Well, hello, hey everybody. It is Thursday, March twenty eight,
twenty and twenty more. Welcome to the only show about Spartan Dogs hosted by
Spartan Dogs. This is Sparta MSU. I'm your host Jason Strayhorn along with
my co host Cedric Suring Irving. Hey, you're about being a dog.
I mean you want to learn what it is, talk to swerve and watch.
Yes, sir, you know what I mean. This is your first
time to the show. We want to welcome you into the show. If
this is not, we thank you for your loyalty. And look, let
us know where you guys are. You know, that's one thing that we
got. We love that. I know Woody's hanging out there in Hawaii.
It's beautiful out there. Something in mind ties and all that. But I
know there's a lot of folks from the Great State of Michigan and all over
Florida, Georgia. That's where we are, you know. I mean,
look, don't forget the follow us on all of our social media platforms at
this Sparta m at you, but swerve. Man. I got to the
Peach State last night, and man, it was good to see you.
Man oh man. I wish we could put that pitch that we took.
Man, somebody say, we look cute together. Oh that start Barton Dolls.
Baby, they're look at that hanging out, you know, having a
little cigar, a couple of red cups with nothing in them, you know,
a little water. So we did a job, you know what I
mean? Yeah, yeah, man, real good seeing you and uh,
you know, we're planning on some good things for everybody in the near future,
maybe around spring game time, so we can do a little meetup or
something like that for everybody. That's something that's in the work, So clear
your calendars for that. But man, swear we got we're gonna get into
it today because you know, there's a lot of championships and good sports going
on around Michigan State, especially with this new transfer portal NIL Era. There's
a lot of stuff going on about NIL and how it's packed in the game.
But I'll tell you what. The NIL group, the collective, this
is part of MS shoot man, I mean, they only had you know,
they sponsored a lot of the guys hockey. They just won a big
ten championship. All the message girls you know, had them on. They're
doing a phenomenal job Tennis ranked in the national you know, in the polls
right now, doing a phenomenal job. I mean, it's just it's a
great thing. We got to highlight what they do over at Charitable Gift America,
Tom Leaders and company. They're with This is part of the collective and
the podcast there they go right there for the QR code if you want to
check it out and just make your nil gift charitable take this chance to take
control of the nil contributions where direct them. Spartan Athletic programs are your choice
that this is part of fun powered by Charitable Gift America allows you to choose
and you know, man, look all the athletes. They get to donate
five percent of their their their their funds to a charitable organization their choice.
And we're gonna talk about that today because we have a special guest on who
is not only charitab Get to America the athlete. He's an outstanding leader in
the community, right fielder, you know, and for the MSU baseball team.
And right now we're gonna you know, look at this video that Spartan
Vision did. They did a phenomenal job. So roll the video we can
if you want to be a good baseball player, you got to strike out
a lot, and you got to make a lot of mistakes. When you're
younger, you don't really lean into hard things. You got to realize if
something's hard, it's probably going to help you. I approach the coaches in
the fall of my freshman year, so it was immediate. I was distancing
myself from everybody. I was not as involved as I could be. I
was holding myself back. So I approach the coaches and I said, like,
look, I'm just uncomfortable. I don't know what I'm doing. I
don't know if I fit in here. I don't know if this team is
right for me. There was some talk coming out of high school that he
might be a pro draft, and I know he was kicking that around a
little bit whether he wanted to turn pro or come to school, and so
thankfully for us, he came to Michigan State. But it was a tough
adjustment period for him. You know, he's got a twin sister who they
were apart for the first time really probably in their lives, and so I
think that was very difficult for him. We talked about the struggles a little
bit. Freshman year, just kind of getting acclimated to the new environment.
Schools harder, baseball's a lot harder, and sped up. But and then
COVID happened and we kind of stayed in communication. I was just waiting for
something to occur that we could play baseball. So I played a little bit
in the summer, got to play like ten games, and then I hurt
my shoulder. I got labram surgery, so I was out another like seven
ish months. When you add COVID and the injury, it was like a
year and a half off from playing. I honestly got to a point where
I was like, okay, not playing baseball, and I realized, you
know, there's other things I'm good at, There's other things I can do
in this world, I felt like, and I got to a point where
I didn't know if I really loved playing anymore. We talked about a little
bit and I kind of helped him out with what I could, but at
the same time, I mean, I didn't really know what he was going
through. Play with your head up day, keep your eyes up all the
time. I think Coach Boss did a really good job of reeling me back
in and just kind of making me feel like, you know, you're not
the only person that's ever gone through this or felt like this, and it
just takes time. The more that they're here, the more that they have
an opportunity to get settled into things and the culture of our program, the
culture of the department and the university, the easier it gets. In the
baseball world, everybody says, you get three hits out of ten, you're
in the Hall of Fame, right, And I think it's really indicative of
just the challenge that is baseball. It's not about one play or one at
ad or one pitch. It's really about consistency over a really long period of
time. So that's what I've learned in college is, man, if you
can show up every day and be a guy that's gonna be consistent and have
good at bats and show good effort, Like you don't have to hit three
home runs every game and win the game. You got to just be there
when your teammates expect you to be there. It's a process and it's definitely
something you learn to live with and just the challenges of it. He's got
a level head about him. He has a very good understanding of who he
is, and what he wants, where he's going and how to get there,
and very mature kid. That's a very tough game, a lot of
failure, and just having him there as a person just being like, hey,
it's all right, we'll get him next time. It's baseball. Today's
a good chance to being a good team, beat your first Big ten team,
and then get rolling for next week. So so have a good day,
be aggressive in the fall. You know, we asked him to take
more of a leadership role and he has taken it and run with it,
and I think he's the unquestion leader on our team, which is, you
know, an awful lot of fun to watch, especially if you go back
to that, you know kid that was maybe a little bit unsure of himself
at eighteen years old. I think with each year I gained a little bit
of confidence. And I think it was through playing and I think it was
through just evolving as a young man. It's important to me just because I've
been there and I've been uncomfortable, and I think I wanted somebody to do
that, and now that I'm in that position, hopefully there's guys that kind
of recognize, like, oh, I'm glad Jack's trying to make that effort
and trying to help me out, and hopefully, you know, in a
couple of years from now, they'll look back and be like, you know,
I'm happy he did that. I'm happy he helped me out because that's
where I wanted, and so I'm just trying to pay it forward a little
bit and do what I can. Jack has helped me on the field in
a way that where I tend to struggle is like just getting too down on
myself and having Jack, who's this upbeat guy, just at home after a
game. We're just talking. He's making me laugh and kind of just forgetting
about what happened so that the next day, next game, we can go
into it with a clear mind. He will turn it on when he has
to, and then he will be a goof when he doesn't have to.
So I think that's a great quality that he has. He's doing a fantastic
job with that stepping up leading. He's doing amazing. We had a guy
on the team last year why I rush you Day one? He said,
my role as like a fifth year player is I just want to leave the
program better than it was at the beginning. That's kind of the same thing
that I've taken on and we're in a good place. But let's keep getting
to a better place and a better place. Great video right there, man,
and swear without further ado, Let's welcome on Michigan State baseball right fielder
Jack Frank who joins Hello, Hello, thank you for having me. I
appreciate it. It's weird watching that video of yourself. It's a it's a
weird feeling, but it's a great video. You know, put a lot
of work and do it. It was good now for me, Jack,
I watched all my videos all the time, all the time. I just
love watching me Jack. Well, I I said to my parents, I
was like, I don't really even want to do this. I'm not I
don't love being on the camera and stuff. So I said, you know,
I don't want to do this, but I think when I'm older,
I'll appreciate that I did it and I'll be able to show my family and
watch it when I'm older. So really happy, you know how it turned
out, and got to do it, but it is a little bit weird
watching yourself and then and then like I made it like a week ago,
so I'm like, this is just a kind of funny feeling, but great.
They did a great job. Yeah, hey, Jack, I got
three questions before you started straight because I saw some things in the video that
I got to address right right. For one, you know, the football
team got coach, you know, we got new coaches, and I saw
you still second, so that means you got a burst, you know what
I mean. And then I just saw the catch that you caught it defense.
I used to make that catch with one hand and put my other hand
in the air way to my mom, you know what I mean. But
that showed me you had hand in our coordination, right, Yes, So
all I'm saying is, you know, once you finish baseball, you know
we need you in the slot receiver. Well, we're gonna take care of
you. That's one, okay. Number two is you got a little sold
to you because I saw you dancing and moving around. You know it was
it wasn't really oh be kind of dance. My last thing is was that
a real squirrel in that picture? No? All right, I'm sorry,
I'll comment. Well, so the first one, I was not very good
at football. I'm a huge football fan. I'm from Cleveland, Ohio,
so Brown's fan through the good and the bad, and watching every play of
the sixteen but so huge fan. I was never that good for whatever reason.
I don't know why, but I have definitely exhausted my eligibility. Fifth
year here, there is no way they could find me any more time on
the college sports avenue, so unfortunately, I wish I could, but I've
definitely exhausted that. The squirrel is not real. I sent that in because
it was a funny thing. And the story behind it is I had been
telling our trainer at the time, who our athletic trainer. I was telling
him, Yeah, we we kind of like found this squirrel and we're raising
it in our dorm, right, So we made that picture and be like
photoshopped down there and sent it to him and he believed it for like a
little bit. So that's the story behind it. I was surprised they used
it. When I watched it. My roommate texted me and he's like,
they put that picture with the squirrel in there. I was like, oh
my gosh, but yeah, I don't know, it was funny. I
couldn't believe that, So no, the story could not believe it came back
around, but the football Avenue I got some of the attributes, but for
whatever reason, it never clicked. I don't know why. But it too
big. I mean, you just like the smaller ones. So I mean
that rarely throw a football pole. You got to say poles when you say
the ball too big poles. I know, we got the young kids,
so they keep themself. Did no did no, no Diddy, I just
no diddy, not no dignity. Oh my goodness. But you know you
talked about not, you know, being comfortable watching yourself here and thinking about
how it would be for you personally watching this video in the future when you're
you know, an older guy and all that. Like us sitting back,
you may not want to watch this on continuous loop like Swerve watches his self.
But the people out there that see this message from you and get something
out of it, because you talk about a lot of things about being uncomfortable
in the inner growth that you've experienced, you know, talk about that like
how that story can impact and is impacting a lot of athletes and students across
the country, no matter what sport there is. Because let me tell you
something, there's a secret everybody feels how you felt coming in now. Maybe
not swerve. But most people feel that that way, you know, when
they're transitioning into college, right, yeah, yeah, I mean I think
the people that don't feel that way are you know, the elite of the
elite and kind of make things things kind of just tick a little bit different.
We've had guys on the team that, you know, it didn't bother
them, But at the end of the day, I think there's struggles that
everybody has with college. And whether you want to admit it or you're willing
to admit it, or you're just pretending like it doesn't exist, I think
it's still there. So I mean the message to me was honestly and I
said this and in a couple of times, I don't think it made in
the video. But like my story is not you know, unique really in
any way. It's not something that is different than a lot of people's.
It's just that I'm willing to talk about it because I feel like, you
know, I've learned a lot over the time, and I feel like it
can help some of the younger guys. So everybody gets to school and that
you know, they wish their mom was making them dinner, and they wish
their mom was doing their laundry and they don't want to go to class,
and so you know, that combination of stuff is challenging in and of itself,
but I really feel like if you talk about it, then it might
be able to help somebody. So that was the whole point. You know,
I don't consider myself like some great leader or somebody who I tell the
guys all the time, like you know, I don't know exactly what I'm
doing, but I'm just trying my best to help you guys and try to
help you where I can, because that's at the end of the day,
that's all I can do. I don't know exactly what I'm doing, like
I said, so it was important to me that I'm able to share that
with a lot of people because I think a lot of guys, and I
think I definitely men and athletic men try to ignore, Like you know,
I don't feel good right now, I don't feel accepted on this team.
That's I think that's a thing a lot of people run away from. So
I think me being able to say it, while it's not comfortable, it
might help somebody. So I just wanted to get that out there, and
I'm glad they asked me to do the story. I was, but I'm
glad they asked, well our question. I mean, said, you remember
back, you know when we played when you guys a transition, you had
some freshmen that came in with you. They had a tough time dealing with
it. Some guys couldn't even make it through the first camp. You know.
I think one of the things that Jack has been able to show us
that it's the perseverance in spite of facing that challenge, Like what do you
would you agree? Said? Oh? I told you, I totally agree,
you know, because you got to think you're making a big step,
you know, and especially when you're making a step and you come in with
a name. You was the mand in high school, you know, you
you was prom king and all those things. And when you get to college,
you're in this big campus. Now you're just a number, you know,
so sometimes your confidence can can go down, you know what I mean,
because you don't know what if you gotta think you was this big time
athlete in high school where you just woke up in the morning you knew you
was gonna do what you're gonna do. But now I get to college and
now around the big campus and around better more and more athletes, and I
got high expectations of myself. Sometimes you put so much pressure on yourself that
you can't perform, you know what I mean. But I say that to
those like for me, Jack, I came in with the right now ready,
I was superstar soon I stepped on the field, you know what I
mean. But it ain't about me Jack at your time right now. Like
I said, that is that's like people that can do that, I applaud
you. You know, we've had some guys where you could tell like they're
not phased by stuff, and I think that's, you know, the elite
of the elite, and then people like me, you got to kind of
learn how to at least fake it or learn how to do it better.
So it's very valuable skill I think. But yeah, I mean, I
think a lot of people go through it. I think you know when I
came in because the one thing that stood out about a guy like et cetera,
I was here two year years before you got here, that Michigan State
said, and it was your ability to practice with enthusiasm. And most guys,
you know, you come out of high school right in high school you're
just better than everyone else. You feel like you're more of a gamer,
and you realize in college you can't just be a gamer, you know what
I mean when you say gamer just you just kind of go through practice,
go through the most of the practice, and show up and ball out in
the games. It doesn't work like that on this level or beyond. You
have to practice with high intentions. And when you when you think about your
transition from Strongville, Ohio, out of Cleveland, you know, you had
a twin sisters. That was something that I didn't know. You know,
obviously you have an older brother as well back at home. You know,
how was that being away from a twin for the first time. I do
think it's funny. My coach mentioned that. I was surprised when he said
that. But you know, I think that's another thing where at the time
I didn't think it was a big deal. You know whatever. I'm going
to college like everybody else. But I think the thing with my twin sister
is just it was always somebody right next to me that knew exactly what I
was going through. We had, you know, all the same experiences.
So at the end of the day, me and her were not like siblings
where we're arguing and screaming at each other. Like we were just friends because
she's she's a little bit of a tom boy and she's been around boys or
whole life, so we've always just been friends. So it was really just
probably the comfortability of, like, you know, now it's actually just me
and I don't have the sidekick, if you will. That was always there
and I didn't think it was gonna be an issue. I was like,
oh, whatever, she's going to college. I'm going to college. That's
just life. But I think at the end of the day, yeah,
I mean it was a little bit different. And you know, now we're
used to it and we're adults, but at the time it was a little
bit different for sure. I think when you've grown up with somebody the whole
time and then suddenly you're on your own, yeah, things change a little
bit. You know. I'm not I'll say names that there's been some athletes
at Michigan State, maybe some on the football team that showed up with binkies
comfort blankets in college. So look, so, I mean a twin sister,
I can understand that. You know, it's a real thing, you
know, having that comfort, but you had to also deal with the isolation
that came with COVID after you got the campus right, you came in in
nineteen twenty nineteen, is that yeah, nineteen yep. So my first year
on campus was that COVID year. So the fall was completely normal, and
then the spring was normal up until whatever it was March. Middle of March.
Played fifteen games and I just remember we got called in the locker room.
It was like, hey, we're not going to Indiana State this weekend
whatever. They canceled it because something's going on in the world. So then
like two hours later they call us into the locker room and they say,
we don't really know why or what's going on, but the whole season's canceled.
And it was like, what are we talking about? And everybody was
Nobody believed it at first, It's like, what are you talking about?
But and I'm not proud to say this, my freshman year I had just
I played in the beginning did well because everybody, you know, you come
out of the gates and somehow you just play well and then people figure you
out a little bit. And I struggled for like the next five games.
So when they called the season. I was legitimately excited. I was like,
you know what, this is great. I don't have to go,
you know, struggle in front of everybody and like fail on this level anymore.
So I was like, this is great, and I'm not proud of
that. Believe me. I felt terrible about it, you know, looking
back, But then I saw like all the all the people around me,
all the seniors, who well, I'm not going to play my last season.
I just went through all the fall to play and now it's over.
So guys are crying. Nobody knows what's going on. It was. It
was a very very bizarre start to a college career. I'm not sure anybody's
gonna have a start to their college like we did, but bizarre, bizarre
thing. And I know everybody went through it in different ways, but it
was definitely a weird way to start your college career. And then it just
put like life on pause, as you guys all know, for the next
year. Like I said that in that video, I end up getting shoulder
surgery, just kind of on a fluke thing. And then you know,
I went almost a year and a half without playing baseball. So it was
like I may as well have never played. At this point, it feels
like so long ago. So it's just a weird combination of stuff. But
at the end of the day, I think, you know that was That's
just how it happened, and you know, you can only can only control
what you can control, right, Yeah, that's that's true. I mean
when you look at being up with baseball, out of all sports, is
one of those sports where you really can't take time off, like when guys
are you know, angirls are progressing through their career. That's not typically a
sport that someone could say, you know, I, you know, I
just jumped in as a junior in high school and started playing. You do
see that in some football, like some basketball players may play it late in
their life and transition and make it to the Hall of Fame in some cases,
but baseball is not one of those because you know, you gotta just
to the speed or the pitches and alls things that go along with baseball.
So for you to be able to overcome that being off that long, it
is a huge thing. Now to baseball. Now, look at where you
guys are now, I mean, you just had a dominating performance a couple
of like last week against Michigan right Monday, Tuesday ago. It was two
days ago. Yeah, yeah, time is flying for me. Sixteen what
it was? Yeah, and it should have been a lot It should have
been a lot worse. I'm gonna be honest. I don't even think the
score is indicative of what the game looked like. If you were there.
Hold you say indicted we had to slow it down. Indicative, yes,
but you know here, good job, go ahead, thank you a good
job. Now talk about that game, because we all talk, love to
talk about playing against and especially beating school down the road. So how was
that? How'd that feel? Well? I think in baseball, man,
it's a lot different than like football and some of these other sports. You
know, there's so much hype in football, and you know, one game
is so much of your season that it can change everything. And like you
guys with the rivalries, it's different in baseball because we play them, we're
gonna play them another three times. So it's not like you know, we're
throwing a party like we we beat them once, because you play them again
at the end of the day, it's only one out of the four times.
So that game, to me, in and of itself, is we
just try to play this same way, our version of baseball every game,
regardless of if it's you know, the best team in the country or the
worst school you've ever played. Like in baseball, if you and in any
sport, if you just played the way that you play, then most times
you're gonna win. Right. So it was a combination of things went our
way. I don't think they really wanted to be there as much as we
did, and we kind of just poured it on them inning after inning after
inning, and they did not have their best day, I'll say, But
honestly, in baseball, that happens. You know, whether you lose by
ten or fifteen or two, like to me, you still lost. And
in baseball that's that's one of the biggest skills compared to other sports, is
you know you're gonna play again the next day. So if you hold on
to something for too long, then it can drag you down and it can
lead into the next game. You know, football, you got you got
a couple days to think about it, learn from it, and it's like,
you know, we played Tuesday, beat the crap out of Michigan,
and then we played twenty four hours later later against Oakland. So you can't
hold onto stuff very long in baseball, and that's one of the different skills
for sure. So enjoyed it. It was fun. We have played Michigan,
I feel like a million times while I've been here. So every win's
good, and every win against Michigan is a little bit sweeter. But you
know, we got three more. So, like people say, job's not
finished, but at the end of the day, every baseball game to me
is just another baseball game. But you know when we're when we're in the
parking lot singing the fight song in ann Arbor, Yeah, that's that's a
little bit better, I will admit. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.
Look and with that, like so from personal accolades too, said talked
about your burse. He talked about you getting the second base. He saw
that because right right now you have You've been moving up the charts for the
stolen bases in Michigan state history. Right. Yeah, Apparently that started off
as like a funny joke on the team. The team like, oh look
at that, Jack Frank has moved into fifty seventh place, a ten way
tie for fifty seventh place. When I'm like, I don't know, like
everybody, everybody apparently has like thirty something steals or whatever, but honestly,
I had no idea. I just kind of there was a time where that
was like not part of my game at all. And it's definitely one of
the little things I learned, because it's not really as much about the speed.
It's more about understanding the pictures and blah blah blah boring baseball stuff,
but understanding when you can run and in good situations. But I don't know.
I try not to pay attention to that stuff if I get tagged and
all the tweets and stuff, so it's not possible to ignore it. But
it's like, do I really care that I moved into a fifteen way tie
in twentieth place. No, it doesn't really matter. But it is still
cool because now I I saw Cam Gibson, which I know who Cam Gibson
is, so that's cool. I mean, he's he was a great player,
got drafted by the Tigers, so yeah, that's cool. But it
started off as a funny joke within the team, like congrats man, twenty
fifth place, twenty fifth place. Now, before before we let you go
here, we got to talk about your your charitable giving, because you know,
obviously charitable get to America, this is part of the collective. As
you contract is one of their athletes for nil and with them you give a
five percent give back to a chairboll organization of your choice. Who have you
chosen not to give to? And why? Yeah, so I chose.
I chose a charity called Family Nurturing Center. So a little bit of the
backstory behind that is I actually, unlike most baseball players, I had an
internship in the summer at an insurance company and we kind of had this you
know, intern project of trying to fundraise for a local charity, and we
stumbled onto this one, and ultimately we got to go to the facility and
tour it and meet the people who actually run the facility. So just being
there and trying to learn, you know, what is their mission and they're
you know, they're a charity that supports children and families in general that have
been subject to abuse. So the thing that really stood out to me was,
you know, none of this is like court mandated. It's I want
to have a better relationship with my kid, or I want to be better
at how I express my emotions, So people that really just wanted to have
better family relationships and nobody's making them go and nobody's doing this or that.
So that was really interesting to me and cool to me. And then hearing
from the people that set up the programs and believe in what they're doing and
spend their whole life trying to make a better relationship in people's families. I
just thought it was a great opportunity and it was something that I had first
hand experience with. I know, a lot of times, you know Red
Cross and all these huge organizations, I don't know anything specifically or anybody specifically
in those organizations. So this was something that was close to me, close
to my heart. I had actually been there and seen it. So I
felt really good being able to give back a little bit. I didn't when
they called me about the nil thing, I was like, nil, But
you know, I'm on the baseball team, right So at the end of
the day, Yeah, so that's what it was. Yeah, most people
don't do internships during the summer, and it's something I had to work out
with my coaches. But part of that thing with COVID was, you know,
I had to learn to prepare myself for after baseball, because you know,
I'm not going to play baseball forever, and I think that's a hard
thing that you got to realize at some point. So, like I said,
when they asked me about nil, I was like nil. I mean,
yeah, I'd love to help out and do it anyway I can,
but I'm like, do you have the right phone number? So now it
was it was a great opportunity. Tom has been a you know, a
great person to learn from and just be around, and I'm so happy you
gave me that opportunity. But I think the unique part of them having us
donate back is a It's a great thing and just a great lesson for all
athletes because I think a lot of athletes are going to be really successful and
if you can kind of ingrain that into us now, I think it's going
to be really natural when we've all kind of moved through our careers and we're
able to give back a little bit more. I think this is a great
starting point. It's a beautiful thing. Man. You know, really do
like the mission that you know, obviously Cheldabill get the America does, but
then people like you being ambassadors for them mimss you as a whole. This
a phenomenal thing. Man. I'll tell you what you know. You've talked
a little bit about how to build culture. I think that your example,
your daily example, is what culture is all about at Michigan State and how
to build a great organization, be it on the field or off the field.
Sowere, what do you think about his ability to be a leader in
this great United States of America in the future here so now see you in
the giving move Jack. I saw the terse shoes you guys had on the
side thirteen, and I need a fitted hat. I'm gonna seeing my addres.
It looked like that that picture you guys took yesterday. That looked like
a baseball hat? Was it? Not right? That's old? That's old.
Okay, time sign the inside of okay, just sign the inside one
given move man. You know, Mabe pleasure talking to you, man.
I'm a fan. Now I'm gonna watch baseball, please now watching baseball because
of Jack Man. I appreciate it. Thank you, Thank you man.
Definitely we appreciate you coming on the show. Jack. Don't be a stranger
man, and we'll be watching this season as you move up the charts now,
you know, knocking fifty seventh place, you're gonna be the top right
right. Thank you guys. I appreciate it. It's a lot of fun,
really good time being on here. I appreciate you guys. Thank you
all right, man, appreciate it, Jack Many and man she baseball.
And I'll tell you what now that that's a phenomenal young man right there.
Great story, yeah, great story. And I mean it's a testament to
a lot of kids out there that are looking at that maybe that haven't even
you know, gotten to the college level. But this is something now with
the media of this social media and you know, being on YouTube forever and
all these videos so people can always drive back to that the mental health aspect,
which is a very hot topic right now. This is what you gotta
do now. Everybody's not like swerve. You know, you can't in I
ain't gonna lie now you you y'all, I don't know how you did it,
but man, you you had a different mental makeup from a lot of
people. How did you do that? It's funny straight because I was gonna
say, you know, we we had a teammate that I feel like we
didn't know anything about mental health back then. I know I did. You
know now looking back, as you know, we had an athlete, I
mean, a teammate, former brother who eventually had some mental health issues,
you know. You know what I'm saying. And I look back at it
now, being being older, saying like, how could someone could have grabbed
him earlier? Because we saw examples? You know, you you probably more
closer than than you met him before me, but you saw examples throughout this
career in college, you know what I'm saying. So I want to know,
like, how could you grab someone early to really control those mental habits?
You know what I'm saying, Because at the end of the day,
it's all about towrsur and decisions in life. But how do we help those
who we feel like got mental health problems make better tors and decisions? Yes?
Yeah, you know because like like like Jack said, you know,
you come in being a being an appleman all this. You don't want to
say you got issues and you got problems, you know what I mean?
And then a lot of time coaches don't make theirself available to for you to
talk to them. Some players feel like they can't talk to some coaches about
certain things, you know what I'm saying. And then do you have the
courage do you have the courage to talk to someone your age about your problem
of what you're going through? You know what I'm saying. I think that
take a lot, man, And I think all that build up to having
mental health problem because you got to get it out. You got to you
absolutely do. And that's one thing that you see now across the country,
they have these areas outside the training room where they're bringing in professionals that are
there and you can set appointments with them. Uh so you can talk,
you know, and kind of work through some issues because as you said,
you can't keep that stuff bottled in and it isn't taboo. It shouldn't be
taboo for anybody that is struggling, because I think everybody has a little of
that self doubt. I mean, I don't know, Swerve, I mean
when you know, when when the music stops from everything, I don't know,
when you was running around on campus, running running through everybody on the
practice field and scoring four touchdowns against doing your first game, I mean,
was there a little doubt somewhere? Little no, no, look at what
being in the marriage for ten years and having two kids. Boy, I
got a whole lot of doubt. I needs it, hits you. It
finally caught up to you. Right, I need to tell Jesus I lock
anybody. I need some help man, right, you know we'll speaking of
football, man. We gotta do a little spring football update in a second
here after these messages from our friends over at I Hop. I Hoop has
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and centhim in difference for dollar. That's man, Hey, they keeping America
fat? An'thing? Well, we finished this. I'm going over there for
a dollar. You gotta keep it in that budget. You know, we
don't learn that, man. But look, word on the street, Michigan
State football. There's a little update for you guys. So we've been putting
our air to the street and understanding what's going on in practice. Michigan State
is entering the fifth practice. They had it today on Thursday here, but
one thing that stood out to everybody, is that line back of room.
Uh? They said this is probably one of the best linebacker rooms where they've
seen ever, maybe ever at Michigan State. You got cal Halladay, Darius
Snow and then the newcoming Jordan hall but the addition of Wayne Matthews, the
third out of Old Dominion, and Jordan Turner from Whenisconsin. They said they
turned a lot a head to practice. Hey, that's where I started in
practice. Yeah. If you got a good linebacker room and they making plays,
that's telling us we got good guys up front too. M H.
Linebackers only make plays that you dumbing it up front, That's right, you
know what I mean. So if linebacker's running around and running sideline the sideline
and getting tackled for loss, that mean them big guys up up front doing
their job. And that's a good thing to have. I mean to talk
about the guys up front. You got Chris Bogeo back, Simon Barrow.
Now that look, I can't believe he's still got elptibility now, you know
because of that, I love the chance. So I would love to be
a linebacker behind that. And you know, don't don't mention Jalen Thompson,
Ken Tally and Big Derek Harmon. Hey, man, swear you might want
to say running back. Hey, the guys Morgane, they walked into a
good situation. They can put it all together, you know what I mean?
Well, they really did, they really really did. I'm excited to
see what that defense especially is gonna be able to do. You talked about
a defensive lineman. The newcomer on the defense has been turned ahead as Quinn
Darius Dunning, Dunning getting You know, this is a guy that he menaged
what sixty four two seventy, but they say his wingspan is like a guy
that's over seven foot. So, I mean, look, you know we
got long arms. Man. As an offensive lineman, it's hard. It's
hard to control a guy if you can't get to his body. Yeap,
yes, sir, we need it. We need it, baby, we
need it, We need it. I can't wait till the twinter to see
those guys before him. Man, oh man, you know we got that.
And then now nobody wants to talk about number two and number two were
talking about Aiden Childs. So the good the feedback that we're hearing all Aiden,
it's like, you know, the one thing that that may not sound
like a big deal, which is a huge deal. And you know this
being in the huddle is his command of the huddle and the offense. His
cadence is pro like. And he's saying you can hear him his cadence across
the street, you know. So he's in the huddle. Man, there's
nothing worse on the quarterback that you can't hear in the huddle, right,
And what that means is he's speaking with confidence and that and that can be
contagious in that huddle too. You know, if your quarterback speaking with confidence
and he walking with confidence and he playing with confidence, that can trigger down
to everyone else. And I was reading about him, you know, coming
over here with the coach. That's big too. And now you don't have
to learn the new offense. You already know the offense. You just got
to go out and perform and like you've been there before and so far in
the spring, that's what he's been doing, that's right. I mean,
you got him. He came over from Oregon State and he brought a tight
end Jack Belling. I mean that guy. You know, this is the
offense that is Taylor made. They're gonna have a lot of packages, but
they're gonna have personnel at twelve and you know sometimes thirteen where they're gonna have
three tight ends in the game. He's a guy that they said is catching
everything. He understands the offense. He's very comfortable. And look at the
positions that came over. You know, you got a quarterback who knows the
offense, a tight end that's locked in already, and I believe they had
an offensive lineman. I think the position is a center man. You know,
the center came over here, Tanner Miller. He came over from Valencia,
California. He came over from Oregon State too, and they said,
you know, he's not the biggest guy, but in those positions, center,
quarterback, and then you had one of the guys in the you know,
it's a tight end, it's not a receiver. But they can be
coaches on the field, right They can tell the other guys like, hey,
this is how this is what this play is supposed to look like.
You know, because coaches coach in a certain way, but sometimes some players
needed to be translated in their land so they understand it a little better.
So that's always a positive. Hans Worth Oh, it's the plus. It's
the plus best. You know, you gotta think when you have a center
that knows the offense, he's the quarterback as well. He got to make
the line call, he got to call out to Mike, he got to
talk down the line this way that way. So he's a quarterback too.
And if he can get those guys on one accord and don't have to think,
why you play, go out there and make plays, baby, that's
what it's all about, man. I mean, we are very excited to
see you know, the first scrimmage is going to be coming up here in
a couple of days. You know, that's something that you know typically is
closed to the media, but you know, we ain't media. Man.
We're a little different than that, you know. I mean we can get
in there, you know, tell us going on and give people, you
know, shoot them straight. That's what we're looking at and what we see
from this new team, and there's gonna be a lot of positivity coming their
way because they have the athletes. And I don't know, man, if
Jonathan Smith you see him, he just looks like a guy that can draw
up something in the sand man and it'll blow you away. So big ten
beware of what Jonathan Smith and company gonna bring. Come with the ex's and
o's on Saturdays in the fall. Swear On Tuesday, Man, we're gonna
bring one a friend of the program, Corey Robinson from two four to seven
Sports, will join us on Tuesday. He gives a big insight on the
recruiting process and what's going on with the Chansfer Portal. A lot of buzz
happening there all over the country of people that are getting ready to get in
there. That portal opens up right before spring ends here on April fifteenth is
when the portal opens, and obviously what's going on on the inner workings because
he he's not just connected to the coaching staff for the players, but he
talks to the parents and the uncles and everybody else. So you get real
from Corey Robinson. He'll join us on Tuesday, and we're gonna have some
more special guests. Man. We just keep him coming. And look,
I can't wait until we get back to that swear before we roll out of
here. Man again, I can't believe it was great seeing you last night.
We're gonna after we get done with this visit, we probably gonna come
back and do it again tonight. But we got to plan some stuff here
for the spring game. Right. Hey, what I'm hoping straight that this
is my picture and walk with me now, because I can't run like I
used to, got bad the three surge, but still go a lot of
touchdown. I would love to come back for the spring game, right and
we do interviews with people who talk about the history, asks them who their
favorite running back or what the favorite jersey you ever had growing up for their
favorite center of all time? You know, sit there, do do do
a show? Or do somebody watched the spring game? And after the spring
game go around the corner sellership with the fans and alumnies and the student bodies
and some of the players just have a good old part time and that can
happen. I beached myself and wake up and I have a hell of a
trip to these lands. Oh man, we gotta make that happen. What
do y'all think about that? Do you want swerve astraight to come up there
and do exactly walk what said through that? That sounds like a good time
to me, that sounds a great time. I'm not making up a good
time for them all for a good time. I think they might know,
but they don't really know. So we gotta get yeah, we gotta give
them to say it the Swerve experience. All right, man, great show
today, we're gonna get out of here. Man for Cedric Irving, I'm
Jason Stranghard. This is part of him. As you, everybody, have
a good night, God bless you, and go