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December 4, 2024 14 mins
You're gonna love this segment. Tune in to listen to a story about grit, character, vigor and kindess and find out why these traits run deep through this Texas Team. 
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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
The Texas Longhorns are experiencing something that most people are
really questioning, and that's success. And what I mean by
their questioning is because they weren't expecting Texas to be
able to have that kind of success. But before we
get into all of that, I want to give you
a chance to win some tickets. That's right, The Deathtones

(00:34):
will be in Austin March the twelfth at the Moody Center.
All you have to do to get a chance to
win these tickets is go to that iHeartRadio app, search
for AM thirteen hundred, the Zone, tap the microphone and
leave a message. Yesterday's or Monday's word was Zone. Tuesday's
word was Deathtones. Today's word is changed. Leave a voicemail

(00:59):
for change, and you get a chance to be entered
to win a pair of tickets to see the deftnes
March the twelve Moody Center. Don't miss this opportunity. All right,
back to this Texas Longhorned football team and the things
that are important.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
His team is bond its unity.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
The NCAA is making it ruling on something that a
lot of folks truly don't understand. That had a buddy
of mine text me yesterday and asked about this walk
on program. What is happening with the walk on? And
I said that the walk on is no longer going
to be in existence. And they're like what And I

(01:41):
was like, yeah, they're talking about getting rid of the
walk on program. But someone who has benefited from that
is one Michael Lookie Taff. He's a hard worker, showed
up every single day and got his opportunity. He had
opportunities to go to other schools where he wouldn't have
been a walk on, but his dream was to play
at the University of Texas. And I want you to

(02:02):
hear when Mookie Michael Tadd got put on scholarship and
listen to the joy.

Speaker 3 (02:09):
Not many walk ons get to the level where you're at, Right,
What was it like that day?

Speaker 2 (02:14):
Do you even remember about.

Speaker 4 (02:15):
The day day?

Speaker 2 (02:15):
And do you remember everything about that day?

Speaker 3 (02:18):
When when when Steve said, you know, Michael Tadd you're
on scholarship.

Speaker 4 (02:21):
Yeah, thats hard to forget that day for sure for me,
big stepping stone in my career. But the biggest thing
when I when I go back and I watched that
video because it's one of my favorite videos ever selfishly,
but seeing all my teammates, seeing guys that are still
hearing and seeing guys that either went to the NFL
got jobs or maybe transferred, no matter what their status was.

(02:44):
It showed how much they cared for this team. And
just seeing all my teammates you know, rally around me,
hug me, so proud for me, and that was so cool.
It had nothing to do with, you know, really with
coach start putting them on scarsip. Nobody ran to coach,
you know, I think so, you know, Coach Stark was
so proud of that also that to see all of
our team rallying behind one thing and one common goal.

(03:07):
And just watching that video, seeing guys like Jalen Ford
and all the safeties around me, Jaron Thompson just hugging
me and me not being able to even breathe because
I'm powered up.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
It was so cool.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
That is very very cool when you start to think
about how this all went down. And Coach Stark talked
about the change, about how they're getting rid of the
walk on program, which is so vital to so many
different people for the opportunity to play at this program.

Speaker 3 (03:38):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting about Michael, you know, in
the summertime when he first came, we had to have
our player ramp practices where coaches weren't allowed to be
out like we are now to do work, skill development
and things of that nature. But that first summer when
he was just out of just out of high school. Uh,
every player would come back and I'd say, hey, how

(03:59):
do oh you know, how was seven on seven?

Speaker 2 (04:01):
How was team?

Speaker 3 (04:02):
They always would bring up Michael Taff and oh, Taff
got another interception today?

Speaker 2 (04:07):
Taff? You know, did this? Did that?

Speaker 3 (04:09):
And I'm like, who this? And I knew him, but
I didn't really know him. You know, I knew him enough,
but I didn't really know him. And all he did
from the day he got here was lead. First of all,
he never took a back seat from a leadership standpoint two.
All he did was give whatever he had. Like I
struggle with the term overachieve, we achieved whatever we do.

(04:31):
And what that guy has done has squeezed his lemon
and to get all the juice out of that thing
that that's been in there. And then in the offseason
he's built himself up to be a better player, a
faster player, a more physical player, a better understanding of
our scheme to where when he plays there's a great
deal of confidence in him. It's not, hey, he's a

(04:52):
backup that we're subbing in. He is a critical component
of our defense. When he's on the field. We play
better defense from ammunication standpoint. An ability to be on
the same accord with the other dbs, with the linebackers,
his playmaking ability, his preparation mentally, the physicality that he's
been playing with, and so all those things has added

(05:14):
up to I definitely think he's an NFL prospect.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
You know, again, I don't know.

Speaker 3 (05:18):
I haven't looked at haven't talked to the scouts and
what they exactly think and where they project him to.
But I think the guy's going to play in the
National Football League. And that's a great story. And the
reason it's a great story is this. You know, this offseason,
there was a lot of talk about eliminating walk ons
in college football and that we were just going to
have eighty five scholarship players and that was all we

(05:38):
would have. What a sad day that would be if
a story like Michael Taff wouldn't come to fruition that
you can get a player as a walk on. Because
he wants to play at the University of Texas and
maybe turn down scholarships other places, but come here, work
his tailoff, earn a scholarship, become a starter, play like
an All conference, All American type player, and then how

(06:00):
have the opportunity to go fulfill his dream of playing
in the NFL That college football has so many there's
so many great lessons to be had, But that's just
another one of given opportunities. What do people do with
those opportunities? And he's maximized his to the fullest boom.

Speaker 2 (06:16):
That says everything.

Speaker 5 (06:17):
I mean, look at Baker Mayfield, look at James Harrison.
We always talk about James Harrison. James Harrison. Nobody wanted
him in college. Yep, he didn't go to that. He
didn't get invited to the combine. James Harrison begged and
pleaded to get a reps and went to the Philip

(06:38):
went to the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp and beg literally said, man,
give me a one shot, let me practice one day.
Can I Can I get one day? And they said
come on, man, and they did it out of like
all right, man. This dude drove up here on his own,

(06:59):
big and pleaded and got a chance. You look at
the kid that went to the Cincinnati Bengals. He was
living in his car, Saint Jus, living in his car, driving,
just trying.

Speaker 2 (07:18):
To get reps. Hey can I practice with y'all today?

Speaker 5 (07:22):
He lied, Yeah, I'm training at this place and stuff.
He was showering in the bathrooms. That truck stops, just
driving the city of the city.

Speaker 2 (07:36):
The walk home mentality is needed in football.

Speaker 5 (07:41):
You gotta have it. All you gotta do is go
watch the movie Rudy. That's all you gotta do. That
tells you everything you need to know. There are some
people that love it so much that they willing to
fail at everything else in life. They'll never have a marriage,
they'll never have kids, they'll never have a good job

(08:01):
because they're gonna put everything on the line to play
football or basketball or soccer or whatever it is. They
love something so much that they willing to sacrifice to
get it, and it's a short window and they know, man,
I only got about eight years.

Speaker 2 (08:17):
Then it's over. I gotta get it before then.

Speaker 5 (08:21):
Michael tab took advantage of that situation, and I remember
seeing him for the first time and going, man, if
that dude gained about fifteen pounds.

Speaker 2 (08:31):
And you know he gonna be tough. He did.

Speaker 5 (08:36):
He gained the weight in muscle, and his intellect and
afteritude caught up with the physicality.

Speaker 2 (08:44):
And that's what you get.

Speaker 5 (08:47):
What if they wouldn't have gave him a shot, we
would never know who We would never know this guy.

Speaker 1 (08:53):
Well, it would never be not never give him a shot.
It's just the fact that you have that program, then
you could get at that shot. You know, you got
to try out for that. You just not walk on
because you've decided that you want to walk on. Kid
kept showing up, kept showing out, and earned a spot
and then eventually earned a scholarship. He's a vital part
to the success that this Texas program has.

Speaker 2 (09:15):
He's a culture builder.

Speaker 1 (09:17):
He is somebody that understood how and what it meant
to be a Texas Longhorn. He gave up opportunities to
come to the University of Texas. It wasn't that he
wasn't talented. He was a star at Westlake. He made plays.
He did have opportunities to go to other schools on scholarships,
so that Baker Mayfield, but it wasn't the ones that

(09:39):
they were looking for.

Speaker 2 (09:41):
It was I want to play.

Speaker 1 (09:44):
Here, and this is what I'm and that's what I'm
willing to give up, is I want to do this.

Speaker 2 (09:52):
And I'm like, wow, you got to tip your cap
to that.

Speaker 5 (09:55):
Yeah, give me a clip of this segment. Clip because
that's his exactly, Jacob. What does that mean, my son,
that he just wanted to go to Oklahoma and he
went to Oklahoma. He could have went and played football
Division one scholarship at other places, but he he said,
I'm going to Oklahoma. I'm gonna go and wrestle, and
then once I get you know, get there, then I'll

(10:18):
plead and beg to go play football. And that's what's
gonna happen.

Speaker 2 (10:22):
So it's a great story.

Speaker 1 (10:24):
It's a great, great compliment to who he is as
a player, as an individual, but most importantly, it is
a testament to who he is to his team. His
teammates look at him in a certain way. It ain't
got nothing to do about the coaches, because the coaches

(10:44):
found out, they knew him, they saw him, But them
teammates coming in every single day talking about him and saying, hey,
this guy's a little different. This guy's one of those
guys that and now he's got what Lambert Borghini of
Austin dial He's got all kinds of They call it

(11:05):
Mondays with Mookie when he comes in to do his
interviews every day during the week. I mean, every time
he steps in somewhere, somebody wants to talk to him.

Speaker 2 (11:14):
I saw him.

Speaker 1 (11:15):
I ran into him and at a baseball game one time,
said hello to him, just kind of stood off to
the side and watched him work. And the way that
people treated him and the way that he treated people
was what impressed me. Ran into him at a gas
station over here one day and and he was like,

(11:37):
mister Hart And I was like, what's up, man? I said,
I saw you, but I wasn't gonna bug you because
you know, I'm sure you get that this is in
your off time. This ain't worked. And he was like, no, no, no,
say hi anytime. So every time I see him, I
say what's up to him? And the kid is just
first class all the way. But you said something earlier

(11:58):
in the week Mark when we talked about Michael Taff
and what he's become, and and you said when he
said I want to take your soul, you know what
I'm saying it's like.

Speaker 5 (12:09):
He's gonna just say that kind of stuff.

Speaker 1 (12:12):
That right, and he felt that, and he felt that,
and he is achieved at the highest of high level.
Speaking of achieving at the highest of high level, these
are some people that have already signed and one of
the biggest names on the list is number one athlete
in the country in the state of Texas for sure
is Michael Terry, the third.

Speaker 2 (12:33):
He has signed with the University of Texas.

Speaker 1 (12:36):
He's out of Alamo Heights and he is committed to
the University of Texas. Right now, Texas holds the number
one spot in the updated on three Industry team recruiting rankings,
followed by Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Auburn, Oregon, Michigan, LSU

(12:59):
Tech His A and M comes in at number nine,
and Tennessee comes in at number ten. And this was
updated at eight twenty five. Texas now has the number
one recruiting class in the country as this young man,
Michael Terry, the third five star athlete from Alamo Heights,
San Antonio, Texas, has signed with the University.

Speaker 2 (13:23):
Of play Oh yeah, yeah, oh yeah, thank you, thank you.
King's right, yeah, anything, just put him out there running
back quarterback.

Speaker 1 (13:33):
He's somebody camped him to little Jordan Humphrey. Yes, in
a way that he can make plays, So I'll stand
and work for the University of Texas thirty five. Right
down the road, they got their other wide receiver, Khalil
Khalik Lockett. He has signed as well, so Texas is

(13:54):
racking it up. As I said, they've been proven to
be the number one ranked and recruiter. Coming up next,
we got the WWE Hall of Famer and World's Strongest
Man bringing you the world's strongest take stick around folks
right here. Follow the morning kickoff on sports Radio AM
thirteen hundred the zomb
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