Speaker 1: This is cut to It with Steve Smith Senior at
Speaker 1: production of The Black Effect and I Heart Radio. I'm
Speaker 1: Steve Smith Senior and I'm a little John and this
Speaker 1: is cut to it. Good do it, Good do it.
Speaker 1: Let's get down to do it. Good do it. We
Speaker 1: asked the questions you always want to know, but no
Speaker 1: one ever asked, let's cut to it. You ain't heard
Speaker 1: about it, then we're about to let you know. It's
Speaker 1: all tight end. Everybody's tolling me, so that's not saying much.
Speaker 1: But he's six ft five playing weight was about two seven.
Speaker 1: I'm saying he's probably maybe a pound and a half
Speaker 1: heavier now in retirement right, Um from the University of
Speaker 1: Texas tighty when when tight ends were trying to the
Speaker 1: tight est. Today, we're trying to be what Jamachael Finley
Speaker 1: is UH today, which is a receiving tight end, big target.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cut to a podcast Jamaica. From Michael,
Speaker 1: Oh my god man, thanks thanks for having being honest. Man.
Speaker 1: This is just I'm looking forward to. It's gonna be
Speaker 1: a fantastic conversation. Where are you from in the place
Speaker 1: you call your hometown? Um from from dove Ball Texas. Bro,
Speaker 1: it's uh. Uh it's south of fifty nine post to Houston,
Speaker 1: Texas and uh as well as born and raised raised
Speaker 1: by my grandmother. Man, you're born and raised by your grandmother? Okay,
Speaker 1: so that how much mean you know how to cook
Speaker 1: a little bit? I a love bit, man. But once again,
Speaker 1: now I guess somebody that set it up for me. Now, Bro, really, Oh,
Speaker 1: what's some of your favorite meals that other people cook
Speaker 1: for you? My my favorite, Man, One of my favorite
Speaker 1: meals is uh taking promos on bro homemade taking promisen.
Speaker 1: Of course, I'm a I'm a country boy, so I
Speaker 1: like pig feet hog malls with hot sauce on it.
Speaker 1: I know you're looking at me crazy, but it's one
Speaker 1: of my favorite meals, bro. Really, growing up, what other
Speaker 1: sports did you enjoy playing other sports? Uh? My first
Speaker 1: love was basketball. Man. I didn't start playing football, um
Speaker 1: until my sophomore year in high school. Uh. I got
Speaker 1: recruited by Arizona by Lude Oats and the famous Lude
Speaker 1: Oats and at the time, um, and then my jo
Speaker 1: mcbrown came around and was like Finley, one of the
Speaker 1: two here at the University of Texas. And you used
Speaker 1: to play basketball and football. So I'm like, man, I'm
Speaker 1: I'm in Texas, so I gotta play football. Um, So
Speaker 1: I be committed my junior year UM and went through
Speaker 1: the University of Texas. You know, obviously as funny as UM,
Speaker 1: I was up at a couple of days ago, was
Speaker 1: up at uh uh UNC Chapel Hill and had the
Speaker 1: opportunity uh to see mc brown. Just see um. You
Speaker 1: hear the stories of how he is connected to the
Speaker 1: University of Texas, how he has always understood uh the
Speaker 1: climate and talking to some players and coaches down at
Speaker 1: UNC Chapel Hill. Is you know this this is this
Speaker 1: is a guy who's you know, he's no spring Chicken's
Speaker 1: He's he's up there in age, but yet he's moving
Speaker 1: around and understands, uh the climate and with the climate
Speaker 1: of you know, with with with uh black lives matter, uh,
Speaker 1: the climate of equal opportunity, just everything that we have
Speaker 1: to deal with, right um, each and every day Coach
Speaker 1: Brown was talking about it, and you know, man, I
Speaker 1: was just I was shocked because of he does a
Speaker 1: really good job, yeah, of making sure he's plugged in
Speaker 1: and listening to the players. Has he always been that
Speaker 1: way and that's crazy you say that. Steve Man always
Speaker 1: been that way. One of one of my favorite coaches
Speaker 1: because he's a player's coach. He's one of those coaches
Speaker 1: if you sit down at line star at the mill
Speaker 1: table in college, he's one of those coaches that come
Speaker 1: by and shoot the ship with you and say what's
Speaker 1: up kicking uh and and down that line and uh.
Speaker 1: And of course it was in Austin, Texas where I
Speaker 1: mean a lot of players got in trouble, um and
Speaker 1: you're singing with some coaches, some coaches to get your
Speaker 1: grass up out of the a soap, Mack Brown bringing
Speaker 1: the office talk to you. You know. I think one
Speaker 1: of the things with students too, is identifying where they
Speaker 1: come from and and and what challenges they have in
Speaker 1: in in moving forward, going from where they used to
Speaker 1: be to where they're trying to be. Absolutely and he's
Speaker 1: done a great job with that to a lot of
Speaker 1: my peers. I came in with Jamal Charles rack Poe
Speaker 1: played for Tennessee, so we're guys that came from um property, um,
Speaker 1: the streets, um, and somewhere down the line of that nature.
Speaker 1: And he knew how to deal with us. He knew
Speaker 1: how to talk to um and and so on down
Speaker 1: that line. And man, when I say I loved mcgroun,
Speaker 1: he was it was like I said, he's my He's
Speaker 1: my top coach in my career. Well that's that's that's stellar.
Speaker 1: Tell me your experience, your collegian experience, uh, playing at
Speaker 1: the University of Texas and what was football for you?
Speaker 1: And and and and how did it? How did it
Speaker 1: change your life for you know some people that say
Speaker 1: it didn't you know, everybody very sure. I don't want
Speaker 1: to assume. Yeah. Absolutely. Uh. Like I said, I came
Speaker 1: probably man, football, basketball, anything I gotta do with the ball,
Speaker 1: Uh yeah, I mean I'm front the streets, so anything
Speaker 1: that deal with the ball, I'm gonna do it. Because
Speaker 1: that that got me out of where I was from. Um,
Speaker 1: I wasn't I wasn't a genius. I wasn't the smartest
Speaker 1: kid on the block. So I had to implement sports
Speaker 1: into my life to try to get out um situations
Speaker 1: that I was in. And like I said, Mac Brown
Speaker 1: and lude Oatson and UM saw him down the line.
Speaker 1: The coaches that recruited me, I mean, blessed, bless my
Speaker 1: game and bless my life and now today life change
Speaker 1: from my my five boys, uh and and my wife.
Speaker 1: Um not now that you get to live the life
Speaker 1: that you know, I mean that a lot of people
Speaker 1: can't live. Why do you say that sports was the
Speaker 1: only way you can get out? Do you just felt
Speaker 1: that that was the only way? What was what was
Speaker 1: holding you back? Or why do you believe but that
Speaker 1: was the only one. I mean at the time, the
Speaker 1: capacity of my brain was, Uh, it wasn't as as
Speaker 1: an assimilated as it is now. And uh thinking of
Speaker 1: the big picture as as I'm out. Uh. Like I said,
Speaker 1: I grew up without a father. Um Gramar raised me.
Speaker 1: So she was working two jobs. So like I said, man,
Speaker 1: only only where I can get out of the projects
Speaker 1: is I mean the time was the ball because the
Speaker 1: capacity of my brain couldn't think bigger as far as academics, business,
Speaker 1: entrepreneurs and things down that line. And now today, man, um,
Speaker 1: I can teach my kids. Uh uh you know, I
Speaker 1: mean how to play the game within the game, and
Speaker 1: that's you know what I mean, making making a businessman,
Speaker 1: not only focusing on sports. She'll go backwards and look
Speaker 1: at Jamachael Finley. Back then, what what did you show
Speaker 1: yourself short on throughout your years at the University of Texas,
Speaker 1: just in everything, not just you know, Grant better around.
Speaker 1: I'm just talking about just everything they could backward absolutely. Uh.
Speaker 1: My thing is it's it's crazy when the compliance came
Speaker 1: in and talking about what you can do with your money,
Speaker 1: um down line or you know what I mean, especially
Speaker 1: when when the guys came in and done a little
Speaker 1: orientations and and fell um you know, I mean they
Speaker 1: came at the wrong time because it was after practice.
Speaker 1: I'm fatigued as hell, But it was a little meetings. Uh,
Speaker 1: the little team meets that that guys don't listen to
Speaker 1: as far as as Lee wise. Uh. Like, like I said,
Speaker 1: I'm doing player development now. Um, I got my own
Speaker 1: companies called Elevate You, and I'm teaching these guys and
Speaker 1: listen to all that little detail. Man, you came out
Speaker 1: of college early, right, we take us through that process
Speaker 1: or why you why did you leave college early at
Speaker 1: that at that time. I mean, we all know why
Speaker 1: you left college, Jelly, but I don't like to assume,
Speaker 1: so I just want I want you to tell that story.
Speaker 1: You're something right, bro, Uh, You're something right. Um. So
Speaker 1: men's and maltals once again. Rules roommates and man were
Speaker 1: like I said, we was. We was making it happen
Speaker 1: on the field, was coming during our things. And we
Speaker 1: came back after the o U game. It was probably
Speaker 1: week five, and then we see all these scouts coming.
Speaker 1: I was like, man, we got some money for you.
Speaker 1: I'm like, man, I can't even do it. Man, I'm
Speaker 1: trying to get to the lead. So man to mall
Speaker 1: got in the bluth. I was like, man, I'm leaving
Speaker 1: this year. I put my paper in for the NFL
Speaker 1: and said in the first round, I'm like seeing I'm
Speaker 1: leaving for self. Back down, I wasn't having it. And
Speaker 1: the ball was like, man, I'm out of here. I
Speaker 1: don't care what the hell he's saying. So from there
Speaker 1: and don't bro we hit the We hit that HLV.
Speaker 1: Like there were a lot of people who would assume
Speaker 1: that these coaches, man, you know, they just want they
Speaker 1: would just want these kids to leave early so they
Speaker 1: can keep showing showing them how many draft picks they
Speaker 1: have to keep. Uh, so those guys will come back
Speaker 1: donate to the school. Like just the the product coming
Speaker 1: in and out and and and fans don't really. Fans
Speaker 1: have now really got to the point of where they
Speaker 1: believe that these coaches are just you know, it's like
Speaker 1: a it's like a puppy farm, right, you know, they
Speaker 1: get them, they raise them, they sell them to the league,
Speaker 1: and then they do it to the next guy. And
Speaker 1: it just walk us through that because there is a
Speaker 1: lot of assumptions that that are out there. Boy, you're
Speaker 1: you're funny. Man. We I live in Texas, So we
Speaker 1: call it like raising cattle and just putting them, put
Speaker 1: them in a slaughter machine, throwing them out. But yeah,
Speaker 1: it's one of those things, man. In Texas. Man football
Speaker 1: is huge, and especially with Matt Brown. We had that
Speaker 1: team coming in that next year with Cope McCoy being
Speaker 1: the quarterback. He look, he saw that we had a
Speaker 1: national championship on the line, and my thoughts and my
Speaker 1: peers thought that, hey, look we out of here, you know,
Speaker 1: I mean, we're trying to change our family lives. M
Speaker 1: And my thought is, being a little youngster, is that
Speaker 1: man I got I mean, my my body got to
Speaker 1: count on it. And I played reckless. I don't play
Speaker 1: I don't go out of bounds like a Jason Winton
Speaker 1: I'm not one of those guys. I don't slide. I'm
Speaker 1: trying to find some contact. So my thought was get
Speaker 1: out and go get the money. As out show you
Speaker 1: get drafted by the Green Bay Packers. Man, tell us,
Speaker 1: tell us what was that experience for you personally, going
Speaker 1: going through that process, going to you know, you're coming
Speaker 1: from a historical college, right historically in winning attendance expectations,
Speaker 1: and then you fall right into the same expectations, the
Speaker 1: same storybook franchise Green Bay Packers. Man, it was it
Speaker 1: was a whirlwind. Um. I was when when I got drafted,
Speaker 1: I was back home. Um I had all my people
Speaker 1: all was over there kicking it, and we got the
Speaker 1: phone call from Mike McCarthy and Tared Thompson. At the time,
Speaker 1: I'm like, hold up, man, um I got Tared Thompson
Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy on the line, old up, and I'm coming
Speaker 1: from Austin, Texas where it's ninety degrees and I'm about
Speaker 1: to go to the place where it below zero. I'm like, man,
Speaker 1: I don't know if I can do that. So I
Speaker 1: call my homeboy, Johnny Jolly. At the time, it was like,
Speaker 1: now you better bring every Nintendo game you got Nintendo. Yeah, Nintendo,
Speaker 1: you know train castles out at least by them, any
Speaker 1: kind of Yeah, bro, he said, bring it uh time. Man.
Speaker 1: We got on the plane the next morning, I dropped
Speaker 1: down in Green Bay and I'm like, man, what what
Speaker 1: these people got me at? And uh, like I said,
Speaker 1: now I'm thinking about it was a blessing planning Green
Speaker 1: Bay because it was strictly football. I mean, what is
Speaker 1: so elaborate on that? What do you mean it was?
Speaker 1: I mean, I know what you mean, but elaborators, just
Speaker 1: strictly football, the football meeting within myself, coming from Austin,
Speaker 1: which is which is a uh which is a party town,
Speaker 1: a town where it's a lot going on, a lot
Speaker 1: of things happening, and going to Green Bay where you
Speaker 1: know what I mean, you got the Green Bay Packers
Speaker 1: and you got the packer honors. Let's expect a lot
Speaker 1: from you, you know, I mean, the fans um obviously
Speaker 1: pay you well, have an honor. So it was one
Speaker 1: of those things where you have to you have to
Speaker 1: lock in a little bit. Now. I loved every bit
Speaker 1: of it. I love cut to it, and I love
Speaker 1: it even more when you download us and subscribe and
Speaker 1: you can follow us on social media too, Smithie where
Speaker 1: where at that's at? Cut to It on Instagram? What
Speaker 1: about Twitter? At? Cut to It Facebook? Cut to It
Speaker 1: featuring Steve Smith singr. What about online? And you can
Speaker 1: follow us at cut to It podcast dot com where
Speaker 1: you can buy merch and you can subscribe to this
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to podcasts. I got all my answers questions. Um, yeah,
Speaker 1: I got all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for,
Speaker 1: a brother, cut to a podcast dot com. So you're
Speaker 1: out there, you're playing, and then you get hurt. Man
Speaker 1: take I wanna I want to sit there because you know,
Speaker 1: obviously obviously I've experienced being hurt as well, but I
Speaker 1: want to talk about really what the injury, not physically,
Speaker 1: not just what it if to you physically, but also
Speaker 1: the eternal dialogue that you have, you know, and just
Speaker 1: how you managed everything going from the cream of the crop.
Speaker 1: Um too, all of a sudden, football is being played.
Speaker 1: But yeah, you can't participate, right and and and not
Speaker 1: and I'm and I'm not interested in blaming who and
Speaker 1: all that stuff. I don't care, just just really giving
Speaker 1: people understanding of the reason I say that I'll set
Speaker 1: the stage and then you follow. Every year you get hurt,
Speaker 1: whether it's a hamstring, broken ankle, whatever it is, you
Speaker 1: always have that moment and that injury, whatever current injury
Speaker 1: you have, that's the worst injury you've ever sustained at
Speaker 1: that moment until the next storm comes right yea. And
Speaker 1: it's and it's one of those things. Man where at
Speaker 1: varsity is on the hit um And I always took
Speaker 1: in my head if I played this game long enough
Speaker 1: and injury is gonna happen, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: I don't blame man Steve. I don't blame the guy
Speaker 1: that hit me. I don't blame nobody. It was football
Speaker 1: is a football play. And when I hit the middle
Speaker 1: of a fourth quarter, I was playing Cleveland, uh fourth
Speaker 1: quarter of four minutes, thirty five seconds, laughing A Rodgers
Speaker 1: hit me on the routine, a routine slam. Um. I
Speaker 1: caught the ball, duck my head a little bit. Um.
Speaker 1: I forgot to catch Ward. Ward came down hill and
Speaker 1: hit me, and I hit him up. In next day,
Speaker 1: man was I was like man like literally paralyzed. I
Speaker 1: was paralyzed for two months, bro, I couldn't move right side,
Speaker 1: paralyzed and I hit a boy. The next day, my
Speaker 1: my my grandmother held the phone up to my face
Speaker 1: and I was like, Man, don't even worry about it. Man,
Speaker 1: I called to lead, don't even find him, don't it's
Speaker 1: football that this this happens. And Man. From then on,
Speaker 1: Man and I grew callous as far I grew stronger.
Speaker 1: Um in the way I'm moving in real life now,
Speaker 1: So we'll take us through that. He hit you, you
Speaker 1: duck your head, and then what duck my head? I
Speaker 1: hit the ground, bro And when I hit that ground
Speaker 1: and felt at the time for for about uh five
Speaker 1: by five to ten seconds, I felt it felt like
Speaker 1: a hunted bees was sinking because my body was going
Speaker 1: into I was going to top. And after that my
Speaker 1: body collapsed. I went into I forgot what it's called
Speaker 1: with your hands and feet, go all across ways and
Speaker 1: um after so much pain bro Um. At the time,
Speaker 1: at the time, it was Cordless Andrew Corless looking down.
Speaker 1: I'm like, man, if you don't call these people out
Speaker 1: here and come get me, I'm like, because I'm hurt.
Speaker 1: And after after I told it, said that to him,
Speaker 1: I was out of there. I passed out because I
Speaker 1: was in so much pain and in so much shock
Speaker 1: back pain, like when you say the beast things like
Speaker 1: you're just talking about like just all over your body, numbing,
Speaker 1: all over my body. Um, it's like your body going numb.
Speaker 1: You got them move what they call them tangloss. And
Speaker 1: yeah I had that full body. Wow. Yeah, I'm showing
Speaker 1: five shoulders to toes. So so there's the toes man.
Speaker 1: And at the time, I'm I'm on the field. I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna feel a crime. I'm like, man, I don't
Speaker 1: know what's going on. Next thing I know, I try
Speaker 1: to I'm trying to yell, and next thing I know,
Speaker 1: I go horse. And after that, like I said, I
Speaker 1: just collapsed. Man, I was out of it. Yes, because
Speaker 1: after that, because my narrow canal that's where you turn
Speaker 1: your head, it collapse on me. So I couldn't. I
Speaker 1: saw it cut off my air supply and all show
Speaker 1: you show you, wow, show you passed. Now you could
Speaker 1: have died right there on the spot, on the spot
Speaker 1: because when he when he hit me and it put
Speaker 1: it and put a bruise on my and put a
Speaker 1: bruise on my spinal corps. It's instantly stopped breathing. Bro. Wow,
Speaker 1: the trainers and the paramedics, all the all the guys
Speaker 1: got got to me in time to calm me down.
Speaker 1: I started breathing. Um, I couldn't move. And at that
Speaker 1: time I went to the hospital. I've done a doctor.
Speaker 1: I was like, I think that was your last place.
Speaker 1: I was like, man, I got to be a kidding me.
Speaker 1: And so happened. Um. God was looking down on me.
Speaker 1: And I had signed a disability policy with lords in London,
Speaker 1: and I started tapping into that and I started thinking,
Speaker 1: I'm like, yeah, it might have been my last Like
Speaker 1: you feel me m hm. I mean, you know, you
Speaker 1: have a conversation with the guy that hit you. Then
Speaker 1: what what what's the rest of it? What's the rest
Speaker 1: of the story, Like, you know, I understand the money,
Speaker 1: I understand all that stuff, but what's going on in
Speaker 1: your head? Like how are you processing all of that stuff? Man?
Speaker 1: The process that was crazy, man, because once again we
Speaker 1: all have this number in our head and how long
Speaker 1: are we're gonna play? How long we want to play?
Speaker 1: And then once I got settled there and Rodgers came
Speaker 1: to the to the house, sital all my guys, Mike McCarthy,
Speaker 1: everybody came in and done the thing. And after I
Speaker 1: got time to calm down and think, I'm like, man,
Speaker 1: what what's the next phase of my life? So I
Speaker 1: went into this deep, deep depression. I went to deep
Speaker 1: depressing probably for probably two years to check me up.
Speaker 1: Out of that deep depressed, I went in a dark
Speaker 1: hole where um, if we can talk openly and free,
Speaker 1: there was a lot of addiction start popping up. Things
Speaker 1: that I was doing out the out the ordinary, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean, Things I never even thought about
Speaker 1: them because I love to keep my body peer and clean,
Speaker 1: and so all of these um addicted personality started coming.
Speaker 1: I started getting very impulsive because once again, when I
Speaker 1: got knocked out, percent of my brain was dysfunctional, and
Speaker 1: so I couldn't I couldn't process things. I couldn't think,
Speaker 1: I couldn't even you know what I mean, I couldn't do.
Speaker 1: I couldn't do much, seems. So I went to Peer
Speaker 1: Sports Recovery UM. What they do a ton of rehabilitation
Speaker 1: for guys that had head trauma addictions all all over
Speaker 1: the line. I went there and I took a time
Speaker 1: out in like man, and and called up and and
Speaker 1: tried to beg um become normal and become try of
Speaker 1: your brains wasn't working, wasn't working? What are the some
Speaker 1: of those if you don't mind me asking, what were
Speaker 1: some of those things you weren't able to do anymore? Uh?
Speaker 1: As far as process, like if I've seen it, I
Speaker 1: wanted you feel me. As far as like, um, go out,
Speaker 1: going out and hanging out then with the wrong crowd. No, no, no,
Speaker 1: I'm talking about of your brain wasn't processing. So I'm
Speaker 1: talking mind you get up in the morning and I'm asking,
Speaker 1: and I don't want to sound stupid, but like can
Speaker 1: you brush your teeth? Yeah? I can, Yeah, I can
Speaker 1: brush my teeth. It was just at the time, like
Speaker 1: if if some occurred. As far as a business a
Speaker 1: business adventure, my thought was, damn, I'm just sell on it,
Speaker 1: not thinking, not going through my assistance and try sets
Speaker 1: and things. Right, Um, I can go all down the
Speaker 1: line with you bro um drug it was. It was
Speaker 1: it was a combination of things. M hm. And so
Speaker 1: you so you go to this uh, you go to
Speaker 1: this facility and and what are some of the what
Speaker 1: are some of the techniques or what what are some
Speaker 1: of the rehab stuff that you have to do to
Speaker 1: to get it back. Like you know, somebody listening, they're going, man,
Speaker 1: what is that I'm trying to give the listeners and
Speaker 1: understanding of what what rehabilitation is for what that looks
Speaker 1: like for someone who loses forty four of their of
Speaker 1: their brain use. Um, it looks like it's a it's
Speaker 1: called neuro feedback. When they put a map on your head, um,
Speaker 1: it's like an X ray almost. And then they put
Speaker 1: a cap on your head basically like my cap now,
Speaker 1: and they put all his wires on your head and
Speaker 1: attach them. And you're looking at the screen and the
Speaker 1: screen maybe I'm a football player on the screen, maybe
Speaker 1: have a kicker on there, and you have to sit
Speaker 1: there and just focus on the screen. And if you
Speaker 1: focus right, the kicker kicker right through the uprights every time.
Speaker 1: And if you focus though elsewhere, the kicker just he'll
Speaker 1: start shaking them. It'll be off. So it was teaching
Speaker 1: me how to process and how to see the things
Speaker 1: and how to settle my brain with this, with this
Speaker 1: dysfunctional of dysfunctional meaning I had bleeding all over here,
Speaker 1: all on my left side because when I when every
Speaker 1: time I took the tackle, I leaned to my left side.
Speaker 1: So I had a ton of contact. Um in the
Speaker 1: front of logo my in the front of logo, my
Speaker 1: brain where where you make all your decisions, That is
Speaker 1: right here in the front left of your brain. M hm.
Speaker 1: So they put a map on my head. Um, I've
Speaker 1: done a lot of man, I've done a lot out
Speaker 1: of meditating. I've done a lot of it. Was it
Speaker 1: was some crazy stuff that bounced back. Man. Like I said,
Speaker 1: I've done twenty four months of that. So you were
Speaker 1: in there twenty four months, on and off. I had
Speaker 1: to on and Applaus, but I'm just see my family, um,
Speaker 1: to try to keep that communication going, and and and
Speaker 1: dealing with being retired from the NFL, dealing with that
Speaker 1: and trying to just process everything, and and and the
Speaker 1: hall twenty four months two years of rehabilitation. So you
Speaker 1: had the transition of no longer playing football unexpectedly, transition
Speaker 1: of learn how to use your brain, learn how to
Speaker 1: process something that is you know, very traumatic, having to
Speaker 1: grieve right, also having to be dad, you know, trying
Speaker 1: to you know, I'm just assuming based off conversation, trying
Speaker 1: to save your marriage because there's obviously some impact than
Speaker 1: something there's some residual behavior that um really impacts the family,
Speaker 1: impacts yourself. Right. You know, nobody is really UM educated
Speaker 1: at this point between you and your family to know
Speaker 1: how to deal with these things. Right, It's no roadmap.
Speaker 1: There's barely a roadmap for parenting. You can't you have
Speaker 1: no roadmap for parenting. Uh, marriage and uh brain dysfunction. Right,
Speaker 1: that was the base, man, it was. It was different
Speaker 1: for sure. Uh. And it was one of those things. Now, Um,
Speaker 1: I tell guys, now, I always have a plan. I mean,
Speaker 1: because we don't. We don't know. It's it's a game
Speaker 1: what we call it. Any given Sunday. Now we play
Speaker 1: Mondays and Thursdays, but any given Sunday. Uh, your career
Speaker 1: can be taken away from He's the moment and man,
Speaker 1: play play hard. Man. Tell me how big of a
Speaker 1: role did your wife play in into your recovery? And
Speaker 1: you know, and I'm assuming, um, you know probably uh man,
Speaker 1: she's she's she's the real all star in the family
Speaker 1: based off of just what you guys went through, UM
Speaker 1: and dealing with and and and you know, I can't imagine.
Speaker 1: I'm just all assuming, but I just kind of thinking
Speaker 1: about it, you know, putting myself in your shoes. I
Speaker 1: can't imagine. I've you know, I've been injured as well,
Speaker 1: and you know you have that. Um, you have the
Speaker 1: grieving process and any injury, but the the injury you
Speaker 1: sustained was something that was very, very much deeper impacting
Speaker 1: for your family than than than most than most football
Speaker 1: normal football injuries. That was not a normal football injury. Yeah, man,
Speaker 1: a girl, a girl secrew song. Man, she grew um
Speaker 1: saw hell a song through this sope. See, she had
Speaker 1: to help me walk get to the restroom with any
Speaker 1: man and out man, man don't want any woman help
Speaker 1: them use the restrooms at the time. Help me use
Speaker 1: the restroom, help me get up out the bed left
Speaker 1: left my backup. So it was some of the things
Speaker 1: that where it's like, damn, I got I got this
Speaker 1: lady right here and helped me do it every damn thing.
Speaker 1: So uh like now now she's just uh man, she's
Speaker 1: so strong now. And uh like, like I said, I'm blessed. Man,
Speaker 1: I got five boys, I get to bless the game too,
Speaker 1: and uh see the real MVP of the family. As
Speaker 1: you're getting as you saying, your wife have to do everything.
Speaker 1: What's going on inside your head? What eternal dialogue are
Speaker 1: you having about yourself? Your wife is helping use the bathroom.
Speaker 1: You can't take that very lightly. You go from catching touchdowns,
Speaker 1: first of all, you you go from catching touchdown University
Speaker 1: of Texas. You're at you in Green Bay, Title Town.
Speaker 1: You're playing with Aaron Rodgers. Right, You're out there, you're
Speaker 1: playing with uh Donald Driver right, Uh my green Is.
Speaker 1: You know he's still right there. You know he's not
Speaker 1: all the way removed, but he I think it was
Speaker 1: probably about one or two years before he had moved on.
Speaker 1: So you're out there playing with some pretty darn good
Speaker 1: football players, right, and you're in a place that all football.
Speaker 1: You're at the hide of your career. And then a
Speaker 1: couple of months later, man, you need assistance going to
Speaker 1: the restaurant that can't be easily taken. And I just
Speaker 1: want to, I just want to for somebody listening that's
Speaker 1: going through someone, you know, what were you going through? Man?
Speaker 1: I was going through a lot I was going through. Uh.
Speaker 1: I stayed. I stayed in my head as far as uh.
Speaker 1: I'm like, Man, I got I got this lady right
Speaker 1: here helped me. I just got done. I just got done,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, breaking three or photocos getting
Speaker 1: to the zone, throwing up the wild t t oh,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. I'm here, can't move. I
Speaker 1: mean that that that I did not take like that
Speaker 1: I took it. I took to get real hard. And
Speaker 1: it was it was days where my wife for now
Speaker 1: he's my five years now, he's my four two year old.
Speaker 1: At the time, it was he was a youngster. Uh,
Speaker 1: they couldn't they couldn't stand up being around because I
Speaker 1: was always upset like what if? What if that? What
Speaker 1: if this happened? And then I just I got to
Speaker 1: the grieving poem where I was like, man, God, God
Speaker 1: made it happen for a reason. And uh, like like
Speaker 1: I said, it's it's a thing. Uh, it's a thing
Speaker 1: I did not take lightly. And now man, um, I'm
Speaker 1: doing wonders um helping and give back and get a
Speaker 1: game back to people. Man, how cool is it now
Speaker 1: then to to to be able to play coach your kids?
Speaker 1: Like what what what do you what do you enjoy
Speaker 1: most about that? I just enjoyed you. I mean helping
Speaker 1: them and uh and showing them how to build leader
Speaker 1: and uh, you know I mean and finishing, not only
Speaker 1: finishing your rep. Just I mean, if you got someone
Speaker 1: over here that's not not doing what they're supposed to do,
Speaker 1: lift them up, helped them finished. And and that's that's
Speaker 1: my whole thing about teaching my boys now, because like
Speaker 1: I said, I got all my boy the thorough grades,
Speaker 1: and uh yeah, and we're gonna make it. Happend it,
Speaker 1: God do it. Let's get down to do it. Good.
Speaker 1: Hey Gerard, why did you get that T shirt? You
Speaker 1: mean this thing? Oh yes, I got it from cut
Speaker 1: to a podcast dot com where we have exclusive merchandise.
Speaker 1: Shout out to our guys at seven or four shot.
Speaker 1: But yeah, you can go on, buy you a T shirt,
Speaker 1: subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. So what
Speaker 1: what sports are they playing right now? We got? Uh?
Speaker 1: I got a football and football, basketball and track. Oh yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: I got a little quarterback. But I got I got
Speaker 1: pretty much pretty much everything you've got you guys. Long
Speaker 1: All right? What's what? What? What? My man doing the track?
Speaker 1: Then my man doing triple jump long jump? Uh two
Speaker 1: hundred and they run the eight hundred eight hundred relay. Okay, um,
Speaker 1: look look do six six ft little dude in six
Speaker 1: ft eight grace state. Goodness gracious, that's pretty cool man. Yeah, man,
Speaker 1: that's awesome man. Yeah. And then so you got show
Speaker 1: all your boys you're playing sports. All my boys placed sports,
Speaker 1: every last one of them. Yeah. Man, So so how
Speaker 1: are you and a wife doing this? You've got five
Speaker 1: boys put all playing sports. Man, y'all playing zone coverage.
Speaker 1: But you only got two drivers. So yeah, we're playing.
Speaker 1: We're playing. So we gotta get an anti uh on
Speaker 1: a friend and we get that the man who's working son. Yeah. Yeah, man.
Speaker 1: What's the best part about you know, being present for
Speaker 1: your boys and playing sports. What's some of the things
Speaker 1: that you see? Um? You know obviously with you not
Speaker 1: having your folks in your life, what what what are
Speaker 1: some of the things that you see um or maybe
Speaker 1: you don't or you know, are you I know I
Speaker 1: know for myself that they're sometimes I'm parenting as a dad,
Speaker 1: but I'm also sometimes I get Lottie emotional as a son,
Speaker 1: you know, just because you know, my dad was in
Speaker 1: my life, but he wasn't He wasn't I wasn't raising
Speaker 1: the same house. So when you're not raising the same house,
Speaker 1: you know, there's little things that you miss, you know,
Speaker 1: when you're not there. Ye. And that's my thing, man, uh,
Speaker 1: my my big thing. And the thing I love I
Speaker 1: love to see him love to do is wake up
Speaker 1: to my boys and love on them. And when they
Speaker 1: come if it's a hard delt soul and uh easy
Speaker 1: del is just loving on them right when they hit
Speaker 1: that door or right when I'm in the carpool line.
Speaker 1: And just I mean the things that I didn't get,
Speaker 1: I try to implement that into my boy's life. And
Speaker 1: just you, I mean uh a tonic. I mean hugs,
Speaker 1: kiss on the cheek and things like that, bro, The
Speaker 1: things I didn't I didn't get at all, and just
Speaker 1: every chance I get what Uh, how are you at
Speaker 1: the games? You're a parent a quiet prayer. I don't
Speaker 1: see you being a quiet parent. But go ahead, let
Speaker 1: tell me a lot though, tell me a lie. I'm
Speaker 1: I'm pretty I'm pretty quiet, bro, uh because like I said, uh,
Speaker 1: we put in so much work, I believe, and if
Speaker 1: you put the work in, um you ain't you ain't
Speaker 1: got to say nothing. So I'm really I'm actually really quiet. Uh,
Speaker 1: but I'm not quiet. Were in the lab working though, Yeah,
Speaker 1: the lab? So you training them. Yeah, I tell you
Speaker 1: my boys, like I said, I just started to coming.
Speaker 1: It's called elevate you. And and I do I time
Speaker 1: of a jolty work uh feetwork, uh and conditioning and
Speaker 1: uh yeah, man, I turned my boys probably three or
Speaker 1: four times a week. They enjoy it or you enjoy it.
Speaker 1: You funny man. I'm just I got three. I got
Speaker 1: three boys, and and two of them right now are
Speaker 1: old enough, you know. And I tried to you know,
Speaker 1: some of the training or go with go with them
Speaker 1: and train or they train with me. And you know,
Speaker 1: sometimes you can be challenging. Yeah, real talk. Uh, I
Speaker 1: enjoy it, man. And my fourteen year old he loves it. Man,
Speaker 1: he eats it up. I get into I get enough
Speaker 1: with him and uh, I mean run ross with him
Speaker 1: on the on the flip side. I cover him every
Speaker 1: once in a while. Oh yeah, yeah, I get out
Speaker 1: there and play DV. Also, and and now I gotta
Speaker 1: know you roll. He's a he's more of a in
Speaker 1: a booth guy. He's gonna come knock you out. He
Speaker 1: don't like the grind, you don't like the conditioning because
Speaker 1: he's a more thicker kid. And h I gotta I
Speaker 1: gotta beat it and tell him a little bit. So's
Speaker 1: when you get older his brother grinding, He's gonna I'm
Speaker 1: gonna mess. Yeah. Yeah, you hope you h man, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I hope. So yeah man, So what what do you
Speaker 1: obviously you said you you you're doing uh jelly working,
Speaker 1: you you're doing that stuff. You know, um man, how
Speaker 1: is life now for you? Just you know inside your
Speaker 1: head internally? Um you know, just based off what you've
Speaker 1: been through, uh this the peaks, the peaks you've had
Speaker 1: in your life also now the valleys. You know. How
Speaker 1: how do you how do you maintain just your wellness? Yeah?
Speaker 1: I like it? Not now how I maintained that as
Speaker 1: you know, I mean how I came out the NFL,
Speaker 1: you know, and I know they have to scream for
Speaker 1: you that said six thirty seven, thirty thirty. You gotta
Speaker 1: beat some one right now. I set myself up where
Speaker 1: I put myself on a schedstle. Of course, my wife
Speaker 1: helped me, um to in some weeks I'm slipping, She's like,
Speaker 1: what are your susl I mean, so I keep myself
Speaker 1: on the routine and make sure I have me time
Speaker 1: to me time, me time, meaning um going through the
Speaker 1: things I like. I like the golf. Now, yeah, a
Speaker 1: golfer if you ever wanted, I got um. I mean
Speaker 1: I like that goodness gracious, you must be a good golfer.
Speaker 1: Then now I ain't that good. I like to dress.
Speaker 1: Oh so, so when you come play golf, you look good.
Speaker 1: Or you got two boxes of ball. I got timber
Speaker 1: boxes the ball stay up. But I know when we leave,
Speaker 1: dagn you lose two money. You so so so most
Speaker 1: people playing golf, you're out there, you out there keeping
Speaker 1: the maintenance department, uh employs busy. But my mind is,
Speaker 1: you know, have fun if you I'm not taking it
Speaker 1: too serious, so you might not with me. Now I'm
Speaker 1: not taking it serious. But so let me ask you this.
Speaker 1: Then you dress nice, you bring two bucket of balls,
Speaker 1: and then you also lose money while you're playing. Is
Speaker 1: that what you said? No, hold on, hold on all
Speaker 1: loves money though, because I know I know my game
Speaker 1: ain't that type. So I just played. I just really
Speaker 1: played like a quarter, like fifty cents a hole. Yeah,
Speaker 1: can you play, though, I can play. I just like
Speaker 1: the competition of of I like the competition a hole
Speaker 1: just straight up. You know, if you win the hole,
Speaker 1: like if if if I get attend and you get eleven,
Speaker 1: where I win? Right? Just kind of it ain't It's
Speaker 1: not about like that is just the competition of the
Speaker 1: shot and the pressure, you know it is. Can you
Speaker 1: choose the jersey number? At least I can go beyond.
Speaker 1: I can go beyond my jersey number. But I just
Speaker 1: I like playing, but also I like the I like
Speaker 1: the process of it. I'll go out on driving range
Speaker 1: man some headphones and just just lose myself a little bit.
Speaker 1: You know. I can listen to I can listen some
Speaker 1: R and B. I can listen rap music, can listen
Speaker 1: to gospel. It really really doesn't matter to me. I
Speaker 1: can go with whatever. I just do. I do actually
Speaker 1: enjoy um the tranquility of golf. Sometimes by myself. That's real.
Speaker 1: That's that's real. I like that that that that solong time.
Speaker 1: That's basically what I do. Sometimes I go out by
Speaker 1: myself and play solo, and guys like at me that
Speaker 1: ain't got no friends over here, But I got my
Speaker 1: music cranked up. I got they are going and I'm
Speaker 1: good or that maybe they're just looking. They see how
Speaker 1: bad you are, and they said, man, nobody wants to
Speaker 1: play with you might not be mine. You out there hitting, man,
Speaker 1: you were three or four hits on the first drive.
Speaker 1: You look around you nobody around. So let me try
Speaker 1: to Let me give me another one. That was a practice.
Speaker 1: Look at I do do that. You must do that, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I do. That's the whole purpose of going by yourself.
Speaker 1: You you're not in the run. I've always felt this
Speaker 1: way with golf. You can't be in a rush if
Speaker 1: you're playing golf or you're trying not to be. But
Speaker 1: when I got my my wife and my kids on
Speaker 1: my head, I'm like, man, I can't even play right. Man,
Speaker 1: I'm thinking them boys left and right. When I don't
Speaker 1: have a lot of time, I'll just play. I'll just place,
Speaker 1: you know, nine holes. Yeah I quit a quick quick nine,
Speaker 1: go to the crib. That that's what I do. Not regards.
Speaker 1: I can't. I can't do I and do the eighteen
Speaker 1: host appreciate your time, brother, Thank you any You are
Speaker 1: a unique person. You are well worth it, you are competent,
Speaker 1: and most of all, your lovable. I'm Steve Smith Singer,
Speaker 1: I'm Gerard little John and this is cut to it.
Speaker 1: Cut to it with Steve Smith singor That Is Me
Speaker 1: is a production of Cut to It LLC, Balto Creative Media,
Speaker 1: The Black Effect and I Heart Radio. For more podcast
Speaker 1: from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows
Speaker 1: from Cut to It. Executive producer Steve Smith, singer co
Speaker 1: host Gerard Little John, talent in booking manager Joe Fusci,
Speaker 1: social media teamer Wesley Robinson, and John Show from Balto
Speaker 1: Creative Media. Cut to It is duced by Brian Baltaschevic
Speaker 1: and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lebrec. Production
Speaker 1: coordinator Taylor Robinson. Theme music by Alex Johnson, lyrics and
Speaker 1: vocals by Anthony Hamilton. You ain't heard about it, then
Speaker 1: we're about to let you know. It's all