November 19, 2019 • 52 mins
In this episode of Perspectives, Brian Sexton sits down with former Jacksonville cornerback, Rashean Mathis.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
The following presentation of the Jaguars podcast network is presented
by Bistar credit. Quiet was his calling card and to
talk with Rashine Mathis today, it's clear he'd rather do
(00:23):
than say. But Mathis was a silent assassin on the field.
Just ask Ben Roethlisberger in a locker room filled with
oversized personalities. His was nearly imperceptible. His game, his stats,
his results were anything. But this is perspectives, the story
of the Jaguars first twenty five seasons told by the
(00:44):
people who built the franchise from the ground up. This
is Rashine Mathis. He grew up on the field at
south Side Middle School and at Englewood High School, in
the shadows of t i A A bank field. He
became m a Jackguards fan the day they started playing,
never thinking that those fields on the south side of
(01:04):
the St. John's would lead to this one where the
Quiet kid would become a star. I still don't know
if I understand the importance of me being here. Um
and I don't know if it's humility or just um ignorance,
(01:25):
because I just was doing I was just competing um
and I love to compete. UM. So people asked like,
why why don't you parade around like you're who you are?
And I was like, I'm just Rischine, like I was
just born to compete. God gave me ability and ability
(01:46):
to compete in in athleticism, and I just do it
to my best. So one day I will I will
understand the impact UM and how rare it is to
be drafted for your home team, play here for ten
years and be very successful at it. UM. The only
(02:10):
thing I know is I have to pick my spots
around town to go. I can't go anywhere everywhere. That's
the only thing that's But other than that, I'm still
I'm machine. I'm I'm that guy from south Side Middle
from from Englewood High School, the same guy that you
know did some stupid stuff at b Thune Cookman UM.
Like that's that's that's that's who I am. UM. And
(02:33):
competing with just a vital part of it. And it
allowed me to see some things and accomplish some things
that I I wish everyone who had the God building
ability and take advantage of can can do UM. But
for the guys who came in town, you know, because
Brian Williams is one of my guys like he he
came in and he was he was a little more
(02:55):
flashier than me. Um, but we we we we clicked
very well. Um. So he was like, Okay, what is
it to do here? Man? I'm I'm how how's the nightlife? Like?
What's going on? What's going But at that point, like
that wasn't part of who I was. Um, So I
was like, man, it's something to do. You know. It's
not a big city. Um, you know, but you can
(03:16):
you can do a lot and stay out of trouble
in Jacksonville. You don't have to worry about a lot
of stuff happening and your name getting around town and
things of that nature. So, um, I can tell you
where the eateries are because I don't even when I
first When we first came, the town center had just came.
So it was like, okay, we have a little shopping now.
We we don't have to drive to our lando or
do because the online shopping wasn't that big yet, so
(03:38):
it was like you have to go out of town.
So most people did their shopping out of town. So
it was it was I was like, this is a
family town. Like if you want, if you want longevity,
in your career. You're in the right place because it's
not too much to get into. You can keep your
head down and you can plug away. Because that's that's
how I always um sold Jacksonville, like this is a
(03:59):
place you can You're gonna have great success at. Keep
your head down. You don't have to worry about getting
in trouble too much at night, and you can you
could be a pro here. Um. So the city is growing,
is it's a lot different now, which is a good thing.
Which is a good thing. Um. But that was Jacksonville
when I was here. So being the native son Um,
(04:20):
I I think I think Jacksonville. I I I apologize
to Jacksonville as well, because I don't think I took
advantage of a lot of the opportunities that that I
could have had, because I just wanted to plug away
and just do my job to the best, to my
best ability. UM. And I feel now I still have
(04:42):
some making up to do because um just even being here. Um,
I've been here twice in the last week. UM, and
that's a lot for me. UM. Because I try to
stay under the radar. I try to keep my head down. UM.
I'm not a flashy guy. Um, I like to plug away.
I'm I'm a family guy. Um and I like to
do things the right way. Um. But that being said,
(05:04):
I feel there's a lot of lives I could have
personally touched. Um and I'm I'm looking after those lives now.
I'm trying to get out and branch out a little
more now. But I think Jacksonville for everything that has
done for me. Umm, I'm indebted to this city because
you know, with with without them, I wouldn't be here.
(05:25):
I understand that. So I'm very appreciative, in in a
in a in a good way. Mathis wasn't an unknown
at Englewood High, the biggest of schools. Knew his name,
and only a broken leg his senior year cost him
a shot at the big time. But that's not entirely accurate.
It was more of a detour. My oldest brother was
(05:47):
an avid football guy. Um My, the one that's right
over me, My second oldest, he's he was six five,
so he dabbled into basketball and football. UM, but I
always the baseball guy. My grandmother didn't let me play
football growing up. She said you're too small. Um, So
I stuck to baseball. I stuck to baseball and I
(06:08):
love it, still have a passion to this day. Um
But I had two older brothers playing football, and my oldest,
the one right over me. He was two years older
than me. So when I got into the ninth grade,
he was in eleventh grade and he was the BMOC.
He was the big man on campus um basketball in football.
So I decided to go out for spring. I meant, well,
(06:32):
summer ball, and that means attempting to make the varsity team,
and that this is my first crack at it. So
my brother and his friends are just throwing me around
out there on the football field, and I lasted a weekend,
was like, you know what, this might not be for me.
I'm gonna just stick back and I'll play JV first.
So I stopped. I stopped going out, and I made
(06:55):
the JV team. And then going forward, long story short,
my sophomore year, I was the only sophomore on the
varsity team. Um so, and I loved it, you know,
um well, I was having fun. I wouldn't say I
loved it. Was having fun. And then my old my
brother came up to me. He was a senior. I
was a sophomore. M only sophomore on the team, and
(07:16):
he came up to me after like probably mid mid
after the season. UM. He said, or sane, you know what,
you might need to stick with baseball and UM basketball
and track because you're not taking this serious. You're gonna
get hurt out here. UM. And from that point on
I took it serious. UM. And once he went off
(07:36):
to college and he came back, I was the BMOC
now I was the big man on campus. And he
was like, what in the world has happened? Um? And
he was enjoying watching me Blake So UM my senior
year man one of my best friends, UM me Carl,
he was running back. We were just talking about the
letters that we started receiving from college, and it was
(07:58):
excitement build up, like you know, we was getting letters
from college and we knew at this time that this
was well me personally, single parent home. This was my
gateway to college, Like there was no like, this was
the steps of going into college through sports. UM. And
started off great. Um started off great. My senior year.
(08:22):
We beat the number one team in the city and
one of the top ranked teams in reigns. I had
like three or four interceptions returned one back for ninety yards.
So I'm thinking the sky's the limit. Um. Fifth game
of the season, we played Terry Parker. I broke my leg. Um.
And then this was back in so you know, a
broken leg was a big deal. It's not like now
you break a leg, it's like okay, boom whatever. Um.
(08:45):
But then you know I had before then, I had
already visited Florida State. Um. And that was that was
that was that was it. That was a team. I
knew the I knew the roster. UM. I knew everybody
on the team. And but in after I broke my leg,
it was like, boom, you can maybe come to a partial.
We don't. I'm not sure. But single parent home it was.
(09:07):
It was it was out of the question, um. And
it was a gut shot. It was a gut shot,
a reality check. And especially when the schools the bigger,
I mean, you name the letters, I had them, um,
and once once those weren't coming anymore, it was like, okay,
why where do I go from here? UM. I remember
sitting in getting called to the front office and Citadel
(09:32):
and b Thune Cookman was in the office, like and
you know, I didn't even know who these schools were
even though, but Thorne was right down the road. But
my older brother went to a h b c U
and he was like, don't go to an HBCU just
for the publicity, just just for career wise, Um, nothing
other than that. And come to find out, my future
(09:56):
head coach in college, his brother taught at my high school.
So he was like, we have this kid here or so,
but done her got the word and I visited there
and it was history from there. So um, you know,
faith has it. Faith has it, and I ended up
in the right place. You know. It was overwhelming. Actually,
as any freshman, regardless of how big you think you are,
you you realize that, you know, most of the time
(10:18):
you realize, well, me, um, I feel I'm a humble
and individual. So I respect those that are older and
was there before me. Um. But I started out you know,
playing great. Um, not unnoyingly what it will lead to,
but just started out competing and that's what I do.
Compete and then let the rest take care of yourself.
(10:40):
So my sophomore year, I had eleven interceptions. Um. My
defensive coordinator, Um, who's an amazing, amazing guy, Pete Adrian.
He left my junior year. A lot of people don't
know this to coach to be a defensive coordinator at
in the XFL. The XFL that only lasted a year,
so this is faith like it only last of the year.
(11:01):
So he came back to Bethune to be my defensive coordinator.
The year he left, I only had like three or
four interceptions. So with him, I had eleven. After he left,
I had three or four. When he came back, I
had fourteen my senior year. Fourteen interceptions my senior year.
So boom, eyes open. It was like, wow, you have
a shot. So going through that listening to um Keiper
(11:26):
and like all of these draft draft guys, and I
was like, Okay, where do I fit in. I'm a
small school guy. I'm hearing that I'm a small school guy. Um,
but I know I'm a competitor. So I was like, okay,
so how are they gonna view me? So I was
just like, Okay, I'm just gonna do everything I need
to do. I'm gonna run as fast as I can,
I'm gonna lift as much as I can. Um, nobody
(11:48):
is gonna outdo me. Um. I'm gonna make sure of that.
So that won't be a reason why they say I
can't compete at the next level. So but then UM
agents start coming. They drew interest and agents started coming
with my senior year in high school, different agencies, and
I was like, okay, wow, this is something different, Like
(12:08):
I wasn't I'm not prepared for this UM. So I
had a little guidance from the school. But then Senior
Bowl Senior Bowl happened, and that's when I knew I
could compete. Once I've seen all the best guys in
in the country and I was right there with them,
and I've seen how I lined up against them, and
I was like, Okay, I got this, Like I'm not worried,
(12:28):
Like my my skill set will speak for itself. I
put in the work and now it's time to compete UM.
And and that was it. That that's the moment when
I was like, Okay, if these are the guys who's
making it to the next level and succeeding, I'm I'm okay,
I can I can do this. He knew he could play,
and as you can clearly here, he'd go anywhere and
compete at anything at any time. So he wasn't even
(12:51):
thinking about Jacksonville. When the jack Words called, I knew,
you know, it was a couple of teams Jack's Green Bay.
There was a couple of other teams that came down
to work me out. UM while at Batoon, UM, So
I knew it was a possibility that it could be.
I didn't know the rounds. Even though it was I
was projected, I didn't know. Um. I knew I was
(13:13):
better than a lot of the guys who were projected
to go before maybe before me and the in the draft,
but I didn't know me being drafted. Was it like
I didn't care where I ended up. It wasn't you know?
It was too Maybe to my friends, Okay, I'm better
than this guy, better than that guy. But in my heart,
I was like I just need a shot. I just
(13:33):
need a shot. Um. So when UM Disney actually called,
I was at Walt Disney World at Wild World of Sports,
and they was like, okay, we'll do your draft party.
So me and my family drove down to Disney and
we did a draft party. Me and my family and
friends UM drove down to Disney and we had a
draft party there. UM. And when it was coming up,
(13:55):
my brother was like, your Jacks is about to get you.
You're still on the board. Jacks is about to get you,
and I'm in the moment. So I'm just watching it
and I see a couple of people going before me,
and I was like, this guy is not better than me.
This guy is not better than me, but you know,
still not you know, I'm not saying it arrogantly, but
just saying I've seen this guy compete. Um. So when
(14:18):
they called, I don't even remember it because my family
was just you know, they knew the Jack was next,
and they knew what the call meant. Um. So when
I got that called, it was overwhelming. It was it
was overwhelming, to say the least. Like but I'm always
a reset thinker, so I was happy, but I was
(14:41):
thinking about I need to get to the stadium. I
need to start competing. I need to show them that
they didn't take the wrong person in the second round.
So that's my mindset. It's like, I guess I was
born to be a corner because okay, I could have
got to pick that previous series series, but that doesn't
mean they're not coming back at me. I need to
(15:02):
be ready to compete, like and and that's what it was,
So that's that's that's kind of how my mindset. UM
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insured by n c U. A. Mathis started at Free
(15:50):
Safety on opening day in Carolina as a rookie and
made the first of his franchise best thirty interceptions. It
was clear early that he was a steel in the
second round and that he was out of position. I
love Free Safety. I still do to this day. UM.
I thought about even moving later in my career because
Free Safety came very very easy to me, like very
(16:12):
easy to me. UM. It's just something about knowing where
to be and you know, and at the right time. UM,
and I had that coming. I had that at free safety. UM,
I knew how to cut fields off and all of
that stuff. So, UM the end, my mindset was I
just need to be on the field, like anywhere on
(16:32):
the field, whether it's nickel, whether it's free safety, whether
it's wherever, wherever y'all put me, I'm gonna show you
that I can play. So I tested, I tested spots
and because they were like, okay, you're a small free safety.
You're a tall and lanky corner. I don't know if
you can move your feet as well. So these this
is all the take on you know, taller corners. How
(16:52):
quick are your feet? Can you run? Can you stop
on time? Um? So started at free safe. They had
amazing tutelage from Donovan Darius in Marlon McCree, who you
know the position I end up taking. But he was
that they both was vital in my UM progression as
as as a pro um. Jason Kraft got hurt fifth game,
(17:16):
like around fifth game fix six, fifth sixth game of
the season, and they were like, okay, do we bring
in a reserve corner or do we move for shean.
I think we picked up deep Cooper um So he
was like, okay, boom move me there. So I was like, okay, UM,
let's let's go. Let's compete. It's the same. It's it's
regardless of where I'm at on the field, I'm gonna
(17:37):
find a way to win and compete. Um. So I
was just competing like it was just like playing. And
then my agent was like, okay, Rashin, now here's the kicker.
You're at right now, your position, You're where the money is. UM.
I know you can play both, but this is where
it's at. UM, you might need to think about staying here. Um.
(18:01):
So saying that, I was like, Okay, well I can
play it. I showed I can play it. So and
not knowingly, they weren't trying to move me because it
was a rarity for you know, tall guy being able
to play corner um. So I would you know, I
I settled in and and I guess I made my
head at um corner um and and the rest is history.
(18:24):
He was a star, but you had to look to
find him in a locker room filled with top players
and oversized personalities. Mathis didn't mind. In fact, he thrived
in that environment and simply went to work. My first
year was it flew by um I'll just kept my
head down and was just plugging away. UM. And I
(18:45):
would say probably that about my second year as well,
because it was it was still trying to find my footage,
but I was enjoying the ride. I kept my head down,
but I was enjoying the ride. So seeing people leave,
seeing people go, that was kind of new to me
coming from college. Because everyone stayed in college. You really
didn't see unless you had great troubles or something. UM.
(19:06):
So that was kind of new to me. Um. People
fighting position for positions every day. So that was like, okay,
like now you have to fall in love with this game. UM.
And I didn't actually fall into I was. I always
loved competing, but I actually didn't fall in love with
football until after my second year in the league. I
(19:29):
just love competing, but to be great at football, I
had to fall in love with football. So, UM, I
don't know what made me realize that, but I fell
in love with football. I fell in love with the game,
and I approached it differently. UM. So I was able
to see different positions and respect them for what they were,
(19:49):
and I was able to realize the different personalities, like
you mentioned, um, that we had on this team, and
it was amazing locker room, it was, it was fun
to be in. It was it was I think everyone
aroun around you to your point, Everyone around you knew
that we were gonna be good. Um they we knew
we had all the twols Um pieces missing a piece
(20:10):
here or there. But I think we when we got
Deon Grant on the defensive side of the ball, Um
from Carolina, because him and Jack had history. Him and
Jack had history at Carolina. So when we got Deon Grant,
we plugged in a couple of pieces on offense. Um,
we got Um a kick returner, we got Jamal. It
was just a couple of pieces. We knew we were
(20:31):
missing in spots, and once we started plugging in spots,
it was like, Okay, we have something special. Um. And
and I think that's where Jack confidence. He knew we
had a court, We had a core. But to be
successful in this game, you need more than just a core.
You need pieces around them that can perform when it's
time to perform, make the simple plays when it's time
(20:51):
to make the simple plays. And although Jack wore his
you know emotions on the sleeve, Um, he was a
player's coach. He was a player's coach. He still thought
he can play. UM. So he thought he can play everything,
whether it doesn't matter what it is, with it with
the ball, Jack feels that he's good at it. UM.
(21:12):
So we were building something here UM, and I think
only we knew it. Only we knew it. The league
didn't know it. UM. I don't even know if the
city sinsed it. UM. But the pieces that we had
UM because Byron was still part of Byron was still
a vital part of it. UM. But we knew we
were building something. We knew we had a core quarterbacks
(21:34):
who can play. UM. We knew we you know, we
got later on down the road, we got Mojo, UM,
we got Mercedes. We had and when we already had
Kyle so we had George Rice Stir. We had different
sorts of tight ends to do different type of things. UM.
So everything was looking up for us. Everything was looking
up for us, and when when it was time to play,
(21:55):
we we bonded. We bonded in camp like no other
Like we were just doing stuff outside of the field. UM.
Guys had their lives, but we respected each other and
we were doing stuff together and it showed on the field.
The respect level that we had for each other, um,
regardless about the different personalities. When it was time to
step between those lines, everyone had a respect for the game. UM.
(22:17):
And no one was gonna touch us without someone else,
without six or seven more people touching them. UM. So
it was it was something that I learned early. Protect
your brother, Protect your brother at all costs. Um. He's
here bleeding and sweating for you. UM. And and and
that allowed me to fall in love with the game
because I've seen guys loving the game, loving to compete, um,
(22:41):
and loving to come to work every day because we
were building something special. So it was it was awesome
to be a part of the Young Corner wasted no time.
Seven interceptions in his first two seasons was all the
Jack words needed to see. It was during camp. I
was in you know, it was oh five, oh five.
(23:02):
I was in camp, laying in bed after after after
meetings or whatnot, and I got a call from my
age and he was like, where are you. I was like,
I'm in I'm in my room and I remember it
to this day and he was like, okay, UM, this
is rare. The Jacks haven't done this very often, but
(23:24):
there they're trying to offer you early UM, and I
was like, okay, what does that mean. It's like, um,
they're trying to sign you for a long year deal early.
And he was like, so this is a great thing.
This is a great thing, but I want you to
know what it means. Um, you have two years left
in your rookie contract, so this extension will take you
(23:44):
to seven years. UM. So you know, he explained the
nuts and bolts of it, and he was like, okay,
so I'm gonna let you think about it. Um. He
told me the offer. I was like, okay, Like what
is it to think about? And he was like okay.
So you know, he if you wait, there's a possibility
that this can get higher because your play is speaking
(24:07):
for itself. But they're also is a possibility for injury,
so you have to weigh the nuts and boss. Um,
me being here long term wasn't It wasn't a question
if I wanted to be here. It was like is
this the right time to sign um? And coming from
where I came from single parent home and mom struggling
you know, to make ends meet with four kids and
(24:30):
things of that nature, it was it was breathtaking as
when I look when and then now once I look
back on it, I was like, it wasn't just breathtaking,
it's life changing, UM, for a lot of different reasons. UM.
So I thought about it. I thought about it and
thought about it. I was like, Okay, well let's do it.
(24:51):
Let's do it. UM. I understand if I waited, it
could be more. But it's it's at the table. UM.
I worked hard for it. UM. It could be smart
on their part, because that's what my agent said. It's
smart on their part for him to offer you now
before you know, you keep progressing, and it could be more.
But I'm in my city, I'm from here, so let's
(25:13):
let's commit to the process. And and and and that's
when I don't even know if it was the next day.
I could have called him back that night. And you know,
before I talked to anybody, before I talked to anybody,
I just sat at my bed and contemplating and contemplated,
and UM gave him a shout back and we just
(25:34):
started negotiating and like nuts and bolts and settled it. Then.
My brother Jerry Williams is my brother. He's UM the
coach of the Jacksonville Giants. UM so he's the one
that's right over me. So men, his men. We have
a great relationship, always had. He was like, it's a
no brainer. They should have been offered you like, that's
that's older brother, like seeing competition and competing in whatever. Um.
(25:58):
So it was like, okay, dude, you deserve of all
of this. Now let's go play. Let's go compete like
that's how we are. Like it does it's not once
you sign okay, take a breath, take a fresh breath
of fresh air. Is that corner corner's mindset? Okay, now
let's reset. Let's show them they weren't wrong again. So
this is my new mindset. Now Okay, now I have
to compete even more, show them that they weren't wrong,
(26:20):
and let's let's continue this process. The excitement of mom
was you know, it was. You can't express it. You
can't express it. Um. There's a lot that goes on
that um And and a lot of families, and a
lot of families and in this type, in in this
football environment that a lot of people don't know. UM.
(26:44):
The struggles of life, UM, that that we had to
deal with. UM And because I was twenty four four
years old, twenty five when I signed my contract, and
now I'm the head of my family be because I
signed a contract at twenty five years old, So what
does that look like? There's no blueprint too, how you
(27:08):
navigate that? Like now everyone's looking to me, and that's
the lifestyle that a lot of these kids have, and
and it's hard. It's tough to navigate that. It's tough
to do everything right and please everybody in those situations. Um,
it's tough. It's tough to know what to do with it, UM,
how to control it, um, what to control when to
(27:32):
say no and things of this nature. Um. But the
big man upstairs was looking down on me because he's
all he has always had a plan for my life.
And I was able to not do anything crazy and
I was able to be in the position that I
am now and my family is okay, and my my
(27:53):
you know, my my wife and kids are okay because
I made the right choices while I was in the league.
But that's not the majority, which is sad because it's tough.
And I look back on and I say, I'm one
of the lucky ones. Um. For some reason, I had
and how to navigate this life. It turned out to
(28:16):
be a smart move. Math has delivered thirteen more interceptions
over the next two years and was an All Pro.
He was also a cool hand in an often overheated
locker room, the steady voice of a team that needed one.
As his fifth year two thousand and seven began, men,
be Left was the same class. He was the first rounder.
I was the second round um. So I took a
(28:39):
lot of flak for him holding out because I was
the next go to guy in the second round. But
he was my guy. Like I made sure be Left
was good around town, like I made you know, when
he wanted to go out, I rode with them just
just to make sure he's okay, because there weren't too
many people that knew me or my brother. So I
was okay regardless of where I went, uh, being that
(29:00):
I was from here. So training camp happening. We just
had our um what is it called luncheon? We just
had our luncheon. Be Left was on stage um as
our starting quarterback. We got word from when we came
back that okay, a change is about to happen, and
(29:22):
we was like, okay, what is going on? Like so
change happened. Then be Left came to me. Um, I
got word before, but he came to me. It was
like this just happened. So the locker room was shook.
Locker room was shook. It was like, okay, what's going on.
What's happening? Like we didn't have a clue, you know,
(29:43):
before before that day that what was going on. So
a couple of leaders got got wind of what was
going to happen. But then the locker room was shook
for a minute. So now we had to gather the leaders.
We had to gather the troops and be like, okay,
we have to spend this in a positive flight. Dave
is our He's at the head of the ham. He's
(30:04):
our leader right now. Um, we knew Dave can play,
but at the lunch and your starting quarterback is let go. Now,
it's like okay, boom, let's let's let's let's um, let's
gather the troops. Let's circle the wagon and and see
what we need to do from here. From because because
coaches couldn't help us, coaches couldn't help the locker room
(30:25):
at this point, it was all up to the leaders
of the team and we gather the troops and it
was like Okay, so Dave, we got your back, like
we're with you. Um, no worries. We're gonna get all
our position groups in line and let them know that. Okay,
season has started. We have to start. You know, Dave
(30:45):
is our quarterback. We can't look back. We can't look back.
So that was the start of it, because it was
it was It was a lot to deal with at first.
So you know, things just start rolling. Um, plays just
start being made. There was a camaraderie that was that
we hadn't had, but we we we had built. But
(31:06):
then now everything was clicking. Now everything was clicking. We
was rolling, We was rolling, we were rolling, and was like, okay,
we have something special. So now we have to make
sure everybody or everybody's doing the right thing to keep
this going. So now it's accountability. Now we have to
make sure all the core guys, all the pieces, all
the guys that like the party and things of that nature, like, Okay,
(31:28):
you can still do your thing, but you have to
understand what we have here. This is rare, this is special,
so we have to treat it as such. Um. And
it was it was fun. It was fun to see,
it was fun to watch it was fun to see
the city gather around us like we hadn't seen before. Um,
(31:51):
I've seen it growing up here, but I hadn't experienced it.
I knew it was there. I knew they wanted to,
but they were waiting on that special moment. And and
and two thousand and seven was it for us. It
was that special moment where the city was like it
was a couple of years ago. Here it was. It
was they was chopping at the bits like they knew
(32:13):
we had something special. They knew what was possible, and
we knew it as well, like we knew everyone by
the middle of the season, everyone we played, we knew.
They knew they had to bring it. And that's when
you know something specialist brewing. When you know that you
can you can hear it, and how they speak, you
(32:35):
can you can hear and how they speak when they're
talking about your team, you can. You can see the
respect in their eyes when they are across from you. Um,
you can see it when plays are being made and
you know that that little energy has taken out of them.
So it's a lot that goes on in sports that
you the respect like you you know, it's like the
Warriors well what the Warriors were. When teams talked about
(32:58):
the Warriors, they okay, they have something special. For when
the teams talk about the Colts are the Patriots, like
they have something special? We know we have to play
our a game to beat these guys. And that was
us in No. Seven. Um, I go in Pittsburgh at
the time. My financial isser was from Pittsburgh. Um, So
(33:18):
it was ironic. Um, but I every time I I
see someone from Pittsburgh. You know, you're known in different places,
but Pittsburgh wouldn't be a place that I'm thinking I'm
until I think about it that I'm people know who
I am. Um. But they were like, yeah, I hated
you do for a long time. And I just say
(33:41):
and to speak about being I was like, we just
have a good relationship, Like it's something happened on the
field where we just have a good relationship. He wasn't
scared to throw the ball anybody's direction, and I knew
that like him and Peyton. Let's like certain quarterbacks, they
don't really care who you are. They trust their receivers um,
and they trust their arms. They trust a lot of
(34:02):
things about themselves that they don't care who they're lining
up against. If they feel it that play, they're gonna
throw the ball your way. Um. And as a competitor
and as being and being on top of your game,
I love to play quarterbacks like that because they're gun slingers.
Brett Farve was the same way, like he's a gun slinger.
He doesn't care who's over there. He's gonna throw the ball.
And those other times you can shine in big games
(34:24):
because the big quarterbacks are not trying to stay away
from you. Um. But speaking of that stretch of that
Pittsburgh stretch, um, it was. It was amazing because we
knew going in to the first game that we needed
to win that game. Um. So we end up pulling
that game out and we're like, okay, so this is
(34:46):
setting us up to come back to Pittsburgh. This has
set us up to come back to Pittsburgh. Go back
to Pittsburgh. So we was like, okay, So once we
once the playoffs started and it was like, okay, so
we have to go back up here and beat these
guys again. But we had the confidence. It was like,
I know, it was like it never had been done,
but to us it was like we have the recipe.
(35:08):
For success. Regardless we matched up well against him. We
knew that, um, it was it was a two chance
trap game. We knew that like it was gonna be
one on the ground. We knew that, um even though
Ben was a slinger, they still had their nuts and
boats where you know, you had to run the ball
to win. You have to run the ball to win
in this league, um, and we just needed to make
(35:31):
him pay when he threw the ball. So competing, competing, competing,
um in the code and and everything that they brought
with you. I tell people all the time, Hines Field
is the best field to play in. Like the crowd
gets in it, the towers are are waving. But the
best thing is when the crowds are not waving. The
(35:53):
crowd is not waving the towels. Like we have fans
in the stands like my my mom girlfriend at the
time return for Jance wife, Like they were in the
stands and they were like they were slapping us with
the towels and we were scared to cheer. And but
then when they quieted down, it was like, okay, let's
go time. It's it's time to play football. Um it, Well,
(36:16):
it's time to cheer. Now, but they were scared to cheer,
like a lot of stuff that goes on. UM. It was,
it was, it was. It was good to hear, it
was funny to hear from their side, but on the field,
it was it was. It was excitement from from the
first snap of the game. It was excitement. It was
something that I've never sparienced experienced since then, although I've
been been to the playoffs since then, but it was
(36:39):
it was a time that was very special. I feel
very appreciative because I was able to make some plays
to help propel that UM and you know, remember to
this day for those plays and will always be remembered
for those plays. I'm I'm I'm finding out, um. But
it was just it was. It was a man easing
(37:00):
um and very impressive to be a part of something
that special for for our franchise. Two thousand and eight
wasn't just good. Two thousand nine was worse. Two thousand
seven quickly faded and it wouldn't return no matter what moves.
The Jack Worris made an injury in eleven, and ownership
and coaching change in twelve and another coaching change in
(37:22):
thirteen taught mathis some of life's most difficult and most
important lessons. I actually like talking about those years because
it it says a lot about just life in general,
business in general. Um. We had a special team. UM.
And when you have something special, I feel you should
(37:43):
do everything in your ability to keep keep it together. UM.
And I don't feel we did it. Um. We let
go a deon grant like it was like some core
pieces like we didn't um after that, I think we
let go a double D like it was. It was
(38:03):
like some things that you can that hold that you
can hold on to um in certain aspects that this
is the reason why we were special. This is a
part of it. And I understand like money wise, like
was it an issue and think you know, knowing the
business and at that time, I think I knew the
(38:24):
business very well and we could have kept something special
together for a couple more years. So that was that
was sad to me, UM, that we had something special
and it could have stayed special because we had a
tandem running back like I don't know if it could
be another tandem running back due like we had in
(38:45):
the league, like possibly ever, Like those two guys were
special together. UM. So when you have certain stuff I know,
if injuries don't happen, you should try to do what
you need to do to keep it. And I think
I was fighting that for a couple of years because
(39:06):
on the back end of things, I was trying to
play two and three positions at one time because it
was not judging the people that we brought in. UM.
But it was it was tough. It was, it was tough,
it was, it was. It was some tough years, UM.
But I grew a lot. I think a lot of
(39:27):
people that stayed here grew a lot. UM. I've seen
a lot of people come and go before then, but
to see core people leave your team UM at a
fast rate. UM, that part of the business surprised me.
And I knew then that there's no one that's untouchable UM,
(39:51):
and I think that's what I learned, that there's no
one untouchable. So that was a different part of the
business that I did learn. And Man Schmidt doesn't think
like players. I learned that regardless of how we see things,
management always see it a little different. And that's okay,
that's business like and that's part of business. And I
understand that. So UM, you have to have that. Someone
(40:13):
has to lead. Um, you have to have different different
groups in order to be successful. So I understand that
and I respect that. UM So that part saddens me,
which I think a lot of people don't, don't understand
and will never understand. UM. Moving forward. UM, when I
when I got hurt, it was tough because I was
I was having a very good season. I was having
(40:34):
a very good year and no contact injury. Really hadn't
been injured that tough before I where it was surgery needed. Um.
So my whole thing was, Okay, how do you bounce back?
You're this You're approaching your tenth year. You got hurt
in your ninth year, Like, now you have to bounce back,
(40:57):
Like what's gonna happen? What's gonna happen? So it was
just grind time for me. It was like Okay, people
was bouncing back from a c l S very fast.
So I was like, okay, well I'm good, Like this
can happen. I can do this. Like if they're doing it,
then I know I can do it as well. UM.
So I bounced back, had a great start to make
(41:17):
my career, and then you know, business happened again to me. Um.
Not to go into it, but business happened again to me,
and it was like, okay, boom, you're new exception, so
let's roll with these punches. Now. I was in a
position in my life where God was in total control
and he allowed me to be a mentor to some
(41:38):
guys in the locker room and in my position group
that was in what was happening to me, and I
think they respect me a lot more for for how
I handled it, handled it, and but I knew I
had life left. But I was okay with you know,
it was new, like you said, new owner, um, new
(41:58):
head coach, um, new management after that year, so I
was like, okay, I knew I wasn't coming back. I
knew I wasn't coming back. So now I had to
make the decision on where do I go from here?
What what what has to happen from here? And me,
it was like, okay, I'm gonna just stay ready. I'm
gonna just stay ready. I'm okay with the partner from
the game, but I want to end the game healthy
(42:22):
and I'm healthy now, and I wasn't able to end
it how I wanted to. So that was that was tough.
That was a tough part for me. So I was
okay with being let go. People asked me a lot,
do you have any hard feelings? I was like no,
because I didn't know him. Like if it was Jack
and Shock and Paul Van, you know, if it was
(42:43):
these guys and the Weavers that let me go, then yeah,
I'll be jaded, I'll feel some kind of way. But
I didn't really know the new Rougie. Um. I didn't
know the new the new Core guys. So I was
okay with that. Like so, and I think that helped
me move forward faster. Um that it was a blessing
in disguise, you know, it helped me move forward faster
and to to move on. Um And yeah, so the
(43:06):
last year's was tough, The last few year, a couple
of years was tough here, but it helped me growing
away and understand a lot of things that was vital
going forward. Where I was positioned, um, where where God
wanted me to be positioned forward. More perspectives following this
from Bistar Credit Union Advice Star. We believe in better
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All loan subject to approval insured by n c U.
A mathist Bridge two eras of Jaguar's football. He grew
up watching conference teams and was a star playing for
Jack del Rio. He has a unique perspective on twenty
five seasons and on the players who warned the team.
One player in particular still leaves mathis in all. People
(44:18):
ask me this all the time. They was like, who's
the best receiver you ever covered? And I say my own,
and they were like who I was? Like Smooth Jimmy Smith,
Like he had tools, he had awareness, he had body control,
he has speed when he needed it. That it's only
one other receiver that I can say is comparable to him,
(44:41):
and I played my last three years with him. Calvin Johnson.
Like every time you line up against Smooth, he was
gonna try to give you the business. It was no playoff.
He was gonna let you know that you can't cover me.
You can't cover me. And I tell people all the
time He's a reason why I got as good as
I did. Um, along with Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison,
(45:05):
because that duo was awesome duo. But Jimmy's you know,
I covered Marvin twice a year. I covered Jimmy every day, Um,
and Jimmy was special. Like if I seen Marvin every day,
then I probably would have had a few more interceptions
on him every day. But if I covered Jimmy every day,
like I probably had a couple of picks on him
(45:26):
during practice, every covering him every day for a number
of years in the game, I probably would still only
have a couple. That's how special he was because he
knew his body, he he knew his points. He didn't
let you might get him a couple of times, yeah,
but he didn't let anybody dictate where he was going. Um.
(45:48):
I've seen him torch double and triple teams like it's nothing. Um,
same as Calvin. I've seen Calvin do the same thing.
That's why I say it's not too many people. Maybe
Moss I haven't seen him. I didn't see mass on
a daily like I seen Calvin and Jimmy. But that
lets you know the weight that his name holds the
names that I'm mentioning with him. He's there like he's
(46:10):
that special. He's that special. Um, and I I owe
a lot to Jimmy, Like we had a very good
relationship because he knew I respected him. Um, he's the
reason why I got my first fancy car. Um. I've
seen the bands that he had. I didn't know. I
was over my element when I wanted it, but I
(46:31):
didn't get it too. I saw my new contract, so
I didn't go out of my way to get it.
But he had a nice binds that I had a
convertible bins and I was like, oh boy, that thing
is sweet. So he's the reason for a lot of things. Um,
but Smooth was special. He's he's he I still to
this day. Um, he's special to me. He's special to
me in a lot of ways because he his heart
(46:52):
was always in the right place. Um. You know, he
he wasn't selfish to the point where he was going
to cause confusion, but he knew he needed the ball,
and we knew he needed the ball for us to win,
you know. So he wasn't gonna destroy a locker room.
You know, That's how humble he was. Um. At the
same time, he was confident enough to know that I
(47:14):
need to get more touches. Um and although they're double
teeming me, just trust me, I'll find a way. UM.
And and we we did we we I think we
did right by him. I think I think the organization
treated him well. UM. I hope he feels the same way. UM.
And that's just me looking from the outside, not knowing
all the nuts and boats. Um. But to see him
(47:35):
struggle was it was heartbreaking because we all struggle with something. UM.
And you know, I don't think there's no one thing
bigger than the other, although lights get shined on things. UM.
But he's a special individual, um and I and he
needs to know how much the city do care about him.
(47:55):
UM And in the players that he impacted care about
him as well, um smooth as a special individual, um
And my my heart will always go out to him
in his family. People love lists. They love to rank
the best players, coaches, wins, losses. It's what fans do.
Mathis is either the best or the second best defensive
(48:16):
player of the jaguars first twenty five years. It's indisputable.
Mathist won't be defined by what others think of him.
But he appreciates how people understand that he worked hard
to be one of the Jaguars very best. What I
can say is I I know it in a sense,
meaning yeah, I feel that I'm one of them. UM.
(48:37):
I can look back and say, you know, people, you know,
numbers don't lie. Um. But at the same time, you know,
as I try to step out of the humble role,
but then God lets me know that you did what
you needed to do. You you you use what I
gave you to be successful at the path that I
(49:02):
created for you. UM. Now how do you impact from here?
And you know, I have a six year old son
who and this is this is my postcard. This is me.
I have a six year old son who's in All
Star Baseball. He's playing with seven and eight and nine
year olds. Um at six year old. He's six years old.
(49:24):
And my position is to teach him to or both
of them when they when my my youngest son is
only three. But compete like and I was talking to
some rookies the other day, UM and here, um, and
I let him know, like, compete, don't let anyone out
work you. UM, don't, don't. And that's in life in general.
(49:49):
So whoever hears this, like whatever you do, you're doing it,
so be the best at it. Don't don't let anyone
out work you. And that doesn't mean work seven and
it means when you work work because I I never
was an overworker. I never overworked my body. But when
I was at work, no one was gonna outwork me.
(50:10):
I was gonna do And to prepare for those hours
while at work, I didn't have to prepare after work
because I prepared to be the best while at work. Um.
And and that's that's all I did. Like that's all
I did. So to to be on the ring one
day possibly UM, to be on the all team, UM,
(50:33):
to be sitting here um with you years later. Like
all the work was worth it. It was where all
the preparation hours and and and all the sweat and
and all the commitment, the dedication, it was worth it.
Like it pays off. Hard work pays off. And that's
for anyone who's living like it's it's gonna pay off.
(50:55):
You just have to stick to the process and believe
in the process. And there's nothing new under the son,
so get up under someone. And I was telling some
of the rookies I got a couple of the DBS numbers,
the rookies numbers, just from speaking to them. Um, I
was like, get up under someone that that that has
your best interests at heart, and and learn all you
can learn from them, and and and know that at
(51:16):
the end of the day, if you give your all,
if it's if it's meant to be, if this path
is meant to be your all, your path at the
end of the day, Like, You'll be smiling because I
don't have any regrets on the field. Um. I have
some in the city because I'm like, I'm still trying
to touch lives. But on the field, when I played like,
I gave him my all, and everybody that I lined
(51:38):
up against they knew they had to bring it when
they were across from me. Um, So I appreciate everything. Um.
One day I will be able to give you a
different answer. Um, maybe, but for now, I just love.
I fell in love with the game, and I love
to compete, and I and enjoy being at the top
(52:01):
of my game. And I knew I competed, and I
prepared for those moments, so I was able to to
make hay of him. I was able to succeed while
being there um and it was always a reset. I
always tried to get better um and and I think
that's why I'm able to be labeled with some of
(52:23):
the best, because I prepared for the moment. And I
think all the best too. They prepare for the moment
so when the moment comes, I don't shy away from it.
I run to it.
The following presentation of the Jaguars podcast network is presented
by Bistar credit. Quiet was his calling card and to
talk with Rashine Mathis today, it's clear he'd rather do
(00:23):
than say. But Mathis was a silent assassin on the field.
Just ask Ben Roethlisberger in a locker room filled with
oversized personalities. His was nearly imperceptible. His game, his stats,
his results were anything. But this is perspectives, the story
of the Jaguars first twenty five seasons told by the
(00:44):
people who built the franchise from the ground up. This
is Rashine Mathis. He grew up on the field at
south Side Middle School and at Englewood High School, in
the shadows of t i A A bank field. He
became m a Jackguards fan the day they started playing,
never thinking that those fields on the south side of
(01:04):
the St. John's would lead to this one where the
Quiet kid would become a star. I still don't know
if I understand the importance of me being here. Um
and I don't know if it's humility or just um ignorance,
(01:25):
because I just was doing I was just competing um
and I love to compete. UM. So people asked like,
why why don't you parade around like you're who you are?
And I was like, I'm just Rischine, like I was
just born to compete. God gave me ability and ability
(01:46):
to compete in in athleticism, and I just do it
to my best. So one day I will I will
understand the impact UM and how rare it is to
be drafted for your home team, play here for ten
years and be very successful at it. UM. The only
(02:10):
thing I know is I have to pick my spots
around town to go. I can't go anywhere everywhere. That's
the only thing that's But other than that, I'm still
I'm machine. I'm I'm that guy from south Side Middle
from from Englewood High School, the same guy that you
know did some stupid stuff at b Thune Cookman UM.
Like that's that's that's that's who I am. UM. And
(02:33):
competing with just a vital part of it. And it
allowed me to see some things and accomplish some things
that I I wish everyone who had the God building
ability and take advantage of can can do UM. But
for the guys who came in town, you know, because
Brian Williams is one of my guys like he he
came in and he was he was a little more
(02:55):
flashier than me. Um, but we we we we clicked
very well. Um. So he was like, Okay, what is
it to do here? Man? I'm I'm how how's the nightlife? Like?
What's going on? What's going But at that point, like
that wasn't part of who I was. Um, So I
was like, man, it's something to do. You know. It's
not a big city. Um, you know, but you can
(03:16):
you can do a lot and stay out of trouble
in Jacksonville. You don't have to worry about a lot
of stuff happening and your name getting around town and
things of that nature. So, um, I can tell you
where the eateries are because I don't even when I
first When we first came, the town center had just came.
So it was like, okay, we have a little shopping now.
We we don't have to drive to our lando or
do because the online shopping wasn't that big yet, so
(03:38):
it was like you have to go out of town.
So most people did their shopping out of town. So
it was it was I was like, this is a
family town. Like if you want, if you want longevity,
in your career. You're in the right place because it's
not too much to get into. You can keep your
head down and you can plug away. Because that's that's
how I always um sold Jacksonville, like this is a
(03:59):
place you can You're gonna have great success at. Keep
your head down. You don't have to worry about getting
in trouble too much at night, and you can you
could be a pro here. Um. So the city is growing,
is it's a lot different now, which is a good thing.
Which is a good thing. Um. But that was Jacksonville
when I was here. So being the native son Um,
(04:20):
I I think I think Jacksonville. I I I apologize
to Jacksonville as well, because I don't think I took
advantage of a lot of the opportunities that that I
could have had, because I just wanted to plug away
and just do my job to the best, to my
best ability. UM. And I feel now I still have
(04:42):
some making up to do because um just even being here. Um,
I've been here twice in the last week. UM, and
that's a lot for me. UM. Because I try to
stay under the radar. I try to keep my head down. UM.
I'm not a flashy guy. Um, I like to plug away.
I'm I'm a family guy. Um and I like to
do things the right way. Um. But that being said,
(05:04):
I feel there's a lot of lives I could have
personally touched. Um and I'm I'm looking after those lives now.
I'm trying to get out and branch out a little
more now. But I think Jacksonville for everything that has
done for me. Umm, I'm indebted to this city because
you know, with with without them, I wouldn't be here.
(05:25):
I understand that. So I'm very appreciative, in in a
in a in a good way. Mathis wasn't an unknown
at Englewood High, the biggest of schools. Knew his name,
and only a broken leg his senior year cost him
a shot at the big time. But that's not entirely accurate.
It was more of a detour. My oldest brother was
(05:47):
an avid football guy. Um My, the one that's right
over me, My second oldest, he's he was six five,
so he dabbled into basketball and football. UM, but I
always the baseball guy. My grandmother didn't let me play
football growing up. She said you're too small. Um, So
I stuck to baseball. I stuck to baseball and I
(06:08):
love it, still have a passion to this day. Um
But I had two older brothers playing football, and my oldest,
the one right over me. He was two years older
than me. So when I got into the ninth grade,
he was in eleventh grade and he was the BMOC.
He was the big man on campus um basketball in football.
So I decided to go out for spring. I meant, well,
(06:32):
summer ball, and that means attempting to make the varsity team,
and that this is my first crack at it. So
my brother and his friends are just throwing me around
out there on the football field, and I lasted a weekend,
was like, you know what, this might not be for me.
I'm gonna just stick back and I'll play JV first.
So I stopped. I stopped going out, and I made
(06:55):
the JV team. And then going forward, long story short,
my sophomore year, I was the only sophomore on the
varsity team. Um so, and I loved it, you know,
um well, I was having fun. I wouldn't say I
loved it. Was having fun. And then my old my
brother came up to me. He was a senior. I
was a sophomore. M only sophomore on the team, and
(07:16):
he came up to me after like probably mid mid
after the season. UM. He said, or sane, you know what,
you might need to stick with baseball and UM basketball
and track because you're not taking this serious. You're gonna
get hurt out here. UM. And from that point on
I took it serious. UM. And once he went off
(07:36):
to college and he came back, I was the BMOC
now I was the big man on campus. And he
was like, what in the world has happened? Um? And
he was enjoying watching me Blake So UM my senior
year man one of my best friends, UM me Carl,
he was running back. We were just talking about the
letters that we started receiving from college, and it was
(07:58):
excitement build up, like you know, we was getting letters
from college and we knew at this time that this
was well me personally, single parent home. This was my
gateway to college, Like there was no like, this was
the steps of going into college through sports. UM. And
started off great. Um started off great. My senior year.
(08:22):
We beat the number one team in the city and
one of the top ranked teams in reigns. I had
like three or four interceptions returned one back for ninety yards.
So I'm thinking the sky's the limit. Um. Fifth game
of the season, we played Terry Parker. I broke my leg. Um.
And then this was back in so you know, a
broken leg was a big deal. It's not like now
you break a leg, it's like okay, boom whatever. Um.
(08:45):
But then you know I had before then, I had
already visited Florida State. Um. And that was that was
that was that was it. That was a team. I
knew the I knew the roster. UM. I knew everybody
on the team. And but in after I broke my leg,
it was like, boom, you can maybe come to a partial.
We don't. I'm not sure. But single parent home it was.
(09:07):
It was it was out of the question, um. And
it was a gut shot. It was a gut shot,
a reality check. And especially when the schools the bigger,
I mean, you name the letters, I had them, um,
and once once those weren't coming anymore, it was like, okay,
why where do I go from here? UM. I remember
sitting in getting called to the front office and Citadel
(09:32):
and b Thune Cookman was in the office, like and
you know, I didn't even know who these schools were
even though, but Thorne was right down the road. But
my older brother went to a h b c U
and he was like, don't go to an HBCU just
for the publicity, just just for career wise, Um, nothing
other than that. And come to find out, my future
(09:56):
head coach in college, his brother taught at my high school.
So he was like, we have this kid here or so,
but done her got the word and I visited there
and it was history from there. So um, you know,
faith has it. Faith has it, and I ended up
in the right place. You know. It was overwhelming. Actually,
as any freshman, regardless of how big you think you are,
you you realize that, you know, most of the time
(10:18):
you realize, well, me, um, I feel I'm a humble
and individual. So I respect those that are older and
was there before me. Um. But I started out you know,
playing great. Um, not unnoyingly what it will lead to,
but just started out competing and that's what I do.
Compete and then let the rest take care of yourself.
(10:40):
So my sophomore year, I had eleven interceptions. Um. My
defensive coordinator, Um, who's an amazing, amazing guy, Pete Adrian.
He left my junior year. A lot of people don't
know this to coach to be a defensive coordinator at
in the XFL. The XFL that only lasted a year,
so this is faith like it only last of the year.
(11:01):
So he came back to Bethune to be my defensive coordinator.
The year he left, I only had like three or
four interceptions. So with him, I had eleven. After he left,
I had three or four. When he came back, I
had fourteen my senior year. Fourteen interceptions my senior year.
So boom, eyes open. It was like, wow, you have
a shot. So going through that listening to um Keiper
(11:26):
and like all of these draft draft guys, and I
was like, Okay, where do I fit in. I'm a
small school guy. I'm hearing that I'm a small school guy. Um,
but I know I'm a competitor. So I was like, okay,
so how are they gonna view me? So I was
just like, Okay, I'm just gonna do everything I need
to do. I'm gonna run as fast as I can,
I'm gonna lift as much as I can. Um, nobody
(11:48):
is gonna outdo me. Um. I'm gonna make sure of that.
So that won't be a reason why they say I
can't compete at the next level. So but then UM
agents start coming. They drew interest and agents started coming
with my senior year in high school, different agencies, and
I was like, okay, wow, this is something different, Like
(12:08):
I wasn't I'm not prepared for this UM. So I
had a little guidance from the school. But then Senior
Bowl Senior Bowl happened, and that's when I knew I
could compete. Once I've seen all the best guys in
in the country and I was right there with them,
and I've seen how I lined up against them, and
I was like, Okay, I got this, Like I'm not worried,
(12:28):
Like my my skill set will speak for itself. I
put in the work and now it's time to compete UM.
And and that was it. That that's the moment when
I was like, Okay, if these are the guys who's
making it to the next level and succeeding, I'm I'm okay,
I can I can do this. He knew he could play,
and as you can clearly here, he'd go anywhere and
compete at anything at any time. So he wasn't even
(12:51):
thinking about Jacksonville. When the jack Words called, I knew,
you know, it was a couple of teams Jack's Green Bay.
There was a couple of other teams that came down
to work me out. UM while at Batoon, UM, So
I knew it was a possibility that it could be.
I didn't know the rounds. Even though it was I
was projected, I didn't know. Um. I knew I was
(13:13):
better than a lot of the guys who were projected
to go before maybe before me and the in the draft,
but I didn't know me being drafted. Was it like
I didn't care where I ended up. It wasn't you know?
It was too Maybe to my friends, Okay, I'm better
than this guy, better than that guy. But in my heart,
I was like I just need a shot. I just
(13:33):
need a shot. Um. So when UM Disney actually called,
I was at Walt Disney World at Wild World of Sports,
and they was like, okay, we'll do your draft party.
So me and my family drove down to Disney and
we did a draft party. Me and my family and
friends UM drove down to Disney and we had a
draft party there. UM. And when it was coming up,
(13:55):
my brother was like, your Jacks is about to get you.
You're still on the board. Jacks is about to get you,
and I'm in the moment. So I'm just watching it
and I see a couple of people going before me,
and I was like, this guy is not better than me.
This guy is not better than me, but you know,
still not you know, I'm not saying it arrogantly, but
just saying I've seen this guy compete. Um. So when
(14:18):
they called, I don't even remember it because my family
was just you know, they knew the Jack was next,
and they knew what the call meant. Um. So when
I got that called, it was overwhelming. It was it
was overwhelming, to say the least. Like but I'm always
a reset thinker, so I was happy, but I was
(14:41):
thinking about I need to get to the stadium. I
need to start competing. I need to show them that
they didn't take the wrong person in the second round.
So that's my mindset. It's like, I guess I was
born to be a corner because okay, I could have
got to pick that previous series series, but that doesn't
mean they're not coming back at me. I need to
(15:02):
be ready to compete, like and and that's what it was,
So that's that's that's kind of how my mindset. UM
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insured by n c U. A. Mathis started at Free
(15:50):
Safety on opening day in Carolina as a rookie and
made the first of his franchise best thirty interceptions. It
was clear early that he was a steel in the
second round and that he was out of position. I
love Free Safety. I still do to this day. UM.
I thought about even moving later in my career because
Free Safety came very very easy to me, like very
(16:12):
easy to me. UM. It's just something about knowing where
to be and you know, and at the right time. UM,
and I had that coming. I had that at free safety. UM,
I knew how to cut fields off and all of
that stuff. So, UM the end, my mindset was I
just need to be on the field, like anywhere on
(16:32):
the field, whether it's nickel, whether it's free safety, whether
it's wherever, wherever y'all put me, I'm gonna show you
that I can play. So I tested, I tested spots
and because they were like, okay, you're a small free safety.
You're a tall and lanky corner. I don't know if
you can move your feet as well. So these this
is all the take on you know, taller corners. How
(16:52):
quick are your feet? Can you run? Can you stop
on time? Um? So started at free safe. They had
amazing tutelage from Donovan Darius in Marlon McCree, who you
know the position I end up taking. But he was
that they both was vital in my UM progression as
as as a pro um. Jason Kraft got hurt fifth game,
(17:16):
like around fifth game fix six, fifth sixth game of
the season, and they were like, okay, do we bring
in a reserve corner or do we move for shean.
I think we picked up deep Cooper um So he
was like, okay, boom move me there. So I was like, okay, UM,
let's let's go. Let's compete. It's the same. It's it's
regardless of where I'm at on the field, I'm gonna
(17:37):
find a way to win and compete. Um. So I
was just competing like it was just like playing. And
then my agent was like, okay, Rashin, now here's the kicker.
You're at right now, your position, You're where the money is. UM.
I know you can play both, but this is where
it's at. UM, you might need to think about staying here. Um.
(18:01):
So saying that, I was like, Okay, well I can
play it. I showed I can play it. So and
not knowingly, they weren't trying to move me because it
was a rarity for you know, tall guy being able
to play corner um. So I would you know, I
I settled in and and I guess I made my
head at um corner um and and the rest is history.
(18:24):
He was a star, but you had to look to
find him in a locker room filled with top players
and oversized personalities. Mathis didn't mind. In fact, he thrived
in that environment and simply went to work. My first
year was it flew by um I'll just kept my
head down and was just plugging away. UM. And I
(18:45):
would say probably that about my second year as well,
because it was it was still trying to find my footage,
but I was enjoying the ride. I kept my head down,
but I was enjoying the ride. So seeing people leave,
seeing people go, that was kind of new to me
coming from college. Because everyone stayed in college. You really
didn't see unless you had great troubles or something. UM.
(19:06):
So that was kind of new to me. Um. People
fighting position for positions every day. So that was like, okay,
like now you have to fall in love with this game. UM.
And I didn't actually fall into I was. I always
loved competing, but I actually didn't fall in love with
football until after my second year in the league. I
(19:29):
just love competing, but to be great at football, I
had to fall in love with football. So, UM, I
don't know what made me realize that, but I fell
in love with football. I fell in love with the game,
and I approached it differently. UM. So I was able
to see different positions and respect them for what they were,
(19:49):
and I was able to realize the different personalities, like
you mentioned, um, that we had on this team, and
it was amazing locker room, it was, it was fun
to be in. It was it was I think everyone
aroun around you to your point, Everyone around you knew
that we were gonna be good. Um they we knew
we had all the twols Um pieces missing a piece
(20:10):
here or there. But I think we when we got
Deon Grant on the defensive side of the ball, Um
from Carolina, because him and Jack had history. Him and
Jack had history at Carolina. So when we got Deon Grant,
we plugged in a couple of pieces on offense. Um,
we got Um a kick returner, we got Jamal. It
was just a couple of pieces. We knew we were
(20:31):
missing in spots, and once we started plugging in spots,
it was like, Okay, we have something special. Um. And
and I think that's where Jack confidence. He knew we
had a court, We had a core. But to be
successful in this game, you need more than just a core.
You need pieces around them that can perform when it's
time to perform, make the simple plays when it's time
(20:51):
to make the simple plays. And although Jack wore his
you know emotions on the sleeve, Um, he was a
player's coach. He was a player's coach. He still thought
he can play. UM. So he thought he can play everything,
whether it doesn't matter what it is, with it with
the ball, Jack feels that he's good at it. UM.
(21:12):
So we were building something here UM, and I think
only we knew it. Only we knew it. The league
didn't know it. UM. I don't even know if the
city sinsed it. UM. But the pieces that we had
UM because Byron was still part of Byron was still
a vital part of it. UM. But we knew we
were building something. We knew we had a core quarterbacks
(21:34):
who can play. UM. We knew we you know, we
got later on down the road, we got Mojo, UM,
we got Mercedes. We had and when we already had
Kyle so we had George Rice Stir. We had different
sorts of tight ends to do different type of things. UM.
So everything was looking up for us. Everything was looking
up for us, and when when it was time to play,
(21:55):
we we bonded. We bonded in camp like no other
Like we were just doing stuff outside of the field. UM.
Guys had their lives, but we respected each other and
we were doing stuff together and it showed on the field.
The respect level that we had for each other, um,
regardless about the different personalities. When it was time to
step between those lines, everyone had a respect for the game. UM.
(22:17):
And no one was gonna touch us without someone else,
without six or seven more people touching them. UM. So
it was it was something that I learned early. Protect
your brother, Protect your brother at all costs. Um. He's
here bleeding and sweating for you. UM. And and and
that allowed me to fall in love with the game
because I've seen guys loving the game, loving to compete, um,
(22:41):
and loving to come to work every day because we
were building something special. So it was it was awesome
to be a part of the Young Corner wasted no time.
Seven interceptions in his first two seasons was all the
Jack words needed to see. It was during camp. I
was in you know, it was oh five, oh five.
(23:02):
I was in camp, laying in bed after after after
meetings or whatnot, and I got a call from my
age and he was like, where are you. I was like,
I'm in I'm in my room and I remember it
to this day and he was like, okay, UM, this
is rare. The Jacks haven't done this very often, but
(23:24):
there they're trying to offer you early UM, and I
was like, okay, what does that mean. It's like, um,
they're trying to sign you for a long year deal early.
And he was like, so this is a great thing.
This is a great thing, but I want you to
know what it means. Um, you have two years left
in your rookie contract, so this extension will take you
(23:44):
to seven years. UM. So you know, he explained the
nuts and bolts of it, and he was like, okay,
so I'm gonna let you think about it. Um. He
told me the offer. I was like, okay, Like what
is it to think about? And he was like okay.
So you know, he if you wait, there's a possibility
that this can get higher because your play is speaking
(24:07):
for itself. But they're also is a possibility for injury,
so you have to weigh the nuts and boss. Um,
me being here long term wasn't It wasn't a question
if I wanted to be here. It was like is
this the right time to sign um? And coming from
where I came from single parent home and mom struggling
you know, to make ends meet with four kids and
(24:30):
things of that nature, it was it was breathtaking as
when I look when and then now once I look
back on it, I was like, it wasn't just breathtaking,
it's life changing, UM, for a lot of different reasons. UM.
So I thought about it. I thought about it and
thought about it. I was like, Okay, well let's do it.
(24:51):
Let's do it. UM. I understand if I waited, it
could be more. But it's it's at the table. UM.
I worked hard for it. UM. It could be smart
on their part, because that's what my agent said. It's
smart on their part for him to offer you now
before you know, you keep progressing, and it could be more.
But I'm in my city, I'm from here, so let's
(25:13):
let's commit to the process. And and and and that's
when I don't even know if it was the next day.
I could have called him back that night. And you know,
before I talked to anybody, before I talked to anybody,
I just sat at my bed and contemplating and contemplated,
and UM gave him a shout back and we just
(25:34):
started negotiating and like nuts and bolts and settled it. Then.
My brother Jerry Williams is my brother. He's UM the
coach of the Jacksonville Giants. UM so he's the one
that's right over me. So men, his men. We have
a great relationship, always had. He was like, it's a
no brainer. They should have been offered you like, that's
that's older brother, like seeing competition and competing in whatever. Um.
(25:58):
So it was like, okay, dude, you deserve of all
of this. Now let's go play. Let's go compete like
that's how we are. Like it does it's not once
you sign okay, take a breath, take a fresh breath
of fresh air. Is that corner corner's mindset? Okay, now
let's reset. Let's show them they weren't wrong again. So
this is my new mindset. Now Okay, now I have
to compete even more, show them that they weren't wrong,
(26:20):
and let's let's continue this process. The excitement of mom
was you know, it was. You can't express it. You
can't express it. Um. There's a lot that goes on
that um And and a lot of families, and a
lot of families and in this type, in in this
football environment that a lot of people don't know. UM.
(26:44):
The struggles of life, UM, that that we had to
deal with. UM And because I was twenty four four
years old, twenty five when I signed my contract, and
now I'm the head of my family be because I
signed a contract at twenty five years old, So what
does that look like? There's no blueprint too, how you
(27:08):
navigate that? Like now everyone's looking to me, and that's
the lifestyle that a lot of these kids have, and
and it's hard. It's tough to navigate that. It's tough
to do everything right and please everybody in those situations. Um,
it's tough. It's tough to know what to do with it, UM,
how to control it, um, what to control when to
(27:32):
say no and things of this nature. Um. But the
big man upstairs was looking down on me because he's
all he has always had a plan for my life.
And I was able to not do anything crazy and
I was able to be in the position that I
am now and my family is okay, and my my
(27:53):
you know, my my wife and kids are okay because
I made the right choices while I was in the league.
But that's not the majority, which is sad because it's tough.
And I look back on and I say, I'm one
of the lucky ones. Um. For some reason, I had
and how to navigate this life. It turned out to
(28:16):
be a smart move. Math has delivered thirteen more interceptions
over the next two years and was an All Pro.
He was also a cool hand in an often overheated
locker room, the steady voice of a team that needed one.
As his fifth year two thousand and seven began, men,
be Left was the same class. He was the first rounder.
I was the second round um. So I took a
(28:39):
lot of flak for him holding out because I was
the next go to guy in the second round. But
he was my guy. Like I made sure be Left
was good around town, like I made you know, when
he wanted to go out, I rode with them just
just to make sure he's okay, because there weren't too
many people that knew me or my brother. So I
was okay regardless of where I went, uh, being that
(29:00):
I was from here. So training camp happening. We just
had our um what is it called luncheon? We just
had our luncheon. Be Left was on stage um as
our starting quarterback. We got word from when we came
back that okay, a change is about to happen, and
(29:22):
we was like, okay, what is going on? Like so
change happened. Then be Left came to me. Um, I
got word before, but he came to me. It was
like this just happened. So the locker room was shook.
Locker room was shook. It was like, okay, what's going on.
What's happening? Like we didn't have a clue, you know,
(29:43):
before before that day that what was going on. So
a couple of leaders got got wind of what was
going to happen. But then the locker room was shook
for a minute. So now we had to gather the leaders.
We had to gather the troops and be like, okay,
we have to spend this in a positive flight. Dave
is our He's at the head of the ham. He's
(30:04):
our leader right now. Um, we knew Dave can play,
but at the lunch and your starting quarterback is let go. Now,
it's like okay, boom, let's let's let's let's um, let's
gather the troops. Let's circle the wagon and and see
what we need to do from here. From because because
coaches couldn't help us, coaches couldn't help the locker room
(30:25):
at this point, it was all up to the leaders
of the team and we gather the troops and it
was like Okay, so Dave, we got your back, like
we're with you. Um, no worries. We're gonna get all
our position groups in line and let them know that. Okay,
season has started. We have to start. You know, Dave
(30:45):
is our quarterback. We can't look back. We can't look back.
So that was the start of it, because it was
it was It was a lot to deal with at first.
So you know, things just start rolling. Um, plays just
start being made. There was a camaraderie that was that
we hadn't had, but we we we had built. But
(31:06):
then now everything was clicking. Now everything was clicking. We
was rolling, We was rolling, we were rolling, and was like, okay,
we have something special. So now we have to make
sure everybody or everybody's doing the right thing to keep
this going. So now it's accountability. Now we have to
make sure all the core guys, all the pieces, all
the guys that like the party and things of that nature, like, Okay,
(31:28):
you can still do your thing, but you have to
understand what we have here. This is rare, this is special,
so we have to treat it as such. Um. And
it was it was fun. It was fun to see,
it was fun to watch it was fun to see
the city gather around us like we hadn't seen before. Um,
(31:51):
I've seen it growing up here, but I hadn't experienced it.
I knew it was there. I knew they wanted to,
but they were waiting on that special moment. And and
and two thousand and seven was it for us. It
was that special moment where the city was like it
was a couple of years ago. Here it was. It
was they was chopping at the bits like they knew
(32:13):
we had something special. They knew what was possible, and
we knew it as well, like we knew everyone by
the middle of the season, everyone we played, we knew.
They knew they had to bring it. And that's when
you know something specialist brewing. When you know that you
can you can hear it, and how they speak, you
(32:35):
can you can hear and how they speak when they're
talking about your team, you can. You can see the
respect in their eyes when they are across from you. Um,
you can see it when plays are being made and
you know that that little energy has taken out of them.
So it's a lot that goes on in sports that
you the respect like you you know, it's like the
Warriors well what the Warriors were. When teams talked about
(32:58):
the Warriors, they okay, they have something special. For when
the teams talk about the Colts are the Patriots, like
they have something special? We know we have to play
our a game to beat these guys. And that was
us in No. Seven. Um, I go in Pittsburgh at
the time. My financial isser was from Pittsburgh. Um, So
(33:18):
it was ironic. Um, but I every time I I
see someone from Pittsburgh. You know, you're known in different places,
but Pittsburgh wouldn't be a place that I'm thinking I'm
until I think about it that I'm people know who
I am. Um. But they were like, yeah, I hated
you do for a long time. And I just say
(33:41):
and to speak about being I was like, we just
have a good relationship, Like it's something happened on the
field where we just have a good relationship. He wasn't
scared to throw the ball anybody's direction, and I knew
that like him and Peyton. Let's like certain quarterbacks, they
don't really care who you are. They trust their receivers um,
and they trust their arms. They trust a lot of
(34:02):
things about themselves that they don't care who they're lining
up against. If they feel it that play, they're gonna
throw the ball your way. Um. And as a competitor
and as being and being on top of your game,
I love to play quarterbacks like that because they're gun slingers.
Brett Farve was the same way, like he's a gun slinger.
He doesn't care who's over there. He's gonna throw the ball.
And those other times you can shine in big games
(34:24):
because the big quarterbacks are not trying to stay away
from you. Um. But speaking of that stretch of that
Pittsburgh stretch, um, it was. It was amazing because we
knew going in to the first game that we needed
to win that game. Um. So we end up pulling
that game out and we're like, okay, so this is
(34:46):
setting us up to come back to Pittsburgh. This has
set us up to come back to Pittsburgh. Go back
to Pittsburgh. So we was like, okay, So once we
once the playoffs started and it was like, okay, so
we have to go back up here and beat these
guys again. But we had the confidence. It was like,
I know, it was like it never had been done,
but to us it was like we have the recipe.
(35:08):
For success. Regardless we matched up well against him. We
knew that, um, it was it was a two chance
trap game. We knew that like it was gonna be
one on the ground. We knew that, um even though
Ben was a slinger, they still had their nuts and
boats where you know, you had to run the ball
to win. You have to run the ball to win
in this league, um, and we just needed to make
(35:31):
him pay when he threw the ball. So competing, competing, competing,
um in the code and and everything that they brought
with you. I tell people all the time, Hines Field
is the best field to play in. Like the crowd
gets in it, the towers are are waving. But the
best thing is when the crowds are not waving. The
(35:53):
crowd is not waving the towels. Like we have fans
in the stands like my my mom girlfriend at the
time return for Jance wife, Like they were in the
stands and they were like they were slapping us with
the towels and we were scared to cheer. And but
then when they quieted down, it was like, okay, let's
go time. It's it's time to play football. Um it, Well,
(36:16):
it's time to cheer. Now, but they were scared to cheer,
like a lot of stuff that goes on. UM. It was,
it was, it was. It was good to hear, it
was funny to hear from their side, but on the field,
it was it was. It was excitement from from the
first snap of the game. It was excitement. It was
something that I've never sparienced experienced since then, although I've
been been to the playoffs since then, but it was
(36:39):
it was a time that was very special. I feel
very appreciative because I was able to make some plays
to help propel that UM and you know, remember to
this day for those plays and will always be remembered
for those plays. I'm I'm I'm finding out, um. But
it was just it was. It was a man easing
(37:00):
um and very impressive to be a part of something
that special for for our franchise. Two thousand and eight
wasn't just good. Two thousand nine was worse. Two thousand
seven quickly faded and it wouldn't return no matter what moves.
The Jack Worris made an injury in eleven, and ownership
and coaching change in twelve and another coaching change in
(37:22):
thirteen taught mathis some of life's most difficult and most
important lessons. I actually like talking about those years because
it it says a lot about just life in general,
business in general. Um. We had a special team. UM.
And when you have something special, I feel you should
(37:43):
do everything in your ability to keep keep it together. UM.
And I don't feel we did it. Um. We let
go a deon grant like it was like some core
pieces like we didn't um after that, I think we
let go a double D like it was. It was
(38:03):
like some things that you can that hold that you
can hold on to um in certain aspects that this
is the reason why we were special. This is a
part of it. And I understand like money wise, like
was it an issue and think you know, knowing the
business and at that time, I think I knew the
(38:24):
business very well and we could have kept something special
together for a couple more years. So that was that
was sad to me, UM, that we had something special
and it could have stayed special because we had a
tandem running back like I don't know if it could
be another tandem running back due like we had in
(38:45):
the league, like possibly ever, Like those two guys were
special together. UM. So when you have certain stuff I know,
if injuries don't happen, you should try to do what
you need to do to keep it. And I think
I was fighting that for a couple of years because
(39:06):
on the back end of things, I was trying to
play two and three positions at one time because it
was not judging the people that we brought in. UM.
But it was it was tough. It was, it was tough,
it was, it was. It was some tough years, UM.
But I grew a lot. I think a lot of
(39:27):
people that stayed here grew a lot. UM. I've seen
a lot of people come and go before then, but
to see core people leave your team UM at a
fast rate. UM, that part of the business surprised me.
And I knew then that there's no one that's untouchable UM,
(39:51):
and I think that's what I learned, that there's no
one untouchable. So that was a different part of the
business that I did learn. And Man Schmidt doesn't think
like players. I learned that regardless of how we see things,
management always see it a little different. And that's okay,
that's business like and that's part of business. And I
understand that. So UM, you have to have that. Someone
(40:13):
has to lead. Um, you have to have different different
groups in order to be successful. So I understand that
and I respect that. UM So that part saddens me,
which I think a lot of people don't, don't understand
and will never understand. UM. Moving forward. UM, when I
when I got hurt, it was tough because I was
I was having a very good season. I was having
(40:34):
a very good year and no contact injury. Really hadn't
been injured that tough before I where it was surgery needed. Um.
So my whole thing was, Okay, how do you bounce back?
You're this You're approaching your tenth year. You got hurt
in your ninth year, Like, now you have to bounce back,
(40:57):
Like what's gonna happen? What's gonna happen? So it was
just grind time for me. It was like Okay, people
was bouncing back from a c l S very fast.
So I was like, okay, well I'm good, Like this
can happen. I can do this. Like if they're doing it,
then I know I can do it as well. UM.
So I bounced back, had a great start to make
(41:17):
my career, and then you know, business happened again to me. Um.
Not to go into it, but business happened again to me,
and it was like, okay, boom, you're new exception, so
let's roll with these punches. Now. I was in a
position in my life where God was in total control
and he allowed me to be a mentor to some
(41:38):
guys in the locker room and in my position group
that was in what was happening to me, and I
think they respect me a lot more for for how
I handled it, handled it, and but I knew I
had life left. But I was okay with you know,
it was new, like you said, new owner, um, new
(41:58):
head coach, um, new management after that year, so I
was like, okay, I knew I wasn't coming back. I
knew I wasn't coming back. So now I had to
make the decision on where do I go from here?
What what what has to happen from here? And me,
it was like, okay, I'm gonna just stay ready. I'm
gonna just stay ready. I'm okay with the partner from
the game, but I want to end the game healthy
(42:22):
and I'm healthy now, and I wasn't able to end
it how I wanted to. So that was that was tough.
That was a tough part for me. So I was
okay with being let go. People asked me a lot,
do you have any hard feelings? I was like no,
because I didn't know him. Like if it was Jack
and Shock and Paul Van, you know, if it was
(42:43):
these guys and the Weavers that let me go, then yeah,
I'll be jaded, I'll feel some kind of way. But
I didn't really know the new Rougie. Um. I didn't
know the new the new Core guys. So I was
okay with that. Like so, and I think that helped
me move forward faster. Um that it was a blessing
in disguise, you know, it helped me move forward faster
and to to move on. Um And yeah, so the
(43:06):
last year's was tough, The last few year, a couple
of years was tough here, but it helped me growing
away and understand a lot of things that was vital
going forward. Where I was positioned, um, where where God
wanted me to be positioned forward. More perspectives following this
from Bistar Credit Union Advice Star. We believe in better
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A mathist Bridge two eras of Jaguar's football. He grew
up watching conference teams and was a star playing for
Jack del Rio. He has a unique perspective on twenty
five seasons and on the players who warned the team.
One player in particular still leaves mathis in all. People
(44:18):
ask me this all the time. They was like, who's
the best receiver you ever covered? And I say my own,
and they were like who I was? Like Smooth Jimmy Smith,
Like he had tools, he had awareness, he had body control,
he has speed when he needed it. That it's only
one other receiver that I can say is comparable to him,
(44:41):
and I played my last three years with him. Calvin Johnson.
Like every time you line up against Smooth, he was
gonna try to give you the business. It was no playoff.
He was gonna let you know that you can't cover me.
You can't cover me. And I tell people all the
time He's a reason why I got as good as
I did. Um, along with Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison,
(45:05):
because that duo was awesome duo. But Jimmy's you know,
I covered Marvin twice a year. I covered Jimmy every day, Um,
and Jimmy was special. Like if I seen Marvin every day,
then I probably would have had a few more interceptions
on him every day. But if I covered Jimmy every day,
like I probably had a couple of picks on him
(45:26):
during practice, every covering him every day for a number
of years in the game, I probably would still only
have a couple. That's how special he was because he
knew his body, he he knew his points. He didn't
let you might get him a couple of times, yeah,
but he didn't let anybody dictate where he was going. Um.
(45:48):
I've seen him torch double and triple teams like it's nothing. Um,
same as Calvin. I've seen Calvin do the same thing.
That's why I say it's not too many people. Maybe
Moss I haven't seen him. I didn't see mass on
a daily like I seen Calvin and Jimmy. But that
lets you know the weight that his name holds the
names that I'm mentioning with him. He's there like he's
(46:10):
that special. He's that special. Um, and I I owe
a lot to Jimmy, Like we had a very good
relationship because he knew I respected him. Um, he's the
reason why I got my first fancy car. Um. I've
seen the bands that he had. I didn't know. I
was over my element when I wanted it, but I
(46:31):
didn't get it too. I saw my new contract, so
I didn't go out of my way to get it.
But he had a nice binds that I had a
convertible bins and I was like, oh boy, that thing
is sweet. So he's the reason for a lot of things. Um,
but Smooth was special. He's he's he I still to
this day. Um, he's special to me. He's special to
me in a lot of ways because he his heart
(46:52):
was always in the right place. Um. You know, he
he wasn't selfish to the point where he was going
to cause confusion, but he knew he needed the ball,
and we knew he needed the ball for us to win,
you know. So he wasn't gonna destroy a locker room.
You know, That's how humble he was. Um. At the
same time, he was confident enough to know that I
(47:14):
need to get more touches. Um and although they're double
teeming me, just trust me, I'll find a way. UM.
And and we we did we we I think we
did right by him. I think I think the organization
treated him well. UM. I hope he feels the same way. UM.
And that's just me looking from the outside, not knowing
all the nuts and boats. Um. But to see him
(47:35):
struggle was it was heartbreaking because we all struggle with something. UM.
And you know, I don't think there's no one thing
bigger than the other, although lights get shined on things. UM.
But he's a special individual, um and I and he
needs to know how much the city do care about him.
(47:55):
UM And in the players that he impacted care about
him as well, um smooth as a special individual, um
And my my heart will always go out to him
in his family. People love lists. They love to rank
the best players, coaches, wins, losses. It's what fans do.
Mathis is either the best or the second best defensive
(48:16):
player of the jaguars first twenty five years. It's indisputable.
Mathist won't be defined by what others think of him.
But he appreciates how people understand that he worked hard
to be one of the Jaguars very best. What I
can say is I I know it in a sense,
meaning yeah, I feel that I'm one of them. UM.
(48:37):
I can look back and say, you know, people, you know,
numbers don't lie. Um. But at the same time, you know,
as I try to step out of the humble role,
but then God lets me know that you did what
you needed to do. You you you use what I
gave you to be successful at the path that I
(49:02):
created for you. UM. Now how do you impact from here?
And you know, I have a six year old son
who and this is this is my postcard. This is me.
I have a six year old son who's in All
Star Baseball. He's playing with seven and eight and nine
year olds. Um at six year old. He's six years old.
(49:24):
And my position is to teach him to or both
of them when they when my my youngest son is
only three. But compete like and I was talking to
some rookies the other day, UM and here, um, and
I let him know, like, compete, don't let anyone out
work you. UM, don't, don't. And that's in life in general.
(49:49):
So whoever hears this, like whatever you do, you're doing it,
so be the best at it. Don't don't let anyone
out work you. And that doesn't mean work seven and
it means when you work work because I I never
was an overworker. I never overworked my body. But when
I was at work, no one was gonna outwork me.
(50:10):
I was gonna do And to prepare for those hours
while at work, I didn't have to prepare after work
because I prepared to be the best while at work. Um.
And and that's that's all I did. Like that's all
I did. So to to be on the ring one
day possibly UM, to be on the all team, UM,
(50:33):
to be sitting here um with you years later. Like
all the work was worth it. It was where all
the preparation hours and and and all the sweat and
and all the commitment, the dedication, it was worth it.
Like it pays off. Hard work pays off. And that's
for anyone who's living like it's it's gonna pay off.
(50:55):
You just have to stick to the process and believe
in the process. And there's nothing new under the son,
so get up under someone. And I was telling some
of the rookies I got a couple of the DBS numbers,
the rookies numbers, just from speaking to them. Um, I
was like, get up under someone that that that has
your best interests at heart, and and learn all you
can learn from them, and and and know that at
(51:16):
the end of the day, if you give your all,
if it's if it's meant to be, if this path
is meant to be your all, your path at the
end of the day, Like, You'll be smiling because I
don't have any regrets on the field. Um. I have
some in the city because I'm like, I'm still trying
to touch lives. But on the field, when I played like,
I gave him my all, and everybody that I lined
(51:38):
up against they knew they had to bring it when
they were across from me. Um, So I appreciate everything. Um.
One day I will be able to give you a
different answer. Um, maybe, but for now, I just love.
I fell in love with the game, and I love
to compete, and I and enjoy being at the top
(52:01):
of my game. And I knew I competed, and I
prepared for those moments, so I was able to to
make hay of him. I was able to succeed while
being there um and it was always a reset. I
always tried to get better um and and I think
that's why I'm able to be labeled with some of
(52:23):
the best, because I prepared for the moment. And I
think all the best too. They prepare for the moment
so when the moment comes, I don't shy away from it.
I run to it.
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