December 4, 2024 • 42 mins
"Stew and the Crew" is hosted by Jonathan Stewart, the Carolina Panthers' all-time leading rusher, and Jeremy Kelley, Director of Legends Affairs. Together, they invite legendary guests to delve into the intricacies of the game and life after football. This week J-Stew sits down with former Panthers defensive back and current Panthers Radio broadcaster, Eugene Robinson.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
With the thirteenth pick in the two thousand and eight
NFL drafts.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Karen last hand their select. Jonathan Stewart gives to Stewart.
He leaves touched up.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Stewart oh rough tough right, angry man out at elbows, knees,
where it hesitates, accelerates.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
That's what I'm talking about. Fit the spash Moll football contain.
Stuart got running room.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Stewart jump over a tackler at the tent, flows up
Flawer's his shoulder, keeps running.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
No one will touch him.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Jonathan Stewart house is it you talk about.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Explosive plays in the run game. It's like the fourth
of July around here. Right now you are listening to
Stu and the crew. Now to Jonathan Stewart's and Jeremy Kelly.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
You are now listening to Stu and the crew. I'm
your host, Jonathan Stewart co host here, Jeremy Kelly. We
have the great honor to be sitting next to legend
ladies and gentlemen. Eugene Robinson's NAFETY Pro bowler, all pro
legend man.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah, football right.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Okay, Look, and I know we're gonna be talking all
day long, so I'm gonna check out my tooth now.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yeah, so I could go ahead, let's talk about the tooth.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Look, I got an implant that's going on and whatnot,
and I'm on television. I'm like, look, man, I got
this little retain of things happening. I'm taking out my tout.
I can go ahead and talk to my moment.
Speaker 5 (01:17):
Yeah, I love football player. You ain't a real football
player lose a tooth. I want a safety that pulls
out his tooth. That's what I wants.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Or cut your finger off like Ronnie Lop. But go ahead.
Welcome man, Thank you very much. Good to be here.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Man.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
I love this this one my favorites. Man.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
Gino is awesome. We're glad to have you in the studio. Yeah,
we're glad to have you in the studio.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Man.
Speaker 5 (01:42):
It's a lot of football right here next to it.
It's a lot of football. That brother, they couldn't get
rid of them, you know, that's right, called them the
roach right just kept coming back.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
So Jean, I always hear it.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
So when it comes to your voice, when it comes
to me being a Carolina anther, you know the Chicago
Bears game, my rookie year, you called that game, and
you know, as a rookie you go and watch your
highlights and whatnot. And Eugene Robinson was calling the Chicago
Bears game and I just remember your voice. A star
(02:18):
is born, A star is born. And I was like, man,
that made me feel really good, Like he sees, he sees.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Something in me.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
You've seen a lot of football, man, Like, what can
you tell me as far as what you see in
the Carolina Panthers?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Right now?
Speaker 5 (02:32):
Can I pause though, because I really really want to
take it back when we say a lot of football.
I want the folks to know what a lot of
football is. Okay, Yeah, all right, because I'm gonna so
I'm gonna go through the resume, all right, right, Litsten repertoire,
the repertoire straight out of Kolgate University Upstate. Ain't nothing
in Colby, nothing, nothing nothing. We got a smart brother
(02:53):
right here though, undrafted, Yes, Seattle Seahawks nineteen eighty five.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Right with that, Chuck n got you.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Chuck Keen Easley was a safety Brown. They had a
secondary that was like second to none, and trying to
make that squad was big.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
That's right, I made it, That's right. The Seahawks had
some they were doing it. They were doing it nineteen
eighty five, nineteen eighty five, running back.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
You want to know something that I was right down
the street two years later Fort Lewis, Washington.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Really I was born yeah native right, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
So I was born nineteen eighty seven. Okay, March twenty.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
First, he quietly, just like you, he shut that up.
I mean hospital, you bet you've been down to Fort
Little Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Man, My boy, one of my boys who was in
who was in the service of Michael Thompson, he was
down at Fort Lewis, and so I would go down
and visit him. And when I was playing for the
Seattle so I would go down and visit my man.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
All the time.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Okay, yeah, absolutely, that whole area, man, I've been up
up through the combing that whole area.
Speaker 5 (03:52):
Dog, Okay, eleven seasons. You had plenty of time to do, man,
plenty of time to go ahead.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
And do Hilltop? Was that hilltop? Absolutely?
Speaker 5 (03:59):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, you know yeah, yeah, dude, you better you better
come correct up there.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Yeah, you can't be messing around.
Speaker 5 (04:09):
Eleven seasons, two Pro Bowls in Seattle, yes, sir, all right,
but we could take it deeper than that though, man
second all time leading tackler.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Yeah, your boy wagoner just second interceptions leader as well. Right,
they got you there too. Huh. But that stood for
a long time now, Yeah, I've been behind Dave Brown.
Speaker 5 (04:29):
That stood for a long time. You go on Seattle,
you leave Seattle, go to the Packers, another great team. Yeah,
you just found you just Super Bowls followed you.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Hey, but hit us. Reggie White called me Upie White
called me and say, yoja, man, you want to play
for the Packers.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Story alert.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
I said, dude, I can't play for the pack call
me up, Reggie White and asked me to play for
the Packers.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
He said, you need to play for the Package. The
Lord told me, I want to tell you to go to
be a green Bay Packer. Two weeks later, dude, I
was that was the green Bay Packer kid?
Speaker 2 (05:01):
You know? Was it like a decision that you made? No,
it was.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
I got They had just picked Dennis Erickson was coming
on the scene and he had what was that young
man who played for him down in in Miami with
really good safety Darryl Williams. And so it was me
Darrel Williams, Robert Blackman, we're all on the same team.
Really safe, no word, wasn't there three great safeties? And
so one had to go. And so I was like, Hey,
(05:26):
if y'all want to cut me, if y'all want to
trade me, I'm good. Reggie White is tolding me that
the Packers won me. The next thing I know him
down the Green Bay Packers two weeks later.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
So was that on the cell phone with the little.
Speaker 5 (05:38):
Yeah, man, yes, that was the technology put in that quarter.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yeah, hey get.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Oh man, you know no, but hey, look what songs were?
What what song comes to mind when you were picked
up by the Seahawks nineteen eighty five?
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Wow, nineteen eighty five Michael Jackson? Michael Jackson is playing
And also, uh, who came up with Marvin Gang came
up with sexual healing at that time? Yeah, Anita Baker
was hot, and I mean Anita Baker was a thing.
I don't know nothing about this music. Anita Baker, I
(06:17):
don't know. She was absolutely bringing him. Freddie Jackson was
singing you I'm lady.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
You better cut that in.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
So back then, I mean all the songs, don't forget
everybody kind of almost listened to the same music too.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
It wasn't like it is, it's so diverse.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
And then and then really hip hop was this kind
of coming on the scene when I was like in
college eighty two, eighty three, you know, and it was
sugar Hill Game, but it was King Tim the third
it was it was Goops that people don't even know
that came out of New York. And so we were
kind of riding that wave and it was just all
beginning to start.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Wow, you know, And I was part of that late.
Speaker 5 (06:55):
I always said, man if I could have played during
any era, would have been like that late eighties, early
nine that nineties when the hip hop it was I
was an We had the mess jerseys, you know, the
fashion like it was. The focus was switching to personality. Yeah,
(07:16):
and it was just it was it seemed like a
great time.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
I mean. And then the league was in the league.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
But don't forget the league didn't change really into the
to Reggie White's the free agent thing that he started.
But it really started back in eighty five when I
was part of the you know, NFL PA at that time,
when we were kind of fighting for rights. We had
a strike in eighty seven. We had all that stuff
that was going on. And I remember my mentor, Dave Brown,
(07:44):
who passed away. He had sixty two interceptions, great cornerback.
He told me this. This was back in nineteen eighty six.
He said, if we get free agency, and we probably will,
he said, it won't be in your lifetime, he said,
but it might be in your son's lifetime or the children.
He said, it's gonna become a time of player is
gonna make fifty million dollar signing bonus, one hundred minutes
(08:05):
signing bonus. He said, it's gonna come a time because
of free agency. I said eight nineteen eighty five, eighty six.
I said, there's no way. I said, there's no way,
because you know what the average, you know, the salary,
just like you're making seventy thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Wow, yeah, it's all to work at the at the
freight yard. Huge. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Yeah, you know the average was when I first came
in League sixty two thousand for like a young rookie.
And so from that standpoint, I couldn't I couldn't even
fathom that. And he was so forward. Think he said, look,
free agency is so important. If we get it, it's
gonna change everything. And look to this day. Right now
we see what all the players going on. It's it's
a blessing.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
We drink from the wells. We did not dig, absolutely
man like that.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
And standing on the shoulders that I'm still on the
shoulders of the guys who I don't even know who
paved the way for me.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Wow, that's right, that's right still man.
Speaker 5 (08:55):
Yeah, man, so you you you had some great mentorship,
you know. And again as I said you, the super
Bowls followed you.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Man. You went to Green Bay, you went to two
of them. One one lost, one go to.
Speaker 5 (09:07):
Atlanta, Yeah, and another super Bowl, Man, another one loved it.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
So we had a good team too. Man, that was
a great tweek. That Jamal Anderson running back reminds me. Yeah,
but kind of reminds me of you got that he had.
He wasn't as fast as you, but he got that.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Same like, same move movement.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Yeah, and if you hit him, I'm like, oh my goodness,
about to go ahead of the chain.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Right. Who was the hardest running back to tackle?
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Barry Sanders? None, Barry. So my son is a big
Barry Sanders fan, right, he loved him. And so I
was playing for Green Bay and so were about to
play the game. And I said, hey, Barry, Man, I
need you to do me a favorite. I said, my son
loves you. Man, he says, man, he says, I can't
tackle you all this other stuff. Berry looked at me,
said I don't think you ever tackled me. I said,
(09:55):
I'll push you out of bounce once and that counts. Yeah,
cous of the tackle. I said, but would you go
ahead and sign autograph for my son? He signed autograph
for my son and whatnot, really trying to took care
of him, but by far. Just that, dude, your peripheral
vision and having to be able to see, and it's
beyond what normal people, even defensive backs, but beyond what
(10:19):
we do.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
You guys see a feel that I don't see.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Do you see a running back now that possesses the
talents close to the talents of Barry Sanders.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Man.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
I was watching Saquon and I was I was sitting going, dude, man,
I thought when Reggie Bush came on the Sea, I
was like, man, Reggie Bush. You know it was Marshall
for Reggie Bush. I was like, oh, man, kind of
reminds me of Barry. But when I was watching, I
was like dude, man, this got that. Yeah, he just
got that.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
He got that.
Speaker 5 (10:52):
It really, when you think about all the great running
backs in league history, Barry certainly up there for the top,
like just be and I say to me, is the
top because there really has yet to be anybody comparatively
like And people have had statistics, people have done you know,
amazing period of time that did it right exactly, have
(11:16):
reached amazing feats and have done things. But when you
think about running style, there really hasn't been anybody. And
you're right, and I don't know if it's because of
body type that is resemblance, but you look at the
great Adrian Peterson, you don't compare him to Barry. You
look at Marshall fulk, I really don't even compare to
Barry a little different just like you know, they were
(11:37):
just giving it the barrier, running downhill with it. Marshall
was catching the ball to backfield, Marshall was moving, he
was running around.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Field right right. So so man, it's just special.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
I'll tell you, if you guys, go watch film of
di'angelo running just running a B line and watching Barry
Sanders similar, very similar.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
I could I could definitely see.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
That I used to be like, man like, he runs
very like like he's running on water. Like you know
what I'm saying, Like, however, you're supposed to run on water,
if that ever ever happens besides Jesus, Like, that's what
it has to look like, where you're not really hitting
the ground, you're just floating, floating.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
But see, I remember in practice here when I was
working with the Carolina Panthers earlier doing the broadcast, and
I would watch you guys at practice, and I remember,
I've seen you do it, and I seen DiAngelo do
it that y'all broke through the line and y'all would
run all the way down the field to score touchdown.
I'm going like this, why the heck are they running
out of score touchdown? So that when they're running the
(12:43):
score testyle is not unfamiliar.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
To you, and that's trying to get caught. And you've
been caught a couple of times.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
But I didn't.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Realize that you were as fast as yours. I was like, dude,
he's a big old doupe. But I said, dude, he
could run. He's legit fast, like legit four four four
three at nine, I had no idea I had no idea, dude,
Oh I wait to be about to move hitting people.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Okay, so we asked you real quick again in sixteen seasons, man,
and you didn't miss many games you, I mean, two
hundred and thirty two games out of two hundred and
fifty something game.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
I mean that's impressive. Yeah, that right there. How did
you do that? That's NFL preparation. What was your injuries? Like?
How did you nurse yourself back to.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
Especially as good as a safety during that time because
a hard hitter you could come across the middle. I mean,
jokers didn't want to come across the middle when Gino
was back there, I promise you that. But coming downhill
when it's I formation, full bash, yeah, I know you.
You probably met some cats in the oh yeah yeah,
in that whole now.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Oh my goodness. Who comes to mind immediately is of course,
know what's that? Until he ran me over to what's
the brother from the Tennessee Titans.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Eddie George, Eddie George, Eddie George.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
We kind of locked eyes and I looked at Eddie
George and he about to come through the hall and
I had to cover that gap, that little cut that
beag gap, and I said I better get there before
and it was like a major to forward.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Oh my goodness, And so he went that way. I
went that way.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
And we were talking one day off season. He said, man,
you remember this. I said, dude, you talking about that
one play. I said, dude, that was one of the
hardest hits I ever gave. He said, that was one
of the hardest hits I got. And then I gave
it back to him, like, dude, it was like it
was a hard hit. That's none none of us gave ground.
That makes me think recognized.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Oh yeah, that.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
Makes me think of an NFL Films clip with him
and ray Lewis. Oh yeah, they talk about, oh he
ain't flinching Castill for man, he's.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
He's a really good running back. I loved Eddie George
growing up. I loved him in Ohio, favorite Ohio state.
I loved him in Tennessee. I remember when they had
them jerseys for them. Oh yeah, oh yeah, Eddie George.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
He is huge, big dude. How do you tackle a
guy like him?
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Comparative to Eddie, I would say Derrick Henry in size right.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
This past weekend we saw Derrick Henry get folded up. Yeah,
as the young dB for Philly Cooper Dejean. Yeah, yeah,
that with the young man hearing the Bronco and Girsky Awards.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Well okay, but like what do you have to like
prep for that?
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Yeah, I catch him before he You gotta make that
ben and right at your solar place, you gotta make
that blend. And I want to make sure I get
same for the same shoulder before you make that ben,
because when you when you get all that mass and
you get that shoulder the same down, you're gonna end
up running me over. Most running backs will run, they'll
run right through you. But if I can get to
that position before you get to that position, I can
(15:46):
win that battle. And so it's a matter of like,
and I can't be afraid to get to that position.
And I gotta go ahead and be in a ticket
that we bounce off or you win that one or
I win that one. But I'm gonna go full speed
and get there as fast as I can. And I
got there before Eddie George it a little bit, so
it was like boom, and I got it. I did
the same thing the doors leven. I did the same thing,
(16:06):
though dorse elevens and in a practice, we had a
live practice.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
So I'm coming through the hole.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
I'm like, okay, get there before he he bends and
looks at you put that foot in the ground. And
I caught him right before that, and it just I
just dropped him like it was nothing. It didn't even hurt.
I just dropped him because I got to the position
that you need to get you to make that really
good solid tackle.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
We know you were bringing it down there.
Speaker 6 (16:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:28):
So yeah, that's how you played the game. That's what
keeps you around for sixteen, man, that keeps you around.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Look I got by saying Kevin Mack ran me over,
Lee Roy Hord ran me over. I got guys who
ran me over.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
You know this duel and the words of Marshall just
say you're gonna get God.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Get God, just gotta get yours. Yeah, get God. That's right,
He's right about that, man. Man.
Speaker 5 (16:52):
Now, Gina, you've been busy since you since you left
the game, and you stayed connected to the game. I mean,
you haven't really truly left the game. But as we
were just talking about before before we cut the mics on,
that transition is serious. That transition requires community that transition
and so finding that and being able to stay connected
in the media aspect.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
You've been in broadcasting.
Speaker 5 (17:11):
You've done our Panthers talk post game, which you still
do to this day.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Right, Yes, you just love some ball man. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Mike Haynes. Mike Haynes, great State, great corner back, Hall
of Famer. One day we were playing the back in
nineteen ninety two. I'm playing against the Raiders. He's outside
doing some promotion stuff. The game is over. He's doing
his promotion stuff and he's doing radio. And so he's
one of my favorite corners. He's like six ' three.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
Now.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
It's just a great corner anyway, one of my favorite corners.
I said, I said, how do you stay on top?
How do you stay connected? And he told me, when
you leave this game, I need you to transition. Well,
make sure you're starting to do If you want to
get in radio, make sure you're doing radio now. If
you're on television, make sure you're doing it right now, Gene.
If you don't, he said, it'll pass you by and
(17:59):
you'll look cold, say hey, what happened to the time.
So that was the reason I got involved in television
and radio is because I had a talk with Mike
Haynes in nineteen ninety two, who just dropped a little
bug in my hands, say, if you want to do this,
make sure you're doing it right now so that the
transition is a lot easier when you leave this game.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
And it was Man, and he's a consumer professional. I've
got mic over the years. We see him every year
at Super Bowl with the Marlin Olsen luncheon. And you're right,
he's all of six three too, and you can see
why he was.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
He was just a dog back when he was playing Man.
I got a question.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
You've been around football for so long, right, twenty plus years? Yes, sir,
I mean if you count high school, middle school, when
did you start playing When did you start playing football?
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I started playing football in nineteen wow, nineteen seventy nine. Yeah, well,
actually before that when you know little league stuff, but
I didn't count that, but high school nineteen something else.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
For so long, you've been able to see this progression
change of the game in so many facets, right, the
rule changes, the dynamics of offense defense that goes through
their changes every ten years. How do you stay in
love with the game for so long?
Speaker 2 (19:16):
Wow?
Speaker 1 (19:16):
I think That's something as we used to always say
when we were kids that I would play this game
for free because we played Thanksgiving. You went outside, you
grabbed the ball and you threw the ball around, and
you just grabbed the friends and you just tackled.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
You just played football.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
And that was something that me and my cousin, my brother,
we always I was so I was a little dude.
Speaker 7 (19:37):
Man.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
I wasn't If you just saw me when I graduated
from high school, you would say, this guy should never
be in the National Football League. I was one hundred
and forty five fifty poules.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Dude.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
I was like five to nine graduating out of high school.
Out of high school, and I was a wrestler. I wrestled.
I was a wrestler, and I was like, you know,
I beat the state champion. I wasn't state champer. I
was like second state, third in the state. But I
was that guy. And so because I could wrestle, people
looked at me and go like this, and I got
him to do that. So I walked on that colgate.
(20:07):
There was like this, dude, I couldn't even bench press
one forty five. I do like this, you couldn't even
fine pressure weight. I couldn't, I couln't p spress my way.
I got it up and the dudes laughed me out
of the gym.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
It's like this. Now, I'm from the hood, right, I'm
straight hood.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
I did just like this, man, It's all right, every
last one of y'all cats.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
I'll see y'all few and I'm maybe go into the
car and pop the truck.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
So I'm doing that right, just like I'll see every
The dudees are laughing at me right, like you got,
skinny little dude, blue black, skinny little black luist, what
are you doing?
Speaker 4 (20:39):
He's laughing.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Get out of here right, So I leave. I can't
wait to get on the field and practice. I'm waiting.
I got my stuff. I'm already suited up.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
I'm like, I'm ready, dude, dude.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
I was lighting cats up and it was going to
this that skinny little dude can hit like that because
I'm out of the I played football with my brother
and my cousin and in the hood, and we played
on dirt, cement, bad grass, We played in the parking
lot with the cars. We played everywhere. And so to me,
I was like, oh, the dude, you ain't coming from
(21:12):
the stock I'm coming from.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
I'm about to go ahead and let you have it.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
And so I've always had that mentality and I've always
loved the game.
Speaker 5 (21:18):
So did you You said you walked on, but were
you recruited to walk on a football or did you
go for wrestling because I know Kolga has a great
wrestling program.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Yeah, so I went for academics because I was third
in my class and no one knew no one knew
anything about me wrestling or playing football. And I got
challenged by one of the top recruits. He was a
big running back out of New York. He was about
six three two twenty five. We were at a at
a fire drill and we were talking football and I said, yeah,
(21:46):
I love play football. I like to come out for
the team. He said, I run your little ass over. Dude,
you're too small. He said, you're too small like this,
and You're like, oh, good job, good job. You remember that?
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Oh my go.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Whn't that's the coach. The next day, head coach, could
I come out? And they was like, we're not too short.
And then one day they saw me playing football in
the gym, catching the ball and one guy through the
ball near the room and I caught it with one
hand like near the run.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Like this that boy got bounced and they were like, hold,
wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. When
I can actually it looked like you know what he's doing.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
So coaches came out to watch me play, watch me
catch the ball.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
This is I want to be clear. This was like
before the glass backboards.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
She's like, yeah, I think we had a glass back
boar but it was fast.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
But they didn't know anything about me, And I just said,
if I get a chance to go in and play,
I'm gonna let everybody know what time it does. I mean,
you know, I know I'm small, but who cares? And
so I didn't grow till I got to really in
the pros. I grew to be six feet and maybe
one pounds. Right, man, what was it light being stored
(22:54):
in the NFL? You know, during you know the eighties,
like just you know the acceptance.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Of of of us, you know, people of color.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Yeah here, No, here's the one thing that I think
is odd that you guys would find crazy people had
jobs like they had other jobs. Because football is so precarious.
You didn't know if you were going to be on
the team so that you get cut in any time.
The owners. Ownership has so much control. And guys, I
would blew my mind. Guys used to smoke cigarettes at halftime.
(23:27):
I was coming to go, dude, are you smoking cigarettes
at halftime?
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Like it's they got other jobs, you know. And so
that was like a culture shot.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
And then for people of color of that time, it's
like it's still hadn't broke broken through about the quarterback
that we see the quarterback being a little bit more
prolific right now as a black quarterback. You know, a
person of color back then, James Harrison, Williams, Doug Williams,
if I can count them, I forget the god from
(23:59):
for the Chicago I could count him on my hand
and I was like, and they were like in backup
roles at that And.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
So from that standpoint, it wasn't the same.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
But the other positions, the receiver, the defensive back, this
and uh, we saw more integration evil on the office
of line at that starting to see it at the
office of line at that time, you got to see that,
oh well wait a minute. People of color are in
every position, you know, and at the most pivotal positions
(24:28):
because that's for free safety. You know that might like
the middle linebacker my head coach down at head coach,
and before he passed away Tom Catlan in Seattle, he
gave me the keys to his defense, saying, all right,
run my defense, run it. So I had full control off.
I want to change the plate. If I saw somebody
(24:48):
in the light, I'm changing it. And y'all better know
what my voice is. And if I throw a call up, hey,
y'all better get it.
Speaker 4 (24:54):
You know.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
So people follow me on because he gave me so
much power to change to and I earned it because
you know, I.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Knew what I was doing. Command the room too.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Yeah, and you command the rule by your play. I
was put ken easily. Dave Brown, all those guys back
in there that day that I played with the Ronnie
Lotts man, they let by example.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Man. I mean, if I.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Asked him, man, how do I hit the dude, You'll
come up and hit you.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
You hit him like that?
Speaker 3 (25:23):
I'm like that sounds like coach Kip. So every year, man,
we have a new guy and we're talking about blocking.
He said, I don't care how you block him, just
make sure you block them, right, He used some other language.
Just make sure you block him. I don't care how
you do it. Just don't let him touch the quarterback
(25:43):
if you The key ingredient to blocking somebody is you
gotta want to block.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
And one that's right to And that's and that's the thing,
and that's what we had. I think more so it
is because you don't know where you're You got to
really play for your You got to really take care
of your family. And you're not getting paid like everybody
else is getting paid.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
You're just not.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
You know, it's there's still that the little inequity that exists,
and so you got to handle your business. And so
you know the academics of football. And made sure I
knew it athletically. I made sure I was I'm not
gonna get tired. You ain't gonna out outlast min Field.
I'm not gonna get tired. So I made sure that
my body's in great shape and that I knew the
academics football. And the last thing is that I'm not
(26:29):
afraid to make a play, even if you dogged me,
even if you beat me. So what you beat me,
I'm not going to be afraid to make that play.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
And sob you want to DB's short memory. Yeah, that's
that want to man.
Speaker 5 (26:41):
Let me so, so we get you here in Carolina, Yes, sir,
which is home for you? You set down, you loved it.
Two thousand?
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Who what have ben?
Speaker 5 (26:52):
Let's see so in two thousand, so you had you know,
you was here with Mike Rutger.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
You were here Chuck Smith. Mike Rutger was very young,
Chuck Smith, Mike Minner, Mike was in year two, so
you would have had meant.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Mike, Mike Minner was in the secondary I forget to
do from uh. He came from the San Francisco forty
nine ers Eric Davis. So we had a we had
like a well established crew.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
We had some seasons, vets we did Greman, you're a historian. Yes,
I mean it's kind of a.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Like we had some cast member we only went seven
and nine that year, but we had some cast that
could put wabble complay man, and so we weren't like
a laughing stop. We were always in the thickest thing. Yeah,
really competitive.
Speaker 5 (27:35):
But I mean when you look at the landscape of
let's let's consider it now, at the conference or I'm sorry,
the division, Tampa was doing their thing, Atlanta was doing
it that which you know you was just in the right.
So so the Division two thousand Saints I can't really recall,
but I mean those two teams right there were too
at the top and the league the thing time. I mean,
(27:56):
they were doing it. So it wasn't like you were
just showing up. I mean it's four games off the
schedule right there. That you better bring your lunch.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Path, man, right, you better you better bring your.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
What was your expectations to be amongst the thirteen and
three football team Carolina Panthers when you played them in
the playoffs?
Speaker 2 (28:13):
Green back? Yeah? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
And so when I played them and I was playing
for the Green Bay Packers, they had a they had
a crew, and who really stood out to me a
little bit was Mussa Mohammad Moose was like I think
that might have been his first year, but I can
remember hitting Moose.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
I was like, man, this do this solid?
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Man?
Speaker 1 (28:33):
I mean, Moose is a big deal, big receiver. I'm like,
but he's solid. I'm like, and I hit him and
I don't you know, I didn't let him know that
it hurt, but I was like, dude, this dude solid.
So in my mind is I had to hit him
like that every single time because I gotta. I gotta
get after him because if not, he's gonna beat me.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Because once you realize he's a big joker man.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
Like you know, as far as like a player with
the ball, you make contact and you feel it the
first time, like ooh, and you're gonna be all right.
I gotta do it again because if I let up,
he's gonna know. He's gonna know absolutely, and he's gonna
come harder and harder, right and so and so it's
the reverse too, right, So that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Have you ever told MS Dad?
Speaker 4 (29:17):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Yeah, we were talking about it, I said, I said most.
We were just sitting there talking and whatnot. I said, most,
I remember hating you coming across the middle, and I
was like, I gave you like everything.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
I was like, dang it, man, I said, this dude
is solid like a damn building.
Speaker 7 (29:30):
Man.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
I said, student, man, what is going on right here?
And I said I never let up.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
I was like, oh, I got to bring it every
single time because this dude ain't no joke. And so
that's just a mad respect I have for Like, here's
the other thing. I've always respected the other guys and
their craft or the other team when they were like
at the top of the game. I was like, wow,
I want to be considered at the top of my game,
like like the Ronnie Lott And I remember getting an
interception that was one of my best interceptions ever.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Man. It was sweet, dude.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
I'm dying out and catching it and whatnot, and so
I'm running it back. My boy, Ronnie A. Lott was
playing for the Raiders at this time, and as I
got up, I ran it back thirty forty yards. This
interception was crazy, and so he looked at me like this,
and he's one of my favorite players.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
He looked at me, pointed to me like this. He
gave me a thumbs up. Wow. And that was that
was during the game.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
And I'm going like this, going, man, Ronnie Lot, don't
even know what And we've talked about that moment. You
had no idea what that moment did for me and
my confidence, but what you thought about.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Me, special man, special man.
Speaker 5 (30:34):
I love it too, because I mean, you outlining your
story from your upbring I didn't know you had that,
you know, walk on, I didn't you were a walk on.
Didn't know that that was your childhood, your high school career,
getting to you know, I should say, going from being
undrafted to being thirteenth all time career interceptions, right, yes, sir,
(30:56):
and a hall of fame, which respect, man, clap it up.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
I appreciate that because we got a hall of fame. Like,
don't take that lightly.
Speaker 5 (31:05):
I know you your humility comes through the microphone here obviously,
and you're celebrating other people and giving people their flowers.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Man, but let us give that to you. And I
know you've been on the list.
Speaker 5 (31:14):
You're entering the senior class now, right, Yes, it ain't
being funny, it's just what it is. Which is which
is I mean really for you just to be going
in now, man, I mean it's like like it speaks
to the length of your career.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Right.
Speaker 5 (31:26):
So, which for the viewers at home the listeners, you
have to be removed from the game for twenty five
years and more to enter in the senior class, all
the modern era twenty five years or less. Right, So
we have a good long list of former Panthers that
are on that modern era list. A couple of guys
that are semi finalists this year, Smith and Luke. That's right,
(31:47):
we're pulling for Smitty, We're certainly pulling for Luke being
this is his first year, is the first ballot. Let's
hope that we get those guys across the line at
Super Bowl this year. But to have a guy like yourself,
to have the career that you have, man, she votes annually. Man,
it's special, it's special, and so that deserves to be recognized.
I appreciate it, and we called out man, thank you.
(32:07):
You know, but but you landed here in Charlotte. You
stayed here in Charlotte. I mean, you just outlined your
career for us here.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
Man, But but what what was there? What was the deal?
Speaker 5 (32:15):
What made you stay outside the ball outside of the
the broadcasting and the media opportunities. You know, me and
you have spent a lot of time on the golf course.
You know, we got it with Leonard Wheeler, Stu. Have
you ever first of all, have you ever got with Gino?
Speaker 2 (32:28):
No? You okay, Now I don't count. I heard looking
my homework on Man, I'm like, man, we're gonna get
We're gonna get on there.
Speaker 5 (32:39):
You see how he commanded his microphone. It don't stop
on the course. He don't need this. He don't need this.
He got that chatter her. Leonard literally has to be Gino,
shut up.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Shut up, Gino.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
And it's so much fun. Stops stop when we get
out there. It's just like a service when we're playing.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
He's a dB. Yeah, he gotta talk.
Speaker 7 (33:03):
Can't help wanted to help himself? What is it about defensive?
Think about it? Captain cap talk? The only the only
dB that I know that. Don't talk with Chris Gamble. Wow,
Chris Gamble. They'll say, were you Jaris Burg?
Speaker 2 (33:18):
You right?
Speaker 3 (33:18):
And Jared the only thing that only thing with Jarris.
Jareds will talk to you.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
Let him.
Speaker 6 (33:25):
But Jareds if you had him, if you leave alone,
he he Mitch Jers Bird and I played with that
Gilbert and Gilbert one of the best corner slash safeties.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
Gill is one of the best men in football. Yeah,
no doubt absolutely her, point blank.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
Man.
Speaker 5 (33:39):
I'll tell you about a Gil Gilbert story later. I
got We did it. We did it. We did a
we went through I just got done playing. We went
through athletes and action training up in Eno, Ohio at
the headquarters, and they had this big you know, this
kind of like team building, this trust type of and
it was a tree like a high ropes. Course, my man,
(33:59):
Gil I got he still got this photo. Every now
and again, we'll just I'll just drop it through him.
He got stuck up.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
On that thing. But it's exhausting because the rope rope, rope.
Speaker 5 (34:13):
He got his arms through, he got his arms to it,
and he just hanging out because he couldn't he out.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
Man.
Speaker 5 (34:20):
Yeah, I'll show you the photo. But but but I
want you to answer the question here in Charlotte, like,
what is it about the city?
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Man?
Speaker 5 (34:29):
You've got to see the transformation from the time you've come,
I mean just in from two thousand and now twenty years,
twenty plus years that you've been here.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
What is it? What your whats your what's your?
Speaker 1 (34:38):
I think I think it's a great place to raise
a family. I think there's so much stuff that you
can do. Culture lead us here. There's so much I
think opportunity here. And then when I got here, mister
Richardson welcomed me in the family as a Carolina panther,
and I had no idea what that did for me,
but allowed me to get re established in an area
where nobody knew me. And because of that, it veiled
(35:01):
so many opportunities for me to go ahead and shake
hands and network and connect. And and that was all
because I'm telling you, mister Richardson just put an arm
around me and said, I want you to come here,
and and I and I asked him too. I asked
him seriously. I said, mister Richardson, I got to ask
you this before you passed away. We had we had dinner,
(35:24):
we went out to a luncheon. I said, why do
you want me on your team?
Speaker 2 (35:27):
I said, I don't really know you. You don't know
me one year.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
He said, I've always watched your career Jeane, and followed you.
And I said that I've ever had a chance to
have you played for me. If you ever come up,
I want you to play for me. And so that
he had no idea what he was able to do.
And I said, even when you knew I got arrested,
even when you knew all the stuff, I said, even
(35:53):
when you knew all that stuff that was militating and
against me, Where you can go ahead and and take
your hands off because I don't want to deal with that.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
You want to go ahead and mess with me. That
dude said, yeah, that's it, man, that dude said, Yeah,
I'll never forget. Why do all of this town.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
I got an opportunity. God gave me a new start,
give me a new, brand new start. And I'm a
high school coach. I'm coaching kids, and I'm coaching them
and wrestling and tracking in football, and I'm helping them
through the very most difficult dark times in the life.
I thought I would never have that type of ministry, man,
I thought I would never even be a part of that.
(36:41):
You know, you could easily become a prior when you
go through something that I did that was self inflicted,
that I've done, But that wasn't the case. And I
just got to thank the Lord for the opportunity that
I'm like, Man, God, I don't.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
Get your grace and mercy and I don't get your favor.
Speaker 7 (37:00):
Man.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Thank you, Thank you Lord, that you would allow mister
Richardson to see me somewhat differently from just.
Speaker 3 (37:10):
That's awesome that you that's awesome that you, you know,
were intentional about your time with mister Richardson to gain
that perspective, you know, like to know that deep down
he saw something in you despite despite me, And I
think that's where a lot of people need to get
(37:30):
back to man, if you are get to because I
feel like a lot of people have never felt that
to where a you can be so vulnerable, right and
in this business because you're a spotlight, right and everything
can be working for you at one point, and just
(37:53):
one little thing can be working against you. But all
it takes is for one to believe in you, and
it just goes to you know, we're all men of
faith here, right, and you know that's that's really what
God calls us to do, is to see the good
in people because it's in there, right Because what what
(38:16):
mister Richardson was able to do, what he unlocked, what
God allowed him to unlock, and you like multiplied times seventy, right,
so you just never know, you know, listen, and mister
Richardson was a man of God. And you know when
(38:38):
you're able to move, you know, not on your own wisdom,
but on God's wisdom. Man, things can really really really
happen for legacies. You know, you talk about the Carolina
Panthers and who they are now, like you're a part
of that, Like that's that's amazing. If you if you weren't,
(39:03):
if you weren't brought here. Who knows what the culture
would be like as far as even even your even
your past career, like and you're affecting the locker room
on guys like myself, Thomas Davis and seeing you know
what it looks like to be a guy post football,
(39:23):
you know, not just a guy the guy. You know
what I'm saying, Like, oh, when like the broadcasting thing
like me doing the podcast and and tapping in.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
A lot of that is because of you.
Speaker 3 (39:35):
I see guys like you and like, man, he's doing
something that he loves to do every single day. And
it goes back to mister Richardson saying, I believe in.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
That guy, you know. And here's the other thing, Jay,
is that.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
The community that you are ahead of and that you
helped the like you're doing more than just connecting guys.
You're giving guys hope, transition, You're allowing them to be seen,
You're allowing them to go ahead and field just one
more time.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Just one more time. That's what that's that's what's happening.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
So man, if I can throw myself in that, if
I can be a part of that and just to
help somebody along the work, man, I'm there.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Dude. That's why if you called me, I'm like this
or what I gotta do? What you need me to do?
You know.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
And if I get a call from any football players,
I do the same thing, like my postures, what I
need to do.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
If you need something to what you need me to do,
I want to help it. I want to man.
Speaker 5 (40:30):
And I asked that question with the with with the foresight.
I really asked because your impact immediately when I got
down here, rightly, I do my research on guys, and
I knew your name just from growing up and watching
you play and whatnot. But your name kept coming up
in a different circles and genus here or you know,
(40:50):
going to different events, you know, two years ago, man,
and you were there. You were everywhere, was a guy
right Your influence mag was magnifying the city.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
I could see it.
Speaker 5 (41:00):
And so to hear you give a little bit of
backstory there, mister Richardson and the life that he's spoke
into you, man, got more than I bargain for us.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
Yeah, thank you man, for sar. We appreciate it, don't
It's special. It's special.
Speaker 5 (41:12):
And I think that this is, you know, kind of
the premise of what we do this podcast right. It's
talking a little bit more about ball, but peeling back
the mask, peeling back to veil and whatever analogy you use,
and finding out who the man is outder the jersey,
what this city means, what this club means, the impact
that it's had, but mutually and so you just delivered
(41:33):
that for us.
Speaker 2 (41:33):
Man. I appreciate Man, thanks for having on the podcast.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
Man, before you go, just give this answer this for me.
If you could describe in one phrase what football has
meant to you, what would that be.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
Football is not my identity. It's just what I I
do and what God allowed me just to go ahead
and love. My identity is in Christ, That's where my
identity comes from.
Speaker 2 (42:10):
But football it's way up there.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
And it's been a close second because it's allowed so
many opportunities that I would never ever have and to
change lives, not only my life, my family but my
siblings to change lives. So football has been it's been
a godsend.
Speaker 2 (42:30):
Thank you for man. Man, this is awesome.
Speaker 5 (42:33):
I appreciate your dog Come over podcast, Matt, Ladies and gentlemen.
Yet another episode of stew and the Crew with the
one and Only Eugene Robinson.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
We appreciate you, brother, Thank you for joining us today. Man,
thank you.
With the thirteenth pick in the two thousand and eight
NFL drafts.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Karen last hand their select. Jonathan Stewart gives to Stewart.
He leaves touched up.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Stewart oh rough tough right, angry man out at elbows, knees,
where it hesitates, accelerates.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
That's what I'm talking about. Fit the spash Moll football contain.
Stuart got running room.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Stewart jump over a tackler at the tent, flows up
Flawer's his shoulder, keeps running.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
No one will touch him.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Jonathan Stewart house is it you talk about.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Explosive plays in the run game. It's like the fourth
of July around here. Right now you are listening to
Stu and the crew. Now to Jonathan Stewart's and Jeremy Kelly.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
You are now listening to Stu and the crew. I'm
your host, Jonathan Stewart co host here, Jeremy Kelly. We
have the great honor to be sitting next to legend
ladies and gentlemen. Eugene Robinson's NAFETY Pro bowler, all pro
legend man.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah, football right.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Okay, Look, and I know we're gonna be talking all
day long, so I'm gonna check out my tooth now.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yeah, so I could go ahead, let's talk about the tooth.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Look, I got an implant that's going on and whatnot,
and I'm on television. I'm like, look, man, I got
this little retain of things happening. I'm taking out my tout.
I can go ahead and talk to my moment.
Speaker 5 (01:17):
Yeah, I love football player. You ain't a real football
player lose a tooth. I want a safety that pulls
out his tooth. That's what I wants.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Or cut your finger off like Ronnie Lop. But go ahead.
Welcome man, Thank you very much. Good to be here.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Man.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
I love this this one my favorites. Man.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
Gino is awesome. We're glad to have you in the studio. Yeah,
we're glad to have you in the studio.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Man.
Speaker 5 (01:42):
It's a lot of football right here next to it.
It's a lot of football. That brother, they couldn't get
rid of them, you know, that's right, called them the
roach right just kept coming back.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
So Jean, I always hear it.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
So when it comes to your voice, when it comes
to me being a Carolina anther, you know the Chicago
Bears game, my rookie year, you called that game, and
you know, as a rookie you go and watch your
highlights and whatnot. And Eugene Robinson was calling the Chicago
Bears game and I just remember your voice. A star
(02:18):
is born, A star is born. And I was like, man,
that made me feel really good, Like he sees, he sees.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Something in me.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
You've seen a lot of football, man, Like, what can
you tell me as far as what you see in
the Carolina Panthers?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Right now?
Speaker 5 (02:32):
Can I pause though, because I really really want to
take it back when we say a lot of football.
I want the folks to know what a lot of
football is. Okay, Yeah, all right, because I'm gonna so
I'm gonna go through the resume, all right, right, Litsten repertoire,
the repertoire straight out of Kolgate University Upstate. Ain't nothing
in Colby, nothing, nothing nothing. We got a smart brother
(02:53):
right here though, undrafted, Yes, Seattle Seahawks nineteen eighty five.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Right with that, Chuck n got you.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Chuck Keen Easley was a safety Brown. They had a
secondary that was like second to none, and trying to
make that squad was big.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
That's right, I made it, That's right. The Seahawks had
some they were doing it. They were doing it nineteen
eighty five, nineteen eighty five, running back.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
You want to know something that I was right down
the street two years later Fort Lewis, Washington.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Really I was born yeah native right, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
So I was born nineteen eighty seven. Okay, March twenty.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
First, he quietly, just like you, he shut that up.
I mean hospital, you bet you've been down to Fort
Little Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Man, My boy, one of my boys who was in
who was in the service of Michael Thompson, he was
down at Fort Lewis, and so I would go down
and visit him. And when I was playing for the
Seattle so I would go down and visit my man.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
All the time.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Okay, yeah, absolutely, that whole area, man, I've been up
up through the combing that whole area.
Speaker 5 (03:52):
Dog, Okay, eleven seasons. You had plenty of time to do, man,
plenty of time to go ahead.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
And do Hilltop? Was that hilltop? Absolutely?
Speaker 5 (03:59):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, you know yeah, yeah, dude, you better you better
come correct up there.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Yeah, you can't be messing around.
Speaker 5 (04:09):
Eleven seasons, two Pro Bowls in Seattle, yes, sir, all right,
but we could take it deeper than that though, man
second all time leading tackler.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Yeah, your boy wagoner just second interceptions leader as well. Right,
they got you there too. Huh. But that stood for
a long time now, Yeah, I've been behind Dave Brown.
Speaker 5 (04:29):
That stood for a long time. You go on Seattle,
you leave Seattle, go to the Packers, another great team. Yeah,
you just found you just Super Bowls followed you.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Hey, but hit us. Reggie White called me Upie White
called me and say, yoja, man, you want to play
for the Packers.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Story alert.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
I said, dude, I can't play for the pack call
me up, Reggie White and asked me to play for
the Packers.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
He said, you need to play for the Package. The
Lord told me, I want to tell you to go to
be a green Bay Packer. Two weeks later, dude, I
was that was the green Bay Packer kid?
Speaker 2 (05:01):
You know? Was it like a decision that you made? No,
it was.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
I got They had just picked Dennis Erickson was coming
on the scene and he had what was that young
man who played for him down in in Miami with
really good safety Darryl Williams. And so it was me
Darrel Williams, Robert Blackman, we're all on the same team.
Really safe, no word, wasn't there three great safeties? And
so one had to go. And so I was like, Hey,
(05:26):
if y'all want to cut me, if y'all want to
trade me, I'm good. Reggie White is tolding me that
the Packers won me. The next thing I know him
down the Green Bay Packers two weeks later.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
So was that on the cell phone with the little.
Speaker 5 (05:38):
Yeah, man, yes, that was the technology put in that quarter.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yeah, hey get.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Oh man, you know no, but hey, look what songs were?
What what song comes to mind when you were picked
up by the Seahawks nineteen eighty five?
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Wow, nineteen eighty five Michael Jackson? Michael Jackson is playing
And also, uh, who came up with Marvin Gang came
up with sexual healing at that time? Yeah, Anita Baker
was hot, and I mean Anita Baker was a thing.
I don't know nothing about this music. Anita Baker, I
(06:17):
don't know. She was absolutely bringing him. Freddie Jackson was
singing you I'm lady.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
You better cut that in.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
So back then, I mean all the songs, don't forget
everybody kind of almost listened to the same music too.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
It wasn't like it is, it's so diverse.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
And then and then really hip hop was this kind
of coming on the scene when I was like in
college eighty two, eighty three, you know, and it was
sugar Hill Game, but it was King Tim the third
it was it was Goops that people don't even know
that came out of New York. And so we were
kind of riding that wave and it was just all
beginning to start.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Wow, you know, And I was part of that late.
Speaker 5 (06:55):
I always said, man if I could have played during
any era, would have been like that late eighties, early
nine that nineties when the hip hop it was I
was an We had the mess jerseys, you know, the
fashion like it was. The focus was switching to personality. Yeah,
(07:16):
and it was just it was it seemed like a
great time.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
I mean. And then the league was in the league.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
But don't forget the league didn't change really into the
to Reggie White's the free agent thing that he started.
But it really started back in eighty five when I
was part of the you know, NFL PA at that time,
when we were kind of fighting for rights. We had
a strike in eighty seven. We had all that stuff
that was going on. And I remember my mentor, Dave Brown,
(07:44):
who passed away. He had sixty two interceptions, great cornerback.
He told me this. This was back in nineteen eighty six.
He said, if we get free agency, and we probably will,
he said, it won't be in your lifetime, he said,
but it might be in your son's lifetime or the children.
He said, it's gonna become a time of player is
gonna make fifty million dollar signing bonus, one hundred minutes
(08:05):
signing bonus. He said, it's gonna come a time because
of free agency. I said eight nineteen eighty five, eighty six.
I said, there's no way. I said, there's no way,
because you know what the average, you know, the salary,
just like you're making seventy thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Wow, yeah, it's all to work at the at the
freight yard. Huge. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Yeah, you know the average was when I first came
in League sixty two thousand for like a young rookie.
And so from that standpoint, I couldn't I couldn't even
fathom that. And he was so forward. Think he said, look,
free agency is so important. If we get it, it's
gonna change everything. And look to this day. Right now
we see what all the players going on. It's it's
a blessing.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
We drink from the wells. We did not dig, absolutely
man like that.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
And standing on the shoulders that I'm still on the
shoulders of the guys who I don't even know who
paved the way for me.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Wow, that's right, that's right still man.
Speaker 5 (08:55):
Yeah, man, so you you you had some great mentorship,
you know. And again as I said you, the super
Bowls followed you.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Man. You went to Green Bay, you went to two
of them. One one lost, one go to.
Speaker 5 (09:07):
Atlanta, Yeah, and another super Bowl, Man, another one loved it.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
So we had a good team too. Man, that was
a great tweek. That Jamal Anderson running back reminds me. Yeah,
but kind of reminds me of you got that he had.
He wasn't as fast as you, but he got that.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Same like, same move movement.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Yeah, and if you hit him, I'm like, oh my goodness,
about to go ahead of the chain.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Right. Who was the hardest running back to tackle?
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Barry Sanders? None, Barry. So my son is a big
Barry Sanders fan, right, he loved him. And so I
was playing for Green Bay and so were about to
play the game. And I said, hey, Barry, Man, I
need you to do me a favorite. I said, my son
loves you. Man, he says, man, he says, I can't
tackle you all this other stuff. Berry looked at me,
said I don't think you ever tackled me. I said,
(09:55):
I'll push you out of bounce once and that counts. Yeah,
cous of the tackle. I said, but would you go
ahead and sign autograph for my son? He signed autograph
for my son and whatnot, really trying to took care
of him, but by far. Just that, dude, your peripheral
vision and having to be able to see, and it's
beyond what normal people, even defensive backs, but beyond what
(10:19):
we do.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
You guys see a feel that I don't see.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Do you see a running back now that possesses the
talents close to the talents of Barry Sanders.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Man.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
I was watching Saquon and I was I was sitting going, dude, man,
I thought when Reggie Bush came on the Sea, I
was like, man, Reggie Bush. You know it was Marshall
for Reggie Bush. I was like, oh, man, kind of
reminds me of Barry. But when I was watching, I
was like dude, man, this got that. Yeah, he just
got that.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
He got that.
Speaker 5 (10:52):
It really, when you think about all the great running
backs in league history, Barry certainly up there for the top,
like just be and I say to me, is the
top because there really has yet to be anybody comparatively
like And people have had statistics, people have done you know,
amazing period of time that did it right exactly, have
(11:16):
reached amazing feats and have done things. But when you
think about running style, there really hasn't been anybody. And
you're right, and I don't know if it's because of
body type that is resemblance, but you look at the
great Adrian Peterson, you don't compare him to Barry. You
look at Marshall fulk, I really don't even compare to
Barry a little different just like you know, they were
(11:37):
just giving it the barrier, running downhill with it. Marshall
was catching the ball to backfield, Marshall was moving, he
was running around.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Field right right. So so man, it's just special.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
I'll tell you, if you guys, go watch film of
di'angelo running just running a B line and watching Barry
Sanders similar, very similar.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
I could I could definitely see.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
That I used to be like, man like, he runs
very like like he's running on water. Like you know
what I'm saying, Like, however, you're supposed to run on water,
if that ever ever happens besides Jesus, Like, that's what
it has to look like, where you're not really hitting
the ground, you're just floating, floating.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
But see, I remember in practice here when I was
working with the Carolina Panthers earlier doing the broadcast, and
I would watch you guys at practice, and I remember,
I've seen you do it, and I seen DiAngelo do
it that y'all broke through the line and y'all would
run all the way down the field to score touchdown.
I'm going like this, why the heck are they running
out of score touchdown? So that when they're running the
(12:43):
score testyle is not unfamiliar.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
To you, and that's trying to get caught. And you've
been caught a couple of times.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
But I didn't.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Realize that you were as fast as yours. I was like, dude,
he's a big old doupe. But I said, dude, he
could run. He's legit fast, like legit four four four
three at nine, I had no idea I had no idea, dude,
Oh I wait to be about to move hitting people.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Okay, so we asked you real quick again in sixteen seasons, man,
and you didn't miss many games you, I mean, two
hundred and thirty two games out of two hundred and
fifty something game.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
I mean that's impressive. Yeah, that right there. How did
you do that? That's NFL preparation. What was your injuries? Like?
How did you nurse yourself back to.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
Especially as good as a safety during that time because
a hard hitter you could come across the middle. I mean,
jokers didn't want to come across the middle when Gino
was back there, I promise you that. But coming downhill
when it's I formation, full bash, yeah, I know you.
You probably met some cats in the oh yeah yeah,
in that whole now.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Oh my goodness. Who comes to mind immediately is of course,
know what's that? Until he ran me over to what's
the brother from the Tennessee Titans.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Eddie George, Eddie George, Eddie George.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
We kind of locked eyes and I looked at Eddie
George and he about to come through the hall and
I had to cover that gap, that little cut that
beag gap, and I said I better get there before
and it was like a major to forward.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Oh my goodness, And so he went that way. I
went that way.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
And we were talking one day off season. He said, man,
you remember this. I said, dude, you talking about that
one play. I said, dude, that was one of the
hardest hits I ever gave. He said, that was one
of the hardest hits I got. And then I gave
it back to him, like, dude, it was like it
was a hard hit. That's none none of us gave ground.
That makes me think recognized.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Oh yeah, that.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
Makes me think of an NFL Films clip with him
and ray Lewis. Oh yeah, they talk about, oh he
ain't flinching Castill for man, he's.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
He's a really good running back. I loved Eddie George
growing up. I loved him in Ohio, favorite Ohio state.
I loved him in Tennessee. I remember when they had
them jerseys for them. Oh yeah, oh yeah, Eddie George.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
He is huge, big dude. How do you tackle a
guy like him?
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Comparative to Eddie, I would say Derrick Henry in size right.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
This past weekend we saw Derrick Henry get folded up. Yeah,
as the young dB for Philly Cooper Dejean. Yeah, yeah,
that with the young man hearing the Bronco and Girsky Awards.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Well okay, but like what do you have to like
prep for that?
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Yeah, I catch him before he You gotta make that
ben and right at your solar place, you gotta make
that blend. And I want to make sure I get
same for the same shoulder before you make that ben,
because when you when you get all that mass and
you get that shoulder the same down, you're gonna end
up running me over. Most running backs will run, they'll
run right through you. But if I can get to
that position before you get to that position, I can
(15:46):
win that battle. And so it's a matter of like,
and I can't be afraid to get to that position.
And I gotta go ahead and be in a ticket
that we bounce off or you win that one or
I win that one. But I'm gonna go full speed
and get there as fast as I can. And I
got there before Eddie George it a little bit, so
it was like boom, and I got it. I did
the same thing the doors leven. I did the same thing,
(16:06):
though dorse elevens and in a practice, we had a
live practice.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
So I'm coming through the hole.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
I'm like, okay, get there before he he bends and
looks at you put that foot in the ground. And
I caught him right before that, and it just I
just dropped him like it was nothing. It didn't even hurt.
I just dropped him because I got to the position
that you need to get you to make that really
good solid tackle.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
We know you were bringing it down there.
Speaker 6 (16:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:28):
So yeah, that's how you played the game. That's what
keeps you around for sixteen, man, that keeps you around.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Look I got by saying Kevin Mack ran me over,
Lee Roy Hord ran me over. I got guys who
ran me over.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
You know this duel and the words of Marshall just
say you're gonna get God.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Get God, just gotta get yours. Yeah, get God. That's right,
He's right about that, man. Man.
Speaker 5 (16:52):
Now, Gina, you've been busy since you since you left
the game, and you stayed connected to the game. I mean,
you haven't really truly left the game. But as we
were just talking about before before we cut the mics on,
that transition is serious. That transition requires community that transition
and so finding that and being able to stay connected
in the media aspect.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
You've been in broadcasting.
Speaker 5 (17:11):
You've done our Panthers talk post game, which you still
do to this day.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Right, Yes, you just love some ball man. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Mike Haynes. Mike Haynes, great State, great corner back, Hall
of Famer. One day we were playing the back in
nineteen ninety two. I'm playing against the Raiders. He's outside
doing some promotion stuff. The game is over. He's doing
his promotion stuff and he's doing radio. And so he's
one of my favorite corners. He's like six ' three.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
Now.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
It's just a great corner anyway, one of my favorite corners.
I said, I said, how do you stay on top?
How do you stay connected? And he told me, when
you leave this game, I need you to transition. Well,
make sure you're starting to do If you want to
get in radio, make sure you're doing radio now. If
you're on television, make sure you're doing it right now, Gene.
If you don't, he said, it'll pass you by and
(17:59):
you'll look cold, say hey, what happened to the time.
So that was the reason I got involved in television
and radio is because I had a talk with Mike
Haynes in nineteen ninety two, who just dropped a little
bug in my hands, say, if you want to do this,
make sure you're doing it right now so that the
transition is a lot easier when you leave this game.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
And it was Man, and he's a consumer professional. I've
got mic over the years. We see him every year
at Super Bowl with the Marlin Olsen luncheon. And you're right,
he's all of six three too, and you can see
why he was.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
He was just a dog back when he was playing Man.
I got a question.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
You've been around football for so long, right, twenty plus years? Yes, sir,
I mean if you count high school, middle school, when
did you start playing When did you start playing football?
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I started playing football in nineteen wow, nineteen seventy nine. Yeah, well,
actually before that when you know little league stuff, but
I didn't count that, but high school nineteen something else.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
For so long, you've been able to see this progression
change of the game in so many facets, right, the
rule changes, the dynamics of offense defense that goes through
their changes every ten years. How do you stay in
love with the game for so long?
Speaker 2 (19:16):
Wow?
Speaker 1 (19:16):
I think That's something as we used to always say
when we were kids that I would play this game
for free because we played Thanksgiving. You went outside, you
grabbed the ball and you threw the ball around, and
you just grabbed the friends and you just tackled.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
You just played football.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
And that was something that me and my cousin, my brother,
we always I was so I was a little dude.
Speaker 7 (19:37):
Man.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
I wasn't If you just saw me when I graduated
from high school, you would say, this guy should never
be in the National Football League. I was one hundred
and forty five fifty poules.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Dude.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
I was like five to nine graduating out of high school.
Out of high school, and I was a wrestler. I wrestled.
I was a wrestler, and I was like, you know,
I beat the state champion. I wasn't state champer. I
was like second state, third in the state. But I
was that guy. And so because I could wrestle, people
looked at me and go like this, and I got
him to do that. So I walked on that colgate.
(20:07):
There was like this, dude, I couldn't even bench press
one forty five. I do like this, you couldn't even
fine pressure weight. I couldn't, I couln't p spress my way.
I got it up and the dudes laughed me out
of the gym.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
It's like this. Now, I'm from the hood, right, I'm
straight hood.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
I did just like this, man, It's all right, every
last one of y'all cats.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
I'll see y'all few and I'm maybe go into the
car and pop the truck.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
So I'm doing that right, just like I'll see every
The dudees are laughing at me right, like you got,
skinny little dude, blue black, skinny little black luist, what
are you doing?
Speaker 4 (20:39):
He's laughing.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Get out of here right, So I leave. I can't
wait to get on the field and practice. I'm waiting.
I got my stuff. I'm already suited up.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
I'm like, I'm ready, dude, dude.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
I was lighting cats up and it was going to
this that skinny little dude can hit like that because
I'm out of the I played football with my brother
and my cousin and in the hood, and we played
on dirt, cement, bad grass, We played in the parking
lot with the cars. We played everywhere. And so to me,
I was like, oh, the dude, you ain't coming from
(21:12):
the stock I'm coming from.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
I'm about to go ahead and let you have it.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
And so I've always had that mentality and I've always
loved the game.
Speaker 5 (21:18):
So did you You said you walked on, but were
you recruited to walk on a football or did you
go for wrestling because I know Kolga has a great
wrestling program.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Yeah, so I went for academics because I was third
in my class and no one knew no one knew
anything about me wrestling or playing football. And I got
challenged by one of the top recruits. He was a
big running back out of New York. He was about
six three two twenty five. We were at a at
a fire drill and we were talking football and I said, yeah,
(21:46):
I love play football. I like to come out for
the team. He said, I run your little ass over. Dude,
you're too small. He said, you're too small like this,
and You're like, oh, good job, good job. You remember that?
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Oh my go.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Whn't that's the coach. The next day, head coach, could
I come out? And they was like, we're not too short.
And then one day they saw me playing football in
the gym, catching the ball and one guy through the
ball near the room and I caught it with one
hand like near the run.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Like this that boy got bounced and they were like, hold,
wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. When
I can actually it looked like you know what he's doing.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
So coaches came out to watch me play, watch me
catch the ball.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
This is I want to be clear. This was like
before the glass backboards.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
She's like, yeah, I think we had a glass back
boar but it was fast.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
But they didn't know anything about me, And I just said,
if I get a chance to go in and play,
I'm gonna let everybody know what time it does. I mean,
you know, I know I'm small, but who cares? And
so I didn't grow till I got to really in
the pros. I grew to be six feet and maybe
one pounds. Right, man, what was it light being stored
(22:54):
in the NFL? You know, during you know the eighties,
like just you know the acceptance.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Of of of us, you know, people of color.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Yeah here, No, here's the one thing that I think
is odd that you guys would find crazy people had
jobs like they had other jobs. Because football is so precarious.
You didn't know if you were going to be on
the team so that you get cut in any time.
The owners. Ownership has so much control. And guys, I
would blew my mind. Guys used to smoke cigarettes at halftime.
(23:27):
I was coming to go, dude, are you smoking cigarettes
at halftime?
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Like it's they got other jobs, you know. And so
that was like a culture shot.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
And then for people of color of that time, it's
like it's still hadn't broke broken through about the quarterback
that we see the quarterback being a little bit more
prolific right now as a black quarterback. You know, a
person of color back then, James Harrison, Williams, Doug Williams,
if I can count them, I forget the god from
(23:59):
for the Chicago I could count him on my hand
and I was like, and they were like in backup
roles at that And.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
So from that standpoint, it wasn't the same.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
But the other positions, the receiver, the defensive back, this
and uh, we saw more integration evil on the office
of line at that starting to see it at the
office of line at that time, you got to see that,
oh well wait a minute. People of color are in
every position, you know, and at the most pivotal positions
(24:28):
because that's for free safety. You know that might like
the middle linebacker my head coach down at head coach,
and before he passed away Tom Catlan in Seattle, he
gave me the keys to his defense, saying, all right,
run my defense, run it. So I had full control off.
I want to change the plate. If I saw somebody
(24:48):
in the light, I'm changing it. And y'all better know
what my voice is. And if I throw a call up, hey,
y'all better get it.
Speaker 4 (24:54):
You know.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
So people follow me on because he gave me so
much power to change to and I earned it because
you know, I.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Knew what I was doing. Command the room too.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Yeah, and you command the rule by your play. I
was put ken easily. Dave Brown, all those guys back
in there that day that I played with the Ronnie
Lotts man, they let by example.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Man. I mean, if I.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Asked him, man, how do I hit the dude, You'll
come up and hit you.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
You hit him like that?
Speaker 3 (25:23):
I'm like that sounds like coach Kip. So every year, man,
we have a new guy and we're talking about blocking.
He said, I don't care how you block him, just
make sure you block them, right, He used some other language.
Just make sure you block him. I don't care how
you do it. Just don't let him touch the quarterback
(25:43):
if you The key ingredient to blocking somebody is you
gotta want to block.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
And one that's right to And that's and that's the thing,
and that's what we had. I think more so it
is because you don't know where you're You got to
really play for your You got to really take care
of your family. And you're not getting paid like everybody
else is getting paid.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
You're just not.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
You know, it's there's still that the little inequity that exists,
and so you got to handle your business. And so
you know the academics of football. And made sure I
knew it athletically. I made sure I was I'm not
gonna get tired. You ain't gonna out outlast min Field.
I'm not gonna get tired. So I made sure that
my body's in great shape and that I knew the
academics football. And the last thing is that I'm not
(26:29):
afraid to make a play, even if you dogged me,
even if you beat me. So what you beat me,
I'm not going to be afraid to make that play.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
And sob you want to DB's short memory. Yeah, that's
that want to man.
Speaker 5 (26:41):
Let me so, so we get you here in Carolina, Yes, sir,
which is home for you? You set down, you loved it.
Two thousand?
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Who what have ben?
Speaker 5 (26:52):
Let's see so in two thousand, so you had you know,
you was here with Mike Rutger.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
You were here Chuck Smith. Mike Rutger was very young,
Chuck Smith, Mike Minner, Mike was in year two, so
you would have had meant.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Mike, Mike Minner was in the secondary I forget to
do from uh. He came from the San Francisco forty
nine ers Eric Davis. So we had a we had
like a well established crew.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
We had some seasons, vets we did Greman, you're a historian. Yes,
I mean it's kind of a.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Like we had some cast member we only went seven
and nine that year, but we had some cast that
could put wabble complay man, and so we weren't like
a laughing stop. We were always in the thickest thing. Yeah,
really competitive.
Speaker 5 (27:35):
But I mean when you look at the landscape of
let's let's consider it now, at the conference or I'm sorry,
the division, Tampa was doing their thing, Atlanta was doing
it that which you know you was just in the right.
So so the Division two thousand Saints I can't really recall,
but I mean those two teams right there were too
at the top and the league the thing time. I mean,
(27:56):
they were doing it. So it wasn't like you were
just showing up. I mean it's four games off the
schedule right there. That you better bring your lunch.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Path, man, right, you better you better bring your.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
What was your expectations to be amongst the thirteen and
three football team Carolina Panthers when you played them in
the playoffs?
Speaker 2 (28:13):
Green back? Yeah? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
And so when I played them and I was playing
for the Green Bay Packers, they had a they had
a crew, and who really stood out to me a
little bit was Mussa Mohammad Moose was like I think
that might have been his first year, but I can
remember hitting Moose.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
I was like, man, this do this solid?
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Man?
Speaker 1 (28:33):
I mean, Moose is a big deal, big receiver. I'm like,
but he's solid. I'm like, and I hit him and
I don't you know, I didn't let him know that
it hurt, but I was like, dude, this dude solid.
So in my mind is I had to hit him
like that every single time because I gotta. I gotta
get after him because if not, he's gonna beat me.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Because once you realize he's a big joker man.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
Like you know, as far as like a player with
the ball, you make contact and you feel it the
first time, like ooh, and you're gonna be all right.
I gotta do it again because if I let up,
he's gonna know. He's gonna know absolutely, and he's gonna
come harder and harder, right and so and so it's
the reverse too, right, So that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Have you ever told MS Dad?
Speaker 4 (29:17):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Yeah, we were talking about it, I said, I said most.
We were just sitting there talking and whatnot. I said, most,
I remember hating you coming across the middle, and I
was like, I gave you like everything.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
I was like, dang it, man, I said, this dude
is solid like a damn building.
Speaker 7 (29:30):
Man.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
I said, student, man, what is going on right here?
And I said I never let up.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
I was like, oh, I got to bring it every
single time because this dude ain't no joke. And so
that's just a mad respect I have for Like, here's
the other thing. I've always respected the other guys and
their craft or the other team when they were like
at the top of the game. I was like, wow,
I want to be considered at the top of my game,
like like the Ronnie Lott And I remember getting an
interception that was one of my best interceptions ever.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Man. It was sweet, dude.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
I'm dying out and catching it and whatnot, and so
I'm running it back. My boy, Ronnie A. Lott was
playing for the Raiders at this time, and as I
got up, I ran it back thirty forty yards. This
interception was crazy, and so he looked at me like this,
and he's one of my favorite players.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
He looked at me, pointed to me like this. He
gave me a thumbs up. Wow. And that was that
was during the game.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
And I'm going like this, going, man, Ronnie Lot, don't
even know what And we've talked about that moment. You
had no idea what that moment did for me and
my confidence, but what you thought about.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Me, special man, special man.
Speaker 5 (30:34):
I love it too, because I mean, you outlining your
story from your upbring I didn't know you had that,
you know, walk on, I didn't you were a walk on.
Didn't know that that was your childhood, your high school career,
getting to you know, I should say, going from being
undrafted to being thirteenth all time career interceptions, right, yes, sir,
(30:56):
and a hall of fame, which respect, man, clap it up.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
I appreciate that because we got a hall of fame. Like,
don't take that lightly.
Speaker 5 (31:05):
I know you your humility comes through the microphone here obviously,
and you're celebrating other people and giving people their flowers.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Man, but let us give that to you. And I
know you've been on the list.
Speaker 5 (31:14):
You're entering the senior class now, right, Yes, it ain't
being funny, it's just what it is. Which is which
is I mean really for you just to be going
in now, man, I mean it's like like it speaks
to the length of your career.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Right.
Speaker 5 (31:26):
So, which for the viewers at home the listeners, you
have to be removed from the game for twenty five
years and more to enter in the senior class, all
the modern era twenty five years or less. Right, So
we have a good long list of former Panthers that
are on that modern era list. A couple of guys
that are semi finalists this year, Smith and Luke. That's right,
(31:47):
we're pulling for Smitty, We're certainly pulling for Luke being
this is his first year, is the first ballot. Let's
hope that we get those guys across the line at
Super Bowl this year. But to have a guy like yourself,
to have the career that you have, man, she votes annually. Man,
it's special, it's special, and so that deserves to be recognized.
I appreciate it, and we called out man, thank you.
(32:07):
You know, but but you landed here in Charlotte. You
stayed here in Charlotte. I mean, you just outlined your
career for us here.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
Man, But but what what was there? What was the deal?
Speaker 5 (32:15):
What made you stay outside the ball outside of the
the broadcasting and the media opportunities. You know, me and
you have spent a lot of time on the golf course.
You know, we got it with Leonard Wheeler, Stu. Have
you ever first of all, have you ever got with Gino?
Speaker 2 (32:28):
No? You okay, Now I don't count. I heard looking
my homework on Man, I'm like, man, we're gonna get
We're gonna get on there.
Speaker 5 (32:39):
You see how he commanded his microphone. It don't stop
on the course. He don't need this. He don't need this.
He got that chatter her. Leonard literally has to be Gino,
shut up.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Shut up, Gino.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
And it's so much fun. Stops stop when we get
out there. It's just like a service when we're playing.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
He's a dB. Yeah, he gotta talk.
Speaker 7 (33:03):
Can't help wanted to help himself? What is it about defensive?
Think about it? Captain cap talk? The only the only
dB that I know that. Don't talk with Chris Gamble. Wow,
Chris Gamble. They'll say, were you Jaris Burg?
Speaker 2 (33:18):
You right?
Speaker 3 (33:18):
And Jared the only thing that only thing with Jarris.
Jareds will talk to you.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
Let him.
Speaker 6 (33:25):
But Jareds if you had him, if you leave alone,
he he Mitch Jers Bird and I played with that
Gilbert and Gilbert one of the best corner slash safeties.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
Gill is one of the best men in football. Yeah,
no doubt absolutely her, point blank.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
Man.
Speaker 5 (33:39):
I'll tell you about a Gil Gilbert story later. I
got We did it. We did it. We did a
we went through I just got done playing. We went
through athletes and action training up in Eno, Ohio at
the headquarters, and they had this big you know, this
kind of like team building, this trust type of and
it was a tree like a high ropes. Course, my man,
(33:59):
Gil I got he still got this photo. Every now
and again, we'll just I'll just drop it through him.
He got stuck up.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
On that thing. But it's exhausting because the rope rope, rope.
Speaker 5 (34:13):
He got his arms through, he got his arms to it,
and he just hanging out because he couldn't he out.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
Man.
Speaker 5 (34:20):
Yeah, I'll show you the photo. But but but I
want you to answer the question here in Charlotte, like,
what is it about the city?
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Man?
Speaker 5 (34:29):
You've got to see the transformation from the time you've come,
I mean just in from two thousand and now twenty years,
twenty plus years that you've been here.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
What is it? What your whats your what's your?
Speaker 1 (34:38):
I think I think it's a great place to raise
a family. I think there's so much stuff that you
can do. Culture lead us here. There's so much I
think opportunity here. And then when I got here, mister
Richardson welcomed me in the family as a Carolina panther,
and I had no idea what that did for me,
but allowed me to get re established in an area
where nobody knew me. And because of that, it veiled
(35:01):
so many opportunities for me to go ahead and shake
hands and network and connect. And and that was all
because I'm telling you, mister Richardson just put an arm
around me and said, I want you to come here,
and and I and I asked him too. I asked
him seriously. I said, mister Richardson, I got to ask
you this before you passed away. We had we had dinner,
(35:24):
we went out to a luncheon. I said, why do
you want me on your team?
Speaker 2 (35:27):
I said, I don't really know you. You don't know
me one year.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
He said, I've always watched your career Jeane, and followed you.
And I said that I've ever had a chance to
have you played for me. If you ever come up,
I want you to play for me. And so that
he had no idea what he was able to do.
And I said, even when you knew I got arrested,
even when you knew all the stuff, I said, even
(35:53):
when you knew all that stuff that was militating and
against me, Where you can go ahead and and take
your hands off because I don't want to deal with that.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
You want to go ahead and mess with me. That
dude said, yeah, that's it, man, that dude said, Yeah,
I'll never forget. Why do all of this town.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
I got an opportunity. God gave me a new start,
give me a new, brand new start. And I'm a
high school coach. I'm coaching kids, and I'm coaching them
and wrestling and tracking in football, and I'm helping them
through the very most difficult dark times in the life.
I thought I would never have that type of ministry, man,
I thought I would never even be a part of that.
(36:41):
You know, you could easily become a prior when you
go through something that I did that was self inflicted,
that I've done, But that wasn't the case. And I
just got to thank the Lord for the opportunity that
I'm like, Man, God, I don't.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
Get your grace and mercy and I don't get your favor.
Speaker 7 (37:00):
Man.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Thank you, Thank you Lord, that you would allow mister
Richardson to see me somewhat differently from just.
Speaker 3 (37:10):
That's awesome that you that's awesome that you, you know,
were intentional about your time with mister Richardson to gain
that perspective, you know, like to know that deep down
he saw something in you despite despite me, And I
think that's where a lot of people need to get
(37:30):
back to man, if you are get to because I
feel like a lot of people have never felt that
to where a you can be so vulnerable, right and
in this business because you're a spotlight, right and everything
can be working for you at one point, and just
(37:53):
one little thing can be working against you. But all
it takes is for one to believe in you, and
it just goes to you know, we're all men of
faith here, right, and you know that's that's really what
God calls us to do, is to see the good
in people because it's in there, right Because what what
(38:16):
mister Richardson was able to do, what he unlocked, what
God allowed him to unlock, and you like multiplied times seventy, right,
so you just never know, you know, listen, and mister
Richardson was a man of God. And you know when
(38:38):
you're able to move, you know, not on your own wisdom,
but on God's wisdom. Man, things can really really really
happen for legacies. You know, you talk about the Carolina
Panthers and who they are now, like you're a part
of that, Like that's that's amazing. If you if you weren't,
(39:03):
if you weren't brought here. Who knows what the culture
would be like as far as even even your even
your past career, like and you're affecting the locker room
on guys like myself, Thomas Davis and seeing you know
what it looks like to be a guy post football,
(39:23):
you know, not just a guy the guy. You know
what I'm saying, Like, oh, when like the broadcasting thing
like me doing the podcast and and tapping in.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
A lot of that is because of you.
Speaker 3 (39:35):
I see guys like you and like, man, he's doing
something that he loves to do every single day. And
it goes back to mister Richardson saying, I believe in.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
That guy, you know. And here's the other thing, Jay,
is that.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
The community that you are ahead of and that you
helped the like you're doing more than just connecting guys.
You're giving guys hope, transition, You're allowing them to be seen,
You're allowing them to go ahead and field just one
more time.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Just one more time. That's what that's that's what's happening.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
So man, if I can throw myself in that, if
I can be a part of that and just to
help somebody along the work, man, I'm there.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Dude. That's why if you called me, I'm like this
or what I gotta do? What you need me to do?
You know.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
And if I get a call from any football players,
I do the same thing, like my postures, what I
need to do.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
If you need something to what you need me to do,
I want to help it. I want to man.
Speaker 5 (40:30):
And I asked that question with the with with the foresight.
I really asked because your impact immediately when I got
down here, rightly, I do my research on guys, and
I knew your name just from growing up and watching
you play and whatnot. But your name kept coming up
in a different circles and genus here or you know,
(40:50):
going to different events, you know, two years ago, man,
and you were there. You were everywhere, was a guy
right Your influence mag was magnifying the city.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
I could see it.
Speaker 5 (41:00):
And so to hear you give a little bit of
backstory there, mister Richardson and the life that he's spoke
into you, man, got more than I bargain for us.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
Yeah, thank you man, for sar. We appreciate it, don't
It's special. It's special.
Speaker 5 (41:12):
And I think that this is, you know, kind of
the premise of what we do this podcast right. It's
talking a little bit more about ball, but peeling back
the mask, peeling back to veil and whatever analogy you use,
and finding out who the man is outder the jersey,
what this city means, what this club means, the impact
that it's had, but mutually and so you just delivered
(41:33):
that for us.
Speaker 2 (41:33):
Man. I appreciate Man, thanks for having on the podcast.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
Man, before you go, just give this answer this for me.
If you could describe in one phrase what football has
meant to you, what would that be.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
Football is not my identity. It's just what I I
do and what God allowed me just to go ahead
and love. My identity is in Christ, That's where my
identity comes from.
Speaker 2 (42:10):
But football it's way up there.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
And it's been a close second because it's allowed so
many opportunities that I would never ever have and to
change lives, not only my life, my family but my
siblings to change lives. So football has been it's been
a godsend.
Speaker 2 (42:30):
Thank you for man. Man, this is awesome.
Speaker 5 (42:33):
I appreciate your dog Come over podcast, Matt, Ladies and gentlemen.
Yet another episode of stew and the Crew with the
one and Only Eugene Robinson.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
We appreciate you, brother, Thank you for joining us today. Man,
thank you.
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