Best of the Bus: Jameis Winston Talks Adversity & Development Throughout Career

00:00:00
Speaker 1: All right, welcome to Busting with the Boys. We have an awesome guest, Jamis Winston, Florida State Seminal Buccaneer, New Orleans Saints Cleveland Browns Bro.

00:00:12
Speaker 2: Thank you for coming on the show. You got massive fans all over.

00:00:15
Speaker 3: The place with Busting with the Boys, Man sound improvers to be here among these greatness, this greatness.

00:00:21
Speaker 4: Did you when you're coming out of college and the whole crab let things happen? Who's gonna be first? You were Marcus, Like I feel like there was a dip in, like oh this guy, Like maybe people weren't appreciating your personality. You flip over, it's been ten years now. You are like the media darling. I watch you at Media Days on Monday. The way you set up the joke for what's your favorite color to Chris Jones, the way like the comedic timing, the how authentic you are, Like talking to Will he was at Barstow. We have never actually met, like facers maybe one time after a game, yeah, but hearing that, like you're the same guy, Like at any point throughout your career where you're like, do I need to be a little more like a model student? That these teams want me to be or did you never wavering who you were as a person?

00:01:04
Speaker 3: Well, when I first got to Tampa, I think like that was the compromise that I first made, like just trying to get out of the get out of the media as public enemy number one, because I wanted people to really see who I truly was. So I invested time in the community. I invested a lot of time with my teammates. And I always consider myself like a people pleaser, but that wasn't necessarily me at that time in Tampa because I was like, man, I'm so I'm so focused on me as the person. But when you're a good person, you have to try to be a good person. And I put so much thought, energy, in so much time and effort to like, man, I gotta show these people that I'm not who they think I am, you know, but at the end of the days, it's not actually it's not you're not who you think you are, but what you think you are. So it's putting my energy toward, like man, my play toward like developing a family, spending month like in Tampa that was my young days, you know. So like I'm in a new city, you know, it's living young, wild and free. But at the same time, I have a girlfriend that's living in Texas, you know, so I'm trying to manage that relationship and also focus on my dream, focus on winning the super Bowl, focus on being the best quarterback and teammate I can possibly be, and focus on being the best man that I possibly be without the limitations and perception that others had of me at that time.

00:02:21
Speaker 1: When you are stripping those things off, Like, talk about what it was like for you becoming a professional. When you're around guys in the league that's been around a long time, Like I'm thinking of Tampa. You're around like Levonte David Gerald, McCoy, Mike Evans, like guys.

00:02:35
Speaker 2: Who are becoming pros.

00:02:36
Speaker 1: Because when you come out, you've been a duel through at quarterback, you've been a man since high school. Yeah, you've obviously major rounds in the headlines when you were in college. And when you get draft and you're going to Tampa, like, talk about what it was like for you becoming that pro, stripping yourself of the you know, the past and everything else and the perceptions that people had about you, Like becoming that ultimate pro that you're supposed to be in the NFL.

00:02:56
Speaker 3: Yeah, Well, one thing that a wise person shared with me Joe Thaisman, and we had a tough conversation at the Walter kemper Ward and we're talking about just like I was just explaining him, like, man, Joe, like that's not me, Like what you've heard about me on TV, Like that's not me. Like I'm a Southern boy from Alabama. I respect my elders, I respect everyone that I encountered with, Like that's just how I was born and raised. And he was like, James, He's like, I can tell look in your eyes, I can tell that's not you. But I want you to understand what this business is and what public perception is. Perception is reality. So instead of you telling me, or instead of you forcing people to like you, or instead of you're trying to convince somebody who you are, people gonna believe what they want to believe. So you should just do that consistent, day in and day out. He said. The more that you do that, it's gonna come out who you truly are. He's like, because you can't hide truth, Like truth is eventually gonna come out to the light. But in terms of like veterans like Jerey McCoy. Another veteran that that really helped me was Lewis Murphy because he had a chance to be in and in Oakland and Carolina around cam Noon, Derek Carr and guys like that, Levonte David just his poors, his presence in the time of community. Another big one that y'all probably remember his name, Clynn MacDonald, like just a true man of faith. I had the opportunity to go to Like you know, when you're young, you're trying to go to every event that your teammate has. So the first time I went to Little Rock, Arkansas, it was to one of his charity events for his foundation with his family and just seeing him as a man with his girls and his wife. And I took my girlfriend at the time now wife, And that was one of the changing points in my life in terms of my commitment and my love and my consistency with my wife. In terms of like when I saw that him represent his foundation, people in his city coming to support him, I understood, like man, like I know it's bigger than me, and I have a partner who I can support and who I can help lead to grow with me to be involved with all these great things in community, family brands, like all that stuff became important to me because I saw this man, Clin McDonald religiously, like we went to a football camp, he had a golf tournament, but who he was in his community. I'm just like, man, like this this is mean to my community. But what he's displaying with his wife, with his kids in front of his family is that consistency, That that that foundation, and that's something that I'm chasing. So when I was in little Roal, Arkansas, I was like, man, like, this is who I'm going to be, and like I'm not waving from this, like I'm gonna be intentional with my wife, like I'm I'm gonna get that fixed. We're not about to be going back and forth, like I'm gonna be intentional with with what i want to do, how I want to serve my community, how I want to impact the younger generation. And obviously I feel like ball has always been on the top of my mind because that's something that we all have tried to perfect along guy journey.

00:05:56
Speaker 4: Anyway, Oh yeah, you talked about like the ball being the top of mind, Like NFL stands for not for long in so many ways, like you only have a finite amount of years to accomplish what your childhood dream was. How do you find balance when you get home?

00:06:10
Speaker 3: Well, you find balance about being all in on every stage. And again of one of my biggest growth stages as well in twenty nineteen where I got around Clyde Christensen who coached Peyton, and you know, Peyton studied like no like no other, and Clyde he was like, I was the first person to really encourage him, like, hey man, like what you do in this building is what you do in this building, but once you go home, you need to go home and be that same caliber studier, same present person, same leader to your family. And I was like, okay, So one thing that we did we saw developing a plan. I never really had a plan, right, Like I had my off season plan, but my nd season plan was, you know, studying watching four games on Monday Tuesday, getting an early bead on third downs, and watching some more of the rundowns. But I never written it down to what I was specifically specifically gonna do, so I wasn't really holding myself accountable to the things that I was doing to prepare. I was preparing. I was laying on the line, but it wasn't strategized.

00:07:12
Speaker 4: You're checking a box and yeah, you watch these four games. Boom, I watch the four games. Yeah, watch a little bit.

00:07:16
Speaker 2: Third down?

00:07:16
Speaker 4: Okay, now, no third down.

00:07:18
Speaker 3: I never put throw energy into the preparation side of it. I just did it because I loved it, and I knew what was required to be a successful quarterback, and I knew I couldn't go out there unprepared. But I never thought that me actually sitting down with my quarterback coach planning what I am going to do, how much accountability that brings. Because I'm saying, like, if I'm gonna write this down and freaking in June, what I'm gonna do in the months of September, October, November, and December. That's a level of commitment to like doing those things and making sure that you actually are being those things and not just saying, oh, I wrote this down just to write it for the love of the game.

00:07:56
Speaker 4: It seems easy to check boxes for sure.

00:07:59
Speaker 2: Field energy of jamis I'm already in this room, and that lifts you up.

00:08:03
Speaker 4: Yeah does like he's truly he's the rising tide that is lifting our ship.

00:08:06
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I appreciate y'all, but I'm gonna vote with y'all.

00:08:10
Speaker 2: I've been seeing you getting in the mix.

00:08:12
Speaker 3: Yeah, I've been.

00:08:12
Speaker 2: Seeing you getting in the mix.

00:08:13
Speaker 1: You had something you were you know Taylor was talking about earlier, but hitting media.

00:08:17
Speaker 2: Days on behalf of Fox Sports.

00:08:19
Speaker 1: You've been going on pods, like do you ever get fascinated by the things outside of football? Because we all eventually the game comes for us all. Do you see yourself doing something like something like that after football?

00:08:29
Speaker 3: Man, I consider myself a man of increase. So whatever I can do to uplift people, uplift a brand, uplift a company, I'm gonna do it. But right now, like man, my my main goal, like my contingency plan is none existent. My main goal is to be a super Bowl winning starring quarterback in this NFL league. And like, do you know the time, the effort, the dedication and preparation that that entails that you know, obviously, my my my charisma who I am, Like, that's gonna that's gonna remain the same. That's my foundation, my faith, that's who I am. That's what I'm imitating. Christ So I know, like that's gonna remain the same. But my dream is to lead my team to the super Bowl and I still haven't done that yet, and I can't. I would not allow myself to be still in this business, still have opportunities and not put dedicate my time and energy to assisting, serving, or helping my team reach that goal.

00:09:25
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's an impossible game to be half in and half out about, especially as a starting quarterback when you look at like the position you're in this year, Deshaun Watson, he gets hurt. You come in and we go up, we go down. We're kind of moving around little bit, but you're slinging.

00:09:38
Speaker 2: The ball everywhere.

00:09:39
Speaker 4: Are you looking at guys like Baker Mayfield, who's you know, went to the Browns people kind of cursed him out of the building. He gets out of there, and now he's like kind of reset himself and calibrate himself in Tampa as a starting quarterback, Like what quarterbacks are you watching me?

00:09:50
Speaker 3: Like?

00:09:50
Speaker 4: I need to imitate this to take the next stay step for that so I can achieve the goal you were just talking about.

00:09:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, Honestly, the quarterbacks that I've been watching this offseason has been Anon Rodgers and Russell Wilson because I think they do a good job of limiting their own critical errors. Uh and sometimes when their play uh, you don't see like early on in both their careers, you see the flashy they show you they can make a play when it's time to make a play. But sometimes they play games where you're just like man like they have took eighteen consecutive checkdowns, you know. And I think that's the part of my game where I have to really master. I know I can win a shootout. I know I can go out there and and surgically dissect any defense that comes my way. But now the key to my game to me, actually elongating my career is winning football games and protecting our team to the best best be Like.

00:10:43
Speaker 4: Definitely from an operation standpoint, is what you're talking about. Talk to me, dude, explain to me Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson. I've been a little negative. Russell Wilson had he had a nice couple of weeks in the middle of the season with the Steelers, but Aaron, those two names like Aaron didn't have a great year like this. The Jets were back on the Super Ball contending for they're having a parade in man. Yeah, when he's when he's coming back, it doesn't work out that way.

00:11:04
Speaker 3: Why those two quarterbacks, well, those two quarterbacks specifically, because I think they do a good job of having a plan for the game. And they might not have five hundred yards in the first half, they might have eighty yards, but they know when to turn it on and when to turn it off. And no, they didn't have like Russ Probab didn't finish the way that he wanted to finish. But if you watch the course of his games, man, he is managing the game and is in complete control of what he wants to do. Same thing with Aaron. Yeah, he had some ups and downs. He didn't have the year that he wanted to have, but still throughout the consistency of his play weekend and week out is protecting the team. He plays that like I call it. I call it selfishly thinking about yourself, like they play in a waiter like, Man, I'm not thinking about my stats. I'm trying to see like I'm not going to mess it up. I'm gonna let the other team mess it up, and then when it's time for me to make a play, I have the god given ability to go out there and execute him.

00:12:00
Speaker 4: Right, this is what you're basically, what you're saying is knowing when to turn it on and turn it off.

00:12:03
Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, talk about the mental game, like when you are out there slinging it one week and then you have the pixures.

00:12:09
Speaker 2: I think you had a couple of pig sixers on like Monday night.

00:12:12
Speaker 1: Like when you you hear the rumblings of you and interceptions, Like, talk about the mental game. Do you ever get caught up and turning the ball over when you have all these touchdowns one week you turn the ball over next Talk about like being able to separate, separate yourself, zoom out, give yourself perspective, give yourself gratitude because just as athletes, you just know that it is a constant mental game.

00:12:33
Speaker 2: Like when you are.

00:12:33
Speaker 4: Playing, have you basically what those askings? Have you ever brought a book on the sidelines to read between series?

00:12:39
Speaker 3: Never?

00:12:39
Speaker 2: Never?

00:12:39
Speaker 3: Never in my life, but I have. I have written things on my wristband like patience, precision, execution feet. Uh. The mental game is so important because like we all notice, like as athletes, you know you hear the saying like the game is nine mental, ten percent physical, and until point it's true because we got our god giving abilities, like we can do this, or we won't be able to do this, or you won't be in a lead long like right, they do a good job of assessing talent, but I would have to credit my mental capacity in terms of handling highs and lows one with my faith journey and my knowledge of just the word of One of my favorite verses is James two to four, say is counted all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you fall, when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, endurance. But let that endurance, let that patients have its perfect work, so that you can be complete, lacking nothing. Ultimately, That's what I'm trying to do in terms of.

00:13:41
Speaker 5: That quote, but in terms of game right now, but literally in terms of my play, Like that's why I'm like, I know, okay, some things are going to happen, right, but when they happen, I counted as man.

00:13:54
Speaker 3: I see the good in everything. I have joy and when bad things happen, because now I get the opportunity to make up for it. But sometimes that gets me in trouble because I want to make up for it, right then, But that's not start pushing the envelope. That's but that isn't allowing the perfect work to happen. Sometimes a good play is no play at all. Right, But I view this in terms of the house and lows. I view it from a baseball perspective. Okay, I'll play baseball, y'all play baseball.

00:14:23
Speaker 2: Growing up a little bit, a little bit center field.

00:14:25
Speaker 3: So you get in the Hall of Fame, you get in the Hall of Fame, go on one for three, right, So it's a sport that okay's failure. Like as a quarterback, man, what a great satisan, I want to go twenty two for twenty eight, three hundred and seventy eight yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Right, twenty two for twenty eight is perfect in baseball. If I told you, man, I went twenty two for twenty eight this weekend with eight doubles and four home runs and uh, you know, three triples. Like that's unbelievable. But literally baseball terms, I can go one for three and making it in the Hall of Fame. That's a three hundred average. So understand, Like Man, it's okay to fail, but I gotta make the most of my opportunity when it's there. I gotta have a snap and clear mentality because I might have struck out this last at bat, but this at bat, I have a chance, right, And I believe that, Like you can see that in the way that I play. I go out there with the approach like we have a chance as long as there's time on that clock. But I think I know understanding that, Man, I need to play like for four quarters instead of just playing for that specific specific drive. I need to play for that specific play knowing that it's gonna take me four quarters to win this game, instead of trying to win on that one play.

00:15:45
Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, Yeah, you seem like it's like him going back to Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson. It's like eliminating things like, Hey, the game's gonna come on one play at the time versus gotta be superman now.

00:15:55
Speaker 2: Right In the next series.

00:15:56
Speaker 4: Of all the people we've talked to in the short amount of time we've been here, it's like maybe the most intentional human being we very spoke to, Yeah, or at least trying to find intention. Yeah, in every single situation you brought a baseball dude going one for three and being in the Hall of Fame, you had like you were in a rare breed of athlete where you were able to play. Choose whether or not you're gonna go to the baseball route or with the football route, what it everly brought you to. I'm gonna chase my football dreams.

00:16:17
Speaker 3: My love for this game, my love for the game of football, my love for the h the position that quarterback entails. Man. Like, I think when you look at a leader in general, I think the quarterback is that person that displays what true leadership is like, especially when you got a good one and when you got one that the team likes. You know what I'm saying. Because we have to literally be able to communicate to everybody in the locker room from all different walks of life, all different backgrounds, Like we have to be the people that can get in front of our guys and you might be from our you might be from Broward County, and we got to make this thing work all right, And the only way we're gonna make can work is together. And that's the quarterbacks role. The quarterbacks role is to make all these little pieces work and go. So I take pride in it. And I'm gonna tell you, when you're a po and you're watching other people hit and watch other people winning games, and you over there eating seeds and chewing on big chew, it ain't no fun man. Out of the Actually.

00:17:22
Speaker 4: Yeah, I had something that slip my mind.

00:17:25
Speaker 1: I got one before even the Deshaun Watson goes down and you get your opportunity. There is even conversations before he goes down and putting Jamis in just because of the quarterback play that was happening walk us through this year, even before you getting to play, Like, how much were you having to be patient and persevered when even you might be able to say, like, I know it's a backup somebody's not playing well, you're like itching. You're like itching for that opportunity and your time to shine. But what was it like for you early in the year, especially when those conversations started to happen on a it could be a move.

00:17:55
Speaker 2: Here to put Jameis Winston in the game.

00:17:57
Speaker 3: Yeah, man, you know I feel like I feel like God put me in the test last year with Derek where man, we would go out in games, and our fans like the Saints fans like they booring, they boring, and I have to sit in the meetings and I felt like like from I see looking in the Shaun is playing like like he's bad or they're playing bad. But I felt like they're playing good because when I'm on your team, I'm there to serve you. I'm not there to serve the opin or listen to the outside noise. I'm there to make this thing work. When I tell all my team is like, if you're not trying to be part of the solution, you're not trying to win no games. I know that it's at the quarterbacks. It's only one person that's gonna be out there one everybody else. Or you play left tackle, you had a right time. There's a left guard, there's a right guard, the center, the quarterback. There are only ones that are singular out there. You know what I'm saying. So I have to be all in of serving the Shaun and last year's opportunity Irv and Derek despite the outside noise. Now I also know that my opportunity is coming shortly and I have to be ready for that as well.

00:19:10
Speaker 1: Do that is awesome yeah, that is because it's tough too, because you talk about the dream, you want to lead it Toto a super Bowl like you hear the outside noise and everything else. But to compartmentalize and know that he if you're not part of the solution, you need to get out of the building because you're part of the problem, or you're creating a problem or some toxic poison that's in that locker room, which you know it has to be eliminated if you're going to be a good football team.

00:19:30
Speaker 3: But will I started with this what I want for myself, I want for everyone. So what if that was me? You know what I'm saying, Imagine how many people then talk stuff about me my entire life right now, they biting their tongue because they're like, over time, the truth is gonna say itself free. And I tell you I still tell the shown this, Like, brother, listen, you may be going through a season of adversity, but I promise you you're gonna make it out of this, despite public opinion, despite what the everybody's on your case right now. But if you don't give up and you just use the ability that God. Because Desharn Watson can play football. You know what I'm saying, a lot of people that as fans that the twitter thumbs have they quit the judge somebody, They quick to write somebody off. Because the game that we play in the NFL, we have the greatest game of them all. Because every senile year there are two hundred and fifty six are people coming in to take our spot that they're promoting this. They're like, we are celebrating the people that's coming in to take your spot with the draft, and we're gonna give them fake watches and free watches. We're gonna we're gonna boost up the brands. We're gonna take some of your deals and give it to them. Even if they don't make it. They might not get cut the first day in, but we're telling you that they coming. So in terms of our mentality, it has remained. We got to remain staff fast. We can't never lose sight of what we want because we know it's always gonna be the next man up. It's always gonna be somebody cycling around. Guccia Mans always say, while he's using the reference of of of his is l flings, he would say, opportunities and like buses miss one next fifteen one coming and you can look up the regular laracy you want to do that, but literally you might miss the bus. But you got to be ready for that next bus to come, or you got to be trying to bucket to get to the next bus stop so you can catch the bus. But if you don't want to catch the bus, then don't stand in don't stand in the bus stop. Yeah, you know what I'm saying.

00:21:25
Speaker 2: Absolutely.

00:21:26
Speaker 4: You talked about guys from guys from all over the country going into one facility of fifty three guys have that should have one goal, that's to win a super Bowl. It when you go into your rookie season coming from Florida State, you win a national championship. Like you've you've been in the tip top of college. Now you're put yourself back on the bottom of the totem pole. What trials and tribulations did you have? Maybe trying to push the envelope too much? Or how do I take leadership as opposed to earn the earn the leadership. That's a very difficult thing because everyone says the quarterback has to be the leader in the room. And to be a rookie immediately with grown men who have kids for one k's all that and you're walking for your first time.

00:22:00
Speaker 2: Yo, this ship's crazy. Yeah, you need to be a leader in the situation.

00:22:02
Speaker 4: What what where did you think you thrived And where some areas say like, oh, if I could go back, I would do that differently.

00:22:08
Speaker 3: The places that I thrive was just bringing youth into the whole situation, because I think even veterans in the locker room, they need to see someone who loves the game and instills that passion in them that they may have once had, or they might just need somebody to help them assist them into finding their passion back. And I know I did that to the best of my abilities. The thing that I feel like I could have did a better job at then I know I could have did a better job at, was being unapologetically myself the first few games at Tampa Bay, like when we used to lose, cry you know, I used to really to cry, like I hated losing. But alone the course, I started to be okay with losing those games. And when I consider myself being okay, that's why I said now I compromise too much. I wasn't me like I would never be okay with losing. But anytime like this, this is this like science, if you take a step backwards, that is gonna hurt you way more than taking ten steps forward, because if you're consistently moving forward step by step, you're gonna get father. But the only time where you eliminate all chances is when you take a step backwards. And when you compromise who you truly are as a human being, you're taking a step backwards. So I try to please everyone else, like I ain't gonna cry. I know we just got beat by twenty. I'm not gonna cry. I'm just gonna act like I'm happy. But I'm acting like I'm happy and we just got beat by twenty Like that don't do nobody justice. Obviously, when you walk into the building, like the mentality that you need to have needs to be energetic, positive, so you don't bring anyone else down. But you can't be okay with losing. And that's the part that I feel like before I guess the NFL, I never lost, Like I didn't lose, really, you know, not really, we alway is one and I think that's the part in the NFL that is limiting me from getting to where I want to be because I don't have enough wins, you know, and like early on in my temper years, me compromising to being okay with losing. I think that impacting my wins leading up to this point up until.

00:24:20
Speaker 2: Why do you feel like you started to be okay with losing.

00:24:23
Speaker 3: Because everyone else was okay with losing and I had to be that person to make sure that they knew it's okay. You know what I'm saying. We just need to fix this. We just need to do this. We just need to do that instead of being like, Nah, this ain't okay, we have to do this. This is it's required for us, not what we need to do. Bro. This is a requirement if we want our jobs, if we want to be everything that we that we want to be. It is a requirement that we give all we have in this game. It is a requirement that we understand that winning is just as it contagious as losing. And I don't think people understand that.

00:24:53
Speaker 4: Yeah, when that first game of your NFL career officer on the other side line, yes, your second year in the NFL, and there was always this back and forth about who's going on, Marcus or Jamis and then so like the media is essentially establishing a rivalry between the two of you. Did you feel that rivalry going the end of that game or through the combined process, the interview process.

00:25:12
Speaker 3: I definitely felt it throughout the combined process. Man, me and Marcus was training at the same place out in cars Bad, prolific athletes were Ryan Clarity and its.

00:25:24
Speaker 2: Beautiful, it's amazing, it's beautiful.

00:25:26
Speaker 3: And we were out there to the same place, and like we would show up and like we never would work out together. Like literally, like if I was in the building, like he was either leaving or he was gonna go somewhere else. It was just never. Uh the the the brotherhood that you see one and two typically has, you know what I'm saying, It was just like you over there, I'm over here, like let's work, but I ain't trying to do it together.

00:25:54
Speaker 4: So no conversations to place because it is such an interesting rivalry to me because both of you guys are such good people.

00:26:00
Speaker 3: I didn't tell you. I didn't tell you the good Parcus.

00:26:03
Speaker 4: Never said a bad thing about anybody ever.

00:26:05
Speaker 3: He's a good part.

00:26:07
Speaker 4: But I'm still trying to drag the audience out of a little bit Jameis Winston and Marcus hated each other.

00:26:12
Speaker 3: We never hated each other, bro We just like obviously I was Marcus was always the quiet person among us two, so I know I probably have been extra uh in times I was around him. But last year, man, I took time just searching, like who can I train with? Uh? And I took the accountability of going out to Oregon, going out to train with Jimmy Radcliffe, who's who's a long time strength coach at Oregon, just because I was focusing on my speed and agility. So I went out there and my my chiropractor, Eric Gorman is from Oregon, UH, and UH loves Oregon, so he was like, hey, let's go out here because he's the best. And Marcus was out there. So that was the first time in ten years we actually trained together. And it was such a surreal moment because Marcus was the one that was showing me the exercise. I was just like, dang, like, Marcaus, you done have this upper hand on me this whole time. You could have been put me on the like what's going on? But it was it was such a respectable moment because you know I got a chance to meet his wife then, and he was I remember him playing soccer with his wife at prolific athletes. Like his mental was already ahead, like to focusing on his his family, his journey, Like he wasn't into all the things that I was into. He was focused on like me, like my family, I'm about to have this opportunity. I'm gonna focus on that. I was talking. Man, I got this opportunity. IM about to make the most of the Man. We got to win the super Bowl. Man, I just won the championship. Man, it is unstoppable. And it's the only person that beat me in my college career. So I know I'm gonna be better than him. I'm focused on that less. But he's focusing from the like he's focused from more of a creative mindset. It was like, I have my family, I have my gifts. I'm gonna go and steward that and I'm gonna go to I'm focusing more from the competitive mindset, like I'm gonna be better than you. I'm gonna be Doe. I'm gonna do this and that. And you can never have the sense focus from the competitive mindset, right, you have to remain creative because if you're competitive, you focus on one thing, one thing open. But when you create a you're able to adapt, you able to uh make a transition when the transition is required.

00:28:15
Speaker 4: It's such a breath of fresh air because you talked to the normal thing with I'll just speak for football players because what I.

00:28:21
Speaker 2: Remember is like.

00:28:24
Speaker 3: I got some special kids.

00:28:26
Speaker 4: You always sit there and you're like, yo, I got I had to my shoulder, and then you sort of have success and you feel that chip on your shoulder kind of going away. But then somebody is drafted ahead of you, or somebody does what they say, here's a better for me and better tackle than me. And it was like that's all I needed to replant this this chip on my shoulder. So like, did you and Marcus ever like ten years later sit down and be like, hey, I the way I approached the competition between us, I favor the way you did it over the way I did it was the ever that like transparent conversation between you two.

00:28:52
Speaker 3: No we haven't had we haven't had our yearly heart to heart yet, but no, we we had was just a moment of grace, a moment of peace. I was like man, Bro, like, I'm grateful you're still in the lead. And you're like, Bro, I'm grateful, like you're still in the lead. Like, Bro, We we did it. We live in our dream together. So no matter what was our initial approach when we first started, we are here now. So let's focus on what we're gonna do moving forward. And like and when he had this great game in Watchington shot tax When I had a few good games, he shot me a text. And that is a relationship that we never developed through the course of ten years. But with maturity, with growth, with gratefulness and understanding that man, it's bigger than me. I can't let this, this this game get in between some of the relationships and from the in some of the from in front of the good people that I have in my life.

00:29:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're known for your speeches. When was the first speech first we gave? How old were you?

00:29:53
Speaker 3: Man?

00:29:53
Speaker 2: You stood up?

00:29:54
Speaker 1: You're like, all right, I'm gonna go ahead and do it. I'm gonna stand up in front of this team and I'm gonna deliver something race. I don't know what it's gonna be, but I gotta say something.

00:30:00
Speaker 3: Man. I always had something to say, So like that I've never been short winning the breath, you know, like, and I remember like the best Tiger days. I'm like, man, we're going tear the hands off. Man, these boys can't mess with us. I remember the murder, murder, kill kill. Guess what happened on the fields. Tigers got crumped. The other team got stumped, you know, Like that's just that's just the way of the land.

00:30:24
Speaker 6: Like, like, y'alls over there, who are we, Yeah, let's rip that job, no doubt, We're gonna out bare crawl them today.

00:30:42
Speaker 3: And were thinking about we're kicking the door down. What y'all doing over there? You know what I'm saying, honestly, but honestly, bro, Like, I feel like, uh, the Lord strewing me with a voice. And I felt like early on in my career that boys was taken away from me because of my energy being put to trying to prove to everybody who I was. And when you are in a place of proving and constantly proving, you lose sight of your true growth. You lose sight of that true grace that you should give yourself. You lose sight of who you truly are because you so immerse what someone else is thinking, and like one thing I love about just about Jesus in general, like when I forget what chapter it was, but I know. In Matthew six thirty three, he talks about seeking first the kingdom of the Lord and all his righteousness when someone is asking him, like what two things should I take with me to be able to get into heaven? And he says, first, seek first the kingdo of God and all his rightousness, and all things will be given to you. And the second thing, he says, love thy neighbor as thyself. And when I get to that point, obviously, like everything I do is for my faith, My foundations is in the Lord. But when I get to love thy neighbor as thyself, when I be speaking to young kids, I'd be like, man, he says, love that neighbor self. So if you're not loving yourself, if you're not putting sweat, equality, and time into yourself, you will not be able to physically love your neighbor. You will not be able to physically serve someone else if you're not focusing on what you can do to be the solution for you. And that really just sit with me, and it encourages me every single day like when I'm me new people, when I'm talking to my teammates, when I'm kissing my babies, is like, man, I'm about to love my baby as I love myself. But first, I got to make sure that my proles is straight. I got to make sure that I'm doing things in an efficient way. I got to make sure that I'm acting and not just saying. I gotta make sure that I'm doing all these things for me to be able to be physically and mentally able to love someone else and serve someone else in the capacity that I may want to be served in. I know that's deep. You know what I'm saying, I'm trying to hit you out with Bible service. But it's just a guy.

00:33:00
Speaker 2: Right now.

00:33:00
Speaker 3: It's a god in me. You know, has always came natural.

00:33:03
Speaker 1: Like whether it's you're you know, trying to rally the troops in middle school, high school, has that always came.

00:33:08
Speaker 2: Natural to you?

00:33:09
Speaker 3: It has? It has always came natural. I've never been really lost for words, man, and uh, and I'm grateful for that. My dad has obviously he's been my he's been my coach coming up, and it was kind of a it was kind of a way for me to get on some of my teammates butts because it was always my fault, you know what I'm saying. Like he was always trying to hype me up and like like you need to do this, you need to do that. Like he stayed on me. He pushed me to that maximum level. So I'm like gonna push me. I'm gonna push y'all ass because y'all don't understand what I'm going through at home. Y'all, y'all, y'all, just y'all just said practice, y'all. Ain't y'all, ain't y'all ain't end up blowing off some small cassett takes. So your dad for your daddy, because we got old BC DHS casset taste that we got to put in a little thing and then put it in the in the in the bc R and then rewind it. And we said, watching tape of our little league games. I'm like that, like does does my uncle? May you gotta record all our games? Like yes, you're gonna watch this save you're about to see what you did while you foot on right there like that. I don't know. I'm trying to have fun. So how old are you man, I start watching film when I was six years old. Man's like, literally no, literally old DHS tapes. Man. My dad pulling me in the back room like hey man, you knowing what your homework? Yes, all right, come on in here, like literally, go give me that little tape right there when they had the liberty tapes, like the little cassette tape that you will put inside the DHS because that like you have the cam cordy little tap, put it in a little adapter and then push it in there. Man, Like I was like, man, and then you know, lily tastes my uncle may up there. God, race is so like he's he just see me going to touchdown the film over there? Jo jo yo jo, I'm just going to touch down over there. I'm like, Dad, what are I supposed to be looking at? Right here? My shelf? I hit you in your mouth. I'm just I'm just saying, Holy it was a touchdown? You know, I ain't about to touch down. You can't get a touchdown until you got a first down? Here did you get a first down? But I got a touchdown? How many first downs? Was amount of y'alls that I had to get a first down? But nah? I created my dad for like really giving me that voice, man, because he was always encouraging me to one be accountable with what I'm doing. And two, if you see something, say something, If you feel something, say something. Don't just sit here look at me and tell me. I was finna say this, but you know what, I ain't want to say it because I thought you was gonna get mad at me. Who does that help? You don't have nobody?

00:35:35
Speaker 4: That's a massive piece of advice, you know what I'm saying? How do you deal with that? So six years old, you're watching film like we all, I think every human being goes to that rebellious face in their life. Thirteen fourteen, that Tostalstrem starts. It hit a little bit different. You start focusing on girls a little bit more. You start getting more rebellious towards your parents. How did you handle Did you ever have a rebellious phase with your father or anybody?

00:35:55
Speaker 3: Uh? Man? One of the toughest times in my life was was twenty nineteen, man, when I felt like I was growing as a man, as an individual, but my dad was going through some pains. I lost my grandmother, his mother of the year before, and my uncle. My uncle died on my birthday, you know, you know, it was just an early phase of COVID on my birthday of twenty nineteen, and it was tough for him. And that was one of the first well he was He died the next year, but he was balancing sicknesses and stuff and it was tough for him. And he decided, like I'm not gonna go to any of your games. And like I'm okay, okay, we if we're playing New York. You know what I'm saying. He don't life flying. I get that, you know, but you know I'm coming into my home games. He was like, no, I just don't. I don't think so I don't think I won't come into your games. And it was the first time where like me and he was like bomping his I was like hold on now, like man, like this one is my contract year, like too, like I need you now more than ever. You know what I'm saying, You've been in my life. I'm fortunate to have a dad in my life, and you decigning not to come to my games. This whole time. I found out that my uncle will see after that, like he just was going through it because because it's his mom, and I've never seen him in that way, and he didn't allow me to see him in that way until I was down bad, until you know, until I'm going into the Bucks facility in the middle of COVID training my butt off, like knowing that the world is shut down, but I see signs of TB twelve being built in the middle of COVID. I said, now, how in the hell are not able to build a TB twelve in the middle of COVID, and like, and nothing is announced yet, but I'm going to the facility still, like, man, I'm gonna get a chance to work with Tom Brady. Oh my goodness, it is gonna be amazing. And then breaking news Tom Brady has just signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And I'm just sitting there like I knew that TV twelve there ain't done. Nothing happened by coincidence, Like I'm sitting there getting my life and I'm going through it with my dad, Like I just been broken NFL record with thirty touch thirty three touches down, thirty interceptions, Like I ain't nobody gonna ever break that ever. They just they're not confident enough. But man, I just had this and at the same time, like like me and my dad were going through it because I'm like, man, like this is my biggest hit ever, like and you're not that for me, but a little better. I was like, man, I went, I wasn't dead for you either, because and sometimes in African American communities, like, yeah, we have a dad present, but we're not consistently communicating with our father all the time. It's through sports, it's through uh, it's through discipline. Where we are communicating with our fathers. We never sit there and have the quality time because our fathers are either grinding or out to have just a heart to heart conversation, you know. And I and that's why I take pride of like sitting down at a table with my wife and kids and saying like, man, if you could change anything about the world today, or like what would you change, just giving them that authority that like, you can speak to me about anything. I want to know, what, like what pack are you willing to make into this world? And I do believe that my relationship with my dad has grown since that those two years, just because we actually had to see each other both in downstages and we didn't want either of us to be in that in that role, but there was things and internally that we both was facing that we had no choice but to confess and come out with because we both were in a down bad situation.

00:39:25
Speaker 1: Question for you with your dad, Oh, yes, the role. Okay, we'll get him, We'll get him in what's uh? You got me curious?

00:39:33
Speaker 2: How?

00:39:34
Speaker 1: Because obviously your dad was hard on you in a great way. I mean it led you to be the player that you are, the man that you are. What are you as you being a father?

00:39:41
Speaker 2: Now?

00:39:42
Speaker 1: Everything you've learned from being you know, fathered by your dad, how do you approach fatherhood with your kids knowing like, okay, they never did sit down and have the tough conversations or have the vulnerabilities or when you're sitting at dinner and everything else. How has your dad raised and you helped you be the father that you are. Whether it's I'm gonna take the things that he taught me and also I'm going to do things a little bit differently, you know, against the things that I feel like I did not get for.

00:40:07
Speaker 2: Him for them as a kid.

00:40:08
Speaker 3: Well, I'm so blessed and grateful that the time and the support that my wife gives me with my with my children. Of how on top of everything she is, Like, I think it's truely a blessing when you have a partner that's like down for you. And I'm lucky because I met my baby when years in high school, like we've been high school, sweetheart, we didnt went through everything together, like we didn't grow together literally grew together like interest. We didn't grew together. Uh you know, we didn't have heartbreak, we didn't have upsets. But man, when I view my kids and I know I'm loving her and I'm willing to sacrifice and provide and protect her. When I'm looking at my babies, I want my babies to do as I do and not do as I say. So when I'm with them, I'm intentional with my words. I'm intentional with my actions because I want them to be young men of action and right now like six and four anyway, So what I'm really saying, they really probably not listen or hearing me. I know one of them definitely not listening to hearing me. But I do it with simple things. I engage with them by what they want, you know, because I want my babies to know what they heart truly desires because I know I always knew, well I wanted to be a foot doctor, but I always knew I wanted to be an NFL Super Bowl winning quarterback. You know what I'm saying, playing Dodgers because of the woman said, your hobby who inspired me to be a foot doctor. She was taking care of my grandma feet and my daddy feed So that's a long story. But anyway, for my babies, man, I just want them to do as I do and not do as I say, man, And I want to continue to be this man of increase, and I want them to see me encountering with other people and leading other people so that they can know like, hey, this is this is just what we do. This is this is this ain't no facade. Like my daddy is the best daddy in the world because of his actions, not because of what he's saying, not because what he necessarily uh tell me or write down in his journal. You know, I think that's an important part too. I have I got my receipts, you know, I got I keep my journal, you know what I'm saying, So when I'm right, write stuff down, like I'm like I'm gonna read this my six year old son. He'll sit there and read what I just said. So now we're doing tangible things like, man, what you're writing that down for? Like sho I wrote down I'm kind, I'm greatful, I'm confident, man, because I need those affirmations just as much as you, my son. You know. Okay, So you're talking to yourself like, well, yes, I'm talking to myself. But we have the ability to speak life into ourselves. Like, so, so you're still talking to yourself though, Dad, I'm like, but it's okay to talk to yourself. We actually talk to ourselves more than anybody else. And he's like, okay, and you don't understand the impact that you're making because they're still processing.

00:42:51
Speaker 2: Break by breakfast.

00:42:52
Speaker 3: Yes, it is.

00:42:54
Speaker 2: That is awesome.

00:42:55
Speaker 3: It is as two.

00:42:56
Speaker 2: Guys with kids as well.

00:42:57
Speaker 4: That's awesome to hear that you're doing everything I know you'll do.

00:43:00
Speaker 2: Saying that he's got boys, I know I got girls. I'm praying two girls, two girls. They're the best to the throne.

00:43:11
Speaker 3: Underneath one.

00:43:12
Speaker 4: This question is so tailored to you. I hope you embrace it and you love it. It's halftime. The three of us were down three scores. We got to rally the troops. What are you saying to the boys at halftime? Coach looks, everybody says a couple of words, jamet's bring them up.

00:43:28
Speaker 3: Hey, yeah, it's zero zero. What happened already happened. But it ain't nothing that we can do but act. Now. Let's act. Now, let's get busy. Let's go out there and let's dominate the line of scrimmage. First, let's make sure that we execute in the red zone. We're gonna get down there. I'm gonna throw it all over there. But let's make sure that we are populating the football on defense. Let's make sure that we are attacking the football on offense. I'm talking to your receis because i'mnna. Let you get it all right. Here we go, team on three, one two three, Team.

00:43:53
Speaker 1: Beautiful love, beautiful bither. Thank you for your time. This has been incredible. Legitimately, thanks, I appreciate you. Man, it's been a minute. We've been one to make this happen for a while now. I've been talking with Joe, But sincerely, thank you for coming.

00:44:06
Speaker 2: Thank you.

00:44:07
Speaker 3: I'm grateful for you. Thank you.

00:44:08
Speaker 2: Yes, sir, it appreciate you.

00:44:10
Speaker 3: Yes, Sir appreciate you.