September 16, 2025 • 45 mins
This week on Stew and the Crew, J-Stew is joined by Cardiac Cat, Kevin Donnalley, to discuss how to scheme an offense around major injuries along the offensive line, recap the Panthers dramatic week 2 loss to the Cardinals, preview this week's home opener against the Atlanta Falcons, and so much more!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're the thirteenth pick in the two thousand and eight
NFL draft, Carolina Panther collect Jonathan Stewart gets to Stewart,
he leads touchdown.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Stewart oh rough tough right, angry man out at al
thows knees.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Stewart hesitates, accelerates. That's what I'm talking about. It the
spass Moll football.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Nathan Stuart got running round.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Stewart jump over a tackler at the tenth flow jump.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Laura's his shoulder, keeps running. No one will touch him.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Jonathan Stewart, house is up.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
You talk about explosive plays in the run game. It's
like the fourth of July around here.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Right now you are listening to Stu and the crew.
Welcome back to Stu and the Crew. I'm your host,
Jonathan Stewart. We have a special guest today. We'll always
have special guests on this show, by the way, but
this one today. A lot of you guys are familiar
with Tarr Hill, who went to Chapel Hill. Tarry Hill
(00:55):
from Chapel Hill to the NFL trenches. You know, the Oilers,
the Dolphins, and your very own cardiac Cat. And I
say cardiac Cat, I don't say that lightly, because I
think you were on the team that actually made the
headlines as the Cardiac Cats at you know, the mantra
(01:17):
or the the brand of football in which Carolina Panthers
formed when they began no other than Kevin Donnelly, Ladies
and gentlemen. Thirteen year vet, you know, you were drafted
what ninety one, correct, ninety one and you made your
(01:39):
way ten years later to the back to the Carolinas.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
I want to just talk about that for a little bit,
but welcome, welcome to the show, but.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
No, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
How full circle of a moment was that for you
to you know, be a tar heel and then all
of us said, and oh, there's an opportunity to play
for the new Carolina Panthers. Yeah, I'll take that was
What was that? What was that moment like when you
were in Dolphin when in Dolphin Land and that opportunity
(02:14):
aroust It's.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I mean, it was a dream come true because my
my wife and I were both from North Carolina. We
met here on campus at the University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill. And just after playing ten years in the league,
you know that there were some thoughts you know it
was the time to hang it up. You know, is
do I search for another team? Where's it going to be?
(02:37):
And it could have just been everywhere. But I had
a coach with the Miami Dolphins, Paul Boudreau, that actually
had gotten hired by the Carolina Panthers. I guess the
game plan for them was to you know, bring in
some established offensive linemen to get some continuity on that
side of the ball, and being through his system and
(02:59):
how he likes to things, call certain plays, all the
terminology we just worked out perfectly. And so I got
the deal to come to Carolina Panthers and come home, uh,
to the to the Carolinas. It was it really was
a dream come true. And it's you know, during that
whole time, you know, you're you're agent and different things
(03:19):
they're negotiating, and basically my family is just like, just
take the minimum, Just take the minimum, come home, come home.
And I said, well, I can't take the minimums. I
have to get tickets for all you guys. Got three
tickets to everybody. And suddenly I'm at home. There's going
to be a lot of requests, you know, you know
how that works.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Due, Yeah, how many what was the most amount of
tickets you had to get for a game.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Well, I think there's varying mounts. I think the biggest
one was you mentioned the Cardiac Cats two thousand and
three Carolina Panthers and the struggle to get enough tickets
for the Super Bowl, wheeling and dealing. You know, we
got an allotment, but then wheeling dealing with teammates, you know,
and trying to get their tickets and pay for those,
(04:08):
and you're trying to accommodate them because you know, they
got families and things to take care of us who
want to make it worth their while, you know, and
a different means and aspects. I'm not going to get
myself guilty of anything on here, but it took a
lot of wrangling to get some tickets to get that
to that game. So I ended up maybe sixteen eighteen
(04:28):
people and listened face value for a Super Bowl ticket
even back then, it was like eight hundred bucks or something.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
The lord, you were playing the Super Bowl for free,
which a lot of hit the Bowl for free. Yeah,
that's what happened to us. We got our check after
that game with the tickets and all that kind of stuff.
It came out that we paid. We played the Super
Bowl in Super Bowl fifty for free. I remember Charles
Johnson actually said he owed the team money after all that,
(04:58):
which is crazy. So for all the fans out there,
I think it's all you know, roses and gold and honey.
You know, as far as being a professional athlete, you
have a lot of things to deal with and a
lot of pressure to to please everyone. Uh. You know,
you being a guy that played in the league for
(05:19):
so long, what are the things that you learned as
far as that goes, as far as saying no? Right,
you know a lot of a lot of these young
guys get to the league and they have their families,
they have their friends that have this sense of entitlement. Right. Uh,
at what point did you learn that you had to
(05:41):
say no?
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Uh? Well, Stu, just to be honest with you, I'm
a guy that agrees to everything. So you know you
need help with your yard, you gotta you need you
got to move some furniture, Like I'm your guy, so
as my wife can test like, I'm always yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
So Kevin Donneley is the yes man, which apparently you
are yes man because you probably were busy doing something
and you were like, yeah, I'll do the steing the
cruise show. So will you thank you for being a
yes guy?
Speaker 2 (06:16):
No, I'm always making room for you to you know, uh,
running backs in no line would go together.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Oh yeah, man cares.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
But I think that, you know, I think just setting
expectations and it's kind of interesting when I look back
at you know, so many different dynamics in that locker
and more people come from and and and who they
were raised by. Who are the meaningful people in their lives.
Who are there guys or buddies that have been with
(06:44):
them thick or thin? And I think that, you know,
that really is something that young players almost have to
put someone else in charge of to be the bad guy,
because if you think about it, Stu and in heart,
a lot of guys in the NFL, you know, one
of the qualities that it probably got them there was
(07:04):
they are pleasers because they want to, you know, do
what exactly the coach wants them to do, and and
what the team wants them to do, and to do
all those little things to be a good leader and
all these you know, you're you're agreeing to do that,
and uh, you know, along with that goes a lot
of that of boys and maybe getting yourself and you know,
(07:26):
news articles and posts and things like that. It's just
kind of inherit with the game. You know, guys play
it because they love the game. But that's one of
the things that goes along with it that does I
think give you a lot satisfaction and joy, you know,
is guys along the way telling you thanks and appreciate
you and all those things. So it's it's tough, and
I mean, really, the only thing is you, if that's
(07:49):
an issue where you have that much demand, put your
mom in charge. But grandfather, uncle, uncle, Jimmy, whoever it is,
somebody can be a strong arm and say, you know, hey,
here's living for this game. You know, hit me back
up when we go play them, you know, the Raiders
or something like that later in the season. That's just
the way it works.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Yeah, But I guess I guess also too. You can
say yes to a lot of things as long as
it's yes to the right people right in the right situation.
And a lot of times a lot of guys, you know,
might get it mixed up where you might let the
wrong situations or the wrong people into your circle. Right,
So having the right circle allows you to be free
in that sense, I think. So I think you had
(08:30):
a lot of good people in a good circle around you.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Yeah, yeah, no, for sure. I my wife's family has
been great there. They they were you know, I come
from a football family, and I had three older brothers
that played. One of them was in the NFL, and
so some of them there's some expectations there. You know,
they want to come to some games and do some
different things. And you know, KD the NFL players picking
(08:53):
up the tab for dinner every time. You know, I'm
sure you know how that works.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Oh yeah, what was your what would your rookie what
was your rookie dinner? Like speaking just picking up tabs?
What was your rookie dinner?
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Like? It was? You know, really it was kind of
twofold because we got to camp. I was a third
round pick. We had a second round pick, John Flannery,
he was also an offensive line and we're in charge
of it's throwing a party for everybody at camp, and
so you don't have a lot of time. Yeah, it was,
(09:29):
you know, getting towards the end of it, we're about
to break camp. You know, we had to have food
and entertainment and adult beverages and all these things. And
we were training at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas
when I was at the Houston Oilers, and it was
basically like, hey, you and the other rook you're funding
this thing. This is what we want. We want there,
(09:51):
And it wasn't so much pain for it's to pain.
I mean, that's that's difficult, but I would have much
rid the had. You know, we're taking out to dinner
and we go somewhere like we got two a days.
Still at the time, full pats, both practices helmet to
helmet contact was all perfectly legal. It was, you know,
(10:12):
let's just go to town every practice, full pads. So
I'm exhausted and trying to plan this stuff between practice.
That was the real challenge. Then, of course, when we
got back to Houston, then we had our roster, we
cut it down, we had our group of linemen. Then
you know, again took them all out to dinner. I'd
(10:32):
never been to a roos Chris steakhouse, and necessary they
wanted to go there in Texas and so you can
imagine that Bill and I see some of these rookies nowadays,
what they're having to go through. I'm glad. It's it's
the other expenses they had on there and stuff that
guys are taking home, and the.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Line, the expensive workers, the dessert, like the steaks for
next week. Well, I mean it would probably be different
if you had an NIO deal back then that you
were just kind of like already prepped with some money
in your pocket, you know, back in back in your
(11:10):
day before in il deals, in transfer portals. What did
it actually mean to be a tar Hill lineman back
in the day.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Well, I go back to the seventies and eighties, nineteen seventies,
nineteen eighties, you know, last century, a lot of great
running backs and offensive lines working together, you know, early
seventies with Don McCauley to Amos Lawrence, in the late seventies,
(11:48):
Kelvin Bryant, Ethan Horton. You know, you get to the nineties,
it's Natron means a lot of different back.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Natron was there my rookie year helping out with coach Skipp.
So I got a chance to meet him my rookie year.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Yeah, Well, he's our running back coach here and he's
doing a wonderful job, especially with a freshman demon Jones
June Dumon June. You got to he's the last two
games he's gone off. So but we're going to keep
this on Panther subject. But you know, my first couple
of years here was Mac Brown's first two seasons here
(12:26):
and really did not have great seasons one and ten
both those years. But that third year rookie or freshman,
I said, say Natron Means came in and he he
put a jolt in the offense that was much needed
and ended up being sixty four and one my senior year.
So I was proud of what we created, how far
(12:47):
we went from being one and ten two years in
a row to six four and one by the time
I left, And it, you know, kind of mirrored the
end of my career there with the Carolina Panthers because
I first got there, we went one in fifteen. John
Fox came in the next year in seven and nine,
and that third year went to a super Bowl. And
I think that's what it always has meaning, because you know,
(13:09):
I come back here to Chapel Hill and work for
the program. I saw some dark days and saw it
build and really have a lot of success all the
way through the nineties and you guys had tremendous success
after that two thousand and three run that we made
to build on that as you were going, and then
ultimately back again in twenty fifteen. But you know, we
(13:30):
haven't produced as many top Knox linemen as of late,
but we still got a running back tradition going through here,
Larran Hampton's He's going to kill it, San Diego and
Javante William Michael Carter. I'm proud to see those TarHeels
doing well in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Well at that the end of your season, at the
end of your college career, if you were at the
top of your game, you would have been really well
sought after in this NIL space, I think, right, So
if you were, if you were already to have it, and.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
I also back in the day it was a left tackle,
so you're a big those guys quarterbacks, you know how
that is?
Speaker 1 (14:09):
If you're getting straight, If you could have one n
IL deal, what would it be? What kind of sponsorship deal.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Would you have?
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Oh, would you dream sponsorship? Be let's put it that.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Way, dream sponsorship. Good question? All right, I'll go with
it's gonna sound crazy. Coca Cola.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Yeah, I like that childhood.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
I've been a Coca Cola drinker, and then when they
came out with that product, Coke Zero, I'd love to
get on there. You know, hey, I'm a big fan
of Doc Coke. This helped me reach the and all
the things I established in my career.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Oh what a product. It's meant there. Hey, ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
But if you can get some extra sponsorship because of
that stud.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Yeah, hey Coke, Me and Kevin here, we are all
about Coca Cola. It actually helped me recover. To be honest,
I had a coke every now and then post post game,
along with something else.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
But listen, it's a treat that can get you through
a lot of different things you're going through. You know,
you need some caffeine sometime, you need to relax other times.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Yeah, I was a big jack and coke guy. Sorry,
ladies and gentlemen. I know this is a no rated
g or whatever it PG.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I think it's perfectly fine, good to go.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
But no, man, I think you would have excelled. I
think you would have been all over the place. You
would have been on a lot of bulletin you know,
a lot of those boards on the freeway, what do
you call those, ah, the big boards, the giant boards,
they call those billboard billboards. Yeah, oh oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
(16:05):
you would have been all over the big face.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
I had a lot more hair back then, too. I was.
It was glorious, right, it was glorious. I was looking good.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
So going to the two thousand and three Cardiac Cats,
you drinking your Coca cola pulling up. You know what
kind of car did you drive back then?
Speaker 2 (16:25):
I had like a like a one of the big
GMC like Denali or something like that. Baller. I had
three kids and I needed and I think that one
had to night. It was one of the first to
kind of get that third row that you could push
a button to take care of. Like I I was
lifting weights and pushing lineman all day long. That big
(16:47):
back seat, that third row is unruly having to get
it in and out of there. Yeah, so I splurt
for that extra little just the tap of the button.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
My kids were probably around that time. Let's see two
thousand and one when I moved here, So they were
they were six, four and two years old.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Wow, yeah, you were, you were, you were what they
call it, you're in it. You're going through it right now.
That's what they were telling you. Huh, you guys are any.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
I'll tell you something funny this week. Like I played
with the Houston Oilers. We then moved to Nashville, and
then I went to Miami. I had a child while
I was living in Houston. I had one in Nashville,
and then I had one in Miami. I was coming
home to Carolina and we made a family decision to
make sure that there was no children born in Charlotte,
(17:37):
which was good at three. Three is great.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah, late, Well, you I can imagine you pulling up
in your Denali with a Coca Cola in the cup holder,
probably a you know, a side of snacks in the
in the door right there, the door compartment, and you're
getting ready to go to practice and you're having to
(18:01):
face off against a defensive line that was incredible. Give me,
what was your mindset going to practice every day? Like
literally from the moment that you got out of your car,
it was I mean, it was a challenge. But you know,
for me, I was I was a practice guy. Like
(18:23):
I liked the practice because I needed the reps, and
you know, it always didn't you know, it's hard to
get motivated and get yourself in that bright mind frame.
But I just knew you suck it up and just
train as hard you can. During these practices.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
I was in such a better place mentally when game
day rolled around that you know, I couldn't do any
more to be ready for the game at hand, and
I could really relax and just go play ball. Other
guys are different, you know, and how they prepare and
whatever keeps them in the NFL. You know, you keep
doing you. But for me, I really like those reps,
and to be honest, everywhere I've been the defensive line
(19:04):
has just been amazing. And you know, when I first
got to the Houston Oilers, you know a lot of
the veterans, it was pre free agency, which is crazy,
so no one really moved teams or anything, and a
lot of team trosters were built with veteran guys. So
I'm the young guy. I would often go right down
the line of scrimmage during one on one reps and
take every single rep. And my rookie year, I mean,
(19:26):
it was just five losses, your back up another five losses.
It was. It was depressing, but it made me. Veteran
got me ready to play when I needed to get
in there and play. It's tough for when you're ten
year eleven year vet going against some of these young
guys like Julius Peppers is fresh out of the draft
wrapper you know, he's they were just unboxed him. He's clean,
(19:48):
fresh coming in the NFL. And Tar Hill fellow tar
heel he was. He was a beast. But when you
looked at the D line, it you know, between guys
like Mike Rucker, Al Wallace, Princeton Buckner, Julius Pepper's the
big guy in there, Chris Jenkins, it's just shooting. Kent
(20:15):
Rasmussen like it. Like there's no plays off. There are
one on ones, you know, especially if it's it's a
third down day or something where they could rotate any
and all of those guys at different positions. You got
to go against a lot of different guys with different
skill sets, body types, their age, you know, their techniques
(20:36):
and everything, and so it was difficult. It was a
real beast going up at every every single day like that,
but that's what got me ready for the game. So
to me, it wasn't I mean, I hated it, but
I loved it at the same time. One of those deals.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Yeah, I mean I always try to draw some similarities
to the years that we are. You know, right now
we're present, right Carolina Panthers ohing to. But we have
some guys that I mean at our on the defense
right now, right you know, led by Derrick Brown one. Uh,
you know, Wharton's hurt. But jac you got a lot
(21:12):
of guys that are guys that franchise guys, you know,
you know, pillars, Staples, guys that you can build on
top of and stack on. Uh, you know, what are
some you know as far as an identity, right, you know,
from your time in two thousand and one to two
thousand and three, what were some pivotal moments or pivotal
(21:36):
key players that really connected the dots to where you
guys were where you were in two thousand and three.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
Have a great, great question. Obviously I don't think we
knew it at the time, but you know, the one
big one was was getting Jake alone because of what
he had. He was young, he added, he did have
experience in the league, not a whole lot of it yet,
but as natural qualities as a leader and a guy
(22:07):
that brings guys together. Because he was he was in
full support of Rodney Pete, who was our starter from
the year before. And you know, everyone as a Panthers
fan kind of knows that things really weren't working out
in the first half with with Rodney Pete and the
whole offense to be to be frank with you, and
it's probably we as much as anyone let Rodney downs
(22:29):
as much as anything he did. But when Jake came
in that second half, that was a key piece that
felt like the offense needed somebody to just rally and
be a cheerleader and a force of just complete positivity.
At the same time, you know, you felt this humbleness
about him, like I had no idea what's going on.
(22:50):
Let's just go out there on ball. You know, you
can hear Jake saying that I don't know where that
pass was going, but I'll get my next, you know.
And he was just an amazing blend in and make
that seamless. I think the transition to Steve Smith just
being known as a like a return guy and a
special teams guy, finally saying or a third year, you're
(23:12):
a starter, You're going to be our guy, and seeing
what he brought to the party with you know, Ricky
Proll and Mussu Muhammad, and then you know, I believe
it or not, Jordan Gross. He came in as a
rookie that was like a thirty five year old, you know,
thirteen year vet in the NFL. The poise, how good
(23:34):
his technique was. He was game ready from day one.
That's hard for offensive linemen. I think on the defensive
side it was you know that that second year with
getting Julius Peppers in the system. Dan Morgan had been there,
He's going on his third year. I believe Rutger had
been here a while. It'd probably be you know, for
(23:57):
the defensive side, it just felt like they had a
lot of key pieces already in place. It's almost like,
let's get an offense that can control the ball, not
turn it over, really really execute what John Fox saw,
you know, ball control, keeping the ball, beating teams up physically,
(24:19):
and you know the defense responded, you know, they they
gave us energy just as much as we gave that energy.
So it's a long answer, but it really is funny
how for seven and nine to go in the Super
Bowl next year. It just takes a few key pieces
and it's a process. You know it took a few
(24:39):
years going from one to fifteen, but you can see
that every year there's one or two teams that suddenly
the switch flips because they got the right combination at
the right time. And I know, as Panthers fans were
all kind of waiting for that. But I'm like you,
you know you mentioned some of those players. It's I'm
starting to see those key pieces air, some guys making plays,
(25:03):
you know, even some young guys. They're never too young
to contribute. You know, Princely had a nice sack on
Sunday and it was you know, it's that's what you
want to see. I mean, you saw some good things
during camp, and you know it's this real game against
the Cardinals, a good team and got back there and
let's see who knows where this will take them.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Yeah, I feel encouraged, you know after that Arizona game
a because again we felt a little bit of energy, right,
you know, the third quarter of the fourth quarter, we
felt all of a sudden, this burst of oh wait
a minute, I have a chance here, and sure enough
(25:47):
things started to unfold and started going in our favor.
I mean, we don't no one kicks an offside on
onside kick and actually recovers it. So when that happened,
I was like, oh wow, wait a minute, this is
that over And it was all led with poise with
Bryce Young under center. You talked about, you know, the offense.
(26:07):
You know, you're during your time, how you gots started
to click was the thing that the defense needed right,
and I honestly think that's what That's what you know,
watching that Arizona game, the defense actually, you know, took
what they took what they learned from week one and
(26:28):
brought it to Arizona. They stopped the run, they got
after the quarterback, They did the things that they needed
to work on, and it actually showed up on film.
They gave us, gave us a chance to win the game.
You know, turnovers right, turnovers, moving the chains. Those are
the things that prevent an offense from contributing to a
(26:51):
winning experience. And when we started doing those things in
the third quarter, which got jump started with the fourteen
yard run by True Howard, that's when things started to
go in our favor. And to your point, you know
your time with Jake Delan, you have Stephen Davis, you
(27:12):
have Deshaun Foster, the run game, right run game to
play action. Those are where you really start to open
up your playbook to be able to do multitude of things.
Without a run game, it's so hard to really it's
hard to dial in. And I think, you know, looking
at the Arizona game, when you're not capable of running
(27:35):
the ball, you can't do play action. And I know
a lot of people are giving Xavier log At a
hard time right now. But to my in my observation,
if we actually start opening up the run game, we
start hitting play action, that's where you can start getting
him more involved because he is a home run threat.
(27:55):
And what do we do on play action? We look
for the home run threat because we we bring up
the linebackers, we bring up the coverage, and that's when
we hit him over the top. But if we're not
being able to play complimentary football in that in that
that way, in that phase, you're really not being able
to put certain players in position to win, right So, uh,
(28:19):
I honestly think that we are growing, We're we're hitting
certain strides. I feel encouraged after that last game. What
did you see from that last game offensively, especially at
the line of scrimmage because we did lose some some guys.
Robert Hunt towards his bicep, Austin Corbett is out for
(28:43):
maybe a couple of weeks. Kayden Mays is going to
step in there. Zala's going to step in there. Zavala
had a pretty pretty good year last year coming off
of his rookie year, So there's some comfort there knowing
that these guys that are, you know, coming into replace
some some really talented guys. Robert Hunt talented guy, not
just a talent, but a locker room featured guy. But
(29:08):
give me your take on what you saw during this
last game at the offensive line in the trenches.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Yeah, you know, I can go back to the Week
one game, and you know, it just didn't look like
the Panther's team that finished the year before. But every
team is different, and it, you know, kind of hurt
my heart a little bit. But then this came against Arizona,
going on the road for the second week in a row,
and just seeing that fight, it's almost like a couple
(29:36):
of turnovers early in that game, you know, gave him
a couple of wake up shots and they were stunned
for a minute there, and defense didn't know how to
respond and there's one of the most instant points on
the board for Arizona. So it it throws you for looke,
you know, and you know, hopefully the team will learn
for this and be able to punch back quicker and faster.
(29:58):
But it seems they got their bearings, got things set.
We're going into that second half. Even when it opened
with you know, points off Arizona coming out there and
scoring more points, it was when the offensive unit did
get back out there, that's when the production really started
and it was it was good to see some fight
in them. It really was. Defensively, there's pieces there to
(30:20):
to stop the run. They've they've got what they need.
You know, it's just about cleaning some things up. But
I think it goes back to the previous conversation was
you know, you depend so much on the offense and
defense vice versas those two groups really feeding off each other.
When you have confidence, you know, all that dude with
Bryce and some of the drives that he led, and
Hunter Renfro coming up with a couple of touchdowns Cuba
(30:42):
At getting up. You know, that's that's where that defense
can get confidence and play harder and do better and
do better. But you know kind of in this game,
saw some bright spots with the running games back in
the second half, and that's that's really what led to
success last year as you noticed to do it the
end of the year was how well that group was
run blocking up front. So there are a couple of
(31:06):
big losses with Hunt and Corbett being out, but we
know that Kid Mays is every bit is capable of
is Austin Corbett, Like they were battling for that starting job,
and then as you mentioned, had a lot of a
lot of explain like playing experience. You know, Hunt was
a Pro Bowl type of guy, but he's a guy
(31:28):
that has gone in there and done the job. Just
now it's mission critical. It seems, you know this certain
positions seem to get hit. You know, it's not this
spread out you know, one dB here, wide receiver in alignment.
It's like sometimes like also in one group, it's just
targeted with a lot of different injuries. And that's that's
where he hopefully this stops and we can just keep
this group going until those guy's come back.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Yeah, I think there's a lot to look forward to Withala.
You know, the fact that he was able to I
mean he had a you know, I think a thirty,
you know the PFF grades and all that stuff. I
looked at it. He had a thirty or something like
that his his rookie year, and it jumped all the
way up to seventy as far as his rating. And
(32:11):
so I think Panther fans out there, uh, be encouraged,
not discouraged. You guys are going to be just fine.
And it's a long season. H And so I think
also too, would you have these games that you're like,
these these learning opportunities on away games, in my opinion,
(32:35):
are way better to have them away. They don't have
them at home, right, because we want to we want
to make sure we have our best ball on home games.
But most importantly division opponents, right, the Falcons are coming
in town and this is a division game. Uh, there's
more pressure on the Falcons because they already played one
division game to begin the season with against the Buccaneers
(32:56):
and they lost. So for for them, they absolutely have
to come in here and win this game. So there's
a lot more on their plate in my opinion, But
this is an opportunity for Zavala to make a case
for himself. In my opinion, you have a guy Robert
Hunt that was playing in front of you. Have you
(33:17):
learned anything right? Have you took the opportunity to be
an understudy of you know, one of the best linemen
in the league. And what else are you going to
do as far as the leadership goes, right, because he
Robert Hunt was a huge leader, a huge presence in
(33:39):
that in that locker room, and someone's going to have
to step up, right when you were playing, you know,
it's always the next man up mentality? Right, What can
you speak to as far as how do you prepare
to be the next man up?
Speaker 2 (33:59):
It's you know, it's it was tough for me at first,
you know, because when I first got the league and
then I got my first time playing in an actual game.
It's almost like you need that experience to really make
you understand that basically, next man up? How do you
prepare for that? Is you prepare like you are the starter?
(34:22):
That just has to be your mindset. I started most
of my career, but in times where early in my
career I had much more success when I had to
go in there for a half or a quarter or
fill in for two or three games for a guy,
or even longer that I just learned early on. There's
(34:43):
no two different ways to prepare you just if you're
on that roster, even if you're a third string guy
or just you call yourself a special teams guy, whatever
it is, just the positions you're in charge, you have
to prepare like you are the actual starter. And that's
for me, the only mindset I can have, because anything
less than that, it's you know it's going to be
a bad day for you, because you know instantly. It
(35:07):
was just that speed up up tick you know of
going from training camp, and even when you're practicing against
other teams, there's nothing like the NFL. I'm in college ball.
There's there's so many fast athletic players out there. But
even when I'm on the sidelines for the Panthers and
I hear the punters and kickers kicking the ball, they
(35:27):
sound like explosions, you know, and the guys on the
college sideline like somewhere good, but like it's such a
big gap. It's just big jump. So preparing to be
in a game, you've got to act like if you're
a starter, And a lot of times what it means
is you're doing a lot of mental reps because those
starters are getting a bunch of those. You just got
(35:48):
to stand behind it, want your position, and pay close
attention to every single thing. You can't be caught off
guard by anything.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
Yeah, when you're playing a team with the Falcons, the
Falcons have a revamped pass, right, it seems like they
had six sacks last game and right now we're we're
bringing in, you know, two guys to replace our starters.
One has been proven to be a starter and the
(36:15):
other has been a filler. Right, when you are going
into this game offensively as a coordinator, you know what
kind of what what does that do to the scheme?
Speaker 2 (36:30):
Right?
Speaker 1 (36:30):
What does that do as far as your preparation? Does
that change you know, blocking schemes? Does that change run plays?
As a as alignman, are you now thinking to yourself, Okay,
this guy is different next to me. I know his
skill set is X y Z. We probably shouldn't be
running this play because this isn't his strength. Like, do
(36:51):
you have that mindset when you're in the trenches?
Speaker 2 (36:56):
It's I think that you know, really, when the game
rolls around, I'd say overall for offensive linemen, it's not
something you really take into account because you have your
your eight or nine guys on that roster that are
getting those reps, and guys sub in and out at
different times, but it's really all the time you spend
together in the meeting room, you know, where you know,
(37:18):
guys are just talking ball. Maybe the coach isn't there,
the coach is there, but you're quizzing each other around
each other. And so I think that, you know, for
Taylor mowten, and he sees Chandlers of Allah in there
and the way he prepares and taking notes and learning
and all these things, that's where the trust is really
built that when they go to the field they can
really transfer that over. And I'm sure you know you
(37:42):
mentioned how Robert Hunt. I mean, he's you know, he's
one of the guys that drives the energy bus, you
know for practices and getting people up. And you know,
I don't know other guys are gonna have to pick
up the slack there, but I'm sure because a teammate
he is, he'll be in Savala's ear as much as possible.
Tell them, you know, here's the things you need to do,
watch out for. And this is a team Atlanta, you know,
(38:05):
lit'sen a whole lot more this year, and some of
those sacks are coming from secondary positions and different blitzes
that they've run. So that's the challenge. I think. The
fortunate thing is, you know, Cade Mays has a ton
of reps under his belt, Zavala, He's gotten pretty you know,
he's not just coming in fresh. It's not going to
be like a deer in the headlines. He's going to
have a knowledge of what's going on and he'll be
(38:26):
fully prepared. I believe that, and I'm an optimist. But
the thing is, I got to be because they're going
against the Falcons. It's one of the teams all hated
the absolute most their fans. Everything about them, dirty birds,
the music they play pre game, when you had to
go down there, you know, anything bird related. It's just like,
(38:49):
let's just take care of business and beat him down.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Beat him down, and we get to have him. We
get to help host him here in Bank of America Stadium. Uh,
we've had some success against them. Well, man, I want
to get out of here. Don't to waste your time
for the rest of the day. It is a Tuesday,
which is a weekday, so I know you have other
business to attend. To, but I want to ask you
(39:14):
about you know, what you're doing now, you know, just
to give the fans to be able to you know,
know what you're up to and how they can support you.
I know you are a guy that is all about
the youth and shaping the next generation. So give us
a little little spill on what you got going on.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Yeah, you know, left left Listen Charlotte for twenty years,
including my playing career there, and just absolutely loved it.
But my wife and I both went to UNC Chapel Hill,
and I got an opportunity to join coach Brown's staff
about five and a half years ago in a player
development role. And my kids were older and grown and
(39:57):
getting in college and things like that, so we we said,
there's a good time to try something for us now,
you know, after raising those three kids, we came back
to Chapel Hill and we've loved it. My role here
is basically trying to get them ready for life after
football whenever that happens. All of them wanted to go
to the NFL, and I we love that. You got
(40:17):
to have drive, you got to have all those things
to get there, but most of them won't make it.
So it's what's the plan to back that up? And
then even guys that do play, some of those are
the most challenging because you actually get to play two, three,
four years in the NFL. You're not set for life,
but you're far enough away from your college experience that
(40:38):
I love it when those guys call me up and say, hey,
you know, I think my career is over. I've been
picked up in six months. You know, let's start this
next journey for me. And so a lot of us
just building relationship with them, getting them ready so they
can have those conversations whenever it's when it's all over.
So loving it. During the season, you know, I don't
(40:59):
have as much time with them because it's focused on
academics and taking care of business on the field, but
the off seasons and really diving into finding out their interests,
what they want to major in career interest getting the networking,
all the different things, just to just to give them
some insight on it so they don't just all of
a sudden when their career is over they're looking around
(41:19):
without a plan. I think it's football players we can
both attest. You know, when there's not a plan, things
can go Hey, WI are quick and we've seen it
in games and we've seen guys after they retire. So
just trying to help them with those challenges. And I
do say a brand and body clinic for the NFL,
(41:40):
we have one of those locations here. Have you been
a brand and body clinic?
Speaker 1 (41:43):
Not yet, I'm not. I'm going to schedule the two
hour drive, come up here.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
We'll treat you right. It's an amazing experience. But we
will talk more after. But that's some of the programs
the NFL does to help in the transition for NFL
players away. There are some programs in place, but that's
a really important one for your both your mental health
and your body. You know, your your physical health.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
Yeah, I got to get on that for sure. I've
heard a lot of good things about it, and they've
been very uh, like I had, I had one scheduled
like two years ago in the March, but then my
March got so cluttered that I couldn't do it.
Speaker 2 (42:21):
But I's three and a half day commitment, so it
is big. But you know, it's just something that I
think it's one of those things that they just do
really well. And I've just seen it develop over the
years of the NFL and the NFLPA working to make
(42:42):
some of these things accessible so that guys, you know,
can transition to something else because it's hard. I'm telling you,
I played thirteen years in the NFL, and the hardest
part of it was the mental transition from being a
player of almost twenty five years of my life and
it was my identity. I did a lot of different
things that had interest, but still in my heart, it's like, Okay,
(43:05):
what am I now?
Speaker 1 (43:06):
Yeah, so it's a.
Speaker 2 (43:07):
Topic for another day. But I was happy that they
helped me through my transition, and I think that also
gives me extra drive to see that what I do
here at the University of North Carolina is important for
our guys whenever that transition happens.
Speaker 1 (43:23):
Well, it was good to talk to you, man, This
was awesome. I'm glad you're doing well, and I'm glad
you got to give some insight for the viewers and
just for the current guys that are watching and listening.
You know, if you are, if you're struggling looking to
see what you can do post career or wondering what
(43:43):
you're gonna do post career, Kevin Donnelly did it the
right way, and he's you know, doing what he's passionate
about right giving back while doing something that he's passionate about,
which is awesome. The the question I have for you
right now is what kind of shoes do you have
(44:04):
in your feet?
Speaker 2 (44:06):
They're just some It's pretty simple today. It is the
Air Force always have, always have the Nikes on around
here speaking, I've ordered about twenty pairs of these because
they're gonna all our coaches are going to wear them
(44:28):
for a cancer awareness game, which is a Clemson game
first came in October. We have children from UNC Children's
Hospital are going to come the week before and decorate
these shoes in amazing ways and wear them on the field.
So a lot of these that all white ones are
going to get transformed to some pretty Some of them
(44:50):
are the psychedelic look and hot pink flowers. Other ones,
I mean, they're going to be really nice tar heel
designs on there. But it's whatever is in the child's heart.
You know, these patients can them down and forget about
treatment for three four hours and just interact with our
players and have some fun. Some of our guys come
up and help out and like that's the biggest part,
just talking and socializing with them, just spending time. They
(45:12):
don't have to think about to cancer, the doctors, you know,
all the different tests things like that. They can just
focus on doing some beautiful art.
Speaker 1 (45:23):
Yeah, and some Air Force one. That's awesome, man, I
can't wait to see what the how those turn out.
Make sure you send.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
Us yeah for sure.
Speaker 1 (45:31):
All right, ladies and gentlemen. Kevin Donney, thank you for
tuning in to stew and the crew. We'll see you
Week four
We're the thirteenth pick in the two thousand and eight
NFL draft, Carolina Panther collect Jonathan Stewart gets to Stewart,
he leads touchdown.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Stewart oh rough tough right, angry man out at al
thows knees.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Stewart hesitates, accelerates. That's what I'm talking about. It the
spass Moll football.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Nathan Stuart got running round.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Stewart jump over a tackler at the tenth flow jump.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Laura's his shoulder, keeps running. No one will touch him.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Jonathan Stewart, house is up.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
You talk about explosive plays in the run game. It's
like the fourth of July around here.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Right now you are listening to Stu and the crew.
Welcome back to Stu and the Crew. I'm your host,
Jonathan Stewart. We have a special guest today. We'll always
have special guests on this show, by the way, but
this one today. A lot of you guys are familiar
with Tarr Hill, who went to Chapel Hill. Tarry Hill
(00:55):
from Chapel Hill to the NFL trenches. You know, the Oilers,
the Dolphins, and your very own cardiac Cat. And I
say cardiac Cat, I don't say that lightly, because I
think you were on the team that actually made the
headlines as the Cardiac Cats at you know, the mantra
(01:17):
or the the brand of football in which Carolina Panthers
formed when they began no other than Kevin Donnelly, Ladies
and gentlemen. Thirteen year vet, you know, you were drafted
what ninety one, correct, ninety one and you made your
(01:39):
way ten years later to the back to the Carolinas.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
I want to just talk about that for a little bit,
but welcome, welcome to the show, but.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
No, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
How full circle of a moment was that for you
to you know, be a tar heel and then all
of us said, and oh, there's an opportunity to play
for the new Carolina Panthers. Yeah, I'll take that was
What was that? What was that moment like when you
were in Dolphin when in Dolphin Land and that opportunity
(02:14):
aroust It's.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I mean, it was a dream come true because my
my wife and I were both from North Carolina. We
met here on campus at the University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill. And just after playing ten years in the league,
you know that there were some thoughts you know it
was the time to hang it up. You know, is
do I search for another team? Where's it going to be?
(02:37):
And it could have just been everywhere. But I had
a coach with the Miami Dolphins, Paul Boudreau, that actually
had gotten hired by the Carolina Panthers. I guess the
game plan for them was to you know, bring in
some established offensive linemen to get some continuity on that
side of the ball, and being through his system and
(02:59):
how he likes to things, call certain plays, all the
terminology we just worked out perfectly. And so I got
the deal to come to Carolina Panthers and come home, uh,
to the to the Carolinas. It was it really was
a dream come true. And it's you know, during that
whole time, you know, you're you're agent and different things
(03:19):
they're negotiating, and basically my family is just like, just
take the minimum, Just take the minimum, come home, come home.
And I said, well, I can't take the minimums. I
have to get tickets for all you guys. Got three
tickets to everybody. And suddenly I'm at home. There's going
to be a lot of requests, you know, you know
how that works.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Due, Yeah, how many what was the most amount of
tickets you had to get for a game.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Well, I think there's varying mounts. I think the biggest
one was you mentioned the Cardiac Cats two thousand and
three Carolina Panthers and the struggle to get enough tickets
for the Super Bowl, wheeling and dealing. You know, we
got an allotment, but then wheeling dealing with teammates, you know,
and trying to get their tickets and pay for those,
(04:08):
and you're trying to accommodate them because you know, they
got families and things to take care of us who
want to make it worth their while, you know, and
a different means and aspects. I'm not going to get
myself guilty of anything on here, but it took a
lot of wrangling to get some tickets to get that
to that game. So I ended up maybe sixteen eighteen
(04:28):
people and listened face value for a Super Bowl ticket
even back then, it was like eight hundred bucks or something.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
The lord, you were playing the Super Bowl for free,
which a lot of hit the Bowl for free. Yeah,
that's what happened to us. We got our check after
that game with the tickets and all that kind of stuff.
It came out that we paid. We played the Super
Bowl in Super Bowl fifty for free. I remember Charles
Johnson actually said he owed the team money after all that,
(04:58):
which is crazy. So for all the fans out there,
I think it's all you know, roses and gold and honey.
You know, as far as being a professional athlete, you
have a lot of things to deal with and a
lot of pressure to to please everyone. Uh. You know,
you being a guy that played in the league for
(05:19):
so long, what are the things that you learned as
far as that goes, as far as saying no? Right,
you know a lot of a lot of these young
guys get to the league and they have their families,
they have their friends that have this sense of entitlement. Right. Uh,
at what point did you learn that you had to
(05:41):
say no?
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Uh? Well, Stu, just to be honest with you, I'm
a guy that agrees to everything. So you know you
need help with your yard, you gotta you need you
got to move some furniture, Like I'm your guy, so
as my wife can test like, I'm always yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
So Kevin Donneley is the yes man, which apparently you
are yes man because you probably were busy doing something
and you were like, yeah, I'll do the steing the
cruise show. So will you thank you for being a
yes guy?
Speaker 2 (06:16):
No, I'm always making room for you to you know, uh,
running backs in no line would go together.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Oh yeah, man cares.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
But I think that, you know, I think just setting
expectations and it's kind of interesting when I look back
at you know, so many different dynamics in that locker
and more people come from and and and who they
were raised by. Who are the meaningful people in their lives.
Who are there guys or buddies that have been with
(06:44):
them thick or thin? And I think that, you know,
that really is something that young players almost have to
put someone else in charge of to be the bad guy,
because if you think about it, Stu and in heart,
a lot of guys in the NFL, you know, one
of the qualities that it probably got them there was
(07:04):
they are pleasers because they want to, you know, do
what exactly the coach wants them to do, and and
what the team wants them to do, and to do
all those little things to be a good leader and
all these you know, you're you're agreeing to do that,
and uh, you know, along with that goes a lot
of that of boys and maybe getting yourself and you know,
(07:26):
news articles and posts and things like that. It's just
kind of inherit with the game. You know, guys play
it because they love the game. But that's one of
the things that goes along with it that does I
think give you a lot satisfaction and joy, you know,
is guys along the way telling you thanks and appreciate
you and all those things. So it's it's tough, and
I mean, really, the only thing is you, if that's
(07:49):
an issue where you have that much demand, put your
mom in charge. But grandfather, uncle, uncle, Jimmy, whoever it is,
somebody can be a strong arm and say, you know, hey,
here's living for this game. You know, hit me back
up when we go play them, you know, the Raiders
or something like that later in the season. That's just
the way it works.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Yeah, But I guess I guess also too. You can
say yes to a lot of things as long as
it's yes to the right people right in the right situation.
And a lot of times a lot of guys, you know,
might get it mixed up where you might let the
wrong situations or the wrong people into your circle. Right,
So having the right circle allows you to be free
in that sense, I think. So I think you had
(08:30):
a lot of good people in a good circle around you.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Yeah, yeah, no, for sure. I my wife's family has
been great there. They they were you know, I come
from a football family, and I had three older brothers
that played. One of them was in the NFL, and
so some of them there's some expectations there. You know,
they want to come to some games and do some
different things. And you know, KD the NFL players picking
(08:53):
up the tab for dinner every time. You know, I'm
sure you know how that works.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Oh yeah, what was your what would your rookie what
was your rookie dinner? Like speaking just picking up tabs?
What was your rookie dinner?
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Like? It was? You know, really it was kind of
twofold because we got to camp. I was a third
round pick. We had a second round pick, John Flannery,
he was also an offensive line and we're in charge
of it's throwing a party for everybody at camp, and
so you don't have a lot of time. Yeah, it was,
(09:29):
you know, getting towards the end of it, we're about
to break camp. You know, we had to have food
and entertainment and adult beverages and all these things. And
we were training at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas
when I was at the Houston Oilers, and it was
basically like, hey, you and the other rook you're funding
this thing. This is what we want. We want there,
(09:51):
And it wasn't so much pain for it's to pain.
I mean, that's that's difficult, but I would have much
rid the had. You know, we're taking out to dinner
and we go somewhere like we got two a days.
Still at the time, full pats, both practices helmet to
helmet contact was all perfectly legal. It was, you know,
(10:12):
let's just go to town every practice, full pads. So
I'm exhausted and trying to plan this stuff between practice.
That was the real challenge. Then, of course, when we
got back to Houston, then we had our roster, we
cut it down, we had our group of linemen. Then
you know, again took them all out to dinner. I'd
(10:32):
never been to a roos Chris steakhouse, and necessary they
wanted to go there in Texas and so you can
imagine that Bill and I see some of these rookies nowadays,
what they're having to go through. I'm glad. It's it's
the other expenses they had on there and stuff that
guys are taking home, and the.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Line, the expensive workers, the dessert, like the steaks for
next week. Well, I mean it would probably be different
if you had an NIO deal back then that you
were just kind of like already prepped with some money
in your pocket, you know, back in back in your
(11:10):
day before in il deals, in transfer portals. What did
it actually mean to be a tar Hill lineman back
in the day.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Well, I go back to the seventies and eighties, nineteen seventies,
nineteen eighties, you know, last century, a lot of great
running backs and offensive lines working together, you know, early
seventies with Don McCauley to Amos Lawrence, in the late seventies,
(11:48):
Kelvin Bryant, Ethan Horton. You know, you get to the nineties,
it's Natron means a lot of different back.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Natron was there my rookie year helping out with coach Skipp.
So I got a chance to meet him my rookie year.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Yeah, Well, he's our running back coach here and he's
doing a wonderful job, especially with a freshman demon Jones
June Dumon June. You got to he's the last two
games he's gone off. So but we're going to keep
this on Panther subject. But you know, my first couple
of years here was Mac Brown's first two seasons here
(12:26):
and really did not have great seasons one and ten
both those years. But that third year rookie or freshman,
I said, say Natron Means came in and he he
put a jolt in the offense that was much needed
and ended up being sixty four and one my senior year.
So I was proud of what we created, how far
(12:47):
we went from being one and ten two years in
a row to six four and one by the time
I left, And it, you know, kind of mirrored the
end of my career there with the Carolina Panthers because
I first got there, we went one in fifteen. John
Fox came in the next year in seven and nine,
and that third year went to a super Bowl. And
I think that's what it always has meaning, because you know,
(13:09):
I come back here to Chapel Hill and work for
the program. I saw some dark days and saw it
build and really have a lot of success all the
way through the nineties and you guys had tremendous success
after that two thousand and three run that we made
to build on that as you were going, and then
ultimately back again in twenty fifteen. But you know, we
(13:30):
haven't produced as many top Knox linemen as of late,
but we still got a running back tradition going through here,
Larran Hampton's He's going to kill it, San Diego and
Javante William Michael Carter. I'm proud to see those TarHeels
doing well in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Well at that the end of your season, at the
end of your college career, if you were at the
top of your game, you would have been really well
sought after in this NIL space, I think, right, So
if you were, if you were already to have it, and.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
I also back in the day it was a left tackle,
so you're a big those guys quarterbacks, you know how
that is?
Speaker 1 (14:09):
If you're getting straight, If you could have one n
IL deal, what would it be? What kind of sponsorship deal.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Would you have?
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Oh, would you dream sponsorship? Be let's put it that.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Way, dream sponsorship. Good question? All right, I'll go with
it's gonna sound crazy. Coca Cola.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Yeah, I like that childhood.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
I've been a Coca Cola drinker, and then when they
came out with that product, Coke Zero, I'd love to
get on there. You know, hey, I'm a big fan
of Doc Coke. This helped me reach the and all
the things I established in my career.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Oh what a product. It's meant there. Hey, ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
But if you can get some extra sponsorship because of
that stud.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Yeah, hey Coke, Me and Kevin here, we are all
about Coca Cola. It actually helped me recover. To be honest,
I had a coke every now and then post post game,
along with something else.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
But listen, it's a treat that can get you through
a lot of different things you're going through. You know,
you need some caffeine sometime, you need to relax other times.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Yeah, I was a big jack and coke guy. Sorry,
ladies and gentlemen. I know this is a no rated
g or whatever it PG.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I think it's perfectly fine, good to go.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
But no, man, I think you would have excelled. I
think you would have been all over the place. You
would have been on a lot of bulletin you know,
a lot of those boards on the freeway, what do
you call those, ah, the big boards, the giant boards,
they call those billboard billboards. Yeah, oh oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
(16:05):
you would have been all over the big face.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
I had a lot more hair back then, too. I was.
It was glorious, right, it was glorious. I was looking good.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
So going to the two thousand and three Cardiac Cats,
you drinking your Coca cola pulling up. You know what
kind of car did you drive back then?
Speaker 2 (16:25):
I had like a like a one of the big
GMC like Denali or something like that. Baller. I had
three kids and I needed and I think that one
had to night. It was one of the first to
kind of get that third row that you could push
a button to take care of. Like I I was
lifting weights and pushing lineman all day long. That big
(16:47):
back seat, that third row is unruly having to get
it in and out of there. Yeah, so I splurt
for that extra little just the tap of the button.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
My kids were probably around that time. Let's see two
thousand and one when I moved here, So they were
they were six, four and two years old.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Wow, yeah, you were, you were, you were what they
call it, you're in it. You're going through it right now.
That's what they were telling you. Huh, you guys are any.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
I'll tell you something funny this week. Like I played
with the Houston Oilers. We then moved to Nashville, and
then I went to Miami. I had a child while
I was living in Houston. I had one in Nashville,
and then I had one in Miami. I was coming
home to Carolina and we made a family decision to
make sure that there was no children born in Charlotte,
(17:37):
which was good at three. Three is great.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah, late, Well, you I can imagine you pulling up
in your Denali with a Coca Cola in the cup holder,
probably a you know, a side of snacks in the
in the door right there, the door compartment, and you're
getting ready to go to practice and you're having to
(18:01):
face off against a defensive line that was incredible. Give me,
what was your mindset going to practice every day? Like
literally from the moment that you got out of your car,
it was I mean, it was a challenge. But you know,
for me, I was I was a practice guy. Like
(18:23):
I liked the practice because I needed the reps, and
you know, it always didn't you know, it's hard to
get motivated and get yourself in that bright mind frame.
But I just knew you suck it up and just
train as hard you can. During these practices.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
I was in such a better place mentally when game
day rolled around that you know, I couldn't do any
more to be ready for the game at hand, and
I could really relax and just go play ball. Other
guys are different, you know, and how they prepare and
whatever keeps them in the NFL. You know, you keep
doing you. But for me, I really like those reps,
and to be honest, everywhere I've been the defensive line
(19:04):
has just been amazing. And you know, when I first
got to the Houston Oilers, you know a lot of
the veterans, it was pre free agency, which is crazy,
so no one really moved teams or anything, and a
lot of team trosters were built with veteran guys. So
I'm the young guy. I would often go right down
the line of scrimmage during one on one reps and
take every single rep. And my rookie year, I mean,
(19:26):
it was just five losses, your back up another five losses.
It was. It was depressing, but it made me. Veteran
got me ready to play when I needed to get
in there and play. It's tough for when you're ten
year eleven year vet going against some of these young
guys like Julius Peppers is fresh out of the draft
wrapper you know, he's they were just unboxed him. He's clean,
(19:48):
fresh coming in the NFL. And Tar Hill fellow tar
heel he was. He was a beast. But when you
looked at the D line, it you know, between guys
like Mike Rucker, Al Wallace, Princeton Buckner, Julius Pepper's the
big guy in there, Chris Jenkins, it's just shooting. Kent
(20:15):
Rasmussen like it. Like there's no plays off. There are
one on ones, you know, especially if it's it's a
third down day or something where they could rotate any
and all of those guys at different positions. You got
to go against a lot of different guys with different
skill sets, body types, their age, you know, their techniques
(20:36):
and everything, and so it was difficult. It was a
real beast going up at every every single day like that,
but that's what got me ready for the game. So
to me, it wasn't I mean, I hated it, but
I loved it at the same time. One of those deals.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Yeah, I mean I always try to draw some similarities
to the years that we are. You know, right now
we're present, right Carolina Panthers ohing to. But we have
some guys that I mean at our on the defense
right now, right you know, led by Derrick Brown one. Uh,
you know, Wharton's hurt. But jac you got a lot
(21:12):
of guys that are guys that franchise guys, you know,
you know, pillars, Staples, guys that you can build on
top of and stack on. Uh, you know, what are
some you know as far as an identity, right, you know,
from your time in two thousand and one to two
thousand and three, what were some pivotal moments or pivotal
(21:36):
key players that really connected the dots to where you
guys were where you were in two thousand and three.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
Have a great, great question. Obviously I don't think we
knew it at the time, but you know, the one
big one was was getting Jake alone because of what
he had. He was young, he added, he did have
experience in the league, not a whole lot of it yet,
but as natural qualities as a leader and a guy
(22:07):
that brings guys together. Because he was he was in
full support of Rodney Pete, who was our starter from
the year before. And you know, everyone as a Panthers
fan kind of knows that things really weren't working out
in the first half with with Rodney Pete and the
whole offense to be to be frank with you, and
it's probably we as much as anyone let Rodney downs
(22:29):
as much as anything he did. But when Jake came
in that second half, that was a key piece that
felt like the offense needed somebody to just rally and
be a cheerleader and a force of just complete positivity.
At the same time, you know, you felt this humbleness
about him, like I had no idea what's going on.
(22:50):
Let's just go out there on ball. You know, you
can hear Jake saying that I don't know where that
pass was going, but I'll get my next, you know.
And he was just an amazing blend in and make
that seamless. I think the transition to Steve Smith just
being known as a like a return guy and a
special teams guy, finally saying or a third year, you're
(23:12):
a starter, You're going to be our guy, and seeing
what he brought to the party with you know, Ricky
Proll and Mussu Muhammad, and then you know, I believe
it or not, Jordan Gross. He came in as a
rookie that was like a thirty five year old, you know,
thirteen year vet in the NFL. The poise, how good
(23:34):
his technique was. He was game ready from day one.
That's hard for offensive linemen. I think on the defensive
side it was you know that that second year with
getting Julius Peppers in the system. Dan Morgan had been there,
He's going on his third year. I believe Rutger had
been here a while. It'd probably be you know, for
(23:57):
the defensive side, it just felt like they had a
lot of key pieces already in place. It's almost like,
let's get an offense that can control the ball, not
turn it over, really really execute what John Fox saw,
you know, ball control, keeping the ball, beating teams up physically,
(24:19):
and you know the defense responded, you know, they they
gave us energy just as much as we gave that energy.
So it's a long answer, but it really is funny
how for seven and nine to go in the Super
Bowl next year. It just takes a few key pieces
and it's a process. You know it took a few
(24:39):
years going from one to fifteen, but you can see
that every year there's one or two teams that suddenly
the switch flips because they got the right combination at
the right time. And I know, as Panthers fans were
all kind of waiting for that. But I'm like you,
you know you mentioned some of those players. It's I'm
starting to see those key pieces air, some guys making plays,
(25:03):
you know, even some young guys. They're never too young
to contribute. You know, Princely had a nice sack on
Sunday and it was you know, it's that's what you
want to see. I mean, you saw some good things
during camp, and you know it's this real game against
the Cardinals, a good team and got back there and
let's see who knows where this will take them.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Yeah, I feel encouraged, you know after that Arizona game
a because again we felt a little bit of energy, right,
you know, the third quarter of the fourth quarter, we
felt all of a sudden, this burst of oh wait
a minute, I have a chance here, and sure enough
(25:47):
things started to unfold and started going in our favor.
I mean, we don't no one kicks an offside on
onside kick and actually recovers it. So when that happened,
I was like, oh wow, wait a minute, this is
that over And it was all led with poise with
Bryce Young under center. You talked about, you know, the offense.
(26:07):
You know, you're during your time, how you gots started
to click was the thing that the defense needed right,
and I honestly think that's what That's what you know,
watching that Arizona game, the defense actually, you know, took
what they took what they learned from week one and
(26:28):
brought it to Arizona. They stopped the run, they got
after the quarterback, They did the things that they needed
to work on, and it actually showed up on film.
They gave us, gave us a chance to win the game.
You know, turnovers right, turnovers, moving the chains. Those are
the things that prevent an offense from contributing to a
(26:51):
winning experience. And when we started doing those things in
the third quarter, which got jump started with the fourteen
yard run by True Howard, that's when things started to
go in our favor. And to your point, you know
your time with Jake Delan, you have Stephen Davis, you
(27:12):
have Deshaun Foster, the run game, right run game to
play action. Those are where you really start to open
up your playbook to be able to do multitude of things.
Without a run game, it's so hard to really it's
hard to dial in. And I think, you know, looking
at the Arizona game, when you're not capable of running
(27:35):
the ball, you can't do play action. And I know
a lot of people are giving Xavier log At a
hard time right now. But to my in my observation,
if we actually start opening up the run game, we
start hitting play action, that's where you can start getting
him more involved because he is a home run threat.
(27:55):
And what do we do on play action? We look
for the home run threat because we we bring up
the linebackers, we bring up the coverage, and that's when
we hit him over the top. But if we're not
being able to play complimentary football in that in that
that way, in that phase, you're really not being able
to put certain players in position to win, right So, uh,
(28:19):
I honestly think that we are growing, We're we're hitting
certain strides. I feel encouraged after that last game. What
did you see from that last game offensively, especially at
the line of scrimmage because we did lose some some guys.
Robert Hunt towards his bicep, Austin Corbett is out for
(28:43):
maybe a couple of weeks. Kayden Mays is going to
step in there. Zala's going to step in there. Zavala
had a pretty pretty good year last year coming off
of his rookie year, So there's some comfort there knowing
that these guys that are, you know, coming into replace
some some really talented guys. Robert Hunt talented guy, not
just a talent, but a locker room featured guy. But
(29:08):
give me your take on what you saw during this
last game at the offensive line in the trenches.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Yeah, you know, I can go back to the Week
one game, and you know, it just didn't look like
the Panther's team that finished the year before. But every
team is different, and it, you know, kind of hurt
my heart a little bit. But then this came against Arizona,
going on the road for the second week in a row,
and just seeing that fight, it's almost like a couple
(29:36):
of turnovers early in that game, you know, gave him
a couple of wake up shots and they were stunned
for a minute there, and defense didn't know how to
respond and there's one of the most instant points on
the board for Arizona. So it it throws you for looke,
you know, and you know, hopefully the team will learn
for this and be able to punch back quicker and faster.
(29:58):
But it seems they got their bearings, got things set.
We're going into that second half. Even when it opened
with you know, points off Arizona coming out there and
scoring more points, it was when the offensive unit did
get back out there, that's when the production really started
and it was it was good to see some fight
in them. It really was. Defensively, there's pieces there to
(30:20):
to stop the run. They've they've got what they need.
You know, it's just about cleaning some things up. But
I think it goes back to the previous conversation was
you know, you depend so much on the offense and
defense vice versas those two groups really feeding off each other.
When you have confidence, you know, all that dude with
Bryce and some of the drives that he led, and
Hunter Renfro coming up with a couple of touchdowns Cuba
(30:42):
At getting up. You know, that's that's where that defense
can get confidence and play harder and do better and
do better. But you know kind of in this game,
saw some bright spots with the running games back in
the second half, and that's that's really what led to
success last year as you noticed to do it the
end of the year was how well that group was
run blocking up front. So there are a couple of
(31:06):
big losses with Hunt and Corbett being out, but we
know that Kid Mays is every bit is capable of
is Austin Corbett, Like they were battling for that starting job,
and then as you mentioned, had a lot of a
lot of explain like playing experience. You know, Hunt was
a Pro Bowl type of guy, but he's a guy
(31:28):
that has gone in there and done the job. Just
now it's mission critical. It seems, you know this certain
positions seem to get hit. You know, it's not this
spread out you know, one dB here, wide receiver in alignment.
It's like sometimes like also in one group, it's just
targeted with a lot of different injuries. And that's that's
where he hopefully this stops and we can just keep
this group going until those guy's come back.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Yeah, I think there's a lot to look forward to Withala.
You know, the fact that he was able to I
mean he had a you know, I think a thirty,
you know the PFF grades and all that stuff. I
looked at it. He had a thirty or something like
that his his rookie year, and it jumped all the
way up to seventy as far as his rating. And
(32:11):
so I think Panther fans out there, uh, be encouraged,
not discouraged. You guys are going to be just fine.
And it's a long season. H And so I think
also too, would you have these games that you're like,
these these learning opportunities on away games, in my opinion,
(32:35):
are way better to have them away. They don't have
them at home, right, because we want to we want
to make sure we have our best ball on home games.
But most importantly division opponents, right, the Falcons are coming
in town and this is a division game. Uh, there's
more pressure on the Falcons because they already played one
division game to begin the season with against the Buccaneers
(32:56):
and they lost. So for for them, they absolutely have
to come in here and win this game. So there's
a lot more on their plate in my opinion, But
this is an opportunity for Zavala to make a case
for himself. In my opinion, you have a guy Robert
Hunt that was playing in front of you. Have you
(33:17):
learned anything right? Have you took the opportunity to be
an understudy of you know, one of the best linemen
in the league. And what else are you going to
do as far as the leadership goes, right, because he
Robert Hunt was a huge leader, a huge presence in
(33:39):
that in that locker room, and someone's going to have
to step up, right when you were playing, you know,
it's always the next man up mentality? Right, What can
you speak to as far as how do you prepare
to be the next man up?
Speaker 2 (33:59):
It's you know, it's it was tough for me at first,
you know, because when I first got the league and
then I got my first time playing in an actual game.
It's almost like you need that experience to really make
you understand that basically, next man up? How do you
prepare for that? Is you prepare like you are the starter?
(34:22):
That just has to be your mindset. I started most
of my career, but in times where early in my
career I had much more success when I had to
go in there for a half or a quarter or
fill in for two or three games for a guy,
or even longer that I just learned early on. There's
(34:43):
no two different ways to prepare you just if you're
on that roster, even if you're a third string guy
or just you call yourself a special teams guy, whatever
it is, just the positions you're in charge, you have
to prepare like you are the actual starter. And that's
for me, the only mindset I can have, because anything
less than that, it's you know it's going to be
a bad day for you, because you know instantly. It
(35:07):
was just that speed up up tick you know of
going from training camp, and even when you're practicing against
other teams, there's nothing like the NFL. I'm in college ball.
There's there's so many fast athletic players out there. But
even when I'm on the sidelines for the Panthers and
I hear the punters and kickers kicking the ball, they
(35:27):
sound like explosions, you know, and the guys on the
college sideline like somewhere good, but like it's such a
big gap. It's just big jump. So preparing to be
in a game, you've got to act like if you're
a starter, And a lot of times what it means
is you're doing a lot of mental reps because those
starters are getting a bunch of those. You just got
(35:48):
to stand behind it, want your position, and pay close
attention to every single thing. You can't be caught off
guard by anything.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
Yeah, when you're playing a team with the Falcons, the
Falcons have a revamped pass, right, it seems like they
had six sacks last game and right now we're we're
bringing in, you know, two guys to replace our starters.
One has been proven to be a starter and the
(36:15):
other has been a filler. Right, when you are going
into this game offensively as a coordinator, you know what
kind of what what does that do to the scheme?
Speaker 2 (36:30):
Right?
Speaker 1 (36:30):
What does that do as far as your preparation? Does
that change you know, blocking schemes? Does that change run plays?
As a as alignman, are you now thinking to yourself, Okay,
this guy is different next to me. I know his
skill set is X y Z. We probably shouldn't be
running this play because this isn't his strength. Like, do
(36:51):
you have that mindset when you're in the trenches?
Speaker 2 (36:56):
It's I think that you know, really, when the game
rolls around, I'd say overall for offensive linemen, it's not
something you really take into account because you have your
your eight or nine guys on that roster that are
getting those reps, and guys sub in and out at
different times, but it's really all the time you spend
together in the meeting room, you know, where you know,
(37:18):
guys are just talking ball. Maybe the coach isn't there,
the coach is there, but you're quizzing each other around
each other. And so I think that, you know, for
Taylor mowten, and he sees Chandlers of Allah in there
and the way he prepares and taking notes and learning
and all these things, that's where the trust is really
built that when they go to the field they can
really transfer that over. And I'm sure you know you
(37:42):
mentioned how Robert Hunt. I mean, he's you know, he's
one of the guys that drives the energy bus, you
know for practices and getting people up. And you know,
I don't know other guys are gonna have to pick
up the slack there, but I'm sure because a teammate
he is, he'll be in Savala's ear as much as possible.
Tell them, you know, here's the things you need to do,
watch out for. And this is a team Atlanta, you know,
(38:05):
lit'sen a whole lot more this year, and some of
those sacks are coming from secondary positions and different blitzes
that they've run. So that's the challenge. I think. The
fortunate thing is, you know, Cade Mays has a ton
of reps under his belt, Zavala, He's gotten pretty you know,
he's not just coming in fresh. It's not going to
be like a deer in the headlines. He's going to
have a knowledge of what's going on and he'll be
(38:26):
fully prepared. I believe that, and I'm an optimist. But
the thing is, I got to be because they're going
against the Falcons. It's one of the teams all hated
the absolute most their fans. Everything about them, dirty birds,
the music they play pre game, when you had to
go down there, you know, anything bird related. It's just like,
(38:49):
let's just take care of business and beat him down.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Beat him down, and we get to have him. We
get to help host him here in Bank of America Stadium. Uh,
we've had some success against them. Well, man, I want
to get out of here. Don't to waste your time
for the rest of the day. It is a Tuesday,
which is a weekday, so I know you have other
business to attend. To, but I want to ask you
(39:14):
about you know, what you're doing now, you know, just
to give the fans to be able to you know,
know what you're up to and how they can support you.
I know you are a guy that is all about
the youth and shaping the next generation. So give us
a little little spill on what you got going on.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Yeah, you know, left left Listen Charlotte for twenty years,
including my playing career there, and just absolutely loved it.
But my wife and I both went to UNC Chapel Hill,
and I got an opportunity to join coach Brown's staff
about five and a half years ago in a player
development role. And my kids were older and grown and
(39:57):
getting in college and things like that, so we we said,
there's a good time to try something for us now,
you know, after raising those three kids, we came back
to Chapel Hill and we've loved it. My role here
is basically trying to get them ready for life after
football whenever that happens. All of them wanted to go
to the NFL, and I we love that. You got
(40:17):
to have drive, you got to have all those things
to get there, but most of them won't make it.
So it's what's the plan to back that up? And
then even guys that do play, some of those are
the most challenging because you actually get to play two, three,
four years in the NFL. You're not set for life,
but you're far enough away from your college experience that
(40:38):
I love it when those guys call me up and say, hey,
you know, I think my career is over. I've been
picked up in six months. You know, let's start this
next journey for me. And so a lot of us
just building relationship with them, getting them ready so they
can have those conversations whenever it's when it's all over.
So loving it. During the season, you know, I don't
(40:59):
have as much time with them because it's focused on
academics and taking care of business on the field, but
the off seasons and really diving into finding out their interests,
what they want to major in career interest getting the networking,
all the different things, just to just to give them
some insight on it so they don't just all of
a sudden when their career is over they're looking around
(41:19):
without a plan. I think it's football players we can
both attest. You know, when there's not a plan, things
can go Hey, WI are quick and we've seen it
in games and we've seen guys after they retire. So
just trying to help them with those challenges. And I
do say a brand and body clinic for the NFL,
(41:40):
we have one of those locations here. Have you been
a brand and body clinic?
Speaker 1 (41:43):
Not yet, I'm not. I'm going to schedule the two
hour drive, come up here.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
We'll treat you right. It's an amazing experience. But we
will talk more after. But that's some of the programs
the NFL does to help in the transition for NFL
players away. There are some programs in place, but that's
a really important one for your both your mental health
and your body. You know, your your physical health.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
Yeah, I got to get on that for sure. I've
heard a lot of good things about it, and they've
been very uh, like I had, I had one scheduled
like two years ago in the March, but then my
March got so cluttered that I couldn't do it.
Speaker 2 (42:21):
But I's three and a half day commitment, so it
is big. But you know, it's just something that I
think it's one of those things that they just do
really well. And I've just seen it develop over the
years of the NFL and the NFLPA working to make
(42:42):
some of these things accessible so that guys, you know,
can transition to something else because it's hard. I'm telling you,
I played thirteen years in the NFL, and the hardest
part of it was the mental transition from being a
player of almost twenty five years of my life and
it was my identity. I did a lot of different
things that had interest, but still in my heart, it's like, Okay,
(43:05):
what am I now?
Speaker 1 (43:06):
Yeah, so it's a.
Speaker 2 (43:07):
Topic for another day. But I was happy that they
helped me through my transition, and I think that also
gives me extra drive to see that what I do
here at the University of North Carolina is important for
our guys whenever that transition happens.
Speaker 1 (43:23):
Well, it was good to talk to you, man, This
was awesome. I'm glad you're doing well, and I'm glad
you got to give some insight for the viewers and
just for the current guys that are watching and listening.
You know, if you are, if you're struggling looking to
see what you can do post career or wondering what
(43:43):
you're gonna do post career, Kevin Donnelly did it the
right way, and he's you know, doing what he's passionate
about right giving back while doing something that he's passionate about,
which is awesome. The the question I have for you
right now is what kind of shoes do you have
(44:04):
in your feet?
Speaker 2 (44:06):
They're just some It's pretty simple today. It is the
Air Force always have, always have the Nikes on around
here speaking, I've ordered about twenty pairs of these because
they're gonna all our coaches are going to wear them
(44:28):
for a cancer awareness game, which is a Clemson game
first came in October. We have children from UNC Children's
Hospital are going to come the week before and decorate
these shoes in amazing ways and wear them on the field.
So a lot of these that all white ones are
going to get transformed to some pretty Some of them
(44:50):
are the psychedelic look and hot pink flowers. Other ones,
I mean, they're going to be really nice tar heel
designs on there. But it's whatever is in the child's heart.
You know, these patients can them down and forget about
treatment for three four hours and just interact with our
players and have some fun. Some of our guys come
up and help out and like that's the biggest part,
just talking and socializing with them, just spending time. They
(45:12):
don't have to think about to cancer, the doctors, you know,
all the different tests things like that. They can just
focus on doing some beautiful art.
Speaker 1 (45:23):
Yeah, and some Air Force one. That's awesome, man, I
can't wait to see what the how those turn out.
Make sure you send.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
Us yeah for sure.
Speaker 1 (45:31):
All right, ladies and gentlemen. Kevin Donney, thank you for
tuning in to stew and the crew. We'll see you
Week four
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