WEBVTT

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The following is a presentation of play
Fly Sports properties. I was just laughing.

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I thought it was funny. Now
they got excited. It's it's good.

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You know. Sometimes you get your
little brother excited when you're playing basketball

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and stuff. Let him get the
lead, and then you just come back

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and take it back. Do you
think yep? I remember it as it

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was just yesterday, and like it
was yesterday, I was sitting about the

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forty yard line. Michigan State led
twenty four fourteen. Was gonna be a

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big upset, was gonna be a
crowning jewel for Mark D'Antonio in his first

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season. And then Brian Mallett snaps
the ball or he get gets the ball

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and he gets hit, he fumbles, so we're like, oh, yes,

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lo and behold Mike Cart hides behind
the whole line, picks it up,

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runs and I remember he ran,
you know, fifteen twenty yards,

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made somebody miss, and I came
in and made the tackle in his first

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down and a big letdown. The
Spartans eventually lost the game, a devastating

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loss, but the real dig came
soon after during a press conference with team

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captain Mike Hart. Sometimes you get
your little brother excited when you're playing basketball

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and stuff. Let him get the
lead and then you just come back and

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take it back. This this is
the meanor when he said it was just

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it got Coach Deve upset, and
then it got all of us upset.

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And you tell my tone. All
right, this game, this game is

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an important game. This game is
an important game. So they want to

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mock us all they want to marc
us. I'm telling them it's not over.

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So they can print all that crap
all they want all over their locker

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room. It's not over. It'll
never be over. Here. You could

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see just in his stern eye it
was fire. It's just starting. But

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just remember, pride comes before the
fall. Any just here, Pride comes

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before the phone. Well, we
all know what time it is. It

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is officially Rivalry Week here in East
Land, Sing. We are live from

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Jolly Pumpkin on Albert Street, deep
in the heart of downtown East Lansing.

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This is Sparta. I'm your host, Jason straight Horn, along with my

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co host Otis Wiley and jay U
took it to Colchrit. You really took

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it on them, So we're going
okay. This time has a little fun

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today guys, right, I mean
this is we got a bye week leading

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up into the main game of the
year, right against the school down the

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road. And what better way to
kick it off than with the Resident Spartan,

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the president, owner, CEO,
CFO, Resident Spartan who made a

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mistake and started off at the school
down the road. But quickly right it

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is wrongs. It came to east
Land sing and that's none other than Tony

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Grant. Tony Jay, How you
doing, man, I'm great, are

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you guys? Good to see you
here. We're here in your place,

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your establishment. Thanks a little bit
about what you're doing in this establishment here.

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That's beautiful. It's awesome. Man. Oh man. I've been at

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this company for about ten years now, and for about nine of it I

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was trying to find a spot in
these landsing so we could open a restaurant.

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So we're very happy that we've got
a location now deep in the heart

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of Yell. We got Jolly Pumpkin
there. Jolly Pumpkin's one of the top

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breweries in the world, one of
the top one hundred beries in the world.

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It's the one of the top three
all sour breweries in the world.

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And we've got some great food and
some great beer there for everybody. So

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I'm glad you guys are there.
Thanks for coming. Being a great food

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man. I mean, Jay,
you we got to talk about one thing

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on the one item on the menu, and that is Jay. You take

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it from here. I tell you, they always bring the food to me

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and straight. It's like the former
lineman. You know, boys like to

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eat, but I'll take it.
You know the big backs. We we

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like to eat too. But that
chicken sandwich that's here, money, absolutely

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money. He let's talk about when
we first had it. Is it came

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off the off the friar onto the
table. I grabbed it. I didn't

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even think about twice. Just get
right into it, flaming high. What

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was the coming that you made?
Team coming coming? When was the coming?

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Man? Be careful, man,
you're gonna be like that McDonald's coffee.

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You don't sum up, man,
Tony, you can't do that.

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You know that's your fall. Easy. Let that steve come off of that

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boy so that the tongue didn't blister
up. I don't know what you did

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with that sandwich. The chef back
there, the real the real m v

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P for that sandwich that's absolutely phenomenal
with the fries Diola dipping sauce in there.

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So what he's trying to say is
where is Let's go. Let's go,

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We'll get something later on the show
here and wash it down with a

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we're a little Sparta one of these. This is Sparta, the Sparta drinks

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American. That's right, and Tony, it's obviously we let's talk about the

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backstory. So when I was a
fundraiser here at Spartan Fun, my job

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of responsibility was to work with former
players who are alums and who are doing

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business. And so remember the time
we went out to your spot in the

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backwoods of the school down the road. Can you talk about when we sat

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down in Jolly Pumpkin and and arbor
or like me telling you we need to

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put one here in these lands.
And then now we're here, right,

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can you talking about that? And
how you started with North Peak but also

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with Jolly Pumpkin. The backstory,
Yeah, so many many moons ago.

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Jolly Pumpkin was formed in two thousand
and four, and then before that,

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actually North Peak became a brand that
was in nineteen ninety seven. So I

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got involved in about two thousand and
eight two thousand and nine, as just

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as an investor. I was working
full time at Borders bookstores at that point.

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Actually what happened was emerged those two
brands together and created a brewery company

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that would produce and distribute both Jolly
Pumpkin and North Peak beers throughout state of

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Michigan and then more broadly, and
then opened up two restaurants, one in

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ann Arbor and one in Traverse City, both under the Jolly Pumpkin name.

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Those are the first Jolly Pumpkin restaurants. And then fast forward when you and

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I we were meeting at ann Arbor, we still hadn't found anything in the

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area. We were looking at Lansing, we were looking at you know,

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kind of all over the area to
see if we could find something. But

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we want to be in East Lancing, you know, right down town.

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It just was kind of out of
our I had a big idea, no

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pocketbook at that point. If you
want to take a turn for my mom

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hockey book, we like that.
That's my mom. What ended up happening

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is I met a guy through the
city named Mark Bell, who Mark Bell

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played at Wisconsin. He actually scored
his He's a tight end, and he

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scored his only touchdown against Actually it
might have been two thousand and five in

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East Lancing. So did we played
against each other maybe one year two thousand

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and two, Sorry, two thousand
and two. We played against each other

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in two thousand and one. Anyway, we have become really good friends since

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then. He is the architect of
that whole project that you're sitting in,

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So the apartments above the target on
Grand River, the Jelly Pumpkin Space and

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everything down the line there, Foster's
Coffee Barrio, all that stuff. And

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so he said, let's get you
guys into East Lansing, and we came

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up with the deal to make it
happen, and so we opened up in

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Covid in twenty twenty. We were
supposed to open up in April or June

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of twenty twenty, and I got
put on pause. Obviously, we end

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up opening up I think it was
October of twenty twenty in that space.

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So no looking back. It's been
a great location for us, and I'm

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so proud to be, you know, putting money in to East Lansing,

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which I consider my second home versus
where I was born, and you know,

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be a part of the community.
Now, well, Tony, you

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know, talk about your affinity for
the uh the I p as the in

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the in the beer. You know, going back to your college days.

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Oh, it may have been a
love of yours maybe for you to actually

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take the leap and invest in a
company that that has such great beer.

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But tell us how that started.
Yeah, you know, beers in a

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good way. Beer's always kind of
been like, you know, I associate

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a lot of the good things that
growing up, my parents are celebration,

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there'd be there'd be drinks around,
You'll be drinking, and you know it

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was for me. I was very
lucky and fortunate to grow up or it

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wasn't a negative in my life.
And so you know, I've always associated

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a good time and you know,
I may have drank some beer in college.

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I mean, you know, uh
may have had some good times associated

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with beer drinking knowledge allegedly allegedly allegedly
nothing is documented except for now. But

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but I got out, I got
out into the real world and started working,

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and I was working with some people
that had had this this business that

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the you know, the makings of
this business, and I just I saw

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what they were doing on the on
the the restaurants, air building, and

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how this craft beer movement was was
starting to take hold, especially in the

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state of Michigan. And I always
looked at it as a you know,

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the state of Michigan in particular,
we've got such a tremendous agricultural base,

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and we've got such a great manufacturing
manufacturing heritage, you know, with the

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auto industry. You start to marry
that and what do you have you you

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know, beer, you know,
wine production, ciders, all these other

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kind of food products and everything else. And I started getting really interested in

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that space and took a kind of
a leap. I actually borrow money from

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a good friend of mine parents to
invest in this company, and then I

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paid it back over time, and
then, you know, just really got

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into what they were doing. The
stores are cool. I mean the store

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you're in right now is is similar
to the original vision for the company.

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It's a real great space to hang
out to, you know, to be

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with friends. They have a good
time, and and the beer side,

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you know, it's I was working
in the book business at that point,

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and I always looked and was proud
of the company I was with. I

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always looked at it as you know, in the book world. You have

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something for everybody. Any interest that
you have, you can find it in

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a bookstore. And in the beer
industry and especially the craft beer, there's

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so much creativity and so much going
on that it's another industry where it crosses

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demographics, it crosses generations, it
crosses you know, wealth, it just

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brings people together. There's a there's
a quote. You know, beer is

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the lubrication of society, and a
lot of things have been figured out in

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a beer hall, you know,
over the eons or or or at a

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at the at the city square over
a beer. And so you know,

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I've I've had nothing but fun in
the industry since then and still believe,

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you know, it's a really cool
industry to be in. Yeah, Tony,

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I think it's uh going. It's
great that we now have pinked a

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partnership with MSU and athletics. You
know, us sitting down breaking bread and

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truly understand that, like this was
the first partnership from a forward facing public

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marketing for Jolly Pumpkin. But people
don't know that you were the first one

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first company locally to do a n
IO deal with Michigan State Football in the

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office alignment juice squad. Talk about
how that came about. You know,

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it was, uh that was early
days, and I think it was the

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first nil deal. Maybe the university
did at all or sorry at the university,

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but any any any player had it
all at the university, and it

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was something where you know, I
felt like I had an opportunity to do

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something on you know, this isn't
an individual you know, big name,

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I'm looking to brand something with somebody's
fame. This is more of a be

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involved you know, got the whole
squad there ahead the long snappers there too,

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which was was like a fun angle
for me playing O line and long

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snapping and and you know, it's
a feel good. It's a team thing.

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It's not you know, like I
said, it's not an individual thing.

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And we love it because the guys
come in. I mean, the

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staff loves seeing the guys. You
know, I think they love the food.

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They sure eat a lot of it. We've done some some dinners together

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and stuff like that too. So
it's been a really good, good program

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and I'm proud to have have done
that. It was at that point it

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was a wild wild West. I
still think n I l is somewhat of

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the wild wild West. People are
trying to figure things out and feel it

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out. But at that point,
it was just like, Okay, we'll

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just figure it out as we go. Just this is what we're gonna do,

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and you know, let's let's do
it. Let's try it and get

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this thing going. Man. I
think Jay you laughed because I think we

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said the long snappers. You know
what happened. I think I heard you.

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I heard you. You heard snicker. Oh, yeah, it was

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a great one. Now, I'm
telling you, if that's how you make

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your money, if you get past
college and go to the next level and

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be a long snapper, you can
be a guy that's there for fifteen twenty

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years just snapping the ball. So
you know right now? Yeah, was

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what was that? What was the
fastest time on that snap for you?

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Oh? Man? Point six steven? Maybe point six six? So you

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because a few weeks ago I heard
Justin Tucker talking about this, can you

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walk us through it? It should
be about what three point what second from

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snap to kick? Oh? From
snap to kick? Yeah, I don't

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even remember. Put you on the
spot. It's been a couple of weeks

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since he did that. You give
Tony a little grace remember Drake College as

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as a long snapper slash center.
It seems to be that those guys end

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up being some of the best members
of society for some reason, Tony,

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I don't know why it is outside
of the running backs, obviously, maybe

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it's some safeties the center position.
Let's talk about that a little bit,

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Tonally, we can here, like
let's put the beer. Well, we

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can have the beer and me and
you talk about the center position. And

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how come so many of those guys
tend to go on to success in society

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like you have here at Jolly Pumpkins, and like you brother, yea,

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nobody, nobody appreciates what you're going
through. Nobody, and you best be

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damn you best be like spot on
every time you do what you're doing,

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or everybody is going to be on
you for it. I think there's some

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humility that's britten us as we go
through life at that position and that part

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part of the game where you know
you you've got everything on the line from

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the perspective of your brand, if
it goes wrong, if you're always have

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you always have hands under. I
didn't go far back for them, I

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was I was guard on the line. So okay, there you go.

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Yeah, but that long snapper position
and the whole specialty position, you guys

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are one have. You guys are
babies during training camp again, you have

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one job, snap the ball and
make the kick. Well, you gotta

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snap, you gotta defend, and
you gotta run and tackle too, don't

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forget about that. Yeah, kind
of athletes, Tony. You know your

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first year in ninety eight, you
came up there like for swing ball I

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can recall, and in the summer
you disappeared. And I'm like, Tony's

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gonna die when it comes down for
the running test. It's something for you

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youngsters. They used to have a
thing called running tests. They don't do

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it anymore. But back when we
played, you guys had that too,

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right, the running test, you
know what I'm talking about, but comes

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back for the fault just blows it
out. I'm talking about sixteen to one

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tens whatever, whatever depth and destruction
test the coach many came up with.

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You had no problem with it.
Man. What did you do over the

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summer? Was it the Sparta American
i PA that got you in shape for

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those runs? Or what tell us
the secret I was? I wasn't as

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blessed as my boy, as my
boy ducket to be able to come in

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and do whatever. I'm running four
to one my dad. My dad's an

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old ball coach, and so we
would we trained every day. In fact,

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one of his favorite activities was he'd
had me. He'd sent his blazer

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all right, and he'd pumped the
brake every every once in a while,

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and I'd had to push him to
a round the block, and everyone made

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my mom bring with beer. He'd
sitting there, you know, the car

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wouldn't be on it. I'd be
pushing him, push him down the block,

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and to make it tougher, he'd
hit the brake a little bit every

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once in a while too, so
I couldn't get any momentum going. I

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remember going down the block at times
and people would stop their cars and be

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like, do you need help?
And you'd be like no, and I'd

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be like yes please right. Would
didn't work. We put in work running

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lifting. You know, I'd be
snapping all summer long. I create a

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contraption so I could snap when I
was by myself, and I didn't need

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anybody there to catch snaps. The
stuff that they have now in the market.

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Yeah, I think. I think
when I left, when I left

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Michigan, and you know, I
went home for that fall and just watch

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I was watching BALLA, I was
watching football TV, and I at that

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point I thought I didn't know if
I was gonna be play football anymore.

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And so, you know, I
kind of went through a lot, went

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through some depression, went through some
kind of you know, what did I

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do leaving football? And then I, I you know, woke up and

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called up, you know, coach
Baggott, who was my boy. He

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brought me in who he had been
recruiting me before that. And when I

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came in in ninety eight, I
was I mean, I had already gone

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through losing something that I love so
much that when I came back in and

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I could run, I could you
know, practice whatever it was that I

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could do to be on that field
and be better, I was all in

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on it. It was just and
so I just had a different mentality.

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I loved those tests. I love
training for all that stuff. And because

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I knew it was on a finite
window, you know I could do it.

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So you're telling us right now,
live here from the Jolly Pumpkin,

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that adversity actually propelled you to do
more in your life. Oh, without

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a doubt. You know, people
say sometimes you don't know how much you

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love or or or or need or
realize you you you you love something until

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you lose it. And for people
to lose something sometimes that means you've lost

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it. You don't you don't get
a chance, you don't get a second

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chance. There's a lot of things
in life like that. For me,

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fortunately, you know, at eighteen
years old, I lost something. I

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mean, this is this is not
compared to you know, losing a loved

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one or something like that. But
but I lost football, lost the game,

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and you know, I came back
with a vengeance after that because you

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know, I realized like, oh, you know, I love this.

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This is part of me, this
is me, It's part of my brand,

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it's who I am. And I've
got a couple more years left to

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do this. You know, I
got to take full advantage of every second

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of it. And I think,
you know, there's a lot of people

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that don't don't come into you know. You know, we had teammates that

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didn't want to be there that you
know, they could have had all the

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world talent in the world, but
they just didn't. They couldn't love it

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like that because it probably felt just
like too much pressure and too much work.

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And so you know, to lose
it and then to come back and

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be able to gain get it back
was a blessing, complete blessing. That's

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that's that's paved my you know,
my path in a significant way, I

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think throughout my career in life.
Amen of that man. Well, it's

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hate week, right, we talked
about it Hate Week rivalry. We were

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just talking about how valry. But
you also have partnered with that team down

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the road when it comes to rivalry
with the cause, talk about it.

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You've been involved with this for years, even before Johny Pompk in North Peak.

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But talk about the cause. Yeah, so rivals Rivals for a cause.

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It's a it's a charity where we
raise money to donate to different charities.

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So we have been kind of on
a three three different charity rotation.

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It all it all started actually with
a teammate, teammate of ours, uh,

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Josh Thornhill, who got some you
know, very bad news about his

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son several years ago, I think
it was twenty seventeen, and I just

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and I heard, you know,
heard this is is someone was diagnosed with

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the inoperable brain tumor essentially so pediatric
cancer brain cancer, and I I just

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was heartbroken. I mean, Josh, a good friend of mine, were

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we were really tight, We're playing
ball, and so I just felt I

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had to do something. And so
I just we had just come out with

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these beers, Hail and Sparta,
and it just kind of triggered in my

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head, like, you know,
I've got something fun to get people interested,

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and maybe during that week I could
raise some money and raise some awareness

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and just try to help do something
as opposed to just sitting and you know,

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sitting on my hands. So that
that was where the Ravels for a

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Cause was born. And what we've
kind of done is, you know,

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we raised some decent money that year. I kind of just built a website

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and was walking around giving people beer
and asking him for money, which isn't

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a really great way to raise money. But he actually, Todd duck Duckett.

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I reached out to him for a
little bit of mentoring because he's so

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involved in philanthropy, and he coached
me up pretty pretty well, and so

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we partnered with with with him too. Through the New World Flood organization and

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he helped me raise money too.
So the second year we raised money for

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women's cancer. My wife is a
cancer survivor, and we did that for

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the Women's Cancer Hospital here at the
u of M Health System. And then

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that that diagnosis led to us not
being able to have biological children and we

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actually adopted adopted to beautiful daughters,
and that led me to do last year's

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raise, which we had a little
break because of COVID, but I found

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a the David Thomas Foundation, which
is the only nationwide foster care adoption charity,

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and we raised money for them last
year. And so this year we're

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circling back and we're raising money for
the cs Mott Cancer Hospital and so that's

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for pediatric cancer and so for the
kids, we're raising money again this year.

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And Haile it sparred our front and
center. So obviously Sparta being the

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dominant piece of that whole puzzle as
we all know. But so you know,

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we get all of our pubs right
now. You can come in and

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00:24:03.799 --> 00:24:07.559
you drink a piant, you order
a pint, we will donate a dollar

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forever pint dis order, or we
have these commemorative glasses like the spider glass

327
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you have there on the table that
well for five or for ten bucks,

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you get to keep the glass,
get a pint of beer, and we'll

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donate five bucks. So we're raising
money that way. You know, I'm

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00:24:21.400 --> 00:24:25.039
out Pound of the pavement. You
know. You go to Rivals for a

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Cause dot org and you can make
a donation and goes right to see us

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Mott. You know, we're just
talking about it and raising the money,

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00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:33.119
but it's all go all of it
goes right to the charity. There's not

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00:24:33.119 --> 00:24:37.279
a penny that stays behind. That's
not what this is about. So that's

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00:24:37.319 --> 00:24:41.799
awesome. That's really cool, Tony, and thank you for you know,

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00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:45.799
taking the lead and doing that.
You know, you mentioned Josh Thornhill and

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00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:48.799
getting started with that, you know, really really good thing, really tragic

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00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:52.720
story about you know, his his
little one followed that all along, but

339
00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:56.839
yeah, big you know, and
that's that's something that people don't realize.

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You know, once you're an athlete, you always want to give back to

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community because you've had a lot of
help along the way to get you to

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where you are. And it's always
any time that you can give back,

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00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:11.240
it's really good. And thank you
for you know doing that. Thank you

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00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:15.720
for saying that. Yeah, Yeah, and Tony's we created a QR code

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00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:19.519
so in Jolly Pumpkin, if you
come to visit, you're able to scan

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00:25:19.640 --> 00:25:23.599
the QR code. It directs you
to filling out some information but also has

347
00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:29.119
the link to donate. So we're
trying to help obviously as best as we

348
00:25:29.240 --> 00:25:33.519
can. But thank you you being
a partner of Michigan State but also allowing

349
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us to be here just showcases Spartan's
helping spartans and even beyond the grid iron

350
00:25:41.400 --> 00:25:44.839
which is great, great for us
as a as a program, but just

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for us as businessman too. So
appreciate you. Yeah, I appreciate that.

352
00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:52.880
Thank you. Yeah. Something the
locker room, the brotherhood. You

353
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know, no matter what, that
that never dies and you never find it

354
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again. That's something I've I've always
you know, I think maybe sub mentally

355
00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:03.880
have sought, you know, trying
to find that connection again. But there

356
00:26:03.960 --> 00:26:07.279
is nothing like your brothers that were
you know, in that locker room with

357
00:26:07.319 --> 00:26:11.440
you and generations beyond. You know, we didn't play together, but you

358
00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:14.240
know I got your back and I
know you got mine. It's just something

359
00:26:14.240 --> 00:26:17.759
about it, right, That's right. Tony, and we definitely have your

360
00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:22.480
back and we really appreciate your time
on the show. We know, we

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love the fact that you were able
to start this worthy cause rivals, you

362
00:26:26.359 --> 00:26:33.559
know, for for Marcus Thornhill that's
the child's name of you know, Josh

363
00:26:33.640 --> 00:26:38.160
and Katie Joe Thornhill that tried that
died tragically of the brain cancer or the

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00:26:38.200 --> 00:26:42.680
pediatric brain cancer, and donating a
dollar, five dollars or whatever you can

365
00:26:42.839 --> 00:26:48.480
afford. You know, we're gonna
have the QR code here on our podcast

366
00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:49.920
here, and then obviously we're going
to have it on our all of our

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00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:56.079
socials so people can easily find it
and make those donations to a worthy cause.

368
00:26:56.599 --> 00:26:59.440
Thank you so much, Tony.
I mean we can talk for hours,

369
00:26:59.480 --> 00:27:03.839
I'm sure, especially over a Sparta. I p a let's we'll do

370
00:27:03.920 --> 00:27:07.279
together? That we'll do together,
Yes, sir, that's sir, And

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we were falling to forget that.
Also in our partnership with Jolly Pumpkin,

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Tony stepped up and he's supporting women's
initiatives for women's sports. So not only

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00:27:19.240 --> 00:27:23.960
is he doing it for the football
team, he's also providing three meals for

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three women's sports teams in Michigan State. It's women's basketball, women's volleyball,

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00:27:30.839 --> 00:27:34.119
and the gymnastics. So we appreciate
you stepping up, especially in the year

376
00:27:34.440 --> 00:27:40.119
celebrating title nine, stepping up from
a brand, but also from a former

377
00:27:40.160 --> 00:27:45.640
Spartan and giving back to the women
here that we also respect just as much

378
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as our own self. So thank
you so much. Man. We appreciate

379
00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:52.240
you less to be part of it. So thank you. Thanks, Tony,

380
00:27:52.240 --> 00:27:57.240
appreciate it. No green Man,
Let's get that w Yes, sir,

381
00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.960
special thanks to Tony Grant Jolly Pumpkin
for hosting This is Sparta. I

382
00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:11.799
don't know who was Jordan or Pippen
in the backfield between jay U and our

383
00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:18.079
guests. Our guests. Who's gonna
be bringing on now? Javon Ringer?

384
00:28:19.160 --> 00:28:23.799
Yo, what's up? Fellers?
What's up? What's up? Rings how's

385
00:28:23.799 --> 00:28:26.720
it going? Brother? Things are
good, man, things, Everything's going

386
00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:30.680
good. Appreciate y'all having me.
I appreciate you. You know, we

387
00:28:30.839 --> 00:28:37.359
know you're busy. I just gotta
I gotta shoot first on that comment.

388
00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:41.480
Me and jay you had a great
partnership, so we were we were kind

389
00:28:41.480 --> 00:28:45.839
of like we were just wanting to
punching it both of us. No,

390
00:28:47.039 --> 00:28:56.519
it wasn't none of that, man, maun stop. We did not trade

391
00:28:56.000 --> 00:29:03.119
some touchdowns for Jen. I'm easy. You always twenty one tonies. What's

392
00:29:03.240 --> 00:29:07.359
crazy is because you don't see this
often. That's how like things kind of

393
00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:10.759
rocked well with me and Jay because
you don't see this too often. We

394
00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:15.319
had a great relationship with how it
would work. I always wanted like yards

395
00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:22.920
and he wanted touchdowns. So I
was I remember, we'll be in the

396
00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:26.039
in the locker room or in the
meeting room, and we just come up

397
00:29:26.079 --> 00:29:30.519
with crazy scenarios and I won't be
like, hey, Jay, would you

398
00:29:30.599 --> 00:29:37.920
rather have two hundred and fifty yards
and one touchdown or ninety yards and three

399
00:29:37.960 --> 00:29:44.000
touches? I like three touches.
We would literally have discussions like I would

400
00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:48.279
be okay if I had twenty carries
for like one hundred and forty yards no

401
00:29:48.440 --> 00:29:52.680
touchdowns, and then Jay, you
could have fourteen carries eighty yards and three

402
00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:57.240
touchdowns. Like we're good, Oh
wow, both looking looking good? Yeah,

403
00:29:57.359 --> 00:30:00.920
And like I said, back to
the you should me and him had

404
00:30:00.920 --> 00:30:03.759
we even we didn't even care who
started, like depending on the play,

405
00:30:03.400 --> 00:30:06.680
if I liked it, he let
me take it, or if he liked

406
00:30:06.680 --> 00:30:08.279
it, I let him take it, or if it was just kind of

407
00:30:08.359 --> 00:30:12.799
whatever we paper rock scissors sport like, Man, whoever won it, it's

408
00:30:12.920 --> 00:30:18.200
real, it's been verified. It's
been talking about this paper rock cissens for

409
00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:19.000
a long time. We didn't know
if it was true. Man. No,

410
00:30:19.039 --> 00:30:23.680
that was honest, honestly, God, no exaggeration, like because usually

411
00:30:23.720 --> 00:30:27.880
we would get like our first ten
plays or whatever and whatever it was if

412
00:30:27.880 --> 00:30:30.359
both of us kind of was like
I don't really care, like whatever,

413
00:30:30.359 --> 00:30:33.440
al right, come on, and
then whoever won and all right, you

414
00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:40.759
got it? Wow, man,
you mean I remember German such a selfless

415
00:30:40.799 --> 00:30:45.359
player. He won on senior day
against Penn State and he's like, no,

416
00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:48.160
you take and you take it and
it was a play design for him,

417
00:30:48.519 --> 00:30:51.640
and I real, coach Enos,
It's like, you got to take

418
00:30:51.680 --> 00:30:56.480
this one because it's some outside Zonar
screen or something he played that I had

419
00:30:56.480 --> 00:31:03.400
to go out. I'm like,
no, I'm good, Yeah, you

420
00:31:03.480 --> 00:31:06.920
got it. That's the thing.
You gotta know your limits. You got

421
00:31:06.920 --> 00:31:10.240
to know your role. You got
to know how you fit in, especially

422
00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:12.359
if you're in a running back by
committee and you know Javan and I had

423
00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:18.240
a great relationship with that and you
know, rings all the accolades and all

424
00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:22.039
the stuff you got on the field, you're a better, better dude off

425
00:31:22.079 --> 00:31:26.640
the field. Man, appreciate that, man saying, you know we we

426
00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:30.200
classed on five. We came in
together, man. Yeah, it was

427
00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:36.119
one of the few like freshman's early
freshman early. So Javan came in ready,

428
00:31:36.440 --> 00:31:38.720
like we are what he looked like
now, he came in ready.

429
00:31:40.279 --> 00:31:41.839
Now, I was one of those
guys that came from the track. I

430
00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:45.880
was strownning. Man, you remember
that first test, like mentioning. I

431
00:31:45.880 --> 00:32:00.039
couldn't remember that. Yeah, well
let's talk about man like me and Javon.

432
00:32:00.640 --> 00:32:04.640
Actually, Javan was supposed to room
roommate. He's supposed to be rooming

433
00:32:04.680 --> 00:32:07.319
with Ross Weaver, and then I
was rooming with R J. A.

434
00:32:07.400 --> 00:32:12.759
J. Jefferson, Arthur Lee,
Jemmerson. Let's be right. So we

435
00:32:12.839 --> 00:32:15.599
ended up figuring out like me and
Ross knew each other coming in. So

436
00:32:16.519 --> 00:32:20.359
do you know Felino, We just
honored Felino last week. He said,

437
00:32:20.480 --> 00:32:24.119
hey, Felina, I don't ready
know Javon. They don't even know Aj.

438
00:32:24.839 --> 00:32:29.160
Can we room up? So he
switched it, so we had two

439
00:32:29.240 --> 00:32:34.640
running backs to safety defensive backs rooming
together. Well, let's talk about it,

440
00:32:34.640 --> 00:32:38.440
man, Like you're from Ohio,
the h ten Shamana, which is

441
00:32:38.880 --> 00:32:44.839
hominant and bringing in some studs in
college football and playing on the pros.

442
00:32:44.920 --> 00:32:49.519
Like talk about Ohio and your roots, but also coming to Michigan State and

443
00:32:49.599 --> 00:32:53.759
that whole story. Well, back
when I was coming up, I feel

444
00:32:53.799 --> 00:32:59.279
like I feel like sometimes have changed
a little bit because even when I was

445
00:32:59.319 --> 00:33:02.279
coming up, even high school,
it was always a grind type of mentality,

446
00:33:02.599 --> 00:33:07.240
Like y'all have to be in that
weight room. You gotta get strong,

447
00:33:07.319 --> 00:33:09.039
you gotta get powerful if you want
to have any chance to succeed,

448
00:33:09.160 --> 00:33:14.240
not just in Ohio but against these
other people around the country. So when

449
00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:15.920
I was coming up, man,
that's like you said, when I came

450
00:33:15.960 --> 00:33:21.160
into Michigan State, like I already
you know, you hear those stories how

451
00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:23.559
people gained like twenty something pounds once
they get into college or whatever, and

452
00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:27.640
it's usually because they didn't really work
out like that in high school and now

453
00:33:27.640 --> 00:33:30.119
they're actually putting on muscle. I
did, like throughout my four years of

454
00:33:30.119 --> 00:33:36.480
college only I only gained about maybe
seven pounds, and I stayed the same.

455
00:33:36.599 --> 00:33:38.920
So, man, coming from where
I came from, that was the

456
00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:44.799
athletes I competed against. You know, we were kind of loaded, and

457
00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:49.039
we were very loaded, and it
really helped establish my work ethic early,

458
00:33:49.480 --> 00:33:54.319
which helped me once I still got
to college. Yeah. Man, so

459
00:33:55.119 --> 00:34:00.319
just through the record, people are
gonna think when I tell these stories,

460
00:34:01.279 --> 00:34:06.039
I was two fifty five in college
eight percent body fact. All right,

461
00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:08.159
just just for the record, I
was not lazy, but I'd like to

462
00:34:08.239 --> 00:34:17.280
do some I like you every day, jay Me. No matter what anybody

463
00:34:17.320 --> 00:34:22.280
says, Bro, you passed to
have gas or tests. Like they don't

464
00:34:22.320 --> 00:34:24.840
do that. They don't do that
stuff. No more like you passed to

465
00:34:24.880 --> 00:34:29.360
have gas tests. So like the
twenty half gases trains his mind. He

466
00:34:29.480 --> 00:34:35.199
trained his mind to win the test
test exactly. Just do this once so

467
00:34:35.199 --> 00:34:38.039
you don't have to wake up at
five thirty doing the next test. But

468
00:34:38.119 --> 00:34:43.519
I remember every every meeting, will
come in there and you know Coach Enos

469
00:34:44.039 --> 00:34:46.840
my senior year though, so Coach
Enos will come in. We'll bring Javan

470
00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:52.880
to coffee. Javan had to drink
of coffee before every practice. You will

471
00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:55.840
bring You'll bring me whatever leftover,
Like the coaches have for lunches. It

472
00:34:55.880 --> 00:35:01.159
will be like b Dove's wings or
her brito smashing the marino? Do you

473
00:35:01.199 --> 00:35:07.440
want to drinking? I'm like,
damn, look at that. I don't

474
00:35:07.440 --> 00:35:10.119
know. I don't know if coach
Enos did here this, but shout out

475
00:35:10.119 --> 00:35:15.119
to coach Enos man because of him
bring because I remember it was one of

476
00:35:15.159 --> 00:35:17.760
those days during camp. I was
kind of dragon and yeah, he just

477
00:35:17.800 --> 00:35:21.679
he could tell kind of meet and
so he brought me. He brought me

478
00:35:21.719 --> 00:35:23.639
this coffee and it kind of picked
me up. And ever since then,

479
00:35:23.800 --> 00:35:27.559
like that's kind of what started me
with this whole coffee thing. So,

480
00:35:27.599 --> 00:35:29.800
hey, coach Enos, you hear
this, man, I appreciate you.

481
00:35:29.880 --> 00:35:35.000
Man. So you didn't drink coffee
till you coaching knows brought your yeah couple

482
00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:37.079
of black couple yeall, no,
yeah, but yeah, that was the

483
00:35:37.079 --> 00:35:39.639
first. That was the first time
really kind of having it. And ever

484
00:35:39.639 --> 00:35:43.239
since then, like I've kind of
stuck with it. It's not an everyday

485
00:35:43.280 --> 00:35:45.480
thing. I don't want to get
too relyingt on the caffeine, but yeah,

486
00:35:45.519 --> 00:35:50.920
that is that is kind of what
I do. Man. So talk

487
00:35:50.960 --> 00:35:54.119
a little bit about your ability,
Like you know, you had some breakout

488
00:35:54.280 --> 00:35:59.360
games against the school down the road, right you know, I can recall

489
00:35:59.400 --> 00:36:02.199
like you break out for long touchdown
roads in the big House. You know,

490
00:36:02.320 --> 00:36:07.920
this is rivalry week times too,
since it's a bye week for Michigan

491
00:36:07.920 --> 00:36:12.039
State right now and Michigan you know, talk about the mindset of you.

492
00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:15.880
You're a legendary Spartan dog All American
in the backfield. You know, we're

493
00:36:15.880 --> 00:36:20.880
having some trouble in the backfield right
now for Michigan State. We're running the

494
00:36:20.920 --> 00:36:24.840
ball. We had a little bit
more consistency against Wisconsin in the homecoming game,

495
00:36:24.920 --> 00:36:28.960
and we can deal with this past
week. But what is your mindset

496
00:36:29.039 --> 00:36:36.599
going into a game, especially one
like this. My mindset was always it

497
00:36:36.679 --> 00:36:42.599
wasn't how can I say this?
Not necessarily I knew how to kind of

498
00:36:42.599 --> 00:36:45.480
get myself where I needed to be. But it was more so me encouraging

499
00:36:45.519 --> 00:36:49.840
our offensive line because everything starts upfront, Like everything, I don't care who

500
00:36:49.880 --> 00:36:52.719
the running back is like that.
That is my honest to God opinion.

501
00:36:52.880 --> 00:36:58.320
If you have a beast offensive line, they can make an average running back

502
00:36:58.360 --> 00:37:00.920
look amazing by just a stout much
in the line of scrimmage. So every

503
00:37:00.920 --> 00:37:06.280
time it came in and what's crazy
with this game, usually whoever wins up

504
00:37:06.280 --> 00:37:10.039
front, they usually win the game's
I rarely remember it not being that way.

505
00:37:10.079 --> 00:37:13.880
If you can control the line of
scrimmage on both sides of the ball,

506
00:37:14.199 --> 00:37:16.119
usually had a pretty good chance on
winning the game. So that was

507
00:37:16.159 --> 00:37:20.440
always my mindset, making sure my
offensive line was ready and then me and

508
00:37:20.519 --> 00:37:24.599
myself, Man, I knew it
was gonna be a brutal game that I

509
00:37:24.719 --> 00:37:29.119
relished in that like I love that
because that is a very physical game,

510
00:37:29.239 --> 00:37:34.960
and the fact that there's always that
disrespect from them, Like no matter how

511
00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:37.880
the year is going. I remember, even in some of the D'Antonio years

512
00:37:37.920 --> 00:37:43.440
when they clearly had the better team
than Michigan, everybody still goes with like

513
00:37:43.480 --> 00:37:46.480
they still think Michigan's gonna win.
It's still the disrespect to Michigan State.

514
00:37:46.639 --> 00:37:51.400
So that was always added fuel to
the fire too. But specifically when I

515
00:37:51.440 --> 00:37:53.920
was at Michigan State, I mean, just truth be told, we didn't

516
00:37:53.960 --> 00:37:57.480
have the most success. Like I
said, I didn't even beat that team

517
00:37:57.559 --> 00:38:02.199
until what my senior year. Yeah, yeah, man, So that I

518
00:38:02.239 --> 00:38:06.119
don't know, man, the fact
on how disrespectful they could be, it

519
00:38:06.199 --> 00:38:07.840
always kind of just adds a little
more fuel to it, which is really

520
00:38:07.880 --> 00:38:12.559
the more fuel isn't needed. It's
already there. But you know, just

521
00:38:12.679 --> 00:38:16.159
and just the fact on how not
just them, but these these older people

522
00:38:16.239 --> 00:38:20.519
in the media, they grew up
when Michigan was, you know, doing

523
00:38:20.599 --> 00:38:22.880
what they were doing, so they
always kind of hype Michigan up to but

524
00:38:23.400 --> 00:38:27.719
just their fan base and knowing that
if you could win that game, like

525
00:38:27.760 --> 00:38:30.760
you've literally you messed up their entire
year. I don't care what other game,

526
00:38:30.840 --> 00:38:34.000
whatever, the other games they may
win. If you can beat them

527
00:38:34.000 --> 00:38:36.719
in Michigan, if they lose the
Michigan State, that just puts a sour,

528
00:38:37.159 --> 00:38:39.400
a saur taste in their mound for
the next whole year until we play

529
00:38:39.440 --> 00:38:45.320
again. Right, Givanni, so
oldest hit on. You're a kid from

530
00:38:45.360 --> 00:38:52.480
Ohio, have success in Ohio.
What made you choose Michigan State? Hey,

531
00:38:52.519 --> 00:38:57.199
full transparency, you be honest,
my brother, Yeah, talk about

532
00:38:57.199 --> 00:39:02.159
the journey because I know it,
but the process because in your year,

533
00:39:02.239 --> 00:39:07.719
I know, got injured. Yeah, what made me choose Michigan State was

534
00:39:07.760 --> 00:39:12.039
honest, honestly, it was some
of it was my father, my dad.

535
00:39:12.519 --> 00:39:14.960
A lot of it was my dad, my dad really liked Michigan State

536
00:39:15.039 --> 00:39:17.440
when we took a visit there because
I tore my ACL actually my senior year

537
00:39:17.880 --> 00:39:24.639
of high school. But even with
tearing my ACL, I didn't really lose

538
00:39:24.679 --> 00:39:30.440
out on any scholarships that I had
and was crazy USC Southern California. They

539
00:39:30.480 --> 00:39:32.880
actually offered me after I tore my
a CL, so that it wasn't a

540
00:39:32.960 --> 00:39:37.480
lack of recruiting. But when I
took a visit, it just how it

541
00:39:37.519 --> 00:39:39.679
kind of worked out to where I
had my surgery, I didn't take any

542
00:39:39.719 --> 00:39:43.360
visits to any other schools, and
then when I finally was able to walk

543
00:39:43.360 --> 00:39:45.079
again, you know, we went
up to Michigan State. That was like

544
00:39:45.119 --> 00:39:49.519
my that was my only that was
my only visit and I actually had plans

545
00:39:49.719 --> 00:39:54.920
to still visit some other schools,
but my father something about Michigan State.

546
00:39:54.960 --> 00:39:58.679
He loved it, and then that's
what really because I didn't personally really I

547
00:39:58.719 --> 00:40:00.519
didn't really know much much. I
didn't know too much about Michigan State,

548
00:40:00.920 --> 00:40:06.239
but once I was looking into it
seeing how much my dad loved it,

549
00:40:06.400 --> 00:40:08.559
I think at the time at the
time because it was like it was they

550
00:40:08.559 --> 00:40:16.239
had three running backs. J U
Jason Jason t and uh Cobb. Yeah,

551
00:40:16.280 --> 00:40:21.119
so him and then with Drew they
were like, you guys were like

552
00:40:21.119 --> 00:40:23.440
like number one in the Big ten
in Russian and then like top is toping

553
00:40:23.519 --> 00:40:27.719
is topping the nation. And then
of course I wanted to go someplace where

554
00:40:27.719 --> 00:40:30.639
I could play right away. And
then DeAndre, so I saw the rotation.

555
00:40:30.760 --> 00:40:34.199
And then DeAndre was a senior.
So I'm putting all these into perspective

556
00:40:34.239 --> 00:40:37.599
and thinking like, well, if
he leaves me, maybe yeah, I

557
00:40:37.639 --> 00:40:40.039
could come in and you know,
you know, there we go boom,

558
00:40:40.079 --> 00:40:44.039
and then I'll be able to help
out and it is still in the Big

559
00:40:44.079 --> 00:40:46.159
ten, and you know, maybe
this could this could be, this is

560
00:40:46.159 --> 00:40:50.119
what it's supposed to be. So
that's kind of why I ultimately end up

561
00:40:50.159 --> 00:41:00.320
choosing Michigan State School. My host
was my host was a Brandon McKinney.

562
00:41:00.679 --> 00:41:05.400
You know he's from Yeah, he's
from my school. So when I came

563
00:41:05.440 --> 00:41:09.079
up there, they naturally just put
us. But you said, Brandon and

564
00:41:09.119 --> 00:41:15.400
Stefan hosting me on my visit to
Yeah, he number one two comedians on

565
00:41:15.440 --> 00:41:22.119
the squad. Like where did they
take you? I don't come, I

566
00:41:22.119 --> 00:41:30.239
don't We went. We just we
went to a few like a few little

567
00:41:30.239 --> 00:41:32.519
parties, like I can't remember.
Some of them were like house party,

568
00:41:32.760 --> 00:41:37.039
Yeah, like house parties, start
stuff. What schools were in the running

569
00:41:37.079 --> 00:41:39.760
before you said USC? Who else? Yeah, I wanted to take a

570
00:41:39.840 --> 00:41:43.760
visit to USC. I wanted to
take a visit to Tennessee. I wanted

571
00:41:43.760 --> 00:41:45.440
to take a visit to West Virginia. I wanted to take a visit to

572
00:41:45.440 --> 00:41:51.119
Florida the Gators because they offered me
also, And I told John L.

573
00:41:51.159 --> 00:41:52.440
Smith that, Like I told him
that, like, hey, you know,

574
00:41:52.519 --> 00:41:55.960
thank you for the day this official
visit, But like I want to

575
00:41:57.039 --> 00:42:00.320
still take a few visits because I
was always told like, hey, take

576
00:42:00.360 --> 00:42:02.079
your visits, take your visits,
take your visits. Like and I still

577
00:42:02.280 --> 00:42:07.679
I personally tell players that all the
time, Like even even if it becomes

578
00:42:07.679 --> 00:42:09.840
the Michigan State or at the Toledo
whatever, I always tell guys like,

579
00:42:09.920 --> 00:42:14.239
look, because this is that's a
that's a huge that's a huge decision,

580
00:42:14.440 --> 00:42:16.840
like where you choose to spend your
college at, because that's that's that's the

581
00:42:16.880 --> 00:42:20.800
time of your life. That's a
big part of your life. Even though

582
00:42:20.800 --> 00:42:22.199
it's short, it's still a big
part of your life. I always tell

583
00:42:22.199 --> 00:42:24.679
guys to take their visits. So
that's kind of what my mindset was.

584
00:42:25.079 --> 00:42:29.000
And then I told I told him
that, and he said, okay.

585
00:42:29.159 --> 00:42:31.280
Then when we left, my dad
just talking my ear off about Michigan State,

586
00:42:31.320 --> 00:42:35.239
this, Michigan State, that,
Michigan State, Michigan State, that,

587
00:42:35.519 --> 00:42:37.920
and he like, you need you
need to hurry up and commit before

588
00:42:37.960 --> 00:42:39.559
they before they get it, get
us, get somebody else, and then

589
00:42:39.679 --> 00:42:43.480
and then you're not able to go
there and blah blah blah blah blah.

590
00:42:43.639 --> 00:42:46.239
So then I started really thinking about
it, like, well, they are

591
00:42:46.280 --> 00:42:51.599
like top in a big ten right
now in rushing. I want to play

592
00:42:51.679 --> 00:42:54.400
right away. DeAndre Cobb as a
senior, He'll be gone, Okay,

593
00:42:54.599 --> 00:42:58.280
I could, I could? You
know, I can make it work.

594
00:42:59.079 --> 00:43:01.840
Oh that's kind of those were schools
that I was going to try to take

595
00:43:01.880 --> 00:43:06.559
a visit to think about that.
That's all warm weather schools except for West

596
00:43:06.599 --> 00:43:15.280
Virginia all hate When you were coming
in, were you coming in with you

597
00:43:15.320 --> 00:43:17.760
said you wanted to play right away? Were you coming in with the mindset

598
00:43:17.920 --> 00:43:22.760
of I'm taking taking I'm coming in
to be the guy or I want to

599
00:43:22.800 --> 00:43:27.679
fit into the piece for the running
backs by committee. What was it mindset?

600
00:43:27.880 --> 00:43:30.960
I wanted to fit in, like
I said, because I knew you

601
00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:32.480
guys roted it and you guys rotated
a lot, Like it was all all

602
00:43:32.519 --> 00:43:36.400
three of you guys, all three
of you had like over six seven hundred

603
00:43:36.480 --> 00:43:38.519
yards Russian. So like I really
just kind of wanted to come fit in,

604
00:43:38.639 --> 00:43:43.000
especially my I mean, I was
a freshman, so I wasn't I

605
00:43:43.039 --> 00:43:45.679
wanted to I just wanted to contribute. I was really a team guy.

606
00:43:45.800 --> 00:43:47.559
And then every time I watched you
guys that that year, you guys were

607
00:43:47.679 --> 00:43:51.079
in a lot of games, and
I thought maybe I could just be another

608
00:43:51.119 --> 00:43:53.800
piece to help kind of get us
over that hump. So yeah, really,

609
00:43:53.840 --> 00:43:57.400
like I didn't really have a mindset
of coming in like I want to

610
00:43:57.480 --> 00:44:00.119
just take over everything. I want
every single carry, I want to be

611
00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:02.840
the only man. It was like, no, once I literally thought I

612
00:44:02.840 --> 00:44:06.280
wanted to be that piece. Once
DeAndre Cobb left, I could just come

613
00:44:06.320 --> 00:44:08.280
in and just kind of help help
from there and then just continue to progress.

614
00:44:08.679 --> 00:44:12.960
You know, as my years went
through college, there's this question I

615
00:44:13.039 --> 00:44:15.599
have to ask. I got to
ask because you know, you're dealing with

616
00:44:15.760 --> 00:44:19.639
right now at the University of Tile
though, and the name, image and

617
00:44:19.800 --> 00:44:23.800
likeness. When you think about if
we were coming out in two thousand and

618
00:44:23.800 --> 00:44:28.320
five and we were able to capitalize
on our name, image of likeness,

619
00:44:28.400 --> 00:44:32.400
Bro, Like what what I would
entice you, incentivize you to make the

620
00:44:32.480 --> 00:44:37.920
decision if you get in the shues
of the players. Now, yeah,

621
00:44:37.679 --> 00:44:43.400
one about that whole thing, I'm
I'm happy. I'm happy that that is

622
00:44:43.440 --> 00:44:49.800
something, because it's amazing how much
money these universities make off of the grind

623
00:44:49.840 --> 00:44:52.360
that these players put in. And
it's not even close some people are you

624
00:44:52.400 --> 00:44:54.360
know. I used to hear that. I used to hear those discussions,

625
00:44:54.440 --> 00:44:57.880
like even at the barbershop, like
people talk about, man, they getting

626
00:44:57.880 --> 00:45:00.039
the whole scholarship paid for and blah
blah blah blah blah. I'm like,

627
00:45:00.039 --> 00:45:06.599
bro, that is that's literally nothing
compared to the millions on millions on millions

628
00:45:06.599 --> 00:45:10.079
of dollars that they're all making on
the backs of these players. And then

629
00:45:10.400 --> 00:45:14.199
even for myself, Like I'm happy
for these players, but I would there

630
00:45:14.280 --> 00:45:22.079
was any of bitterness and jealousy because
I think about, no, they started

631
00:45:22.079 --> 00:45:27.800
selling that twenty three jersey, my
jersey myself my sophomore year, like and

632
00:45:27.840 --> 00:45:30.679
then and then I still would see
it today, Like I still see that

633
00:45:30.800 --> 00:45:34.599
jersey around whenever every now and then
when I'm up there and I'm like,

634
00:45:34.719 --> 00:45:37.719
Yo, is there any way I
can get any back pay on some of

635
00:45:37.760 --> 00:45:45.280
this reparations? No, that's like
the truth. Like I would see that

636
00:45:45.280 --> 00:45:49.480
and I would think about how just
how beneficial that could have been in things

637
00:45:49.519 --> 00:45:52.639
that could have helped out with me
back then when they actually were, you

638
00:45:52.679 --> 00:45:54.760
know, selling my jersey. They
started selling that twenty three jersey when I

639
00:45:54.800 --> 00:45:58.920
was wearing twenty three. So I
don't know, man, but it is

640
00:45:58.920 --> 00:46:00.320
a blessing. It is a good
thing, man, and it's important a

641
00:46:00.360 --> 00:46:04.320
lot of that's that's how That's what
a lot of these recruits are going off

642
00:46:04.360 --> 00:46:07.559
of. And really the ones who
are benefiting because I feel like eventually they're

643
00:46:07.559 --> 00:46:10.920
gonna have to come up with some
rules because the ones who are benefiting these

644
00:46:12.039 --> 00:46:15.079
kids right now, they're the ones
who are gonna benefit off of it because

645
00:46:15.239 --> 00:46:17.360
because right now, it's just it's
just wide open. These kids can make

646
00:46:19.039 --> 00:46:22.320
crazy money and it's and it's a
little disadvantage with a lot of other schools

647
00:46:22.360 --> 00:46:24.880
too. Man, it's kind of
but it's just wild it's really all over

648
00:46:24.880 --> 00:46:29.000
the place. But I think eventually
they're gonna have to put some stipulations on

649
00:46:29.039 --> 00:46:32.519
it. Yeah, so you talk
about your number twenty three jersey being sold,

650
00:46:32.639 --> 00:46:35.920
but when you came in as a
freshman, you were thirty nine,

651
00:46:36.239 --> 00:46:40.440
number thirty nine. That was my
choice. I was going to say,

652
00:46:43.000 --> 00:46:45.079
sisterly quick, yeah, because that
was back. That was back when you

653
00:46:45.119 --> 00:46:49.159
had to earn, earn a good
jersey. That was that was back.

654
00:46:49.199 --> 00:46:51.239
You come in as a freshman,
it's like, all right here, freshmen,

655
00:46:51.320 --> 00:46:52.599
you take that. You you want
to change it? Man, make

656
00:46:52.639 --> 00:46:55.519
some plays. Nowadays, you know
these kids, they you know, they

657
00:46:55.639 --> 00:46:59.440
they kind of just gonna get some
stuff handed to them without actually having to

658
00:46:59.480 --> 00:47:01.559
prove anything first. You remember that, Oh does you remember back our first

659
00:47:01.679 --> 00:47:07.280
we couldn't even we couldn't even talk
to the media media podcast, which it

660
00:47:07.360 --> 00:47:13.079
helped because if you put some of
our fellow recruits and classmates colleagues on there,

661
00:47:13.639 --> 00:47:15.719
you don't know what they're gonna say, right, I mean, that's

662
00:47:15.920 --> 00:47:19.400
that's that's true. That's true,
that's true. But do you we talked

663
00:47:19.400 --> 00:47:24.039
about this, Should you be able
to come into college as a freshman,

664
00:47:24.880 --> 00:47:29.719
you need to show myself approved before
you even get a chance to start talking

665
00:47:29.719 --> 00:47:32.760
about in I L and capitalizing.
Well, yeah, because I do.

666
00:47:32.840 --> 00:47:36.480
I think about some of these guys
who are getting this. They're they're good

667
00:47:36.559 --> 00:47:39.800
in high school and they're getting this, they're getting they're getting this crazy n

668
00:47:39.880 --> 00:47:44.480
I L deal coming in as a
freshman. But then how many how many

669
00:47:44.480 --> 00:47:46.920
of these top players we know that
have came out of high school they go

670
00:47:46.960 --> 00:47:51.239
to that school and then they get
beat out by a three star and then

671
00:47:51.239 --> 00:47:54.000
that top guy doesn't even play.
But yet I was wondering that are they

672
00:47:54.039 --> 00:48:00.320
still old that money or how is
that gonna work out? Well, so

673
00:48:00.480 --> 00:48:04.119
you look at the transfer portal,
right, you know some guys going there

674
00:48:04.239 --> 00:48:07.559
voluntary, you know, like,
Okay, I don't like this place,

675
00:48:07.880 --> 00:48:12.280
the coaches are screwing me over whatever. Well, if you are getting paid

676
00:48:12.320 --> 00:48:14.480
a lot of money, they come
to a school like a lot of these

677
00:48:14.559 --> 00:48:19.159
five stars, aren't you know,
they're going to be told to go to

678
00:48:19.199 --> 00:48:22.760
the transfer portal. I mean,
welcome to professional sports. That's where it

679
00:48:22.840 --> 00:48:24.840
is right now. With some of
the guys, you know, even in

680
00:48:24.920 --> 00:48:31.679
Michigan State that aren't performing, Yeah, they're being strongly suggested, you know,

681
00:48:31.760 --> 00:48:36.480
as a couple of years back to
move along. That's what this is.

682
00:48:36.840 --> 00:48:40.639
And I'm not to sound like a
jerk or anything, but I don't

683
00:48:42.039 --> 00:48:45.559
fully disagree with that, just because
it's like, you know, when you

684
00:48:45.599 --> 00:48:52.840
get a scholarship, you they're like
they're investing into you and hoping that you

685
00:48:52.840 --> 00:48:55.239
can project to be this, and
if you're not living up to your end

686
00:48:55.239 --> 00:49:00.360
of the bargain of that scholarship,
then it's like, ayson know, we've

687
00:49:00.400 --> 00:49:04.719
tried for like three years now,
two three years, and like because at

688
00:49:04.719 --> 00:49:07.239
the end of the day, like
these players can get coaches fired, like

689
00:49:07.239 --> 00:49:13.119
if they're not performing. Like,
bro, if you're not just being a

690
00:49:13.199 --> 00:49:16.280
jerk kid, you're not working hard, you're not doing what you you're not

691
00:49:16.360 --> 00:49:21.039
you're not executing what you're supposed to
execute, Like, you're just not performing.

692
00:49:21.119 --> 00:49:23.199
Like if a coach keeps keeps trying
to play you and play bro,

693
00:49:23.239 --> 00:49:25.920
eventually it's gonna be like, all
right, bro, Like now I got

694
00:49:25.920 --> 00:49:29.559
to get fired now because I didn't
trust it in the youth to handle what

695
00:49:29.599 --> 00:49:32.239
you were supposed to handle and you
not you, So that that conversation,

696
00:49:32.360 --> 00:49:36.360
honestly, that's I don't really have
a problem with that. I feel like

697
00:49:36.360 --> 00:49:38.119
that's fair, like if you hadn't
been if you hadn't been in that school

698
00:49:38.119 --> 00:49:42.000
for an x amount of time,
and like you just not living up to

699
00:49:42.039 --> 00:49:45.039
your end of the bargain of this
scholarship. And it's like well man,

700
00:49:45.199 --> 00:49:52.679
and especially at Michigan State, like
some of those guys shouldn't even well,

701
00:49:52.000 --> 00:49:55.639
there weren't some zoom bases, you
know, the guys that got recruited during

702
00:49:55.639 --> 00:50:00.840
the pandemic. They weren't allowed to
see them up close, so they got

703
00:50:00.840 --> 00:50:06.559
the benefit of being getting a scholarship. I mean, yeah, I mean

704
00:50:06.559 --> 00:50:13.079
because even there was some some guys
who shouldn't have I'm trying to be there's

705
00:50:13.119 --> 00:50:19.239
just something political correct. Yeah,
this is this is sparta man, that's

706
00:50:19.280 --> 00:50:24.880
true. Hey listen, it's just
you like that just keeping it a buck

707
00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:28.199
because yeah, man, I put
in my work in Michigan State too.

708
00:50:28.239 --> 00:50:30.800
So I feel like I personally can
say this. Some of the guys who

709
00:50:30.480 --> 00:50:34.519
who were there, like you shouldn't
have been there, Like you you really

710
00:50:34.519 --> 00:50:37.360
weren't that good, like and then
or if you did get blessed to have

711
00:50:37.440 --> 00:50:40.280
this opportunity again, like I said, you're not living up to your end

712
00:50:40.280 --> 00:50:44.960
of that scholarship. So yeah,
man, that's why, that's why,

713
00:50:45.559 --> 00:50:49.960
That's why I respect how how Tucker
is kind of he's doing what he needs

714
00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:51.920
to do with it and trying to
get some of these guys out of his

715
00:50:51.960 --> 00:50:55.039
transfer portal and then working his ass
off to recruit who he needs to recruit

716
00:50:55.079 --> 00:50:59.039
to get his guys in there.
And I respect him having some of those

717
00:50:59.079 --> 00:51:01.800
conversations that I know he's had with
some of these other guys with like you

718
00:51:01.800 --> 00:51:07.960
know, they helping them get other
places. That's just kind of how it

719
00:51:07.000 --> 00:51:09.239
goes, because some of those guys
shouldn't have shouldn't have been there, and

720
00:51:09.280 --> 00:51:12.760
I even know them. Like my
time I've been at the University of Toledo,

721
00:51:13.360 --> 00:51:16.239
I knew something was kind of weird
when we would have a guy like

722
00:51:16.800 --> 00:51:21.400
we would have a guy then out
of nowhere, Michigan State had come in,

723
00:51:21.800 --> 00:51:24.159
and It's like, bro, how
in my mind, I'm thinking he

724
00:51:24.199 --> 00:51:28.519
ain't Michigan State good? Like what
are we doing? Why is he up

725
00:51:28.519 --> 00:51:30.159
there? Like why are y'all Why
are y'all coming after the guys who were

726
00:51:30.199 --> 00:51:35.039
trying to get We weren't competing with
Ohio State with recruits. We weren't competing

727
00:51:35.079 --> 00:51:37.920
with Michigan with recruits, but then
Michigan State had come in. I'm like,

728
00:51:37.960 --> 00:51:39.280
bro, what like, yo,
coaches, what are y'all doing up

729
00:51:39.280 --> 00:51:44.599
there? He needs to be here
in the max with some of those guys

730
00:51:44.639 --> 00:51:47.280
who were at Michigan State before.
They needed to be down. They didn't

731
00:51:47.280 --> 00:51:50.920
need to be up there. So
that's why I know Tucker's doing his best,

732
00:51:50.960 --> 00:51:52.920
man, trying to get some real
dogs in there. And it's only

733
00:51:53.000 --> 00:51:55.840
year three. Give like he gonna
get them. Man, He's definitely gonna

734
00:51:55.840 --> 00:51:59.639
get him. You gotta keep trust
the process. Well, I remember Coach

735
00:51:59.719 --> 00:52:05.079
D when they established Keeping it Real
Mondays, it was like freshmen and sophomores.

736
00:52:05.440 --> 00:52:08.400
That was Elliot Daniels Ashton Henderson on
the plug, those two creating that

737
00:52:08.440 --> 00:52:14.159
program. But I remember they had
Coach D speak to the group and this

738
00:52:14.239 --> 00:52:16.519
was the time I was around that
three nine season where we were struggling a

739
00:52:16.519 --> 00:52:22.960
little bit and Coach he goes in
there. I've never seen Coach D keep

740
00:52:22.000 --> 00:52:25.360
it real like this, Like he
truly took that mantra keeping it real,

741
00:52:27.000 --> 00:52:30.559
and he looked those guys in the
face. I mean I was sitting in

742
00:52:30.559 --> 00:52:34.000
the back like shock that he said
it, but he said, I recruit

743
00:52:34.079 --> 00:52:37.159
you guys. We recruit you guys. We told you the bells and whistles

744
00:52:37.639 --> 00:52:40.840
what we're gonna do to get you
here. When you get here, I'm

745
00:52:40.840 --> 00:52:46.239
giving you two years to show thyself
the worth of your scholarship after that.

746
00:52:47.800 --> 00:52:52.920
And that was the true, real
like business acumen of telling these guys this

747
00:52:53.239 --> 00:52:57.480
is a business, Like, this
is not a free ride. You got

748
00:52:57.519 --> 00:53:01.639
to earn it every day. That's
kind of like I said, people got

749
00:53:01.639 --> 00:53:05.440
to like these coaches, they got
to feed their families too, And like

750
00:53:06.000 --> 00:53:09.480
that's kind of wild how your success
is based off of the player, Like

751
00:53:10.079 --> 00:53:14.440
and if he's not doing his job, and if that continues to happen,

752
00:53:14.440 --> 00:53:16.559
bro, you can get fired and
you out looking for another job. So

753
00:53:16.599 --> 00:53:20.920
it kind of goes in, It
goes in. And Jack, I mean

754
00:53:20.960 --> 00:53:22.960
you played in the league, right, So you played and you got drafted

755
00:53:23.000 --> 00:53:29.079
into the Tennessee Titans, played there
for a number of years. And you've

756
00:53:29.079 --> 00:53:32.280
seen guys that were drafted first round
high first round draft picks. Right.

757
00:53:32.760 --> 00:53:37.679
You know, the NFL spends tens
of millions of dollars and resources and going

758
00:53:37.719 --> 00:53:40.880
in the backgrounds of these kids,
you know, finding out everything about them

759
00:53:40.920 --> 00:53:45.480
and going back to the kindergarten teacher, find it out about what this neighbor

760
00:53:45.480 --> 00:53:47.679
thought of the guy, you know, seeing what his medical reports are,

761
00:53:49.039 --> 00:53:52.559
and they're still wrong fifty percent of
the time, they're still wrong. And

762
00:53:52.639 --> 00:53:57.280
now you're expecting a college to look
at a kid just based off of what

763
00:53:57.559 --> 00:54:01.039
two four seven Sports Arrivals dot Com
said is or what your eyes say when

764
00:54:01.079 --> 00:54:06.239
you see this kid playing against other
high school that we're gonna pay this kid

765
00:54:06.559 --> 00:54:08.679
X amount of dollars and that he's
gonna perform. You know, like,

766
00:54:09.440 --> 00:54:14.559
is it not setting themselves and the
kid up for failure in a way if

767
00:54:14.599 --> 00:54:15.519
the kid, you know, so
like, buyer beware, if the kid

768
00:54:15.639 --> 00:54:20.079
takes these dollars. You know,
I kind of like I do like the

769
00:54:20.079 --> 00:54:22.039
way that mel Tucker is doing He's
not he's not throwing the big bags at

770
00:54:22.079 --> 00:54:24.800
kids. That's why the five stars
aren't coming, by the way, everybody,

771
00:54:25.360 --> 00:54:29.400
five stars aren't coming here because the
bags aren't dropping here. You know,

772
00:54:29.519 --> 00:54:34.559
mel Tucker is doing it the right
way. These stars always tell the

773
00:54:34.599 --> 00:54:38.280
truth. Football guys, man,
No, they're not bad. What what

774
00:54:38.400 --> 00:54:43.280
kind of star were you? I
was a three star? Oh my god,

775
00:54:43.639 --> 00:54:47.360
yeah, were you. I was
a three three two. They have

776
00:54:47.519 --> 00:55:02.440
stars when I played your top one
hundred. Let me let me get you

777
00:55:02.599 --> 00:55:06.039
some fun stories. These guys are
trying to get like, I mean,

778
00:55:06.400 --> 00:55:12.559
we got the party. Let's start
the party. Tell you he wants to

779
00:55:12.639 --> 00:55:15.559
party, Come on, tell you
what's up? You? You got some

780
00:55:15.639 --> 00:55:20.159
bad from this guy. Hell of
an athlete, all right, And you

781
00:55:20.400 --> 00:55:23.719
always could turn it on and off
because it's something that really struck me about

782
00:55:23.760 --> 00:55:28.199
you, and this really sticks out. We're playing my senior year at Iowa.

783
00:55:28.800 --> 00:55:32.199
We're in overtime, double overtime.
We go, we score the defenses

784
00:55:32.239 --> 00:55:37.639
out there, and you and I
are sitting on the water cooler bench there

785
00:55:37.360 --> 00:55:42.199
and you just come to me straight
face, and you look at me and

786
00:55:42.280 --> 00:55:46.079
say, hey, if you were
a superhero, what superpower which you have?

787
00:55:47.719 --> 00:55:52.519
And I just started laughing. And
then Coach d sees us and he

788
00:55:52.599 --> 00:55:57.280
comes up, he looks at us. He's like, you guys, good

789
00:55:57.719 --> 00:56:00.480
you in the game. You were
like, yeah, Coach, we're good.

790
00:56:00.559 --> 00:56:04.800
And we just looked at each other
and remember that, and I don't

791
00:56:04.800 --> 00:56:08.519
I don't how do I don't know. I didn't want to if things felt

792
00:56:08.639 --> 00:56:12.639
just too uptight, I don't know, Like I like to, there has

793
00:56:12.719 --> 00:56:15.840
to be some level of like,
yo, we're calm, We're like,

794
00:56:15.079 --> 00:56:20.400
we're still locked in now, like
we're in. But because sometimes I don't

795
00:56:20.440 --> 00:56:22.800
know, this is just me,
this is my own personal feelings. I

796
00:56:22.880 --> 00:56:25.039
feel like sometimes when you are that
uptight, you're prone to kind of make

797
00:56:25.079 --> 00:56:29.719
a mistake like yeah, instead of
being a little loose. That's just how

798
00:56:30.079 --> 00:56:31.960
I That's just what I believe.
So I don't know, man, I

799
00:56:35.840 --> 00:56:44.880
knocked myself out like those I don't
know, just those random stuff like I

800
00:56:44.920 --> 00:56:49.960
don't know, Like I just with
that. I always ask you and I

801
00:56:50.039 --> 00:56:52.960
had this great relationship running back by
Committee, and at the end of the

802
00:56:52.039 --> 00:56:55.480
day, it was the hot hand
that played and straight. We all talk

803
00:56:55.519 --> 00:57:00.159
about this. Now this a running
back by committee where it seems like each

804
00:57:00.280 --> 00:57:05.800
back's getting a series. What are
your thoughts on running back by Committee and

805
00:57:06.000 --> 00:57:09.199
how it should be played? It
shouldn't be in Michigan State's running back by

806
00:57:09.239 --> 00:57:13.119
Committee. I don't think it shouldn't
be. If you're gonna do running ba

807
00:57:13.119 --> 00:57:17.000
committee, you can't be running like
like three four different guys. Man.

808
00:57:17.320 --> 00:57:22.079
I feel like you gotta you gotta
if you got two like and that has

809
00:57:22.159 --> 00:57:25.920
to be clear in the room like
yo, like like two guys can be

810
00:57:27.440 --> 00:57:30.840
can that's that's it? And then
if one guy just completely shows he's just

811
00:57:31.000 --> 00:57:35.039
above and beyond, then it's like, all right, we gotta roll with

812
00:57:35.119 --> 00:57:37.760
this man. But if you're doing
running back by committee, I personally feel

813
00:57:37.800 --> 00:57:43.079
like if it's over two, if
it's three to four, then that's doing

814
00:57:43.159 --> 00:57:45.239
too much because there there is a
rhythm that kind of comes with being a

815
00:57:45.320 --> 00:57:47.639
running back, like once you're in
the game, you're in the rhythm of

816
00:57:47.719 --> 00:57:51.519
a game, Like I don't know, so I think it has to be

817
00:57:51.679 --> 00:57:57.280
I think two to rhythms. So
do you think the transfer portal plays into

818
00:57:57.400 --> 00:58:00.280
that in the back of coaches minds? Because when you and I were there,

819
00:58:00.440 --> 00:58:04.800
you and I knew the game plan
for run what's gonna be you or

820
00:58:04.920 --> 00:58:07.360
me? Everyone in the room knew
that, and it was okay. It

821
00:58:07.480 --> 00:58:12.760
was except that everyone played the role. Do you think now coaches feel,

822
00:58:13.519 --> 00:58:15.519
hey, you know, we've got
this guy through the transfer portal, we

823
00:58:15.639 --> 00:58:20.039
have to give him so many plays, or this guy's a highly recruited guy

824
00:58:20.159 --> 00:58:22.960
coming in, we have to get
him played so he doesn't transfer out.

825
00:58:22.519 --> 00:58:28.800
Do you think that takes a play
possibly, which I feel like it's kind

826
00:58:28.840 --> 00:58:31.400
of it shouldn't it should be more
so, just how you recruit guys.

827
00:58:31.440 --> 00:58:35.519
You're recruiting out of the transfer portal. You if you see somebody who like,

828
00:58:36.079 --> 00:58:38.960
hey man, we think this dude
should it could could help benefit our

829
00:58:39.000 --> 00:58:42.360
team. You bringing me in.
You recruit him to come and come there.

830
00:58:42.519 --> 00:58:45.639
If he comes, he gets a
chance. You get a chance.

831
00:58:45.199 --> 00:58:49.280
If you don't make the most of
that chance, and if you're not performing,

832
00:58:49.360 --> 00:58:52.840
then hey man, it's a miss. You just consider it. You

833
00:58:52.960 --> 00:58:57.320
just considered it a miss, and
then you keep rolling. Now, I

834
00:58:57.400 --> 00:59:00.440
got some stories now, but I'm
a gonna make sure like I keep it

835
00:59:00.519 --> 00:59:06.599
PG, I'm gonna keep PG.
Oh boy, so ring. Do you

836
00:59:06.639 --> 00:59:09.480
remember when we used to have our
we used to have training table outside of

837
00:59:09.559 --> 00:59:15.679
the restaurants off the campus, when
we had like carpool and remember you remember

838
00:59:15.760 --> 00:59:21.079
where A J. Jimmerson he left
us because we was like carpooler right like

839
00:59:21.239 --> 00:59:22.679
he used to He was supposed to
be our guy to hook us up.

840
00:59:22.920 --> 00:59:27.280
Freshman didn't have cars, so we
had to give a upper classmen and sometimes

841
00:59:27.320 --> 00:59:30.360
I ride with Ju. That was
a great experience all the time. You

842
00:59:30.480 --> 00:59:35.280
never know what to expect when he's
driving. But I don't I remember who

843
00:59:35.360 --> 00:59:38.400
we who we caught a ride with
finally, but we also caught up with

844
00:59:39.039 --> 00:59:44.239
a j after we left because you
was extremely pissed about it that he did

845
00:59:44.320 --> 00:59:47.440
that to us, right, Do
you remember when we was in Cherry Lane

846
00:59:49.639 --> 00:59:55.000
and we truly out, had like
a one on one brawl inside and we

847
00:59:55.199 --> 01:00:04.119
was like we was like I was
wrestling Slip was like had no phones.

848
01:00:04.400 --> 01:00:07.840
We had like these like old cameras
no one has. It was like hell.

849
01:00:09.119 --> 01:00:14.239
But I remember, yeah, I
remember that. I remember, you

850
01:00:14.320 --> 01:00:16.599
know, you know I had that
lower body strength, right, so I

851
01:00:16.760 --> 01:00:23.360
remember was trying his best to try
to pick him up. Jam's life just

852
01:00:23.440 --> 01:00:31.039
sitting there small, Yeah, sitting
there body. Why you bring this up?

853
01:00:31.159 --> 01:00:37.079
Man? Look because look we're talking
about team Bond because we respect each

854
01:00:37.119 --> 01:00:42.599
other. Like we left that room, we were still a j L.

855
01:00:42.719 --> 01:00:45.679
That's one of my best friends.
Like I was in he was supposed to

856
01:00:45.719 --> 01:00:47.039
be in my wedding like that.
Yeah, that's my dog, that's my

857
01:00:47.199 --> 01:00:52.119
man. But I remember that we
had Remember the phones. Brothers wrestle.

858
01:00:52.239 --> 01:00:55.480
We can wrestle. Brother brothers wrestle
all the time. Man like, you

859
01:00:55.599 --> 01:00:59.719
know, no no issues after that, we was good. Question are they

860
01:00:59.760 --> 01:01:06.519
wrest right now? No? Man
like, obviously you know I got love

861
01:01:06.559 --> 01:01:08.760
for your brother. Man before we
let you go, I have a confession.

862
01:01:10.119 --> 01:01:17.679
Oh boy, So Javan and our
room together. So every home game

863
01:01:19.719 --> 01:01:22.719
he would like to try to see
who gets to the hotel first. Because

864
01:01:22.800 --> 01:01:30.960
Javon wanted to watch cartoons anime,
I wanted to watch college football. So

865
01:01:30.400 --> 01:01:34.519
Javan will always beat me to the
hotel. You know what I said,

866
01:01:34.519 --> 01:01:37.199
I was, you know, taking
my time. He he You know,

867
01:01:39.239 --> 01:01:44.000
so when I started to do I
used to call the Kellogg Center and have

868
01:01:44.119 --> 01:01:55.079
him hide the remote. So and
then like man, he just stuck.

869
01:01:58.360 --> 01:02:04.760
Just he's pissed off. Now that's
and I don't want to let you go

870
01:02:04.880 --> 01:02:10.199
yet because we talked about on our
podcast episode where offense defense when we're on

871
01:02:10.320 --> 01:02:15.800
the field and when one side of
the ball wasn't getting it done, like

872
01:02:15.880 --> 01:02:17.800
for instance, if the offense was
struggling but the defense was getting three and

873
01:02:17.880 --> 01:02:23.000
outs. I remember all the time
you would come over and be like loudly

874
01:02:23.599 --> 01:02:28.320
publicly saying defense, keep doing what
you're doing, keep what you're doing.

875
01:02:28.559 --> 01:02:30.800
We'll get it right. We stuck
it right now, we'll get it right.

876
01:02:31.519 --> 01:02:37.119
Like, what what was your DNA
of like talking that through? It

877
01:02:37.239 --> 01:02:40.880
was a strategic for your offensive line. I just knew. I just knew.

878
01:02:40.960 --> 01:02:45.199
Ultimately, my mindset was always about
the team, like, yo,

879
01:02:45.320 --> 01:02:49.280
we we have to do this together. Like if one group is sucking and

880
01:02:49.320 --> 01:02:52.880
the other group is doing okay,
like eventually we're you're still gonna need that

881
01:02:52.000 --> 01:02:55.360
group, like who's maybe not having
their best game, whether it be offensive

882
01:02:55.400 --> 01:03:00.760
defensively. So I just kind of
my mindset was always it's better to encourage

883
01:03:00.840 --> 01:03:05.480
than to like then to kind of
like pull pull them down, like to

884
01:03:05.559 --> 01:03:07.320
pull any of us down, like
people respond better. I don't know my

885
01:03:07.480 --> 01:03:12.920
vibe, but with everybody was I
felt like I would get a better response

886
01:03:13.039 --> 01:03:17.079
if I was more positive than just
trying to rip everybody like and because again,

887
01:03:17.760 --> 01:03:21.559
nobody could do it on themselves.
Man, football is the ultimate team

888
01:03:21.639 --> 01:03:25.360
sport, Like nobody can do it
on their own. Absolutely, I feel

889
01:03:25.400 --> 01:03:30.000
like we got to talk about like
one of the keys to winning this game.

890
01:03:32.880 --> 01:03:37.679
He's the winning this game is Like
I said, up front offensive line

891
01:03:37.679 --> 01:03:40.079
and defensive line have to perform.
If we do not control that line of

892
01:03:40.079 --> 01:03:45.440
scrimmage, we will not win.
We got in Michigan British offensive. They're

893
01:03:45.440 --> 01:03:46.679
gonna try to run the ball on
us. They're gonna try to punch us

894
01:03:46.679 --> 01:03:50.159
in our face. And that's running
the ball. Like we gotta be able

895
01:03:50.159 --> 01:03:52.400
to stop the run, and our
secondary gotta be able to hold up when

896
01:03:52.440 --> 01:03:57.840
they do take them shots and then
offensively bro control the line of scrimmage.

897
01:03:57.920 --> 01:04:00.239
You gotta be able to get a
push when it comes to running the ball,

898
01:04:00.280 --> 01:04:03.000
and then you have to be able
to protect like that handles everything.

899
01:04:03.360 --> 01:04:06.480
Like in order for Michigan State to
continue to go where they need to go,

900
01:04:08.320 --> 01:04:11.920
they have to be dominant up front
on both sides of the ball like

901
01:04:12.599 --> 01:04:15.079
that. That that that will everything
starts upfront. That is what I truly

902
01:04:15.519 --> 01:04:18.159
in my heart believe, and that's
like I want to be a part of

903
01:04:18.239 --> 01:04:23.920
that. Recruiting like recruiting great offensive
line and great defensive line and everything else

904
01:04:23.920 --> 01:04:29.079
will fall into place. So you're
you're now coaching the running backs at University

905
01:04:29.079 --> 01:04:31.559
of Toledo, But I'll help out. I'm not the running back coach,

906
01:04:31.679 --> 01:04:36.199
but I okay, but you know, running backs, if you were at

907
01:04:36.280 --> 01:04:41.559
Michigan State right now, I'm putting
you on the spot. Out of the

908
01:04:41.679 --> 01:04:45.159
three backs that runs the ball,
who would you have running the football?

909
01:04:45.760 --> 01:04:48.440
All right, Well, I'm a
little biased because when I was there,

910
01:04:49.239 --> 01:04:54.760
I was part of Elijah Collins recruiting
and I like it. I like Elijah,

911
01:04:54.920 --> 01:04:58.960
so I personally, I've always I've
always liked Elijah when he was in

912
01:04:59.039 --> 01:05:00.719
high school and I was a part
getting him there with recruiting, and then

913
01:05:00.760 --> 01:05:03.960
once I left, like, I
don't know, I like you, like

914
01:05:04.000 --> 01:05:06.440
I like him, like his dad, like, I like, he's such

915
01:05:06.480 --> 01:05:09.719
a good dude. And really it's
crazy. He could have been bounced,

916
01:05:09.719 --> 01:05:14.760
he could have transferred out and he's
still there. But I would I probably

917
01:05:14.760 --> 01:05:17.280
would have rolled with Elijah. But
that's just on the outside looking in.

918
01:05:17.480 --> 01:05:21.199
I'm not in there too. I
don't know who's doing what in practice or

919
01:05:21.440 --> 01:05:26.159
I don't know how the vibes you're
going or who who maybe seem to have

920
01:05:26.280 --> 01:05:29.039
the hot hand, you know,
doing an inside run or something like.

921
01:05:29.280 --> 01:05:31.000
I don't know, so I know, I don't I don't see practice,

922
01:05:31.000 --> 01:05:36.239
but I see production on Saturdays.
Hey, I mean, so I would

923
01:05:38.360 --> 01:05:40.840
I would kind of go. I
would go with Elijah. But that's more

924
01:05:40.880 --> 01:05:44.159
and that and like I said,
that's more so I personally know him compared

925
01:05:44.199 --> 01:05:45.760
to the other guys, some of
the other guys who got like who got

926
01:05:45.800 --> 01:05:50.000
transferred in right, Okay, so
what is your position right now in Toledo.

927
01:05:50.840 --> 01:05:54.559
Uh, it's more so than the
player development role. That's that's the

928
01:05:54.599 --> 01:05:57.360
side I want. I wanted to
get into that, that coaching side of

929
01:05:57.400 --> 01:05:59.760
it. I wanted to be a
running back coach. But like man,

930
01:06:00.840 --> 01:06:02.679
the more I got involved and the
more I saw there's a lot of sacrificeing

931
01:06:02.719 --> 01:06:09.599
that goes into being a coach coach, and what I've learned, I don't

932
01:06:09.639 --> 01:06:13.000
you have to really love it.
I loved playing football. I don't really

933
01:06:13.119 --> 01:06:15.800
love the coaching side of it.
I want to be able to help pour

934
01:06:15.840 --> 01:06:17.880
into these kids what worked for me, things that didn't work for me.

935
01:06:18.400 --> 01:06:20.320
And then I want to be able
to go home, like I want to

936
01:06:20.320 --> 01:06:23.239
be able to go see my family. I want to be able to see

937
01:06:23.280 --> 01:06:25.840
my daughter like I want to.
I want to I want to be able

938
01:06:25.840 --> 01:06:27.880
to see my loved ones. I
don't want to be in the office to

939
01:06:28.400 --> 01:06:30.480
tend to eleven like I know that
joint. I know they pay I'm going

940
01:06:30.480 --> 01:06:32.920
they get paid good. And that's
cool. Like that's cool, but like

941
01:06:33.280 --> 01:06:38.360
what also makes me feel rich is
being able to see my folks. That's

942
01:06:38.480 --> 01:06:42.639
right, well, said Jabi.
Man, I mean we definitely appreciate you

943
01:06:43.199 --> 01:06:46.599
in your time and your contribution to
all the spartanation. Man, for everything

944
01:06:46.639 --> 01:06:49.679
that you've done before and you continue
to do today. Man, I,

945
01:06:49.840 --> 01:06:53.400
we really appreciate you coming on the
show with us, no doubt man,

946
01:06:53.480 --> 01:06:55.760
and Yo, and I'm still trying
to do my part with Michigan statement.

947
01:06:55.800 --> 01:07:00.480
I'm still help man. I'm still
trying to help with recruit it ballet absolutely

948
01:07:00.639 --> 01:07:06.119
right now. Sorry the campaign.
I appreciate y'all. Man, it's been

949
01:07:06.199 --> 01:07:15.039
fun. Yo. If I was
your fast friend, that's a little inside

950
01:07:15.119 --> 01:07:20.519
joke with us. Just can't help
it. Life of the party, Jay

951
01:07:20.599 --> 01:07:24.440
you. I love you, brother, I love y'all. Man, appreciate

952
01:07:24.559 --> 01:07:29.320
y'all. Thank you for having me. I appreciate too. You know that's

953
01:07:30.400 --> 01:07:35.159
great interview there, guys from an
all Spartan right there. This is this

954
01:07:35.239 --> 01:07:43.199
is an incredible guy, incredible football
player, but also deeply involved father and

955
01:07:43.320 --> 01:07:49.199
husband Javon Ringer Legend. Yeah,
definitely, that's one of my favorite interviews

956
01:07:49.239 --> 01:07:53.159
and one of my favorite dudes.
You know ever, you know, be

957
01:07:53.239 --> 01:07:58.599
able to say I played alongside with
someone. He's a guy that I always

958
01:07:58.960 --> 01:08:02.360
you know, will hold to that
level there and respect great guy, really

959
01:08:02.400 --> 01:08:09.079
appreciate him. Coming on. All
right, guys, so you know we're

960
01:08:09.119 --> 01:08:13.679
gonna put a ball on this one. You know that was episode two.

961
01:08:13.960 --> 01:08:21.119
Here live from the Jolly Pumpkin for
otis Wiley Jay, you Calf. I'm

962
01:08:21.199 --> 01:08:26.439
Jason Strayhorn. This is Sparta.
Have a good night, God bless you,

963
01:08:26.640 --> 01:08:27.239
and go bring