WEBVTT - 23. Thomas Davis on Leveling the Playing Field 0:00:04.680 --> 0:00:07.840 Thank you all for tuning into this week's special edition 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:11.720 of the NFL Players Podcast. I'm Peanut. So many hosts, 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:16.120 and today we got this guy right here, Mr Thomas Davis. Uh. 0:00:16.120 --> 0:00:19.599 He's just a former NFL All Pro, Nobody Important, Man 0:00:19.600 --> 0:00:22.920 of the Year. You know what's going on, guy, Peanut punts. 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:25.120 What's going on? My guy? How you doing? I'm doing 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:26.680 good man? How are you doing? I'm all right, man, 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:29.639 I'm all right. Um. Thank you for coming to the show. 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:32.320 We appreciate you. Thank you for having me. The fans 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:33.879 they love it, they love it. So what you're doing 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:37.520 right now and I'm just enjoying this retired life. I'm 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:40.440 working with the Legends community, trying to have an impact 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:43.199 on that field and that in that space, and just 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:45.360 trying to do the best job I can in that area. 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:49.120 All right. So you have a very unique story, and 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:51.360 I don't think a lot of people know like the 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.560 upbringing you're from Georgia. Y'all know, y'all just want to 0:00:54.880 --> 0:00:59.120 or excuse me the college championship, which I dispute, but anyway, 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:01.840 you have a great story. He's still hating. I'm still hating. 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:04.680 I'm still hating, But you got you got a great 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:07.280 story though. That was one of the things I when 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:10.080 we were doing our NFL Man of the Year things 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:14.959 and what I think two thousand eleven twelve, Yeah, and 0:01:15.000 --> 0:01:18.480 I really got to hear your story and like upbringing, 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:21.559 how you grew up? Can you can you just lessen? 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:23.080 I want to start right there. I want you to 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:27.480 just tell me about how how that shaped you and 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:30.920 who you are today. You know, so I've talked about 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:34.320 it a lot, man, But just growing up in Shelman, Georgia, UM, 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:39.720 small small town. Everybody knows, everybody is. I think you 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:42.000 hear this story from a lot of players that have 0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:44.720 gone on and make it to the NFL, But just 0:01:44.800 --> 0:01:47.200 growing up in a small town, man, and you see, 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:49.520 as a young kid, you understand that there are not 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:51.440 a whole lot of opportunities. There are not a whole 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:53.960 lot of things that are going to be presented to 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:56.840 you to be able to be successful after you graduate 0:01:56.880 --> 0:01:59.400 from high school. So if you want to do something 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:01.280 with your life and you want to be successful and 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:03.560 you want to get out of that area, you have 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:06.680 to try to get a scholarship. Because obviously my mom 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:09.760 couldn't pay for me to go to school Um, so 0:02:09.800 --> 0:02:11.400 I knew that I had to do everything in my 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:14.560 power to earn a scholarship. So I played basketball, I 0:02:14.639 --> 0:02:18.240 played football, and I ran track year round, never left 0:02:18.400 --> 0:02:21.400 school after school was over. Um, just trying to do 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:23.680 something to earn a scholarship so that I can get 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:26.320 out of the situation that I grew up in. And 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:29.400 it wasn't really until a coach came and watched me 0:02:29.400 --> 0:02:32.520 practice basketball. My senior year was when I got my 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:38.280 football scholarship offer. So all up to that point, no 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:41.520 one had been looking at you, only only smaller schools, 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:44.400 like I had an offer from Gramlin University, so I'm 0:02:44.400 --> 0:02:48.680 signing on signing day. Those were my two offers, University 0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:53.240 of Georgia and Gramlin University. You got Georgia to look 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:55.200 at you, and that was the only they were the 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:57.000 only one. They were the only one. And the only 0:02:57.040 --> 0:03:00.840 reason that happened was because Georgia has just hired a 0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:04.800 new staff and Brian Van Gorder, who was the defensive coordinator, 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:07.359 he was going to another time to see another kid, 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:10.200 and they held one of the coaches over and they 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:12.240 told him like, hey, go check out this kid from Randolph. 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:14.120 Play talked to the coach about him. He didn't know 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:16.960 that we were gonna be at basketball practice that day, 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:18.920 so he came in. He sat down with my coach 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:22.400 and he watched me practice basketball, and like, we see 0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:24.320 this guy coming to gym. We don't know who he is, 0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:27.600 but we just My high school basketball team was one 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:30.240 of the best in the state. So we just went 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:35.200 hard all the time and super competitive every single day. 0:03:35.200 --> 0:03:36.800 And that's one of the things that I tell kids 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:39.240 all the time. You never know who's watching you, right, 0:03:39.360 --> 0:03:41.760 so you always want to have good integrity. You always 0:03:41.800 --> 0:03:44.080 want to do things the right way. For me, it 0:03:44.200 --> 0:03:46.840 showed up that day because what if I had skipped practice, 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:49.200 What if I was being disrespectful to my coach, what 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:51.720 if I wasn't doing the things that I'm normally accustomed 0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:55.640 to doing. So I went in after that practice was over, 0:03:55.840 --> 0:03:58.600 We go up. My high school um football coach called 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:01.200 me over. We go up. He introduced me to the 0:04:01.320 --> 0:04:03.480 guy that was with him. He said, this is Brian 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:06.320 Van Gorder. He's a defensive coordinator for Georgia. He looks 0:04:06.360 --> 0:04:09.560 at me, he said, I don't know where we will 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:13.200 play you at, but from what I just saw, the 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:16.480 athleticism to speed, to change of direction. I'm offer you 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:18.799 a scholarship right now to come play from me at Georgia. 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:24.280 So you got a scholarship at the University of Georgia 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:27.960 playing basketball, playing basketball. I played eight different positions in 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:31.880 high school at at football, so I feel like, I mean, 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:35.880 you try to show your versatility eight positions. I played 0:04:35.880 --> 0:04:39.480 eight positions, and I'm not talking about I'm not talking 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:42.160 about over the course of my high school career. I'm 0:04:42.200 --> 0:04:45.160 talking about in every game, you could find me at quarterback, 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:49.440 at running back, at wide receiver, at tight end, or 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:52.640 I would play cornerback. I play safety. Like in the 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:55.599 crazy part about it, I never played linebacker. Did you 0:04:55.680 --> 0:04:59.440 drove the bus? I was a punt returner. I was 0:04:59.480 --> 0:05:01.400 a kick off return I was the punner, and I 0:05:01.480 --> 0:05:03.400 was the kicker, so he was a whole team. I 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:06.000 literally did everything in high school, and for me, you 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:08.760 only had no athletes and we had some guys, but 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:12.040 for me, they didn't play the football. My mindset was 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:17.119 to show that I was capable of doing so many things, 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:19.920 and in terms, I think that actually ended up hurting 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:22.560 me as a player because nobody really knew what to 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:24.480 play me yet or what to do with me. So, 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:27.720 by the graces of God, I was able to take 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:30.839 that scholarship from the University of Georgia and just run 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:33.560 with it. Man. I went in as one of the 0:05:33.600 --> 0:05:36.960 last guys given a scholarship, and as the story goes, 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:39.160 man I was the first guy to be drafted out 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:43.440 of like thirty guys. So similar story in it since 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:47.960 my school new coach. My coach called a friend, Hey, 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:50.640 I got this kid. But you know, they look at 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:53.839 the film. But then just so happened. I had a 0:05:53.880 --> 0:05:57.680 basketball game. We go to the game, I play, you know, 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:00.080 don't do this run around change with our right in 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:04.400 and he was like, yeah, here's your trip. I mean 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:07.080 I didn't get the scholarship. I guess I was good. 0:06:07.080 --> 0:06:09.560 I don't know if I was that good. But they're like, yeah, 0:06:09.640 --> 0:06:11.120 I want him to come. He needs to come to 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:13.520 uh come to our school. We we want I want them, 0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:16.200 I want them. So I ended up going to the school, 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:20.520 and obviously I committed to Louisiana. But yeah, similar, a 0:06:20.560 --> 0:06:23.360 similar similar Sup. You never told me that, man, Yeah, 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:27.200 they never never, never never saw me play an actual 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:30.799 game in college football. Who game got me in college? 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:33.440 But but that just goes to shoulder. Like I try 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:37.960 to tell parents and kids now play everything, don't just 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:41.560 don't don't just stick with don't just stick with football. 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:44.880 I was literally, so I have an AU team in basketball. 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:47.120 And I was literally having this conversation with a parent 0:06:47.200 --> 0:06:50.400 the other day, like hell bent on having her kid 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:53.800 played only basketball, but the kid is begging her to 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:56.919 let him play football. And I explained to her playing 0:06:56.920 --> 0:07:00.359 and simple, like, listen, he has a frame that he 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:02.320 can He can do a lot of things in football. 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:04.560 He can play tight end, he can be a defensive end, 0:07:04.600 --> 0:07:06.560 he can play linebacker, he can do whatever he wants 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:10.320 to do. I said, when you look at a basketball draft, 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:15.680 you got two rounds. That's it, two rounds of kids 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:18.800 that are going to be drafted each year. I said, 0:07:18.840 --> 0:07:21.720 when you look at the football draft, you got seven rounds. 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:24.440 That increases your opportunity. Not saying that he's going to 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:29.520 be drafting in either of those, but odds are if 0:07:29.560 --> 0:07:32.960 you're not extremely tall and extremely skilled as a guard, 0:07:33.480 --> 0:07:36.080 then your chances for getting drafted in the NBA are 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:39.360 a lot slimmer then it would be in the NFL. 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:42.480 So I mean, just having that conversation and kind of 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:45.800 breaking that down to it though, Um, she came to 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:47.560 the agreement with her son that she's gonna let him 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:50.560 play football this year. I don't. I don't think as 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:53.880 a parent that we should make decisions to make our 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:57.600 kids one dimensional based on how we feel. If these 0:07:57.680 --> 0:07:59.840 kids are begging, then they want to do these things, 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:02.960 allow him to go out and do it. Right. So 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:08.360 I won the Man of the Year award, and then 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:13.840 that very next year, you win the Man of the Award. 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:21.280 That night, everything you've gone through, your foundation, it kind 0:08:21.280 --> 0:08:24.880 of was like, like, tell me, tell me how you 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:27.920 felt in that moment when Goodell called your name and 0:08:27.960 --> 0:08:30.120 you walked up there and you accepted the award and 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:32.480 your speech was amazing. Man, I was. I was so 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:35.280 shocked because one of the things they had done, like 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:38.959 in previous years, they would let the person know beforehand 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:41.240 he was the first year. Yeah, you're the first year. 0:08:41.240 --> 0:08:44.040 They didn't tell anybody anybody, so I had no clue. 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:47.559 We didn't have a clue who Yeah. So and then 0:08:47.559 --> 0:08:50.840 I'm and just just to kind of bounce back to 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:53.440 the year you wanted. I'm sitting in there listening to 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:56.520 your speech and I'm emotional, like watching you, I'm like, man, 0:08:56.600 --> 0:08:59.080 I'm just crying. I couldn't imagine I'm sitting here thinking 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:01.480 like I couldn't imagine being the winner right now, up 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:04.720 here giving this speech because I'm sitting here like emotional 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:07.920 crime right now. Then the next year I actually win 0:09:08.000 --> 0:09:10.800 the award and like and I'm like, I'm not gonna cry. 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:12.640 And this is what I actually did on my wedding 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:15.760 day too. I told my boys had a bet that 0:09:15.920 --> 0:09:18.360 you know you're gonna get emotionally, you're gonna cry. So 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:21.679 I literally cut my vioals, like straight to the point 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:26.000 no tears. And I got heckled for that for years 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:29.600 and years, you know, just sitting on that stage, man, 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:33.120 and then everything just coming to fruition on. Like you 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:34.920 don't go out and do this work to try to 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:37.760 gain the recognition, like none of us do that, but 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:41.560 to see people taking note to the things that you're doing, 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:43.600 the difference that you're trying to make in the community, 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:48.199 the spaces that we're trying to make better um for players. Man, 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:51.120 that that's huge because we know the impact and the 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:53.520 difference that it's gonna make for our foundation, for the 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:55.680 kids that we worked with for the communities that we 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:59.480 serve UM, and it did that for my foundation, like 0:09:59.520 --> 0:10:02.079 a lot of people made donations, a lot of people 0:10:02.160 --> 0:10:06.120 volunteer more so it was great. So I know, I 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:08.840 know what you do, but explain to the people listening 0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:12.240 and watching, like what's your foundation? Explain what they actually do? 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:14.680 So we we what you actually So we worked with 0:10:14.760 --> 0:10:18.320 underprivileged youth and I'm passionate about that. Like I just 0:10:18.360 --> 0:10:21.120 told you guys, from the way I grew up as 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:23.840 a young kid, I grew up in a single parent household. 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:26.560 My mom raised me and my sister, and like literally 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:30.280 we went through so many different struggles. For my foundation, 0:10:30.440 --> 0:10:32.440 I wanted to try to even the playing field. I 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:34.000 know that there are a ton of parents out there 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:36.440 that are dealing with the same things that we went 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:40.400 through UM, in particular single moms. So I know that 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:42.240 there are kids that are going to school that don't 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:45.040 have school supplies that UM, that are waking up on 0:10:45.120 --> 0:10:48.280 Christmas that don't have Christmas gifts, that are having Thanksgiving, 0:10:48.320 --> 0:10:53.400 that don't have meals or even beyond Thanksgiving, just everyday life. 0:10:53.760 --> 0:10:56.040 You know, they may end up having to miss the 0:10:56.120 --> 0:10:59.160 meal because their mom can't provide for them. So that's 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:01.480 what we try to do foundation. We try to provide 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:03.680 those things for those kids. We try to make sure 0:11:03.720 --> 0:11:07.240 that um, when they go to school, everything that the 0:11:07.280 --> 0:11:10.920 other kids that are living in two parent households have, 0:11:11.280 --> 0:11:12.920 we try to make sure that we can provide for 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.040 those kids. And in doing that, you know, we started 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:18.800 in Charlotte, North Carolina. We moved to Georgia while I 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:21.120 was from, and then now we're doing in South Carolina 0:11:21.120 --> 0:11:23.360 what Kelly is from as well. For us to be 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:25.920 able to grow like that and um just have the 0:11:26.000 --> 0:11:28.520 impact and all of those different spaces, man, I just 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:31.080 think that really speaks to the the body of work 0:11:31.120 --> 0:11:33.160 that we've been able to do with this foundation and 0:11:33.400 --> 0:11:35.680 how we've been able to grow. And now we have 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:38.480 a separate branch with My Leadership Academy, where we work 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:42.200 with middle school kids and we're directly impacting their lives 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:44.160 at the stage that they're in to try to teach 0:11:44.200 --> 0:11:46.880 them how to be productive leaders. So it's been it's 0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:49.040 been great to watch this thing grow since two thousand 0:11:49.120 --> 0:11:52.000 and eight when we started, and since since two thousand 0:11:52.040 --> 0:11:54.840 and eight was with your Leadership Academy. I'm sure those 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.679 middle schoolers there there are there are adults now, Is 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:00.719 there a story can you tell me orry about one 0:12:00.760 --> 0:12:04.520 of the kids that truly got the message As a 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:06.560 one of the kids, I got the story that went 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:08.680 through your Leadership Accademy. So I think one of the 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:11.120 stories that I really looked back on, one of the 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:14.760 parents came to us and our kids was struggling real 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:18.720 bad with um just going down the wrong path, getting 0:12:18.760 --> 0:12:21.760 involved with gangs, doing all these other different things, running 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:25.320 with people that absolutely had no good intentions for him 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:27.080 in his life that would leading him down the path 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:29.839 to destruction. And he came and he became a part 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:33.679 of the Leadership Academy and like literally man, he he 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:37.560 literally dove in into everything that we would teach them. 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:40.160 And his mom still kind of credit us to this 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:43.440 day to him changing his life around, and to me, 0:12:43.679 --> 0:12:47.840 if we don't have an opportunity to effect or make 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:50.360 a difference in any other life, to know that we 0:12:50.360 --> 0:12:52.600 were able to help him out, to know that, you know, 0:12:52.679 --> 0:12:54.560 he was able to go onto the military, he was 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:57.360 able to do a lot of other things that his 0:12:57.480 --> 0:13:00.320 mom told us flat out he would never have been 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:02.320 able to accomplish had he not been a part of 0:13:02.320 --> 0:13:06.400 the Leadership Academy. We've helped out first generation kids that 0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:10.440 have gone to college by providing them with scholarship opportunities 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:12.720 and to see those kids go on and graduate and 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:14.440 now they come back and they help us with the 0:13:14.520 --> 0:13:18.720 Leadership Academy. I mean, that's what it's all about for us. Yeah, 0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:24.000 that's um something similar. We we do this. We do 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:28.439 certainly certain things our foundation. We try to provide resources 0:13:28.480 --> 0:13:30.680 to these families while they're while they're in the hospital. 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:33.480 And one of the one of the hardest things, I think, 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:35.760 one of the hardest things for a man to do 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:38.600 is ask for help. I think women they can do it, 0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:42.520 but for for a man, for us, it's hard because 0:13:42.640 --> 0:13:48.520 you are the protector your security, your comfort, your you're 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:50.720 you're you're the guy who's supposed to take care of everything. 0:13:51.280 --> 0:13:54.440 We have this one of our programs, Tiana Fund, and 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:58.000 you're really just right whatever you're the worst need or 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:01.400 the most the basic need, whatever you need, we'll we'll 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:04.440 call and we try to secure it for you. And 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:06.720 a lot of the time when you go from two 0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:10.439 incomes to one. Most of the time, you know, whoever 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:13.199 the bread winner is, they keep their job and the 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:17.160 lower person partner, a spouse, they quit to stay at 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:21.800 home with the sick child. Well, mortgages, you know, and 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:24.840 you if you were a really relied on those two incomes, 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:28.400 you lose one and then the mortgage of the rent, 0:14:29.240 --> 0:14:33.280 the gas to heat electricity. Yeah, stuff starts to get behind. 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:38.520 And I just remember, um, I remember a dad, and 0:14:38.600 --> 0:14:40.760 we get these we get them all the time, but 0:14:40.840 --> 0:14:43.000 I never get to meet these people. I just I 0:14:43.080 --> 0:14:47.320 just I'm literally just reading these applications. And he pulled 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:49.600 me aside. I don't know where we were somewhere, maybe 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:51.680 just walking by, and he was just like, oh man, 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:53.760 and he coming was like, hey, man, you don't you 0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:57.840 don't know me, but I used your Tiana Fund when 0:14:57.880 --> 0:15:01.520 my my my my daughter, my child, they're in the hospital. Man, 0:15:01.600 --> 0:15:03.840 and I just want to let you know, like, and 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:06.240 he said he, as a man, it was hard for 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:09.680 me to ask for help because I felt I felt ashamed, 0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:12.640 I felt I was embarrassed like that I couldn't provide 0:15:13.240 --> 0:15:17.760 basic needs for my for my kids. But your your 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:21.040 your foundation came through in a major way. And man, 0:15:21.120 --> 0:15:23.560 I'm just here to let you know, like as a man, 0:15:23.720 --> 0:15:25.800 I really appreciate you on that and I was just 0:15:25.840 --> 0:15:29.920 like like I was, I was. I was blown away, 0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:33.960 really just blown away that. Like, man, I didn't even 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:36.720 know how blessed this dude. And you were talking about 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:41.440 like blessings like you you had an opportunity and you 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:46.040 you seeze that opportunity, but yet you're giving back and 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:49.160 you're blessing these kids and they go on and they 0:15:49.160 --> 0:15:52.720 bless others and it just continues to grow and grow 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:55.480 and grow. And that's that's kind of like the beauty 0:15:55.480 --> 0:15:57.280 of the blessing. Like it's just it just kind of 0:15:57.360 --> 0:16:00.440 keeps on, man. Yeah, and it just keeps going and 0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:02.680 going and going like that, like that inner drives are 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:04.920 bunny like, it just doesn't stop. Like that's the that's 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:08.280 the coolest thing. That's I don't know. I really do 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:10.840 love your story and I like how I like how 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:13.320 you tell it. I like what you represent. I don't 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:15.480 really like the red and the black because you've got 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:18.200 Georgia colors on. You got red and black on. Sir. 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:22.640 This isn't no. This this is like and if that's 0:16:22.680 --> 0:16:24.960 not read, this is certainly rare. This is certainly rad. 0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:27.560 But you can't see this. This is an undershure. This 0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:30.200 is what I this is what I'm in, This is 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:38.680 what I sweating. This is the Jays for you speaking 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:42.960 to jay'son you were jump man, right, Yes, sir, Tell 0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:45.000 me a story. Tell me a story about Mike. Tell 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:48.080 me how cool Minke is. Man, he's one of the 0:16:48.080 --> 0:16:50.680 coolest guys you've ever meet. Honestly, Um, one of the 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:53.160 most competitive guys still to this day. I think I 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:54.960 might be able to beat him in basketball. Now I 0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:57.800 don't think so. I got a scholarship based on basketball. 0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:00.080 I don't think you're gonna beat him though he's the 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:04.080 other Go tell he I totally agree he'd go. But 0:17:04.119 --> 0:17:05.640 tell him, I said, I think I might be able 0:17:05.640 --> 0:17:07.959 to score a point or two on them. Um, can 0:17:08.119 --> 0:17:10.600 we could show him this you? We could put this 0:17:10.640 --> 0:17:13.000 clip together. I said it. I said I could score 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:15.280 on him. I don't think so. I think I could score. 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:21.200 I get still done too, By the way, so can you. So. 0:17:21.560 --> 0:17:25.400 I don't know if you noticed, but my I'm retired. 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:30.359 You still were playing. I was in Carolina, y'all play 0:17:30.640 --> 0:17:33.200 when I met him. Okay, so I'm gonna tell you 0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:37.760 all anyway, I'm in the locker room, I'm with them. 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:40.640 We're very or whatever. I go back upstairs to the 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:44.760 tour see was in and one of the guys in 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:48.040 the elevator was like, hey, Peanut, take this elevator. I 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:51.840 was like, okay, I get in the elevator. It's MJ 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:55.840 and like another person. So we're in this elevator and 0:17:55.920 --> 0:17:58.200 I'm freaking out, like dang, this is this is m J. 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:00.560 So I'm sitting there thinking like, okay, should I say 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:02.520 something now. I don't want to be that corny dude 0:18:02.560 --> 0:18:04.919 and say something now. I'm gonna say this MJ. How 0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:08.000 can I make it not so corny? Well, I happened 0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:11.040 to look down at my shoes and I was like, yes, 0:18:11.720 --> 0:18:15.200 I wore a pair of red of Levins. So I 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:18.480 look over to him KNA and I said, hey, you 0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:20.879 like the shoes and he kind of chuckled and he 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:22.399 was like, yeah, yeah, I like the shoes. So I 0:18:22.440 --> 0:18:24.480 go in and I try to introduce myself and he's like, 0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:27.200 I know you're a peanut, and I was like, well, 0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:29.760 you know, So at that moment, I was like damn, 0:18:30.480 --> 0:18:32.800 I made it like MJ knew my name and I'm 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:34.920 rocking your shoes and I look, I got the m 0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:38.720 J T shirt on you could have said it might 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:42.000 have been the corners thing, but it's he smiled. He 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:48.040 was thinking like that it was terrible, but he chuckled, 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:51.320 he eat giggled right, and I gotta I got a 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:54.040 little chocolate. But what he knew my name? And I 0:18:54.080 --> 0:18:58.400 was just like, well, dang, everybody knows. Man. No, See, 0:18:58.400 --> 0:19:00.040 why do y'all do that? Though? I don't think you 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:03.320 can really understand. I don't, as God is my witness, 0:19:03.320 --> 0:19:10.680 I don't. I think I'm just I'm just the most Yeah, 0:19:10.840 --> 0:19:14.119 I just I don't think that I'm really Yeah, like 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:16.520 when we win and they no, Peanut, it ain't Charles 0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:20.160 Tillman like you're peeannut. I am peanut, and I appreciate it, though, 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:22.640 I appreciate it. So you got some linebackers, right, Yes, 0:19:22.880 --> 0:19:26.000 you got the linebackers. Y'all got some drills. What are 0:19:26.000 --> 0:19:27.800 the some of the advice you're gonna give some of 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:31.320 these guys? Just throughout this comment just finished all the drills. 0:19:31.640 --> 0:19:33.080 I mean, that's one of the things that I've been 0:19:33.080 --> 0:19:35.840 talking to him about so far. Teams are going to 0:19:35.960 --> 0:19:38.400 be coming through looking for guys that are going to compete. 0:19:38.640 --> 0:19:41.480 They're gonna try to find guys with great leadership qualities. 0:19:41.640 --> 0:19:44.119 So show that in any way that you possibly can. 0:19:44.160 --> 0:19:45.880 While you at this combine. You want to be able 0:19:45.920 --> 0:19:48.199 to get out there and show that, hey, I can 0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:50.720 lead a team because linebackers are required to be the 0:19:50.800 --> 0:19:53.280 quarterbacks of the defense. So when you go out there, 0:19:53.880 --> 0:19:55.760 make sure that you know what you're doing for first 0:19:55.760 --> 0:19:58.840 and foremost, that they're explaining the drill. Get into place 0:19:58.840 --> 0:20:00.840 where you can see where you to stand what's going on. 0:20:00.960 --> 0:20:03.639 You can get out you can execute that drill to 0:20:03.800 --> 0:20:06.840 a t. But also when you go out you're going 0:20:06.880 --> 0:20:09.320 through these drills, don't don't try to go out and 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:13.080 be cool. Go out and act like your your life 0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:15.080 is on the line, like your your your job is 0:20:15.080 --> 0:20:16.600 on the line when you go out here and you're 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:19.119 doing these drills. And that's one of the things that 0:20:19.160 --> 0:20:21.160 you see with kids these days. They try to come 0:20:21.200 --> 0:20:24.159 through here and try to be kind of like a 0:20:24.160 --> 0:20:27.600 finesse kind of guy. You know, just ease up towards 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:29.720 the end of the drill. Man finished through these drills 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:31.240 hard man. And that's one of the things that I 0:20:31.280 --> 0:20:34.000