Ted Ginn, Jr.: From Booed to Blessed

When the Miami Dolphins selected Ted Ginn Jr. with the 9th pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the backlash from fans was immediate—and unforgettable. In this candid conversation, Ginn opens up about how he handled the early criticism, the pressure of proving people wrong, and the journey that led to a remarkable 14-year NFL career. This episode dives deep into resilience, speed, and the power of betting on yourself. Contributors to this episode include Sevach Melton and Dolphins Productions. Theme song created and performed by The Honorable SoLo D.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're now diving.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Be who sitting down with Seth?

Speaker 3 (00:14):
Oh Jay Well, and this is strictly for I'm a
true number one of course, y'all.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Just a order never sports dog that might.

Speaker 3 (00:24):
Be Welcome back to the Fish Tank presented by iHeartRadio.
Right here on the Miami Dolphins Podcast Network, Seth Lovitt
and the man with the best hands in the podcast business.
He is oj McDuffie juice. It's all teed up for
you today, like everything that you require in a podcast, guest,
we have checked every single.

Speaker 4 (00:43):
Damn box, every single box, big Seth, you.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Know what I mean.

Speaker 4 (00:47):
And I'll tell you what, man, one of my favorites
of all time. Man, and not only for the obvious
reasons that we'll get into on this podcast. This dude
right here, man, he went to a university of that
you know, I wanted to go to with a lot
of things happened that sent me somewhere else. But at
the same time, though, man, this dude is like he's
that g And we'll talk a little bit about what happened,

(01:08):
you know, for a little bit in college of course,
in the pros, but everything else.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
The box that we're going to talk about are spot
on this.

Speaker 4 (01:15):
I don't know if there's another guy that has all
the boxes checked more for me than our next guest.

Speaker 3 (01:21):
I think there's one more. And and he links the
two of you together, and that's Chris Chambers, right. So,
I mean it's wide Outs, it's Cleveland, it's Miami Dolphins,
it's all of that. He is Ted Gin Junior, and
he's joining us right here in the fish tank. Ted,
how you feeling today, man.

Speaker 5 (01:37):
I'm doing good. I'm doing good, man. I'm happy to
be here. I know y'all been chasing me for a while.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Right, not even said chasing it. We're not tasting. We
can't catch it. We know we can't catch what are
you talking about? Tasy?

Speaker 3 (01:51):
And with my six seven forty, you know I have
no shot nout.

Speaker 5 (01:55):
But you know, I'm just glad to be here, man,
I'm glad to come on here and just take our
time and enjoy this.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Time, no doubt. You know what I'm saying, Big Seth.

Speaker 4 (02:04):
You know he wants to always get right in this
talking to some dolphin stuff, but he's gonna have to
wait this time.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
He has to wait this time.

Speaker 4 (02:10):
You know, there's no way I'm passing up this opportunity
to talk some Cleveland high school football right now.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
For sure, you talk.

Speaker 4 (02:17):
You know, before we got on, you talked a little
bit about your dad and it's legacy what's going on there.
And he's an absolute legend, you know in the Cleveland area.
Let me tell you this, man, Glenville High School, Seth,
we didn't play against Glenfield. They were too big, too strong,
too fast. I went to Hawking, a little small school,
you know what I mean. But you know, it's not
where you're from, where you're at, you know, that's kind
of how I feel about things.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Man.

Speaker 4 (02:37):
But Teddy, you were a national champion in the one
end hurdles. You were the USA Today Defensive Player of
the Year, Defensive player of the year. You know, you know,
Desmond Howard was the Plain Dealer Defensive Player of the Year.
But that's not that's not Nasvill's. That's a local honor
that that he got right there. But we need to
let Seth know that this is how we get down

(02:58):
in Ohio.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
Man.

Speaker 4 (03:00):
Talk about how special our hometown is when it comes
to the athletic town in general and certainly to producing
great wide receivers.

Speaker 5 (03:07):
Well, I think as big as people think it is
as small. We all come from somewhat of the same community.
Like you said, you might be in Hawkins, I might
be at Glenville, but we all play in the same area.
Especially when we came up. You know, we were still
playing outside. We were still here, you the create, you
were still hearing like the main hubs that goes on
and different. But we would say hoods in our area

(03:30):
because no matter if you'ing Hawkins, there's a hood there,
you know what I'm saying. But you know, being able
just to show up. They compete. Cleveland is a compete
in town, you know, on the field and off the field.
But as a kid growing up man from you know
your guys era to our era, you know, it was
all about competing and you was able to go see that.

(03:51):
Like I tell kids all the time, you never seen
street football until you went to see one block play
against another block of one area. It's another area. You know,
they come out with ems on the sideline. You might
come out with broken calabon or something like that, and
they go to the to the next event after that

(04:12):
and talk about it and have fun. And it wasn't
about drama that is created nowadays. Today through through the
great game of our sports. But being able to see that,
like we had this place called the Sports Plan as
we was growing up that generated every pro athlete or
upcoming athlete that you can see. So I think being

(04:35):
able just to visualize or being able to you know,
touch people like Chris Chambers and Lee Evans and Tony
Fisher and Matt Bentley and you know, you just got
a whole holster of guys you know what I'm saying
that come through here that really gave back to make
a way for me, you know, and my journey of
you know, my first eighteen years of my life.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, you hear that big sep of you. All those
he's dropping.

Speaker 3 (05:01):
I heard him a whole lot of got to hear
how how.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
We That's how we do it in Ohio, man.

Speaker 4 (05:05):
And one of the things that was really important because
you don't see this a lot of times. He's talking
about taking your hood to another hood to play tackle football.
We're not playing flag. We're playing some real football with
no pads on. Yeah, from heights to heights to Cleveland,
whatever heights it might be.

Speaker 2 (05:25):
We're going We're playing real football.

Speaker 4 (05:28):
And like you said, there's gonna be some casualties in
these games. When you when you go up there and
you play, and that's how you that's how you get good,
that's how you get tough, that's how you know, that's
how you become the football players that we breathed up
there in Cleveland, Ohio.

Speaker 2 (05:42):
Man. So that's that's big time stuff right there for sure.

Speaker 3 (05:45):
Man.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
You know, I can't really take away with you what
you see with your own eyes.

Speaker 5 (05:49):
You know, just a whole little history of you know,
just playing outside, you know, riding your bike. You know,
just the little things you've seen riding your bike. You
know what I'm saying, welcome to the store that you
just don't see nowadays no more, that really grows with.

Speaker 1 (06:08):
You or or staying with you as you walk through life.

Speaker 5 (06:11):
You know, the game, it was a lot of things,
but you know, being able to see how people really
just thrive through it or work through it, you know,
no matter if it's a pro game or it's an
amateur game, at that same field, it was the same meticimy.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
Yeah, you know you know that.

Speaker 4 (06:28):
I mean, I went to Hawking, but I grew up
in Warrensville Heights, you know what I mean. So it
was like you know, and that was like for me,
that was like that really honed my skills in terms
of playing against great athletes.

Speaker 2 (06:39):
And we all know this. You know you've done it too.

Speaker 4 (06:42):
You played against great athletes that never you know, went
to Ohio State or Penn State, that probably you know,
doubt any more faster than you. But you played against
some great athletes like I did. That if they.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
Would have gotten opportunity, man, they might have you know.

Speaker 5 (06:56):
Been better, they would say more. You know what I mean,
just being like the shortest guy on the basketball team.
You know what I'm saying, Like now my height is
the tallest guy on the basketball team, Like you get
know what I'm saying. Just to see like six four
and six five guys walking around and never play a
sport or six four a guy that could shoot the

(07:19):
lights out to jump out the gym, but never get
no grades. You know what I'm saying, just from his background,
But it just taught you how to keep getting better
and better at you know, I was always a sponge
to watching and learning because I come from a coach's son,
you know what I'm saying, So being able just to
grow up, I watched a lot of people that you
wouldn't even think about that like maye my game be

(07:40):
who I am today? You know what I'm saying outside
having to learn the game as I got into the NFL.
Once it once it changed down the line. But you
know what I'm saying, just the little like home in
things like the little stuff that created you, the things
that you watch your older homies du that you're like, Man,
I ain't about to even try or even let this

(08:03):
little thing bother me. You ge know what I'm saying.
It's like coming into the league. Like you went into
the league, you an't went no paths. I came out
of the league wear pads like that was a difference
for me.

Speaker 2 (08:13):
Inten.

Speaker 4 (08:13):
You know, before we got on, we talked a little
bit about, you know the fact that you're back in Cleveland.
I always joke with here, like, hell, I'm from I'm
from maryan Ohio. I'm not going back. You're back in Cleveland, man,
talk about you know, what brought you back to Cleveland
and what you're doing while you're up there. And we
got a lot of other things to talk about, but
you're back in Cleveland and you talk about the love

(08:33):
and all the stuff that that Cleveland, you know, has
brought some athletes and things like that, talk about you're
back in Cleveland.

Speaker 2 (08:41):
And while you're back in Cleveland.

Speaker 5 (08:42):
You know, there's a couple of reasons why I'm back
in Cleveland. I mean, family is one reason. You know,
been gone for so long. You're left out of here
at eighteen. I came back at thirty six forty nowins
like you know what I'm saying, just just missing my
mom and dad, my wife missing her mom and her grandmother.
Want of our kids to really be able to understand

(09:03):
our back and you know, we had our kids on
a road, you know, for fourteen years. They've been you
know a little bit of everywhere, you know, so it
was just a great place to come home where you
could kind of like really take a chill peel and
be okay. You know, it's hard to take a chill
pill to Miami or San Francisco or somewhere.

Speaker 2 (09:22):
Like that, you know.

Speaker 1 (09:23):
So we came up back home.

Speaker 5 (09:24):
It's nothing wrong with you know, coming on there and
we're back here with your parents and everything. So we
did that for a little while, and you know, my
kids said they wanted to start going to school. So
now they're the knife. I have always you know, dealt
with the youth while I was playing ball. So I
have a youth program called gain Elite, you know where
you know, six to fourteen, we go from down there

(09:47):
in Florida to California to any of these battles or
ayfs or any of them top things. You know, I
had the top teams for over years and just watching
these kids transform from you know, love lead and then
going to play for my dad and then being able
to go play for a university that I went to
or university that I played against. You know, it's always

(10:08):
a great opportunity because a kid never get an opportunity
to get from out of here if you don't choose
some of them roads, you know, So just trying to
use the body as a vehicle that we always does
here in Ohio to create a different path for you know,
the journey is always going to run out.

Speaker 1 (10:25):
We just don't know when it's going to run out.

Speaker 5 (10:26):
So just try to eat on it and try to
put as much gas and fuel and oil as we
can into that body to be able to you know,
go as far as long as it can. Everybody don't
get to make fourteen years. You know, everybody don't get
to lead three years after college and different things like that.
So I've been blessed. But just to watch my other
fellow team makes, other fellow little brothers that came through
this program, from the Marshall Lattimore Is to the Frank Clarks,

(10:49):
to the Justin Hardy's, you know, to seeing Little Bakers,
and you know, all these guys that you know, we
we inspired, you know, to play this game by opening
up doors and being able to keep open the doors,
and you know, like just being able to be twenty seventeen,
I played with three of my with three of my
little homies, Justin, Harry Marshawan and Shane Winn and just

(11:12):
to spend three years with them guys. You know, you
look at them now, they on eight and nine where
they both was in the same so they on eight
or nine one of those, you know, and they still
just rocking and rolling. And I can hear them now say,
man the things you say now, Man, we going through
it now, like you know what I'm saying. So just
being able to be that filler on every level that

(11:33):
I can. I got guys at the Ohio State from
Bryce West to r Ville Reese to the mind witting
that you know can be remarkable. So being able to
have one of the top linebreakers coming on Ohio, I
mean coming out of Glenville right now, that's got all
these different offers, you know, being able to have two
twins that just went to California as as top eighth

(11:55):
graders and ran one of the Fastest Man award, and
all the things that go on from Dante winner nephew
is coming up now, that's don't be outstanding. So you know,
the pipeline doesn't stop, you know, to see my my,
my freshman girl that just going to regionals this year
in track, you know, you know, taking up the things
that we did here in Ohio.

Speaker 1 (12:14):
So it's just like, why not be in Cleveland?

Speaker 4 (12:17):
Hear that I did hear ex Florida cast don't get it, well,
don't get but I.

Speaker 1 (12:24):
Think about it. We run bomb every time we get
a chance.

Speaker 3 (12:28):
Right Dad, he's flexing Cleveland right now. But he's been
down here for thirty something years, Like he hasn't gone back.

Speaker 2 (12:34):
So wait a minute, I go back. I go back
every once in a while.

Speaker 3 (12:37):
I mean like I lived on Green Road and Euclid
like for for eight months. Do I get credit for that?
I'm not claiming it.

Speaker 2 (12:43):
You do? You do get credit my whole street.

Speaker 3 (12:49):
I was right there. I go right down the hill
boulevard right there. Come on, that's eight months.

Speaker 2 (12:56):
That's what my mom's bank was. My mom's bank was
right there too.

Speaker 1 (12:59):
So I you know, if you go up that hill
that first stops O. You look left, that's my house.
That no way, that's my childhood house. And the triangle
you come up Beilboy cliff you.

Speaker 3 (13:10):
So I was there. I didn't with the with the
Cleveland Cavaliers. I was in those apartments right there in
the corner. I did an internship with the Cleveland Cavaliers
in nineteen ninety five. So that's how long ago that was. Yeah,
I probably could have.

Speaker 1 (13:27):
Crazy.

Speaker 2 (13:28):
That's crazy.

Speaker 3 (13:29):
Yeah, that's exactly what to the hood. D clean man.

Speaker 1 (13:39):
Oh, that's sweet there it is right there.

Speaker 3 (13:42):
So well, now it's now it almost seems like I'm
gonna step into a pile of ship right here, just
because I'm gonna transfer from Ohio back down to my
d Like think it only makes sense, right ted, because
that's when clearly people knew who you were because of
all of your success in college. But the way that
South Florida was really introduced to you happened on draft
Day right in two thousand and seven. And man, when

(14:08):
you look back on that one, everybody in the world,
everybody in the world thought the Dolphins needed a quarterback.
We're gonna take a quarterback. I put myself in, you know,
I want to put I'm not gonna sit here and
pretend to be something I'm not. I thought they needed
to do that. Brady Quinn was the guy that everybody
in the world thought the Dolphins were gonna take, that
they should take. And then the pick comes and the

(14:30):
commissioner gets up there and the name is not Quinn.
The name is Gin. Yeah, and that's and there's a
funny story about that. The guy who for the Dolphins,
Craig Kyle, who would write the name down on the card,
he actually thought they said on the phone Quinn. I
think he just had Quinn in his mind too, and
he had to double check. So so there was a
whole lot of things going on there. And then of

(14:52):
course the pick happens, the draft party loses their mind.
Cam Cameron goes out there. They're booing ca Cameron. He's
telling them to turn their thumbs this way. There was
just a whole lot going on. He also announces that
he in just draft head again. He drafted the Gin family,
And there was a lot that went on that you
had nothing to do with other than look, I did

(15:15):
everything I could to position myself to live my dream.
I get my name called, and then I'm walking in
all of this. How much of that were you aware
of when you got picked? Like, did you know all
of this was all this mayhem was going on? And
did you feel any of it when you got to
South Florida.

Speaker 5 (15:32):
Well, you know, you cannot ignore the talks that you
hear old draft day.

Speaker 1 (15:37):
You know, I was supposed to go from fourth to.

Speaker 5 (15:42):
Twenty eighth if you really look at it, you know,
so you just you really just sitting there and you
wish and I think that's why.

Speaker 1 (15:48):
So it was so great to be with your.

Speaker 5 (15:51):
Loved ones and your family, and I was with my community,
and you know, everybody that had played a part in
me being just football player was there to see me
go up or down with the support was there. So
I didn't really know what was going on. I just
go off the conversations that you hear in that in
that time, you know that team is coming up. You

(16:12):
get your phone ready and you're thinking that you know,
it's an opportunity, but you got to realize, what there's
twenty two spots on this on this roster that you
know somebody gotta take. So just just sitting there and
just being able to enjoy a certain type of way.
I didn't want to go to the draft or anything
like that because you just don't know where you're gonna be,
you know what I'm saying. So I was already set

(16:32):
to be, you know, comfortable. I think it was more
just you don't know, you know, you don't know what
agents are talking about, you don't know what personal relationships
are talking about, Like you just really don't know what's
going on.

Speaker 1 (16:46):
But as you went on.

Speaker 5 (16:48):
Into that deal, you start understanding who all played the
role into why you know you are you are selected
in certain situations at certain times. And I was just
grateful to have a great connection at that time. And
that's all I can really say about it. The connection
that was a hand in hand. I guess, you know

(17:08):
type situation. You know, I was grateful, you know, didn't
nobody like it.

Speaker 1 (17:12):
I got booed. I got talked about.

Speaker 5 (17:16):
People looking at me when off when I'm coming in
the locker room, like while we get him, he hurt already.

Speaker 3 (17:21):
Uh so you felt that in the locker room too,
from your from your new teammates.

Speaker 5 (17:25):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (17:25):
Wow.

Speaker 5 (17:25):
I mean they became my brothers as the as the
game and the time went on, once they started seeing
what type of guy was.

Speaker 1 (17:33):
And how I act, and you know, I wasn't. I
didn't never really back down. I came in with my
chest out high. You know, I knew I was a talent.
I knew I was good.

Speaker 5 (17:42):
I knew I could take care of certain situations that
I could handle, you know what I'm saying. And uh,
I think I changed their mind quickly once they start seeing,
you know, on and off the field.

Speaker 4 (17:53):
I'm going a little bit off script area because he
t has some really important things right there, some things
that we'll talk about a little bit. But if Teddy
doesn't get hurt in the National Championship game, seth Ohio
State wins the National championship for sure. That's that's for
sure that I mean, and that's right, that's right at
the beginning, he was already done.

Speaker 3 (18:10):
Since we're being transparent here, I'm also a gate.

Speaker 2 (18:15):
We win the national title. Teddy doesn't get.

Speaker 3 (18:18):
Any respect I earned off Green Road.

Speaker 2 (18:21):
It's going You're all right for a second.

Speaker 4 (18:23):
Now you're out of Cleveland, man, you out of you
out of Tyoga County right now.

Speaker 3 (18:28):
I was a little concerned when you returned the opening
damn kickoff for a touchdown. But that Gator team was
pretty good too. But I just want to say that.

Speaker 2 (18:36):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (18:36):
But on top of that, though, Big said what he
said too that is really important is that you know,
no matter what coming in that locker room right away, man,
you've got a lot of dudes.

Speaker 2 (18:44):
In there that, for one, don't know the hell you are.
For two, your high we're high draft picks.

Speaker 4 (18:50):
And we'll talk about some of the draft picks situation
here because I've always getting about, you know, high draft
pick situation. But right away, man, you gotta find a
way to prove yourself. You know, you got to show
them that you're a hard worker, that you you that
you that dude, you're deserving and worthy of where you're
being picked. But you got to get You got these
older dudes, older cats in the locker room that you

(19:10):
know ain't gonna say you love just by showing you love.

Speaker 2 (19:13):
Man.

Speaker 4 (19:13):
You know, you got to you gotta earn that love, man,
and that that's always a tough situation, you know. So
you know, being a top pick, and I'm so glad
to the I'm so glad that you're on here, because
Seth gives me ship every time about being you know,
first round draft pick for the Dolphins.

Speaker 2 (19:30):
But I wasn't the top ten guy, you know, so
we got a guy that's number nine that that there.
Thank you. I really really appreciate you know, you being there, man.

Speaker 3 (19:38):
And I can't even bust your chops.

Speaker 2 (19:41):
Can't say a word today, big Seth, So you need
to be quiet over there. So you know.

Speaker 4 (19:45):
But you know, even the head man now Dolphins Hiccles
might be downe he Actually he's brought that up a
lot of times in press conferences, you know about how
the pressure of being a you know, first pick, first
round pick that's been and and then for you you
have the same reaction on draft. I had the same
reaction on draft day. And maybe Seth might have liked
the the fact that they picked me, but you know,
they had Duper and Clayton. Then they brought in mark

(20:07):
Ingram and Urban Friar, so they were like I kind
of had the same reaction from all these people fans
that didn't want me as to pick because they were
looking for somebody else. And that's all how it always is, man,
it really is how it always is. And you know,
so I was I was cool with the fact that
I had to come in here and earn that spot,
earn that respect. Man. But for me, though I wanted

(20:30):
to play for Cleveland, I wanted to go home and
play or I wanted to go play for your Philadelphia
or Pittsburgh because I played at Penn State. But then
I wanted warm and you got warm too, dog, So
you got to think that warm was always something that
if I'm gonna play wide receiver at least then they
played for a warm state team for sure.

Speaker 2 (20:49):
You know.

Speaker 1 (20:49):
I mean I enjoyed it. I mean it wasn't warm.
It was hot.

Speaker 2 (20:52):
Hot.

Speaker 1 (20:54):
It ain't no warm, it was hot.

Speaker 5 (20:56):
And that's the first time when I started realizing that
I was equivent as alignment, you know, because I was
losing so much weight, but I wasn't getting the way back,
you know what I'm saying. And just to see how
Miami really fluct you with me with that, you know,
being really almost one seaxty five, one seventy for real,

(21:17):
but playing this game and you know nowadays they don't
even let kids, you know, and you got a lot
of one season fives, but you don't really make it
that far no more, you know, you know what I'm saying,
because you can't sustain the game, you know, or the
wear and tear that goes on with all these much bigger,
faster and stronger hitting people. You know, it was more
raw talent back in the day. Now it is great

(21:39):
accurate talent. You know, guys knowing how to come down
here and really hit you and hit you in certain
spots and they showing you how to really tackle with
different things like that. But you know, just coming in
and just coming with all that adversity. You know, it
goes on and off the field. I had adversity with
being a first mind jivet pick and I was on offense.

(22:00):
I had Jason Taylor. They say, hey, man, we ain't
getting no first mind drive to pick. So you with
me too, you you know what I'm saying, and have
to deal with both sides of that and having at
that time you still have core guys. That was all
special teams. Guys, you got a og there that I was.
I was a returner, Like, hey man, you gotta do this.
So being able to balance and get food and you know,

(22:23):
do media and showcase yourself.

Speaker 1 (22:26):
You know, it's a big deal.

Speaker 5 (22:28):
And I think I handled all that with respect and honor,
you know, and not just come back from my neighborhood.
Come back from my upbringing being a coach's son, Understanding
that you're planning for your seniors, Understanding that wasn't that
you're going to be a senior, you.

Speaker 1 (22:41):
Know, like the whole nine yards of how that go.
That's just how it is when you walk in as
a freshman. That's how it is. We walk in as
a rookie. You know, it's a fraternity that you walking into.

Speaker 5 (22:51):
You should be able to handle it with no problems
and walk on because if not, you know, they can't
deal with you like they used to deal with us
back in the day. So you know, it was all
great and fun and I enjoyed it, but it ain't
gonna always be what you wanted to be, right, who'd.

Speaker 2 (23:08):
You lean on back in the day for that? Man?
You know what I mean?

Speaker 4 (23:10):
It's like, you know, you realize you come in here
kind of by yourself. But you know you mentioned Chris Chambers.
I know he's part of the locker room.

Speaker 3 (23:18):
You know, I know that.

Speaker 4 (23:19):
You know, Terry Ribisky was a wide receivers coach. Who'd
you lean on? I know you already knew Cam Cameron,
who'd you lean on in that situation? Because it's a
whole new thing for us right there.

Speaker 1 (23:28):
We got to realize that I'm like Terry Ubisky. Off
a phone call, I dropped.

Speaker 5 (23:33):
I dropped the pass at Ohio State and love Brian
brought me the phone and said, my dad want to
talk to you.

Speaker 1 (23:42):
And I picked up the phone. He said, motherfucker, you
drop another motherfucker ball. It's Terry. Yeah, okay, all right, And.

Speaker 3 (24:01):
I'm like, man, what's up with your day?

Speaker 1 (24:02):
Like the Browns coach?

Speaker 5 (24:03):
And then that's what it was, like a different like okay,
but you know my room was great, you know, settin
the Moss, Marty Booker, and Chris Chambers. You gotta realize
Chris Chambers was taking care of me since I was
a kid. He played for my father. You know, he
ended up believing as a sophomore on the Bedford. I
chased all his records in high school as a heler.

(24:26):
You know what I'm saying. He went off to Big ten.
I tried to go Big ten. I did. I went
to Ohio State, you know, and we both ended up
going to Miami and having a great time and just
seeing how you know, just the age difference and you
know the time, and you know, I hate to say it,
but I was the guy that was coming in to
push him off. And sometimes it's lucky that, you know,

(24:49):
you can respect that guy in the same way, you
know what I'm saying, But he's still taking some money
out of my pocket, you get, know what I'm saying,
and not saying that. He never looked back or shyed
away or did nothing. He was always Chris Tapper's the
big brother who always looked out for me and always
gave me away.

Speaker 1 (25:04):
You know.

Speaker 5 (25:05):
But outside of my room and my coach. In my room,
you know, I had Joey Porter, Channi crowder By b Ball,
you know, you Cleo Lemon right, like you know what
I'm saying, Ricky Williams, Ronnie Brown, Mike will Ernie Carey,

(25:25):
like you know, Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas, you know what
I'm saying. Uh, you know what, man, you know, just
once they could see that I was putting in the work.

Speaker 2 (25:38):
You know.

Speaker 5 (25:39):
You know a lot of guys kind of kind of
dick around off the field, you know what I'm saying,
and then when it's time to go on the field,
they don't really put that real true working. I just
think that them guys felt like I was a warrior.
Uh no matter how big I was, I had a
big heart and I was always there for him no
matter what on the field. On the field, that's what

(26:01):
I was just talk. That's what your your hood teacher. Yes,
what my father taught me. That's just you know what
Ohio taught me. You know Cleveland especially, you know, that's.

Speaker 3 (26:12):
How we're built on Green Road, Drew, That's how we're built.

Speaker 1 (26:14):
On Sure, that's how we built on Green Road.

Speaker 3 (26:17):
But look claiming eight months of green road.

Speaker 1 (26:19):
That's sweet though. This My friend is gonna love that.

Speaker 5 (26:22):
Man. But there was my gosh, man, and I think, man,
we built something I'll never forget.

Speaker 1 (26:29):
My first road game.

Speaker 5 (26:31):
And I had doshed them for a while, you know,
not paying a bill, so I doshed them for a while.
So we have played recipe, Sean, but we have played
in DC. My first game, I think we lost nine
ten that game, and uh, but just to see how
you move, you know what I'm saying. On away game,

(26:54):
when I got there, they said you with me, and
that time I.

Speaker 1 (26:58):
Was waiting for him. I was like, all right, but
I n waiting for him, but I was ready for him,
you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 5 (27:03):
I went, we went to steakhouse and that's when I
really see how they get the private room and like
you enjoy yourself, you have your time, and you know
they tested me that day, you know, have me in
front of the class, in front of the team room.

Speaker 1 (27:22):
I'm just not where I was supposed to be right
now as my.

Speaker 5 (27:26):
First game, you know what I'm saying. And then to
see me the next day show that I'm about my business.
I ain't getting no trouble. You know, I'm ready and
my time. I'm ready to play and you know, try
my hardiest to win as a football game. But after that,
it's just turned over and over and every day it
was just more and more involvement. And back in the day,

(27:49):
you just didn't really have Our third round got cut,
our fourth round got cut. Our fifth round got cut
like it was hard to stick around, no matter if
it was a draft picker not, you know what I'm saying.
So you had to really, you know, be somebody in
a lot of different ways around around that place.

Speaker 3 (28:09):
So you said something that I want to make sure
I heard it correctly because you probably saw it from
my email. You know, my day job, Jason Taylor signs
my paychecks, right rum Jason Taylor Foundation. Did you say that?
JT said we didn't get a rookie in the d
line room, So you're our rookie too. You're not only
the white outre like, no.

Speaker 1 (28:29):
We ain't get right the first round. Ain't get no
first rounder. So that you just over there with them
like you and me.

Speaker 5 (28:39):
And then this is when I get credit to my
wife was because you know, on away games, then we
became who we are today a couple. You know, you
gotta go get this pop ops, come to the Facinity
or meet me at the and this when we drive
to the airport.

Speaker 1 (28:57):
At this point you get you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (28:58):
So, oh, so she was hell and you get the
stuff that all the guys I had.

Speaker 1 (29:02):
Two different orders of twenty guys.

Speaker 5 (29:06):
I got I got a receiver room of six, a
running back room, an eight, an old line room, and
then I got a whole d line.

Speaker 3 (29:17):
Room and they're hungry as hell.

Speaker 1 (29:19):
And then you got and then you got the hell
of chunning.

Speaker 5 (29:22):
Crowner gonna be always be Chellning Crowner, right, So he
come in and take whatever he want, So you might
as well just throw something in there for him, so
you know, so if he take somebody else's meal, you
got another.

Speaker 1 (29:34):
Meal for that guy.

Speaker 3 (29:35):
Like, it's just what it was that it was made.

Speaker 1 (29:38):
It was puer fuckory, it was made right, and somewhere
got a line.

Speaker 5 (29:43):
If you don't know how to mintion and match certain
things and do certain things, then you'll lose. And I
wanted that because I was kind of taught that coming.

Speaker 2 (29:52):
Up right right, that's the that's the key right there. Man.
Just do it. Just do it, know what I mean,
Just just do it. You know what I mean, you're
gonna be It's only one year. Just do it.

Speaker 4 (30:02):
Get it out the way, you get it back, get
it back. You're gonna get it back, like you somewhere.

Speaker 1 (30:07):
Down the line. You gonna get it back.

Speaker 3 (30:08):
Man.

Speaker 5 (30:08):
I got it back and forth after that thirteen years.
Get the seas man, get that get that man, get
your water. You know, just you get it back if
you really do if you really do it in jill
your you know.

Speaker 1 (30:22):
What I'm saying. You ain't julir with it, then you
don't get it back.

Speaker 5 (30:25):
I mean I watched a guy be an asshole about
it and they took his car, he took his keys,
like he couldn't get around, couldn't find his playbook like
he was you know, like had to really come out
of like he may get his stuff back to him.

Speaker 1 (30:40):
And that didn't work. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (30:42):
I once knew a guy who got taped up and
thrown in the cold tub because he didn't want to
play that stuff.

Speaker 2 (30:47):
Wow, I played some of it.

Speaker 5 (30:51):
I see that was still going around with me. You
know what I'm saying, I want I wasn't doing that.
I already put out, Yeah, I can't swim, so I'm
not doing that. Don't don't play with no. I'll tell
you I got my rookie mini cap. I got in
a fight with the team because I wasn't paying a
bill and Channing crowded threw me in the pool and

(31:15):
I jumped out and the first person not called laughing,
I swung and come out.

Speaker 2 (31:19):
The Cleveland.

Speaker 3 (31:23):
Thinking that's at the facility.

Speaker 5 (31:26):
Everybody gon't want to be in that water.

Speaker 1 (31:30):
Don't remember that water man, A bad crowder man. You
had me in one of these. So I'm begging me like,
come on, man, I can't swim. I got a cut
out fish.

Speaker 2 (31:41):
All right.

Speaker 4 (31:42):
Tell you you know, we we going to Cleveland there
probably on a Sunday, you know it was. It was
about about it. Yeah, we were there to impress, to impress,
That's how it was. Then then you wanna do that,
Come on, come on, it's fight time man, And that's
what you had to do.

Speaker 2 (31:59):
Though. You had to the bubble little street credit in
their locker room, man for sure, and like that.

Speaker 1 (32:07):
And after that that, by that, like that go with
you in a lot of different ways.

Speaker 5 (32:11):
Yeah, you know my brothers, Yeah, nobody looked at nobody
different after that. But I still on my business. They
still on their business. You're gonna pay this bill. I
ain't paying it, and you're going in this water.

Speaker 1 (32:24):
And that's what it was.

Speaker 4 (32:27):
Right, I'm gonna tell you what big this is. This
is how you get credit and locker room though man,
you know what I mean, you'll do all the stuff
you have. Look, he did all the other stuff they
ask him, dude, right, clearly for five different meeting rooms.

Speaker 3 (32:40):
Hopes sit over there helping them. At some point I
gotta be like, yo, you gotta draw the line, all right,
you gotta draw the line. I get it, all right,
So we're gonna fast forward to that's the fun stuff. Unfortunately,
what wasn't fun your rookie season was the damn season.
It was a one and fifteen year historically bad right,

(33:02):
and in fact, that one didn't come until mid December,
so you know, I know what it was like having
to work with JT on that side of it. Thankfully
I wasn't working for the team at that point because
I just can't even imagine what it was like to
walk in the facility every day. But my question is,
in some strange way, did the disaster of a season

(33:24):
take any pressure off of all of the draft day nonsense,
because there was so much bad going around that people,
you know what I mean, Like it wasn't about let's
harp on who was or wasn't our first round pick?
Because everything the whole dumpster's on fire, and so that's
I guess. I'm wondering if that took any pressure off.
And by no means am I saying losing was a

(33:47):
good thing. I'm just saying, did it kind of diminish
some of the some of the noise surrounding the draft issue?
And then the second thing I want to know is
for guys who come up through really success programs, you know,
and both of you have lived that life, and especially
at Oliso State, I don't know you you lost one
game all year your junior year to the Florida Gators.

(34:11):
But you lost one game all year that year. I
think you lost maybe two games the year before. There
wasn't a whole lot of losing in your football experience
up until you got to Miami and then they made
up for it and droves. So I just wonder how
that weighs on a guy that's trying to make his
way in the league and you're experiencing something that you
are just completely unfamiliar with.

Speaker 5 (34:31):
Well, I would say, I mean, it's just two things
that go It goes with that, I think I will
answer the second question first, and I would just say,
just coming back, it just taught me.

Speaker 1 (34:43):
It taught me how to lose, Like it taught me
how to lose. When I say that is like what
do I have to do to win? You know?

Speaker 5 (34:51):
So I really don't really get into like the off
the field issues or the off off the field deal.
Like really taught me how to go in and just
analyze myself a little bit more. But as I analyzed
myself a little bit more, I see more flaws within
this person that person and what was really going on.
And I just think at that time, through the whole

(35:13):
mix of what was going on, we just didn't didn't
have the right bodies in the right places. And I
just say all the way around as coaches, players, staff, gms,
you know, the whole nine yards. But as we went
on that year, we jailed so much and we came
together so much in that locker room through understanding that

(35:35):
you know, we wasn't getting beat by like fourteen or
fifteen or nothing like that. We were just losing by
like three at the most. Now, if you're the only
team that we blew us out that year, where I
would say was the Cardinals, it might have been or
something like that, But we really didn't lose no game,
no more than six points.

Speaker 1 (35:56):
Like you know what I'm saying. So it wasn't that
we we we knew that we was good, but we
just knew that it.

Speaker 5 (36:02):
Was certain things that we just wasn't finishing. And you
would kind of see that throughout the week. As I
got older in the game, I could see what we
was going through.

Speaker 1 (36:12):
As a rookie. We just wasn't finishing and were.

Speaker 5 (36:15):
Just trying to allow on certain guys that you know,
we needed to give this guy at or give that
guy that, or you know, let that got blitz or
you know what I'm saying, whatever it may be, to
change up what we had going on. But I think
we jailed because as you've seen, we came out the
next year. And I hate to go to that, but

(36:38):
that's just the realness. Like, you know, we jailed so
much that you know, off the field that summer, you know,
it was a brotherhood and just seeing how that charority went,
it kind of went on our team, you know what
I'm saying. To kind of move from the summer of
a new coaching staff, starting early, you know, starting early

(37:00):
in Miami is great, you know what I'm saying, because
everybody come, you know, it's still is Miami there's just
the tendance and like the whole nine yards and we
had a whole different mindset of but.

Speaker 1 (37:14):
We gotta win. We know we're losing.

Speaker 5 (37:16):
Feel like like we got a win, and I think
a lot of selfishness went out of the out of
the team our next year in no way.

Speaker 3 (37:25):
You know, it's a historic turnaround. Actually, yeah, you're right.
What they eleven and five go from one to fifteen
to eleven and five. I mean that's unheard of, and.

Speaker 5 (37:33):
I think that'sh Where everybody was in the right spot.
The leaders was leading, the staff underneath over here was
listening into the locker room. We wasn't making it an
issue of We was in Miami and everybody go out
and kicking y'all of Miami. Take your hour to get
from where we was at. It took us an hour

(37:54):
to get down there. We're gonna do that every day,
like you know what I'm saying. So, yeah, we took
out a bull shit out, you know what I'm saying.
Take all that out and put the right guys at
the right places. And we got some guys coming in,
especially in the receiver room. We had Greg, we had

(38:15):
best you know, you had all these guys that really
just came in and played their part, and we was
good at what we was good at. You know, Chad
came in, he slunking around, He got wall over there.
So you know all my all my brothers from from
from Michigan. But you know, we joined forces, you know
how we go Detroit, Cleveland, Detroit, Ohio come together, you know,

(38:37):
and we took care of business. And I think you
just had a lot of home reguards that knew how
to win, that was young. I think that's where that
never losing a game because you got to realize Chad
just came to playing one or two versus at Ohio State,
you know what I'm saying, playing two of the greatest,
you know teams that he can see, you know what

(38:58):
I'm saying. So when we came down, you how all
champions you got. Ronnie Brown was a champion. You had
Rookie Williams, he was, he was, he was, he was
rusty by that that first year, that second year, you
wouldn't even know he was in year fourteen or thirteen
whatever he was in you know what I'm saying, Like
everybody was able to control.

Speaker 1 (39:19):
Their room and have fun.

Speaker 2 (39:21):
No doubt about it.

Speaker 4 (39:22):
You know, I'm gonna go back a little bit because
I like to talk about when I was draft Becauseeth
always wants to bring it up. Anyways, But you know,
when I was drafted, I was given the opportunity to
develop as a wide receiver because I had some vets
that like Irvi Frar. We talked a little bit about
mark ingram. I think even Keith Jackson, He's a tight end,
but he ran routes like a wide receiver. So my

(39:44):
focus really my rookie season was on the return game,
you know, being a part of return game. And it
wasn't until the first time I took one to the
house and I felt like, man, you know, I've made it.
I've made this team. I've been there. They're accepted me.
I'm a contributor. But clearly you made a huge impression
and a huge impact on special teams like throughout your career,
but more importantly, like that that role as a returner

(40:07):
that first year. I mean, my goodness, man, that that
had to be a way for the guys on the
team to say, Yo, this dude right here is you know,
weah drafteds a wide receiver, but his return game is ridiculous.
Seth already talked about how he took that kickoff back
against his Gators in the National Championship game.

Speaker 2 (40:24):
But how how important was that you talk about your
special team game.

Speaker 5 (40:28):
I mean, I think that's what that's what you know.
I lean on that first year too. I got a
lot of stuff called back my first year.

Speaker 1 (40:36):
I was up there, Yes you did, damn. I mean
I was popping up, just like Hester was popping up
his first year. You know what I'm saying. We was
popping them. But I was just you know, get a holding.

Speaker 5 (40:46):
Call here, did a blocking them back here, you know,
a little stuff like that that really you know, didn't
give me the impact, but I still had the impact.
But I just think that we had that that core
six guys at that time, you know, and like you said,
they had year four or every year eight, and this

(41:07):
can make or break them, you know what I'm saying.
So every time you get it and we getting twelve yards,
that's a first down on pumt return, that's all they
asked for. If you getting another ten yards after you
getting your twenty, you know what I'm saying, don't kick
off from turn you average in thirty yards they loving that.
So once those six guys really realize that this is

(41:29):
really our first player offense, no matter how they look
at it, just our first player of office. And that
became like the model, like all right, well Ted not
you know you got Chris Chambers that year, you got
Marty Booker. You know I'm getting me in once day
like exhausted in a sense before the seventh week where

(41:50):
they said Christian way. But you know what I'm saying,
it's just like, all right, this is the only time
I get to touch it. This is my only time
I'm touching it. So I feel just like the sixth
four guys, so let's go to work. You get what
I'm saying. And once you know, Cam had played against
me in Indiana and different things like that to see
me coming up.

Speaker 1 (42:10):
He knew like we could just bore the ball first.
He strike our offense.

Speaker 5 (42:15):
So you know, nine times out of ten I get
a punt return, they trying to come back and give
me a reverse or a bomb or you know something
like that.

Speaker 1 (42:22):
Just because it was like I was like the team
in a sense.

Speaker 5 (42:26):
Like everybody wanted to see me grow in a way,
you know what I'm saying, And This was a way
for me to be able to hold that position so
I can be a receiver down the line.

Speaker 1 (42:37):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 5 (42:38):
I knew that, you know, coming in, I was gonna
have to grow because I didn't really have a receiver
background behind me. That's why I loved the Terryo Bisky
when I got him, you get what I'm saying, because
he really knew how to talk to me to depend on.
When I got Daryl, you know what I'm saying, Like,
he just literally didn't really talk to me like that.

(42:58):
He just wanted to just see me grown. That was
like the craziest thing ever, just growing, Like you get
know what I'm saying. And then they start saying that
I was too fast for the for the quarterback, so
they start putting me down, like, well, if I could
get forty yards in a catch, I take that, but
I can't take that he just out running a guy

(43:18):
and he throw it two yards behind him. So, you know,
different things started happening to where that's the only thing
I can do with a part the turn keep on.

Speaker 4 (43:27):
Return, right, you know, and that that that return game,
it's truly special. I mean I remember a couple of times.
And I'm gonna go back and we're gonna talk a
little bit about it, man, But we talk about the
return game. I know that at some point, like the
wide receiver role diminished. But I love the fact that
and I never heard this to you just said that

(43:48):
your returns like the first playof offense. That's the first
time I've heard something like that, man, And that that
makes so much sense because especially got somebody. Yeah, when
you got somebody's dynamic, because you field positions everything.

Speaker 2 (44:00):
If you take it to the.

Speaker 4 (44:01):
House, or you get me out to the forty on
a you know, on a kickoff return, if you get
me to midfield on a punk return, that's that's winning.

Speaker 2 (44:09):
Football right there.

Speaker 1 (44:10):
I mean, at least you get a field goal.

Speaker 4 (44:12):
Correct, That's correct. So but I want to go back.
I want to go back a little bit to November one,
two thousand and nine. I think I was on South
Beach watching this game. Of course, my old ass on
South Beach. But you're in the Meadowlands November first, two
thousand and nine, and you not only returned one kickoff touchdown,

(44:32):
you returned two kickoffs were touchdown, both one hundred plus yards.
Basically won the game by yourself in the third quarter,
you know, and this is groundbreaking. Tell us what you
remember about that game against the stinking Jets, you know,
if I'm not mistaken, Yeah, exactly right, that's what I
was thinking.

Speaker 2 (44:48):
You had you lost your starting position and you showed them.

Speaker 5 (44:51):
Yeah, And we played the coach the week before on
Monday night, I was sick. I had like one off
one O three, one of four fever. So I probably
wasn't about to play Monday night. I ain't walk into
the game when we played seven thirty. I want to
say eight o'clock might be, but I want to say
it's a seven thirty kickoff something like that. I walked

(45:12):
in the building like seven seven thirty people they had
already warmed up. I might have came in national anthem
or something, got an ivy and I went out there.
I had tea catches for one hundred and five yards.
But remember I had the two crucial drops in the
back of the end zone. Yep, they bench you said

(45:35):
that they have somebody else that can do it. They
was giving everybody else in the role my opportunity to
go out there.

Speaker 1 (45:42):
So we go to the Jets.

Speaker 5 (45:43):
I remember come home telling them. My dad like, man,
I ain't gonna play this week on offense. They're gonna
bitch me. Told me to control what I could control,
and this one I loved. Jordy Porter, Joey Porter was
behind me of like, you know, bro, couldn't believe it,
like they gonna bet you. And that's when these six

(46:06):
core guys come into play and we went to work
and got the first one, made a little move, went
on down and I was hot.

Speaker 2 (46:18):
You know.

Speaker 5 (46:20):
That's where like everybody knew, like our defense was stout,
you know what I'm saying. So somehow, some way, I
think from quarterback, something got out of there and scored
that you know, made it kick it right back off
like it was like a play that shouldn't have happened.
Big play and I get it back and I just
had that same adrilline and pull my pop.

Speaker 1 (46:42):
And ended up giving me the game ball that day.

Speaker 4 (46:46):
Well you I mean you that second one was, I
mean the first one. Yeah, I understand you're saying. That
second one though, you made some people miss and then
you was out the gate. Yeah you know, I mean,
I mean, once you get out the gate, it's over
for I just.

Speaker 1 (46:59):
Think through through through the man upstairs. He knew that.

Speaker 5 (47:04):
You know, I was fighting aversity against the coach, you
know what I'm saying, so, uh, you know, just to
come back out, just to just show him that it
was you know, it's ups and downs in this game.
And just don't give up on the talent. You know,
the talent's gonna make it do to do baby.

Speaker 3 (47:21):
There it is. So another fun part of that is
the and I don't know that you'll have context for this,
but the special teams coach uh for the Jets at
that time was a guy by the name of Mike
west Off who had been the special teams coach here
for the Dolphins for a long time. Who was who
was juicing special teams coach when he was returning punts
and kicks and uh, and Mike is a very proud guy.

Speaker 1 (47:44):
And I got I got Mike in New Orleans. Oh,
that's right, that's right right before right before he is demis.

Speaker 3 (47:53):
Oh, should he talk to you at all about that moment?
Did you guys discuss that?

Speaker 1 (47:59):
He said, I'm sure you know he talks show like
like under his breath, but it ain't under his breath.

Speaker 2 (48:04):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (48:04):
I had a long day with you.

Speaker 5 (48:09):
You're the only person that gave me a headache for
two weeks. It was like, I couldn't believe it. I
told him to kick away from you, and it was
Jay Felie Michigan.

Speaker 3 (48:18):
Oh man, all kinds of Dolphin connections and was on
there all our guys.

Speaker 5 (48:24):
Yeah yeah, but uh and to be and to be
to be real life, I should have four that time.
I should have four j Fit tackle me. If you
go back and look at j Fleet tackle me on.

Speaker 2 (48:37):
Two of them.

Speaker 3 (48:38):
Oh man, don't let him know that.

Speaker 1 (48:42):
But it was like, you know, yeah, but is my god, man.

Speaker 3 (48:49):
He's great. He's great, too good.

Speaker 2 (48:52):
All right.

Speaker 3 (48:52):
So so following that season, we get to April and
the Dolphins traded to San Francisco. So just in three years,
you go from the euphoria of being with your family
on draft day being the ninth overall pick in the draft,
to three years later being told by your employer that
they're making a change. Sure, and so I wonder what that,

(49:15):
You know, was there a sense of relief? It was
it a sense of like I have unfinished business and
I need to prove people wrong. I just kind of
wonder what was going through your mind at that time,
because you don't see that often with a first round
draft pick. And then, of course than the word right,
the word that none of us want to, the word bust,
starts to come into play. And you know, people, it's

(49:37):
so easy to just throw that out without thinking about
the human being who spent his whole life to get
to a particular point. And as you said, like, yo,
the talent is there. Look at these things I have accomplished,
and we're going to talk about it. The things you
accomplished after you left Miami. I mean a fourteen year career.
Let's put that word bust back somewhere else because it
doesn't belong here. But what's going through ted Gins's mind

(50:00):
that moment. We're just three years into this thing. You're
now changing, you're changing your colors.

Speaker 5 (50:05):
I mean, it just starts, say a real true game,
you know, yeah, I mean I had a like ironic
move on that. Like I was in a dealership buying
a car or my birthday. I get a phone call
and I'm getting traded. It wasn't for my agent, it
wasn't from the Miami Dolphins. You know what I'm saying.
And then when I really do call in, it's like, oh, yeah,

(50:27):
you're on the market. They thinking about it. To the
next phone call, is you going to San Francisco? So
you go from the bottom of the map to the
top of the map. You know what I'm saying, Man,
I didn't really know how to think. You know, I'm
just at that time with twenty one year old well,
twenty three year old man, still having an opportunity. I

(50:48):
really think once I got out there, it just went
into that brotherhood. You know, were always in the same boat.
It's all looking at each other, like, man, play against
you in college three years later and I watched I
play It's you when I was a sophomore, and I
had you when I was a freshman, and you sweet
as hell?

Speaker 1 (51:09):
Like what all these sweet people doing out here? You
know what I'm saying.

Speaker 5 (51:13):
So we went out there and we went through our
ups and downs, you know, that first year with San Francisco,
and then you've seen what happened the next two years. Yeah,
you know that talent started working. They start doing what
it do, baby, you know what I'm saying, And Hardball
came in. He had a different approach. You know, we

(51:36):
kind of you know, believed in what he had seen
from the players that he had that he had in
his room. I remember him going around and putting our
rankings up from high school and we start going around.
You had so many three and four star guys, but
with number one guys in the NFL, you had so

(51:57):
many guys that was five stars. That was you know,
like roles have reverse, you know, And but but it
gave people different people a different perspective of personal life.

Speaker 1 (52:12):
You here, but you was like this in college. And
you was here, but you ain't one over there.

Speaker 2 (52:16):
So it was like the.

Speaker 5 (52:18):
Competitiorness out there just what but cert you know, and
then you've seen when he created you know, he created
one of the best defenses that I think San Francisco
had at one point in time or ever had with
Navarre Browman and Patrick Willis and Deshaun Ghoston and Dante
Whitner and Tim Brown and Carlos Rogers, you know, and

(52:39):
then you could put that d line they had. They
had four or five six guys from Kyle Boy to Brooks,
like it was just all then, like it was just crazy,
you know. And then we went on the offensive side.
You had me Randy Moss, Mario mightey him Crabtree, Kyle Williams,

(53:00):
like you just have all good guys that was great hearted,
knew how to play football, and knew who we were
at that particular time that you know, we wish we
had with the Dolphins. We had one year and you've
seen it. But then they came in and explorited it

(53:20):
in every way they could. And I think it happens
like that a lot when it's not a quarterback base.
You know, we were still having, you know, that ups
and down with Alex and Cap. So it's just the
coaraderie when the guys can look in the room and
see that you got your real dogs with you, or
you really got somebody that can really play. You just

(53:42):
don't want to just be that sucker no more like
you don't want to be that guy that just can't
line up at the plate. And I'm not gonna be
able to hit not one ball. I can't hit a strike,
I can't hit a curve, I can't hit nothing like
I'm gonna try to hit one and I hope he
he better stay away from this curve because I'm knocking
to liss out of the problems.

Speaker 1 (53:58):
And that's who we all were a different portion of
our time, you know.

Speaker 4 (54:02):
And I'm so glad we're talking about this, man, because
it drives me nuts, bro, It really does, man, because
I know the Dolphins gave up on ted A getting
junior way too soon in my opinion.

Speaker 1 (54:12):
And I still wasn't able to grow as a receiver.

Speaker 2 (54:14):
Yet, right right.

Speaker 4 (54:16):
And I'm gonna tell you this. I'm gonna tell you
this Ted because I was. I tell set this all
the time. It's hard for him to believe it. But
I didn't know shit about receiver until Robert Ford came.
It's my wide receiver coach, and I was already four
years five years in the league, you know what I mean.
And at the same time, you know, they throw these
words around, like my best friend is Ky Johnny Carter.

(54:36):
He's had some terrible interests, but they always want to
say that he was a bus or whatever it might be,
you know what I mean. But they don't get shit
about the person, man. And that's one thing that you
know that that drives me crazy.

Speaker 1 (54:47):
Man. And it's worse now.

Speaker 5 (54:49):
Yeah, I was like the receiver game right now it's
the worst. It's the worst game right now. It's tough
because I mean special teams is already not kicking, so
you don't have an opportunity to showcase who you are
nowhere else. And that what really gave me the opportunity
when I got to Carolina. You know, as we fast

(55:12):
forward a little bit, I hete you know, but as
I got to Carolina, that's what Ricky.

Speaker 1 (55:16):
Prob did for me. We prochaed.

Speaker 5 (55:19):
I know you can do putmer turn to kickoff return,
but what are you going to do in this receiver
room right right now?

Speaker 1 (55:25):
I got my challenge.

Speaker 3 (55:27):
Six years into your career, seven years.

Speaker 1 (55:29):
Seven years into my career.

Speaker 5 (55:31):
Wow, Now I got my challenge where I could look
around the room and see that we had Steve Smith
and Brandon Lafeld was our you know, one and one
and two you know what I'm saying, and three was
just up in the air. And once I started understanding
that I could get into that three spot, and that's
what gave me my opportunity to go to Arizona, which
I should have never went. But uh, that gave my

(55:54):
opportunity to say, Okay, you're a receiver now, you know.
And when you got guys like Steve Smiths telling you, like, boy,
you do this, like this, good. You can do this
like that, and you always looking at him, and then
now you start seeing he looking at you, you start
feeling a little bit more better about yourself, even though
you know I did everything in my ability to be

(56:16):
a receiver. I mean, Terry Orbiskey was great. I didn't
really like dryl but I got I went back and
got Jerry Sullivan. And one thing that I started understanding
about Jerry Sullivan is he would never let her use
a ball. I was just like, man, why you can't
use a football for the first twenty minutes or thirty
minutes and it was all about, you know, movement and

(56:36):
learning just this and learning how to keep your eyes
up and feeling your steps and learn how to cut
stuff off here and all that stuff started coming in
and play once I got down there in that south
in North Carolina, where you know, I could put all
them different people together on top of Ricky pol having
his attributes of how he wanted me to be, but

(56:57):
then having that oh you could do it, you could
do it, but you got him like you know what
I'm saying, that you got a young cham out there
that you know and love for who I was as
a football player. He was as a full player in college.
You know, I ain't really have nothing to sustain on
in the league, but in college I was. It's like
still to this day, I'm scaa king like you'll, you

(57:19):
ain't got too many people. I mean, I mean, now
it's a little different because they choosing to rate all
these kids ninety nine. But back in the day, you
ain't really had no ninety nine at defense, right.

Speaker 4 (57:33):
Ted hell Man, we all know that. I mean, your
your career in Miami, it was just a fractioning of
what what you end up doing in the league. Now
we talked a lot about it, man, but think about it.
Fourteen years in the league, fourteen fourteen years, man, And
by the way, I mean, you finished your career I
think ranked eleventh in the league history with almost ninety
five hundred return.

Speaker 2 (57:51):
Yards eleventh all times. That's crazy.

Speaker 4 (57:54):
You also had a ten touchdown season in twenty fifteen,
Umpy Cam. You know you talk about Cam win MVP
that year and also getting you guys to the Super Bowl.
And in fact, I mean you played in the total
of four conference championship games two Super Bowls. I mean, man,
you had a hell of a career.

Speaker 5 (58:12):
Man.

Speaker 4 (58:13):
But yeah, you're so humble about it. You're so humble
about I'm here to talk about your career. I'm gonna
do it for you, all right, talk that you ever
look back at your career, It's like ship.

Speaker 2 (58:24):
Man, I did the damn thing I did.

Speaker 1 (58:26):
I think that's why. That's why I'm so humble now.

Speaker 5 (58:30):
Like one of my daughter's fathers, as a coach, worked
up on me at the track me He like, man,
you just don't know who.

Speaker 1 (58:40):
You are, And I was like, I have to, but
right now, who I am?

Speaker 5 (58:46):
Man?

Speaker 3 (58:46):
For this?

Speaker 1 (58:47):
Right now? You know what I'm saying. I'm here to
be your dad.

Speaker 5 (58:51):
I wanted my daughter to enjoy this whole thing, the
whole nine yards. I want her to come and ask
me questions. I want her to come and tell me stuff.
I don't want to be the guy that I all
got all the information. I got all the stuff because
it takes for what we creating, how to build her
as a player and as a grind. So I just

(59:11):
don't never want nobody to get caught up in my
success because it won't be their success.

Speaker 2 (59:17):
You know.

Speaker 5 (59:18):
So I don't try to brag a lot, Like right now,
I'm trying to compete with my kids on make sure
I get my degree before they get there. You get
know what I'm saying. Because of that big, long, extensive
NFL and career that I have, you know, it's just
other little things that I'm reaching for. So I think
that I did it all. I was number one in football,

(59:41):
the track coming out of high school, I was number one,
and kickoff return, pot returning. I could take the top
five coming out of college, you know, because I commend
them bids that came out with me looking at them
right now, they're great. You know what I'm saying. Calvin Johnson,
Dwayne Bow seeing me, Rice, you know what I'm saying.

(01:00:03):
I mean, you got a lot of different guys that
came out of my class that you know, I'm commanded
used to be one of them, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (01:00:11):
And then like you say, I.

Speaker 5 (01:00:12):
Did fourteen years, and it's only a handful or a
host of guys that can really.

Speaker 1 (01:00:16):
Say as a receiver that played fourteen years and not
be the number one guy, like you know, it's a
great point, not be the number one.

Speaker 5 (01:00:24):
Guy, but be the number one guy off the field
or in the locker room, right you know, I could
take that. I was always just willing to just make
everybody happy, even the ones that you think that you
might not talk to. I used to go talk to him,
bring them over, fight him for something to eat. I mean,
you know, I know, guys right now, it's crazy. I

(01:00:46):
just got the phone with t Lee and he's a
Florida guy. Was just like, man from day one, man,
you just being who you always been. He was like,
I would just call her, talk some shit to your short,
tall ass.

Speaker 2 (01:00:58):
You know dollar.

Speaker 5 (01:01:00):
That's because because he always said, man, you really supposed
to be me, and I supposed to be you.

Speaker 1 (01:01:04):
You know what I'm saying. So, and he's a great athlete,
Like you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 5 (01:01:10):
We did everything together, and it's just those moments is
what you chaish for for the rest of your life.
And I think I got that where I could call
anybody right now and can nobody be like I don't
want to talk to Teddy.

Speaker 1 (01:01:23):
Or who Teddy did this?

Speaker 5 (01:01:25):
Or Teddy did that? Like I don't want that to
be who I am. I wanted to always be julliuine
special and he always been who he is.

Speaker 2 (01:01:33):
Teddy.

Speaker 4 (01:01:33):
You don't get fourteen years in the League without being
for one, talented for sure, but also being a good
locker room guy.

Speaker 2 (01:01:40):
Man, you know what I mean, And it's just it
resonates bro And not only that.

Speaker 4 (01:01:45):
When you were a good guy in the locker room,
talented guy, you make big plays for teams over and Oh,
I'm gonna tell you, I'll be honest with you that
I was tired of seeing you making big plays for
other teams than all I can see is Joe Ass
running down the field making play still man, And I said, God,
dang you you know what I mean, and that go you.

Speaker 5 (01:02:05):
Know, like I was really say, like you know, that
New Orleans step was a great step for me to
get recognized for who I was supposed to get recognized for,
you know, CJ Coach, Johnson, Tiger you know down there
and uh in New Orleans at the time and Sempayne.

(01:02:25):
But I just command a guy like Drew Brees with
that I wouldn't say really took me, didn't really had
to take me under his wing, you know what I'm saying.
But just believed in me and believed in what I
had and believed in my leadership and believe that, you know,
let me control my room with just just being able
to just give me who I was in New Orleans.

(01:02:47):
I showed that to him every chance I got, because
I never wanted to leave Carolina. But you know, your
time be up, you know what I'm saying, And for
somebody to want you like Sean Payton wanted me at
thirty one, thirty two years old, Like you know what
I'm saying, like, oh yeah, I still want Teddy Teddy,
yeah yeah. And then when I get there, he said, yeah,

(01:03:09):
you've been there, You've been You've.

Speaker 1 (01:03:10):
Been fucking me up right three years.

Speaker 5 (01:03:13):
If I would not want to get you, long as
you come over here and do what you do, we're
gonna be all right.

Speaker 1 (01:03:19):
You know what I'm And you.

Speaker 5 (01:03:22):
See when I did, I just I respect that whole
organization at that time, and it's gonna always be like that.
My father for New Orders, you know, my whole family
for Louisiana. So you know, I always been down that way.
But to be able to go play for him, man,
they gave me a nice everywhere everywhere.

Speaker 1 (01:03:41):
Did you know?

Speaker 5 (01:03:42):
I remember when we played New Orters on Monday night
up there in Miami, when I dropped the pass and
Sharp went to the house and my new Order family
came down.

Speaker 1 (01:03:52):
I know they told me. They walked in, they said,
sorry baby for losing. We gonna party.

Speaker 5 (01:04:02):
And that's what I realized, Like.

Speaker 1 (01:04:07):
Take that, I can't.

Speaker 5 (01:04:07):
You know, it's hard to take all this stuff here
because you it's an enjoyment for everybody.

Speaker 1 (01:04:12):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 5 (01:04:13):
My family was able to come down and going to
the loss, they still got an enjoyment out of it.

Speaker 1 (01:04:17):
I think that's what this game is all about. It's
showing the joy.

Speaker 3 (01:04:21):
Well, you've been showing it all all podcasting long. Here.
This has been great stuff, man, and we're not gonna
take up too much more of your time, but you
did say you have time, So we end every podcast
episode the same way. It's our fish tank two minute drill.
I know, you know, Jewice Ted is kind of like
a I don't need two minutes.

Speaker 2 (01:04:39):
Let me just ta want and done.

Speaker 3 (01:04:42):
Maybe do a little ball control. It's milk the clock
a little bit. We're gonna put two minutes on the clock.
We've got some fun, relatively fast paced questions for you.
Just have a little fun before we let you get
out of here.

Speaker 2 (01:04:54):
Let's do it all right.

Speaker 4 (01:04:56):
Your speed is legendary, and we established that you were
attract I'm in high school, but the word on the
street is that you once raced you same boat.

Speaker 2 (01:05:05):
Can you confirm this and then let us know how
it played out?

Speaker 1 (01:05:09):
Two thousand and four pen relays four bout one.

Speaker 3 (01:05:13):
So it's for real you you raced you same boat?

Speaker 5 (01:05:16):
Yeah, one leg four one right, so soot one one
beat him. Ja Mario O'Neil was the anchor. Fu Kai,
what's the second? What's the third leg? I was the
second leg? Freddie Lenny's what's the first leg?

Speaker 3 (01:05:32):
I mean, that's the real deal.

Speaker 2 (01:05:34):
Skirts real quick, he said. I want to ask him
this to because I mean we.

Speaker 3 (01:05:38):
Call time out. Yeah, one first down and you're calling.

Speaker 2 (01:05:41):
The time out. Ask this real quick.

Speaker 4 (01:05:43):
Because when I played with Irvin Friar, Irvin Friar was
running four to three when he came in the league,
and then he was running at thirty five is running
four four oh?

Speaker 2 (01:05:55):
And I said, somebody said to him the earth you
lost step? He said, well, I had a step to lose.
You know what I mean?

Speaker 4 (01:06:01):
For sure, you never you never had that experience, right
you now, I mean you seem like you were you
were running your four to two the whole time.

Speaker 2 (01:06:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:06:08):
I said that in a podcast the other day with
treshing Uh coach Hazel Uh and Uh, I said, probably
after my stint in seven, Sequel had a knee injury.

Speaker 1 (01:06:19):
He slowed down the not and my coach looked at
me and said, no, I don't think so, sir.

Speaker 4 (01:06:25):
I don't think so.

Speaker 1 (01:06:26):
I don't think so.

Speaker 3 (01:06:27):
So.

Speaker 5 (01:06:27):
Uh. Right now, you know, I'm still getting out there. Man,
I got my baby's huh. I'ma I ain't really test
her yet, but I'm gonna give her. I gotta go
warm up a little bit.

Speaker 3 (01:06:38):
Yeah, don't don't get those hands to the sniper. Don't
let the snipers get right now, I'm back up God, Okay,
next question. Speaking of racing, there's a story that you
were approached by former Titans running back Chris Johnson, who
was also a Burner, at a party in Miami Beach,
and your boy Joey Porter and and Ocho were there

(01:06:58):
and they started hyping up things and that it was
supposed to be this race that never happened. If that
race did happen, between you and Chris Johnson, who finishes.

Speaker 1 (01:07:08):
First, I finished first. He didn't really want to run
a hind yards.

Speaker 5 (01:07:13):
Want to.

Speaker 3 (01:07:17):
Get him on that back end.

Speaker 4 (01:07:18):
It was kind of like going up with Tyreek right now,
right they want they want to run different races.

Speaker 2 (01:07:23):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (01:07:25):
Open this thing up.

Speaker 2 (01:07:26):
Too good, too good?

Speaker 3 (01:07:27):
All right, clock is running.

Speaker 4 (01:07:28):
You got you got all right, So you got passed
from We talked about Cleil Lemon, Chad Pennington, Chad Henny
in Miami, and then Alex Smith, Cap, Cam Newton, and
Drew Brees. Once you left here. Cam Newton reci said
that you were his favorite receiver they ever played with.
Who was your favorite quarterback though?

Speaker 1 (01:07:45):
Athlete wise, Cam Newton, brain wise, brain wise.

Speaker 2 (01:07:49):
Drew Brees talent wise overall.

Speaker 1 (01:07:51):
Then Clem.

Speaker 2 (01:07:56):
Gonna love that man had the podcast. He was great,
He was great, so much fun. All right.

Speaker 3 (01:08:04):
Final question. You participated in Super Bowls forty seven and
Super Bowl fifty. Unfortunately you came up on the wrong
side of the scoreboard in both games. Now, juice for
the conspiracy theorists out there, there was one common denominator
outside of Ted Gen Junior, and it was Beyonce. Beyonce
was the halftime performer in both of those Super Bowls.
Do you think that the Beyonce Jinx cost you a

(01:08:27):
super Bowl ring, and if so, what performer would have
made sure that you would have finished the super Bowl champion?

Speaker 5 (01:08:33):
Oh man, that's tough. So I'm gonna say, uh I
love Bee. I'll always say that you can't take faction
away from us. You know, Jewish there you did it.
But if I could switch it around out put future future,
because we've brought future out for Tony Mantana in San Francisco.

Speaker 1 (01:08:56):
So he was like our could luck charm.

Speaker 3 (01:08:59):
Got it in that time. So if you had future,
you would have the hardware.

Speaker 1 (01:09:04):
And would be forty seven and then fifty fifty to fifty.

Speaker 5 (01:09:10):
If I could get somebody else at that time, Man,
I don't know, I don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:09:21):
Break We'll bring yeah, run it back Tae hardware.

Speaker 1 (01:09:29):
That was Camboy. That was Camboy.

Speaker 3 (01:09:31):
There you go. That's the two minute drill. He is
Ted King Junior. Hey juice, When two Green Road guys
get back together, you know it's going to be here.
Y'all roll.

Speaker 1 (01:09:46):
Rollo.

Speaker 2 (01:09:48):
Thanks for diving in man, no doubt.

Speaker 1 (01:09:50):
Thank y'all.

Speaker 3 (01:09:51):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:09:51):
Anytime y'all need to let me know, Man, appreciate it.
You're now diving.

Speaker 3 (01:09:58):
Just like Jew said, Thanks for diving into the Fish
Tank presented by iHeartRadio. Be sure to follow us on
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