just it helped tremendously.
Speaker 4: So I think it's said, I think it's that part
Speaker 4: of the game too that can on the male side anyway,
Speaker 4: definitely help and grow in the game truly globally by
Speaker 4: getting flag involved in the Olympics because it's just gonna
Speaker 4: only help the growth of that side.
Speaker 1: And of course you know women playing the game as
Speaker 1: well too, So.
Speaker 2: Let's do it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, no's eight, let's let's go.
Speaker 2: Let's do let's get on his flag football journey next to.
Speaker 3: Go, all right, if you really want to know.
Speaker 2: So in the lockout year in twenty ten or twenty
Speaker 2: eleven eleven, Malcolm Jenkins and myself got bored and we
Speaker 2: played flat football with the quarterback. Do said he was
Speaker 2: my wide receiver because I'm like, dude, I'm only playing quarterback.
Speaker 2: Yeah so yeah, right, so I was throwing dimes to
Speaker 2: him like in twenty eleven. Yeah, playing quarterback in the
Speaker 2: Flag Football League. Even God rest his soul. Joe Joe
Speaker 2: McKnight came out there and played too. Were just all
Speaker 2: out here, all these NFL so it can be done.
Speaker 2: It can't be done. And it was like, you know,
Speaker 2: it was competitive. We didn't know what we were doing
Speaker 2: because you know, it's rules to it, and the way
Speaker 2: they play the game is can definitely speed up speed.
Speaker 4: I got a how about how about y'all put a
Speaker 4: team together versus Team USA, like we just current Team USA.
Speaker 3: Like we construct the team, let's play the game.
Speaker 2: Yeah all right, player and coach owner like George, Yeah.
Speaker 1: It'd be exciting.
Speaker 3: Let's do it.
Speaker 1: And y'all heard what Goodal dropped the other day? Right?
Speaker 1: No pro Flagle? Oh lord, did y'all hear that news?
Speaker 3: My knee is gonna be so sah pro flag.
Speaker 2: I'll tell you what, if we do this, I'll play
Speaker 2: more golf. I'll go buy some clubs right now. You
Speaker 2: know what, let me tell you something. You have accomplished
Speaker 2: a ton, You've done a lot, You've seen a lot,
Speaker 2: and you continue to do that. Are you naturally like
Speaker 2: just this entrepreneurial mind like where does this mindset come
Speaker 2: from deep down to where you continue to have these
Speaker 2: growth processes or or do you just accomplish then go
Speaker 2: to the next goal?
Speaker 4: All right, man, I I'm doing what I'm supposed to
Speaker 4: be doing. I feel that I feel like this is
Speaker 4: my calling and especially being in youth sportsman, And that's
Speaker 4: the only way I can explain it. But to your
Speaker 4: point of entrepreneurial mindset, I definitely have that, always have,
Speaker 4: and but but doing that and coupling it with youth
Speaker 4: sports and kind of being in this position. And and
Speaker 4: also you know, again we talk about the business aspect,
Speaker 4: but but also looking at it from a standpoint of
Speaker 4: like I don't I don't look at it from a
Speaker 4: financial growth standpoint as much as I do the participation
Speaker 4: in making sure all kids get the opportunity to play
Speaker 4: the business side of it to take care of itself.
Speaker 4: But uh So, it's more of a cause based business man.
Speaker 4: And I just I'm really passionate about what I do.
Speaker 4: And I got a great team that I've been able
Speaker 4: to mass that have been working with me years and
Speaker 4: believing in this pie and the sky vision that I had.
Speaker 4: So uh So, yeah, man, it's it's been good. It's
Speaker 4: been a blessing just to be able to do it
Speaker 4: and employ people, uh and open up doors for kids
Speaker 4: for women. Uh Man, Now a day feels like work.
Speaker 4: I know that's cliche, but uh man, I'm I'm I'm.
Speaker 1: Loving what I'm doing. I'm loving what I'm doing.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's awesome. You've got a great journey, You've got
Speaker 2: a great story. Uh You're personal Mount Rushmore. You know
Speaker 2: this is people that have had influence, Coaches, teachers, family members.
Speaker 2: Just if you could pick four people that have helped
Speaker 2: shape you and mold you into the man you are today.
Speaker 2: Who would those four people be?
Speaker 1: Oh?
Speaker 4: Man, man, it's start with my parents, my mother and
Speaker 4: father first and foremost.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 4: You know, that's that's that's where it started. I could
Speaker 4: just stay in the family tree, h easily.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 4: But I would say, also, man, you know I had
Speaker 4: some college teammates because I was going through some some
Speaker 4: some difficult times.
Speaker 1: Man, we all we all do. And uh, they're like brothers.
Speaker 4: I mean, you know, you get to college, you get
Speaker 4: the pro So I got some uh, some guys, Ron Sigler,
Speaker 4: Chris Daniels. Man, these uh, these are my two dudes
Speaker 4: that you know, brother from another mother. But uh, you
Speaker 4: know we mold and we you know, we look after
Speaker 4: each other.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 4: So they they've been strong enough. I mean, that list
Speaker 4: could go on beyond four. But man, you know I
Speaker 4: was fortunate around some good brothers and one as a
Speaker 4: high school coach now as a cardiologist, and we all
Speaker 4: play ball together, you know, and we just were formed
Speaker 4: a good bond. It's still strong to this day. So
Speaker 4: but but again I start my parents, go to my grandparents,
Speaker 4: and beyond we're just being deeply rooted in family too.
Speaker 4: Man has a lot to do with who I am
Speaker 4: and the man I am today.
Speaker 2: So I appreciate you to us and I'm so glad
Speaker 2: I asked that question because I did not know you're
Speaker 2: the man responsible for getting flagged football into college. I'm
Speaker 2: telling everybody's like, I know the godfather who put it
Speaker 2: in college like.
Speaker 4: That, I'm like the guy behind the curtain. Man, I'm
Speaker 4: putting going.
Speaker 3: I'm putting you out there.
Speaker 2: This is the man who got women's flag football into
Speaker 2: the college.
Speaker 3: Like I'm putting your face out there, like, let it
Speaker 3: be known. It's black. You want to.
Speaker 2: Come on now, creator, innovator, Yeah, motivator. I just think
Speaker 2: it's in firing. So it's a beautiful thing. And this
Speaker 2: is one thing I'd want to make sure I highlight.
Speaker 2: And it has nothing to do with all your accomplishments.
Speaker 2: It kind of goes under the radar. But just think
Speaker 2: about this for all those kids and people and parents
Speaker 2: that are listening to how important your education is. Because
Speaker 2: this man was an honor student in high school whose
Speaker 2: coach knew that he could make it in at you
Speaker 2: ab number one, and before a coach can recruit you,
Speaker 2: can he get in So the fact that you had
Speaker 2: your grades right then is what allowed you to be
Speaker 2: able to be able to say, hey, go get this guy,
Speaker 2: walk on, become a starter, go to the NFL, and
Speaker 2: then continue to pour it and change this game right now.
Speaker 2: But it all started with getting your grades right and
Speaker 2: being that person first. So you truly are all about timing.
Speaker 2: You're blessing your bright guy, I can tell, and your
Speaker 2: parents raise you right down there in doting brother.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I appreciate it. Man, Alabama, Alabama. You know we
Speaker 4: send that shout.
Speaker 2: Out just what we do baby three through four dogs.
Speaker 1: Hey, guys, I appreciate it.
Speaker 3: Thank you.
Speaker 1: Thanks,