October 12, 2021 • 34 mins
Alabama Offensive Tackle Alex Leatherwood prepares for the First Round of the 2011 NFL Draft, carefully analyzing his draft stock, as well as his next steps in life. Alex's friends and University of Alabama teammates echo the secret to his success, while Alex's former high school coach, Charlie Ward, weighs in on Alex's journey from Pensacola, Florida to the cusp of the NFL.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Drafted as a production of tree Fort Media, Clutch Sports Group,
and I Heart Radio. Basically, yeah, live fie for sixty hours,
alve fi for sixty hours. This for like a podcast,
I mean just like recording like sixty hours. This is
(00:25):
a podcast. It was just audio. Welcome back to season
three of Drafted. I'm Steven Johnson and last episode we
got to know University of Alabama star receiver Davante Smith.
In this second episode, we're meeting the guy you just
heard laughing, Davante's college teammate, offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood. He's
(00:52):
six ft five in ways roughly three and twenty pounds,
almost double the way of Davante, and over the past
four years, Alex clear the path for his smaller teammates
on offense, staying in the background as the other players
won awards and got most of the publicity. Now NFL
Draft arriving in only one more day, Alex is finally
(01:13):
going to have the cameras and limelight directly on him
and experience he's absolutely not used to. Hello, sorry, oh
my gosh, he's like tripled inside. How are you good? Oh?
(01:41):
How you doing? Alex will be participating in the draft
virtually this year, only the thirteen players in Cleveland are
doing their draft in person. Everyone else has to throw
their own at home draft party. So before hosting his
party tomorrow night, Alex decides to visit his godparents, Rebecca
and Andrew, at their house in Pensacola, Florida, and he's
(02:02):
brought along is ten month old puppy Zuko. Does he does,
but he does, but it's not It's not crazy at all, Deree,
So how I'm sorry, I'm not at all To be honest,
I slept through the whole night because I honestly went
(02:24):
back to sleep when I woke up. But I mean,
it is what it is. I'm ready to go. That's awesome.
How to go after college? You got? Well? He traded
it right, because like the day after this season, I
mean that next day after the National Championship game, I
(02:44):
go straight to Texas to start training. Alabama won the
National championship on January eleven, and instead of taking time
off and celebrating, Alex woke up on January twelve and
drove the Texas to start training for his pro career.
He didn't build a single day off into his plan. Now,
(03:06):
four months later Alex is being talked about as a
first or second round pick, and he's been linked to
a half a dozen teams. I've stayed away from reading
anything about you because it's fake. It's fake. The media
is fake. Watch it. It's literally fake. Yeah. One time,
(03:29):
one time Broncos the Packers, and then it was like
the last one I saw said that Packers. You know,
it's like who knows. You don't look at it. Yeah,
they know, they know nothing. It's all speculation. But I
do have an idea. I know the charges. They liked
me a lot, but I'm not their first option. Yeah.
So if it's not Do, probably going to be the Raiders.
(03:49):
If it's not the Raiders, then it will be Miami.
There's not Miami, then it will definitely be the Ravings.
But how's it going to work? I will we will
literally all be watching the TV and wait until somebody
calls me. That's what it is. Yeah, I need just
wait for the phone. Well, we're gonna bring a sharp
(04:11):
choose plate. How do you call it? I'm working on
this with you, yeah, yeah, really other things. The correct
pronunciation is charcuterie. It's a French term describing prepared or
(04:33):
cured meats, and that's the language Alex actually knows well
because learning French is something he built into his master plan.
In case you didn't notice, when Alex just rattled off
a memorized list of which teams are targeting him, as
well as exactly where he ranks on each team's position list,
He's meticulous about his entire life, and that includes the
guest list to his upcoming draft parties. So how many
(04:57):
family you got coming in a lot? My mom was
shared like fifty so people. She didn't bring fifty people,
but she said it's probably gonna end up being close
to fifty. Let me live here already them. Alex grew
up in Pensacola, Florida, with a huge family nearby, but
his childhood provided plenty of time for introspection. I grew
(05:20):
up basically a single parent home, just me and my dad.
All of my hid blooms on my desk. I were
much older than me, so it's just me and him
in the house or whatever. I was staying with my dad.
UM my mom she lived close to life to um
her sisters and stuff, so I got to play with
all my cousins and stuff, go to her house every weekend,
you know. Let me As a kid. Growing up, he
(05:42):
attended Booker T. Washington High School and that's where he
met his best friend, Kia Hollis. My name is Kia Hollis.
Alex is my best friend. Where we come from, a
lot of people that are from there, their main goal
is to get out of Pensacola, mostly because it's not
a lot of between geest there. Most places where you
(06:03):
can go, people have already had those jobs. They're stuck
in those jobs and they'll be there until they retire
or they're fired. So growing up in our town, the
fifteen year olds back then, he was a lot different
than them. No, kids our age were really thinking of
the bigger picture, like oh, we need to probably have
(06:23):
this ready or we need to have this ready. But
he always did. He always thought about the bigger picture.
He always thought about where am I going to be
five ten years from now? I need to work on that,
and he stuck to that. Lots of fifteen year olds
have goals for high school and college or even dreams
of being a musician or becoming a doctor. What Alex
(06:45):
was doing that was something very very different. His other
best friend, Duress Parks, explains. My name is DRez Parks.
I am also a football player here at the University
of Alabama, but also happened to be Alex Otherwood's best
friend of wanted his best friends. Jures played a linebacker
for the Crimson Tide and lived with Alex as a
(07:05):
roommate this past season. I've known Alex for about four
and a half, maybe five years now, maybe six. I've
never met anyone who's so strategic as of how they
move and how they go about the things that they do.
Whenever you ask him, he will tell you he's like
executing his plan. And he's been doing this since I
(07:27):
first met him. He knew exactly what he needed to
do at the moment where he decided to play football,
and what football could do for him and his family
and his life. And he made those conscious decisions at
a very young age to do all those things and
like strategically placed these things in order, like I'm going
to do this, Okay, after I do this, this leads
me to get here, I'm gonna do this after I
(07:48):
get there, and it just kept building, and Yeah, he's
definitely a mastermind and planning and executing. Five and ten
years strategic operating plans are normally associated with corporate executives
running multinational fortuneies, not fifteen year old kids playing football.
That's Alex though. That's how he goes about his business
(08:09):
and how he plays his position on the field. Fortunately,
offensive line happens to be perfectly suited to that meticulous, systematic,
detail oriented approach. Here's Alex again explaining further. You gotta
be a big smart after letting the play, like you
can't just take any big ass efforts Joe off the
(08:30):
street and say play alone. The movements and stuff we
do are very unnatural to like the human body are techniques.
They're not like human bodily movements, like we're sending the
squad to move from you know what I mean. It's
the most like technical and seer position on the field.
To an untrained eye, Alex's job in football looks like
(08:50):
he smashes into other giant men as hard as he
can on every play and actuality. Offensive lineman need enormous
understanding of positioning, strategy, and technique, along with amazing situational awareness,
and on top of that, they're often the smartest guys
on the field. Offensive lineman score the highest on the
Wonderlick Test, which is the cognitive and problem solving exam
(09:13):
given to all NFL prospects. Quarterbacks are the second highest
scoring group. Here's Alex again. Football is a game of inches.
Everybody knows that, but it's even more defined when you
plan on line, like the steps you take, how you
use your leverage, where you exert your power and you
have to move another human being who doesn't want to
be moved from one point to another, and like it's
(09:35):
not like he's gonna just sitting there and let you move.
That other human being you're trying to move also aways
three hundred plus pounds and squad six hundred plus pounds,
and it's doing everything in their power to knock you
onto the ground. And sometimes the person you need to
block is a hundred pounds lighter than you, runs much
faster than you, and tries to blaze right by you
with speed instead of force. Offensive lineman like Alex have
(09:58):
to be able to handle both types of defenders. You
gotta watch your opponent and know what your opponent is
gonna do. A defensive end like he could go up
and under, he can loop. He literally has free range
to go anywhere he wants on that field, So you've
gotta be super precise with the steps you take to
get them, you know, to go one way or the other,
and not on that, but just like understanding and knowing
(10:19):
the defense and knowing what they're trying to do to
the offense, just based off alignment of like safety, the coverages,
all types certainly like blitzes, pressures, things like that. You've
got to understand like downing distance situations, how much you
need to get the first down and what they're gonna
try to do to get you to stop it, and
what you need to do to make sure they don't
(10:40):
stop you. So I feel like it's a there's a
lot that goes into it. This chess match is what
analysts and announcers talk about when they say the game
within the game, it's the hundreds of small strategic decisions
from all eleven guys on the offense, as well as
those by coaches who calling plays informations that all that
up to other play works or not. And of course
(11:02):
this level of strategy perfectly suits the type of NFL
prospect who happens to be very very detail oriented. Here's
Jazz again on his personal chess match with Alex I
remember I was going against each other at practice, and
we got home that night and I was watching him
watch film and he was trying to see the exact
(11:25):
point in the moment where I had did something where
he knew that he could catch me at that given moment,
and being so analytical about like I need to do
this at this given moment and this given time, so
this doesn't happen, and this at this given moment at
this given time, so this doesn't happen. And I've watched
him watch film and him slow things down to them
(11:47):
there another second of where certain things are where he is,
and him knowing that, Okay, I need to do this next,
so this doesn't happen again, and I watched him. I
watched him, watched me two beat me. The next Davids
go out to practice, me knowing everything he's gonna do
to try to stop me from doing what I do.
Of course, I went on and trying to figure out, okay,
(12:07):
if he's gonna do this at this point, It's like
I was playing chess with him, but he let me
watch him figure me out in the sense, and he
still dropped me, like he literally stopped me like, every
damn time, this is just him going against me. And
he was like, Okay, I know that you're gonna do
this at this moment, and so I even switched it up,
and he was still prepared for the extra and the
(12:28):
things that he didn't know I was gonna pour or
take out on him, you know, And he still was
able to stop me in those instances. So I knew
for a fact that Alex is very much a intricate thinker,
and I've always resented him for that, him for that moment.
I'm like, how how do you? How do you do that?
(12:49):
Here's Alex's agent at Clutch Sports Group to Marry Spielbo
on how Alex's experiences at Alabama propelled his mental game
to another level. Yeah, he played guard, He's played right
down because play left tackle, so he was kind of
thrust in a role to be that swing man across
the line. Him playing a lot of different positions, you know,
(13:10):
on that offensive line meant that he had to know
a lot of different bands, So he had to know
a lot of terminology, had to know a lot of
defensive fronts and formations from each position. And anybody that
knows football knows that the box that you're planning is
completely different. The person across sreet is completely different. So
whichever position he lined up at, he knew there was
a different skill set lined up across from him, so
(13:32):
he had to be prepared for that. So I just
think him just being a student of the game because
he was thrust into so many positions, allowed him to
be that srubable person. Surprisingly, this versatility both helps and
hurts him in the draft. Some things view his positional
flexibility as a strength because he can step in and
feel any role needed. Others see him moving around as
(13:53):
a negative. They wonder if he wasn't capable of being
a pure left tackle in college and therefore can't play
a left tackle in the NFL either, And unfortunately for Alex,
left tackle is the most highly coveted and highly paid
position on the offensive line. So despite Alex winning the
Outland Trophy as the nation's best interior lineman, NFL teams
(14:14):
aren't certain what position he'll play at the next level,
and what position teams think he'll play will likely determine
when and where he gets drafted. We'll be right back.
(14:41):
Alex didn't even play football until high school. His main
sport was track and field when he was younger. Then
everything changed his freshman and sophomore years when he began
to grow after I got high school like a huge
ghost spurt and got all got big on that good stuff.
So I'd like it started off with the height. I
may have got like four or five off the bat
(15:02):
like boom within a year. And then um, when I
turned a sophomore, and that's when I got a lot heavier,
you know what I mean. I started getting to the
weight room. So as a freshman, started off as in
peevens and I saw a longing back the type deal.
Then my sophomore year he had a coaching coaching staff change,
and that's when I'm Totie Ward was our new head coach.
And a lot of people may know Charlie Ward. He
(15:22):
played at Florida State UM we won hausman, but ultimately
ended up playing basketball in the NBA. Former Heisman Trophy
winner in New York Knicks point guard Charlie Ward played
a few hours down the highway in Tallahassee, Florida, where
he became a football and basketball legend. So it was
a big deal when he came to Booker t Washington,
to coach their team during Alex's sophomore year. Here's Coach Ward.
(15:47):
When I became a head football coach at hook To
Washington and Tons of Cola. He was in a rose
of sophomore and he was a big fellow, not as
big as he is today, but it was still big.
That he moved very well, really really long arms, and
it was a very good athlete. Charlie Ward was a
guaranteed pick in the NFL Draft, but opted to play
(16:09):
basketball instead. That led him to being chosen in the
first round of the NBA Draft, and he was also
selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, even though he
hadn't played baseball since high school. He played in the
championship game in college football, the Elite Aid in college
basketball in the NBA Finals. As a pro coach, Ward
(16:31):
nos sports and as soon as he got to book
a T Washington, he saw Alex Leatherwood had the it factor,
even if Alex didn't know it yet. I was just
out there like playing football, and I was like, I
feel like it just would be cool, you know what
I mean. And Charlie Ward was saying that, um, I
was incredibly gifted. You know, I had a lot of size.
Let it like I was an athlete. I was big
(16:54):
just because the frame I had in the sky, in
the size, and just the innate talent I had like
playing that position. He said that I can do great
things just just like a bunch of talks with him,
because starting off as like a defensive player. He was like,
because you can make a lot of money being an
offensive lineman. And he really uh set me down. It
was like, you know, if you work hard, you can
really change the whole trajectory of your life. You know,
(17:15):
get your calls paid for and all of your stuff.
So after he said that, I just really like body
into what he was trying to sell me. That's when
it clicked, like, Yeah, I'm gonna do this. Here's coach
Ward again. Analysis case. I don't think he fully understood
what his potential was. And when you have kids that
(17:36):
have great potential, you want to make sure that they're
understanding and knowing that they have an opportunity to be
able to change their dynamics by getting an alcholarship, and
that scholarship can help them get an agree to be
able to help their family in one way or the other.
But we have to put ourselves at the positions to
do that. You know, six am workouts, have it started,
(17:58):
whole free game meals, all those things that they're going
to get accustomed to at the college level. And then
when he started going to some of these are combines
where he was going up against other top tier players
and definitely opened up his eyes to see what he
was capable him doing. Coach Ward helped Alex begin formulating
(18:19):
his now infamous master plan both on and off the field.
Just him as a coach, just like as a mentor,
being like like a life mentor and things like that.
I mean, it was great because he's seen a lot
of things in his life, you know it, had experienced
the lives. So he was definitely a person that I
could go to for advice about like going to the
next level, what it was gonna take to get there,
(18:41):
and what it was gonna take to excel after I
got there and beyond. And then I'll started getting to
the weight room all that good stuff and just put
on a lot of a lot of good weight. By
the time I was a senior, Oh, I was huge.
I was like I got up to like three sixty
as big as hell. Alex was turning himself into a
force of nature on the offensive line. Unfortunately, because play
(19:03):
didn't often translate onto the scoreboard, book of T Washington
was getting killed week after week. We weren't very successful
as a team. I mean every won five games in
four years. I wasn't the best leader, you know what
I mean on my team because I just I just
(19:24):
didn't know how to yet. So I was a very
very selfish when it came to like me and the
things that I was gonna do. When I was out
there playing, I was like, if we're not gonna win,
like I'm gonna wook somebody as I'm still gonna get
me some highlights. Even though the school boards says like
zero to ninety, I'm still gonna get mine in. Like
this team may beginning as woll, but I'm not getting
(19:45):
my ass wood. So yeah, the losing was a challenge
for everyone, even their legendary coach. When we're talking about
the struggle of losing, don't I don't know very many
people that like to do that. So uh, he wasn't
the only one. And my whole focus on that was
(20:07):
how can we learn from each opportunity, whether we warn
a loss, it shouldn't define who we are the way
we go about our business. And that was the struggle
and the tough part that you know, being a coach,
when you're having to coach through that, it's not easy.
(20:27):
I'm sure it's very very tough on the player, but
it's really really tough on the coach because he's having
to sell something or something that is really tough to sell.
And that's that's hope, you know, hope that one day
things will get better. But I do believe that through
it all, there's a lot of life lessons that he
(20:49):
did learn that helped him at the University of Alabama
because he went through that. Here was Alex's best friend
from high school again, Kia on what she noticed about
the losing streak. We were one of the worst football
teams in our city, so that was really hard for him.
He's competitive. Do you want to stick up for your
(21:11):
team one week up for it, but then not sticking
up for themselves, So it's hard. It really was hard
on him. Like I said before, he always thought of
the bigger picture, so I feel like that really got
him through. I feel like it was more so I
just gotta get to college and then that way, I
could just soar despite the obvious challenges of losing that
(21:32):
many games, it did bring out the best in alex
And at least one way. Here's coach Ward again to
that opportunity to leave to go to another school his
senior year because from like, our team wasn't going to
have the great success, but we were able to talk
Aim into learning how to be a leader, not so
(21:55):
arched through wins and losses, but learning how to be
a leader in this environment. But also you know how
he could leave a legacy that book with you Washington,
and so I think that played that also played a
big part in you know, his willingness to stay. So
that's the thing that I imorrow about. You know, in
his day and age, there's nothing for a kid like
(22:17):
himself to jump up and leave and go to another
situation that may be better. Are you being able to
play with some other top tier college players you know
that were in high school at the time, But he's
chose to stay with us, you know us lowly uh
that we're you know, we knew we were gonna potentially
(22:38):
have a great season, but we were establishing a great culture,
and he was willing to do that, and so I
think that as one of the things that his commitment
to that situation I think definitely helped helped him in
the long run. If anything, in these difficult times solidified
(22:58):
the importance of thinking long term and staying committed to
his vision of the future. It helped Alex focus on
progressing to the next step of playing at a premier
college program. Then, as his recruitment picked up and offers
poured in, the question for Alex became Alabama or Florida.
(23:19):
In the end, it really came down to a tight
race between Alabama and Florida. Being from Florida, blood of state,
and things were looking super bright for that program. I
love the coaching staff, I love the atmosphere that they
were trying to create there and change and change the
tradition and things like that. But you know, it was
(23:41):
kind of like a risk because I know I wanted
to go somewhere I knew I was gonna win life
on a consistent basis. Alex could either take a risk
on a once elite program rebuilding their team, or he
could go to the school that had jokingly become the
thirty third NFL franchise, the team that funneled out for
fashionals at an unprecedented historical rate. Here's key again. I
(24:05):
believe that he was looking at the University of Florida.
I kind of figured when Saban came to our school,
left Tuscoboosa to come all the way to Principle, I
kind of figured that that made an impression on them.
She's referring to coach Nick Saban, the guy with the
seven national titles the most. Ever, once he met Saban
(24:30):
and saving got ahold of him, it wasn't no talking
to him out of that. He was going to Alabama,
the greatest coach in college football history, and just like
going there to compete. I like the competitive atmosphere and
the environment that was there at Alabama. You compete against
the best of the best day in the day out,
and it's just a bunch of people with the same
(24:52):
dog men tell your mindset, and uh, they all want
to be champions. So I just felt like he was
the best place to go to bring the best than me.
We'll be right back on this final day before the
(25:22):
draft kicks off. Alex leather Would continues visiting with his
godparents in Pensacola, Florida. Are the healthy Uh, I have
a harder talk about a the whole finger. Yeah yeah,
as part of your chart. Who's playing your Yeah? Now
I got aren't they? They continue planning the charcuterie board
(25:51):
for Alex's draft party, while also moving outside to discuss
his future life as an NFL player. Would you buy
a house at Lanta in Georgia? Atlanta? What would be
a permanent home if you had to make one? Want
to do a load tax state, That's for sure. If
I could do like anything, if I had the money
to do anything I want. Beverly Hills, It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous.
(26:18):
Want to there without having a resident somehow because I
believe California's California taxes your paycheck when you play there,
though you get you get tax for every state you
play in, Like say, like if we went to New
York or California to play them, we get taxed on there. Yeah.
(26:44):
Tlex has attention to detail and mastery of the craft
doesn't stop on the field. He's already studying the tax
code and how the best manage as soon to arrive
paychecks from the NFL. Florida would be a good state
to be in because they don't have that anything cut
or at least half home game, half of weight game
in the league, right, So, like how your check would
be zero state your tax residents exactly and when you
(27:08):
think about it, all that adds up absolutely. I mean
making a lot of money is great, but man, I
mean when you think about what you want to do,
when you want to invest for your future, hopefully you
know you need to find a good um money manager
or something to help you with that. Y'all ever heard
of Um Landing Dickerson? My teammate Landon Dickerson, He was
(27:31):
our starting center. Landing was another member of the National
Championship winning Alabama offensive line this season, and like Alex,
he won the award for the best lineman at his position.
He's like he'll Billy carefree. And I feel like the
conversation said, like what was just having about like real estate,
(27:52):
like taxes and all that stuff. Oh my god, he
like talked to you about He talked to you about
that kind of stuff all day. Recently, al Landon Dickerson,
and other top NFL prospects participated in a Zoom call
with Lead Commissioner Roger Goodell. They discussed this year's draft process,
along with any other questions the draftees might have. Here's
(28:12):
Alex again talking about a specific question. Landon asked the
commissioner Goodell had asked, if it was anything about the
league you could change, what would it be and would it?
Landed say it was insane? Yeah, I'm gonna call you
see that. I show you about that for my my
mother's day. After his last season, he goes, Hey, Landon, Hey,
(28:39):
do you remember when we had the conversation with Goodell?
What did you ask him to change the ruling about
being able for talks to be over signed businesses and
step players? Right? Yeah, okay, bet y'all h right now,
right now it just stick as must this stick mustache
(29:03):
Jesus Christ? But all right, bro, if you look like
a hill billy, but all right, all right, yeah, but
hired businesses so you wouldn't make another see how of
yourself or something that would incorporate yourself and therefore um
every tax loop, tax loopholes and all that good stuff.
And then Goodell was like, whoa, I've never like thoughted that,
(29:26):
you know what I mean? That's actually very interesting. Welcome
to the NFL in the year where one year old
three plus pounds soon to be professional athletes are stumping
the lead commissioner about self incorporating and tax planning. But yeah,
(29:47):
he's very much into people who make the tax laws
and how they get around him and stuff. He's just
always trying to find ways to like innovate well. And
for you that begs you gotta worry about your body
and all that in eight years And you know, I'm
not trying to be a down here at thirty six
years old. Where you're gonna be and that's the fine
(30:09):
part of your life in the bank, and you don't
want to be doing nothing right, I have something going
that's not a job. I don't want to work change.
But Alex, you want to do something enriching to Oh,
I can tell you exactly what I want to do.
But and I do think you'd be good policy if
you want to go that route. But I'm just saying, Nah,
what I really want to do. I want to be
a linguist is what I really want to do. After
(30:31):
I'm done, I want to move to Europe. He is
learning French, then go on to a German like Spain.
Do like some some some some Spain Spanish. It's not
just tax planning and dreams of one day becoming a linguist.
Alex to spells every anequated myth about these herculean giants
on the field. Here's Alex's teammate friend and roommate, Duress
(30:54):
Parks once again. When I first got into college, I
spoke five languages, and I knew for sure that Alex
was intreated at the fact that I could speak like
languages um at that time, and he randomly took it
upon himself to go learn a language. It was so
cool to just find somebody that like, oh, I want
to go learn a language, and he actually went and
(31:15):
did it. There are times he would text me in
French and I'm like what, Like where did this come from?
He just really loved the fact that he could put
his mind to something as of learning a language and
and do it with easy the way he did it.
At times, like we were talking, He's like, Okay, bro,
I gotta go. I gotta go work with my friends.
Like he's definitely he's he's special. He's a special guy.
(31:36):
Alex is definitely one of the kind because there aren't
there many other people that have met in my life
that say, oh, I want this, or I want to
do this, and then immediately goes to do what they
say they're gonna do. This has been Alex's approach to
everything since that Aha moment with his coach Charlie Ward,
(31:56):
but they discussed changing the trajectory of his life. He
figured out what he wanted, he broke it down into
steps and immediately began doing it. Getting stronger, improving his
blocking techniques, studying film down to the last middlesecond, making
the honor roll, learning French, always looking years ahead. The
(32:17):
next step is becoming a first round pick in the
NFL draft. Now he just has to wait one more
day to see if everything will continue according to plan.
Next on drafted and I'm like what in the world,
(32:40):
Like how does how does that happen? How do you
have millions of dollars? And then I'd somehow see them
like on Christmas, break back in the hood or broke.
I just feel like Leatherwood is a safer guy. When
you when you use in the first round pick on
a guy you want to make sure he can come
in and play. That is something that will fight your
brain at the core. I hope I won't go out
here and get my ass whooped on national TV because
(33:01):
this is like the only game everybody in the country
is watching right now. He doesn't really get too high,
doesn't get too low. He's a very em cue young man.
He's definitely mature beyond years. I was willing to give
up the entire support at some point, just because I
knew that I was just I can't do this workout anymore.
This is it's really hard because he told me something
at my house. Is it true? John, Go outside, Take
(33:25):
a Squirrel. Drafted is a production of Tree Forward Media,
Clutch Sports Group, and I Heart Radio. The executive producers
are Kelly Garner, Lisa Ammerman, Eric Slott, Eric Weiner, and
Shawn to Tone. The series is produced and written by
(33:47):
Eric Winer Garme Mamalou is our coordinating producer. Coral Silverberg
is our associate producer. Tom Monahan is our senior audio engineer.
The show is mixed, edited and hosted by Me Stephen Johnson.
Additional production helped from Tim Shower and Hailey Mandelburg. For
transcripts of the show and more information Undrafted, go to
Tree for dot Fm, and for more podcasts for my
(34:09):
Heart visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Drafted as a production of tree Fort Media, Clutch Sports Group,
and I Heart Radio. Basically, yeah, live fie for sixty hours,
alve fi for sixty hours. This for like a podcast,
I mean just like recording like sixty hours. This is
(00:25):
a podcast. It was just audio. Welcome back to season
three of Drafted. I'm Steven Johnson and last episode we
got to know University of Alabama star receiver Davante Smith.
In this second episode, we're meeting the guy you just
heard laughing, Davante's college teammate, offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood. He's
(00:52):
six ft five in ways roughly three and twenty pounds,
almost double the way of Davante, and over the past
four years, Alex clear the path for his smaller teammates
on offense, staying in the background as the other players
won awards and got most of the publicity. Now NFL
Draft arriving in only one more day, Alex is finally
(01:13):
going to have the cameras and limelight directly on him
and experience he's absolutely not used to. Hello, sorry, oh
my gosh, he's like tripled inside. How are you good? Oh?
(01:41):
How you doing? Alex will be participating in the draft
virtually this year, only the thirteen players in Cleveland are
doing their draft in person. Everyone else has to throw
their own at home draft party. So before hosting his
party tomorrow night, Alex decides to visit his godparents, Rebecca
and Andrew, at their house in Pensacola, Florida, and he's
(02:02):
brought along is ten month old puppy Zuko. Does he does,
but he does, but it's not It's not crazy at all, Deree,
So how I'm sorry, I'm not at all To be honest,
I slept through the whole night because I honestly went
(02:24):
back to sleep when I woke up. But I mean,
it is what it is. I'm ready to go. That's awesome.
How to go after college? You got? Well? He traded
it right, because like the day after this season, I
mean that next day after the National Championship game, I
(02:44):
go straight to Texas to start training. Alabama won the
National championship on January eleven, and instead of taking time
off and celebrating, Alex woke up on January twelve and
drove the Texas to start training for his pro career.
He didn't build a single day off into his plan. Now,
(03:06):
four months later Alex is being talked about as a
first or second round pick, and he's been linked to
a half a dozen teams. I've stayed away from reading
anything about you because it's fake. It's fake. The media
is fake. Watch it. It's literally fake. Yeah. One time,
(03:29):
one time Broncos the Packers, and then it was like
the last one I saw said that Packers. You know,
it's like who knows. You don't look at it. Yeah,
they know, they know nothing. It's all speculation. But I
do have an idea. I know the charges. They liked
me a lot, but I'm not their first option. Yeah.
So if it's not Do, probably going to be the Raiders.
(03:49):
If it's not the Raiders, then it will be Miami.
There's not Miami, then it will definitely be the Ravings.
But how's it going to work? I will we will
literally all be watching the TV and wait until somebody
calls me. That's what it is. Yeah, I need just
wait for the phone. Well, we're gonna bring a sharp
(04:11):
choose plate. How do you call it? I'm working on
this with you, yeah, yeah, really other things. The correct
pronunciation is charcuterie. It's a French term describing prepared or
(04:33):
cured meats, and that's the language Alex actually knows well
because learning French is something he built into his master plan.
In case you didn't notice, when Alex just rattled off
a memorized list of which teams are targeting him, as
well as exactly where he ranks on each team's position list,
He's meticulous about his entire life, and that includes the
guest list to his upcoming draft parties. So how many
(04:57):
family you got coming in a lot? My mom was
shared like fifty so people. She didn't bring fifty people,
but she said it's probably gonna end up being close
to fifty. Let me live here already them. Alex grew
up in Pensacola, Florida, with a huge family nearby, but
his childhood provided plenty of time for introspection. I grew
(05:20):
up basically a single parent home, just me and my dad.
All of my hid blooms on my desk. I were
much older than me, so it's just me and him
in the house or whatever. I was staying with my dad.
UM my mom she lived close to life to um
her sisters and stuff, so I got to play with
all my cousins and stuff, go to her house every weekend,
you know. Let me As a kid. Growing up, he
(05:42):
attended Booker T. Washington High School and that's where he
met his best friend, Kia Hollis. My name is Kia Hollis.
Alex is my best friend. Where we come from, a
lot of people that are from there, their main goal
is to get out of Pensacola, mostly because it's not
a lot of between geest there. Most places where you
(06:03):
can go, people have already had those jobs. They're stuck
in those jobs and they'll be there until they retire
or they're fired. So growing up in our town, the
fifteen year olds back then, he was a lot different
than them. No, kids our age were really thinking of
the bigger picture, like oh, we need to probably have
(06:23):
this ready or we need to have this ready. But
he always did. He always thought about the bigger picture.
He always thought about where am I going to be
five ten years from now? I need to work on that,
and he stuck to that. Lots of fifteen year olds
have goals for high school and college or even dreams
of being a musician or becoming a doctor. What Alex
(06:45):
was doing that was something very very different. His other
best friend, Duress Parks, explains. My name is DRez Parks.
I am also a football player here at the University
of Alabama, but also happened to be Alex Otherwood's best
friend of wanted his best friends. Jures played a linebacker
for the Crimson Tide and lived with Alex as a
(07:05):
roommate this past season. I've known Alex for about four
and a half, maybe five years now, maybe six. I've
never met anyone who's so strategic as of how they
move and how they go about the things that they do.
Whenever you ask him, he will tell you he's like
executing his plan. And he's been doing this since I
(07:27):
first met him. He knew exactly what he needed to
do at the moment where he decided to play football,
and what football could do for him and his family
and his life. And he made those conscious decisions at
a very young age to do all those things and
like strategically placed these things in order, like I'm going
to do this, Okay, after I do this, this leads
me to get here, I'm gonna do this after I
(07:48):
get there, and it just kept building, and Yeah, he's
definitely a mastermind and planning and executing. Five and ten
years strategic operating plans are normally associated with corporate executives
running multinational fortuneies, not fifteen year old kids playing football.
That's Alex though. That's how he goes about his business
(08:09):
and how he plays his position on the field. Fortunately,
offensive line happens to be perfectly suited to that meticulous, systematic,
detail oriented approach. Here's Alex again explaining further. You gotta
be a big smart after letting the play, like you
can't just take any big ass efforts Joe off the
(08:30):
street and say play alone. The movements and stuff we
do are very unnatural to like the human body are techniques.
They're not like human bodily movements, like we're sending the
squad to move from you know what I mean. It's
the most like technical and seer position on the field.
To an untrained eye, Alex's job in football looks like
(08:50):
he smashes into other giant men as hard as he
can on every play and actuality. Offensive lineman need enormous
understanding of positioning, strategy, and technique, along with amazing situational awareness,
and on top of that, they're often the smartest guys
on the field. Offensive lineman score the highest on the
Wonderlick Test, which is the cognitive and problem solving exam
(09:13):
given to all NFL prospects. Quarterbacks are the second highest
scoring group. Here's Alex again. Football is a game of inches.
Everybody knows that, but it's even more defined when you
plan on line, like the steps you take, how you
use your leverage, where you exert your power and you
have to move another human being who doesn't want to
be moved from one point to another, and like it's
(09:35):
not like he's gonna just sitting there and let you move.
That other human being you're trying to move also aways
three hundred plus pounds and squad six hundred plus pounds,
and it's doing everything in their power to knock you
onto the ground. And sometimes the person you need to
block is a hundred pounds lighter than you, runs much
faster than you, and tries to blaze right by you
with speed instead of force. Offensive lineman like Alex have
(09:58):
to be able to handle both types of defenders. You
gotta watch your opponent and know what your opponent is
gonna do. A defensive end like he could go up
and under, he can loop. He literally has free range
to go anywhere he wants on that field, So you've
gotta be super precise with the steps you take to
get them, you know, to go one way or the other,
and not on that, but just like understanding and knowing
(10:19):
the defense and knowing what they're trying to do to
the offense, just based off alignment of like safety, the coverages,
all types certainly like blitzes, pressures, things like that. You've
got to understand like downing distance situations, how much you
need to get the first down and what they're gonna
try to do to get you to stop it, and
what you need to do to make sure they don't
(10:40):
stop you. So I feel like it's a there's a
lot that goes into it. This chess match is what
analysts and announcers talk about when they say the game
within the game, it's the hundreds of small strategic decisions
from all eleven guys on the offense, as well as
those by coaches who calling plays informations that all that
up to other play works or not. And of course
(11:02):
this level of strategy perfectly suits the type of NFL
prospect who happens to be very very detail oriented. Here's
Jazz again on his personal chess match with Alex I
remember I was going against each other at practice, and
we got home that night and I was watching him
watch film and he was trying to see the exact
(11:25):
point in the moment where I had did something where
he knew that he could catch me at that given moment,
and being so analytical about like I need to do
this at this given moment and this given time, so
this doesn't happen, and this at this given moment at
this given time, so this doesn't happen. And I've watched
him watch film and him slow things down to them
(11:47):
there another second of where certain things are where he is,
and him knowing that, Okay, I need to do this next,
so this doesn't happen again, and I watched him. I
watched him, watched me two beat me. The next Davids
go out to practice, me knowing everything he's gonna do
to try to stop me from doing what I do.
Of course, I went on and trying to figure out, okay,
(12:07):
if he's gonna do this at this point, It's like
I was playing chess with him, but he let me
watch him figure me out in the sense, and he
still dropped me, like he literally stopped me like, every
damn time, this is just him going against me. And
he was like, Okay, I know that you're gonna do
this at this moment, and so I even switched it up,
and he was still prepared for the extra and the
(12:28):
things that he didn't know I was gonna pour or
take out on him, you know, And he still was
able to stop me in those instances. So I knew
for a fact that Alex is very much a intricate thinker,
and I've always resented him for that, him for that moment.
I'm like, how how do you? How do you do that?
(12:49):
Here's Alex's agent at Clutch Sports Group to Marry Spielbo
on how Alex's experiences at Alabama propelled his mental game
to another level. Yeah, he played guard, He's played right
down because play left tackle, so he was kind of
thrust in a role to be that swing man across
the line. Him playing a lot of different positions, you know,
(13:10):
on that offensive line meant that he had to know
a lot of different bands, So he had to know
a lot of terminology, had to know a lot of
defensive fronts and formations from each position. And anybody that
knows football knows that the box that you're planning is
completely different. The person across sreet is completely different. So
whichever position he lined up at, he knew there was
a different skill set lined up across from him, so
(13:32):
he had to be prepared for that. So I just
think him just being a student of the game because
he was thrust into so many positions, allowed him to
be that srubable person. Surprisingly, this versatility both helps and
hurts him in the draft. Some things view his positional
flexibility as a strength because he can step in and
feel any role needed. Others see him moving around as
(13:53):
a negative. They wonder if he wasn't capable of being
a pure left tackle in college and therefore can't play
a left tackle in the NFL either, And unfortunately for Alex,
left tackle is the most highly coveted and highly paid
position on the offensive line. So despite Alex winning the
Outland Trophy as the nation's best interior lineman, NFL teams
(14:14):
aren't certain what position he'll play at the next level,
and what position teams think he'll play will likely determine
when and where he gets drafted. We'll be right back.
(14:41):
Alex didn't even play football until high school. His main
sport was track and field when he was younger. Then
everything changed his freshman and sophomore years when he began
to grow after I got high school like a huge
ghost spurt and got all got big on that good stuff.
So I'd like it started off with the height. I
may have got like four or five off the bat
(15:02):
like boom within a year. And then um, when I
turned a sophomore, and that's when I got a lot heavier,
you know what I mean. I started getting to the
weight room. So as a freshman, started off as in
peevens and I saw a longing back the type deal.
Then my sophomore year he had a coaching coaching staff change,
and that's when I'm Totie Ward was our new head coach.
And a lot of people may know Charlie Ward. He
(15:22):
played at Florida State UM we won hausman, but ultimately
ended up playing basketball in the NBA. Former Heisman Trophy
winner in New York Knicks point guard Charlie Ward played
a few hours down the highway in Tallahassee, Florida, where
he became a football and basketball legend. So it was
a big deal when he came to Booker t Washington,
to coach their team during Alex's sophomore year. Here's Coach Ward.
(15:47):
When I became a head football coach at hook To
Washington and Tons of Cola. He was in a rose
of sophomore and he was a big fellow, not as
big as he is today, but it was still big.
That he moved very well, really really long arms, and
it was a very good athlete. Charlie Ward was a
guaranteed pick in the NFL Draft, but opted to play
(16:09):
basketball instead. That led him to being chosen in the
first round of the NBA Draft, and he was also
selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, even though he
hadn't played baseball since high school. He played in the
championship game in college football, the Elite Aid in college
basketball in the NBA Finals. As a pro coach, Ward
(16:31):
nos sports and as soon as he got to book
a T Washington, he saw Alex Leatherwood had the it factor,
even if Alex didn't know it yet. I was just
out there like playing football, and I was like, I
feel like it just would be cool, you know what
I mean. And Charlie Ward was saying that, um, I
was incredibly gifted. You know, I had a lot of size.
Let it like I was an athlete. I was big
(16:54):
just because the frame I had in the sky, in
the size, and just the innate talent I had like
playing that position. He said that I can do great
things just just like a bunch of talks with him,
because starting off as like a defensive player. He was like,
because you can make a lot of money being an
offensive lineman. And he really uh set me down. It
was like, you know, if you work hard, you can
really change the whole trajectory of your life. You know,
(17:15):
get your calls paid for and all of your stuff.
So after he said that, I just really like body
into what he was trying to sell me. That's when
it clicked, like, Yeah, I'm gonna do this. Here's coach
Ward again. Analysis case. I don't think he fully understood
what his potential was. And when you have kids that
(17:36):
have great potential, you want to make sure that they're
understanding and knowing that they have an opportunity to be
able to change their dynamics by getting an alcholarship, and
that scholarship can help them get an agree to be
able to help their family in one way or the other.
But we have to put ourselves at the positions to
do that. You know, six am workouts, have it started,
(17:58):
whole free game meals, all those things that they're going
to get accustomed to at the college level. And then
when he started going to some of these are combines
where he was going up against other top tier players
and definitely opened up his eyes to see what he
was capable him doing. Coach Ward helped Alex begin formulating
(18:19):
his now infamous master plan both on and off the field.
Just him as a coach, just like as a mentor,
being like like a life mentor and things like that.
I mean, it was great because he's seen a lot
of things in his life, you know it, had experienced
the lives. So he was definitely a person that I
could go to for advice about like going to the
next level, what it was gonna take to get there,
(18:41):
and what it was gonna take to excel after I
got there and beyond. And then I'll started getting to
the weight room all that good stuff and just put
on a lot of a lot of good weight. By
the time I was a senior, Oh, I was huge.
I was like I got up to like three sixty
as big as hell. Alex was turning himself into a
force of nature on the offensive line. Unfortunately, because play
(19:03):
didn't often translate onto the scoreboard, book of T Washington
was getting killed week after week. We weren't very successful
as a team. I mean every won five games in
four years. I wasn't the best leader, you know what
I mean on my team because I just I just
(19:24):
didn't know how to yet. So I was a very
very selfish when it came to like me and the
things that I was gonna do. When I was out
there playing, I was like, if we're not gonna win,
like I'm gonna wook somebody as I'm still gonna get
me some highlights. Even though the school boards says like
zero to ninety, I'm still gonna get mine in. Like
this team may beginning as woll, but I'm not getting
(19:45):
my ass wood. So yeah, the losing was a challenge
for everyone, even their legendary coach. When we're talking about
the struggle of losing, don't I don't know very many
people that like to do that. So uh, he wasn't
the only one. And my whole focus on that was
(20:07):
how can we learn from each opportunity, whether we warn
a loss, it shouldn't define who we are the way
we go about our business. And that was the struggle
and the tough part that you know, being a coach,
when you're having to coach through that, it's not easy.
(20:27):
I'm sure it's very very tough on the player, but
it's really really tough on the coach because he's having
to sell something or something that is really tough to sell.
And that's that's hope, you know, hope that one day
things will get better. But I do believe that through
it all, there's a lot of life lessons that he
(20:49):
did learn that helped him at the University of Alabama
because he went through that. Here was Alex's best friend
from high school again, Kia on what she noticed about
the losing streak. We were one of the worst football
teams in our city, so that was really hard for him.
He's competitive. Do you want to stick up for your
(21:11):
team one week up for it, but then not sticking
up for themselves, So it's hard. It really was hard
on him. Like I said before, he always thought of
the bigger picture, so I feel like that really got
him through. I feel like it was more so I
just gotta get to college and then that way, I
could just soar despite the obvious challenges of losing that
(21:32):
many games, it did bring out the best in alex
And at least one way. Here's coach Ward again to
that opportunity to leave to go to another school his
senior year because from like, our team wasn't going to
have the great success, but we were able to talk
Aim into learning how to be a leader, not so
(21:55):
arched through wins and losses, but learning how to be
a leader in this environment. But also you know how
he could leave a legacy that book with you Washington,
and so I think that played that also played a
big part in you know, his willingness to stay. So
that's the thing that I imorrow about. You know, in
his day and age, there's nothing for a kid like
(22:17):
himself to jump up and leave and go to another
situation that may be better. Are you being able to
play with some other top tier college players you know
that were in high school at the time, But he's
chose to stay with us, you know us lowly uh
that we're you know, we knew we were gonna potentially
(22:38):
have a great season, but we were establishing a great culture,
and he was willing to do that, and so I
think that as one of the things that his commitment
to that situation I think definitely helped helped him in
the long run. If anything, in these difficult times solidified
(22:58):
the importance of thinking long term and staying committed to
his vision of the future. It helped Alex focus on
progressing to the next step of playing at a premier
college program. Then, as his recruitment picked up and offers
poured in, the question for Alex became Alabama or Florida.
(23:19):
In the end, it really came down to a tight
race between Alabama and Florida. Being from Florida, blood of state,
and things were looking super bright for that program. I
love the coaching staff, I love the atmosphere that they
were trying to create there and change and change the
tradition and things like that. But you know, it was
(23:41):
kind of like a risk because I know I wanted
to go somewhere I knew I was gonna win life
on a consistent basis. Alex could either take a risk
on a once elite program rebuilding their team, or he
could go to the school that had jokingly become the
thirty third NFL franchise, the team that funneled out for
fashionals at an unprecedented historical rate. Here's key again. I
(24:05):
believe that he was looking at the University of Florida.
I kind of figured when Saban came to our school,
left Tuscoboosa to come all the way to Principle, I
kind of figured that that made an impression on them.
She's referring to coach Nick Saban, the guy with the
seven national titles the most. Ever, once he met Saban
(24:30):
and saving got ahold of him, it wasn't no talking
to him out of that. He was going to Alabama,
the greatest coach in college football history, and just like
going there to compete. I like the competitive atmosphere and
the environment that was there at Alabama. You compete against
the best of the best day in the day out,
and it's just a bunch of people with the same
(24:52):
dog men tell your mindset, and uh, they all want
to be champions. So I just felt like he was
the best place to go to bring the best than me.
We'll be right back on this final day before the
(25:22):
draft kicks off. Alex leather Would continues visiting with his
godparents in Pensacola, Florida. Are the healthy Uh, I have
a harder talk about a the whole finger. Yeah yeah,
as part of your chart. Who's playing your Yeah? Now
I got aren't they? They continue planning the charcuterie board
(25:51):
for Alex's draft party, while also moving outside to discuss
his future life as an NFL player. Would you buy
a house at Lanta in Georgia? Atlanta? What would be
a permanent home if you had to make one? Want
to do a load tax state, That's for sure. If
I could do like anything, if I had the money
to do anything I want. Beverly Hills, It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous.
(26:18):
Want to there without having a resident somehow because I
believe California's California taxes your paycheck when you play there,
though you get you get tax for every state you
play in, Like say, like if we went to New
York or California to play them, we get taxed on there. Yeah.
(26:44):
Tlex has attention to detail and mastery of the craft
doesn't stop on the field. He's already studying the tax
code and how the best manage as soon to arrive
paychecks from the NFL. Florida would be a good state
to be in because they don't have that anything cut
or at least half home game, half of weight game
in the league, right, So, like how your check would
be zero state your tax residents exactly and when you
(27:08):
think about it, all that adds up absolutely. I mean
making a lot of money is great, but man, I
mean when you think about what you want to do,
when you want to invest for your future, hopefully you
know you need to find a good um money manager
or something to help you with that. Y'all ever heard
of Um Landing Dickerson? My teammate Landon Dickerson, He was
(27:31):
our starting center. Landing was another member of the National
Championship winning Alabama offensive line this season, and like Alex,
he won the award for the best lineman at his position.
He's like he'll Billy carefree. And I feel like the
conversation said, like what was just having about like real estate,
(27:52):
like taxes and all that stuff. Oh my god, he
like talked to you about He talked to you about
that kind of stuff all day. Recently, al Landon Dickerson,
and other top NFL prospects participated in a Zoom call
with Lead Commissioner Roger Goodell. They discussed this year's draft process,
along with any other questions the draftees might have. Here's
(28:12):
Alex again talking about a specific question. Landon asked the
commissioner Goodell had asked, if it was anything about the
league you could change, what would it be and would it?
Landed say it was insane? Yeah, I'm gonna call you
see that. I show you about that for my my
mother's day. After his last season, he goes, Hey, Landon, Hey,
(28:39):
do you remember when we had the conversation with Goodell?
What did you ask him to change the ruling about
being able for talks to be over signed businesses and
step players? Right? Yeah, okay, bet y'all h right now,
right now it just stick as must this stick mustache
(29:03):
Jesus Christ? But all right, bro, if you look like
a hill billy, but all right, all right, yeah, but
hired businesses so you wouldn't make another see how of
yourself or something that would incorporate yourself and therefore um
every tax loop, tax loopholes and all that good stuff.
And then Goodell was like, whoa, I've never like thoughted that,
(29:26):
you know what I mean? That's actually very interesting. Welcome
to the NFL in the year where one year old
three plus pounds soon to be professional athletes are stumping
the lead commissioner about self incorporating and tax planning. But yeah,
(29:47):
he's very much into people who make the tax laws
and how they get around him and stuff. He's just
always trying to find ways to like innovate well. And
for you that begs you gotta worry about your body
and all that in eight years And you know, I'm
not trying to be a down here at thirty six
years old. Where you're gonna be and that's the fine
(30:09):
part of your life in the bank, and you don't
want to be doing nothing right, I have something going
that's not a job. I don't want to work change.
But Alex, you want to do something enriching to Oh,
I can tell you exactly what I want to do.
But and I do think you'd be good policy if
you want to go that route. But I'm just saying, Nah,
what I really want to do. I want to be
a linguist is what I really want to do. After
(30:31):
I'm done, I want to move to Europe. He is
learning French, then go on to a German like Spain.
Do like some some some some Spain Spanish. It's not
just tax planning and dreams of one day becoming a linguist.
Alex to spells every anequated myth about these herculean giants
on the field. Here's Alex's teammate friend and roommate, Duress
(30:54):
Parks once again. When I first got into college, I
spoke five languages, and I knew for sure that Alex
was intreated at the fact that I could speak like
languages um at that time, and he randomly took it
upon himself to go learn a language. It was so
cool to just find somebody that like, oh, I want
to go learn a language, and he actually went and
(31:15):
did it. There are times he would text me in
French and I'm like what, Like where did this come from?
He just really loved the fact that he could put
his mind to something as of learning a language and
and do it with easy the way he did it.
At times, like we were talking, He's like, Okay, bro,
I gotta go. I gotta go work with my friends.
Like he's definitely he's he's special. He's a special guy.
(31:36):
Alex is definitely one of the kind because there aren't
there many other people that have met in my life
that say, oh, I want this, or I want to
do this, and then immediately goes to do what they
say they're gonna do. This has been Alex's approach to
everything since that Aha moment with his coach Charlie Ward,
(31:56):
but they discussed changing the trajectory of his life. He
figured out what he wanted, he broke it down into
steps and immediately began doing it. Getting stronger, improving his
blocking techniques, studying film down to the last middlesecond, making
the honor roll, learning French, always looking years ahead. The
(32:17):
next step is becoming a first round pick in the
NFL draft. Now he just has to wait one more
day to see if everything will continue according to plan.
Next on drafted and I'm like what in the world,
(32:40):
Like how does how does that happen? How do you
have millions of dollars? And then I'd somehow see them
like on Christmas, break back in the hood or broke.
I just feel like Leatherwood is a safer guy. When
you when you use in the first round pick on
a guy you want to make sure he can come
in and play. That is something that will fight your
brain at the core. I hope I won't go out
here and get my ass whooped on national TV because
(33:01):
this is like the only game everybody in the country
is watching right now. He doesn't really get too high,
doesn't get too low. He's a very em cue young man.
He's definitely mature beyond years. I was willing to give
up the entire support at some point, just because I
knew that I was just I can't do this workout anymore.
This is it's really hard because he told me something
at my house. Is it true? John, Go outside, Take
(33:25):
a Squirrel. Drafted is a production of Tree Forward Media,
Clutch Sports Group, and I Heart Radio. The executive producers
are Kelly Garner, Lisa Ammerman, Eric Slott, Eric Weiner, and
Shawn to Tone. The series is produced and written by
(33:47):
Eric Winer Garme Mamalou is our coordinating producer. Coral Silverberg
is our associate producer. Tom Monahan is our senior audio engineer.
The show is mixed, edited and hosted by Me Stephen Johnson.
Additional production helped from Tim Shower and Hailey Mandelburg. For
transcripts of the show and more information Undrafted, go to
Tree for dot Fm, and for more podcasts for my
(34:09):
Heart visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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