WEBVTT - WR David Anderson | Where are they Now? 0:00:06.800 --> 0:00:10.559 Where are they now? The Houston Texans have played football 0:00:10.720 --> 0:00:13.520 since two thousand and two. Some were here for a 0:00:13.600 --> 0:00:17.880 long time, others shorter, but all who suited up for 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:22.240 the Texans have a unique journey before, during, and after 0:00:22.560 --> 0:00:25.680 their stint in Houston. It's time to catch up with 0:00:25.720 --> 0:00:29.720 a former Texans and find out where are they now? 0:00:30.040 --> 0:00:33.120 Former Texan David Anderson, wide receiver in the NFL for 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:36.440 six years, five and change of those or with the Texans, 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:39.800 joins me. Now, where are they now? David? You're in 0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:42.080 front of You're in front of a blue shed. What's 0:00:42.120 --> 0:00:44.000 going on? Man? Where are you now? What are you? 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:47.680 I'm in elsagun To, California. I live in man Beach, California, 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:50.600 not too far from my hometown Thousand Oaks. I run 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:55.600 a company called Breakaway Data, which helps athletes collect and 0:00:55.680 --> 0:00:59.960 utilize their data and performance. So I'm I'm a moneyball 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:03.840 dork now, which is great? Um, finished ball? What's to school? 0:01:03.840 --> 0:01:05.880 And I've been doing this ever since. And I think 0:01:05.920 --> 0:01:08.640 some people who just maybe don't know you would say, oh, 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:11.960 that's that's kind of a weird transition. For people who 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:13.880 have been around you, that's not an odd transition at all, 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:16.480 you always had something going on upstairs between your ears. 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:19.399 You were always kind of a I don't know, curious player. 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:21.039 When you were in the league, you kind of took 0:01:21.040 --> 0:01:22.520 an interest in a lot of different things and did 0:01:22.800 --> 0:01:25.399 a lot of different How did you though, segue from 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:29.679 the NFL into that? Yeah? So, um, I was always 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:33.160 taking advantage of the NFL. We're called BM and E programs, 0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:38.039 business management, entrepreneur programs at different graduate schools. So I 0:01:38.080 --> 0:01:41.560 did they want to kell Og, Wharton and Stanford. And 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:43.960 then when I finished ball, went back to school. Uh, 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:47.400 you know, my mom was a little disappointed, disappointed in 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:50.120 me that I picked Colorado, stayed over some better schools. 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:53.240 I won't say which ones, um, but uh so I'm 0:01:53.240 --> 0:01:56.040 back to graduate school. Got my MBA UM focused on 0:01:56.120 --> 0:01:59.120 data science. My dad was an engineer, UM, so I 0:01:59.160 --> 0:02:00.840 had that side going on. I was always good at 0:02:00.880 --> 0:02:02.480 math in high school. I was kind of the dork 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:05.280 that was in the math mod competitions and whatnot. I 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:06.800 just took a liking to it. And then I think, 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:09.160 more than anything I knew, I wanted to be involved 0:02:09.200 --> 0:02:12.080 in sports. I wanted to be involved in ball. I 0:02:12.120 --> 0:02:14.880 didn't have enough stones to go back into the coaching 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:17.400 world and kind of do that whole thing. As much 0:02:17.400 --> 0:02:20.520 as I admired him, jealous to those guys, that's always 0:02:20.520 --> 0:02:22.639 something I wasn't willing to do to myself for my family. 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:24.639 And then I knew I wanted to do some form 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:27.799 of media, so I've been I've always dabbled in kind 0:02:27.800 --> 0:02:29.320 of that stuff, but I feel like data gives me 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:32.880 interesting kind of storytelling aspect of the media. Media play 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:34.679 instead of just being a pundit and kind of saying 0:02:34.680 --> 0:02:37.520 my opinion, kind of gives me a little more based 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:38.960 in my opinion. So I've been doing that for a 0:02:38.960 --> 0:02:40.880 while and it's been a success and it's been a 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:43.239 lot of fun. Although you might think every now and 0:02:43.280 --> 0:02:45.400 then when Danny Am and Doola runs around in eighty 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:48.640 nine that that's me. You know. He was a roommate 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:51.160 of mine back in the day. No, Okay, So that's 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:54.080 interesting you bring that up, because my first year working 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:55.920 for the Texans was two thousand and nine. It was 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:58.200 one of your best years with the Texans, and before 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:02.120 you guys played the Rams in Saint Louis, I was 0:03:02.160 --> 0:03:05.280 down on the field shooting some photos for a pregame 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:07.960 photo slide show, and I had come from Lubbock. I'd 0:03:08.000 --> 0:03:09.680 worked there for four years, so I'd covered Danny and 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:12.080 I covered him in the kind of the pre draft process. 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:13.600 He was hoping he'd get drafted. I don't know that 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:17.359 he was necessarily thinking, Hey, I'm definitely but I covered 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:20.080 it and I covered him, gave him a bro hug, 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:22.160 and you were actually warming up and you're like those 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:24.520 two guys talking about and you came over and started 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:26.480 chit chatting with them, and it was kind of cool 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:29.239 to see, I think, an appreciation because you were sort 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:32.520 of an undersized receiver. We have a we have a bond, 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:34.760 you know, it's like when two deers recognize each other 0:03:34.760 --> 0:03:37.640 in the wild. Um. Uh, we had seen each other. 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:40.440 I mean, I I was in year when I met 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:43.600 Danny for uh, it was it was really the lockout 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:48.200 year twenty eleven. Yeah. Um, Julian Ellman, Danny and myself 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:50.680 were kind of roommates or living all in the same 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:54.920 city June roommates. Um. I just saw the work worth, 0:03:55.240 --> 0:03:59.680 work ethic of those guys, the determination. Um, they were 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:02.960 all about ball, you know what I mean. I knew 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:04.720 they had a chance. You always got to have a 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:08.120 little bit of luck on your side, and they took 0:04:08.160 --> 0:04:10.200 advantage of every opportunity to given to them. And more, 0:04:10.560 --> 0:04:12.720 they earned everything that those guys got because they certainly, 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:15.760 you know, Danny and Julian. Not to prepare those guys together, 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:17.839 but Danny has certainly earned everything that's come his way. 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:20.720 So my hat's off to him. He's had a still 0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:22.719 having a great career. You know, comes in, shows up 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:26.280 with on Tuesday, scores a touchdown on Sunday. So I'm 0:04:26.320 --> 0:04:28.719 proud of him, sitting happy to say I know him. Yeah, 0:04:28.760 --> 0:04:30.560 it was awesome to see, and I mean it was 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:32.520 it was not surprising. If you know that guy, it 0:04:32.600 --> 0:04:34.960 was not surprising. It's funny not to make this all 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:36.880 about Dany mdul because we wouldn't pay about you. But 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:39.039 my last little add on to it was I was 0:04:39.040 --> 0:04:41.680 talking with him last week and he said, the first 0:04:42.200 --> 0:04:44.400 snap I was in the game, I knew the ball 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:46.120 was coming to me. And it wasn't a touchdown. It 0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:47.880 was on the first drive and he caught like an 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:50.080 eight or nine yarder, but he said he knew the 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:51.839 ball was coming to him just because of what he'd 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:54.920 seen in all that that in the background. So I'm 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:56.560 sure he's got a little bit of the matrix going 0:04:56.600 --> 0:04:58.400 on in there. He's been an amazing time he sees 0:04:58.400 --> 0:05:00.479 what's going on. Yeah, I mean it happened into every 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:02.359 athlete at some point in their career. When you've been 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:05.400 there long enough where um, the speed of your legs 0:05:05.520 --> 0:05:09.120 is fast enough, which where Danny is, and the speed 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:10.960 of game is slow, So you can take advantage of 0:05:10.960 --> 0:05:13.200 a situation. You just got to hope that those don't 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:17.240 those don't foot flop. Ever. Yeah, Hey, analytics, that's a 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:20.960 very wide ranging word. It covers a lot of different things. 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:23.960 What exactly are you doing analytics wise? What what does 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:29.200 your company do? Yeah? So, um, our focus is is 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:32.120 helping the athlete at first better understand and collect their 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:34.440 own data. Right. I think a simple way to describe 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:37.760 it as mint dot com for athletes performance data. Right, 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:40.000 there's Apple health Kit and there's other things that collect 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:42.280 your data and information. What we do is we help 0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:46.120 an athlete better understand how their off field performance affects 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:48.600 their on field performance. Right now, Apple health Kit doesn't 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:52.480 tell you about your yards, your targets, your catching percentage, 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:54.960 and stuff like that. What you value from an athlete perspective. 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:59.239 So we bring that money ball aspect to to an athlete. 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:02.200 Right for forever, it's been sold to teams, and they 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:05.919 certainly take advantage of that situation. And we've helped a 0:06:05.920 --> 0:06:07.880 lot of teams along the way. But now I want 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:11.240 to kind of pivot and focus to athletes helping them 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:13.200 better understand and get more use out of their data, 0:06:13.240 --> 0:06:14.880 because I think, when you know, kind of like the 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:17.720 rising tide raises all ships, if we can increase the 0:06:17.800 --> 0:06:21.280 data literacy and competency of athletes, help them use their 0:06:21.360 --> 0:06:24.040 data for more information, help them with their performance. And 0:06:24.640 --> 0:06:27.400 we've all seen like with GDPR and all this stuff, 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:29.760 like your data is yours. How can we help an 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:32.880 athlete get more of it and maximize it? That's our 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:35.480 whole thesis. That's awesome, man, that's really cool to hear. 0:06:36.000 --> 0:06:38.760 Congratulations on the success and best of luck to more 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:40.960 success down the line. Let's rewind it though, back to 0:06:41.560 --> 0:06:44.840 when you're coming out of Colorado State, highly productive receiver 0:06:44.960 --> 0:06:47.800 for the Rams. You get picked by the Texans. You're 0:06:47.800 --> 0:06:50.160 in one of the best drafts, probably the best draft 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:53.039 in franchise history. What was that day like when you 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:55.560 got selected? Did you think Hey, I got a chance 0:06:55.600 --> 0:06:57.720 of going there because of kind of the sort of 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:01.560 Colorado State mafia that was happening here in Houston at 0:07:01.560 --> 0:07:03.600 the time, or what was that day like for you? 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:05.680 So I started the mafia, you can call me the 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:08.160 term soprano of the car Out Saint mafia that was 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:11.280 at CSU for little or on the Texans for a while, 0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:16.360 you know what. Like you go through the process in 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:18.160 your mind during the draft day, and now I was 0:07:18.240 --> 0:07:19.800 picked two fifty one, so I had a lot of 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:21.520 time to think and go through a lot of kind 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:26.040 of things. I wasn't like Mario picked number one. So 0:07:26.240 --> 0:07:28.720 I remember the different coaches talking to me, I remember 0:07:28.720 --> 0:07:32.600 the different teams. I remember the different what agents had 0:07:32.600 --> 0:07:34.200 told me, what my agent had told me, all these 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:36.559 different things. I'm trying to weigh this as draft picks, 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:38.240 you know, come and go as guys that I thought 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:40.720 or knew that I was much better than got picked 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:44.000 ahead of me. You just I just felt this, you know, 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:46.600 that chip on your shoulder grow and grow and grow, 0:07:46.640 --> 0:07:48.920 and you know, I was getting more frustrated, and then 0:07:49.640 --> 0:07:53.520 I remembered, So sixth round comes along, and the Denver 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:55.200 Broncos called me and they say, hey, if you don't 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:57.240 get picked up in the seventh, we're gonna bring you 0:07:57.280 --> 0:08:00.320 on as a free agent. And they had just taking 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:03.520 Brandon Marshall and I was like, well, I don't know 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:05.360 if that's a good fit for me. And then I 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:06.960 was kind of looking in my agent and I got 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:08.680 on a phone call and he's like, hey, here's all right, 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:10.320 I think I three teams are if you don't get 0:08:10.320 --> 0:08:12.720 picked up, they're all offering good deals. Da da da da. 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:15.920 I was like, all right, so um so then the 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:17.800 phone rings and I thought it was going to be 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:20.080 an agent and who who was going to be And 0:08:20.080 --> 0:08:21.800 it was coach Kubiak and he's like, hey, this is 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:23.960 Kobe's You're gonna pick you up here in the seventh round. 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:26.600 I was like all right, And I remember when I 0:08:26.600 --> 0:08:29.200 finished my forty, like at that time, I like it 0:08:29.280 --> 0:08:31.280 clicked for me. At that time I finished my forty, 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:33.559 Kobe told me, hey, if you're available light in the draft, 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:35.760 we're gonna pick you up. Now. They didn't have a 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:37.840 sixth round. They'd either didn't have a fifth round pick 0:08:37.920 --> 0:08:39.360 or a sixth round pick. I don't remember which one 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:40.959 it was because Wally Lundie I think I don't know 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:44.400 if Wally Willing was fifth or sixth. Um, but we 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:49.480 went Mario Williams, Damiko, Ryan's, Eric Winston, Chester Pitts, m 0:08:49.840 --> 0:08:56.280 Owen Daniels, Wally Lundie and myself and Chester was Chester 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:57.880 was as he was a good he was a good boy. 0:08:57.920 --> 0:08:59.760 He was off to a great start and then broke 0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:02.280 his broke his leg. But yeah, um but anyway, so 0:09:02.400 --> 0:09:05.000 like I remember getting picked up and then immediately thinking like, 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:07.520 all right, here we go, and then the phone hung up. 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:09.400 And then the next phone call I got was Joe Joe. 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:12.000 Marcian was like, you're ready to play special teams. You're 0:09:12.000 --> 0:09:14.840 here run out and kick off and cast however, and 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:17.160 I was like, no, I want to catch passes, good touchdowns. 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:19.280 But of course when you're drafted, you're like, yeah, I'll 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:24.160 do whatever it needs coach and uh. And you quickly 0:09:24.440 --> 0:09:26.040 learn when you get to the NFL. You know what 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:27.760 I mean, I think what's crazy is but you get 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:30.760 drafted at Leasta's how it was back then. The dates 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:33.160 were a little different. Now you get drafted and then 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:36.400 like two weeks later your helmets on practicing. Yeah, and 0:09:36.840 --> 0:09:39.800 you quickly realize how little you know about football, right, 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:42.600 and that like you're in you're with a group of 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:47.080 grown men who've been doing this for a profession, and 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:50.800 like you are just following what the script says or whatever, 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:53.480 and it doesn't look like that once, you know, once 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:55.760 once the pet the humans are actually running around and 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:58.000 you're like, well, all the dots on the page are 0:09:58.040 --> 0:10:00.520 the same size, except that guy's six seven, two hundred 0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:02.720 ninety pounds and this guy is like the fastest human 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:04.880 I've ever seen in my life. That his dutmost after 0:10:04.960 --> 0:10:07.080 than mine. So um, you got to find out who 0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:09.920 you are and find your fit pretty quickly, otherwise you'll 0:10:09.920 --> 0:10:11.920 find your way out of the locker room. Yeah, and 0:10:11.960 --> 0:10:14.760 a lot of noble guys, thousands of them over the years, 0:10:14.760 --> 0:10:17.200 have not survived that may, you know, like they're gone 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:20.320 or that summer. You stuck around in the end, and 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:23.000 you were an active on the active roster through six years. 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:25.400 I mean you were there at a time too that 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:28.840 was very very It was a turning point in franchise 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:32.320 history because they never won. You get there that first 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:35.040 year is tough, but then next year or the year after, 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:37.240 you get to five hundred, which that was a big deal. 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:41.240 Year after that, you guys win the chance and have 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:43.640 a chance. Yeah, when you walk off the field that day, 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:45.640 you still are in the playoff hunt, depending on what 0:10:45.679 --> 0:10:48.560 happened later the day that didn't happen, but yeah, you were. 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:51.720 You were part of a transition there, Texans wise. What 0:10:51.800 --> 0:10:54.320 was that like seeing them kind of turn a little 0:10:54.320 --> 0:10:56.440 bit of a corner so to speak. You know what 0:10:56.520 --> 0:11:01.280 it was? Looking back at it, it's uh hindsight, you know, 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:02.960 you wish you had a little more of that when 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:06.640 you're when you're playing in and whatnot. Like, I don't 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:08.079 think any of us knew we were part of that, 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:10.280 right You train nearing your oute and you think you 0:11:10.320 --> 0:11:13.360 got a chance. Um, you put better players on your 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:14.800 team and you fee you're like, you know, this might 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:17.679 be another winner too, but you know everyone does that, 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:22.040 so um, you quickly realize when you step out there 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:24.200 that every Sunday it's it's gonna be tough. I think 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:26.320 what really was really hard for us was to win 0:11:26.360 --> 0:11:28.960 those really close games. When you follow the NFL, and 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:32.880 it doesn't matter who it is, you either consistently win 0:11:33.000 --> 0:11:35.160 or consistently lose those games that come down to a 0:11:35.200 --> 0:11:38.160 field goal in the fourth quarter or possession here or there. 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:40.640 And for a while, we couldn't get over that hump. 0:11:40.720 --> 0:11:42.280 And we got over to enough to be eight in eight, 0:11:42.400 --> 0:11:44.520 nine to seven, I think, you know, like you mentioned, 0:11:44.520 --> 0:11:45.920 I think we went eight and eight like two two 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:49.640 of those years, M, but we weren't getting over that 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:52.480 hump of of of winning those really close games consistently. 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:55.080 You look at the elite teams when you roll off, 0:11:55.120 --> 0:11:56.760 you know, six seven, eight wins in a row, they're 0:11:56.760 --> 0:11:59.480 they're winning three of those games, why a touchdown or less, 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:03.200 and it's probably coming down to the last drive. Yeah, 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:05.680 And so I think we it took us a while 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:08.840 to get over that M and figure that out and 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:12.079 just how meaningful every possession is in the NFL, UM. 0:12:12.520 --> 0:12:14.920 And you know, that took some maturity, and it took 0:12:15.040 --> 0:12:17.679 it took the guys in the locker room growing up 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:19.600 and growing up with each other and realizing that the 0:12:19.600 --> 0:12:23.040 guy next year has been through this situation. UM, And 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:25.400 that was just something it took us a while to do. 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:29.360 I also didn't realize how knew the Texans were until 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:31.440 I came back to California my first and second year, 0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:33.800 you know, like even my second year in the NFL, 0:12:33.840 --> 0:12:36.040 which would have been two thousand and eight, and the 0:12:36.040 --> 0:12:38.360 Texans would ring around for six years at that point. 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:41.440 I'd tell, you know, friends or whatever. I'd be at 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:42.800 a restaurant to be like, what team do you play for? 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:44.559 I be like, oh, the Texans and they'd be like, oh, yeah, 0:12:44.559 --> 0:12:46.880 you guys beat USC and the Rose Bowl. I'm like, no, 0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:50.440 that's University of Texas and then like and they'd be like, 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:52.800 because you're a real NFL team, I'd be like, oh, wow, 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:54.400 like we have you know. I mean, it's different when 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:56.040 you're like, oh, I go to play for the Steelers 0:12:56.080 --> 0:12:58.199 and the teams have this tradition for you know, fifty 0:12:58.280 --> 0:13:00.800 sixty years. Um, the te Sins are getting there, you 0:13:00.800 --> 0:13:02.160 know what I mean, But they're no longer a team 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:04.120 that people don't know of a recognize. But we were. 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:07.640 We were, You're right going through that kind of like team. 0:13:07.720 --> 0:13:10.160 You're almost like it wasn't team because we're around that 0:13:10.200 --> 0:13:12.240 long yet. But it is those teenager years where you're 0:13:12.240 --> 0:13:16.000 trying to find your identity who as an organization. Hey, 0:13:16.000 --> 0:13:18.800 at a personal level, you just discussed how you get 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:20.439 out there for the first time, and you're you've kind 0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:23.560 of got wide eyes. When did you think, hey, I 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:26.160 belonged here or I can hang there? Did you ever 0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:28.360 not think that? What was that like for you? Was 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:31.080 there a moment that made that happen? I tell you 0:13:31.120 --> 0:13:33.720 I was confused my second year. I got cut my 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:37.719 second year. I thought I thought I knew my second year, 0:13:37.760 --> 0:13:39.480 and I got cut and then I immediately got brought 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:45.680 back that second year, and so that's when that set 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:47.719 me back about a year. Even my third year, in 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:50.800 training camp, I was announced as the third receiver and 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:52.920 that I was going to be taking all the slot roles. 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:56.199 It felt like it was something that I was constantly 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:58.839 fighting to hold on too. And I think that, um, 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:00.880 that just reminded me how tough it was to stay 0:14:00.880 --> 0:14:03.560 in the NFL. So I can't say only in games 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.120 did I feel comfortable, right Like, I felt like every practice, 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:09.160 every every training camp, I was fighting for a spot. 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:12.120 And I don't think that that's not everyone, you know 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:14.679 what I mean. That's but that is for about forty 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:17.000 three of the fifty three guys on a roster, right 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:19.800 everyone's you know, there's about ten, maybe fifteen guys that 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:22.960 are confident enough that even if they have a decent 0:14:23.000 --> 0:14:25.720 training camp they're going to be starting. That was never 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:27.240 an option for me. I had to have a lights 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:28.880 out training camp. I had to be there every day. 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:32.280 I had to show up at practice and perform. And 0:14:32.560 --> 0:14:34.280 I think that's something that has definitely helped me out 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:37.280 as I transition out of sports because I didn't have 0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:38.840 to be like that at Colorado of State. I certainly 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:40.320 didn't have to be like that at high school. I 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:43.200 could not practice four out of five days in high 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:45.600 school and show up and have four touchdowns same probably 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:48.240 a Colorado of State. But that wasn't That wasn't who 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:50.000 I was in the NFL. I wasn't Andre Johnson who 0:14:50.040 --> 0:14:52.640 could take, you know, Wednesday Thursday off practice, go through 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:54.800 the walkthrough, and then still come out and have an 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:57.560 amazing catch against the Dolphins and beat them in overtime 0:14:57.680 --> 0:15:00.480 or something like that. So U kind of like what 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:02.200 I mentioned, you quickly learned who you are in the NFL, 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:04.600 and that wasn't who I was. I did get comfortable 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:07.080 in games I can't remember like a kind of like 0:15:07.080 --> 0:15:09.720 like I was mentioned about Amendola Matrix moment against the 0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:13.440 Seahawks that in two thousand and nine year where I 0:15:13.440 --> 0:15:16.040 had a choice route. I knew he was inside leverage, 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:17.920 but he would fall for the outside move. Matt and 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:19.640 I and Matt show when I were on the same page. 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:22.120 I was patient he fell for the move Boom got inside, 0:15:22.160 --> 0:15:23.840 had like a nice thirty five yard game and I 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:26.040 was like, ah, there it is and I kind of 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:28.280 felt my felt my feet get under me a little bit. 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:31.760 So it happens. But it certainly wasn't like, you know, 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:35.640 not never got to Tom Brady status where it's just 0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:38.880 walking around standing in the pocket lab out there. Yeah, 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:41.720 you just bring up that matrix play that you had. 0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:44.040 Was that that's not? Also your highlight is like, what's 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:46.640 the your most favorite memory you know on the field 0:15:46.640 --> 0:15:49.720 in a game with the Texans? Is it? Ah, you 0:15:49.800 --> 0:15:52.280 have one? Are they many? Or you know? I think 0:15:52.280 --> 0:15:55.800 I had many. I didn't really have, um, you know, 0:15:55.840 --> 0:15:58.840 I had some pretty memorable touchdowns. Obviously, I have some 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:01.880 silly coning and stuff like that was gonna come up. Yeah, 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:04.560 I was gonna ask about that. That always comes up. 0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:06.560 I always tell people I was planning on scoring a 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:08.600 lot more touchdown so that would have been drowned out 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:11.400 and YouTube was just coming around. Sure, I wasn't sure 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:13.640 it ended up on the YouTube, but I'm fine with that. 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:19.800 Um the you know what, it was funny I got 0:16:19.800 --> 0:16:22.520 cut before we actually made the playoffs, so I wasn't 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:24.360 in the locker room. We made that playoff team. But 0:16:24.400 --> 0:16:27.560 the most memorable game and team, whoever part it, was 0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:30.440 when we went into Green Bay. It was December, it 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:32.760 was probably negative three and I was part of that 0:16:32.840 --> 0:16:35.680 last drive where Chris Brown hit the game winning field 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:38.440 goal and never forget walking into the huddle and everyone 0:16:38.480 --> 0:16:40.000 was kind of wide eyed, and I look at On 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:42.960 Daniels and I was like, who wants to be a 0:16:42.960 --> 0:16:45.400 hero And it was like, I'm like, dude, we have 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:47.920 a chance to like beat Green Bay at Green Bay 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:50.400 and minus two degree weather, like this hasn't happened before, 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:52.840 and we did it, and that locker room was special. 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:55.280 It felt like, uh felt like we had actually accomplished 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:58.440 something that hadn't been done in a franchise history before. Yeah, 0:16:58.680 --> 0:17:00.720 all right, you're back in southern californ You're in one 0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:02.720 of the greatest spots in the world, Manhattan Beach. It's 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:04.639 an awesome place to visit, awesome place to live. I'm 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:07.240 sure if you're living there, Um, what do you miss 0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:09.399 most though about the city of Houston from your time here, 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:13.800 because you were here for a bit. Yeah. Um, well 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:16.760 I can start with the restaurants. Um, Los Angeles has 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:19.600 good restaurants, but not in the kind of like spacing 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:25.480 that Houston has. Um I missed the space. Yeah. Yeah, 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:27.199 there's a lot of beach towns are great. But my 0:17:27.200 --> 0:17:29.199 neighbor lives about this far away from more I do, 0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:36.479 and the traffic is way worse out here than it 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:41.400 is out there. Um. The weather is way better here 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:43.080 than it is out there. So I don't miss the weather, 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:52.520 I'll tell you. Like the the people of Houston, I think, Um, 0:17:53.720 --> 0:17:55.240 when I was there, it seemed like there was this 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:57.800 kind of transition, Katrina transition. There was a lot of 0:17:57.800 --> 0:18:00.800 more southern, kind of New Orleans flavor came into Houston, 0:18:00.840 --> 0:18:02.439 and it was fun to see that city kind of 0:18:02.480 --> 0:18:05.119 evolved into the flavor that it is because it's a 0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:08.399 lot different than any other city in Texas, and that 0:18:08.560 --> 0:18:11.080 like it's it's nothing like Dallas. It's kind of got 0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:13.080 a little bit of Austin in there. And because it's 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:15.920 got the got the uniqueness, and it's got the people 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:18.760 have their own their own colorful behavior, but it has 0:18:18.800 --> 0:18:20.640