Jerome Bettis joins the guys inside the garage to share some of his favorite stories from his playing days at Notre Dame, the time Lou Holtz ripped him in front of the entire team, his NFL career, playing with Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, and other legends, and what his experience has been like finishing his degree at Notre Dame.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. What's up, everybody? Welcome back to Inside the
Garage podcast. I'm Cayl Hamilton along with Conor Radigan and
Cam Hart and today we're very very legendary UM notable guests.
He doesn't look like kJ because kJ is not here.
He's taking place for kJ Um. But you guys may
know him as an NFL Hall of Famer, Notre Dame legend,
(00:24):
but he's currently just another Notre Dame student and uh
caid coming back to get his A degree. But Jerome
bettis thank you for joining us today. Yeah, so obviously
we all know who you are. I'm sure everybody listening
knows who you are. And uh, it's kind of crazy,
uh that we can get you on here, and so
I'm super excited. We're all pumped to get you and
(00:44):
uh we're this's gonna be fun, fun little hour. Let's
do it. Hey, thanks for having me, guys. I appreciate
it for sure. How's your journey been so far on campus?
It's been, uh, you know, realistically, so the idea was
much greater then then the reality. You know the idea
of it. Oh, yeah, you come back, it'll be quick.
(01:05):
You get your The green bangs over here and then
but in reality coming back and then the classloads and
then the classes and I'm looking like what so you
look at the syllabus right, you're like oh, and so
(01:28):
that the issue becomes You're like, man, I didn't I
didn't plan for this, right, this wasn't part of the deal.
And it sounded good. But but the reality of having
new grind. And that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm grinding
because the it's not a fluff schedule. Uh, it's uh,
(01:48):
you know, I got kind of thrown in the deep
water and I gotta swim so but but fortunately it's
only this one semester and I've done so I'm willing
to I wanted to put the work as how are
you able to just go from like thirty years removed
from school into business analytics? So I was, I'm a
business major and so and for me, the business side
(02:13):
of it, you know, it's always been something that I've
been um comfortable with. Obviously right now currently I own
a couple of businesses, so I know business, but I
don't know the book philosophy different much different. So so
(02:36):
for me, it's it's just been learning terminology, learning equations, um,
you know, the real life uh product, I understand, but
this is taking a step back and and learning in
a totally different way. So it's it's been interesting. It's
been difficult, but it has been interesting because I believe
(02:56):
all the things that I am learning uh here, I
can use in the business world dealing with businesses and
and that kind of thing. So it's going to be
a benefit ultimately, but it has been a challenge. What
what is like the biggest changes on campus from like
(03:20):
when you're students now uh man, The biggest changes is
that when when I would say, you didn't have as
many places where you could kind of just hang out.
I mean you look at Duncan, I mean the fortune
was there, but nobody I mean you went you went in,
(03:41):
and you was like in and out. You know, maybe
you grab something to eat or you did something, but
it wasn't a place where you just kind of hang out.
And I just see more and more places on campus
that that allow you that freedom. Uh And so I
think that's one. Uh. One of the other big technologies
that you know, it's not really spoke of, is the
(04:03):
is the the little uh scooters because everybody at so
for us, it was bikes, right, everybody had a bike
and you saw bikes just piled up everywhere because everybody,
you know, bikes was that was the mold of transportation.
So to see to see the difference is, uh, it's
(04:24):
pretty crazy. Was being a student athlete back then and
a lot different athlete now on campus that nerd name
I think it was. I think it was much different
in that. Uh, we were it was more about our
our dorm because you know, obviously you didn't have anything
(04:45):
like the Google, you didn't have anything anything close to that,
so there was no area where we could just kind
of hang out. So well, no, I'm sorry, it wasn't
in the Rock. I apologize. No, it wasn't in the rock.
It was in um uh so so so basically the
(05:09):
rock that they did have some before us had some
things in the rock. But but we were, we were enjoycing.
But there was no lounge areas. There was nothing. There
was locker room, training room, going home, so you know,
so because of that, you know, well, and then we
(05:31):
had our training where you know, um our meals we
would do. We everybody had to go to North Donning Hall,
so even if you stayed on South, you had to
go eat that, and so it was like what so
we all So I was I was alumni, so I
was on the south, So I had to go all
the O way to North to eat every night because
(05:54):
that's where you know, the meals were for for the
for players, we had to go had to go on.
So those are the kind of things that's much different
where where you know, you guys go to Google and
you know, you get food. Everything is there. That wasn't
that wasn't the case. So we were we were more
more involved in from a student standpoint because you know,
(06:17):
we you know, we're we're in the dinning halls regularly,
whereas now I don't know if any of the guys
even go to any dining halls. It's not it's not regular.
It's probably for those guys they probably go, but not regularly,
(06:37):
you know what I'm saying. So I think that's a
big difference. So so school here was much it was
much different because you didn't see a lot of your teammates, uh,
you know, outside of practice, you know, because you know,
you everybody obviously everybody spread out where they're living, um,
(06:59):
but you had you know, you either you ate here,
you ate there, or you found something to do, and
so it was it was much more uh sporadic. It's
kind of spread out to where now everything is kind
of centrally located and guys can then make decisions from there.
Got you I missed the dorm aspect. Yeah, I just
(07:21):
can't get this picture out of my head of your
own bettest walking into like a micro economics class and
you sit down at a table that seats four and
you're just sitting there, and then what do your kids like?
Because obviously here in class with kids our age, what
it's gotta be weirder for you than it is for them, right,
no question, I think we're both ways. They're like, what
(07:45):
is this reckon? I just see the professor Um not really,
you know, not really. I think maybe if you one
of the kids and one of my class, he was
from Pittsburgh so he recognized me, you know. And but
for the most part, yeah, I'm sitting you know, I
kind of made made sat in the front just about
(08:06):
all of my classes, just kind of get out the
way front corner. And it never failed. Each class they said,
you know, tell us your name and something about you.
And I'm just trying to stay under the radar. I
wasn't not expecting any of that. I'm thinking, we're just
gonna get the class and you know, you know something,
(08:30):
have you write your name tag? And I'm thinking the
name tag is in the front, nobody's behind me. I'm
gonna go toss. I got my hand out. I'm selling.
And then next thing you know, they're like, well, uh,
tell your name, your uh, your class and you know,
(08:51):
where are you from and and tell us something about you? Right,
are you kidding? What would you say to that? Was?
It was like it was it was But what I
said to myself, I said, well, okay, here's here's my
opportunity to just get it out the way right and
(09:11):
just deal with it. And as it it turned out
to be pretty good. So they will come up and
I was saying that, I said, factors, um um, I'm
returning to get my degree after I think I said,
over twenty five years being gone, you know, uh play
in the NFL and and and had a long career
and now I'm back to get my degree. So that
(09:34):
was kind of thing. But what happened was some of
the kids kind of did some research. Yeah, you research,
and then they're like, so it was one of those
as as as the days went on, the question started
(09:55):
popping up or the game hey then so that but
the craziest part has been, uh, not the students weren't pictures,
but my teachers because like my teachers, they I went
to school with one of my professors. He was like, yeah,
I was here, you were here. I'm like, oh, okay,
okay you my brother he was in your class. It
(10:21):
was just like okay. That's uh. That's been the crazy
part that the youngsters. For me, it's it's odd because
I'm in the class and I'm taking notes and they
got computers and they're tight, and I'm I'm like something
(10:45):
everybody and I'm like, boy, there's not there's not there's
probably not one pencil sharpener in on campus. So so
that was, you know, and I'm getting ready. I went
to the store, I got my binder stuff. You don't
(11:10):
think about you guys, just that's just natural gap. That's
the difference, right, It's that technology gap that when I'm
going to school, you didn't nobody had a computer. You
had a computer. You were like the man you know
in the computer was a computer in your in the nineties,
(11:35):
you maybe you had a computer in your room. You
were like, man, what's your father? What your parents do?
They's just something real big. So so it was it
was a unique experience being back and and having that
that gap trying to manage. But it's it's it's been
(11:56):
one of those My professors have been great at, you know,
working with me and and they understand, uh the situation.
I think they've been great. That's so. Uh. I grew
up in Detroit, Michigan, right, so Detroit's home obviously chosen
Notre Dame. I want to understand, like your process in
(12:17):
the like that decision, what other schools you were considering,
and ultimately why you chosen DA. I bet it's not
too far off from why we did. Yeah, A great question. Um.
When I when I left school, it was three schools
that I visited. I had five five schools to visit,
but I got sick. After I came back from uh USC,
(12:38):
I went out to USC and got sick, and then
I canceled. So I went I visited Michigan, uh, Notre
Dame USC. I was supposed to visit Tennessee in Colorado.
I canceled both of those I got after I got sick.
And I knew after going to to to USC, I
knew that I didn't want to go that far away
(12:59):
from home because, uh, my mother and father were like
big and big in terms of coming to games, and
they wanted to they wanted to come. And as as
a result, my mom and dad, they came to every
game I ever played. They only missed in college. I
think they missed two games, and they never missed one
in the NFL, and thirteen every single game in thirteen
(13:22):
years in the NFL. So so I knew I wanted
to stay close to home. And so it came down
between Michigan and Notre Dame. And and there was two things,
uh that swayed me here as opposed to going to Michigan.
One was I was a fullback and they had just
recruited the number one tail back in the country. Uh.
(13:45):
And I knew realistically he was gonna carry the football
and I was gonna be I was gonna block, but
I had a little more, a little more of a
skill set to carry to football a little bit. But
I understood I was a fullback, but I still, you know,
I wanted to get some opportunities and the offense here, uh,
with Lou Hopes, the fullback was really the centerpiece of
(14:07):
his offense. So the fullback ran the ball, he caught
the ball, he blocked, and when the when the when
the offense went to three wide receivers, the fullback stayed in.
So there were so many pluses with that. The problem
was I was a I was an All American linebacker
as well, and so everybody wanted me to play linebackers.
So Michigan wanted me to start Week one at linebacker.
(14:31):
You know, it's like you know the man right now,
and it was just like that was a that was
an incredible, you know kind of thing. But I just
knew I was too short to play linebacker. My dad
was five ten, I'm I ended up being five eleven
and a half, and so I knew I just wasn't
gonna be tall enough to play um. And so I
decided to come here because I just knew that education
(14:56):
I thought was was going to be similar in terms
of going to Michigan going to the Name. Uh. So
I just knew that to give me a better chance
to play in the position I wanted to play, I
think coming here with the best for me. And it
turned out as I started after my third or fourth
week here. So it worked out well. I mean obviously
(15:17):
they work out well. So you guys, um, who's your
head coach when you're here? I was a little hoes,
So what's your I was? I thought it was the hoes?
What's your favorite lout hole story? What's one your go
to little hoes? My go to the love story is
uh and I so my from my freshman year to
(15:39):
my sophomore year, it was a big jump because coach
host didn't like to give the football to freshman so
so as so I played back and in the first
seven games, I maybe touch the ball once or twice,
I mean just didn't touch it. Right backs got the
(16:00):
ball back then right, well, the fullback caught it more
out of the backfield, you know what I'm saying, because
because back now fullback is non existent, you known't having fullback. Well,
then it was more of a you know, we running
were running isolation downhill, downhill, and fullback slip out and
in the flat and and now boom you catch something
(16:22):
and you go or screens all the screens went to
the fullbacks and stuff like that. So so so there
was some there was some offense for the fullback, but
he just would not allow the freshman to get the ball.
So I was just you know, okay, okay. Well we
got to the ball game. We played Colorado in the
(16:42):
Orange ball and they defended us very well, and he
gave me the ball and I broke. I broke a
nice big run right at like fifteen yards. So they
gave me the ball again, and I had another another
big run right and then he gave it to me again.
I gotta into the one yard line. So I had
like forty yards in like three plays, and I'm like,
(17:04):
I'm cooking down. So I get to the one. He
take me out the game one, y'all, I'm the fun back.
You take me out the game on the field and
he put in he put in a guy, my my
big brother, who was who was who was really a
tailback but wanted to it was a full back but
(17:26):
wanted to play tailback, and he had been converted to tailback.
But then for some reason coach put him back at
full back and took me out the game. And I'll
never forget he took He walked over and I was
coming off the game and I'm you know, I'm on
the Warrior I'm like, what's going on. So he's just
(17:47):
he's like that guy here, Sean, We're gonna let the
seniors win this one. And it was like playing another
down that game game. The reason we cut down. I
didn't play the rest of the game. I was so
(18:10):
that it was like in the first half, it was
like second quarter. I mean nothing. I was like just
stro So going into my sophomore year, it was like
a big deal. Right, Yeah, he's gonna have a big year.
So I'm gonna cover. I'll never forget. I'm going to
(18:32):
cover of the Blue and Gold Illustrated so and so
it says my number was six, so it said the
Sultan of six, right, and I'm standing there and I
got I got the eye black on bench that got
sweat come down, and I'm just like so after it
comes out, I'm like feeling good. A sophomore year to cover.
(18:56):
So I'm getting all the magazines. I'm stilling all of ones,
like I'm trying to send about everybody. Right, I'm going
to every door, every building, because they were like put
a couple of every building I was confiscating. So I
(19:18):
get to practice. I'll never forget it. I get to
practice and back to start, and you know, you're in
a couple of different fields. Everybody's all over. So for
coach to call up the practice after about you know,
thirty minutes of practice, it's like, oh, somebody did wrong.
I'm like, oh, whoa somebody did I'm wrong, right, But
(19:40):
I'm I mean I'm good. Right, we call right, come up,
and he's like, somebody's gonna something. This guy's gonna cost
us a national championship. Right. We're like, what who? You're like,
this guy thinks he's the best thing to slice spread
and so I'm looking wrong. He says, but this is
(20:01):
your football team. I'm gonna let you guys deal with them, right,
And I'm like, who, who? Is it true? You stand up?
My jaw dropped. I was like I couldn't believe right,
So I was I was just like shock. I wasn't
moving nothing right. And he says, but this is your guy,
(20:21):
this is your team. If you guys want to win
the championship, you're gonna handle it, right, And I'm like,
what's that mean. He's like, all right, let's have a
great practice, right, and so everybody go leave it and
I'm thinking to myself, what does that mean for me,
what just happened? So I get, you know, get back in,
(20:41):
and I'm telling you I was getting hammered all practice.
Everybody was taking shots. Yeah you know what I'm saying.
They just just I'm just taking I'm getting hitting the bag.
I mean, I'm like, what is going on? So I
have I have a I mean hell of practice, right,
So I turned it up. So I'm practicing like it's
(21:03):
a game. I'm full throttle because everybody trying to get me.
So I'm like, no, I'm punishing everybody trying to get
me out, trying to get you. Right. So I was
just all over the places. So after the practice, nobody's
hanging around me. Right, I'm walking by myself and like
a leper, I'm like nobody. So I'm like, all right,
it's cool. It's not mad now because now I'm like okay.
(21:26):
And so coach pulls up when his little car he's
driving a golf cart around. He's just get in and
I'm like, he says, how was practice? And I'm like,
I mean, I'm like muddied up, dirty because I'm on
the ground and we were both at the ground. I'm
i mean every player, so so he like, how was practicing.
(21:47):
I'm like what He's like, I'm just trying to motivate.
You have a nice thing, And I was like what
the faith suff But what I will say is that
what he did, it changed the way that I began
(22:09):
to practice. So after that practice, I just continued to
go full throt him. So I practiced as if it
was a game. So I just became intense just just
after all of that, and it kind of changed my
trajectory for my football career because I went berserk. And
(22:32):
then that was just the way I attacked everything. And
then when I got into the NFL, I was the
same exact way. I run for the yards down the
fil every every play and they're like, what are you doing.
I'm like, I'm just I'm getting ready. I'm getting ready
for the game. And that was just my thing. And
so but before you know it, everybody was doing it.
(22:53):
And so it was it was And I tell this
the guys all the time. You can influence one guy
can influence the entire team. Uh. The reason I know
that is because I did it. When I got to Pittsburgh,
I was the only one running for the yards out
of field, only one working hard during practice. Uh, and
(23:14):
then everybody would tell me, hey, man, calm it down.
I'm like, nope, nope, nope, I got one speed right,
And so everybody else then had to match my speed
because it looked crazy on film that I'm doing all this.
And then like and so as it kept going, now
the other running backs had to run hard. And then
(23:34):
now and the deep is mad. They so they got
to run hard. So they're like, man, because because our
coaches saying, you gotta tas him, you gotta get it right.
So everything sped up and then we became a better
football team. So I looked back at that moment when
when he did that to me, uh, and it changed,
It changed my life. Uh, but it also affected uh
(24:00):
the teams that I played on going forward. So yeah,
there's my dad is a similar story that my dad
like he's like he was a good high school player,
like player of the year, Like he felt good going
in and then he had to get like knee surgery
this summer going into college. So he was he like
(24:20):
came like the one of the like practices like on
crutches or something, and like in the pit, I guess
in that time and the Holt comes out to him
and he looks at him, looks at his knee, and
then he's a fresher right, Like he's like, oh, he
would have been good here. Age walks away. Yeah, you
can't played, you would have been good here? What Like
(24:42):
Like my dad was like pissed about. He's like, I
haven't even played yet, Like I'm not just sitting out
of practice or something like like you said, and what
it is my dad he like just made it that
much better to all the time? Did he dig deep
all the time? Yeah? He walked by a guy you
got hurt and if you you know they have you
ride to buy this stuff, he'd be like, what a waste,
(25:04):
It's just one. A few podcasts and we talked about
we were like comparing, like I'll arrow football with you guys,
and like there's a lot of people like your generation
to say, oh, this new era is soft or these
new kids are soft, and I wanted to get your
(25:26):
perspective on how you thought about like your day to day,
like the two days it's going hard, hard heart all that,
and we have this science, we have analytics, and we
are like, oh, stay off the ground, you can practice
tackling this different way, how do you what do you
think about that? Well, I think it's I think it's
the evolution of the game. Yeah, it's not as physical
(25:48):
in anybody any stretching imagination, but it doesn't need to be.
The game had to evolve because it's like any any
other business model, it's like any anything that if it
doesn't evolve, it dies. And so if if the if
the sport didn't evolve, because when I played, I didn't
(26:08):
know what concussions did. I didn't know what what it
led to. Okay, so we were in the dark, right,
So yeah, so we went, you know, one hundred miles
an hour, you know, into the brick wall without without
a doubt. But but now there is that the knowing
(26:30):
right now, you can't unknow that right, you know what happens?
Uh potentially And as a result of that, the game
has to evolve, uh, to allow the players to play
the game in a much safer and more efficient way. Uh.
And yeah, a lot of people don't like it. It's
not it's not your grand grandfather's NFL, it's not your
(26:53):
parents NFL. No, but it's it's the game that it
has to be because if it doesn't then and nobody's
gonna play it. But that's evolved that I'm not gonna
send my my son uh to play in this game,
and it hasn't evolved, and we're playing, we're playing. So
just give you example. When I played in the NFL,
(27:15):
I wore the same basic helmet for ten years. For
the same helmet for ten years. Okay, no new design, No,
the same helmet for a decade. Uh no, I want, Well,
it was available, I just didn't wear that kind you
(27:36):
can take them off, well that they were all detachable.
But I wore I wore basically a bike back then,
was a bike helmet. And so back then you didn't
have uh, the button buckles up here. You just had
the buckles here. So when you have buckles up here,
that was a different kind of helmet, right, Well, they
didn't allow you to wear that here. So when I
(27:58):
got to the NFL. But but but that technology didn't evolve,
so I was the same. Imagine that, no, no evolution.
So so the game it went from the same type
of helmets for like pointy something years to all of
(28:19):
a sudden once they knew the design kept changing every
every year, better better, better and better better. Well, that's
because because the evolution, but also people awoke. You knew
that the concussions were an issue, and so the game
had to evolve and it did. And so the why
(28:40):
I look at it is I think it was a
necessary evil. Yeah, yea. The game isn't as physical, but
you know what, it doesn't have to be as figgal
as physical to still be a great game. The ball
oh man, we would when when I was at and
I hey day, if we threw it twenty two times,
(29:02):
that was like a lot. Twenty five times, If we
threw it thy five times, it was like boy, you
you threw it thirty times? You, I mean you lost
you just y'all were sorry. What's what's one thing that
(29:24):
from today's game that you wish you had back when
you were playing, or one thing from when you were
playing that you wish they still had now? Oh man? Yeah, good,
good question. Um ship if if they weren't allowed to
like hit low and all that kind of stuff, I mean,
I mean so now head to head is like illegal.
(29:50):
I mean that was the only I mean that was
that was it. So if people got kicked got kicked
out for head to head, I mean I've be playing
against there'd be nobody because they even they only went
at my ankles, tried to hit me, you know, in
(30:10):
the head, and that was that was it. Because I
was so low, I didn't give him much to hit
right and show the pad or right. You didn't want
to really had that. We went to dinner last night.
We were talking about you coming to the podcast and
we're like, okay, you're we're at safety, you're coming to
They got what's the best way your time? You nothing?
(30:32):
This is I said, uh, I said, okay, I understand
he's big and people will want to go to his legs,
but his legs are moving fast and they're big, so
they're hard to tackle, right, I said, I'm just gonna.
I'm gonna chess you up. I'm just gonna I will
chess you up. We got buff go to the Ground's
not gonna look good for me, But were gonna go
to the ground though, right there, he thinks, But we
(30:58):
got we got some churf we got. I'm I know
those tricks. I know how to do that because the
key is I always played the game with the safeties
because I knew the safety has had a responsibility, but
(31:22):
they didn't really want to have to go head up
because it's a big difference in weight, right, the linebackers
and me, we brought even now the safeties. Now is
like okay, they're giving up twenty thirty with me. They
was giving up forty, right, So now I know, I
know in their heads they don't want to have to
(31:48):
throw their body in there. They don't want to They
want to try to get me down. So the first
thing they're gonna do is they're gonna say, all right,
I'm just gonna get in there and I'm just gonna
give I'm gonna just give give up the body. If
I may, I may get ran over, but i'm gonna
get I'm gonna get to tackle, right, Okay, Well, first
the aggressive the aggressive guy, it's gonna say, I'm just
(32:10):
gonna going in there and then i'm gonna die. I'm
gonna shoot. I'm gonna shoot my gun and see what happened, right, Okay,
So that guy, that's who I get first, right, because
I'm I'm coming in with show the pad all day
with you, because i know you try to run up
in there and this shoot, So I'm gonna stick you,
show the pad, helmet, and then I'm lift up on you.
(32:32):
And then now you're in trouble. You got no more
leverage right tackle me? Right, You may tackle me, but
I'm gonna make you na. I'm gonna make you hurt
right because I want to really, I want to shake
your bones a little bit right right the bones. So
then the second time you come at me, you're gonna like, shoot,
I don't do that any So the second time you're
(32:55):
gonna shoot low, then that's when I bring the legs up.
Boo boo, how I'm through. Then the third time you say, okay, ship,
that didn't work, I'm gonna just go ahead and sacrifice
the body and I'm just gonna make the tackle. And
then that's when I hit you and spin off of you.
I use your body to propel me another way. So
(33:16):
I'm thinking the whole time how I'm going to get
away from you every time you do it. So the
thought that you're saying, oh yeah, we're just both gonna
without and I know that's the thing. I'm expecting that
because I know you don't want to tackle me at
how right my legs. So what I'm gonna do is
(33:39):
I'm gonna fake you out. I'm gonna dip like I'm
dipping the shoulder, which is gonna make you shoot. And
that's what I'm gonna from the jump, Yeah, because I'm
expecting you to do that. So so that's why there
is gonna be a little bit of gamesmanship that you're
gonna have the really good ones because they're gonna they're
(33:59):
gonna be setting you up just like you're setting back.
You're setting up and play. You see quarterback do or something,
You're like, Okay, if you do that again, I got
it right. So you it's the same cat mouse game
that you played maybe with the quarterback or with that
receiver that you know when he's dipping, he's gonna come
on that inside route. You see it and you're like,
I've been watching it on tape. I gotta feel for
(34:21):
what he wants to do. It's the same thing that
we do in terms of offensive versus the defensive guy.
So just know that battle will intensified when you get
to the next level. My thought presses, well, I was
telling Cam last night. I was like, I'm not gonna die.
If if I est you, I'm not gonna die. It's
(34:41):
gonna hurt, but I'm gonna chest you up. It's gonna hurt,
there's gonna be some oozing eyes. But we're both going
to the ground. In my opinion, we're both going to
the ground. Get up, next play next play. That's a
good idea. That's that's in theory. See now I have
broken some collar bones, right, and so because guys will
(35:02):
come in their physical and so I'm bigger. So the
law physics say something's gonna break. I got hurt. So
but what I'm gonna do, see what I'm gonna do
for him, because because he's uncertain, I'm gonna go ahead.
I'm gonna stick him with a little bit to sit
him down. And that's it because I know what he's
(35:27):
gonna come and he's gonna do this just like I
got you either way good and I don't know, but
I'm gonna stick up like a little low one to
sit him down. And was there one safety that uh
that was like I got you that had your number
a little bit? Good question? And general I'll tell you
what one guy he got me in college. I'm trying
(35:53):
to think who was that? What's his name? He just
um uh the general manager for the forty niners. Uh
John was played for he played for Stanford, and when
I was here, we lost the Stanford and we were
(36:16):
the number one team in the country. We lost the Stanford.
Bill Wash was the head coach at forty Niners. He
left forty Niners after they won those championships and went
back and coached at Stanford for like one or two
years or whatever. And we played Stanford at home and
(36:38):
John Lynch, I never forget he hit me. I mean
he didn't, he didn't even tackle me. He just came
in at such he hit me in the bar, dropped
straight down right there, and so I was no. I
mean I went down to get the ball and went
like he just like cracked me. Everybody like, oh man,
John Lynch got him, and I was like, so piste
(37:00):
off and we end up losing the game run And
so then we played in the NFL, and uh so
I was always trying to get him. I'm gonna get you,
wait to get you. I could never really get a
really clean shot. I do not want to be on
(37:23):
that list. I was at the job for so long, man,
But the problem is he's such a good guy. Whenever
I saw it was just like you, he's a great guy.
So we had We had a great relationship, but it's
always wanted to get it. But I never could get
him back. Uh for that hious. Yeah, oh yeah, we're great,
(37:51):
but but we were cool then there was. It was
never a a adversarial relationship. It was just one of
those he got me, and I wanted to get back.
It's just got me. You made a big play on me.
I just want to get you back. And I could
never really get them back because just about everybody who
(38:13):
had on the hit list, I was able to get
back any of the noble names on there. Um, I'm
trying to think hit list. No, I'm trying to think
some of the guys that you would know. I mean,
I didn't really have the hit lis. One of the
biggest battles I had was with Ray Lewis because Ray
played in Baltimore, we played in Pittsburgh. Yeah, so it
(38:36):
was like for real, for real And at the time,
we were the two best teams, uh in the division.
And usually if if we beat them, um you know,
they won. They won a super Bowl in our time
and we won one. So it was just one of those.
(38:56):
Both of us were good teams for for a lot
of years, and so and we we had a hell
of a matchup. Every time we played. It was one
of those they knew where I was gonna be, I
knew what they were gonna be, and it was just
that man, it was just a battle. So so we
had we had some some monster robberies. Uh back then.
(39:18):
Also another guy that that was awesome was Junior say I. Uh,
he was just he was legendary. And I'll tell you
a funny story with Junior say I. So he went
to USC and just so happens on my visit to USC,
he was about to graduate. He was, you know, graduating.
(39:41):
So I never forget. I go out there and it's
it was, you know, January, so it's freezing back in
Detroit and out in California it was like sixty five,
like seventy. And so that's why I got sick because
I'm I got a T shirt on and I'm like
hanging out. But but we went to a party one night.
(40:03):
I said, I saw Julia say I and I'll never forget.
He had this brand new red grand chairkee you know
back in then he got out and he had a
tank top on and I'm if I'm telling I'm not
I'm not lying. This guy had more muscles. I'm seventeen eighteen.
(40:27):
I was just like, whoa he was so chiseled, right, yeah,
muscles everywhere. I was like, who is that? I didn't
know who he was, right, who was that dude? And
he was like, oh, that's say he going to the league.
I'm like what position did he play? Right? He said? Linebacker?
(40:48):
He said linebacker. My heart just kind of dropped because
I was like, that's where I was like, I'm that
dude was like, she's like a god almost man back then,
and it was just and I just didn't realize he
was a freaking nature. Nobody else looked like him. But
(41:10):
when I saw him, I was like, shoot, you were like, um,
like five, I was out know coming out of high school?
I was five ten a half to thirty five high school?
And would you play that in college? In college? I
played at two fifty. I finished up at two fifty two.
(41:32):
Got you? I just stayed like fast and like like
what you do. I was blessed because coming out of
high school I ran um four four th that's crazy
everything my tackling style. When I ran for the NFL,
(41:58):
I ran I was too fifty to fifty four, and
I ran the four or five too, and so that's
why they said I could play tailback because once I
ran the time, they looked at me as a tailback
and not a full back. And that's how I was
able to get drafted so high, because they figured I
(42:19):
could play tailback, which which was right, because up until
my senior year, I mean my junior year and Notre Dame,
I had never played tailback. I played tailback again. Coach
Holts didn't like running freshman and both of our running
backs got hurt and we're about to play. We're about
to play air Force, and he said the only way
air Force can beat us is if we fumbled the football. So, Jerome,
(42:42):
you played tailback. So he put me a tailback. I
never had played, didn't know any of the plays or nothing.
I played that game had a hundreds of yards Russia.
And then he would play me at the end of
every game, like if we had a lead, just to
like run out the clock, and and then teams saw that,
and and then once I ran the forty time, he said,
(43:02):
we think he could play tailback. And that's kind of
how how I ended up playing tailback after never having
played it ever. Ever, that's crazy. Um, I want to
know one thing, like what's up with the arm the
arm sleeves, elbow sleeves, feel good, play good type things.
(43:24):
So when I was here, when I was here, that
was just kind of, uh, just to kind of the
look we we went, right. And then as a as
a runner back, we it would help us help us
carry the ball because we got some grip on got
grip on it right, and so and that just giving
(43:53):
ourselves a little the best chance, right. And then when
I got to the NFL, a company actually made them
with a different kind of material in the middle to
help me grip it even more right. And because the
actual sleeves that we wore were sleeves for your for
(44:13):
your um leg, you know. So let's say if you
if you you know, you pull your calf muscle and
you put sleeves put on a tight sleeve on. That's
what those were for. They were for your leg, but
it fit on your arm, put on your hand, the legs.
(44:39):
So you made it work right, right, And so I
went with it, and uh, and it did. It helped,
it helped out. There was no rule against it, so
it actually wasn't cheating, right, that's taking advantage of your
your opportunity. That's it. That's funny. So go about your
(45:00):
draft process a little bit. You went with top did Yeah, yeah,
that's crazy to talk about that a little bit. So
for me, it was it was interesting because I was
at one point the number one running back on the
board because Garrison Hurst was the other running back. He
(45:21):
had played at Georgia. But they after the combine, they
found out that he didn't have he had a he
didn't have a h A c l M. He had
torn he had torn it as a kid or whatever,
and he was just playing on it in college like that.
I mean, he's yeah, whole career he never even knew.
(45:41):
He never even knew. And Highs Warred's not the same
same thing. Hies Warred didn't know a c l and
both with the Georgia and so Garrison Hearst. So he
had dropped out of the first round. He ran a
four three like a four three three. They said, oh
he's good, it nothing wrong with him. And and so
(46:05):
he ends up uh going as the first running back
and and and when you know it, his rookie year,
he blow out his knee about that. But but he
he ended up having a really good uh NFL career.
He played I think eleven twelve years. He had a
he had a great career. But um so so going
(46:26):
into that, there was a lot of like, hey, you know,
I think you're gonna be here, You're gonna be hearing,
a lot of saying this, um. Because I was a
fullback playing tailback, people were still a little bit if
he if I could make that conversion. Um. But the
(46:47):
more and more people you know, came around me, I
went interviewed, I went to I went to visit the Broncos.
I went to visit the Jets a thing I mean,
and had great visits. I went to Arizona, went out
to air want to visit the Cardinals, had you know,
had some great visits with with the coaches, and you know,
they asked me what I you know, my philosophy is like,
(47:09):
you know, just give me the rock philosophy bad burned now.
And so that was but but but the the traveling
all of that, and then I was training. I was
training out in Denver at the time, getting ready for
(47:30):
um the combat. Is it similar to the same training
that like people are doing that same thing, same thing,
and so it was it was similar I ran at
pro day uh here uh and didn't run it at
the combine, So we just had a better uh opportunity
(47:51):
to control the environment and so did that. But but ultimately, uh,
the one thing I regret now, uh is that when
I went that second semester, I kind of pulled back
from school, so I would be I would have to
be here to semester. So uh, that that is a regret. Uh.
(48:18):
You know one thing, if I had a chance to
do it over, I would I would have stayed, I
would have trained, but I would have still tried to
stay connected a little bit with that semester because you know,
at the end of the day, sees get degrees, so
you didn't have to have a great a semester um.
(48:39):
So that that would have been if I had a
chance to do it over, That's what I would have done.
You can you uh that's a little bit different. Can
you like describe you kind of talk to us when
you came to and talked to the team. You talked
about a little bit. But the Super bowlve season, how
is that like the feeling of like winning it and
then you retired after that. I would right immediately potum um. So.
(49:05):
So for me, it was it was unique because the
year before I had really retired. The year before we won,
we had just lost uh NFC Championship game to the Patriots.
UM and I had just had finished my twelfth season.
I just knew that physically my body was starting to
(49:26):
break down. UM. I warn number thirty six and the
three and the six were starting to move farther. So
I knew that it was one of those things like
it's like, oh, man, I got I got much left,
um and so. But but the guys convinced me to
come back. I didn't even know this at the time.
(49:49):
The super Bowl was in my hometown of Detroit, and
so I didn't know. So they told me, Hey, in
that year we had went we went fifteen and one,
and that was Ben Roethlisberger's rookie year and we had
an incredible team. And that's crazy. Yeah, he was a
rookie quarterback and we still went. We were that good
(50:11):
all across the the board. And so, as it turns out,
they said, listen, the super Bowl is gonna be in Detroit.
You gotta come back. And and you know, I'm saying
to myself, man, I don't think. I don't know, and
I decided to come back that year, and you know,
thinking that, you're right. We were fifteen and one. We
(50:33):
got a great team. We should be you know, we
picked up right we left off, Well, that didn't happen,
and we were like terrible. And it came down to
like the last four games, we had to win all
of them just to be the last seed into the playoffs.
But we got in. And once we got in, we
(50:55):
were we have been playing playoffs for the four weeks
prior to the playoffs because if we lost, we were out.
So we were in playoff mode four weeks before everybody else.
So we were we were rocking and rolling by the
time we got to the playoffs. And so we we
we got to the playoffs. Man, we we were incredible.
(51:16):
We went we had to go on the road to
every game, and and we got to Super Bowl in
hometown Detroit. It was it was amazing. But when I
go back and think about the Super Bowl, the run
and all of that, you know, and obviously you get
the ring, and but the one thing about that that
(51:38):
whole run is I realized about being a champion. It's
not so much the result as it is the process,
because you cannot cheat the process if you want to
be a champion. There is no way around it. It's
only one way, and it's gonna be hard, it's gonna
(51:58):
be tough, it's gonna be physical, but it's only one
way and you may not ever win it, but it's
only one way to go to get to win it,
right and and so and that's what I think all
of us as players realized that that process is what
(52:19):
makes you a champion because you're able to get through
it and and make it all happen and hold that
trophy up. But that's the last piece of the puzzle,
holding that trophy up. We always talk about like we
don't know, like what we're gonna do after football, like
we it's a part of us, it's instilled in us.
(52:39):
And you had the very pinnacle super Bowl and then
very next year you're you're done, Like how is that playing?
Name it to? I tell? And so this is having
come back to school, this has now kind of been
my mission to let people know that, you know, especially
with Notre Dame, everybody says you know you four years,
(53:02):
you know four for forty four years, and and that's true.
But I think people have to also understand, especially US
athletes at the university that that dream of playing in
NFL have to understand as well, that it's not just
a fourth for forty it is you can have the
(53:26):
you know, a lot of people say, well, if you
don't make it, you have you gonna have a Notre
Dame degree and you'll you'll be you'll be a success
either way. And I and and I stopped and say,
who pause, time out, regardless if you do make it
to the NFL, because a lot of people have to
(53:46):
understand when you go to the NFL, let's say you
have a good career, not a great career. A really
good career in the NFL is seven years, right, outstanding
outstanding career is ten years. Right. All of a career
maybe thirteen fourteen years, right, But let's just say you
have a incredible career ten years. You're thirty three years old, right,
(54:10):
You're thirty three years old. You still have a lot
of life to live, right, and so that degree will
be useful at that point, right, And so what you
have learned, it will be useful going forward. And so
that's what I'm you know, kind of my mission is
to let guys know that even if you do have
a great career, you're still gonna need that degree. Right,
(54:31):
You're still gonna need something to do because you still
financially you can still be set, but you still need
something to do. I can hire yourself because if you're
not evolving, like I said earlier, you're dying. So you
have to continue to evolve and grow. And the growth
(54:54):
is is that much better when you have that degree
from Notre Dame. It opens so many more doors, so
many more opportunities um for yourselves when it's all said
and done, and I think ultimately that becomes, uh, the
the plan, the idea. If you do that, then that
(55:16):
leads to even more success. Yeah, that's definitely something we
can all take with us, Like everybody goes here and
everybody across college football, it's like our dream first dream
obviously gets the NFL. I have player as long as
we can have a successful career. But then after that,
like you said, your early thirties at best, and it's
you have a lot of life to live. And if
you're just at that point have inversted yourself in any
(55:38):
other categories, you're just feel kind of empty without football.
And I think that is a great job of guys
doing that. Yeah, and so, and that's that's become a
big problem for guy said, it's not become it's been
a big problem for a lot of a lot of
players because just like you said, they you know, you
(56:00):
go and you say that's the dream I want to
do it. You play and then now what and and
I say that to say that is the problem and
so and here's the cycle. Okay, so you come out,
your goal wants to play football, play football, you make
(56:21):
some you make good money, all of a sudden you retire.
Now let's say, you know what, I want to do
something right, Let's start a company. Right. You don't know
how to do anything right business wise because you've never
done anything bin wise. Well, let's say you've got ten
million dollars in the bank, right and you know, man,
(56:42):
I got timmy, I made it. But I want to
do something. Okay, Well, let's I want to start. I'm
gonna start a widget company with my best friend because
he's been working at a widget company and he knows
how to make widgets because he's been working at the
widget company for ten years. Okay, we're gonna make widgets.
So you go into this widget business and and he's
(57:03):
worked at the company, but he doesn't know how to
manufacture the widgeons. He doesn't know how to sell the widgeons.
He's been at the widget company. So now all of
a sudden, you put you put this money into this company,
and now all of a sudden it goes down to
the tank. Now, all of a sudden, that next stagg
(57:25):
that you had becomes that much smaller. And then now
the fear sets in. Oh man, I gotta do something
because now I'm in trouble now. But again you're only
thirty five years old, right, so so now it becomes
the next failure and then you're busted, right, And so
(57:46):
that it can happen that fast, because guys aren't that
they're not prepared, okay for the next stage of their
lives because they don't have that degree. They don't have
the resources of a notre dame. Uh that allows you
(58:06):
to meet these people to understand what this business is about.
To learn from this person before I go into business
on my own, you know what. Let me let me
go intern work with him and see how he does it.
And but a notre dame allows us to have that opportunity,
(58:27):
and and so going forward down the road, those opportunities
become the reason that when the athlete retires and he's
done after having gone to Notre Dame, he has a
tendency to have more success than the other players, and
not of day needs to us. It says, like the
opening to recruiting pitch. We can sell it to him,
(58:53):
but you want to get into the rapid. Yeah, I
was gonna ask like one more thing, um, yeah, that's
last topic before he gets a more fun thing. But
I wanted to kind of know, like you mentioned guys
like ray Lewis very like these are people like you
played against. I want to know, like with Hines Ward, Troy, Paulamalu,
you played with James Harrison, right, Yeah, Like these are
(59:15):
guys who had sustained success in the NFL, and you
saw them on a day to day basis. What's like
one common thread between them that made them so successful
and have such longevity and success. Great question and looking
at all of those guys, mhmm, all of them, if
(59:36):
there's one trait, because the one outlier is Troy, because
Troy was so quiet, his demeanor, Uh was so laid back,
but once he got on the field, all of those
guys were intense. I mean he was. And we sat
(01:00:00):
next to each other locker room, right, and he's the
funniest guy. He's laugh at, joking, quiet j and he
gets out and he becomes and we called him. We
called the Tasmanian Devil because it's like, it's what what
was this guy? Right? And he just was flying around,
throwing his body around, and he was amazing. But all
of these guys, all of them hind the same guy.
(01:00:23):
He used to laugh. So he used to had this
thing where he laughed on the fields because he always
was smiling. But he was like intense, trying to trying
to to hurt you. I mean he was a receiver
and he was knocking defensive guys out right, But but
he was so intense in that way. And then then
(01:00:45):
James James was We called him Um silver back I
mean because he was like he was but he was
the strongest guy, about the strongest got a team. But
when of the I mean short, I mean he was
just a big muscle um. And we we had two
nicknames from deebo uh and silver Back. So but but
(01:01:09):
again intense when they lined up, and all of them,
everybody was great off the field, great, great, great guys
on the field wound up like a missile, all of them,
you know what I mean. And I think I think
that's the that's the ability that you have to have,
(01:01:31):
is you have to have the ability to lock in
and focus um and and be so intense where you
know exactly what's going on around you. You've prepared, you're
ready to go, and it's not you know, it's not
a game. It's not a it's not a game. This
is business and that has to be the mentality. And
(01:01:52):
that's what the mentality was with all those guys. But
as soon as the play was over, so the whistle,
it was like back to normal, right. But locking all
those guys, man, if you got it, you got it
in between them, they was gonna put you down. About
practice My last question talk about practice because I know
(01:02:15):
so so Troy. Now, Troy was was was unique in
that he had a six cents for the football. So
he just knew the is gonna be over there, right
him jumping over the minor scripts and stuff like that.
Over here, he's supposed to be lying up over here.
But he ended up over here. It's like was gonna
be just like, dude, you wasn't supposed to be over
(01:02:37):
so you know, he just had had a six cents
for knowing where the bar was gonna be, right, So
in practice he you know, he wouldn't want to hurt
none of us, right, so he would just like be
like he just like it was just letting us know that,
(01:03:05):
and you have his hair flying and it was just
it was crazy, but he was just he just let
you know. That's crazy because that's literally every single Polynesia
player that's been at since I've been here. It's like
very mild manner off the field, like carry themselves very well.
So I've spoken. Once they get on the field, they're
like doing like war chance and like everything. It's crazy,
(01:03:31):
Like what it's crazy good to have him on your
side though, for sure? For sure, Um, do you want
to do the questions? Like, yeah, I'll get it, okay,
So we do this thing where we asked every guess
just like thirty to forty this rapid fire questions you
as you answer as fast as you can, just some
fun questions. Yep. So, um, are we doing the time
(01:03:52):
or not? Okay? Sure? First Detroit or Atlanta, Detroit. Um,
steak a lots there, State, Reese's, a Hersheys, Hershey's Turkey
bacon and Turkey burgers turkey bacon. Um, how much money
was someone I have to pay to travel to space
for a day? How much money would I pay? Would
(01:04:16):
someone have to pay you to go to space for
an entire day? Ship? Nine digits? Perfect vacation spot Putabaya?
Mm hmm, you gotta put me on to that one.
I don't know what that is? Yeah, wait, take a plause?
(01:04:38):
Where's that? Mexico? Okay? On the Pacific coast. It's crazy
four seasons. There's crazy. Um more in the afternoon, person afternoon?
College football or the NFL? NFL Okay, beat your lake Beach,
(01:05:01):
Lebron and Kobe guys are terrible cold cold. Um? Would
you rather rush for three touchdowns or rush for the
game winning touchdown? Game winner? Game winner? Um? Do aliens exist? Yeah?
(01:05:26):
Um for sure? Somebody? What's your favorite holiday? Christmas? Big
dog or small dog? Big dog? They're movie gudfather? Mhm? Nice? Okay, childhood, adulthood, adulthood? Oh,
I have money? Was broken? I want to go back?
(01:05:52):
Favorite dinner spot in Detroit, favorite dinner spot. M hm
be a hole in the wall. Yeah, it could be
a Chinese joint. Damn yea, that's a good one. Favorite
What do I want to call? Oh, Coney Island? Ago? Um? Um, yeah,
(01:06:17):
Lafayette Coney Island? Um? What dish do you cook the best?
Do I cook the best? Stir fry? A good star fry?
Would you ever skydive or have you? He? Would you
(01:06:37):
rather travel to the past of the future? Go back
to the past. If I can do it again, you
better go to Okay, what's your biggest fear failure? M's
what I said? Favorite book? Mm hmm, Oh boy? Why
(01:07:03):
do white Guys Have All the Fun? By Reginald Lewis
By Reginald Lewis. Okay, would you rather travel to Europe
or Asia? Europe? And would you rather live in Cali
or Florida? Florida? Bird? It's money. I'm gonna I'm gonna
(01:07:26):
add one more your all time golfing foursome including you,
so three other people. You can pick any three people
to golf with. Oh, that's just for all of us,
all of us. Um. I don't know, Palmer. They don't
(01:07:47):
have to be golfers now. Okay, the greatest and he's
and he's a he's a Pittsburgh Oh is he? YEA,
I know that he was. He grew up in the Trolle, Pennsylvania,
which is minutes from from Pittsburgh. So our training camp
is was ten minutes from where he where he his
(01:08:08):
golf course, and where he lived. So it was right there. Uh.
So I went over and got a chance to spend
spent a little bit of time with them. Um. So
that that's one in the foresome um oh, I would
(01:08:32):
love to have uh tiger in the foresom my dad
in the foresom. I lost my dad some years ago,
so I would love to play be able to plays
with him. Uh and I think that that would complete
the foresom. I'm trying to slick him slipping five bringer
(01:08:56):
bring caddy, Yeah, dad, dad would be he complete the
Foresom's good for Um. I would go myself, Um I
really oh nice, oh nice, just four of mes, just
(01:09:17):
four me. I would go Connor McGregor. That would be interesting, Yeah,
Connor McGregor. I would go, um be on musk mm hmmm.
And then then I go like Kevin Hart somebody like
(01:09:41):
keep it like keep because Connor's gonna be one to
fight everybody, fix every problem. And then and then Kevin
can making funny. I'm gonna go with um. Then it's Robbin. Okay,
we do this rally. Won't make it eight to do. Um.
(01:10:03):
I'm gonna go with John Daley. Okay, probably won't either.
It's a tie between Barack Obama and Kanye mm hm.
So yeah, I like that. That's good. It's good. I
don't do I was I was thinking like Will Ferrell. Yeah,
I was gonna say Tiger too, because I feel like that,
like why not right? And then I'd probably get like,
(01:10:26):
you guys probably know who this is. But Chase Utley
played for the player. I know that your favorite baseball player. Yeah,
I mean I grew up always watching him. I loved
his attitude and everything. You'd always like sprint through first,
even if he was like Albi like that's like everyone
like I grew up. I like that, dude. Um, Yeah,
(01:10:46):
it'd be interesting. You know, take it with him for
four hours. You know, sure you just spoke that to
existence once you know that that some somewhere down the line,
you're gonna call for Chase Utley. And I believe because
that was just so random. It's like, that's that's gonna happen.
That's gonna happen. Uh, I think we're gonna wrap it
up there. Appreciate you coming one, Appreciate you hit it,
(01:11:09):
Thanks for having got down. Appreciate you. Good luck the
rest of the semester. I hope you do well. You
graduated finally, good luck to you on the rest of
the semester. It's gonna be heavy on you because teams
are going to want you to fly right right. You
(01:11:31):
just gotta make sure you get this last semester under
your belt. Because you trust me, You're gonna you thank
me for it later. Appreciate, appreciated, Appreciate you man, I
thank you for coming on man, thank you. Appreciate you
all listening against Joan bettest football legend, and uh, we'll
see you all next week. Ye the volume
The volume. What's up, everybody? Welcome back to Inside the
Garage podcast. I'm Cayl Hamilton along with Conor Radigan and
Cam Hart and today we're very very legendary UM notable guests.
He doesn't look like kJ because kJ is not here.
He's taking place for kJ Um. But you guys may
know him as an NFL Hall of Famer, Notre Dame legend,
(00:24):
but he's currently just another Notre Dame student and uh
caid coming back to get his A degree. But Jerome
bettis thank you for joining us today. Yeah, so obviously
we all know who you are. I'm sure everybody listening
knows who you are. And uh, it's kind of crazy,
uh that we can get you on here, and so
I'm super excited. We're all pumped to get you and
(00:44):
uh we're this's gonna be fun, fun little hour. Let's
do it. Hey, thanks for having me, guys. I appreciate
it for sure. How's your journey been so far on campus?
It's been, uh, you know, realistically, so the idea was
much greater then then the reality. You know the idea
of it. Oh, yeah, you come back, it'll be quick.
(01:05):
You get your The green bangs over here and then
but in reality coming back and then the classloads and
then the classes and I'm looking like what so you
look at the syllabus right, you're like oh, and so
(01:28):
that the issue becomes You're like, man, I didn't I
didn't plan for this, right, this wasn't part of the deal.
And it sounded good. But but the reality of having
new grind. And that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm grinding
because the it's not a fluff schedule. Uh, it's uh,
(01:48):
you know, I got kind of thrown in the deep
water and I gotta swim so but but fortunately it's
only this one semester and I've done so I'm willing
to I wanted to put the work as how are
you able to just go from like thirty years removed
from school into business analytics? So I was, I'm a
business major and so and for me, the business side
(02:13):
of it, you know, it's always been something that I've
been um comfortable with. Obviously right now currently I own
a couple of businesses, so I know business, but I
don't know the book philosophy different much different. So so
(02:36):
for me, it's it's just been learning terminology, learning equations, um,
you know, the real life uh product, I understand, but
this is taking a step back and and learning in
a totally different way. So it's it's been interesting. It's
been difficult, but it has been interesting because I believe
(02:56):
all the things that I am learning uh here, I
can use in the business world dealing with businesses and
and that kind of thing. So it's going to be
a benefit ultimately, but it has been a challenge. What
what is like the biggest changes on campus from like
(03:20):
when you're students now uh man, The biggest changes is
that when when I would say, you didn't have as
many places where you could kind of just hang out.
I mean you look at Duncan, I mean the fortune
was there, but nobody I mean you went you went in,
(03:41):
and you was like in and out. You know, maybe
you grab something to eat or you did something, but
it wasn't a place where you just kind of hang out.
And I just see more and more places on campus
that that allow you that freedom. Uh And so I
think that's one. Uh. One of the other big technologies
that you know, it's not really spoke of, is the
(04:03):
is the the little uh scooters because everybody at so
for us, it was bikes, right, everybody had a bike
and you saw bikes just piled up everywhere because everybody,
you know, bikes was that was the mold of transportation.
So to see to see the difference is, uh, it's
(04:24):
pretty crazy. Was being a student athlete back then and
a lot different athlete now on campus that nerd name
I think it was. I think it was much different
in that. Uh, we were it was more about our
our dorm because you know, obviously you didn't have anything
(04:45):
like the Google, you didn't have anything anything close to that,
so there was no area where we could just kind
of hang out. So well, no, I'm sorry, it wasn't
in the Rock. I apologize. No, it wasn't in the rock.
It was in um uh so so so basically the
(05:09):
rock that they did have some before us had some
things in the rock. But but we were, we were enjoycing.
But there was no lounge areas. There was nothing. There
was locker room, training room, going home, so you know,
so because of that, you know, well, and then we
(05:31):
had our training where you know, um our meals we
would do. We everybody had to go to North Donning Hall,
so even if you stayed on South, you had to
go eat that, and so it was like what so
we all So I was I was alumni, so I
was on the south, So I had to go all
the O way to North to eat every night because
(05:54):
that's where you know, the meals were for for the
for players, we had to go had to go on.
So those are the kind of things that's much different
where where you know, you guys go to Google and
you know, you get food. Everything is there. That wasn't
that wasn't the case. So we were we were more
more involved in from a student standpoint because you know,
(06:17):
we you know, we're we're in the dinning halls regularly,
whereas now I don't know if any of the guys
even go to any dining halls. It's not it's not regular.
It's probably for those guys they probably go, but not regularly,
(06:37):
you know what I'm saying. So I think that's a
big difference. So so school here was much it was
much different because you didn't see a lot of your teammates, uh,
you know, outside of practice, you know, because you know,
you everybody obviously everybody spread out where they're living, um,
(06:59):
but you had you know, you either you ate here,
you ate there, or you found something to do, and
so it was it was much more uh sporadic. It's
kind of spread out to where now everything is kind
of centrally located and guys can then make decisions from there.
Got you I missed the dorm aspect. Yeah, I just
(07:21):
can't get this picture out of my head of your
own bettest walking into like a micro economics class and
you sit down at a table that seats four and
you're just sitting there, and then what do your kids like?
Because obviously here in class with kids our age, what
it's gotta be weirder for you than it is for them, right,
no question, I think we're both ways. They're like, what
(07:45):
is this reckon? I just see the professor Um not really,
you know, not really. I think maybe if you one
of the kids and one of my class, he was
from Pittsburgh so he recognized me, you know. And but
for the most part, yeah, I'm sitting you know, I
kind of made made sat in the front just about
(08:06):
all of my classes, just kind of get out the
way front corner. And it never failed. Each class they said,
you know, tell us your name and something about you.
And I'm just trying to stay under the radar. I
wasn't not expecting any of that. I'm thinking, we're just
gonna get the class and you know, you know something,
(08:30):
have you write your name tag? And I'm thinking the
name tag is in the front, nobody's behind me. I'm
gonna go toss. I got my hand out. I'm selling.
And then next thing you know, they're like, well, uh,
tell your name, your uh, your class and you know,
(08:51):
where are you from and and tell us something about you? Right,
are you kidding? What would you say to that? Was?
It was like it was it was But what I
said to myself, I said, well, okay, here's here's my
opportunity to just get it out the way right and
(09:11):
just deal with it. And as it it turned out
to be pretty good. So they will come up and
I was saying that, I said, factors, um um, I'm
returning to get my degree after I think I said,
over twenty five years being gone, you know, uh play
in the NFL and and and had a long career
and now I'm back to get my degree. So that
(09:34):
was kind of thing. But what happened was some of
the kids kind of did some research. Yeah, you research,
and then they're like, so it was one of those
as as as the days went on, the question started
(09:55):
popping up or the game hey then so that but
the craziest part has been, uh, not the students weren't pictures,
but my teachers because like my teachers, they I went
to school with one of my professors. He was like, yeah,
I was here, you were here. I'm like, oh, okay,
okay you my brother he was in your class. It
(10:21):
was just like okay. That's uh. That's been the crazy
part that the youngsters. For me, it's it's odd because
I'm in the class and I'm taking notes and they
got computers and they're tight, and I'm I'm like something
(10:45):
everybody and I'm like, boy, there's not there's not there's
probably not one pencil sharpener in on campus. So so
that was, you know, and I'm getting ready. I went
to the store, I got my binder stuff. You don't
(11:10):
think about you guys, just that's just natural gap. That's
the difference, right, It's that technology gap that when I'm
going to school, you didn't nobody had a computer. You
had a computer. You were like the man you know
in the computer was a computer in your in the nineties,
(11:35):
you maybe you had a computer in your room. You
were like, man, what's your father? What your parents do?
They's just something real big. So so it was it
was a unique experience being back and and having that
that gap trying to manage. But it's it's it's been
(11:56):
one of those My professors have been great at, you know,
working with me and and they understand, uh the situation.
I think they've been great. That's so. Uh. I grew
up in Detroit, Michigan, right, so Detroit's home obviously chosen
Notre Dame. I want to understand, like your process in
(12:17):
the like that decision, what other schools you were considering,
and ultimately why you chosen DA. I bet it's not
too far off from why we did. Yeah, A great question. Um.
When I when I left school, it was three schools
that I visited. I had five five schools to visit,
but I got sick. After I came back from uh USC,
(12:38):
I went out to USC and got sick, and then
I canceled. So I went I visited Michigan, uh, Notre
Dame USC. I was supposed to visit Tennessee in Colorado.
I canceled both of those I got after I got sick.
And I knew after going to to to USC, I
knew that I didn't want to go that far away
(12:59):
from home because, uh, my mother and father were like
big and big in terms of coming to games, and
they wanted to they wanted to come. And as as
a result, my mom and dad, they came to every
game I ever played. They only missed in college. I
think they missed two games, and they never missed one
in the NFL, and thirteen every single game in thirteen
(13:22):
years in the NFL. So so I knew I wanted
to stay close to home. And so it came down
between Michigan and Notre Dame. And and there was two things,
uh that swayed me here as opposed to going to Michigan.
One was I was a fullback and they had just
recruited the number one tail back in the country. Uh.
(13:45):
And I knew realistically he was gonna carry the football
and I was gonna be I was gonna block, but
I had a little more, a little more of a
skill set to carry to football a little bit. But
I understood I was a fullback, but I still, you know,
I wanted to get some opportunities and the offense here, uh,
with Lou Hopes, the fullback was really the centerpiece of
(14:07):
his offense. So the fullback ran the ball, he caught
the ball, he blocked, and when the when the when
the offense went to three wide receivers, the fullback stayed in.
So there were so many pluses with that. The problem
was I was a I was an All American linebacker
as well, and so everybody wanted me to play linebackers.
So Michigan wanted me to start Week one at linebacker.
(14:31):
You know, it's like you know the man right now,
and it was just like that was a that was
an incredible, you know kind of thing. But I just
knew I was too short to play linebacker. My dad
was five ten, I'm I ended up being five eleven
and a half, and so I knew I just wasn't
gonna be tall enough to play um. And so I
decided to come here because I just knew that education
(14:56):
I thought was was going to be similar in terms
of going to Michigan going to the Name. Uh. So
I just knew that to give me a better chance
to play in the position I wanted to play, I
think coming here with the best for me. And it
turned out as I started after my third or fourth
week here. So it worked out well. I mean obviously
(15:17):
they work out well. So you guys, um, who's your
head coach when you're here? I was a little hoes,
So what's your I was? I thought it was the hoes?
What's your favorite lout hole story? What's one your go
to little hoes? My go to the love story is
uh and I so my from my freshman year to
(15:39):
my sophomore year, it was a big jump because coach
host didn't like to give the football to freshman so
so as so I played back and in the first
seven games, I maybe touch the ball once or twice,
I mean just didn't touch it. Right backs got the
(16:00):
ball back then right, well, the fullback caught it more
out of the backfield, you know what I'm saying, because
because back now fullback is non existent, you known't having fullback. Well,
then it was more of a you know, we running
were running isolation downhill, downhill, and fullback slip out and
in the flat and and now boom you catch something
(16:22):
and you go or screens all the screens went to
the fullbacks and stuff like that. So so so there
was some there was some offense for the fullback, but
he just would not allow the freshman to get the ball.
So I was just you know, okay, okay. Well we
got to the ball game. We played Colorado in the
(16:42):
Orange ball and they defended us very well, and he
gave me the ball and I broke. I broke a
nice big run right at like fifteen yards. So they
gave me the ball again, and I had another another
big run right and then he gave it to me again.
I gotta into the one yard line. So I had
like forty yards in like three plays, and I'm like,
(17:04):
I'm cooking down. So I get to the one. He
take me out the game one, y'all, I'm the fun back.
You take me out the game on the field and
he put in he put in a guy, my my
big brother, who was who was who was really a
tailback but wanted to it was a full back but
(17:26):
wanted to play tailback, and he had been converted to tailback.
But then for some reason coach put him back at
full back and took me out the game. And I'll
never forget he took He walked over and I was
coming off the game and I'm you know, I'm on
the Warrior I'm like, what's going on. So he's just
(17:47):
he's like that guy here, Sean, We're gonna let the
seniors win this one. And it was like playing another
down that game game. The reason we cut down. I
didn't play the rest of the game. I was so
(18:10):
that it was like in the first half, it was
like second quarter. I mean nothing. I was like just
stro So going into my sophomore year, it was like
a big deal. Right, Yeah, he's gonna have a big year.
So I'm gonna cover. I'll never forget. I'm going to
(18:32):
cover of the Blue and Gold Illustrated so and so
it says my number was six, so it said the
Sultan of six, right, and I'm standing there and I
got I got the eye black on bench that got
sweat come down, and I'm just like so after it
comes out, I'm like feeling good. A sophomore year to cover.
(18:56):
So I'm getting all the magazines. I'm stilling all of ones,
like I'm trying to send about everybody. Right, I'm going
to every door, every building, because they were like put
a couple of every building I was confiscating. So I
(19:18):
get to practice. I'll never forget it. I get to
practice and back to start, and you know, you're in
a couple of different fields. Everybody's all over. So for
coach to call up the practice after about you know,
thirty minutes of practice, it's like, oh, somebody did wrong.
I'm like, oh, whoa somebody did I'm wrong, right, But
(19:40):
I'm I mean I'm good. Right, we call right, come up,
and he's like, somebody's gonna something. This guy's gonna cost
us a national championship. Right. We're like, what who? You're like,
this guy thinks he's the best thing to slice spread
and so I'm looking wrong. He says, but this is
(20:01):
your football team. I'm gonna let you guys deal with them, right,
And I'm like, who, who? Is it true? You stand up?
My jaw dropped. I was like I couldn't believe right,
So I was I was just like shock. I wasn't
moving nothing right. And he says, but this is your guy,
(20:21):
this is your team. If you guys want to win
the championship, you're gonna handle it, right, And I'm like,
what's that mean. He's like, all right, let's have a
great practice, right, and so everybody go leave it and
I'm thinking to myself, what does that mean for me,
what just happened? So I get, you know, get back in,
(20:41):
and I'm telling you I was getting hammered all practice.
Everybody was taking shots. Yeah you know what I'm saying.
They just just I'm just taking I'm getting hitting the bag.
I mean, I'm like, what is going on? So I
have I have a I mean hell of practice, right,
So I turned it up. So I'm practicing like it's
(21:03):
a game. I'm full throttle because everybody trying to get me.
So I'm like, no, I'm punishing everybody trying to get
me out, trying to get you. Right. So I was
just all over the places. So after the practice, nobody's
hanging around me. Right, I'm walking by myself and like
a leper, I'm like nobody. So I'm like, all right,
it's cool. It's not mad now because now I'm like okay.
(21:26):
And so coach pulls up when his little car he's
driving a golf cart around. He's just get in and
I'm like, he says, how was practice? And I'm like,
I mean, I'm like muddied up, dirty because I'm on
the ground and we were both at the ground. I'm
i mean every player, so so he like, how was practicing.
(21:47):
I'm like what He's like, I'm just trying to motivate.
You have a nice thing, And I was like what
the faith suff But what I will say is that
what he did, it changed the way that I began
(22:09):
to practice. So after that practice, I just continued to
go full throt him. So I practiced as if it
was a game. So I just became intense just just
after all of that, and it kind of changed my
trajectory for my football career because I went berserk. And
(22:32):
then that was just the way I attacked everything. And
then when I got into the NFL, I was the
same exact way. I run for the yards down the
fil every every play and they're like, what are you doing.
I'm like, I'm just I'm getting ready. I'm getting ready
for the game. And that was just my thing. And
so but before you know it, everybody was doing it.
(22:53):
And so it was it was And I tell this
the guys all the time. You can influence one guy
can influence the entire team. Uh. The reason I know
that is because I did it. When I got to Pittsburgh,
I was the only one running for the yards out
of field, only one working hard during practice. Uh, and
(23:14):
then everybody would tell me, hey, man, calm it down.
I'm like, nope, nope, nope, I got one speed right,
And so everybody else then had to match my speed
because it looked crazy on film that I'm doing all this.
And then like and so as it kept going, now
the other running backs had to run hard. And then
(23:34):
now and the deep is mad. They so they got
to run hard. So they're like, man, because because our
coaches saying, you gotta tas him, you gotta get it right.
So everything sped up and then we became a better
football team. So I looked back at that moment when
when he did that to me, uh, and it changed,
It changed my life. Uh, but it also affected uh
(24:00):
the teams that I played on going forward. So yeah,
there's my dad is a similar story that my dad
like he's like he was a good high school player,
like player of the year, Like he felt good going
in and then he had to get like knee surgery
this summer going into college. So he was he like
(24:20):
came like the one of the like practices like on
crutches or something, and like in the pit, I guess
in that time and the Holt comes out to him
and he looks at him, looks at his knee, and
then he's a fresher right, Like he's like, oh, he
would have been good here. Age walks away. Yeah, you
can't played, you would have been good here? What Like
(24:42):
Like my dad was like pissed about. He's like, I
haven't even played yet, Like I'm not just sitting out
of practice or something like like you said, and what
it is my dad he like just made it that
much better to all the time? Did he dig deep
all the time? Yeah? He walked by a guy you
got hurt and if you you know they have you
ride to buy this stuff, he'd be like, what a waste,
(25:04):
It's just one. A few podcasts and we talked about
we were like comparing, like I'll arrow football with you guys,
and like there's a lot of people like your generation
to say, oh, this new era is soft or these
new kids are soft, and I wanted to get your
(25:26):
perspective on how you thought about like your day to day,
like the two days it's going hard, hard heart all that,
and we have this science, we have analytics, and we
are like, oh, stay off the ground, you can practice
tackling this different way, how do you what do you
think about that? Well, I think it's I think it's
the evolution of the game. Yeah, it's not as physical
(25:48):
in anybody any stretching imagination, but it doesn't need to be.
The game had to evolve because it's like any any
other business model, it's like any anything that if it
doesn't evolve, it dies. And so if if the if
the sport didn't evolve, because when I played, I didn't
(26:08):
know what concussions did. I didn't know what what it
led to. Okay, so we were in the dark, right,
So yeah, so we went, you know, one hundred miles
an hour, you know, into the brick wall without without
a doubt. But but now there is that the knowing
(26:30):
right now, you can't unknow that right, you know what happens?
Uh potentially And as a result of that, the game
has to evolve, uh, to allow the players to play
the game in a much safer and more efficient way. Uh.
And yeah, a lot of people don't like it. It's
not it's not your grand grandfather's NFL, it's not your
(26:53):
parents NFL. No, but it's it's the game that it
has to be because if it doesn't then and nobody's
gonna play it. But that's evolved that I'm not gonna
send my my son uh to play in this game,
and it hasn't evolved, and we're playing, we're playing. So
just give you example. When I played in the NFL,
(27:15):
I wore the same basic helmet for ten years. For
the same helmet for ten years. Okay, no new design, No,
the same helmet for a decade. Uh no, I want, Well,
it was available, I just didn't wear that kind you
(27:36):
can take them off, well that they were all detachable.
But I wore I wore basically a bike back then,
was a bike helmet. And so back then you didn't
have uh, the button buckles up here. You just had
the buckles here. So when you have buckles up here,
that was a different kind of helmet, right, Well, they
didn't allow you to wear that here. So when I
(27:58):
got to the NFL. But but but that technology didn't evolve,
so I was the same. Imagine that, no, no evolution.
So so the game it went from the same type
of helmets for like pointy something years to all of
(28:19):
a sudden once they knew the design kept changing every
every year, better better, better and better better. Well, that's
because because the evolution, but also people awoke. You knew
that the concussions were an issue, and so the game
had to evolve and it did. And so the why
(28:40):
I look at it is I think it was a
necessary evil. Yeah, yea. The game isn't as physical, but
you know what, it doesn't have to be as figgal
as physical to still be a great game. The ball
oh man, we would when when I was at and
I hey day, if we threw it twenty two times,
(29:02):
that was like a lot. Twenty five times, If we
threw it thy five times, it was like boy, you
you threw it thirty times? You, I mean you lost
you just y'all were sorry. What's what's one thing that
(29:24):
from today's game that you wish you had back when
you were playing, or one thing from when you were
playing that you wish they still had now? Oh man? Yeah, good,
good question. Um ship if if they weren't allowed to
like hit low and all that kind of stuff, I mean,
I mean so now head to head is like illegal.
(29:50):
I mean that was the only I mean that was
that was it. So if people got kicked got kicked
out for head to head, I mean I've be playing
against there'd be nobody because they even they only went
at my ankles, tried to hit me, you know, in
(30:10):
the head, and that was that was it. Because I
was so low, I didn't give him much to hit
right and show the pad or right. You didn't want
to really had that. We went to dinner last night.
We were talking about you coming to the podcast and
we're like, okay, you're we're at safety, you're coming to
They got what's the best way your time? You nothing?
(30:32):
This is I said, uh, I said, okay, I understand
he's big and people will want to go to his legs,
but his legs are moving fast and they're big, so
they're hard to tackle, right, I said, I'm just gonna.
I'm gonna chess you up. I'm just gonna I will
chess you up. We got buff go to the Ground's
not gonna look good for me, But were gonna go
to the ground though, right there, he thinks, But we
(30:58):
got we got some churf we got. I'm I know
those tricks. I know how to do that because the
key is I always played the game with the safeties
because I knew the safety has had a responsibility, but
(31:22):
they didn't really want to have to go head up
because it's a big difference in weight, right, the linebackers
and me, we brought even now the safeties. Now is
like okay, they're giving up twenty thirty with me. They
was giving up forty, right, So now I know, I
know in their heads they don't want to have to
(31:48):
throw their body in there. They don't want to They
want to try to get me down. So the first
thing they're gonna do is they're gonna say, all right,
I'm just gonna get in there and I'm just gonna
give I'm gonna just give give up the body. If
I may, I may get ran over, but i'm gonna
get I'm gonna get to tackle, right, Okay, Well, first
the aggressive the aggressive guy, it's gonna say, I'm just
(32:10):
gonna going in there and then i'm gonna die. I'm
gonna shoot. I'm gonna shoot my gun and see what happened, right, Okay,
So that guy, that's who I get first, right, because
I'm I'm coming in with show the pad all day
with you, because i know you try to run up
in there and this shoot, So I'm gonna stick you,
show the pad, helmet, and then I'm lift up on you.
(32:32):
And then now you're in trouble. You got no more
leverage right tackle me? Right, You may tackle me, but
I'm gonna make you na. I'm gonna make you hurt
right because I want to really, I want to shake
your bones a little bit right right the bones. So
then the second time you come at me, you're gonna like, shoot,
I don't do that any So the second time you're
(32:55):
gonna shoot low, then that's when I bring the legs up.
Boo boo, how I'm through. Then the third time you say, okay, ship,
that didn't work, I'm gonna just go ahead and sacrifice
the body and I'm just gonna make the tackle. And
then that's when I hit you and spin off of you.
I use your body to propel me another way. So
(33:16):
I'm thinking the whole time how I'm going to get
away from you every time you do it. So the
thought that you're saying, oh yeah, we're just both gonna
without and I know that's the thing. I'm expecting that
because I know you don't want to tackle me at
how right my legs. So what I'm gonna do is
(33:39):
I'm gonna fake you out. I'm gonna dip like I'm
dipping the shoulder, which is gonna make you shoot. And
that's what I'm gonna from the jump, Yeah, because I'm
expecting you to do that. So so that's why there
is gonna be a little bit of gamesmanship that you're
gonna have the really good ones because they're gonna they're
(33:59):
gonna be setting you up just like you're setting back.
You're setting up and play. You see quarterback do or something,
You're like, Okay, if you do that again, I got
it right. So you it's the same cat mouse game
that you played maybe with the quarterback or with that
receiver that you know when he's dipping, he's gonna come
on that inside route. You see it and you're like,
I've been watching it on tape. I gotta feel for
(34:21):
what he wants to do. It's the same thing that
we do in terms of offensive versus the defensive guy.
So just know that battle will intensified when you get
to the next level. My thought presses, well, I was
telling Cam last night. I was like, I'm not gonna die.
If if I est you, I'm not gonna die. It's
(34:41):
gonna hurt, but I'm gonna chest you up. It's gonna hurt,
there's gonna be some oozing eyes. But we're both going
to the ground. In my opinion, we're both going to
the ground. Get up, next play next play. That's a
good idea. That's that's in theory. See now I have
broken some collar bones, right, and so because guys will
(35:02):
come in their physical and so I'm bigger. So the
law physics say something's gonna break. I got hurt. So
but what I'm gonna do, see what I'm gonna do
for him, because because he's uncertain, I'm gonna go ahead.
I'm gonna stick him with a little bit to sit
him down. And that's it because I know what he's
(35:27):
gonna come and he's gonna do this just like I
got you either way good and I don't know, but
I'm gonna stick up like a little low one to
sit him down. And was there one safety that uh
that was like I got you that had your number
a little bit? Good question? And general I'll tell you
what one guy he got me in college. I'm trying
(35:53):
to think who was that? What's his name? He just
um uh the general manager for the forty niners. Uh
John was played for he played for Stanford, and when
I was here, we lost the Stanford and we were
(36:16):
the number one team in the country. We lost the Stanford.
Bill Wash was the head coach at forty Niners. He
left forty Niners after they won those championships and went
back and coached at Stanford for like one or two
years or whatever. And we played Stanford at home and
(36:38):
John Lynch, I never forget he hit me. I mean
he didn't, he didn't even tackle me. He just came
in at such he hit me in the bar, dropped
straight down right there, and so I was no. I
mean I went down to get the ball and went
like he just like cracked me. Everybody like, oh man,
John Lynch got him, and I was like, so piste
(37:00):
off and we end up losing the game run And
so then we played in the NFL, and uh so
I was always trying to get him. I'm gonna get you,
wait to get you. I could never really get a
really clean shot. I do not want to be on
(37:23):
that list. I was at the job for so long, man,
But the problem is he's such a good guy. Whenever
I saw it was just like you, he's a great guy.
So we had We had a great relationship, but it's
always wanted to get it. But I never could get
him back. Uh for that hious. Yeah, oh yeah, we're great,
(37:51):
but but we were cool then there was. It was
never a a adversarial relationship. It was just one of
those he got me, and I wanted to get back.
It's just got me. You made a big play on me.
I just want to get you back. And I could
never really get them back because just about everybody who
(38:13):
had on the hit list, I was able to get
back any of the noble names on there. Um, I'm
trying to think hit list. No, I'm trying to think
some of the guys that you would know. I mean,
I didn't really have the hit lis. One of the
biggest battles I had was with Ray Lewis because Ray
played in Baltimore, we played in Pittsburgh. Yeah, so it
(38:36):
was like for real, for real And at the time,
we were the two best teams, uh in the division.
And usually if if we beat them, um you know,
they won. They won a super Bowl in our time
and we won one. So it was just one of those.
(38:56):
Both of us were good teams for for a lot
of years, and so and we we had a hell
of a matchup. Every time we played. It was one
of those they knew where I was gonna be, I
knew what they were gonna be, and it was just
that man, it was just a battle. So so we
had we had some some monster robberies. Uh back then.
(39:18):
Also another guy that that was awesome was Junior say I. Uh,
he was just he was legendary. And I'll tell you
a funny story with Junior say I. So he went
to USC and just so happens on my visit to USC,
he was about to graduate. He was, you know, graduating.
(39:41):
So I never forget. I go out there and it's
it was, you know, January, so it's freezing back in
Detroit and out in California it was like sixty five,
like seventy. And so that's why I got sick because
I'm I got a T shirt on and I'm like
hanging out. But but we went to a party one night.
(40:03):
I said, I saw Julia say I and I'll never forget.
He had this brand new red grand chairkee you know
back in then he got out and he had a
tank top on and I'm if I'm telling I'm not
I'm not lying. This guy had more muscles. I'm seventeen eighteen.
(40:27):
I was just like, whoa he was so chiseled, right, yeah,
muscles everywhere. I was like, who is that? I didn't
know who he was, right, who was that dude? And
he was like, oh, that's say he going to the league.
I'm like what position did he play? Right? He said? Linebacker?
(40:48):
He said linebacker. My heart just kind of dropped because
I was like, that's where I was like, I'm that
dude was like, she's like a god almost man back then,
and it was just and I just didn't realize he
was a freaking nature. Nobody else looked like him. But
(41:10):
when I saw him, I was like, shoot, you were like, um,
like five, I was out know coming out of high school?
I was five ten a half to thirty five high school?
And would you play that in college? In college? I
played at two fifty. I finished up at two fifty two.
(41:32):
Got you? I just stayed like fast and like like
what you do. I was blessed because coming out of
high school I ran um four four th that's crazy
everything my tackling style. When I ran for the NFL,
(41:58):
I ran I was too fifty to fifty four, and
I ran the four or five too, and so that's
why they said I could play tailback because once I
ran the time, they looked at me as a tailback
and not a full back. And that's how I was
able to get drafted so high, because they figured I
(42:19):
could play tailback, which which was right, because up until
my senior year, I mean my junior year and Notre Dame,
I had never played tailback. I played tailback again. Coach
Holts didn't like running freshman and both of our running
backs got hurt and we're about to play. We're about
to play air Force, and he said the only way
air Force can beat us is if we fumbled the football. So, Jerome,
(42:42):
you played tailback. So he put me a tailback. I
never had played, didn't know any of the plays or nothing.
I played that game had a hundreds of yards Russia.
And then he would play me at the end of
every game, like if we had a lead, just to
like run out the clock, and and then teams saw that,
and and then once I ran the forty time, he said,
(43:02):
we think he could play tailback. And that's kind of
how how I ended up playing tailback after never having
played it ever. Ever, that's crazy. Um, I want to
know one thing, like what's up with the arm the
arm sleeves, elbow sleeves, feel good, play good type things.
(43:24):
So when I was here, when I was here, that
was just kind of, uh, just to kind of the
look we we went, right. And then as a as
a runner back, we it would help us help us
carry the ball because we got some grip on got
grip on it right, and so and that just giving
(43:53):
ourselves a little the best chance, right. And then when
I got to the NFL, a company actually made them
with a different kind of material in the middle to
help me grip it even more right. And because the
actual sleeves that we wore were sleeves for your for
(44:13):
your um leg, you know. So let's say if you
if you you know, you pull your calf muscle and
you put sleeves put on a tight sleeve on. That's
what those were for. They were for your leg, but
it fit on your arm, put on your hand, the legs.
(44:39):
So you made it work right, right, And so I
went with it, and uh, and it did. It helped,
it helped out. There was no rule against it, so
it actually wasn't cheating, right, that's taking advantage of your
your opportunity. That's it. That's funny. So go about your
(45:00):
draft process a little bit. You went with top did Yeah, yeah,
that's crazy to talk about that a little bit. So
for me, it was it was interesting because I was
at one point the number one running back on the
board because Garrison Hurst was the other running back. He
(45:21):
had played at Georgia. But they after the combine, they
found out that he didn't have he had a he
didn't have a h A c l M. He had
torn he had torn it as a kid or whatever,
and he was just playing on it in college like that.
I mean, he's yeah, whole career he never even knew.
(45:41):
He never even knew. And Highs Warred's not the same
same thing. Hies Warred didn't know a c l and
both with the Georgia and so Garrison Hearst. So he
had dropped out of the first round. He ran a
four three like a four three three. They said, oh
he's good, it nothing wrong with him. And and so
(46:05):
he ends up uh going as the first running back
and and and when you know it, his rookie year,
he blow out his knee about that. But but he
he ended up having a really good uh NFL career.
He played I think eleven twelve years. He had a
he had a great career. But um so so going
(46:26):
into that, there was a lot of like, hey, you know,
I think you're gonna be here, You're gonna be hearing,
a lot of saying this, um. Because I was a
fullback playing tailback, people were still a little bit if
he if I could make that conversion. Um. But the
(46:47):
more and more people you know, came around me, I
went interviewed, I went to I went to visit the Broncos.
I went to visit the Jets a thing I mean,
and had great visits. I went to Arizona, went out
to air want to visit the Cardinals, had you know,
had some great visits with with the coaches, and you know,
they asked me what I you know, my philosophy is like,
(47:09):
you know, just give me the rock philosophy bad burned now.
And so that was but but but the the traveling
all of that, and then I was training. I was
training out in Denver at the time, getting ready for
(47:30):
um the combat. Is it similar to the same training
that like people are doing that same thing, same thing,
and so it was it was similar I ran at
pro day uh here uh and didn't run it at
the combine, So we just had a better uh opportunity
(47:51):
to control the environment and so did that. But but ultimately, uh,
the one thing I regret now, uh is that when
I went that second semester, I kind of pulled back
from school, so I would be I would have to
be here to semester. So uh, that that is a regret. Uh.
(48:18):
You know one thing, if I had a chance to
do it over, I would I would have stayed, I
would have trained, but I would have still tried to
stay connected a little bit with that semester because you know,
at the end of the day, sees get degrees, so
you didn't have to have a great a semester um.
(48:39):
So that that would have been if I had a
chance to do it over, That's what I would have done.
You can you uh that's a little bit different. Can
you like describe you kind of talk to us when
you came to and talked to the team. You talked
about a little bit. But the Super bowlve season, how
is that like the feeling of like winning it and
then you retired after that. I would right immediately potum um. So.
(49:05):
So for me, it was it was unique because the
year before I had really retired. The year before we won,
we had just lost uh NFC Championship game to the Patriots.
UM and I had just had finished my twelfth season.
I just knew that physically my body was starting to
(49:26):
break down. UM. I warn number thirty six and the
three and the six were starting to move farther. So
I knew that it was one of those things like
it's like, oh, man, I got I got much left,
um and so. But but the guys convinced me to
come back. I didn't even know this at the time.
(49:49):
The super Bowl was in my hometown of Detroit, and
so I didn't know. So they told me, Hey, in
that year we had went we went fifteen and one,
and that was Ben Roethlisberger's rookie year and we had
an incredible team. And that's crazy. Yeah, he was a
rookie quarterback and we still went. We were that good
(50:11):
all across the the board. And so, as it turns out,
they said, listen, the super Bowl is gonna be in Detroit.
You gotta come back. And and you know, I'm saying
to myself, man, I don't think. I don't know, and
I decided to come back that year, and you know,
thinking that, you're right. We were fifteen and one. We
(50:33):
got a great team. We should be you know, we
picked up right we left off, Well, that didn't happen,
and we were like terrible. And it came down to
like the last four games, we had to win all
of them just to be the last seed into the playoffs.
But we got in. And once we got in, we
(50:55):
were we have been playing playoffs for the four weeks
prior to the playoffs because if we lost, we were out.
So we were in playoff mode four weeks before everybody else.
So we were we were rocking and rolling by the
time we got to the playoffs. And so we we
we got to the playoffs. Man, we we were incredible.
(51:16):
We went we had to go on the road to
every game, and and we got to Super Bowl in
hometown Detroit. It was it was amazing. But when I
go back and think about the Super Bowl, the run
and all of that, you know, and obviously you get
the ring, and but the one thing about that that
(51:38):
whole run is I realized about being a champion. It's
not so much the result as it is the process,
because you cannot cheat the process if you want to
be a champion. There is no way around it. It's
only one way, and it's gonna be hard, it's gonna
(51:58):
be tough, it's gonna be physical, but it's only one
way and you may not ever win it, but it's
only one way to go to get to win it,
right and and so and that's what I think all
of us as players realized that that process is what
(52:19):
makes you a champion because you're able to get through
it and and make it all happen and hold that
trophy up. But that's the last piece of the puzzle,
holding that trophy up. We always talk about like we
don't know, like what we're gonna do after football, like
we it's a part of us, it's instilled in us.
(52:39):
And you had the very pinnacle super Bowl and then
very next year you're you're done, Like how is that playing?
Name it to? I tell? And so this is having
come back to school, this has now kind of been
my mission to let people know that, you know, especially
with Notre Dame, everybody says you know you four years,
(53:02):
you know four for forty four years, and and that's true.
But I think people have to also understand, especially US
athletes at the university that that dream of playing in
NFL have to understand as well, that it's not just
a fourth for forty it is you can have the
(53:26):
you know, a lot of people say, well, if you
don't make it, you have you gonna have a Notre
Dame degree and you'll you'll be you'll be a success
either way. And I and and I stopped and say,
who pause, time out, regardless if you do make it
to the NFL, because a lot of people have to
(53:46):
understand when you go to the NFL, let's say you
have a good career, not a great career. A really
good career in the NFL is seven years, right, outstanding
outstanding career is ten years. Right. All of a career
maybe thirteen fourteen years, right, But let's just say you
have a incredible career ten years. You're thirty three years old, right,
(54:10):
You're thirty three years old. You still have a lot
of life to live, right, and so that degree will
be useful at that point, right, And so what you
have learned, it will be useful going forward. And so
that's what I'm you know, kind of my mission is
to let guys know that even if you do have
a great career, you're still gonna need that degree. Right,
(54:31):
You're still gonna need something to do because you still
financially you can still be set, but you still need
something to do. I can hire yourself because if you're
not evolving, like I said earlier, you're dying. So you
have to continue to evolve and grow. And the growth
(54:54):
is is that much better when you have that degree
from Notre Dame. It opens so many more doors, so
many more opportunities um for yourselves when it's all said
and done, and I think ultimately that becomes, uh, the
the plan, the idea. If you do that, then that
(55:16):
leads to even more success. Yeah, that's definitely something we
can all take with us, Like everybody goes here and
everybody across college football, it's like our dream first dream
obviously gets the NFL. I have player as long as
we can have a successful career. But then after that,
like you said, your early thirties at best, and it's
you have a lot of life to live. And if
you're just at that point have inversted yourself in any
(55:38):
other categories, you're just feel kind of empty without football.
And I think that is a great job of guys
doing that. Yeah, and so, and that's that's become a
big problem for guy said, it's not become it's been
a big problem for a lot of a lot of
players because just like you said, they you know, you
(56:00):
go and you say that's the dream I want to
do it. You play and then now what and and
I say that to say that is the problem and
so and here's the cycle. Okay, so you come out,
your goal wants to play football, play football, you make
(56:21):
some you make good money, all of a sudden you retire.
Now let's say, you know what, I want to do
something right, Let's start a company. Right. You don't know
how to do anything right business wise because you've never
done anything bin wise. Well, let's say you've got ten
million dollars in the bank, right and you know, man,
(56:42):
I got timmy, I made it. But I want to
do something. Okay, Well, let's I want to start. I'm
gonna start a widget company with my best friend because
he's been working at a widget company and he knows
how to make widgets because he's been working at the
widget company for ten years. Okay, we're gonna make widgets.
So you go into this widget business and and he's
(57:03):
worked at the company, but he doesn't know how to
manufacture the widgeons. He doesn't know how to sell the widgeons.
He's been at the widget company. So now all of
a sudden, you put you put this money into this company,
and now all of a sudden it goes down to
the tank. Now, all of a sudden, that next stagg
(57:25):
that you had becomes that much smaller. And then now
the fear sets in. Oh man, I gotta do something
because now I'm in trouble now. But again you're only
thirty five years old, right, so so now it becomes
the next failure and then you're busted, right, And so
(57:46):
that it can happen that fast, because guys aren't that
they're not prepared, okay for the next stage of their
lives because they don't have that degree. They don't have
the resources of a notre dame. Uh that allows you
(58:06):
to meet these people to understand what this business is about.
To learn from this person before I go into business
on my own, you know what. Let me let me
go intern work with him and see how he does it.
And but a notre dame allows us to have that opportunity,
(58:27):
and and so going forward down the road, those opportunities
become the reason that when the athlete retires and he's
done after having gone to Notre Dame, he has a
tendency to have more success than the other players, and
not of day needs to us. It says, like the
opening to recruiting pitch. We can sell it to him,
(58:53):
but you want to get into the rapid. Yeah, I
was gonna ask like one more thing, um, yeah, that's
last topic before he gets a more fun thing. But
I wanted to kind of know, like you mentioned guys
like ray Lewis very like these are people like you
played against. I want to know, like with Hines Ward, Troy, Paulamalu,
you played with James Harrison, right, Yeah, Like these are
(59:15):
guys who had sustained success in the NFL, and you
saw them on a day to day basis. What's like
one common thread between them that made them so successful
and have such longevity and success. Great question and looking
at all of those guys, mhmm, all of them, if
(59:36):
there's one trait, because the one outlier is Troy, because
Troy was so quiet, his demeanor, Uh was so laid back,
but once he got on the field, all of those
guys were intense. I mean he was. And we sat
(01:00:00):
next to each other locker room, right, and he's the
funniest guy. He's laugh at, joking, quiet j and he
gets out and he becomes and we called him. We
called the Tasmanian Devil because it's like, it's what what
was this guy? Right? And he just was flying around,
throwing his body around, and he was amazing. But all
of these guys, all of them hind the same guy.
(01:00:23):
He used to laugh. So he used to had this
thing where he laughed on the fields because he always
was smiling. But he was like intense, trying to trying
to to hurt you. I mean he was a receiver
and he was knocking defensive guys out right, But but
he was so intense in that way. And then then
(01:00:45):
James James was We called him Um silver back I
mean because he was like he was but he was
the strongest guy, about the strongest got a team. But
when of the I mean short, I mean he was
just a big muscle um. And we we had two
nicknames from deebo uh and silver Back. So but but
(01:01:09):
again intense when they lined up, and all of them,
everybody was great off the field, great, great, great guys
on the field wound up like a missile, all of them,
you know what I mean. And I think I think
that's the that's the ability that you have to have,
(01:01:31):
is you have to have the ability to lock in
and focus um and and be so intense where you
know exactly what's going on around you. You've prepared, you're
ready to go, and it's not you know, it's not
a game. It's not a it's not a game. This
is business and that has to be the mentality. And
(01:01:52):
that's what the mentality was with all those guys. But
as soon as the play was over, so the whistle,
it was like back to normal, right. But locking all
those guys, man, if you got it, you got it
in between them, they was gonna put you down. About
practice My last question talk about practice because I know
(01:02:15):
so so Troy. Now, Troy was was was unique in
that he had a six cents for the football. So
he just knew the is gonna be over there, right
him jumping over the minor scripts and stuff like that.
Over here, he's supposed to be lying up over here.
But he ended up over here. It's like was gonna
be just like, dude, you wasn't supposed to be over
(01:02:37):
so you know, he just had had a six cents
for knowing where the bar was gonna be, right, So
in practice he you know, he wouldn't want to hurt
none of us, right, so he would just like be
like he just like it was just letting us know that,
(01:03:05):
and you have his hair flying and it was just
it was crazy, but he was just he just let
you know. That's crazy because that's literally every single Polynesia
player that's been at since I've been here. It's like
very mild manner off the field, like carry themselves very well.
So I've spoken. Once they get on the field, they're
like doing like war chance and like everything. It's crazy,
(01:03:31):
Like what it's crazy good to have him on your
side though, for sure? For sure, Um, do you want
to do the questions? Like, yeah, I'll get it, okay,
So we do this thing where we asked every guess
just like thirty to forty this rapid fire questions you
as you answer as fast as you can, just some
fun questions. Yep. So, um, are we doing the time
(01:03:52):
or not? Okay? Sure? First Detroit or Atlanta, Detroit. Um,
steak a lots there, State, Reese's, a Hersheys, Hershey's Turkey
bacon and Turkey burgers turkey bacon. Um, how much money
was someone I have to pay to travel to space
for a day? How much money would I pay? Would
(01:04:16):
someone have to pay you to go to space for
an entire day? Ship? Nine digits? Perfect vacation spot Putabaya?
Mm hmm, you gotta put me on to that one.
I don't know what that is? Yeah, wait, take a plause?
(01:04:38):
Where's that? Mexico? Okay? On the Pacific coast. It's crazy
four seasons. There's crazy. Um more in the afternoon, person afternoon?
College football or the NFL? NFL Okay, beat your lake Beach,
(01:05:01):
Lebron and Kobe guys are terrible cold cold. Um? Would
you rather rush for three touchdowns or rush for the
game winning touchdown? Game winner? Game winner? Um? Do aliens exist? Yeah?
(01:05:26):
Um for sure? Somebody? What's your favorite holiday? Christmas? Big
dog or small dog? Big dog? They're movie gudfather? Mhm? Nice? Okay, childhood, adulthood, adulthood? Oh,
I have money? Was broken? I want to go back?
(01:05:52):
Favorite dinner spot in Detroit, favorite dinner spot. M hm
be a hole in the wall. Yeah, it could be
a Chinese joint. Damn yea, that's a good one. Favorite
What do I want to call? Oh, Coney Island? Ago? Um? Um, yeah,
(01:06:17):
Lafayette Coney Island? Um? What dish do you cook the best?
Do I cook the best? Stir fry? A good star fry?
Would you ever skydive or have you? He? Would you
(01:06:37):
rather travel to the past of the future? Go back
to the past. If I can do it again, you
better go to Okay, what's your biggest fear failure? M's
what I said? Favorite book? Mm hmm, Oh boy? Why
(01:07:03):
do white Guys Have All the Fun? By Reginald Lewis
By Reginald Lewis. Okay, would you rather travel to Europe
or Asia? Europe? And would you rather live in Cali
or Florida? Florida? Bird? It's money. I'm gonna I'm gonna
(01:07:26):
add one more your all time golfing foursome including you,
so three other people. You can pick any three people
to golf with. Oh, that's just for all of us,
all of us. Um. I don't know, Palmer. They don't
(01:07:47):
have to be golfers now. Okay, the greatest and he's
and he's a he's a Pittsburgh Oh is he? YEA,
I know that he was. He grew up in the Trolle, Pennsylvania,
which is minutes from from Pittsburgh. So our training camp
is was ten minutes from where he where he his
(01:08:08):
golf course, and where he lived. So it was right there. Uh.
So I went over and got a chance to spend
spent a little bit of time with them. Um. So
that that's one in the foresome um oh, I would
(01:08:32):
love to have uh tiger in the foresom my dad
in the foresom. I lost my dad some years ago,
so I would love to play be able to plays
with him. Uh and I think that that would complete
the foresom. I'm trying to slick him slipping five bringer
(01:08:56):
bring caddy, Yeah, dad, dad would be he complete the
Foresom's good for Um. I would go myself, Um I
really oh nice, oh nice, just four of mes, just
(01:09:17):
four me. I would go Connor McGregor. That would be interesting, Yeah,
Connor McGregor. I would go, um be on musk mm hmmm.
And then then I go like Kevin Hart somebody like
(01:09:41):
keep it like keep because Connor's gonna be one to
fight everybody, fix every problem. And then and then Kevin
can making funny. I'm gonna go with um. Then it's Robbin. Okay,
we do this rally. Won't make it eight to do. Um.
(01:10:03):
I'm gonna go with John Daley. Okay, probably won't either.
It's a tie between Barack Obama and Kanye mm hm.
So yeah, I like that. That's good. It's good. I
don't do I was I was thinking like Will Ferrell. Yeah,
I was gonna say Tiger too, because I feel like that,
like why not right? And then I'd probably get like,
(01:10:26):
you guys probably know who this is. But Chase Utley
played for the player. I know that your favorite baseball player. Yeah,
I mean I grew up always watching him. I loved
his attitude and everything. You'd always like sprint through first,
even if he was like Albi like that's like everyone
like I grew up. I like that, dude. Um, Yeah,
(01:10:46):
it'd be interesting. You know, take it with him for
four hours. You know, sure you just spoke that to
existence once you know that that some somewhere down the line,
you're gonna call for Chase Utley. And I believe because
that was just so random. It's like, that's that's gonna happen.
That's gonna happen. Uh, I think we're gonna wrap it
up there. Appreciate you coming one, Appreciate you hit it,
(01:11:09):
Thanks for having got down. Appreciate you. Good luck the
rest of the semester. I hope you do well. You
graduated finally, good luck to you on the rest of
the semester. It's gonna be heavy on you because teams
are going to want you to fly right right. You
(01:11:31):
just gotta make sure you get this last semester under
your belt. Because you trust me, You're gonna you thank
me for it later. Appreciate, appreciated, Appreciate you man, I
thank you for coming on man, thank you. Appreciate you
all listening against Joan bettest football legend, and uh, we'll
see you all next week. Ye the volume
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